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Duncan Fletcher says he has no thoughts of applying for the role of South Africa coach, which will be advertised this week. Fletcher, who has coached England for more than five years, rejected the notion of applying for the role currently held by Ray Jennings.”I’m not applying for it,” Fletcher told a news conference in East London, where he is preparing England for the fifth ODI. “I’m with England and I’m happy to be with them.”Jennings took charge of South Africa on a temporary basis after Eric Simons stepped down in October 2004. Jennings will remain in the post until South Africa have finished touring West Indies in May, when a permanent coach will be appointed.It has been rumoured that Jennings may not apply for the post in the light of reports that the captain Graeme Smith favours the Australian Steve Waugh to take up the role. But Jennings insisted that an application could be on the cards if he won the backing of his players.”I will speak to the players and if they want me as a leader I will re-apply,” Jennings said. “It’s all about the players.” He rejected suggestions that he and Smith had issues. “He’s young and exciting, I challenge him and he challenges me,” he added. “He sent me a text message yesterday saying: ‘Coach, you’re a champion’.”

Murali Kartik, the Indian left-arm spinner, has made an impressive debut for Lancashire, taking 5 for 93 against Essex. After being reduced to 145 for 7, an 86-run partnership between James Middlebrook and Andre Adams helped Essex reach 267 at Chelmsford.Kartik struck in his very first over by bowling Andy Flower who tried to execute his trademark reverse-sweep. Kartik then ripped through the middle order by removing Ronnie Irani and James Foster in quick succession. A couple of sixes, courtesy Danish Kaneria, and a spate of no balls, spoiled to a certain extent Kartik’s fantastic debut for Lancashire.Meanwhile, Dinesh Mongia, the former Indian middle-order batsman, hit a useful 71 that included ten fours and a six, as Leicestershire declared after amassing a gigantic 552 for 6 against Derbyshire at Leicester.

ScorecardAn 81-run partnership between Tamar Lambert and David Bernard helped Jamaica tighten their grip on the third day of their opening game of the Carib Beer Cup at the Kaiser Sports Club. After managing a slender 38-run lead in the first innings, Jamaica were reduced to 39 for 4 due to a burst from Wilden Cornwall, the medium pacer. But a steady 55 from Donovan Pagon began the revival before Lambert and Bernard consolidated Jamaica’s position. Jamaica ended their second innings on 270 and left Leeward Islands with an uphill task of getting 309 for victory. Jerome Taylor’s double strike put Leeward Islands in further trouble as they ended the day on 16 for 2.
ScorecardAfter two days of inclement weather, play finally got underway in Trinidad as Guyana trudged along to 87 for 3 in 63 overs. Trinidad & Tobago got off to a fine start, after choosing to bowl, as Guyana were struggling at 17 for 3. But Narsingh Deonaire steadied the ship with 48 as the game meandered towards a draw.

Group A
ScorecardZimbabwe ran out comfortable winners against Canada in front of another sell-out crowd at the Bogra District Stadium. They cruised home by eight wickets and put the pressure on Australia, who they beat yesterday, ahead of the final Group A fixture, Australia v Sri Lanka, at Rajshahi tomorrow.Australia must now win that game to ensure they have a better net-run-rate than either Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe to make it through to the Super League.Zimbabwe, however, did their chances of qualifying no harm by restricting Canada to 180 for 9 and then cruising home with 17 overs to spare. Tinashe Panyangara, Zimbabwe’s hero against Australia with six scalps, bowled 10 wicketless overs today, but Prosper Utseya instead lead the attack with 4 for 41.Zimbabwe lost opener Brendon Taylor with the score on only 16, but James Cameron and Sean Williams then came together to provide the platform. Williams was run out for 35, but Tinotenda Mawoyo helped Cameron complete the win. Mawayo finished on 32 not out, while Man of the Match Cameron was not out on 84.Group B Nepal 195 for 5 (Gauchan 80*) beat Uganda 194 (Lama 4-40) by five wickets
ScorecardNepal moved to within sight of an unexpected place in the Super League, as their five-wicket victory over Uganda piled the pressure onto yesterday’s victims, South Africa. Everything now rests on tomorrow’s mouthwatering clash between South Africa and England – and all of Nepal will be praying for an English victory.Nepal were made to work hard for their victory, although it was not quite as nail-biting as their one-wicket win yesterday. Uganda won the toss and elected to bat, and at 91 for 1 in the 28th over, there was scope for an impressive total.Kintu Wambudhe contributed 46 and Denis Musali made 32, but Lakpa Lama led the fightback, picking up 4 for 40 as Uganda were pegged back to 194 all out in the 50th over. It was then over to Nepal’s captain Shakti Gauchan, whose unbeaten half-century had secured that victory over South Africa.Gauchan followed up with a fine 80 not out to guide Nepal to victory with a comfortable 11 balls to spare. He was ably supported by Monick Shrestha (30) and Sharad Vesawkar (23), and South Africa have it all to do.Group C
ScorecardAfter their defeat against India yesterday, New Zealand’s progress was put back on track when they walloped Scotland by 240 runs at the Bangladesh Sports Institute. This now sets up an intriguing final group match between Bangladesh and India.If Bangladesh win that game, to be played tomorrow, the group will be decided on net-run-rate, and New Zealand’s large winning margin means even that could be tight.After India and Bangladesh both racked up big scores against Scotland, New Zealand needed to do the same. After they were put in, the batsmen started in a hurry, as Liam Chrisp raced to 48 off 47 balls before falling lbw to Gordon Allan. Bradley-John Watling and Brad Wilson then went into overdrive, putting on 273 for the second wicket before Watling was caught in the 48th over on 154. Wilson finished unbeaten on 144 from 118 balls in New Zealand’s impressive 389 for 2.Then the bowlers provided an equally important contribution as the Scotland batsmen struggled for runs. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals and only a patient innings of 60 from Kasim Farid delayed the inevitable, and Scotland where soon all out for 149 in 33 overs.”The result was important to us today,” said Pulley, New Zealand team manager. “If Bangladesh beat India tomorrow, the group will come down to net-run-rate. Our batsmen got some good time at the crease today and all of our players did their bit.It is now out of our hands and we will be watching the match tomorrow very closely indeed.”Group D Ireland 212 (Vali 4-40) beat Papua New Guinea 142 (Kidd 3-36) by 70 runs
ScorecardIreland picked up their first points of the Under-19 World Cup, thanks to a solid team performance against Papua New Guinea. They took West Indies to the wire in their first game, and performed creditably against Pakistan, so it was a deserved victory over the weakest team in Group D.After being put into bat by PNG, Ireland made steady progress, scoring at around four-an-over from the start. Seven of their batsmen made double-figures, but none could go on to make a tellingcontribution as they were bowled out for 212 in 49 overs. AndrewRiddles top-scored with 37, while opener Gary Wilson made 36. Vali Vali (4 for 40) and Lahui Davai (3 for 24) shared the wickets for PNG.There was no rest for Riddles after his important innings, as he returned to open the bowling for Ireland. And it proved to be his day as he dismissed two of PNG’s top three batsmen in a five-over burst that cost only eight runs.Ireland’s left-arm spinner Gary Kidd then took charge as Ireland mopped up the PNG lower-order for 142 in 38.2 overs. Kidd finished with figures of 3 for 36, while Riddles was deservedly named man of the match.Both Ireland and PNG will now compete in the Plate Championship inChittagong while Pakistan and West Indies – who face each other tomorrow – are already through to the Super League.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Pakistan showed they are focused on finishing their tour on a positive note as they warmed-up for the one-day series with a comfortable five-wicket win, and had 13 balls to spare, in the Twenty20 at Bristol. As expected, Shahid Afridi provided the fireworks in the run chase with a crackling 10-ball onslaught, before Mohammad Hafeez played a measured hand. Stuart Broad gave England hope with a memorable two wickets in two balls on debut, but their total was about 30 runs short after the Pakistan pacemen had ripped through the top order.Marcus Trescothick prevented a total collapse after three wickets had fallen in five balls as England slipped to 40 for 3, but the batsmen struggled to find the boundary and only managed one six in their innings. Boundaries are not something Afridi often struggles for and he didn’t hang about trying to open his account, despite walking in with Broad on a hat-trick.Broad, too, had wasted little time in making his mark on proceedings and gave a glimpse of the ability that has got the cricket world talking. His first over went for just two, then with his 10th ball on the international scene he trapped Shoaib Malik lbw. Throughout the season Broad has proved himself to be a thinking bowler and he then showed his adaptability by bouncing Younis Khan first ball, who gloved his pull shot to Chris Read. He wasn’t afraid of a stare towards the batsmen and while he hasn’t picked up bowling skills from his father, Chris, he certainly has traits of his combative spirit.Afridi, though, isn’t a player to give an inch and negotiated the hat-trick ball by heaving Broad over mid-off for a couple – and he never threatened a defensive shot. He was responsible for the majority of the 22 runs that came off Sajid Mahmood’s first over, then Broad was shown the other end of international cricket as 20 came off his third.Pakistan were 26 runs ahead of England after the fielding restrictions, but Afridi wasn’t about to take stock and tried to launch Jamie Dalrymple over the river to Wales. However, Michael Yardy – whose performance made it a good day for England’s debutants – ran backwards from long on, leaped, and held a stunning catch to at least keep the match interesting.When Yardy claimed Mohamamd Yousuf as his first international scalp, the equation almost came down to a run-a-ball. But through all the action, Hafeez had played a composed hand, working the strike, but also crunching the ball to the fence. A couple of cheeky sweeps were the highlights of the innings and when he was stranded by Paul Collingwood’s direct hit the job was nearly done. Inzamam-ul-Haq made a statement by launching Darren Gough – in his comeback match – effortlessly over long on and this week is looking rosier for him than the last seven days.With the striking power all the way down Pakistan’s order, England knew they needed an imposing total to have a real chance. Trescothick and Ian Bell had started promisingly enough, but Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif reduced them from 39 without loss to 40 for 3 within five balls. Asif removed Kevin Pietersen first ball for the second time in three innings and Strauss only faired one ball better. This left England needing to rebuild, but with Asif bowling four economical overs and the returning Rana Naved-ul Hasan also not giving much away the overs quickly ticked by.Trescothick held the innings together and showed a pleasing return to form after a difficult Test series. He’d kick-started his innings with three fours in a row off Shoaib and his trademark meaty thumps were quickly rocketing in the boundary boards. When spin was introduced, Trescothick went into slog-sweep mode and his fifty came off 33 balls. However, with England needing him to bat through the innings Abdul Razzaq produced a decent ball, which kissed the outside edge, and Kamran Akmal held his second low catch.It wasn’t until the final over that England cleared the ropes as Yardy’s quick-fire 14-ball effort at least handed them something to bowl at. But the ease with which Pakistan completed the chase showed they would have been capable of knocking off many more.

How they were out

Click here to read Cricinfo’s description of each England wicket
Click here to read Cricinfo’s description of each Pakistan wicket

Craig Wishart has been ruled out of the VB Series with a knee injury, and will be replaced by Dion Ebrahim. Wishart originally damaged his left knee while batting in last Sunday’s match against Western Australia at Perth, and after consultations with specialists in Adelaide and Sydney he is to return home for surgery.”The injury may have recovered with rest in a couple of weeks, but realistically Craig would not have been mobile enough to take a full part in a demanding one-day series,” said Brad Robinson, Zimbabwe’s physiotherapist. “In the long term he is best having an operation to affect a full recovery, rather than play on with an injury that could have recurred at a future point.”Wishart himself said, “It’s obviously a major disappointment not to be able to play in the VB Series. I feel that I’ve been in good form and I know my runs are important for the team.” He continued: “But, we have a lot of Test and one-day cricket ahead in the next few months so my immediate aim is to regain full fitness and return to the side as soon as possible.”Ebrahim will join up with the squad at Sydney on Saturday evening, where Zimbabwe play India and Australia in the space of two days. “It’s pretty unlikely he will play against Australia on Sunday,” Geoff Marsh, Zimbabwe’s coach, said, “but he will come into contention for the two games we have in Hobart next week.”On a better note for Zimbabwe, Stuart Carlisle, who picked up a slight thigh strain in the game against Australia A at Adelaide, is expected to be fit for their opening game, against Australia on Sunday.

Adrian Le Roux, the physical trainer of the Indian team for the last year, has decided to quit the post and join the South African team as their trainer. Le Roux, whose contract with South Africa extends till 2005, will join the squad later this week.The Indian board (BCCI) was initially caught unawares by this development, but later issued a statement saying that it respected Le Roux’s decision, and would start searching for a replacement.Speaking to the Times of India, John Wright, the India coach, said, “it has come as a surprise. However, he has made a decision as a professional and we can only respect his judgement.” He added: “But he has left a schedule to follow for Indian players and I am sure everyone will try to live up to it.”Le Roux had joined the Indian team early last year, and had won the praise of the players after significantly improving fitness levels. Impressed by his performance, the Indian board had increased his salary and extended his contract by a year immediately after the World Cup.”He blended so well within the team and its structure and contributed immensely to the boys’ fitness. He took immense pains and spent time with individuals to improve their mental and physical toughness,” Wright said. “I can safely say that we all, including the boys, will miss him. But he had to make a personal decision and one could only wish him good luck.”In a statement, Le Roux said that he enjoyed his stint in India, but was delighted to get an opportunity to work with the South Africans. “It was a wonderful experience working with India, in a very different cricket culture, and I learnt a great deal with them,” he said. “It is obviously a great privilege to have the opportunity to work with one’s own national team and I am looking forward to the challenge of helping the team’s performance.”I wish the Indian cricket team and its management all the best for the future and I hope that they will continue to be a winning team.”Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Indian board, said that he understood Le Roux’s stand perfectly. “We have received a communication from Le Roux, resigning from the position of fitness trainer,” Dalmiya said. “Adrian did a wonderful job with the team and this was reflected in the results. The BCCI, however, respects his national sentiments and, therefore, a suitable replacement is being explored.”Working for his own country would obviously mean much more to Le Roux and the BCCI understands his sentiments. It will also give him an opportunity to stay with his family.”Dalmiya ruled out any action against Le Roux for breach of contract. He said that the board had already started the process of looking out for possible contenders for the post, and would announce the replacement soon.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has invited Waqar Younis to join Wasim Akram in making their international farewells during the forthcoming one-day series against either South Africa or Bangladesh.Wasim announced his retirement from international cricket last month but accepted an invitation from the PCB to make a final one-off appearance. But Waqar, who was sacked as Pakistan’s captain after the World Cup, has not indicated that he is considering retiring and so the PCB’s offer might come as a surprise to him.A spokesman for the PCB told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper that the intention was for the pair to play together “in the final match of their illustrious careers”. Waqar might have something to say about that.

New Zealand Cricket has changed the date of its Christchurch andWellington National Bank Series ODI matches against South Africa toavoid a potential clash with a Crusaders Super 12 match in Christchurch,following a late change to the Super 12 schedule.Martin Snedden, the NZC chief executive said NZC agreed to the change ofdate of the Christchurch match to avoid a head-to-head clash with aCrusaders Super 12 match which otherwise might have been played at QueenElizabeth II Park in Christchurch on the same day as the Jade StadiumODI.The Jade Stadium ODI has been moved from Saturday February 21 to TuesdayFebruary 17 (as a day-night fixture) allowing the Crusaders Super 12match to be played at Jade Stadium on the Saturday.As a result the Wellington ODI has been transferred from WednesdayFebruary 18 to Friday February 20 (as a day-night fixture).”It is unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this position. Weworked with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to avoid a schedulingclash before finalising our itinerary,” Snedden said.”Following a late change to the Super 12 schedule, Canterbury Rugbyapproached us with a joint marketing proposal which included asubstantial compensation package if we transferred our Jade Stadiummatch from the Saturday.”It would have hurt both cricket and rugby to play head-to-head matchesin Christchurch and would not have been good for fans of both sports tobe forced to choose between the two matches. We will continue to work with rugby in the hope that scheduling issuescan be avoided in the future,” he said.

Mathew Sinclair will finally get to take part in the World Cup after being named as Nathan Astle’s replacement in the New Zealand side to play Bangladesh in Kimberley today.Astle has been rested on medical advice, he is suffering from a hernia and more problems with his troubled knee.Also out of tonight’s game is livewire fieldsman Lou Vincent who has conceded a place to fast-medium bowler Kyle Mills who is also expected to play his first match of the Cup.The selectors are clearly expecting to make an impact on the Bangladesh side with their pace options from an attack containing Shane Bond, Andre Adams, Mills, Jacob Oram and possibly Chris Cairns.The side for the game is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori.Selection committee chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said: “We believe the Bangladesh side might be vulnerable to pace bowling and that Kyle has the ability to swing the ball and take wickets at the top of the order.”He has an excellent record for New Zealand and is a multi-skilled player who also provides us with a batting option in the middle to lower-order.”Hadlee added: “Mathew Sinclair is a ready made replacement at No 3 in the batting order for the injured Nathan Astle.”Mathew will have an opportunity to put his case up for further selection should there be any form or injury concerns with other batsmen during the remainder of the tournament.”