Not many South Africans may have made it to Guyana for the cricket but god knows there have been enough of them addressing press conferences. There were three of them in one hour this afternoon, and the least somebody could have done is got a going, seeing how there is not a morsel of food to be found at the National Stadium on non-match days anyway.With most of the Super Eights clashes arousing about as much anticipation as an invitation to watch cows cud, it is what preview days at this World Cup have been increasingly reduced to, cute symmetries and connections, such as, for example, how the teams for Tuesday’s encounter both have South African coaches and, what’s more, the two have been friends.Yet if there is a degree of mutual admiration between Mickey Arthur and Adrian Birrell, the Ireland coach, it is borne out of professional achievement. When Arthur talks of Birrell and Ireland, he could almost be describing his own team.”I think what makes them a tough side,” he said, “is that the play for each other. They have an incredible team ethic, and that again is credit to AB (Adrian Birrell). As coaches you all strive to go in the right direction with a good work ethic and a sound structure and AB’s got it right with them. They play with an incredible amount of passion and they play for each other and in tight games that’s the key as we saw against Pakistan and Zimbabwe when they came from virtually the dead to tie that game.”Birrell himself remembered the transition as he moved from a professional background as a provincial coach in into an amateur setup. “The fixture list looked like Denmark, Free Foresters, Duchess of Norfolk, MCC… you know. Fortunately we’ve made some progress since. Now our itinerary looks like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand.”Having been reduced to 91 for 8 in a warm-up match in Trinidad a month ago, the South Africans are well aware of the progress. It has also meant some revision of homework plans.”We had to take the Pakistan footage out and put the Irish footage in,” said Arthur. “There are two batters in our mind that are crucial to the way they play, and two bowlers. We’ve singled out probably four of their players for extra attention.” Three of those are certain to be the fast bowler Boyd Rankin, the middle-order keeper-batsman Niall O’Brien, and the opener Jeremy Bray.It remains to be seen whether Bray, left-handed, like his opening partner William Porterfield, will take to Shaun Pollock as have as the Australian and Sri Lankan lefties have done over the past fortnight. While nagging last-hurrah seamers such as Glenn McGrath and Chaminda Vaas have been choking opposition to the figure of 13 and 16 runs per wicket, Pollock has averaged 79 for two wickets in four matches. Neither of those wickets came against Australia, where he went for 83 in 10 overs, or Sri Lanka when in a low-scoring match he conceded 46 from eight overs, and 32 in his opening spell of four.

Once teams would have been happy to play out a bowler like Pollock for none for 35, suggested Arthur, but times have changed. “I think good teams target the opposition, to be the best in the world you have to target the opposition strengths and that’s what teams are doing with Pollock.””Most teams that you come up against now have a lefthander at the top of the order. We’ve put a lot more thought into bowling to a lefthander after what’s happened with (Matthew) Hayden and (Sanath) Jayasuriya. But Polly’s an unbelievable performer. After two games where he’s been hit a bit I can promise you he’s raring to go tomorrow. He’s going to come back hard.””This is the business end of the competition, you can’t afford any slip up. Our preparation, our mental training is the same it would have been for any other game of the Super Eights.”For Ireland it is another opportunity to justify their place in this leg of the competition, though it has all gotten quite tiresome for Birrell. “We deserve a little bit of credit. We have got a lot of credit from the cricketers’ point of view. It is the media that set on us being party poopers. But if you look at in the bigger scheme of things, the achievements of Bangladesh and Ireland are very good for the game.”South Africa (likely) Graeme Smith (capt), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Justin Kemp, Andrew Hall, Robin Peterson, Makhaya Ntini, Charl LangeveldtIreland (likely) William Porterfield, Jeremy Bray, Eoin Morgan, Niall O’ Brien (wk), Andre Botha, Kevin O’ Brien, Trent Johnston (capt), Andrew White, Kyle Mccallan, Dave Langford-Smith, Boyd Rankin

Darren Lehmann has been struck down with deep-vein thrombosis as he recovers from an operation on his Achilles tendon. John Porter, South Australia’s physiotherapist, said the problem had been discovered during a routine check-up.However, the Redbacks believe the condition will not harm Lehmann’s chances of playing the first match of 2007-08. “It has been identified early and Darren will undergo blood-thinning treatment for the next three months,” Porter told .”We are very confident that this will not delay his recovery from the Achilles operation, and that he will be fit to play with the Redbacks when the season starts in October.” Lehmann will be in the unfamiliar position of playing under a new South Australia captain next season.By his own high standards, Lehmann struggled for form in 2006-07, scoring one century and totaling 607 runs at 40.46. However, he was still one of the best performers in a disappointing batting line-up.

Sanath Jayasuriya has signed a short-term contract with Lancashire as cover forthe absence of Muttiah Muralitharan, who will be involved in a three-match Test series against Bangladesh.Jayasuriya will play in Lancashire Twenty20 Cup group matches and will be available to play until Muralitharan returns on July 20.”I’m extremely happy to have been called to participate in the forthcoming season,” Jayasuriya said from his Colombo home. “It’s a privilege after having played almost two decades of cricket all around the world and I look forward very much to be playing for Lancashire.””Sanath and Twenty20 cricket is an exciting prospect,” Mike Watkinson, the county’s cricket manager, said. “He has a tremendous record in one-day cricket and we are delighted he will be joining us.”

Adrian Le Roux has resigned as South Africa’s fitness trainer. He has been with the Proteas for just over four years and before that he was involved with Free State cricket and the Indian national cricket team.He will be returning to Bloemfontein where he will take up a position with a medical company, SA Biomedical. But he will act as a consultant for Cricket South Africa (CSA) from time to time, including in the appointment of the new Proteas fitness trainer and in CSA’s high performance programme.He said: “A number of factors lead to my resignation. I’ve been touring with professional teams extensively over the last six years. This obviously affects your family life and it is now time to move closer to home and take on some new challenges.”The last six to 12 months have made me take the final decision having contemplated this step in my life over this period of time.”A big thanks must also go to the players I have worked with during my tenure, they always kept things interesting. It has also been a pleasure and a privilege working at the highest level of the sport. To the coaches and members of the support staff, I’d like to thank you too. It has been a great experience.”Gerald Majola, the board’s chief executive, said: “Adrian’s resignation is a big loss to the Proteas set-up as he is one of the best fitness trainers in world cricket. We are most grateful for his input over the past four years, and respect his decision to move into a new field close to his home base.”

Graham Gooch, the former England captain who played his last Test at the age of 42, has urged India’s experienced middle-order batsmen to convert the final phase of their careers into a “golden one”, and said they still had four or five years left in them. Having watched the Indians’ tour game against England Lions at Chelmsford, Gooch gushed about Sachin Tendulkar’s 171 on the second day and felt there was nothing to suggest that his powers were on the decline.Gooch scored more than half his Test runs, including 12 hundreds, after he passed the age of 35, and was the top-scorer in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. “I think the likes of Sachin, [Rahul] Dravid, [Sourav] Ganguly are all 34-35 and for me that was the golden period of my cricket,” he told Cricinfo at the County Ground in Chelmsford. “My batting got better in those four or five years, so there’s no reason why they can’t go on.”Tendulkar has occasionally spoken of the demands that age imposes and even changed his game accordingly. While he used to attack more often in the early part of his career, he’s off late preferred the more compact style, accumulating more often than blazing away. He spoke about this after his classy innings yesterday and indicated that his body dictated the way he approached an innings.Gooch echoed the sentiment. “It [carrying on despite the growing years] depends on your desire, your fitness … and if you haven’t got the desire you aren’t going to be able to remain fit. You need to work that much harder, naturally you’re deteriorating and you’re concentration and general sharpness disappears. There’s no reason why they can’t carry on for 4-5 years.”However, he was quick to point out that Tendulkar still possesses all the attributes. “He’s still standing still, watching the ball and has the ability to counterattack. I didn’t see anything yesterday to suggest his powers are on the decline. It’s how much you want to keep going, whether you’ve got aspirations still. He’ll hope he’s got one last flurry over here to entertain people in this country. If he and the rest of the batsmen can put up 500-plus in their matches they’re definitely going to stand a chance.”India’s senior-most cricketer, though, isn’t a middle-order batsman but a legspinner who will be expected to carry the attack. Gooch, who faced a bespectacled 20-year-old Anil Kumble on the 1990 tour, believes he can pull it off. “He played the second Test at Old Trafford in 1990 [when Tendulkar got his first Test hundred] and what I liked about him was his desire to take wickets. I faced Derek Underwood early in my career and they were similar with regard to the pace they bowled with. Underwood wasn’t a big spinner of the ball but relied on accuracy. Same with Kumble.”He’ll get bounce on English pitches and that’s what he mainly relies on for those catches at silly point and bat-pad. He’s not a big turner like conventional spinners but his record stands the test of time. The pitches in England don’t deteriorate as much these days and are tough for spinners but he doesn’t rely too much on a pitch that spins square, it’s the bounce that gets him wickets usually.”

Glenn McGrath has indicated his interest in playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL). “It’s tempting,” McGrath, who retired following Australia’s triumph at the 2007 World Cup, told AAP.McGrath felt the ICL could be ideal for him. “Obviously, you can make a little bit of money,” he said. “Probably a month of cricket, get back, give me that fix of playing again – it might be all I need.”Reports have suggested that the ICL was keen on signing McGrath and his former team-mate Shane Warne. However, so far, only Brian Lara has signed up for the league. McGrath’s manager, Warren Craig, had earlier said that he had met with ICL officials.However, a return to the Australian team was ruled out by McGrath, who was attending a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the Australian Academy in Canberra. “I played as long as I could mentally,” he said. “Physically the body feels great, but the mental side of it is another thing. Previously, watching other teams playing made me want to get out there. I couldn’t wait for the season to start. Now I think I’m glad I’m not out there.”McGrath said his move to retire from the game was correct. “For me it’s been the right decision, and I’ve had time to get used to it. To finish on a high – I couldn’t have asked for much more than that.” He was named the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the event’s history.

The Indian board (BCCI) has begun its formal search for a candidate to coach the national team, issuing an advertisement listing their requirements on several top cricket board websites. The BCCI has fixed September 15 as the last date for receipt of applications. The prospective coach will have a two-year term starting from October 1.The applicant must have played first-class cricket, will require Level III coaching accreditation obtained from Australia, England or India, and must have previous coaching experience with a national side or an elite coaching centre, among other pre-requisites.The successful candidate will be required to work closely with the selection committee and interact with a review committee to be set up by the board and be capable of building positive relations with the public and media.Communication and organisational skills have been emphasised, along with basic knowledge of Indian cricket and “Indian culture and ethos”. Basic IT skills will be required, while being familiar with performance analysis software.I KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
a) Working closely with the selection committee and interacting periodically with the review committee to be set up by the Board
b) Should have the ability to plan and manage programs for the elite cricketers
c) Should be capable of building positive relations with the public and media
d) Should be capable of motivating players and thus helping them to optimise their performances at all times
e) Should be familiar with the use of performance analysis software packages
f) Should be available to conduct clinics and workshops for the local coaches
g) Should have excellent communicating skills as he is required to communicate at different levels like players, team management, selectors and the board
h) Should be capable of providing the team with tactical expertise
II KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERTISE
a) Should be a qualified coach with minimum level III coaching accreditation from Cricket Australia, England or India
b) Should have played at least level of first-class cricket
c) Extensive coaching experience and expertise in working with elite cricketers
d) Should possess basic IT skills to be able to operate the match analysis program
e) Should have been a coach of an international or national team or a coach at an elite coaching centre of international repute
f) Should have basic knowledge of Indian cricket, Indian player pathway and Indian culture and ethos
g) Should have basic knowledge of Sports Science and Sports Medicine
h) Should be capable of handling the team under high pressure situations
i) Should possess outstanding organizational skills
j) Should have knowledge of international coaching trends
k) Should have experience in using video technology
III GENERAL INFORMATION
a) The appointment as coach shall be for a period of two years, starting from October 1, 2007
b) The job requires a great deal of time away from home traveling with the Indian team both in India and abroad
c) Terms and conditions are negotiable

Virender Sehwag will lead the 15-member Delhi Ranji team that is packed with nine batsmen and six bowlers, including four pacers. The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) selected the team in a ten-minute meeting held at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.Although the captain and coach reportedly wanted to have five fast bowlers, the selection committee decided in favour of an extra batsman in Aditya Jain, who replaced Kunal Lal in the squad. Kunal, the son of former India medium pacer Madan Lal, has been named as one of the four standbys.The promising left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan has been picked as the fourth pacer along with Ashish Nehra, Amit Bhandari and Ishant Sharma.In addition, on the recommendation of the team management, the DDCA has selected five seamers who will train alongside the Ranji team during their home matches. The five selected are Pawan Singh, Parminder Awana, Suhail Sharma, Amit Sharma and Lokendra.The 30 probables, selected on September 16, have been practicing under the supervision of the coach Vijay Dahiya from September 19.Delhi begin their campaign with a home game against Rajasthan from November 4.Squad: Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir (vice-capt), Aakash Chopra, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, Mayank Tehlan, Virat Kohli, Puneet Bisht (wk), Rajat Bhatia, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Amit Bhandari, Chetanya Nanda, Aditya Jain.Standbys: Gaurav Chhabra, Yogesh Nagar, Abhishek Sharma, Kunal Lal.

Of the 15 that made the Rest of India (ROI) squad last year, seven graduated to the Indian team over subsequent months and are still there or thereabouts. That should be the incentive for the Rest of India players in this year’s team as they kick off the domestic season in Rajkot tomorrow with the Irani Trophy match against Ranji champions Mumbai.The Irani Trophy is not as much a selection match as it is recognition of India’s second XI, if one may use the term. The second XI for this edition is a fine blend of performers from the previous domestic season and a few who have played for India in the past few months but now find themselves out. Experience and youth are both represented.Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Subramaniam Badrinath and Cheteshwar Pujara are four of the finest current young batsmen not in national colours. Pujara is still some way from national reckoning but for the other three it’s a battle to get into the Indian middle order. On current form Badrinath looks to be the front-runner, with a double-century for India A in an unofficial Test against South Africa A in Delhi and a Man-of-the-Match showing in the one completed 50-over game after that. Mohammad Kaif, who led India A against South Africa and on a twin-tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, counts himself in the reckoning.Then there is Aakash Chopra, back in the fray after a prolonged absence, who will draw inspiration from the need for specialists at the top of the order on the tour of Australia later this year. The key for him will be to carry on the good form from the Kotla match against South Africa A, where he overcame three dropped catches on his way to an unbeaten double-hundred.Hard as it is for Parthiv Patel to break into the Indian team, he has done enough with the A team – more noticeably with the bat – to keep Dinesh Karthik, the second-choice wicketkeeper, on his toes. Starting with the tour of Zimbabwe, he has scored 591 runs in five innings, with four centuries, justifying his use up the batting order.The inconsistent Munaf Patel will be the main focus in the bowling department – his dodgy fitness levels have followed him throughout his career. For Ranadeb Bose, who toured Ireland and England but couldn’t force his way into the final XI, this is the start of another first-class season where he needs to perform consistently, as he did last time with 57 Ranji wickets.Pragyan Ojha, a left-arm spinner, and Amit Mishra, a legspinner, were too good for South Africa A in Delhi last month, but given a twinge of green on the Rajkot surface, only one of them might get a chance. Other options for bowling would be young pacers Ishant Sharma, who played one Test in Bangladesh, and Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh.For all of ROI’s strength, the Ranji champions have won the Irani Trophy 24 times, as opposed to ROI’s 18. A regular team definitely has an advantage over an assembled all stars’ XI. What would negate that to some extent is that the core of this ROI squad has been together from the start of the Zimbabwe tour in July.

The Mumbai team, though, is on a roll after a young new-look side thumped Karachi Urban, the Pakistan domestic champions, in Karachi to lift the Mohammad Nissar Trophy. Of the five debutants involved in the Karachi clash, two, opener Ajinkya Rahane and Prashant Naik, scored centuries and two spinners, left-armer Iqbal Abdulla and offspinner Vikrant Yeligati, shared seven wickets between them.Is playing such a young team against such high-profile opposition a disadvantage? Captain Amol Muzumdar doesn’t think so. “This means they have not seen our youngsters, while we have always watched many of their players, Mohammad Kaif for example. They don’t know our strengths and weaknesses, while we know theirs,” he said after the Mumbai nets. “They have played Under-19 cricket for Mumbai and would know the intensity we play our cricket with. They have come up the ranks and have done hard to come up the ranks and have been doing consistently well in Mumbai’s local cricket.”Their side will be bolstered by the presence of Ajit Agarkar, who has been dropped from the Indian ODI side, and Wasim Jaffer. Youngsters Abhishek Nayar and Sahil Kukreja also showed good form in Pakistan. Ramesh Powar, who was dropped from the Indian squad, is also likely to join the side.Kaif also refused to write off Mumbai. “They won their 37th Ranji title last year and they won in Karachi too. Definitely they are a good side. But we have been doing well too. We have lost only one game [since the start of the Zimbabwe tour], that too a one-dayer to Sri Lanka A and are doing well. The only department we need to work at is catching. We didn’t take our chances in the one-dayer against South Africa.”The match will also see the debut of the video-review system for the umpires. Also present at the match will be an umpiring coach – VK Ramaswamy – who will serve the dual purpose: appraisal and guidance. While the video-setup will take care of the decision-making aspect of the umpires, the umpiring coach will appraise and guide them on the match management; communication and team work; professionalism; preparation; and fitness, diet and appearance.The Rajkot surface, where South Africa A almost chased 291 last week, wears a grassy look but the captains think it will help the pace bowlers only early on and aid spin later in the match.If Mumbai can bring their famous spunk then the stage is set for a clash between two teams that are on a high. ROI, on paper, are a stronger side, but Mumbai know what it takes to be champions.Squads:Rest of India (from): Cheteshwar Pujara, Aakash Chopra, Mohammad Kaif (captain), Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary, Parthiv Patel (wk), Arjun Yadav, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Randeb Bose, Amith Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Vijaykumar YomaheshMumbai (from): Wasim Jaffer, Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Amol Muzumdar (capt), Prashant Naik, Hiken Shah, Abhishek Nayar, Omkar Gaurav (wk), Vinayak Mane, Ajit Agarkar, Aavishkar Salvi, Iqbal Abdulla, Vikrant Yeligati, Dhaval Kulkarni, Rajesh Verma

Canada 274 for 4 (Qaiser Ali 73, Kandappah 62*, Dhaniram 58*) beat Namibia 271 for 5 (Williams 132) by six wickets
ScorecardCanada’s batsmen carried them to a six-wicket win over Namibia A in a warm-up match in Windhoek.What will worry the Canadians is that none of their bowlers were able to keep the Namibians in check. Craig Williams, a 23-year-old with a first-class average of 112, was the mainstay of the innings with 132 and with the exception of 17-year-old Sean Silver, who fell for 5 in the fifth over, all of the batsmen made reasonable contributions.Canada lost Aftab Shamsudeen, run out three balls into their reply, and then Abul Jabbar for a six-ball 14, but thereafter they batted sensibly in what was a well-paced chase. Trevin Bastiampillai and Qaiser Ali put them ahead of the clock and then some all-out attack by the veteran pairing of Arvind Kandappah and Sunil Dhaniram steered them home with six overs to spare.