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Wes Agar, the brother of Australian spinner Ashton Agar, and Clinton Hinchliffe were named in Australia’s 21-member squad for the upcoming Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.Wes, a fast bowler, generated good pace and impressed in the Under-19 Championships, taking ten wickets in eight matches, including a five-wicket haul at an average of 22.60. Fellow South Australian Michael Cormack, who topped the wicket charts with 21 scalps at 16.57 was also included.Hinchliffe was the leading run-getter in the Under-19 Championships with 446 runs to add to 10 wickets, and eventually reaped the Player-of-the-Series award. Tom O’Donnell, the son of former Australian all-rounder Simon O’Donnell, and Sam Elliott, the son of former Test batsman Matthew Elliot, also found a place in the squad.Also named was Newcastle’s Jason Sangha, the only cricketer to advance to the Under-19 National Championships from the School Sports Australia Under-15 Championships.Cricket Australia’s National Talent Manager Greg Chappell believed that the squad had all bases covered in addition to plenty of leadership options.”The squad the National Youth Selection Panel has picked is one we believe could win the World Cup,” Chappell said.”There is a vast array of all-round talent here that can post big scores and restrict opposition teams with the ball and in the field; there is also plenty of leadership within the group.”The squad will be trimmed to 15 on December 28 as per ICC regulations. Australia, who are placed in Group A alongside India, Nepal, and New Zealand, begin their campaign against India on January 28 in Mirpur.Squad: Wes Agar, Michael Cormack, Kyle Gardiner, Jordan Gauci, Brooke Guest, David Grant, Sam Grimwade, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Clint Hinchliffe, Henry Hunt, Caleb Jewell, Jonathan Merlo, Arjun Nair, Tom O’Donnell, Jonte Pattinson, Patrick Page Jnr, Jhye Richardson, Jason Sangha, Ben Taylor, Henry Thornton.

Graeme Smith will have one eye on the net run rate, lest a heavy defeat against India allows New Zealand to slip into the semis through the back door © Getty Images

There’s just one match to go in the Super Eights stage of the WorldTwenty20 Cup, but Group E still holds plenty of interesting possibilities:South Africa, New Zealand and India all have a chance of making it to thesemi-finals, but none of them have secured a place in the last four yet.With two wins in their first two games, it seemed New Zealand might haveassured themselves of an early entry into the semis, but their two winswere both by very narrow margins, which gives them a net run rate which isvery narrowly positive: +0.05. Both South Africa and Indiahave a higher NRR than that, which means that India – who are currentlytwo points behind New Zealand and South Africa – only need to win, by anymargin, to make it to the semis. South Africa can get there even if theylose to India, but the margin of defeat has to be narrow enough to ensuretheir NRR doesn’t slip below 0.05.For example, if India bat first and score 170, South Africa will have toscore at least 143 to ensure their NRR is better than New Zealand’s, whowill then miss out on the last four. If South Africa bat first and score170, India will have to chase it down in less than 16.4 overs to eliminateSouth Africa from the tournament.Of course South Africa can avoid all the arithmetic if they beat India,in which case they will top the group and stay in Durban for thesemi-final on Saturday. And there’s no question about who New Zealand willbe supporting in this game: all they need to make the cut is for SouthAfrica to beat India and push them out of the tournament.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Big wicket: Australia celebrate as Stephen Fleming walks back to the hutch © Getty Images

Australia broke their semi-final jinx at the Champions Trophy with a34-run triumph over a spirited New Zealand at Mohali to enter their firstfinal. In a game which turned out to be a lot closer than expected, New Zealand,seemingly down and out at 35 for 6 chasing 241, fought back with anincredible 103-run stand between Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram. Vettorimade 79, his second-highest score in ODIs, but even his effort wasn’tenough to make up for the shocking collapse of their top order.As has been the norm in this tournament, this pitch was another on whichrun-scoring wasn’t easy. The New Zealand bowlers showed that after StephenFleming won the toss, as Kyle Mills – who finished with 4 for 38 – reducedAustralia to 4 for 2 by the third over. Half-centuries by Ricky Pontingand Andrew Symonds – both scored 58 – lifted Australia to a competitive240, but that seemed more than sufficient when New Zealand’s top order wasblown away by Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.Perhaps wary of the fact that this was the same pitch on which SouthAfrica’s bowlers bundled Pakistan out for 89, New Zealand’s approach atthe start was to play cautiously and see off the new-ballchallenge posed by Lee and McGrath. They survived five overs withoutlosing a wicket, then lost six in a heap as their technical deficiencieswere horribly exposed.McGrath began the slide, defeating Lou Vincent outside off like he hasdone countless batsmen in his distinguished career. A peach of a deliveryfrom Lee – pitching just off, and ducking in at a furious pace – was fartoo much for Nathan Astle to handle, while Hamish Marshall soon becameMcGrath’s second victim. Fleming shaped well, then edged a drive, whilePeter Fulton and Brendon McCullum were soon swept away as well.The crowd at Mohali would have been preparing for a very early finish, butVettori and Oram had other ideas. Australia had an early chance to nip thepartnership, but Michael Hussey made a mess of a regulation slip catchwhen Vettori was on 5. Neither batsman needed a second invitation as theyslowly got on top of the attack, as the pronounced seam movement graduallyeased. The fast bowlers, so potent at the start, suddenly lookedinsipid as Oram and Vettori found the gaps at will. Oram stood tall andclipped the ball effortlessly through the on side, while Vettori preferredto move to leg and squeeze it through backward point and third man.The runs came thick and fast, the asking rate hovered at around six anover, and Ponting was forced to turn to the spin of Symonds, who finallybroke the stand, turning it enough to beat Oram and have him stumped.Vettori kept the fight going, audaciously shuffling outside off andclipping it to leg when Ponting packed the areas square on the off side.Even after he was bowled off the pads, Mills and Bond continued the fight,adding 26 for the last wicket before finally succumbing.New Zealand fought hard with the bat, and they were similarly competitivein the field earlier in the afternoon, as all the bowlers except JamesFranklin gave the Australian top order plenty to ponder about. However, unlike NewZealand’s shockingly brittle top order, Australia had the class to combatthe conditions.

Andrew Symonds boosted Australia in the middle overs with 58 in as many balls © Getty Images

After their openers left early, the rest of the batsmen all contributedcrucial knocks, with Ponting and Symonds leading the way. The key wasregular partnerships – the third, fourth and fifth wickets put together66, 54 and 65, ensuring that New Zealand never had the luxury of bowlingto two new batsmen during the middle overs.Ponting and Damien Martyn – whose innings of 26 was worth a lot more -started the recovery process. The early part of his knock was patchy, butonce Ponting got into his stride the Mohali crowd was treated to somegorgeous strokeplay, with his driving down the ground being absolutelyexhilarating. When Martyn was trapped on the sweep, Michael Hussey,promoted to No.5, took over, playing second fiddle perfectly to anincreasingly aggressive Ponting.Fleming marshalled his resources well, shuffling his bowlers around anddelaying the third Powerplay when Ponting and Martyn were tonking it allaround, but Australia’s depth in batting ensured that New Zealand neverseized the initiative. Ponting’s dismissal, for example, brought Symondsto the middle, which meant little respite for New Zealand as heimmediately got stuck into Vettori. A straight hit over long-on for sixwas followed by a slog-sweep for four as Vettori leaked 28 in his lastfour overs after conceding 13 in his first six.Australia lost their way in the last ten overs, though – despite havingsix wickets in hand, they only managed 52 as New Zealand finished stronglyin the field. A total of 240 promised a competitive match, and despite thewashout at the start, there was enough drama to keep the Mohali crowdentertained till late at night.How they were outAustraliaShane Watson c Fulton b Mills 0 (3 for 1)
Fetched one from outside off and top-edged a pull to mid-offAdam Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3 (4 for 2)
Lobbed a flick to square legDamien Martyn lbw b Vettori 26 (70 for 3)
Missed a sweep and trapped plumb in frontRicky Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58 (123 for 4)
Miscued a pull to mid-onMichael Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35 (188 for 5)
Short ball cut straight to pointAndrew Symonds b Bond 58 (211 for 6)
Shuffled too far across; leg stump pushed backMichael Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14 (220 for 7)
Slogged to third manBrett Lee b Bond 5 (223 for 8)
Made room to flay and missedMitchell Johnson run out 3 (236 for 9)
Direct hit by the bowler at the non-striker’s endNew ZealandLou Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1 (16 for 1)
In the corridor, edged to second slipNathan Astle b Lee 0 (20 for 2)
Perfect indipper, crashed between bat and pad into middle stumpHamish Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 (30 for 3)
Tried to cut, and edged to the keeperStephen Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15 (30 for 4)
Full delivery swinging away, edged to second slipPeter Fulton b McGrath 2 (34 for 5)
Shouldered arms to a straight ball on off stumpBrendon McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1 (35 for 6)
Inside-edged a flick to mid-onJacob Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43 (138 for 7)
Daniel Vettori b Johnson 79 (180 for 9)
Kyle Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21 (206 all out)

The ECB has secured an extension to their sponsorship of the County Championship by Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society running up to 2009. Currently known under the name Frizzell, the Championship will now take the name Liverpool Victoria – the company’s main public brand.The deal is worth £1.2 million to the ECB over the four years and Ian Cordwell, Liverpool Victoria’s Group Marketing Director, said: “The sponsorship has been very successful for Frizzell and we now want to transfer the benefits of the media coverage and other exposure to our main public brand Liverpool Victoria, which is promoted to a wider audience. We believe there is a good match between cricket followers and our target audience, and the sponsorship will therefore allow us to reach a large percentage of our existing and potential customers.”The ECB’s Commercial Director John Perera says the new deal highlights the current strength of cricket. “We are delighted that Liverpool Victoria has decided to extend the sponsorship of the County Championship for another four years. This demonstrates the popularity and appeal of cricket to commercial partners at a very exciting time for the sport.”

Scorecard

Dolphins’ Lance Klusener on his way to a run-a-ball 30© Cricinfo/Neil Lane

The Eagles beat the Lions by 59 runs at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, and in so doing extended their Standard Bank Cup lead to 10 points.After being put in, the Eagles started off in a rush. Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus brought up the 100 up in 17 overs with the Lions pace attack struggling with their length. Far too many short balls were bowled giving the two plenty of opportunity to hook and cut.David Terbrugge broke through with the wicket of Beukus for 45 and then Benjamin Hector was needlessly run out for 4. Adam Bacher and Derek Crookes slowed the run rate but innings’ foundation had been laid. Van Wyk had laboured to 78 when Bacher trapped him in front, leaving it to Davey Jacobs to score 50 off 53 balls before he too was run out helping the Eagles to 247 for 5.The Lions batting just never looked the part while the bowlers, with home ground advantage, found their length early on. Stephen Cook struggled to 58 as the middle order failed dismally, collapsing to 116 for 7. Throwing caution to the wind, Enoch Nkwe showed some attacking spirit to register a career-best 49 not out while Adam Bacher (27) and Garnett Kruger (10 not out) were the only other batsmen to get into double figures. At the end of the 45 overs the Lions were 188 for 9, 10 runs short of saving the bonus point.
Scorecard

Gerald Dros and Geoffrey Toyana celebrate victory© Cricinfo/Neil Lane

An exciting match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni ended in victory for the Titans as they chased down the 219 set by the Dolphins.Batting first after being sent in, the Dolphins recovered well with Doug Watson and Wade Wingfield putting on 51 after the early loss of Imraan Khan. Dale Benkenstein, the in-form ex-Dolphins captain, scored 59 as he upped the tempo. Lance Klusener, again batting at No. 8, swung the bat for a quick 30 but was again left not out after only facing 30 balls. With one of the most lethal strikers of a cricket ball batting so low down the order, one wonders about the Dolphins tactics. In they end they could only muster 219 for 7 in their 45 overs.The Titans made heavy work at the start. Alviro Petersen was out in the third over and then AB de Villiers and Goolam Bodi put on a subdued 69 before Bodi was caught for 30. de Villiers followed, caught behind for 50 while Daryll Cullinan hardly troubled the scorers. Needing eight an over – and rising – things looked all over the Titans. Justin Kemp and Gerald Dros then turned the game around with some lusty blows, and by the time Kemp was caught for 54 only 20 runs were required off 21 balls. The partnership had been worth 96 runs in 14 overs. In the end the Titans won with an over to spare and Dros undefeated on 59.

CloseAfter pounding England into submission with a masterly century, Graeme Smith took the battle off the field, firing thinly veiled salvos at Nasser Hussain in a press conference. Smith’s unbeaten 178, along with Herschelle Gibbs’s 179, put South Africa in a commanding position at the end of the first day’s play, brushing aside Hussain’s earlier comments that the South Africans were “ripe for the taking.”Graeme Smith
On Hussain’s comments: That definitely played a role in motivating us. Wefobbed them off because we knew the comments were a load of rubbish. It gave us a bit more heart and it puts pressure on you when you make comments like that.On the record-breaking partnership: To be part of any pair that’s done that is a great feeling. We were a bit nervous up front. They bowled well. It was a difficultfirst hour but then we knuckled down.On Gibbs’s knock: After lunch Herschelle raced away to a hundred. It was a fantastic knock and it allowed me to settle down. With a player of his class, flair and talent we knew it wouldn’t be long.On Kallis’s bereavement: In some ways it was an emotional day. We wanted Jacques to know he was in our hearts. We’re playing for him.Duncan Fletcher
On the toss It was probably a good toss to win. You have to give the batsmen credit. Good batsmen are allowed to score hundreds.On England’s bowling effort: You have to remember our bowlers are very inexperienced. James Anderson’s not played in many Tests, Andrew Flintoff’s not bowled in many and Stephen Harmison’s inexperienced against batsmen at this level. They are all pretty attacking bowlers and maybe should have gone into a more defensive mode.

When umpires agree with more than two or three lbw appeals per innings there may be dark mutterings about what might be the partiality, pin-pricking or faulty eyesight of the adjudicators.Today Brent Bowden, the Test umpire, and Tony Hill, who should soon become one, were the central figures as Central Districts and Auckland showed jittery early-season batting form on a frisky patch on the Eden Park Outer Oval.Central Districts scored 126 in 59 overs and Auckland replied with 90 for five wickets – 216 runs from 100 overs on a reasonably summery day.In contrast, Messrs Bowden and Hill set a cracking pace. After being forced to bat first on a greenish pitch Central lost their first, third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eight wickets to successful lbw appeals.Auckland lost their third and fifth wickets leg before, and if the pitch might have been losing some of its mischief the Central Districts fieldsmen and bowlers still reached a higher decibel rate than the Aucklanders achieved.Yet by stumps there was none of the ill-favoured comment which sometimes follows over-involvement by the umpires. No-one was complaining of being dimissed through a bad umpiring decision.And to the un-aligned observer among the 100 or so spectators, Messrs Bowden and Hill might have been justified in agreeing with several more appeals.It was one of those giddy pitches which the Eden Park Outer Oval occasionally throws up. Last year on the same ground Northern Districts lost their first five second innings wickets to lbw appeals.Today the grass on the pitch kept the ball smooth, so it retained shine and swing. The seam stayed hard, and so sharp was the sideways seam movement from the pitch that some of the faster bowlers seemed to be delivering 130kph off breaks which thudded into the pads and raised choruses of appeals.The most dedicated batting came from Bevan Griggs, the 23-year-old Central Districts wicket-keeper whose 31 was the only offering above 29 from the 18 batsmen on view.Griggs came in at 65 for five, and he and Jamie How simply tried to survive, scoring runs was a luxury. Griggs was still stoically there at the end, 31 not out from 72 balls in 109 minutes while Central crawled along from 65 to 126.It said as much for the fallibility of the other Central batsmen as it did for the big-spending of the Auckland medium-fast men that the biggest contribution to the Central Districts cause was not Griggs, but the Auckland extras which amounted to 34.All four Auckland seamers, Tama Canning, Andre Adams (three wickets each) and Kyle Mills and Richard Morgan (two apiece) had a profitable time, exaggerated by the help from the pitch for their length and accuracy varied too much.In the Auckland innings Matt Horne survived an appealing opening chorus from Brent Hefford, then played several rousing strokes for fours, but then was badly tucked up by a sharp lifter from Michael Mason and was caught close in.One Auckland newcomer Nick Horsley had a slow start, played some good-looking left-handed shots and then was caught in the lbw web. Rob Nicol, the other debutant, struggled to get going, but defended sensibly and at the end was still there, 10 not out after 80 minutes, in league with his captain Brooke Walker, nine not out after a mere 56 minutes.So the game is nicely in the balance. Either side has a winning chance – the only certainty seems to be that, given good weather, that decision will be known long before the appointed end on Thursday evening.

Leeds United starlet Ian Poveda is currently back at Thorp Arch as he continues his comeback from injury.

What’s the story?

During a Q&A for Leeds Live, Beren Cross revealed: “He’s back at Thorp Arch at the moment going through his rehab programme because it’s more convenient with where he lives rather than traipsing over to Blackburn every other day. He seems to be making good progress based on his Instagram profile. The expectation this season, if he gets back in time, would be for him to play for Blackburn again.

“When he was first sent out on loan the noises we heard suggested this was very temporary and there was a long-term home for Poveda at Leeds. Much depends on how his pre-season goes under Marsch, you would think. As we know, wingers are not readily used by the American in his system.”

Could be exciting under Marsch

While Poveda’s loan spell at Championship side Blackburn came to a shuddering halt back in November following injury, there’s no questioning that he has the kind of exciting talent and ability that could thrive under Marsch.

In fact, after seeing what Poveda produced after coming on as a substitute for Helder Costa against Liverpool last season, former Leeds striker Noel Whelan made it clear that the young winger was a refreshing change to the Portuguese man.

He told Football Insider: “There is something there that is not right because Poveda came on and did more in that short time than Costa did in the 60 minutes he was on the field.

“He is fourth in the pecking order in terms of wingers for me. Poveda has to come before him now. He is direct, exciting and wants to take people on. He wants to do his job as a winger and Costa does not. He plays it safe and he’s negative. At least Poveda runs at people. He is positive and that is what a winger should do.”

Paul Robinson added to the £10k-a-week forward’s admirers, saying last year: “I think we’re going to see Poveda come through next season. Leeds have signed him for a reason, Bielsa knows he’s a top, top player.”

While there has been a change in manager, Poveda coming back from injury and returning to Leeds this summer could give the Whites an intriguing option heading into next season.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Given he’s only played 20 times for the first-team at Elland Road, Whites fans should be excited at the fact he’s still considered a long-term prospect from those behind-the-scenes.

AND in other news: Phil Hay drops exciting Leeds United transfer update that’ll delight supporters

Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath could soon be playing for Indian domestic sides © Getty Images

Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming have made themselves available for the Indian Premier League (IPL), an officially-sanctioned domestic Twenty20 competition to be held in India in April 2008.”Warne, McGrath and Fleming have signed contracts to play in the IPL,” Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president, told . “The trio will be a part of our centralised pool of players and available for signing by the franchises.”The said Warne had accepted the IPL’s offer of “significantly less” than the US$700,000 a season that the Indian Cricket League (ICL) was reportedly prepared to pay him. The ICL pursued Warne for more than four months but he was reluctant to commit as that group was not approved by the ICC.The IPL is modelled on the system of franchises used by the American NFL and NBA. Each franchise will pay a fee to the BCCI, which will give it access to shared revenues and the right to exploit exclusive revenue. There will also be a draft, similar to the one used in the US, which will allow the buying and selling of players.McGrath and Fleming were present at the launch of the Champions League – the proposed international tournament featuring top teams from four countries – in New Delhi on September 13. According to the report, Fleming, who was on the verge of signing with the ICL, made himself available to the IPL for a lower fee. McGrath, who retired from all forms of cricket at the end of the World Cup, had said he was tempted by the ICL offer but now he could be playing for an Indian domestic team by April next year.The ICL, backed by the Essel group in India, is also a Twenty20 league – though not recognised by the ICC or any of the national boards – that has signed at least seven international players including Brian Lara, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq, as well as more than 50 Indian domestic players. In its first year the ICL will feature six teams with two Indian internationals, four overseas players and eight juniors in each side. They play their first tournament next month.The newspaper reported that Warne would play for Hampshire until the end of the English season and then go to India and join one of the IPL teams. If his team qualified for the league final he would play in the Champions League, where he could possibly be traded to the highest bidder.

The PCB has clarified the confusion surrounding the sample testing of Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar who, it was revealed today, were tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone.”Normal procedures for such testing require each player to submit two urine samples, A and B. Sample A is tested initially and the results sent back to the concerned party,” Salim Altaf, PCB director of operations, told Cricinfo. “If the player in question protests against the findings, only then is the second sample, B, tested and the results sent back. Until then, sample B remains with the testing laboratory.”The confusion arose this morning when the PCB stated they were waiting for the samples to be re-tested and confirmation of the results sent back. Dr Nasim Ashraf, the new chairman of the PCB, told reporters in Rawalpindi in the afternoon, ambiguously, that results of the second sample had also been completed and confirmed the existence of nandrolone.As Altaf explained though, “we simply asked for a reconfirmation of sample A’s results from the laboratory. Sample B is still with them and will only be called upon if the players protest the findings of the first sample.”