Test cricket must go day-night to survive - Modi

Lalit Modi: "There has been a big drop in Test cricket viewing and it's because people don't have the leisure time in the day to watch it" © AFP

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, has said it is vital for Test cricket to shift to the day-night format and become more broadcaster friendly in order to ensure its survival amid the burgeoning popularity of Twenty20, which he believes will "become the dominant format - without doubt".

"I am a great supporter of Test cricket. People say I'm not but I also run the marketing department of the BCCI and Test cricket is extremely important to us," Modi told the Guardian. "All I am trying to do is remind people that we live in a modern age and Test cricket has a big problem: it is played in the daytime when most people are working."

Administrators, according to Modi, should embrace every opportunity to attract more viewers to Tests and playing it day-night was an effective way of doing so. "If you take it to day-night, then people can watch it on TV when they get home from work - or they can go to the stadium. There has been a big drop in Test cricket viewing [outside England and the Ashes] and it's because people don't have the leisure time in the day to watch it."

Modi believes that the five-day format will fizzle out unless there is a change in its timings because the broadcaster will not be interested it in. "Whether we like it or not, broadcasting determines whether a game survives. Without broadcasters you don't have money to pay players or keep the sport alive. You don't need to fiddle with the format at this stage. All you need do is change the timing. If we went day-night then we would see a real resurgence in the ratings. Look at Twenty20. It has gone to night cricket and the viewership has exploded."

Modi said the Twenty20 format - three hours for a game - was the ideal vehicle for cricket to compete with football and other sports for new consumers and markets. His aim is to make the IPL the "dominant sporting league in the world" across all sports.

"We are only a two-year-old league but we had close to 3.8 billion eyeballs last year. Every game last year we had 100 million eyeballs," he said. "But because our objective is to become the most watched sporting event in the world we are now targeting 150m every day."

Modi believes that the IPL could develop an edge over English Premier League football because, unlike the most popular league in the world, its unique model was based on team equality and therefore was unpredictable.

"Look, my son is a Manchester United fan and I'm a Chelsea fan - and I was very upset to see my team lose [last Saturday]," he said. "But, normally, we know exactly what is going to happen. My son and I know that nine times out 10 either Man U or Chelsea is going to win it. The Premier League is basically so predictable. I wanted to base my league on an unpredictable model - so we don't have a Man U or a Chelsea in the IPL.

"If you look at our ratings, all 59 games in the IPL last year were within a 5% margin of each other in ratings. That has never happened in any other league in the world. From a broadcaster's or advertiser's point of view this is a dream because, when they buy a match, or advertising, they know they are going to get value for money. The other key point is that 52 out of those 59 matches went down to the wire. No one knew who was going to win until the final stages.

"Our model works but a lot of English football clubs are going under. Look at Portsmouth going bankrupt. With the next auction we might have even more surprising figures and people coming into the IPL."

Lee and Bracken stay in Twenty20 sights

Nathan Bracken and Brett Lee have points to prove after long lay-offs © Associated Press

Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken remain in Australia's plans despite long-term injuries after they were named in the preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. Lee retired from Teststhis week because his body can't cope with the workload, but he wants to return to national action in the limited-overs formats.

An elbow problem is Lee's current concern while Bracken is on the way back from surgery, but both have a tough task to win spots in the final 15-man squad for the tournament starting in April. Andrew Hilditch and his fellow selectors have also given hope to Brad Hodge, the 35-year-old batsman, who has not played for Australia since 2008.

There are four new players in the squad with George Bailey, the Tasmania captain, included as well as his state team-mate Xavier Doherty, the left-arm spinner. The Victoria allrounder John Hastings and Ben Cutting, the Queensland fast bowler, have also been given some encouragement after strong domestic campaigns.

"We consider the squad to contain a good blend of youth and experience with several players who have excelled in Twenty20 cricket both internationally and domestically this year," Hilditch said. "From this 30 we hope to pick a final World Twenty20 squad that if it plays to its ability will be a very exciting, entertaining and extremely competitive." Australia have been grouped with Pakistan and Bangladesh and must finish on top to avoid being knocked out in the first round for the second World Twenty20 in a row.

Australia men's squad Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Daniel Christian, Ben Cutting, Xavier Doherty, Brad Haddin (wk), Ryan Harris, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Brad Hodge, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew McDonald, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Australia women's squad Jodie Fields (capt, wk), Sarah Andrews, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Kris Britt, Melissa Bulow, Jessica Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Lauren Ebsary, Sarah Elliott, Rene Farrell, Katelyn Fryett, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Julie Hunter, Jessica Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Meg Lanning, Renee Melton, Shelley Nitschke, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Angela Reakes, Lisa Sthalekar, Selena Tainton, Elyse Villani, Julie Woerner, Laura Wright.

Tait looks to Wellington wind for extra speed

Shaun Tait would love to bowl the quickest ball of all time© Getty Images

Shaun Tait is keen to take full advantage of what he hopes will be strong wind in Wellington as he aims to crank his speed past 160kph for the second time this month. In New Zealand, Tait has only ever played internationals in Auckland and Hamilton and is looking forward to testing out men like Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor in Friday night's first Twenty20.

"I've never played here before - the wind, I've got to get the right end," Tait told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I don't want to be pushing into it. It doesn't always happen that you know you can bowl at that sort of speed but when the time does come, every now and again, you're always going to have a crack at the quicker ball. I look up at the screen reasonably often to have a look at the speeds myself. Sometimes you can't help yourself.

"When you hit that 160 mark as a fast bowler, that's a pretty special feeling. The adrenaline is pumping, the crowd in Melbourne was really getting into it when I did it there. But you've got to be careful not to put too much pressure on yourself. The main thing I've got to do is take wickets."

Tait broke through the 160kph barrier during the Twenty20 against Pakistan at the MCG earlier this month when he let one delivery rip at 160.7kph. It was the fastest ball ever recorded in a match in Australia - the quickest anywhere was Shoaib Akhtar at 161.3kph in the 2003 World Cup - but Tait said he wasn't always convinced at the accuracy of the speed guns.

"You can tell when you're bowling around 160," Tait said. "Back home it seems like the Foxtel cameras are slower than the Channel Nine ones. But that doesn't matter. When you get up to the 160 mark, it's slightly rewarding. It's not something I think about all the time - but it'd be great to bowl the fastest recorded ball of all time."

Warne denies bust-up with Ponting

Shane Warne denied having a heated argument with Ricky Ponting over the Australian cricketers' participation in the IPL.

"There was no heated disagreement between me andRicky," said Warne, who led the Jaipur-based Rajasthan Royals to a fairytale triumph in the first edition of the cash-awash league.

"We're mates, we get along fine. There were a lot of people asking (Australian Cricketers Association chief executive) Paul Marsh for clarity on some issues. I think that's healthy. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion," Warne was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'.

A report in 'The Australian', however, claimed that the cricketers were "at each other's throats" during a security briefing in Sydney yesterday.

According to the daily, freelance former players like Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist are all for playing in the IPL, while majority of the Cricket Australia-contracted players are little cagey about it.

"It is understood the past players, including Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist clashed with Australia's captain Ricky Ponting during the meeting," the report claimed, quoting sources. .

ACA chief executive Paul Marsh, however, was confident that the players would show solidarity till the issue is resolved.

"That's something we are still working through, it's the way we have operated in the past and I guess we have a couple of weeks to work through that," Marsh said.

Warne, meanwhile, said that with the Indian government throwing its weight behind IPL's security contractor Nicholls Steyn, there should not be worry for the players.

"I think the development overnight is that the Indian Government is going to get behind Nicholls Steyn, the IPL security people, (and) ramp up security for the players," he said.

"That will give the players comfort, and that was the main aim of the players' association. I think it's going to work pretty well," said Warne.

India rest Sachin Tendulkar

Openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been rested for India's final one-day international against SA on Saturday.

India have already sealed victory in the three-match one-day series against South Africa with wins in the first two games in Jaipur and Gwalior.

Tendulkar, 36, smashed a world record 200 not out in Gwalior yesterday.

With Saturday's game being a dead rubber, India's selectors have decided to give fringe players some international experience.

The India selectors have picked top-order batsman Murali Vijay and have also called up uncapped Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun in place of medium-pacer Praveen Kumar.

Batsman Rohit Sharma, who had missed the first Test in Nagpur due to an ankle injury on the morning of the first day, also returns to the team.

Selectors have also named a 30-member long list for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

Team for final ODI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sudeep Tyagi, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra.

Long list for the World Twenty20: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sudeep Tyagi, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Piyush Chawla, Abhimanyu Mithun, Manish Pandey, R P Singh, Munaf Patel, Murali Vijay, Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin.

Pavilion, road to be named after Sachin

A road and a pavilion in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh will be named in honour of master batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

Making the announcement, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the City Centre-Hurawali Road will be named after the batting maestro, who delivered a 147-ball blistering knock to clinch the three-match series against South Africa, Gwalior Collector Akash Tripathi told PTI.

Union minister of state for commerce and Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) president, Jyotiraditya Scindia also announced to name a pavilion after the legendary cricketer, who cracked an unbeaten 200 to help India beat South Africa by 153 runs in the second ODI yesterday.

Sachin better than even Bradman

Nasser Hussain says that Sachin is the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, better than even the iconic Don Bradman.

"I have never liked comparisons between great players, but after Wednesday's incredible game it must be said that Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time," Hussain wrote in his column for 'The Daily Mail'.

Tendulkar became the first batsman to crack a double century in the four-decade-long history of one day cricket against South Africa yesterday and Hussain felt that should settle the debate on who is the greatest batsman ever.

"Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself," wrote the Chennai-born English cricketer of Indian origin.

Hussain said Tendulkar has somehow managed to retain his early enthusiasm even after two decades of international cricket which he found incredible.

"I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior," said Hussain, who once resorted to negative tactics and asked spinner Ashley Giles to bowl way outside off-stumps to curb the Indian," he said. .

"That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever," Hussain said.

Looking at Tendulkar's illustrious career, Hussain said guiding the Indian team to 2011 World Cup victory with his broad bat would perhaps give a sense of fulfilment.

"What else is left for Tendulkar now? Well, it is sometimes said that he has not played enough match-winning innings on the really big occasion for India.

"What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia - or maybe even England - on home soil this time next year," he said.

"That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career," said the Englishman.

Doffing his hat to Tendulkar and referring to maverick soccer coach Jose Maurinho's famous moniker, Hussain said, "My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One.

British media praise Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar's feat of becoming the first cricketer to score a double century in one-dayers was hailed by the British media.

"Tendulkar underlined his sensational class with a double century in Gwalior. To have reached such a landmark, with a single in the final over, only serves to underline his class and add to the legacy that already surrounds arguably the finest batsman to have played the game," BBC Sports said.

"His innings, the 46th one-day century of his career, was typified by wristy strokes, trademark boundary shots and, above all, stamina as he batted through the entire innings," the report read.

Meanwhile, The Times tried to anticipate whether the Indian can complete a century of centuries in international cricket by the end of this year.

"All kneel down and praise whatever god you fancy for the mighty Sachin Tendulkar. This could just be turning into the greatest year of his international career, more than 20 years after it began," the report said.

"Tendulkar now has 93 hundreds in international cricket - 47 in Tests and 46 in ODIs - which is 25 more than the next best man, Ricky Ponting. At the age of 36 and in such great form, he could reach 100 hundreds by the end of the year," it added.

Tendulkar yesterday became the first batsman in the four-decade history of ODI to hammer a double ton as his 200 not out helped India pile up a mammoth 401 for three against South Africa and beat the visitors by 153 runs in the second one-dayer.

Daily Mail also termed the innings as "sensational" in their report.

"Sensational Sachin Tendulkar smashes world record one-day innings and first ever double hundred for India," the headline goes.

In another report, Guardian opined that the stormy knock has hit hard the notion that form of Tendulkar is on the wane.

"The blazing innings comes 10 months after his 36th birthday and four years after he was booed off his home ground in Mumbai, with his career apparently in terminal decline.

"Somewhat improbably given today's innings, the abuse had been for slow scoring," the daily said.

It was not only Tendulkar's 46th ODI century but also the highest score in one-dayers, eclipsing the previous record of 194 which was held jointly by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Conventry.

I'd like to bat another full 50 overs - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar: "Since I was timing the ball well, I could be more aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers"© Associated Press

Sachin Tendulkar, who broke the record for the highest individual ODI score, overtaking Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry on his way to the format's first double-hundred, has said his ability to bat the entire 50 overs was a testament to his fitness after having played the game for more than 20 years.

"It feels good that I lasted for 50 overs, a good test of my fitness. I'd like to bat another 50 overs at some stage and see that the fitness level doesn't drop," Tendulkar said after his effort helped India take a unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. "The ball was coming onto the bat and I was striking the ball well. So when everything falls into its place, it feels nice. It was one of the innings where I felt I was moving well. Since I was timing the ball well, I could be more aggressive and put pressure on the bowlers."

Tendulkar, while dedicating his feat to the people of India, credited coach Gary Kirsten for the team's success in both forms of the game after the debacle in the World Cup in the Caribbean. "I've enjoyed various challenges; after the 2007 World Cup things have looked different and I'm enjoying the game," he said. "The credit also goes to Gary [Kirsten], he has really held the team beautifully. It's about togetherness and playing for each other. You see during the practice sessions that Gary himself trains as hard as anyone else, or probably harder than anyone else as he's the one giving us practice all the time."

Tendulkar said he sensed an opportunity to break the record and reach a double-century when he had gone past 175 in the 42nd over. The record eventually came in the 46th over, and the 200 in the 50th. "When I was near 175-180, I thought I could get a 200 as there were quite a few overs left," he said. He added that he would prefer his achievement to be upstaged by an Indian. "I don't play for records, I play for enjoyment and play with lots of passion. That's how cricket started. I didn't start playing cricket to break all the records; it's happened along the way. The dream was to play for India and do my best.

"I don't think any record is unbreakable. Records are made to be broken. I hope that if this record is broken, it's done by an Indian."

This was India's third-highest score in ODIs, and Tendulkar said the 400-mark would not have reached if not for some big hitting by Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni. "I thought a target of 340-350 would be a good one, but Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni came in and hit the big shots and cleared the ropes consistently and helped us pass 400."

Tendulkar added that India were not relaxing despite having put up a mammoth score, for they were aware South Africa were the only team to have chased down a target in excess of 400. "This was the team that chased 434 against Australia. So we didn't get complacent and told ourselves that we had just got through the half-way stage by scoring 401. And what we did in the second half was extremely important. We were aiming at getting early wickets and putting them out of the game."

Dhoni, who witnessed Tendulkar surpass the record from the other end, said: "I think one of the best innings, you can say. It's always good to be on the other side, watching him score 200 runs. When he is tired and can't play the big shots, he was very clever to use the pace of the bowler and it's very difficult for the bowlers as they don't know where exactly to bowl."

India lost Virender Sehwag early, and Tendulkar was assisted in three sizable stands where runs came at a brisk pace, with Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf and Dhoni. "Once Viru got out, it was important to get some kind of a partnership going. They [Tendulkar and Karthik] went on with their innings, and they set a platform after which we were sure we would get 350-plus which would be a difficult target," Dhoni said. "Yusuf was sent up the order and with the talent he's got, he can be a great asset to the side."

Yusuf scored a quickfire 36 and was particularly lethal during the batting Powerplay, while Dhoni proved destructive at the death, bludgeoning 68 off 35 in a century-stand with Tendulkar in just 53 balls. "I have changed my batting a bit, but the situation demanded that kind [attacking] of innings," Dhoni said. "The ground is a small one, and we were a bit worried about the dew factor. But once they lost 3-4 early wickets, it was difficult for them to get back into the game."

For South Africa and their stand-in captain Jacques Kallis, it was a case of the basics gone wrong. "The toss was quite vital. Our basics were just weren't good enough today. We were outplayed," Kallis said. "We lost wickets at crucial stages, our basics let us down. A fantastic innings by Sachin; he took advantage of some good conditions and he played superbly. We let ourselves down in some areas."

Lee an 'all-time express great'

"I don't think the public would appreciate how much pain he bowled in" © AFP

Brett Lee has retired from Tests after 76 games and 310 wickets in the hope of prolonging his one-day and Twenty20 careers. Here are some tributes from current and former players and administrators.

Dennis Lillee
"Brett is going to go down as one of the great all-time express bowlers in the world ... 150-plus kph puts a huge strain on the body and it can only take so much. For him to play 76 Tests and 300-odd wickets doing what he does is a credit to him."

Andrew Flintoff
"It is very sad to hear the news that Brett is to retire from Test cricket. Everyone will remember our little moment we shared after the Edgbaston Test in 2005, but for me the great battles with bat and ball against Brett will live with me for a long time."

Richie Benaud
"I hope Brett is able to continue to play for Australia in limited-overs internationals, he is a master of orthodox and reverse-swing and no one has ever been more proud to represent his country in Test cricket. Lee and Glenn McGrath formed a splendid partnership with the new ball in both forms of the game from 1999 to 2007 and being one of only nine Australian pace bowlers to take 200 Test wickets is a great achievement."

Damien Fleming
''Of the genuine quicks [of his era], he would have played twice as much as the other guys. We just thought we had discovered the Shane Warne of fast bowling [when he emerged]. That probably put unrealistic expectations on him, but that was my thinking because he actually bowled in really good areas in those first couple of Tests, and he was lightning.''

Jason Gillespie
"To always come back fitter, hungrier, stronger and bowling the pace that he bowled, I just think is a testament to his character. I don't think the public would appreciate how much pain he bowled in … and he always wanted another over.''

Justin Langer
"There are few better sights in the game of cricket than Brett Lee in white, sweat band pumping, high leap, poetic follow through and then a smile. Test cricket will be poorer without Brett, who apart from his fitness and skill, is one of the most likeable people I have met in the game of cricket."

Merv Hughes
"You look at Shoaib Akhtar and Shaun Tait and certainly Brett Lee was right up there in pace, his longevity at that pace was superb and I really can't believe that people questioned his ability."

Andrew Hilditch, Australia's chairman of selectors
"Brett has made an outstanding contribution to the Australian Test team over a long period and it has been a great pleasure to see him develop as a person and a cricketer over that period. He's been one of the world's quickest bowlers in Test cricket for a long period of time and a key member of Australia's squad during a very successful era in Australian cricket. While Brett has announced his retirement from Test cricket, we will continue to monitor his progress as he returns from injury and will be keeping a close eye on his form in the shorter formats."

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive
"Brett's had a fantastic career in Test match cricket for Australia over a long period and I take this opportunity to congratulate him on the way he has represented his country and the outstanding contribution he has made. Brett has played a key role in helping the Australian team be one of the most successful Test teams in history. But it's also the way he went about his cricket, with a readiness to smile and a clear enjoyment of what he was doing, which also helped lift the team's popularity and won the support of fans in Australia and throughout the world."

Lee desperate to keep going despite Test exit

Brett Lee is preparing for a new lifestyle after stepping down from the five-day game © Getty Images

"This is not the end of me. It's a cricket choice and it's a lifestyle choice."

Brett Lee has said goodbye to the Test arena but at 33 is desperate to recover from elbow surgery to represent his country again in the game's shorter forms. Lee has not added to his 76 Tests since he fractured a bone in his left foot late in 2008 and if he thought his aching body could deal with the demands he would be pushing for more time under a baggy green.

But after dealing with long-term foot, ankle, side and elbow injuries over the past 15 months he knows his body can't take the strain. Despite his decision to focus on the one-day and Twenty20 formats - he hasn't decided whether he will go to the IPL yet - Lee does not want younger fast men to give up on Tests.

"Obviously, there's specialist one-day and Twenty20 bowlers," he said at the SCG. "But for me, Test cricket is where it's at. There's a lot of luck in Twenty 20, a lot of skill and a bit of luck in one-dayers. But Test cricket is a test for the bowlers and a test for the batsmen."

Lee said his best memory was his first Test wicket, which came when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh in his opening over on debut at the MCG in 1999-2000. "At that point I could've hung up the boots just then," he said.

He exploded on to the scene with 46 wickets in seven Tests before needing surgery following a severe elbow injury that threatened his career. After his recovery he went on to support Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie before becoming a first-choice weapon for Australia between 2005 and 2008.

After surgery early in 2009 he was committed to coming back for the Ashes campaign and made the tour squad, but strained his side having proved his potency in the final warm-up match. Another elbow operation was required when he was sent home from the one-day tour of India and he spent the summer working out what to do next.

"This hasn't happened overnight," he said. "This has been a long process. I've had the time to step away from cricket and what I want to achieve. It's been about a three- to four-month decision that I've made and finally I went with it."

Ricky Ponting said Lee, the fourth-highest wicket-taker for Australia, should be remembered as one of the game's greats. "If we all just take a minute and think about what he's put himself through in that 10 or 12 years," he said. "Running 35 metres to bowl every ball, bowling every ball at close to 150kph, and putting his heart on the line every ball he bowls, this bloke deserves a massive pat on the back."

Lee is still not sure when he will be back and is in no hurry to decide on whether he goes to India for the IPL. The security situation in India has led to the Australian Cricketers' Association combining with other player unions to demand more information from the IPL.

"It's just waiting and seeing," Lee said. "We're not in a rushed situation to make a call. We are not experts in that field." Lee has a US$900,000 contract with the Kings XI Punjab franchise and is a popular figure in India.

MCC Women on historic Windies tour

MCC Women with Paul Costelloe at Lord's before their departure for the West Indies © Matt Bright

MCC Women are embarking on a historic first tour of the West Indies, and leave Lord's for Trinidad & Tobago today. The use of the pink ball in match conditions - which is also being tested by the men's team on their tour of the Middle East - will be further trialled on the tour, with the innovation being used in three Twenty20 fixtures in Trinidad.

The seven-match tour will be played at four grounds across the two islands, including two games at Queen's Park Oval. The first of these - a Twenty20 match against Trinidad & Tobago on February 28 - will be staged immediately before West Indies' Twenty20 game against Zimbabwe.

"MCC is committed to developing women's cricket, from the fact women are engaged as professionals on our Young Cricketers staff to the work we do with female students at Loughborough MCC University," said John Stephenson, MCC Head of Cricket.

"By beating England, the West Indies showed that women's cricket in the region is resurgent, and I expect the competition to be tough and intense. The squad contains several coaches so they will be able to pass their skills on to young girls interested in the game in Trinidad & Tobago."

The squad of 14, captained by former England allrounder Bev Nicholson, will run three coaching sessions for local youngsters during the tour. Current MCC Young Cricketer and young England offspinner Charlie Russell is in the squad alongside eleven other county players.

They will be dressed in the new MCC Women's touring suits, designed by Paul Costelloe, who was also responsible for the design of the England Women's kit. Costelloe, a cricket lover, was at Lord's on February 22 to see the MCC squad dressed in his suits for the first time before they depa

Lee set to announce Test retirement

Australia paceman Brett Lee is expected to announce his retirement from Test cricket in Sydney later on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old intimated last week he had been considering walking away from the longer format of the game as he faces a lengthy rehabilitation following elbow surgery in December.

Lee has described the injury as the "most painful" of a 76-Test career that has yielded 310 wickets but has been undermined by injury in recent years.

The quick missed last year's Ashes series after suffering a side strain on the eve of the first Test and has not worn the baggy green since the 2008 Boxing Day Test against South Africa.

A press conference has been called at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday morning local time (2215GMT on Tuesday).

Speaking last week Lee, the fastest bowler in the world at his peak, revealed he was considering his future following his latest setback.

"As far as my cricket goes, anything is possible - I may play one-dayers, or no cricket at all," he said.

"I may never bowl another ball and if that's the case, I'm so satisfied with my career and my longevity. I'm not saying it's definitely over, but I'm not sure what I want to be just yet.

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what I still want to do in my cricketing life. I need to get to the stage where, if I want to, I can do what I need to do on the field.

"If it's the case that I don't play again, well, that's the case. There is a part of me that would like to play some sort of cricket again."

No ambition for long term captaincy

All-rounder Shoaib Malik has made it clear he does not harbor any ambitions of long term captaincy.

"I enjoyed leading the team in these last three T20 matches inShahid Afridi's absence but it is better he gets back to captaining the side in this format of the game," Malik said on returning home from Dubai.

Malik, who remained captain between 2007 and 2009 before being replaced byYounus Khan last year, said Afridi was a better choice to lead the team.

But he declined to comment when asked what would be his stance if he was pressed by the board to continue as captain in the T20 World Cup this year.

Malik also admitted that the Pakistan team had been under lot of pressure in recent matches and the win over England on Saturday had released a lot of that pressure.

"There is no doubt that when you are constantly losing matches you tend to get into a losing mentality and come under pressure. It happens to every international sportsmen and it happened to us as well.

"But now that we have finally broken this losing streak hopefully this would be a fresh start for us and will allow us to defend our title successfully in the T20 World Cup," he said.

Pakistan were whitewashed in the Test and one-day series in Australia and also lost their lone T20 international to the Australians and then the first match against England in Dubai.

Malik praised Abdul Razzaq for playing a master blaster knock to guide Pakistan home in the second match and pointed out that he had proven he was an experienced and capable performer.

"I think he played extremely well under pressure and took the game away from the English bowlers he left them helpless with his sound and well executed shots."

Malik also made it clear that the players were keen to start doing well again to bring smiles back on the face of the Pakistani people.

"We all know how disappointed the people were with our recent performances but hopefully now we can give them something to smile about," he added.

Yorkshire sign Gibbs for Twenty20

Herschelle Gibbs will bring extensive experience and explosive batting to Headingley this season © AFP

Yorkshire have signed South African batsmanHerschelle Gibbs as their second overseas player for the coming season's Friends Provident Twenty20 competition.

Gibbs will join up with the Yorkshire squad before the game against Durham Dynamos on June 10 and will be available to play in all of Yorkshire's Twenty20 matches from then on.

"I've always enjoyed playing cricket in the UK and have very good memories of Headingley as I got my first World Cup hundred there in 1999," Gibbs toldYorkshire Radio. "I'm really looking forward to playing over there and I'll hopefully help to lead the troops towards some sort of success.

"I think Twenty20 cricket is consistently the flavour of the month with regards to spectators, and the following worldwide has grown enormously over the last few years," he added. "I'm still yet to get a hundred in Twenty20 cricket and I did promise myself that I'd get at least a few before I call it quits one day.

"There are a lot of challenges that I'd still like to achieve and overcome, and I'm probably enjoying my cricket now more than ever before, so I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

Gibbs, who will have turned 36 by the beginning of the season, is a veteran of 90 Tests and 246 ODIs, and also has extensive experience in Twenty20 cricket, with 1627 runs in the format.

He will join Ryan Harris, the Queensland and Australia allrounder who is also his Deccan Chargers teammate in the IPL, at the county, who have also signed Daryl Tuffey as early season cover for Harris.

"Herschelle will add power, runs and experience to our batting line-up in this year's T20 competition and he is also a fine fielder," added Martyn Moxon, Yorskhire's Director of Professional Cricket.

"He's a vastly experienced international cricketer with the ability to win matches on his own if he hits his best form. I'm looking forward to seeing him play for Yorkshire this year and I'm sure our members and supporters will enjoy Herschelle's style of cricket too."

Australia chase unbeaten summer

Shaun Tait is "very, very quick", Chris Gayle says© Getty Images

The Big Picture

It's three months since West Indies played their first match of this tour and they are about to embark on their last chance to beat Australia. A 2-0 Test loss was followed by a 5-0 one-day defeat and a disappointing effort in the first Twenty20. The shortest format might be their best chance to beat Australia but in truth, there has been precious little in their performances over the past couple of weeks to suggest that they will succeed. The story of the top order has been no Gayle, no hope, and their captain's wild swing to be bowled by Shaun Tait in Hobart continued his lean run in the past month.

For Australia, the lure of an unbeaten season is tantalisingly close. The only matches they have failed to win were the Adelaide Test draw with West Indies and the Sydney one-day wash-out, also against Gayle's men. The Twenty20 outfit looked sharp on Sunday, especially the attack as Tait and Dirk Nannes sped through West Indies' batting line-up. The openers David Warner and Shane Watson also fired but finding a cohesive and in-form middle order could be the challenge between now and the ICC World Twenty20.

Form guide (most recent first)

Australia WWNLL
West Indies LWLWL

Watch out for...

Of all Australia's Twenty20 specialists, David Warner is the ultimate short format man. He has still played only four first-class games but in Twenty20 he is an international veteran and his clever strokeplay gave Australia the early advantage in Hobart. He initially drove several balls over extra cover with clean, classy strokes before launching into some midwicket slogs. He's also playing at his home ground.

There are far bigger stars in the West Indies outfit than Nikita Miller but his performance on Sunday showed how important he can be. Gayle used his spinner to open the bowling and Miller kept things tight with wile and skill and finished with 2 for 20 from four overs. Taking the pace off the ball can be useful against Australia's top order and at the SCG Miller could play a key role.

Team news

Australia must weigh up their reluctance to change a winning team with their desire to test out new players with three matches remaining before the World Twenty20. The allrounder Daniel Christian and the fast man Ryan Harris are the two players in the squad yet to make their Twenty20 debuts and it would make sense to give them a chance. Mitchell Johnson is a known quantity and could rest ahead of the New Zealand series, while Travis Birt's hold on the No. 6 position looks a little shaky after two matches.

Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 Daniel Christian, 8 Steven Smith, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Shaun Tait.

Gavin Tonge and Brendan Nash have been travelling with the squad throughout the limited-overs portion of the tour without being handed an opportunity. Given the team's dismal results there seems no reason not to try them out but adding Tonge might upset the batting balance, while Nash is hardly a slogger and has only ever played one Twenty20 for Jamaica. It could mean an unchanged side.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Narsingh Deonarine, 4 Kieron Pollard, 5 Wavell Hinds, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Runako Morton, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch and conditions

Expect another good batting surface in Sydney, where the forecast for Tuesday is for 29C but the chance of an evening shower.

Stats and trivia

• There's a distinct pattern to West Indies' recent Twenty20 results: beginning with their Oval victory over Australia their record reads win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. They must be due for a win
• In Hobart, Narsingh Deonarine became the 16th man to be dismissed for a golden duck on his Twenty20 international debut
• Michael Clarke has a strong record as Australia's Twenty20 captain - in five games he has led them to four victories and the other match was washed out

  Quotes

  "It's been a good summer for Australian cricket and hopefully we can give the Windies another belting."
  Shaun Tait is in no mood to be charitable

  "You have to make the necessary adjustments but at the same time he is very, very quick."
  Chris Gayle says it isn't easy facing Tait

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo

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