The Ahes: Fletcher rules out Vaughan return

England coach Duncan Fletcher has ruled out former captain Michael Vaughan's return in this Ashes series.

Fletcher does not believe there are enough tour games for Vaughan to regain full fitness after having knee surgery.

"There's not much cricket between now and the third, fourth and fifth Tests.

"Especially cricket where he has to stay in the field for a long time, probably two days standing on that leg and for a long innings," Fletcher said.

"So until he can do that and he's confident in his knee, we won't consider Michael Vaughan."

Vaughan, the 2005 series winning captain, himself had targeted the fourth Test, which starts in Melbourne on Boxing Day.

But he has struggled with the bat in his first two matches since undergoing surgery.

He was out for a duck playing for an England Academy side against a Western Australia XI and then hit just nine runs on Wednesday against a WA Second XI.

The third Test starts in Perth on 14 December with Australia leading the series 2-0.

England play two matches, a one-day game against CA Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill on Friday and a two-day game against Western Australia, starting on Saturday.

Vaughan will play in the two-day game along with England Test squad players who have not featured in the first two Test matches.

The Ashes: Warne and Hussey sink England

The Ashes: Australia v England, 2nd Test, Adelaide,

By: Andrew Miller at Adelaide

December 5, 2006

Australia 513 and 4 for 168 (Hussey 61*, Ponting 49) beat England 6 for 551 and 129 (Collingwood 22*, Warne 4-49) by six wickets

Mike Hussey and Adam Gilchrist celebrate Australia's incredible victory © Getty Images

Australia have won the second Test at Adelaide and taken a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, after Shane Warne bounced back to form on a sensational final day to spark a dramatic England collapse. From 1 for 59 overnight, England lost their last nine wickets for 60 in 42 panic-stricken overs, with Warne right in the thick of things taking 4 for 27 in an unbroken 26-over spell. And then, needing 168 to win in an extended final session, Australia romped home with 3.1 of their 36 overs to spare. It was left to the ICC one-day Player of the Year, Mike Hussey, to crack the winning runs in an unbeaten 61.

It was a day dredged straight from the pit of English Ashes misery, and it was sparked, inevitably, by Warne. After his first-innings haul of 1 for 167, it was questioned whether he could ever again be the force of old, especially given the savage treatment that Kevin Pietersen had meted out on him in the course of his 158. And yet, the old showman proved that it's never too late for another encore. With England wobbling after two early setbacks, he reverted to his attacking line from over the wicket and bowled Pietersen round the legs with a prodigious first-ball legbreak that pitched in the rough and exploded onto off stump. It was a seminal moment, and England's resolve crumbled in an instant.

Pietersen had gone for 2, England had lost three wickets for four runs in three overs, and they had absolutely no place to turn. Andrew Strauss had fallen to a dubious catch at short leg and Ian Bell to a suicidal run-out - both dismissals inspired by Warne - and the combination of nerves and bad karma swept through the dressing-room like a bushfire. Australia went in for the kill, with sweepers on both boundaries to asphyxiate the runs and slips in place to pile on the pressure, and no-one other than the steadfast Paul Collingwood had any answer to the onslaught.

Andrew Flintoff certainly had no clue how to approach the situation. With his mind seemingly everywhere but on the job, he swished at a succession of wide deliveries from Brett Lee and eventually snicked one through to Adam Gilchrist, and Lee needed just four balls after the break to set Geraint Jones up for the big outswinging half-volley that he slapped straight to Matthew Hayden at gully. Ashley Giles - included in England's line-up as an insurance policy for a day exactly like this - then lasted just eight deliveries before Warne squared him up with a big ripper and Hayden again pouched the catch at slip.

Collingwood by now was entrenched, starved of run-scoring opportunities and rapidly running out of partners. Matthew Hoggard dug in as best he could, but having ground his innings out for 24 obdurate deliveries, Warne served up a thinly disguised googly that took the inside-edge of an ambitious swish. And Glenn McGrath, who had been brooding in the outfield for three hours and 20 minutes, struck in his first over to end Steve Harmison's brief resistance.

James Anderson hung around with Collingwood for 10 precious overs, but runs were at an absolute premium, with England managing just three boundaries in the entire day's play. McGrath eventually picked Anderson off lbw for 1 from 28 balls, leaving Collingwood high and dry, unbeaten on 22 from a strokeless but steadfast 119 balls.

Scenting blood, Australia made a breathless start. Justin Langer signalled his intentions by dancing down the wicket to Matthew Hoggard's second delivery, and clubbed it off a good length through midwicket for four. But Hoggard had his revenge in his next over, when Langer threw the kitchen sink at a wide one but cut it straight into Ian Bell's midriff at point.

The start of the rot: Shane Warne appeals successfully for Andrew Strauss's wicket © Getty Images

Hayden came and went in a similar manner, thumping Flintoff for two big boundaries before top-edging an attempted pull Collingwood, running back from midwicket. Australia had slipped to 2 for 33 after six overs, but Ponting joined forces with Hussey, who had been promoted above Damien Martyn in the Australian order, and the pair switched instantly to one-day mode, nudging the singles and keeping the run-rate ticking over.

As Giles entered the attack, Flintoff posted sweepers on the off and leg side and attempted to cut off the easy singles behind square, but Australia's batsmen were too canny with their one-day expertise, and milked Giles out of the attack with a series of expert dabs and reverse-sweeps. Hoggard returned with the keeper standing up but had to retreat after conceding ten runs in one over, most of them dabbed through third man.

England's shoulders began to droop as Flintoff's captaincy became increasingly lacklustre. Anderson got one to kick off a good length to Hussey, but the edge eluded slip and raced away for another boundary, and though they briefly came back into the reckoning when Strauss clung onto two catches in four balls to see off Ponting for 49 and Martyn for 5, the final insult came when a hyperactive Pietersen fielded a relay throw from Hoggard at long-on, and hurled it over the boundary to give away seven precious runs.

As the replay screen counted down the runs required, it could have been a replay of the closing stages at Edgbaston or Old Trafford last summer - with one prominent exception. The fight had gone out of England long before Hussey picked off the winning runs through cover point. It is ironic, given the disdain they have shown for one-day cricket this year, that their Ashes campaign might just have been ended by a one-day style capitulation.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

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Drugs in cricket: Shoaib and Asif acquitted

By: Osman Samiuddin

December 5, 2006

The saga continues: First the ban and, then, complete acquittal © Getty Images

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been acquitted by the tribunal appointed to review their appeals against the drugs ban imposed on them by an earlier committee. The three-man committee, headed by Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim, voted two to one in favour of the acquittal. Haseeb Ahsan, former Test cricketer, and Ebrahim were in favour of the acquittal while the third member, Danish Zaheer, dissented.

"This appeal committee holds that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence," Ibrahim told reporters in Karachi. "The ban and punishment imposed by the earlier tribunal is hereby set aside as being contrary to the provision of laws."

A 30-page plus judgement released by the committee detailed the reasons for their decision. As well as taking into account the fact that existing medical evidence surrounding nandrolone (the substance for which both were tested positive) remains questionable, the punishment handed out by the previous committee were also called into question. The ruling also cited 'exceptional circumstances' for both players, that neither was fully aware of the substances they were taking.

"It is plainly evident that neither Shoaib Akhtar nor Mohammad Asif were ever warned or cautioned against taking supplements," the judgement read. "Hence, this committee is of the considered view that both players have successfully established that they held an honest and reasonable belief that the supplements ingested by them did not contain any prohibited substances."

Bilal Minto, one of the lawyers representing Shoaib, told Cricinfo that the decision was a good one, but highlighted that the PCB had also let down the players. "We are very happy about the judgement obviously. But it is clear that the PCB's level of educating players about anti-doping legislation is poor. As lawyers, even we struggled to make sense of their anti-doping regulations so expecting players to be able to understand it is not right."

Shoaib, banned for two years, and Asif, for one year, appealed after they were found guilty for testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone in dope tests that were internally conducted by the PCB at the end of September.

The ICC did not have any immediate reaction. "Malcolm Speed is currently in Uganda and we can't comment on the issue unless we have all the details," said Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC spokesman. "We need to go through the judgement and also get the PCB's version before making any comment."

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in charge of monitoring drugs in sport, said they needed to discuss the matter with the ICC. Frederic Donze, their media relations officer, told Cricinfo: "We will now review the reasons for the decision, liaise with the ICC and consider whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

The original tribunal which had imposed the ban was chaired by barrister Shahid Hamid and included Intikhab Alam, the former Pakistan captain, and Waqar Ahmed, a doping expert. The ICC had applauded that decision, saying that it was an appropriate deterrent where the threat of drugs to cricket was concerned. "It is a good judgement, well written, very professionally done and they have made constant reference to the guidelines laid down in the PCB's anti-doping code,"Percy Sonn, the ICC president had said.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

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Mohammad Yousuf Breaks 30-Years-Old Record of Sir Viv Richards

By: Osman Samiuddin at Karachi

A typically elegant, clipped on-drive for four off Corey Collymore took Mohammad Yousuf from 44 to 48 on the fourth day of the final Test between Pakistan and the West Indies at Karachi. A modest raise of the bat acknowledged that the drive also took him past one of the longest-standing records in cricket, of most runs in a calendar year.

Sir Viv Richards scored 1710 runs in 1976, a memorable run during which he hit two double hundreds against England in England and the closest anyone had come to it since was Ricky Ponting in 2005, with 1544 runs.

By day's end, Yousuf added another century to the eight he had made already this year. He told reporters at the end of the day, "God has helped me break this record and I am extremely happy and proud for my country because whenever the record is discussed now, it will be with the name of a Pakistani batsman."

The day began with Yousuf needing a further 47 runs to break the record and knowing it too. "I was under a little pressure in the morning," he admitted. "I knew what had to be done and luckily I was able to do it in the end."

Yousuf's final tally for the year is 1788 runs from 11 Tests, and 665 of them have come from the series against West Indies, the highest tally recorded by a Pakistani batsman in a three-Test series. He began his run with two hundreds in the home series against India. He only played a solitary Test in Sri Lanka, personally an unmemorable one, but a double century at Lord's sparked off a stunning second half of the year.

Two more hundreds came from the remaining three Tests in England, including 192 at Headingley. He ended the year with three hundreds in three Tests against the West Indies at home.

During the course of this magnificent run, a few more records fell. His first-innings hundred at Karachi meant that he had scored eight Test hundreds this year alone, going past the previous best of seven, held jointly by Richards and Aravinda de Silva. By scoring five hundreds in five consecutive Tests, he also became only the third man, along with Jacques Kallis and Sir Don Bradman (six hundreds in six Tests) to do so.

Yousuf also had praise for Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach, and Mushtaq Ahmed for the part they have played in his game over the last year. "I changed the way I practiced. Mushy really helped during the England tour and in India," he said. "He made me practice with slabs to be able to play rising deliveries better and that has really helped.

"Since Bob has been with us, he has really sorted out my balance. I used to have some problems with it before but he has really helped me set it properly now and it was a big change."

Comparisons with greats were avoided as deftly as bouncers have been over the last year. When asked to compare himself with Javed Miandad, Yousuf said only, "It is difficult to compare. You are either better or worse and anyway, it is for the media to decide. I can't say anything about it. But he is my ideal." And when the question of Sir Don Bradman's record of six hundreds in six consecutive Tests reared its head, Yousuf replied, with some cheek, "I have six in five Tests, so you decide."

Reactions to the record

Bob Woolmer
It is a marvellous achievement. I have had the honour of playing against Viv Richards and coaching Yousuf. Both are very different in their styles, Viv was a lot more aggressive and Yousuf more sedate but to break Viv's record is really an outstanding achievement.

Brian Lara
It's excellent and slightly unbelievable what he has achieved. Nine hundreds in a year and that many runs is just magnificent. He is a very committed player and an excellent role model, not just for Pakistan but for young cricketers everywhere. He's had an amazing year, though the last 600 runs that he has scored I haven't really enjoyed.

Sanjay Manjrekar
The most striking thing about Yousuf at the moment is that it is as if he is batting in a trance. He is so calm at the crease and that mental change is the most striking change from last year. You know people will say that he played on flat tracks, against weak attacks at times but that is neither here nor there. He still had to break a big record and he has done it. What's good to see, apart from the calm demeanour, is that he is, like all good batsmen, cashing in on good form and making the most of that period."

Nasim Ashraf
Pakistan is very proud of his achievements and he will be honoured by the PCB after the match.

Hanif Mohammad
We are proud of what he has done and I hope this is the start of of something great for him.

Rameez Raja
He's been absolutely brilliant this year and has done it against good teams in India, England and the West Indies and has done it home and away. I don't think he has made any technical adjustments as such, but he is so sound mentally now. Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person. I used to doubt his ability to see Pakistan through in situations before but he has rescued Pakistan from precarious positions through the year. A superb achievement.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

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