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Michael Hussey might be promoted up the order against Bangladesh in an effort to get him out of his uncharacteristic form slump. Hussey has had a miserable World Cup, with scores of 4, 2, 5 and 9, as well as 15 and 0 in the two warm-up games.Hussey’s opportunities have been limited by the success of Australia’s top order in the Caribbean and he has typically come in with only a few overs remaining. However, he also struggled to 9 against West Indies on Tuesday, when he began in the 36th over.The recent run of low scores is Hussey’s leanest patch since his ODI debut in 2003-04. In 65 matches he has recorded an average of 58.63 and developed a reputation as a fine finisher. Ricky Ponting said an in-form Hussey was crucial for Australia and the best move could be to let him bat earlier in the innings.”It’s tempting,” Ponting told . “I actually was going to do it in the Netherlands game. I spoke to him about batting up in my spot [No. 3] in that game. We sort of felt with where we were at, we should just keep pushing on.”Ponting said even though he didn’t want too much “tinkering” with his side, the move would be considered for the Bangladesh game on Saturday. “We’ve got a batters’ meeting and it’s something we will probably talk to Huss about then,” he said.”I know he’s a little bit frustrated. He can’t take a trick at the moment, either. He chopped one on the other day with a few overs left in the innings [against West Indies], and actually hit a really good shot in the South Africa game and picked the guy out at deep cover.”He’s had a few of those games in a row where nothing is going his way. It’s probably something he hasn’t had to deal with really in his international career. In both forms of the game, he has come in and had extended success. He’s just going through one of those little runs at the moment. If it’s going to take batting him up the order to change that around then it’s something we are going to have to consider.”

After a wait that seemed interminable on the reserve day, the momentum inthe semi-final swung South Africa’s way off the very first ball. PieterMalan had one more delivery to complete the 19th over of Pakistan’s innings and he strayed down leg side. The wicketkeeper Bradley Barnes moved quickly to cover the lineof the ball and, once Umar Amin had overbalanced, he whipped the bailsoff in a trice to stump the batsman even as the umpire signalled wide. Somepeople called it a lucky break but South Africa’s coach Ray Jennings saidit was anything but.”We set out to try and control the first ten balls today,” Jennings said. “The wicketkeeper was picked because he was the best in the country and he can stand up to someone like Wayne Parnell [the left-arm medium-fast bowler]. You haven’t seen the best of him yet, he can stand up to the stumps from the first ball.”Barnes has been standing up to the stumps to South Africa’s medium-pacers once the shine wears off. On Saturday, the ploy of having fielders in the circle worked as several Pakistan batsmen holed out while trying to clear the in-field.”I always believed that if we got a score like 260, no side is going to bat second and beat us,” Jennings said. “The only way they could have beaten us was if the rain affected the game through some sort of calculation. Nine out of ten times teams don’t make that score. We really bowled badly last night to start off with but I was quite confident that it was a matter of time before Pakistan collapsed.”The situation overnight though was precarious. Had there been seven more balls, the game would have been decided by the Duckworth/Lewis method and there would have been no need to come back on the reserve day. When play was called off, Pakistan needed five runs off seven balls to win the game on the D/L method, albeit without losing a wicket. Jennings felt Pakistan had read the situation poorly, for there were frequent interruptions which slowed down the pace of the game and hindered the completion of 20 overs.”Pakistan really went off the ball last night,” Jennings said. “They interrupted the game 4-5 times with [by calling for] batting gloves and water. So if they hadn’t done that they might have played the final. I think they interrupted themselves and paid the penalty.”The South Africans, however, were extremely pleased with the game going into the reserve day for as JJ Smuts, the opening batsman said: “It’s much easier to score six an over off 20 overs. It’s difficult to do over 50. In a shorter game the chances become a lot tighter. We backed ourselves to win if we played a full 50 overs to win the game.”

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Zimbabwe players and officials have demanded the resignation of Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, on grounds that he failed to address the sporting crisis in the country. In a letter to Speed, the chairperson of all seven provinces, players’ representatives, former Zimbabwe Cricket directors, and other “stakeholders” said that the ICC should not recognise the Zimbabwe Cricket management of Peter Chingoka and managing director Ozias Bvute.”They remain in their positions only because the Zimbabwe government arbitrarily appointed a temporary committee, most of whom know nothing about cricket” Associated Press quoted Richie Kaschula, a former international bowler who was recently sacked as full-time selector, as saying. “The ICC declined to intervene, which should have been their duty.” The letter also cited the ICC’s ineffectiveness in handling the two-year-old crisis and said Speed was wrong to allow Chingoka to investigate himself and Bvute following widespread allegations of corruption.Chingoka and Bvute have faced criticism in the past. In October of 2005, there were calls for both to resign after claims of financial mismanagement. Chingoka and Bvute were arrested by Harare police following Reserve Bank investigations but released on the instruction of Zimbabwe’s attorney general.Speed was also accused of doing nothing to enforce his instructions to Zimbabwe to solve player strikes. “We believe that in the interests of cricket worldwide you should do the honorable thing and resign your position,” the letter concluded.Copies of the letter have been sent to every Test-playing country seeking support.

Michael Hussey, the stand-in captain, says Australia will look to regain confidence for the World Cup in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after their shock CB Series finals loss to England. Hussey is leading the team for the three matches starting in Wellington on Friday after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist were rested from the week-long tour.”I just want us to focus on playing well in this Chappell-Hadlee series and we’re looking to win the series,” Hussey told reporters before the team left Melbourne. “We don’t want to focus on the World Cup and look too far ahead.”The team is excited, we’ve had a huge summer here in Australia, but we’re looking forward to getting away and playing some good cricket. We’re trying to change the momentum a little bit and get our confidence back a little bit, but I’m sure we’ll put in an excellent showing over there.”With Ponting and Gilchrist absent and Michael Clarke nursing a hip injury, Matthew Hayden is the only certainty out of Australia’s first-choice top four. Hussey batted at No. 6 throughout the CB Series and said team balance would dictate where he would slot into the order in New Zealand.”As captain you’ve got the luxury of getting to choose where you would like to bat,” he said. “I’ll sit down with John Buchanan and we’ll try to work out what the best balance for the team is and then I’ll fit in there.”If my role is best for the team coming in and playing that finishing role then that’s what I’ll do. If the team thinks I need to go up the order and try and bolster the middle-order in that way, or the team thinks I need to open the batting, then I’ll do whatever is best for the team.”Hussey, who averages 68.65 in one-day internationals, said he was in good shape despite two failures in the finals against England, when he fell to Andrew Flintoff for 17 and 0. “I still think I’m hitting the ball well in the nets but obviously my results haven’t been as I would have liked in the last couple of games,” he said. “I’m sure if I stick to my plans I can still be successful and consistent for Australia for a while yet.”

The local slogan for the Ashes is “It’s definitely on!” Finally, after 15 months of build-up, it’s definitely here. When the toss-winning captain chooses to bat on a fast Gabba pitch on Thursday morning the most hyped series will begin and the players will be the happiest of all.Both captains – and teams – have tired of questions and are ready to start answering with performances. “We just want to get started,” an impatient Andrew Flintoff said. “Now it’s time to get on the pitch and start going. It’s nice that it’s over.”But can the series live up to the 2005 model? And will the disappointment be justified if it doesn’t? It seems impossible that five Tests, which have already attracted record-breaking sales, could satisfy lead-up coverage that has continued to rise like floodwaters.Ricky Ponting has the most heavily magnified job in Australia as he begins a campaign that will define his career as captain. One Ashes loss was sloppy, but a second would be an etching no amount of minnow-belting could erase. Since The Oval last September Australia have won 11 of 12 Tests and their toughest contests came from South Africa, who are currently ranked sixth, and Bangladesh at the end of an exhausting stretch.Both sides’ preparations have suffered blips but England will offer Australia their greatest assignment since the 2-1 failure that sparked a boom of interest in both countries. Ponting has been a career cricketer since he was 16 and his heartbeat remains settled for run-of-the-mill matches. This time even he has been influenced by the occasion.

“The excitement is starting to overflow for everybody,” Ponting said. “I think it’s important that we keep a check on that. Not to get too carried away with things and not to try to make things happen too quickly.” England won the big moments at home last year and none will be larger than the opening session.Flintoff was the key cast member and he has grabbed another role by adding captaincy to his allrounder status. Pour in his recovery from an ankle injury and he faces an unenviable task to carry his nation.”The 2005 win was a huge achievement,” he said. “To have the opportunity to defend them in Australia is even bigger. If we can pull it off it will be something amazing.”England’s biggest decision hovers over whether to push for the extra batting credentials of Ashley Giles or the more aggressive bowling of Monty Panesar. Left-arm spin has not been Australia’s favourite method over the past decade and the choice will give a guide to England’s outlook for the series.Australia were forced into some restructuring due to Shane Watson’s hamstring injury, which gave Michael Clarke a chance and trimmed the attack from five bowlers to four. Shaun Tait was dropped from the squad on Wednesday and the final space will be fought between Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson. Clark’s experience and his Man-of-the-Series performance in South Africa last March give him the edge over the uncapped Johnson.The pitch will suit the fast men and the curator Kevin Mitchell junior tipped the surface to be the quickest of his tenure. It will have the usual green tinges but the captain who wins the toss will not follow Nasser Hussain’s mistake of 2002-03.”Since the rebuild of the stadium in 2000 it’s the quickest it’s been,” Mitchell said. “It will have early life, although I’m not sure how long it will last.” Mitchell could have been speaking about the series as a whole.Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Glenn McGrath.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.

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

An outstanding Test got the nail-biting finish it deserved, as a match which neither side deserved to lose finally went Sri Lanka’s way by the narrowest of margins – one wicket. Mahela Jayawardene’s magnificent 123 took them to the brink of the 352-run target but South Africa fought back spectacularly after lunch only to be denied right at the end, as Sri Lanka achieved the sixth-highest successful run-chase in Test history. A series scoreline of 0-2 does scant justice to the contest that unfolded.When the players trooped off for lunch on the final day at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, with Mahela unbeaten on 117 and Ferveez Maharoof giving him company on 24, it was easy to imagine that only the formalities remained – the target was 19 runs away with four wickets in hand, Mahela was batting with utter serenity, and with Maharoof had overcome an iffy start to post a 62-run stand. As it turned out, that one-hour passage of play after lunch was fraught with heart-stopping tension and excitement, as Sri Lanka lost three wickets and managed just 19 runs in 13.3 overs.The drama heated up as a South African side which had seemed flat before lunch suddenly appeared to have perked up, with a definite game plan in mind. The loss of Makhaya Ntini – he didn’t take the field on the fifth day due to a hamstring injury – was a huge blow, but the rest of the bowlers made up for his absence. Dale Steyn started proceedings after lunch with a ring of three close-in fielders on the leg side, while Nicky Boje kept it tight and attacked with close-in fielders. Neither batsman was given room to play his strokes, and the pressure gradually told: after just eight came off seven overs, Mahela attempted to ease the pressure, charging down the pitch to play his favourite extra-cover drive. This time, however, he only managed to edge it to Herschelle Gibbs at slip, who finally made amends for the mistake he had committed when Mahela was on 2 (341 for 7).That suddenly brought South Africa back in the contest. Chaminda Vaas was completely tied down, as seven came off the next five overs, and when he tried to break the shackles, AB de Villiers plucked an amazing left-handed catch at gully to further put the result in doubt (348 for 8). Sri Lanka were now one big hit away from their target, and the next man in, Muttiah Muralitharan, attempted to do just that. It worked partially, when a lusty blow fetched him two, but then Hall bowled one perfectly straight, Muralitharan missed, the stumps were rattled, and Sri Lanka were 350 for 9. Maharoof took a single, and amid mounting tension, Lasith Malinga finally sealed the issue, clubbing a drive down the ground for the winning run.The drama at the end took the spotlight from the man who became only the fifth player to score more than 500 runs in a two-Test series. Over the last four months, Mahela has shown that he is ready to step up one notch from an elegant and stylish batsman to one who can deliver at the crunch. At Lord’s earlier this year his 119 helped saved the game from a near-hopeless position, and while his triple-century in the first Test wasn’t under extreme conditions, it still showed his ability to bat for long periods. Today, and over the last two days in fact, the pressure on him and his side was immense: a total of more than 350 had never been chased before in the fourth innings in Sri Lanka or by Sri Lanka, and while the pitch wasn’t a minefield, it was helping the bowlers enough to suggest that the task would be a tough one.On the fourth day Mahela was all class and assurance, and today he continued in similar vein, as Sri Lanka started the day with 90 needed. Unflustered by the bowlers or the match situation, he started the day in glorious fashion, creaming a flawless cover-drive off Andrew Hall, and then following it with a perfect cut shot when Boje pitched it short. The batsmen at the other end struggled – Prasanna Jayawardene was trapped in front by an inswinging delivery, while Maharoof survived two reprieves off consecutive balls – but Mahela was hardly bothered, clipping Hall down the ground and then slashing past point for successive fours to get to 98. The century came in the next over, with an easy drive down the ground for a single. And when the new ball was taken, Mahela remained immoveable, defending solidly against Steyn – who slowed down in pace but was far more consistent with his radar – and Shaun Pollock, accurate but hardly threatening.

South Africa almost pulled off a remarkable win in the end, but they only had themselves to blame for finishing second-best. The series scoreline could easily have been 1-1 had they held the chances that came their way. Gibbs had spilled Mahela when he was on 2, and as if that wasn’t enough, there was more largesse in the field on the final day, with Maharoof being the beneficiary: Mark Boucher missed a stumping off one which spun, bounced, and beat Maharoof’s defence, while Hashim Amla made a hash of a bat-pad chance at silly point off the very next delivery. Maharoof was then on 2, and ultimately finished on an unbeaten 29. Those blemishes, though, had a huge hand to play in making this match one of the most memorable in recent Test history.

Prasanna Jayawardene lbw b Hall 30 (279 for 6)
Mahela Jayawardene c Gibbs b Boje 123 (341 for 7)
Chaminda Vaas c de Villiers b Hall 4 (348 for 8)
Muttiah Muralitharan b Hall 2 (350 for 9)

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShaun Marsh top scored in Australia’s chase•Getty Images

It lasted only three days, but Test cricket’s first match with a pink ball provided an electric finish. At 8.47pm on a Sunday, under floodlights, in front of 33,923 spectators, Australia squeezed out a victory over New Zealand that was far tenser than the one-sided World Cup final between the same countries, eight months ago to the day. Chasing 187, Australia eked out their last two runs through Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc, who could barely jog given the stress fracture in his foot.The three-wicket win was confirmed as Siddle punched one past point off Tim Southee, Starc hobbling through to give Australia a 2-0 win in the series. By the end, New Zealand had six slips; it was all or nothing for Brendon McCullum’s men, a five-wicket haul from Trent Boult having given them a chance. For a while Australia were doing it easier, but a couple of late wickets brought the Test back to life.Shaun Marsh steered Australia to within 11 of their goal but when he edged to slip for 49 off Boult, New Zealand had a sniff. In Boult’s next over he claimed Peter Nevill, whose inside edge was snapped up sharply by BJ Watling. Australia still needed two, and surprisingly Starc limped to the crease ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. A Siddle straight drive off Southee crashed into the stumps at the bowler’s end, adding to the tension, before the winning runs came.It was a breathless end to an experimental match, and there will certainly be more day-night Tests in future. The match crowd of 123,736 was an all-time Adelaide Oval record for a non-Ashes Test, despite the fact that the game lasted only three days. The low scores were more the result of batsmen failing to knuckle down than of the pink ball doing anything untoward; in all four innings the ball held its colour well, and there was appropriate swing and seam movement.The longest individual innings of the Test was the 117-ball effort of Shaun Marsh in Australia’s chase. He walked to the crease hoping the result of this match was in his hands, and certain that his own Test future was. At 32, on his sixth chance at Test cricket, and having been run out for 2 in the first innings, this was it. Australia’s captain and vice-captain had just departed. New Zealand had the momentum. At 3 for 66, Australia needed 121 more runs.New Zealand confidently appealed for an lbw from Marsh’s first ball but he had managed an inside edge on to his pad off Boult. His start might have been nervy but he survived. Marsh began to find a few runs here and there, helped along by a short one from Mark Craig that was cut to the boundary. His confidence grew, as did his calm. A 49-run stand with Adam Voges steadied Australia, until Boult induced an edge to slip from Voges on 28.The Marsh brothers then found themselves batting together for Australia for the first time in any format. What a time for it to happen. Mitchell Marsh survived some shaky moments and the brothers put on 46, pushing Australia to within sight of the win. For a while it looked as if they were going to be together to score the winning runs in a Test; Steve and Mark Waugh batted together 73 times in Test cricket but managed that achievement only once.However, Mitchell became overconfident after lifting Mitchell Santner for a six, and next ball holed out to mid-on for 28 trying another lusty blow. It looked like Shaun would have to get Australia home on his own, but his edge off Boult sent palpitations through both camps. In the end, New Zealand just hadn’t set Australia quite enough, despite the low-scoring nature of the match.The bowlers at least made Australia work hard for it, Boult especially asking more questions of them than a TV quiz show host. Boult led the attack outstandingly, swinging the ball in to trap Joe Burns lbw for 11 and then adding Steven Smith in a similar manner for 14. Just before Smith fell, David Warner’s streaky innings ended when he edged to slip off Doug Bracewell for 35. Australia lost their first three wickets for 66, but the rest of the order did just enough.They could thank Hazlewood for ensuring the target was gettable. His career-best 6 for 70 – and nine wickets for the Test – made him Man of the Match, and he stepped up as leader of the attack in the absence of the injured Starc. New Zealand added 92 to their overnight total for the loss of their last five wickets, three of which were claimed by Hazlewood.He started the day by having Watling caught at second slip without adding to his overnight score of 7, but Australia’s hopes of a swift end to the innings were dashed by debutant Mitchell Santner. He top scored with 45 and looked confident throughout his innings, striking five fours and one six, and compiling useful partnerships with both Craig and Bracewell.Craig managed 15 before he gave Hazlewood a five-for by edging behind and Santner looked set for a half-century when he lofted Lyon over long-on for a six that took him to 45. However, Lyon outfoxed him two deliveries later, dragging his length back to turn one past the advancing Santner, who was stumped. In spite of the rush of blood – and of a dropped catch later in the day when Smith skied one to midwicket – Santner’s debut was impressive.Southee holed out for 13 off Mitchell Marsh and Bracewell was left unbeaten on 27 when Hazlewood ended the innings by bowling Boult just before tea. It meant Australia faced a tricky chase and would have to bat in the swinging evening conditions but they were good enough – just. And a memorable end to Test cricket’s first day-nighter was set to play out.