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Despite another delay, the PCB reiterated its aim to implement the new constitution by the end of this month.Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the board, told reporters after an ad-hoc committee meeting in Islamabad that the board is yet to receive the draft constitution back from the President’s house, as it has yet to be approved by President Pervez Musharraf, who is also patron of the board.The PCB was expected to receive an approved draft copy ahead of its ad-hoc meeting but will not get it until next week now because the attorney general was away performing last month.The PCB has been run on an ad-hoc basis for over seven years now, since July 1999. Each chairman since has promised a speedy implementation of the constitution but has failed to do so.The committee did, however, approve a scheme for a monthly retirement-pension fund for players who represented the country before 1978. Pre-1978 Test and international cricketers will now be entitled to monthly income of Rs15,000, Rs20,000 or Rs25,000, depending upon the number of matches they played.It was also announced that the board will soon be hiring a candidate for the chief operating officer position, after holding a number of interviews with potential candidates.

Australia 9 for 602 dec and 181 for 1 (Ponting 51*, Langer 88*) lead England 157 (Bell 50, McGrath 6-50) by 626 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out – England
How they were out – Australia

Glenn McGrath announced his return to Test cricket with the superb figures of 6 for 50, and Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer added an unbeaten stand of 113, as England’s cricketers were stripped of their dignity on an extraordinary day’s cricket that verged on the sadistic. Having been bundled out for a woeful 157, a deficit of 445, England’s morale was so bleak that, with a full 45 overs of the day’s play remaining, a three-day finish was a very real possibility. But Ponting was having none of it, and in a decision that echoed Mark Taylor’s move on this same ground in 1994-95, he opted instead to send England’s frazzled players back out into the field for another dose of chastisement.The tactic had been amply justified by the close, as Australia ground their way to 1 for 181, a massive lead of 626. Ponting himself was still there on 51, having passed 9000 runs in Test cricket, and all England had to show for another 40 overs of hard labour was the run-out of Matthew Hayden. As they trooped off the field after their third humiliation in a row, it was hard to believe that this was the same body of men who had retrieved the Ashes in such memorable fashion in 2005. As many as nine of the players on each team were present in that match at The Oval, but the gulf between mindsets could not have been more acute.Since their arrival Down Under, England have been bewildered by the ferocity of Australia’s resolve, and today no-one typified that determination better than McGrath. All year long he has been claiming that, at the age of 36, he is in the best shape of his life, but a ten-month absence to care for his sick wife Jane, and an unconvincing performance on the flat tracks of India last month, had the naysayers believing otherwise. Today, McGrath did as champions do, and let his bowling do the talking.Flushed with confidence after two cheap scalps last night, McGrath tore through England’s bewildered batting, teasing and tormenting England’s outside edges in precisely the manner that England themselves had failed to do at any stage of the match. He grabbed his first of the day when Kevin Pietersen shouldered arms unwisely to one that jagged back and rapped the pads, and after watching Brett Lee dismiss Andrew Flintoff for a third-ball duck, McGrath returned to mop up the tail.Flintoff’s dismissal was an especially dismal moment for England. All through the first two day’s play, he had been a lone pillar of strength, but suddenly, with his side in disarray at 4 for 78, he was on an absolute hiding to nothing. After surviving two deliveries, he nibbled at a third from Lee, and Gilchrist completed the catch that sent the crowd at the Gabba delirious.

England rallied insofar as a team in such dire straits can rally, with Ian Bell confirming that he is a cricketer reborn since his harrowing experience in the 2005 Ashes. He had to ride his luck and back his judgment during Lee’s opening salvo, which included an edge through third man off an angled bat, but he had enough chutzpah to see off both his nemeses, McGrath and Shane Warne, whom he greeted with quick feet and an focussed mind. He brought up his third fifty against the Aussies with a tickled single to leg, but unfortunately for England he was unable to push on, as Clark located one of the cracks on a widening pitch, and Ponting at second slip took a fine catch diving to his right.Geraint Jones had by this stage perished, trapped on the crease by a full-length inswinger from McGrath, and England’s innings folded in an embarrassing heap, with only Ashley Giles provided any token resistance in a defiantly chancy 24. Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison both fell for ducks, caught behind off Clark and McGrath respectively, and it was McGrath who wrapped up proceedings when Giles retreated to leg and top-edged a short ball to point. As he led his side off the pitch, McGrath clutched at his back in a mock display of old age. So far in this Test, Dad’s Army has been doing okay.It got no better for England as Ponting opted to give them another stint in the field. In theory it could have been a blessing in disguise for an attack that is woefully short of match fitness, but Hayden reverted to his best bullying mode to ensure there were no plus-points to be gained from the new ball. James Anderson, who has arguably endured an even worse match than the hapless Harmison, was beasted for three fours in a row, and though he gained his revenge with a pin-point run-out it was scant consolation. By the close even their direct hits were ricocheting for overthrows, as Australia marched on and on and on. It is more than just a beating that England are taking in this match, it is an evisceration.

Division One

Third day
Ed Smith struck a defiant 147 but Middlesex still face a huge defeat against Nottinghamshire at Lord’s. Smith’s innings spanned 245 balls but he was trapped lbw by Ryan Sidebottom late in the day, leaving Middlesex still 138 runs behind but with just four wickets standing. The match appeared to be heading for a three-day finish when Ben Hutton was forced to retire hurt and Nick Compton was trapped lbw. But the middle order showed some fight, although none could build a commanding total like Smith. David Nash provided solid support, facing 124 balls before falling to the last ball of the day to Sidebottom. During the morning session, Nottinghamshire batted on for eight overs, extending their lead to 412, with Paul Franks slamming 64.Second day
Hampshire are building a huge lead over Durham at Chester-le-Streetafter opting not to enforce the follow on. A team effort skittled Durham for 195, in reply to Hampshire’s 425, with none of the home side reaching fifty. The wickets were shared around with Chris Tremlett again impressing, removing Jimmy Maher for a duck amongst his three wickets. Even though the deficit was 230, Shane Warne sent his openers out for a second innings; James Adams and Michael Carberry responded with an unbroken stand of 134 in 47 overs – and there is more to come tomorrow before Warne calls time on the innings and sets about dismissing Durham again.

Division Two

Third dayLou Vincent cracked 141 as Worcestershire set Leicestershire 451 to win at at Grace Road. Vincent led the Worcestershire charge and was well support by Graeme Hick who struck 72. The pair added 144 for the fourth wicket and Vincent went to his second Championship ton in five matches. Gareth Batty and Roger Sillence added useful 30s but the Leicestershire openers survived 19 overs before stumps.Newly crowned division two champions Surrey face a final-day fight to save their match against Gloucestershire after being set after being set a massive 501 to win at Bristol. Hamish Marshall and Steven Adshead were the main scorers in Gloucestershire’s second innings, after Surrey were bowled out 171 behind but not asked to follow on. Marshall faced 115 balls for his 76 while Adshead was unbeaten after 104 balls when Alex Gidman declared. Steve Kirby removed Scott Newman early to leave Gloucestershire with a strong chance to force the win.Second day
Lance Klusener struck a powerful 131 to put Northamptonshire in charge against Glamorgan Cardiff. His innings allowed Northants to extend their lead to 165 after the innings had threatened to subside at 227 for 6. However, Ben Phillips provided solid support with 29 in a stand of 94 for the eighth wicket. Huw Waters wrapped up the innings to finish with 4 for 33. Northants squeezed out two wickets before the close with Monty Panesar again providing a major threat and he’ll be key on the third day.

Scorecard

Canterbury secured their first State Championship title in a decade after Todd Astle’s four wickets helped fend off a charging Wellington at the Basin Reserve. Wellington were 154 for 5 chasing 249 when Astle collected three wickets in an over to reduce them to 154 for 8 and all but end any chances of a home-town triumph.Wellington started the day in big trouble at 14 for 4, however a 65-run stand from Chris Nevin (25) and Neal Parlane brought them back into the game. When Brandon Hiini had Nevin lbw, Parlane batted on with Luke Woodcock and their 83-run partnership caused some nervous moments for Cantebury, who had declared late on the fourth afternoon.But Astle’s heroics changed the match – he began with Parlane caught by Michael Papps for 74. Three balls later Dewayne Bowden was caught without scoring before Jeetan Patel was caught behind from his first delivery.Woodcock tried his best to rescue the situation, however he was the last man out, finishing with 65 and giving Astle the figures of 4 for 26 as Canterbury prevailed. It was their first State Championship title since 1997-98.”It was a magnificent effort from us in a game that’s gone up and down,” Canterbury coach Dave Nosworthy told the . “But Wellington are a quality side and I feel for them at the moment, I know what they’re going through.”

Tino Mawoyo has been stripped of the Zimbabwe A captaincy following misbehaviour by him and other players in camp in Bulawayo early last month.A Bulawayo-based newspaper reported how players broke camp rules by bringing women into their hotel rooms during their matches against South African National Academy played at Queens Sports Club. The same publication also reported that Mawoyo was arrested outside a sports club for public drinking but was not taken to the police station after the police were paid off.The publication of the story sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe Cricket leadingto a disciplinary inquiry. National selector Vumi Moyo, who was the teammanager at the time, was asked to submit a report and he did not deny the that that the players had brought women into their rooms.Sources said if the police had charged Mawoyo, he would have been suspended.Pace bowler Blessing Mahwire has replaced Mawoyo for the South AfricanAirways Challenge pool B match against Gauteng at Bulawayo and ZC boardmember Cyprian Mandenge has taken over as team manager.Mawoyo, who captained Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004, remains a vital member of the Zimbabwe A squad at the top of the batting order. He was promoted to the senior team against India A and South Africa A but struggled and was demoted back to the A team.

Day two in Sydney was one to stretch the patience of the most ardent cricket follower. Five times play was started and then stopped due to rain, before the showers intensified and blotted out the remainder of play completely. A hardy 14,266 souls turned up, including 501 Richie Benaud impersonators, whose trio of trumpeters gave rousing renditions of the old Channel Nine cricket fanfare.It was fitting then, that the day’s dominant figure – in the 11.2 overs play that were possible – was a cricketer who exudes an enthusiasm for the game that is familiar to its most committed fans. Carlos Brathwaite has been a revelation on this tour so far, as much for his infectiously enthusiastic approach to the game as a pair of freewheeling half centuries. When numerous other West Indian players have seemed unwilling to show too much of themselves on the field, Brathwaite’s heart is very much on his sleeve.

Still time for a result – O’Keefe

Though he has at least enjoyed the feeling of taking a wicket in a Test on his home ground, Steve O’Keefe spent most of a rain-affected day two like everyone else – waiting, hoping, and ultimately leaving early.
“It is annoying. It’s hard for the guys to just continually switch off then get back up,” he said. “I think it’s much easier if you’re batting. You can sort of come out then start again, it’s only really the two guys out there. Very rarely do you play games of cricket where the conditions are perfect and game plans go exactly to plan. The support staff get us switched on and Smithy makes sure that with 10 minutes to go we’re ready and out there to do a job.”
Nevertheless, O’Keefe reckoned that there was still a result possible on a pitch offering spin and swing. “There’s still a hell of a lot of cricket to go,” he said. “If you can get three days in it’s close to 300 overs and hopefully if the skipper sees that spin will play a big role then we might get more overs in towards the back end of the match. If the wicket keeps spinning … it’s spinning already. Without a doubt.”

The day’s truncated rhythm, damp outfield and greasy ball suited the sort of smash and grab innings Brathwaite clearly enjoys playing, and in the day’s longest stretch of play he took on the Australian bowling in a fashion that exploited bowlers still finding their lines. While Denesh Ramdin dropped anchor, Brathwaite moved from his overnight 35 to 69 from 71 balls, including a handful of strokes that will stay long in the mind’s eye.”I just went out there and tried to play my game,” Brathwaite said of a tally that included 23 runs in two overs from a fast but wayward James Pattinson. “Thankfully I got from 30-odd overnight to 69. I’m not satisfied with the fact I didn’t carry on to get three figures or to see out the day but still happy in the sense that I managed to record my highest Test score so far.”Watching Brathwaite making use of his height and the leverage it offers him, numerous heavy hitters came to mind. The man himself had been inspired by Kevin Pietersen, a batsman of similar reach and a matchless capacity to put a bowler off balance with agile footwork and blazing shots, not all of them in the coaching manual but plenty played with disarming flourish. But there is a twist to this tale – until he grew tall and broad, Brathwaite was a top-order player, dropping his bat on the ball with obstinate intent, inspired by none other than Rahul Dravid.”Funnily enough when I was growing up I used to bat No. 3 and I was very defensive,” Brathwaite said. “I used to bat the majority of balls and Rahul Dravid was my idol. A little shift now, in the years since I’ve bulked up and changed my game a bit I’ve looked to Kevin Pietersen, the way he puts bowlers under pressure, the way he stamps his authority on the game. If I can have half the career he had I’ll be happy with that.”In taking the West Indies as far as 7 for 248, Brathwaite has given the visitors a chance to put some pressure on Australia’s batsmen. Even so, Brathwaite still felt there were more runs to be had down the order, and there was plenty to like about the detailed way in which he looked at the talents of the lower-order batting Ramdin will have for company on day three.”We always go out there with a positive mindset,” he said. “Kemar Roach has been batting very well, Jerome Taylor has a Test hundred, and Jomel Warrican will never let any of us forget he’s averaging 45 in Test cricket, only being dismissed once. So the guys in the dressing room can back their talents and see how far we can go from here.”It was a source of considerable frustration to Brathwaite that he would not be able to join them, having continued on his positive path right up until the instant Pattinson found some late swing to beat his bat and flick the outside of the off stump. A fine delivery ended Brathwaite’s day, but it was nothing compared to the warm reception he was given by an SCG crowd who knew the preceding interlude was likely to be the highlight of the day.”I was very, very upset, not on the dismissal because I think it was a good nut – didn’t handle it as well as I could have though – but walking off I was upset that once again I got a start and couldn’t carry on,” Brathwaite said. “One of my mantras in cricket is when things are going good you maximise, because when things are going bad it’s very hard to play yourself out of a slump.”But reaching halfway off and hearing the applause and seeing some people standing, I took a step back and just enjoyed the feeling, raised my bat and looked around. It was a very good feeling, I felt at home and really appreciated it.”Unlike the MCG’s BBL derby or even the first day of this match, a rainy afternoon at the SCG was only ever going to draw a crowd of the most committed fans to the grand old ground. Their affirmation of Brathwaite was genuine and touching, for in his attitude to the game many of the gathering saw a hint of their own delight in the game, and their own desire to see it played this way.

It was a batting performance that will haunt South Africa. Only Mark Boucher in the top six can say he was out to a wicket-taking ball; the others charged, slashed and wafted like men seemingly unable to adjust their minds to the reality of the situation. Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, however defended his batsmen by saying it was a plan that had misfired.”I don’t think we played reckless shots and threw our wickets away,” Arthur said. “We had a plan. We needed to disrupt Australia’s momentum somehow. We needed to get on top and we needed to get on top quick.”To be fair, the South Africans have batted pretty much the same way throughout the tournament, but shouldn’t they have reassessed the situation after a couple of wickets went down quickly? “We have been quite aggressive throughout,” Graeme Smith said. “We felt we could be quite aggressive upfront today. But once we went three down, it became really difficult to wrest the initiative back.” He also pointed out that Australia having Shaun Tait as first change didn’t help.When asked if they choked Smith smiled ironically. “I expected that question from you boys,” he said. “We certainly didn’t choke. We were just not good enough. We were outplayed, and you have got to give them credit. To me a choke is when you get close to winning and you kotz up [throw up] on yourself. Maybe there were one or two loose shots at the beginning. The top order got out to good bowling.”Their batting disarray wasn’t the only thing that went wrong. Smith admitted it had been their plan to bowl first here. “It was a decision based on information we had received about local conditions and on talking to teams that had played here,” he said. But they were persuaded by the dryness of the wicket which hinted turn and sluggishness as the match wore on. “There was a bit of swing early on,” Smith said. And Nathan Bracken used it pretty well.But just how hazardous it would have been to bat second was never really found out because South Africa didn’t have the bowler to use the conditions. Even Ricky Ponting pointed out how simple it was to deal with the sameness of the attack once a batsman got his eye in. Smith singled it out as a big area of concern.”One of our challenges going forward is to find a spinner,” he said. Robin Peterson, the left-arm slow bowler, was picked in the 12 but was not considered good enough to make the XI. “That is one facet to our game we always talk about and always get questioned about,” Smith said. “If we can find a spinner like the ones Sri Lanka and Australia have, it will change our cricket in a lot of ways.”

Was the defeat one of the biggest disappointments of his career? “I guess you don’t mind losing,” Smith said. “But when you know you haven’t played to your potential, you haven’t given yourself a real chance, it is quite disappointing.”As a team we know what we are capable of. I think we have been a little bit up and down in the World Cup. We have had some outstanding performances, we have had some medium performances. Being two games away from winning a World Cup and not putting in the performance that you are looking forward to, it is disappointing. I wouldn’t say we were just beaten today. We also let ourselves down.”Smith also chose to look at the brighter side. “We have certainly worked our way up,” he said. “Two years ago we were fourth or fifth in one-day cricket. In the 2003 World Cup we went nowhere. We have just made it to a World Cup semi-final, and we have been the only other team [apart from Australia] to have made it to the No. 1 spot. It certainly shows we are moving forward.”Looking ahead, Smith didn’t foresee too many changes. “I think there are quite a few guys who are going to be around for a few years. In the next couple of years, South African cricket is going to get very strong.” But he hinted that Shaun Pollock, who will be 34 in July, will be one of the players with a decision to make.”Shaun is probably the one who is in the balance,” Smith said. “He is deciding where he wants to go with his future and his career. I don’t think Shaun will be around in the next World Cup, and I don’t think he will mind me saying that either.”Questions were also raised about Makhaya Ntini, whose indifferent form in the West Indies led to him being dropped from the last two matches. Arthur conceded Ntini had a few things to sort out when bowling in different conditions.