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Matthew Hayden says the injury that has ended his tour of the West Indies will not finish his career. Hayden was sent home from the Caribbean after Australia discovered the tendinosis in his right achilles, which kept him out of the first Test, would stop him from playing the remaining two matches.It will be the biggest lay-off for Hayden in years, after he played 86 consecutive Tests until missing the WACA game against India in January with a hamstring problem. But Hayden, 36, brushed off reports that the niggling injury might prompt him to start thinking of retirement.”I’ll be back bigger and better than ever,” Hayden told the . “This isn’t the kind of thing that is going to end my career. With the way the calendar is at the moment, there is a good opportunity now to get it right before a pretty busy schedule starts up.”So we decided that, rather than push it, it would be better to just get it right once and for all and go from there. I am completely confident that I will get this right and be back soon.”The team’s medical staff thought Hayden could probably have played in the one-day internationals that will follow the Tests in the West Indies. However, their cautious approach means he will target the three home ODIs against Bangladesh starting in late August, ahead of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and a Test tour of India.While Simon Katich is the top-order beneficiary for the remaining Tests in the Caribbean, Hayden’s absence from the one-day team means Australia will have an unfamiliar pairing regardless of who is chosen. They have not played an ODI since Adam Gilchrist retired at the end of the CB Series.Hayden’s replacement is yet to be named but of the men already in the one-day squad the most likely candidates to open are James Hopes, who filled in at the top twice in the CB Series, and the uncapped Shaun Marsh. Both have been in excellent form in the Indian Premier League, where they have opened together for Kings XI Punjab, and Marsh is the tournament’s leading run scorer.”That’s big news [Hayden’s departure], and big too for Shaun knowing that because now he’ll be playing over there,” Hopes told . “We’ve spoken about how good it would be to be able to bat together for Australia, a lot of the times in this tournament he’s been kicking on.”

James Whitaker has resigned as general manager of Leicestershire County Cricket Club. The Skipton-born Whitaker spent more than 20 years at Grace Road and was captain when Leicestershire won the County Championship in 1996 and 1998.”It is perfectly amicable as far as I am concerned,” Whitaker said. “I’ve spent 21 lovely years at Leicestershire and it is now time for me to utilise my energies elsewhere and look at other options. I just want to give myself some fresh air and review where I am up to.”Leicestershire narrowly missed out on the National League title on the final day of last season, and also lost the 2001 C&G final to Somerset at Lord’s.They are currently mid-table in the top divisions of both the Frizzell County Championship and Norwich Union League.

BRISBANE, Nov 2 AAP – Experienced Queensland batsmen Stuart Law and Martin Love posted half-centuries as the Bulls made England toil on the first day of the three-day tour match at Allan Border Field.At tea, the Bulls were 3-217 with Love unbeaten on 66 and a cautious Andrew Symonds on five.Law was the only man out in the middle session, nudging a return catch to Andrew Flintoff (1-44) after a well-made 68 in a partnership of 128 with Love.Law and Love looked confident at the crease against the attack which England seems certain to take into the first Test at the Gabba on Thursday.Andrew Caddick (2-45) took two wickets in the first session during an encouraging opening spell but the tourists have struggled for breakthroughs.Simon Jones (0-46) has bowled too short at times despite bothering the Bulls with some dangerous deliveries outside off-stump.Flintoff had bowled 11 overs in a confident sign he had recovered from a double hernia operation in time for the Test.Englishman Mark Butcher provided a worrying moment when he slammed into the fence when stopping a shot from Law reaching the boundary.Butcher appeared to be hurt but seconds later he ran back to his fielding position.

Scorecard

Scotland’s stand-in captain Fraser Watts made a defiant 93 to lead Scotland to 243 for 7 at stumps on the first day of their match against Bermuda. Left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock was again Bermuda’s hero, taking four wickets as he sent down a marathon 37 overs in the day.After Scotland chose to bat, their openers, Watt and Douglas Lockhart, faced a probing new-ball spell from George O’Brien and Stefan Kelly. They had strung together a 42-run stand for the first wicket before Leverock, fresh from his ten-wicket match haul against Canada last week, had Lockhart caught behind.With none of the other top six batsmen going past 25, Watt had little support and was finally dismissed seven short of what would have been his third first-class century. Scotland’s batting had been weakened by the absence of Gavin Hamilton and regular captain Ryan Watson but an unbeaten 44 from No. 7 Majid Haq helped them move towards a competitive total.It was slow going from Scotland’s batsmen as none of Bermuda’s bowlers conceded more than three an over. Offspinner Rodney Trott took 2 for 54 to support Leverock, who turns 37 on Monday.

Alec Stewart will become the first England player to make 150 appearances in one-day internationals tomorrow afternoon, when England meet India in the NatWest Series day-night match at Chester-le-Street.Stewart, 39, equalled Graham Gooch’s record of 118 Test caps for England at Old Trafford last month. Having scored a century there, he has taken his form into the current series, with 83 at Trent Bridge, 28 not out at Lord’s and a crucial unbeaten 38 in yesterday’s remarkable win over Sri Lanka at Headingley.Stewart has batted in a different position in each game – yesterday he came in at number eight – and has been taking advice from the England coach Duncan Fletcher on how to perform later in the innings.”I’m 39 but I’m still learning,” Stewart said. “I had a chat with Duncan on the day before the game and he gave me a few tips about batting down the order when the ball is reverse swinging – where to hit the ball and how to hit the ball.”He spoke to me about that on Monday and I practice hard and had two net sessions with Duncan standing behind talking me through certain things andtelling me to work on certain things and that helped my innings.”Where I bat is a bit like the lottery – it all depends on what number comes out of the hat. I’m really just glad to be involved because back in April I wasn’t even in the set-up.”Stewart’s recall this summer resulted from an injury to the contracted keeper, James Foster of Essex, but it is an opportunity he has grasped with characteristic firmness.”Unfortunately for James Foster and fortunately for me, his injury has given me the opportunity in both forms of cricket and I want to try and grab them.”No matter where I bat I want to do the best job I can. I’ve done alright in this tournament so far but I want to keep things going because we’re only sixmonths away from the World Cup.”If Stewart does make the World Cup it will be his fourth tournament, and he believes England now have a squad that could surprise the more pessimistic pundits.”After a win you’re always high and everything is always great, but I dobelieve we’re moving in the right direction. The selectors have given this side some continuity. The nucleus of the players are there and they may bring one more in over the next couple of tournament but this squad are sticking and gelling together as a team – we know how each other play and how we’re going to play as a team in certain situations.”In the past you would be wondering what side it would be when you turned up, but now there are 14 or 15 players in there who know each other’s games verywell.”For this next World Cup we had better make sure we prepare well, pick theright squad and play to our capabilities. If we do that and keep improving thenwe have a fair chance.”Although Stewart is England’s most-capped ODI player, he remains well down the pecking order in the global list of appearances. India’s Sachin Tendulkar hasfeatured in 290 matches, while Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya has played 260 times.”I’ve not missed many one-day games since I made my debut about 13 years ago, but I’m only just coming up to my 150,” added Stewart. “Someone similar from other countries like Pakistan or Australia would have played around 250 inthe same period.”That says a fair amount about our inexperience. The only way you can learn in this form of cricket is out in the middle – the more games you play, the more experienced you get and you recognise certain situations and know how to react.”

South African opener Gary Kirsten will have left Kingsmead in a foul mood on Friday evening after losing his wicket one ball before play was called off for bad light at the end of the first day’s play in the third and final Castle Lager/MTN Test match against Australia.Kirsten was caught off a glove down the leg side as he faced Brett Lee’s 140km/h plus thunderbolts in uncertain light. He went at 48 for one as play ran nearly an hour overtime and just one ball later, after South Africa had sent Paul Adams in as nightwatchman, umpires Dave Orchard and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, both members of the ICC’s elite umpires panel, called the players off the field.It was a poor decision to have kept the players on as the sun dropped behind Durban’s Berea and before the floodlights had taken full effect. The South Africans will not have been amused, particular after Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs had made a solid start to their reply to Australia’s 315 all out.The loss of Kirsten aside, South African will have been relatively well pleased with their position after asking Australia to bat. Opinion at Kingsmead on Mark Boucher’s decision was divided, but many thought he had chosen to field first in order to keep his batsmen away from Australia’s bowlers.As it turned out, there were few devils in the Kingsmead pitch and more than one Australian batsman had only himself to blame for his dismisssal. There was an early breathrough for South Africa as David Terbrugge struck with the first ball of his comback Test match to remove Justin Langer at 11 for one and for once Matthew Hayden went relatively cheaply, caught at slip off Jacques Kallis for 28.But Ricky Ponting, who finished off the Newlands Test on Tuesday by hitting a six to reach his hundred, was in awesome form, middling the ball from the word go. He looked quite capable of doubling his Newlands effort as he and Mark Waugh added 108 for thje third wicket and then South Africa had one of those moments that sometimes change the directions of Test matches.Waugh pushed to cover and called for a single, Ponting went and Gibbs threw down the wicket at the striker’s end to catch Ponting short on 89. It was an unnecessary risk and Australia were quickly made to pay for it. Waugh was caught at slip off Kallis nine runs later and then Paul Adams had Steve Waugh caught at slip for just 7, the third time in as many innings that the Australian captain has got out cheaply to the left-arm spinner.Australia had slipped from 169 for two to 182 for five and South Africa were in the game. But, of course, Adam Gilchrist had still to bat.The left-hander lost Damien Martyn for 11, had some support from Shane Warne who made 26 in a 57-run stand for seventh wicket and again looked invincible as he stormed to 91. Then he hit Adams to Graeme Smith at deep square leg to be out for only the second time in the series.Gilchrist has now scored 457 in this series at an average of 228.5. Only two Australians have scored more runs than him in a three-Test series – Matthew Hayden who compiled549 at 109.8 against India last year and Mark Taylor who scored 531 at 128.25 against Pakistan in 1998/99.Australia, then, were finally all out for 315, their lowest total of the series and it would have been a very good day for South Africa, relatively speaking, had Kirsten made it through to the close.

A chapter has been extracted from the history of 1971 and rewritten. An inspired Indian team has finally proved to the worldthat they have it in them to win Test matches abroad. The Queen’sPark Oval at Port of Spain will always have a special place inIndian cricket history, more so now since, with this memorableTest win, India have three victories at this picturesque venue.

I am forced to conclude that Carl Hooper’s decision to bowl firstwent a long way towards deciding the final outcome. Ideally, onewould want to bowl the opposition out for a score around 200 runsif the most is to be made of such a decision. Hooper simply doesnot have the kind of fast bowlers who can rip through a battingline-up. The fact that India was allowed to score 339 in thefirst innings really exposed the limitations of the Windiesbowling department.Even though the West Indian bowlers had some success in removingthe Indian opening batsmen on the first morning, Rahul Dravidcame to the rescue and played yet another important knock. I wasvery impressed by the way in which Dravid handled the thirdorfourth-string West Indies attack. Even on a wicket that promisedlife and bounce, Dravid played some exquisite cover drives andthe flick through mid-wicket with élan.A shaky start from Sachin Tendulkar is a very unusual sight, butthe master batsman came into his own after he got the measure ofthe track and the insipid attack. One must pay glowing tribute tothe Mumbai maestro for his sheer appetite for runs and the mannerin which he scores them. Tendulkar was the mainstay of India’sfirst innings, and his 29th Test hundred, which equalled SirDonald Bradman’s record of Test centuries, helped India put up adecent first-innings total.It is also very heartening to see VVS Laxman play with so muchresponsibility. The stylish batsman applied himself very well,and the determination to excel was there for all to see. Thereshould be no doubts regarding talent, which he has in abundance.I believe that Laxman has finally sorted out his flings withcomplacency to adopt a more professional approach. He is a classplayer, and he proved that with a fifty in each innings at Portof Spain; he really deserved the Man of the Match award.The Indian pacers Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khanbowled well, proving that they have it in them to win Tests forIndia away from home. I must particularly commend Srinath for hislion-hearted effort in this match. I was also impressed by ZaheerKhan’s bowling; the delivery he produced to get rid of Brian Larain the first innings was a beauty. It is a rare sight these daysin Test cricket to see a bowler willing to attack to take awicket.It was Nehra who turned things around in the second innings,picking up the valuable wickets of Lara and Hooper. The youngsterhas a lot of talent, and it augurs well for Indian cricket that agenuine group of fast bowlers are coming to the fore.Appropriately enough, the West Indies is the ideal place for sucha pace attack to blossom.There was not much to cheer about in the West Indian battingdepartment. The batsmen did not apply themselves enough toconvert starts into big scores; such efforts may have changed thefinal result of this Test match. Looking at their bowling, twobowlers caught my eye – Adam Sanford and Marlon Black. Sanfordhas it in him to be a class act if he can concentrate on line andlength; if he can add some discipline to the whippy action, hecan surprise a few leading batsmen. Black is one bowler who lookslike never giving up, and it is a quality that will help him inthe long run.I had expected Harbhajan Singh to be more effective on the finalday and even run through the West Indies batting line-up. It wasa disappointing show by the young off-spinner, and, in the finalanalysis, it was the fast bowlers who won the Test for India. Intalking about the game, though, it must be said that the numberof umpiring mistakes in the match baffled me, and I hope theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) will ensure that such blatantmistakes are not repeated at the highest level of the game.Finally, I must congratulate Sourav Ganguly for this memorableTest win. There was an extra edge to his captaincy in this match,and Port of Spain witnessed some inspiring work in the field fromthe Indian skipper; the field placements, especially, weresuperb. A lot of thinking went into formulating the strategy forthis Test. Ganguly ensured that the plan was well-executed, andthis memorable Test win should hold Indian cricket in good steadin future endeavours.

The Pakistan cricket team for next month’s tour to England will benamed on Tuesday evening, officials said, adding that the announcementof the coach will be announced later.The chairman of selectors Wasim Bari said Monday that he was informedby the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that all the players were declaredfit by the panel of doctors and were now available for selection.Bari, however, said the team would be finalized and handed over to thePCB on Tuesday. He said he would be submitting a 16-man squad for thetwo-Test series while team for the tri-nation oneday series would benamed later.Bari indicated there was a possibility that an additional player mightbe sent to England.As things continued to remain complex and intriguing, former captainsWasim Akram and Moin Khan were left facing the axe in the backdrop ofrecent happenings.Wasim Akram, after a dismal performance in the two Tests againstEngland at home, failed to take part in the three-Test series againstNew Zealand because of inter-coastal injury. Nevertheless, sources sayskipper Waqar Younis was strongly opposing the selection of Wasimthough the vote of the chief selector was in the left-armer’s favour.Rashid Latif is being favoured over Moin because of Waqar’s firmbelief in the talent of the former who first blew the whistle ofbetting and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket.Not surprisingly injury prone and joy-rider, Shoaib Akhtar has onceagain been assured of a place in the squad after returning unfit fromthe tour to New Zealand in February. Brig Rana admitted that Shoaibneither appeared before the panel of doctors nor played in the ongoing one-dayers on the pretext that he was suffering from stomachupset.Likely 16:Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar,Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Mohammad Sami, FaisalIqbal, Younis Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Imran Farhat, Rashid Latif(wicketkeeper), Shoaib Akhtar, Fazle Akbar and Mushtaq Ahmad, SaqlainMushtaq.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCarlton Baugh’s 40 was not enough for Jamaica to stretch Trinidad and Tobago•Anthony Harris/West Indies Cricket Board

Trinidad and Tobago may have narrowly missed making the finals of the Caribbean T20, but they put in a thoroughly disciplined performance against a listless Jamaica to settle for third place. The seamers, led by Kevon Cooper, restricted Jamaica to an inadequate 94 in a match initially reduced to 14 overs, before the openers strolled to the revised target of 89 in just 10.1 overs.T&T had the incentive to give their home fans something to cheer about, but Jamaica failed to derive any kind of inspiration. With the exception of Carlton Baugh, none of the batsmen batted with motivation, and it was a continuation of their performance in the semi-final yesterday.Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert won the toss and chose to bat under bright skies, but a sudden downpour forced the players indoors for more than 90 minutes. The Trinidad seamers hit the deck hard and got good carry off a moist surface, getting rid of the attacking opening pair of Chris Gayle and Xavier Marshall early. Gayle, who had a disappointing tournament, holed out to the trap at deep midwicket, before Marshall had his middle stump flattened by a Cooper yorker.Marlon Samuels failed to assume the role of senior pro and was dismissed in embarrassing circumstances. He squeezed the ball to cover and set off for a single but his partner Danza Hyatt was rooted to his end watching the ball. Samuels was stranded at Hyatt’s end giving T&T an easy run-out. Hyatt himself failed to make amends as he lost his off stump to Dave Mohammed trying to pull a ball which wasn’t short enough.Baugh gave the innings some impetus sweeping and cutting Sherwin Ganga for consecutive boundaries. He swept Mohammed over deep square-leg to bring up the first six of the game, and then picked up two crisp boundaries past point off the seamers. But the pressure increased on him as he lost a couple of partners and when Lendl Simmons served up a short delivery, he failed to clear Bravo at deep midwicket. Bravo bowled a fine final over, delivering three dot balls to Lambert as Jamaica limped to 94.Adrian Barath and Simmons made easy work of the target, which was reduced to 89 off 13 overs following a brief shower after 3.2 overs. The pair also ensured they kept with the Duckworth-Lewis par score and didn’t lose any wickets by the end of five overs, the minimum required to constitute a match. The persistent drizzle didn’t help the Jamaican bowlers as they struggled to grip the ball. Simmons used the opportunity to recover some form by going on the attack, often making room and clearing his back leg to muscle the ball away. Barath was powerful off the front foot, lofting and driving square on the off side to pick up five fours in his 39.The match was nowhere close to the intensity of the first semi-final yesterday, but the home fans weren’t complaining as T&T delivered the knockout blow.

Match facts

October 19, 2012
Start time 1730 (1530 GMT)Morne Morkel is the leader of an attack that can otherwise look weak•AFP

Big Picture

Delhi Daredevils have looked the best IPL side in the tournament, and they will be the favourites against Auckland Aces, but many a team has learned the hard way that you take Aces lightly at your own peril.If Daredevils win, though, and win it big, they will be pretty close to qualifying for the semi-finals. They have carried good net run rate from the big win against Kolkata Knight Riders, and a second win will put them in a strong position in the group. Kevin Pietersen, who had left for meetings with England team director after the win against Knight Riders, is expected to be back in time for this game, and he will be buoyed by having settled his differences with the England team.Aces, on the other hand, had their excellent run of wins rudely interrupted when they came up against group leaders Titans. They have won many a fan by winning both their qualifiers, and also their first game, but they can ill afford a defeat. Having camped in the Highveld well before the tournament, they have played there as if it’s their own backyard, but they struggled in Durban. They will hope they catch their opponents similarly unawares when Daredevils play their first game at Kingsmead.

Watch out for…

Azhar Mahmood, with 137 runs at 68.5 and 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.57, has been Auckland’s highest wicket-taker and their highest run-getter, and easily one of the best players in the tournament. Auckland will look to him to provide inspiration against the much-fancied opposition.Daredevils’ top order has been the talk of the town, but Morne Morkel is equally important to their chances in the tournament. He leads an attack that can look weak without him, and will be pretty handy under the lights in Durban.

Stats and trivia

• This is Simon Taufel’s 92nd match as a Twenty20 umpire, more than anyone else.
• With 10 wickets, Mahmood is the leading bowler in the tournament.

Quotes

“Keep it simple, focus on our strengths and try and execute a good game plan. And results will take care of themselves. We need to focus. We are not going to win matches by just turning up, we need to keep performing, we have to be consistent and win that. So we have to try and do that.”