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ScorecardSteven Smith performed well with both bat and ball•Getty Images

On the day he was guaranteed a place in the Perth Test, Steven Smith guided New South Wales to victory with a solid all-round performance against South Australia at the SCG. Smith took 4 for 112 and then struck an unbeaten 46 to help the Blues to an eight-wicket win, after Callum Ferguson and Daniel Christian fought hard for the Redbacks with twin centuries.Smith has been named in Australia’s 12-man squad for Perth, and the balance of the side means he must play in place of the axed Marcus North. The Blues were only chasing 90 for victory, but Smith’s not-out innings will give him a confidence boost after he won a Test place ahead of several other contenders including his team-mate Usman Khawaja, who was unbeaten on 35 when the Blues reached their goal.Smith had grabbed two wickets on the final day, including the key removal of another Test candidate, Ferguson, who scored 131. Ferguson has two centuries from three Sheffield Shield games this summer and he put together an outstanding 196-run stand with Christian to give the Redbacks hope of salvaging a draw.However, when Christian was lbw to Nathan Hauritz for 106, it sparked a gradual decline for South Australia. Hauritz ended up with a tidy 3 for 62 from 20.1 overs, which was to help New South Wales to victory but not enough for him to win back his place in the Test side.

South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl has admitted bowling Pakistan out twice will be “hard work” but hopes the pitch will deteriorate over the next two days to give his team a good shot at a series win. In reply to South Africa’s 584, Pakistan’s middle order resisted well, reaching 317 for 6 at stumps at the end of the third day but still 68 adrift of the follow-on.”I would like to see this pitch deteriorate a little bit more,” van Zyl said. “It looks fairly placid at the moment and I haven’t really seen it break up.South Africa would have been hoping for some assistance off the pitch in the morning, but Pakistan’s batsmen managed to defy the seamers. Half-centuries from Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq steadied Pakistan but left-arm spinner Paul Harris struck with two wickets late in the day to give South Africa hope of wrapping the innings early on the fourth day. But van Zyl doubted if the track had enough in it.”I think it did move a lot on day one and a little bit less on day two and today it was less again,” he said. “But we have to give credit to the Pakistan batsmen, they really played well. They have been patient.”The quicker we can get the last four wickets, then we can have a secondgo. The moisture is not there any more and it is going to be hard work.”South Africa, despite the conditions not entirely in their favour on the third day, did try to ruffle the Pakistan batsmen up with the short ball. When asked if they overdid it, van Zyl said: “At times we could have changed our tactics. I don’t want to sit here and criticise the tactics used in the field. Ma be they felt at times there wasn’t enough movement and at times I thought we were little short.”The third day was an important one for Shafiq, making his Test debut and he impressed, making 61 and adding 107 for the fifth wicket with Misbah. “I was a bit nervous at the start. But after three or four overs I felt comfortable,” he said.”That is how you have to play Tests. You have to play hard. The pitch was very good to bat on. A little difficult with the new ball, but later it is good for batting.”

Paul Collingwood insists that Australia’s current struggle for form will have no bearing on England’s preparations ahead of the first Test in Brisbane later this month, as they turn their attentions to their opening three-day warm-up game against Western Australia in Perth on Friday.England have named a 13-man squad for the first of their three practice matches, with the fit-again Ian Bell expected to replace Eoin Morgan as the only change from the side that won the fourth Test against Pakistan at Lord’s back in August. That level of stability is something that the Aussies cannot currently rely upon, having slumped to an improbable one-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka at the MCG on Wednesday – their sixth consecutive loss in all internationals dating back to July.In addition to their lack of form, Australia are also struggling to deal with newspaper reports suggesting that Michael Clarke, the team’s vice-captain, has fallen out with senior colleagues who do not believe he should be the next Test captain after Ricky Ponting. But Collingwood, while clearly happy for his opponents to take the heat in the early stages of the tour, was adamant that England needed to keep their counsel in the coming days and not get distracted by matters beyond their control.”It’s a different position – it’s something we’re not used to when we come to Australia,” admitted Collingwood, who witnessed at first hand the media feeding frenzy that greeted England in 2006-07, not least when Marcus Trescothick quit the tour ahead of the Brisbane Test with a recurrence of his stress-related illness. “But we know they’re a good side, and we’re going to have to play very well to beat them.”Let’s be honest, the more games they lose the better it is for us. The more games they do lose, confidence levels may go down,” he added. “But we’re not going to read too much into it. We’ve got to prepare ourselves as a team to be in the best frame of mind going into the Test matches. I’m sure they’ll be trying to do that themselves too. We’re not going to take them lightly – it’s as simple as that.”Australia in a home Ashes Test will be a different proposition to the team that lost the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Collingwood insisted, but nevertheless, the manner in which they let slip a seemingly impregnable position at 107 for 8 has been taken as further evidence of a loss of killer instinct, something that England themselves witnessed at Cardiff in 2009, when James Anderson and Monty Panesar saved the game with an unbroken tenth-wicket stand.”Most of us watched the game [against Sri Lanka], but really we’re very much focused on what we’ve got to do rather than the opposition,” said Collingwood. “Obviously it’s a different team to the Test team, so we’re very much preparing ourselves to do well in these warm-up games. It would be silly to let the foot off the gas because of the opposition going through whatever they are going through.”Collingwood, for his part, has plenty to keep his mind occupied in the coming days, as he prepares to readjust himself to first-class cricket after a sparse home summer against Pakistan. However, with just seven first-class outings since the World Twenty20 got underway in April, he’s not too concerned about the suggestions that he is out of nick, especially having overcome several doubters on the last trip four years ago with a gutsy double-century at Adelaide.”Anyone who says it’s a bad trot I’m going through, I’m not going to read too much into it,” he said. “The challenges you get out here are exactly what I want as a cricketer, and something I’m very excited to get my teeth into. I look forward to playing what I hope will be some big, match-winning innings.”As far as England are concerned, their preparation for Brisbane begins in earnest at Perth on Friday, and will continue through both of their remaining warm-up matches at Adelaide and Hobart. “If we can get three wins under our belts that will be fantastic,” said Collingwood. “”You want good individual performances out there as well to get the confidence going high, because the belief is the most important thing, coming to Australia.”There is genuine belief around the camp that we can win out here,” he added. “I don’t think anything that happens between now and the first Test will waver that belief in any way. The guys are very experienced now, playing in different conditions round the world, and although there are a couple of technical adjustments, I think that belief is the major thing we can bring into this tough environment. We’ve done plenty of talking in the dressing room – now is the time to go out there and put those big performances in.”England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), Alistair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, James Anderson, Eoin Morgan, Chris Tremlett

Kent have signed England Under-19 batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond from their academy on a three-year deal.Bell-Drummond, 17, played a crucial role in England Under-19s’ six-wicket win to level the series against Sri Lanka Under-19s, anchoring a fourth-innings run chase with a mature 88.Another graduate of Millfield School – that produced Craig Kieswetter, James Hildreth and Rory Hamilton-Brown – Bell-Drummond is looking forward to improving his game with a professional contract at Kent.”I’m grateful to the club for backing me and offering this long-term contact,” he said. “I enjoyed a good 2010 and hope that I will continue to develop as I move forward. I would like to thank the club’s academy director, Phil Relf, and my coach at Millfield School, Mark Davis, for the help and encouragement that they have given me.”Kent coach Paul Farbrace was delighted Bell-Drummond had committed his future to the club.”He is, without doubt, one of the most talented young players in the country,” said Farbrace.”He is yet another great example and role model for young cricketers across the county. We have all been excited by his potential for many years, and he really is a product of the Kent youth development system.”

Shane Watson has questioned whether the ICC really wants to eradicate match-fixing and spot-fixing from cricket due to fears the problem might run too deep. A day after confirming he had reported two approaches from bookmakers during last year’s tour of England, Watson blamed the ICC for allowing the issue to fester.Watson said the fact a newspaper was responsible for highlighting the irregularities involving Pakistan’s recent performances, which were revealed during the fourth Test in England, showed the ICC’s system was unsuccessful. “The ICC anti-corruption unit is not really working,” he said during a sponsor’s function in Sydney.”That’s totally to do with the ICC, so they really need to step in and really get to the bottom of it. Maybe they don’t want to get to the bottom of it because it might run too deep.”The ICC has defended its approach but Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive, did admit the anti-corruption and security unit had no power to arrest or go undercover. Lorgat has promised “prompt and decisive” action if any of the players are found guilty.Watson said the situation needed to be sorted out “as soon as possible” to maintain credibility and interest in the game. “People might turn away from cricket because they don’t know [whether] what they are seeing is actually the true facts of cricket,” he said.Meanwhile, Mark Taylor, the former Australia captain, said talk of banning Pakistan from world cricket was not justified. “I don’t agree with that, I think it’s too harsh a penalty for one nation,” Taylor, a Cricket Australia board member, said in Sydney.”If they have one person, two people, three people involved in match-fixing or fixing certain deliveries … to throw the whole nation? No, I’m not for that. I think it would not be a good thing for world cricket to have Pakistan not involved.”

Mohammad Yousuf’s rehabilitation back into the Pakistan fold is complete as the batsman was recalled to a 16-man squad to face England in a five-ODI series and two Twenty20 internationals in September. There was no recall, however, for Yousuf’s long time middle-order ally, Younis Khan, the selection committee and captain claiming he has not been “cleared” by the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.In another significant move, Shoaib Malik, a limited-overs fixture in Pakistan sides for a number of years, has been dropped. Mohsin Khan, the chairman of selectors, was economical with his words when asked about the significance of Malik’s dropping. “Lack of form, lack of performance,” he told Cricinfo.Yousuf was retired from all cricket until recently in protest at an indefinite ban from selection the board had placed on him. After being cleared by the PCB, though, he answered an SOS to bolster an inexperienced and flimsy middle order in the England Test series and played a vital role in Pakistan’s third Test win at The Oval. Yousuf had led Pakistan in four ODIs in Australia at the turn of the year but missed their last ODI assignment, the Asia Cup in June, because of the punishment.Younis had also played in the ODIs in Australia, but with limited success. In the aftermath of the tour, he was also handed the same punishment as Yousuf but has not been able to reach a resolution with the board. A number of other players who were banned have reached a compromise with Butt and had their punishments overturned. “I asked the chairman PCB about the situation with Younis twice,” captain Shahid Afridi said. “But the clearance wasn’t given by the PCB. I did what I had to do.”The other major news is the axing of Malik, who also had a ban imposed and lifted in quick time after the Australia tour. Malik was in poor form during the ongoing Test series in England and was dropped from the side for the third Test. Over the last 12 months Malik averaged 30 with the bat in 11 ODIs, with only one fifty-plus score: a Champions Trophy hundred against India. Take that out and he averaged 20The squad is a significant one as the countdown begins to the 2011 World Cup, due to start in February. Afridi said he was looking to build a pool of 20-25 players between now and then; Pakistan are scheduled to take on England, South Africa, New Zealand and possibly Zimbabwe in ODIs in that time.In that light, two notable performers from the Tests against England have been called up. Azhar Ali, who played two innings of immense significance amid a sequence of low scores, had his first limited-overs call up. Wahab Riaz, who was a part of the ODI squad two years ago, also returned following an impressive Test debut at The Oval.”In a 50-over game, there is still a lot of batting to be done,” Mohsin said. “We’ve had problems batting the fulll quota of overs in the past so we felt the need for batsmen in this squad who can play long innings. Yousuf is one, and that is why he is in the side, and Azhar we feel is another.”Three others picks are significant. Fawad Alam, whose exclusion from the Asia Cup and the England Tests , was criticised, returned to beef up a lower middle-order in which he impressed in Australia. Mohammad Hafeez, in and out of the side, over the last two years came back in place of Imran Farhat, presumably as an opening option. And Shoaib Akhtar continued his remarkable return to the international scene, retaining his place from the Asia Cup and the Twenty20 internationals against Australia to complete a strong pace attack that includes Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and a fit-again Umar Gul, alongisde Riaz.Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz.Reserves: Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman.

Hosts Isle of Man registered their second win in as many games, with an authoritative 93-run win against Switzerland in Castletown. Openers Adam McAuley and Carl Wagstaffe were once again the architects for a good score, with a stand of 58 before the former was run out. Midhun Sandhya struck thrice in the middle overs, but had little impact on Ryan Burns who smashed 81 off 68 balls to take his side to 204 in the 40 overs. Captain Daniel Hawke then scuppered Switzerland’s hopes with a stifling spell of 3 for 9 in six overs. Harry Vines struck 41 as the innings meandered to 111 for 9.Italy’s bowlers set up an easy 60-run win against France in Castletown to take their side to the top of their group. Roshendra Abeywickrama kick-started Italy’s innings with 43 off 28 balls, but the rest of his side’s batsmen could not sustain the effort. Thomas Liddiard picked 4 for 46 in seven overs as Italy were bowled out for 155. Harpreet Singh then turned the tables on France with an incisive spell where he picked 4 for 15. France’s final score of 95 was an improvement of sorts, given they were 29 for 6 at one stage.Belgium brushed aside Greece’s challenge in quick time, racing to an eight-wicket win in a game that lasted under 40 overs in Tromode. Naman Parikh scythed through the Greek batting line-up with a six-wicket haul. Fraser McRae helped himself to three wickets as well, as Greece were shot out for 66. Things could have been much worse if not for Ioannis Vasilas and Georgio Kantas who scored 19 apiece. McRae followed it up with an unbeaten 45 as Belgium crossed the line in 16.1 overs.Germany ran Austria close in Crosby before losing by six runs in a tight encounter. Ciju Puthupally scored a patient 63 off 101 balls with only two boundaries as Austria laboured to 157 in their 40 overs. Jaskaran Singh and Tushar Marwaha picked three wickets each. Germany’s chase followed a similar template with opener Jaskaran scoring 55 off 83 balls, but without adequate support. Christoph Moslinger, Puthupally and Sohaib Farooq grabbed two wickets each as Germany lost one wicket too many, the last man departing off the penultimate ball with seven runs still required.

George Dockrell’s meteoric rise has reached a new height as he was offered a two-year contract by Somerset. Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner who turns 18 this week, impressed at the World Twenty20 with flight, control and a nerveless temperament when he took 3 for 16 against West Indies and followed it up with another bright showing against England.His talents were noticed by Somerset, who invited him to train with the team and he is now looking forward to joining the club, though the details of the contract are not yet final.”Everyone has been very friendly and it looks like a great place to play cricket,” Dockrell told the Somerset website. “I’m looking forward to playing my first game for a Somerset XI at Bath tomorrow and hopefully the contract will be sorted out very soon.”He could yet follow in the footsteps of Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan and switch allegiances to England with a view to playing Test cricket but at the moment his sights are firmly set on Somerset.”My ambitions are to keep making progress with Ireland, but also to get into a county first team by developing all aspects of my game. I’ve been aware of Somerset’s interest since I was 15, but this is the first game I have watched at Taunton. I’m really impressed by the support and the players have been great to me.”Having become such a crucial part of Ireland’s team, Dockrell’s availability for Somerset this season is restricted with Ireland playing an Intercontinental Cup fixture and two ODIs against Netherlands in August before facing Canada at the beginning of September. Dockrell, however, is still keen to get a game in for Somerset before the season ends.”There are a lot of Ireland games coming up, but hopefully I will be able to get in at least one second XI match for Somerset before the end of the season.While spinners have a reputation for maturing late as cricketers, Dockrell’s exploits at the World Twenty20 showed how strong his game already is and he feels the tournament gave him plenty of belief.”Taking three wickets against West Indies gave me a huge boost in confidence,” he said. “I was very nervous before that game, but by the time we came to play England I was a lot calmer. I was really happy with how the tournament went for me overall. I was one of the youngest players there, but I tried not to think about that too much.”In the past Dockrell has spoken about his admiration for Australia’s Michael Clarke but a closer comparison is New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, who had barely played a first-class game before making his Test debut against England aged 18. Vettori has become one of the most skilful bowlers in the world and Dockrell sees him as the standard to follow.”We played against him in West Indies and he was incredibly skilful with his control of the ball so I look towards him as an example.”

The ICC and PCB have clarified speculation emerging from Tuesday’s Asia Cup opener between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Dambulla about a Pakistan player possibly using a cell phone in the dressing room.Pakistani TV channels picked up on footage from the game which showed Mohammad Aamer sitting in the dressing room balcony with a helmet on, with one hand to his right ear, speaking to someone while waiting to bat. The channels implied that he was talking on a cell phone, an act in contravention of existing ICC anti-corruption rules which don’t allow players to take phones into the dressing room.The PCB emphatically denied this was the case, saying that Aamer was talking generally to the team about the situation of the match. In a statement, the board said that the manager Yawar Saeed “has confirmed to us that the rumors…are totally false and unfounded. Cell phones are not allowed under ICC & PCB rules, and as such are always collected by the security manager from every member of the squad except the manager.”Aamer was next to go in for batting and he was sitting next to team manager along with the other members of the team in the viewing area. They were all talking about the match situation and Aamer had his hand on his helmet which has been interpreted out of context.”The ICC confirmed that the ACSU had investigated the incident and come to a similar conclusion. “The ACSU has thoroughly investigated the alleged breach…including speaking to the relevant people involved, and is satisfied that there is no evidence of Mohammad Aamer making use of a mobile phone while sitting in the dressing room yesterday (June 15) during the match against Sri Lanka at Dambulla,” the ICC said.”Although the very short video clips that are publicly available could mislead viewers into thinking he was holding on to a cell phone and speaking to someone, upon closer scrutiny the fact emerges that Mohammad was actually holding on to the front grill of his helmet, adjusting it, and at the same time making a comment to his team manager, Yawar Saeed, seated to his immediate left.”The ACSU, as a practice, collect the mobile phones of all the players and officials before a game starts. Only the team’s manager is allowed to have a phone inside the area.

Robin Martin-Jenkins, the Sussex allrounder, has announced that he will retire from first-class cricket this summer. The current County Championship match against Worcestershire will be his last four-day match at Hove, his home ground.Robin, 35, is set to embark on a new career as a Geography and RS teacher at Hurstpierpoint College, when the new term begins this September. He won’t be available for selection after July 19, when Sussex and Worcestershire meet at a Pro 40 match at Hove.The son of leading cricket journalist, author, and cricket correspondent Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Robin made his first-class debut in 1995 and has scored 7174 runs and taken 378 wickets. He had a better career as a bowler in limited-overs games, taking 234 wickets and scoring 1996 runs in 228 matches.”I could have carried on, but I didn’t want to get to the stage where I was holding on too long and not performing,” Robin said. “I’m still enjoying it and I’m going out in a period when I’m still playing well, but I’ve been given a fantastic opportunity outside of cricket now and I intend to grab it with both hands. It’s a good time for the club too as there are some excellent young players coming through.”It’s been amazing to play for the club in what has been probably their greatest decade ever, it’s been a great honour. Yes, there were some tough times when I first broke into the team but that made guys like me stronger cricketers, and we reaped the rewards with the countless trophies we went on to win”.Robin was talked of as a potential allrounder for England, but never made the grade. “I have no regrets. I have always given my all throughout my career and I’ve been very proud to play for Sussex,” Robin added.Sussex chairman Jim May said Robin was a fantastic servant to the county over 15 seasons. “He has played a vital role in our sustained success and has certainly been an unsung hero of our three County Championship winning sides,” May said. “Not only is he an excellent allrounder, but he is also one of the genuinely nicest guys in the game. All of us here at Sussex are disappointed that Robin is leaving us whilst he is in the form of his life, but at the same time we are delighted that he has planned the next phase of his career, and we wish him well”.