| Schedule | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Thu Dec 16 - Mon Dec 20 08:30 GMT | 10:30 local | 1st Test - India v South Africa | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
| Sun Dec 26 - Thu Dec 30 08:00 GMT | 10:00 local | 2nd Test - India v South Africa | Kingsmead, Durban |
| Sun Jan 2 - Thu Jan 6 08:30 GMT | 10:30 local | 3rd Test - India v South Africa | Newlands, Cape Town |
| Sun Jan 9 12:30 GMT | 14:30 local | Only T20I - India v South Africa | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |
| Wed Jan 12 12:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 1st ODI - India v South Africa | Kingsmead, Durban |
| Sat Jan 15 12:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 2nd ODI - India v South Africa | New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg |
| Tue Jan 18 12:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 3rd ODI - India v South Africa | Newlands, Cape Town |
| Fri Jan 21 12:30 GMT | 14:30 local | 4th ODI - India v South Africa | St George's Park, Port Elizabeth |
| Sun Jan 23 08:00 GMT | 10:00 local | 5th ODI - India v South Africa | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
India tour of South Africa, Dec 2010-Jan 2011 3 test matches, 5 ODIs, 1 T20
Pakistan selectors defer squad announcement
"We had lengthy discussions on performance and availability of many players," chief selector Mohsin Khan said after a meeting with fellow selectors on Friday. "We were of the opinion that since we still have a few days before the deadline for announcing the World Cup Squad it would be better to wait until there is absolute clarity from PCB on the availability for selection of certain players."
The players Khan refers to are Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria. The trio appeared in front of the integrity committee on Thursday. The players submitted further documents detailing financial and property records and were spoken to individually by members of the committee.
The committee is considering whether or not to clear the players for future selection for Pakistan assignments. The three have not played for Pakistan in any format since the summer tour to England, having not been cleared for selection by the integrity committee. Though the board has made no official comment and not charged the players, it is understood it has concerns about the trio.
Accordingly, none have been picked for various squads; Kaneria was in the Test squad for the South Africa series but was prevented from travelling by the board to the UAE at the very last minute. Akmal even wrote to the ICC to ask whether he was the subject of any corruption inquiry or case and was subsequently told there was nothing on him.
The announcement of both squads has now been deferred till early next week.
On Thursday, the integrity committee also spoke with Yasir Hameed. The opener apologised to the board over his conversation with an undercover reporter in September during a sting operation conducted by News of the World, where he was recorded talking about the three players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - suspected of being involved in spot-fixing. Hameed hasn't been part of the national team since that tour of England.
"I was trapped into it but I should not have said all that before a stranger and I apologise to all the players who were hurt because of that," Hameed told AFP.
During the course of the video, Hameed discussed the fall-out of the spot-fixing controversy, the Sydney Test and Hameed's claim that a bookie approached him during the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.
Afridi, Younis to appear before ICC tribunal
"Both of them will appear before the ICC Tribunal either in person or through teleconference depending on their convenience and subject to their professional commitments," the PCB said in a statement.
Afridi, Pakistan's limited overs captain, will not be involved in the Test matches in New Zealand, which coincide with the January 6-11 hearings. Younis, the Pakistan coach, will be in New Zealand.
Though there was no further comment from the PCB or ICC, ESPNcricinfo understands the players' lawyers had been informed of the development. The pair will appear, effectively, as witnesses for the prosecution.
It is likely the pair will be asked about statements they had made to the ICC's Code of Conduct Commission during Pakistan's series with South Africa in the UAE recently . Those comments appeared in Pakistani press last week; Younis is quoted as saying that Mohammad Amir's infamous no-ball during the Lord's Test had surprised him "greatly" because it was very different from his normal delivery stride. He said he'd taken up the issue with the bowler, only for the then captain, Salman Butt, to intervene before Amir could reply.
Afridi was also questioned and subsequently quoted in the report on his thoughts about the three players.
The hearing, which will be held in Doha from January 6 to 11, will determine the fate of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. All three have denied their involvement in any spot-fixing.
The Ashes 2010-11
Haddin backs Clarke as captain
Brad Haddin spent his first full day as Australia's vice-captain insisting Michael Clarke, his new master, is the right man for the top job. A new cricket leader is usually a time for celebration in this country, but Clarke's appointment for Monday's fifth Ashes Test at the SCG has been greeted with extreme caution. Ricky Ponting is missing the match due to a broken finger and Clarke enters the fixture in poor form and with only pockets of public support. None of that matters to Haddin, who says the team is 100% behind the leader.
"He is ready to do this job," Haddin said at the SCG. "He'd be excited about the prospect of captaining Australia and he will do a very, very good job. We're 100% behind him and, being a good mate of mine, I'll support him in any way I can. He deserves to be in this position ... he's the best man for the job."
Haddin, 33, said the public reaction to all the Australian players changed from week to week. However, Clarke's rating among large sections of the community, particularly in his home state of New South Wales, has been more consistent. His lack of runs in the series - 148 in eight innings - hasn't helped endear Clarke to the detractors and the lukewarm response adds to the pressure on the country's 43rd Test captain.
"You are one good innings away, or sometimes one good cover drive away, from the support being with you," Haddin said. "Michael is a very strong character so things will be okay. He has got a very good cricket brain and you saw that through the T20 World Cup [when Australia made the final]. He thinks a lot about the game, he is going to do a very good job."
Haddin, who hopes his elevation is temporary, has played 31 Tests since replacing the retired Adam Gilchrist in the middle of 2008. He has leadership experience with New South Wales and gets a close-up view of the game as wicketkeeper. It will be interesting to watch how he juggles his post as one of the team's verbal enforcers with his new responsibilities.
The Ashes 2010-11
Melbourne hangover sorted out - Swann
"It's been sorted out already," Swann said after training at the SCG. "We haven't had celebrations going on for many days. We had one night out after the game, you should celebrate a Test victory and an Ashes-retaining victory heavily. I tried to a lead a merry dance, but that was one night and we've moved on."
England will face an unfamiliar Australian line-up after the captain Ricky Ponting was ruled out with a broken finger. That has provided Michael Clarke with his first game in charge and Usman Khawaja, the No.3, and Michael Beer, the spinner, are both expected to debut. It should mean that England have a huge advantage with all their experience, but Swann remains wary of so many news faces.
"On one hand there is a whole pile of pressure on them because it is a New Year's Test match and they will be shaking like big dogs, but on the other hand coming in for your first game can be the best time you ever play because you don't know what it is all about," he said. "You've not got the pressure on your back ... You have to hope it goes the first way as you don't want two people on debut and one getting a five-for and the other a hundred."
South Africa v India, 3rd Test, Cape Town
Match FactsJanuary 2-6, Cape Town
Start time 10:30 (08.30 GMT, 02.00 IST)
Start time 10:30 (08.30 GMT, 02.00 IST)
The Big Picture
The entire series changed in a Durban minute, transferring the momentum India's way after their humiliation in Centurion. The moment that signaled India's ascent was the fall of Jacques Kallis, South Africa's best batsman, in the second innings. Sreesanth's ball reared up from short of length, darted in towards the batsman's throat and flew to gully. A familiar sight to Indians from a previous era, but with one huge twist: it was an Indian bowler who made a classy batsman hop, fend and get out.
South Africa's batsmen were looking good in Durban. Until Ishant Sharma got his fingers to a straight drive to accidentally run Kallis out in the first innings, the Indian attack looked lacklustre. It seemed that Zaheer Khan, much like Kapil Dev in those days, would end up with four or five wickets and the rest would simply leak runs. But the Indian bowlers seized the moment and South Africa collapsed. Twice.
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