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England are likely to use all 14 available players during next week’s three-day tour match against a Patrons XI in Rawalpindi. A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Michael Vaughan, the England captain, had asked permission to use more than the usual 11 players in the game.A board official told Reuters, “They want to give maximum exposure to all their players and get a feel of local conditions. The match will now be a non-first class practice game. The local side will also now try out more than 11 players.” He added that the PCB was unlikely to have any problems with that.England are awaiting the arrival of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison who are not due to join the team until next week. Their opponents in the warm-up match – the Patrons XI – will include several Test players, including Yasir Hameed, Asim Kamal and Faisal Iqbal.England then move to Lahore for another three-day game, against a Pakistan ‘A’ side, from November 6, before the first Test in Multan.Meanwhile, Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan board, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the pitch during the practice match between a Pakistan XI and Rest of Pakistan. He was quoted by the BBC website as saying, “I told the groundsmen clearly that I don’t need such tracks. It was a pity to see Shoaib’s deliveries carrying through to the wicketkeeper at ankle height.”The chairman promised “competitive pitches” throughout the Test series. “We don’t want bowlers to dominate and the Test finishes inside three days but they should be competitive. We need wickets that must have nice carry and bounce and have some bite for spinners too.”There has been mild speculation – certain to heighten as the Tests draw nearer – about the state of pitches for the Tests. Some quarters have suggested that Pakistan will prepare spin-friendly tracks, to exploit a perceived weakness in the English team against quality spinners. The speculation has been fuelled further by Pakistan toying with the idea of recalling Mushtaq Ahmed and giving Imran Tahir, another leg-spinner and former U-19 player, a prolonged run in the practice matches.In the past, Andy Atkinson has been hired by the board to prepare wickets for international matches but Shaharyar says this will not happen again. “Our groundsmen have enough capabilities to prepare wickets. They have learnt how to make good sporting wickets so I don’t think we need pitch doctors from abroad.”

Still a champion after all these years© Getty Images

Anil Kumble had to wait for 69 deliveries this afternoon before he left behind Kapil Dev as India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests. And fittingly, it was one of those quicker balls, with which he has caused so much damage down the years, that trapped Mohammad Rafique in front of the stumps.Since making his debut at Old Trafford in 1990, Kumble has spent most of his career ploughing a lone furrow. Kapil Dev was around for the first couple of years, and his Karnataka mate, Javagal Srinath, offered sterling service before the rigours of bowling fast caught up with him. The spin-support cast changed often, with the likes of Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan making way for Sunil Joshi, and then Harbhajan Singh.Through it all, Kumble moved serenely on, enhancing his repertoire, and making fools of those who unthinkingly labelled him a dustbowl bully. His greatest vindication came in Australia last winter, when he scalped 24 wickets in three Tests against one of the greatest teams that cricket has ever seen. He followed that up with 15 wickets in Pakistan (three Tests), 27 in the home series against Australia (four matches) and 10 against South Africa (two Tests). The light may be fading, but Anil Kumble seems determined to go out in a blaze of glory.

Whatever its critics may say – and they usually point to the lack of spectator enthusiasm – the Challenger Series fulfils a certain role. With the star players’ appearances in domestic cricket so severely rationed by a hectic international calendar, the Challenger gives the fringe players an all-too-rare opportunity to pit themselves against the best in the business.That’s the good part. On the debit side, the ad hoc manner in which the teams are chosen renders the exercise almost futile. Dividing the national team luminaries into three entities serves no real purpose, and it only lessens the intensity of the challenge that faces those looking to carve out a reputation.The format needs revamping, and soon. The best way forward would be to have an India A team comprising players on the verge of a national call-up, rather than legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble. It would also give the five wise men a chance to look at the leadership skills of the younger generation.As for India B, the best solution would be to pick out the cream of the U-19 crop, and any other wild cards worth experimenting with. Had such a format been in place this year, we could have seen Munaf Patel – about whom reams have been written – in action, along with players like Stuart Binny who has impressed many at the junior level.The criteria should be very clear in future. India Seniors are those in possession of the national cap, even if it sits uneasy on certain heads. India A should be those waiting off-stage, while India B showcases the new kids on the block, who are a season or two away from the big-time. Think of the incentive for the A and B teams to perform, pitted against the full might of India Seniors.Charity picks have to be abandoned. Top level professional sport is characterised by ruthlessness, and there’s no room at the top for honest pros like Vijay Bharadwaj and Satyajit Parab, to name just two. Catastrophes apart, they don’t have a bat-out-of-hell chance of ever playing for India. The same could be said of Reetinder Singh Sodhi, whose skill levels have stagnated since he was throwing his weight around in the juniors.But such criticisms aside, there were still those who utilised the Challenger platform to stake their claim for national honours, just as there were those who let slip a golden opportunity. Here, we take a look at some of the winners, and losers …WinnersRohan Gavaskar
He scored 145 runs in three innings, including two pivotal knocks in winning causes. Unafraid to play strokes, he also improvised well in the latter stages of innings. That, allied to his displays on the India A tour of England, helped clinch a Rest-of-India berth.Yuvraj Singh
The Yorkshire run-drought seemed to be a distant memory as Yuvraj punished the bowlers on placid batting wickets. The tournament’s highest run-getter with 188, including a scintillating 82-ball 111 against India A in the round-robin phase.Sridharan Sriram
He scored 176 runs at well over a run-a-ball, with some exciting, innovative strokeplay. Superb in the field, he can be justifiably disappointed over the Irani Trophy snub.Hemang Badani
Made 73 and 61 not out, both in losing causes, while never exhibiting the composure, class and steely nerve that he did during his purple patch a couple of years ago.Amit Bhandari
Figures of 4 for 144 from 23 overs were hardly impressive, but his ability to move the ball both ways, and the fact that Sachin Tendulkar didn’t destroy him, marks him out for further selectorial interest. Whether he’s good enough to compete for a new-ball slot is a moot point though. The competition won’t always be so badly off-colour.Lakshmipathy Balaji
The pick of the pace bowlers on show with 7 for 126, even if he did get carted around a bit in the second game. His accuracy was his greatest asset, and the no-ball that sent Tendulkar’s stumps cartwheeling in the opening game has ensured that his name should be right at the top of the discussion list with Ashish Nehra doubtful for the New Zealand series.Murali Kartik
On pitches where almost every bowler got slaughtered, Kartik bowled 18 tidy overs for 84 runs, and one wicket. No little earthquakes, but enough guile and control to suggest that he deserves a run or two in national colours.LosersMohammad Kaif
Scored only 77 runs in three innings, and is now reliant on past reputation for his place in the one-day squad. The challengers are queuing up, and Kaif needs some big scores. Soon.Ambati Rayudu
After all the hype, his two innings produced 6 runs. A perceived weakness against the short ball was exploited by bowlers like Ajit Agarkar. Back to the nets for Rayudu, the call from the seniors will have to wait.Irfan Pathan Jr
After starting impressively against the seniors, his bowling was wayward and ordinary in the next two games. Impressed only in patches, and now seems to have slipped behind Balaji and Bhandari in the race for the third seamer’s spot.Sarandeep Singh
His 21 overs went for 133 runs, though he did manage three wickets. Unlikely to unseat Harbhajan in the foreseeable future.Thilak Naidu
He may bat a little better than the other wicketkeeping contenders, but Naidu’s wicketkeeping so so shockingly poor that you had to peer closely to make sure it wasn’t Deep Dasgupta in disguise. He dropped catches, missed stumpings, and couldn’t even gather the ball cleanly for run-outs.

Bangladesh does not mind being the new kid on the international cricket playground and an automatic target for the big bullies.In a frank and refreshing airport interview here today Trevor Chappell, the third of the famous Australian cricketing brothers and now coach of Bangladesh, said he had not been offended by forecasts of disaster for the Bangladeshi four-match, two-Test tour of New Zealand.Last month even the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, Martin Snedden, said the official hope was that New Zealand should win the two Tests (at Hamilton and Wellington) with style, and overwhelming superiority.”That’s not a problem,” said Chappell – the temporary tour spokesman while the newly-appointed manager and assistant manager were delayed because of visa problems.”We accept that is the aim of every other team to beat us, they do not want to take any chances playing against a newcomer,” said Chappell.”That is a good attitude from our point of view, too. We have recently played Zimbabwe (losing the Tests 0-1 and the one-dayers 0-3) and they are closest to us on the ladder.”Now we are playing New Zealand, higher up the ladder, in New Zealand conditions, and that is good for us, an extra challenge.”Chappell and his captain Khaled Mashud said the Bangladeshi aim was to play positive cricket, to score runs at a good pace so the bowlers had time to bowl out the opposition. The positive attitude would remain as long as his team had a chance of success, said Chappell. When there was no chance of a win, then Bangladesh would look for a draw.The wonder is that Bangladesh have made as much progress as they have, playing seven Tests and close to 40 one-dayers, with very narrow home playing resources.There are six first-class sides in Bangladesh, in spite of the 130,000,000 population now adopting cricket as their favourite sport, and a first class competition has only been running for two years.Now Bangladesh has a five-year plan in place. Five new first-class grounds are planned, five Sri Lankan coaches are setting up the infrastructure for Under-13, 15, 17 and 19 organisations.It will take time, said Chappell, to identify the good players and to bring them up through the system.Some teenagers have already been fast-tracked to Test level.”Mashrafe Mortaza, is one of these,” said Chappell. “Eight months ago no-one knew anything about him, he came from nowhere as quite a quick bowler. He was looked at for the Under-17, then the Under-19 and the next thing you know he is in the national side.”He is reasonably fast, in the 130-140kph range. He has a lot to learn, but he can hurry-up the batsmen when he lands the ball in the right place.”Mashrafe is listed as born in 1983, one year older than the 17-year-old prodigy Mohammad Ashraful, who became the youngest scorer of a Test century against Sri Lanka earlier this year – and also the youngest to score a century on debut.Chappell is warm in his praise of Ashraful’s batting, and his promise as a leg-spinner.Chappell also realises that his team is young – several older players were discarded – and faced a steep learning curve.”We will have to work hard on the basics. Our players have had only two seasons of first-class cricket and have yet to face the demands of a match over five days.”Chappell said he could not be precise when asked to rate the strength of the present New Zealand team, although he had been most impressed with the New Zealanders’ deeds on the first and second days of the third Test against Australia at Perth.He mentioned Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori as world-class bowlers, was impressed by the sudden rise to fame by Lou Vincent, and respected the run-scoring power of Stephen Fleming, Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle.

Punjab defeated Bengal by eight wickets in the CricInfo Trophy women’sNational Cricket Championship at the JDSA Ground in Jorhat on Tuesday.Punjab, powered by a fine innings of 98 not out in 102 balls byGulshan, reached the victory target of 170 in 35.3 overs. ThoughGulshan lost Anjuman Bassi (8) at 31 in the seventh over, she sealedthe match for Punjab with a 119-run second wicket stand in 29 overswith Gurdeep Kaur (24). Then Anjali Sharma (8) joined Gulshan to guidePunjab home in the 36th over.Earlier, electing to bat, Bengal openers Anaya Mitra (11) and SeemaBhowmick (13) put on 28 runs in eight overs. But then they lost somequick wickets and were 56 for 3 in 19.3 overs. However ChandrabatiPall (36) and Rumeli Dhar (43) added 73 runs in 12.5 overs for thefourth wicket. Jhulan Goswami (19) then joined Chandrabati in a fifthwicket partnership worth 31 runs in 5.4 overs. But after that, therewas little substance in the Bengal innings and they were all out for169 in 45.2 overs.

Gio van Bronckhorst’s Rangers return to domestic action today as the Gers go in search of their rivals in the race to win the league.

The Gers lost 2-1 in Serbia on Thursday night to progress through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League with a 4-2 win on aggregate.

Whilst the head coach will have been pleased to make the next round he will also be frustrated with the nature of his team’s performance. Allan McGregor was forced into making a number of impressive saves to keep their lead intact and the display may lead to some players losing their places in the starting XI.

One change he must make to the starting line-up is the introduction of forward Fashion Sakala on the right ahead of Joe Aribo.

The ex-Charlton man started out wide against Red Star Belgrade and should be dropped in favour of Sakala. As per SofaScore, he lost 15 of his 23 duels and only completed 55% of his attempted passes, whilst also failing to complete a single key pass or dribble.

This is why the Zambia international must be unleashed for the Gers. He can offer more of a direct threat down the flank than Aribo, with seven goals in nine Premiership starts this season whilst also averaging 1.3 key passes per game – showing that he can be a match-winner.

Ex-Gers fullback Allan Hutton showered him with praise earlier this season, saying: “He’s like a firework, isn’t he? You just light him and watch him go.

“He’s one of these players who plays at 100 miles per hour, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.

“Sometimes you just wish he could slow down, but I think that’ll come with time and experience at a new club. As he plays with these players around him with intelligence – he’ll get on that same page.

“I like his energy and enthusiasm. He loves playing for Rangers and you can see that when he’s trying hard to score goals.”

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These quotes on the £8.3k-per-week flyer highlight one of his biggest strengths – his speed. He has the ability to get in behind and cause problems round the back of defenders, with and without the ball.

This means that he can offer something different to Aribo on the right, as the Nigeria international is more likely to get on the ball and link the play instead of trying to burst down the wing. Whereas, Sakala – who averages 1.4 dribbles per game – can get to the byline with his speed to create chances for the other forwards.

Therefore, van Bronckhorst must unleash the former Belgian league attacker from the start against Dundee FC as his finishing ability and pace has the potential to win the game for Rangers.

AND in other news, Huge blow: Rangers dealt late injury setback ahead of Dundee, GvB will be fuming…

Matthew Hobden, the Sussex pace bowler, has died at the age of 22. The news was announced by his county club late on Saturday evening.Police Scotland announced on Sunday that Hobden had died in the Forres region in north-east Scotland, about 25 miles east of Inverness. They said his death was being treated as “unexplained” but preliminary enquiries did not suggest suspicious circumstances.”Sussex Cricket is deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Matthew Hobden,” a Sussex statement said.”Matthew was an exciting young cricketer with a big future ahead of him in the game. He was a fantastic individual who had progressed through Sussex’s Youth and Academy ranks, having been born locally in Eastbourne.”He made his first-class debut for Sussex in 2014 and had represented the county across all three formats over the past two seasons. He will be greatly missed.”Sussex would like to offer their deepest condolences to Matthew’s family and friends at this difficult time.”Players and staff will be offered as much support as is possible and we would like both Matthew’s family, and everyone connected with Sussex Cricket, to be respected with privacy at this time.”Angus Porter, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, said: “The PCA are deeply saddened to hear about the death of Matt Hobden at the age of just 22 and our thoughts and sympathy go out to his family, friends, colleagues and all at Sussex.”Matt was a young seamer with immense potential and he had been identified by Sussex as a player with a bright future in the game when he took two five-wicket hauls playing for Cardiff MCCU.”The PCA will work closely with Sussex to ensure that their players and coaching staff are supported during this difficult period for the club.”Hobden made his first-class debut in 2012 for Cardiff MCCU and his first-team debut for Sussex in a one-day match against Nottinghamshire in 2013. His first-class Sussex debut came in 2014 and in 2015 he played in 10 Championship matches. Overall he claimed 48 first-class wickets at 39.35. He had been named in the fast-bowling group for the Potential England Performance Programme late last year.Kevin Shine, the ECB’s lead fast bowling coach, said he has seen enough to Hobden during his time around the PEPP to say he would be an England bowler of the future.”As a player, I remember the first time I saw him just thinking ‘wow’. He was the strongest, most powerful cricketer I’ve ever seen on that programme – up there with elite athletes from different sports. His potential was huge, he was improving rapidly and I’m certain that he would have played for England.”But for all that, my over-riding memory of Matt will be of his character, he was a wonderful lad. It’s devastating for all who knew him to have lost him so young.”Tributes were quick to come from fellow cricketers. Matt Prior, the former Sussex and England wicketkeeper, tweeted: “Thoughts & prayers with all of Matt Hobden’s family at this tragic time. A great guy with a huge future taken far too soon. #riphobsy.”Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, posted: “Thoughts and prayers are with Matt Hobden’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time.”

Will the selectors opt for a split between ODI and Test captaincy? © Getty Images

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.

Mark Ramprakash – in the runs and in the awards © Getty Images

The awards just keep coming for Mark Ramprakash, whose prolific season has now earned him the Player’s Player of the Season award and the Batsman of the Season which he picked up at Surrey’s End of Season Awards on Friday evening.Ramprakash became just the fifth player in an English first-class season to finish with an average of over 100. Only Sir Don Bradman (1938), Geoff Boycott (in both 1971 and 1979), Graham Gooch (1990) and Damien Martyn (2001) have reached this significant milestone before him.This was the second awards accolade in one week for Ramprakash, who also received the honour of PCA Player of the Year, which was presented to him at last Monday’s PCA Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall.Ramprakash finished the 2006 season with an incredible 2278 runs to his name – more than 400 runs more than his nearest rival, HD Ackerman of Leicestershire. He also had five scores of 150 or more in successive matches, something that has never been matched in first-class cricket.”It has been one of those seasons where, even though I have been doing things the same way, everything has clicked,” said Ramprakash and went on, almost needlessly: “I have really enjoyed this year.”But stiffer challenges lie ahead for him. This weekend Ramprakash will take to the dancefloor for the first round of Strictly Come Dancing.

UAE 77 for 4 trail Ireland 350 for 7 dec (EJG Morgan 151, JP Bray 78, Ali Asad 5-93) by 273 runs
Scorecard

Morgan celebrates his century for Ireland © ICC

Eoin Morgan, 19, scored a run-a-ball hundred to give Ireland the advantage on day one of their semi-final against UAE at the Wanderers Sports Club. Ireland declared on 350 for 7 and reduced UAE to 77 for 4 at the close, a lead of 273.Morgan smashed 151 from 150 balls and ensured that Ireland’s good start wasn’t wasted as wickets tumbled around him. Morgan, who made his first-team debut for Middlesex in the National League last summer, hit 18 fours and a six against an under-strength UAE side.Ireland’s bowlers didn’t let Morgan’s good work go to waste, and Paul Morgan picked up the first two wickets of captain Arshad Ali and Sammer Ali with only three runs on the board. The wicketkeeper, Mohammad Taskeen, and Vairamoorthy Sockalingam staged a recovery with a third-wicket stand of 53 – aided by 12 no-balls – before Ireland’s captain Trent Johnston removed Sockalingam. Kyle McCallan then accounted for Kafish Ahmed to leave Ireland well in charge.After Johnston won the toss and put his side in, openers Dominick Joyce and Jeremy Bray – who has turned out for New South Wales – put on 111 for the first wicket. After a second-wicket stand of 32 between Morgan and Bray, Morgan took charge as wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end. Ali Asad was the pick of the bowlers, keeping UAE in the match with an impressive 5 for 93.