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Australia’s attempt at reclaiming the Ashes lost in September will begin with the first Test at the Gabba on November 23 next year. Cricket Australia released the highly anticipated schedule today, which includes five Tests, the one-day VB Series and a Twenty20 international.England begin the tour with a one-day fixture against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on November 10 and will play matches against New South Wales and South Australia before the first Test. The second Test will be at Adelaide starting on December 1 and the third in Perth beginning on December 14 before the Boxing Day and New Year matches conclude the series in Melbourne and Sydney. England, Australia and New Zealand will then play in the VB Series in January and February.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the Ashes would be the biggest event in Australia since the 2000 Olympics and ticket details would be announced on January 10. “Ordinarily we don’t release the program dates until six months out from the start of the season,” he said. “But we were conscious of the high interest in this tour and the number of people trying to make travel arrangements so we moved to get the dates finalised and announced as quickly as possible.”The Ashes urn, which has returned to Australia only once in 1988, is also expected to tour with MCC planning to exhibit the prize during the Test series. “The MCC has completed restoration work over the past few years to ensure the precious urn is safe to travel,” Sutherland said. “It will be a fantastic experience for Australian fans to be able to see this iconic piece of sporting history.”John Carr, the ECB Director of Cricket Operations, said it had been a challenge for the two boards to agree on a schedule, which falls in a relatively tight window between the Champions Trophy and the 2007 World Cup. “It has been agreed that the opening three-day match of the tour against New South Wales will allow participation from our full squad to help ensure that all players participate,” he said.”The schedule is unusual in not providing a one-day warm-up match between the Test and ODI series. This step has been taken as it is in the interests of all three teams participating in the VB Series to ensure that there is a minimum of a two-week break between the end of the series and the report date for the World Cup.”Sutherland also confirmed Australia would travel back to New Zealand for the 2006-07 Chappell-Hadlee Series but the dates for the three fixtures have not been finalised. “We are hoping to schedule the series early in 2007,” he said, “in between the end of the VB Series and the start of the World Cup.”Tour dates

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, believes the Indian Premier League (IPL), has a far superior foundation to Allen Stanford’s 2020 in the Caribbean. Chanderpaul, representing Bangalore but sitting out “after a decade”, also felt that more West Indian players needed to be brought over to foster interest back home.”The IPL is much better organised than Stanford 2020. Stanford 2020 is not paying anything. IPL is actually recognising the players and paying them,” he told the . “Without players, the sport cannot go on. This is a lot bigger with more international variety at the highest level.”Chanderpaul strongly advised more West Indian representation in the IPL. “You need people from everywhere. And to get the West Indian public more interested, you need these players out here and want them to be playing,” he said. “Right now, the West Indian public is not paying much attention to IPL. Even though they have a few players here, not all are playing.”Chanderpaul, who has played just two games for Bangalore, felt it was “strange” to be sitting on the bench. “I have been actually out to play cricket and am sitting out. This is happening after a decade,” he said. “You still have guys who have not played. One has to understand that everyone will have to get an opportunity.”Thought Bangalore have struggled to gain momentum, Chanderpaul said he was enjoying his time. “It has been an experience by itself. I never expected the tournament to be this big. We [Bangalore] have been struggling a bit but we have also been playing good cricket in the last few games and managed to pull one off on Saturday night. Winning is a habit as much as losing is. Hopefully, we can get into that habit of winning.”

Scorecard

Matthew Wade justified Victoria’s decision to make him their No. 1 wicketkeeper with 83 and four catches on debut as the Bushrangers took control against South Australia. Despite all their off-season batting work the Redbacks showed little improvement from their woeful 2006-07, ending the day at 8 for 162 and trailing by 276.Gerard Denton and Dirk Nannes claimed three wickets each as several Redbacks made starts and failed to go on. Matthew Elliott fared best with 42 but the Borgas brothers’ first Pura Cup match together will be one to forget – Jason edged Denton behind for 1 and Cameron went in the same manner for 0.Mark Cosgrove managed six fours in his 34 before nudging to short leg off Bryce McGain right before tea. A further five wickets fell in the final session and at the close the home side was 127 short of avoiding the follow on, with Cullen Bailey on 18 and Jason Gillespie on 2.South Australia were also disappointing with the ball as they let Victoria’s last two pairs add 118, with Wade the major contributor. He was chosen ahead of Adam Crosthwaite because of his batting skill and although he survived a couple of dropped catches he showed serious potential, striking nine fours and two sixes. Nannes, who made 31 not out, and Peter Siddle (17) were Wade’s tail-end helpers.

Central Districts v Northern Districts
Northern Districts did the unthinkable… again. For the second time in three years they chased down a 400-plus total to beat Central Districts. They did so on the back of an outstanding unbeaten 120 from Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand allrounder.Hamish Marshall also sent an ill-timed reminder to the national selectors about his ability as he notched up his ninth first-class century at Lincoln today. Marshall’s impressive 153 off just 204 balls came too late to bring him into calculations for the first Test against Sri Lanka that starts in Christchurch on December 7.Declaring overnight, Northern had all day to score the runs but once Marshall was dismissed at 240 for 5 few would have given Northern a chance. Enter Vettori. He combined with Joe Yovich (52) to add 99 for the seventh wicket and 74 for the eighth with Peter McGlashan (16).Michael Mason, who was named in the New Zealand squad for the first Test, took 3 for 74 off 25 overs.Central took the two first-innings points to go with their outright victory against Wellington last week.Auckland v Wellington
Rain ruined any chance of an outright result in Christchurch so Auckland used the opportunity for batting practice on the last day after Wellington comfortably took first innings points.When stumps were drawn at tea Tim McIntosh had reached his half century while captain Richard Jones was unbeaten on 47.Earlier Neal Parlane and James Franklin had scored half centuries for Wellington after opener Matthew Bell fell nine runs short of a century.

Geoff Marsh, the former coach of Zimbabwe, said cancelling Australia’s tour later this year would have little effect on Robert Mugabe’s regime and action should be taken in areas besides sport. Marsh said Zimbabweans were passionate about cricket but their country had been turned into “a living hell”.”The feeling I get – and it’s the opinion of some of my Zimbabwean mates as well – is what difference will stopping a cricket tour make?” Marsh said in the . “Whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do is another matter, but, in real terms, I just wonder what it will achieve.”I generally don’t like to see sport and politics mix. I think strong action definitely needs to be taken but I think it has to happen in areas broader than just sport. It is a beautiful country that has become a living hell for a lot of people.”Marsh, who was in charge of the side from 2001 to 2004, said the exodus of Zimbabwe’s top players was unfortunate for cricket in the country. “It’s a sad situation,” he said. “People there love the game. We filled the grounds there quite a few times, and you have to think that had they kept their key players, they would probably be a pretty competitive team.”Marsh’s comments came as Cricket Australia met with Australia’s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, to discuss whether to cancel or go ahead with the tour. The government has repeatedly said it does not want the trip to proceed and will pay any ICC fine imposed on CA.

Auckland v Wellington
Wellington were well placed to take first-innings points as they inched to within 61 of Auckland’s total on another rain-affected day at Christchurch. After losing the entire second day, only 49 overs were possible today, but Wellington used them to good effect after an early shock when they found themselves at 29 for 2. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s lean start to the season continued when he was trapped in front by Tama Canning for just 6. However that brought Jesse Ryder to the crease, who changed the tone of the match by scoring a quick-fire 77 off just 88 balls before falling to Lou Vincent. At stumps Matthew Bell was not out 65 and Neal Parlane 18.Central Districts v Northern Districts
Northern Districts gifted Central Districts first-innings points but showed they intend to make a game of it after declaring 402 runs behind at Lincoln. Whether anything will come of it will depend on the weather in Canterbury which has severely disrupted days two and three. Central’s Greg Hay took his total through to 74 to continue his impressive start as a first-class player while Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, ended the first innings with 4 for 117 from 40 overs of toil. Perhaps the most interesting point will be how much stock the New Zealand selectors will place in Hamish Marshall’s undefeated 33 before the declaration.

Shane Watson will miss the upcoming ODI series against India after suffering a sore hamstring during the win against Sri Lanka on Thursday in the ICC World Twenty20. It was Watson’s first game in the tournament after he sat out the initial matches with a hamstring problem.”Shane Watson experienced some left hamstring soreness during yesterday’s game,” Alex Kountouris, the team physio said. “This is similar to the pain he had prior to this tour. Although this is a low-grade muscular strain the decision has been made for Shane to return to Australia and prepare himself for the upcoming Australian season.”No decision had been taken regarding a replacement for Watson. Australia are scheduled to depart from South Africa for India on September 25 to play a seven-match ODI series and one Twenty20 game. The first match will be played on September 29 in Bangalore.

Marylebone Cricket Club, the former governor of the world game and the guardian of its laws, has renewed its drive to become an influence on the modern-day game by forming a committee of leading Test cricketers from eight of the ten member countries.The MCC World Cricket Committee will be under the chairmanship of the former England captain and MCC president, Tony Lewis, and its remit will be to lobby the ICC and guard the fundamental aspects of the game at all levels, particularly those concerning the laws and the spirit of cricket.”MCC, in my time, has always been a chamber of fair debate and seriously democratic,” Lewis told The Times, as he attempted to do away with the traditionally stuffy image of the club. “Everything [is] decided in what was believed to be the best interests of cricket and cricketers.”The first meeting will take place at Lord’s on April 24, with a committee that comprises five former England captains in Mike Brearley, Mike Gatting, Michael Atherton, Geoffrey Boycott and Alec Stewart; Australia’s Steve Waugh and Tony Dodemaide; India’s current captain, Rahul Dravid; Martin Crowe from New Zealand; Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower; Majid Khan from Pakistan; Barry Richards from South Africa; Courtney Walsh from West Indies, and the former Test umpire, David Shepherd.Crowe, Shepherd and Gatting will not be able to attend the inaugural meeting, but between them, the committee members have 1,183 Test caps. Items on the agenda will include an investigation into laws 24.2 and 24.3, which deal with unfair deliveries, and the question of whether umpires should be permitted more assistance through the use of technology.The idea is for the committee to “constructively question or challenge changes to the game”, and Lewis was delighted to have attracted so many influential names to join. “They will be well qualified to discuss matters relating to national and international cricket,” he said, “from the lowest level to the ICC, and to provide support or to challenge as appropriate.”The forum will replace the Laws, Spirit and Ethos sub-committee, which was created under the chairmanship of Ted Dexter in 2000, when MCC streamlined its committee structure.

New Zealand A continued their excellent form at the Emerging Players Tournament in Brisbane, finishing on top of the table after their 32-run victory over Karnataka State Cricket Association XI. Neil Broom again starred for New Zealand with 62 and he had good support from his captain James Marshall, who scored a brisk 51 from 47 deliveries.Grant Elliott chipped in with a 38-ball 40 as New Zealand made the most of Marshall’s decision to bat first at Sandgate Redcliffe. S Dhananjaya tried to keep Karnataka in the game with 4 for 44 but when New Zealand were dismissed for 278 in the 50th over, the chase was always going to be difficult.Bharat Chipli was promising with 76 from 68 balls and there were contributions from Raju Bhatkal (46) and KB Pawan (44) but Karnataka fell for 245. New Zealand will play South Africa Emerging Players in Saturday’s final.
South Africa Emerging Players cruised past the Australian Academy and into the final, finishing the preliminary games with a convincing seven-wicket win over the hosts at Redlands. The series ended on a low for Australia, who suspended three players on Thursday for poor behaviour at their Brisbane accommodation, as South Africa overhauled the target with nine overs to spare.Johan Botha’s decision to field first paid off when Australia wobbled to 9 for 189. Luke Ronchi made 65 and Phillip Hughes scored 58 but they had little help trying to get on top of Botha (3 for 27) and Yusuf Abdullah, who collected 3 for 43.Gulam Bodi made batting look easy and compiled 86, while Francois du Plessis was also in control with 62. South Africa reached 3 for 190 in the 41st over and settled in second spot on the tournament table, ahead of Australia in third and the last-placed Karnataka.

A superb hundred from Gareth von Hoesslin gave Border the edge over Boland at East London. They closed the day on 248 for 8, a lead of 68, but with much of the first day lost to rain, a draw still looks the likely outcome. Murray Ranger took another three wickets, finishing with 6 for 30 as Boland slumped to 180 after resuming on 149 for 4. Border then suffered an even more dramatic collapse, but from 44 for 6, Gareth von Hoesslin blasted a brilliant 101 not out to turn the match around. He found an ally in debutant Darryl Brown (77), who helped him add 141 for the ninth wicket before Boland declared at stumps.Griqualand West were within sight of victory over Free State thanks to a career-best 6 for 37 by Alan Kruger. Griqualand West had failed to build on a strong overnight position, losing their last seven first-innings wickets for 60, a lead of 47. Free State overcome an uncertain start to reach 108 for 3 before Kruger took six of the last seven wickets to fall. Set a target of 127, Griqualand West need just 54 runs with 7 wickets remaining.A green Newlands pitch was to largely to blame as the match between Eastern and Western Province barely lasted four sessions, Western winning by six wickets before tea on the second day. After 24 wickets fell yesterday, things returned to normality, but the damage had already been done as far as Eastern Province were concerned. Resuming on 115 for 5, they crept to 168, but had no answer to Rory Kleinveldt, who took the last four wickets to fall and finished with 6 for 57, the first five-wicket haul of his career. Set 107 to win, Western Province started cautiously, and although Grant Howell took two wickets, Myles Williamson (35) and Warren Wyngaard (37) ensured their were no further alarms.