Pakistan’s cricket officials have abandoned plans to financially vet all players called up for next month’s series against England in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan’s earnings will not be held to account

Taufiq Umar closed in on a half-century as Pakistan reached 87 for 1 in reply to Bangladesh’s 338 all out on the second day of the second Test in Dhaka.

Shakib sparkles before run-out

England have named James Taylor as the captain of a 16-man Lions squad to tour Bangladesh next month, with Essex seamer Tymal Mills the surprise inclusion after just four first-class matches.

Taylor picked to lead Lions

Dale Steyn became the second-quickest bowler to 250 Test wickets as South Africa assumed control after just one day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Centurion.

Steyn races to Test milestone as South Africa seize control

England fans could be forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief when they noticed that Robinson and Broad were opening the batting for a Cricket Australia XI against the touring Indians in Canberra yesterday.

Rusty Indians made to suffer by familiar names

Australia’s bid to address its recent crisis at the crease has already been dubbed the batting boot camp.

Australia batsmen face selection ‘boot camp’

For Shane Warne it meant a choice between clean pants and a supply of cigarettes. He chose cigarettes. Andy Flower believes it broadens minds, while the thoughts of South Africa’s rugby players after being forced to lie naked in a foxhole as ice-cold water was thrown over them to the strains of “God Save the Queen” do not take much imagining.

Boot camp bonding? From the brutal through the psychobabble to the bonding

Shane Warne is confident he will be fit to make his cricket return on Saturday for Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Twenty20 competition despite burning his bowling hand while cooking.

Warne ready to return for Stars

Shane Warne is confident he will be fit to make his return to cricket in Australia’s revamped Twenty20 competition this weekend despite burning his bowling hand while cooking.

Shane Warne confident of return despite burning fingers while cooking

For a game that is dead on its feet, Test cricket is doing a magnificent impression of being in the rudest health. When New Zealand defeated Australia by seven runs in Tasmania yesterday, it was the fourth electrifying contest in a month, the third in which all four results were possible going down to the wire.

Who said Test cricket is dead?

New Zealand captain Ross Taylor admitted he “nearly had a heart attack” as Australia’s last pair threatened to deprive his side of a first Test win over their rivals since 1993.

New Zealand edge Australia in Test thriller

In a desperate attempt to save Test cricket, the cash prize for being the world’s top team is to be vastly increased. If England can hang on to their No 1 ranking until the end of April they are likely to receive a bonus running into millions of dollars.

England could net huge cash bonus

An unbroken 72-run partnership between Australian openers David Warner and Phil Hughes put Australia in prime position to chase down victory against New Zealand on the third day of the second Test in Hobart.

Aussies push for win over NZ

Australia fast bowler James Pattinson continued his crash course in Test cricket yesterday, taking his second five-wicket haul in an as many innings to help dismiss New Zealand for 150 before tea on the opening day of the second Test.

Pattinson continues sparkling start

Barely had England announced a tried and trusted party for their first tour of the winter yesterday than they were installed as odds-on favourites.

England will need spin duo on song for new test

England’s selection of Steven Davies for the tour to the UAE comes after a sterling season for Surrey; he played a key role in their promotion from the second Division of the County Championship after publicly announcing his homosexuality.

Davies will ‘have no issues’ in touring UAE

Pakistan’s openers swiftly closed in on Bangladesh’s below-par first innings total on the first day of the first Test in Chittagong.

Pakistan dominate Bangladesh on day one

Woody Allen has never popped up in this column before, and I don’t suppose he was thinking about sport when he wrote Midnight in Paris, a charming and gently philosophical film about perspectives on golden ages.

Brian Viner: A golden age? Try the one we are living in

Monty Panesar’s return to the England fold was confirmed this morning, after he was selected as the second spinner for the Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Monty Panesar earns England recall

England are likely to take continuity in selection to its ultimate level today. Their squad of 16 players for the three Tests that they will play against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates early next year may include 15 of those who comprised the Ashes party a year ago.

Same again as England say ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

Virender Sehwag made the highest score in one-day international history yesterday, plundering 219 from 149 balls against West Indies in Indore.

Scintillating Sehwag: Opener cracks 219 – highest score in ODIs

Virender Sehwag made the highest individual score in one-day international history as he blasted a remarkable 219 to put West Indies to the sword in Indore.

Sehwag breaks ODI record

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been given extra police security following terrorist threats.

India captain MS Dhoni receives death threats

England will doubtless feel the need for an extra spin option at their disposal when they set out next month to play Pakistan in the unfamiliar climes of the United Arab Emirates.

Spin options for England ahead of tour

Ridiculously, there is a faint sense of relief on seeing Samit Patel for the first time since he last appeared on our television screens, playing for England in the final match of the disastrous series of one-day games in India last October. After years of being defined by failing to meet the standards of fitness expected of the modern international cricketer, the penny that dropped at the beginning of last season appears to have stayed dropped, and the Nottinghamshire all-rounder looks to be in pretty good shape.

Samit Patel: Happy to look in the mirror

Sri Lanka’s contracted cricketers will receive 65 percent of their unpaid fees within the next three days when their ruling body receives $2 million from the International Cricket Council for hosting the 2011 World Cup, the country’s sports minister said on Tuesday.

Cricket-Sri Lankan players to receive unpaid fees

Rohit Sharma hit 95 but it was not enough to prevent India suffering their first defeat in 12 one-day internationals on home soil as West Indies kept the five-match series alive with a 16-run victory in Ahmedabad.

Rohit Sharma fails to see India to win

Former Australia test opener Simon Katich was reprimanded on Monday for comments he made about captain Michael Clarke’s role in his losing a central contract with Cricket Australia (CA) earlier this year.

Simon Katich reprimanded for comments about Australia captain Michael Clarke

Graham Gooch is stepping down from his role as first-team batting coach for Essex to focus on his England responsibilities, the club announced today.

Graham Gooch stands down from Essex role

James Pattinson had a triple-wicket maiden to make it a debut to remember as Australia crushed New Zealand in the first Test at the Gabba. The 21-year-old younger brother of one-cap England paceman Darren Pattinson earned man-of-the-match honours for his match-winning spell with the ball.

Pattinson picks up three wickets in an over to crush Kiwis

Sam Loxton, one of Australian cricket’s so-called “Invincibles” and who Sir Donald Bradman once referred to as “the very essence of belligerence,” has died at the age of 90.

Loxton, one of Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ dies at 90 

England bowler Tim Bresnan has undergone surgery on his elbow but is expected to be fit for the Test series against Pakistan in the new year.

England bowler Tim Bresnan undergoes elbow surgery

England seam bowler Tim Bresnan has undergone elbow surgery and now will concentrate on achieving fitness for the Test series against Pakistan in the new year.

Fitness race for Bresnan

Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League auction to focus on winning a place in England’s Test side. After playing in England’s last six one-day internationals, the 26-year-old, has pulled out of the IPL.

Patel aims for Test selection

The MCC have dropped proposals to build luxury residential towers at the Nursery End and will redevelop Lord’s on a “stand-by-stand” basis following a committee meeting yesterday. Work is not expected to begin before 2013.

Lord’s towers plan dropped

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier has praised the work of England team director Andy Flower after he claimed two awards last night at the 2011 UK Coaching Awards.

England team director Andy Flower wins two coaching awards

Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh played through the 2011 World Cup with a non-malignant tumour in his lung, he has revealed. Yuvraj, 29, who was man of the tournament after helping India to victory, has opted out of the upcoming one-day series against West Indies.

Yuvraj battled lung tumour

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder gave himself some valuable practice ahead of Thursday’s first Test with Australia by hitting a blistering 175 against Australia A yesterday, but walked off Allan Border Field in Brisbane slightly disappointed.

Ryder equals record for sixes

The West Indies snatched a thrilling draw with the scores level to deny India a series clean sweep on the final day of the third Test in Mumbai on Saturday.

Dhoni perplexed by final-day drama

Fears of corruption in cricket were again raised yesterday as it emerged that Sri Lanka’s players have not been paid since February. Although they have played several Test and one-day series in the last seven months and reached the World Cup final, none of the players has received any of their agreed salaries or match fees from the board.

Unpaid Sri Lankans give rise to fixing fear

England spinner Graeme Swann would like to see one-day
international cricket scrapped – but admits he does not expect his
“purely personal choice” to find much support.

End ODIs says Swann as Tendulkar ‘fails’

Sachin Tendulkar fell just six runs short of his 100th international century before tailender Ravichandran Ashwin showed him the way with a maiden Test hundred in the third Test against the West Indies.

Sachin Tendulkar falls agonisingly short of 100th Test century

Andrew Strauss, the England captain, has added his voice to that of Andy Flower in urging cricket’s authorities to keep a wary eye on the future of the Test game. As captain and coach, Strauss and Flower have overseen England’s rise to the top of the world rankings but outside this country attendances for the longer form of the game are dwindling alarmingly.

Don’t assume Tests are here forever, says Strauss

Two disgraced Pakistan cricketers given custodial terms for their parts in a spot-fixing scam that rocked world sport lost challenges against their sentences today.

Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir lose appeals against spot-fixing jail sentences

For a county cricketer, November used to be a month of contemplation. A period of downtime when you could unemotionally evaluate what had taken place during the hectic summer months. It was the period when a weary body was given time to recover from a bruising season.

Pre-season training: It’s just not cricket

South African Mickey Arthur was yesterday appointed as Australia’s first-ever foreign coach. The 43-year-old succeeds Tim Nielsen, and has signed a four-year deal that runs until the end of the 2015 World Cup.

Australia bring in Arthur as first foreign coach

Haroon Lorgat announced today he will stand down as International Cricket Council chief executive when his term of office expires in June 2012.

Lorgat announces 2012 ICC exit

South African Mickey Arthur has been named as Australia’s new coach.

Australia appoint South African Mickey Arthur

The International Cricket Council must play a stronger role in protecting Test cricket, according to James Anderson, the spearhead of England’s bowling attack. Anderson believes it is up to the ICC to prevent the five-day game from being marginalised.

ICC must defend tests, says Anderson

Teenager Pat Cummins followed up his six-wicket haul on debut with the winning boundary as Australia secured a drawn series against South Africa in a frantic finish.

Cummins stays cool to guide Australia home