The explosive Leah Poulton is set to make her senior debut for Australia after the squad was announced for the upcoming Rose Bowl series against New Zealand at Brisbane. Poulton, a top-order batsman, is a former captain of Australia under-19s and has been named in place of her New South Wales team-mate Alex Blackwell, who is carrying a knee injury. It is the only change in the 13-player squad to the side which whitewashed India in the Test and one-day series in February.A strong year with the bat earned Poulton the senior call-up; she struck 325 runs in the domestic league, at an average of 32.50. “She is a talented player with a free-flowing game,” explained the chairman of selectors, Margaret Jennings, “and we are keen to see how she performs against New Zealand, whom we expect to provide some very tough competition.” Australia are the current holders of the trophy.The series comprises five one-dayers and the first women’s Twenty20 in Australia, which kicks off the tour on October 18. All ties will take place at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.Squad Karen Rolton (capt), Lisa Sthalekar, Sarah Andrews, Kate Blackwell, Melissa Bulow, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Michelle Goszko, Julie Hayes, Shelley Nitschke, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Jodie Purves, Clea Smith.

Division One

In what was effectively a meaningless match once Nottinghamshire had beaten Sussex, Essex – this year’s champions – were restricted to 201 for 8 in the 40 overs against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Andy Flower demonstrated his immense class and ability in one-day cricket with a chanceless 81 – and Andre Adams was typically impish in his 40 – but Essex were outdone by fine spells of bowling from Neil Killeen (2 for 26) and Ottis Gibson (2 for 32). Durham knocked off the required 202 with Phil Mustard (84 from 86) and Jimmy Maher (70) putting on a superb 152-run opening partnership – but it wasn’t enough for Durham to avoid relegation.Sussex’s title hopes were blown away by a remarkable spell of bowling from Gareth Clough whose 6 for 25 helped dismiss them for just 110 at Nottingham. Only Chris Adams’s 24 offered the visitors any hope of bailing the sinking ship, before Nottinghamshire knocked off the required runs with the minimum of fuss. Darren Bicknell clobbered an unbeaten 53 and there were useful contributions from Will Smith (22) and Stephen Fleming (26 from 33). Sussex’s defeat handed Essex the Pro40 Division One title.James Anderson marked his comeback with 2 for 31 to help Lancashire beat Glamorgan by the comprehensive margin of 109 runs at Old Trafford. Lancashire’s bristling 256 for 7 was formed by Nathan Astle’s aggressive 71-ball 78 and a pair of brisk 40s from Dominic Cork and Mark Chilton. Glamorgan set off disastrously, losing three for none at one stage. And though Mark Wallace (28 from 29) briefly threatened, he was left with too great a task and Glamorgan were dismissed for 147, allowing Lancashire to avoid relegation.Lance Klusener’s 5 for 33 blew away Middlesex’s fragile batting line-up as Northamptonshire walked to an easy 28-run win at Northampton. Setting the visitors 199 after Chris Rogers belted 70 from 75 balls, Middlesex lost Paul Weekes with the first ball of their reply and were soon 17 for 3 when Ed Joyce was bowled by Matthew Nicholson. Owais Shah (63) and Jamie Dalrymple (57) appeared to have the game by the neck until both were dismissed by Monty Panesar, leaving Klusener to mop up the tail with ease.

Division Two

Robert Ferley’s 3 for 25 handed Kent an unlikely 42-run win over Gloucestershire at Canterbury as the hosts dismissed Gloucestershire for just 134. The visitors, chasing 178, were batting nicely at 51 for 1 with Craig Spearman launching five fours in his 31. But a sudden flurry of wickets left too much for their lower-order before Ferley, the slow-left-armer, struck three times in as many overs to send Gloucestershire packing. Nevertheless, they were crowned Division Two champions.Paul Nixon continued his fine one-day form with an unbeaten 38 to edge Leicestershire home by four wickets against Derbyshire at Grace Road. Chasing 223 the home side were boosted by a typically aggressive 74 from Darren Maddy, containing 10 fours and a couple of lofted sixes. Although Derbyshire’s six bowlers each struck once, Nixon the aggressor was in dominant mood, smashing three sixes and three fours in a blistering 38 from just 23 balls.A fine 51 from Arul Suppiah led Somerset to a facile win over Surrey, chasing down 178 in just 20.3 overs at Taunton. Suppiah and Matthew Wood (37) put on 59 for the first wicket and Suppiah received further good support from James Hildreth (39) and Ian Blackwell, whose typically pugnacious 27 guided his side home with a flurry of boundaries. Earlier, Surrey’s stuttering total was compiled largely thanks to a run-a-ball 38 from Mark Butcher and 40 from Jon Batty, but they were restricted by Charl Willoughby and Wes Durston who took 3 for 44.Greg Lamb’s four wickets and a solid 60 helped Hampshire fell Yorkshire by five runs in a tense encounter at Headingley. At 201 for 5, with Adam Lyth and Tim Bresnan batting sensibly, the target of 221 was well within reach until Lamb and Shaun Udal struck, sending Yorkshire tumbling to 215 all out with two balls to spare. Hampshire’s innings was led by a pair of 60s from Dominic Thornely and Lamb; Thornely was particularly aggressive in smashing seven fours and a six.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, will announce the shortlists for this year’s ICC Awards in Mumbai this Sunday.The shortlists for the awards have been compiled by the 56-member voting academy, who were asked to vote for players nominated by a selection panel chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain.In addition to the individual awards and the Spirit of Cricket Award, this year’s ceremony will also feature the awarding of Test and ODI Teams of the Year. And for the first time, there is an award for Women’s Cricketer of the Year.The ceremony – in its third year – will take place at the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai on November 3. It has previously been held in London (2004) and, last year, in Sydney.

Scorecard

Queensland swept to an innings-and-16-run victory over Western Australia to lift themselves off the foot of the Pura Cup table. The home side threatened to put up a fight as Justin Langer and Chris Rogers added 166 for the first wicket, after the Warriors extended their lead to 301, but the Queensland attack worked as a unit to dismantle the resistance.After his first-innings failure, Langer spent useful time in the middle ahead of the first Test especially in light of Phil Jaques’s recent stunning form. He and Rogers scored at four-an-over before James Hopes broke through and the slide started. Chris Hartley’s fine match behind the stumps continued as he collected an edge off Langer and quickly pocketed another chance as Michael Hussey fell for a duck.Four runs later Rogers’s resolute innings came to end six short of a century as Andrew Symonds made the first of two incisions. The middle order was then jolted by Mitchell Johnson’s pace as he again hurt the Warriors with big-name scalps. Damien Martyn was caught by Symonds before Adam Gilchrist’s lean run continued with another nick to the keeper.With the powerful top order sliced apart the only question was whether the Bulls could wrap up the points with a day to spare. The tail didn’t offer much meaningful resistance as the wickets continued to be shared around with Shane Watson nabbing a brace. Johnson completed the rout when he removed Ben Edmondson as Hartley took his 10th catch of the match.

England women have begun their training for the quadrangular series in India in February. The one-day tournament will also feature New Zealand and the world champions Australia, and is expected to be held in Chennai for two weeks – although these dates are subject to change, given the tightness of the itinerary.Training for the women as a group kicked off at Loughborough at the weekend, which focussed on bowling, and Ottis Gibson provided expert advice. There are three more camps planned over the winter, which will all be held at the Academy.Three England players are playing domestic cricket in Australia this winter, which will help them to be match-fit, should they be selected for the tournament. Rosalie Birch, Jenny Gunn and Beth Morgan are competing in Brisbane before heading back to England at the end of January.

Michael Vaughan will not play in the final two Tests of the Ashes series and a decision on whether he will lead England’s one-day campaign will be made this week. Vaughan, who is recovering from a serious knee problem, fell for 14 in his latest match for the England Academy today and the selectors will decide whether he is fit enough to captain the side through the tri-series starting next month.Duncan Fletcher said the news on Vaughan was “positive, very positive” and he had been working with Nigel Stockill, the squad’s fitness trainer while England were losing the Ashes. “He’s been moving around freely and he says he hasn’t felt so good for some time,” Fletcher said. “It’s very pleasing news.”England’s selectors will speak with Vaughan and other senior figures after today’s match to determine whether he is ready to rejoin the senior squad in the lead-up to the World Cup. Vaughan’s presence was severely missed as the team handed back the Ashes in Perth on Monday and there have been concerns with Andrew Flintoff’s captaincy.However, Fletcher said the players have been “happy with Flintoff”. “We will have to take that into consideration when we pick the squad.”Fletcher said Flintoff, who was chosen ahead of Andrew Strauss as leader for the Test series, had “done a good job” over the first three matches. “He led from the front, but he hasn’t got the runs he would have wanted. The decision was between him and Strauss, but he’d led only six Tests before he was thrown on to a tour of Australia, which is really difficult. Considering all that he’s done as well as he can.”One of Fletcher’s few certainties in a 15-minute interrogation in Perth today was on Vaughan’s chances of appearing in the Boxing Day and New Year’s games. “He’s definitely not playing in the Test series.”

To choose his favourite Test matches over 15 years Shane Warne looked to the beginning and the end. Until less than three weeks ago, his best memory was his third Test, against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1992, but it was eclipsed by Australia’s remarkable comeback win at Adelaide to all but seal the return of the Ashes.”I didn’t think I’d ever top 1992 but Adelaide definitely pipped that,” he said during his retirement announcement. “That’s the best Test match I’ve played in.”The Colombo game, however, has always remained special for Warne and it was where he first realised he could make an impact at Test level. After taking 0 for 107 in the first innings, Warne watched on in the second as Sri Lanka pressed towards the 181 they needed for victory. Greg Matthews claimed four important wickets and with about 30 runs remaining, Warne, 22, weaved his magic.”Allan Border told me to warm up and I thought ‘oh no, we’re in trouble here’,” Warne said. “I came on and I bowled a maiden and I thought ‘it’s not over yet’. As the next couple of overs went on I took 3 for 0 and I sort of felt like I’ve actually finally contributed.” He finished with 3 for 11 as Sri Lanka fell 17 short. It was the first of countless match-turning performances.Warne said he could not have performed his great feats alone. Terry Jenner’s influence has been well documented, but the man who has affected Warne the most is somebody he could end up sitting next to in the Channel 9 commentary box. “Ian Chappell has probably been the biggest influence on my cricket career,” Warne said. “I would have loved to have played under Ian Chappell. I could listen to his stories and listen to him talk forever. Of all the people I’ve spoken to about cricket, he makes the most sense.”Australia’s last great legspinner before Warne, Richie Benaud, also had a significant impact. “Richie is the man isn’t he?” Warne said. “He knows everything about everything. He’s great to talk to, he’s good company, he’s fun and he’s a legspinner as well. He’s helped me out through some tough times too, just the odd phone call here or there.”It could be Warne who Australia’s next generation of slow bowlers turn to for advice. The spin stocks might look thin, with the exception of Stuart MacGill, but Warne said there were plenty of potential Test players itching for a chance. Dan Cullen, Cameron White, Cullen Bailey, Nathan Hauritz and Beau Casson are some of those who will compete to take his place.”We’re very lucky that we’ve got some excellent spin bowlers in the country,” he said. “It’s a matter of those guys taking their opportunities. It’s probably a pretty good time to get some younger players into the side because we’ve got a very experienced side at the moment.”

Greg Chappell has reiterated that his face-off with Sourav Ganguly was never a battle between two personalities” but merely a cricketing issue that was blown out of proportion”. Chappell also said that he considered Ganguly’s comeback as one of his “success stories”, adding that the time spent away from international cricket had done him good.”I look at it as one of my success stories,” Chappell said in an interview to . “He has resurrected his batting and could play another three years for India, which is fantastic. The only way he could address certain issues was to spend some time away reassessing all of his goals and ambitions. Somebody had to tell him that.””It was never Chappell v Ganguly,” he continued. “It was never a battle between two personalities. I only look at cricketing issues. How the others see it is their choice. The whole thing has been completely blown out of proportion. If the same situation arose, I would have the same view on it. It was about somebody needing to improve to offer 100% to the Indian team. Ganguly has come back extremely well and all credit to him. Zaheer Khan too faced similar issues and has responded well. Sometimes the only way you can enforce non-negotiable issues is through selection. But right now I have nothing but praise for Ganguly and Zaheer.”Chappell believed that Virender Sehwag too would benefit from the current forced break, after having been dropped from the side, while expressing his faith in him. “Having some time away from the team might help him clear his head, freshen him up and help him come back with a much clearer focus,” he said. “We have had many conversations and we intend having several more conversations in the future. Like in all players, the mind sometimes gets confused. The time away will help him reassess himself what he wants to achieve and whether he has the passion to come back and play for India. I have no doubt he will.”Sehwag and Irfan Pathan, he felt, could emerge stronger from their current loss of form. “India doesn’t have the sole possession of players who have bad days,” he said. “The level of expectation is so high that sometimes the perspective is lost.”

Shane Watson’s successful return from a hamstring injury this week has Ricky Ponting excited about Australia’s options for the World Cup. Watson, who made 46 not out and took 3 for 60 in Queensland’s latest Pura Cup loss, would be in the selectors’ minds for the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series starting in New Zealand in a fortnight, Ponting said.”We haven’t really sat down and spoken a lot about the complete make-up of the squad for the World Cup,” Ponting told . “We’ve been waiting on a few guys as well, waiting to see how Watson comes up and those sorts of things. If he does make it into the squad, he basically plays as another fast bowler anyway. It would probably be five fast bowlers plus him.””We’ve all seen in the last week that he got through the game in Brisbane pretty well, made runs and did the amount of bowling he was supposed to do. He’s got a little bit of cricket under his belt but whether or not he takes part in the remainder of this series, I don’t really know. I just hope that he can recover as quickly as possible and start putting some good performances on the board before the World Cup comes around.”Ponting said Watson, who was promoted to open with Adam Gilchrist throughout the Champions Trophy, would be a strong chance to play at the top of the order should he prove his fitness for the World Cup. “I wouldn’t imagine he would be in the middle order anywhere,” Ponting said. “I think the middle order is pretty settled at the moment with Michael Clarke at four, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey and those guys.”Ponting said rather than take up an extra spot and make it harder for a specialist spinner like Brad Hogg to break back into the team, it could in fact help Hogg’s chances by altering the balance of the side. “What he does give is that flexibility you are after in any squad,” Ponting said. “We know he can bat at the top of the order, in the middle, and at six, seven or eight with his batting skill. We might be able to go in with three quicks and him in certain games. If he plays he gives an opportunity for Hogg or [Cameron] White to play.”

Shane Warne believes Stuart Clark should open the bowling with Glenn McGrath during the World Cup but Shaun Tait could be trusted with the important final overs. Warne also defended Brad Hogg’s recent efforts and said his successful warm-up against England could be a turning point.Warne, writing in his column in , said McGrath and Clark were Australia’s best frontline options. “People can say they are a bit predictable,” Warne said. “I just think they are the best two fast bowlers in the world at the moment.”Brett Lee is a big loss … but Clark is a different type of bowler who will be very difficult to face if the ball nips around or stops in the pitch. Accuracy is at a premium in those conditions and Clark and McGrath can take advantage of the early starts.”Warne said Hogg, whose last five ODIs have yielded no wickets, had not been performing badly and should take confidence from his 2 for 28 in Friday’s warm-up against England. “Hogg, from what I’ve seen, has been bowled pretty well without luck,” Warne said.He believed spinners would play a key role in the West Indies and Michael Clarke’s part-time offerings could be vital. Warne said Sri Lanka and New Zealand would be Australia’s biggest threats but the defending champions should not be concerned about their recent series losses.”Despite missing Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, they still posted scores above 300 [in New Zealand],” he said. “No other side has the depth to build totals like that when four of the usual top five are out.”