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Zimbabwe’s players are preparing to go to court in a bid to extract their unpaid salaries and match fees from their cricket board, having set a deadline of January 31for the dispute to be resolved.The players, who last week ended their strike action in the hope that a softening of their stance would ease the way for a resumption of negotiations, are owed about US$200,000 in total, including vehicle and fuel allowances, and most have not been paid since last August.Now they have enlisted the services of a leading lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, and intend to take the case to the Harare High Court and pursue Zimbabwe Cricket for an index-linked sum of more than US$700,000.”I have been engaged by the players to act for them in their claims,” said Mtetwe,”but I am naturally waiting to see what happens in the next six days.”Even if the board was willing to resolve the situation, which seems unlikely, it appears that they have no funds available to do so. One of the major stumbling blocks is the exchange rate. The money owed was calculated at a rate of Zim$25,000 to the dollar, but that rate has since spiralled to Zim$85,000.Zimbabwe Cricket’s original contract offer made no allowance for index linking, but in a country with runaway inflation, that was never likely to be acceptable.The renewed militancy will be a problem for ZC as it is considering ICC-driven proposals to play in a tri-series in Bangladesh which would feature Kenya as the third side. On Tuesday, Cricket Kenya also announced that it was in talks to host three ODIs against Zimbabwe, possibly as early as next month.

Graeme Smith will be rested for the final one-day international against Zimbabwe, and Nicky Boje will be his replacement as captain. He was rested due to a persistent ankle problem. South Africa also announced a full-strength Test squad, including Jacques Kallis, who was rested from the one-day side after a busy – and prolific – season.Smith was replaced by AB de Villiers, whose 47 in four one-dayers stand in stark contrast to his burgeoning Test career, in which he has accumulated 362 runs in 10 innings. Andrew Hall was replaced by Monde Zondeki, and Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel were also left out to recuperate before the first Test, which begins on March 4. Ashwell Price was also brought into the side for the final one-dayer.Squad for third ODI Adam Bacher, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Nicky Boje (capt), Albie Morkel, Charl Langeveldt, Monde Zondeki.Squad for first Test Graeme Smith (capt) Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolph, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt.

Close Australia 400 for 5 (Ponting 176*, Katich 75, Langer 58) v India
Scorecard

Ponting was Australia’s hero on the first day at Adelaide © Getty Images

A scintillating unbeaten 176 by Ricky Ponting was the outstanding performance of the day as Australia made full use of winning the toss at the Adelaide Oval. At close of play on the opening day, they had raced to 400 for 5 – the highest total in a day at this venue, beating Australia’s 387 on the second day against West Indies in 1968-69 – with useful contributions from Justin Langer (58) and Simon Katich (75).Apart from Matthew Hayden, all the Australian batsmen got starts, but Ponting capitalised on it, racing to his hundred off just 117 balls. He slowed down noticeably after reaching 150, despite which Australia finished the day with a run-rate of nearly four-and-a-half an over. All the Indian bowlers toiled – rather unsuccessfully – to beat the daunting combination of a flat pitch, a fast outfield with short square boundaries, and an awesome opposition batting line-up.Coming in at the fall of an early wicket, Ponting started off with an all-run four down the ground, before peppering the square boundaries on the off side with some sumptuous drives off either foot. He had a couple of reprieves early in his innings: on 12, a close lbw shout off Ajit Agarkar was turned down, while Virender Sehwag dropped a head-high chance at third slip off Irfan Pathan when Ponting had added just six. Once past those early jitters, though, Ponting didn’t give the Indians much respite.The tone for the day was set early when both the Australian openers drove through the line of the ball, trusting the even bounce and the lack of movement off the pitch. Sourav Ganguly packed the off side, and his bowlers largely stuck to an off-stump line, but the batsmen still threaded the gaps – in fact, every single one of the 16 fours Ponting struck in his first 100 runs were on the off side. Ganguly didn’t help the Indian cause by keeping the third-man region vacant for most of the day.These were ideal conditions for Hayden’s plonk-the-front-foot-and-drive-through-the-line style of batting, but Pathan – making his debut after Zaheer Khan missed out due to a strained hamstring – nailed him with one in the corridor which shaped away and kissed the edge of the bat (22 for 1).The dream start for Pathan and India soon went sour as Ponting and Langer went about their merry ways, cashing in on all the bad balls and sometimes putting away the good ones as well. Anil Kumble was soon pressed into service, but that only inspired Langer to go into overdrive – in one over he smote Kumble for two sixes and two fours. Kumble struck back in his next over, though, when Langer miscued a sweep to Sehwag at midwicket (135 for 2).That dismissal, which came at the stroke of lunch, was some respite for the Indians, but it only meant that one effective run-scorer was replaced by another, more graceful one. Martyn was in fantastic touch from ball one, stroking some gorgeous drives through the covers off Agarkar and Pathan, who, after an impressive first spell, fell away, struggling to find the movement he had obtained with the new ball. A big score was there for the taking, when Martyn (30) threw it away, steering a wide one from Nehra – the first ball of a new spell – to VVS Laxman at second slip (200 for 3).Steve Waugh smote a few through the off side in his 30, but was sorted out by a clever piece of bowling by Nehra. Bowling from round the wicket, he dug a few in short, then slipped in a full-length ball on middle. Waugh, weight on the back foot and probably expecting another short one, played all over the ball as it crashed into his stumps (252 for 4).A feature of this innings was the partnerships that the Australians put together for every wicket, and Simon Katich now joined Ponting to add the biggest one for the day. Katich first dug in, then showed that he could play a few strokes too, the most emphatic of them being a pulled six off Nehra, who came in armed with the second new ball. Galvanised by that shot, Katich raced along, even as Ponting quietened down and seemed to set his sights on his double-century.The 138-run partnership was finally broken off the penultimate over of the day, when Katich top-edged a pull and was caught spectacularly by Sehwag, diving full length and coming up with the ball in both hands (390 for 5). In walked Adam Gilchrist, and promptly dispatched the second ball he faced to the cover fence, and then pulled Kumble for another boundary before bringing up the 400 with the last ball of the day. In four Tests at the Adelaide Oval, Gilchrist has scored a mere 145 runs at 24.16. Time to set the record straight?

ADELAIDE, Dec 18 AAP – South Australia plans to play three spinners to cope with an expected heat wave and a very flat Adelaide Oval pitch in the Pura Cup cricket match against Western Australia starting here tomorrow.SA skipper Greg Blewett said all three slow bowlers in the Redbacks 12 – John Davison, Mark Higgs and Brad Young – were likely to be included in the final 11 tomorrow morning.”That’s a real possibility, we’ll make the final decision tomorrow when we have another look at the wicket,” Blewett said.”But with the weather that’s forecast, and as I can bowl a bit as well … that’s the way we’re probably leaning at this stage.”SA has also included debutant Shaun Tait, a 20-year-old fast bowler who is the leading wicket-taker in the Adelaide club competition, and whom Blewett said had the ability to bowl dangerously quick.”He’s given me a couple sore toes in the nets, especially last season I got a couple on the feet,” he said.”He’s sharp and he adds a new dimension to our bowling attack.”This year we’ve been quite steady and just tried to keep it at two or three runs per over, but certainly with him coming in he is just raw pace and really lets them go.”We’re aiming to bowl him in fairly short bursts and just tell him to bowl as quick as he can.”Fellow SA paceman Paul Rofe said he was looking forward to bowling with Tait.”He does bowl fast and he tries to scare a few blokes, so that should be exciting, I think,” Rofe said.But he said the pitch and weather conditions could make things difficult for pacemen.With Test opener Justin Langer in the WA side, Rofe said dismissing him quickly would be crucial to SA’s chances, as he has shown a strong liking for the Adelaide Oval pitch in the past.”Hopefully we can get him out so he doesn’t bat all day, because he can quite easily do that,” Rofe said.WA today lost Brad Hogg and Ryan Campbell, who were called up to the Australian one-day side, from its squad.All-rounder Kade Harvey is a late replacement for Hoggwhile youngster Luke Ronchi, who impressed in his Pura Cup debut last week by scoring 90 and 33 against Tasmania, will replace Campbell in the Warriors team.Teams:SA: Greg Blewett (captain), Chris Davies, John Davison, Shane Deitz, David Fitzgerald, Ben Higgins, Mark Higgs, Paul Rofe, Mike Smith, Shaun Tait, Jeff Vaughan, Brad Young (12th man to be named).WA: Justin Langer (c), Mike Hussey (VC), Jo Angel, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Kade Harvey, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges, Brad Williams, Paul Wilson.

Karnataka emerged winners of the P Ramachandra Rao Trophy for theSouth Zone under-22 title on Thursday. The three points they got fromtheir rain affected match against Tamil Nadu at Pondicherry was enoughfor them to edge out Hyderabad on run quotient. Both Karnataka andHyderabad finished on 24 points. But Karnataka on a better runquotient took the trophy.The Pondicherry game ended in a tame draw as play was called off at1.30 pm on the third and final day.Put in to bat, Karnataka in their first innings scored 271 thanks to afine 105 by opener KS Ponnappa. He shared a 98-run second wicket standwith Barrington Rowland (45). Thereafter a 61-run fourth wicketpartnership ensued between Ponnappa and AR Mahesh (37). VasanthSaravanan was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5 for 59.The second day witnessed only 25 overs. After Karnataka were all outin the morning, Tamil Nadu mustered 49 for no loss at the end of play.On the final day, only 16 overs were bowled. Tamil Nadu had scored 116with the openers S Badrinath (67) and Rajat Bhatia (39) remainedunbeaten till the end.

Rangers have been dealt a concerning blow over Ibrox midfielder Joe Aribo’s injury situation…

What’s the latest?

Gio van Bronckhorst has admitted that the Nigeria international is a doubt ahead of their Scottish Cup quarter-final clash today, with the club set to make a late call on his availability.

On Friday, Rangers’ official Twitter channel quoted the manager as saying: “Physically it was a tough match last night, we have a couple concerns with Lundstram’s ankle and we have to assess Aribo also before Sunday.”

Sweating

The knock to the ex-Charlton man will surely leave Van Bronckhorst sweating, as the 25-year-old has been a crucial player for the club throughout the campaign. He has proven himself to be an integral member of the squad and it will be a big blow to lose him for any period of time.

Rangers are three points behind Celtic in the Premiership table and remain in the Europa League and the Scottish Cup, so there is still plenty to play for between now and the end of the campaign. Therefore, the Dutch head coach will surely want as many of his top players available as possible, and Aribo fits into that description.

In the league this season, the midfielder has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.11, placing him sixth out of all the outfield players. He has chipped in with seven goals and five assists whilst mainly being deployed in a number 10 role or out wide, showing that he has the quality to make a difference in the final third for the Gers.

He has also averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.92 in the Europa League, creating 1.3 chances per game and registering one assist so far. This may not be as impressive as his ratings domestically, but he is ranked above the likes of John Lundstram, Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield, Borna Barisic and Glen Kamara in the Rangers squad, which shows that he has been one of the Gers’ better performers in Europe.

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The 25-year-old’s statistics in Europe and in the Premiership illustrate why Van Bronckhorst will be sweating over this latest injury issue. The Gers boss will surely be hoping that it is only a minor issue which will not leave the Nigerian out of action for an extended period of time, as Aribo has proven how important he is to the team.

For now, though, this is looking like a big blow to the squad for the clash against Dundee today and potentially beyond…

AND in other news, Rangers dealt another concerning injury update which will also leave Van Bronckhorst sweating…

Changing places: Brad Hogg is the favourite to replace Stuart MacGill © Getty Images

Stuart MacGill has been buoyed by the message from Australia’s selectors that his career is not over if he misses the series against India. MacGill, who will have surgery on his right hand on Thursday, will be out for up to six weeks due to carpal tunnel syndrome and is looking to return for Australia’s tours to Pakistan and the West Indies.For two weeks MacGill has endured speculation over his future and he has held on to the thoughts of Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, who spoke to him before the Sri Lanka series when he was struggling to recover from a second knee operation. “Andrew Hilditch said to me: ‘If you don’t come up for the first Test I want you to know it’s not the end. We want you around for the next couple of years.’ That’s pretty important to me, really,” MacGill said in the .MacGill bowled badly in the second Test against Sri Lanka – he experienced severe numbness in his arm – but he does not want to retire. “At the moment my focus is on the tours,” he told the paper. “I don’t want to finish like this. I know that I can bowl well. Mentally I’m in a good spot. Unfortunately my body is not quite where it should be.”The absence of MacGill creates an opening for Brad Hogg, who has not played a Test since 2003. Hogg is the most likely contender for the spot in the Boxing Day Test, although talk remains of playing four fast bowlers in an attempt to unsettle the Indian batsmen.Hogg has performed strongly in one-day internationals and on the domestic circuit but is trying not to worry about a potential promotion. “I feel like I’m bowling the best I’ve ever bowled, but it’s just one of those things – if you get the nod you get the nod,” Hogg told . “If I think about [Test selection] I’m going to go downhill, so basically I can only keep doing what I’m doing and not worry about it.”Both slow bowlers, who are 36, were picked in the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, but Hogg was let go two days before the match began. The pair is set to jostle for a place if MacGill can recover from the operation.”I might miss out on playing India now, but I’ve got the chance of playing Test matches in India [later next year], which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” MacGill said. “There is lots of cricket in front of me.” While the Australian medical staff said MacGill was out of the first two Tests against India, it is expected he will miss the entire series and come back for New South Wales in late January.MacGill has been waking up with numb hands, but was surprised when the condition continued into the day in Hobart. During the Test he bowled a series of full-tosses because he was struggling with his grip.”It was like the ends of my fingers were dead,” he said. “It was like you had to prick your fingers to see if they were still there.”

The final draft of the BCCI players’ contracts is likely to be ready as soon as January 13. After it is decided which player is to receive what contract, the board will pass on the draft to the individual players. According to Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, the board has decided to go in for a performance-linked structure.This comes after a couple of rounds of discussions between senior players and board officials. The BCCI had earlier formed a committee comprising Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, N Srinivasan, the treasurer, Shashank Manohar, a vice-president and Shah, among others, to look into the matter of the players’ contracts.There has been some apprehension that handing out contracts directly linked to individual performance will cause players to worry more about their personal results than that of the team, but the board’s intentions are different. Players are likely to receive a flat fee for each Test and one-day international, and a bonus if the team wins. There will not be rewards for individual performances – runs scored or wickets taken.The amounts will differ for Tests and ODIs and will increase in the case of a series win. The board also proposes to reward away wins more than it does home wins. To show that they are serious the board is willing to fork out cash over and above the allocated 13% of the gross revenue of the board that goes towards payment of the national team’s wages, should India embark on a winning streak.One thing that will remain the same, however, is the gradation for players. An A-grade contract will come with an annual retainer fee of Rs 50 lakh ($100,000 approx), B with 35 lakh ($75,000 approx) and C with 15 lakh ($30,000). The criterion for a C contract is five Tests or fifteen ODIs.

Scorecard

Adam Voges brought up his hundred from 101 balls, but his work is only half done for Western Australia © Getty Images

Western Australia face an uphill battle to avoid falling to their fifth defeat of the season, as Queensland continued their control of the match on the third day at Perth.Starting the day on 9 for 419, Michael Kasprowicz helped Daniel Doran put on 73 for the final wicket, to pile the misery on Western Australia’s shoulders. Queensland were eventually dismissed for 470 and, buoyed by their late run-flurry, were convinced they had Justin Langer caught behind off Andy Bichel, but the decision was turned down.Langer went on to score 51, and with Clint Heron put on 64 for the first wicket before Doran bowled him for 15. Langer, threatening a big score, was run out after making his fifty and Western Australia slipped to 3 for 103.Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh then put on a crucial 110-run stand, but Marsh fell to Kasprowicz shortly after tea and, although Voges remains unbeaten on 119, Western Australia lead by just four runs going into the final day.Western Australia coach Wayne Clark cited his team’s poor performances on the opening days of matches as the key reason to their disappointing season. “That’s been our downfall a couple of times this year, just our first day,” Clark told AAP. “Especially batting at the WACA. We’ve had a couple of ordinary days and you’re on the back foot from then on. It’s unfortunate on a wicket that’s proving to be a pretty good batting wicket.”Despite his disappointment, Clark remained optimistic of a positive outcome. “We’ve still got wickets in hand,” he said. “Hopefully we can post a bit of a score that will give them a few little butterflies. Who knows?”

Waqar Younis: ‘It would have been a great honour, but I think they never wanted me’© Getty Images

Waqar Younis’s spell as Pakistan’s bowling coach has ended before it even began.Yesterday, Waqar told reporters that he wanted the role for the long term. “If it is only for the India series,” he said, “it will be waste of time.”But that cut no ice with the Pakistan Cricket Board who rejected his suggestions, insisting the appointment was for the one series only.Waqare, who was believed to be asking for a two-year deal as well as compensation for the loss of income as a commentator, was not interested in the PCB’s terms. “It would have been a great honour, but I think they never wanted me, ” he told reporters. “There was no mention of the money when I talked to the PCB, but I wanted a long-term contract because you need time to work on bowlers.”