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Even two months ago, the idea that South Africa, one-day cricket’s upwardly mobile force, might have to face off with England for a semi-final spot would have been considered preposterous, but after indifferent campaigns for both, Tuesday’s encounter at the Kensington Oval does have a winner-takes-all feel to it.On paper, it should be a no contest, with South Africa having won 33 of their last 50 one-day games, despite an indifferent start to this competition. The corresponding figure for England is a measly 19, and prior to the four-match winning streak that won them the CB Series in Australia, they had eked out six wins in 25 games.Michael Vaughan wasn’t part of that improbable triumph in Australia and, since his return, England have lapsed back into their old ways, losing to New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka, and just about inching past a meagre Bangladesh total of 143.Vaughan’s form has mirrored that of the team, with 113 runs from seven games, and apart from Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Paul Nixon, no batsman has shown a semblance of consistency. Vaughan though wasn’t about to dwell on the negatives. “It’s a great opportunity to raise our levels,” he said. “It’s a game that could take us to the semi-finals, which will be a great feat for an England side.”We’re a side that can turn up and produce on the day. We did it in the CB Series when we were down and out and it’s because we have players who enjoy big games, pressure situations and big crowds. They have been similar to us in many ways. They’ve played well at times and not so well other times. It’s the biggest match of the World Cup.”One of the clutch players he was talking about was Andrew Flintoff, struggling with a chest infection since Antigua. Vaughan though dismissed suggestions that Flintoff, in the World Cup news for all the wrong pedalo reasons, might be running on empty. “I don’t think so. I still think he’s got a performance in him.”England’s pace bowlers enjoyed the extra bounce at the Kensington Oval when they played Bangladesh, and an unchanged side is likely to step onto the park on Tuesday. Having said that, the pitch subsequently used for Bangladesh’s game against Ireland was rather different in nature. Whichever captain wins the toss faces a tricky decision, though South Africa, who lack a quality spinner, will almost certainly wish to bowl first.”It’s a tricky one,” said Vaughan, who had little hesitation in unleashing his fast bowlers against Bangladesh. “I would like to win it. In one-day cricket, if you can win the toss and the team’s happy doing what they have talked about, you always think you’re one up.”

Given the packed schedules that you see in international cricket, it’s quite surprising that these two sides haven’t met for over two years now. Then, South Africa clinched a seven-match series 4-1 on home soil – one game was tied – with Justin Kemp’s swashbuckling hitting providing a lot of the impetus despite three centuries from Pietersen in his debut series.With Pietersen having left behind his KwaZulu-Natal roots to go and qualify for England, there was plenty of needle in that series. Vaughan, however, wasn’t about to heighten the tension surrounding the game with any incendiary comments of his own. “Cricket’s a tough sport and when you have 11 guys out there, it can get a little fiery,” he said. “But it’s nothing that gets too personal, just a bit of banter.”England won five of their first six games against South Africa, including both encounters at the 1992 World Cup, but South Africa have emerged victorious in the two World Cup games since. That said, it’s hard to think of South Africa in relation to this competition without thinking of the C word – Chokers – but Vaughan didn’t go down the Australian route and attempt to pray on those insecurities.”I don’t think you can say we have handled it better than South Africa but yes, we have handled it well,” he said, when asked about pressure situations. “We’ve been in such situations before and we know we can come out of them.”His opposite number, Graeme Smith, has been amongst the runs, but also in the news for all the wrong reasons. His abrasive demeanour has rubbed several opponents the wrong way, but Vaughan played down any suggestions of bad blood. “I have no issue with him,” he said. “He’s an excellent captain, the leader of his team. I have a lot of respect for him.”Despite their underwhelming performances on the pitch and the drink-related problems off it, England know that they’re just two good games away from a place in the last four, something that they haven’t managed since Ian Botham and his mullet were still around.”We’re realistic of what we can achieve,” said Vaughan. “If you had told me before the World Cup that we would have one game [actually two] to get to the semifinal, I would have taken it.”

South Africa will look to continue their successful run against New Zealand with a win in the second ODI in Port Elizabeth. The hosts almost faltered during theirrun-chase in the first ODI in Durban but a win on Friday will give them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Going by current form, South Africa are clear favourites and this iseven without considering their recordin day-night encounters at St. George’s Park – eights win out of tenODIs, with one no result.The hosts will be boosted by the return of Herschelle Gibbs, who hadmissed the Twenty20 international and the first ODI with a kneeinjury. Gibbs’ standby Morne van Wyk has been released from the squad toplay for the Eagles in the SuperSport series.The other dilemma facing the South African selectors surroundstheir pace attack. New Zealand’s batsmen were blown away by Dale Steynduring the two-Test series, and his inclusion in the playing XI coulddent the tourists’ confidence ahead of a must-win game.However, with Shaun Pollock conceding next to nothing in his ten oversand Andre Nel playing a pivotal role with both ball and bat in the firstODI, the axe could fall on Makhaya Ntini, who proved to be expensive,especially at the death in Durban. Johan Botha might play despite unimpressiveshowings in recent ODIs, since the pitch at St. George’s Park couldfavour the slower bowlers.Graeme Smith, the South African captain, hinted at possible changes inthe bowling line-up. “We’ve got to look at the wicket and theconditions, but obviously Dale [Steyn] and [Charl] Langeveldt come intothe equation,” he was quoted as saying on the website SuperCricket. “We’ll seewhat switches we need to make to suit the conditions.”

Smith’s opposition counterpart Daniel Vettori must be wondering what histeam needs to do to beat this South African side. New Zealand’smain worry through the Tests was the form of their batsmen, but afterthe Durban ODI, the team would be concerned over its bowling optionsas well, besides their poor catching, which Vettori highlighted as the main reason for the last-ball loss at Kingsmead.Kyle Mills’ 5 for 25 in Durban would have done Shane Bond proud but New Zealand could have done with somefirepower at the other end – Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin, ScottStyris and Vettori conceded 220 runs and picked up three wickets.Allrounder Jacob Oram will be a handy addition to the bowlingdepartment. Oram suffered a hamstring strain in thefirst Test, and Vettori indicated the team would play six bowlers.”Jacob’s probably the most important member of our team purely from theroles he fills, batting at number six and able to bowl 10 overs,”Vettori told SuperCricket. “It’s a luxury not many teams have and havinghim back means I can take six bowlers and we get a nice balance whenhe’s playing.”That means wicketkeeper-batsman Gareth Hopkins, who scored a first-ball duck at Kingsmead, is likely to be dropped. The New Zealand captain alsoindicated Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, could get the nod ahead of oneof the quicker bowlers. “The times I’ve played here, I’ve always foundit a low, slow wicket and the guys who’ve been able to take the pace offit have always succeeded here [in Port Elizabeth],” he said. “So seamersstill have an important role to play, but we’ll have a lot of emphasison the slow bowlers.”Vettori admitted his team would be under pressure to win the remainingtwo matches. “We need to win both matches to give ourselves a shot atthe series,” he said. “The way we play tomorrow will be with that inmind, and we definitely will not be playing defensively.”We’ll be chasing that win as hard as we can, but the key thing is thatwhen you are chasing a win, you maybe push a little too hard and forgetabout a few of the simple things you need to do.”However, Smith said he expected South Africa to up their game, and sealthe series. “We want to be more clinical come tomorrow. It would befantastic to close off the series tomorrow,” he said. “The guys get anice break after this weekend, so hopefully we can step it up and playsome really good cricket.”

The Kensington Oval will have a test run before the ground is handed over to the ICC in February.Chris deCaires, the chairman of World Cup Barbados Inc., made it clear there will be practice games on the playing area before the year-end.”Our schedule confirms that we will be ready and the ICC has given the green light that our schedule is satisfactory to being World Cup-ready for next year and that will include practice games on the ground,” he said.Gordon Greenidge, the former West Indies opening batsman, said he was concerned whether there would be any real assessment of the pitch before the World Cup. He did not think that the Oval would be completed in time for practice matches to be played there before Barbados hosts Super Eight matches next April.However, deCaires said that in addition to the test run for the pitch, there would be a rehearsal for the entire stadium.”It is very important to have practice games and that is on the agenda, as well as an event to test the entire stadium. We want to make sure the stadium works well.”deCaires said he was pleased with the progress of construction at the Oval and promised that when it was completed, the facility would be truly world-class.”We still have a lot of work to be done but I am happy with what we have achieved so far and the efforts from all sectors of the society.”I have never been involved with a project that has such an integration from so many levels of society. We will host the best World Cup ever and all of Barbados will be proud and pleased with the final product.”The players’ pavilion will be up there with the best in the world, as well as the Challenor and Kensington Stands and the media centre. We will have a world-class facility, no doubt about it.”

Silver League final
Fading light curtailed play on the second day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Silver League final at at the Gaddafi Stadium but not before Multan had taken their overnight 326 for 4 against Islamabad to 514 for 9 declared.Islamabad’s hopes of winning the Silver League final and getting promoted to next season’s Gold League circuit had already been dented, as their captain Rao Iftikhar and allrounder Azhar Mahmood left for South Africa for the one-day international series. Their pace attack had thus been weakened considerably.The result was obvious from Multan’s 500 plus first-innings score. After their overnight batsman Bilal Khilji added only five more runs to be dismissed for 137 off 274 balls with 23 fours and a six, the lower-order batsmen continued in the same relentless manner.Allrounder Kamran Hussain hit an exact 50 off 130 balls with eight fours and with Abdul Rauf helped add 61 runs for the eighth wicket. Rauf made 57 runs off just 83 balls with seven fours and two sixes.Every Multan batsman got into double-figures, except Yasir Arafat, who faced nine balls before getting out for a duck.At 21 for no wicket at stumps, Islamabad still have a mountain to climb. They need another 294 runs to avoid the ignominy of being forced to follow-on. Multan are hoping to return to the Gold League section next season. In 2005-06, they had finished at the bottom of the circuit’s points table and were demoted to the Silver League.Gold League
Faisalabad made a strong reply to Karachi Harbour’s first-innings score of 366 with 287 for 3 on the second day of their sixth-round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold League match, at the National Stadium on Thursday.Faisalabad middle-order batsman Naved Latif struck top form as he blasted a quick fire 105 off 130 balls with 15 fours and three sixes. He posted his first-class career’s 11th hundred. With captain Misbah-ul-Haq, his third-wicket partnership of 181 runs came in a mere 170 minutes.Earlier, the opening stand was worth 58 runs and the second wicket fell on 102. Imran Ali contributed 46 off 71 balls with six fours and a six while Asif Hussain took just 39 balls to score 33 runs with six fours.The last four Karachi Harbour wickets fell cheaply yesterday morning, colappsing from 323 for 6 to 366 all out. Faisalabad fast bowler Asad Ali finished with figures of 5 for 122 while Ahmed Hayat took 3 for 59. Danish Kaneria, who recently returned from South Africa, conceded 80 runs in his 23 overs without any success.Faisalabad managed to lift themselves from the bottom position in the table and thus may have averted the ignominy of being demoted to next season’s Silver League circuit. They are now only 79 runs behind Karachi with seven wickets in hand.Karachi Harbour are currently placed at number five in the seven-team Gold League table with a tally of just 12 points, through a win, two defeats and a draw from their four previous appearances. Like Rawalpindi and Peshawar above them, they don’t appear to have any chance left to make it to the final.Defending champions Sialkot appear ready to displace Karachi Urban from the top of the Gold League points table as they bagged a 166-run first-innings lead on the second day at the Jinnah Stadium on Thursday.Aiming to overhaul Karachi Urban’s first-innings total of 164, Sialkot responded strongly with a score of 330 that gave them the advantage. By the close of play, Karachi had made 76 in their second innings for the loss of three wickets. They were still 90 runs in deficit.Having resumed at their overnight 53 for 0, Sialkot were rattled by Urban pace bowler Rajesh Ramesh who claimed all six wickets as the home side slumped to just 130 for 6, still 34 runs behind. A 132-run seventh-wicket stand then changed the entire complexion of the match.Middle-order batsman Ayub Dogar scored his maiden first-class century in his 21st match, his 127 combined with a rollicking knock of 77 by wicketkeeper Haafiz Khalid took Sialkot well beyond Karachi’s total.Rajesh didn’t take any more wickets and returned figures of 6 for 145 in 22 overs and took a battering from Ayub and Khalid. The tail was polished off by Asif Zakir, who took all the remaining four wickets for 40 runs in 8.5 overs with his off-breaks.Having lifted themselves from the fifth position in the Gold League table to occupy the second spot last week, Sialkot with 21 points are now looking towards retaining their national cricket title that they won last season. They have assured for themselves a spot in the final from February 19 to 23.Karachi Urban, with 24 points from their four previous matches, would still remain with a chance to make the final even if they are beaten here by Sialkot. But they will have to defeat Faisalabad in their seventh and last round match starting next week.Salman Butt played a captain’s knock as Lahore Shalimar made 291 for 5 in reply to Rawalpindi’s 330 runs at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground .Butt scored the ninth century of his first-class career and lifted his team’s morale with a knock of 166. He was involved in two fruitful partnerships on the way and hit 12 fours and a six. From 38 for 2, he and Imran Farhat, who played in the recent Test series in South Africa, boosted Lahore with an 85-run third-wicket stand.Farhat scored 42 off 82 balls with nine fours. Butt was then joined by Aamer Sajjad in a fourth-wicket stand that produced 155 runs. Sajjad remained unbeaten on 49 off 111 balls with six fours.Lahore Shalimar were only 39 runs behind Rawalpindi with five wickets intact. Of their five wickets to fall, fast bowler Yasir Arafat took 3 for 60.Rawalpindi, who for a while occupied the top spot in the Gold League table, are playing their last match of the competition. They now appear to have lost the battle to make it to the final of the tournament. They have 21 points and are third in the ranking. Lahore Shalimar are already at rock bottom in the table. In case they stay there, they will be demoted to the Silver League circuit of the next season.

ScorecardA four-wicket haul by allrounder Darren Sammy guided West Indies A to a convincing 59-run win over Sri Lanka A in the decisive match of their five-match limited overs series yesterday at St Lucia, winning the series 2-1.Electing to bat, the West Indians were dismissed for 215 in 49.4 overs and they then restricted the Sri Lankans to 156 in 41.3 overs, with Sammy registering figures of four for 16 off 7.3 overs. Pacer Gavin Tonge supported him with 2 for 31 off eight overs, as the home side clinched a 2-1 victory in the series.Earlier, opener Austin Richards plundered 68 with nine fours and a six off 99 balls to guide West Indies A to their total. Omari Banks made a useful contribution of 40 late in the innings and Wavell Hinds chipped in with 29.The West Indies were at one stage 124 for two, but lost captain Joseph driving too early at Ishara Amarasinghe, giving a return catch. Richards was caught behind by Kaushal Silva off Amerasinghe, who also accounted for Narsingh Deonarine caught behind for six. Amerasinghe finished with 4 for 34 and Bandara 3 for 41.In reply, the Sri Lankans were in all sorts of trouble at 87 for 8, before Bandara and Dammika Prasad resisted for a while. Bandara remained undefeated on 47.The result finished a competitive series that saw the Sri Lankans winning the first game and the West Indians rebounding to capture the second game last weekend in St Kitts. The third game on Wednesday was abandoned because of rain and Friday’s day/night fixture finished in a tie.

Sharad Pawar and Niranjan Shah have retained their posts as President and Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). No opposing candidate was named before the deadline for filing of nominations on Tuesday evening, a day before the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai.Shah announced that N Srinivasan, the treasurer, and MP Pandove, the joint secretary, have also been re-elected. This means that no elections will take place in the AGM, which will be attended by representatives of the various state associations.”All the four have been elected unopposed,” Shah told PTI. “The five vice-presidents (one each from the five zones constituting the BCCI) would be elected on the floor of the house tomorrow as per the practice.”According to the amended constitution of the BCCI, it is the turn of the West Zone to nominate a candidate to oppose Pawar for the post of president. However, since Pawar belongs to the Mumbai Cricket Association in the West Zone, it was widely predicted that he would win unopposed.The composition of the national selection panel will also be decided in the meeting, with Dilip Vengsarkar set to take over as the chairman, and the other members – Bhupinder Singh Sr (North Zone), Ranjib Biswal (East) and Sanjay Jagdale (Central) set to retain their posts. VB Chandrasekhar, the South Zone selector, will be replaced as his term comes to an end.

Match facts

Sunday, May 11, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The last time these two teams played each other, the pitch at Eden Gardens took centrestage as the ball kicked up, scooted low, jagged around, and in general made life miserable for the batsmen. VVS Laxman hit out at the surface after his team was at the wrong end of the result, but here his team have a chance to avenge that defeat, and more importantly, inject some momentum into what has so far been a disastrous campaign – with two wins in eight games, they are sitting at the bottom of the table and each of their last six matches are virtually must-win games for them.Kolkata arrested a worrying four-match slide with a thrilling five-run win against Bangalore, but the fact that the worst team in the tournament pushed them all the way remains a cause for worry, as does the fact that the batting hasn’t yet inspired any confidence yet. They have played one less game than Deccan, though, and a win on Sunday will put them on eight points from as many games, and in a good position to push for a semi-final spot.Both teams will also have to battle their unfavourable home and away records. Deccan have lost all three games at home, while Kolkata have lost three out of four away matches. Deccan also have a huge problem when batting first: they have lost all five games when setting a target, and most of those defeats have been convincing ones.

Tournament position

Deccan Chargers P8, W2, L6, NRR -0.240
Kolkata Knight Riders P7, W3, L4, NRR +0.461

IPL form (last five matches)

Deccan Chargers: LWLLW
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLLLL

Watch out for …

Mitchell Johnson says he couldn’t have done more over the last year to force his way into Australia’s Test side after being named in the 13-man squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka.Before that match, which is at the Gabba from next Thursday, he has the chance to impress in the second warm-up match at Allan Border Field on Friday.”I think I’ve done what I can over in India and over the past 12 months or so,” he told Sportal.com. “It is out of my control but my fingers are crossed.”He faces an anxious wait to see if he made the final cut ahead of fellow fast bowler Shaun Tait but being the only left-arm pace bowler in the squad may help. He also impressed in India recently, where he was the leading wicket taker with 14 at an average of 18.57 including a five-for.But Johnson, who has yet to make his Test debut, has been here before: this time last year he was waiting to see if he would get the nod for the Ashes ahead of Stuart Clark. He lost out then and his wait for a Test continues.”I don’t want to get my hopes up and be too confident but deep down I’m hoping.”

Lou Vincent struck a quick hundred to lead Auckland to a 38-run victory against Canterbury at the Village Green in Christchurch. Vincent’s 129 was well supported by aggressive fifties from Richard Jones and Kyle Mills as Auckland piled up 303 for 6. Canterbury were restricted to 265 for 7 in reply.After being asked to bat, Auckland’s openers – Paul Hitchcock and Vincent – added 58 for the first wicket. Hitchcock’s contributed only 7 to that partnership before being caught off Leighton Burtt. Jones joined Vincent in a 106-run partnership for the second wicket which steadily built the momentum. Jones struck 69 off 66 balls with seven fours and two sixes.Wickets began to fall at regular intervals after Jones was dismissed by Iain Robertson, but Vincent held up one end. He struck 19 boundaries, and when he was dismissed with the score on 254 for 5, Kyle Mills took on the responsibility of taking Auckland past 300. Mills crashed six fours and two sixes and raced to 52 off 29 balls.Canterbury’s chase started poorly as they lost their first four wickets for 69 by the 17th over. Chris Harris, who scored 71, and Kruger van Wyk revived the chase with gritty half-centuries but the asking-rate kept increasing. Hitchcock’s vital middle-order strikes ensured that Canterbury ran out of steam in spite of van Wyk’s unbeaten 63 off 56 balls. Hitchcock was the pick of Auckland’s bowlers, finishing with figures of 3 for 56.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

After hours of waiting, in which more than 70 overs and almost five hours of play was lost, the game finally got under way at half past four in the afternoon on the second day. Sourav Ganguly completed his century and was dismissed immediately, on an even 100, and Sachin Tendulkar brought up his hundred soon after. The aim was to play 23 overs, but that was never likely given the speed at which light deteriorates late in the day in the East, and in the end 20 overs were sent down, in which India added 89 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. India reached 384, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni still at the crease.When play began, India were 295 for 3, and had a full day’s play been possible that would have been a good platform from which to build. But, given all the time lost, and how flat this pitch is – its nature had not changed in the least despite all the moisture that had been around – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see either team forcing a win in this Test match.If anything, the loss of time has made one scenario more likely, and that is India batting long in their first innings and then attempting to bowl out Bangladesh twice. However, for that to happen, India had to score quickly and give their bowlers enough time to get to work. The fact that Tendulkar and Ganguly, both left out of the one-day team for this tour, were nearing centuries, meant that the pace was unlikely to be anything to write home about.Still, Ganguly looked to play his shots, picking up three boundaries on the road from 82 to 100. Two of those were pull shots, struck in front of square once each off Shahadat Hossain and Mashrafe Mortaza. There was also a sweetly timed straight drive off Mohammad Rafique, which was scarecely more than a checked shot, but the timing was impeccable and the placement perfectly inbetween bowler and mid-on.The century came in slightly ungainly fashion, when Ganguly fended away a short ball from Shahadat with an awkward pull shot. There was relief on Ganguly’s face as he held his arms aloft, acknowledging the scattered cheers, having reached three figures in Tests for the first time since September 2005, against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo. There he made 101 off 262 balls, reaching his century with a boundary, and was dismissed off the very next ball. In a manner of speaking history repeated itself at the Divisional Stadium in Chittagong. Two balls after reaching his hundred Ganguly was dismissed, playing the pull, as he top-edged the ball straight up in the air for mid-off to catch.Meanwhile, Tendulkar was inching towards his own milestone. As has been his method in recent times he cut out all risky shots, and instead concentrated on picking off the ones and twos – mostly ones – through the on-side, shuffling across his stumps and closing the face of the bat, working the ball to the on-side. But when the ball was loose – pitched a touch short, and width afforded, or too full – Tendulkar did not hold back, clattering Mashrafe Mortaza through point and then punching back past the bowler for consecutive boundaries to move from 85 to 93. Tendulkar got to his 36th hundred with a punch to mid-on.The arrival of Dhoni, at the fall of Ganguly’s wicket, did plenty to elevate the run-rate, and give India’s innings some much needed momentum. Dhoni began as he meant to go on, with an aggressively punched boundary. But even as Dhoni motored on India lost their third wicket to a batsman attempting to pull a ball from outside the off stump as Tendulkar failed to get hold of one from Shahadat and skied the ball to the off side. Tendulkar had made 101.Ramesh Powar replaced Tendulkar, and in the fading light Dhoni continued to force the pace, constantly looking to attack the mediumpacers. He picked up six boundaries in typically flamboyant fashion, but Powar failed in his duty to keep Dhoni company. Powar came down the pitch and had an ambitious heave at a straight one from Mohammad Rafique and found his stumps violently rearranged. Anil Kumble, who came in to bat at No. 8, was more sensible, and restrained, and ensured that he kept his wicket intact when stumps were drawn. This left Dhoni, batting on 36 from 35 balls, with another stab at the Bangladeshis on the third day. India need to look for quick runs and a declaration, if they are to make a serious attempt at winning this Test.