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Muttiah Muralitharan will be sent to the University of Western Australia forassessment by Bruce Elliott, an ICC-approved human-movement specialist, Sri Lanka’s cricket board confirmed on Tuesday. Elliott will film and analyse Muralitharan’s doosra after it was reported as suspect by Chris Broad, the match referee during the recent Test series against Australia.Elliott tested Muralitharan in 1996, after he was no-balled for throwingduring the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in December 1995 by Darrell Hair. Elliott cleared his action then, but has since voiced concerns in the media over the legality of Muralitharan’s doosra, arguing that it should also now be tested.Elliott said in a report for the Sydney Morning Herald: “Having seen him bowl on television, it looks like an area of concern. There does seem to be some extending of his action as he releases the ball. You are allowed a ten-degree extension of the arm during delivery.”

Herschelle Gibbs has been passed fit and has been included in South Africa’s one-day squad to face New Zealand.Gibbs received the all-clear on Monday after two months out due to a knee injury. He went straight into the squad for Friday’s Pro20 match at Johannesburg and the first three of five ODIs that follow.The South African selectors made only one change to the one-day squad that trounced West Indies 5-0 earlier this year, leaving out Justin Ontong. Albie Morkel, the Titans allrounder, has been drafted in for the Pro20 match but will not figure in the ODIs.South Africa squad Graeme Smith (capt), Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis (vice-capt), Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel (Pro20 only), Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince.

Roshan Mahanama and Jeff Crowe are among the four new inductees in ICC’s Elite Panel of Referees, while Wasim Raja’s contract has not being renewed. The panel of four match referees has been expanded to eight, with Chris Broad and Alan Hurst being the other new inductees. Ranjan Madugalle retains his position as the chief of the panel, and Gundappa Viswanath, Clive Lloyd and Mike Procter get an extension.Malcolm Speed, ICC’s chief executive, explained why the expansion was necessary. "The ICC Match Referee plays a critical role in ensuring that international cricket is played both within the rules and within the spirit of the game," he said. "Expanding the Panel to eight gives us a deeper pool of former international players with a strong feel for the game who will be able to apply their knowledge when making judgments about on-field events. Moving to eight referees also provides the ICC with the flexibility needed to meet the international schedule over the coming 12 months."Speed said that there were many applicants for the new posts. "”It was very pleasing to speak to a number of very well qualified applicants for these positions from around the cricketing world. In the end we had many more applicants than positions available and for the ICC this is a strong position to be in. Unfortunately, for some people the strength of the field meant that they missed out on contracts on this occasion. Despite the individual disappointment, it means that the ICC has been able to pick the best available candidates to take on this critical role for international cricket."

Queensland 9 for 264 (Maher 92, Symonds 73) defeated South Australia 195 by 69 runs
ScorecardQueensland extended South Australia’s horror run at the Gabba with an emphatic 69-run ING Cup victory. Unbeaten in two matches, Queensland charged four points clear of Tasmania at the top of the competition table by bowling the Redbacks out for 195 and earning a bonus point.The captain Jimmy Maher (92 from 123 balls) and Andrew Symonds (73 from 72) laid the foundations with a 132-run second-wicket stand to push the side to its 22nd win from 27 limited-overs matches against South Australia, who have won only twice at the Gabba.South Australia never appeared in the hunt chasing 265 after Andy Bichel continued his early-season purple patch by removing Ben Cameron and Callum Ferguson inside the first 10 overs. The offspinner Chris Simpson chimed in late to finish off the tail.Maher was Man of the Match but Symonds could easily have earned his second award after guiding the Bulls to a two-wicket win over New South Wales a fortnight ago. Symonds made an extremely cautious start, taking 10 balls to get off the mark, but peeled off 12 fours as his last 70 came from 52 balls.His wicket sparked a middle-order stumble and they lost 8 for 92 in the last 20 overs. Maher, the competition’s all-time leading run-scorer, looked set for his eighth domestic one-day century before being painfully run out in the 37th over.

ScorecardImran Farhat blasted an unbeaten hundred as Habib Bank posted a healthy total of 285 for 2 on the opening day of their four-day Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the UBL Sports Complex. Imran and Taufeeq Umar gave Habib Bank a great start of 144 runs. Imran was in terrific touch as he smacked boundaries in his unbeaten 142 in 347 minutes off 246 balls. Hasan Raza finished on 47 not out that included four boundaries. Imran and Raza had added 137 runs for the unbroken third wicket after Rafatullah Mohmand had gone for three. Imran looked in punishing mood as he hammered Fazl-e-Akbar, Umar Gul and Najaf Shah as well as Imran Tahir, who finished with 1 for 86 off 25 overs. Faisal Iqbal, PIA’s stand-in captain, won the toss and put Habib Bank into bat deceived by the greenish look of the pitch. Moin Khan, the usual captain, missed the match as he was recovering after bout of illness.
ScorecardKhan Research Laboratories (KRL) crawled to 200 for 7 in their first innings on the first day of their Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match against Pakistan Customs at the NBP Sports Complex. Electing to bat first, KRL, after a great start of 100 for 1, crashed to 141 for 6 with Murtaza Hussain, the offbreak bowler, grabbing 3 for 70 runs off 33 overs. Mohammad Wasim, the KRL captain, made a steady 62 off 149 balls in 205 minutes laced with eight boundaries. KRL lost five wickets for 42 runs in the post lunch session as the Customs bowlers took back the initiative. Imran Ali picked up 2 for 22 runs in a tight 22 overs to give good support to Murtaza.

John Dyson, Sri Lanka’s coach, has praised his team for their growing mental resilience after they turned around a first-innings deficit to complete an emphatic victory in the opening Test against Pakistan at Faisalabad last weekend.Earlier in the year, Sri Lanka had watched in frustration as Australia showed off their legendary mental toughness by overcoming first-innings deficits in three consecutive Tests to complete a series whitewash, the first by any team in Sri Lanka.Dyson sensed that those defeats had made the team tougher. An AFP report quoted him as saying, “We have learnt from our defeats against Australia as we were in an awkward position at Faisalabad and we fought our way out of it. We had a good series against Australia and they beat us. I think we played very good cricket but they are a good enough team to fight out of awkward positions and win the match. I am pleased that the boys have shown they are able to do that too.”I think we fought back well from the position of 9 for 3 and our batsmen, led by [Thilan] Samaraweera, fought well to give us a chance to set up the rest of the match,” he said. “Sanath Jayasuriya’s innings was absolutely fantastic and is the sort of innings you look for from your champion player.”Dyson was now hopeful that the winning momentum will be continued in the final Test at Karachi which starts on Thursday. Sri Lanka are now looking for a hat-trick of series wins in Pakistan after victories on their previous tours in 1995 and 1999.A series win in Pakistan would be memorable, but Dyson was anxious for the team to prove itself outside the subcontinent. “We have identified that winning outside Sri Lanka is necessary to raise the profile of Sri Lankan cricket and we must also play well in England, Australia and South Africa.”

Ashley Giles, the England left-arm spinner, has revealed that surgeons detected early signs of arthritis while operating on his hip. Giles, who withdrew from England’s tour of Pakistan after the three Tests, underwent surgery in an attempt to stimulate the new growth of cartilage in his hip.In an interview to BBC Radio Five Live, Giles said, “We thought the problem was just a bit of a tear in the cartilage but when the surgeon went in there were early signs of arthritis. I’m still keen to get out to India. When exactly that is, none of us really know. In 10 years time I don’t want to be having a hip replacement. But it’s a serious joint and (playing again too soon) it could damage it majorly. If we just give it a bit of extra time now it could do it a lot of good.”Giles, who was replaced by Ian Blackwell, the Somerset allrounder, did not rule out the possibility of returning to the squad in the latter stages of the tour. He said, “The door is still open for me to go on the tour at some point, basically because we don’t know how it’s going to react over the next couple of weeks. I’m desperate to play cricket for England but it’s better if I’m fit.”Besides Blackwell, Shaun Udal and Monty Panesar are the other spinners.Giles believes India hold the upper hand, given that that the hosts are likely to dish out turning tracks and adviced the England spinners not to get carried away. He added, “It will be tough for them because, although the wickets turn, the Indians are exceptional players of spin bowling. With the strength in our pace attack they certainly aren’t going to prepare bouncy wickets that suit those guys. In those situations you need your spinners to either hold up an end or be your strike bowlers.”

A skin cancer scare will force Michael Clarke to ditch his baggy green cap for a wide-brimmed hat if he regains his Test place. Clarke, who was dropped from the Test side during the West Indies series in November, was diagnosed with a low-grade spot on his nose at a screening after a New South Wales training session.”It was certainly a bit of a shock when they told me what it was,” Clarke said in the . “After I got it checked they got back to me two weeks later with the photos and sent me some information and told me to see my doctor. I saw a doctor in Perth when I was back with the one-day squad; he took a sample of it and sent that away. He said it was some form of very low-grade skin cancer and he organised me to see a dermatologist.”Clarke told the paper he now covered up more of his body when he played and he wore a long-sleeve lycra suit under his one-day outfit during the VB Series. A wide-brimmed hat will also become an essential item during extended fielding stints. “It has reminded me how dangerous the sun is, and we’re obviously out in it a lot,” he said. “I will be double-checking the suncream and zinc.”It’s a bit of a wake-up call, because I’ve got the kind of skin that is susceptible to this. I was trying to get it treated before I came here to South Africa but I ran out of time. I’m told it won’t make any difference if I get it done after I get back from Bangladesh. It should take two laser treatments to get rid of the cells.”Clarke’s first-class chances have been limited due to his ODI duties, but he has spoken to Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, about whether it will upset his plans for a Test return. “He said it doesn’t matter what form of the game you play, just score runs,” Clarke said. “I’ve had a lot of support from the selectors and they’ve been very positive. They know it’s something I can’t help.”Clarke is hopeful he will win a spot in the Test squad for the South Africa series, which begins at Cape Town on March 16, as the reserve batsman. “The major goal for me is to continue scoring runs in the one-day game,” he said. “I feel like I’m batting and bowling pretty well in the one-dayers.”

New South Wales will look to Mark Cameron and Doug Bollinger to bolster their fast-bowling stocks in the Pura Cup match against Victoria at the SCG from Tuesday. Cameron, a 25-year-old quick, is in line to play his second game for the Blues after making his debut in 2002-03 while Bollinger has recovered from a side injury.Nathan Bracken’s elevation to the Australia one-day squad has created one of the openings while Scott Coyte has been dropped. Daniel Smith, the wicketkeeper-batsman, was also not included and his place has been taken by Aaron O’Brien.The game will mark 150 years of first-class matches in New South Wales. The opening contest between the states was held in Melbourne in March 1856 and the return fixture was hosted in Sydney in January 1857. At the halfway point of the current competition New South Wales are tied with Victoria for third on 12 points, two behind Tasmania and six adrift of Queensland.New South Wales squad Simon Katich (capt), Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Brad Haddin, Grant Lambert, Beau Casson, Doug Bollinger, Mark Cameron, Matthew Nicholson, Stuart MacGill.

Greg Chappell returned from Zimbabwe on Sunday, and expressed the opinion that it was unfortunate that his differences with Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, were made public. After arriving a day later than the rest of the squad due to the unavailability of tickets, Chappell told reporters: “I think the media gets excited at such happenings. Differences are a fairly normal thing happening in cricket. But you can understand I am not in a position to speak about it to you at this stage.”The coach-captain rift surfaced in Zimbabwe when Chappell asked Ganguly to consider his position as captain before the first Test because of his poor batting form. The spat snowballed into a major controversy last week when a confidential e-mail from Chappell to officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was leaked to the media by unknown sources.Chappell, a former Australian captain who took over in June, reportedly said in the e-mail that Ganguly was not “physically or mentally” fit to lead the side and even threatened to quit if the captain was not changed.”I sent a private and confidential e-mail to the president of BCCI,” said Chappell. “It did not remain confidential though I would have preferred it to have remained so. What else can I say at this stage?”Chappell and Ganguly are due to appear before a high-powered BCCI panel that includes three former captains – Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghvan – in Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.