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South Australia have signed the fast bowlers Ben Edmondson and Tim Lang to boost their squad for 2010-11. Edmondson, who originally moved from Queensland to Perth to pursue his career and has 51 first-class games to his name, was not offered a contract by Western Australia after a 2009-10 that was severely interrupted by injuries.At 31, Edmondson will add experience to a mostly young pace attack, and he will be looking to recapture the form he showed in 2006-07 when he was third on the Pura Cup wicket tally. He remains a bowler capable of genuine pace and swing, although he managed only one Sheffield Shield game last summer after a three-month lay-off due to a fractured finger.Lang, 29, was a more surprising pick-up for the Redbacks, having not represented New South Wales since he played four Twenty20s for them in January 2007. Lang had a consistent season in Sydney grade cricket last summer, taking 34 wickets, and will join an attack that has lost the allrounder Mark Cleary to Victoria.South Australia had already recruited the Victorian fast man Rob Cassell and his former Bushrangers batting colleague Aiden Blizzard. The Redbacks have opted for plenty of change during the off-season, sacking Mark Cosgrove and Dan Cullen and appointing Michael Klinger to replace Graham Manou as captain.South Australia squad Cullen Bailey, Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Borgas, Rob Cassell, Daniel Christian, Tom Cooper, Chris Duval, Ben Edmondson, Callum Ferguson (Cricket Australia contract), Peter George, Jake Haberfield, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger (capt), Tim Lang, Tim Ludeman, Graham Manou, Aaron O’Brien, Kieron Pollard, Gary Putland, James Smith, Shaun Tait (Cricket Australia contract).Rookies Tom Brinsley, Michael Cranmer, Joel Davies, Michael Delaney, Tom Moffat, Kane Richardson.

ScorecardMaurice Chambers did the early damage to Lancashire’s innings•Getty Images

Essex’s bowlers ensured they held a commanding advantage over Lancashire after two days of their County Championship Division One match at Old Trafford. The home side’s batting order has rarely looked steady this campaign and they struggled again as five of the six bowlers used by Essex captain Mark Pettini got amongst the wickets.The scorecard was at its worst when the lacklustre hosts were reduced to 101 for 7 at the end of the 37th over in reply to Essex’s first-innings total of 307. But at least a fourth County Championship half-century of the summer for Sajid Mahmood helped his side avoid the follow-on and reach 184 all out.Mahmood finished with 58, off as many balls, while Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was the pick of the visiting attack with 3 for 42 from 13.1 overs. Maurice Chambers and Ryan ten Doeschate had claimed two each of the first seven but Lancashire were hampered by a bout of sickness for regular opener Stephen Moore. The ex-Worcestershire batsman only came in at No. 6 and made just 3.Essex opener Billy Godleman was the 15th wicket to fall in the day when he was caught behind by Luke Sutton off the bowling of Kyle Hogg in the visiting side’s second innings. They reached 26 for 1 from 13 overs at close and will begin day three with a lead of 149.The day could hardly have started better for the hosts after Essex could only add another 56 to their overnight total and left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan finished with a career-best of 6 for 74 from 38.3 overs. Kerrigan took all four wickets, including three in eight balls, to ensure his side claimed a third bowling point in the nick of time.He took two wickets in the 110th over, including Kaneria bowled off the last ball of it, to reduce Essex to 299 for 9 and prevent the visitors claiming another bonus point of their own. Kerrigan then knocked over last man Maurice Chambers, caught by Mark Chilton, to leave Lancashire felling better about themselves.Chambers soon changed that as he bowled Luke Sutton and Ashwell Prince, the latter with a beauty with the first ball of the afternoon session. ten Doeschate had Paul Horton and Moore caught in the gully by Ravi Bopara and behind by James Foster respectively.Chris Wright trapped Steven Croft lbw in between before David Masters had skipper Glen Chapple caught behind and Kaneria snared Mark Chilton lbw for 49. And when Hogg was run out by Bopara in the covers two overs into the evening session Lancashire were 123 for 8 in the 44th over.Kaneria then had Kerrigan caught by a diving Bopara at mid-wicket before Mahmood skied one to Walker to complete the innings.

Andrew Hudson, South Africa’s newly appointed convener of selectors, sees his role as one that will allow him to “give something back to the game”. The former international batsman said that since cricket formed such an important part of his life, his new function with the national set up was a “huge privilege, an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed and something I am very excited about doing.”Although Hudson is still basking in the glow of being appointed to the most senior role in cricket selection in the country, he is being careful not to see the position through rose-tinted lenses. “I am going in with my eyes open,” he said, when asked if he had accepted a poisoned chalice of sorts.Hudson’s predecessor, Mike Procter, was sacked along with the entire selection panel, after a slump in South Africa’s results in January this year. Before Procter, Joubert Strydom headed the committee. His tenure is best remembered for his spat with then Cricket South Africa president Norman Arendse over the dropping of Jacques Kallis for the inaugural World Twenty20.Despite the poor record of previous conveners, Hudson believes the new “refined” structure of the committee should prolong his tenure in the position. “The rest of the committee now comprises only of members who are employed by the game in some form,” he said. “The coach is obviously directly involved, Kepler Wessels is the batting consultant and Shafiek (Abrahams) represents the High Performance Centre.” The previous committee was made up of the convener, the coach (Arthur), and two other members, known as non-executive members – Winky Ximiya and Mustapha Khan.The function of the non-executive members was to liaise with franchises and keep tabs on performances. They would then filter that information to the main panel to keep the talent flow to the national side constant. While there was a general feeling that this may not have been happening as it should have, all Hudson said was the system was not “efficient enough” and that the new structure will seek to rectify it.As all the committee members are directly involved with the sport, Hudson believes they will be able to communicate better with the franchises. He said he hopes to “be involved in getting a lot closer to the franchise coaches and working with them to see where the talent is”. It appears Hudson is going for a more hands-on approach to the role than was previously applied.The other issue which has plagued South African selection committees has been the inclusion, or lack thereof, of black players in the national team. Hudson wouldn’t be drawn into what his approach to this sensitive matter would be, but he indicated a more detailed exact brief would be given to him when he meets with CSA again. He did indicate that there would be no pressure to pick players because of skin colour. “There will be a strong push to pick on merit. There are enough black players in the system; we will just have to work on bringing them through.”Hudson’s real work only starts on June 1, which means he will not be involved with the South African team selection for their tour of the West Indies. “I will have a strong interest there, to see who performs but my first task will probably be the series with Pakistan in the UAE, if that gets finalised, otherwise it will be for the home series against India.”

The former Victoria fast bowler, David Saker, has been named as England’s new bowling coach, after a lengthy search for a replacement for Ottis Gibson, who took charge of West Indies in February this year. Saker joins the ECB following a six-year tenure as assistant coach of Victoria, the state he represented at first-class level on 49 occasions.In his role as Victoria assistant coach, Saker helped to guide the team to the past two Sheffield Shield titles, as well as four domestic Twenty20 tiles in the past five years. He served as head coach of the Delhi Daredevils during last year’s Champions League, following an assistant coach’s role with the franchise throughout the initial two seasons of the IPL.Saker, 43, debuted for Victoria in 1994 before going on to play 23 first-class matches for Tasmania from 2000-2004. He returned to Victoria in the role of assistant coach and co-ordinator of Cricket Victoria’s high performance unit, working closely with the likes of Australian internationals Peter Siddle, Dirk Nannes, Clint McKay and Andrew McDonald.It is expected that Saker will link up with the England team in time for the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean at the end of the month. “I’ve long held ambitions of coaching at international level so the prospect of working with the England team is something I’m very much looking forward to and excited by,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time as assistant coach with the Bushrangers and I’m now aiming to take my coaching to the next level with the England team.Saker’s duties will include guiding the fortunes of the established frontline bowlers, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, as well as working on the development of young prospects such as Steven Finn, Ajmal Shahzad and Chris Woakes.”I believe I can offer the England bowlers a great deal and oversee their development at the highest level,” he said. “This role will be challenging but there’s no question I’m looking forward to working with the impressive crop of bowlers currently in and around the England team.”England’s head coach, Andy Flower, said: “David has a wealth of playing and coaching experience and will be a valuable addition to the England set-up. His record with Victoria in recent times is second to none and he has managed the development of a number of top-class fast bowlers.”We were sorry to see Ottis Gibson leave the position but we believe we’ve found an excellent successor and look forward to David joining us in the lead up to what will be an exciting and challenging year ahead.”Saker was selected from a shortlist of five candidates – including Allan Donald, who worked with the England team briefly in 2007; the former Australian fast bowler, Craig McDermott; Dougie Brown, the Warwickshire assistant coach, and Stuart Barnes, a bowling coach at Gloucestershire and the ECB academy. His appointment means that Bruce French, who works with England’s wicketkeepers, is the only regular member of the coaching staff with an English background.Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said: “We’re pleased to appoint David Saker as England fast bowling coach after an exhaustive recruitment process that included a number of world-class candidates. David’s credentials are exceptional and we believe we’ve secured an outstanding bowling coach who’ll take up a vital full-time role within the England team management.”

Scorecard
Left-arm spinner Bipul Shah and opener Shikhar Dhawan combined to take North Zone into the final of the Deodhar Trophy, as they beat East Zone comprehensively by eight wickets in Vadodara.After asking East to bat, North struck at regular intervals to cut through the line-up despite a half-century from Paresh Patel. Persistent strikes by Bipul, who grabbed a five-for, Joginder Sharma and Jaskaran Singh had limited East to 133 for 8 at one stage, but wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (58) and captain Debasis Mohanty (16) staged a fightback with a 57-run stand for the ninth wicket to help take their side to 210.However, the effort proved woefully inadequate in the wake of a dominating response from the North batsmen. They lost opener Rahul Dewan with the score on 34, but Virat Kohli (66) supported Dhawan in a stand of 112 for the second wicket. Kohli was the more aggressive of the two, striking 11 fours in his 54-ball knock. Mandeep Singh then joined Dhawan to complete the formalities, remaining unbeaten on 32 while his partner went on to make 85, as the victory was sealed in the 38th over.Central Zone take on West Zone in the second semi-final in Vadodara on March 8.

The organisers call it rockstar cricket. It certainly needs a name with a bit of spunk, because it’s the only format of the game that draws a crowd in South Africa these days. While the SuperSport Series only plays out in front of a sprinkling of die-hards and the MTN40 is in its inaugural season, the Standard Bank Pro20 is the only competition with a loyal following among fans.It has incentives for everyone: fans who are early at the gates get hard hats, those who feel like they need to be woken up can get dunked into a pool of water every time someone hits a boundary, the umpires can show a bit more than just the finger on the field as they do a jig in time to certain signals, and, for the players, there’s the chance to book their tickets for the Champions League Twenty20This competition has no clear favourite, having produced four different finalists in the last two years. The Cobras, who are defending the trophy, appear to have masterminded the art of the shortest form of the game the best, with coach Shukri Conrad at the helm. He also took the Lions to their only franchise trophy when they won the pro20 in the 2006-07 season. The Cobras reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in India, and although they will be without many of their national players for most of the campaign, they have a production line of talented players and big-hitting Justin Kemp as captain to bolster their ranks.Another side that will be missing a large chunk of national players until semi-final stage is the Warriors. After earning their first piece of silverware since the franchise system began in this year’s MTN40, the Warriors have momentum on their side. They also have, at the death, the bowling experience of Rusty Theron, who captain Davey Jacobs relies on heavily to inspire the team.A team that will certainly need inspiration are the Highveld Lions. The franchise from Johannesburg have had a woeful time, languishing near or at the bottom of both the first-class and one-day competitions for over two seasons. They were also rocked by the news that their overseas player, Lasith Malinga, will not be joining them for the competition because of injury concerns.The Dolphins were denied a Champions League spot because in the year where they were the losing finalists, the inaugural edition of the tournament was postponed because of the Mumbai attacks. They had hoped to have Shahid Afridi on board, but he couldn’t secure his release from the PCB so the side will hope that David Miller can continue his big-hitting form from the MTN40.The Titans were the other franchise who missed out on that inaugural Champions League, so there’s no doubt that they will be eyeing revenge as well. The Titans have been the most successful franchise in South African cricket, winning six trophies, including two Pro20s. They boast the likes of Roelof van der Merwe, Hong Kong Sixes hero Farhaan Berhardien, and deadly seam bowler Basheer Walters in their ranks.Next are the Eagles who were under the wing of interim national coach Corrie van Zyl until last season. This team has a host of talented young players like Rilee Rossouw and Dean Elgar and CJ de Villiers, who it will look to for fireworks in this competition. It’s been a quiet season for the Eagles so far, but they do have two pro20 trophies already in their cabinet and will be looking for another.Players to watch:Old favourites:Charl Langeveldt’s swing has made him one of the most effective death bowlers in the shortest form of the game. His picked 16 wickets at an average of 13.31 last season, and is among the bowlers spearheading the Cobras attack.Makhaya Ntini has been described as a “joy to have in the team” by Warriors’ captain Jacobs. The fast bowler from Mdingi has a point to prove after being dropped by the national team and if he isn’t about to retire, this competition may be the ideal platform for him show he still has what it takes.Albie Morkel is much loved as one of the country’s favourite allrounder. He will be missing for the Titans for part of the competition, for he jets off to India for national duty. However, his presence, when he is around, will be valuable. He has over 1000 runs and 78 wickets in this form of the game and is a known match-winner.Young guns:CJ de Villiers is best remembered for his super-over heroics against Sussex in the Champions League, but he also claimed nine wickets in the best of three semi-finals against the Warriors last season.Yusuf Abdulla set the IPL alight when he soared to the top of the bowling rankings midway through the tournament. Although Abdullah was sidelined on Brett Lee’s return, his left-arm seam bowling made its mark on the national selectors. “The Heater”, as he is known, is a favourite among the Dolphins.Vaughn van Jaarsveld made a brief appearance in the national side during the 2008-09 tour to Australia, but has since disappeared off the radar. He holds the record for the fastest limited-overs century in the domestic circuit, but has been in ordinary form this season. Van Jaarsveld is a real team man and the Lions could make good use of his services in this campaign.

Once, these two men used to go on tour together as team-mates. In fact, they even shared a room. Now, one of them has replaced the other as the national cricket coach. This time, he’ll get his own room, with the pressures his predecessor left behind as company.In the early 1990s, Corrie van Zyl and Mickey Arthur both played for Free State. Arthur used to open the batting while van Zyl was an integral part of the bowling attack. The two played together for five seasons and won six trophies in that time, including four limited-overs competitions and two first-class cups. Both became cricket coaches after their playing days.Arthur coached the relatively small province of Griqualand West, while van Zyl was the assistant to three national coaches. In 2005, roles reversed – almost. Arthur was appointed national coach while van Zyl had already left the South African set up to go back to his roots.”After my stint as the assistant coach, I felt that I needed to look after my own team, so I went back to the Free State and coached the Eagles from the beginning of the franchise system (2004-05) until last season,” van Zyl said. He won six titles while in charge and had his eye on the country’s top coaching job. “I was hoping to take over from Mickey at some stage.” On Tuesday this week, van Zyl got his wish.”I would have wanted it to do it under different circumstances and would have preferred it if it was on Mickey’s own terms,” van Zyl said. “But this is the last time I will speak about how tough it is to take over at such short notice.”Although van Zyl has been appointed in interim capacity for the tour to India, he wants to use the opportunity to stamp his coaching style on the national side. “I’m not sure if it’s going to be stranger for the players who knew me as an assistant or for me, because they are really going to see a different side of me. As the assistant, you do what the head coach wants, you follow orders. As the coach, you make the rules,” said van Zyl.His biggest rule is discipline. “I believe in team culture. The team must look after discipline and if they can’t then it becomes my responsibility. I will not pass the buck on that.” While the South African team is an outfit that’s well known for its professionalism, van Zyl has promised to intensify this trait within the team.Sarel Cilliers, who took over the coaching of the Eagles when van Zyl ended his tenure at the end of the 2008-09 season, confirmed that van Zyl’s style may take the South Africans by surprise. “He is very disciplined, has a great work ethic and intense knowledge of the game. He will not compromise at all when it comes to preparation and brings a lot of structure to the team.”A calming influence is certainly necessary for South Africa, especially considering recent events. Van Zyl said he wants every member of the team to feel at ease, and he singled out Ashwell Prince as one of his main concerns. “I really want to chat to him and find out what he wants to do. They must be certain things we can juggle around but ideally I think he should bat where he would like to be.” Van Zyl told Cricinfo he hadn’t had the time to think about any other strategies ahead of the India tour, but would be using the next few days to focus on that.According to Cilliers, van Zyl’s plans are likely to involve every member of the team. “He will be good for the experienced players, because he will give them the freedom to do their thing and he will also play a strong mentoring role for the younger guys.”Van Zyl is known for his ability to work with junior players. Prior to his appointment as interim coach of the national side, he was in charge of the High Performance Program and had the responsibility of identifying and training potential international players. “I applied for the job because I thought it would be a great challenge and Mickey and I wanted somebody to look after the younger players. I was really enjoying it there and had in fact just finished doing my strategy on Monday morning and sent it to Cricket South Africa and they were happy with it and told me to start working on it. Obviously I won’t be able to do that immediately.”I would like to see those plans come to fruition at the HPC and I don’t want it to die a slow death,” van Zyl said.His passion for player development suggests he may like to return to the HPC, but van Zyl will not rule out accepting the job of South African coach permanently. “Any coach that is worth his salt would want to coach at national level. I would be foolish to turn it down.”

Dale Steyn believes that the departure of Makhaya Ntini from South Africa’s Test team has been the making of his new new-ball partner, Morne Morkel, who has been one of the outstanding players of the series so far, claiming 12 wickets at 25.83 with his unsettling pace and bounce from a good length.Though he’s been a fixture of South Africa’s Test side for two years, Morkel has only recently allied a disciplined line and length to his natural fast bowler’s attributes of height and speed, and he has been notably successful against England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, whom he has dismissed in each of the three Tests to date.”He’s been around for a long time, but Morne has taken that shift up since Makhaya has left the side,” said Steyn. “He’s had to step up to the plate and he did that in Cape Town, taking five in the first innings, then bowling together in partnership with me in the second.”That’s a great step-up for Morne, and it will do massively for his confidence because he’s always had that ability, but he needed that push and with somebody like Makhaya being away, his career is really going to kick-start going forward. In the past he was able to relax and rely on guys like Jacques Kallis and myself to do the main work, now he has to lead the attack with myself being the two senior guys.”However, Steyn does not believe that South Africa has seen the last of Ntini, whose appearance at Durban was the 101st Test of his 12-year career. “Makhaya still is fantastic,” he said. “He probably lost a little bit of edge going into the series, but everyone loses a bit of edge at times in their career.”But that’s not to say it is the end of his career,” Steyn added. “He took five wickets for the Warriors against the Eagles last week, and I’m sure he will be back. He needs to make sure his head is in a good space, because I’m sure the selectors won’t be leaving him out for the India tour coming up, and the Twenty20 World Cup going forward.”Makhaya has been a great bowler for South Africa for many years,” Steyn added. “I have learnt so much from him, and words can’t explain what he brings to the side.”For the time being, however, there will be a new face in the South Africa line-up at Johannesburg. Following Friedel de Wet’s withdrawal with a back injury, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, Wayne Parnell, is set to make his debut, and Steyn for one is looking forward to seeing how he takes to Test cricket.”Wayne is a good prospect, everyone loves a left-arm quick because they offer something different,” he said. “He’s skiddy and quick, almost a mirror image of myself coming from the other end, and he swings the ball nicely as he’s shown in the one-day games.”He’s a fantastic find for South African cricket because we haven’t had a lot of left-arm quicks around of late. He has a bright future ahead of him, and if he can bring his one-day form into the longer version he could be in the side for a long time.”

Virender Sehwag, who oversaw India’s last two one-day international wins, believed his team was handed an advantage when Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat. The pitch in Kolkata was expected to play slow and low but the dew was expected to counter that advantage for the team batting first. In the end, Sehwag’s hunch proved right as Gautam Gambhir posted the highest individual score at the Eden Gardens to help India register the highest successful chase at the venue.”We knew dew would be a factor here, in this weather. Even if I had won the toss, we would have fielded,” said Sehwag after India won the series 3-1. “It [Sangakkara’s decision] was good for my spinners who could grip the ball when it was dry. The spinners did well for us.”India, set a target of 316, were jolted early when rookie fast bowler Suranga Lakmal dismissed Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, but the chase was soon resurrected by centurions Gambhir and Virat Kohli. “Myself and Sachin Tendulkar got out early but Gauti and Virat batted very well,” said Sehwag. “Especially Kohli has done well. He got fifties in the Champions Trophy and against Sri Lanka in his last game. We all knew he had the talent and it was just a matter of performing at the international level.”Sangakkara gave credit to Lakmal, playing his second ODI, and young offspinner Suraj Randiv, but rued the lack of support in the field. Sri Lanka had managed a large score, thanks largely to opener Upul Tharanga’s seventh ODI century, but they were outclassed by Gambhir and Kohli.”We started out really well, with Upul Tharanga batting really well and the rest batting around him. Lakmal and Randiv bowled well but there wasn’t enough back-up,” said Sangakkara. “The fast bowlers should have been more disciplined. Gautam and Kohli batted quite brilliantly.”However, Sangakkara credited the crop of youngsters to have made an appearance in the one-day leg of the tour owing to injuries and poor form from the seniors. Randiv has impressed in the ODIs and Lakmal, after a poor debut, had a decent outing in Kolkata. “We had so many debutants on our tour and some of them have really stepped up and that promises better things on future tours,” said Sangakkara. “This is the most competitive we have been in India since I debuted.”Gambhir, the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 150, heaped praise on young Kohli who batted his way to a maiden century. He too concurred with Sehwag’s opinion of fielding. “We knew the dew would be a big factor. Even when we last played here, Graeme Smith got a hundred and it was hard for the bowlers,” he said. “We lost two wickets but we had someone who could play positively and score quickly and that allowed me to keep going. The way Virat batted took a lot of pressure off my shoulders and we told ourselves to see what was happening after 35 overs, but then we didn’t need to take the Powerplay.”I’ve been pretty unfortunate in the last two innings but I am happy to play a good knock to help us win the series. And its been fantastic to get a hundred in Eden Gardens.”The dead rubber will be played in Delhi on December 27.

ScorecardClint McKay picked up 3 for 60 for Victoria•Getty Images

On the same day that Ricky Ponting’s follow-on decision paid off at the Gabba, Queensland were also forced to follow on after a disappointing first innings at the MCG. Nathan Reardon’s 58 was the only contribution of note in the Bulls’ 195 and at stumps they were still 173 in arrears.Melbourne’s rainy weather cut the day short and Queensland had reached 0 for 10 in their second innings with Nick Kruger on 9 and Wade Townsend on 1. They had already conceded first-innings points, although they were one batsman down as Ryan Broad could not take his place having fractured his thumb while fielding on the first day and is expected to miss three weeks.Clint McKay was the star for Victoria with 3 for 60 but it was the home team’s fielding that really hurt the Bulls. A direct hit from the substitute fielder Michael Beer ended Nick Kruger’s innings on 30 and Chris Simspon was also caught short thanks to a relay effort from Bryce McGain to Andrew McDonald.Victoria’s first-innings points have given them outright first place on the Sheffield Shield table and they will be keen to extend their lead with victory over the next two days. However, Melbourne’s weather is likely to affect their efforts with more rain expected on Sunday and Monday.