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Steve Harmison: a vote of confidence from the coach © Getty Images

Steve Harmison looks set to be included in England’s Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka next month, after receiving the backing of the team coach, Peter Moores.Harmison, who underwent a hernia operation in July, is currently playing for the Highveld Lions in South Africa in a bid to recapture his form ahead of the three Tests in Kandy, Colombo and Galle.Though he returned an impressive nine-wicket haul against the Cape Cobras last week, Harmison confessed to a touch of rustiness after sending down a familiar spate of wides and no-balls. There had been some speculation in the British media that he would remain on the sidelines, but Moores – speaking to BBC radio – quashed that notion.”I’ve spoken to Steve this morning, and we hope he will be joining us for a good tour,” Moores told Radio 5 Live. “I don’t think it is a make-or-break tour at all. He has a lot of cricket left in him.”Earlier in the week, Moores explained the reasons for Harmison’s two-match spell with Highveld Lions. “He’s in South Africa to prove three things. Physically, can his body take bowling in competitive cricket? Secondly can he get that bowling fitness he needs and, finally, can he be in the form he’ll need to be in Sri Lanka?”He had a tough last season,” said Moores. “He struggled for form early on, then started to find some form, then got injured and missed the rest of the season, which was obviously disappointing for him.”This is the reason why he is in South Africa now – he hasn’t bowled competitively for quite a long time. Sri Lanka will be a tough, short tour, we need everybody to be ready to go at the start of that trip.”

South Africa 248 for 8 (Kallis 119*) beat India 91 (Tendulkar 35, Nel 4-13, Kallis 3-3, Pollock 2-17) by 157 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Makhaya Ntini got some disconcerting bounce in his first spell and set the pattern for India’s undoing © Getty Images

South Africa rode on a controlled unbeaten 119 by Jacques Kallis and somefiery bowling from their seamers to crush India by 157 runs in the secondone-day international of the five-match series at Durban. Kallis’s century- his 14th in ODIs, but his first against India – lifted South Africa to acompetitive 248 for 8, before their fast bowlers exposed the frailties ofthe Indian line-up once again, bundling them out for an embarrassing 91,their lowest ODI total in South Africa.A target of 249 wasn’t a huge one, but at the innings break Kallis wasconfident his team would win, and justified his curiously slow approach inthe second half of his innings by saying South Africa had enough runs onthe board. The events later in the evening completely justified hisconfidence.The pitch was a lively one, offering bounce and some seam movement, andexcept for Sachin Tendulkar, who made a fluent 35, none of the otherbatsmen were equipped to deal with either. Shaun Pollock homed in aroundoff like he always does, Makhaya Ntini got it to bounce significantly fromjust short of a length, while Andre Nel enjoyed himself the most, nailingTendulkar, and finally finishing with 4 for 13, while Kallis completed agreat day at office with incredible figures of 3 for 3 from 4.1 overs.The slide started early, when Wasim Jaffer, making his ODI debut, lastedjust three ball, chopping one back on to his stumps. Mohammad Kaif madejust 8, but while he was around India added 39, with Tendulkar – who became the most capped ODI player with 371 games – showing hisclass. Getting into line and crisply timing his punches through the offside, Tendulkar got the huge Indian contingent at Kingsmead going withsome vintage strokeplay as India progressed to 55 for 2 after 15, withRahul Dravid offering him good support.Two overs after the drinks break changed the complexion completely, asDravid and Tendulkar fell in the space of three balls. Dravid fell first,beaten comprehensively by a sharp indipper from Charl Langeveldt, whileTendulkar followed soon after, inside-edging one off Nel, who has made ahabit of nailing the biggest opposition batsman – he has dismissed BrianLara 11 times in international cricket.From there, it was one quick procession back to the pavilion, as none ofthe batsmen had any clue as to how to handle the bounce and pace. SureshRaina and Dinesh Mongia edged to the slip cordon, Mahendra Singh Dhonicouldn’t get his gloves out of the way, while the tail was simply no matchfor the fiery bowling.

Jacques Kallis’s 19th ODI century – his first against India – helped South Africa set India a competitive target of 249 © AFP

The batsmen might have done well to pick a few tips on batting fromKallis, who batted quite magnificently in the early stages of his inningswhen the Indian attack was on top. He came to the crease in the secondover, after Graeme Smith was trapped plumb by comeback-man Zaheer Khan,and immediately got into his stride, showing impeccable technique indefence and attack. Quick to capitalize on even marginal errors in length,he stroked sumptuous drives through cover and point off either foot. Thedismissals of Loots Bosman and Herschelle Gibbs gave the Indians hope,but that was quickly shut out by Kallis’s 87-run stand with AB deVilliers, who contributed a spunky 41.The highlight of de Villiers’s innings was the manner in which hedismantled Harbhajan Singh, employing the sweep shot quite superbly. Hewas particularly destructive in Harbhajan’s fifth over, sweeping him finefor four, then tonking him over midwicket for six and rattling Harbhajanso much that he fired his next ball down the leg and conceded five wides.That onslaught meant the runs kept coming at a fast clip even thoughKallis slowed down significantly – after getting 54 off his first 71balls, he only added 51 in his next 80. Kallis’s sluggish approach forcedthe other batsmen to take more risks and prompted a rush of wickets asIndia fought back in the middle overs, with Tendulkar – none for 33 fromnine overs – doing a sterling job and making up for the lack of aspecialist fifth bowler.Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp and Pollock all failed as South Africa slumpedto 209 for 7, but they had their man for their moment in Nel, who hada blast with the bat as well, crashing 22 from 12 balls. Kallis uppedthe tempo too, allowing South Africa to get up to nearly 250. As it turnedout later in the evening, they could have done with much lesser than that.

Scorecard

Mark Cosgrove hit 71 but ended up on the losing side © Getty Images

Western Australia (WA) sauntered to a comfortable six-wicket victory against South Australia (SA) in the ING Cup at the Adelaide Oval on November 12. Shaun Marsh (63) and Adam Vogues (56) put on an unbeaten 116 runs for the fifth wicket to chase down the target inside 40 overs and thus earn a bonus point. SA were restricted to a paltry 190 by Brad Williams (4 for 35) and Brett Dorey (2 for 25) .Williams, who came in as second change, troubled the batsmen with his pace and along with Dorey, engineered a collapse in the middle as SA lost four wickets for eight runs in four overs to slip from 1 for 73 to 5 for 81. Mark Cosgrove (71) added 41 for the sixth-wicket with Cameron Borgas, who came in as the Supersub to replace the tailender Paul Rofe, to help stem the rot before dragging a wide delivery on to his stumps. Test discard Jason Gillespie chipped in with a valuable 42 to lift his side to 190 but it was never going to be enough to test the strong WA batting line-up.WA in its reply faltered losing early wickets, including Adam Gilchrist who was run-out for 16 and Mike Hussey for 9, to reach 4 for 77 before Marsh and Vogues took them home. Gillespie, fighting for a Test comeback, went for over fifty runs and had to be contended with just one wicket.Marsh tonked two sixes and a four off the 39th over, bowled by Dan Cullen, to ensure that WA earned a valuable bonus point.

The following is a media release issued by the International Cricket CouncilThe ICC hearing into allegations of racism in Zimbabwe cricket has been adjourned for the day after the panel investigating the allegations ruled that three members of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union who had allegations levelled against them should not be allowed into the proceedings during the recording of certain evidence.India’s Solicitor General, Goolam Vahanvati, and South African High Court Judge, Steve Majiedt made the ruling after hearing submissions from the players to have the officials excluded from parts of the hearing.”There is before this panel a rather unusual and unprecedented application made on behalf of the players,” said the panel in its ruling.”We are at the stage when the evidence of the players is about to start. The players apply that whilst their evidence is being recorded, three members of the ZCU Board should not remain present in the room. They may remain in the Hotel, they say, whilst the evidence is being recorded and may rejoin the proceedings after the players evidence is concluded, but they insist that during the time their evidence is being recorded, these three persons should not remain present.”They base this application on the apprehension that they would feel intimidated by these persons and that they would feel threatened by the presence of these persons.”The ZCU strenuously opposes this application. They submit that the fears are entirely unjustified. The allegations are known and have been made earlier. They feel that the exclusion of such persons would prejudice the handling of their case and would be contrary to natural justice.”We have given anxious consideration to this application. Prima facie, we are of the opinion that the apprehensions expressed by the players do not seem to be justified. It cannot be forgotten that the players themselves concede that what the players will say has already been said substantially before.”Besides, all the persons concerned, both the players and the ZCU have had a long association together and have interacted closely. In this view of the matter, we would have been inclined not to allow this application, but we find ourselves in a difficult situation.”We asked Mr Venturas to indicate what his clients would do if the application were not allowed. He indicated that on the basis of the available instructions from his clients, he could not make any commitment. We have been shown an article published today which quotes the players as stating that they will withdraw from this enquiry if a person is allowed to sit in the hearings.”In the circumstances, we are left with no choice but to request the three persons not to be present in the room while the player’s evidence is being recorded.”We do so making it clear that this request is made only with a view to ensuring that the investigation proceeds further and does not in any way amount to our acceptance of the correctness of the allegations made and of the apprehensions expressed.”After handing down the ruling, the panel adjourned the hearing for the day to allow both parties to consider the decision before resuming the proceedings tomorrow morning.

In last month’s Sri Lanka triangular featuring three evenly matched sides, Pakistan came out a close second – quite an achievement for a team full of inexperienced youngsters.Their earlier win in Sharjah had received gentle praise with most critics reserving judgment till the Pakistan team, revamped after a dismal World Cup, faced quality opposition. The Bank Alfalah Cup provided that test as Pakistan was pitted against Sri Lanka and New Zealand under rather trying conditions in Dambulla.Cricket in Sri Lanka is normally a feast of runs on placid tracks but bowler-friendly conditions in Dambulla were a total surprise. All three teams struggled to get past 200 runs on most occasions and only Pakistan managed to breach that barrier.Dambulla’s swing, seam and spin had another down side for Pakistan’s batsmen as it exposed their technique – most of them will have to put in lots of effort to cope in England.Taufeeq Umar, already under pressure, failed and was dealt a severe blow by being left out of the upcoming England tour. A left-handed opener is always important but Taufeeq’s one-day technique coupled with some poor shot selection leading to his downfall. His preference for dragging balls to leg rather than driving through covers has let him down too often.Mohammad Hafeez’s batting at the top was also disappointing and even in his 53 against Sri Lanka he showed little intent to get on with the game, failing to pick up singles when the going was tough. The coach needs to remind him to place the ball and rotate the strike.This tournament proved the need for a genuine fast-scoring left-hand opener and Imran Farhat fits that bill nicely. Pakistan’s excruciatingly slow starts pressurised Youhana and Younis Khan to go for runs without settling in properly. But Imran Nazir, a right-hand batsman, has been chosen for the NatWest Challenge against England.Imran could help with quick runs if, indeed, chief selector Aamer Sohail’s strange reasoning comes true: “Besides, [Imran] is not only a popular choice of the followers of the game,” said Sohail, “but we also tested him in the nets on Monday evening. He looked in good nick.” Pakistan fans hope his slashing at balls outside off and those shades of Shahid Afridi have gone after being left out in the cold for a while. But it does mean that Pakistan head to England with an all right-hand batting line-up; something not quite ideal for diversity.The middle order looks in good shape and Shoaib Malik has been outstanding after his return to international cricket. He has blended perfectly into the squad as a genuine batting allrounder and has the ability to rotate strike as well as hit big shots when required. He paces his innings well and is ideal for the No. 6 position.All too often, Pakistan has promoted a lower-order batsman to open the innings or bat No. 3 after one or two good innings. They would be well advised to not repeat this with Shoaib Malik – he and Rashid Latif may come in very handy in England if the habit of top-order crashes continues.The bowlers impressed in Dambulla but Mohammad Sami’s lack of control over extras remained shocking. He needs to get into the nets and work out a solution, or England will be handed a bounty in conditions that are already sure to be alien to the young team.Shoaib Akhtar was brilliant in the league games, but to the detriment of the team he sat out the final after yet more problems of his own making. The ball-tampering issue needs to be looked at closely as this is not helping Pakistan’s image one iota.For the NatWest Challenge, the selectors have made another correct move in dropping the out-of-form Faisal Iqbal, but Razzaq’s omission has raised eyebrows. It is claimed that he is fatigued and needs to recharge his batteries, but a couple of days later he was back playing county cricket. To add fuel to the fire, media reports claim Razzaq was left out because of his attitude, despite originally being included in the squad. He was lacklustre in Sri Lanka and showed a vulnerability against spin, but against an English attack of mostly medium-quick bowlers he would have been quite an asset. Is Pakistan cricket again sounding a discordant note after all the post-World Cup clean-up hype?Azhar Mahmood and a newcomer, Bilal Asad, have plugged this gap. While Azhar’s recall is understandable after his performances in county cricket, the selection of a youngster for a mere three-match series does not make much sense. Azhar will obviously be the first-choice replacement but Bilal’s likely duty may be to carry out gloves and drinks. It would have been better to blood him during the Bangladesh tour later this year.The unfortunate Naved-ul-Hasan again missed out after an impressive debut in Sharjah. He is a handy medium pacer and a talented batsman who has been tried and tested at the international level – yet another Pakistan-style twist for such a crucial tour.Misbah-ul-Haq and Imran Nazir will have an ideal chance for permanent spots if they can impress the selectors, still desperate to remedy the chronic lack of top-order candidates. Mohammad Hafeez is struggling at the top and just managing to squeeze in because of his allround capabilities.Pakistan’s performance in Sri Lanka can be dubbed more than satisfactory because the youngsters proved they could match top teams and most showed grit under trying conditions. The young brigade was under close scrutiny and did well enough to deserve further chances, rather than a reversion to some of the axed seniors.The most pleasing sight was Pakistan’s team spirit and even in the final, the side went down fighting.Ed: If readers wish to correspond with the author, please email Taha Noor

New Zealand Test spinner Daniel Vettori has been taken to Canberra Hospital with a severe leg injury following a fall in the three-day match against the ACTPresident’s X1 at Manuka Oval.Vettori fell heavily while attempting a catch off his own bowling when ACT batsman Matthew Phelps drove a ball straight back to him on the last ball ofthe 18th over.After a five-minute break in the game, Vettori was stretchered from the ground in pain, with his right lower leg heavily strapped.NZ officials are awaiting diagnosis of his problem but it seems a damaging blow with the first Test in Brisbane due to start early next month.At lunch, Phelps is 37 not out and Jack Smith’s 28 with the ACT one for 68 from 32 overs.Chris Cairns, returning from an eight-month lay-off from cricket due to a knee injury, has the only wicket, that of Corey Richards in the fifth over for just one run.

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, was in New York when he read headlines about Adil Rashid’s record-breaking first-innings drought in Abu Dhabi. By the time he had flown back over the Atlantic, Rashid had made history of a far more positive kind and Moxon always believed he would have the character to bounce back.When Rashid claimed 5 for 64 in Pakistan’s second innings – leaving England a target of 99 in 19 overs which they were only unable to reach due to fading light – it was the first five-wicket haul by an English legpsinner in more than half a century since Tommy Greenhough against India in 1959. In a remarkable tale, it followed the most expensive figures for a Test debutant of 0 for 163 over the first two days as Pakistan made 523 for 8.”When I woke up in New York and saw the headlines ‘worst-ever debut figures’ you felt for the lad,” Moxon, who returned home to news of the five-wicket haul, told ESPNcricinfo. “But it showed what he’s about to get a five-for in his second innings. I’m delighted for him.”Pakistan winning the toss on what, for four and a half days was an exceedingly docile pitch, combined to give Rashid the toughest of starts. However, Yorkshire, led by the backroom set-up of Moxon and head coach Jason Gillespie, have invested a lot of time in building Rashid’s confidence and even before he broke his duck with the wicket of Younis Khan there were signs of him finding his feet as he came within millimetres from finding Mohammad Hafeez’s edge.Adil Rashid had a taxing first innings in Abu Dhabi but came back strongly•Getty Images

“In the last couple of years he’s matured massively as a person and as a cricketer, he’s got to know his own game and what works for him,” Moxon said. “A big part of the last two years with myself and Jason, what we’ve been trying to drum into him is trust what he knows works for him and encouraging him to spin the ball. As long as he’s doing that he’ll be in the game.”It’s as simple as we’ve tried to keep it with him. It’s got to that point where he does trust that now and hopefully that showed yesterday.”Rashid first played for England in 2009, earning five ODI caps and five T20 outings, before falling by the wayside, which was followed by three seasons from 2011-2013 where his first-class bowling average was in the low-to-mid-40s. However, Moxon always trusted that, in the long run, Rashid’s natural talent would shine through and his revival came to the fore in 2014 when he claimed 49 first-class wickets at 24.81.That propelled him into the squad for the tour of West Indies earlier this year although he did not play any of the three Tests following a difficult warm-up match. His one-day comeback was against Ireland, at a damp Dublin in May where he did not bowl before the rain came, but he played all 10 matches against New Zealand and Australia. He went wicketless in the first two-day warm-up match on this tour, but chipped in with three in the second to ensure there were no last-minute wobbles from the selectors this time.”We’d seen enough, and he’s seen enough in himself even during the years when the consistency wasn’t there, that there was the ability to take wickets and produce a matchwinning performance,” Moxon said. “It’s never been a case that ‘it’s a waste of time’ because the ability has always been there.”One by-product of Rashid’s success is that Yorkshire are having to plan for the likelihood that they won’t see much of him next year. He was part of England’s Ashes squads throughout the summer without playing, which restricted him to seven Championship matches, and Yorkshire signed offpsinner James Middlebrook to help fill the void. However, Moxon hopes a longer-term solution will come from a youngster within the county’s impressive youth system.”We’ve seen this coming since he was picked against West Indies even though he didn’t play there,” he said. “We are planning not to see much of him going forward. We hope to fill that from within so it’s an important winter for our young spinners and hopefully they can step up.”

As reported by The Mirror, Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is growing disillusioned with his lack of game time under Jose Mourinho this season and it’s a situation that could come to a head during the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

Rashford has found starting opportunities hard to come by recently, making Mourinho’s starting eleven just five times in the club’s last 15 matches in all competitions.

Making 43 appearances in total this season, nearly half of them have come from the bench and it’s a situation that is troubling the 20-year-old.

That’s according to The Mirror, who say that he may not even be at the club next season if Jose Mourinho is still in charge, such is the player’s desire to play from the start of matches regularly.

Rated at £45m by Transfermarkt, is his future best served elsewhere or should he concentrate on convincing his manager he is worth a regular game?

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A learning process

With 12 goals and 9 assists so far this season, Rashford has certainly still contributed a fair amount to United’s campaign, even with limited minutes on the pitch.

In the first half of the season he was particularly impressive before finding his action limited more and more to substitute appearances with the arrival of Alexis Sanchez.

At 20 years old though, the amount of football he is getting at a massive club like the Red Devils is still quite impressive and he is likely learning and improving all the time under the guidance of Mourinho.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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He has plenty of time to leave a legacy at the club and although being impatient to play is a good sign, there’s little point in looking for a move away when there is so much to achieve at Old Trafford.

His performance against Liverpool last month demonstrated he can still be deadly when given the chance that’s unlikely something to be forgotten by the United boss next term.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Junaid Khan dismissed Chris Gayle off the first ball of the match•AFP

Peshawar Zalmi’s bowling attack had another fine night as they smothered Lahore Qalandars to 117 for 6 to set up a nine-wicket victory.With Chris Gayle, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali and Dwayne Bravo, Lahore have arguably the best batting line-up in the Pakistan Super League. But Peshawar had the upper hand right from the first ball – Junaid Khan went full and straight and Gayle’s stumps went for a toss. Two deliveries later, Cameron Delport was run out for a duck courtesy a direct hit from Shahid Yousuf at mid-on. Azhar (31), Akmal (21) and Bravo (32) helped Lahore last the full quota of overs. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar picked up 2 for 11 and an economy rate of 2.75. Shahid Afridi, the captain, finished with 0 for 18 from his four overs.A required rate less than run-a-ball in the chase was never going to be a problem and it proved so as Peshawar openers Tamim Iqbal (55*) and Mohammad Hafeez (43) knocked off 80% of the target. They added 95 in 68 balls and the remaining 23 runs were secured with ease.

Phil Jaques is confident he knows what plans Trevor Bayliss will use against him © Getty Images

One of Trevor Bayliss’ tasks as Sri Lanka’s coach is working out a way to ruin the international re-entry of a player he worked so hard with to earn an Australian spot. Phil Jaques, who will open with Matthew Hayden on Thursday, has been closely monitored by Bayliss since he was in the New South Wales Under-19 squad and the pair was operating together in the state’s senior team as recently as March.Sri Lanka enlisted Bayliss as Tom Moody’s replacement three months later and his jump into the international arena was made more interesting by his intimate knowledge of Australia’s Sydney-based contingent of Jaques, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee and Stuart MacGill. Jaques has been a stop-gap measure in two Tests but he has a chance for an extended run after being promoted into Justin Langer’s old position. Bayliss is trying to make him fail.Jaques, 28, has been a strong performer at state and county level, where he has picked up more than 10,000 first-class runs, but his performances under Bayliss at New South Wales have been responsible for the elevation. Both men were cautious about what tactics would be employed during the two-match series.”It’s going to be interesting,” Jaques said. “I’ve had a lot to do with Trevor over the last few years. I’m sure he’ll have a few plans and I’m sure I’ll know those plans. I guess it’s just a matter of who is better on the day.”He smirked when he refused to divulge his weaknesses and Bayliss expected Jaques to smile when he sees Mahela Jayawardene’s fields. “But he faces those types of settings and bowling week in, week out,” Bayliss said. “He’s also played a lot of Sri Lankan guys in county cricket and they’re aware of how he plays.” Muttiah Muralitharan has bowled to Jaques twice in England and Chaminda Vaas, who should take the new ball, has been another opponent.Bayliss started his hands-on role with Sri Lanka three months ago, but he is struggling to move away from his allegiance to the state he played with in 58 first-class matches before progressing to coaching. “Hopefully the New South Wales boys do well,” he said, “and the Sri Lankan boys win the Test.”Jaques is being helped by his new team-mates against his old ally. He has received a lot of support in the lead-up to the game and on Monday a call came from Langer telling him to enjoy the experience. Hayden, Langer’s former partner, has assisted the settling-in process by staying close to Jaques and chatting with him about Sri Lanka’s bowlers. “I can’t wait to bat with him,” Jaques said, “and I hope we can develop into something special as a partnership.”Australia’s training over the past two days has had a new feel with Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Langer missing and the fresher faces of Jaques and Mitchell Johnson joining the regime. In his previous appearances in the squad Jaques has been the temp, but with the prospect of a long stay he is already looking to enhance the team’s reputation.”There’s definitely an added excitement in the camp and I’m looking forward to playing with the new guys,” he said. “Hopefully there’ll be a new-found energy and hopefully we can go even higher.” Bayliss has similar goals for his new outfit.