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New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has announced his retirement from Test cricket due to a recurring battle with injury. He will continue to represent his country in one-dayers and Twenty20s.Bond, 34, revived his international career earlier this year after quitting the unofficial Indian Cricket League. He made a comeback to the limited-overs side during the tour of Sri Lanka, before working his way back to the Test squad. Following a match-winning performance in the first Test against Pakistan in Dunedin, he was forced to withdraw from the two remaining games after tearing an abdominal muscle. The injury setback – the latest in a career punctuated by back, feet and soft tissue problems – left him disappointed, prompting him to reassess his future as a Test player.”The hardest thing is that I’ve always considered myself a Test bowler – and it was such a great feeling to be back in the team last month and playing Test match cricket with the Blackcaps,” Bond said.”I’ve worked really hard to get back to Test match fitness – it’s what I’ve been working towards for the past two years – and I feel I gave as much as I could. But looking back, so many of my injuries have come during Test cricket. Unfortunately my body just won’t let me continue to play at that level, given the workload and demands of Test cricket.”I don’t want to end on an injury and I am absolutely committed to playing for the Blackcaps. This way I hope I’ve got a better chance of continuing to play. I hope I’ll be able to continue to contribute to the team and to New Zealand cricket fans for a while yet.”It’s been a tough call, because Test cricket remains the ultimate form of the game – but I’m comfortable I’ve made the right choice.”Bond said he is targeting the one-dayers against Australia starting February for his comeback. He added that he would start playing club cricket in January before representing Canterbury in one-day games the following month.Justin Vaughan, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, sympathised with Bond’s decision.”Shane really showed his never-say-die attitude in his comeback this season, especially in the Test Match against Pakistan – and I know how tough this decision has been for him,” Vaughan said. “Of course we’re disappointed that he won’t be part of the Test line-up, but New Zealand Cricket supports his decision to focus on limited-overs cricket and hopes that this decision will prolong his international career.”He remains one of the best fast bowlers in the international game and we’re delighted that he’s doing all he can to keep playing.”One of the fastest bowlers in world cricket since the 2000s, Bond has the distinction of being the quickest New Zealander to 50 wickets in Tests and ODIs. However, since his debut in 2001, he has managed to play only 18 Tests, taking 87 wickets, and 77 ODIs. Stress-fractures to his feet and back forced him to miss numerous games and tours, including the 2004 series in England. After a successful tour of Zimbabwe in 2005, a knee injury ruled him out for nine months. He joined the ICL in 2007, had his New Zealand Cricket contract terminated, but was readmitted to the international ranks earlier this year when the Twenty20 league offered amnesty to its players.He ends his Test career regarded by many as New Zealand’s best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee.

ScorecardPlaying just his third domestic 50-over match, James Pattinson claimed the first six NSW wickets to fall•Getty Images

Peter Siddle showed few ill effects in his comeback from a hamstring injury, but his efforts were overshadowed by a trio of teenagers who might one day challenge him for an international berth. The New South Wales opening duo of Mitchell Starc (3 for 36) and Josh Hazlewood (2 for 22) contained Victoria to a modest 188, and despite the record-breaking feats of the Bushrangers’ James Pattinson (6 for 48), the Blues rolled to a four-wicket Ford Ranger Cup victory.Australia’s selectors had cause to believe Christmas had arrived two days early at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with fast bowlers present and future revelling in the seam-friendly conditions. Siddle’s hopes of a Boxing Day recall received a boost after he completed 10 overs across three spells, hitting a top speed in excess of 140kph and at one stage striking Usman Khawaja a nasty blow to the ribs.But while Siddle’s eventual reward was economy (0 for 40), his teenage counterpart, Pattinson, proved decidedly more prolific. Playing just his third domestic 50-over match for Victoria, Pattinson claimed the first six New South Wales wickets to fall, including those of Ben Rohrer and Steven Smith in consecutive balls. His figures were the best ever by a Victorian in domestic limited-overs cricket, breaking Graeme Watson’s 40-year-old record, and the seventh best in Australian List A history.Using the hard, lively Sydney surface to full effect, the 19-year-old single-handedly drew Victoria back into a contest their batsman appeared to have conceded earlier in the day when rolled well inside their allotment of 50 overs. Pattinson accounted for the internationally capped trio of David Warner, Phil Jaques and Moises Henriques before the tenth over, and despite claiming three more wickets later in the innings, a lack of bowling support ensured the Blues victory with five overs to spare.”We spoke about getting the ball … nice and full early on,” Pattinson said. “That’s what Josh Hazlewood did for them. He bowled one of the best spells of bowling I’ve ever seen. My aim was just to get them driving.”With many more performances like this, Pattinson could well find himself occupying an obscure place in the history books. Only once before have brothers represented two different Test teams (Alec and George Hearne represented England, while Frank played for South Africa in the late 19th century), and following the England debut of his elder sibling, Darren, last year, the Pattinsons could double the membership of the exclusive club.Pattinson was not the only teenager to excel at the SCG on Wednesday. Hazlewood, his Australian under-19 teammate, was unplayable for much of his spell, swinging the ball away from the right-handers and seaming it back in. His figures may well have been bolstered had the Blues held their catches, but his efforts would have nonetheless impressed a national selection panel attempting to navigate their way through a fast bowling injury crisis.Hazlewood’s opening partner, Starc, proved similarly impressive. A towering left-armer at 1.96m, Starc troubled the Victorian batsmen from the outset to claim three wickets – including that of Andrew McDonald to a diving Rohrer catch that may well have been the best of the season. The efforts of NSW’s bowlers set-up a relatively comfortable run-chase, Pattinson notwithstanding, which was sealed with half-centuries to Daniel Smith (62 not out) and Khawaja (56).

SuperSport Series

Cape Cobras triumphed in a low-scoring contest over the Eagles at Newlands. The match was in the balance after both first innings’ had been completed. Cape Cobras had been put in to bat when Boeta Dippenaar won the toss for the Eagles and his decision looked vindicated when the home team were reduced to 85 for six. A fighting knock of 70 from 99 balls from Robin Peterson lifted the score to 231 and clearly gave the Cape Cobras bowlers a chance. They duly delivered as the Eagles collapsed from 141 for 2 to 220 all out in the space of 22 overs. Vernon Philander was the chief destroyer with 5 for 58.A patient 113 from Alastair Gray, off 247 balls, anchored Cape Cobras second innings and ensured the visitors would have a tough but gettable target of 238 batting last. They never got close as Philander again was in the wickets with 4 for 32 and Peterson completed an excellent all-round game by collecting 5 for 60. The win takes Cape Cobras to top of the table while the Eagles are stuck second from bottom.The Lions roared to an innings victory against the visiting Titans at Potchefstroom. Batting first there were fifties from openers Stephen Cook and Grant Mokena before the middle order really turned the screw. Vaughn van Jaarsveld hit 16 boundaries and two sixes in a positive 135 from 174 balls and Zander der Bruyn made a patient 144.Waiting a day and a half to bat clearly did the Titans’ batsmen no good and they were bundled out for 134 with Cliff Deacon destroying the top-order with 4 for 43. Following on the Titans fared a little better, with Farhaan Behardien’s fifty lifting the score to 200, but Deacon was in the wickets again and Friedel de Wet celebrated his call up to the South African Test squad with 3 for 37 from 19 overs. England discard Monty Panesar chipped in with 2 for 29 from 11 overs as the Lions secured their first victory of the SuperSport series.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Naeem Islam’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor•Associated Press

The dead rubber provided what this series has sorely lacked – a close finish. Naeem Islam was the hero for Bangladesh, conjuring a one-wicket victory with an unbeaten 73 in which he exploited the Powerplays perfectly. Naeem’s heroics overshadowed what had been a virtuoso batting effort in the morning from Brendan Taylor, whose unbeaten 118, with very little support form the rest, was the difference between a familiar Zimbabwean batting failure and a defendable total.Naeem had last man and uber-rabbit Nazmul Hossain for company, with Bangladesh still needing 35 for victory. The many singles that he turned down to remain on strike had the crowd getting restive, but Naeem had them chanting his name in joy with three consecutive sixes off Chamu Chibhabha in the 48th over to give the final twist to a topsy-turvy match. Those three deliveries turned Chibhabha from hero to zero, after he had put Zimbabwe in charge with a double-wicket maiden in the 43rd over.Bangladesh had lost wickets at key junctures of their chase. The openers failed (Tamim Iqbal retired hurt early with a hand injury, and only returned at No. 10) and MohammadAshraful was run out by a brilliant bit of fielding from Stuart Matsikenyeri, who latched onto the ball quickly at short midwicket and threw down the stumps. Raqibul Hasan was extremely scratchy, and lucky to survive after plenty of swings and misses against Chris Mpofu, who was getting the ball to swing away from the right-hander. Matsikenyeri also did his bit with the ball, taking two key wickets – of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.The coach Jamie Siddons had talked about how the past few victorious months have taught Bangladesh how to win, and they showed that by refusing to give up in the face of several setbacks. One example of that was when their most dependable batsman, Shakib, was dismissed leaving Bangladesh stuttering at 105 for 5. The home team fought back though with a mature partnership between Naeem and Mahmudullah, the pair adding 69 patient runs with both batsmen abandoning the flashy shots that has cost Bangladesh dear on so many occasions.There would have been no need for the nail-biting and tensions had Taylor been dismissed cheaply in the morning. His maiden international century had bailed Zimbabwe’s fragile batting from yet another embarrassing display, but it all amounted to nothing. Bangladesh’s spinners proved too crafty for most of the visitors’ batsmen again, and Zimbabwe were reduced to 113 for 7 in the 29th over. However, Zimbabwe’s lower order showed more spine than most of their specialist batsmen, and supported Taylor well to lift the total beyond 200.Bangladesh again stuck to their policy of filling the side with spinners, and it again paid off as the slow bowlers took all nine wickets to fall. Abdur Razzak has regularly picked up wickets with the new ball, and today was no different as he left Zimbabwe at 18 for 2 in the eighth over.Elton Chigumbura dominated a stabilising 62-run stand with Taylor, smashing six fours in a run-a-ball 38 before being foxed by a quicker one from offspinner Mahmudullah. Things got worse for Zimbabwe two deliveries later when another quicker one fooled Malcolm Waller. Taylor could only watch in frustration as three more wickets went down quickly. Later, Shakib bagged two wickets in three balls, of Forster Mutizwa and Chamu Chibhabha, in the 29th over.Taylor had quietly moved along to 65, with only 22 runs in boundaries, but steadily pushed Zimbabwe to 181 for 8 by the end of 45 overs with the help of Ray Price. He launched an assault in the final over, ransacking 19 runs to dent Mahmudullah’s figures.

Group A

Habib Bank‘s spin duo, Danish Kaneria and Abdur Rehman, took seven wickets between them to bowl their team to a massive 235-run win against Khan Research Laboratories in Karachi. KRL began the day on 167 for 4, chasing an improbable 477 to win, and added only 74 more to their total. Saeed Anwar jnr was the boy on a burning deck, remaining unbeaten on 122 as wickets tumbled around him. No one else made more than Bazid Khan’s 39 and Rehman finished with 4 for 65 while Kaneria took 3 for 82.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited’s bowlers picked up the remaining seven Lahore Shalimar wickets to secure a 97-run win at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Chasing 408, Lahore started the final day on 166 for 3 but soon lost their set batsman Abid Ali for 86, after he added only 5 to his overnight score. Suleman Khan contributed 53 to the chase but the other batsmen failed to convert their starts. Saeed Ajmal took 3 for 65 for ZTBL, while Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Nadir and Iftikhar Anjum took two each.The final day between Water and Power Development Authority and National Bank of Pakistan was an absorbing one but the contest ended in a draw in Lahore. Bilal Khilji was the last man dismissed, for 161, as WAPDA were all out for 413 in their second innings, leaving NBP with a target of 226. WAPDA’s fast bowlers, Sarfraz Ahmed and Naved-ul-Hasan, cut through the WAPDA top-order and reduced them to 40 for 5. Naumanullah, however, steadied the innings with a half-century and received support from Qaiser Abbas. They reached 156 for 7 before play ended.Centuries from Saeed Bin Nasir and Rizwan Ahmed helped Sui Southern Gas Corporation secure a draw against Pakistan International Airlines at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex. Chasing 445 for victory, especially after losing the first two wickets for eight runs, was always a hard ask but Saeed and Rizwan combined for a 169-run partnership for the fourth wicket and lifted SSGC’s innings. They ended the match having scored 296 for 4 in the second innings.

Group B

Fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed ripped through Abbottabad’s second innings, taking 8 for 53, to bowl Karachi Blues to a 200-run victory at the Abbottabad Stadium. Tanvir dismissed the top six Abbottabad batsmen before returning to pick up the last two – six of his wickets were caught by the wicketkeeper Javed Mansoor. Mohammad Sami and Atif Maqbool took the other wickets as Abbottabad were all out for 159 chasing 360 for victory. Karachi had earlier declared on 262 for 4 after resuming on the final morning on 154 for 3. Asad Shafiq was unbeaten on 103 while Asim Kamal made a brisk 87.Beginning the final day on 22 for 1, Faisalabad needed another 315 runs to beat Multan at the Iqbal Stadium. However they managed to reach only 235 for 6 and the game ended in a draw. Opener Imran Ali and No. 3 batsman Hasan Mahmood scored half-centuries but the contributions from the rest of the batsmen were paltry. Tahir Maqsood and Abdur Rauf picked up two wickets each for Multan.The match between Sialkot and Lahore Ravi ended in a dull draw on the final day in Muridke. Play began with Sialkot extending their first-innings from 235 for 7 to 271. Nayar Abbas top scored with 59, while Mohammad Irshad and Junaid Zia took three wickets each. In their second innings, Lahore were reduced to 134 for 5 when the game ended. They were struggling at 27 for 4 before Mohammad Asim revived the innings with 53.

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, has said it was disappointing no South African player made the shortlist for the ICC awards but felt their omission could act as a “motivating factor” during the Champions Trophy.”It is not individual recognition that drives us,” Smith said. “We are driven by what we want to achieve as a team and have had an amazing couple of years.”It is a little disappointing that not a single South African made the shortlist in any category because we are the number one team in both Test and ODI cricket. But that shows the strength of the team and perhaps the lack of ICC award nominations could be a motivating factor.”The list of nominations for the various ICC awards, which will be given out in Johannesburg on October 1, include six from India, four from Australia, three from England, two each from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and one from New Zealand. It left South Africa as the only participant in the Champions Trophy without a single nomination for an ICC award.Their exclusion drew criticism from several high-profile figures in South Africa, including Gerald Majola, the national cricket board’s chief executive. Majola questioned the credibility of the awards and said it appeared to him that the only way to get on the shortlist was to play the Ashes.South Africa have been pooled in Group B in the Champions Trophy along with Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England. They begin their campaign in the tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Centurion on September 22. They have not played international cricket since the World Twenty20 in June and Smith said the squad was “fresh and ready to go”.

Martin Crowe has called for changes in New Zealand’s batting order in their first Champions Trophy fixture against hosts South Africa on Thursday. Crowe suggested Brendon McCullum bat down the order given his poor form, and Martin Guptill replace him as opener alongside Jesse Ryder.McCullum has had a disappointing 2009, averaging 24.46 in 16 ODIs. He averaged 8.50 in the recent Compaq Cup in Sri Lanka and managed 33 runs in the two warm-up games ahead of this tournament. Guptill, on the other hand, tops the run-scoring charts for New Zealand this year with 473 at 47.30, and notched up scores of 63 and 78 in the warm-ups.”I’d love to see Brendon McCullum drop down to number six or seven and Guptill come up and join Jesse Ryder,” Crowe told. “I think those guys are in reasonable form and we know that McCullum isn’t.”With McCullum coming down the order, if he’s got a target in his sight it will help his focus. He struggles to set up innings and he has done for a while now.”I’d also bring (Neil) Broom, who has shown some form in the warm-up games, up to four or five to join (Grant) Elliott, and (Ross) Taylor would go into number three, where I think he could do some real damage in the first few overs.”New Zealand are currently placed at No.7 in the ODI rankings, and have been below par this year, losing eight games and winning five. They are up against South Africa, who’ll be keen to bounce back after a comprehensive defeat to Sri Lanka in the tournament opener.Crowe felt New Zealand stood a chance of making it to the final four. “The New Zealand side on paper is a good side,” he said. “We win a game and all of a sudden you jump up a couple of places (in the rankings).”They are capable of doing that but just recently their form hasn’t been good. Let’s hope there is a turn around.”If you win one game you’re pretty well sure of making the semis. That’s what New Zealand have got to do.”They’ve got to try and take on South Africa, who I think fancied themselves going into the tournament but got a bit of a wake-up (call against Sri Lanka).”

The Indian board has sought the opinion of two top legal authorities in the country to firm up its stand against the contentious ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code. The BCCI confirmed it has requested Goolam Vahanvati, India’s attorney-general, and AS Anand, a former chief justice, to clarify whether the clause infringed on players’ rights and had the potential to be legally challenged.The ICC, meanwhile, has decided to hold a meeting of its working group on September 5-6 in Dubai to discuss India’s objections to the clause, which the BCCI said violates players’ privacy and posed a security threat. The decision was taken at a teleconference of the group on Wednesday night. The ICC has also informed its members that no player in its testing pool will be penalised for missing the August 1 deadline for supplying ‘whereabouts’ information until the BCCI has had a chance to address its concerns.All players in the ICC’s International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP), except the 11 from India, have agreed to submit to the new code. The code’s ‘whereabouts’ clause requires players in the pool to supply information in advance on their location for an hour each day for the forthcoming quarter (three months) to facilitate testing during and outside competitions.The BCCI has backed its players and their opposition to the clause led the ICC to form a working group to resolve the issue. This group is headed by Tim Kerr, chairman of ICC anti-doping panel, and including ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, ICC principal advisor IS Bindra and former India captain Anil Kumble, who sits on WADA’s Athletes Committee.WADA has agreed to assist in the process and David Howman, its director-general, said the agency had been involved in discussions with the ICC on the code for the last five years. “We have been engaged with the ICC for five years now,” Howman told the Hindu. “The discussions started with the ICC when Malcolm Speed was the CEO. I have had occasions to be engaged at ICC meetings and certainly my answer [whether ICC was involved in the process of revising the code] is yes. The ICC has been part of what we have been trying to do for some time.”The ICC became a WADA signatory in 2006 and adopted the amended code from January 1 this year. The Indian board has suggested that they will push for a cricket-specific code and ask the ICC to negotiate with WADA to amend the testing pool selection method to include only players who are injured or have a history of doping violations. WADA has agreed to a similar amendment for FIFA, the world football body.

The ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board are hopeful of an early resolution to the disagreement over the allocation of 14 matches of the 2011 World Cup originally scheduled for Pakistan, after the two parties made good progress during discussions in Dubai. ICC president David Morgan and the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt confirmed that the parties will meet again at a future date, which is yet to be confirmed.”I am pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with Ijaz this morning and we had a very positive 90-minute meeting,” Morgan said. “We are making good progress on the issues of dispute between us.”On the basis of today’s meeting I am confident we can bring this matter to resolution in the near future so that we can all focus on the key objective for the ICC and all its members – the staging of a successful ICC World Cup in the Asian subcontinent in 2011.”Pakistan was stripped of its rights as co-host in the aftermath of the attacks on touring Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore in March. Following the decision, the World Cup secretariat was moved from Lahore to Mumbai. Pakistan were hopeful of hosting their games in neutral venues – in the UAE – but the ICC rejected that possibility. Pakistan threatened legal action and the PCB had stayed away from a meeting of the World Cup organising committee on July 14 in Mumbai. They also denied claims of boycotting the tournament under instructions from its government.”I am grateful to David for taking the time to meet with me this morning and I am very encouraged by the discussions we have had,” Butt said. “The PCB is keen to settle this matter out of court as soon as possible and I believe we are making good progress towards doing exactly that.”

Ricky Ponting has given his youngest team-mate Phillip Hughes a masterclass in handling short-pitched bowling after he was twice out to bouncers in the tour match against England Lions. The first Test begins on Wednesday and Ponting expects Hughes to face a bouncer barrage following Steve Harmison’s success with the tactic.”We’ve been in the nets working on little things I felt I could pass on to help him cope with that sort of stuff,” Ponting told the . “They would have seen [Harmison’s success] and spoken to Harmison about the way he bowled at him. They’ll be coming at him with something similar to try and exploit that.”We worked on some stuff about making his mind up whether he was going to play or avoid it as early as he can. What it’s going to be all about for him and what worked so well in South Africa is to put it back on the bowlers.”During his debut Test series in South Africa, Hughes was repeatedly tested by bumpers from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but they discovered that it is a risky tactic and runs can flow quickly if the short stuff does not remove Hughes. Another good sign for Hughes is that Harmison, his chief tormentor over the past week, is not in England’s Test squad.Simon Katich has confidence in the ability of his opening partner Hughes to handle whatever is thrown at him, while he has also won strong support from his predecessor Justin Langer. The former opener Michael Slater also has no doubt Hughes can do the job and said: “If you go hard at him he’ll dig in and make you pay, and that’s a great quality.”