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Lions’ left-arm spinning allrounder Jean Symes has been suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect due to an illegal action. He will not be allowed to bowl until remedial work is undergone and he passes a re-assessment of his bowling action.The suspension comes after an independent assessment of his action revealed it to be illegal. Symes, who has 68 first-class wickets at 37.66 and 60 List A wickets 31.00, is currently representing his provincial side, Gauteng.

Ricky Ponting trained in Queensland last week but will have little time to prepare in South Africa if he joins the Twenty20 squad © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting should not feel obliged to leave his family health issues behind and rush to South Africa for the ICC World Twenty20, according to Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen. Ponting did not fly to Johannesburg with the rest of the squad on Monday and there is still a possibility he will miss part or all of the tournament.However, Nielsen said Ponting should not join the group unless he truly was ready. “It’s difficult to keep your eye on the ball when you do have issues and you are 14 hours away on a plane and know you wouldn’t be able to get home for a couple of days,” Nielsen told the Australian.”Ideally, when he gets here, everything will be fine and he’ll have things organised so he can concentrate 100% on cricket. It’s more important from my perspective that he’s got everything fixed up at home and he’s happy so he can come over here comfortable where he’s at and what’s going on with the issues he has.”Ponting is almost certain to miss Australia’s warm-up games on Sunday and Nielsen said it would be far from ideal for the captain to fly in and immediately take the field in the first match against Zimbabwe on Wednesday. “You’d be more concerned if it was a 19-year-old,” Nielsen said, “but with someone who has played about 110 Tests and 280 one-day games and has been around the track a few times … he’ll adapt pretty quickly.”Stuart Clark, who also stayed at home to care for his ill son, will arrive in South Africa today but Shane Watson’s hamstring injury is still a cause for concern. Watson will be assessed on Friday before Australia decide whether to send him to the tournament or find a replacement.”If he’s not much chop by the end of the week we’ll have to sit down and figure out what we’re going to do with him,” Nielsen said. “He’s starting to show some good signs and all things at the moment are positive. It wasn’t a massive tear, it was a strain, and what the MRI scan showed was a good result for him.”Nielsen said Australia would be reluctant to risk Watson if there was any danger he would aggravate the injury. He missed the entire Ashes series last season with hamstring troubles that gradually worsened as he tried to rush back.Choosing a replacement, if necessary, would be complicated as the leading candidates are in Pakistan on tour with Australia A. Cameron White and James Hopes could both fit into Australia’s allrounder slot but Nielsen said Australia were leaning towards keeping Watson in the squad instead.”We need to make a good, educated decision, not knee-jerk and get someone here and find they’re not going to play much,” he said. “They would miss out on playing three one-dayers and a couple of really tough four-day games over there [Pakistan], which would be a great experience for them leading into the summer.”

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Romel Currency hits out during St Vincent’s defeat at the hands of Grenada in the Stanford 20/20 © Brookslatouche

Nevis upset home side Antigua, winning by 43 runs in a high-scoring quarter-final of the Stanford 20/20 tournament. Led by Tonito Willet’s unbeaten 86, Nevis piled on an imposing 213 for 3 in their 20 overs and Antigua stumbled right from the start, eventually ending up with 170 after a late-order assault.Antigua’s decision to insert the opposition backfired as the Nevis openers, Sherwin Woodley and Keiran Powell, made merry. When both were dismissed, Willet and Stuart Williams, his captain, added 121 for the fourth wicket at a frenetic pace. Willet used the long handle to good effect to strike five sixes and eight fours and remained unbeaten on 86.In reply, Antigua were staring at an embarassing defeat at 68 for 7, after John Maynard, the opening bowler, rocked the top-order with three wickets. Bertel Baltimore and Curtis Roberts made a spirited attempt at the target with a late-order assault but Nevis held sway.
ScorecardGrenada booked their place in the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament with a comfortable 12-run win against St. Vincent. Chasing 123, Grenada were at 70 for 3 in the eleventh over when rain forced the umpires to abandon the match. However, Grenada were already 12 runs past the cut off target by the Duckworth/Lewis method and hence, were awarded the match.Rawl Lewis, the Grenada captain, bowled his legspinners to good effect and helped restrict St Vincent to a modest 122 for 7 after a good start by the openers. Lewis picked up three wickets in his final over, and was well supported by Dennis George, the left-arm spinner, and John Sylvester’s medium pace, who combined to keep the runs in check. With the threat of rain, Grenada, led by their openers, ensured that they were ahead of the required rate.

Javed Miandad: ‘Imran should have refrained from making such an irresponsible statement’ © Getty Images

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan batsman, has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to cancel England’s tour in October this year in retaliation to the refusal by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play a Test in Karachi citing security concerns. Miandad said that he was disappointed with England’s decision and that Karachi was being isolated as an international venue despite the government’s assurance on security issues.Miandad termed England’s refusal as unjustified because the ECB, according to him, had not fully assessed the security measures adopted by the local authorities. “I don’t understand the ECB’s logic with the tour still some months away,” he told Dawn. “If Karachi is not safe for any visiting team then no other centre in Pakistan is safe for the visitors. By refusing to prolong their stay in Karachi, England are bent on damaging the image of the Pakistani people in every respect. This is not the first time that Karachi has been deprived of its due right to stage a Test match.”Miandad also cited the bomb blasts in London to buttress his argument. “What happened in London on Thursday is a case in point,” said Miandad. “What took place there is very distressing. Does it mean that London is not safe enough to stage the 2012 Olympics?”Miandad also blamed the PCB for not being firm enough while discussing the tour itinerary with the ECB officials. “The PCB should have taken a firm stand and remained adamant that England either play a Test in Karachi or the entire tour is off,” he said. He added that the board should not have compromised on its interests and that it should learn from its Indian counterpart.”Look at the Indian cricket board officials and how they handle certain situations without compromising the interests of its people,” said Miandad. “They never compromise on principles if the Indian interests are hurt. They had the courage to take ICC head on and made sure a match referee (Mike Denness, the former England captain), was removed during the course of a series in South Africa.”Miandad also criticised Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain, for supporting the ECB’s decision. He said, “Imran should have refrained from making such an irresponsible statement that has given England solid grounds to make lame excuses. People should remember that sports and politics do not co-exist.”However, Hasib Ahsan, a former Pakistani slow bowler and former chief selector, agreed with Imran’s views. “Imran was only reacting to a statement of the city Nazim [the mayor], who had predicted bloodshed in Karachi during the forthcoming local bodies’ elections, which may have influenced England’s decision to curtail their stay here,” he said. Hasib was also critical of the PCB and the manner in which they handled the issue. He mentioned that there were similar security concerns in Karachi during England’s tour in 1987 but the Test was played without incident. He also said that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had played Tests at Karachi in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

New Zealand 264 for 4 (Marshall 74, Styris 69, Fleming 51) beat South Africa 259 for 7 (Rudolph 70*, Boje 50, Oram 3-51) by 6 wickets
Scorecard

Hamish Marshall gets it on © AFP

New Zealand put in a fine performance, held their nerve, beat South Africa by six wickets, and took an unassailable 3-1 lead in this six-match series. On a rain-interrupted day in Dunedin they used their superior knowledge of the Carisbrook conditions well. But it was not smooth sailing all the way.When Stephen Fleming won the toss there was no doubt that he would field first.The skies were overcast, an icy wind buffeted the ground, and rain seemed just apassing cloud away. Michael Mason, in the team in place of the injured DarylTuffey, showed why he is rated so highly. He assessed the situation well and bowled within himself. He kept the ball up in the batsman’s half and gave away no width.Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs waited out an initial spell of controlled seambowling. Neither took the attack to the opposition, and South Africa were quickly on the back foot – only figuratively, of course. With the square boundaries being just over 50 yards away, bowling short was the surest way to commit cricket suicide. In this, New Zealand showed a better reading of the situation.Gibbs (16) and Jacques Kallis (14) fell cheaply. Gibbs was lbw trying to manufacture a shot, and Kallis holed out as he tried to carve the ball to the short boundary (53 for 2). Smith (37) had done the bulk of the scoring at the top of the order, and when he was caught behind off Jacob Oram, courtesy of a thick inside-edge via his thigh-pad, South Africa were in trouble (78 for 3). Then Boeta Dippenaar (18) was clean bowled by Chris Cairns – and 100 for 4 from nearly 30 overs was not such a good score.Nicky Boje, promoted to No. 5, underlined his utility, clipping, nudging, tucking and driving the ball around. For the first time in the innings a batsman was scoring freely. Seemingly without taking risks, Boje helped add 84 for the fifth wicket. His fifty came off just 47 balls, and included five fours. Even Boje’s dismissal came as he was trying to accelerate. He inside-edged Scott Styris while playing a premeditated sweep (184 for 5).Jacques Rudolph then took over. Fresh legs, and a mind undisturbed by two breaks due to rain, combined to prove that the pitch still had more in it for the batsmen. Rudolph took on the bowlers without attempting anything over the top. He knew the best areas to score were square of the wicket, and exploited this with childish joy. He walked down the pitch as though he was toying with a kid in the back yard, used the pace of the quicker men well, and deflected the ball into gaps. Even as wickets fell at the other end – Mark Boucher came and went for a breezy 35 – Rudolph held his nerve. He was unbeaten on 70, and helped South Africa reach 259 for 7.When New Zealand began their chase, they had the advantage of knowing exactly what they needed to do. Unlike South Africa, shooting in the dark for the right total on this pitch, Fleming and his men knew exactly what they needed to do to come out on top. It was a situation tailormade for New Zealand: no heroics were called for, just an honest, professional plod to the finish line.Few people can plod with as much grace as Fleming. Aside from playing and missing early on – only to be expected in overcast conditions – the New Zealand batsmen were in total control. Shaun Pollock was his usual miserly self, but the good work was undone by Andre Nel who distributed presents as if he were Santa Claus on speed.Fleming and Michael Papps were a study in contrast. Papps, stocky and thick-set, lunged onto the front foot, but favoured the cut and the pull. Fleming, tall and lithe, drove with the full face of the bat. It was finally a short ball that gave South Africa respite: Papps (29) pulled Makhaya Ntini to Boje in the deep (71 for 1).Just as Papps gave way to Hamish Marshall, pace gave way to slower stuff. Thissuited Marshall just fine. Lance Klusener’s offcutters were coming on at an ideal pace to work around, and Boje is no Derek Underwood. Despite that, Boje struck almost immediately, as Fleming (51) chipped a ball straight to Pollock at square leg (102 for 2). Fleming walked back slowly, leaden-footed feet with disappointment, after throwing away a start. Yet he had done the most important thing: show exactly how the task was to be approached.Marshall (74) and Styris (69) batted with a maturity that made the task seem a formality. Both players shelved the big shots, playing them only to rank bad balls when it was safe. They put on 126 for the third wicket, and took New Zealand to the verge of victory. From there, Cairns, with a couple of big sixes, and Craig McMillan took New Zealand home.

NEW DELHI, Feb 14 AFP – Australian legend Greg Chappell today had a dig at out-of-form Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, calling him “mentally lazy”.”Sourav Ganguly has always looked prone to mental laziness and continues to squander a wonderful talent,” Chappell wrote in his column for the news agency.Ganguly has been passing through a lean patch recently despite being the ninth-highest run-getter in the world with 8,263 in 219 one-dayers.The Indian captain has scored just 66 in his last eight matches. His latest attempt to regain form failed when he contributed just eight against minnows the Netherlands in his team’s opening World Cup match at Paarl on Wednesday.”He has always looked … as if it is below him to work on developing his talents. A great shame!” Chappell said.The former Australian captain also slammed India’s total of 204 against a mediocre Dutch side.”Indian batting in that game was at best patchy,” said Chappell. “Holland boast a modest attack but the Indian batsmen played without conviction on a good wicket.”The Indian (batting) line-up needs to be more convincing than this if they want to get to the final. Australia’s attack in the next match will test them more sternly than did Holland’s.”They (Australia) still appear to hold most of the trump cards despite the loss of Shane Warne.”Australia’s master leg-spinner was forced home from the World Cup on Wednesday after he tested positive for a banned diuretic.Chappell, however, had a word of advice for both Indian captain and coach John Wright before the match against Australia at Centurion, South Africa on Saturday.”John Wright and Ganguly must not put too much pressure on the team to perform. It is more important for everyone to be as relaxed as possible to the point of having fun.”Good players don’t lose their talent overnight. They can lose their way mentally though, and it is this mental balance which the Indian squad needs to rediscover.”Australia have already won their opening match against Pakistan by 82 runs.

Mudassar Nazar Photo © CricInfo

A more than satisfying performance by Pakistan was marred this evening by disorderly supporters and caused Alec Stewart to concede defeat, the 10th in a row. Oh golly, what’s cricket coming to in England!I had said before, Waqar would lead from the front and he has not let me down. It was definitely his day at Headingley. With this fantastic burst of 7 wickets, I do hope he has silenced his detractors, who’d been claiming this excellent pacer’s days were over. Not for me though, I think he has at least two or three years of top level cricket still left in him.

Waqar Younis celebrates the wicket of Alec Stewart Photo © AFP

The responsibility of leading as volatile an outfit as Pakistan seems to have added loads to his confidence and he looks fit too. For some, like Tendulkar, Ganguly, our own Inzamam and Saeed, to name a few, captaincy is a definite burden and loads them from performing at their best but for Waqar, it’s an inspiration to perform immaculately.A comprehensive win though it was, for me it still left a lot to be desired. Despite the inclusion of Fazl-e-Akbar, the team definitely missed another genuine fast bowler. Imagine Wasim Akram or Shoaib Akhtar bowling in tandem with Waqar at this very Headingley pitch, the England innings would not gone into the 46th over. I hope Wasim is fit soon, Australia lurk in the final.I think Fazl-e-Akbar bowled well and to his capacity. I cannot expect anything more from someone who’s been out of active cricket for a long time. At the same time, I believe Waqar should’ve opened the bowling with Abdur Razzaq. He is more experienced than Fazl and did prove very effective after opening the bowling along with Waqar at Lord’s.But as it was, England cruised along after Waqar’s quota had expired and he left the field for a shower and change. I think stand-in captain Inzamam’s introduction of Saqlain so early was not the greatest of moves. He should have persisted with Azhar, although he conceded runs in his first over.

Waqar Younis sends down a thunderbolt as Hollioake look on Photo © AFP

This easing of pressure on a pacer friendly track, enabled Hollioake to settle in and with Gough playing the sheet anchor, led England out of a complete disaster. I am sure Pakistan missed an opportunity to bowl England out for one of their lowest totals in this form of the game.With the pitch still playing some tricks, added with Pakistan’s innate frailty in chasing runs, I had fears when Caddick and Gough, came out to defend 156. Believe me, I had shivers running down my spine at the thought of Afridi and Saeed swishing about on this wicket while facing up to this fearful duo.Afridi did not allay my fears any, for he had no clue against the swing and seam. The inevitable was delayed for 9 overs until Gough produced an out-swinger and Afridi, deciding he’d had enough of these defensive shots, poked at it to be caught behind.Saeed, on the other hand, looked in good nick until he got tempted and wafted a fine nick to Alec again. Some would argue umpire Kitchen had undone him but as far as I could see, he should have been out to a shot like that anyway. Saeed had to depart after playing some entertaining shots.

Abdur Razzaq drives bowler Ben Hollioake through mid off Photo © CricInfo

Razzaq played beautifully and Youhana accomplished another sensible knock. With Razzaq playing shots and getting runs at one end, he had absolutely no need to hurry things up and that’s exactly what he did, stuck in.In the end, it was the crowd who stole the show by invading the pitch, injuring a steward and taking most of the charm out of the win. The sad part of it all is that the outrage in the media at the lack of proper security measures will take off the gloss of Waqar’s performance.This has happened for the second time, after that disruption at Edgbaston that held up the match for about 30 minutes, and should be a fair warning for the authorities to stop taking the crowds lightly. Beware, today there was only one ‘known’ injury, tomorrow there could be more and these are certainly not the kind of cricket fans I played in front of in England.

Ed:Mudassar Nazar is a veteran of 76 tests and 122 ODIs. He is currently the chief coach of Pakistan’s National and Regional Cricket Academies. In view of the overwhelming interest of users in CricInfo’s articles, we have invited him to write for us.

Not content with trying to hijack Arsenal’s proposed move for Spanish starlet Juan Mata, Tottenham are now attempting to muscle in on another Gunners target, Christopher Samba.

Arsenal were said to be keen admirers of the giant defender, with the feeling seemingly reciprocated by the player, who was reported to have issued several ‘come and get me’ pleas to the Gunners – something Samba now strongly denies: ‘The declarations about me are totally false – never said that. I’m a Rovers player and will never mention other clubs – it’s disrespectful. Not happy right now’, he posted on his Twitter account.

Blackburn want £12 million at the very least for Samba, which is said to have put off Arsene Wenger who believes the player is overpriced. Which has left Tottenham to jump into pole-position, as The Daily Mail reports his agent will open talks with the club this week. In a proposed deal Spurs may offer cash, plus defender Sebastien Bassong – something which Blackburn may consider, having already lost another of their starting centre-backs, Phil Jones, earlier this summer.

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A Christmas night BBL fixture could be on the cards in coming years after Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland indicated CA may be open to the idea. This summer, as in most years, the BBL schedule includes matches up until December 23 with a resumption on Boxing Day, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have been left vacant.However, last week the head of the Big Bash League, Anthony Everard, said there was no reason Christmas night matches could not at least be considered, and Sydney Thunder general manager Nick Cummins said he was open to discussions about his team playing at Christmas. Speaking on ABC Grandstand on Sunday morning, Sutherland said he was also open to the concept.”It’s an interesting one. I did hear some of the commentary around it just in the last few days and I’ve got to say, it hadn’t actually occurred to me before,” Sutherland said. “But sitting back on Christmas night, having had the great night’s entertainment we’d had in the previous week or so, it’s something that I guess will be on the drawing board.”The BBL has rated exceptionally well on television but Everard said last week that ratings alone would not be sufficient reason to schedule a game on Christmas night. He said there had been some “very preliminary thoughts” on possible alignment with a children’s charity to make such a Christmas match more meaningful than being just another BBL match.”I think what the BBL does is give you an opportunity to innovate … I think it’s a case of `Never say never’,” Everard told AAP last week. “If we were to contemplate it I think we’d want to be pretty clear on what the objective was and that’s not as a novelty or just playing another game because there’s no other content on that day.”In recent decades elite sport has generally not been played on Christmas Day in Australia, but in the USA it is common. Occasional Christmas matches are played in the NFL but it is more customary in basketball; this year five NBA matches were played on Christmas Day.In fact, cricket in Australia on Christmas Day would be nothing new. Test cricket has been scheduled on December 25 in Australia in past years. In 1967, Australia and India played a Test at Adelaide Oval that started on December 23, had a rest day on Sunday December 24, and resumed on Monday December 25. Similarly, Australia and West Indies played a Test in Adelaide in 1951 that finished on Christmas Day.Adelaide Oval in particular has had a tradition of Christmas Day cricket. Starting in the 1920s, South Australia hosted Queensland in a semi-regular tradition, a Sheffield Shield match that featured play on Christmas Day. The last such match occurred in 1969.

New Zealand’s women have welcomed back Ros Kember and batsman Suzie Bates for the England tour. Rachel Candy, the medium-pacer, has also been called up as New Zealand try to recover from their latest Rose Bowl defeat in Australia.Kember, the legbreak bowler, is in for Louise Milliken, who bowls pace and was ruled out with an ankle injury.The 14-player squad, who departed for England on Friday, will play three Twenty20s and six ODIs in their month-long tour which kicks off with back-to-back Twenty20s at Bath on Sunday August 12.”The key is that the experienced players are getting better and to find out how the new players are going,” their coach Steve Jenkin said. “We want to see the players improving individually and as a team.”After two-and-a-half weeks in Australia, we are going to tour England with better preparation than any previous team. We saw two new players at the Rose Bowl in Amy Satterthwaite and Rachel Priest, who both performed extremely well.Squad Haidee Tiffen (capt), Nicola Browne, Sara McGlashan, Aimee Mason, Rowan Milburn, Rachel Priest, Amy Satterthwaite, Sarah Tsukigawa, Helen Watson, Suzie Bates, Selena Charteris, Rachel Candy, Ros Kember, Sarah Burke.