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ScorecardActing captain Daryl Mitchell and newcomer James Cameron dragged Worcestershire out of a deep hole against Leicestershire in the County Championship at New Road. Still 75 behind on losing the fourth wicket in their second innings, the home side survived the remaining 35 overs and eased into a lead of 34 on reaching 168 for 4.Teenager Nathan Buck led Leicestershire’s early charge by taking the first three wickets for 19 runs, but they missed a potential short cut to victory by dropping three slip chances from Mitchell before he completed his half-century. The opener made the most of the reprieves in compiling an undefeated 63 and Cameron hit two sixes and six fours on his way to a maiden 50 from 87 balls.With the left-hander on 62 not out in only his second Championship match, their unbroken partnership of 109 has already transformed a game that seemed in danger of finishing on the second day. Although the New Road pitch assisted the seamers from the outset, it has never been a minefield and ECB inspector David Hughes said he was happy with the surface when Worcestershire were dismissed for 175 in the first innings.Leicestershire began day two in a promising position, resuming only 12 runs behind at 163 for 3, and their batsmen pressed home the advantage as they progressed to 309 and a lead of 134. Nightwatchman Buck became a first victim for Matt Mason in a spell of 2 for 9 and James Benning, in his first Championship innings of the season, chipped in with 29 until caught at first slip off Jack Shantry.James Taylor, awaiting England Lions duty later in the week, dug in for nearly two hours for 27 and when he edged Mason to slip, it was left to Tom New to make the most of support from the lower order. Always positive, the left-hander hit 11 fours in making 58 – his fourth half-century of the season – before he played on to Richard Jones and Leicestershire were well in charge even when Gareth Andrew mopped up the last three wickets.Worcestershire desperately needed to improve on their first innings, but Phil Jaques made a disappointing exit in his last Championship game before Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan takes up the overseas position. A nick to first slip from Buck’s second delivery resulted in the Australian’s sixth duck in 15 first-class innings.Buck, who played for England in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January, kept the batsmen under pressure as he removed Moeen Ali (24) and Alexei Kervezee in successive overs.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi has said the IPL governing council, of which he is a member, could consider reviewing the number of matches for the league next season. India’s poor performance in the World Twenty20 this year has led to criticism suggesting their exit from the tournament was a consequence of a hectic IPL schedule. The IPL is set to stage 94 games in 2011, with the addition to two new teams, as opposed to 60 this year. Pataudi, while acknowledging that the increasing volume of cricket was proving stressful, said players would have to be mentally and physically tougher to adapt to the game’s growing demands.”We can look at this and say how do we reduce the matches. I think there is a need perhaps to review that,” Pataudi told the news channel . “But it will be very difficult now to reduce the number of teams.”Pataudi said the decision to include two new teams and increase the number of games next season did meet opposition even within the governing council. “I can’t exactly tell you what happened in the council meeting but it wasn’t exactly a unanimous decision I assure you,” he said. “A lot of people said there is too much cricket going on, but it was carried. It will be a long summer for cricket. Cricket is going to become more and more stressful as we continue, and people will have to be fitter and tougher mentally as well as physically.”MS Dhoni, India’s captain, had said in the aftermath of his team’s exit from the World Twenty20 that the travelling and the after-match parties during the IPL had contributed to tiredness among players. “I think Dhoni is not right about the IPL nights as much as he is right about the travelling. That’s what really puts you under strain,” Pataudi said. “Cricket is very strenuous nowadays.”Players have to be absolutely single-minded about the game. They have to think about and focus on nothing but cricket and just forget everything else.”Meanwhile, Niranjan Shah, the IPL vice-chairman, has defended the league and lashed out against the Indian players for their “pathetic” performance. “Our cricketers have done very badly in the Twenty20 World Cup. It’s really disappointing that they didn’t win a single match in the Super Eight round. They must not try to offer excuses for their pathetic performance,” Shah told reporters in Rajkot. “The players have to blame themselves. They must introspect where they went wrong or what went wrong. I think, except one or two players, most of them failed to do their jobs.”I don’t think players can complain now that they were tired because of IPL and hence they weren’t in a position to give off their best in the West Indies. Most of them are quite educated and know their responsibilities well. If they felt the IPL after-parties weren’t good for them, they shouldn’t have gone there. Now when the Indian team has been bundled out of the tournament, I think it’s ridiculous to blame the IPL and give petty excuses.””Instead of blaming it, the IPL should be considered a good platform for practice for the players just before an important event like the T20 World Championship. But if the players feel that they’re tired because of the IPL, they shouldn’t play in it. There is no shortage of talented cricketers in India. There are so many of them to choose from. We shouldn’t depend upon on only ten or 11 players.”

Match facts
Friday, May 14, St Lucia
Start time 1130 (1530 GMT)Dirk Nannes is the top wicket-taker in the tournament•Getty Images

The Big PictureMuch about the way these two teams have arrived at this juncture suggests that we could have on our hands a repeat of last year’s tense, compelling semi-final between South Africa and Pakistan.Even more than last year, Pakistan’s progress this time has been deeply unimpressive. They have only won two games from five and are still not sure of their best XI. Australia, like South Africa last year, have uncomplicatedly and with little fuss pushed aside teams unfortunate enough to get in their way: blast them at the top of each innings. Chaos against order, art taking on science and all that? They’re even playing in St Lucia, which like Trent Bridge last year, should work in Pakistan’s favour.In reality nothing stands further from the truth. This is, after all, Australia and Australia is Australia precisely because it is not South Africa: in that alone waits a book on why two cultures so similar are so different. South Africa die on such days, wracked by demons of rigidity. Australia live for such days, the pressure of semi-finals and finals sharpening their focus even more. On these occasions they are at their most Australian.They also seem to have finally worked out the format, or at least applied their own interpretation to it. Very fast bowlers, good solid ones, appear to be the key in a format which is often credited – mistakenly – to have saved spin. Their openers are the most brutal and their middle order most adept at recovery. Even negatives are really a positive: Michael Clarke has only 48 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 70, yet it is difficult to argue against Malcolm Conn’s assessment of him as this format’s Mike Brearley currently.Further, they have spanked Pakistan all shades of black and blue for the last ten internationals running between the two, including the group game earlier, also incidentally, at St Lucia. And historically, they are also the team least bewildered by Pakistan’s mood swings: if Pakistan are awful, they are duly thrashed. If Pakistan are brilliant, they are duly bested.All of it bodes less well than it did last year for Shahid Afridi’s men. They have at least improved in their last two games and their smartness, as ever, has been in performing when it matters most. In taking the losses to England and New Zealand to the very death, they secured a minor victory in a tournament where even good sides have often been very bad.Hope springs mostly from their bowling and spin in particular. If something remarkable is to happen, Saeed Ajmal can easily be imagined at the centre of it and Abdur Rehman not far away. And it may not be the worst time for Afridi to slip back into wicket-taking mode.Could it also be just the right kind of time to thrust Hammad Azam into international cricket? Everyone else in the squad has been tried and Mohammad Hafeez, the most surprising name among the nine to feature in all five matches, must be vulnerable.Form guide (Most recent first)Australia WWWWWPakistan WLLLWWatch out forThe three pace amigos of Australia, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson, have taken 29 wickets between them in this tournament. The pace, angles and intent they bring are difficult to compete against and if they fire as they have been doing, there will be little stopping Australia.Runs are what Pakistan need and more likely than not, they will come from the Akmal brothers. One innings apart, Kamran hasn’t kicked on from several starts, though he has at least provided some early momentum. Umar, meanwhile, has mostly looked good, though only against South Africa has he properly kicked on. If he clicks, Pakistan have a chance.Team newsWhy would Australia fix it when it clearly isn’t broke?Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson 2 David Warner 3 Brad Haddin (wk) 4 Michael Clarke (capt) 5 David Hussey 6 Cameron White 7 Michael Hussey 8 Steve Smith 9 Mitchell Johnson 10 Dirk Nannes 11 Shaun TaitPakistan, in contrast, need to answer a number of questions. How long to persist with Misbah-ul-Haq, scorer of 68 runs and holder of a sub-100 strike rate? Is there a suitable replacement? If Mohammad Hafeez hasn’t sparked for five games, will he do so now? It is St Lucia, but just one fast bowler, in a Pakistan side?Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt 2 Kamran Akmal (wk) 3 Khalid Latif 4 Hammad Azam/Mohammad Hafeez 5 Umar Akmal 6 Misbah-ul-Haq 7 Shahid Afridi 8 Abdul Razzaq 9 Abdur Rehman 10 Mohammad Aamer 11 Saeed AjmalPitch and conditionsPakistan would prefer to play Australia at St Lucia rather than Barbados, but given how they were hit in the group game earlier at the same venue, they face the deep blue sea rather than the devil. The surface is slower, enough to help Pakistan’s spinners, but not enough to neuter Australia’s pace.Stats

• Australia’s bowlers have taken 47 of a possible 50 wickets in the tournament so far and the side has run-out the remaining three
• Shaun Tait has conceded per over through the tournament
• In Salman Butt and Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan have the tournament’s third highest run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively
• Pakistan is the only team to make the semi-finals of all ICC events since the 2007 World Cup

Quotes
“We are playing well overall but we are missing opportunities by dropping catches. In any format, it is the fielding that wins you the matches.”
Shahid Afridi singles out fielding as Pakistan’s major worry.”Everyone has performed well in at least one of the games. Our fielding has been outstanding and is a huge part of Australian cricket in any form of the game, that’s probably the most satisfying for me.”
Michael Clarke has no such worries.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been directed to provide all relevant material pertaining to the punishments handed out to seven of the country’s leading cricketers, including the inquiry report, as the independent arbitrator Irfan Qadir began his hearing into their cases on Friday.”I have instructed the PCB to give the required material so that lawyers [of the players] come well prepared in the next hearing for arguments,” Qadir told reporters. This was based on requests placed by the lawyers of Younis, Malik and Naved, who appeared before Qadir today.The PCB imposed the fines and bans after Pakistan’s disastrous performance on the tour of Australia earlier this year. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned indefinitely while Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for one year. Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers – Kamran and Umar – were fined Rs. 2-3 million ($24,000-35,000) and put on six-month probations.Yousuf and Younis had been charged with causing infighting in the team, but the PCB did not furnish clear reasons for the bans on Malik and Naved. The fines on Afridi and the Akmal brothers were more clear-cut – Afridi was caught biting the ball during the final ODI, while the Akmal brothers openly opposed the team management’s decision over Kamran’s participation in the third Test. All the punished players barring Yousuf, who announced his retirement from the game in late March, formally appealed against the punishments.Younis’ next hearing will be held on May 8, while Malik and Naved will reappear before the arbitrator on May 22. Younis’ lawyer Mohammad Ahmed Qayyum is reported to have asked for the trial to be open to the media, which would be considered before the next hearing.”I still feel my client’s hands are clean as he did nothing wrong,” Qayyum said. “So far we don’t even know on what grounds PCB gave Younis such a punishment.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outRohit Sharma ensured that Deccan did not lose momentum despite the periodic loss of crucial wickets•Indian Premier League

Andrew Symonds starred in an impressive all-round effort, racing to 35 and picking up three wickets, to help Deccan Chargers achieve their third consecutive victory in the IPL – a result in contrast to Delhi Daredevils’ run in the competition, as they slipped to their third defeat in as many games despite a counter-attack from captain Dinesh Karthik. Symonds’ effort was backed up by an attacking knock from Rohit Sharma, who burst into spotlight after a quiet start to the competition to take Deccan to a challenging score, which proved just about adequate for them to continue their winning ways.Deccan will look back at three stages where they came up trumps to snatch the game. They ensured the task of posting a competitive total was achieved, as Rohit and T Suman added 60 in quick time after three threatening innings by Deccan’s overseas batsmen – Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Symonds – had been cut short by timely changes in bowling; they fought back in the middle overs after David Warner and AB de Villiers had combined to give Delhi a strong foundation for a successful chase; and they saw off a late scare from Karthik, who blasted 46 off 27. Symonds, bowling seam-up, bagged two wickets, including Karthik, off successive balls in the penultimate over to help seal a tight win.The start to Delhi’s chase was encouraging, as Warner began in ruthless fashion and followed that up with steady progress once the restrictions were lifted, underlining his determination to see his team through. While reaffirming his reputation as a big hitter, smashing four fours and two sixes in the first two overs, he proved equally adept nudging the ball around for singles and twos in the later overs.Chaminda Vaas, among the most economical bowlers in the tournament, was taken for nine in his opening over. His partner RP Singh continued to be expensive, wilting to a brutal assault from Warner who alternated between clearing the ropes and drilling the bowler to the long-off boundary. A length delivery was sent over long-on and when RP held back to bowl short, he was flat-batted over point for another six.Deccan, though, got rid of a major obstacle early in the chase, as Virender Sehwag suffered a rare lapse, miscuing Pragyan Ojha to be caught superbly by Gibbs. But de Villiers kept Warner good company, supporting him in a 51-run stand that gave Delhi the upper hand with two set batsman in the middle.The partnership’s end, however, marked a decisive moment in Delhi’s chase. Warner attempted an impossible run, to be caught short at the striker’s end; de Villiers soon fell, bowled off a full toss from Rahul Sharma in the 13th over, and when Mithun Manhas skied the same bowler to Suman 14 balls later, the game had turned Deccan’s way. Moises Henriques, struck two fours but sliced Symonds to RP at point to make it 132 for 5 in the 17th over.Rahul had enjoyed a successful start to his IPL season but Karthik’s attack in the 18th over spoiled his figures. With his team in need of a desperate revival, Karthik bludgeoned Rahul through midwicket for a four and six, followed by a fearsome cut through point for a boundary. Symonds, too, was welcomed with a slash through point on the first ball of the next over, but showed sharp reflexes to send Karthik on his way, plucking an uppish drive with his outstretched right hand. Amit Mishra was caught behind the next delivery and Vaas bowled a typically miserly final over to finish things off.The track in Cuttack was conducive to spin, taking turn and some extra bounce and Delhi used the conditions well, opting for a change in strategy, opening the bowling with a spinner. The slow bowlers grabbed the first three wickets; Monish Mishra and Gilchrist, who had blasted 24 off 14, and Gibbs, who, after smacking Dirk Nannes for two fours and two sixes, cut Yogesh Nagar straight to point. Symonds, with the confidence of two half-centuries behind him, looked ominous during his knock, finding the ropes with ease using the conventional shots but a mistimed slog put an end to his stay, as he slapped one straight to extra cover in the 14th over.Suman, though, kept Deccan on course, picking out Henriques and Nannes for three boundaries before Rohit took off at the other end. Umesh Yadav was smashed for 18 in the 17th over, pulled over square leg and struck over long-on for sixes and sliced over point for a boundary. Henriques, too, wasn’t spared, as he was dispatched over the ropes by Rohit in the next over, which fetched another 14. His parting shot was a steer over point off Nannes before a miscue to mid-off ended his innings. The final two overs yielded just 15, but Deccan’s bowlers were able to put an under-performing Delhi under pressure and accomplish a hard-fought win.

Cricket coverage in the UK will return to free-to-air television with ITV getting rights to broadcast the IPL for the 2010 season. The broadcaster will show live all the matches on ITV4 – one of its digital channels – from the feed supplied by Sony and will employ its own studio experts.The IPL, which was without a UK broadcaster following the collapse of Setanta last year, will have a specialist section on the ITV website and has the right to webcast matches. The latest deal follows the YouTube-IPL tieup in January, whereby the internet channel will webcast live IPL matches globally.Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said, “This is a hugely significant deal for the IPL and ideally suited to the British passion for both cricket and entertainment.””In only two years, the IPL has already established itself as one of the world’s most high-profile and exciting sports events, which attracts some of the very best cricketers from around the globe,” said Zai Bennett, ITV’s director of digital channels and acquisitions. “It is an exciting acquisition for one of the UK’s fastest growing digital channels and we’re delighted to be able to offer the whole tournament free-to-air to our viewers.”The move also comes at a time when the ECB is fighting the listing of the home Ashes to be shown on terrestrial television, which they fear would lead to a major cut in funding. The only cricket previously available free-to-air in the UK is Five’s highlights show during Tests and one-day internationals, while all international and domestic action is live on Sky Sports.The third season of the IPL starts on March 12 and runs for 45 days.

Kepler Wessels is convinced a strong batting line-up and Graeme Smith’s “strong personality” will hold South Africa together and help them tide over the coaching crisis on their tour to India. Only four points separate the top two Test teams – if South Africa manage to win the two-match series they will displace India to go No. 1 – and Wessels believes they will pose a stiff challenge for the host in what has been billed as a world championship bout.”Graeme Smith is a very strong personality so he is not going to have too many problems in dealing with the situation,” Wessels told Cricinfo on the eve of South Africa’s departure to India. “I’ve been through these things before. In a place like India cricket is so important, so that is what everybody in the group should be focusing on.”Wessels, South Africa’s first Test captain after their readmission into international cricket, was appointed to the twin positions of interim selector and as batting consultant to Corrie van Zyl, the interim coach in the wake of Mickey Arthur’s sudden resignation earlier this week. A resolute mind with an unflinching personality, Wessels was known for his ruthlessness as a leader who put his players through the tough grind and would not accept defeat at any cost. Players like Allan Donald might not have liked the rigid approach at times, but acknowledged it was necessary to ingrain such a discipline for South Africa to become a feared opponent.Many in South Africa now believe Wessels is in the right position once again to help South Africa become the best in all forms of the game. For the moment, Wessels feels his role is a very simple one. “I’m there to assist Corrie van Zyl in the best possible way that I can. One of the specialties that I have is as batting coach and I have worked with a number of players before, so it would be a natural progression of some of the work that we have done,” he said.Considering that most of the South African batsmen have toured India previously – the last time in 2008 – Wessels was confident they could adapt to the challenge more quickly. “The South African line-up is very strong and has performed very well over the last couple of years under all conditions,” he said. “So they have got an established and very experienced batting line-up. Playing in India is always challenging but they did well about a year ago so it should be quite exciting.”None of his 40 Tests was on the subcontinent but Wessels felt the secret to succeed as a batsman in India was simple. “If you get a start you have got to try and convert that into a big score because when you do that you forge partnerships and pitch your team into a good position. So there is nothing new as far as that is concerned but that is clearly what we need to do.”According to him an important advantage that South Africa have were heavy scorers like Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, all of whom have hit big centuries across the world. And that assessment is accurate; even if Kallis had a lean run by his standards on the 2008 tour, four of the top five run makers in that three-Test series, which was shared 1-1, were South Africans. Neil McKenzie, their top scorer on that tour, is not part of the squad this time.This time around one of the openers, Ashwell Prince, has proved to be a reason for worry.van Zyl has already admitted he will work closely with Prince to help him settle down in his new position as an opener, especially after a weak series against England. Another batsman in shaky form is JP Duminy, who after a spectacular debut series in Australia has scores of 20 or less in ten of his last 14 innings, including two ducks in a row against England. Still, Wessels was not too fazed by Duminy’s form. “JP is exactly the same guy and it is just a matter of time before he gets back into top form, so I’m not concerned,” he said.Asked if the absence of Rahul Dravid could hurt India’s chances, Wessels agreed partially but pointed that the hosts had able replacements to breach the vacancy. “It is unfortunate that Rahul won’t be there so I suppose that will be a disadvantage,” he said, “But India have a lot of depth in their squad on home soil so there would be some good player coming in clearly.”Wessels refused to predict a series victor considering India were walking into the contest with handsome series victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as opposed to South Africa, who struggled to level the series against England at home. “Every series is a new event, what happened before doesn’t really matter,” he said. “Both teams are very strong and probably are the two top teams in the world at the moment. So we should in for a real mouth-watering contest.”

Allan Donald is set to put himself forward as England’s new bowling coach following the departure of Ottis Gibson to West Indies. Donald previously held the role briefly in 2007 before his family situation forced him to turn down the full-time position, but he is now ready to return to the international scene.”If I make contact with the ECB I would be throwing my name in the hat. I’ve not had any official contact with the ECB.” Donald told Sky Sports News. “In 2007 I really enjoyed the time I spent with the team. It was an environment I enjoyed being in, working with elite cricketers, and obviously I would be silly not to consider the position. I would think it over, it’s a great challenge for any coach at this level.”After declining the England job in 2007, which led the ECB to Gibson, Donald returned to Warwickshire as their bowling coach but at the end of the 2009 season went home to South Africa after his young son suffered health problems. Donald has worked in the media in recent months, but is clearly eager to return to hands-on duties.”My young boy went through a tough time and I had to abort that immediately,” he said. “At the moment he’s fine and I’m just about ready to get back into it full time.”Last month Donald was linked with the bowling coach position for India but the role went to the former South Africa coach Eric Simons. With the recent upheaval in South African cricket, following the departure of Mickey Arthur, there could be an opening for Donald on home soil in the coming months.Vincent Barnes, the current South Africa bowling coach, is rumoured to be set to leave after the current India tour, however a role with England would come with greater financial reward and Donald is excited by the potential of a developing side.”You can see that Ottis has worked very hard,” he said. “There’s a lot of discipline and hardness in the attack and you can see the skills he has implemented. [James] Anderson has become a quality bowler so has [Stuart] Broad and they are set for some big things. Not only the bowling unit, but the team itself is also becoming a solid one.”

As England began their preparations for the final Test against South Africa a forgotten, but instantly recognisable, face was at nets to offer a helping hand. This time last year Monty Panesar was still his country’s first-choice spinner, but he has slipped so far down the pecking order that questions are circulating as to whether he has an international future.Panesar has spent the English winter with the Lions, the Johannesburg-based franchise, trying to recapture the magic that drew comparisons with Bishan Bedi as he became a match-winner for England. From the outside, his statistics don’t suggest a resurgence is near – 15 wickets at 39.06 in six games – but they are a noticeable improvement on his meagre 2009 haul, where he managed 18 at 59.44 in 13 Championship matches for Northamptonshire. Either way, he has made a positive impression on his latest team.”He started with us pretty much in a negative mindset, not much confidence in himself and we just gave him some space to find himself,” Dave Nosworthy, the Lions coach, told Cricinfo. “He was getting a lot of information from so many different people and he needed some space.”We’ve allowed him that and tried to nurture him as much as possible. We have given him the opportunities he has needed and he has been magnificent for us. We’ve got everything we have needed to get out of him and he’s bowling well so that’s quite exciting.”In between whiles, Panesar has also moved counties to Sussex to help rekindle his career, but the prospects of an international recall in the near future don’t look good. His last performance in an England shirt remains a match-saving one as he and James Anderson survived 69 deliveries against Australia at Cardiff. Without Panesar, the Ashes series would probably have gone the other way. But not for the reasons that anyone ever imagined.But, however much the batting of No. 11s has become vital for England with the recent efforts of Graham Onions, Panesar just wasn’t performing well enough with the ball to merit his retention in the side. Graeme Swann has now made the No. 1 position his own with a stellar series in South Africa, to follow a productive season in England, and Adil Rashid was selected as his No. 2 for both the Test and one-dayers.When Swann was a minor injury worry with a side strain, James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, was the man called up as cover because the selectors wanted “a like-for-like” replacement. Panesar, it seems, didn’t even enter into their thoughts even though he was already in South Africa, because when the selectors wanted a third spinner for the recently named Lions squad – albeit for a one-day tournament – they went for Yorkshire’s David Wainwright.Last year, prior to the Ashes, Shane Warne said that Panesar hadn’t developed at all during his career – “He’s stayed the same, he’s one of those guys that has played one Test 30 times” – while Michael Vaughan has said how he would set “university fields” when left to his own devices.Although Nosworthy believes Panesar has “been able to find his own game” during his stint in South Africa, he feels he still needs to do more for himself. “I think he relies on people telling him how to bowl and what to do and he’s the sort of guy that needs to be making his own decisions at this time in his career,” he said.”He needs to start deciding what fields he wants and how he wants to get batsmen out. Every spinner is different so he’s got a uniqueness to himself which he must try to make as good as possible without trying to be anyone else.”The one glimmer of hope for Panesar has been the lack of opportunity for Rashid during the South Africa tour, after he was dropped following one expensive over in a Twenty20. With a Test series against Bangladesh in March, England will want the option of playing two spinners and it’s ideal if they turn the ball opposite ways. However, it is still a long shot for Panesar and his stint in the nets is likely to be as close to the England set-up as he gets for some time.

ScorecardJames Smith’s 61 guided South Australia to 2 for 161•Getty Images

South Australia had the better of a rain-affected day at the MCG, where James Smith’s half-century guided the Redbacks to 2 for 161. South Australia were sent in by Victoria on a day when the weather allowed only 54 overs to be bowled, with more rain forecast for the remainder of the game.Smith and Daniel Harris put on 61 for the opening wicket before Harris was caught for 25 off the bowling of John Hastings. The only other breakthrough Victoria managed was when Andrew McDonald had Smith caught at mid-on for 61, having combined in a 55-run stand with Michael Klinger.There was no success for either Darren or James Pattinson, who shared the new ball and were the first brothers to play together in a match for Victoria since Michael and Paul Quinn took part in a one-dayer in 1986-87. At stumps, Klinger was on 27 and Mark Cosgrove was on 37.