With the words “Huss, you’re in” Justin Langer ruled himself out of thefirst Test and gave Michael Hussey the opportunity he’s been waiting forsince he was five. Langer succumbed to a fractured rib despite batting inthe nets today and Australia will have a new opening combination in a Test for thefirst time since August 2001 against West Indies on Thursday.Hussey was called into the squad on Monday but felt his opportunity waslimited when he watched Langer train without emotion this morning. WhenLanger walked across after a meeting with Trevor Hohns, John Buchanan andErrol Alcott, Hussey knew he would be losing the tag of the country’s mostunlucky batsman and become its 393rd Test player.”I never lost hope,” said Hussey, who in plundering 15,313 first-class runs at52.80 holds the record as the most prolific Australian scorer before winninga Test cap. “I really feel like I had to earn it and that’s what Testcricket in Australia is about. I’ve been through heaps, but loved everyminute along the way. All the hard work has been worth it.”Langer, who was hit while batting for Western Australia in an ING Cup match onSaturday, has played 53 consecutive Tests since replacing Michael Slater atThe Oval four years ago and was disappointed to break his record-breakingpartnership with Matthew Hayden. He knew the streak was in trouble on Mondaybut completed a full session before scratching himself.”It’s very painful and it feels like I’ve got barbed wire in my chest everytime I run,” he said. “I’ve never had a break before but Errol [thephysiotherapist] said give it seven days and it should be back to normal.”Langer has gained a reputation as one of the game’s ironmen with his high pain tolerance, but he was worried he would let himself down if he tookthe field. “After England we promised as a group we would increase ourintensity and play like a great team,” he said. “I don’t think I can playlike a great player over the next five days.”Hayden and Hussey is another left-handed partnership with a ring to it andLanger said his state team-mate was his preferred replacement because of hisextreme desire to play for Australia. “He’s as hungry as anyone I’ve met andas long as he watches the ball and smiles he’ll make plenty of runs,” Langersaid. “He has huge respect in the team and huge respect from Haydos – I’msure they’ll be a great partnership for this Test.”Hussey said receiving the news was “a bit surreal” and it was “weird” takingthe place of Langer. “We’ve been through a lot together in WesternAustralia,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a littlekid. Hopefully it will sink in when I get my baggy green.”

In appreciation of his bowling feats in 2005, Shane Warne has been named the BBC’s Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.Warne, 36, was the most successful bowler in Australia’s losing campaign in this past summer’s Ashes series in England with 40 wickets, and he is also Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 645 victims.”Shane Warne has entertained cricket fans for years with his outstanding talent and contributed enormously to a thrilling Ashes series,” said Philip Bernie, a BBC programme editor. “His extraordinary achievements on the field, combined with his charismatic personality have made him a true sporting superstar, and an extremely worthy winner of this award.”Warne pipped rivals Fernando Alonso, the Formula One champion, Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, and Roger Federer, the current Wimbledon champion, to bag BBC’s accolade. “I am very proud of this achievement and am delighted to receive this award,” said Warne to BBC Sport. He is set to receive the award from Richie Benaud, the former Australian legspinner.

ScorecardMark Cleary’s quickfire debut century and an impressive haul from Cullen Bailey put South Australia well on top of Tasmania on the second day at Adelaide. Bailey, a 20-year-old legspinner playing his fourth first-class match, ended with the impressive figures of 4 for 58 to give the hosts a comfortable lead of 419 runs.Cleary came to the crease when Graham Manou fell without adding to his overnight 67 and with Darren Lehmann, who continued his brilliant innings to finish with 182 from 186 balls, the pair put on 115 in 18 overs. Cleary was unbeaten on 109, his first Pura Cup century, after hitting 18 fours and one six from 104 deliveries, allowing South Australia to declare on the imposing total of 9 for 581.It was Cleary who then made the first breakthrough in Tasmania’s reply, removing Michael Di Venuto for a duck with his first ball. “It’s just my day this, my day,” Cleary told AAP. “I’m happy to take that one because I don’t think the quicks will be getting that many more for the rest of the game.”Fifteen wickets to get, it should normally swing our way with the wicket getting fluffier and up and down. [We are] definitely in the box seat … we would be absolutely devastated if we didn’t get six points out of it from our position at the moment.”

Just four days into the one-day series and both India and Pakistan have injury concerns ahead of the second one-dayer at Rawalpindi on February 11. Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh, who both missed the first one-dayer at Peshawar, appeared unlikely starters while India had further worries with Sreesanth and Greg Chappell, the coach, also rendered ill-disposed.Harbhajan, who is yet to play a one-dayer in Pakistan, had a brief knock with the bat at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and took part in fielding drills, but refrained from bowling. “Unfortunately, Harbhajan hasn’t bowled today and we’re monitoring the situation,” Dravid said after a nets session. “We’re keeping in mind the forthcoming series and need to handle the situation accordingly. It’s a sort of injury where it’s tough to put a finger on the time-frame of recovery. We will take a decision keeping in mind the future matches.”Sreesanth and Chappell also aren’t well. They’ve come down with a sore throat and are feeling feverish. We didn’t want other guys getting ill as well. As a precaution we decided it’s better for them to skip it.”Pakistan too may have a worry with regard to Shoaib Akhtar, whose ankle has been a worry since early December, limped off after a bowling stint during Pakistan’s practice session, and was visibly in pain. His problem began during the Lahore Test against England but wasn’t serious enough to stop him from playing all three games against India, though he was an unlikely starter for the Karachi Test. It was the first time in his career that he played six Tests on the trot but a need for rest, combined with the side’s rotation policy, kept him out of the opening ODI. There will be an advantage of playing on his home ground and Shoaib would no doubt be raring to help Pakistan carry on the momentum.The pitch, with a greenish tinge, might have encouraged him as well but Dravid felt that one could get a clear picture only tomorrow. “There’s a bit of cut grass and it’s been watered but there’s still 48 hours to go and anything can happen,” he said. “When we playedhere last more than 300 runs were scored and it could be a similar story here.”He added that India’s inability to defend a big total was a concern and hinted that there may be a few changes in the bowling line-up. “We could probably do a few more things with the bowling,” he said. “We have a young and inexperienced attack and are trying to improve in every game. It’s tough to bowl on these conditions and we’re looking to get better. Pakistan have a good batting side, they bat low down and are very effective in sub-continental conditions.”Both teams finished practice by 11:00am to avoid being held up by Muharram processions in and around Rawalpindi. The Indians had a relaxed schedule on Wednesday with a few members of the side playing some golf, while the others visited a Gurudwara near Islamabad. Pakistan had an optional net session yesterday with some players preferring to spend time in their homes.

Sialkot Stallions 156 for 4 (Naved-ul-Hasan 40*) beat Faisalabad Wolves 152 for 8 (Imran Ali 41, Naved-ul-Hasan 3-37) by six wickets
ScorecardSialkot Stallions were crowned the new champions of Pakistan’s Twenty20 Cup, beating the holders Faisalabad Wolves by six wickets in the final at the National Stadium on Saturday night.The match was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, causing a delay of almost two hours. When order was restored, the Wolves batsmen appeared visibly shaken. Their eventual score of 152 for 8 in 20 overs never looked enough to help them retain their title.The Stallions didn’t find the task too taxing. They reached 156 for 4 in reply and won the match as well as the glittering trophy with four deliveries to spare.The final ended at 2.35am on Sunday instead of the scheduled finish at half-past midnight. Although no official figures were available, according to television commentators the attendance before the trouble was around 35,000. After the long delays many left, but still several stands remained quite thickly populated.Initially, Imran Nazir’s decision to field first surprised many. But he was vindicated as the Wolves were contained to a reasonable total. Opener Imran Ali was the top-scorer with 41, made off 30 balls with five fours and a six. Faisalabad skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored 33 off 34 balls and hit three fours while Naved Latif’s cameo of 21 included three sixes and came off only 14 deliveries.Sialkot were powered by a 14-ball 29 from Imran Nazir, with five fours and a six. Youngster Shahid Yousuf hit 30 off 21 balls then, after the fourth wicket fell at 87 made in the 11th over, the fifth-wicket pair took the Stallions through.Shoaib Malik followed his two quick wickets in the Wolves’ 20th over with a run-a-ball 31 not out. With fellow Pakistan player Naved-ul-Hasan their unbroken stand of 69 came in just 50 deliveries.After taking three wickets in his four overs, Naved required only 26 balls to hammer an unbeaten 40 that included three fours and as many sixes. He was the deserving winner of the Rs20,000 Man-of-the-Match award.Sialkot, who are also the reigning champions of Pakistan’s first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship, beat the Faisalabad side in the final of that competition too.

Jason Gillespie has been recalled to the Australian squad for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. Gillespie, 30, was dropped from the side during last summer’s Ashes in England, but has been added along with Phil Jaques and Mitchell Johnson, who could make his Test debut. The trio will replace Shaun Tait, Michael Kasprowicz and Justin Langer who picked up injuries in Australia’s 3-0 Test series win in South Africa.Trevor Hohns, who announced his resignation as chief selector yesterday, announced the squad today. “The players coming into the squad deserve their opportunity to tour,” he told AAP. “Our advice was that the players would be definitely unavailable for the first Test and maybe the second, too.”Jaques has made a solitary Test appearance, against South Africa last Boxing Day. Johnson, 24, has played two one-day internationals and is in line for his Test debut.”Given that it is only a two-Test series, we thought it would be in the best interests of the players concerned to give them a full recovery,” Hohns said.”We also felt it was important to have a squad in Bangladesh who were all available for the first Test.”The two-Test series starts in Fatullah on Sunday.Gillespie admitted he was surprised to be chosen, but still believes he will not feature in either Test. “I thought I was no hope,” he said, an attitude which contrasts with Jaques, who announced: “I’m going over there expecting to play.”

ScorecardTest veteran Neil McKenzie and promising youngster Jean-Paul Duminy punished the touring New Zealanders in an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 248 for the Rest of South Africa on the first day of a four-day match at Willowmoore Park on Friday. The Rest reached 355 for 3 at the close, with both batsmen on 127 not out.It was hardly the warm-up New Zealand were seeking ahead of a three-Test series against South Africa which starts at Centurion on April 15. But it was the sort of performance pledged by McKenzie, the Rest captain, ahead of the match when he said his players would be seeking to force the national selectors’ hands and to get the New Zealanders’ tour off to a losing start.McKenzie, 30, has played in 41 Tests but hasn’t been selected for two seasons despite good domestic form in the current season. The left-handed Duminy, a week short of his 22nd birthday, has played in five one-day internationals and is regarded as one of the country’s most promising young batsmen.The Rest took advantage of a slow, flat pitch after McKenzie won the toss and decided to bat. But they had an early setback in the second over when fast bowler Shane Bond bowled Alviro Petersen. Stephen Cook, the son of former Test batsman Jimmy, was run out for 13 when the total was on 42.Justin Ontong and McKenzie put on 65 for the third wicket before Ontong was out for 61 in the first over after lunch. The rest of the day belonged to McKenzie and Duminy, although both gave chances. McKenzie was dropped on 11 and Duminy on 28. Bond struggled after his early wicket,conceding 51 runs in ten overs, including 22 off one over, including three fours and a six by McKenzie. He also bowled five no-balls and five wides.

Kevin Pietersen, England’s middle-order batsman, has said he has gotten used to the glare of the media limelight after the “life-changing” Ashes triumph last year and has admitted that he wants to become the best in the business. Pietersen’s match-saving and Ashes-winning 158 in the final Test at the Oval took him to new levels of popularity, and has accepted that “everyone wants a piece of him”.”I’ve got used to the attention, it’s now a way of life,” Pietersen told .”It was quite daunting at first but it’s bearable now. I’ve just got to smile and look as though I’m happy all of the time. It’s not just on the field I have to put in 110 percent but it’s off the field too. I can’t go out of the house without dressing up just in case I get snapped by the paparazzi but I don’t do many things I shouldn’t.”I’m just ultra polite and ultra nice now because I’m not just representing English cricket but I want to be a good role model for kids.Everyone wants a piece of Kevin Pietersen now but it is easy for me to fit people in. If I’m not working then I’ll do it, if I’m working they can take a hike.”The South-African born Pietersen – who was voted the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year and received a prestigious Wisden Cricketer of the Year accolade for 2005 – admitted that he wanted to hog the headlines for a longer period. “The attention on me is massive, but I haven’t let it have a detrimental effect on the way I train or the way I perform. I know what has made me successful and it has given me a rather nice roof over my head,” he said.”I’m not interested in being a short-term success, I want long-term success. I want to be the best batsman in the world and that requires complete determination, hard work and making sure I keep doing the right things.”That Oval innings apart, Pietersen impressed with a second hundred on a tough tour of Pakistan and fifties in England’s 1-1 series in India recently. He also admitted that he had no intentions of slacking. “I play every game as if it’s my last whether it’s for county or country,” he said. “So much so that I only took a few days off after the tour to India before I was back training. Then I scored 98 in Hampshire’s win over Essex in the week so that shows I’ve no intention of getting complacent.”

Two members from each side spoke to the press at the end of the day and it was the one who hadn’t taken the field all day who caused all the mirth. Ravi Sawant, the vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association who is currently the manager of the Indian side, came out and said that Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan weren’t dropped but “rested”. Even before the giggles had died down, he added that VRV Singh was in no way inexperienced and had played several times for India A.There are different ways to view this statement. Either Sawant was just coming to terms with his managerial role, having joined the team only for the Tests, or India were in fact adopting a rotation policy. If the first is true, can the Indian board realise it’s high time it had a full-time media manager? If not, will the team management have the courage to continue the process despite defeat? Some of these questions will be answered during the course of this Test, others will remain mysteries. As for VRV, even he will admit that he’s inexperienced. Let’s leave it there.Now to the cricket. Despite having a good day in the office, Brian Lara was a tad disappointed. “After the first few balls, I thought it was a 200 wicket,” he stated. “It was good to have them at 180 for 7 but it was a good stand between Anil [Kumble] and Sreesanth. They batted really well. We had a good day. But we kept them to below three runs an over. It was not good to give 50 runs in the first ten odd overs, and the bowling in the last part of the day was also not professional on our part. We did well in between to pull things back. We didn’t let the likes of [Rahul] Dravid to get away. [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni came in to get some runs going, and we were able to hold him as well.”Lara added that the pitch suited his set of bowlers but added that he’d ideally like his side to bat only once. “It was a very good toss to lose,” he continued. “I looked at the pitch and knew that there was something in it for the fast bowlers upfront. As the match goes on, there’s going to be some wear and tear and it’s a bit of a worry for the last innings. But if we make full use of our first innings and put the pressure on India and get in front in a big way, we can actually get an advantage.”I think it [the pitch] is going to play best over the next two days, so that’s when we’ll get a chance to bat. We need to take the responsibility and bat well. I think it’s going to gradually get tougher – there’s a lot of grass, lot of roots there – so it’s not going to be easier. I expect that to come to the surface and play a part. If we can settle our problems in the first innings itself, it will be good for us. As you can see, Dravid batted a lot of overs but never looked in. It’s that kind of pitch. We need to gain the psychological advantage and get ahead of them.”

Percy Sonn, who has today taken over as ICC president from Ehsan Mani, has accepted an invitation from Zimbabwe Cricket to visit the country and see for himself the state the game is in there.”What I want is some degree of understanding of the issues that surround the administration of cricket within Zimbabwe,” Sonn told the ICC’s Business Forum at Lord’s on Friday. “I am delighted to say I will get that [understanding] following an invitation to visit the country from Zimbabwe Cricket.”I will hear first hand of the challenges that confront the sport there, how those challenges will be dealt with and, at the same time, we will discuss how the ICC can assist the game in Zimbabwe. Once I have done that I will then report back to the ICC’s Executive Board so that we, as an organisation, are better informed about what is happening there.”Sonn will make the trip with Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive.”Zimbabwe has seen many of its leading players walk away from representing the national side over the past few years and that has led to an inevitable weakening of cricket there,” Sonn added. “We are now at a stage where Zimbabwe has voluntarily stepped back from its Test commitments and, moving forward, they will only return to that arena when they are ready to do so.”By travelling there, talking and listening, I believe we will be in a better position to support cricket in Zimbabwe at a time when such support is clearly needed.”