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A recent magazine survey suggested that 41% of Australian men would give up sex for a month if it meant their cricketers would regain the Ashes. This time next week, that period of abstinence could finally be at an end. Australia are 2-0 up with three to play, and need one more victory in tomorrow’s third Test at Perth to ensure the return of the Urn.Ricky Ponting, however, has taken an even more drastic vow than the readers of Zoo magazine. Mindful of all the hype and hysteria that consumed their campaign last time around, he has banned all talk of the Ashes from Australia’s dressing-room. Victory in the series will be a byproduct of victory in this match, he told reporters on the eve of the Test, and not the other way around.”That’s not what this week is about for our team,” said Ponting. “It’s about being ready for tomorrow morning, and playing better cricket than we did last week and at Brisbane. As soon as you start looking too far ahead in this game it can turn back and bite you, as we’ve seen in the past. The Ashes won’t be mentioned about the group at all.”We’re going out to win the game, and win the game as best we can,” he added. “But winning the Ashes will be a result of that, not something that’s going to motivate us to play well. We’re just going to have a relaxing afternoon and turn up tomorrow with a great attitude for the Test match.”Relaxation is the key for all the Australians, but particularly so for one man. Andrew Symonds, Ponting confirmed, will return at No. 6 for his 11th Test, with Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke bumping up the order to No.4 and 5 respectively. “I’m confident in him,” said Ponting. “I’ve watched him closely and he’s extremely excited to be around this group. He might have thought his Test career had passed him by a few months ago, but he feels better about his game than ever before.”Symonds averages 19 with the bat and 45 with the ball in his ten previous Tests, the last of which was against South Africa at Johannesburg in April, and admitted on Monday that he had been hampered by anxiety in the past. “What Symmo brings to the team is excitement and energy,” added Ponting. “We want him to have that around the group, but he needs to keep his emotions inside in check. Once he gets out there in the middle, he’ll no doubt be nervous, but he’ll have learned a bit from last time.”

Symonds was the pick of Queensland’s attack in their recent match against Western Australia at the WACA. He bowled medium-pacers in the first innings and offspin in the second, and Ponting predicted that his versatility would be a great asset to the Test team, especially when the Fremantle Doctor blows into town after lunch. “Apparently his medium-pacers nipped about and he was a handful,” said Ponting. “We’re going to need a few guys to bowl a number of overs up into the breeze, to give Shane and Glenn a bit of a rest, and Symmo gives us that.”Medium-pacers, spinners … it’s a far cry from the traditional pace-bowling paradise at the WACA, a fact that Ponting lamented, for all that Australia possess, in Warne, the best possible weapon for the new conditions. “It’s not good for the game if all our grounds lose character,” said Ponting. “This wicket is not as fast and bouncy as in the past, so I think it will turn and turn early. But whether it turns quickly, which is what Shane likes, we’ll have to wait and see. But in the form he’s in at the moment, you wouldn’t want to be facing him on a bit of glass.”Warne needs just six more wickets to become the first bowler to take 700 in Tests, a statistical skyscraper that puts into perspective Monty Panesar’s probable first appearance of the series. Andrew Flintoff was characteristically guarded when asked about the make-up of his team, but Ponting was already planning a hot reception for the new face.”He’ll be under pressure and no doubt he’ll be putting pressure on himself,” said Ponting. “If he plays he’ll be a bit nervous, and that’ll dictate the way he bowls. He might bowl quick and spear them in early on, so we will be very positive against him, try to put it right back on him and see how he copes. We’ve got a lot of left-handers, and they’ll enjoy the balls spinning into them.””Monty has started his international career very well,” added Flintoff. “He’s bowledwell, he’s got fine players out and he is someone who works really hard athis game and he’s improving all the time.” It was hardly a glowing endorsement of his credentials, but that is England’s guarded way at present.

Flintoff was hardly any more effusive about his friend Steve Harmison, whose woeful lack of form has been a key reason for England’s struggles in the first two Tests. “Everyone is staking a claim and everyone wants to play in this Test,” he said, when asked if Harmison was certain to start. “The lads have all worked hard and today all the bowlers have run in and hit the nets hard.”As Alec Stewart pointed out over the weekend, Harmison is a matchwinner, and therefore he has to play in a must-win match. But until the team-sheet is unveiled tomorrow morning before the toss, England’s bowling attack will remain one of sport’s most guarded mysteries.The likeliest change is Panesar for Ashley Giles, although that would completely contradict Duncan Fletcher’s first law of team balance. Alternatively they could field two spinners, with James Anderson – the pick of the bowlers in the warm-up match – missing out.A third and less trumpeted alternative would be the introduction of Sajid Mahmood for Anderson – Fletcher’s team balance would be maintained, with an extra dose of incisiveness thrown in for good measure. “These selection issues crop up,” shrugged Flintoff. “For four days at Adelaide it wasn’t really an issue and then for one-and-a-half hours of almost crazy cricket everyone’s looking at the side.”For four days that side performed and performed well I thought,” he added. “It wasn’t really an issue apart from at 12 o’clock on the Tuesday at Adelaide. But this Perth Test is huge. We’ve got to believe we can get back into the series.” If for no other reason than to keep Australia’s population growth in check.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Glenn McGrath.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Sajid Mahmood, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Monty Panesar.

Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh’s captain, has called for the appointment of a full-time coach ahead of his side’s tour to New Zealand at the end of the year.”I feel we desperately need a permanent coach, whoever it may be, Shaun [Williams] or anyone else. There is a big difference between a permanent and temporary coach. You can’t expect teamwork with a temporary solution,” Ashraful told the .The Bangladesh Cricket Board has been looking for a national coach since Dav Whatmore refused a two-year contract extension after spending four years with the team. Interim coach Shaun Williams, who took over in June, was at the helm for a tour of Sri Lanka and the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. Neither of the two tours was successful for Bangladesh and the strategies of the team management have been criticised, especially after some haphazard batting in the Twenty20.National selector and former captain Akram Khan, who was part of the team management during the last two trips, also stressed on the need of a full-time coach. “I was only part of the selection process. I wasn’t involved in game planning,” he said. “Actually the captain and coach have the big role behind the planning. What I want to say is that we should have come out from the short-term solution immediately about the coach.”However, he expressed his satisfaction over the Twenty20 performance. “I think our performance was not bad because we fulfilled our target but the problem is that we were not consistent enough in any form of the game,” he said. “What I felt was that our team couldn’t play their natural game with the expectations getting higher.”Chief selector Rafiqul Alam also expressed his satisfaction over Bangladesh’s performance in South Africa. “The batting problems might remain in the Twenty20 format but what is most important is that nobody took us lightly. I believe if anybody is good in the five-day game then he will be okay in any format,” he said. “We have to shift our focus to the New Zealand trip and I think this year’s National Cricket League will be crucial for the players because we are trying many things to make it worthy including the financial encouragement.”Rafiqul also believed that the team needs a permanent coach. “A permanent coach is a very important part but as well as that, we have to find the right man for the job and in that case you have to compromise on time.”Responding to allegations that Ashraful had attitude problems during the Twenty20 and did not listen to anybody during the tour, Rabeed Imam, Bangladesh’s media manager, told Cricinfo: “Ashraful is a proactive skipper and he takes initiatives. He is confident enough to take decisions he feels are right and I don’t see any justifiable reason why some people should be critical of that. He’s also the senior-most pro in the side and has more experience at this level than any other player in the Twenty 20 team.”He has excellent working relationship with the coach, coaching staff and selectors and they can vouch for that. The players also find him easily approachable as most are his age or near about.”

Umar Gul is hoping to land a one-month stint with Glamorgan during the ongoing county season and before the start of Pakistan’s tour to England in the summer.Gul said he would play for the club if the deal is negotiated successfully and he gets clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “I have been approached by Glamorgan for this season and if I get permission from the PCB then I would be delighted to play in the English season,” Gul told AFP.Gul only recently returned to international cricket, during the ODI series against India in February, having been out injured since March 2004. In his last Test appearance before a serious stress fracture of the back almost ended his career, Gul took five wickets against India at Lahore, helping his side to a famous win.Understandably, Gul has been inconsistent since his comeback, though he has produced a couple of impressive spells against India and in Sri Lanka. In his time away, others such as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Asif have emerged as pace bowling options.Gul added, “I spoke to Bob Woolmer who has suggested that I play for one month for the county and join the Pakistan team if I am required for the England tour.” If he does sign up, Gul will join fellow countrymen Asif, Rana and Mushtaq Ahmed, the leg-spinner, on the circuit. And he will hope to emulate Waqar Younis, who enjoyed a successful stint with the county in the late nineties.Pakistan tour England between June and September for four Tests and five one-day games and a preliminary squad for the pre-tour training camp is due to be announced on Wednesday.

Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) women cricketers defied St Lucia – and the rains – to lift the West Indies Women Cricket Federation regional tournament league title in Barbados. Stacy Ann King and Anisa Mohammed played star roles in the victory at the Passage Road Ground. King hit a robust half-century to take T&T’s total to 213 in 48.3 overs, before Mohammed wrecked St Lucia’s innings, which ended 33 runs short of the revised target.St Lucia followed the tournament trend by winning the toss and asking T&T to bat. King responded by blasting 83, and T&T also had useful contributions from Devika Singh, who scored 22, captain Marissa Aguillera (17), as well as Gaitri Seetahal, who remained unbeaten on 24. Naralee Cooper took 4 for 35 off ten overs for St Lucia while her sister, Roylin Cooper, took 2 for 33.In reply, St Lucia stumbled to 49 for 3 after 14 overs, when rain interrupted the innings. Aguillera and Co would have been hoping desperately for the weather to clear, with the other two fixtures of the day – Barbados v Grenada and Jamaica v St Vincent and the Grenadines – being washed out.T&T had already failed to complete two matches due to inclement weather. In their first outing against Jamaica, T&T batted but were awarded a point after rain flooded the outfield. A day later, T&T were unable to take the field after the weather ruined their match against Barbados. But with successive victories against defending champs St Vincent and Grenada, they were level on points with Barbados going into today’s match. The bad weather meant only a win would ensure them the title. This time, the elements were on their side.St Lucia resumed their innings and were still in contention to pull off an upset at 116 for 6. However, Mohammed’s figures of 5 for 26, and Gaitri Seetahal’s 2 for 26, made sure there was no repeat of 2004, when T&T narrowly lost out on the title to hosts St Vincent, after suffering two rained-out matches. St Lucia folded for 138, chasing the revised target of 171. Swaylyn Williams top scored with 30 while West Indies batsman Nadine George (22) and Purner Thomas, who scored 20, also gave good support.T&T and Barbados will both enjoy a bye today, while the other four teams play for the other two semi-final spots in the knockout phase of the competition.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee is making meaningful changes to the Premier domestic competition to improve quality and to make it more professional and competitive.However, the 2006-07 season which was due to start on Wednesday (November 1) was delayed because of bad weather and all matches scheduled for that day were postponed. The tournament will now begin on November 4 subject to confirmation from the tournament committee when it meets on Tuesday. “We have looked at the practical side and, based on various factors, decided to postpone the matches fixed for November 1,” said Basil Perera, the tournament committee chairman. “There is no point continuing with the matches knowing very well that the bad weather we had in the past few days has made it virtually impossible for any team to prepare itself and for the grounds to be fit for play.”Fourteen clubs will participate in the Premier limited-overs tournament and the three-day Premier league, which is scheduled to start on November 10. The league tournament this season is vital to all the clubs because the bottom four clubs face relegation to Tier B of the competition for the next season as SLC wants to cut down the number of clubs to ten in Tier A from the 2007-08 season.To ensure there won’t be any changes to the structure of the competition, as has been the practice in the past when different office-bearers take over the cricket administration, SLC are hoping to gazette the new format where Tiers A and B of the Premier tournament will feature not more than ten teams each. “We hope to get the format gazetted within the next two or three months,” said K Mathivanan, the SLC secretary, at a press briefing held at SLC headquarters.”By next season [2006-07] we are hoping to make the Premier fully professional so that there will be cricketers who will be making a livelihood out of cricket alone,” he said. Mathivanan whose company East West Marketing has nearly fifty cricketers under their employment, explained that with the unstable economy in the country’s private sector, establishments were increasingly reluctant to employ cricketers who are rarely at their workplaces.”Times have changed when private sector companies employed cricketers for their cricketing ability alone. That is why we are trying to create a path for the cricketers to sustain them throughout the year,” said Mathivanan. “The majority of them will play league cricket in England from April to September and then return to Sri Lanka for the domestic season. This way they will be playing cricket throughout the year like professionals.”A total of 105 cricketers from Sri Lanka are expected to play in the English leagues next season. Further the SLC has undertaken the task of improving the status of three campus grounds, Colombo, Kelaniya and Katubedde to enable Premier clubs without a home ground to practise and play their matches at nominal cost.Badureliya SC, Chilaw Marians CC, Ragama CC and Saracens SC are the Premier clubs without a home ground. Mathivanan stated that the Kurunegala Welagedera Stadium and Badulla esplanade were already under the auspices of SLC after they had signed a 33-year lease with the respective municipal councils. He said steps are being taken to similarly bring De Soysa Stadium in Moratuwa also under the SLC so that it could be used exclusively for cricket.The Premier limited-over tournament groups:Group A: Bloomfield, BRC, CCC, Tamil Union, Sebastianites, Panadura SC, Ragama CC.Group B: NCC, SSC, Chilaw Marians CC, Colts, Moors SC, Badureliya SC, Saracens SC.

Left-arm spinner Raymond Price bagged six wickets for Midlands as Matabeleland took a commendable lead on the third day of the Logan Cup match between the two provinces at Queens Sports Club on Sunday.Matabeleland took a lead of 390 runs after closing at 276-8 off 72 overs in their second innings. This was after they had bundled Midlands out for 348 in 93.2 overs in reply to their first innings of 462.The Matabeleland pace bowlers, Pommie Mbangwa and Mluleki Nkala, utilized the second new ball well and put the pressure on Midlands. The visitors lost their first wicket of the day when Travis Friend departed for 25, Charles Coventry catching his powerful drive off Jordane Nicolle at mid-off. Midlands lost another wicket when Alester Maregwede was dismissed by Mpumelelo Mbangwa, caught behind by wicketkeeper Wisdom Siziba for 23 runs.Left-hander Donald Campbell failed to find his best form with the bat and departed for 14 runs after he was caught in the slips by Mark Vermeulen off the bowling of Mluleki Nkala. Mbangwa claimed his third wicket when he trapped Innocent Chinyoka leg-before wicket for eight runs. Nkala claimed the last Midlands wicket when he removed last man Campbell McMillan for two runs.Nkala and Mbangwa claimed seven wickets between them, with Nkala the more successful with four wickets for 83 from 19.2 overs while Mbangwa took three and gave away 74 runs from 25 overs. Nicolle was close behind with two wickets, while spinner Gavin Ewing claimed one victim. Midlands fell 114 runs short of the Matabeleland total in their chase.In their second innings Matabeleland got off to an excellent start with their opening pair of Gavin Rennie and Mark Vermeulen producing 131 in the face of loose bowling from the Midlands pacemen. The two proceeded steadily before Vermeulen, soon after reaching his half-century, fell to left-arm spinner Price when he was successfully caught at long-on by Vusumuzi Sibanda after a remarkable juggling act. He departed for 55, which came off 124 deliveries.The left-handed Rennie appeared on course for another century and together with Charles Coventry put on 36 for the second wicket. But Rennie was run out after Coventry called for a quick single before changing his mind and stayed at his crease with Rennie caught out of his ground. This brought an end to another brilliant innings by the Zimbabwe Test player which saw him score 79 runs, facing 135 deliveries and smashing 12 fours.The young Coventry continued his heroics and went on to get his half-century from 51 deliveries. Matabeleland lost their third wicket when another error of judgement by Coventry saw Barney Rogers run out for 30.The fourth wicket failed to add any runs when Andre Hoffman went out for a duck, nicking a Price delivery to be caught behind by wicketkeeper Maregwede.Coventry had his moment of reckoning when he smashed two sixes and a four off Price before falling to the same bowler, running out of luck when his powerful drive was caught by Friend at extra cover. This brought an end to the 19-year-old’s innings in which he smashed 81, facing 78 deliveries.Price took his fourth wicket when he had Mluleki Nkala caught at silly mid-on by Terrence Duffin before he opened his account. Gavin Ewing followed, caught in the slips by Sean Ervine for four runs. Mbangwa became the last Matabeleland wicket of the day to fall when he was given out leg before wicket to Price with the last ball of day, without offering a shot.Wisdom Siziba was unbeaten with five runs to his name, with Keith Dabengwa and Jordane Nicolle still to bat. Price finished with the best figures of six for 75 in 31 overs and bowled 11 maidens, using the wearing pitch well. The other bowlers did not take any wickets as the other two wickets fell to run-outs. Ervine proved expensive, conceding 45 runs from seven overs.

The new, training-in-batches approach currently being used by the Indian team in Bangalore has come in for more praise from the players. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif became the latest fans of the system, in which the entire squad is split into batches of five, who undergo a rigorous three-day training. The first lot of players – Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan – finished their stint on Friday, and Kaif and Yuvraj expressed their satisfaction with the training technique.”I have played for my country for five years and I have never experienced something like this camp before,” gushed Kaif. “We start with yoga at seven and finish by about five or six with some swimming in the evening. We were at the ground the whole day, we interacted with the coach, captain and as players we got a chance to know each other better.”One of the innovations included playing with a golf ball, and both Kaif and Yuvraj were especially impressed with this technique. “The drills were challenging. Especially while practising with the golf ball, you have to focus hard. We challenged ourselves at practice by playing on different wickets — slow, fast, good and bad. We also used the new ball, old ball, used the machine with some spin on the ball. In the long-term this camp will benefit us,” Kaif said.Yuvraj too pointed out the benefits of playing with the golf ball. “Practising with a golf-ball which is smaller in size helps in our timing and when we go out there in the middle and practise with normal cricket balls, it helps us middle the ball very well. It was also a good experience playing against bowling machines placed higher as it helps us in getting adjusted.”Greg Chappell, the coach, was also satisfied with the progress made by the players. “We are very happy with the first camp. We have had a lot of time with each of the players and have worked on specific areas. We have also been able to work on specific simulation exercises for the sort of things we expect to be confronted with in the next few months. From my point of view and from the coaching staff point of view, we have achieved what we wanted to achieve. The feedback from the players has been positive and we hope that the next two camps will go just as well. We are grateful to the NCA’s facilities that have helped us cover a lot of things in a very short span of time.”Looking ahead to the tri-series in Malaysia – involving Australia and West Indies – Chappell admitted he wasn’t sure about the kind of pitches there. “We really don’t know what we are going to be confronted with in Malaysia but we expect the wickets to be on the slower side. We have to wait and see and we have to adjust once we go there.”The first batch of five players will return home while the next lot – consisting of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, RP Singh, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth – will begin their three-day stint on Saturday.

The Zimbabwe players’ representative, Clive Field, has said players will go on and sign the new contracts issued by the board on Monday.Field confirmed that agreements on the new contracts had been agreed by finalized by both sides, although the rest of the grievances raised by the players last Thursday still stand.”The original contracts had overlooked basic aspects,” said Field. “We were still negotiating things like the injury clause and match fees, otherwise there has been no significant rectification annexed to the contracts.”Also added to the contracts was a payment system where players will be paid retainers at a respectable external value. Other issues tackled were players’ safety, and the position of the players’ representative.”Over and above there are still governance issues that still have to be addressed,” Field added. “The contacts are the basis on which to engage the board, and we have cleared that hurdle. The players are hoping that those issues will be resolved. The chairman [Peter Chingoka] responded to the public statement saying issues of governance is not the players’ area. In a way he is right. But like we have said, when these things are having a marked effect on the players’ performance, they not only have a duty, but a right to say act. I hope the provincial chairmen will make the board accountable and discuss those issues at the board meeting [proposed for Saturday].”A total of 37 players were awarded contracts. Two were given international contracts, 14 signed senior deals and 21 junior contracts. Zimbabwe Cricket also agreed to pay overdue match fees for Tests and one-day internationals against New Zealand in August, and India in September, although there remain concerns about hoe much money the board actually has to meet its obligations.International contracts T Taibu, A Blignaut.Level One Senior E Chigumbura, P Utseya, D Hondo, B Taylor, D Ebrahim, H Masakadza, B Mahwire, V Sibanda, G Ewing, C Coventry, T Duffin, S Matsikenyeri, K Dabengwa, N Ferreira.Level One Junior C Mpofu, G Cremer, A Mwayenga, W Mwayenga, T Panyangara, E Rainsford, T Mupariwa, C Chibhabha, S Williams, A Ireland, T Mufambisi, T Hove, T Mawoyo, H Matanga, C Ervine, I Nicholson, J Nyumbu, I Chinyoka, T Garwe, B Mlambo, R Bennett.

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