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England coach Andy Flower is excited about Kevin Pietersen’s international return and believes the batsman is in the right frame of mind to take on South Africa in the upcoming series. Pietersen will stay in England to complete his recovery from an Achilles injury, and will join his team-mates on November 9 or 10 – in time for the first ODI.Pietersen batted for the first time in three months on Friday in a training session at Lord’s and Flower said there was still a bit of rehabilitation work to be done to get the batsman up to speed. “Hopefully, he’ll be okay to play in the warm-up game against South Africa A and then ready to go at the start of the one-day series,” Flower said. “That is what we are targeting. The infection has slowed everything up, otherwise he would have been back during the English summer. But he brings a superb record, flair, confidence and the ability to counter attack.”The fact that we won the Ashes with limited contributions from the two big stars [Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff] is a good thing for the unit and the country’s cricket and when they come back that adds strength and power. That’s a good thing.”He is important to us. He’s a world-class player who has a special talent and a special confidence. He is a huge boon for us.”Pietersen was given a hard time by spectators on his last visit to his native country, but Flower believes the 29-year-old has won over his critics. “This time probably he will have the respect from the South African public,” Flower said. “They love sport and cricket and I expect they will treat him with respect.”In fact, he said there were no issues with Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, who was also born in South Africa, facing their former countrymen. “The England teams historically have had people like Allan Lamb, Tony Greig and Graeme Hick,” Flower said. “I don’t see it being any different to that. From watching Trott in preparation for The Oval Test and in the Test itself he is 100% committed to this team and this country.”I am quite happy with the situation. That’s the way it is and has been for quite a long time. I am quite comfortable with the commitment shown by the guys.”England’s tour of South Africa comprises two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and four Tests, with a handful of warm-up games. The tour gets underway on November 6 with England XI taking on a South African Board President’s XI.

The Rajasthan government has intervened in an ugly spat between two warring factions in the state’s cricket board (RCA) in an attempt to settle the confusion over team representation. The government has appointed a 11-member ad-hoc committee to mediate between a pro-Lalit Modi faction, claiming support of 20 districts, and current RCA president Sanjay Dixit’s faction, both of which are locked in a power struggle. The committee has been formed for three months, after which elections will be held.In September, a controversy arose as a group backed by Modi claimed to have removed the incumbent, Dixit, through a no-confidence motion. Dixit – who defeated Modi in the March election – called the move unconstitutional and said he was still in charge. It was decided that fresh elections would be held on October 14, but that was postponed to November 19.In the interim, both factions have been sending teams to BCCI-organised events. Last week, both teams were refused permission to participate in the Under-19 National Women’s Championship and on Monday two teams claiming to represent Rajasthan were barred from taking part in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic Twenty20 competition, on the order of the Indian board. As a result, all of Rajasthan’s matches in the tournament have been cancelled.”The state ruling party has entered the fray in order to settle this mess,” a source close to the RCA told Cricinfo. “They have appointed an ad-hoc committee which will see sweeping changes in the administration. The Dixit-led faction will be dissolved and Modi’s group will resume control of the running of Rajasthan cricket. New elections will be held soon, hopefully within the next month.”Dixit confirmed to Cricinfo that the ad-hoc committee was in place but chose not to comment on the struggle for RCA control. “It remains to be seen how exactly the government intervenes on short notice, so the next few days will reveal a lot,” he said. “The ad-hoc committee has been implemented but we can’t say more at the moment.”Modi was elected president of the RCA in 2005 and held the post till late last year with the backing of the previous government. However, a change of state administration resulted in Modi losing the post in March.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outMohammad Aamer set a fine example with his spell of 3 for 24 which rocked the top order•AFP

Pakistan tripped and stumbled and chased with the assurance of sleepwalkers, but ultimately a superior fast-bowling attack and depth in batting sealed them a low-scoring showdown. A fine bowling performance where wickets were shared all around ensured a woefully inexperienced West Indies were bowled out for an unthreatening 133 after they opted to bat. Pakistan’s batting has floundered repeatedly this year and today they nearly lost it, bewildered by Gavin Tonge’s four-wicket haul, before Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi added 58 to finish the deal.This match as a contest ended well before Pakistan could come out to bat. Floyd Reifer had spoken of the importance of this tournament for fans in the Caribbean, and vowed at the toss that his team would play “the best cricket possible”. What followed was anything but, as a combination of accurate fast bowling and not-so-clever batting decided the direction of this match.Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, had said after losing the toss that he would have fielded first on a surface he reckoned had a bit in it for his bowlers. He was spot on, and Pakistan’s trio of fast bowlers exploited whatever juice there was. There were no magic deliveries or exaggerated reverse swing, just good old line and length but that proved sufficient for an inept line-up. The professionals stuck to the basics: Mohammad Aamer found a bit of seam movement, Naved-ul-Hasan swung it gently and varied his pace, and Umar Gul hit the deck hard to apply the chokehold.At one point it looked as though the game would be finished before the lights came on. West Indies’ woes started in the first over, when Dale Richards spooned a return catch to Aamer. Andre Fletcher found it wasn’t easy slogging Naved and when he got one that wasn’t full enough to stab at, he scooped to backward point. Aamer got Travis Dowlin for 0, trying to cut one that was too full.With the batsmen uneasy defending and playing off the back foot, Aamer settled for back of a length and beat the bat numerous times. Naved found movement when he pitched it up and the slips were kept interested. He hit a tidy line with the new ball and cleverly changed his pace, conceding just 12 off his first five overs.Gul took a few deliveries to find his length, and when he changed his angle to around the stumps he immediately had Devon Smith – the most experienced batsman – lobbing a sharp, rising delivery to second slip. West Indies went from deep trouble to catastrophe in a matter of minutes when Aamer changed ends after a break and ripped one through David Bernard, and Gul nipped out Reifer and Chadwick Walton off successive deliveries. Gul was the pick of the lot, finding a superb line and getting the ball to sit up sharply.Had it not been for some enthusiastic hitting from Nikita Miller, West Indies may have folded for their second lowest score ever. Miller, beginning shakily but gaining in confidence with three boundaries off Saeed Ajmal’s second over, showed a technique and temperament that his batting team-mates so desperately lacked. He was last out for 51 off 57 balls as West Indies collapsed in 34.3 overs.A target of 134 was easily going to be in Pakistan’s range, but they still managed to make it a tough chase. The openers, with ten overs to negotiate before the lunch break, took the frenzied approach and paid for it. Tonge set the tone for a very good evening by bowling Imran Nazir with a full ball in a wicket-maiden opening over, and then undid Kamran Akmal for seam and carry. Tonge understood the virtue of pitching the ball up, yet also got it to bite off the pitch on more than one occasion. He smacked Mohammad Yousuf in the ribs and should have had him on 1 but Darren Sammy erred at second slip.Tonge bowled a very consistent line, showing an aptitude to test the batsmen by pitching it up; Shoaib Malik was drawn into a fatal drive. Tonge’s length was immaculate and Yousuf’s was the only wicket he got off a shorter length. Otherwise his variation was generally full or on a good length.At 76 for 5, after Misbah-ul-Haq edged Bernard, the match could have swung either way. Umar’s entrance brought some stability to the proceedings and with Afridi, calmed nerves and sealed victory. Umar displayed the virtues required to negate the pressure and turn the heat back on the fielders, backing himself to go over the top. Even a severe rap from a Tino Best beamer didn’t deter young Umar from finishing the job. West Indies displayed remarkable fight, but were a few runs short as Pakistan crossed the finish line in the 31st over.

Since arriving on these shores two months ago, Ricky Ponting has artfully dodged questions relating to England’s 2005 Ashes triumph and its lingering impact on his emotions and legacy. There were no scars, he insisted, and whatever pangs he had once felt were cured by by that great panacea: the 5-0 whitewash at home.But now, the truth. With the series level at 1-1 and The Oval looming on the horizon, Ponting admitted the fifth Test would double as a demon-exorcising mission if Australia succeeded in retaining the urn at the very ground it was snatched from their grasp in 2005. On that occasion, the tourists entered the final Test in relative disarray after a three-wicket defeat Trent Bridge, but now head to south London optimistic that both form and momentum have turned in their favour.Asked whether he viewed the Ashes finale as an opportunity to right the wrongs of four years ago, Ponting was unequivocal. “It’s a chance I’ve been waiting for this whole tour and a chance the whole team has been waiting for,” he said. “After we lost at Lord’s we’ve been wanting to play well to win a game to get back to 1-1. I’ve said from the start about how much it would mean to me to win here and it’s exactly the same for every other guy that’s in our touring squad at the moment. We’ve been waiting for this moment to come around and now that we’ve got things back on track and playing good cricket we’re all very excited about it. It’s going to be a special week for all of us.”Remarkably, it was only two-and-a-half days ago that Ponting stood at risk of becoming the first Australian captain in a century to twice lose away Ashes series, having failed to register a win in his previous seven Tests on English soil. That may still happen, of course, but it now requires England to mount one of their greatest comebacks to force victory on a wicket regarded among the flattest in the kingdom.Australia, on the other hand, require only a draw to retain the urn, although that seemed the furthest outcome from Ponting’s mind on Sunday. Asked by Mike Atherton at the post-match interview whether Australia would push victory in the fifth test, Ponting paused, smiled, then offered: “What do you think?” Seldom has a question been more rhetorical.At his subsequent forum with the press, Ponting adopted a bullish stance when discussing England’s prospects of recovering from a humbling innings and 80-run defeat at Headingley. While England struggle to contend with the loss of Kevin Pietersen, and await medical reports on Andrew Flintoff, the Australians are buoyant at the return to form of Mitchell Johnson, the missing piece of their puzzle to date, and the success of the four-pronged pace attack, trialled for the first time this series in Leeds.”Looking in the papers this morning they were talking about (Mark) Ramprakash coming back in and those sort of things,” Ponting noted. “That’s obviously all started which for us is terrific. It will be difficult for them to bounce back now. It will only be that because of what we’ve got out of this game and what we felt we got coming out of the Edgbaston Test. Some of our guys who had been struggling for a bit of touch probably are (now) in the best form of their careers, which is great. Everything is heading in the right direction for us at exactly the right time of the tour.”I don’t know how they’re going to get themselves out of it. I will just focus on what we’ve got ahead us, which is a couple of days off, a tour game and then preparation for the fifth Test match, which will be one of the best moments probably of my career. That’s what cricket’s all about for me – 1-1 in an Ashes series going into the last Test match at a great venue at The Oval.”Andrew Strauss identified the need to lift the spirits of his confidence-sapped team ahead of The Oval Test. Ponting felt his task was to contain his youthful squad’s exuberance. Therein lies the major difference between the two squads entering the Ashes decider, and Ponting is anxious to capitalise on a momentum swing that has traversed a full 180 degrees since Lord’s.”The important thing for us now is keeping a bit of a lid on what we’ve done this week,” he said. “All the guys will be jumping out of their skins to start The Oval Test match. It’s a long way away now … (but) we’ll have a sping in our step and a lot of confidence behind us.”

New Zealand cricketers may choose to play in the lucrative IPL instead of their country in the future if the Twenty20 tournament’s schedule clashes with their international commitments, Daniel Vettori has said.On Friday, six senior New Zealand players signed their national contracts after two weeks of “agonising” over whether to forgo them. They could now miss out on half their earning from next year’s IPL because it coincides with their home series against Australia.”It’s a difficult decision and people have families and other issues to work through but our priority was to play for New Zealand,” Vettori told the . “But we realise that if these situations continue to come up it will be difficult for players to continue to turn down the money, so we implore the powers that be to (find a solution) so we don’t have to make these decisions every year.”The trans-Tasman battle is one of New Zealand’s marquee series, and Vettori said players might have chosen differently if it had been a lower-profile opposition. “If Bangladesh were here [rather than Australia] it might have been an easier decision for players. It didn’t come into my thinking because my priority is to play for New Zealand.”Former Australian legspinner Shane Warne and Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations chief executive Tim May are among those who have called for the creation of a window in the international cricket calendar for the IPL.Last year, five senior New Zealand cricketers including Vettori and Brendon McCullum had arrived in England a week after the rest of the touring party so that they could appear in more IPL matches. In a similar incident, West Indies captain Chris Gayle came in for plenty of criticism earlier this year when he reached England just two days before the first Test.

ScorecardLuke Wright carves through cover during his 38•Getty Images

Rory Hamilton-Brown took 4 for 15 to spin Sussex into Twenty20 Cup finals day with an impressive 38-run win over Warwickshire under the lights at Hove. Beaten by Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy final on Saturday, Sussex bounced back with a terrier-like performance in the field, successfully defending 152.Much as Kent’s batsmen flattered to deceive in the day’s other quarter-final against Durham at Canterbury, so did Sussex’s, before their bowlers and fielders made life impossible for Warwickshire’s batsmen, with only Jonathan Trott – the first-ever batsman to pass 500 runs in a Twenty20 Cup season – threatening the hosts with a 47-ball 56.James Kirtley made the early breakthrough when Neil Carter chipped back an easy return catch, but Trott was quick to pounce on anything too full, ensuring Warwickshire’s scoring rate was brisk from the outset. He received little support, initially at least, with Jim Troughton falling to Yasir Arafat and Tim Ambrose – unluckily, as it hit him on the glove – being adjudged leg-before to the impressively calm young legspinner, Will Beer.In came Ian Westwood, and out came the shots – or rather, one shot in particular: the mow over midwicket. Beer was repeatedly wellied through the same region and Westwood was twice dropped, first by the usually brilliant Dwayne Smith close to the wicket, and in the next over by Luke Wright, diving forward and shelling a relatively straightforward chance. Westwood, however, struck a frenzied figure at the crease and offered Wright a near-identical chance at deep midwicket which was accepted comfortably. Warwickshire were 70 for 4 and the game was receding from them as quickly as the evening tide along the coast.Hamilton-Brown was introduced and turned the game emphatically Sussex’s way with two wickets in his first over, bowling Tony Frost before trapping Trott in front for 56. Warwickshire needed 61 from 32, a task too great for most tails, but particularly this one. Bowling close to 70mph, and very straight, it was no surprise that three of Hamilton-Brown’s four victims were bowled, and he wrapped things up with the final wicket of Steffan Piolet with the last ball of the 19th over.Sussex were less convincing with the bat, however. Luke Wright top scored with 38 from 31, but Sussex wasted a promising start with four run-outs in the middle-order, careering from 101 for 3 to 152 for 9. Boyd Rankin again swelled Irish pride with another highly impressive and accurate spell, also effecting the run-out of Yasir Arafat, as Warwickshire fought back gallantly.The key innings, however, came from Chris Nash, who at No. 7 used his experience and calm opener’s demeanour to crash 29 from 14 balls, the type of knock Warwickshire’s lower-order desperately needed, and couldn’t muster. Sussex’s pain of losing to Hampshire last Saturday already seems a distant memory.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle has said he is not underestimating the Indians despite the visitors fielding an understrength team for the four-match ODI series in Jamaica and St Lucia.Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have opted for rest while Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina failed to make the short tour due to injury concerns. Looking ahead, Gayle said India’s poor showing in the ICC World Twenty20 – they failed to win any of their Super Eight games – would have no bearing on the forthcoming ODIs. West Indies reached the semi-finals before crashing out to the Sri Lankans but Gayle insisted it was too early to jump the gun and pick a favourite.”It is never a walkover against India,” Gayle told PTI. “There are a lot of guys still there to give us a lot of trouble, so we just have to stick to the game plan and make it a successful one.”Gayle’s team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan also agreed. “The Indians are a very good one-day team and while they may be without a couple of their players, they will prove to be a handful for us,” Sarwan said. “But we are in good form and have confidence in our abilities and hopefully, beginning Friday, we can get a good start to the series.”The Indians haven’t had the best of fortunes in the Caribbean over the last few years. In 2006, they were comprehensively beaten 4-1 before crashing out of the World Cup in the first round the following year.West Indies also announced changes to their one-day side for the first two games, the most notable casualty being their in-form bowler Fidel Edwards who’s nursing a back injury.”There are a few changes in the squad, there is Darren Bravo and [Narsingh] Deonarine coming in and it is a good opportunity for them to play an important part against India,” Gayle said.Despite bowing out of the semi-finals, Gayle was happy with his team’s comeback after a lacklustre start to the tour, which included a Test and ODI series defeat to England.”It was a pretty decent performance. We tried our best but in the end it was not to be,” Gayle said. “But I am not disheartened. In fact, I am proud of the guys, as at the championship, not many were expecting us to reach that far.”The aim was to bring home the trophy and make everyone happy, especially the fans. Having said that, however, it was a wonderful experience, one that I think will serve the team well going into the future and one that should serve us well when we host the next World Twenty20 Championship here in the Caribbean.”Meanwhile, three Indian players – M Vijay, S Badrinath and Abhishek Nayar – are yet to depart for the West Indies as they are awaiting their UK transit visas. “They will get their visas today and are set to leave tonight (Monday),” a BCCI source told PTI. “They are scheduled to reach Jamaica by tomorrow evening local time.”The series begins on Friday at Sabina Park.

South Division

Surrey held on for a thrilling one-run win against Hampshire in a low-scoring game at The Oval when Hamza Riazuddin couldn’t quite manage the 14 needed off the last over. He did his best against Jade Dernbach, taking boundaries off the first and fifth balls but James Benning made a sliding stop on the rope off the final delivery to keep him to two. Chris Schofield also played a key role with the vital wicket of Chris Benham for 39 and two direct-hit run outs to remove Jimmy Adams and Nic Pothas. The batsmen struggled throughout a dull, grey evening and Stewart Walters top-scored for Surrey with 30 off 22 balls.For a full report of Middlesex against Kent in the first match using the permanent floodlights at Lord’s click here.

Mid/West/Wales Division

Zander de Bruyn continued his fine form with 72 off 44 balls to help Somerset to a five-wicket win against Warwickshire at Taunton. de Bruyn’s innings meant the home side could chase down a challenging 188 with two balls to spare as Justin Langer guided them across the line with 29 off 21 balls. Warwickshire’s innings went through peaks and troughs as the early impetus came from Jonathan Trott and James Troughton (50) who added 80 for the second wicket. Then four wickets fell for 14, including two in two balls for young legspinner Max Waller, with Craig Kieswetter producing a sharp stumping to remove Troughton. Captain Ian Westwood (49 off 34 balls) got the innings back on track with Ant Botha, but on a high-scoring round it wasn’t enough.Ryan Watkins claimed career-best figures of 5 for 16 as Glamorgan registered a 39-run victory against Gloucestershire at Cardiff. The visitors had started brightly chasing 167, but when Will Porterfield fell to Garnett Kruger the innings quickly folded. Watkins did most of the damage taking the next four wickets to fall – all key Gloucestershire batsmen – including Craig Spearman and Chris Taylor in consecutive balls. Glamorgan had earlier been given a flying start by Mark Cosgrove’s 39-ball 52 as he and Jamie Dalrymple added 86 for the first wicket and although the middle order was pegged back the total was more than enough.

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said that his team had met security officials after arriving in Dubai and was happy with the measures that had been put in place for the five-ODI series against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi starting on April 22.”We have been looked after well,” Nielsen said. “After arriving we had a good chat with the security guys who took us through the expectations of the group and how we should carry ourselves around Dubai. It’s fantastic.”Zakir Khan, the Pakistan board’s director of cricket operations said that “extensive security arrangements” had been made for match days. “Australia had requested specific things, which we provided, and a security plan was prepared and, after agreement between the two countries, we have implemented it for a safe series,” Khan told AFP.Wednesday’s match will be the first time Australia are playing Pakistan in an ODI since February 2005. Australia had refused to tour Pakistan because of concerns over security, forcing the series to be shifted to a neutral location. The ICC had also removed Pakistan from the list of hosts for the 2011 World Cup after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore on March 3.”Now we are playing on different grounds due to circumstances out of our control, but I think the people in Pakistan and Australia will see us play cricket together, which wouldn’t have happened otherwise,” Nielsen said. “The real positive is that we got Pakistan back into international cricket.”It’s fantastic to actually play against Pakistan players who are world class performers and, if nothing else, take some TV pictures back to young Pakistani players and let them see their heroes play against us. I think it will help.”

Former Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran has defended the quality of cricket in the Logan Cup.The tournament has been dogged in recent years by issues of substandard cricket by often substandard cricketers. But Curran, who is coaching leaders Northerns, insisted that things were on the up.”If you would have asked me four years ago if we needed five teams in the Logan Cup I would have told you that we didn’t need that because of the standards. Not anymore,” Curran told the local Independent newspaper. “I think what we need in the Logan Cup is to have five teams. It helps to widen the selection base. That’s what you want.”If you look at the four teams that are currently playing, they each have a squad of 16 players. Some of the players in the squads are not getting game time, and if you were to combine that with Under-19s, you will come out with a fifth side, a very good side.”Despite Curran’s bullish comments, there remain concerns, not only over the standard of play but also of the facilities. The board took a controversial decision to stage all the games in Harare, explaining that this had been done for logistical and financial reasons, but this has not gone down well.”The explanations don’t add up,” a Bulawayo-based administrator told Cricinfo. “We have been assured that there will be meaningful cricket played away from Harare later this year, but what this move has done is to send a clear message that the board has abandoned the game away from the capital.”Even last year the bulk of the players who turned up for the so-called outlying provinces were bussed to games from Harare. The game continues to die away from there, and this latest stunt will only accelerate that decline.”