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Mohammad Khalil relates his story to that of another left-arm quick bowler of his generation: Irfan Pathan. Khalil, one of the new breed of fast bowlers in the Pakistan team, feels that he is following the same path that the Indian took before becoming Indian’s new-ball sensation.Emerging from a net session under the eyes of his coach Bob Woolmer, he says, “He (Pathan) had toured Australia where he did well, and then he cememted his place on the Pakistan tour last year. This time I did well in Australia and am now touring India. So, I too will perform well.” His demeanour suggests plentiful confidence, and he goes on to add: “Inshallah, I will do it much better.”Pathan gave notice of his talent in Australia in 2003-04. Though he took only four wickets, he showed that he had the heart of the fast bowler. He took the next step, and gave further evidence of that heart, in Pakistan, where he was the pick of the pace bowlers on either side, with 12 wickets.Khalil, then, has a job on his hands if he wants to outperform his Indian counterpart. So far the results have been good, without raising too many eyebrows. Khalil played one Test, on the fast WACA pitch at Perth, but went wicketless in his 25 overs. If his debut was subdued, he stoked a few fires in the subsequent one-day VB Series, playing three games and accounting for five victims.Interestingly, all five of his wickets were left-handers. If he gets picked for the Tests against India, he can think of at least two batsmen to aim at: Sourav Ganguly, the captain, and either Gautam Gambhir or Yuvraj Singh.Unlike his pace-bowling compatriots, this left-armer isn’t enthused by speed. He hails from the state of Punjab, and is happy to visit Mohali, whose people he feels are similar to back home. “Khoon to ek he hai [the blood is the same],” he says, as he signs autographs.

Though he doesn’t plan to break any speed barriers, Khalil can generate enough pace with his height (5ft 10ins) and physique. Watching him bowl from a short run-up in the practice nets, he has enough to keep batsmen on their toes. “I have bowled in the 140s [kph], but I would like to stick to about 136,” he says. Though he took advice from Wasim Akram, a legend and the last left-arm quick to play for Pakistan, Khalil would like to emulate the discipline of Glenn McGrath.”Look at McGrath,” he says. “He keeps on bowling around 132kph, hitting the right line and length, and look at the number of wickets that process has earned him.” Line and length appear to be imprinted on Khalil’s state of mind.He bowls off a 28-yard run, but so far, the Pakistan think-tank has only allowed him to come on as first change to the new-ball pair. But that decision could be based on the fact that he is more adept at moving the ball both ways, and reverse-swinging the old ball. Khalil also feels that the Indian wickets will suit his bowling, since they are similar to the ones he has played on in Pakistan.He injured his shoulder at the end of the Australian tour, but now reckons he is perfectly fit. “I played a two-day game for my company Pakistan Telecom and then attended the two-day camp organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board before this tour. And I felt good.” The Pakistan trainers have looked at him, and the signs are good that he would be declared fit.Pakistan will almost certainly play Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq as their three main fast bowlers. As for the fourth quick, that will depend on the pitches the Indians serve up. Khalil stands a good chance at Mohali, which in the past has thrown up green surfaces.Khalil is unperturbed about his chances, but keeps polishing his strategy. He is also something of a technology buff. “My brother and another friend have an internet café and they feed me the required technical data that I require to get my wickets,” he says. When asked if he knows that some of the Indian batsmen have been susceptible to left-arm pace – Sachin Tendulkar against Pedro Collins, and Virender Sehwag against Nathan Bracken – Khalil has a wry smile on his face. “Yes, I know,” he says. “I have done my study on them.”He has his strategy organised for the Indian batsmen, and says, “Rahul Dravid, who is a matchwinner, will be a prized wicket in the Tests, and both Sehwag and Tendulkar in the one-dayers.”In the absence of Shoaib Akhtar, who is likely to return for the ODIs, Khalil knows that sizable contributions are needed. In this evolving age where fast bowlers, normally considered rabbits with the bat, are scoring gritty half-centuries, he knows that he has to do more than just bowl. Woolmer has already set him a benchmark: “Considering that he is a bowler, I would like him to bowl first and then come in handy with the bat. If he can hit sixes like Shahid Afridi, I wouldn’t mind.”So now Khalil has two roles to aspire to – the fast man who can swing it like Pathan, and a six-hitting cavalier like Afridi.

M Baladitya, a wing commander in the Indian Air Force, was appointed media manager of the Indian team for the one-day international series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Baladitya had been the co-coordinator of the team during the home series against Pakistan.SK Nair, the secretary to the Indian board, told reporters, “Baladitya will look after the media interests of both teams, India and Sri Lanka, as the touring side does not have a media manager. If any assistance is required by the Sri Lankan team, he would help them. As no administrative manager of the Indian team has been appointed this time, he will also do his duty, though we have appointed AV Jagatnath as the coordinator”. Baladitya and Jagatnath will be travelling with the Indian team for all the one-day internationals. Nair added that, as usual, one local manager for each team will be appointed at every venue.Speaking to Rediff on whether his appointment would see an end to planned leaks to the media from the dressing room, Baladitya said: “That I cannot say. I will try my best to keep the media informed as much as possible. Even during matches I will move around and keep giving them required information. The basic intention of appointing a media manager is to keep the players away from the distraction of the media”.

Damien Martyn is the favourite to receive the prestigious Allan Border Medal at a gala ceremony in Melbourne tonight. As a Test and one-day player, Martyn’s superb performances through the voting year, from February 11 until yesterday, are expected to earn him Australia’s highest individual award ahead of Justin Langer and Shane Warne.Warne’s return from a one-year drugs suspension was superb, netting 75 wickets, and Langer scored 1481 runs for 2004, but Martyn’s consistent brilliance after a lean 2003-04 stood above both of his Test-only team-mates. Martyn registered six Test hundreds – two each in Sri Lanka, India and Australia – and 1373 runs during the polling period, and played in 21 one-day matches, including making 24 in yesterday’s three-wicket VB Series loss to Pakistan.Martyn is also a contender for the Test Player of the Year along with Langer and Warne, while Michael Clarke, who will be judged on 731 runs, including two hundreds and three fifties, is tipped for the one-day award.

After weeks of speculation, it has been decided that Steve Waugh will be the final Olympic torch-bearer in the Sydney leg of the Athens torch relay. It had been believed that Cathy Freeman, a gold medallist at the Sydney Games four years ago would be given the honour, but instead it has gone to Waugh, who was named Australian of the Year earlier in 2004.Waugh, who will light the cauldron at Homebush Bay, admitted that it would be a momentous occasion. “It’s a huge honour to be part of the Olympic flame torch relay,” he told the Sun-Herald newspaper. “I enjoyed the experience leading into the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and to be doing it again for Athens is equally exciting and another huge honour.”According to the newspaper, the torch relay will begin at the Sydney Opera House on Friday morning, and will include an A-Z of Australia’s sporting heroes, including Kieren Perkins, Dawn Fraser, Raelene Boyle and the wheelchair athlete Louise Sauvage. Speaking about the occasion, John Coates, the Australian Olympic Committee president, said: “Steve Waugh is a great Australian and a champion athlete who typifies our fighting spirit and it is appropriate that he relights the Olympic cauldron.”

What started off as an experiment, and what many believed could set a trend for the cricket-ball industry in India, appears to have descended into farce. The Indian board decided to try out Kookaburra balls during the ongoing Duleep Trophy but it’s learnt, even as the final looms, that the execution of the plan went completely awry.What’s left several players sour is that no Kookaburra balls were provided when the teams practiced before the games, requiring them to get used to the new cherry in match conditions. Bowlers were left to practice with the traditional Sanspereil Greenlands (SG) balls prior to the games, only to be confronted with the Kookaburra when the game got underway.”Only today, just a day before the final, we were provided with two Kookaburra balls for practice,” a North Zone player told Cricinfo. “Just two but this is a huge improvement, considering that we were only given balls during match before in this tournament. There are not enough old balls available. With SG each association had not only the new balls for the match but also enough old balls for practice. But they have not been given any Kookaburra balls and we have all suffered. Imagine practising with a different ball [SG] and then going into match to play with another brand which is completely different.”At Guwahati, the venue where East Zone took on North, events took a bizarre turn when there weren’t enough balls during the game. As a result it was decided not to change the balls even if they went out of shape. Players from the South and Central Zones, teams that didn’t make it to the final, also endorsed the same view. “Luckily, I had couple of Kookaburra balls with me,” said a Central Zone player, “and we used it for practice.” Another player, this time from South, mentioned how the bowlers took some time to adjust to the ball on the first day, struggling to get their rhythm going. “We would have loved to get Kookaburra balls for practice,” he said, “but luckily most of us knew what we can expect. So we managed to adjust quickly.”The Indian board, though, has rubbished these complaints. “The players are talking nonsense,” said Ratnakar Shetty, the recently appointed chief administrative officer. Shetty, however, refused any further comment.The tournament has had more problems as well. Lack of practice pitches have meant that some players have entered games without any chance to gear up. At Guwahati, East Zone players suffered because one of the practice pitches was unfit for use while the other was being used by a local team. Their opponents, North Zone, were scheduled to practice at the evening and luckily got to play on that “decent” strip.The staying conditions have not been satisfactory either, even for the final. At Kolkata, there is power shortage at the team hotel where North Zone are staying. And the back-up only powers up a fan and tubelight which means that the players have to do without television and, of course, air-conditioning.And in case you forgot, this is one of the premier domestic tournaments in India.

The Sri Lankan selectors have recalled Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner,in place of Kumar Dharmasena for the second Test against Australia which begins at Kandy on Tuesday.Herath, now 26-years-old, last played for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in June2000. He has played three Test matches, including two Tests against Australia on their 1999 tour to Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka are expected to abandon their one pace bowler strategy on a pitch that is expected to offer greater assistance to the fast bowlers. Nuwan Zoysa is tipped for a return after his impressive performances during the recent one-day series.Sri Lanka have also drafted in Saman Jayantha, the uncapped opening batsman,as a standby for Sanath Jayasuriya and Thilan Samaraweera.Both Jayasuriya, who needed one stitch after splitting the webbing on his righthand, and Samaraweera, who tore a groin muscle in Galle, hope to be fit for the crucial Test and will try to train on Sunday afternoon after the team’s arrival in the hill-country capital.Squad1 Hashan Tillakaratne (capt), 2 Marvan Atapattu, 3 Sanath Jayasuriya, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 8 Avishka Gunawardene, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Nuwan Zoysa, 11 Nuwan Kulasekara, 12 Muttiah Muralitharan, 13 Rangana Herath, 14 Upul Chandana, 15 Kaushal Lokuarachchi, 16 Saman Jayantha (standby)

Frizzell County Championship Division One
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Essex 77 for 2 v Nottinghamshire 284 at Chelmsford
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Chris Cairns thrashed a rapid 70 from 73 balls, then took a wicket in his first over, as Nottinghamshire and Essex jostled for position on the first day at Chelmsford. Cairns added 98 for the fifth wicket with Jason Gallian, whose 65 spanned three hours and provided the backbone of an erratic innings in which six batsmen failed to reach double figures. Jon Dakin was the main cause of the wobbles, picking up 4 for 53 in 16.5 overs. Cairns then trapped Will Jefferson lbw for 1, but Andy Flower and Mark Pettini added an unbeaten 46 for the third wicket as Essex closed on a high.Warwickshire 342 for 6 v Lancashire at Edgbaston
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Lancashire’s hopes of making a late charge for the title were dealt a blow at Edgbaston, as Jonathan Trott and Dougie Brown added 216 for the sixth wicket to steal the momentum for Warwickshire. The early part of the day had belonged entirely to Lancashire, and to Glen Chapple in particular, who swung and seamed his way to three quick wickets, including Michael Powell in the first over. Kyle Hogg and John Wood joined the fun as Warwickshire were reduced to 101 for 5, but with Peter Martin absent with a back strain, Trott and Brown turned the tables. Trott eventually fell for 126, and on 112, Brown retired hurt with a calf problem. But Lancashire have much ground to make up.Frizzell County Championship Division Two
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Gloucestershire 331 for 5 v Derbyshire at Bristol
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He is better known for his quick scoring, but Jonty Rhodes displayed the adhesive side of his game today, as he batted for the best part of six hours for an unbeaten 121, his third Championship century of the season. Rhodes’ effort further compounded Derbyshire’s woes at the foot of the second division, as Alex Gidman and Matt Windows contributed a pair of well-paced 40s to help Gloucestershire to an imposing 331 for 5 at the close. The recent unknown, Paul Havell, who took four wickets against the South Africans last week, was again Derbyshire’s most successful bowler, picking up 3 for 68 from 22 overs. At one stage, Gloucestershire had been a wobbly 78 for 3, but Rhodes stopped the rot and put his team on top.Worcestershire 364 v Hampshire 4 for 0 at the Rose Bowl
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Worcestershire didn’t have too many positives to take from Saturday’s capitulation in the C&G final, but for their reserve wicketkeeper Jamie Pipe, who stood in for the injured Steve Rhodes, the Lord’s effect was clearly inspirational. He cracked an unbeaten 104, his maiden first-class century, to keep their title hopes alive at the Rose Bowl. Pipe came to the middle at the fall of Stephen Peters for 87, and immediately took the attack to Hampshire’s bowlers, adding 137 for the sixth wicket with Justin Kemp, who made 90. When Tim Tremlett and Laurence Prittipaul ripped through the lower order, however, it seemed that Pipe would be denied his dream. But with Worcestershire’s No. 11 boshing boundaries at the other end, he just edged past the mark.Durham 190 v Northamptonshire 166 for 1 at Wantage Road
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Mike Hussey has announced he wants to take a break from County cricket next season, but it hasn’t broken his concentration for the time being. Nor, indeed, that of his partner-in-crime Phil Jaques, who crashed his way to 102 not out in an unbeaten second-wicket partnership of 165, as Durham were given a lesson in batting and bowling at Northampton. Durham, who won the toss and chose to bat, were bundled out for 190 in 60.3 overs, thanks to a five-wicket haul from Jeff Cook. It didn’t take long for their bowlers to respond, however. Shoaib Akhtar, who has clearly forgotten there’s a Test match taking place back home, dismissed Tim Roberts for a first-ball duck. But that was the high point of Durham’s day. Northants already look set for a crushing victory to boost their prospects of the second division title.Somerset 228 v Yorkshire 86 for 3 at Headingley
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After months on the sidelines with a knee injury, Matthew Hoggard returned to first-class cricket with a huge splash at Headingley, picking up career-best figures of 7 for 49 to leave Somerset in the lurch. Yorkshire’s day, however, was marred by an injury to Steve Kirby, who appeared to be struck on the head in his followthrough by a Nixon McLean straight drive. But for Hoggard it was the sweetest of returns, and a timely reminder of his abilities ahead of England’s winter tours. Somerset were bowled out for 228, with Darren Gough also in the wickets, but they clawed back some lost ground by the close, reducing Yorkshire to 86 for 3 in reply.

The issue of racial discrimination in Zimbabwean cricket has cropped up again, with Murray Goodwin alleging that black cricketers were getting a free ride into the team. Goodwin, who last played for Zimbabwe three years ago before quitting due to pay disputes with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, said: “It sounds really racist but in actual fact it’s the truth and that’s a sad state of affairs because these guys don’t have to perform as well as the European guys to get a game.”You’ve got guys getting promoted because of performance and other guys getting promoted because of their colour. It’s hard because when you’re playing in a team and you’ve got these guys getting a free ride – it’s not their fault at all – the selection [policy] is a bit of an issue. Everyone’s trying to play in a team and you can’t begrudge that … but you’re just wary of how they select you and on what grounds.”Meanwhile, Geoff Marsh, the Zimbabwean coach, has told his players to forget about the political implications of their tour to Australia. Marsh believes that the politics of the Zimbabwean situation has the potential to distract his side at a time when they need to be completely focussed on the cricket. “When the political situation gets involved in the game of cricket in Zimbabwe I try to take it out.”Adam Gilchrist agreed with that approach. Writing a column for Fairfax papers, Gilchrist supported Australia’s decision to play against Zimbabwe in the 2003 World Cup, stating that the decision stood vindicated within ten minutes of their arrival in Bulawayo, when a local woman gave him a hug and said: “Thank you so much for coming, for giving us a ray of brightness in these difficult times.”He strengthened his argument further by talking about the lack of protest over Zimbabwe’s tour to Australia. “Surely if the reasons for not playing are moral ones, why would the same rules not apply when the Zimbabweans are here? Either people have short memories, or perhaps we are realising that participating in sporting events doesn’t mean that we are either supporting or disregarding the policies and regimes of the government of the country we are playing. Although we are well aware of the tragic heartache that has been caused and the issues that remain unresolved, we are simply sportsmen proudly representing our country.”

Thousands of people are expected to attend the funeral of David Hookes at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Hookes, Victoria’s coach, died following an assault outside a Melbourne hotel bar last week.The funeral will be attended by members of the current Australian team, while Darren Lehmann, Hookes’s close friend and former team-mate at South Australia, will be one of the eight pall-bearers.Ian Chappell, a former Australian captain, is due to be one of the speakers at the service, while the Adelaide Oval’s groundsman Les Burdett will put up a set of stumps at one end of the pitch and place a bat on the ground next to them.The grandstands at the ground will be opened to the public for the ceremony, as Hookes’s death has led to an outpouring of grief throughout Australia. Following the funeral, a separate memorial service will be held in Melbourne on February 5.A 21-year-old hotel bouncer, Zdravco Micevic, has been charged with manslaughter and remanded on bail to appear in court on April 13.

Somerset’s young ECB Academy cricketer’s have been praised by chief executive Peter Anderson for their enterprise and hard work.The youngsters, who are raising funds for their cricket tour to the Isle of Wight this summer, offered their services as car cleaners to those attending Sunday’s National League fixture against Scotland.The ECB Academy youngsters cleaned more than sixty cars in total during the afternoon and raised almost £200 towards their forthcoming trip.Regarding the fund raiser Mr Anderson said: "Congratulations to all the young cricketers who worked hard to raise the money for the cricket tour. Everyone was very happy about the way that they carried out their duties apart from our president Michael Hill, who paid £3 to have his car cleaned but at the end of the day reckoned he’d been forgotten. He kept on about it so much it was almost like he’d lost £100!!"There are still a few spaces remaining for the Somerset Appeal Year House of Common’s Lunch that takes place on Monday June 23rd in London, when Lord Brooke, the former minister for Northern Ireland and a keen followr of the summer game will be the guest speaker. Tickets are priced at £75 plus VAT, and anybody who is interested should contact Sally Donoghue at the County Ground on telephone number 01823 272 946.