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BCCI president N Srinivasan has promised a fair investigation by a three-member commission, which will include a person independent of the board, into the charges against Gurunath Meiyappan, the CSK official and Srinivasan’s son-in-law who has been arrested, and the three Rajasthan Royals players allegedly involved in spot-fixing. Srinivasan said he would not be part of the commission and would not be part of its appointment or work.Srinivasan said the commission would comprise an independent member and two of the following people: IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, BCCI vice-president Arun Jaitley, BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke, board secretary Sanjay Jagdale, and former India captain and commentator Ravi Shastri. This commission, Srinivasan said, would be responsible for investigating and deciding whether Gurunath was an owner of the Super Kings franchise.Gurunath had been part of the Super Kings table at IPL auctions, at team owners meetings with other franchises, present near the team dug-out and at post-match presentation ceremonies. His Twitter account bio said he was the “team principal” and several articles on the franchise website referred to him as “owner,” as did his IPL accreditation. However, when Srinivasan was confronted by this question, his answer was evasive and ambiguous.”We have appointed a commission and in my statement I said the commission will determine this aspect also, and he [Gurunath] has been travelling with the team, he’s been enthusiastic, fine,” Srinivasan said. “What his role was, whether it transcended any rule … I have already read in a statement saying that the commission that is appointed will also deal with it. So I don’t want to say anything because there is an inquiry commission that will go into it. I am not going to sit and explain to you what his role was. India Cements, I understand, has already issued a statement on what his role was and what his role was not … So I don’t think it is necessary for me to go further on this.”When questioned again on Gurunath’s involvement with the Super Kings, Srinivasan said: “He [Gurunath] did not have any role at all. In fact, he never visited the office of the CSK. But he would go, he was enthusiastic. Let the commission find out. You asked me a question, I gave you a reply.”Given that two of the three members of the commission are going to be people with close links to the BCCI, Srinivasan was then asked about its ability to act objectively. His response was indignant. “You cannot presume that people in the board cannot act fairly or properly,” he said. “That is the implication of your query, which I do not agree with. I am not going to be involved but there will be an independent person so it’s not like the board only will be involved, there will be an independent person.”Srinivasan was speaking in Kolkata, four hours before the start of the IPL final. He began addressing a packed room of reporters by saying the last few days had been difficult for him as a father and father-in-law, but said his actions would be nothing but professional.”I sit here as president of the BCCI and put aside all personal feelings. I can assure you that I will not shirk from my duty however difficult it may be,” Srinivasan said. “The BCCI will act without fear or favour to investigate, and if the circumstances warrant, punish any player, match official, team management or franchise that have breached BCCI or IPL regulations.”The disciplinary procedure under the operational rules shall be initiated and a commission, including at least one member who is entirely independent of the BCCI, will be formed to adjudicate whether Mr Gurunath is in breach of operational rules … the management of the other franchise Rajasthan Royals will also be subject to the same procedure.”I am not part of this commission. I will not play any role in its appointment, deliberations or decisions. There has been a lot of media comment on clause 11.3 of the franchise agreement and whether Mr. Gurunath is an owner of the franchise. It is for this commission to look into this. The BCCI is very concerned by the allegations that have been made against the IPL, whether those relate to betting or spot fixing. As I have said on a number of occasions, the BCCI will act swiftly and sternly if the allegations are proven.”Srinivasan went on to stress on the principles of natural justice, that people are innocent until proven guilty, and accused the media of overstepping boundaries in their reporting of the issue. “Persons who have been suspended by the BCCI, known defaulters, fugitives from the Indian justice system and other vested interests keen to discredit me and the BCCI, have indulged in a smear campaign in the last few days. The unfair attack has been relentless. The TV news channels have been carrying unverifiable statements devoid of truth.”An illustration of this type of news would be that there is going to be a divorce within the BCCI. I wish to ensure the cricketing world that this is completely untrue and that there is unity in the BCCI. I have not been asked by anybody to resign. To the contrary, my support is complete, and I refuse to yield to unfair and motivated attacks. I intend to continue my duties as president of the BCCI. It was trial by media for me, you know. If you saw the newspapers, TV channels the only thing they were discussing was my resignation.”

Danish Kaneria has lost his ECB disciplinary appeal against two corruption convictions, although he could still have the length of his life ban from cricket reduced. The Pakistan legspinner was found guilty last year of inducing his former Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield to take part in spot-fixing and bringing the game into disrepute.The ECB announced that Kaneria’s case had been rejected, although a further appeal against the sanction and costs will be heard at a later date. As well as a lifetime suspension, costs of £100,000 were imposed on Kaneria. His lawyer Farogh Naseem said they would continue to pursue an appeal through the High Court in London, once they had received the panel’s written decision.”The decision is disappointing, we are just waiting for the reasons behind it,” Kaneria told Sky Sports. “As soon as we know the reasons, we will take further steps.”Westfield, who was compelled to give evidence on behalf of the ECB, will also have an appeal against the length of his five-year ban assessed when the panel reconvenes, according to availability.In a statement, the ECB’s chief executive David Collier, said: “I welcome wholeheartedly the independent panel’s decision to dismiss Mr Kaneria’s appeal and uphold the earlier decision made by the cricket discipline commission last summer. I should like to thank the appeal panel for their time and diligence in hearing this case and I congratulate the ACCESS unit for its work in support of the successful prosecution of this corrupt activity. Corruption has no place in sport and ECB will continue to be vigilant and adopt a zero tolerance approach in this area.”Kaneria has continued to dispute his involvement in the episode, which saw Westfield jailed in February 2012 after pleading guilty to a charge of accepting or obtaining corrupt payments. He admitted to agreeing to concede a set number of runs from an over in a 2009 Pro40 match for Essex against Durham and named Kaneria, who is Pakistan’s most successful spinner in Tests, as the facilitator.As well as serving time in prison, Westfield was given a five-year suspension from the game, although he can play club cricket after three. He has, however, complained about his lack of support and initially refused to appear as a witness for the ECB at Kaneria’s appeal. Westfield’s absence could have undermined the ECB’s case – with Kaneria’s legal team threatening to pursue damages – and he was eventually forced to comply after a high-court order.Because of an agreement between boards affiliated to the ICC, the ECB ban is effective throughout world cricket and the PCB previously agreed to uphold it.

Yorkshire 332 for 5 (Rashid 120*, Ballance 107) v Somerset
ScorecardAccording to Adil Rashid, he and Yorkshire have “come to an agreement”. That was something Ajmal Shahzad could never claim. Shahzad was packed off for what was perceived as a headstrong insistence on his right to be a free spirit. There is reason to anticipate that Rashid can write a happier ending.To keep faith with their talented production line of Asian cricketers, Yorkshire need that happy ending as much as Rashid does.”We have come to an agreement.” How many times have such words been uttered in Yorkshire cricket over the decades only for them to be worthless by the next morning? Perhaps they were more uncompromising times. There was something in Rashid’s unbeaten 120 on a gloriously sunny Headingley day that promised much, the conviction of his crouching, thou-shall-not-pass defence; the rasp of his cuts; his wristy working of the leg side, a most un-Yorkshire skill that one.Two England selectors were at Headingley, Geoff Miller and James Whitaker. Their interest will have primarily been in Gary Ballance, Rashid having long disappeared off their radar as his command of his legspin faltered, but they could not fail to be impressed by the sight of an allrounder seemingly more at peace with his game. A career that has involved three England tours and an experimental use as an attacking Twenty20 bowler might one day – although not imminently – have a second coming.”Yorkshire Are Ruining Me” was the headline last month, as Rashid complained that his captain, Andrew Gale, did not understand legspin, that he needed more faith in his ability if he was to express himself and that if he had another year like 2012 he would be “dropping down, down, down and gone”. The irony was that he had made the comments in January and by the time they became public knowledge, a better understanding was already in place.”Everything’s sorted,” Rashid said. “We’re all getting along nicely. This season my confidence has been quite high so I’m looking to carry that on and perform day in, day out. You have your good days and bad days but I’m in an okay place.

Yorkshire turns out for Yorkshire

Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s new chief executive, happily accepted that it was a godsend that both Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow will, in all likelihood, make their first Test appearances at Headingley against New Zealand later this month and give Yorkshire a chance to make a modest indentation in their £19m debts.
A cold winter has left the Headingley Test still 25% below budget but the presence of Root and Bairstow is quickening interest for tickets in a match which the chairman and outgoing chief executive, Colin Graves, accepted needed “a kick up the backside”.
Arthur, who has taken up the role of Yorkshire’s chief executive less than five months after he fell victim to a purge by the Kuwaiti owners of Nottingham Forest FC, preferred to put it differently. “Yorkshire is a unique brand and to have Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow in the frame is a fantastic boost,” he said. “By supporting England, it could not be clearer that the public will be supporting Yorkshire cricket.”

“I was looking for a bit of freedom to play my game. It was about the fact that you know your game and you have been playing long enough to know what to do. It was about all about communicating with the captain and the coach and coming to an agreement.”Part of the problem was that when it came to Yorkshire stereotypes, Rashid could compete with the best in his ability to be monosyllabic. Such introversion hardly seemed the natural accompaniment for a player yearning to attack, whether he had a ball or a bat in his hand.At 25, he is looking – and sounding – more confident in himself. Batting conditions had not entirely eased when Rashid came in at 89 for 4 but he shared in a record Yorkshire fifth-wicket stand at Headingley of 207 in 62 overs with Ballance, whose own hundred, a pugnacious affair ended when he fell lbw to a full delivery from Steve Kirby, played a major part in reshaping the match by the close. This looks to be another belting batting surface and Yorkshire will be well aware that Derbyshire made 475 in their first innings here last week and lost.Batting Rashid at No. 6 should be part of the New Deal. “I haven’t batted at six for a long time. It was nice to have that responsibility,” he said. This was his fifth first-class century and his first for four years, an indication of lost time.Somerset had a fruitful morning. When Rashid came in, four wickets had fallen by the 26th over, Phil Jacques had just been pouched by Marcus Trescothick at first slip and, if Trescothick had held a low catch when Jaques was 22, the situation could have been direr. The first three wickets had fallen to wicketkeeping catches by Jos Buttler, the best of them a diving effort to dismiss Adam Lyth.Rashid and Ballance proved that the stability which Joe Root had brought to Yorkshire’s season with the two most domineering innings of his life – back-to-back hundreds to drive home victories against Durham and Derbyshire – had not necessarily departed with him. Somerset’s day became wearier by the hour and long before the close the disposition of the Yorkshire members was once again almost as sunny as the weather.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir has asked his side to play “fearless cricket,” ahead of the opening game of the IPL 2013 season, against Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens. Knight Riders are the defending champions, having won the title in 2012 after several poor seasons.”We’ve got the monkey off our back. Now is the time to go out there and play fearless cricket,” Gambhir said on the eve of the match. He said Knight Riders would not be affected by Brendon McCullum’s absence, after the New Zealand batsman suffered a hamstring problem, saying there was “a lot of quality in the dressing room”.Gambhir also said his focus was on performing for his franchise and insisted the IPL was not just a comeback platform for the national side. He had been dropped for the first two Tests against Australia and then missed out on selection for the next two Tests due to an illness. “I don’t play for individuals but for a team called KKR,” Gambhir said. “I am a part of the team which is the defending champion. I don’t see IPL as my comeback platform.”Daredevils team mentor TA Sekar was happy with the performances that Irfan Pathan and Yadav had shown in a few matches prior to the IPL. Yadav picked up a five-wicket haul against Odisha in a domestic T20 tournament recently, while Irfan also got his fitness back. “I think bowlers today are very intelligent and they know how to keep themselves fit,” Sekar said, adding that McCullum’s absence had leveled the playing field between the teams.Delhi Daredevils’ coach Eric Simons was happy with the fitness of his bowlers ahead of the game against Knight Riders. “There are a few teams who are struggling with injuries,” Simons said. “But one of the positives is that they are coming from an injury lay-off and they all are fresh. Umesh Yadav bowled really well at the nets. Hopefully that`s something that would go in our favour.”While admitting the absence of Kevin Pietersen and Jesse Ryder was disappointing, Simons said he was happy with the trade that brought in Ashish Nehra in place of New Zealand’s Ross Taylor.”This year there`s a lot of innovation in the team selection,” Simons said. “We have more options, having learnt the lessons. We have traded well. We have got a lot of variations now.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMS Dhoni and Virat Kohli tore the Australian attack to shreds in the first 45 minutes after lunch•BCCI

Spectators entered the M Chidambaram Stadium earnestly hoping to see a Sachin Tendulkar century. They were to leave it chanting the name of the unbeaten double-centurion MS Dhoni, after watching one of the most brutal and influential innings the ground has witnessed.Crashing and caressing his highest score, Dhoni tilted the first Test firmly India’s way after three days in Chennai. In a startling display of power and poise that amounted to a six-hour celebration of Dhoni’s inimitable technique, Australia’s bowlers, fielders and captain Michael Clarke were humbled. India lead by 135, but the psychological effect of such an innings is bound to be weightier than that, much as Tendulkar flattened Mark Taylor’s team on this ground in 1998.So supremely did Dhoni play, barely offering a chance, that he overshadowed a perfectly constructed century by Virat Kohli, who proved an ideal partner for his captain. Australia’s worst fears of subcontinental conditions – an unresponsive pitch, neutered fast bowlers and uncontrollable Indian batsmen – were realised as Kohli and Dhoni tore the attack to shreds in the first 45 minutes after lunch.It was a passage that sapped Australia, its after-effects notable in the final session when a contest once finely balanced now looked almost as lopsided as that between Dhoni’s top and bottom hands for control of the bat. The debutant and No. 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar played the pesky tail-end role with aplomb, and by the close had taken part in a record, unbroken ninth-wicket stand for India against Australia. In all, 144 runs were ransacked after tea.Pattinson was clearly his side’s best and most threatening bowler, but Nathan Lyon’s three wickets came at far too great a cost, and the rest were unable to make anything more than the most fleeting passing impact. Added to the tourists’ concerns was the sight of Clarke stretching his back after a bowling spell; the draining day was elongated by a tardy over rate.There had been immediate evidence of Australian adjustments in the field when play resumed. Pattinson and Siddle bowled without a slip but a tight ring field, denying the batsmen boundaries and homing in on the stumps with the odd short ball thrown in.After taking an over or so to settle, Pattinson and Siddle charged in for a sustained period of high-quality bowling on a pitch that gave them nothing, only a hint of reverse swing aiding their cause. So tight was their work that four consecutive maidens ticked by at one point, Pattinson holding his head in his hands when he let the sequence lapse with a Tendulkar single behind square leg.This outstanding partnership was to be exhausted without reward, but Lyon soon became its chief beneficiary. In his first over replacing Siddle, Lyon had Kohli blinking as two deliveries landing in the rough behaved with bipolar variation – the first a grubber outside off stump, the second a jumper that narrowly evaded short leg. Next over Tendulkar stretched to drive a nicely looped offbreak that drifted, dipped to land in a footmark, and spun back to take an inside edge then clip leg stump. Lyon’s joy was unrestrained, but Pattinson and Siddle deserved plenty of credit.Dhoni arrived with India becalmed. He responded with hard hands and aggressive shots, while Kohli heeded his captain’s example and pulled a Lyon long hop into the crowd beyond midwicket to help them regain their voice. Boundaries began to leak again where previously none could be found, and the 50 stand was raised at better than four an over.Lunch came and went, and the arrival of the second new ball was the signal for Dhoni to launch the most brazen of batting assaults. Taking advantage of a harder projectile more waywardly delivered by Australia’s bowlers, Dhoni’s blade flashed in the afternoon sun as boundaries piled up. Kohli reached his century in the middle of this period when Pattinson drifted onto his pads.Moises Henriques’ return to the attack had Dhoni smearing him contemptuously into the stands at wide long-off, and seven overs with the new ball had given up no fewer than 54 runs when Lyon returned. At once Kohli’s ambition outstripped his prudence, and Starc claimed a fine overhead catch at mid-on. Ravindra Jadeja made a careful start, and faced a trio of lbw appeals as Pattinson and Starc extracted the sharpest reverse swing of the match so far.Pattinson’s composure appeared to be slipping with each unsuccessful shout, but minutes before tea, his move around the wicket had Jadeja bowled shouldering arms. Dhoni remained, however, conserving his wicket in the lead-up to the interval then advancing again as the evening session commenced.Others fell by the wayside – R Ashwin edged Lyon onto the stumps via his boot, and Harbhajan Singh gifted Henriques a first Test wicket with an unseemly waft that did not impress Dhoni – but Bhuvneshwar provided sturdy support. Dhoni toyed with the strike, taking singles at times and spurning them at others, and invariably connecting cleanly when he deigned to swing for the fences.Australia’s bowlers and fielders gradually wilted, Ed Cowan missing a tough chance from Bhuvneshwar while others misfielded, and Pattinson’s pace dipped as steadily as Lyon’s bite. All the while, the lead grew from awkward to match-defining dimensions. Such a possibility had seemed so unlikely at the moment Tendulkar fell.

A couple of hours after Australia had won their sixth Women’s World Cup, three of their players walked onto the outfield of Brabourne Stadium and lay down in the sea of confetti that covered the ground following their celebrations. Seeing that, an excited Holly Ferling raced towards them from the dressing room, her speed matching that of her run-up. She poured still more confetti on a team-mate, clicked photographs and then leaped onto the back of another team-mate who carried her all the way to the dressing room.Seventeen-year-old Ferling, the “baby of the team” in her own words, had been in tears before the start of the final when informed by her idol, Ellyse Perry, who’d missed the Super Sixes stage with injury, that she was replacing her for the big game. Overcoming her disappointment, Ferling had hustled drinks to the middle with all the enthusiasm of the teenager she is, feeling “more nervous” than the batters themselves. She’d hesitated to walk across the TV cameras stationed just outside the boundary rope, stopping to gingerly ask for permission from the cameramen. She’d heard people calling out her name, posed for pictures, and signed autographs, all the while “pinching” herself to confirm all this wasn’t the dream of a “star-struck” girl.A day earlier, Ferling couldn’t stop laughing while speaking. She was sharing space with women such as Perry, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Lisa Sthalekar. It had been an “unreal” 12 months for Ferling, in which she’d gone from playing club cricket with her younger brother to delighting audiences on the biggest stage with her pace, her bounce, her vivacity and her joyous celebrations.Ferling’s goal this year was to make her state debut for Queensland. Little did she know what was in store. “I will never forget this,” Ferling said with sparkling eyes and a permanent grin on her face. “I was playing age-group stuff. I was playing my grand final for my A-grade team [in club cricket]. I was Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year [the first woman to win the award]. I went to Sri Lanka [with the World Twenty20 squad], made the Shooting Stars group [the junior national side]. It is an absolute honour … so hard to put into words. This is something you only dream about, to grow from making my state debut to making my international debut in months.”I am really very star-struck to be honest. It was the time I went to Sri Lanka, I had seen some of these girls on television, I hadn’t actually played with any of them. I didn’t know what to expect. I was like, ‘I am training alongside my heroes, sharing a room with them.'”Ferling said all she had been told to do in the tournament was to run in and bowl fast, and credited her use of the bouncer to growing up playing alongside men, especially her brother. “I do love my bouncer. I worked on it playing against the men, having a variation when they are coming at me. I definitely wanted to have it against my brother if he ever annoyed me. He is over six foot now and he is learning to bowl them back at me. It fires me up.”He plays for the same club as me. I was an opening bowler and he was an opening batter. It worked out well until he started getting stronger and older and started hitting me. Now he is bowling even quicker. I have had to improve my batting otherwise I am going to get hit. He likes the short one as well.”Ferling obviously shares a close relationship with her brother, who told people at the pub he works in to go home and watch his sister play for Australia in the World Cup. In the team, Ferling’s guide was the captain Jodie Fields. “She is my club captain and my state captain as well, someone I know really well and trust.”At 17, Ferling had the chance to witness how “fanatical” people are about the game in India. She found it “incredible” they knew her name and wanted her autograph. Fielding in the deep, she would struggle to hear her captain’s instructions amid the crowd’s cries in Cuttack.She relates all this without pausing for breath, with the infectious zest of a teenager who’s having the experience of her life and can’t wait to tell it all to whoever is willing to listen. Holly Ferling, 17, World Cup winner. “Incredible” indeed.

England Women are heavily reliant on their premier quick bowler Katherine Brunt and do not possess a strong bowling unit, says Mithali Raj, the India Women captain. The hosts will take on the defending champions in the biggest clash in Group A of the Women’s World Cup at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, whose batting-friendly pitches have opened up the tournament, Raj believes.England were shocked by unfancied Sri Lanka a day ago at the same ground, going down by one wicket in a last-ball finish. Their batsmen recovered from a poor start to post 238, but their bowlers could not contain Sri Lanka, especially the rampaging Eshani Kaushalya, something that has encouraged Raj and India. “I think England have got a very good batting line-up but I don’t think they are very strong in their bowling attack other than Katherine Brunt,” Raj said. “They heavily depend on her for the breakthroughs.”We have played England last year as well and most of our batsmen are very comfortable playing their bowlers but then again, I would say tomorrow is a different day. We are expecting all kinds of situations and we are prepared for anything.” England have won seven and lost 17 ODIs to India in India.Raj praised the Brabourne groundsmen for preparing a flat, “concrete-like” wicket, saying it had narrowed the gap between a top side such as England and a weak side such as Sri Lanka, whose successful chase of 238 was the highest ever in the Women’s World Cup. “I did tell you the other day that the tournament was open because each and every team is scoring heavily, more than 200-plus, and they are able to chase, so definitely the tournament is open after yesterday’s upset,” Raj said.”I give a lot of credit to the groundsmen for preparing a very batting-friendly wicket. It really doesn’t give the bowlers much but the batters have a lot to score on and unless you make a mistake you can’t get out on such a track. It is hard and like a concrete wicket.”Now teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan or South Africa seem a lot confident because they keep playing many games among themselves and when they come into the World Cup, getting a track like this gives them a lot of confidence.”While India’s opening win against West Indies came under lights, their match against England will be a day game, starting at 9 am local time. The early start would not make too much difference, Raj felt. “I don’t think there is a lot to get adjusted to because this part of the country is humid. It’s not real winter like what we get to see up north where there is the dew factor or the moisture is heavily in the air. But having said that, because the matches start at 9 am there will be a little bit of assistance for the bowlers which I saw in yesterday’s game. Other than that I think the wicket is behaving beautifully in both the innings.Raj said the morning start would not change the approach of the India batsmen given the nature of the pitch. “I would definitely tell my girls to be very positive and very confident. I think playing a day game will not affect us much because what we saw yesterday was that the ball was not doing much, [except] maybe the initial four-five overs, but other than that I think it was the same throughout the day.”There was a lot of support for the hosts against West Indies from the small, but noisy, crowd. Poonam Raut, the India opener who hails from Mumbai and made a half-century that day, was a favourite, with her family and friends cheering every run she scored. “You feel good when there is a match on your home ground,” Raut said. “There is a bit of pressure but it feels good that there are supporters for you. I am glad they came to see the match. And they had good wishes for me and had expectations which I fulfilled. I hope that I can play the tournament like that for them and the country.”

Hampshire have pulled off a coup by signing Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan spin bowler, for the later stages of the 2013 season.Ajmal will join Hampshire during August and September – a period when George Bailey, their main overseas signing, is likely to be involved in Australia’s T20 internationals against England, a series in which Hampshire’s left-arm spinner Danny Briggs may also be involved.Ajmal will be expected to energise Hampshire’s late-season promotion challenge on West End’s spin-friendly surfaces after they narrowly failed to gain promotion from Division Two in 2012.Hampshire’s manager, Giles White said; “As things stand, it is possible that both George and Danny could be involved in the ODI series between England and Australia so the availability of Saeed for August and September is a great fit.”He is one of the best bowlers in the world in all forms of the game and will add real quality to the squad at the business end of the season.”Ajmal has taken 122 wickets for Pakistan in 23 Tests at an average of 27.09, including 24 in only three Tests against England in the UAE earlier in the year.This is Ajmal’s second short stint in county cricket. He spent a time at Worcestershire in 2011, taking 17 wickets in three first-class matches, 11 wickets in four List A matches and 16 in eight Twenty20 matches.

Shane Watson’s Australian Test captaincy debut on Boxing Day is now a “distinct possibility” following Michael Clarke’s suffering of a hamstring strain in the first Test against Sri Lanka, according to the national coach Mickey Arthur.While Clarke led his team in the field on the fourth day and after scans and treatment overnight will do so again on the fifth, his barely mobile state was plainly clear, leaving him in considerable doubt to be fit in time for the biggest date on the Australian cricket calendar. Arthur confirmed this, and mentioned the former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin among a quartet of batsmen in the queue to replace Clarke.”It is a distinct possibility, it would be a really good challenge for Shane,” Arthur said. “We’ll learn a lot about Shane and his leadership ability, I’m confident he will come through it very well. If it does materialise, it will be a really good opportunity for him.”That batter, whoever it is, would have to be part of our extended squad. There are possibilities. [Brad] Haddin’s one of them, [Rob] Quiney’s one of them and certainly Usman Khawaja’s very much in the frame. Alex Doolan has played well also.”Arthur said Clarke was resolved to stay out in the field so long as the Test needed to be won, and having taken two wickets on the fourth evening Australia look in fair shape to take a 1-0 series lead on the final day.”He will get all the treatment he needs, he will get that after hours tonight and he will get that tomorrow between breaks,” Arthur said. “You would have to cut Michael’s leg off for him not to be out there. He certainly wants to marshal the troops and he wants to be there if hopefully sometime we can clinch a win. We don’t know exactly the extent of the injury just yet. We will wait for the scan and once we have the scan we will be able to assess.”Arthur also confirmed that Ben Hilfenhaus’ side injury was serious enough to rule him out of the Boxing Day Test and in all probability the New Year’s Test in Sydney. He nominated Jackson Bird and Nathan Coulter-Nile as the two men most likely to join the squad in Melbourne, as Australia’s list of injured fast bowlers has now extended to seven.”All I can say is we’ve had a list of bowlers leading into our summer, and we’re well down the list at the moment,” Arthur said. “But it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity for a couple of those guys. The names that have been on everyone’s lips are guys like Jackson Bird, it could be Nathan Coulter-Nile, and that will form part of the discussions we have tonight.”

Scorecard
Stunning allround displays from James Faulkner and Evan Gulbis lifted Tasmania to a comprehensive defeat of Western Australia in a low-scoring domestic limited overs match in Burnie.Batting first after winning the toss, the Tigers slid quickly to 6 for 51 before Faulkner and Gulbis united for a stand of 114 that helped take the hosts to what proved a more than adequate 8 for 192.WA’s pursuit was in trouble from the moment Gulbis burst through Shaun Marsh’s defences with the tally at 17. Gulbis and Faulkner shared eight wickets between them to reel in a bonus point for Tasmania and consign the Warriors’ new coach Justin Langer to his third consecutive loss since taking the job.