Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the Test series in Sri Lanka and is unlikely to be available for the tour of New Zealand early next year after undergoing further keyhole ankle surgery in Holland.Flintoff returned home after the World Twenty20, where he played in all England’s matches but continually showed the strain on his ankle. The decision to carry out further surgery in Holland was taken following extensive consultation with leading international specialists including those from the UK, Australia and the United States.”The operation involved the removal of extra bone, including fragments, from the front and back of the ankle which were causing bony impingement and compression of a tendon in the back of the ankle,” said the ECB. “The nature of these bone changes was such that there were additional difficulties in the normal functioning and stability of the ankle. The operation was carried out by one of the world’s leading authorities on arthroscopic ankle surgery.”The statement added that the surgeon was confident this latest operation would solve the underlying problem in Flintoff’s ankle which has required three previous surgeries. The first came after the South Africa tour in 2004-05, followed by another during the 2006 season and a third in June this year.In all, Flintoff has missed out on 11 of England’s last 16 Tests, including the whole of the 2007 home programme against West Indies and India, as well as 21 of their last 48 ODIs, including the current series in Sri Lanka. He returned to England action in the one-day series against India, but had to be carefully managed and only played four of the seven matches.Last week, a source close to Flintoff said: “We are looking anywhere on the planet for help. There might be a surgeon in America, for example, who has encountered something like the problems Freddie is suffering … maybe a baseball player or basketball player … anything, to be honest.”It is expected that Flintoff will return to training in the New Year with a view to a playing comeback for England’s 2008 international programme, which begins in May with a Test series against New Zealand.”We would love to have him in the squad but we won’t risk Andrew in the Test matches,” said England’s coach, Peter Moores, after Flintoff was reported by the Daily Mail to be “frustrated and worried” by his constant struggle for fitness.

Zimbabwe have gone into a three-week training camp ahead of their women’s World Cup qualifiers in Pakistan next month.The side, captained by Julia Chibhabha, will be looking for consistency in their performances and are confident they will pick up one of the two World Cup slots on offer.In addition to preparations the squad will be using the time together to build up morale. Chibhabha said: “All the players are in now and we are going to be in camp for the next three weeks and that means we have a lot of time to prepare for the games.”As a team we are aiming to win all our games in Pakistan, we hope that we will use this time to get to know each other a little better. We want to go to Pakistan and win all the games we are going to play and if we play as a team we will achieve that.”The Zimbabwe coach Emmanuel Dube said that his squad are hoping to play a couple of international friendly fixtures ahead of the World Cup qualifiers. “All that is needed now is to play one or two international friendly matches to fine-tune the team before departure in November.”Cricket is fast evolving into more of a batting game with big scores winning the match at the end of the day. We have set a target of 250-plus runs for the batters, while at the same time asking the bowlers to restrict the opposition to scores less than 200 in all our three games if we are to stand any chance in Pakistan, and, I think our previous camp in Kwekwe, where we placed a lot of emphasis on solid batting at the top and in the middle, is beginning to bear fruit.”Zimbabwe open their campaign against Scotland on 19 November.Squad Julia Chibhabha (capt), Yvonne Rainsford, Tina Kamchetsa, Susan Kudzibatira, Nonhlanhla Nyathi, Precious Marange, Hazvinei Saili, Thandakwenkosi Mlilo, Sinikiwe Mpofu, Emily Jinjika, Sharne Mayers, Christabel Chatonzwa, Ruvarashe Chinyemba, Chipo Mugeri.

Following their six-wicket defeat in the first Test against India in Delhi, there was further bad news for Pakistan as Shoaib Malik, the captain, injured his ankle during training after the match. Malik has had precautionary X-rays though the team management says it is too early to say if he would be fit for the second Test in Kolkata.”The boys were playing football after the match when Malik twisted his ankle,” Javed Akhtar, the team’s media co-ordinator, told . “He was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays.”Malik’s is the latest among Pakistan’s injury concerns on this tour. Fast bowler Umar Gul, who missed the first Test, is likely to miss the Kolkata Test as well due to a troublesome back. Mohammad Asif, who pulled out at the start of the tour due to a elbow injury, is in the frame for selection for the final Test in Bangalore though that depends on how quickly he recovers.The second Test begins from November 30.

Bill Gordon, the groundsman at The Oval, has won the Groundsman of the Year Award in both the four-day and one-day categories. Steve Birks from Trent Bridge was runner-up for four-day pitches and shared the same position with Philip Frost for his one-day surfaces.Commendations went to Frost, Neil Godrich (Derby), David Measor (The Riverside) and Andy Whiteman (Grace Road) in the four-day pitch category, while Lawrence Gosling (Hove), Sean Williams (Bristol) and Steve Rouse (Edgbaston) were commended in the one-day category.Richard Sula at The Parks took the award for UCCE pitches with Craig Thompson at Durham Racecourse named as runner-up. Micky Stewart and Christian Dunkerley were awarded the outgrounds prize for their work at Scarborough with Mark Wakefield from Kidderminster earning the runner-up award.”We have seen an excellent overall standard of pitches in both four-day cricket and one-day cricket in 2007,” said Alan Fordham, the ECB head of operations. “We are delighted to announce these awards which recognise head groundsmen who have prepared the best pitches this season, and we also give credit to all groundsmen for their work during what was a particularly difficult season with the weather.

In the end, a happy birthday
Yuvraj Singh turned 26 today and the giant screen let everyone know by flashing a “Happy birthday Yuvi” message. A section of the crowd took up the cue and started singing the birthday song, and when Yuvraj came out to bat the cheers grew louder. It seemed to go all wrong for him, though, as his nervy innings was cut short when Rudi Koertzen adjudged him caught behind though the ball had not quite hit the bat. He got a birthday surprise, though, when he came on to bowl and picked up two wickets – yielding his best- ever Test figures – as Pakistan lurched to the edge.First wide of the match
There had been several no balls, plenty of byes and leg byes but not a single wide in the first 372.4 overs of the match. Mohammad Sami ruined that splendid record by pitching one so short that it sprang several feet over VVS Laxman’s head. There was no way Laxman could play any sort of shot at that and Koertzen had no option but to call it wide.An injury waiting to happen
The signs were ominous early in the day when a few short balls hardly rose and struck Sourav Ganguly on the body as he ducked into them. Ganguly, after taking one such blow from Shoaib Akhtar, shook his head and walked all the way down the pitch to have a word with Rahul Dravid. However, the more serious incident occurred in the first over after lunch when VVS Laxman ducked into a 135kmh short ball and got hit flush on his unprotected elbow. He dropped his bat in pain and walked away, clutching his arm in obvious pain. He eventually had to go off the field after John Gloster’s magic spray failed to do the trick. When play resumed, Shoaib steamed in and let another short ball rip at Irfan Pathan.The catch that wasn’t
Early in his innings, Dinesh Karthik played a firm flick off Danish Kaneria which sent Faisal Iqbal scurrying for cover at forward short leg. The ball cannoned into his helmet and rebounded towards Younis Khan at silly point who flung the ball in the air in celebration after taking the ‘catch’. The law, however, says you cannot be given out if the ball goes off the helmet, so Karthik stood his ground while the Pakistan players got together. The umpires Simon Taufel and Koertzen had a brief discussion before giving Karthik correctly not out.A record missed
Sourav Ganguly was batting with such fluency in the second innings that his march towards a hundred seemed inevitable. However, on 91, Ganguly flashed at a wide one from Sami and watched Iqbal take the catch at gully. He fell nine runs short of becoming only the seventh batsmen to score a double-century and a century in the same match. The first six were Doug Walters, Lawrence Rowe, Sunil Gavaskar, Graham Gooch, Brian Lara and Greg Chappell.Worst fielder of the day
Mohammad Yousuf was the poorest by some distance. Early in the first session he gift-wrapped four runs to Rahul Dravid by letting Yasir Hameed’s throw slip between his legs while backing up at the bowler’s end. He topped that soon after lunch by grassing an absolute sitter off Irfan Pathan at mid-off.Freebie of the day
Karthik was under pressure when he came in to bat. He hadn’t made a substantial score in the series; his wicketkeeping was shoddy in the first innings and it showed in his edgy body language when he began his second innings. Danish Kaneria kindly helped him by lobbing up a friendly full toss on leg stump. Karthik gratefully accepted, pulling it over midwicket for six and went on to score 52 from 67 balls.Timid decision of the day
As the day ended with the Indians in the middle waiting in vain for the light to improve, you couldn’t help but feel that Anil Kumble left his declaration a little too late. Chasing 300 on a fifth day pitch is difficult enough but the Indians batted on until an hour after lunch to set a target of 374 from a minimum of 48 overs. As it turned out, Pakistan were left needing 212 runs off a possible 11 overs with only three wickets in hand.Organisational screw-up of the day
As soon as bad light halted play, some enterprising soul tried to help the situation by switching on the floodlights at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. There was one slight problem. As per the playing conditions, teams had agreed that artificial lights would not be used in this series. The agreement was for consistency’s sake because the venue for the first Test, the Feroz Shah Kotla, did not have floodlights. Officials scurried about trying to get the lights switched off for only then could the umpires take a reading on their light meters.

The Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden is in doubt for the third Test against India in Perth after injuring his right thigh in Sydney. Alex Kountouris, the team physiotherapist, revealed that it could take Hayden up to five weeks to recover although he wouldn’t rule out him playing the next match.Hayden picked up the injury while turning for a run during his 123 in the second innings, prompting him to call for a runner, and he didn’t take the field during India’s reply. Hayden is set to return home to Brisbane for three days before starting his rehabilitation program.”It could take one week to heal, it could take five weeks,” Kountouris told the . “We are waiting to see how it looks in a few days. He is a chance to play in Perth but we are waiting to see.”Brad Hogg, the wrist spinner, is also in doubt for the Perth Test after sustaining a finger injury while fielding in Sydney. Scans did not reveal a fracture and Hogg is most likely to be replaced by Shaun Tait should Australia opt for four-pronged pace attack.Chris Rogers, the Western Australia opening batsman, is a strong candidate to replace Hayden after scoring 362 runs in five Pura Cup matches this season. He and Phil Jaques were vying for the opener’s spot but an untimely appendix problem ruled Rogers out of contention for the Sri Lanka series in November. Simon Katich, who is seeking a comeback, is another contender as he currently tops the Pura Cup table with 878 runs in six games.The Perth Test is set to get underway on January 16, but the tour is in the balance after the Indian board complained against Harbhajan Singh’s three-Test ban for racial abuse. India were also upset with the umpiring in Sydney and Steve Bucknor has been replaced for the game at the WACA.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) believes it has come closer to sorting out a record television rights deal with Nimbus Sports International. A core negotiation delegation of the BCB has put forward some adjustments to the initial contract and if all goes well, the deal should be finalised soon, said the head of the negotiation committee.Nimbus, a Singapore-based television company, had paid US$57million for live coverage rights for all matches in Bangladesh until 2012. However, the government stalled its approval of the record deal in late 2006, stating that the deal lacked transparency. The new BCB management decided to investigate the sensitive financial deal, which was supposed to be finalised by the end of last year.”I am hopeful about a positive end of it especially after the way the discussion has progressed in the last three days. We put forward our observations on the legal and financial aspects of the agreement and the Nimbus delegation agreed to place those issues on their board,” MA Momen told the , a Dhaka-based daily. “What we felt is that we have to make some adjustments in the agreement to protect our interests. If we fail to make those adjustments then ultimately we will be a loser in the long-term agreement.”Momen did not rule out the possibility of a new deal if the Nimbus authorities chose to deny the BCB’s desired adjustments. “I am hopeful about a good solution because we discussed in a very friendly atmosphere and I think nothing is better for both sides than reaching an agreement if we are a little bit more compromising,” he said.”Minimum guaranteed clause made totally based on the series that included India and we found that we will be the loser in seven series where India would not be taking part. And it was evident when Zimbabwe toured here last year. That’s why we wanted the adjustments in this regard.”According to Momen, there were some observations on the allowable production expenses where the BCB specified areas that needed to be solved. The BCB also had problems with the manner in which insurance was described were there to be a no-show.

Scorecard
Australia, on the basis of a superior average net run-rate through the tournament, have progressed to the final of the fifth place play-off in the Under-19 World Cup, after their match against Bangladesh at the Bayuemas Oval was abandoned due to rain.Chasing 116, Australia’s openers, Kirk Pascoe and Marcus Stoinis, had put on 18 runs in six overs before the players were forced off the field as the skies opened up. Earlier, the Australian bowlers combined well to send Bangladesh crashing from 51 for 1 to 115 all out. Clive Rose, the left-arm spinner, and right-arm seamer David King were the pick of the bowlers, taking two important middle-order wickets apiece. Rose accounted for Bangladesh’s top scorer, Amit Majumder, who made a 79-ball 43, while King bowled their captain, Suhrawadi Shuvo, for 1.

Dropped for the ongoing CB Series in Australia, Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly has revealed that he had planned to continue playing one-dayers for another seven to eight months before taking a call on his future. He also considered the fact that he didn’t see himself realistically continuing till the 2011 World Cup.”They (the selectors) just asked me whether I wanted to continue one-day cricket,” Ganguly told Times Now, an Indian news channel. “I said, ‘yes definitely, at least for the next 7-8 months.'”So I wanted to play till September, then probably take a call because at some stage you would not have gone on to play the 2011 World Cup.”There is not much of one-day cricket this year. There is the Australia series, then India go to Sri Lanka for Tests and one-dayers. So there are five one-dayers there and then the Champions Trophy in September and rest of the year is full of Test cricket.Ganguly and another former captain Rahul Dravid were omitted for the one-dayers in Australia after the national selectors opted for the core of India’s ICC World Twenty20 winning squad, with several players lacking in experience at the international level.Since his return to the one-day squad in early 2007, Ganguly has scored 1240 runs in 32 matches at an average of 44.28, and he celebrated his return with the Man-of-the-Series prize in the one-day series against Sri Lanka before the World Cup. However, his performances in the last ten matches saw the average dipping to 25.66. The team management in Australia had reasoned that Ganguly was overlooked for the sake of blooding youth, with the added emphasis on fielding abilities.”I was a bit surprised because I didn’t expect it,” he said. “But, all I can say for sure is that it is not on the basis of form.”

Matthew Bell and Iain O’Brien have been handed New Zealand Cricket contracts for the remainder of the season. The pair were given deals that expire on May 31 as they took over the contracts vacated by Shane Bond and Lou Vincent, who joined the Indian Cricket League.Bell bounced back into the Test team in January after an absence of more than six years and he immediately impressed with 107 against Bangladesh. However, his results against England – 19, 0, 0 and 29 – have been less inspiring.O’Brien also enjoyed a strong series against Bangladesh, collecting seven wickets at 16.57, but a toe injury has kept him out of the first two Tests against England. The contract list for the 2008-09 season is likely to be finalised before New Zealand set off for their tour of England in late April.