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The battle of the big hitters on a batsman-friendly Oval track, with a short boundary for good measure, was finally won by Yorkshire, but it took three quick wickets from Craig White to check Surrey’s charge. Ally Brown, with 89 from 46 balls, was looking set to lead Surrey home when he was yorked by White, Yorkshire’s seventh bowler, and needing 74 off the last 12 overs, Surrey slid from 261 for 5 to 263 for 8 in three overs. Yorkshire had got off to a flier, reaching 111 for 0 off 15 overs, and never looked back. Matthew Wood made 111 off 127 balls, Ian Harvey provided the fireworks with 69 – his fifty came off 35 balls – and Anthony McGrath completed the assault with 48 off 23 balls.
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Darren Maddy’s half-century gave Leicestershire some hope against Durham at Grace Road as they struggled to 175 for 8 after seemingly being in charge as they reached 109 for 2 in the 27th over. As the clouds gathered, Duckworth-Lewis was always going to be a factor, and Nicky Peng’s 36 injected enough pace into the Durham innings to ensure than when the rain came, they were just about ahead. If they had lost one more wicket then Leicestershire would have been the winners.
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Jonathan Moss stood firm amid a clatter of wickets to help lift Derbyshire to a competitive 197 for 8 from their 45 overs. Derbyshire were in some trouble at 74 for 4 after four of the top five failed to get into double figures, but Moss remained rooted and shot 79 from 81 balls. Luke Sutton provided some support with 46 before rain spoiled the party before Kent’s reply had really begun.
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Somerset and Warwickshire shared the points after their match at Edgbaston was rained off. Somerset had batted themselves into a commanding position, with Mike Burns striking 106 against the county he left nine years ago. Keith Parsons (51) and James Hildreth (54) each added half-centuries, but all their hard work was for nothing when the rains came.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to grant Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi interim bail in relation to the black-buck hunting incident that he was allegedly involved in.The court has also issued a notice to the Haryana government to produce all documents pertaining to the case by Friday, according to a report by the Press Trust of India. Pataudi has been missing from his Delhi residence for more than a week and has not been contactable.”No interim order will be passed,” vacation judge Justice Rajive Bhalle is quoted as having told Dinesh Mathur, Pataudi’s counsel, in response to Mathur pressing for anticipatory bail for his client.To add to Pataudi’s woes, the Haryana Wildlife Department has said that he had disputed trophies in his possession. “Pataudi’s Ibrahim Palace housed at least 12 trophies of deer species about which he has no certificate to authenticate when he inherited them,” KL Minhas, the chief wildlife warden, is quoted as saying. Minhas also described Pataudi as a “habitual hunter”, saying: “The former cricketer is in the habit of hunting regularly in areas of Jhajjar district with the association of local people.”The wildlife department added that it would conduct tests on the trophies in an attempt to investigate the matter further.

As Sourav Ganguly and Adam Gilchrist exchanged pleasantries after theunveiling of the TVS Cup, with the incongruous Star Wars theme blaring in thebackground, it was difficult to escape the impression that theintensity and gamesmanship might come down a notch in the absence ofStephen Rodger Waugh. But while you might see a little less lip out inthe middle, it’s impossible to overstate how much this rivalry nowmeans to both sides.Despite Gilchrist cleverly negating ideas of final frontiers andcrossings, the fact is that any team with legitimate aspirations to beranked on par with Clive Lloyd’s West Indians and Don Bradman’sAustralians has to win against India in India. Only two teams havemanaged that since Mike Gatting came and had a few too many prawns in1984-85. They are Imran Khan’s Pakistan, who edged a thriller at this veryground in 1986-87, and Hansie Cronje’s South Africans, who crushedIndia at Mumbai and Bangalore in 1999-2000, only to have the veneer ofgreatness scratched away by the match-fixing scandal that followed.India haven’t enjoyed playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in recenttimes, with two defeats and a draw in three matches played since 1998.Michael Kasprowicz, who will be a key performer tomorrow, stopped thein-form Sachin Tendulkar in his tracks that March duringa magnificent spell of 5 for 28, and two years later, it was theinnocuous left-arm spin of Nicky Boje that sent India hurtling todefeat in Mohammad Azharuddin’s 99th and final Test.Australia will enjoy the temperate weather, and despite JohnBuchanan’s initial alarm on seeing the playing surface, they shouldn’tbe too put out by the pitch. As hard and flat as a concreteslab, with every blade of grass hacked away, you could mistake it forthe Atacama in the heat of summer. But, having been rolled to extremeflatness, it’s unlikely to crumble until at least the fourthafternoon.There has been much talk of how the pitch will abet the efforts of AnilKumble, who needs just three more wickets for 400, and Harbhajan Singh,but it seems extremely foolish to ignore the legend that is ShaneWarne. Neither captain was asked a question about Warne, and such a slightcould be just the inspiration that the man nicknamed Hollywood needs toscript a blockbuster.

Lest it be forgotten, Rahul Dravid’s pedigree was questioned by someafter his first innings failure at Brisbane last December, largely owing to the fact that his previous tour of Australia had producedjust 93 runs in three Tests. Like Dravid, Warne has too much in hislocker to keep failing in conditions that will suit him.Yesterday, Warne was quoted as saying that Brian Lara was thethird-best batsman in the world, after Sachin Tendulkar and daylight.And the absence of India’s little big man could be a big factor in theoutcome of this match, and the series. India will not only missTendulkar’s batting, but also the legspin that accounted for crucialtop-order wickets in the famous victories at Kolkata and Adelaide. Moreimportantly, they will miss Tendulkar the icon, whose presence on theteamsheet demoralises the opposition, and Tendulkar the team-man, whosearm around the shoulder can galvanise a Harbhajan or a ZaheerKhan.By contrast, Australia have few worries. Michael Clarke will make hislong-awaited debut, despite the stray whisper that Shane Watson mighthave a role to play. And Brett Lee, a familiar presence in Indianadvertising campaigns, will surely be off-camera, with Glenn McGrath,Jason Gillespie and Kasprowicz providing a formidable pace array forGilchrist to employ. Though Kasprowicz joked yesterday about how he wasprepared for five days of back-breaking effort, there’s no doubt thatthe abrasive surface will delight bowlers who are adept atreverse-swinging a scuffed-up ball.India will need both Zaheer and Irfan Pathan to operate atmaximum potential against a line-up that appears far more balanced thanthe one that played in 2001. Simon Katich, Darren Lehmann, DamienMartyn and Clarke all play the turning ball with assurance, whileMatthew Hayden – unless he can be undone by some early movement – presents a mighty initial barrier for India to cross.Australia will undoubtedly target Dravid and VVS Laxman – 965 runs inhis last six Tests against Australia – who have been the linchpins ofthe batting effort even when Tendulkar was in the side. VirenderSehwag’s recent form hasn’t been great, and there’s a perception amongthe Australians that both Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh have weaknesses,against genuine pace and spin respectively, that can be worked on.Ganguly’s stunning century at the Gabba last year made a mockery ofsuch plans, and it’s vital that he leads from the front again withexpectations having been raised to fever-pitch by the 1-1 draw in thatseries. Australia will undoubtedly play smarter cricket this timeround, conscious of how a gung-ho approach cost them at Kolkata in2001, as Gilchrist and gang attempt to go where no Australian teamhas gone since that controversial tour of 1969-70.It might not quite be Star Wars with Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting missing, but the watching world can certainly expect a Close Encounter of theTest-match kind.India (likely) 1 Aakash Chopra, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVSLaxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk),8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Anil Kumble.Australia (likely) 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Simon Katich, 4Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist(capt, wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11Glenn McGrath.

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Australia completed a thoroughly convincing 217-run victory three-quarters of an hour into the afternoon session on the fifth day of the Bangalore Test. An entertaining ninth-wicket stand between Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan delayed the inevitable, but with the skies completely clear, India were never in with a realistic chance of salvaging anything from the game.The match was decided in the last session yesterday when the Indian top order collapsed, and with just four wickets remaining when play started today, only the last rites remained. Harbhajan and Pathan threw caution to the wind in a stand of 89 to give the Sunday crowd a lot to cheer. Both went about dismantling Shane Warne, halting his march towards the world record. Warne went wicketless all morning and will have to wait for the Chennai Test to get another chance to overtake Muttiah Muralitharan.At the start of the day, though, the Indians waged a grim battle. Rahul Dravid faced only Warne while Pathan kept out Kasprowicz at the other end. The only scoring shots in the first 12 overs were Dravid’s two fours off Warne and, like last evening, he refused the singles. Pathan survived a large dose of fortune in the sixth over of the morning, edging an attempted drive off Kasprowicz, as Michael Clarke grassed a tough chance diving to his left at second slip. The rest of the time, though, Pathan got behind the line of the ball and blocked confidently.The Australians did their bit to break up the rhythm of the morning and Adam Gilchrist’s juggling of bowlers and ends finally paid off when Kasprowicz nailed Dravid in the 14th over of the day. The ball pitched outside off, cut back in and trapped him lbw for 60 (7 for 118).With Dravid gone, the tailenders played with unrestrained freedom and delayed the inevitable by a few hours. Pathan blasted two massive sixes over midwicket as he shimmied down the track, the second of which was taken brilliantly on the pavilion balcony as one of the spectators leant over the railings and clung on. He also pulled off some delicate sweeps and smart nudges and padded away a few balls from Warne with calm authority.

Harbhajan joined in the fun by slog-sweeping Warne over midwicket and the pair added 72 rapidly before lunch, and went on to break the record for the highest ninth-wicket stand for India against Australia.Jason Gillespie ended the revelry a few overs after lunch, soon after the new ball was taken, as Pathan (55) played back to one that pitched on a good length. The ball kissed the outside edge and Adam Gilchrist did the rest (9 for 214). Harbhajan swished around a little longer, hitting a ball off McGrath that landed inches in front of the extra-cover fence, before a top-edged hook went straight to long leg.The batsmen were also largely helped by the attacking fields that Australians set, with a number of men in the catching zones, and there were a few edges that landed in vacant regions. That was the only time in the game when the Australians didn’t mind conceding a few easy runs, as they had choked the rest of the batsmen with a disciplined approach.

Glenn McGrath carried on from where he had left off in the tour game in Mumbai, and was near-impossible to score off, while Michael Kasprowicz’s ability to vary seam, length and pace left several batsmen clueless. The Australians religiously practiced bowling at one stump before the start of each day’s play and that was exactly the line that they consistently achieved throughout the game.The batting in the first innings had helped Australia seize the initiative as Clarke, Gilchrist and Simon Katich handled the spinners with ease. They didn’t find it as easy in the second innings, though, with Harbhajan teasing them with a magnificent spell. That, apart from the lower-order batting, is something that India will take with them to Chennai. The other departments, though, need some serious oiling. These may be early days yet, but Bill Lawry’s team of 1969-70 may just be shuffling in their seats.

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

On a day dominated by the bowlers, West Indies had the upper hand for much of the first two sessions, but the Sri Lankans, spearheaded by the irrepressible Chaminda Vaas, fought back magnificently after tea to edge ahead after the second day at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Restricted to just 285 in their first innings, thanks to Sri Lanka’s effort with the second new ball, the West Indian fast bowlers hit back with a vengeance, dismissing the home team for just 227. But the onerous task of having to bat again under fading light against a marauding Vaas proved too much for West Indies’ inexperienced batsmen, and they struggled to 17 for 3, only 75 in front, before bad light mercifully ended their misery on a day in which as many as 17 wickets fell.The dominant player for Sri Lanka throughout the day was Vaas. He began West Indies’ first-innings slide early in the morning, propped up the Sri Lankan innings with an invaluable 49 – in the process ensuring that Sri Lanka’s last three wickets added 114 – and then returned to strike twice late in the evening to reduce West Indies to a shambles. In between, though, the West Indians had much the better of the exchanges.With so many of their top batsmen missing, bowling was always West Indies’ stronger suit in this game, and so it proved when Shivnarine Chanderpaul led his team out in the field about 40 minutes into the morning session. As had happened earlier this year in Guyana, when a depleted West Indian side dominated the South Africans thoroughly, the Sri Lankans quickly found that the match wasn’t quite the walk in the park many had expected it to be. All the Sri Lankan batsmen struggled to cope with the pace, bounce and movement extracted by the West Indian pace trio, especially Jermaine Lawson, who consistently clocked around 148kmph in his first spell.The slide started early, when Marvan Atapattu jammed at a well-directed yorker from Powell, but only managed to inside-edge the ball onto leg stump. Sanath Jayasuriya popped a catch to short leg, Mahela Jayawardene was all at sea before edging one to the slips, while Kumar Sangakkara, after mounting a brief counterattack, became Denesh Ramdin’s first victim (47 for 4).A 44-run stand between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilan Samaraweera hinted at a fightback, but Banks struck for a second time, and when Samaraweera and Gayan Wijekoon fell to rank irresponsible shots, they had slid to 113 for 7, and West Indies’ total of 285 seemed a monumental one.Vaas then got to work, goading the lower order to stay with him and add vital runs. He started circumspectly, allowing Rangana Herath to do the bulk of the scoring in a 36-run eighth-wicket stand. When Herath was dismissed, West Indies could have been forgiven for thinking the end was near. Vaas had other ideas. With Muralitharan, he set about bringing a semblance of respectability to the total. Muralitharan started his innings in his usual carefree manner, but was soon playing some studied defensive strokes as Vaas coaxed runs out of him. Vaas himself played a splendidly calculated innings, striking the big hits when the fielders were in, and then settling for the ones and twos when the field was spread out. The 66-run stand reduced the deficit significantly, and it ensured that the Sri Lankans were in high spirits when they took the field.West Indies, having lost the initiative somewhat, threw it away completely in the last 30 minutes as Xavier Marshall, completely inept against the swinging ball, and Morton, both fell to Vaas’s inswingers. And when Sylvester Joseph was caught at silly point off Muralitharan, West Indies’ day had turned from promising to pear-shaped.Earlier, Vaas sparked West Indies’ collapse in the morning too, trapping Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw before he could add to his overnight 69. Removing the tail was a mere formality for Vaas and Lasith Malinga, who finished with well-deserved figures of 4 for 71. At that point, the stage was set for a Sri Lankan run-fest. As it transpired, a further 13 wickets fell before the day was done.How they were outWest Indies 1st innings
Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw b Vaas 69 (273 for 7)
Deceived by one which nipped back a shade and hit his back padDaren Powell c Jayawardene b Malinga 3 (276 for 8)
Edged an outswinger to third slipOmari Banks b Malinga 32 (281 for 9)
Defeated by a full delivery which swung late and took off stumpTino Best b Vaas 4 (285 all out)
Beaten comprehensively by an inswinging yorkerSri Lanka 1st innings
Marvan Atapattu b Powell 1 (4 for 1)
Jammed down on a yorker, but got an inside edge on to leg bailSanath Jayasuriya c Smith b Lawson 3 (7 for 2)
Got an inside edge onto pad, and the ball looped to short legMahela Jayawardene c Morton b Powell 3 (32 for 3)
Drove at a full delivery outside off and edged to second slipKumar Sangakkara c Ramdin b Banks 34 (47 for 4)
Got a thin edge while attempting a drive, giving Ramdin his first Test victimTillakaratne Dilshan c Smith b Banks 32 (91 for 5)
Prodded forward and offered a bat-pad catch to short legThilan Samaraweera c&b Lawson 11 (93 for 6)
Attempted to pull one from outside off, and top-edged a catch to the bowlerGayan Wijekoon c Joseph b Best 12 (113 for 7)
Slashed a drive off a wide ball and edged to third slipRangana Herath c Ramdin b Best 24 (149 for 8)
Edged a drive, and Ramdin brought off a spectacular catch diving in front of first slipChaminda Vaas b Smith 49 (215 for 9)
Got an inside edge while trying to driveMuttiah Muralitharan b Lawson 36 (227 all out)
Done in by a yorkerWest Indies 2nds innings
Xavier Marshall lbw b Vaas 2 (3 for 1)
Trapped in front by one which pitched on off and swung inRunako Morton lbw b Vaas 0 (3 for 2)
Another inswinging delivery, which had the batsman plumb in frontSylvester Joseph c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 2 (15 for 3)
Offered a straightforward bat-pad chance to silly point

Cricket East Cape has appointed Russell Domingo as the new Mercedes Warriors coach. Russell, who has been employed by Eastern Province Cricket since 1997, was born and bred in Port Elizabeth and his selection is in line with Cricket East Cape’s philosophy of developing players, coaches and administrators from “within”.Domingo has extensive coaching experience having coached teams at various levels, including tours to Kenya and Australia with the National Academy and the South Africa A team. In 2004 he coached the national Under-19 team which at the World Cup in Bangladesh. He has over the past years worked with top local and international coaches including Bob Woolmer, Graeme Ford, Hylton Ackerman, Adrian Birrell and Kepler Wessels.For the last number of years Domingo has coached the Eastern Province B and Amateur teams and has done an outstanding job as the Head Coach of the EP Academy. He has served a long apprenticeship and given the experience gained over the years he is in an excellent position to build the Mercedes Warriors into a competitive unit.”We are delighted that Russell has been appointed,” said Raymond Uren, chairman of Cricket East Cape. “He has come through the ranks and has done an outstanding job coaching at various levels. He is a committed and driven individual with excellent inter-personal skills and we are sure he has the necessary skills to lead the Mercedes Warriors.”

South Africa’s limited-overs season got underway at the Wanderers inJohannesburg with the annual Sports Trust Cricket Challenge between thewinners of the previous season’s domestic competition, the Lions, and aRest of South Africa XI. The Lions were never in the game as a rejuvenated South African squad, coming off a five-day training camp, made short work of the batsmen emphasising the vast chasm that separates domestic and international cricket.The Lions won the toss and decided to bat first, but found the goinghard as Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini kept a tight rein on line andlength. Frustrated by the lack of runs, Adam Bacher was first todepart, in the sixth over, playing an expansive drive at Ntini only toedge to Thami Tsolekile for three. Ntini struck again in the tenth over,knocking back Andrew Hall’s off stump as he tried to force one square of the wicket.A bowling change eased some pressure, with Neil McKenzie dispatching Zander de Bruyn through the covers on three occasions. But De Bruyn struck back strongly with the wickets of McKenzie, HD Ackerman, Justin Ontong, Derek Crookes and Vaughn van Jaarsveld in a six-over spell that fetched him impressive figures of 5 for 29.Ntini, who finished with 4 for 10, wrapped up the tail as the Lions were bowled out for 84 in just 26 overs. Graeme Smith and Jacques Rudolph opened the innings for the Rest, with Smith surviving a leg-before appeal against Hall off the very first ball. But Rudolph was not as lucky, edging the first one he faced to Ahmed Omar.Martin van Jaarsveld stuck around for 18 before fending one from Enoch Nkwe for Omar to take his second catch. Jacques Kallis survived two appeals for leg before from Nkwe before he had scored, and Smith was dropped by Crookesoff his own bowling, but in the end, the Rest were comfortable winners.

The phoney war is almost over. After months – although it seems likeyears – of discussion and debate, England’s cricketers have finally embarked on the first leg of their three-month African safari. The players have arrived in Namibia, where the chairman of the national cricket association, Francois Erasmus, hailed their arrival as one of the biggest days in the country’s sporting history.”This is a big day for Namibian cricket,” he said. “In fact, it’s right at the top of the list other than playing in the 2003 World Cup. We’ve hosted Bangladesh twice, once when they were already a Test nation, but nothing as big as this. We have good players but players like Michael Vaughan and Darren Gough can promote the game here better than our players can.”The first leg of England’s tour (Namibia) and the last (South Africa) should be straightforward, off the field at least. But it was the Zimbabwe leg of the tour which attracted the lion’s share of the interest when Michael Vaughan and David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, faced the media at Heathrow Airport.Comments attributed to Vaughan in recent days have indicated that there are many places he would prefer to be going than Zimbabwe, and there was a certain resignation when the inevitable questions came up. “I’ll be honest, I’m not looking forward to the Zimbabwe leg,” he admitted. “We do have a worry about what has gone on in Zimbabwe but our team has said it is safe for us to go.”The focus is already away from cricket,” he continued. “Any cricket tour you go on when you get more questions about non-cricketing issues, and the cricket is the second most important thing, is very disappointing.” Vaughan’s public face was very much in line with ECB thinking – not condoning what is happening in the country but maintaining that there was an obligation to play there.

Duncan Fletcher, England’s Zimbabwean-born coach, confessed he too had mixed feelings. He warned, however, that the five one-day matches should not be taken too lightly. “What I have learned is that you cannot say there are easy games in international cricket. There are five games to be won and that is what we are preparing to do.”Morgan looked weary, with criticism over the weekend by Darren Goughand Graham Thorpe still making the headlines. He insisted that there would be no official functions, adding that he would seek advice from the Foreign Office should the team be faced with any senior politicians during the trip.Asked why he and other officials from the ECB would be accompanying the side, Morgan said that it was “entirely appropriate we give this addedsupport on what clearly is an unusual tour”.

After continuous suspense for the last 48 hours the Indian board’s AGM has finally begun in Kolkata. Central minister Sharad Pawar was nominated as candidate for the post of president by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.All of yesterday, the opposing lobby supporting Pawar had accused the ruling dispensation under Jagmohan Dalmiya and Ranbir Singh Mahendra of trying to scupper the elections. With the leaking of Greg Chappell’s scathing email on Saurav Ganguly sent to the BCCI to a Bengali daily, supposedly close to Dalmiya, another dimension has been added to the snowballing crisis in Indian cricket.But even as the AGM gets underway the Dalmiya-Mahendra faction have filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court seeking its adjournment. Their argument is that the three observers appointed by the court do not have the right to overrule decisions made by the board president at least in the conduct of the AGM.On Thursday, the Kolkata High Court had stayed the AGM which was originally scheduled for 12.30 PM yesterday. Justice Soumitra Sen ruled that a three member panel – comprising former chief justices of India K N Singh and M M Punthi, and retired Supreme Court justice S C Sen — will act as observers and preside over the election process.The AGM did assemble briefly yesterday with one of the observers — Justice S C Sen — in the chair but was later adjourned. The official version is that the meeting has been adjourned and will be held again after the other two observers arrive in town. The opposing lobby has, on the other hand, said that the meeting could only have been “adjourned” if it had been convened in the first place.In his ruling Justice Soumitra Sen has ordered that all disputes regarding eligibility and disqualification of voters for the BCCI elections would be decided by the three-member panel before the election begins. In case of differences in opinion among the observers, the majority decision would be valid, the judge added. According to Justice Sen the entire problem is a result of the absence of specific and clear election rules.Pawar, who had lost a closely-fought election to the present incumbent Ranbir Singh Mahendra last year, has decided to contest again.According to PTI, Farooq Abdullah, president of the JKCA which has nominated Pawar, “A good consensus was worked out 15 days back. It was decided that Mahendra will continue for another year following which Pawar would take over the reigns in 2006. The Dalmiya group initially agreed to it but later went back on its word and said that they wanted Mahendra to be in the post till he completed his three-year tenure.”Earlier, the Madras High Court had dismissed a petition filed by a Chennai-based club thus initally paving the way for the elections to be held today itself.The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, run by AC Muthiah, who are opposed to the present dispensation run by Dalmiya, had moved the Madras High Court to pre-empt Mahendra from crucially tilting the scales by being both chair and candidate for the AGM. But the Kolkata-based Kalighat Club, affiliated to the Dalmiya-led Cricket Association of Bengal moved the Calcutta High Court and got it to appoint an observer of its own.

Justin Langer will undergo a fitness test before the first match of the three-Test series against West Indies, which starts on November 3. Langer retired hurt after being hit by a Gerard Denton delivery during an ING Cup match between Western Australia and Victoria today (Saturday), and scans later revealed a hairline fracture.Trefor James, the medical officer for Cricket Australia, said: “Justin was in considerable pain after receiving the knock to the rib-cage, and scans taken of that area have discovered a small fracture in one of his ribs. We are optimistic, though, that he will be able to take his place in the Australian line-up for next week’s Test, however he will need to be monitored prior to that time before a final decision is made.” The medical team also decided that Langer would travel with the team to Brisbane, the venue of the first Test.Langer himself was confident of recovering in time for the match. “I’ll be playing on Thursday,” Langer was quoted as saying by AFP. “Apparently with a cracked rib the thing you have to get used to is the pain… I’m not going to miss a Test match.”Langer has been in excellent touch in the last one year, averaging almost 57 from his last 14 Tests, with three centuries and six fifties in 26 innings. Langer was also the one batsman who consistently handled England’s pace and swing with some degree of comfort during the recently concluded Ashes series, scoring 394 runs at nearly 44.Should Langer withdraw, the most likely replacement would be his state team-mate Mike Hussey. Hussey has also been in excellent form at the one-day level for Australia and opened the innings for Australia A on their recent tour of Pakistan.