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A round-up of the final day’s action of the ICC WCL Division Five in Singapore

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2012Hosts Singapore lifted the World Cricket League Division Five trophy, beating neighbours Malaysia by nine wickets in a one-sided final at the Kallang Ground. Both teams have been promoted to Division Four, and will join Nepal, Tanzania, Denmark and the United States of America in the division to be played late this year.Malaysia’s 159 turned out to be woefully inadequate as Singapore, led by Chaminda Ruwan’s unbeaten 91, guided them home in just 26.4 overs. Ruwan smashed 14 fours and a six and shared an unbeaten stand of 118 with Anish Param for the second wicket.Malaysia’s middle order let the side down after the captain Suresh Navaratnam opted to bat. The opener R Madhavan scored 48 to get the team off to a steady start, but Singapore fought back thanks to their legspinner Christopher Janik, who took 3 for 17. Hassan Ghulam resisted with 33 at No.10 but it came a little too late. Malaysia lost their last nine wickets for only 85 runs.Singapore coach Trevor Chappell said: “I am very pleased to have been able to have coached the side to promotion, they’ve worked hard this week and it’s a good group of cricketers from many different backgrounds trying to play as much cricket as they can while also raising families, studying or working full-time.”I have to say our bowler who has stood out for me is Shoaib Razzak, he’s probably my Singapore player of the tournament. Shoaib’s worked really hard on his bowling.”The other two that have shone for me are the opening partnership of Chaminda Ruwan and Chetan Suryawanshi – although Chetan needs to work hard on keeping his head out in the middle, it was frustrating today when he got out early and it would have been nice to have not lost a wicket with the win – they both proved very capable batsmen throughout this week and continue to improve in their performances.”Malaysia’s coach Roy Dias said poor batting had let the side down in the event.”There have been few players that have really performed this week with the bat for us and in my opinion we did well to win the first four matches with the performances we put in. I am disappointed we lost today but our batting and bowling wasn’t up to the mark this week at all and I want to go back to Malaysia and look at the pool of players on offer and start to phase out some of the older members of the squad to help the team develop.”I really expected more from the likes of Suhan Alagaratnam and Ahmed Faiz but perhaps they didn’t have enough match practice ahead of the event. I was pleased with how Sharif Shafiq has performed this week making runs for the side and doing well behind the stumps.”I’m looking forward to Division 4 and facing my former team Nepal, the whole division is going to be tough for Malaysia but I believe we have got what it takes to be there.”3rd Place Play-offIt was a tense finish at the 3rd place play-offs at the Padang as Guernsey sneaked home by one run against Cayman Islands. Jeremy Frith top scored for Guernsey with 57, off 81 balls before he was trapped lbw to Troy Taylor, the right-arm seamer. Taylor took 4 for 50 and he was supported by Ryan Bovell, who took 3 for 41. Cayman Islands though conceded a massive 49 extras, including 32 wides and six no-balls, amounting to just over six extra overs.Guernsey bowled with better discipline and were led by a five-wicket haul by the right-arm seamer David Hooper. Pearson Best was the only batsman to show solid resistance, scoring 79. Conroy Wrght made a patient 39, off 77 balls, but Hooper took two more lower order wickets to help Guernsey sneak home.5th Place Play-offBahrain coasted to a five-wicket win against Argentina in the fifth place play-offs at the Indian Association Ground. Bahrain’s off-spin duo of Adil Hanif and Zafar Zaheer took four wickets each to restrict Argentina to a paltry 139. Argentina featured some of the reserves who had not played in the tournament this week, and the batsmen struggled. Martin Siri’s 26 was the highest individual score in the innings. Hanif followed up his efforts with the ball to hit 38 to set up Bahrain’s easy win. He picked up the Player of the Tournament trophy as well, in addition to his Man-of-the-Match award.

Kemar Roach has become the latest West Indian signing in country cricket and will be joining Worcestershire for the remainder of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2011Kemar Roach has become the latest West Indian signing in county cricket and will be joining Worcestershire for the remainder of the season as they scrap to stay in Division One of the County Championship. Roach will replace Worcestershire’s current overseas international Saeed Ajmal, who is returning to his national side earlier than scheduled next week, to participate in a training camp prior to embarking on Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe.”I am delighted to sign for Worcestershire and to be able to play county cricket for the first time,” said Roach. “Growing up in Barbados, every young cricketer aspired to play for the West Indies and to play county cricket. Many of my heroes like Lara, Walsh and Ambrose spent time in the county game and I view it as a huge challenge.”Even though I am only going to be joining for a short period, I believe this stint gives me the chance to make an impact on the club and on county cricket and hopefully be the start of a long relationship with Worcestershire.”Roach joins Worcestershire on the back of international duty in the Caribbean, having opened the bowling against India and Pakistan earlier this year. In his fledgling career, Roach has taken 40 Test wickets at an average of 29.90, and has a total of 87 first-class wickets in 31 matches.”To have one of the fastest bowlers in the world in our team for the last few games of the season can only be a huge plus factor,” said Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes. “Albeit a short stint, I know that Kemar is determined to make an impact on the county scene.”Ajmal, who arrived at New Road in June, has claimed 36 wickets for the county across all forms of cricket. He leaves as their highest wicket taker in the Clydesdale Bank 40 this season, having taken 11 wickets. His most notable performance came in the recent match against Derbyshire, where he picked up 4 for 24.”We’ve enjoyed Saeed’s involvement with the team and he’s been a model professional both on and off the field,” said Rhodes. “We’d like to thank Saeed for the time he has spent with us, and also for his help in guiding and inspiring some of our younger bowlers. Obviously we were disappointed that he’s had to leave us early but in the hectic international schedule we recognise that international cricket comes first.”

In January this year Paul Harris lost his South Africa contract but he tells ESPNcricinfo he still wants to play for South Africa

Firdose Moonda21-Jun-2011There is a side of Paul Harris not many people know. It’s the side he is lying asleep on in his profile picture on a popular social networking site, with a tiny baby boy tucked into his arm. His young son, Aiden, is eight weeks old and Harris is spending the South African winter learning how to be a hands-on father. That side of Harris is not the side that is looking for a fight, but people probably don’t know much about his aggressive side either.Harris has been South Africa’s defensive spinner in Test cricket for the last four years. The nature of his role called for little confrontation, he usually had to hold up an end and dry up runs. For 37 matches, he did that, earning criticism from some sides, but always the praise of his captain, Graeme Smith and his team-mates and taking 103 wickets in the process.In January this year, Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir became eligible to play for South Africa. A month later, Tahir had played one ODI, against the West Indies in the World Cup and was awarded a national contract. At the same time, Harris lost his. “I was quite surprised when I lost my national contract,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “I was told they [CSA] were looking for a more attacking bowler, but I can’t say there is any bad blood between us.”That explanation means that Harris is faced with the very real possibility of not playing international cricket again and that prospect is what is going to make his fighting side emerge. “I was offered a Kolpak contract about a month ago but I turned it down because I definitely still want to play for South Africa,” he said. In a bid to prove his worth, Harris has left the Lions franchise and gone back to the Titans, where he played when he was first selected for the national team.There, he formed part of a duel-spinner line-up, where, ironically, Tahir was his spin twin. “When Richard Pybus was coaching us, Imran and I bowled a lot together and we won a few trophies.” The Titans won the SuperSport Series three times under Pybus with Harris and Tahir as key bowlers in their attack. Pybus now coaches the Cobras and Tahir has moved to the Dolphins, but Harris hopes to combine with Roelof van der Merwe in similar fashion to the way he did with Tahir.”I really want to help Roelof with his four-day game, which is one of the reasons I am going back to the Titans,” Harris said. van der Merwe has been a regular in the limited-overs line-ups but has not had a consistent run at first-class level. Of the pair, van der Merwe is without doubt the more aggressive, which probably means Harris will have to play a holding role again. That’s exactly the point he is trying to make to the national selectors, that the function of a defensive bowler cannot be underestimated. “The thing is that if you have Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Tahir, they are all attacking so there is no-one to hold up the other end and that’s also important.”Andrew Hudson, convenor of selectors agrees. “We will need someone to keep the other end tight,” he said. “Now we have to decide if that will be a second spinner or a third seamer.” If they go with a third seamer, it cannot be Jacques Kallis, with the focus on managing the all-rounder. Lonwabo Tsotsobe may be tasked with the donkey work or it may be shared between part-time spinners JP Duminy and someone like Jacques Rudolph.The selectors could do worse than turn to Harris, who understands and accepts the job, albeit not the most glamorous one, well. “I really enjoyed the role,” he said. “And I think I could do it again, particularly on the subcontinent, where two spinners is a real option.” The truth is that Harris will do the job on any pitch, home or away, as long as he given the chance.Hudson has not ruled that out. “The door is definitely not shut on him, I still think he has a lot of cricket left in him,” he said. “But emergence of Imran Tahir and some really good performances by spinners at the World Cup has made things a little more difficult for Paul.” New bowling coach Allan Donald also believes Harris isn’t finished yet. “Paul Harris has some real competition, but it’s a good thing. It means he has to fight for his place in the side.”It’s a battle Harris is ready for come the start of the next season. For now, though, he is enjoying his time with Aiden. “I’m being a real at home pops,” he said proudly, but his voice gave away that hint of hope that maybe by the time the summer comes, he won’t have to be.

Newcastle United have successfully been able to turn their latest Premier League season around after being in and around the relegation zone for the first half of the campaign.

Since January, the Magpies have only lost four games in the league, winning 10 and drawing two.

The January transfer window has turned out to have been a crucial period for the Toon as they brought in a number of new players to help get their campaign back on track.

Now that the summer transfer window is on the horizon, this could give the Tyneside club the opportunity to once again make some changes to their squad that they deem necessary ahead of their first full season with PIF in charge.

One figure with whom the Toon have been linked and who could be a vast upgrade on one of their current squad members is Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma.

According to a recent report from The Mirror, the Mali international is on a list of potential summer transfer targets for the Toon.

In terms of what he could offer Howe’s side in comparison to current Magpies midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, the Brighton monster would be a big upgrade in terms of his defensive talents.

With the pair both playing more than 30 games for their respective clubs in the current league campaign, Bissouma has more tackles, pressures, interceptions, blocks and clearances than the Newcastle man.

On the ball, the 25-year-old has made more passes and racked up a higher pass completion percentage (89.7%) than Shelvey (80.2%).

To further highlight the Brighton star’s capabilities on the ball, he has successfully completed 29 dribbles compared to Shelvey’s nine.

Back in September, Bissouma earned hefty praise from Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers, who said of the midfield maestro: “I think he is a top player he does a great job defensively, he can press the game, he is aggressive, he intercepts, he blocks, he tries to get them on the front foot.

“Physically he has good physicality, he gets around the pitch, he is mobile, agile and tactically he looks strong around the game.

“He utilises empty space and technically he is very good, he touches the ball, he passes it, and has good awareness of space.”

Taking all this into account, securing a deal for the £29k-per-week Brighton ace should be at the top of Newcastle’s priorities for the summer transfer window.

In other news: Newcastle eyeing swoop for “cold” £60m machine, he’d be “fabulous” for Howe

Lancashire captain Glen Chapple recorded his 750th first-class wicket for the county on a topsy-turvy opening day of the new season against Sussex at Liverpool

08-Apr-2011Stumps
Scorecard
Glen Chapple struck with both the new and old ball to take five wickets•PA PhotosLancashire captain Glen Chapple recorded his 750th first-class wicket for the county on a topsy-turvy opening day of the new season against Sussex at Liverpool today. Both sides enjoyed periods of dominance in this County Championship Division One clash at a sun-drenched Aigburth ground but the hosts will be happier after being invited to field first by Murray Goodwin.Sussex slumped from 115 for 1 to 243 all out inside 80 overs. While seamer Chapple, 37, finished with 5 for 68 from 23 overs – the 32nd five-wicket haul of his first-class career – Joe Gatting scored a Championship best of 90 and Ed Joyce 84 for the visitors. Tom Smith and Sajid Mahmood also took two wickets each for Lancashire, who closed day one on 32 for 1 from 14 overs.Despite striking with the ball before close, Sussex will be disappointed to have let such commanding start with the bat on a sporting pitch go to waste. The hosts fought their way back during an entertaining afternoon session which yielded five wickets for 50 runs, including a spell of three for six in 26 balls. Allrounder Smith had a hand in all three wickets that fell quickly.He trapped Joyce and overseas bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan leg before as well as pouching a catch at second slip to get rid of wicketkeeper Ben Brown off the bowling of Oliver Newby.Chapple claimed the first three wickets of the day. He had Chris Nash lbw in the seventh over before uprooting Luke Wells’ off stump in the fifth after lunch. He also forced Goodwin to slash to Steven Croft at point. Joyce, who faced 166 balls, shared a second wicket partnership of 80 with Wells (35) and Gatting later shared an important stand of 56 for the seventh wicket with Naved Arif to advance the score from 165 for 6.Joyce stroked the first ball of the day back down the ground for four off Chapple and looked particularly strong in that region and also through the covers. Arif took 37 balls to get off the mark but proved a valuable partner for Gatting during his 122-ball knock, including 11 boundaries.When Arif departed lbw to Chapple – the landmark wicket – the score was 221 for 7 in the 71st over and Chapple completed his five-for thanks to a super diving catch by Smith at second slip to account for Jimmy Anyon in the 77th. Mahmood wrapped up the innings when he had Gatting caught behind by Gareth Cross off a top edge and Amjad Khan caught at first slip by Paul Horton.Left-arm quick bowler Arif then bowled Horton for 17 to leave Lancashire at 25 for 1 in the tenth over of their first innings. Stephen Moore and night-watchman Gary Keedy will resume tomorrow.

In a thrilling final, Usman Salahuddin hit a four off the last ball to give Lahore Ealges a one-wicket win against Khan Research Laboratories at the National Stadium in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a thrilling final, Usman Salahuddin hit a four off the last ball to give Lahore Eagles a one-wicket win against Khan Research Laboratories at the National Stadium in Karachi. Lahore needed three to win off the last ball and seamer Mohammad Irfan pitched short. Salahuddin pulled it away to the midwicket boundary and took his side to the title.With seventeen required off the last seven balls, KRL were favourites, but Lahore’s No. 11 Emmad Ali hit the first ball he faced to long-off for four and then cleared the same boundary off the second ball of the final over. Emmad turned the strike back to Salahuddin, who was not out on 50, and he only managed two off the next two balls. But he held his nerve to take the required runs off the last ball.Lahore’s chase was looking on course, as they reached 200 for 2, with Hamza Paracha batting on 109. Parcha fell in the 39th over and the wickets kept falling as Lahore tried to keep up with the required rate. Mohammad Irfan took four wickets in his five-over spell between overs 41 and 50, giving him five for the match, and the required rate had gone up to 10.66 with three overs remaining. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Asif hit two fours in the 48th over before falling to Irfan, and then Emmad and Salahuddin did the job in the last two overs.Paracha set the base for Lahore’s chase with a measured innings and he was given company by first Mohammad Hamza, who made 24, Rana Adnan, who made 36, and then Salahuddin.KRL’s innings had got off to a slow start, and they found themselves 80 for 3 after 20 overs. Bazid Khan and Ali Naqvi concentrated on ones and twos, hitting only one boundary between overs 19 and 31. Naqvi got boundaries of each of the next overs and then smashed spinner Kashif Nizami for consecutive boundaries through the covers in the 34th over. There was another lull in the scoring before Bazid Khan took on legspinner Saad Nasim in the 40th over, smashing him over long-on for six to reach his half-century and then hitting him for a four to long-on off the next ball.Bazid was out two overs later, hitting Asif into the hands of long-off, but Naqvi, who had already got his half-century, kicked on. Naqvi smashed three boundaries in the 45th over, got to his century with a six in the 47th, and got a four and a six off the first two balls of the 48th, before becoming Nasim’s second wicket off the last ball of that over. Nasim went on to take three more wickets in the last over of the innings to fnish with figures of 5 for 55, but KRL had taken 90 runs of the last ten overs. Their total of 281, though, didn’t prove enough in the end.

Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2011Shakib Al Hasan, who was axed as Bangladesh captain on Monday, has said that though he was surprised by the decision, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Both Shakib and vice-captain Tamim Iqbal were stripped of their leadership posts by the Bangladesh board after the team’s defeat in both the Test and the one-day series in Zimbabwe last month.”I am surprised by the sudden decision but I am not shocked. I can take things easy which is my strength,” Shakib told the Dhaka-based newspaper . “The board definitely took this decision for betterment of the game, so I must accept it.”Shakib, 25, has been Bangladesh’s captain for two years, except for brief spells when the frequently injured fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza took charge. Shakib was named captain for 2011 after leading the side to an impressive 4-0 one-day series win over New Zealand at home and following it up with a victory over Zimbabwe late last year.It hasn’t been a smooth ride for Shakib as captain. In December 2010, soon after he was named full-time captain, he complained that he wasn’t prepared for the job and that he was not getting a free hand in selecting the team. He also demanded a long run as captain and didn’t want to take over on a “series-by-series” basis as the board wanted him to. He also had a strained relationship with the new selection panel headed by former captain Akram Khan, with Shakib saying he wasn’t consulted when the side to tour Zimbabwe was picked, while Akram insisted Shakib was.The controversies and the loss to Zimbabwe, a team which was making its return to the Test arena after five years, seem to have led to Shakib’s sacking. “As a captain I must take the responsibility for the poor showing in Zimbabwe,” he said. “But still I believe that we had lack of preparation and that was one of the main reasons behind the debacle.”Shakib said the board needs to investigate the reasons behind the Zimbabwe failure. “You see in our country everywhere we make someone scapegoat for any failure because we don’t want to dig deep to find out the real problem and this is no exception,” he said. “This is our system. We always try to solve problems casually.”No replacements have yet been named for Shakib and Tamim.

A round-up of the second day’s action of Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2012
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Shrikant Mundhe scored a half-century but Tamil Nadu gained a first-innings in Chennai•K SivaramanTamil Nadu’s bowlers had rescued the side on the first day, and on the second they did their specialist job to bowl out Maharashtra for 233 and gain the first-innings lead in Chennai. L Balaji did the early damage, getting the first three wickets to fall. Opener Harshad Khadiwale was bowled by Balaji for 15 and his partner Chirag Khurana was caught behind for 2. Balaji also got rid of Nikhil Paradkar and soon Maharashtra were in big trouble at 41 for 4.Maharashtra’s revival began through Sangram Atitkar and Kedhar Jadhav’s 53-run stand, but both were dismissed within 15 runs of each other. When Jadhav, who made a triple-century in the previous match, was stumped by Dinesh Karthik off Malolan Rangarajan, Maharashtra were 109 for 6 and Tamil Nadu were looking at a huge lead. They hadn’t bargained for the seventh-wicket stand between Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani and Shrikant Mundhe though. The two added 98 to briefly threaten to put Maharashtra in the lead, but Motwani was lbw to J Kaushik after which Tamil Nadu polished off the tail.
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Uttar Pradesh completed their first task of taking the first-innings lead against Karnataka in Meerut, but three second-innings wickets late in the day boosted the visitors. Karnataka’s batting floundered either side of a 93-run stand between Manish Pandey and Amit Verma for the fourth wicket. The pair came together at 28 for 3 after the settled top order of Robin Uthappa, KB Pawan and Ganesh Satish flopped. Both Pandey and Verma hit half-centuries but both were dismissed soon after, and Karnataka’s lower order folded to the pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Imtiaz Ahmed.In what is shaping up to be a low-scoring match, UP grabbed a substantial 102-run lead. However, in the 22 overs before stumps, they lost three wickets, including the important one of Suresh Raina, who made his second low score of the match.
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After bowling out Haryana for 66 on the first day, Odisha couldn’t bat them out of the game with a big first innings score, but still remained well in control of the game at Rohtak. Mohit Sharma took the wicket he needed to complete his five-for, and none of the Odisha batsman went on to make half-centuries as their side was bowled out for 219, still a handy lead of 153.Haryana fared much better in their second innings, though their openers both fell in the first five overs. Another chance of a reprise of the first innings was ruled out as Sunny Singh and Abhimanyu Khod added 50 runs for the third wicket. Khod ended the day unbeaten on 56, and he steered Haryana to 165 for 5, still only a lead of 12 runs.
Scorecard
Baroda, led by centuries from captain Ambati Rayudu and Abhimanyu Chauhan, continued to pile on the runs against a listless Delhi attack, reaching 525 for seven at stumps on the second day. There were no signs of declaration and it now seems a foregone conclusion that the visitors will be playing for three points on a track that is getting slower. Baroda will back themselves, given Delhi’s inconsistent batting over the last two games. Read the full report.

Everton have had an awful 2021/22 campaign thus far – with the Toffees embroiled in a tough relegation battle, and Frank Lampard trying everything he can to keep the club from dropping into the Championship next season.

Many players have already been linked with moves away from Goodison Park following their disappointing campaign in the Premier League, with Richarlison, in particular, heavily speculated to leave the club this summer.

With that being said, the Toffees boss must exercise some damage control when it comes to keeping the team together – no matter the outcome at the end of the season – and now another player is reportedly being lined up for a move away from the club.

The Daily Mail reported this week that Manchester United are targeting the Everton centre-back for a move to Old Trafford, with the youngster catching the eye of the 20-time Premier League title winners.

The 19-year-old has made just six appearances for the senior team across all competitions this term, with his most notable performance coming in his first Premier League outing of 2021/22 – scoring in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge under Rafa Benitez.

Branthwaite was hailed “fabulous” by Glen Hoddle following this display, and Benitez was also full of praise for the young defender, stating: “He showed character and he’s a player who has potential. Always with the young players, you have to be careful but you have to give them a chance if it is possible.”

Since Frank Lampard has taken over from the Spaniard, Branthwaite has been given three opportunities to prove he has what it takes to compete for a spot in the Everton backline, and his defensive statistics speak for themselves.

The 6ft5 tank has understandably used his height to impose himself on opponents, winning 67% of his aerial duels, as well as making an average of 3.3 clearances and 0.8 tackles per game.

He has also averaged an 81% pass accuracy inside his half, proving he can be a threat and offer presence for the Toffees.

Ultimately, Lampard must avoid a disaster in losing the £5.1k-per-week defender this summer, as sanctioning the sale of one of the club’s most promising up and coming talents may well be a decision that the Goodison Parkfaith never forgive the 43-year-old for.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Everton dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Liverpool, Lamps will be gutted

Ricky Ponting has revealed Shaun Marsh’s elevation to No. 3 in the Australian Test batting order was a “long-term plan” of the captain Michael Clarke

Daniel Brettig10-Oct-2011Ricky Ponting has revealed Shaun Marsh’s elevation to No. 3 in the Australian Test batting order was a “long-term plan” of the captain Michael Clarke. Ponting said he was happy to move down to No. 4 for as long as he keeps on playing.As he prepared for a rare Sheffield Shield appearance with Tasmania against Western Australia at the WACA, Ponting spoke frankly of the Test batting order, which has been shuffled to accommodate Marsh at three while Ponting, Clarke and Michael Hussey all slip one spot.Clarke’s vision for the team has so far been made clear, as he is equally adamant that the vice-captain Shane Watson will not be moving down the order from his demanding position as an opening batsman and allrounder.”It was a long-term plan of Michael’s to have Shaun move to No. 3 and me move to No.4 and Michael move to five and Huss to six,” Ponting told reporters in Perth. “So that wasn’t just something I don’t think as a one-off for that game. Michael sees that in the best interests of the team going forward for a period of time. So I’ll be three this week, probably three in the one-dayers in South Africa and then probably drop back to four for the Test matches.”When I first came into the Australian side, batting at six was hard. Waiting that amount of time to bat for me was something that was very foreign to me. But three to four I don’t think is as big a change as three to six, or it certainly wasn’t in the last Test because I was in pretty early both times. Slight adjustment. It just gives me a little bit more time once our fielding’s over to get my head around what I have to do to bat.”Ponting also spoke of the state of flux the team is presently in while Cricket Australia decides on a range of appointments recommended by the Argus review. The position of team performance manager must be finalised first, allowing the appointee to have a say in the choices of coach, national selector and part-time selectors.This means that Clarke will go to South Africa with plenty of weight on his shoulders regarding decision-making, for the interim coach Troy Cooley has flagged his lack of experience as a selector and also an unwillingness to make any lasting changes to the set-up run with mixed results by the departed head coach Tim Nielsen over the past four years.”Unfortunately at the moment the way things are working out a lot more of the responsibility is going to come back on the captain for this next tour,” Ponting said. “So it’s important that the captain, the vice-captain and probably the senior players do as much as we can around the group on this trip.”Troy’s been around the group for a long time and understands everyone really well, but he’s sort of been thrust into that selection role at the moment as well which is something very foreign to him. We’ll make do with the best we can. It’s probably not an ideal situation, but we knew that a long way out and the boys have been playing that way so everything should work out fine.”Ponting said many of the changes wrought by the Argus review were designed to lessen the load on the captain, but reckoned the short-term would be difficult for Clarke while the new positions were filled and settled into.”Having been there and done that in the past you want to be able to focus on your cricket and the team’s demands and probably not much outside of that if you can,” Ponting said. “That’s why a lot of these roles are changing, to take a bit of that strain if you like off the captain. It’s hard enough work when you’re just out there being the captain and worrying about your own game rather than everything else that goes with it. We’ll see how it goes, but he [Clarke] understands he’s got great support from all his team-mates around him.”Ponting’s appearances for Tasmania, who won the Shield in his absence last summer, would not be quite so rare if the schedule was balanced to ensure the strongest domestic competitions possible, something the Argus review also recommended.”With the Australian summer as packed as it is internationally-wise, it just makes it too hard for the international players to play state cricket,” Ponting said. “We’d all like the chance to be able to do that a bit more. I know the states and even our clubs would probably appreciate it if we can get back and spend more time around the next crop of potential international players.”While Hussey is missing the match after his time at the Champions League Twenty20, Ponting said he was never in any doubt for the fixture, and flatly rejected all reports to the contrary.”Some confusion’s probably happened as a result of our leave dates being changed, the coach at the time of the Australian team in Sri Lanka had ruled us out because the leave date was different than it is at the moment,” Ponting said. “As it turns out I only found out on Thursday that I was playing the game but I’ve been excited about the chance to play the game.”