Kepler Wessels, the former South Africa captain, is believed to have expressed his interest in the job of India coach. A report in said Wessels contacted the board indirectly, his agent speaking to the BCCI through a senior member of the Indian team.This would take to four the number of people – the others being Australian John Dyson, Terry Oliver, the current Queensland coach, and New Zealand A coach Dave Nosworthy -associated with the job since Graham Ford turned it down. The position has been vacantsince Greg Chappell’s exit after this year’s World Cup.Wessels, who is currently coach of the South Africa team for theEmerging Players Tournament to take place in Australia, said: “I aminterested in the job and my agent in London is handling the issue on mybehalf. He was supposed to contact the Indian board. I have lefteverything to him.”Wessels’s agent, David Ligertwood, informed , “Wemanage a few Indian cricketers and one of them spoke to the board aboutKepler. The answer was that the board would be interested in speaking tohim. I have not heard anything after that, but will follow up shortly.”Ligertwood works for Athletes 1, the same agency that manages a fewIndian players and has even secured county contracts for the likes ofSourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh.Wessels has been the coach for Northamptonshire, while Dyson has earlierbeen in-charge of the Sri Lankan team.The BCCI has so far not issued any statement.

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, has applauded the man-management skills of the current Indian coaching staff and was pleased that the tour has proceeded without any “hiccups”.Ganguly, who had some major differences with former India coach Greg Chappell, was happy with the current atmosphere in the dressing room, adding that the team did not need a “professor” to coach them at this level.”The youngsters have enjoyed themselves,” Ganguly told Cricinfo when asked about the dynamics in the team. “It’s been a lovely dressing room, a free dressing room. No hiccups, not many controversies off the field, not too much rubbish going around, which has been good. It’s been fantastic.”Did he think the lack of a head coach had affected the team in any way? “We have coaches – Robin [Singh] and Venky [Prasad] have been superb,” he said. “They’ve been nice, their man-management skills have been worth watching. Chandu Borde has been nice. Lot of people said he’s 73 when he got appointed. He may not be the most active because of his age but thebatting ideas he gives – stands behind in the nets, watches every ball – that’s all you need.”You don’t need a professor at this level. You don’t need to treat international players like students. What are you going to teach Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Anil Kumble? What are you going to tell them? [There are] minor things which you notice in the nets you come and tellthem, ‘This is what I feel, this is how you can do it better’. And Mr Borde does it perfectly.”After India’s Test series triumph at The Oval, their captain, Dravid, had also acknowledged the efforts of Prasad, Robin and Borde. However, when asked about the lack of a coach before the first game of the one-day series, he was guarded with his stance. “We’ve had some goodsuccess on this tour, but it will be too simplistic to say it’s because we haven’t had [a coach],” he said. “There are other factors that have gone into us playing well. You can’t just focus on the coach.”Sometimes you’re in the team and looking at it from one perspective. People from outside can look at a team and see the direction it’s going in. They must provide some intelligence and input as well.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq has indicated that he might sign up for the Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying the ultimatum issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board does not apply to him as he isn’t under contract with the board.Inzamam, who was not among those given a central contract by the PCB last month, said he had been offered US$50,000 a month by the ICL. He was writing in his diary on bigstarcricket.com.”If they [PCB] are not selecting me I have a right to play cricket anywhere, whether in county cricket, Bangladesh, or India,” Inzamam said on the website. “But I’m not interested in only money, I’m interested in playing cricket.”The ICL is offering me good money and cricket. I have not played any cricket since the World Cup. Although I am still desperate to play for Pakistan it is not good for me if I get picked for Test cricket with no match practice behind me. There is no cricket in Pakistan before the South Africa series so I need to play.”Inzamam said he would want to play for Pakistan even if he signs for the ICL. “I would like to play in India and then as soon as my country needs me I would come back for national duty.”

With the rumour mills working overtime, India’s next captain will, it seems, be decided by either a straight shoot-out between Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni or a split between the two. With Tendulkar, the question is whether or not he wants the job for the shorter version of the game. With Dhoni it’s a question of whether he is ready for the job just now. Either way, with no other real candidate presenting themselves, it seems that the selectors will have to go with someone who is reluctant, or someone on whom the job is thrust before his time.A reluctant leader is usually not a good one and Tendulkar’s stance on one-day cricket has been pretty clear in the recent past. In a widely reproduced interview to the , London, a fortnight ago, Tendulkar had spoken in some detail about how difficult it was for him to recover between one-day matches. It is learned that Tendulkar has spoken to Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the national selection committee, about these problems, and asking if there was a chance he could be used a bit more sparingly in the shorter version of the game. Vengsarkar would not confirm this.However, with India playing 12 ODIs at home in the next two months, seven against Australia and five against Pakistan, there was every chance Tendulkar would have been rested at some point. This was the scenario before Rahul Dravid stepped down from the top job.Whether this has changed or not is anyone’s guess. If Tendulkar thought he wasn’t keen on playing every ODI that India played, it’s tough to see him accepting the additional responsibility of captaincy. However, the lure of reclaiming a job that was once his, in the evening of his career, might just be too much to resist.If not Tendulkar, the selectors are almost certain to go with Dhoni. This could well result in a scenario where the Indian captaincy is split for the first time. For the moment, the selectors have to decide merely on the captain for the ODIs against Australia, which gives them some breathing space. They’ll need to pick a Test captain soon enough, though, with Pakistan arriving in India in early November for a Test and ODI series.Cricinfo has learned the selectors could well persuade one of the seniors – and Tendulkar is the leading candidate here – to “hold the fort” as far as the Test captaincy is concerned while Dhoni grows into the job leading the team in ODIs. The serious concern over handing Dhoni the captaincy in both forms of the game is that the next two Test series India plays are its most demanding, against Pakistan and in Australia. The Australians’ reputation of targeting captains for special treatment adds to the selectors’ concerns, and they don’t want to throw Dhoni in at the deep end.If they do decide to split the captaincy and are forced to look beyond Tendulkar, two well-qualified fringe candidates emerge in VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. Both have leadership experience, and both command the respect of their peers. The only problem in this case is that neither is a 100% certainty to play all Tests. When India have tinkered with their combinations – playing an extra seamer or an extra bowler – Kumble, and more so Laxman, have been left out.With Harbhajan out of the mix at the moment, though, Kumble’s place in the Test side, both home and away, is set. In Laxman’s case, the likelihood of India playing six batsmen against Pakistan and Australia, makes him a sure starter.Kumble’s obvious advantage is that he has won more matches for India single-handedly than anyone else in this squad, and commands respect. He has always considered it an honour to lead the team, and it’s only a mixture of timing and circumstance that has meant that this thinking cricketer has never been captain. What’s more, Kumble is sure to be a non-parochial captain, non-controversial, non-confrontational (off the field) captain, and this will make things smooth for the selectors and the board.What’s more, if either Kumble or Laxman is given the job, it will clearly be only on an interim basis. They will merely be warming the chair for Dhoni, who can take up the job when India are faced with smaller mountains to climb. Giving the reins to a Tendulkar or a Ganguly might make that transition that much more difficult. Ganguly has already had his run as captain and achieved more than anyone else has in the job. At the moment he is enjoying his batting, and producing results, and might not even want the job, if it’s offered to him.From the outside, it seems like a rather complex choice before the selectors. But that’s only because it’s unclear whom they have sounded out and what the responses have been. When they meet in Mumbai on Tuesday, they might just buy themselves some time by appointing Dhoni for the one-dayers, and leaving the larger decision till later.

Shoaib Akhtar has been handed a 13-match ban and a fine of approximately US$57,000 for a number of breaches of discipline, including his spat with Mohammad Asif in South Africa. He has also been placed on a two-year probationary period during which any disciplinary breaches could result in a life ban.A three-man disciplinary committee of the board announced the results of their investigations in to four separate charges against Shoaib. The most serious of the charges was the fight with Asif, but others included playing a charity match without authorisation, making statements to thepress about last year’s doping case and holding an unauthorised press conference in Pakistan about the incident with Asif, which saw him sent back from Johannesburg.The ban, however, includes the seven matches already played at the ICC World Twenty20 and the two Tests against South Africa. Effectively, it means he will be available for the last ODI against South Africa but more realistically, the tour to India.”We have decided to ban Shoaib for 13 international matches,” said Shafqat Naghmi, the Pakistan board’s chief operating officer. “These include Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 matches. We have upheld the five-match ban given to him by Talat Ali in South Africa [for hitting Asif] and givenhim an eight-match ban on top of that. We have also fined him Rs3.4 million. The match-ban will run consecutively.”As well as deducting disciplinary points [a component in deciding central contracts] Naghmi added that Shoaib is now on probation and any breach of contract or disciplinary issues could result in a life ban over the next two years.Shoaib, who was present at the press conference, has the right to appeal but said he was eager to put the matter behind him now. “I have apologised to Asif, my team-mates, the country. It was a nightmare for me and something that happened in the heat of the moment. I have suffered enough in the last four weeks.”I want to put this matter behind me now and focus on cricket. I want to thank the board for considering this matter carefully. I will pay what penalties I have to but I want to get ready for India now.”The decision to select Shoaib for the India tour, to begin from November 1, or the final ODI against South Africa, will be left to the selectors now.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

South Africa A, inspired by Friedel de Wet’s 6 for 50, gained a first-innings lead of 251 over the New Zealanders but chose not to enforce the follow-on on day two of their four-day game in Potchefstroom. Instead they pushed to build on the lead and closed the day at 20 for 2.Resuming at the overnight score of 350 for 4, South Africa A batsmen Neil McKenzie and Morne van Wyk added 28 more before Daniel Vettori trapped van Wyk leg-before for 34. McKenzie looked set for his maiden first-class double-century when Jacob Oram had him caught behind for 182. The last three fell with only 11 added to the total, but McKenzie’s 224-run stand with Boeta Dippenaar on the first day had ensured that New Zealand were under enough pressure when they came out to bat.The pressure increased as Charl Langeveldt bowled Michael Papps for 1 in the third over. It got worse from there as de Wet and Lonwabo Tsotsobe removed the next five batsmen in 17 overs as New Zealand collapsed to 63 for 6. Vettori, who had taken three wickets in the first innings, prevented New Zealand from being bowled out under 100 as he hit 83 off 74 balls. He added 91 with Ross Taylor, who with 36, was New Zealand’s second-highest scorer as they were bowled out for 192.McKenzie was again at the crease when stumps were called along with Tshabalala, the nightwatchman, after Chris Martin dismissed the openers inside six overs.

The former West Indies and Kent cricketer, Hartley Alleyne, an acclaimed coach at St Edmund’s School in Canterbury, is to have his case reviewed by the Home Office. Alleyne still faces imminent deportation after being refused a work permit but now the Home Office could yet allow him to stay.Alleyne, who completed an NVQ in sports coaching to satisfy immigration officials, is being backed in his bid to stay in the country by Canterbury’s MP, Julian Brazier, who branded that decision “appalling” and “utter madness”. Brazier confirmed he had received a letter from Home Office minister Liam Byrne announcing a review.”I welcome the fact that they are reviewing the case again,” said Brazier. “I will continue to press for a successful outcome for this most deserving man.”Alleyne, who has lived in England for 29 years, sayes he has been boosted by the latest development: “This news has brought a smile to my face,” he told the . “I only hope that the Home Office officials who will be reviewing my case can find it in their hearts to let me stay here and allow me to continue what I love doing and that is coaching kids.”His original application, in 2005, was turned down because he did not hold an NVQ Level 3 coaching certificate. He then obtained the qualification while working as a sports coach and resident boarding assistant at St Edmund’s School in Canterbury. His application was, however, rejected.He has an English wife and three children. “To me England is my home,” he said in September, “and Barbados is a place that I return to every now and again for a holiday. I have given so much of myself to this country and have helped to teach kids cricket and help them make a good start in life.”

Scorecard

Darren Lehmann made his second century in four days in his second farewell match of the week leaving South Australia fans dreading his departure… for a second time this week.His 167 helped the Redbacks consolidate another good day against Western Australia as they coursed to 397, a lead of 161. Mathew Inness kept his side in the hunt, though, with six wickets – his ninth five-wicket haul – before his side’s openers began their reply in steady fashion.Still, South Australia’s batsmen made the most of a fine pitch and so showed just how well their bowlers had done on the opening day to shoot out Western Australia for 236. Their leader was Lehmann, his century a sumptuous but simple feast offering a tantalising selection of smooth, creamy shots. No matter how much the spectators gorged, though, they wanted more.As soon as he had drunk in the prolonged applause for bringing up his hundred following three fours in Steve Magoffin’s first over after tea, someone shouted: “The double next, Boof.” It was looking achievable, too, as Lehmann piled on 78 runs in 40 balls in the evening session to charge past 150, although he had hesitated to see if he was to be given out on 101. He had already had a life on 8, a low, hard chance behind off Magoffin.Lehmann was aggressive early on, then patient against the spinners Aaron Heal and Brad Hogg (who bowled solidly if not spectacularly, containing well) before teeing off once more in the evening session, with crisp pulls, cover drives and straight ones.His innings included four sixes, all over midwicket, and 21 fours and he batted freely and with some improvisation, while pouncing on any width. “I’ve just had a ball this week,” he said at the close. “I thought there would be a lot of pressure to perform well, and there is, but now I can just relax and enjoy the game.”As soon as he fell, bowled making room to cut Inness, came a sombre and heartfelt: “What will we do without Boof?” As if in answer, his side collectively shuddered from 6 for 363 to 397 all out, with Inness and Ben Edmondson the destroyers.Fifties, though, for Matthew Elliott and Callum Ferguson set the platform from which Lehmann rose. Elliott’s knock was a confident one before being trapped by Magoffin, while Ferguson continued in the same fluent vein for his third consecutive fifty, until he edged through off Inness. Andy Delmont added a forthright 23 and continued to look promising before Inness silenced him through the gate.Nathan Adcock’s 13, however, continued a disappointing run; he has 63 runs in seven first-class innings as captain this season. He started well with three fours before top-edging a hook off Edmondson, who bowled well for his three wickets.But this again, was Lehmann’s day, as well as being election day. “Boof for PM” read a banner during the week and if the fans had their way today they would vote for him to stay. Sadly for them, they are unlikely to have their way.

Television stations have been providing summer filler entertainment for years and this season the Australian cricket team has got in on the act as well. With five weeks between Sri Lanka’s visit and the Boxing Day Test against India, Australian fans starved of action will get their first December fix with a Twenty20 match between Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday.Both sides will use the game to plan for the future, but while New Zealand are looking several days ahead, Australia’s strategy can be measured in years. New Zealand’s focus is shedding their miserable form as they prepare to defend the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy; Australia’s aim is to blood untried players and a potential future captain.At 26, Michael Clarke will become the youngest man to lead Australia in an international since Kim Hughes, who was 25 when he was first handed the reins in a Test. It might be a sneak-peek at Australia’s next full-time skipper, although such talk is premature with Ricky Ponting nowhere near retirement.Nathan Bracken believes Clarke will be an excellent captain, albeit only for a three-hour contest. “He is going to add something fresh to the side,” Bracken told . “If he keeps bringing everything he has brought through the last two or three years of international cricket that I have played with him, he will give us something else.”Clarke’s promotion gives a clear indication of how Australia view their home Twenty20 matches – it’s a testing ground. A game against India in January will give them another chance to assess future talent but they have no plans to add extra Twenty20 fixtures to their summer schedules.Last year Australia trialled Ben Hilfenhaus and Shane Harwood in the Twenty20 match against England. This year the less familiar faces in the squad are Adam Voges, the Western Australia batsman, and Ashley Noffke, Queensland’s in-form fast-bowling allrounder.By resting Ponting and Matthew Hayden, Australia have continued their relaxed attitude towards the new format and limited-overs contests with New Zealand. Ponting and Adam Gilchrist skipped February’s Chappell-Hadlee games but John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, swears he is not offended by a team he calls “world leaders in planning”. He said if New Zealand had enough depth they would use a similar policy.Their form, however, proves they cannot afford to field an under-strength side. New Zealand were humiliated in their Test tour of South Africa and they managed one win in the limited-overs series that followed.Their best source of comfort will be their Twenty20 record, which is remarkably similar to that of Australia. They contested the first international in 2004-05; they have each played 12 games, Australia have six wins and New Zealand have five; they were both knocked out in the semi-finals at the World Twenty20; and they were each defeated in their only match since then.The teams have not met in a Twenty20 since Australia’s win in Auckland and while New Zealand want to make it 1-1, a victory would be important for other reasons. Jeetan Patel said the squad needed to gain some momentum ahead of Friday’s opening Chappell-Hadlee match.”The guys are really raring to go,” Patel said. “If we get over the line [on Tuesday] then it boosts morale again, and we can hopefully push home that advantage in that first [ODI] in Adelaide.”However, Ponting and Hayden will return for the 50-over games as Australia seek to add the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy to a near-complete set of prizes in their bulging cabinet. The Twenty20 contest might be New Zealand’s best chance of a triumph in Australia.Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Voges, Brett Lee, Ashley Noffke, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait.New Zealand squad Brendon McCullum (wk), Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Mathew Sinclair, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Mark Gillespie, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin.

Although still beset by general inconsistency and the technical deficiency of their batsmen, West Indies emerged from their third series in South Africa stronger than when it began.They won an overseas Test over established opposition for the first time in seven years, an entirely unexpected result, and an antidote to the defeatism that had enveloped West Indies cricket as a whole, in spite of their subsequent reversals. In Chris Gayle, holding on while Ramnaresh Sarwan regained fitness, they found a captain by chance, an unlikely leader with the indefinable quality of getting the best out those under him.Clive Lloyd, himself such a skipper in the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s, felt that Gayle has “got the sort of charisma that’s been lacking in the past”. “I believe he can become the hub of a team that is only a player or two short of becoming very good,” he said.The difference between the on-field performance when Gayle was in charge and when he was missing was marked. He must surely now retain the position with Sarwan, when he returns for the demanding home contests against Sri Lanka and Australia, as his deputy.South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith noted that this team showed “a lot more discipline, a lot more character” than he had experienced in his two previous series against the West Indies, home and away. Their coach, Mikey Arthur, was even more fulsome in his comments. Their defeats in the second and third Tests were by the irrefutable margins of seven wickets and an innings and 100 runs. They were the kind of results that had been widely anticipated prior to the series yet Smith said his team had “to work very hard” to draw level.John Dyson, the new head coach, acknowledged that South Africa had improved after their loss in the first Test and that they were the better team. Even so, West Indies were considerably handicapped by injury and illness. In the second Test, Fidel Edwards limped off after 4.5 overs with a strained hamstring, only to return to bat with a runner. It instantly removed the bowler whose pace had been a major factor in completing the first Test triumph a few days earlier.Gayle bravely came in last in the second innings with his own hamstring problem and a fractured thumb, effectively forcing him to bat on one leg and with one hand. Yet he still smashed three sixes and four fours in 38.His absence from the decisive Test was an incalculable setback but not the only one. Dwayne Bravo, an apprentice in such a role, had to fill the breach as captain without the services of one of the game’s most feared opening batsmen to take on the opposition’s loaded fast attack but, carrying a side strain, also without his own bowling. One was as serious as the other since there was no more likely wicket-taker in all conditions than Bravo with his controlled and varied medium-pace swing and cut.Nor was the misfortune at an end. There was no way back from a first innings deficit of 417 but, in ideal batting conditions, no one was more certain to make the South Africans sweat than Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Instead, he was the one doing the sweating, under several blankets as a debilitating flu prevented him from batting. Marlon Samuels filled his role, closing a series in which he finally affirmed himself as a Test batsman with a hundred, only his second in 27 Tests and seven years.This was a born-again cricketer, not the strokemaker who had infuriated all who recognised his ability with flashy cameos. He batted as long, all told, as the adhesive Chanderpaul, just over 17 hours, and actually received more deliveries, 674 to 662. Yet it didn’t curb his flair. His 46 fours were more than by anyone on either side.There were other advances. Jerome Taylor, pacy and probing, seldom had a poor spell and his batting prompted Dyson to encourage him to pay more attention to it. “He really should aim to become a genuine all-rounder,” Dyson said. “His batting is certainly good enough for it.” Denesh Ramdin, whose wicket-keeping was immaculate throughout, was another Dyson felt was worth more with the bat. “We’ve worked on Denesh’s technique just to tighten his defence,” the coach noted. “He’s got a good range of shots and a good head. He certainly has it in him to give us more runs at No.7.”Shortcomings remain. An opening partner for Gayle, bowlers not only with pace but with control and, according to Lloyd, a left-handed all-rounder who bowls decent spin are required to make the team competitive against the best. For his experience, Daren Ganga’s continued selection was understandable but no longer. Devon Smith couldn’t get a run, far less a game and Brenton Parchment didn’t look the part on debut.Opportunity knocks for someone not yet tried. Sarwan’s return to No.3 will be an obvious boost. Runako Morton, a 100 per cent trier, was given the awesome, almost unfair, task of filling the position once occupied by the likes of George Headley, Everton Weekes, Rohan Kanhai and Viv Richards but was never going to be up to it. As Edwards, Taylor, Bravo and Daren Powell dispatched the South African top-order cheaply in both innings in the first Test, a dangerous fast bowling axis seemed to have formed.Edwards and Powell are the quickest but their inconsistency was evident in the later Tests when they repeatedly pounded the ball in short and were just as repeatedly hammered. It was futile bowling that accentuated their already unflattering statistics and obliges selectors to look to other contenders. They, and all those who deal in speed, should have taken note of the formula for success of the Man of the Series, Dale Steyn – very fast, straight, with a little movement and the odd bouncer. The West Indies once produced Steyn equivalents by the score. They could do with one now.