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Andrew Strauss has said there is “very little danger” of England resting on the euphoria of their Ashes success this summer as a new season begins. England’s next Test assignment is in South Africa later this year and Strauss felt that series would be a good indicator of where the team was as a competitive side.According to Strauss, England should be wary of falling prey to too much celebration after regaining the coveted urn, like they did after the historic summer of 2005. “There are definitely lessons to be learned [from 2005]. The perception was we took the eye off the ball after the Ashes series,” he said at the launch of his second book, . “Whether that’s true or not, I think it’s vitally important we don’t do it this time. We haven’t had a month off to bask in the glory of the Ashes, we’ve been playing cricket since then and we’ve had some tough times.”I think there is very little danger of us thinking we’re the genuine article at this stage. There’s also a test tour to South Africa, they’re the number one side in the world and that’s a massive ask for us. The extent of the challenge ahead of us is very motivating and exciting so we will keep grounded and it will also be a great gauge to see where we are at as a side.”England are ranked fifth in the ICC’s Test rankings, winning their last two series after losing three in a row, and Strauss felt that position was a fair reflection of their current form. “The way the guys stood up to pressure in the Ashes is very encouraging but sterner tests will follow,’ he said. “The consistency aspect’s crucial, if you look back to when Australia were dominating the world they could beat sides on any surface because they had great variety in their side. If we want to be the best side in the world, which is clearly a long-term goal of ours, then big improvements are required in that respect.”The national selectors will reveal the Test and limited-overs squads for South Africa on Thursday. Kevin Pietersen, has not played since July due to injury, is expected back. “KP is getting better quite quickly now so we are very hopeful he will make the trip,” said Strauss. “Hopefully he will play in some one-dayers and then a full part in the rest of the series. The sooner he is back the better. It’s going to be as hard a series as we could possibly have at this stage of our development.”England play four Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals in South Africa.

Andrew Flintoff has agreed a new three-year deal to play one-day cricket for Lancashire, ending speculation over his future in the county game after he opted to become a freelance player following the decision to turn down an ECB incremental deal.Flintoff is currently recovering from the knee surgery he underwent following the Ashes series in August and is aiming to return to action in the one-day series against Bangladesh at the end of February. After calling time on his Test career, Flintoff said that he wanted to become “the best one-day player in the world” and is also being linked with a number of Twenty20 sides around the world.This new contract will replace the rolling one-year deal that would have come into place after Flintoff declined the England offer and was due to expire in 2010 and takes him up until the end of the 2012 season. The deal doesn’t include first-class cricket but Flintoff may still make the occasional four-day appearance if Lancashire needed his assistance.”This contract will also give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world, which hopefully help me develop as a player and in turn, help Lancashire and England,” he said. “I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success. I am looking forward to being around the Lancashire dressing room more now I have retired from Test cricket”I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and that is something I want to address. I have a good relationship with Peter Moores and Glen Chapple and hopefully I can be of help to them both on the pitch and in the dressing room.”Head coach Peter Moores believes that Flintoff’s presence in the squad will a huge lift for the side. “Fred is a proven match-winner, and the type of player that lifts a dressing room with his sheer enthusiasm and will to win. It’s great that he is going to be with us, and I’m sure our supporters will be just as thrilled with the news.”

Frustrated by yet another injury interrupting his career, Shane Bond has contemplated quitting Test cricket but will wait for the emotions to pass before taking a decision.”Everything races through your mind when you get an injury like this. And it has in this situation,” Bond told the in New Zealand. “You think about giving up and you ask yourself whether it’s worth all the effort.”I suppose what I want to do is take a couple of weeks away from cricket and wait until the disappointment and emotion from this latest setback – which is something I’ve always done – subsides before I make any decision. From there, I’ll sit down and look at things. You can’t take a decision like this lightly so I will wait until I’m feeling better first. I can’t rush this.”Bond returned to international cricket in September after terminating his one-year ICL contract. He took eight wickets in Dunedin – his first Test in two years – and was ruled out of the remainder of the series due to an abdominal muscle tear. Bond has struggled with back and foot injuries since his debut in 2001 and featured in only 18 of the 66 Tests that New Zealand have played in the period.”I’m injury-prone. I’m the first to admit that,” Bond said. “What I want to do and what my body allows me to do are two different things. The fact that people say I’m injury-prone and that I get injured a lot, well that’s true. But it’s that other stuff like I’m soft or that I don’t want to play for New Zealand that frustrates me.”Bond said being confined to watching the Wellington Test, which New Zealand lost by 141 runs, on television was deflating. “It’s deflating because the season so far – the three or four months I’ve been back – has gone so well. But that’s the thing, when you least expect something to happen it always does. To have done all that work and get to the point where I’ve reached the high of my season only to be cut off at the knees is a bummer.”I’ve taken this one particularly hard. To have everything go as well as it had and also to feel like I was reaching my best form only for this to happen is a real disappointment. I almost felt like I had beaten the back of these injuries.”If Bond does decide to quit Tests, it would be a major blow to New Zealand who have just lost their other fast bowler Iain O’Brien to county cricket. New Zealand have won 10 and lost only two of the 18 Tests that Bond has played.

As Pakistan get set to announce the squad for the three-Test series against Australia later this afternoon, the name of Younis Khan, their former captain, is unlikely to be in it.Younis took a temporary break from the game and captaincy following Pakistan’s ODI series loss to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi last month, claiming that he had “lost command” over the side. The decision was the result of months of dissent within the side with Younis’ leadership. At the time Younis said he would come back to Pakistan and play domestic cricket to get back into batting form, though he never set a date on his return.But since then, Younis has gone underground. He has not played any domestic cricket for his local side Habib Bank and has not been in touch with anyone, including the PCB or team management. Reports surfaced last week that he had picked up a foot injury during a fishing accident but they were rubbished by those close to him.The silence prompted Ijaz Butt, chairman of the PCB, to hint in a press conference on Monday that Younis is unlikely to make the cut for Australia. “Younis should have played domestic matches to be a candidate for selection for the tour. However, a final decision in this regard will be taken after a meeting with the chief selector Iqbal Qasim,” Butt said. Officials within the selection committee echo similar sentiments. As a result of not having played any domestic cricket or made clear his intentions, they say, it would defy logic for him to be selected.Sources close to Younis say he will return to international cricket, but only after the Australia series. It isn’t entirely clear whether he has played any kind of cricket since he asked for a break, but Younis has signed a contract with a club in Quetta – the Manan Memorial Gymkhana CC – to play there next season.In his absence, it is likely Mohammad Yousuf will continue to lead the side. Yousuf is currently leading Pakistan in the Test series in New Zealand and was at the helm as Pakistan levelled the series in Wellington with a 141-run win, their first Test triumph in almost three years. But their batting has been particularly frail through the series, relying heavily on contributions from the Akmal brothers and Yousuf.Younis, who averages over 50 from 63 Tests, has been a vital cog in Pakistan’s middle order, at No.3; since he established himself in the side at that spot – at the start of Bob Woolmer’s reign as coach in late 2004 – he averages nearly 60 from 35 Tests, with 11 centuries. On Pakistan’s last tour to Australia, in 2004-05, he was their leading scorer in a 3-0 whitewash. He also had a fruitful – and enjoyable – stint with South Australia last season, scoring over 350 runs in four first-class matches at an average of over 50.

Cheering the enemy, part one
It’s hard to believe that Dennis Lillee would ever cheer for West Indies but as he watched Chris Gayle compile the fifth-fastest Test century of all time, Lillee was a happy man. In his current role as the president of the WACA, Lillee is the figurehead of the Western Australia team, which has signed Gayle for this summer’s Twenty20 Big Bash. “I must admit I was barracking for him a little bit there. I’m an Aussie, but I was barracking for him,” Lillee said. “This is very exciting not only for Western Australia but I think it’s very exciting for cricket going forward, that we can use this format of bringing in a great player, an iconic player as they call it, from outside and having him implanted in the team to have him as part of your side.” And as Lillee finished his sentence, the roars went up around the WACA as Gayle hit one of two consecutive sixes off Nathan Hauritz.Cheering the enemy, part two
After an innings like Gayle’s it’s only natural for the opposition to be polite and pay some credit. So there was nothing unexpected about Marcus North noting that Gayle struck the ball well and had clearly kept up his good form from Adelaide. But a few eyebrows were raised when North said: “Hopefully he can continue that form”. What? Oh wait, there was more to the sentence: “… for the Warriors in the Big Bash after Christmas”. Ah yes, North is the captain of Western Australia.Stuck in the 50s, part one
Australia almost broke a 33-year-old record but Ricky Ponting’s declaration meant it wasn’t to be. The highest Test innings total without a centurion is the 9 for 524 scored by India against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 1976. After Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Marcus North and Brad Haddin were all dismissed between 68 and 99, Australia looked certain to break the record as the scored moved along to 6 for 520. Alas, the loss of Johnson prompted a declaration from Ponting, four runs short of the record.Stuck in the 50s, part two
The failure of any Australian batsman to reach triple-figures continued a remarkable trend that has been present all series. Fifteen times during the series Australian batsmen have reached a half-century but nobody has yet gone on to post a hundred. In the meantime, West Indies have had three centuries, from Adrian Barath, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle, who added the fourth later in the day.Red-faced Ricky
Ponting isn’t the sort of man to give up easily and on the first day he was determined not to retire hurt after suffering a nasty blow to the elbow off Kemar Roach. At least, not until Roach had finished his spell – he didn’t want to give the bowler the satisfaction. In the end, Ponting did retire hurt and on the second morning he revealed that the assistant coach Justin Langer didn’t let him forget it. “He’d written a couple of notes on the whiteboard in the change-room when I came off,” Ponting said on ABC radio. “We’ve had a bit of a running battle over the years about little things like that. I was pretty embarrassed walking off the ground yesterday but I had to do what I had to do. I could have kept batting yesterday, but I just wouldn’t have been able to hit the ball off the square.”Almost a Billy club
The umpire Billy Bowden was almost involved in a physical episode when he nearly decapitated Ravi Rampaul. Rampaul was running in to bowl but the batsman Haddin was distracted by movement at the sightscreen and backed out, and Bowden thrust his left arm out to halt the bowler. As it turned out he nearly punched the bowler, who was almost level with the umpire and had to duck to avoid a clobbering.The good, the bad and the ugly
Clint McKay’s first over in Test cricket resembled something out of a film starring his namesake Eastwood. His first delivery was slashed away for four through cover point by Gayle and his last ball was pulled over midwicket for another boundary. But in between those blows, McKay beat the outside edge twice and forced Gayle to leave and defend the other two balls.

The Zimbabwean government has dismissed suggestions made by New Zealand Cricket that its tour later this year might be called off because of concerns over the health facilities in Zimbabwe.NZC’s chief executive Justin Vaughan and New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association head Heath Mills both spoke out about the “the collapse of public heath system in the African nation” and warned without adequate facilities, the tour was unlikely to happen.But Zimbabwe’s sports minister David Coltart told Harare’s Independent the New Zealanders had an obligation to visit. “I think it’s unfortunate because while we don’t have a first-world health system, we still have very good medical facilities in this country. Our private health system is excellent, and for those who can afford, service delivery is excellent.”The cholera epidemic that affected our nation in 2008-09 is a thing of the past. It’s clear to me that … we are improving all the time. Ask people who travel to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and to an extent Pakistan. I believe in many respects Zimbabwe is a far healthier environment. I don’t believe there is any justification to use health grounds to stop a team from coming here.”However, Coltart’s optimism is not shared by those on the ground who report Harare’s sewage system has all but collapsed and claim raw sewage is now seeping into the city’s main water source, leading to fears of renewed cholera outbreaks. Last year, more than 4000 people died of the disease in Zimbabwe.Coltart went on the state the political concerns which caused a planned tour in 2009 to be postponed no longer applied. “There’s still a long way to travel, but it’s an unrecognised country compared to this time last year. There are fewer reports of human rights violations. It’s by no means perfect, but things have greatly improved.”

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Ross Taylor and Graham Napier were the stand-out performers for Central Districts in the HRV Cup•Getty Images

A brutal assault from Ross Taylor powered Central Districts to a 78-run rout of Auckland in the final of the HRV Cup at a packed Pukekura Park, and with it a spot in the lucrative Champions League Twenty20.Taylor, who has been in roaring form all tournament, saved his finest for the big match, slamming eight sixes on his way to a 30-ball 80 that took CD to 206, only two short of their highest total this season. Auckland’s slim hopes evaporated as early as the fourth over of the chase, by when CD’s new-ball bowlers, Michael Mason and Graham Napier, had snared two wickets each to make the score 9 for 4.Auckland bowled after winning the toss and CD opener Peter Ingram, who celebrated his national call-up with a quick half-century, made 54 of the total of 71 before he was dismissed in the 11th over.After that Taylor was involved in a stunning partnership with Kieran Noema-Barnett that raised 133 runs in less than nine overs. The highlights of the stand included a Ravi Bopara over in which 24 runs were blasted and another from debutant Jimmy Neesham, who was taken out of the attack after leaking 20 in one over. But it was Michael Bates who had the worst time among the Auckland bowlers: he was smashed for 59 runs in his first three overs. Despite finishing the innings with an excellent over – three wickets and two runs – he ended with the unwanted record of conceding most runs by a New Zealand bowler in Twenty20s.In the face of a stiff target, Auckland’s top-order folded without resistance. No. 6 Colin de Grandhomme threw his bat around for a 11-ball 25 and Neeshan attempted to redeem himself with a brisk 39 but Auckland never really threatened to pull of a win, and were bowled out in the 17th over.

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How they were out
HawkeyeAB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis added a massive 173 for the third wicket in quick time to intimidate India•Getty Images

AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis hit contrasting centuries to build on the platform laid by the openers Hashim Amla and Loots Bosman to charge South Africa to an imposing 365 which proved beyond the reach of the inexperienced Indian batting line-up in the third ODI in Ahmedabad. Bosman was feisty, Amla was elegant, de Villiers was destructive and Kallis and well … Kallis – solid as ever. Together, the top order blasted South Africa to their highest score against India and helped avoid a clean sweep.It was de Villiers who played the most aggressive knock of the innings and it showcased his skill in picking gaps. The pitch was flat and India populated the on side, be it for spin or seam, and tried to force him to make mistakes while going for inside-out drives but he never erred. The bat swing was clean, the head was still and for the main part, he was looking to off drive and when the bowlers tried to cramp him with the alteration in line, he pinged the on side with five fours and two sixes.It was simple in its thought and complex in its execution but he pulled it off without seemingly breaking into a sweat. The best shot was probably a nonchalant inside-out lofted cover drive against Ravindra Jadeja, though there were two really sweetly timed peachy off drives off Sreesanth that stood out for its classy elegance. He reached his hundred with a six and a four off Rohit Sharma in the final over of the innings.While de Villiers indulged himself right from the start, it was Kallis who provided the necessary glue to hold the innings together in the middle overs. It was a typical Kallis innings; you didn’t remember a stand-out shot in the first half of his knock and yet, he had reached his fifty from 68 balls with just one boundary. He dealt in nudges, pushes and gentle drives as he ensured South Africa held wickets intact for the fun in the end. As expected, he opened-up post fifty to muscle quite a few boundaries and overran de Villiers in the end with some clean hits. In the penultimate over, he crashed Sreesanth to the straight boundary before lifting him imperiously over long-off to bring up a very well-paced hundred.Before the de Villiers and Kallis show, it was a tango between Amla and Bosman that set up South Africa for the big total. If Amla applied the calm touch, Bosman provided the initial momentum at the top of the innings with a fiery cameo. If you had to pick a word to catch the spirit of Bosman’s innings, it would have to be . It was filled with several crunchy blows but what really caught the eye was that he never went across the line. There were 11 boundaries in all but his first boundary, perhaps, was the sweetest of them all. He was just on 1 and the confidence to go for the big aerial hits hadn’t yet sunk in and he just leaned forward to play a gorgeously timed on-the-up drive past Sreesanth.If Bosman thumped, Amla was all wristy elegance. He seemingly wristed even those on-the-up punchy shots through the off side where other batsmen would have used their arm a lot more but his best shot was a flicked boundary off Sreesanth – it was a short-of-length delivery on the off stump but Amla used the length to wrist it to the square-leg boundary. Unlike in the last ODI where the stiff target didn’t allow him to pace his innings properly, he showed better judgement today: he sensed Bosman’s confidence was on the rise and started to rotate the strike around and when Bosman fell, he realised he had to stay on for a big innings and started to work the angles for the singles.For their part India realised that pace, especially considering their inexperienced seamers, was not the way to go on this track and relied on the slow bowlers. But the inexperience of the attack proved too costly in the end. And when they chased, they could never get the momentum required to hunt down such a big target.The ball stopped occasionally on the dry pitch in the second half and the bowling was disciplined, without looking overtly threatening, but the pressure of the big target induced the mistakes from the inexperienced batting line-up. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lifted India from 40 for 2 with a 95-run partnership but the run rate was slow. Roelf van der Merwe combined with Morne Morkel and Johan Botha to slip in a slew of tight overs and both batsmen couldn’t break free. The run rate climbed and Dale Steyn used the resultant pressure to take out a couple of wickets. Though Suresh Raina later threw his bat around to collect a few boundaries, India were never really in the chase.

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Suresh Kumar hit 82 off 44 balls to revive Tamil Nadu’s floundering innings and lead them into the semi-finals with a tense three-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh in Indore. Chasing 153 for victory, Tamil Nadu had slumped to 45 for 6 after 8.1 overs, and were staring at certain defeat. Kumar, however, found a partner in MK Sivakumar and smashed six sixes and five fours in his half-century. He added 63 with Sivakumar and another unbeaten 50 with R Sutesh to secure victory with two balls to spare.Himachal Pradesh had also struggled in the early part of their innings, losing their first two wickets with the score on 18 and then slumping further to 47 for 4. Vineet Indulkar top-scored with 47 and Hemant Dogra contributed 36 to lead Himachal to 152 for 6.Tamil Nadu will take on Maharashtra in the first semi-final.
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Delhi notched up a comfortable win over Assam, beating them by 35 runs, to book a place in the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Ankur Julka made an unbeaten 79 off 47 balls, striking 10 fours and two sixes, to help Delhi reach a challenging 170. Julka was supported by captain Puneet Bisht, and while Puneet Mehra struck some meaty blows at the death to take his team to what proved an adequate total.Assam were dealt two early blows but opener Parvez Aziz resisted with a fluent 57, which included eight fours and two sixes. However, only two other batsmen reached double-figures, as Farman grabbed four wickets with fast bowler Parvinder Awana backing him up with three scalps. The Assam innings folded for 135 in the 18th over.Delhi will take on Hyderabad in the second semi-final.

On Friday, India’s selectors will once again grapple with fitness issues just before another World Twenty20. MS Dhoni’s return to captaining Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night was only one-third of the good news they are hoping for.Immediately before Chennai’s match, Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra missed Delhi Daredevils’ game in Bangalore, leaving the selectors with an almost identical dilemma as last year. Then, the selectors punted with taking still-recovering Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan to India’s title defence. Sehwag didn’t manage a single game, Zaheer was off colour, and it duly turned out to be a disastrous campaign.Déjà vu doesn’t come clearer. Only names have changed. Gautam Gambhir is as important a part of the batting line-up as Sehwag, and Nehra has been perhaps India’s best fast bowler in limited-overs cricket over the last year. Therefore, it is tempting to take them both to the West Indies, and yet a huge risk considering they burnt their fingers with a similar choice for the same tournament a year ago.If it is any consolation, Gambhir’s comeback from his hamstring injury is shaping up well, and he is expected to play Delhi’s next match, or the one after that. Nehra, who injured his rib in IPL warm-up, is uncertain. If the selectors don’t pick Nehra, Karnataka’s R Vinay Kumar, who has followed up a 46-wicket Ranji season with an impressive IPL so far, could be the surprise replacement.Vinay is not the only Karnataka player who will be following the team news in anticipation. Manish Pandey is a strong contender for a batting berth after he led run-charts in the Ranji Trophy with his aggressive batting, and has also impressed in IPL. He has put Rohit Sharma’s place in the Twenty20 side under pressure.Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan are likely to hold on to their places, thereby making it difficult for a second spinner to be included in the touring party. Given Dhoni is just coming out of injury, Dinesh Karthik is also likely to make the trip, although he has been decent even solely as a batsman in Twenty20.Zaheer, Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh are the certainties in the bowling department. If the selectors are assured that Nehra will recover in time, he will be a shoo-in too. At least two out of Vinay, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth should be picked, if Nehra is not taken along.Robin Uthappa’s fireworks in the IPL, and Irfan Pathan’s return to fitness, do make a case for considering players out of the 30 probables named, but sources indicate the selectors are not likely to go down that route. On a slight tangent, reports suggest that the BCCI is not happy with Gambhir and Nehra’s visit to a Sri Lankan ayurvedic doctor without keeping the board in the loop. It is also likely to ask the IPL teams to go easy on the injured or recovering players, should they be picked for the World Twenty20.Likely squad: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt and wk), Manish Pandey/Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, and two out of Ashish Nehra, Sreesanth, R Vinay Kumar, and Ishant Sharma