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Mark Cosgrove is disappointed after it emerged he was dropped for being out of shape as well as his poor form, saying South Australia should base selection on runs only. This is the second time in three seasons that Cosgrove, who debuted for Australia 18 months ago, has been dumped owing to fitness concerns.Cosgrove, 23, denied that his weight affected his game. “I don’t think it makes any difference at all,” he told the Adelaide Advertiser. “All you have to do is watch the ball, hit the ball. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to play cricket.”He averages 26.15 in first-class matches this year but he is the fifth highest run scorer for the struggling team. After retirements and the poor batting form of some team-mates, he still also averages in the top five of the recognised and available batsmen.”I don’t think I have let myself down in any shape or form. I can bat, bowl and I’m catching pretty well, so I am pretty disappointed. I didn’t think I was going that bad. I didn’t see it coming. I am the first to say I am not hitting them that great. This year was pretty disappointing but it was still a shock.”Graham Manou, South Australia’s captain, offered his support. “Mark’s got to go away and decide what he wants to do and what’s best,” he told . “That’s him playing good cricket and obviously presenting himself in the best possible fashion like the 28 other blokes in the squad.”As a mate it disappoints me to be honest with you, he’s got more talent in his little finger than a lot of other people going around playing parkland cricket and I’m sure they’re frustrated for him. We need him playing for us, he’s by far our best batsman when he’s going well and this week was one of the saddest I’ve had as a mate for him.”Mark Sorell, South Australia’s coach, said that Cosgrove was dropped for form and fitness reasons. “He knows he needs to be in the best possible shape to be a three-tiered player for us – batting, bowling and fielding,” Sorell told the Adelaide-based Messenger earlier this month. “We’ve talked about the need for him to be the best he possibly can and he’s got to keep working at that.”The batsman has played three ODIs, making 74 on his debut against Bangladesh in 2006 but a return to international cricket seems further away than ever. He can’t even buy a run at club level, in two knocks for Northern Districts this season he has made 3 and 12.

It’s top plays bottom this weekend when leaders New South Wales head to Western Australia for their WNCL double header on Friday and Saturday, followed by a Twenty20 at the WACA on Sunday. But if the Western Fury are hoping to usher in the New Year productively they’re going to need stern resolution: New South Wales have won every match so far and can secure a home final if they win both.The Fury’s head coach Steve Philippe is aiming high. “The girls are under no illusions as to how big the challenge will be this week,” he said, “but we will be looking to our experienced campaigners to lead from the front and give us a shot at victory.”The likes of Angele Gray, Jenny Wallace and Lauren Ebsary have been on the verge of delivering the goods in recent games and playing the best team in Australia over the past decade could be the catalyst for them to produce something special this week.”The Breakers top the table with 25.5 points, while their captain Lisa Sthalekar has again been the outstanding player in this year’s competition with 265 runs at an average of 53.00 and ten wickets at 13.80. Selectors have named 13 players for the trip, with experienced medium-pacer Sharon Millanta added to the squad which defeated Queensland before Christmas.The Twenty20 will be a curtain-raiser for the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash game between the Warriors and the Queensland Bulls. Previous experiments with the women opening for the men have proved successful and it is hoped that this will be replicated at international level on February 1, when England play Australia, while the men’s team are set to host India.Victoria, meanwhile, host Queensland in the same format of games and days. Their Twenty20 in turn will come before the men’s hosting of New South Wales, and that’s at the MCG.Megan Compston and Elyse Villani will make their WNCL debuts and come into the side at the expense of Jane Franklin and Jessica Cameron. Compston is a lively medium pacer while Villani is a hard-hitting batter and handy change bowler. Teenagers Meg Lanning and Renee Melton will also play in senior Victorian colours for the first time in Sunday’s Twenty20 match.VicSpirit captain Sarah Edwards said the team was looking to bounce back from consecutive losses to NSW prior to Christmas. “We’ve been able to respond strongly to any defeats in recent times and will be looking to do so again,” she said. “It would be terrific to grab maximum points at the Junction Oval and then showcase our skills at the MCG on Sunday ahead of the Bushrangers clash.”New South Wales Breakers squad Lisa Sthalekar (capt), Alex Blackwell, Sarah Aley, Sarah Andrews, Charlotte Anneveld, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Rene Farrell, Alyssa Healy, Lisa Kuschert, Sharon Millanta, Ellyse Perry, Leah Poulton.Victoria WNCL squad Sarah Edwards (capt), Rachael Haynes, Clea Smith, Julie Hunter, Kelly Applebee, Emma Inglis, Kristen Beams, Mel Jones, Megan Compston, Annie Rose Maloney, Jodi Dean, Elyse Villani.Victoria Twenty20 squad Sarah Edwards (capt), Rachael Haynes, Julie Hunter, Kelly Applebee, Emma Inglis, Megan Compston, Annie Rose Maloney, Elyse Villani, Meg Lanning, Jessica Cameron, Renee Melton.Western Fury WNCL squad Avril Fahey (capt), Renee Chappell, Emma Biss, Nicole Bolton, Donna Brown, Kate Burns, Lauren Ebsary, Angele Gray, Mel Holmes, Charlotte Horton, Holly Hyder, Peta Merrilees, Lauren Stammers, Jenny Wallace, Amanda Williams and Jaimi Wilson.Western Fury Twenty20 squad Renee Chappell (capt), Jenny Wallace, Emma Biss, Nicole Bolton, Kate Burns, Lauren Ebsary, Avril Fahey, Angele Gray, Peta Merrilees, Lauren Stammers, Gemma Triscari, Amanda Williams and Jaimi Wilson.

Mahela Jayawardene said that it was time his team showed some character and gave Australia some of its own medicine.”We’ve been pushed to the wall now. Where else can we go but push them back. The next two days are very crucial for us to show some of the character that we have spoken of,” said Jayawardene after scoring his maiden Test century against Australia on the third day of the second Test at Hobart.”We spoke a lot about finding within us to beat this team but unfortunately we still haven’t got that. That hunger for victory and success we need bring that out in ourselves.”Jayawardene was of the opinion that if you spend some time in the middle, as he did, runs would come. Some of Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen got out playing loose shots before assessing the pitch which led to them being dismissed for 246 – 296 runs behind Australia in the first innings.Jayawardene scored 104 of those runs getting to his hundred with the help of the tailenders after his top order batsmen had deserted him leaving him the lone man standing defying Australia.”It was important for me to spend some time there in the initial period and get to a position where I could get something out of it,” Jayawardene said. “Mixed feelings, though, since it wasn’t a very good day for us overall. I was very disappointed with our batting today, we need to show a bit more character I guess.”He rated his hundred among the top of the 19 he had scored in his career because “it was tough and that I hadn’t scored one against Australia before. Australia is a very good attack. They kept asking questions and I was a bit lucky at times as I got beaten. It’s a very good wicket to bat on if you bat through the initial period to get used to the pace of it and then graft your runs.”I was very slow, I wanted to make sure I didn’t make many mistakes upfront and once I got into that position and got 70 runs with the seventh wicket down, I thought we need to push for more runs. I was the only person who could have done that. I took a few more risks and managed to get a few more boundaries going my way. That momentum carried me to the hundred. If you give yourself time to settle down you have a good chance of scoring a big one.”Jayawardene will be hoping that his responsible knock would rub on the rest of the team members when they set out to bat in the second innings some time tomorrow. “We need to show a bit more belief in our ability. As soon as you go [to the middle] is where you are most vulnerable against this attack.”

Over of the day
At 237 for 3 and with half an hour of the day’s play remaining, Englandwere in sight of a satisfactory day’s work. It had been slow andsapping, and possibly less rewarding than they had envisaged. Still, they were expecting to lay claim to at least a share of thespoils. And then Lasith Malinga wrecked all their good work in thespace of two new-ball deliveries. If Cook’s leg-before decision was debatable, therecould be no quibbling with his follow-up to Ravi Bopara. Full, fastand swinging, it ripped through the new boy’s defences and brought tomind the low-slung hostility Malinga generated in that incredibleWorld Cup spell in Guyana. He’s been quiet in this series so far, buthe’s always been about more than just his haircuts.Innings of the day
Throughout the first session, it seemed there was only one man to whomthis day was going to belong. Michael Vaughan was in such superlativetouch that by lunch he had outscored his junior partner by four runsto one. And yet, as the shadows began to creep, only one of thepairing was still standing. Cook committed himself to survival, andendured in the manner that recalled the endeavours of his Essexteam-mate, Nasser Hussain, seven years ago. Patience is the key in SriLanka, as all the sages in the England set-up like to profess. Cookcouldn’t quite see it through to the close, but he was the only manwho looked like heeding that advice.Drop of the day
It hasn’t been the easiest of series for Cook. His Kandy experiencelasted all of seven balls and though he had been hanging around forrather longer than that today, the runs were refusing to flow. Afterlimping to 8 from 38 balls, he edged Dilhara Fernando into no-man’sland between first and second slip. Realistically it was KumarSangakkara’s catch, but Mahela Jayawardene at second dived straightacross his team-mate, and the moment was lost. As England learnt totheir cost at Kandy, such let-offs can be crucial.Dismissal of the day
Like some mad scientist, Vaughan is always on the look-out for new andinventive ways to get out – handling the ball, getting bowled off theunderside of his thigh pad, serving up miracle one-handed plucks tooutstretched fast bowlers and the list goes on. Today, with a centurythere for the taking, he decided to test the adhesiveness of JehanMubarak’s thighs with a firm tuck off the hips. Mubarak at short legstood his ground, clenched his legs together, and rolled overbackwards to end the most fluent innings of the dayControversy of the day
A monstrous moment, and potentially a match-turning one as well.Kevin Pietersen drove with hard hands at his fifth delivery, and squirted asharp edge low to Chamara Silva’s left at third slip. Silva reactedbrilliantly, scooped the ball off the turf, juggled it as he fell toearth, by which time Sangakkara at first had swooped round to tidy therebound. Sri Lanka’s reaction was ecstatic and the umpires wereconvinced, but replays suggested the chance had gone to ground at thefirst attempt. Pietersen somehow attracts these moments. Against Indiaat Lord’s last summer he was reprieved as he reached the paviliongate, and once again he loitered with every intention of carrying onhis innings. This time it wasn’t to be, and England’s momentum waswell and truly quashed.Fight of the day
Ricky Hatton v Floyd Mayweather. It may have been taking place on theother side of the world, but the world title bout in Las Vegas was theonly topic of conversation on the morning of the Test. The ground wasechoingly empty for the first session of play as most of the BarmyArmy chose to watch the contest in the lounge at the Hilton. Onepunter was even said to have asked Angus Fraser over breakfast: “Whichare you off to watch today, the cricket or the boxing?”Idiot of the day
Midway through the 70th over, a streaker decided to liven upproceedings by hopping over the fence and giving a quick twirl of theoutfield. So far, so very average. The amusing aspect came a couple ofminutes later. Reunited with his shorts, and with a T-shirt drapedover his shoulder, he strutted along the hill, taking the salute fromEngland’s fans, and generally loving his moment. Unfortunately, hiscockiness left the ground authorities in no doubt whatsoever as to hisidentity. And off he was led to the local slammer, busted by his ownbravado.

There’s still no guarantee that there’ll be any cricket awaiting them, as the telecast-rights dispute rumbles on through the courts of India, but Australia’s cricketers are nonetheless preparing to fly out to Mumbai, ahead of their four-Test series, which begins in October.Four members of the squad were not involved in the Champions Trophy – the spinners, Shane Warne, Cameron White and Nathan Hauritz, and the opening batsman, Justin Langer – and they are set to arrive in India in the early hours of Friday morning. They are departing their home states today, before convening in Singapore to catch the same flight to Mumbai.For Warne in particular, the coming weeks represent one of the biggest challenges of his glittering career. Despite all his successes, he has never yet successfully cracked India, and if Australia are to avenge their 2-1 defeat in the corresponding series in 2000-01, then he will need to be at the top of his game.No travel arrangements have yet been announced for the main body of players, who are currently in England recovering from the shock of their semi-final defeat at Edgbaston. The first match of the tour, a three-day affair against the Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, will begin at the Brabourne Stadium on September 30.

The South African international wicketkeeper-batsman Nic Pothas has joined Hampshire on a two-year contract.

Pothas, 28 from Johannesburg, qualifies as an EC player as he holds a Greek passport. He represented South Africa in three one-day internationals in Singapore in August 2000.Pothas, who had been chased by four other English counties, was classified only recently as an EC player and now plays for Gauteng, formerly Transvaal, as their overseas player. He made his Transvaal debut eight years ago and has a batting average of 36 with a top score of 165.”He is a quality player,” says Hampshire’s Director of Cricket Tim Tremlett, “and comes highly recommended by our South African coach Jimmy Cook.”

At 16, Martin Nurse is already living part of his life-longdream and making good on a promise he made to his motherwhen she was alive.He has put the early trauma of losing his mother at just 11years old behind him and moved on to become one of theyoungest players to be named to the island’s senior cricketteam.My mother always supported me and I know if she were stillhere she would be proud of me.From young I always told her that I wanted to play cricketfor Barbados and, hopefully, the West Indies, he said.The Deighton Griffith Secondary School student has beenraised mostly by his older brother, Mark, who, he said,really pushed him to go after his dream.I am really excited and happy to be playing with some of theolder members of the team and the guys have all supportedme, said the quiet youngster.I honestly didn’t feel I did that great during the trials,but I still felt like I had a chance of making the team.I was surprised but happy when I heard I had been selected.All of my friends and family said they were proud of me andhope I do well.My ultimate dream, of course, is to one day play for theWest Indies, said the left-handed opening batsman.Nurse has been on a high since hearing the news and,yesterday, the confidence showed as he strutted out on theEmmerton Playing Field next to Barbados captain SherwinCampbell in the Emmerton Tapeball Cricket Competition.The fifth-form student was the leading Division 1 batsmanthis season with 737 runs, including a century his second atthat level.The first was a match-saving knock for Combined Schoolsagainst Spartan in Queen’s Park on his debut.He was a late bloomer, never seriously taking up the gameuntil he reached secondary school. Even then, the residentof Foursquare, St Philip, was never a part of the nationalUnder-15 or Under-19 teams.But a strong will and determination has seen him leapfrogover many players who were elevated while he had to sit backand watch.He creates history by becoming the first player to make thesenior side while still a junior, without making theUnder-19 team.He will, however, not be in Barbados for the season-opener.He leaves on January 8 for a three-week stint in Australia,where he will attend the Bradman Coaching School in Sydney,and other camps in Melbourne.From there it’s all in his hands.

Sri Lanka 243 for 7 (Atapattu 99, Jayawardene 35) beat Shell Academy XI 128 (Muralitharan 3-5) by 115 runsSri Lanka won an easy tour game against the Shell Cricket Academy to begin their tour of West Indies in fine style. Leading from the front, Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s one-day captain, made 99 and Muttiah Muralitharan returned figures of 3 for 5 as Sri Lanka won by 115 runs.Atapattu won the toss and opted to bat, after which Sri Lanka made 243 for 7 in their 50 overs. Atapattu’s 99 was the centerpiece of the innings, though worryingly, none of the other batsmen managed to convert their starts.The Shell Academy batsmen were never up for the chase, and had no answers to Muralitharan. Five of Muralitharan’s seven overs were maidens, and he stifled the Shell Academy batsmen completely in the middle overs, snuffing out all resistance.Prabath Nissanka was the first to strike for Sri Lanka, getting rid of Kurt Wilkinson for just 5. Krishna Arjune (17) and Dwayne Bravo (12) showed some spunk in a 32-run stand, but Arjune was out with the score on 40, and three more wickets fell on 44.After that, it was routine. Matthew Sinclair, the wicketkeeper, top-scored with 22, but the Shell Academy XI only managed to crawl to 128 for 9 in their 50 overs.The quality of the opposition notwithstanding, it was a good start to a tour which doesn’t allow much time for acclimatisation. The Cable & Wireless one-day series between Sri Lanka and West Indies starts this weekend.

When Sourav Ganguly walked into the NCA premises – bulky equipment “coffin” in tow – he was surrounded by so many flashbulbs and microphones that you wondered if it was Oscar night, rather than just the start of the Indian cricket team’s preparatory camp. The man Geoffrey Boycott likes to call royalty was attired in a grey T-shirt and khakis, and there was ample evidence that the training programme prescribed for the off-season had been followed. Like most of his players, who had departed to the team hotel 15 minutes earlier, Ganguly looked in fighting trim, a welcome change from the days when some players arrived at camp as Mr Blobby impersonators.Sachin Tendulkar had made a quiet exit from the gymnasium minutes earlier, with the light-footed air of a man who has lost a couple of kilos. Virender Sehwag had followed him down the stairs with a smile on his face. If the back injury that forced him to cut short his stint with Leicestershire was hurting, he certainly wasn’t letting on. Harbhajan Singh was one of the last to leave, along with Anil Kumble, who was at the receiving end of a couple of questions about the condition of Srinath Bhai.Those who had just returned from the A-team tour were congratulated by the others, with Kumble having an encouraging word or two for Ambati Rayudu. Ashish Nehra, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan Junior all looked in mint condition, ready for two weeks of hard slog that will set them up for what promises to be a momentous season. After five minutes of media interaction, characterised by much bonhomie and back-slapping, the players were quietly guided away to the team bus. Having been briefed about the aims of the camp this morning, they will be back in the afternoon for the serious business of fitness tests. Once those assessments are complete, the training sessions will start in earnest on Saturday, with fielding drills also high on the agenda.While the players understandably hogged most of the limelight, some of it was left to fall on Gregory King, India’s latest fitness trainer. Adrian Le Roux’s successor, who earned his spurs over six years with the Border Bears in East London, had mischievous eyes and the general air of a prankster. But once he started talking, there was no mucking about.He said he’d met a couple of the players earlier, when he came to India for his interview, but this was his first opportunity to interact with the whole group. “The best trainers needn’t necessarily be cricketers themselves,” he told you solemnly, having mentioned his background in B-side cricket.There would be no major earthquakes on the training front. “The players were very comfortable with the systems Adrian had in place,” he said. “And the boys have been following the training schedules given to them before they went home for the summer. As for the India A boys, most of them will already be match-hard after the England tour.”It’s a great opportunity to work with such a talented bunch,” he added before excusing himself, and leaving the stage to John Wright. Wright was unfazed by the numbers involved at the camp. Wasn’t 36 players a dozen too many? “It’s not an issue if you plan it properly,” he said. “I’d like to think of it as an opportunity to get to know them all, and figure out where they’re at in the fitness scheme of things. Andrew [Leipus] will also be spending time with them assessing any injuries they may have picked up.”Neither Wright nor Ganguly was overkeen to talk about the New Zealand series, or indulge in speculation about the nature of the pitches likely to be used. “After playing 16 Test matches last year, we needed this break,” said Ganguly, “but I’m quite excited about getting back on the cricket pitch. The camp will give me a chance to interact with the younger players and study our bench strength.”There were also words for encouragement for Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, who are going through indifferent county stints with Yorkshire and Derbyshire. “County cricket is not easy,” he said, perhaps thinking back to the mixed time he had at Lancashire in 2000. “But it’ll be a good learning experience for them.”And as the notebooks were put away and pens capped, he strode off, giving the impression of a man very much in control of things. The hard work, however, is just about to begin.

After Nasser Hussain confirmed what most suspected yesterday at Lord’s, the columns of press waiting to be unleashed for the big moment came flooding out today, with most of the journalists not holding back in their tributes.In , Christopher Martin-Jenkins was all praise for Hussain, and highlighted that lasting image of the final century at Lord’s on Monday. “That is the sort of memory that anyone would want to leave: of a man who dug his country out of a hole.” CMJ then even compared Hussain to past world leaders, due to his fighting qualities. “In his finest hours, if it is not to imbue him with too much glory, there could be something Churchillian about Hussain’s defiance. He certainly played better when he felt he was engaged more in a war than a game of cricket. He guarded his wicket as if with a tiger’s snarl and placed his scoring shots shrewdly.”But what of those who played with him during Hussain’s 14 years with England? Marcus Trescothick, who captained Hussain in his last Test, shared his thoughts with . “The announcement did not come as a surprise because Nasser had hinted at Lord’s that he was considering retiring,” wrote Trescothick, who also shed some light on Hussain’s sometimes complex character. “Nasser has been labelled as selfish by some throughout his career, but I think that he’s a person that is easily misunderstood. Yes, he is a strong character, but when you do get to know him you soon appreciate that he cares deeply about his cricket and about England doing well. He’s always been quick to grasp what is best for the country, which would have been one of the major factors in his decision to retire.”A former England team-mate, Angus Fraser, concentrated on Hussain’s less caring side. Writing in , Fraser said, “Hussain’s desire to be successful was obsessional. If he was out cheaply he was inconsolable. If he was on the wrong end of a poor umpiring decision it was time to leave the dressing-room. Bats, gloves, helmets, they would all fly across the room along with a tirade of expletives. If the third umpire had had a microphone in England’s dressing-room Hussain would probably have spent half of his career banned.”He continued: “On one occasion in Trinidad it was a wooden slatted locker door which felt the brunt of his frustration. I was padding up when he screamed and put his fist through it. The problem was that his fist became stuck and he had to call for help to get it out. Five minutes passed before his hand was carefully removed and even he had seen the funny side.”Mike Walters in was another one to give Hussain the grand send off: “Not since Mike Brearley and Ian Botham’s heyday has one man left his fingerprints over so many memorable victories,” he stated. “From dancing in the dark under the Ramadan moonlight in Karachi to the winning cover-drive against New Zealand at Lord’s on Monday, Hussain lifted English cricket by its bootstraps and regained a nation’s pride.”Those words were echoed by CMJ. “His great legacy to England was to accept the reality that Test cricket, as developed primarily by the Australians under Allan Border, his former Essex team-mate, is an utterly uncompromising game. From the moment that he started his association with Duncan Fletcher in South Africa late in 1999, Hussain sought cricketers of character who were prepared to work hard and play the game in his own gritty way.”As Michael Henderson put it in , “He served the cause, in good times and bad, and deserves our gratitude.”However, Charles Sale cast a disapproving eye on Hussain’s future. Sale, the Daily Mail’s Sports Diarist, who was also the first to hint at Tim Lamb’s retirement, lamented the fact that Hussain had been snapped up to join Sky Sports. “Hussain’s seamless transition … means the continuation of a ridiculous commentary box cartel,” he said, with both Sky and Channel Four only employing former players to cover the matches. Sale said, “Recent painful interviews on both channels involving the Zimbabwe issue showed up just why some career broadcast journalists should be employed to balance the celebrity-fest.” It seems Hussain already has some critics in his new life.