Paine, Hastings to go through surgeries

Tim Paine and John Hastings will undertake surgeries and have been lined out of Australia's short-format teams for next month's tour of South Africa.

The duo both need surgery on injury which will rule them out of the two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals, which get beneath way with the opening T20 clash in Cape Town on October 13.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Paine has been stressed with a long-term finger injury and Australia team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "Tim Paine wounded his right index finger batting at training with his Tasmanian state team four weeks ago. He sustained a fracture in a similar part of the same finger late last year and necessary surgery.

"Tim has been inactive the injury in recent weeks but is still experience considerable pain. His surgeon has advised that the fracture is healing slower than predictable and may not heal without surgical interference. As such, Tim will be undergoing surgery later this week.

"He is likely to need a comprehensive recuperation period following surgery and will not be available for collection for the T20 and ODI tour of South Africa."

All-rounder Hastings picked up a shoulder injury with his state side after frequent from Australia's tour of Sri Lanka and has been lined out for an undetermined period.

"He has had ongoing shoulder pain since this event and has been not capable to return to training," Kountouris explain.

"He has consulted a surgeon who has recommended surgery. It is likely that he will have surgery sometime in the next week after further assessment from the surgeon.
"His return to cricket will be needy on the management approach pursued."

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India squad next to England on Sept 29

The Indian squad for next month's first two one-dayers next to the visiting England side will be picked in Chennai on Thursday, according to the BCCI sources.

"The team for the first two ODIs next to England will be chosen in Chennai on September 29," BCCI source said on Monday.

The selectors will also decide the three teams - India Red, Indian Blue and India Green - to take part in the N K P Salve Challenger Series in Nagpur from October 10-13, the sources added.

The first two India-England ODIs are to be held in Hyderabad (October 14) and Delhi (October 17).

The squad for the outstanding three ODIs is likely to be picked at the end of the first two matches. The remaining ties are to be held in Mohali (October 20), Mumbai (October 23) and Kolkata (October 25).

England is also scheduled to play a one-off T20 International next to India in Kolkata on October 29 before departure home.

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Court rejects Modi's appeal next to panel

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed Lalit Modi's plea for reconstitution of the BCCI-appointed corrective panel inquisitive allegations of financial irregularity against him.

A bench comprise justices J M Panchal and H L Gokhale said that the three-member committee was "validly" constitute by the BCCI and it cannot be reconstituted just on the ground of apprehension of biasness expressed by Modi.

"We cannot presume that member won’t give fair trial to the petitioner (Modi)," the bench said, adding that the "committee was validly constitute".

"Mere uneasiness of biasness cannot be a ground to reconstitute the group," the bench said.

Modi had required reconstitution of the three-member panel comprising Arun Jaitley, Chirayu Amin and Jyotiraditya Scindia for probing suspected irregularities by him.

He had sought taking away of Jaitley and Amin from the panel, alleging that they might be biased next to him as they were part of the Special General Body gathering of BCCI where decision next to Modi was taken.

He enthused the apex court after the Bombay High Court on July 15, 2010 dismissed his appeal of reconstitution of the committee and challenging his postponement from BCCI.

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CLT20 - Points Table

Group A

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	N/R	Pts	Net RR
New South Wales	4	3	1	0	6	+0.627
Mumbai Indians	4	2	1	1	5	-0.280
Trinidad & Tobago	4	2	2	0	4	+0.176
Cape Cobras	4	1	2	1	3	+0.229
Chennai Super Kings	4	1	3	0	2	-0.712

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	N/R	Pts	Net RR
Somerset	4	2	1	1	5	-0.557
Royal Challengers Bangalore	4	2	2	0	4	+0.325
Kolkata Knight Riders	4	2	2	0	4	+0.306
Warriors	4	2	2	0	4	+0.246
South Australia	4	1	2	1	3	-0.533

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Botha: We played and execute our plan

subsequent their 50-run win over the Red backs in the NCL T20, Warriors captain Johan Botha said they played to the plan and are looking onward to the challenges ahead.

"Two out of two at the start of the competition is always important," he told reporters after Warriors scored their second succeeding win in the tournament.

He was all praise for Jon-Jon Smuts, whose knock of 88 off 65 balls helped the South African team set a huge total of 171 in 20 over’s.

"After 12 overs, we stress-free a little bit but the guys took it to 170. We knew it was not going to be easy for the team batting second," he said.

He also hails his bowlers for making early inroads by claim three wickets in first six overs.

Botha said he was look forward to the next match next to Kolkata Knight Riders on Oct 1.

"Three out of three will take us to the knockout. Our goal is to go to the play-offs. Then we will be two away from winning the tournament," he said.

In the last group B match, Warriors will face Somerset, one of the three qualifiers for the main contest.

"They have good international players. It is not going to be easy but the way we are playing at the moment, we are look forward to the challenge," Botha added.

"Obviously, it was great presentation. Today it was me. Tomorrow someone else will be there," said Smut, who also claims one wicket.

"The track was good to bat for six hours but after that it got slow. It was bit difficult from 7 to 14 but clearly we got used to this situation," he said.

Losing Captain Michael Klinger felt that his side did not execute the basic skills well. "They have done better than us," was how he summed up the outcome.

"We gave away too many runs at the start. We did not carry out the bowling well and then we kept loosing wickets frequently and the run rate kept going up," he said.

The skipper, however, said they got sufficient match practice before and also after inward in India. "This is not an excuse," he said and hoped that his team would lift its game in the remaining three group matches.

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Wasim: Need to include Indo-Pak matches

Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels that India and Pakistan taking on each other on the sports field would get ready players from both the sides to handle pressure.

Akram, who was taking part in a panel conversation along with ex-Indian hockey captain, Dhanraj Pillay, also slam colleague and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for his pained comments in his autobiography, "Controversially Yours", next to top Indian batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Akram, who represent his country in 104 Tests and 356 ODIs between 1985 and 2003, wanted India and Pakistan to connect in sports at all levels.

"We should have usual contests in all sports from the under-16, under-19 levels. India-Pakistan games are pressure games. Once a player knows how to grip the force in these matches, he can play next to all other teams," said the 45-year-old Akram.

About Akhtar's remark on Tendulkar and Dravid, Akram joke that the former Pakistani pacer was missing in brains.

"Batsmen of the calibre of Tendulkar and Dravid are not frightened of fast bowlers. At times they may just block a bowler like me to protect their wickets," he said.

Asked about the most unforgettable moments in his cricket career, Akram, one of the best-ever left-arm fast bowlers in the history of the game, singled out three instances.

"Our World Cup victory in 1992 (under Imran Khan), and the Test series victory over (hosts) India in 1987 (Pakistan's maiden one) and our wins in India in 1999," he said.

Pakistan has beaten India at Chennai before the hosts avenge the defeat in Delhi in the two-Test rubber. In another Test right away afterwards in Kolkata, part of the now obsolete Asian Test Championship, the visitors defeated the home team.

Akram singled out the irresistible loss in the World Cup final of 1999 to Australia, in which he led his country, as his most unmemorable moment.

Asked concerning the top batsmen he had bowled to, the Lahore-born Akram said there were quite a few.

"In the start, there was (India's) Sunil Gavaskar.

"Later, there were Allan Border, Mark Taylor, the Waugh brothers (all Australians) and then (West Indian) Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and England's Alec Stewart, who I found difficult to bowl to," he said.

Akram also said that over the last four or five years, the Pakistan cricket team lacked "a proper role model".

"They had Shoaib as one," he remarked in a jocular vein.

Akram, a diabetic, said he was at first worried when he was diagnosed with the disease in 1987 but then after a two-month break to take treatment, came back and took over 250 wickets each in both Tests and ODIs.

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