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Crisis follows crisis with unrelenting frequency in West Indies cricket and the latest, already formed, has become more pressing three days before the first Test against South Africa on Boxing Day.As their feeble batting crumbled to their second meagre total and three-day defeat in East London against South Africa’s second-string team on Friday, there remained doubt over whether captain Chris Gayle would regain fitness by then and be able to lead the team for the first time in a Test.Media manager Philip Spooner said on Friday that the decision would be delayed until the eve of the match after day-by-day assessments by the medical staff, physiotherapists Jacqui Mowat-King and recently arrived Australian, CJ Smith. Gayle, who tore his right hamstring muscle in the second ODI in Zimbabwe on December 2, has returned to batting practice in the nets and resumed catching, running and stretching exercises, Spooner said.But Gayle was realistic in his assessment of his injury. “I’ve been getting better and I’m really looking forward to playing in Port Elizabeth,” he added. “Physically I’m feeling strong again and mentally I’m there. I have been doing work in the nets and trying to get back in the groove again.”Gayle is not only captain, albeit in place of the injured Ramnaresh Sarwan, but even more significantly the only available batsman apart from the perennial Shivnarine Chanderpaul with more than 50 Tests (68) and an average better than 35 (38.28). His handy offspin would also be missed in an attack based around pace.He has thrived on his previous trips to South Africa, with two hundreds in three Tests and an average of 61, plus an unbeaten 152 in the final ODI, four years ago and 117 against the home team in the ICC World Twenty20 Championship last September.The seriousness of his absence at the top of the order was simply emphasised by the double failure of the two openers, Devon Smith and Daren Ganga, in the East London match, the only one prior to the three back-to-back Tests. The left-handed Smith was out for ten and five, making a grand total of 51 runs in eight innings in matches in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ganga, who played the first of his 45 spasmodic Tests here nine years ago, fell for 10 and 0, his first innings on tour since he was not in the ODI squad in Zimbabwe. For both, such setbacks would be psychologically shattering. Both struggled in the last series in England last summer, and must be aware they have all but exhausted their chances.The only other opener in the team is Brenton Parchment, the one newcomer, whose highest score in his four knocks on tour have been 15, 25, 5 and 10.Ironically, injury also kept Gayle inactive during the 2003-04 tour. He pulled a calf muscle on the first day of the first Test in which he batted at No.9 with a runner and missed the second. On his return, he blasted a 78-ball hundred (eventually 116) in the third Test, 145 in the next match against Easterns, 77 and 107 in the fourth and final Test and 152 not out in the final ODI.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Australia are lucky that Glenn McGrath never tires of hauling them from danger. McGrath pushed New Zealand back at the start of their innings, and knocked them off in the second-last over of a thrilling first one-day international at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.While his team-mates felt the pressure and spilled no-balls and overthrows, McGrath grabbed the ball for his final act and wrapped up Hamish Marshall, who was a No. 1 haircut away from a Michael Bevan-esque escape, and Daryl Tuffey to end a pulsating match. They should have lost, but won by 10 runs thanks to experience.Marshall’s bird’s-nest hair became an iconic symbol of Twenty20 on Thursday, and he proved he was more than a hirsute gimmick with a cool 76 from 69 balls on a tricky pitch that glued up most batsmen’s strokeplay. His only mistake was to challenge convention by an extra half-metre, as he pushed across to McGrath and leg-glanced on to his stumps (224 for 9).The giggles of Twenty20 were shaved away like the New Zealanders’ facial hair, and teams that had bonded over a novelty were again onfield enemies in the fight between the world’s top two one-day sides. Both outfits recovered from batting mistakes that appeared deadly at the time to fulfil expectations for a roaring start to the series.New Zealand were crushed by McGrath and Brett Lee as they took 22 runs and lost two wickets in the first ten overs. Drifting aimlessly at 113 for 5 in the 34th over, Marshall strengthened his position with the big-hitting Craig McMillan after losing Chris Cairns to a horrible run-out and Nathan Astle, whose 65 stabilised the innings when it wanted to flat-line.McMillan lifted the pace – and Andrew Symonds over the grandstand – with a massive slog that lost the ball. The run carried along Marshall, happier to place his shots and scurry between the wickets, and when McMillan fell to Adam Gilchrist’s fabulous stumping off McGrath – he was standing up to him – the momentum was maintained. Gilchrist walked up to take McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz in a brave display, and the ball which picked up McMillan was timed at 136kph.

The target of 77 from the final 10 overs was cut to 32 from four and 13 from two. Australia were flustered, and held more conferences than a five-star hotel. Lee walked up for his second over of the spell and took care of Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori, before McGrath closed the show with 4 for 16. He did show that he wasn’t perfect, though, by dropping a catch.Batting against the medium-pacers had been a struggle for Australia; it was even harder against the quicker men. McGrath’s opening was unrelenting, giving away only seven runs in as many overs. The accuracy did for Mathew Sinclair, who pushed forward and away from his body, for Gilchrist to take an easy catch (16 for 2). By then Stephen Fleming had fallen to a questionable Aleem Dar lbw decision as Lee came around the wicket (13 for 1). Lee was fast, but Fleming was closer to furious.Fleming’s mood was much better when his side bowled, despite a closing half-century from Symonds that boosted Australia’s competitiveness. At the toss Fleming asked his bowlers to take the pace off the ball, and Styris followed the orders with a stunning display.Australia lost a dreadful 5 for 20 – they faced similar setbacks in the two Chappell-Hadlee Series games in December – to fall from the comfort of 140 for 1 to severe trauma after Styris became involved. He had already cheered the important wickets of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, who both made half-centuries, before he burst in with the scalps of Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke in his eighth over (158 for 5). Medium-pace at best, Styris ran his fingers over the seam in a way that would have impressed the absent Chris Harris, and collected 4 for 40.Playing himself in as wickets fell, Symonds was repaid for his patience with 53 from 44 balls, and lifted Australia in a necessary late spree, adding 69 with the help of Brad Hogg (25 not out). Australia will point fingers at the middle order for blowing a large total after they failed to adapt once Hayden and Ponting combined for 133.Reinstated at the top of the order after being dropped for the VB Series finals, Hayden scored 71 from 109 balls in a scratchy but confidence-boosting display that included favourable lbw and caught-behind decisions from Billy Bowden. Ponting was also below his most fluent as he played his side’s finest innings. He deserved to be disappointed with his batsmen, and in awe of his bowling leader.

Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire were frustrated by the rain on the second day of their promotion tussle at Bristol.Only 16.4 overs were possible, during which time Gloucestershire moved from 13-0 to 73-1 in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 216.A draw is unlikely to be any good to either side in their bid to go up, and an unsettled weather forecast for the final two days of the game could force the captains to set up a contrived finish.No play was possible in the morning session. An attempt was made at 12 noon, only for the players to come off for bad light just as the first ball was to be bowled.The action finally started at 1.20pm and Nottinghamshire enjoyed success in the third over of the day.Dominic Hewson pushed forward at a David Lucas delivery and was caught by Guy Welton at short leg for three.That left the home county on 13-1 in the eighth over, but the next 13 overs produced 60 runs as Kim Barnett and Matt Windows cut loose.Barnett was the main aggressor with an unbeaten 41 from 65 deliveries, with six fours cracked through the off-side.All of them were taken off pace bowler Andy Harris, who was punished for offering too much width to his former Derbyshire colleague.Windows had a couple of boundaries, one off Lucas and one off Harris, in his unbeaten 18, which was good enough to take him past 1,000 first-class runs in a season for the second time.Windows has now scored 1,004 runs this campaign, with 14 of those scored for the First Class Counties XI against New Zealand A.

The management of the South African team in Pakistan has lodged an appeal with the ICC against the two-Test match ban handed down to Andrew Hall following an incident in the second ODI at Lahore a week ago.Hall was found guilty by Clive Lloyd, the ICC match referee, of two breaches of the Code of Conduct. The first was a Level 2 breach for inappropriate and deliberate physical contact, for which he was banned for one ODI (that ban was served today in the final match of the Pakistan series). The second was a Level 3 offence for conduct that brings the game into disrepute, for which he has been banned for two Test matches.In accordance with ICC regulations, a player found guilty of a Level 3 or 4 offence has 24 hours from notification of the sentence to lodge an appeal. The appeal is likely to be heard within the next five days.Hall, South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith and the Pakistan batsman Yousuf Youhana were involved in an on-field altercation during the Pakistan innings in the second ODI at Lahore on Oct 4. The match officials did not report the incident, but Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, exercised his right to cite the players and call for video footage of the clash. After the hearing Hall received his double ban, while Smith was suspended for one ODI (like Hall, he missed the decider in Rawalpindi) and fined 50% of his match fee for a Level 2 offence relating to the use of obscene or offensive language, and Youhana was found guilty of a Level 1 offence of bringing the game into disrepute and fined 50% of his match fee.Hall’s appeal will be heard by Sir Oliver Popplewell, a former English high-court judge – and a former president of MCC to boot. Sir Oliver is the England & Wales Cricket Board’s nominated member of the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission, and has been appointed as the appeals commissioner for Hall’s case by Urvasi Naidoo, the ICC’s legal counsel.

Eight players have been awarded central contracts by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a deal which could net each of them as much as £400,000 over the next year. The days of top cricketers being the poor relations of international sports appear to be long gone.For five of the eight – Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick – the contracts were just a renewal of the existing situation, but three – James Anderson, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff – receive one for the first time.Given that the original purpose of central contracts was to try to protect players from the daily grind of county cricket and ensure that they are at their peak when playing for England, it is a little surprising that only two – Flintoff and Anderson – are fast bowlers. The only other bowler on the list is Giles, a selection which owes more to his role as a utility Test and ODI player than any outstanding performances over the last 12 months.The terms of the contracts mean that the players are entirely outside the control of their counties and are under the fulltime supervision of the ECB.

After the success of online ticketing for the recent Indian tour of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board has again launched an online service for fans in and outside Pakistan for purchasing tickets for the Paktel Cup and the Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.Tickets are available for online ordering: purchasers will be able to pick up their tickets at booths located near the venues.The Paktel Cup is a seven-match triangular series featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, starting with a match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at Multan on September 30. The final, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, is on October 16.Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka begins at Faisalabad on October 20.The initiative, in partnership with Wisden Cricinfo, produced sales on the very first night, as fans gear up to follow their teams.The Pakistan Cricket Board has allocated a substantial number of ticketsto online buyers, and their online service is open to all-comers.Click here to order your tickets online

Tamil Nadu, who emerged as leader with 29 points of the South Zoneleague in the Cooch Behar tournament, lifted the Ghulam Ahmed Trophy,qualifying – along with Andhra – for the knock-out stage from theSouth Zone.The tie between the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka under-19 teams was the mosteagerly awaited of all the matches in the league, so it must have been ablow for the spectators when the third day was washed out due to rain.Karnataka, winning the toss, opted to bat, but they could only manage223 at the Guru Nanak ground in Chennai. Opener G Nidhuvan made 62,while Stuart Binny top-scored at number four with 72 off 113 balls,striking seven fours and three sixes in the process.With T Kumaran taking four wickets, Tamil Nadu had made a good startwith the ball. Their essay with the bat too was striking, with skipperAditya Srikkanth making 100 off 190 balls at the top of the order. Hewas supported well by K Vasudevadas’ 97, and Tamil Nadu reached 332 fornine by the end of the second day. But incessant rain and wet conditionson the final day made play impossible, drawing the match.Goa draws with KeralaThe other tie, between Goa and Kerala being played at the CPT-IP groundin Chennai, was also drawn, with hardly an innings and a half beingcompleted inside the three days. Kerala, batting first, were bowled outfor 276, with skipper MM Nathani leading the scoring with 108 off 200.But the opposing captain hogged the limelight himself. S Asnodkar at thetop of the order put on 191 for the first wicket, out of which ASKolambkar made only 52. Asnodkar went on to make 205 off 365 balls,falling only as the fourth wicket with the score on 338. By that time,little possibility of a result remained, and the game meandered untilGoa reached 356 for five at stumps on the third day.

Mike Watkinson will remain as Lancashire’s cricket manager until the end of the 2007 season, after signing a four-year extension to his contract.Watkinson, who was drafted in as England’s bowling coach for the tour to Bangladesh last October, began negotiations with Lancashire at the end of last season, but the deal was finally completed thisweek.”I have been happy with the progress which has been made, not only by the first team, but by Lancashire cricket in general over the past two years," said Watkinson. "Hopefully this will continue into the seasons ahead.””Mike is a Lancastrian through and through," added Lancashire’s chairman, Jack Simmons. "Success for the club is, I know, Mike’s main ambition. The contract extension represents security for him and shows the confidence the club has in his abilities.”

ScorecardSurrey took firm control of the first day of their match against Bangladesh A at The Oval, racking up 336 for 5 before declaring. Bangladesh A made 45 without loss by the close on a decent wicket, but the day belonged to the home side. James Benning made 124 before being run out, and there were half-centuries for Richard Clinton, Andrew Hodd and Ian Salisbury. Hodd and Salisbury shared an unbeaten stand of 105 before Mark Butcher called time on the innings.Surrey took the opportunity to blood their 17-year-old batsman Rory Hamilton, but he made just 5 before being bowled by Enamul Haque Jnr, the second of his two wickets. There were failures, too, for Scott Newman, who made 8, and Butcher, who reached 5 on his return.Other young players were included in the home side’s team for experience, with 19-year-old Jade Dernbach opening the bowling; he had six overs for 32, and Hodd, the wicketkeeper/batsman striking an unbeaten fifty. Shahriar Nafees and Mehrab Hossain Jnr had started to build the visitors’ reply and they will look to cement a solid partnership when play gets underway again on Thursday.

Australia’s selectors will rely on medical advice before deciding whether the opening batsman Justin Langer will play with a fractured rib in Thursday’s first Test against West Indies. Langer was adamant that he would play in the first of three matches against the tourists at the Gabba despite breaking a rib while playing for Western Australia in an ING Cup match on Saturday.But John Buchanan, the coach, said that the decision would be taken out of the strong-willed hands of Langer on Monday. “He’s a very tough little nut,” Buchanan said on Sunday. “He’s a vital member of our side. For him personally and for us as a team, we want to make sure we make the right decision. It’s like everybody else understands, that if he was unfit, he wouldn’t be playing. I know that he desperately wants to play and we desperately want him to play.”Mike Hussey, Langer’s Western Australian team-mate and the one-day international batsman, is the likely stand-by player. But Langer was in no mood to give someone else a crack at his hard-earned opening spot. “I’ve never had a broken rib before,” he said. “I am certainly feeling it at the moment but I’m sure by Thursday it will be okay.”Asked how confident he was of playing he said: “No doubt, 100%. I’ll probably be a bit sore for a while. I’m not trying to be a hero but it’s only pain, mate.”Buchanan said: “It’s going to be pretty important that we try to settle the side as quickly as we can. The selectors are discussing it. There isn’t an official stand-by player because we still don’t fully understand the extent of the injury, apart from the fact that we know it’s a broken rib and he’s pretty bloody sore. The selectors will take that all into account and have a decision [Monday].”Langer was one of the few batting successes in the failed Ashes campaign against England last month, topping Australia’s averages with 394 runs. With 22 centuries and 7,023 runs in 94 Tests at an average of 45.90, he is Australia’s eighth-highest scorer.