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Ed Cowan, the Tasmania opening batsman currently among the runs, has been picked for Australia’s Boxing Day Test team to face India and will be joined in the top three by Shaun Marsh provided the West Australian can prove his fitness.Ben Hilfenhaus has also earned a recall, the selectors seeking an experienced head to help a young bowling attack battle India’s batsmen at the MCG.Cowan and Marsh replaced Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja from the XI that was beaten by New Zealand in Hobart, with Shane Watson and Ryan Harris unable to be chosen due to continued fitness complaints.Watson aggravated a calf problem on day one of the team’s batting camp in Melbourne, while Harris indicated he was short of the required conditioning after returning to cricket for the Brisbane Heat in last night’s BBL match at the Gabba.

Australia Test squad

Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

John Inverarity, the national selector, said Cowan would open the batting, with Marsh and Daniel Christian to vie for one spot and Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Starc the other.”Ed has been in wonderful form, and the intention is that he will open the batting with David Warner,” Inverarity said. “Of the XI that will line up on December 26, it will either be Shaun Marsh or Daniel Christian.”It is likely if Shaun plays that he’ll be batting at No. 3, if Daniel plays then he’d be at No. 6 and the batting line-up would be re-arranged accordingly, and then it would seem likely that one of Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus would be 12th man. That’s the anticipated balance of the side but we’ll have to wait on weather and pitch conditions and final form and fitness.”Inverarity said Marsh’s need to show his back can stand up to the rigours of a Test match caused the naming of a 13-man squad.”The NSP has named 13 players due to the ongoing uncertainty about the fitness of Shaun Marsh,” Inverarity said. “Shane Watson was not considered for selection as he has not recovered sufficiently from his injury. Ryan Harris has not yet achieved the volume of bowling required to be available for consideration for Test selection.”Ed Cowan has been in excellent form in recent weeks. His inclusion is in recognition of his consistently good performances and we anticipate that he can provide steadiness at the top of the order. Ben Hilfenhaus has regained form this season and he provides a strong and reliable bowling option.”We see both Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja as developing players with bright futures and remaining as players of significance. They are determined young men and I know that they will work hard to produce compelling performances and push strongly for further consideration.”Since turning around an indifferent start to the season with an unbeaten 91 in a limited overs match against South Australia in Burnie in mid-November, Cowan’s scores have been 4, 134*, 145, 10, 65, 145* and 109 in the first innings of the tour match against the Indians.His strong form has been mirrored by Hilfenhaus, who has shown greater snap and swing this summer, most recently for Hobart in the Twenty20 competition, after he looked innocuous at times against England during last summer’s Ashes series. He was also considered close to selection for the New Zealand series, though the selectors ultimately decided to test out a younger attack as a precursor to India’s visit.”Ben Hilfenhaus is in very good form,” Inverarity said. “I think he had a few body concerns and his action deteriorated a little bit last year and he seems to have got it back and been playing in very good form. He is a strong, durable, experienced bowler.”It [the T20 match in Perth] certainly wasn’t a negative, he bowled very well, but we’ve been considering Ben for some weeks and he provides a strong, durable experienced option for us.”Watson’s case is more problematic, as he has now suffered a trio of fitness problems since the start of the South Africa tour. Inverarity said the panel was hopeful Watson would be fit to play in the second Test of the India series in Sydney.”Shane is not fit to play. He’s had ongoing troubles with his calf,” Inverarity said. “The situation is improving and we hope he’ll be in contention for the second Test in Sydney. But he’s not available to play this game. It is an option for him to bat down the order, yes. The word from Shane Watson was that he was not fit to play. I wasn’t in Melbourne yesterday but he spoke at length with Mickey Arthur and the word was he’s not ready.”Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey remain part of the Test team despite poor displays in Hobart and advancing years, Inverarity speaking of their value to the dressing room as a critical factor in their continued retention.”They’ve both been wonderful cricketers, they are wonderful cricketers, and terrific men and provide a lot for the side,” he said. “We all on the selection panel are keen for them to do well. We’re hoping they have a breakthrough in the next week or two. They offer a tremendous amount to the side.”

Nishantha Ranatunga, the Sri Lanka Cricket [SLC] secretary, has described the financial situation the board is in as a “short-term liquidity problem,” and said it was nothing more serious than that. Ranatunga, who was uncontested for the secretary’s post during the SLC elections, defended the decision of the interim committee headed by DS de Silva to build stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, which left SLC heavily in debt. Ranatunga was the secretary at the time as well.”This is totally a false statement,” Ranatunga said, when asked if SLC’s financial trouble was a result of a misappropriation of its funds. “At the time we were appointed to the interim committee SLC was in debt to the amount of Rs 600 million Sri Lankan rupees [$5.3 million], which included bank loans and unpaid ICC annual subscription fees. This brought about an element of uncertainty to the member status of SLC within the ICC.”To evade a future financial crunch, the ICC World Twenty20 was earmarked as an ideal event to be played in Sri Lanka in September 2009, but unfortunately it did not materialise.” Ranatunga said the primary reason for Sri Lanka not hosting the 2009 World T20 was the lack of international standard cricket infrastructure in the country.”The interim committee at that time understood that Sri Lanka as a Test nation had the lowest quality Test venues in the world [with the exception of R Premadasa Stadium]. The media and spectator capacity and facilities, including other state-of-the-art infrastructure within the stadiums, were far below par to host an ICC event.”This led to the decisions to build new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele, Ranatunga said. “At present SLC owns assets worth Rs 7 billion Sri Lankan rupees [$61.6 million] in the form of new grounds, where as the liabilities amount to Rs 1.5 billion Sri Lankan rupees [$13.2 million]. How can you call it a bankrupt situation then?”With ICC’s commitment to offer Sri Lanka three events, namely the 2011 World Cup, the 2012 World T20 and the Champions Trophy in 2015, it was of utmost priority to make sure the stadia infrastructure was up to the standards required by the ICC.”Ranatunga also denied that the SLC had been under pressure from the government to build a new cricket stadium in Hambantota. “Originally, we were to host only eight matches in the World Cup. We were [then] allotted four extra matches, bringing the number of matches to 12. Therefore, in addition to the two stadia, we had to find a new ground.”We had already started upgrading the R Premadasa Stadium and considered developing Dambulla because it was the only other ground where night matches could be played. Preparing Dambulla for the World Cup matches would have meant that all the matches scheduled to be played there for the next one-and-a-half years would have to be abandoned resulting in a huge loss to SLC. Galle was out of the question because of its world heritage. SSC and P Sara Oval could not be considered as they do not belong to SLC. We picked Hambantota for a number of reasons.”

Ryan Harris, Australia’s preferred pace spearhead, has almost certainly played his last Test match for 2011, and will not return until he can get his injury-afflicted body fit enough to guarantee five days of strong bowling.One of the most problematic men among the quintet of players omitted from the Brisbane Tests, Harris, 32, is Australia’s best bowler when fit, but seemingly less likely to remain so with each match he plays. Pat Howard, the team performance manager, has decreed Harris must be brought to a point at which he is capable of performing for five days before he can resume with the team.At present, Howard indicated, two or three days of bowling and fielding is about the best Harris can manage. Currently convalescing after a hip/pelvis complaint, Harris is understood to have been placed on a longer-term fitness program over the next month, and is unlikely to be considered for the Hobart Test or the Boxing Day match against India. He is scheduled to return to bowling in Brisbane on Monday, but will not be rushed back.”The medical team are working particularly hard with a mandate to try to get him back to produce a really good five-day outcome,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “We know we could rush him back quickly and get him bowling for two or three days and that doesn’t really help him in the long-term or Australian cricket, so we’re really looking at how do we get Ryan back to play at his best for five days. We all know if we can get him back to that stage, then we’ve got a fantastic asset playing for Australia.”Harris bowled some outstanding spells to help Australia win a Test series in Sri Lanka, and was also among the wickets in the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town. However a hamstring strain kept him out of the third Test of the Sri Lanka series, and he missed the second in South Africa with a hip ailment. He is also managing a degenerative right knee.This combination of trouble spots means that Harris’ fitness can be a day-to-day proposition, and Howard is adamant the Test team led by Michael Clarke should not be second-guessing the fitness of any of its XI. To that end, Howard has suggested that last-minute or even match eve fitness tests may be consigned to the dustbin of history.The early decision to rule out five players from the Brisbane Test squad was a choice made out of consideration for the demands of the summer ahead, but also to ensure that fitness tests and the flying in of shadow players did not disrupt the assembly and preparation of the firs Test team.”What we’re trying not to do is wait until the last day to make a decision on an injured player,” Howard said. “We didn’t wait until 6pm the night before the Test to say Pat Cummins can’t play. We’ve said put in all the physio we can, be very active with that and medical services to get him back to 100%, rather than try to put him out at 80%, and we made that decision with a few of the players looking at we’ve got six Test matches here.”Cummins joined the Australia squad in Brisbane on day two of the first Test against New Zealand, as part of the team’s desire to more closely monitor the fitness and wellbeing of its cricketers. Howard said the team’s medical and fitness staff were being given a greater opportunity to work with the likes of Cummins and Shaun Marsh, also allowing the captain Michael Clarke to see and know precisely how his injured players are going.”Shaun Marsh has been with the team all week, Pat Cummins is coming up to visit, Ryan Harris has been in, Shane Watson’s been in, Mitchell Johnson flew back over [for surgery],” Howard said. “We do want to closely deal with that because that helps the selectors have a deeper squad, that helps the captain understand where his team is going for the next couple of Tests, the strength and conditioning guys monitor that re-entry into games. There is a closer co-ordination of that.”

Karnataka registered an impressive eight-wicket win against Tamil Nadu at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, on day two of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2011-12, to go to the top of the South Zone points table. Tamil Nadu’s Dinesh Karthik scored a quick 52 with four fours and three sixes, and K Vasudevadas provided the innings some late momentum with 30 off 18. However, none of the other batsmen could go past 14 as the hosts managed only 131 for 9 on the relaid Chepauk pitch. Stuart Binny was Karnataka’s best bowler, claiming three wickets and conceding only 14 runs. Robin Uthappa then celebrated his return to the national Twenty20 team with 59 off 29 balls, ensuring Karnataka cruised in the chase. Bharat Chipli and Ganesh Satish built on the fine start with a half-century stand, and finished the match in the 17th over.The Andra Pradesh–Kerala match at the TI Cycles Ground was washed-out after only 3.1 overs. The teams get two points apiece.DB Ravi Teja continued his impressive form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and his 68 off 49 balls led Hyderabad to a nine-wicket win against Goa in Chennai. Chasing 131, Ravi Teja and T Suman, who made 45 off 38 balls, added 103 in 13 overs before Suman was dismissed. Ravi Teja, however, remained unbeaten when the winning runs were scored in 17.2 overs. A combined effort from Hyderabad’s bowlers – all six took at least a wicket – had dismissed Goa for 130 to help set up the victory. Abhishek Raut top scored with 31 and was one of only two batsmen to make more than 20. Syed Quadri took 3 for 25 for Hyderabad.

ScorecardDerbyshire concluded their CB40 campaign with a three-wicket win over Kent in alow-scoring encounter at Canterbury.In pursuit of Kent’s modest 40-over total of 208 for nine, the Falcons reachedtheir target with three balls to spare to clinch their sixth Group A success ofthe season for a third-placed finish.Batting proved difficult for both sides on a dry, previously-used pitch, whereno less than nine spinners plied their trade to entice a rash of ill-judgedshots during an end-of-season clash that had nothing riding on the result interms of qualification or prize money. Derbyshire made a poor start when confusion over a short single between Chesney Hughes and Matt Lineker led to Hughes being run out for one by DanielBell-Drummond.Lineker reached 13 before edging an airy drive to the keeper off Adam Ball thenWes Durston holed out to long-on to give James Tredwell the first of his twowickets. Greg Smith and Wayne Madsen combined to add 67 in 12 overs for the fourthwicket before Smith (28) danced past a turning delivery from Tredwell to bestumped.Madsen was rewarded for his vigilance with a 59-ball half-century, but undidhis good work 10 balls later by chipping a return catch to off-spinner AdamRiley to go for 64.With 11 required Jonathan Clare (19) skied to deep mid-wicket off an AzharMahmood slower ball then, with five needed, Ross Whiteley crashed a low catch tocover to go for an eye-catching 40, leaving Peter Burgoyne to win it with arasping cover drive to the ropes in the final over.Batting first after winning the toss on an overcast afternoon, Kent’s openersJoe Denly and Bell-Drummond made an unusually watchful start. With only 14 on the board, Bell-Drummond (five) went leg-before midway through the fifth over when playing around a straight one from Tony Palladino.Denly hit numerous crisp drives during his 36-ball stay but picked out thefielders more often than not. His patience ran out with his score on 35 when hesliced another forcing shot to Madsen at point to gift Clare a cheap wicket.The soft dismissals continued when van Jaarsveld (18) chipped a catch to shortmid-wicket then, three overs later, Darren Stevens (one) mistimed a drive toshort extra cover against the off-spin of Tom Knight. Sam Northeast (10) played across the line to be bowled by Knight, bringing together acting Kent captain Geraint Jones and Azhar Mahmood to ensure the hosts edged past 200.The sixth-wicket partners added 44 in 6.2 overs with Jones contributing a cameo34 with three fours, while Mahmood reached a patient 50, only his second in thecompetition this year, from 69 balls and with only four boundaries.Mahmood went for a season’s best 68 when he carved a back-foot slash into thehands of backward point, Tredwell heaved across the line to be bowled for onethen Palladino snared Jones lbw to finish with fine figures of four for 32.Matt Coles and Ball hit out lustily in the closing stages to leave the Falconsto chase at an asking rate of 5.22 an over.

Scorecard
Rory Hamilton-Brown leads Surrey off after their promotion-sealing victory•PA Photos

It’s too early to say for certain, but there’s an undeniable feeling in the air at The Oval that Surrey are on the brink of an exciting future after they secured promotion to Division One with a clinical innings-and-126-run victory against Derbyshire. Pragyan Ojha, the India left-arm spinner who has been so vital to their late-season pushed, took 6 for 42 as Surrey cruised home before tea on the third day.It’s the manner in which Surrey timed their promotion run that has been so impressive. They needed to win their last four matches to stand any chance and that is what the team, well led by Rory Hamilton-Brown, achieved over the closing weeks of the season. They could yet finish top of the table, but Division Two silverware is not really the main priority – just getting promoted is the challenge. Surrey, though, could yet finish the season with silverware as they play the CB40 final against Somerset on Saturday. This is a team on the rise; Stuart Meaker, Tom Maynard, Jason Roy could all play for England while Steve Davies’ time may not be over.”This is the beginning, not the end,” Chris Adams, the cricket manager, said. “They are a young team and will only get better. There are startling similarities to the last great Surrey side led by Adam Hollioake – a young captain who played aggressive cricket – and we’ve made some terrific strides forward. However, where we sit tonight is 10th in the country. We know that, we are shouting from the rafters. We’ll mostly likely finish 11th and that’s fair but the journey towards No. 1 will continue.”The potential of the dressing room is immense,” he added. “The biggest challenge is keeping them together. We’ve already had to manage losing some players to England this year. They have proved to themselves they can win games of cricket and play an attractive brand of cricket. When they are at their best there is no one better in the country.”If we carry momentum into next year like we’ve had here we’ll be a match for any side in Division One. Of course we’ll have to plan and prepare well. We’ll need to recruit wisely, especially the overseas player.”Adams is doubtful whether that overseas player will be Ojha, who has taken 23 wickets in four Championship matches, with figures of 6 for 8 against Northamptonshire to go alongside the six here. Surrey were surprised when they were able to secure his service following a call-up to India’s squad for The Oval Test.”It’s not for me to comment on India’s selections but I’m amazed he’s not playing Test cricket,” Adams said. “I strongly believe he will play 100 Tests for India, from what I’ve seen. I may be hitting high, but he’s a wonderful bowler with wonderful skills. I expect him in the next six months to break into the India team and be a permanent fixture.”Ojha was far too good for Derbyshire’s batsmen, who were in no mood for the season to go into the final day. Ojha wrapped up the first innings with two wickets in two balls and was soon in action during the follow-on. Wayne Madsen was trapped lbw and Paul Borrington, who fought hard for 87 in the first innings, lost his off stump to one that turned. Dan Redfern was soon brilliantly caught at short leg and Luke Sutton shouldered arms.The tail went down swinging and Gareth Batty picked up the final wicket when Mark Footitt was caught at long-off. Next stop Lord’s, then the planning will start to ensure Surrey’s return to the top flight is not short lived.

Seamer Jon Lewis will end his 16-year association with Gloucestershire at the end of this season, having signed a two-year deal with Surrey.Lewis, 35, played one Test for England against Sri Lanka in 2006 and also appeared in 13 ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals. He has taken more than 770 wickets in first-class cricket and his experience will surely be a valuable asset to Surrey.”I have had some wonderful times with Gloucestershire, been privileged to captain the club, play with many fantastic players and enjoy terrific backing from the supporters over seventeen seasons, which have brought many highlights,” said Lewis.”I am very grateful for all the opportunities the club has given me. Now I am looking forward to an exciting new challenge with a team I feel is ready to step up to the next level. Surrey has some hugely promising players and I hope I can add some experience to their squad and help their young bowlers progress.”Lewis will strengthen an already impressive bowling line-up at Surrey, joining the likes of Chris Tremlett, Jade Dernbach, Stuart Meaker and Tim Linley – alongside young bowlers such as Matthew Dunn, Tom Jewell and Chris Jordan.”Jon Lewis has been the most consistent seam bowler in English Domestic cricket for some time now and is exactly the right character and personality I have been looking for,” said Surrey Professional Cricket Manager Chris Adams.”We have a developing group of very exciting young quick bowlers and it is fantastic to know that Jon will be leading that group in the heat of the battle. He will bring a host of qualities on and off the field and is a terrific addition to the squad; I am delighted he has decided to join us.”

Scorecard Paul Collingwood showed the form which made him a mainstay of the England one-day team for a decade as his innings of 73 helped Durham to an easy Clydesdale Bank 40 group win over Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.Collingwood shared a stand of 142 with Michael Di Venuto, who made 70, as Durham reached an impressive 210 for 5, despite two stoppages for rain which reduced the match to 34 overs aside.Hampshire, chasing a revived target of 216 under the Duckworth-Lewis method, never looked like managing it and could only muster a paltry 134 all out. That gave Durham victory by 81 runs and earned them their fifth win in eight group matches to keep alive their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.Hampshire’s defeat was their fifth in seven matches as they were comprehensively outplayed. The turning point was the stand between Collingwood and Di Venuto in 20 overs with Collingwood hitting five fours and two sixes in his 63-ball innings.Collingwood looked set for a century until he lifted Sean Ervine to mid-off where Liam Dawson clutched the catch. There was late hitting by Gareth Breese, including a six off Chris Wood, to take Durham past the 200 mark.Hampshire needed a swift start and they failed to get it once James Vince had been carelessly run out by a throw from the deep by Liam Plunkett while going for a third run. Vince’s opening partner Jimmy Adams was top scorer with 24 but when he was bowled by Breese’s second ball, Hampshire quickly fell away.Breese and fellow spinners Scott Borthwick and Ian Blackwell found plenty of turn in the pitch to help them and there was little cheer for a small home crowd.The only resistance came from Michael Carberry and Hamza Riazuddin in a stand of 38 for the sixth wicket, but even that took nearly eight overs as Hampshire rapidly fell behind the run requirement.Breese also accounted for Ervine and Benny Howell to finish with figures of three for 19 from seven overs while Borthwick and Blackwell each took two wickets. So too did Mitchell Claydon, who put Hampshire out of their misery with 11 balls to spare when he bowled last man David Griffiths.

ScorecardNew Zealand opener Martin Guptill mauled Warwickshire to give Derbyshire a six-wicket win in the Friends Life t20 North Group game at Leek.Guptill raced to his highest score for Derbyshire by smashing six sixes in a 44-ball 72 as the Falcons overhauled the Bears’ below-par 137 for 4 with seven balls to spare. Jim Troughton had top scored with an unbeaten 55 from 41 balls but Warwickshire’s total never looked enough once Guptill found his range on the tree-ringed Staffordshire Moorlands Ground.The Falcons would have been chasing an even lower total if they had taken two chances offered by Troughton in successive overs. Jon Clare allowed a drive to go through his hands when Troughton was on 12 and the left hander had another escape on 20 when he was dropped by Garry Park at long on.Those misses allowed Troughton and Darren Maddy to rebuild the innings after the Bears, who were without Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Chris Woakes, lost three wickets in the first six overs.Neil Carter was stumped charging Wes Durston, Varun Chopra was run out going for a second and Clare clung onto a fierce return catch to remove Will Porterfield.Another wicket then would have seriously undermined the Bears but Troughton made the most of his let-offs to dominate the rest of the innings. He added 48 in seven overs with Maddy, who was stumped for 21 going for a big drive at Chesney Hughes, and reached his 50 by driving Steffan Jones for his second six.Ex-Derbyshire skipper Rikki Clarke also cleared the ropes in his unbeaten 25 from 22 balls and his unbroken stand of 56 with Troughton at least gave the Bears a respectable total although it still looked at least 20 runs short.It started to look totally inadequate as Guptill smashed three sixes in the first five overs including a straight drive over the pavilion off Keith Barker. Guptill’s strokeplay helped the Falcons pass 50 in the eighth over before the Bears broke through.Durston was lbw to Steffan Piolet for 22 and although Hughes went cheaply to the former Derbyshire spinner Ant Botha, Guptill made sure nothing would disrupt the Falcons’ flight.After reaching his half-century from 34 balls, the Kiwi trod on the accelerator in the 14th over by pulling Piolet for two consecutive sixes. While he then pulled Maddy’s first ball to wide long on, the damage had been done long before Ross Whiteley drove Barker for the winning boundary.