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Michael Clarke could miss the first Test against West Indies in Jamaica next week following the death of his fiancée Lara Bingle’s father. The rest of Australia’s squad departed for the Caribbean on the weekend but Clarke stayed at home having been given compassionate leave.Graham Bingle, who had been fighting cancer, died in Sydney on Saturday and with the funeral likely to be held later this week it is still unclear how long Clarke will remain in Australia. “My priority is Lara and her family,” Clarke told the . “That’s all that matters at the moment.”If Clarke was to fly out on the weekend he could arrive in Jamaica with as little as two days before the first Test, which begins on Thursday May 22. But a lack of practice – his team-mates will have had a warm-up match by then – means he would be no certainty to play, according to the coach Tim Nielsen.”If he gets over for the first Test, he will need some preparation,” Nielsen said. “But as the Test gets closer, we’ll make some decisions and work out where he is at.”A Cricket Australia spokesman confirmed Clarke’s departure date was still up in the air. “Our thoughts are with Michael and Lara and the family at this difficult time,” the spokesman told . “Michael’s providing support to his fiancée’s family ahead of the funeral and I’m sure that in due course, and when the time is right for both of them, he’ll be liaising with Cricket Australia about his future availability.”Brad Hodge, who was playing in the Indian Premier League, has been enlisted as a shadow player while Clarke is unavailable. However, the original squad featured Simon Katich as the backup batsman and he is more likely to play the Kingston Test than Hodge.

Peter Siddle has admitted he feared his Test career was over after he was ignored for Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, but now hopes a roaring return to his familiar role in the Australia XI will cause the selectors to reconsider their opinion of him.There was considerable dismay at Siddle’s omission from Trent Bridge in particular, and he spoke frankly of all the factors that he felt should have forced his inclusion in the team for Nottingham. “You always think that a little bit,” he said of never playing again. “A couple of wickets that we’d played on where I thought I might’ve got my opportunity and had missed out. You just never know.”Trent Bridge, I’ve had good success there, played county cricket there as well, so I know the ground. It was disappointing, but kept doing everything I can and make sure that if my opportunity came that I had to be ready to go. I felt pretty good coming into this game. It was just nice to get a few wickets, to get the team on a good roll and get us into this position. It’s nice. The boys have played well.”The selectors Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann had spoken often with Siddle about the numerous and varying reasons why he had been ignored for the Tests thus far. It was mainly to do with their conviction that the attack of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood was superior in all conditions. Events at The Oval have begged to differ, as Siddle has played a pivotal role in keeping runs down while adding vital wickets.”I think it’s just the boys that had been playing had performed well,” Siddle said. “The lads finished off the summer well, went to the West Indies and performed well and they got their opportunity. That’s how it works I guess. I just had to make sure I was ready when my opportunity came. I was disappointed it did take so long, but I was ready at any stage. It’s no different now. There’s never any Test match that you never want to have a crack in.”To get back together with the bowling line-up we had – it was pretty similar, a few different faces -and have those five key bowlers and be able to work in tandem. My role is to try and be patient, build pressure and restrict the runs. I enjoy doing that. I enjoy playing for the country. It’s just lovely to be back out on the field and playing, and the team doing well.”A looming tour of Bangladesh would appear not to be as ideally suited to Siddle’s skills, but later assignments against New Zealand at home and away may be more amenable. Siddle is certainly more hopeful of an opportunity now than he had been two weeks ago.”It’s obviously tough being on the sidelines and carrying drinks . . . especially at my age. It’s only 30 but you still want to be out there,” he said. “It has been tough, but to get this opportunity and come out here and bowl well … I’ve felt comfortable, the team has performed well. Blokes batted well and the bowling group has been outstanding. It’s just great to be in this position.”

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union has agreed with the International Cricket Council that it will stop playing Test matches until the end of the year.The announcement follows a meeting between ZCU officials and representatives of the ICC in Dubai earlier today. Besides Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s chairman, the others who met with the ZCU were India’s Jagmohan Dalmiya, Bob Merriman of Australia, and South Africa’s Ray Mali.Zimbabwe only had four Tests scheduled in the remainder of 2004 anyway, two in Pakistan in October and two at home to England in November. Zimbabwe will still be able to play one-day internationals.The wording of the statement implied that the decision to suspend matches came from the ZCU. But their recent utterances suggest that it wouldn’t have agreed to such a move unless it had been placed under some pressure to do so.Nevertheless, Mani said afterwards: “Today’s meeting demonstrates the depth of concern in the international cricket community over the impact the dispute in Zimbabwe is having on the game.” He continued: “The package of measures strikes a balance in protecting the sport in Zimbabwe while ensuring that the issues that arise from the dispute, including the importance of the players to the ZCU and the integrity of the game, are transparently addressed.”This means that the full ICC meeting in London later this month will be a less-fraught affair, but there will still be issues to discuss. Details of today’s meeting also revealed that the officials present from both Zimbabwe and the ICC will recommend further measures at the gathering in London. They included that both the India and South Africa A sides should tour Zimbabwe during July and August, and that India, South Africa and Australia should coach promising Zimbabwean players in their national training schemes.Regarding the national team itself, both parties suggested that Zimbabwe should return to their full Test programme in January, when they are due to play Bangladesh, and that they fulfil both their scheduled one-day series against England and Pakistan this year, as well as take part in the ICC Champions Trophy in England this September.They also discussed the allegations of racism made by the ZCU and the players against each other, with the outcome that the Zimbabwe board has been asked to make a presentation at the meeting on the issue, after fully investigating the claims made by the players.

Duleep Trophy, after three seasons of being the season kick-off tournament, has got back its due status: of a tournament played after the Ranji Trophy in which the season’s best players compete. It is back to the 75 best players outside the Indian side taking up the unique challenge of competing through zonal teams made up of the best from various states in the respective zones. To add to the competition, England Lions will be the visiting team this year. Cricinfo takes a look at the build-up of the six teams

Central Zone
Last time Mohammad Kaif led the Central Zone side, they won the Duleep Trophy in 2004-05. By the semi-final stage of the Ranji Trophy this year, Kaif – by then certain to be the Central Zone captain – would have quite enviably started thinking how to utilise the most potent attack in the country: pace bowlers – Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi, Pankaj Singh and Sanjay Bangar, and spinners – Piyush Chawla, Murali Kartik and Praveen Gupta. Following the Ranji final, some of the confusion must have cleared as Kumar and Chawla have been released to join the Indian team for the ODIs in Australia. But the attack, even without the two, should pose a threat to most of the batting line-ups.In Tyagi and Bangar, they have the leading wicket-takers from the Super and Plate Leagues respectively. Pankaj, before leaving for Australia, had taken 26 wickets from five matches.If the Centrals Zone’s bowling attack is enviable, Kaif is left with the unenviable task, just like with Uttar Pradesh, of leading an unproven batting line-up. Apart from him and Tanmay Srivastava, centurion in the Ranji final, Rajasthan’s Robin Bist and Vineet Saxena are the only two batsmen from the Super League. Harshad Rawle scored a century in the Plate final. The batting is yet to look the strongest, but if they can give their bowlers enough runs they could go close to repeating the success of 2004-05 – Kaif, Bangar, Kartik and Naman Ojha were members of that side too.England Lions
In 2003-04 when India started the experiment of inviting one foreign team to play the Duleep Trophy, England ‘A’ were the first visitors. A team that comprised of Kevin Pietersen, Simon Jones, Matt Prior and Sajid Mahmood lost both their matches outright, including a successful 503-run chase by South Zone. The Lions, who play Central Zone and West Zone in the league stage, will want to improve on the precedent.Monty Panesar, this year, is their biggest player, and should generate a lot of interest. Apart from Panesar, their captain Michael Yardy, wicketkeeper James Foster, Ed Joyce, and Liam Plunkett have been in and around the England team for quite a while. Apart from Panesar, who will most likely tour India for Tests later this year, upcoming pace bowlers like Graham Onions will cherish this opportunity of playing in subcontinent conditions.North Zone
Delhi, the Ranji champions, deservedly dominate the North Zone’s line-up with six players, but the defending champions will be depleted because of the absence of their key players. Gautam Gambhir, off for the ODIs in Australia, and Pradeep Sangwan and Virat Kohli, representing India in the Under-19 World Cup, also would have made it easily.Aakash Chopra, whose 188 in the last year’s final secured North Zone the trophy, and Shikhar Dhawan will make a dangerous opening combination. Mithun Manhas, Punjab’s Uday Kaul, Services’ Yashpal Singh and Himachal Pradesh’s Paras Dogra will make up the middle order. Rajat Bhatia, easily the most valuable player this Ranji season with 525 runs and 26 wickets, including a big century when Delhi were 36 for 4 in the final, will be just the perfect No. 6 for them.In Sangwan’s absence, North Zone will look to the Himachal duo of Ashok Thakur and Vikramjeet Singh Malik to lead the pace attack. The two took 62 wickets between them this season. Joginder Sharma, who didn’t have a great season, does provide them an option. Chetanya Nanda and Amit Mishra will be their main spinners.West Zone
With three teams from West Zone making the Ranji semi-finals this year – Mumbai not being one of them – West Zone put up a solid challenge at this year’s Duleep Trophy. Parthiv Patel, the leading run-scorer in the Plate League, will lead the side, which boasts of internationals like Ramesh Powar, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar and Yusuf Pathan. In Cheteshwar Pujara, they have the Super League’s highest scorer as well as other heavy scorers, Rakesh Solanki, Niraj Patel and Harshad Khadiwale.Sandeep Jobanputra and Siddharth Trivedi will give Agarkar and Munaf a tough fight for places in the starting XI, if both of them are fit, that is. Then they have Maharshtra’s Samad Fallah as a wildcard. Powar, Pathan and Rakesh Dhurv will make up the allrounder-spinner combo, with Rajesh Pawar one of the reserves.The best part for West Zone is that they have not been hit by selections to the Indian team, so they are one of the strong contenders this time round.South Zone
This hasn’t been the year for the teams from South Zone, who haven’t won the title since 1996-97: Tamil Nadu played it too safe despite having all their games at home, Hyderabad had to fight to avoid relegation, Karnataka were disappointing after Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid left for national duty. But Andhra and Kerala surprised, with Andhra finishing at No. 3 in their group and Kerala making the semi-finals of the Plate League.

R Vinay Kumar and Sunil Joshi, Nos 2 and 6 on the wicket-takers’ list, are absent from the South Zone squad. There could have been some logic in not playing Joshi, as younger spinners – Pragyan Ojha and S Anish – have been picked, but Vinay Kumar will surely feel disappointed for having missed the selection.S Badrinath, M Vijay and D Ravi Teja will expectedly make the core of the batting line-up, with support from Raiphi Gomez, Arjun Yadav and Swapnil Asnodkar. Sreesanth’s selection for the ODIs in Australia will weaken their attack, with NC Aiyappa and D Kalyankrishna in lead roles.East Zone
It has been a contrasting year for Orissa and Bengal, but it nonetheless ended in disappointment for both. Bengal got relegated and Orissa came within a favourable result of a semi-final and lost. The two states dominate the East Zone side, which has never won a Duleep Trophy. The Orissa players will look to impress furthermore, while for Bengal players this is one final go at an elite first-class competition before they start their fight in the Plate League.The East Zone bowling attack comprises mainly the Bengal attack – Ranadeb Bose and SS Paul – and Orissa’s Mohantys – Debasis and Basanth – who were the key to their success this year.Manoj Tiwary, who fizzled out after a sparkling start to the season, has been given another opportunity, and again he has to carry out the responsibility he failed to do with Bengal: to lead a weak batting line-up. He will have captain Shiv Sunder Das for company. The ones who need to rally around them are Bengal openers Arindam Das and Anustup Mujumdar and Jharkhand captain Manish Vardhan.

Although it was dismissed as pure speculation on Monday, reports carried on Cricinfo that Andrew Flintoff had foot problems in addition to his side strain proved accurate with the admission that he faces surgery on a chronic ankle condition.While Flintoff will almost certainly play in the final Test of the series at Centurion on Friday – he will have pain-killing injections and will not risk any further damage by doing so – he is likely to return home straight away, missing the one-day series.The condition – posterior impingement – is caused by uneven bone growth in the heel which means that the impact when the foot bangs down in the delivery stride can be extremely painful. It is not uncommon in fast bowlers and can be treated by an operation to remove the bone spur. But that would mean a three-month recovery period, and with the Ashes next summer, England will want to get that sorted and Flintoff up and running as soon as possible. If that means him missing the one-dayers, then it will be a small price to pay.It is the same condition that prevented him from bowling for a period last summer. That time injections and rest sorted it out, but that it has reoccurred is probably a sign that more drastic treatment is necessary.Of England’s other walking wounded, Steve Harmison’s calf injury has not deteriorated and while the prescribed solution is a fortnight’s rest, he will almost certainly be available at Centurion. But, like Flintoff, there have to be serious doubts over his participation in the one-dayers.Ashley Giles, who sustained a thumb injury in the fourth Test, has been receiving treatment and should be fit, while Geraint and Simon Jones both have minor injuries that shouldn’t affect their availability.

Essex have confirmed the signing of the South African fast bowler Andre Nel, as their temporary overseas player, subject to gaining a work permit. Nel replaces the New Zealand all-rounder Andre Adams, who is due to play for his country on their proposed tour of Zimbabwe.

Nel, who turns 28 on Friday, will be available for Essex’s Championship match against Derbyshire on August 16, until the match against Australia on September 3-4.The Essex chief executive, David East, is delighted to have secured the services of a bowler of international class. Speaking to Essexcricket.org.uk, he said: “Andre will offer us an extra injection of pace into our attack at what will be a crucial stage in our season.”Nel represented Northamptonshire in 2003. His attacking style of bowling will be welcomed by Essex who, a few weeks ago, lost Alex Tudor for the rest of the season due to injury. Nel has taken 62 wickets for South Africa, and was instrumental in their Test series victory against the West Indies, taking 17 wickets at 17.29 apiece.

Kevin Curran, Zimbabwe’s coach, has come out fighting after the 2-2 draw in the home one-day series against Kenya, insisting that there was cause for optimism despite the disappointing result.”Against Kenya I thought the performance by the youngsters was pleasing and 3-1 would have been a fair reflection of how we performed,” he told the Harare-based Herald newspaper. “We should have won the third game but batted poorly after a good performance with the ball. After having them 134 all out but the batsmen failed what should have been a simple task and had we played the fifth game we would have won it.”Kenya are an ageing side and they do not have the depth we have. If we play them again, with the same group of youngsters, we will beat them easily. We had a number of players who were playing ODIs for the first time and they were successful.”Zimbabwe’s players start training ahead of the seven-match one-day series in the Caribbean which begins at the end of April. “It will be basically an extensive fitness training programme because we need to get the team back to fitness levels,” Curran said. “There are things that were noted in individual players during the series against Kenya and we will divide the team into small groups for batting and bowling to cover those areas of weakness to get the team to compete at ODI level.”Asked about the squad, Curran said that it was about passion. “If we work as a team we can actually win games and I am willing to work with people who have a passion and will to play for Zimbabwe. We have 20 contracted players willing to wear national colours and if there are any others who have the passion for the national team then we will accept them.”Asked about the situation regarding Andy Blignaut, who missed the Kenya series because of his continuing dispute with the board over money he is owed from last year, Curran said: “I am not sure because he hasn’t come back to us but if he shows the passion to play then no problem but if he has other ideas then he should do what he really wants to do.”But he was keen to manage expectations for the West Indies matches. “We are not saying we will beat them but we will be competitive. West Indies have not been having the best of patches but I know Brian Lara has not been playing and he can make a difference. But if they take us lightly, who knows what can happen because with one-day cricket all you need is one brilliant individual performance with bat or ball to turn the game in your favour. The series in the West Indies is a great opportunity for the youngsters.”

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