Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opener, hopes he can continue knocking on the door of national selection. Jaques hit his third straight ING Cup century on Sunday with an unbeaten 158 off 141 balls and is a contender to fill Justin Langer’s spot for the second Test against South Africa on Boxing Day after Langer was ruled out with a hamstring injury.Jaques possesses a phenomenal average of 160.33 in five domestic one-day games this season and an equally impressive strike-rate of 99.38. “It’s been a really good start and to get three hundreds in a row has been fantastic,” Jaques told . “Hopefully I can just keep going and just be consistent in the way that I bat.” His form in the Pura Cup has also been solid with 400 runs at 50.00, including a top score of 137 against Victoria at Junction Oval earlier this month.After touring Pakistan with Australia A in September, Jaques, a Wollongong junior, has been earmarked as a possible national player and he may get a call-up sooner than expected with the second-Test team named on Tuesday. Darren Lehmann, a former team-mate of Jaques at Yorkshire, said Jaques was in-form and ready for international cricket. “His game is in good order and there are no glaring weaknesses,” he said. “He plays well and he’s making runs consistently now, so he’s got the next step not too far away.”While Jaques is also confident he can rise a level, he said he would like Langer to make a swift recovery. “I hope for his sake he overcomes it very quickly and can get back in the side for Australia’s sake as well,” he said. “If I do get an opportunity, that would be fantastic and I’d grab it with both hands and enjoy every minute of it.” Langer has been rated a 50-50 chance by Errol Alcott, the team physiotherapist, for the third Test in Sydney starting on January 2.

Honours were even on the first day of the second-round Patrons Trophy Cricket Championship Quadrangular Stage match between Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday.With Hasan Raza, the captain, having to retire hurt early in the innings, Habib Bank were lifted by useful partnerships along the way before their last wicket fell at 261. In nine balls, the National Bank openers had scored two runs at stumps.Abdur Rehman, the left-handed allrounder from Sialkot, hit 96 off 140 balls in just over three hours with 10 fours and a six. Rafatullah Mohmand, the opener, scored 41 while Farhan Adil scored 38. Humayun Farhat chipped in with a quick 34 off 46 deliveries that included six fours.The National Bank bowlers, on the other hand, also did themselves proud. Wasim Khan took 4 for 44 while Mansoor Amjad, the legspinner, picked up 3 for 63. Two wickets were taken by Imran Javed, the allrounder who is playing in his first match of the season.Asif Mujtaba and Faisal Iqbal, the captain, came to the rescue of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), on the opening dayof their second-round match against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), at the Khan Research Laboratories Stadium on Saturday.After being two wickets down with only nine on the board PIA, having been put in to bat, reached a comfortable score of 243 for 4 at stumps. Faisal was still at the crease with an unbeaten 80,made off 145 balls in just over three hours, with 10 boundaries.Kamran Sajid and Bazid Khan, the openers, were dismissed by PTCL’s in-form pace bowler Tahir Mughal. PIA were then lifted by the 82-run third-wicket partnership between Ghulam Ali and Asif Mujtaba, who contributed 44 and 65 respectively. Faisal and Mujtaba then added an invaluable 102 runs for the fourth wicket. After Mujtaba’s dismissal, Faisal found an able partner in Mahmood Hamid, as the unbroken fifth-wicket stand realised 50 runs.

Former West Indies coach Roger Harper has been appointed as Kenya’s new coach, replacing Andy Moles who quit almost a year ago.Harper, who will spearhead Kenya’s preparations for the 2007 World Cup, quit as manager of the West Indies Under-19 side last week. He was recently shortlisted for the Kenya post after a number of candidates, including a former coach of a Test-playing side, were interviewed by the Kenyan Cricket Association (KCA) and the ICC.”It was a tough decision, but I am looking forward to the challenge, looking forward to getting back on the coaching circuit with Kenya,” Harper said. “I’m delighted and very excited at the opportunity to work with a Kenya side that has a fair amount of talent. My objectives now are to get the best out of individual players and the team as a whole and to move Kenyan cricket forward.” He is expected to leave the Caribbean for Nairobi later this month.Kenya have been without a full-time coach since Moles walked out, but former Pakistan allrounder Mudassar Nazar has been filling the void. He was understood to have also been shortlisted for the post.Samir Inamdar, the KCA chairman, said Harper will bring many qualities to the role: “Roger’s coaching credentials are extremely impressive, not just in terms of working with players but also on the technology side of the game. Also, his attributes as a splendid player in all disciplines – batting, bowling and fielding – mean he has hands-on experience to help coach those aspects of the game.”One of the main problems facing Harper is that Kenya are finding it almost impossible to arrange fixtures against other leading countries. Even though the ICC is known to have contacted a number of major boards asking them to see if they can fit in games against the Kenyans, the response has been poor. It was hoped that three one-dayers against Bangladesh could be played in early February, but a senior Kenyan official admitted that the chances of that now happening were rapidly diminishing as there had been no contact from the Bangladesh board.Harper coached West Indies from 2000 through to the end of the 2003 World Cup, but it was a difficult period as the side adjusted to their diminishing status. Under his tenure they won nine and lost 19 of the 39 Tests they played.As an offspinner, he played 25 Tests and 105 ODIs for West Indies between 1983 and 1996 and was regarded as one of the greatest fielders of his generation.

Ricky Ponting has again urged the ICC to scrap one-day cricket’s experimental rules in time for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.The ICC’s cricket committee is set to evaluate the Supersub and Powerplay rules at the end of their 10-month trial run in March, but Ponting has called for both to be dropped. “I don’t think there’s anything lost by going back,” he told BBC Sport. “We’ll keep trying and making the best of it but I’d like to see us going back to 11 against 11 for the World Cup.”The Supersub rule allows teams to substitute any player with a 12th man, who can bat and bowl, rather than just taking a place in the field as under traditional regulations. Ponting aside, other international captains too have urged the ICC to amend the rule based on the situation of the toss.Under the new rules, Australia have won 76.5% of their matches but when winning the toss that percentage jumps up to 90. England, in comparison, have won just three one-day games – one against Australia and two in Pakistan – since the rule was invoked, all after winning the toss.To show how impractical the new rule was, Ponting cited a recent VB Series fixture between Australia and Sri Lanka at Perth, when Brett Dorey, the fast bowler, was 12th man and effectively rendered useless after Sri Lanka made Australia bowl first. “He goes out of the game and you’re playing 11 against 12,” he said. He implied that only an allrounder would really benefit from the new rule.Under the Powerplay rule, the side bowling must have nine fielders inside a 30-yard circle for two five-over periods after the first 10 overs. Ponting, however, suggested that both captains should have a say when the Powerplay was used. “At the moment the batting team has no say – it’s just when the bowling team wants to use it. We’ve used the Powerplays in a couple of different ways but generally you try to get them out of the way as soon as you can,” he said. “The reason Powerplays were brought in was because everyone thought the game was a bit boring between overs 15 and 40. The Powerplays aren’t even being used then at the moment so that doesn’t really make much sense.”

Chris Silverwood, the former England seamer, is set to sign for Middlesex after being told he has no future with Yorkshire. Silverwood has two years left on his contract at Headingley, but has been allowed to look for opportunities elsewhere.According to the his early release from Yorkshire could result in a five-figure payout and means Silverwood will join the list of frontline pace bowlers to have left the county. In recent years Darren Gough, Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Kirby have moved on, leaving Yorkshire struggling for strike bowlers.However, they have signed Jason Gillespie for the 2006 season and are now aiming to build their attack around him, Tim Bresnan and Deon Kruis in their first season back in Division One of the County Championship.Silverwood has played six Tests for England, the most recent being on 2002-03 Ashes tour when he bolstered an injury-hit squad for the third Test at Perth. However, he played just six Championship matches in 2005, taking nine wickets at 53 apiece.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOn the first day of the SAA Provincial Challenge final, Western Province dismissed Northerns for 267 before reaching six without loss. Province’s bowlers worked tirelessly throughout the day to restrict Northerns to what was only a par score.After choosing to bat, Northerns were soon in trouble at 24 for 2 thanks to a spell of controlled and hostile bowling from Western Province’s bowlers. Francois du Plessis was the first man out when he fended Quinton Friend to short-leg, before Johan Myburgh played onto his stumps off the same bowler.Maurice Aronstam and Allahudien Paleker set about rebuilding Northerns’ innings with a steady partnership of 104. However Palekar, settled on 48, misread Siraaj Conrad’s offspin and was bowled for 48. Aronstam brought up his 50 from from 136 balls, but he too failed to capitalise on a good start and was trapped in front by Vernon Philander.Gerald Dros dropped anchor to play a vital innings of 59 but lacked support from the lower-order who succumbed to Conrad and Philander. Conrad was particularly impressive, picking up 3 for 78 and bowling unchanged after lunch.Province moved to six without loss when bad light brought an end to the day’s pla

The MPCA stadium in Indore is doing its best to get dressed for the final match of this India-England ODI series. Rahul Dravid is back in the mix after a two-game break, and England have just tasted their maiden success in the shorter version of the game. While it would be untrue to suggest that there is everything to play for, considering India won the series with a convincing 4-0 scoreline some eight days ago at Kochi, many individuals still have to enough reasons to push themselves, if merely wearing national colours was not motivation enough.Ton-up FlintoffHe may have been the most dangerous batsman in the Tests, and even batted for some period on every single day of a Test (Mohali) but Andrew Flintoff is yet to register a three-figure score in the series – not even having conceded 100 runs in any bowling effort. When he takes the field, on Saturday, Flintoff will be playing his 100th ODI for England. When asked about the milestone, Dravid, who made his debut just three years before Flintoff (in 1996) and has played 184 ODIs more, allowed himself a chuckle, “It’s a terrific achievement. He’s been around for a long time, it just shows England don’t play as much one-day cricket as some other teams. It will be a big day for him.” Dhoni, who made his debut as late as December 2004 has already played 40 ODIs while Yuvraj Singh, whose first knock in ODIs was in 2000 is already a veteran of 147 ODIs.Lower-order powerOne of the keys to India’s success in limited overs cricket in recent times has been the flexibility in the team thanks to the presence of Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the lower order. What the team lacked, was seriously on the lookout for, was a spin-bowling allrounder. While it is too early to say they have found one in Ramesh Powar, he is certainly well ahead of the remaining contenders. Powar’s fitness goes against him, but then again he has always been heavy, and as Dravid pointed out, is neither as slow across the ground or unfit as his bulk makes him out to be. He has bowled with tremendous skill and guile, changing pace and loop at will, and his fighting half-century in extreme heat in Jamshedpur has gone a long way in putting him the scheme of things.End as you beginWhile every member of both teams will deny that the lead-up to the sixth game was any less intense, a drop in focus is inevitable when there is so little at stake. It’s not quite the same with the last match, though. For England it is the end of long, gruelling tour and in India, the public only seems to remember the last two matches played, so the team could cop some criticism for losing two on the trot despite having sealed the series long ago. In that sense, and with Dravid returning to the helm, the Indians will be pushing hard to end on a high note.Will he? Won’t he?Inevitably the lead-up to a match is full of speculation on who will play and who will not. Dravid has kept his cards close to his chest ever since taking over as captain and today, the final ODI was no different. Speculation is rife on whether Virender Sehwag and/or Mohammad Kaif will rest. Sehwag hinted that he would not be averse to the idea, and with two back-to-back ODIs against Pakistan scheduled for April 18 and 19, the team may well decide to bench one or both and give Robin Uthappa a much-awaited debut. One person likely to play, though is Dinesh Karthik, who has been summoned up specially for this game to give Dhoni a break. If he does not make the cut then India will have to hand either Dravid or Uthappa, who kept wickets a few years back before giving it up to concentrate on his batting, the big gloves, and both options seem unlikely.

As if Darren Gough isn’t busy enough bowling and dancing, now he is set to add singing to his repertoire by appearing in a football World Cup song, Stand up 4 England.Gough, already familiar with the cameras following his triumphant display in Strictly Come Dancing, will sing a line in an unofficial song by pop punk band Koopa.”As a keen football fan myself it’s exciting to be doing my bit for the World Cup cause – albeit in a small way!” Gough told Cricinfo. “Having played in the Cricket World Cup I know what an honour it is to represent your country and I’m looking forward to seeing England having a good run in Germany.”Filming will go ahead at Essex’s ground on Tuesday when Gough will sing the line “Ner, ner, ner, ner” – which could be a prescient statement if he manages to make a comeback for England’s one-day side after detractors wrote him off this winter.Gough himself is confident that his international career isn’t over, and says that the winter break – in which he toned up through dancing – has left him fitter than ever, refreshed and raring to go. “I have to stay fit and be up for the challenge and I am,” he told newspaper. “I’d love to play in the World Cup.”