The venue is Centurion, and quite fittingly, three players will reach the 100-Test mark when the South Africa-New Zealand series kicks off at the Supersport Park. One of them, Stephen Fleming, will be leading his side for the 76th time, but another, Jacques Kallis, might get that honour too if Graeme Smith fails to recover completely from a finger injury which forced him to miss the third Test against Australia last month.New Zealand have never won a Test series in South Africa – the closest they came was in 1961-62, when they drew a five-Test series 2-2 – but they’re on a bit of a hot streak at the moment, with five wins in their last six matches. An overseas series against South Africa, though, will be a challenge of a completely different level from the ones they faced recently – Sri Lanka and West Indies (at home) and Zimbabwe (away).The bad news is that Shane Bond, the one bowler in their line-up with genuine pace and destructive ability, has been ruled out after failing to recover from a dodgy knee. He looked a good prospect for the game till he pulled up lame the day before the match. In his absence, Kyle Mills will be the third member of a pace attack that also includes James Franklin and Chris Martin.The good news is Jacob Oram’s return to the side after a 16-month absence. Oram made a first-ball duck against Rest of South Africa, but bowled a couple of tight spells, and will be the fifth bowler in an attack which also includes James Franklin and Chris Martin.The problem area for New Zealand is likely to be at the top of the order, with Hamish Marshall and Peter Fulton – neither a regular opener – being preferred to the specialists Jamie How and Michael Papps. Marshall averages an impressive 41.40 in 12 matches, but his few forays at the top of the order haven’t been as productive – 38 runs in four innings. Fulton impressed in both Tests and ODIs in the home season; all that remains is for him to prove he can replicate that form against Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Shaun Pollock, the third 100-Test man in the fray.John Bracewell, the coach, explained the team composition thus: “We will ideally need a quality fifth bowler to be competitive against the top sides who have batting depth, especially as we are at an altitude. South Africa bat strongly well down their order and we need these resources to counter that,” said Bracewell. “To do that, and to retain our most in-form and experienced batting line-up, we will open with Peter Fulton, with the captain batting at three. The decision on the other opener was a tough one. It is very tough on both Michael [Papps] and Jamie, but the tour selectors’ assessment is that Hamish has the record, especially against the top sides, has a great temperament and is ready for the challenge.”South Africa have a worry at the top of the order too, with Smith not yet a certainty. “Graeme batted for 40 minutes in the nets on Thursday, and while he did feel some discomfort he was encouraged by how much the injury had improved,” South African media manager Tshepo Tsotsotso told Reuters. A final decision, though, will have to wait till much closer to the game. If Smith does pull out, it might offer another opportunity to Boeta Dippenaar to prove that he is capable of more than pretty 20s and 30s.South Africa-New Zealand series have in the past been breeding ground for plenty of on-field and off-field banter, but things have been relatively quiet this time around, with both camps insisting that the focus will be on the cricket. Bond did take a few digs at his opponents, though, suggesting that the amount of cricket South Africa had played, and their recent results, would go against them.”Our two major worries coming here so late in the summer were firstly, would the team be in one piece, and secondly how tired we would be,” Bond told a news conference. “But after the West Indies series we’re actually feeling very fresh, we feel pretty good. We’ve played probably half as much test cricket as South Africa, with breaks in between, and we’re here with our full team. A lot has been said about how tired South Africa are and how they need time off.”Reminded about New Zealand’s 4-0 defeat to South Africa in the one-day series late last year, Bond quickly deflected the attention to the home team’s recent loss to Australia. “The one-dayers were so long ago, we’ve forgotten about that loss,” Bond said. “South Africa are the ones who have something to turn around from.”South Africa (likely) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), Boeta Dippenaar, 2 AB de Villiers, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Nicky Boje, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini.New Zealand 1 Peter Fulton, 2 Hamish Marshall, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Nathan Astle, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Chris Martin.

Australia’s first official touring squad to England, the 1868 Aboriginal team, will be recognised when the Aboriginal flag is flown at major cricket grounds and offices on Friday to mark the 138th anniversary of their trip. Only two of the outfit, which also entertained audiences in the United Kingdom with boomerang and spear displays during breaks in play, went on to cricket careers after the 47-match schedule and there has been a long fight for appropriate acknowledgement.The squad left Sydney on February 8,1868 and arrived in England on May 13 for a six-month tour that included 14 wins, 14 losses and 19 draws. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the recognition date was a way Australian cricket could pay tribute to the courage of the first touring team.”The pioneering achievements of the 1868 team have in recent years started to become more widely acknowledged and celebrated, and we want that history and recognition to be ongoing,” he said. “In 2002 Australian cricket was successful in having the team inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and in 2004, individual player numbers were allocated to the touring party as formal recognition of their place in Australian cricket history.”Ashley Mallett, the former Test offspinner, wrote the book about the tour, and the Lord’s museum exhibits the boomerang of the player Dick-a-Dick as a lasting memory. Cricket Australia has developed the Imparja Cup, an annual, all-indigenous national competition, to lift the profile of the game in recent years, but Jason Gillespie, the great-grandson of a Kamilaroi warrior, is still the country’s only acknowledged Aboriginal Test cricketer.The squad 1 Arrahmunyarrimun (European name – Peter), 2 Ballrinjarrimin (Sundown), 3 Bonnibarngeet (Tiger), 4 Brimbunyah (Red Cap), 5 Bripumyarrimin (King Cole), 6 Bullchanach (Bullocky), 7 Charles Lawrence (captain/coach), 8 Grongarrong (Mosquito), 9 Jarrawuk Murrumgunarrimin (Two Penny), 10 Jumgumjenanuke (Dick-a-Dick), 11 Lyterjerbillijun (Jim Crow), 12 Pripumuarraman (Charles Dumas), 13 Unaarrimin (Johnny Mullagh), 14 Yellanach (Johnny Cuzens).

After keeping New Zealand Cricket waiting, Mathew Sinclair has signed on for the next season.Sinclair was expected to stay in New Zealand even though he considered contracts from clubs in South Africa, and the top-order batsman has confirmed this.Sinclair won back his contract with New Zealand Cricket after a good performance last season with the Central Districts. His next assignment is a a tour with New Zealand A to Australia. All 20 cricketers offered deals by the national body have signed on.

The ICC has announced that it will begin the process of selling the commercial, sponsorship and audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015.This period covers the 2011 World Cup in Asia, the ICC Champions Trophy, the Twenty20 Championship, World Cup qualifiers, Under-19 World Cup and the Women’s World Cup.The ICC will issue the tender documents to broadcasters, agencies and persons qualified to bid for the rights, and will begin discussions shortly. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, will lead the discussions, along with Ehsan Mani, the former ICC president, who will act as a consultant. Mani negotiated the previous agreement, which ends with the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.Speed said the initial discussion began in April, when the ICC allotted the countries hosting the various forthcoming events. “With those venues and the timings for the tournaments agreed, we are now in a position to go to market to obtain the best deal for cricket,” Speed was quoted as saying in a media release. “The sale of these rights is of huge significance for cricket throughout the world at all levels as the revenue it generates will play a pivotal role in sustaining and growing the game.”I am delighted Ehsan has agreed to act as a consultant with us in this process as he played a significant role in securing the previous agreement and his experience and expertise in this area is certain to be invaluable.”

The weather again looks set to play a big part in the second ODI at Lord’s on Saturday.Rain washed out the first match at Cardiff on Wednesday with Pakistan set for victory, and the forecast for London tomorrow is poor.England are in desperate need of a one-day miracle after winning only three of their last completed 16 ODIs – and one of those was against Ireland – as well as losing eight home matches on the trot.Darren Gough told the BBC that, unsurprisingly, confidence in the team is low.”England have lacked belief in the ability of some of the players. That’s down to not knowing whether they’re going to be part of the squad because they’re not winning and there are always going to be changes. It would have been nice if we’d got all the players who are going to play in the Champions Trophy or the World Cup and had a good run together. But since last year we’ve been split up through injuries and different players coming in. Everyone’s been playing for places.”Kevin Pietersen also spoke to the BBC, telling them that the influx of new players had created its own problems.”In a Test if you lose a session – or even two – you can still win a match, whereas in a one-day game with the inexperience if you lose 10 overs you lose the game. It’s a case of knowing when to turn it on, when to be ruthless and when to be clinical. We’ve got that approach in the Test matches but we’re struggling to find it in the one-dayers.”Andrew Strauss, meanwhile, explained that the policy was now to go for a steady rather than spectacular approach. “We’ve tried a few combinations,” he said. “We were looking at the attacking opener at one stage and we’ve tried a couple of people in that role and that didn’t quite work out for us. Maybe we’ve just gone back to trying to get more of an assured start and setting a platform for the middle order players.”Marcus has played that attacking role at the top of the order for a number of years now and done very well and it’s not as if the other players at the top of the order can’t hit boundaries, but wickets in hand are very, very important in one-day cricket.”Pakistan, meanwhile, were encouraged by their Cardiff performance after the problems of the previous ten days. “We have fielded well, certainly bowled well … I’m not sure how well we’ve batted yet,” Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach observed. “What has happened in the past we want to put behind us. Cricket is the most important thing for all of us at the moment, and we will be concentrating on that. But I suppose it is an interesting psychological motivating factor for the team. They are very determined and are playing some very good cricket. This is an interesting time in Pakistan’s cricket history.”

Division One

Fourth day
Dominic Cork’s 154, his first-class century and second highest score, enabled Lancashire to collect full batting points against Durham at Old Trafford meaning they take 11 from the match. That prospect appeared unlikely at the start of the day as they resumed on 210 for 5. Glen Chapple began positively, but edged Gareth Breese to slip, before Cork entered the fray and joined Luke Sutton. The pair added 105 for the seventh wicket, but even when Sutton fell Cork wasn’t finish. If anything he went even harder at Durham and moved from 100 to 150 in 41 balls. Tom Smith reached his highest first-class score as they added 131 for the eighth wicket, which finally ended when Cork thumped a return catch to Gary Scott but Durham missed a vital bowling point. Lancashire had one final dart at the Durham batsmen, time enough for Cork to remove Scott, but thoughts had already turned to the final round of matches. Sussex will start with an eight point advantage at the top, while Durham have been pulled well into the relegation fight, as the season goes down to the wire.Yorkshire kept their division one survival hopes alive with an outstanding 68-run victory against Nottinghamshire Headingley. Once again they had their legspinners – Mark Lawson and Adil Rashid – to thank as the pair shared another seven wickets, the same as the first innings. Yorkshire had dangled the carrot, setting Nottinghamshire 282 to win after Michael Lumb’s unbeaten 84. Jason Gillespie struck in the first over, but the visitors progressed to a promising 172 for 4 before Deon Kruis removed Graeme Swann and Mark Ealham on the same score. The tail then folded to Rashid and Lawson, despite a second valiant innings from David Hussey who followed his 119 from yesterday with an unbeaten 86.The final day at Edgbaston turned into a farewell for Nick Knight as Warwickshire and Kent played out a draw. Once it became clear a result wasn’t on the cards, Knight was given the chance to take centre stage. In a rare spell of bowling he sent down nine overs of medium pace in his final outing for Warwickshire before retirement and also claimed two catches. Matthew Walker milked the easy offerings for a century before Kent declared and Knight had a final chance at the crease. He stroked the last two boundaries of his first-class career, meaning he ended his Warwickshire days with an average of 50, before stumps were drawn.

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.”

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

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.

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)

As both captains have said, it’s time for the talking to stop. Tomorrow’s eagerly anticipated first Test contains a number of head-to-heads that could prove pivotal in the destination of the Ashes. Here, Cricinfo takes a look at seven of the most important match-ups

Ricky Ponting v Andrew Flintoff
The most successful England captain in Australia in recent years was rugby’s Martin Johnson, which is why Flintoff’s door-frame-filling captaincy could yet prove to be a masterstroke. He has the skill and popularity to lead from the front, and a sturdy brains trust to guide him in the big decisions, but he will only be truly tested if and when England fall behind. That’s when Ponting, older and wiser after his mauling at the hands of Michael Vaughan in 2005, could come into his own. He has proved himself as a batsman annually but, ultimately, he’s going to be judged on his captaincy.Shane Warne v Kevin Pietersen
In any other circumstances, Pietersen’s move to No. 5 in the order would be seen as retrogressive, as Warne himself was suggesting only this week. But then again, who better to appear at three-down in the mid-afternoon session, with the ball going soft and the spinners beginning to take hold? Only Pietersen has the eye and the chutzpah to beat Warne at his own ultra-attacking game and, as the Australians themselves have pointed out in the past, he can be a notoriously slow starter against the quicks.Adam Gilchrist v Geraint Jones
Warne’s none too impressed with Jones’s reinstatement either. Nevertheless, he did what he had to do in 2005, clinging on to the catches that really mattered, and combining with Flintoff superbly in the pivotal partnership at Trent Bridge. Moreover, the pacy pitches will suit his cross-batted game. As for Gilchrist, it’s a question of hunger as much as anything. By his own admission, his struggles from round the wicket were mental as much as technical. If he atones for 2005 with one of his typical Ashes performances, the battle will be more than half won.Matthew Hayden v Matthew Hoggard
Here’s an interesting decider. Round one, in 2002-03, went emphatically in favour of Hayden, who bullied a young and insecure Hoggard into utter submission, cashing in on his undisciplined inswinging line to deposit him over midwicket at every opportunity. Last summer, however, it was an entirely different scenario. Aided by some cunning field placings, Hoggard swung rings around his nemesis, reducing him to a leaden-footed shell of a batsman. Hayden has since reinvented his game, stripping it of much of its former bombast. But the scars could still be there to be picked at.

Justin Langer v Steve Harmison
On the last opening morning of the Ashes, a vicious rising delivery from Harmison clanged into Langer’s elbow, and thus ignited a never-to-be-forgotten contest. And once again, this battle of the openers promises to be a microcosm of the summer’s action, for each man embodies the strange fragility that lies beneath the surface of each camp. If Harmison is off-colour, England could be hung out to dry. But Langer was 36 yesterday and is arguably one serious blow from retirement. Something similar could be said for most of his team-mates.Glenn McGrath v Ian Bell
There was a moment in Jaipur during the Champions Trophy that summed up Bell’s new improved attitude to the game. Peeved at his lack of success, McGrath picked up in his follow-through and winged the ball at the batsman. Instead of flinching, Bell stood tall and looked his opponent up and down with wry amusement. How different the scene had been at The Oval last summer, when McGrath dismissed him first-ball on that fretful final morning to deliver a miserable pair. The youth has gained experience, but Mr Experience can’t regain his youth.Brett Lee v Andrew Strauss
Is this the match-up that could decide the Ashes? Quite conceivably. None of England’s top seven has played an Ashes Test in Australia before, but Strauss excelled on the bouncy wickets of South Africa two winters ago, and in the absence of Marcus Trescothick, it is up to him to blunt Australia’s sharpest tool. Lee is now 30 and knows that this is his time. Expect a plethora of cuts and pulls and high-octane action, because as England know from experience, attack is the best means of defence against the Aussies.

Scorecard

Shane Harwood and Mick Lewis justified Victoria’s decision to field first, taking all ten wickets between them and restricting New South Wales to 249. Brad Haddin and Grant Lambert had the Blues in a reasonable position at 5 for 247 before Lewis and Harwood skittled the tail, claiming 5 for 2 in the space of 14 balls.Harwood, who has missed matches this season with a strained buttock muscle, did the damage at the top of the order and finished with 6 for 51, his best first-class figures.Ed Cowan was unable to reproduce his century-making form from Sunday’s one-day game and was bowled by Harwood for 1. Phil Jaques (57) and Simon Katich (40) played well until Harwood removed them both in successive overs.Lewis (4 for 52), who has also been on the sidelines with a hip muscle injury, made the vital breakthroughs after Haddin and Lambert put on 105 for the sixth wicket. Haddin continued his fine year with 66 and Lambert, in his first game of the season, made 51. Victoria were 0 for 19 at stumps.