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Daniel Christian’s chances of making his Test debut on Boxing Day could be boosted by Australia’s desire to have five bowling options against a powerful India batting line-up. Australia’s selectors will name the squad for the Melbourne Test on Wednesday and it could be a larger-than-usual group as they wait on the fitness of key players, including Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh.The possible permutations to be considered by the selectors were complicated on Tuesday when opener Ed Cowan made his case with 109 against the Indians for Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in Canberra. In the same match, the incumbent opener Phillip Hughes, certain to be axed for Boxing Day, scored 20 batting at No.4, Usman Khawaja made 25 and David Warner scored 2.The rest of Australia’s Test batsmen converged on Melbourne for a batting camp after their struggles in the series against New Zealand. The allrounder Christian, who was 12th man in the loss to New Zealand in Hobart, will join the group on Wednesday after he plays for the Brisbane Heat in Tuesday night’s T20 match against the Melbourne Stars at the Gabba.Christian has been one of the leading Sheffield Shield run scorers this summer but it is his bowling that will appeal the most to the selectors, with Watson unlikely to bowl if he plays at all in Melbourne as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. The Australians did not play an allrounder against New Zealand, whose top order struggled, but the coach Mickey Arthur said the team’s needs might change against India on flatter pitches.”We played on two pretty helpful wickets against New Zealand to be honest, so we didn’t need a huge amount from that fifth bowler, we got through that easily,” Arthur said. “But when you’re playing at the MCG and at the SCG and there’s back-to-back Test matches, it does become hard when you’ve got four bowlers.”I see the spinner bowling a huge amount more, though. We need to be able to fiddle some overs from some of our batters. That’s how we’ll look at it. If we think our allrounder is in our best six batters at the present time then he’ll get a game.”Asked if Christian had done enough to be considered a top-six Test batsman for the India series, Arthur pointed to his first-class form this summer. In five Shield games, Christian has made 475 runs at 59.37, including two centuries.”He’s got an unbelievable record this year,” Arthur said. “He’s done superbly well for South Australia. Stats will tell you that he could possibly be in our top six batters. The fitness of our other players will also possibly determine that down the line. We’ll have a squad and work out the certain permutations in terms of fitness and then settle on an 11 closer to the time.”The national selector, John Inverarity, will announce the squad at 1pm Melbourne time on Wednesday, but the size of the group remains to be seen. Watson is expected to be named after missing the New Zealand series due to a hamstring problem he picked up in South Africa, but his chances took a blow when he did not bat on the first day of the batting camp.Marsh has less of a chance to make the starting line-up but could be named with a view to giving him as much time as possible before the Test to prove his fitness. He has battled a back problem since the first Test in South Africa and while he was at the Melbourne batting camp on Tuesday, Arthur said it was an issue that Marsh had not played a match in more than a month.”It is a concern,” he said. “Ideally you want guys to be playing. Whenever you’re playing a game your intensity goes up 20% from a practice session, the competitive juices kick in and the guys are put through a lot more in a game. We would have liked him to play more cricket but it hasn’t been possible. He is a class act. We’ve got to give him every opportunity. Time will tell.”Guys like Watson and Marsh, if ultimately selected, we’ll probably give them as much time as they need to get themselves ready to play. So it might be a slightly enlarged squad for this one but our preference is always to be decisive and name a 12. I guess we’ll know tonight once we put the finishing touches to our squad.”There is less uncertainty surrounding Australia’s attack, with Arthur declaring there were “no concerns whatsoever” about the fitness of the fast men James Pattinson and Peter Siddle. Both men had minor niggles after the New Zealand series but were in the MCG nets on Tuesday to bowl to Australia’s batsmen, and neither is considered in doubt for Boxing Day.Mitchell Starc, who was adequate without really grabbing his opportunity against New Zealand appears likely to retain his place, with Ryan Harris facing a near impossible ask to prove his fitness for Boxing Day. Harris has had a hip problem since the first Test in South Africa and was named to play for the Brisbane Heat on Tuesday night. However, the injury-prone Harris will struggle to prove to the selectors that he can last through a Test match with no first-class cricket in which to test himself.Possible squad: David Warner, Shane Watson, Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

Zaheer Khan, the India seamer who returned to competitive cricket this week after an ankle surgery, has said he feels fit and his recovery is ahead of schedule.”Physically, I am feeling fine,” Zaheer told . “Bowling-wise, I need to get the rhythm going. I am feeling a bit tired after the match [Mumbai v Orissa], which is a good thing because it means I have put in the effort.”It’s looking good, everything is on track, probably a week ahead of schedule. Everyone is happy, the physios are happy and I am also happy. The next game is crucial for me. After playing it, I will see how I feel.”Zaheer was out with injury between August and November. He had injured his right hamstring on the first day of the England-India Test series this summer, following which a recurring ankle injury forced him to have surgery. He was then provisionally selected for the tour of Australia, the condition being that he prove his fitness in the Ranji Trophy.Subsequently, he played Mumbai’s match against Orissa from November 29, bowling 22 overs in the match for four wickets. “Since I haven’t played a single game for four months, the main thing I was looking for was to get back in that environment, spending time on the field, as we have to in Test matches.”In that way this was perfect, I got to bowl a spell on the first day and then I again got to bowl 16 overs. So in one-and-a-half day I managed to bowl 22 overs, which is an exact simulation of a Test match.”Zaheer will play Mumbai’s next game, against Saurashtra from December 6. Some of India’s Test specialists are scheduled to leave early for Australia, to allow them extra time to acclimatise, but Zaheer said he had chosen to play the extra Ranji Trophy match. “I would prefer to play a match. That is what I have conveyed [to the BCCI].”

Test cricket in England was given a major vote of confidence as Investec, the international specialist bank, signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with the ECB for the five-day game.The sponsorship, understood to be worth around £50 million, will run until 2021 and is the longest deal signed in the ECB’s history. It will incorporate three home Ashes series and two visits of India. The deal begins next summer when England host West Indies and South Africa for two three-Test series.Australia’s victory against South Africa at the Wanderers means England are guaranteed to hold onto their No. 1 ranking ahead of their series against Pakistan in UAE which begins in January. The team’s success in reaching the top spot, including consecutive Ashes series victories, has made them an attractive commercial product.Also, unlike other countries that are struggling to attract crowds that is not a problem for the English game. Earlier this week tickets for The Oval test against South Africa went on public sale and 21,000 were snapped up in the first three hours.”This is excellent news for all supporters of Test cricket and a further boost for our five-day game following the England team’s recent achievement in becoming the world’s number one ranked Test side,” David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said. “Investec are an established brand with extensive experience in the sports sponsorship field and we are delighted that they have made such a significant, long-term commitment to promoting Test cricket in this country.”The extent of their investment reflects the fact that our five day game continues to command very significant audiences – both at home where we achieved record attendances for international cricket in 2011 and abroad where the England team is gaining increased exposure in markets such as Asia, South Africa and Australia.Investec has previously been a key sponsor of English rugby – there was a wry smile on the face of Raymond van Niekerk, the global marketing director, in light of the recent controversies engulfing the Rugby Football Union – and they become only the third title sponsor of Test cricket in England following Cornhill and npower.”If you get involved with any sponsorship you have to take a long-term view,” said van Niekerk. “For us, two or three years in is only the beginning. It also gives certainty to the partners that we are serious.”

Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, says his side are prepared for anything Australia do as a reaction to their loss at Newlands, during which Australia were bowled out for their lowest total in over 100 years. Pat Cummins, Australia’s 18-year-old fast bowler, is being tipped to play on Thursday at the Wanderers, which would make him Australia’s second-youngest Test debutant. That will surprise some in the cricketing world, who are used to Australia grooming players before putting them on the international stage, but Amla said South Africa would be ready for any changes.”One of the things we are trying to do is to prepare so we are not surprised by whatever happens,” Amla said in Johannesburg, where South Africa regrouped on Monday after a weekend off. “We’ve gone through their bowlers, and if Cummins plays, we’ve played against him in the one-dayers so it won’t be a massive surprise to us.”Cummins impressed with his control, pace and variation in the limited-overs matches, but was benched in favour of a more experienced attack for the first Test. Australia now have concerns in the bowling department, with Mitchell Johnson, who has an impressive record in South Africa, and Peter Siddle, taking just a wicket apiece in the first Test.Australia’s shocking collapse to 47 all out on the second day at Newlands has raised questions about how they will recover. But Amla does not think Australia will struggle to pick themselves up. “Matches like that probably happen once in every 500 Tests. I don’t think they will read too much into it, although it has maybe dented their confidence a little bit. They’ve got quality players – guys that have played probably three times as many Tests as I have – to bring sanity back if they have had a flutter.”Amla said the Newlands Test, which lasted three days and saw a remarkable 23 wickets fall on the second day, took its toll on both sides. “Because it was very short, it did take a lot out of the players emotionally. We had two unexpected days off, which was a nice surprise. We were on the right side of that game but the guys are looking forward to the next one.”The Wanderers Test, according to Amla, will likely be decided on which batsmen have settled into good patterns in the early season. “Every batsman has it. Some people call it rhythm, some call it form. I find batting rhythm very important.”The key to batting is partnerships, no matter who is scoring. Even if someone is finding it difficult to score and isn’t getting runs, it doesn’t matter as long as the partnership is building. At the Wanderers, if we can build partnerships it will be the key to a successful batting performance.”On a Newlands pitch on which most batsmen struggled, Amla and Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, both scored centuries in the successful chase of 236. Amla said having the captain in form was important for the team, who bank on their experienced players to pull them out of tricky spots. “We’ve got Jacques [Kallis], Bouch [Mark Boucher] and Graeme. When things are tough and situations are a bit out of the ordinary, they rally around and give the team a lot more direction.”

England’s home Test series against South Africa in 2012, which could be another battle for the No. 1 ranking, will be in direct competition with the Olympic Games and played over just three matches. The ECB also confirmed that West Indies will visit for a full tour and Australia for five ODIs.South Africa’s visit in July and August has been squeezed because of the London Olympics, which will be staged for two weeks from late July and brings with it a series of restrictions about competing sporting events, and also by a visit from Australia for a one-day series. The first Test, at The Oval, will be played a week before the Games and the last, at Lord’s, which is an Olympic venue, takes place shortly after it has finished. The Headingley Test has the task of battling head on with the Games.In 2008, series between England and South Africa were given ‘icon’ status which, at the time, meant a five-Test series. The 2009-10 series in South Africa, however, had only four matches and was shared 1-1, with the hosts fighting back to win the final Test in Johannesburg.At a time when the primacy of Test cricket is a major debate, having such a marquee series reduced to three matches doesn’t bode well and suggests boards are paying no more than lip service to the principle that money doesn’t rule. The proximity of the Olympics is out of the ECB’s control but 13 ODIs, including another stand-alone five-match series against Australia, is unbalanced especially in a country where Test cricket is well attended.After the Tests, South Africa will play five one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals in England. They will act as preparation for the World Twenty20 that starts a week later in Sri Lanka with England as defending champions.England’s home season begins on May 17 with the first Test against West Indies, at Lord’s, followed by further matches at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston. West Indies then play three ODIs and a single T20. Both West Indies and South Africa have two warm-up matches before their respective Test series begin, although South Africa’s match against Somerset will be a two-day game followed by a three-day outing against Kent before the first Test.England will also play Scotland in an ODI on August 12 as part of the arrangement whereby they play them and Ireland in alternate years. A venue for that match has still to be confirmed.Cardiff, which was handed a 2015 Ashes Test as the major matches were allocated for a four-year period, will host the domestic Friends Life t20 finals day for the first time on August 25. The CB40 final takes place at Lord’s again on September 15.Key datesMay 17-21 – 1st Test v West Indies, Lord’s
May 25-29 – 2nd Test v West Indies, Trent Bridge
June 7-11 – 3rd Test v West Indies, Edgbaston
June 16 – 1st ODI v West Indies, Rose Bowl
June 19 – 2nd ODI v West Indies, The Oval
June 22 – 3rd ODI v West Indies, Headingley
June 24 – T20 v West Indies, Trent Bridge
June 29 – 1st ODI v Australia, Lord’s
July 1 – 2nd ODI v Australia, The Oval
July 4 – 3rd ODI v Australia, Edgbaston
July 7 – 4th ODI v Australia, Durham
July 10th – 5th ODI v Australia, Old Trafford
July 19-23 – 1st Test v South Africa, The Oval
August 2-6 – 2nd Test v South Africa, Headingley
August 16-20 – 3rd Test v South Africa, Lord’s
August 24 – 1st ODI v South Africa, Cardiff
August 28 – 2nd ODI v South Africa, Rose Bowl
August 31 – 3rd ODI v South Africa, The Oval
September 2 – 4th ODI v South Africa, Lord’s
September 5 – 5th ODI v South Africa, Trent Bridge
September 8 – 1st T20 v South Africa, Durham
September 10 – 2nd T20 v South Africa, Old Trafford
September 12 – 3rd T20 v South Africa, Edgbaston

Geoff Marsh, the former Australia batsman and coach, has been appointed coach of the Sri Lankan team, filling the vacancy created by Trevor Bayliss’ departure after the 2011 World Cup. Marsh’s two-year term begins on September 27 and he will not continue coaching the Pune Warriors IPL franchise.”I told Pune Warriors and they were very good about it. Coaching an international team takes a lot of time and being able to fit both of them in just wouldn’t have happened,” Marsh, who was with Pune during IPL 2011, told ESPNcricinfo. “They’re very comfortable with it. I enjoyed my year at Pune Warriors. They’re a fantastic family. They could see that coaching an international team is an honour, so it was all good.”Marsh had been in talks with Sri Lanka Cricket when he was in the country during Australia’s recent tour. His appointment ends a period of upheaval in Sri Lankan coaching following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake was in charge of the Sri Lanka side for the home series against Australia.Marsh played 50 Tests and 119 ODIs for Australia, and was a member of the World Cup winning side in 1987. After retirement, he became a level 3 qualified coach and was at the helm of the Australian side from 1995 to 1999, when he became the first – and so far only – cricketer to win the World Cup both as player and coach. Subsequently, he took over as coach of Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2004. He was also a national selector for the Australian team.Marsh continues the trend of Australians coaching Sri Lanka, after Dav Whatmore, John Dyson, Tom Moody, Bayliss and Law.

Shaquana Quintyne and Kycia Knight, the two uncapped players in the West Indies women’s squad for the series against Pakistan, are focussed on lifting their games to international standards when the ODIs begin on August 28. The Barbados pair impressed during the recently-completed WICB Women’s Championships, following which they secured spots in the 14-player limited-overs squad.Quintyne, a 15-year-old legspinner, said she was surprised to get her national call-up. “Honestly, I was quite surprised to be picked in the West Indies team, but now I have made it, I want to give my all and stay in the team,” she said. “I started playing when I was seven and I have enjoyed every minute on the cricket field. Playing cricket comes naturally. I always play to win. I don’t like losing.”Also a capable batsman, Quintyne holds two batting records in Barbados club cricket, having scored 176 in the domestic 40-overs tournament and an unbeaten 150 in the Twenty20 competition.Knight, 19, the reserve wicketkeeper in the squad behind captain Merissa Aguilleira, said she has been working on both her batting and keeping skills. “I just want to put all I have learned into my game when I get a chance to play for the West Indies.”The women’s game is on the rise in the Caribbean she said, while also crediting her coach Ezra Moseley for moulding her personal game. “Women’s cricket is growing in the West Indies and I would like to be part of a West Indies team which can go on to be the best in the world.”I remember going to Kensington Oval to watch cricket and that is when I fell in love with the game. I would sit and watch everything Brian Lara did on the field. Ezra Moseley has been a tremendous help [to me]. He has helped me with my batting and also talked a lot about understanding the game.”The series begins with a one-dayer at St Vincent on August 28, the first of four 50-overs matches that are followed by four Twenty20s.

Brad Hodge is concerned that young players will stop focusing on Test cricket as their ultimate goal as Cricket Australia’s pushes its resources into the Big Bash League. Hodge is retired from first-class cricket and will play with the Melbourne Renegades in the new eight-team competition, but one of his career highlights was playing six Tests for Australia.Now, with greater opportunities for fringe players to break into domestic cricket in Twenty20 rather than the longer format, and with bigger pay cheques on offer, Hodge is worried that the lines might be blurring for younger players seeking to make it.”My whole life was founded on trying to play cricket for Australia at Test level and I wish the mental side of the younger player was the same, but I’m just not sure it is,” Hodge told the . “Most of the talk around here is about this Twenty20 competition … no one gives a toss about the other two forms of the game at the moment.”It’s hard for me to think about what a young player would want, but the few I have spoken to, what they want is to play IPL, to play Twenty20, and Test cricket is probably not right up there.”Hodge, 36, chose the Docklands-based Renegades over the Melbourne Stars in part because of the team’s pulling power with a pace duo of Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes. However, he said splitting the city into two teams, while retaining the traditional Victoria side in the Sheffield Shield and one-day competition, could be dangerous.”There is a risk to state cricket … the Bushrangers brand is very fragile. I just can’t see how it’s going to compete against the Stars and the Renegades for market share,” Hodge said. “Shield cricket and one-day cricket are just going to fall off the perch, unfortunately.”The reality is that people want to play Twenty20 and the public want Twenty20 and I’m not sure people are going to be interested in watching Test match cricket or one-day cricket … as much as the administration say they are going to protect [Shield cricket], I think it’s going to fall away and become obsolete.”However, the Victoria coach Greg Shipperd does not share Hodge’s pessimistic views on the future of Sheffield Shield cricket. Shipperd told ESPNcricinfo earlier this month that he believed Twenty20 cricket, far from taking players away from the longer format, would help them develop their game.”I don’t see any players that are really just interested in that form,” Shipperd said of T20. “The ones who have found their way through one-day cricket and T20 cricket into the system are just as hungry to improve their skills and play as many days of cricket as they can. We still see a great appetite for learning the skills in the longer form of the game. By being exposed to these pressure situations in the shorter form of the game, and the need for variety, it actually adds to their skill set.”Shipperd’s theory has been backed up by the development of the batsman David Warner, who played T20 cricket for Australia before he had even made his first-class debut. But despite originally being pigeon-holed as a short-form slogger, Warner has developed his longer game and was player of the series in Australia A’s recent first-class games in Zimbabwe, where he made a career-best 211.”My main focus was to try and score runs in the four-day stuff and it happened,” Warner told AAP. “[Test cricket] is my goal and hopefully one day I think I can achieve that. My aspirations are to get the baggy green and at the moment I’m going the right way about it.”

Northamptonshire have managed to fight off interest from at least four other counties and secure Jack Brooks, the pace bowler, on a new two-year contract.Brooks, who has taken 43 Championship wickets this season and has recently been named in the England Lions squad to face Sri Lanka A, had been approached by Yorkshire among other teams but has now committed his short-term future to Wantage Road.”I’m very happy to know that my future lies here at Northants for the next two years,” Brooks said. “The club has been great to me and I’m keen to re-pay their investment by helping Northants gain promotion to the top flight of the Championship and challenge for trophies across all competitions in the coming months and seasons. I also believe this is the best place for me to continue to develop my all-round game as I strive to further my career.”It’s very flattering to be courted by other clubs and I thank them for their interest but I’ve made this decision for purely cricketing reasons,” he added. “I believe the club is going places. There are some talented youngsters here and I know that I’m one of the players the club is looking at to take the club forward. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”David Capel, the head coach, said: “This is an important signing for Northants and one that is mutually exciting for supporters, and also for Jack himself. He’s done very well for us this year and it’s good that he is marrying his own ambitions with those of the club.”