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Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, will go back to his roots next month after agreeing to a short-term stint with the Durban-based Dolphins in South Africa as he continues his battle to regain form ahead of the Ashes.Pietersen will play for the side between October 7 and 17 which means he’ll be able to play two four-day matches in that time. The deal has been approved by Cricket South Africa, with the chief executive Gerald Majola given his permission.”I’m extremely keen to get as much cricket as possible under my belt before a challenging and exciting winter,” Pietersen said. “My sole focus is to continue playing a leading role for England and joining Natal is the perfect opportunity to prepare in excellent conditions immediately before the Ashes. These two matches would enable me to work on my game against the Kookaburra ball in southern-hemisphere conditions, which is the ideal preparation for Australia.”Pietersen was dropped from England’s Twenty20 and one-day squads ahead of the series against Pakistan after a lean summer in which he only passed fifty once and joined Surrey on a short-term loan. His axing led to him accidentally posting an angry comment on Twitter and, though Pietersen quickly apologised, he was fined by the ECB for his outburst.The move to the Dolphins suggests that Pietersen feels his deal with Surrey may not be enough for him to recapture his best form before England fly to Australia. His Surrey spell has brought mixed results so far, with an 116 in the CB40 against Sussex – his first hundred in any cricket since March 2009 – followed by a second-ball duck against Glamorgan in the Championship.”We’re very pleased Kevin is seeking to get some more high quality cricket at a crucial period before the Ashes,” Andy Flower, the England coach, said. “We are well aware of Kevin’s attention to detail and thoroughness when it comes to preparation, and he would gain a great deal from working on his batting against tough opposition in South Africa.”Kevin’s commitment, his desire to work on his batting and to play a significant part in a successful England team is unquestioned and this proposed arrangement with Natal, initiated by Kevin himself, further underlines that.”Pietersen won’t be paid for the stint, which takes him back to where his cricket career began before he opted for a future in England. During England’s tour of South Africa in 1999-00, Pietersen was in the KwaZulu-Natal side which took on Nasser Hussain’s team. He scored 61 batting at No. 9 and took 4 for 141 in 55 overs with his offspin. During that game, Pietersen made his first serious push for a county contract that eventually brought him to Nottinghamshire.Meanwhile, ESPNcricinfo understands that Owais Shah, the Middlesex batsman, has agreed to an overseas spell with the Cape Cobras. Shah, who last played for England during the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa, was recently released by Middlesex and is looking for a new county ahead of the 2011 season.

Mervyn Westfield, the Essex pace bowler who was questioned by police over spot-fixing allegations along with Danish Kaneria, has been released by the county.Westfield, 22, made his debut in 2005 but has played just seven first-class games and taken 11 wickets alongside eight one-day appearances.”It is a huge disappointment that it has come to this; for the past few years we had high hopes for Merv to become a big name in cricket,” said Paul Grayson, the Essex head coach. “He has received a lot of guidance from our players and coaches and he has not progressed as we would have hoped. Mervyn is keen to stay in the game and we wish him every success in finding another county to play for.”John Maunders, the left handed batsman, has also been let go after failing to secure a regular first-team place and is unlikely to gain another county.”It has come to that time of year once again, it is always a tough time of year,” Grayson said. “John has nearly reached the age of 30, he has unfortunately been injury prone this season and has been limited to a few County Championship appearances.”He needed to be scoring runs, and that has not been the case so it is time for us both to move on. John is currently looking at other avenues of employment.”

ScorecardAn unbeaten 73 in his last County Championship game from allrounder Robin Martin-Jenkins put Sussex in a decent position halfway through their Division Two game with Gloucestershire at Arundel. Martin-Jenkins, 34, who retires later this month, was the only Sussex batsman to go on after four of his top-five colleagues fell for between 37 and 49. The home side still closed on 314 for 6, a lead of seven.Gloucestershire stayed in contention thanks to some probing left-arm spin from Vikram Banerjee on a pitch offering increasing turn. Banerjee took four wickets while seamer Gemaal Hussain continued his excellent form with two more wickets to take him to 41 for the season.Hussain’s new-ball away swing accounted for opener Michael Thornely, who pushed to second slip, and Banerjee struck in only his second over when Chris Nash, one short of his half-century, was surprised by extra bounce and edged to slip. When Ed Joyce, who had looked assured in making 43, popped up a catch to short leg to give Banerjee his second wicket Gloucestershire had a measure of control, but the game swung back Sussex’s way either side of tea with three half-century stands.Murray Goodwin and Matt Prior put on 55 until Goodwin, on 44, was leg before to a full-length delivery from Hussain. Prior played well within himself for his 37 but had just started to accelerate when he mistimed a drive at Banerjee and gave an easy catch to cover.Sussex were still 105 behind at that stage but Martin-Jenkins came in to play with the freedom of someone under absolutely no pressure. He soon overtook his partner Joe Gatting with a succession of flowing front-foot strokes as 55 runs were added for the sixth wicket in 14 overs.Gatting has endured a wretched summer, with just 100 Championship runs in five games, but seemed to have found some form as he moved to a season’s best 25 before he was too late on a defensive push to become Banerjee’s second leg-before victim. Martin-Jenkins pressed on though and negotiated the second new ball in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 57 with Yasir Arafat. He has struck 12 fours in 108 balls so far.Earlier, Gloucestershire’s last-wicket pair added a further 21 runs to their overnight 286 for 9 to secure a third batting bonus point before last man Steve Kirby feathered a catch off Arafat, who finished with a season’s best 3 for 55.

ScorecardThe Falkland Islands blew Costa Rica away on the second day of the Americas Division Four competition at the Reforma Athletic ground in Mexico City on Tuesday. A devastating spell of medium-pace bowling from Falkland Islands’ David Taylforth caused all the damage, as he picked up 6 for 14 and wrapped up the game with a four-wicket maiden which included a hat-trick.The day started with the Costa Ricans winning the toss and electing to field in cloudy conditions. In the third over, Sam Arthur bowled Falkland Islands’ opening batsman Mike Summers for just 2. Martin Collins then came to the crease and he faired a little better before he too was bowled the same bowler and Falkland Islands were up against it.The Falkland’s batsmen came to the wicket and left with great regularity and only Charles Hewitt, with a painstaking 21 from 50 balls, and David Pickup, with 24 runs from 53 balls, made any effort to occupy the crease.The Falkland’s innings folded for 131 runs with 11.3 overs remaining and the game looked all but lost at this stage. Ben Smith returned 4 for 32 from 10 overs to go with his century the day before. He was supported by Tim Baker who took 3 for 29 and Sam Arthur with 2 for 15.Playing in their first tournament of any kind, Falkland Islands never gave up hope, and the spirit in the team was further lifted in the first over when Taylforth had Tim Baker caught by Collins without a run on the board. Smith threatened to take the game away from Falkland Islands but he went, brilliantly caught at mid-off, to leave the Costa Ricans on 44 for 2.The Falkland players went to lunch believing they could conjure up an upset and set up a decider with the hosts in Wednesday’s game. After lunch the game swayed back and forth until the 29th over. With Costa Rica poised at 92 for 6 and still in need of 39 runs for victory, Falkland Islands needed a hero, and he duly stepped up.In what one spectator described as the most exhilarating finish to a cricket game, captain and Man-of-the-Match Taylforth came back into the attack from the northern end of the ground, and with his first ball of the over he had Richard Illingworth caught at gully by Ian Betts.This encouraged Falkland Islands to go on the offensive with two slips, two men in the gully and the rest of the fielders inside the circle. The second ball of the over brought Garth Tweedale forward only to be snapped up by Richard Marlor at one of the two gullies.This brought in Gary Sheriff with Taylforth on a hat-trick and a perfect, swinging delivery saw Sheriff groping forward and again Marlor in the gully did the honours. The Falkland Islanders jumped and screamed with delight for captain Taylforth but also at the sight of a well-deserved victory.The fourth ball was a dot ball to last man, Armando Foster, but the fifth was just short of a length and Foster went back but could not keep his hand down. The ball took the glove and looped to Marlor waiting in the same position as the previous two catches. Costa Rica’s innings ended with the score at 92 to give Falkland Islands victory by 39 runs.

ScorecardIt was a run-fest on the opening day at Headingley as the India A top order made a perfect start to their tour of England, amassing 473 runs and losing just three wickets. Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane went past three figures, Abhinav Mukund fell nine short of his century and Cheteshwar Pujara remained unbeaten on 55 after 95 overs of toil for the Yorkshire bowlers.The Indians were the fresher lot in the field compared to their opponents, who were away at Worcester the previous day and as a result, play started an hour later. Abhinav and Dhawan scored at a brisk rate in the opening session, adding 132. Dhawan hit 14 fours before reaching his century, off 133 balls, but Abhinav fell just short of his century. The Tamil Nadu opener was dismissed by Moin Ashraf for 91, hitting 12 fours and a six in his knock.It took 43 overs for Yorkshire to break the stand, but there was more toil for the bowlers as Rahane joined Dhawan in a stand of 141. Rahane dealt mainly in boundaries, smashing nine boundaries en route to his fifty, and he went on to reach his century off 132 balls. Dhawan looked set to record a double-century, but the Delhi opener fell to Lee Hodgson for 179.Pujara joined Rahane and added a further 107 in nearly 22 overs to take the score past 400. Tino Best, the West Indian fast bowler, had some success when he had Rahane caught for 118.

Lalit Modi will be submitting his reply to the BCCI’s show-cause notice,issued on April 26, tomorrow in Mumbai. On Monday, Modi had asked fora five-day extension to the original 15-day deadline, as he wantedadditional documents from the board to prepare his defence. The boardobliged on both counts and Modi is likely to appear in person onSaturday afternoon at the BCCI headquarters.”We will be submitting the reply to the BCCI in the second halftomorrow,” Mehmood Abdi, one of the legal counsels for Modi, toldCricinfo. As for whether Modi would be present, Abdi said it was up in theair.When asked if there is any particular time frame for the board before it makes a final decision, Abdi said he was optimistic about a favourable decision in his client’s favour. “Our reply has been clear. The board’s president [Shashank Manohar] isan eminent lawyer, so it should not take him a long time, we hope, to make a decision.”And was he confident the board would clear Modi of allallegations? Abdi, most certainly, was. “We hope our replysatisfies the board and that it would revoke the show-cause and alsore-instate Mr Lalit Modi to all positions in the BCCI from which hewas suspended.”Modi was suspended by the BCCI on April 26, soon after the conclusion ofthe IPL, which sent him a show-cause notice asking him to reply to aslew of charges relating to the conduct of the high-profile Twenty20league. Modi was alleged to have indulged in financial deals withoutthe knowledge of the IPL governing council, bid-rigging and to be displaying abehavioural pattern which was not acceptable.In the last week Modi has been constantly communicating with the board viaemails asking for various documents related specifically to the fivecharges slapped against him. N Srinivasan, the board secretary,replied elaborately to Modi on Tuesday, citing the various reasons andevidence stacked against him [Modi], also speaking of “reliable sources”who had verbally told the board president Shashank Manohar about hismisdeeds which they felt had brought disrepute only to the board butalso the game of cricket.Modi attacked the board for utilising “unknown” sources, calling them”fictitious”, particularly when the board refused to reveal their names.

Scorecard
Bangladesh A succumbed to their second consecutive defeat in the tri-series, falling short by 29 runs against West Indies A in Mirpur. West Indies were boosted by half-centuries from Darren Bravo and Brendan Nash which helped take their team to a competitive 259 for 7. The pair added 84 for the third wicket, and some attacking batting at the death from Imran Khan took West Indies past 250.Bangladesh were well placed for much of their innings, opener Nazimuddin leading the way with an 86-ball 89, comprising 13 fours. He was supported by captain Shamsur Rahman, with whom he added 84, while Raqibul Hasan and Marshall Ayub scored 46 and 43 respectively to keep the chase on track. At 176 for 3 in the 35th over, Bangladesh had the upper hand but two quick wickets in successive overs for one run pegged them back.Ayub fought hard, batting with the lower order, but when he fell with the score on 230 to make it nine down, West Indies had the game covered. Seamer Nelon Pascal starred for them, taking four wickets to trigger Bangladesh’s slide after they had threatened to scale down the target.

Bangalore’s facile thumping of Rajasthan had a crucial sub-text to it – the perfect bouncer and the amount of strife it continued to cause Indian batsmen. Anil Kumble had a seasoned and varied seam-attack at his disposal and they repeatedly let Rajasthan get a good sniff of leather. As Bangalore continue to rise in confidence on the back of two home victories, the other franchises will do well to prepare for the impending bouncer-barrage.Tip against Yusuf – push him backShane Warne can hype it all he wants but Yusuf Pathan’s devilishly entertaining hundred against Mumbai lacked the stamp of class. Amazingly, under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai bowlers didn’t bowl even one bouncer to Yusuf. Not one. It was bizarre. Surely, by now, everyone knows if there is any chink in Yusuf’s armour, it’s the ball at his chin. There was a slow bouncer from Lasith Malinga and despite Yusuf struggling against that one, there weren’t any more. Yusuf wasn’t so lucky tonight – Anil Kumble was not as generous as Tendulkar.And boy did Kumble’s boys pepper him with bouncers or what? Time and again Yousuf was ready on that front foot, ready to swing his club through the line but the white ball flew past his face. It wasn’t just the pacy Dale Steyn or the bumper-hungry Jacques Kallis but even Vinay Kumar managed to crash-land one on his helmet.Where Yusuf redeemed himself was that he didn’t let even one full delivery go unpunished. In that respect, his mental fortitude has to be lauded. Vinay was dispatched twice over long-on and even Steyn was crashed once to the cover boundary. He doesn’t have the horizontal-bat shots to score against the short deliveries and though he tried couple of upper cuts, he couldn’t connect today. It will be a fascinating to watch how he copes with this line of attack in the future. In trying to tackle the short ones by perhaps retreating further inside his crease, will his imperious front-foot play be impeded? Shane Warne put up a brave front when he was asked. “If other teams want to try it against Yusuf, they’re welcome to. If they don’t get it right and drop it too short, he’ll send the ball sailing over the stands,” the Rajasthan captain said.Kumble likes it short and nastyPerhaps it takes an Indian to know an Indian. It wasn’t just against Yusuf that Kumble launched the bumper barrage but in the previous game, he went after his old team-mate for many years – Sourav Ganguly. As soon as Ganguly came in, he brought back Steyn, placed a short-leg and a slip and asked his fast bowler to hurl bouncers. Though Steyn couldn’t find his radar on that day, Kumble had sent out the message loud and clear and you knew today he would go after Yusuf.When in doubt against Indian batsmen, bounceIf we have learned anything so far, it’s this – if you see a domestic Indian batsman, don’t think too much, just bounce at him. Today, nearly every Indian batsman in the Rajasthan side was tested by bumpers. Naman Ojha, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Yusuf, Paras Dogra and Sumit Narwal were all given the perfume balls. Unsurprisingly, all of them struggled. As Kallis revealed later, it was all part of his team’s preparation. “We had the plans in hand, and they worked even better than we thought. The wicket had some carry and we worked out early on that short of a length was the way to go. Some of the Indian batsmen are not used to this kind of carry,” he said.Not everything bad for the IndiansIt wasn’t all bad for the Indians though. Anil Kumble was as canny as ever and Manish Pandey played a few delightful shots but it was Praveen Kumar’s night to remember. In his third over, he claimed a hat-trick. Damien Martyn – after a strange and insipid innings – charged out to york himself, Narwal found the bouncer too hot to handle and top-edged his pull to fine-leg and Dogra couldn’t keep out the hat-trick delivery that skidded from short of length to take the fatal inside edge. Praveen couldn’t hold himself back – he ran all the way towards third man, high-fiving every extended palm that came on his way.

South Africa have named allrounder Justin Kemp in their initial squad of 30 for the ICC World Twenty20 to be played in the Caribbean in April and May 2010. Experienced fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, who is no longer a part of the Test and one-day sides, has also found a place in the list of probables.Kemp joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League soon after the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, and hasn’t played for South Africa in nearly two-and-a-half years. After the ban on him for ICL links was lifted at the start of the season, he has captained Cape Cobras to the top of the table in the Supersport Series and a place in the semi-finals of the Standard Pro20 series.South Africa have also named four uncapped players in the preliminary squad. The four are batsman Colin Ingram and fast bowler Rusty Theron from the Warriors, batsman David Miller from the Dolphins and fast bowler Ethy Mbhalati of the Titans.The final squad of 15 will be named in March.Men’s squad: Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Colin Ingram, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Ethy Mbhalati, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe, Johannes van der Wath, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van Wyk.

Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim did everything that could have been asked of them in extending Bangladesh’s resistance into the fifth day of the first Test, as they dourly thwarted a medley of pace, spin and part-time bowlers for 37 overs and two-and-a-half hours, to heighten England’s frustration on another steaming hot day in Chittagong. However, both men know that their greatest challenge could be lurking just round the corner, as England prepare to get their hands on the second new ball.The ball is now 75 overs old, and to judge by the lack of assistance they extracted after tea (the odd hint of reverse-swing notwithstanding) England are ready to fling it far out into the Bay of Bengal, and instead revert to the pacy, bouncy line of attack that caused such havoc in Bangladesh’s top order in the first innings. In Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and, especially, the 6’7″ Steven Finn, England’s attack is lankier than anything the Bangladeshi batsmen are used to encountering.”We’ve been building pressure by going past the bat, but the new ball will be a different kettle of fish,” said Finn, who impressed with his discipline in his second innings as a Test cricketer, even if he did not have the figures to show for his efforts. “It will be a harder ball which will bounce more, and that’s something the Bangladeshi batsmen have struggled with so far in this Test match. Broad and Bresnan opened the bowling and caused problems for them, and we’ll be looking to exploit that tomorrow.”And yet, the efforts of Junaid and Mushfiqur proved once again the fight and tenacity in an ever-improving Bangladeshi outfit. For Mushfiqur, his unbeaten 47 was merely a continuation of the form and focus he had shown in his first-innings 79, when only an exceptional catch from James Tredwell could prise him from the crease. As Graeme Swann noted after the third day’s play, his five-foot-nothing frame proved adept at disrupting the lengths of all the bowlers, as naturally good-length deliveries became long-hops, and yorkers turned into half-volleys.The real surprise package, however, was Junaid, whose place in the side had been under serious scrutiny following a limp first-innings dismissal, when he and Imrul Kayes had been bullied from the crease by Broad’s rib-tickling bouncers. This time, however, he fought against his natural instincts, as he ground his way to an unbeaten 68 from 199 deliveries, which is already the longest he has batted in a Test-match innings.”I had a commitment within myself,” said Junaid. “I was practicing against the short ball, but it can’t be changed overnight, so I tried to fight with my strengths. The planning was to stay at the crease for a long period. It was a hot day, and in our conditions I believed that if I can survive a little while, it could be a problem for them.Stuart Broad and the rest of England’s bowlers were made to toil on a hot afternoon in Chittagong•PA Photos

“I think I have gained some experience after playing a long innings, and that has given me confidence,” he added. “I was lacking in confidence recently, and because of that it was not only short balls but also half-volleys that were getting me out. But I’ve been working hard on my technique in the nets, and we’re getting more used to facing tall players, such as Morne Morkel from South Africa.”But after a duck in his only appearance in the ODIs, and an indifferent performance for Bangladesh A last week, Junaid was in need of a score to preserve his place for the Dhaka Test. However, he did a good job of putting such thoughts to one side. “Every innings is important for a cricketer, so I never thought in this way,” he said. “Of course I needed some runs, and also it was needed for the team, but I never plan early. I always set my plan after going to the wicket. We were just enjoying our game, and trying to support each other, and hoping to see off the day.”Meanwhile, Finn did a good job of disguising any mounting frustration within the England camp. “At no stage did we sit back and say we were going to finish this game today,” he said. “We just want to bowl as many dot balls as possible, and build pressure on Bangladesh, because that will get us wickets. They aren’t going to be walked over because they’ve got good batsmen, but if we bowl enough good deliveries, hopefully they’ll get themselves out.”They played very well,” he added. “They didn’t score many runs, but they didn’t play any loose shots either. They didn’t give any chances – there were a couple of lbw decisions that weren’t given, but they probably weren’t out either. The Bangladeshi batsmen played well, but we expected that. We knew that coming over here on their own turf, we were going to have to work hard to take their wickets.”It’s still highly improbable that Bangladesh will escape with a draw, even with a reported threat of rain following two exceptionally humid days. But true to the spirit they have shown since Tamim Iqbal’s counterattack towards the end of the second day, the underdogs are determined to keep nipping at England’s heels, for as long as they possibly can.”It would be nice if I could tell you the future,” said Junaid. “We have already lost five wickets and their score is very high, but we will try to occupy the crease, and if we can get a good partnership then the positives will come out. Everybody has tried to stay at the crease since we had almost two days to bat, but we will just go session by session.”