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Garnett Kruger, the South Africa fast bowler, has been released from his contract with Lions due to family reasons.Kruger approached both the franchise’s CEO Alan Kourie and coach Dave Nosworthy towards the end of last season with one or two family issues. All agreed to release Kruger from his contract to return to Port Elizabeth.”This is a big loss for us but, understandably, Garnett has put his family first and we are more than willing to understand his circumstances,” Nosworthy said. “The team and I will not only miss Garnie on the field as an outstanding performer, but also his real character in the change room behind closed doors.””It was a pleasure working with Garnett and a privilege having him as part of the team,” Kourie said. “His professional approach, attitude and knowledge that he passed on is immeasurable.”Garnett is currently playing for Gloucestershire in county cricket and will be available for all the competitions, before returning to South Africa towards the end of September to take part in the Warriors’ domestic campaign. “I am very happy to be returning to my home town and am looking forward to playing for the Warriors,” Kruger said. “I have wanted to return for a while and hope that I will contribute to the success of the team.”Meanwhile, Warriors have also signed on former South African and Eagles spinner Nicky Boje. The 36-year-old has also been in action in the county circuit with Northamptonshire, and together with Griquas bowler Reece Williams will be among the other prized additions to the Warriors squad this season.Dave Emslie, the Warriors chief executive, was excited with the three new signings. “We are delighted to welcome the new signings to the Eastern Cape,” Emslie said. “Experienced players like Garnett and Nicky will add to the depth and experience of the team whilst Reece is at the start of what promises to be an exciting career.”

An unscheduled break has refreshed Michael Hussey and helped him regain the form that made him one of the game’s most prolific batsmen. Hussey broke through for his first century since the opening Test against India last October with an unbeaten 143 against the England Lions in a perfectly timed innings ahead of next week’s opening Ashes contest.With most of his team-mates struggling, Hussey guided Australia from trouble in the opening two sessions as they reached a useful 337 for 8 at stumps. While some problems started to emerge – Phillip Hughes looked uncomfortable against Steve Harmison’s short balls and Marcus North failed for the third time in a row – Hussey’s return to form brightened the touring squad’s mood.”That was very rewarding,” Hussey said. “It’s been a long time for me to spend so much time at the wicket so it was pretty important, at the start of this tour, to get my confidence up.”After a couple of years when his Test average stayed above 70, Hussey’s output dried up over the past 18 months and he scored only two half-centuries during the home summer. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t [get me down],” he said. “You almost get out of the habit of batting a long time and scoring hundreds, and I was starting to get to the stage where I’d almost forgotten how to do it. It was nice to spend a long time out there.”Hussey’s family is staying with him in Worcester and it was a holiday at home with them while the limited-overs team was playing Pakistan that started his comeback. The coaching staff noticed a change in his demeanour and he felt more energetic around the group since arriving in England.”I really enjoyed the time off, it was a weird feeling because I don’t like missing games for Australia,” he said. “It didn’t feel right relaxing at home with my family while the boys were doing the hard yakka over there. The time was really good for me and I really needed it.”The focus now switches to Hughes and North after their slips, but Hussey had faith that both of them would prosper during the Ashes. “I think he’ll be fine,” he said of Hughes, who was caught on 7 fending Harmison to gully. “As long as he is playing his way, it’s unorthodox, but he’s got to stick to it and he will have success.”Harmison was a tricky prospect, taking 3 for 67, and was backed up by Graham Onions, who returned 2 for 62, and Tim Bresnan’s three wickets. Onions still believed there were vacancies in England’s XI in Cardiff.”I think everybody in our team, whether it is the opening batter to the opening bowler, they’d like to think they have the chance to play in the first Test,” he said. “That’s the reason why we’re here.”

Batsman Aaron Redmond has been called up to the New Zealand squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in England as cover for Jesse Ryder, who is down with a groin injury, New Zealand Cricket confirmed today. Ryder, who was hospitalised as a precautionary measure, has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament and will fly home after further recuperation.Redmond, who has been playing cricket in England, is expected to join the squad and his inclusion has been approved by the ICC.”Unfortunately medical advice is that it would be very difficult for Jesse to regain full fitness in time for the remainder of the tournament,” Dave Currie, the team manager, said. “Because of the time constraints at this stage of the tournament we have made the call to bring in a replacement player, and we’re fortunate that Aaron has been able to join the side for today’s game.”It’s a real disappointment for Jesse. He’s one of the most explosive batsmen in the world and was well placed to make his mark on this tournament.”Redmond is yet to make his Twenty20 debut for the country. Currie said Redmond could play the opening Super Eights game against Ireland today.The team is saddled with injury worries, with batsman Ross Taylor certain to miss out against Ireland due to a hamstring pull and Daniel Vettori also in doubt with an injured left shoulder. New Zealand’s next game is against Pakistan on Saturday.

The IPL’s technical committee has decided to add an extra hour, if necessary, to complete the remaining league games in case of rain during the latter stages of the tournament. The semi-finals and final will have two extra hours but will not have reserve days.The early stages of the tournament were affected by bad weather with two games being washed out and a few others being decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method.The IPL technical committee also decided that a ball will be considered ‘dead’ if a batsman happens to hit the fly-camera which travels over the ground on cables suspended overhead.

Gary Kirsten has denied he is on the “very short shortlist” of candidates for the England coach’s job. Kirsten has been linked to the role in the British papers but he told he has not been contacted by the ECB.”I am not a candidate,” he said in Wellington where he is preparing the side for the third Test. Kirsten’s two-year contract with India began in March 2008 and Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said “His contract is till March 2010”. N Srinivasan, the BCCI’s secretary, refused to comment on the reports and dismissed them as “speculation by the UK media”.Andy Flower, who is currently the stand-in coach after the sacking of Peter Moores in January, remained the favourite to be appointed as England’s new director of cricket, the and the reported.The reports claimed that a four-man ECB panel would interview the candidates on the shortlist at a secret location in the UK. Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, was also linked to the process though he said that he remained committed to his national contract till 2011.”We have had a robust and transparent process,” Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, told reporters in St Lucia yesterday. “We are pleased with those who have applied. Our interview process will begin when we get home at the weekend with a view to appointing the permanent post before the West Indies series.”Significantly, Morris said that he was impressed with the way Flower managed his role after he took over in diffcult circumstances, following the removal of Moores and Kevin Pietersen as captain. “He has taken the challenges on board, gained the respect of players and management team and done really well,” he said.

ScorecardAny expectation that the Super Eights would run to form was emphatically quashed with a string of upsets to leave the final phase of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers appealingly open. With Afghanistan shocking Ireland by one wicket and Canada beating Kenya, Namibia – winless and bottom of the table – managed to upset UAE who before today were handily placed in fifth position.UAE, so impressive in their defeat of Afghanistan a couple of days ago, looked tired in the field and lazy with the bat. Namibia, on the other hand, bowled exceptionally – particularly Gerrie Snyman, who was economical and surprisingly slippery, and Louis Klazinga. The pair put UAE immediately on the back foot in their chase of 281, bowling a tidy line and gaining just enough swing to keep both batsmen and slips interested.Arshad Ali was first to depart, trapped leg-before trying to whip Klazinga through midwicket. Amjad Javed, the opening bowler and batsman who smashed a remarkable 164 last week, couldn’t cope with Snyman’s disciplined length, feathering a simple catch behind.In strode UAE’s star batsman, Saqib Ali, but he too was uncomfortable against the pace and bounce of Snyman and an ill-judged pull skied a simple catch to the wicketkeeper. Further evidence of UAE’s Jekyll and Hyde temperament came when Nithin Gopal attempted the most ill-judged of runs and was left stranded. In the blink of an eye, Namibia had reduced them to 38 for 4 in 12 overs.There followed a steadying partnership of 107 between Naeemuddin Aslam and Sameer Nayak, with Aslam stroking 50 from 68. The pair played with a coolness that UAE’s top-order lacked; calmly nudging singles and working the spinners intelligently into the gaps, though it was to have no impact on the end result.Aslam swept well and took the occasional risk, skipping down to the spinners and striking five fours, two of which found their way over midwicket. But at the halfway point UAE still needed 170 runs, and when Nayak was trapped leg-before by the persistent Louis Burger, their hopes relied on a gifted but excitable tail-end who imploded, rather than exploded.Namibia were no less impressive with their batting, recovering from 8 for 2 to post a sizeable 280 for 7 with Louis Burger cracking a 60-ball 61. Burger was joined in an exhilarating stand of 115 with Nicolaas Sholtz (57 from 59) as UAE’s usually disciplined attack offered gift after gift.Burger’s 61 was the perfect captain’s innings: initially calm and controlled, he then expanded his strokeplay and was particularly effective driving straight down the ground. The icing on the cake for Namibia’s innings came from Ian van Zyl who smacked 32 from just 14 balls, including two huge sixes over long-on as UAE trudged off to contend with their incensed coach, Colin Wells.Namibia have gradually developed into a force to be reckoned with in four-day cricket, particularly impressive in last year’s Intercontinental Cup, but their one-day form has often lurched from one disaster to another. Today they showed their potential, though whether they can maintain it against more talented sides is a question for later in the competition.

South Australia 253 and 5 for 338 (Cosgrove 118, Harris 82) beat Tasmania 301 and 9 for 289 dec by 5 wickets
Scorecard
Points table

Mark Cosgrove’s 118 drove South Australia to third place and ended Tasmania’s brave push to join Victoria in Friday’s final. The Tigers had fought back on the second and third days, but could not fulfil their last aim of ten wickets on Sunday, finishing with five as the Redbacks reached 338.Tasmania declared on their overnight score of 9 for 289 and were in with a chance until Cosgrove arrived. Cosgrove spent most of the season out of the side, but capped his recall with centuries in two of the final three games. He could have remained unbeaten but tried to clear the boundary with one run remaining and was out for 118.Daniel Harris steered the early stages of the chase, but when he left 18 short of a century the Redbacks were a nervous 4 for 189. Cosgrove played freely and Graham Manou, one of a host of in-form glovemen around the country, provided excellent assistance with 55 not out.James Smith started the pursuit aggressively with 31 off 29 before he slipped against Luke Butterworth, who completed a five-wicket haul and a half-century on Saturday. Klinger, who has a competition-high 1203 runs, went after lunch on 23 when he nicked Jason Krejza to Dan Marsh at slip and Callum Ferguson (11) edged to Tim Paine. However, the afternoon belonged to the Redbacks, who leaped over Tasmania after winning three matches in a row for the first time since 1994-95.

Scorecard

The Sri Lankans fell 112 runs short of their target in the two day warm-up match against Patron’s XI despite Kumar Sangakkara’s century. Chasing a target of 396 in their allotted quota of 90 overs, the visitors finished the second day in Karachi on 283 for 5.The run-chase got off to a rocky start with the Sri Lankans losing openers Malinda Warnapura and Tharanga Paranavitana with only 26 runs on the board. Their two most experienced batsmen Sangakkara and captain Mahela Jayawardene put the innings back on track with a 112-run stand for the third wicket. Jayawardene was dismissed on 49 and Sangakkara retired once he got to his century, giving the others in the batting line-up an opportunity.Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene made 40s but Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to make a contribution, getting bowled by Mohammad Khalil for 3. “We were not particularly bothered about the result because our top batsmen got the much needed practice before the Tests,” Dilshan told . The Patron’s XI used as many as 11 bowlers to pick up the five wickets.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan go into the tri-series in Bangladesh, which begins tomorrow, looking for practice ahead of the World Cup where they will hope their performance impresses other sides enough to secure more bilateral series.The series may not be the ideal preparation for the World Cup but Sri Lanka and Pakistan, along with Australia and New Zealand, are the only teams playing international cricket a month before the tournament, which gives them some edge over the rest.India dominated the Asia Cup last May but the others managed to take some positives from the tournament. Sri Lanka reached the final – and will be favourites in the tri-series – while Bangladesh beat Pakistan before losing to them later.Sri Lanka followed up the Asia Cup with a 3-2 win over West Indies at home. They have a strong batting line-up led by opener Dedunu Silva. Their bowling is anchored by spinners Suwini de Alwis, who took 21 wickets in the previous two series, and captain Shashikala Siriwardene, who took 19 in the same.Pakistan, whose series against West Indies was cancelled because of security concerns, and Bangladesh – who are yet to gain one-day status – have not played since May last year. Pakistan have included some fresh faces in the squad but it’s the experienced hands – captain Urooj Mumtaz and Sajjida Shah, their leading run-getter in the Asia Cup – who remain the ones to watch out for. These two will have to click if Pakistan have any hope of beating Sri Lanka and gaining a psychological advantage ahead of the World Cup. The team played Under-15 and Under-19 men’s teams in preparing for the tri-series.For Bangladesh, a good show will strengthen their campaign for one-day status. The 18-year old captain Salma Khatun leads a very young squad, which includes Lily Bishwash, at 14 the tournament’s youngest player. Khatun believed the team had improved since playing the Asia Cup. “We have played two practice matches prior to the series and I think we are a much improved side now,” Katun was quoted as saying in Bangladesh’s .Sri Lanka and Pakistan will be taking the same squads to Australia so while the tri-series won’t serve as a selection test, it will give the captains a better idea on whom to play. Other players to watch out for are:Chamari Polgampola, the Sri Lankan medium-pacer, took five wickets and scored 105 runs in five games against West Indies.Panna Ghosh was the Player of the Tournament in Bangladesh’s first international series – the Asian Cricket Council women’s Trophy – for her nine wickets and 75 runs. But she struggled against the bigger teams, taking five wickets in six Asia Cup games. This time, playing at home in familiar conditions, she could give Bangladesh crucial breakthroughs.Tithy Sarkar, the Bangladesh offspinner, took a career-best seven wickets against Pakistan – including a career-best 4 for 25 – in the Asia Cup and will be keen to add to her kitty when the teams meet on Friday.Pakistan opener Bismah Maroof had a poor Asia Cup – only 40 runs from six games – and her team will hope she can fire before the World Cup. She will have a new opening partner to work with as Tasqeen Qadeer was left out of the squad.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis executed the perfect demolition job to not only complete the win against Zimbabwe in the second match of the Tri-Nation Tournament in Bangladesh, but also ensure a bonus point. In the process, Mendis became the fastest to 50 ODI wickets when he had Ray Price stumped by Kumar Sangakkara, as Zimbabwe surrendered tamely during their chase.Kulasekara was on fire right from the start as Sri Lanka looked to defend the 210 they put up earlier in the day on a difficult pitch. The Zimbabwe openers lasted just six overs – Kulasekara castling Vusi Sibanda for 6 and then trapping Hamilton Masakadza leg before in the next over.Tatenda Taibu may have been dropped by captain Mahela Jayawardene off Thilan Thushara, but his luck lasted only a little while more as he played on to a Kulasekara in-cutter the next over. Thushara was rewarded though, sneaking through Sean Williams’ defences as Zimbabwe were left reeling at 47 for 4 in the 17th over.Jayawardene then unleashed spin at one end and Mendis, predictably, struck in his first over bowling Stuart Matsikenyeri. Matsikenyeri’s 15 was to be the highest score in a dismal-looking scorecard, as captain Prosper Utseya and Keith Dabengwa exited in a hurry as well. Dabengwa was caught by Jayawardene, who drew level with Mohammad Azharuddin for the most number catches as a fielder, with 156.Price was completely outfoxed by Mendis when he charged out, as the bowler, in his 19th match, broke Ajit Agarkar’s record of 50 ODI wickets in 23 games.A fine display from Ed Rainsford and a disciplined performance from the spinners earlier in the day had helped Zimbabwe restrict Sri Lanka to 210. Rainsford struck thrice to cripple Sri Lanka’s top order, while Utseya and Ray Price tightened the noose by checking the run-flow in the middle overs.After being put in by Zimbabwe under hazy conditions, the Sri Lankan openers made a solid start. Sanath Jayasuriya signalled his intent with two fours off Rainsford in the first over.The run-rate never dipped below five as the partnership neared fifty, but having lifted Elton Chigumbura for a six over long-on the previous ball, Jayasuriya fell chasing a wide delivery, caught by Masakadza at first slip.Zimbabwe took their second Powerplay as Rainsford came back for a second spell and struck immediately, trapping Sangakkara leg before. Jayawardene’s miserable run against Zimbabwe continued as he was dismissed in Rainsford’s next over, caught behind for a duck by Taibu off a thickish outside edge. Rainsford continued strongly, and when Chamara Kapugedera was caught plumb in front, Sri Lanka had slipped to 89 for 4.Tharanga moved steadily towards his half-century, but another bowling change in the 21st over, with Utseya bringing himself on, did the trick, as he trapped Tharanga lbw for 42.Price was then brought on as Zimbabwe switched to spin at both ends, looking to make further inroads. However, Jehan Mubarak and Mathews battled bravely to get Sri Lanka back in the game. They were slow, aiming primarily to consolidate. Their fifty stand took 14 overs but was brought up in emphatic fashion, Mathews hitting Tawanda Mupariwa for a six straight down the ground.But having taken the third Powerplay in the 42nd over, Mubarak took his chances against Price and ended up holing out to Williams at mid-on, bringing an end to the sixth-wicket partnership of 69. Thushara hit two sixes in a Dabengwa over but Sri Lanka could manage just 22 runs in the Powerplay. Mathews brought up his fifty in the 49th over, and his workmanlike innings ensured Sri Lanka at least had a reasonable total to defend.Zimbabwe can still make the finals, unless Bangladesh manage a major upset against Sri Lanka in the final match of the tri-series on Wednesday.