Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, has been ruled out of the second Twenty20 international against England in Christchurch on Thursday after pulling a hamstring in the first game yesterday in Auckland. He will be replaced by Daniel Flynn, the 22-year-old Northern Districts left-hander.Flynn, who captained New Zealand in 2004’s Under-19 World Cup, cracked 149 against Canterbury on Wednesday in Northern Districts’ 313 for 7.”This is a great opportunity to introduce another exciting young player into the New Zealand squad,” Sir Richard Hadlee, the New Zealand selection manager, said. “His innings today was at better than run-a-ball and as a left-hander he will fit beautifully into our middle order at No. 6 or 7.”Fortunately for New Zealand, Oram’s injury isn’t very serious and he is expected to be fit for the first of five one-dayers starting on Saturday in Wellington.”I have a wee bit of a sore hamstring. It’s not completely torn and it’s not overly bad,” Oram told . “It’s similar to what I did in South Africa [in November] where I missed a Test match [in Centurion] but it’s nowhere near as bad as that, thankfully.”Nevertheless, Oram’s absence will be a big blow to New Zealand after their 32-run loss at Eden Park. He was the most economical among the bowlers, conceding 24 off his four overs, and picking up the wicket of Ian Bell. His 40-ball 61, which included seven fours and two sixes, was a last ditch effort after the top order collapsed in pursuit of the target of 185. Only three batsmen in total managed to cross double figures, with extras contributing 23.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has blamed his batsmen for India’s 50-run loss in Adelaide, and asked them to show more responsibility and consistency through the rest of the tournament. “The batsmen should have taken the initiative and been more careful about their shot selection,” Dhoni said after India’s second successive loss in the CB Series.Dhoni, who battled hard for his 37 and required a runner after suffering strains in both his calves, said that lack of patience could have been one of the factors for the failure. “It’s important to stick to your role and responsibility. They have done in bits and pieces but they have to get better.”Dhoni has long been stressing the need to preserve wickets, but the Indian batsmen failed to do that at the Adelaide Oval. “The first 12 overs with the Kookaburra ball is important and without Brett Lee it was important to keep wickets because it gets easier with the ball getting old and if you have the batsmen then it’s an advantage.”He also defended the team’s decision to go in with five bowlers after Virender Sehwag had failed to recover from a hip strain. “Viru [Sehwag] was not 100% fit. And I was very keen to go with five bowlers in our next game against Sri Lanka. So we decided we’d use the opportunity to try that out today and it paid off.”Nobody could argue with the fact that the Indian bowlers did a magnificent job to restrict Australia to a modest total for the second game in a row. “You don’t expect anything more from the bowlers. They have bowled brilliantly in the event so far.”The batting, though, came apart. It was important for India to build partnerships but there was only one notable stand, a 56-run fifth-wicket partnership between Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj seemed to be getting his form back when he pulled Brad Hogg to Stuart Clark at long-on. Dhoni, however, didn’t blame the batsman for taking the risk. “The shot was on,” Dhoni said, adding that the execution had been faulty.Instead, Dhoni reckoned his own dismissal dealt the knockout blow to the Indian chase. “The turning point was my run-out. And it was difficult for Robin [Uthappa] to lead the rearguard with the tail.”With India playing a batsman short, Irfan Pathan was pushed up to No. 3, but the move failed yet again, as it had at the MCG in India’s previous match against Australia, when Pathan managed a 30-ball 18. Dhoni, though, defended the move. “Sending Irfan up balances the batting order and keep it stable. And Irfan at 8 or 3 doesn’t make too much of a difference.”India’s second defeat in a row makes their next game, against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, even more crucial. Dhoni knows the importance of that match, and hopes his batsmen have realised that as well.

Simon Katich has used Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Justin Langer as role models during his record-breaking campaign to regain a Test spot. Finishing the season as a Pura Cup-winning captain, Katich also set a record for the most runs in the competition, with his 86 and 92 in the decider pushing his tally to 1506 at 94.12.During the final, which New South Wales sealed by 258 runs, Katich insisted the trophy was all that mattered, but after the game he spoke about the possibility of a return to the international scene. “My whole philosophy was to try to improve as a player and I have looked at guys who got back into the Test team later in their careers and have become better players,” Katich said in the Australian. “There are quite a few examples of that whether it’s Matty Hayden, Justin Langer or Damien Martyn.”The tour of the West Indies starts in May and Katich is a strong chance of joining the squad, although it will be hard initially to break into a settled top six. Steve Waugh told Fox Sports Katich “should be playing for Australia”.”He is too good to be playing just domestically,” Waugh said. “He is a class player and he gets runs in all situations, particularly when it’s tough. The last couple of years have been very successful, they [Australia] have dominated teams. But now with a bit of a changing of the guard, I think they will need Simon Katich in the side at some stage.”Allan Border, a former selector, said Katich had responded well to being dropped from Australia’s contract list last year. “He can do no more,” Border said. “David Hussey and Brad Hodge are playing in [the Pura Cup final]. They haven’t done themselves any harm, Hodge in particular. But Katich, it’s hard to go past that sort of stuff.”

Shaun Marsh has set his sights on emulating his father Geoff and becoming an opening batsman for Australia in Test and one-day cricket. Marsh was handed his first Cricket Australia contract on Wednesday and with Matthew Hayden and Phil Jaques the only specialist openers in the 25-man squad, he knows a top-order spot could soon be there for the taking.Chris Rogers, who filled in for Hayden in the Perth Test in January, was axed from the list and there is also no obvious replacement for Adam Gilchrist as an ODI opener. James Hopes and Michael Clarke have performed the role on occasions, but the inclusion of Marsh in the limited-overs squad to tour West Indies indicates he is in the running.Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said the panel believed Hayden and Jaques had formed such a good Test pairing that a specialist backup was not necessary. They also considered Marsh a potential replacement if required.”Jaques has grasped his opportunity to open the batting very well, while we’ve taken the view that Hayden will see his way through to the next Ashes tour of England in 2009,” Hilditch said in the . “I’d like to think that was achievable, while on the other hand I’d also like to think a Shaun Marsh, Simon Katich or Brad Hodge could put their hand up if the occasion arose.”Marsh often comes out first for Western Australia in one-day games but is typically used at No. 3 in Pura Cup matches. The departure of Rogers from the state side will open up a top-two position and with Hayden, 36, approaching the end of his career, Marsh is keen to try his hand as an opener.”Obviously in the next few years it is going to change up there, and it is a position that is going to open up,” Marsh said. “It is something I want to do.” His Western Australia coach Tom Moody said it was likely Marsh would be bumped up the Warriors order next season.”He is not stupid,” Moody said. “He realises that with Hayden getting to the stage where he is at in his career, and Phil Jaques still cementing his position, he sees there is an opportunity at the top of the order more than in the middle order. He’s a player that has come along enormously in the past 12 months and could easily walk into the opening position, so we will just move the middle order around.”

Amid the various criticisms of the pitch, it cannot be denied that it has provided the most gripping contest of the series. At the end of two days the match could not have been more in the balance, with India having gained a slender lead, but facing the prospect of having to bat last. Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, said he could understand India’s strategy of playing to their strengths in a must-win game.”Even we would have left a lot of grass on South African wickets in this situation. We would have played to our strength,” said Arthur. “We had expected India to prepare a wicket like this. In a funny sort of way a wicket like this will provide a very exciting result.”That said, Arthur reiterated the while track wasn’t as bad as he had expected, it wasn’t an ideal one for Tests. “There’s always something happening on this wicket, it’s a day-five wicket on day two,” he said. “This has played a little better than expected, but not ideal for Test cricket.”What the South African camp won’t be complaining about, though, is the help their seamers were able to extract. In hot and dry conditions – something that was expected to tip the scales in India’s favour – their fast bowlers put up a much better show than what their Indian counterparts had done on Friday. Apart from a brief period when they lost a bit of their rhythm against left-handers Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh, India’s batsmen never looked comfortable against them. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel made sure they were bowling in channels where unpredictable bounce would trouble the batsmen.”A part of our decision-making was whether we should go for two spinners, but we went for our young group of bowlers,” said Arthur, “and the seamers have got quite a bit out of the wicket. Going on it will be very difficult to play the seamers in the second innings.”Paul Harris’ figures might suggest he was the weak link, but he was up against Ganguly and VVS Laxman in sublime touch. Ganguly, especially, once set, was contemptuous to his left-arm spin. But before that there were edges that didn’t go to hand, there were times when he beat the batsmen completely with either variable bounce or big turn, but saw the ball just missing the stumps. “On another day, Harris would have picked up five wickets with the way he bowled,” said Arthur. “He bowled some wicket-taking balls, was comfortable with the way he bowled. He is still young in Test cricket, and will grow by leaps and bounds.”The game, now, is beautifully set. South Africa will be banking on the fact that they will have the last use of this pitch. Arthur said the lead had put India 2-3% ahead of them. He said any target above 150 would be difficult for India to get, but they are not thinking that far as of now. As Arthur said, “We need to get that last wicket ASAP [as soon as possible].”

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

After a torrid run through the first seven matches of the IPL, Sourav Ganguly the batsman finally made his presence felt in stunning style, carving a 57-ball 91 to fashion a convincing 23-run win for the Kolkata Knight Riders, their fourth of the tournament. Ganguly’s knock, coupled with a blinder from David Hussey, lifted Kolkata to an imposing 204, which was far too much for the hapless Deccan Chargers, who collapsed to their seventh defeat in nine games and are all but out of the competition.Kolkata’s batting display was the perfect example in pacing a 20-over innings. Through the first half, Ganguly and Aakash Chopra batted steadily and built a platform: after ten overs, only 73 were on the board, but with nine wickets in hand, there was plenty of ammunition left. That was put to outstanding use later in the innings, as Hussey blitzed 57 off 29 balls in a 102-run partnership that came off a mere eight overs to set up a target which ensured Deccan have lost all four games at home.Ganguly had shone with the ball in Kolkata’s previous match, but he had struggled with the bat, unable to find the balance between defence and attack, often pottering around the crease and ultimately choosing the wrong ball to attack. All that changed completely here – the shot-selection was exemplary in the early part, and once he found his groove, he cut loose with such ferocity that none of the bowlers had any answers.The key for him, though, was to survive the early exchanges and get a start. There was plenty of careful defending through the early part, but importantly, there were no half measures on the attack, as he gave himself room, moved his front foot out of the way, and smeared lofted hits over mid-on and cover. Chaminda Vaas and P Vijaykumar, the new-ball bowlers, were at the receiving end early, and when they shifted the line to leg stump, Ganguly cleverly shuffled across and pulled or flicked to the fine-leg boundary. In between these improvisations was one classical square drive, all timing and grace, when RP Singh strayed in line.Having done the hard work, Ganguly then turned it on in style. Throughout his international career, he hasn’t had much regard for left-arm spin, and here Pragyan Ojha was the chosen one, as Ganguly smacked two sixes and a four down the ground in the 14th over to signal the beginning of the onslaught. By now he was in supreme form, and it hardly mattered who the bowler was: Styris was pulled and lofted for successive sixes, while the listless Vaas – who struggled with his length and served up a series of full tosses – was carved over midwicket.

Hussey joined in on the fun too, gauging the pace of the pitch immediately and striking it cleanly from the get-go. After spanking Vaas for ten off two deliveries, he turned his attention to RP, whose attempts at yorkers were either too short or too full. Twenty came off the 18th over, all courtesy Hussey, who bludgeoned a couple of leg-side sixes as the last seven overs leaked 115.Deccan didn’t help their cause in the field either: apart from Herschelle Gibbs, the rest put in a woeful display. There were misfields galore, Vaas muffed a sitter late in the innings to reprieve Tatenda Taibu, while the last ball of the innings encapsulated the day’s performance, as RP’s attempt to throw down the stumps missed the mark and resulted in four overthrows.After such a battering in the field, Deccan’s only hope was for Adam Gilchrist to fire – especially since Shahid Afridi wasn’t in the line-up – but he only managed 24 before miscuing a pull off the impressive Ashok Dinda. The out-of-sorts Gibbs, who has now scored 45 in five innings, had already fallen in Dinda’s second over, leaving the rest of the batsmen with far too much to do.Ganguly, who took the catch to dismiss Gilchrist, was in the thick of things in the field as well, bowling four economical overs, and taking two wickets, including that of Styris, another big name who has done little. Rohit Sharma offered a glimmer of hope with a couple of typically classy sixes off Ganguly, but, quite fittingly, Ganguly had the last laugh, snaffling him at midwicket.Venugopal Rao played a brave hand with a 42-ball 71 and spoilt the figures of Murali Kartik by smashing three sixes in an over, but that only ensured the margin of defeat wasn’t an embarrassing one. With four wins from eight games, Kolkata are back in the reckoning for a semi-final berth. Deccan still have a mathematical chance of making the top four, but given their form so far, that will be a miracle.

Victoria 322 (Handscomb 98, Stoinis 75, Finch 68, Paris 4-68) v Western Australia
ScorecardPeter Handscomb struck 98 off 158 balls, with 17 fours•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Peter Handscomb missed out on a second century in four innings, but his 98 off 158 balls was vital to Victoria coming away rather well despite a wobble at the top and a mini-collapse in the middle. Western Australia’s left-arm paceman Joel Paris took 4 for 68, on Sheffield Shield debut, to limit the visitors to 322 at the WACA.Victoria were put in and they found things difficult immediately. Openers Rob Quiney (5) and Travis Dean (6) fell by the 13th over with the score on 36. That brought Marcus Stoinis and Handscomb together for a 78-run stand. When Michael Hogan broke through and Stoinis was sent back for 75, out walked the Victoria captain Aaron Finch at No. 5 and made a stroke-filled 68 with 10 fours. He was no competition for Handscomb though, who struck 17 fours in his innings at a strike rate of 62.02. That ended up being part of the problem though as five of the eleven players bagged single-figures.Finch was knocked over by David Moody, and in the same over Glenn Maxwell fell for a duck. Victoria went from 3 for 249 to 7 for 274 and thereafter 322 all out, at a run-rate of 3.89.Western Australia had 10 overs to survive and they did with Cameron Bancroft unbeaten on11 for 42 and Will Bosisto on 4 off 18