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Graeme Smith is unlikely to play a part in the fifth and final ODI against Pakistan in Benoni on Sunday due a recurrence of an ankle injury during South Africa’s defeat in the fourth ODI in Durban. Smith was unable to field for a majority of Pakistan’s innings due to the injury.”Graeme’s chronic left ankle problem has surfaced again during this ODI series,” Dr Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said. “We have been trying to manage him but unfortunately the impingement syndrome slowed him down today and he is quite symptomatic.”As things stand, he is unlikely to play in the last ODI but we will make a final decision tomorrow (Friday). He has had surgery on this ankle a while ago and I think the load and the volume of cricket for the year, and particularly during this ODI series, has troubled him.”Smith was bowled by Junaid Khan for 12 in Pakistan’s three-wicket win that levelled the series 2-2.The selectors will decide on Friday, whether or not to name a replacement.

ScorecardClyde Fortuin hit a composed 75 as South Africa Under-19s chased down their target with four overs to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against England. Lizaad Williams had earlier claimed three top-order wickets to put England under pressure and a half-century from their captain and wicketkeeper, Ben Duckett, was in ultimately vain.Fortuin, who fell with 41 required for victory, might have gone on to record a century had it not been for a superb catch in the covers by Harry Finch. That gave Jonathan Tattersall (2-36) his second wicket but England’s bowlers otherwise failed to make much of an impact, despite a tight spell from Jamie Overton. Fortuin was involved in an opening partnership of 74 with Andries Gous and put on a further 71 with Diego Rosier as South Africa cruised to victory.After being put in to bat on a green pitch, England were soon in trouble, as Williams claimed both openers and No. 4 Kishen Velani to leave them on 22 for 3. Finch added 60 with Duckett, who went on to reach his own half-century before holing out against Bradley Dial’s offspin. Tattersall (41) fell to another spectacular catch, from Gous, and Overton smashed 38 off 31 balls but England’s total wasn’t quite testing enough.

The Indian Premier League’s governing council is to meet on Wednesday to discuss a continuing dispute over the annual franchise fee to be paid by Pune Warriors India.Sahara’s actual franchise fee has been a contentious issue ever since they bought the Pune franchise for Rs 1702 crore ($370 million) in March 2010. Sahara had been demanding that the franchise fee from their original agreement should be recalculated since the minimum matches per year have been reduced to 14 from the 18 promised to them.According to IPL officials, the owners of the Pune franchise, Sahara India Pariwar, in keeping with demand of a reduction of the franchise fee, have submitted a cheque of an amount which is less than mentioned in their original agreement with the BCCI. The deadline for submission of the fees was January 9. “Since the cheque is of lower value, the BCCI hasn’t yet deposited it into the bank account,” a BCCI insider said.Sahara officials however deny that there is a shortfall in their franchise fee payment made to the BCCI this year.The issue was also one of the major points of difference between Sahara and the BCCI that resulted in the team owners boycotting the 2012 IPL auction and threatening to pull out of the tournament. A joint media statement issued by Sahara and BCCI in February last year stated: “The BCCI and Sahara agree to start the arbitration proceedings initiated by Sahara through appointment of an arbitrator to address Sahara’s claim for a reduction in franchise fee for 74 matches.”The arbitration proceedings, however, have still not got underway due to lack of consensus between the parties over the arbitrator.The governing council is also likely to discuss the venue for Pune Warriors’ home games. Sahara are entangled in a legal battle with the Maharashtra Cricket Association, the host association in Pune, over title rights for the Pune stadium that hosted Warriors’ home games last year. The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the case till January 30 but it was understood that the franchise has expressed its wish to have its home games moved out of Pune. The governing council has not yet taken a decision given that the IPL Season 6 is more than two months away.The governing council is also likely to ratify the player transfers ahead of the player auction, to be held in Chennai on February 3.

ScorecardJess Cameron scored a quick half-century•Getty Images

Australia Women won the Rose Bowl 3-1 with a seven-run victory in the final ODI in Sydney, following a middle and lower-order collapse from New Zealand Women. Chasing 267, New Zealand were comfortably placed at 220 for 3 in the 43rd over, but lost five wickets for 40 runs and failed to level the series.New Zealand had made a solid start to the chase, with Suzie Bates continuing her impressive form in the series by making another half-century. Nicola Browne contributed 63 off 71 balls and three of the other top five batsmen got to 30 and beyond.The Australian turnaround began when Rachael Haynes ran out Katie Perkins for 40, breaking a partnership of 87 with Browne that had taken the visitors to 220. Ellyse Perry then bowled Rachel Priest and Sara McGlashan in successive overs and New Zealand had slumped to 240 for 6 in the 47th over.With 28 runs needed off the last three overs, Lea Tahuhu hit Sharon Millanta for a six and a four, reducing the equation to 17 off 12 balls. Megan Schutt, however, bowled a superb penultimate over in which she conceded only three runs and dismissed Tahuhu. Browne was out off the first ball of the final over and New Zealand managed only six runs off the remaining deliveries, when they needed 14.Australia’s total had been built on a half-century from Jess Cameron and the 62 runs added by their last two wickets. Cameron made 66 off 56 balls, but her dismissal in the 21st over, with the score on 131 for 2, led to a slump. Australia lost wickets frequently thereafter and were struggling at 205 for 8 in the 39th over.Perry, however, made an unbeaten 33 off 30 balls, and had partnerships of 37 and 25 with Schutt and Millanta to lead Australia to a match-winning total.

Ireland will host the Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifiers next year to determine which of eight teams will fill the final spot at the main tournament which will next be staged in Bangladesh in 2014.For the qualifier, which will be held in July and August, hosts Ireland will be joined by Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who both took part in this year’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, alongside Canada, Japan and Netherlands. The final two places in the summer tournament will be taken by qualifiers from the Africa and Asia regions.Warren Deutrom, the Cricket Ireland chief executive, said: “It’s fantastic news for Irish cricket and a tremendous boost for the promotion of the women’s game throughout the country.”Isobel Joyce, the Ireland captain, was looking forward to playing in home conditions. “This gives everyone involved in Irish women’s cricket a great lift and it’s a great incentive for the players to have the chance to make it to the final stages of a global event,” she said. “We’re already training hard for the event and while it’s obviously a big advantage to be playing in our conditions, we know it’ll be very difficult against teams of the quality of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”

Scorecard
During a Ranji season in which Ravindra Jadeja has hit the headlines with another triple-century, Jiwanjot Singh has had a dream debut and a couple of players on the fringes of the Indian Test side have drawn the most interest, Hiken Shah has quietly gone about developing an insatiable appetite for runs. His nought in the first innings was a striking aberration in a prolific season, and his century today, which helped Mumbai set Bengal a stiff target, was his third in as many games.Mumbai gave themselves a good shot at a first outright win this season, declaring more than an hour before stumps with a whole day to play. The narrow gap in points between themselves and six other teams in their group, and a winless tournament thus far, has infused their campaign with some urgency, prompting them to declare instead of batting out and collecting three points. Bengal are desperate for a win themselves, after having lost two, and it’ll be interesting to see if they press for victory at the risk of forsaking a point should they lose.Manoj Tiwary, the Bengal captain, said it was important the openers Rohan Banerjee and Arindam Das continue to bat positively on the third morning, as they had done in the final hour when they took their team to 47 without loss at stumps. “These guys are playing well, [taking advantage of] loose balls,” Tiwary said. “The wicket has eased out and if we continue the good start till lunch, we can see that their guys can be defensive in the field as well. And if I step out onto the field then, even I can take that decision on what to do.”Mumbai began the day with a lead of 102 and they initially progressed cautiously, as the Bengal seamers probed them often, beating the edge, with the ball nipping off the pitch. It didn’t do much when Wasim Jaffer shouldered arms to Shami Ahmed early in the day, however, and the ball just clipped the bails. His opening partner Kaustubh Pawar was well set but fell when part-time offspinner Abhishek Jhunjhunwala was introduced into the attack, driving him straight to midwicket. Rohit Sharma continued to have a poor game with the bat, failing to capitalise on a reprieve at slip first ball to be bowled, at the stroke of lunch, through the gate while reaching out to defend an incoming delivery from Laxmi Shukla.Shah was well set by then, and Tiwary’s persistence with Jhunjhunwala, with a spread-out field that included five fielders in the deep, made the batsman’s job much easier. He went on to add 158 runs with Abhishek Nayar, and in quick time, thus setting the platform for a formidable lead, but he had a couple of close shaves along the way. There was an edge between the keeper and slip and a big appeal for lbw from Shukla that was turned down, prompting a discussion between Tiwary and the umpire.Shah, who said he devoted some time to doing yoga during the off-season to prepare himself mentally, was harsh on anything short outside off and there was plenty of that from Jhunjhunwala, who was repeatedly cut through point. The first ball after lunch was crashed through extra cover, and he brought up his half-century by slashing seamer Veer Pratap Singh past point. Singles were readily available for Shah and Nayar with a defensive field, and they still managed to find the boundary to score at over four an over before tea, adding 119 in that wicketless session.Both scored off Veer Pratap, down the ground and through the off side, and stepped up further when they began to sweep and reverse sweep Jhunjhunwala. Nayar reached his half-century with a flat six over square leg before tea, and Hiken did an AB de Villiers to reach his fifth first-class ton shortly after the break, reverse-paddling Jhunjhunwala for a boundary behind point. In a spell that yielded 92 in 14 runs, Jhunjhunwala was smacked over midwicket for another four by Hiken before the batsman finally fell for 118. His scores this domestic season before this knock, across all cricket, were 105, 105, 107, 92, 140, 156, and 0.Mumbai wicketkeeper Aditya Tare walked in and smacked the ball around for 19 runs, and his team declared immediately after he holed out. The Bengal openers had been separated in the first innings by a run-out. They were solid on the third evening, enduring some nervous moments when the odd ball kept low or beat the bat, but were largely secure. Bengal have depth in their batting and the final day promises to be a test of their determination to revive a disappointing run wrought by several missed opportunities.

Ravi Bopara, the Essex batsman, will return to cricket on Tuesday having been drafted into the England Lions squad to play Australia A at Old Trafford. He replaces James Taylor, who took Bopara’s spot in the England side.Bopara pulled out of the squad for the second Test against South Africa at Headingley for personal reasons. Taylor was called up in his place and made an impressive start, scoring a determined 34 and helping Kevin Pietersen add 147 for England’s fifth wicket.Bopara struggled on his return to the team in the first Test at The Oval. He made 0 and 22 before pulling out of the England squad and Essex’s CB40 match against Worcestershire last Sunday.England Lions and Australia A will contest two unofficial Tests, both played over four days. The second begins at Edgbaston on August 14, with the squad to be finalised once England’s third Test squad is named. Eoin Morgan, another recent incumbent at No. 6 for England, will captain the side.

Sri Lanka Cricket is investigating*, in coordination with the ICC, a case of alleged corruption in the country that revolves around a taped conversation. An SLC statement issued on Sunday said it had received a recording of the conversation on August 9 and then passed the tape on to the ICC’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), currently in the country for the SLPL.The statement said a copy of the tape had also been given to a Sri Lankan newspaper; however, no local media outlets have as yet reported on any corruption allegations.”We are unable to give any additional information other than what has been released to the media,” SLC CEO Ajit Jayasekara said.The anti-corruption measures for the SLPL are identical to those implemented for international matches. Two members of the anti-corruption unit will be in Sri Lanka for the duration of the tournament. They are the same officers who oversaw Sri Lanka’s ODI series against India and the Pakistan tour in June.* – 0900GMT, August 13, 2012 – The story and headline were updated to reflect the fact that an investigation is being carried out by SLC

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle was Man of the Match for his 85 off 52 balls•AFP

Any worries that the first Twenty20 international in Lauderhill, Florida, would be a dreary contest because of a slow pitch were allayed by an exhibition of power hitting from the West Indian batsmen, much to the delight of the strong Caribbean contingent in the crowd. Kieron Pollard and Chris Gayle were the headliners, hitting missiles into the stands during a 108-run partnership plundered at almost 16 runs an over. Gayle began his innings watchfully but then accelerated to build a sound platform, which allowed Pollard to explode from the get-go and set a target that was comfortably out of New Zealand’s reach.New Zealand were listless in the field and looked every bit a side that hadn’t played international cricket since March. Their lines and lengths were unimaginative and inconsistent; they conceded 13 runs in wides and bowled three no-balls; and they missed a stumping, a run-out and a catch. They lost Ronnie Hira to an injured finger, and Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor damaged a knee and a shoulder while fielding. They have less than 24 hours to nurse those injuries and make plans to counter Gayle and Pollard before round two.Gayle played a calculated innings. He began carefully, leaving deliveries outside off and swaying away from bouncers, and was happy to let Dwayne Smith and Johnson Charles attack. However, whenever there was a lull in the scoring, Gayle would use his muscle. He could have been run out on 8 had a throw from mid-off struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end; it did not.In the tenth over, Gayle hit left-arm spinner Hira powerfully towards long-off, where Oram dived but failed to prevent the boundary. Oram hurt his knee during the dive and had trouble later while bowling – struggling with his line and footing – and running between the wickets. Gayle continued to attack the spinners, carting Nathan McCullum for consecutive straight boundaries before pulling Hira into the stands beyond midwicket. He then hammered the ball back at Hira, who dislocated a finger as he tried to intercept it. Hira went off the field immediately and played no further part in the game.Pollard entered in 14th over with West Indies 101 for 2. He hit his first and third balls for six, long-distance blows over long-off and long-on off the spinner Kane Williamson. His seventh, off Rob Nicol, also disappeared over long-off. Pollard took charge of the partnership from there on, and Gayle cruised in his slipstream. In the 17th over, Pollard top-edged a pull off Oram towards fine leg, where Taylor circled under the swirling ball and fell hard on his shoulder as he dropped the catch. He would retire hurt at the end of the sixth over of the chase because of that injury.The penultimate over was the most expensive of the innings. Pollard sent a length ball from Doug Bracewell over the straight boundary to go past 50 off his 24th ball, and then Gayle decided he wanted in on the action. Gayle powered one six flat over long-on, burning McCullum’s hands in the process, and sent two more far over deep midwicket to take 26 runs off the 19th over. Fifteen more came in the 20th, as West Indies amassed 209.West Indies weren’t as clinical in the field as they had been with the bat. Their bowlers bowled poor lines, which allowed New Zealand’s openers to find the boundary frequently. They also had an injury concern, when Pollard dived and hurt his shoulder while trying in vain to stop a boundary at mid-off.New Zealand had scored 37 in four overs when Darren Sammy gave Sunil Narine the ball, with immediate results. His first ball was down leg side but Guptill had come out of his crease and overbalanced, leaving Denesh Ramdin with a sharp stumping to complete. In the next over, after scoring 1 off his first eight balls, Taylor cut Samuel Badree for two fours. He winced and clutched his shoulder after each of those shots, and eventually went off the field.Wickets began to fall regularly after that and the asking-rate soared out of reach. West Indies grew sharper in the field as well, effecting two run outs with direct hits. The game ended when Oram skied a catch to long-off in the penultimate over. New Zealand were nine down but Hira had a compound fracture and did not bat.

Michael Clarke, Australia’s captain, has all but guaranteed Ricky Ponting his place in the team’s next Test assignment, at home against South Africa in November. Ponting has looked in good touch in the Caribbean despite not making many runs and Clarke, who is also a selector, indicated Ponting’s place would be safe for the first Test of the home summer, more than six months away.Having staved off a run of slim scores in Sri Lanka and South Africa before enjoying a storming series at home against India, Ponting joined the majority of his fellow batsmen in struggling to make a major score in the West Indies. Only one century was made in two Tests, by Shivnarine Chanderpaul in Barbados, and Clarke said Ponting was arguably the man most likely to make one should the Dominica pitch offer a little more encouragement to stroke play.”He’s hitting the ball well, probably hasn’t got that big score that he’d like but none of us have. Conditions haven’t been great for making big hundreds,” Clarke said of Ponting. “If you wanted to make runs here you had to bat for a hell of a long time, and need a bit of luck as well along the way. Ricky’s one of the guys that has put the team above himself and sacrificed his wicket or tried to take the game forward because we’ve needed to, to try and help us win the game.”If he continues to play the way he’s played throughout the last 12 months, he had a wonderful summer, then I see no reason he won’t be in the team come the first Test against South Africa. There’s a lot of cricket to be played from now until then. Ricky’s not currently in our one-day squad but we also have some first-class cricket leading up to that first Test so I’m confident Ricky’s batting well and he’s not far away from a big score. If we get a decent wicket here I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished the summer on a very high note.”For his part, Ponting has no thoughts of the finish line, proving it by staying on at Windsor Park for throw-downs from the assistant coach Justin Langer after the rest of the squad had returned to the hotel. “Not yet no, one more game here,” he said when asked about retirement thoughts. “We’ll wait and see how many I get this week, if I get 200 this week you probably won’t be asking me that question.”Seven months and 13 Tests since he led Australia onto the field in Sri Lanka, Clarke called for one final push from his men to ensure the series against West Indies was won. He also pointed to the fact that so many of his men will be going direct from the Caribbean to the IPL as a reminder that fatigue should not be a problem as they play at Roseau’s Windsor Park for the first time.For the first time, Clarke will be joining them, having signed with Sourav Ganguly’s Pune. The IPL will reduce the break available for those playing both Test and limited-overs cricket, before the Australians start travelling again on a 20-month odyssey that will take them to England and India twice each, either side of home Tests against South Africa and Sri Lanka, and rounded off by a home Ashes series in 2013-14.”I think the closer you get to the finish line the more excited you actually get. We know we’ve got no Test cricket now until the Australian summer after this last Test,” Clarke said. “I’m pretty sure all the boys will want to make this Test a good one for themselves personally and for the team because we’ve had a really good summer, we want to finish on a high before we get stuck into one-day cricket and the Twenty20 World Cup before Test cricket comes around.”And guys can’t be too fatigued. 95% of the blokes are going to the IPL, so we have no excuse not to come out and play our best cricket once again in this Test match and finish what has been a very good summer of Test cricket on a high.
I think we’ve done really well in these conditions. We’ve pushed hard to get results, it could have quite easily been two draws but I think our attitude has helped us win the first Test and we thought we’re going to win the second Test.”A lot of the guys hadn’t seen the West Indies conditions as well so it’s been a good eye opener for the guys who haven’t played Test cricket over here. Your No. 1 goal is to win every series you play, there’s no doubt about that, that’s what we plan to do in this third Test. In saying that we’re trying to win every Test as well.”