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Australia’s IPL players are set to meet the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) in Sydney on Tuesday as concerns grow over player security at the event. Players’ unions have reportedly been told by security adviser Reg Dickason that the terrorist threat from the 313 Brigade, Al-Qaeda’s operational arm in Pakistan, is credible and security cannot be guaranteed in India.The ACA chief executive Paul Marsh will meet with the players to discuss whether or not they should head to the tournament, which begins on March 12. Shaun Tait is one of the players contracted to take part in the IPL and he said he was waiting for further information before deciding whether to go to India.”The whole situation is a little bit disappointing because I would love to go to the IPL personally and hopefully everything can work out and we can go,” Tait told AAP. “I am not sure whose decision it is yet and I think we will probably find out a bit more in this meeting tomorrow. Obviously we talk to Rajasthan over the next couple of days and we see what they have to say but apart from that, the rest is out of our control.”The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) warned last week that a spate of player withdrawals was possible due to security concerns over playing in India. Andrew Symonds said last week he was planning to play in the IPL, while Shane Warne initially said he had concerns.Simon Katich, who played in last year’s IPL but is not in the Kings XI Punjab squad this year, said it would be a harder call for many players than when national tours are being assessed for security. “It’s going to be a big decision because obviously there’s going to be guys that might think it is fine to go and others that probably don’t,” Katich said.”But tomorrow we’ll find out for sure where everyone stands. It’s hard to say (what they will decide) at this point, and it’s hard to say what the other countries are going to decide as well. We always as players trust the security advice we’re given. In the past we’ve not gone on tours like Pakistan, and if there’s issues with India … we’ll find out tomorrow the full extent when the meeting is held in Sydney.”

Tasmania 427 & 5 for 121 (Marsh 49*) drew with Queensland 326 & 338 (Hartley 112, Kruger 93, Drew 4-81)
ScorecardChris Hartley stood up at a vital time for Queensland•Getty Images

Chris Hartley protected Queensland with a courageous century on the final day that ruined Tasmania’s chances of victory. For a short time after Hartley’s 112 the Bulls were a chance of a miracle win, but the game ended in a draw after the hosts ditched their dreams of chasing 238 in 37 overs.Hartley started the day on 26, with Queensland’s lead at 58 and only five wickets in hand, and didn’t leave until he was lbw to Rhett Lockyear just before tea. His 255-ball resistance eased Queensland’s concerns as they posted 338, and then it was the Tigers who were worried at 5 for 101 following an aggressive start.Dan Marsh showed his experience to guide the side through a difficult patch with 49 not out and the game was called off four overs early. Ben Cutting added two wickets to collect eight for the game while Chris Swan backed up with two victims after a crucial contribution from No. 10. The Bulls stay in second while the fifth-placed Tasmania, who gained two points, are almost certainly out of the race for the final with three rounds to go.Queensland’s innings ended an over after Hartley departed when Swan fell to Tim Macdonald on 41. Swan provided valuable assistance in a 99-run stand with Hartley that extended the lead and reduced the amount of time Tasmania had to chase.Hartley’s second hundred of the season put him third on the run list with 643 at 45.92 and earned him a state record for the biggest summer haul by a gloveman. It was a busy match for Hartley, who scored 68 on the opening day in his initial rescue act, and took six catches in Tasmania’s first innings.The Bulls lost three wickets in the opening session, with Nathan Reardon bowled by the impressive Brendan Drew, who returned 4 for 81. Chris Simpson, the captain, stayed for 8 and Ben Cutting (16) was out pulling Drew to signal the lunch break. The home side’s joy slowly turned to disappointment.

Ricky Ponting has conceded he could move down the order to finish off his outstanding career – but only if there is someone better at No.3. Ponting’s form during the Australian summer has been poor and he has only one game left against Pakistan, starting in Hobart on Thursday, to improve his record of 216 runs at 27.An elbow injury has hampered Ponting since he was hit by Kemar Roach in Perth, but there has been talk of the captain shifting from his preferred spot to allow a new face to tackle the newer ball. “If I don’t think I’m the right person to bat there then I won’t bat there,” Ponting told the Australian. “If I think there’s someone else better equipped than me to bat at No.3, then that time may come [to move down the order].”Despite his small returns, Ponting is confident of a return to form that will end the talk over his position. “It was only a few games ago that I felt right at the top of my game. I felt really good at the start of the season,” he said. “I know that one-day cricket is a different form but I thought during that one-day series in India was as well as I’d ever played. That’s not that long ago.”The place of Shane Watson at the top of the order is not under threat and Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, believes it could be his in the long term. Watson was thought to be better suited in the middle, but has starred since replacing Phillip Hughes in England, scoring 819 runs at 63 in eight Tests.”All I can say is that we thought it was the right position for Shane, and he’s really nailed it,” Hilditch said in the Herald Sun. “It’s nice to know he can bat anywhere in the order, but he may well open for the rest of the career. I’m sure he’s thrilled to be doing well as an opener and I think he could continue in that position.”

In the final round of the Emerging Nations Tournament, Ireland completed a narrow victory over the hosts in an exciting finish. A powerful fighting 61 by Bryan Strang almost enabled Zimbabwe to pull of an unexpected victory when all seemed lost, while Ireland themselves had had to fight back after losing their first three wickets for 35 runs.Ireland 231/7; Zimbabwe A 219. Ireland won by 12 runs.As usual, Zimbabwe A put the opposition in to bat on winning the toss. Their bowlers did not appear to get undue help from the pitch, but they broke through quickly. A full toss from Everton Matambanadzo took Jason Molins (6) by surprise, going right through him to hit his stumps, with the score on 11. Gordon Cooke (8) and Peter Davy (16) took the score to 35, Davy pulling Matambanadzo for six over square leg, when a double bowling change by Gavin Rennie brought instant results. With his first ball left-arm spinner Ray Price had Davy caught by Greg Lamb at slip, and at the other end David Mutendera’s second ball found Cooke trying to turn a full-length delivery to midwicket and losing his off stump.Angus Dunlop fought back for Ireland with aggression, pulling and driving Mutendera for a six and three fours in an over. Rennie quickly brought himself on, and the accuracy of the spinners Rennie, Price and Dan Peacock quietened the Irish captain somewhat. He found a good partner in the stylish left-hander Ed Joyce, who played a few classic drives with superb timing, and once drove Rennie straight for six. Joyce played a match for Middlesex last season and averaged 47 in six matches for their second eleven. The pair added 83 in 99 balls before Dunlop (42) lofted Rennie into the hands of Bryan Strang at long-on. Ireland were now 118 for four.Joyce ran to his fifty, and Peter Gillespie proved another most capable partner, keeping the score jogging along at about four an over, helped by a few uncharacteristic misfields. Both, however, threw their wickets away unnecessarily as they approached the 40-over mark, trying to speed up. Joyce (57) moved down the pitch to Matambanadzo and only succeeded in skying a catch to Trevor Gripper at midwicket, and then Gillespie (22) did the same to Mutendera, but edged a catch to the keeper. The score was 178 for six.Ireland had the right man for the situation in Derek Heasley, who pulled and drove with great power. The unfortunate Mutendera, unable to control his line and length well enough, suffered most, as Heasley powered to 31 off 18 balls, including 3 sixes and 2 fours, before he was deceived by a slower ball from Strang, swinging across the line to have his middle stump extracted. Kyle McCallam (26 not out) and Allan Rutherford (4 not out) kept the runs coming, and their team finished on 231 for seven, a most useful total. The bowlers for the most part conceded around four runs an over, the difference being two overs from Mutendera, one to Dunlop and one to Heasley, that cost 34 runs altogether.Doug Marillier and Alester Maregwede, opening for Zimbabwe A, began rather hesitantly against some erratic pace bowling, but were just beginning to look more settled when Marillier (3) ill-advisedly moved down the pitch to drive Cooke. He failed to get to the pitch of the ball and the resultant thick outside edge was caught at third man by Heasley. Trevor Gripper settled in quickly, and pulled two fours in an over from John Davy, the first off a no-ball. He was always ready to pull the short ball, and the two batted fluently at a rate in excess of four an over. Gripper (24) fell with the total on 61, though, splicing an attempted chip over midwicket off McCallam and being caught by Joyce, the fielder there.Gavin Rennie came in and a sound partnership appeared to be in the making, when the turning point of the match took place. Rennie played a ball out on the leg side, and Maregwede (38), whose call it was not, came charging down the pitch, and was quite unable to get back as wicket-keeper Rutherford returned the ball to the bowler. It was a disappointing end to a good innings, and his dismissal was to prove crucial.In the next over Rennie fell for 19, checking a drive against Dwyer and giving an easy catch to Dunlop at short midwicket. Dan Peacock scored a single off his first ball and was caught at the wicket, prodding indeterminately at McCallam, off his second. In 13 balls three wickets had fallen for 4 runs, to make the score 99 for five and the Irish right on top.Don Campbell lived dangerously at times, but it was Greg Lamb who fell first, for 9, skying a drive off the inside edge to be caught by John Davy running round from mid-on off Dwyer. When Campbell fell to the sucker punch, putting a full toss from Dwyer down the throat of Cooke at deep midwicket, Zimbabwe A were 131 for seven. The Irish spinners had done the trick, with generous co-operation from the home batsmen – McCallam two wickets and Dwyer three. Their pace bowling, according to the Irish, was not of the same quality, and so it turned out, but it proved to be enough. Only just. Medium-pacer Cooke bowled David Mutendera for 6, making the score 142 for eight, but then came trouble.Bryan Strang, partnered by Raymond Price, settled in, and the required scoring rate rose almost to ten an over. Then he began to attack. Gillespie earned his special attention, as he hit him for a six over extra cover and a massive blow over the wide long-on boundary. Price played his part in support, and both enjoyed a little luck, but Strang kept finding the boundary between the fielders, and with two overs left 15 runs were needed.Cook returned, and with his second ball yorked Strang, swinging across the line. Strang had scored a superb 61 off 65 balls, with 2 sixes and 6 fours. 15 off 10 balls was always likely to be too much for the last two batsmen, and only a single from Matambanadzo came off the rest of the over. Matambanadzo swung mightily at Davy, bowling the last over, sending up a huge skyer towards point which the keeper dropped, and they took a single.Price failed to score off the next ball, and off the third he swung down the leg side, the ball bounced up and the wicket-keeper confidently claimed a catch. It was one of the worst decisions for an umpire to have to make, to decide whether the ball hit glove as well as pad, and they decided to confer. But Price, who is a practising Christian, confirmed that he had hit it and walked slowly off in disappointment, a gesture that was greatly appreciated by the Irish. They had won by 12 runs with three balls to spare, their second victory of the tournament.

Alastair Cook defended the decision not to change England’s batting order in response to South Africa’s mammoth 241 for 6. England limped to an 84-run defeat with Cook, the stand-in captain, sharing an opening stand of 20 from 18 balls with Joe Denly.Given the success of Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott in the first match, alongside the return of Kevin Pietersen, England had attacking options for the top-order, but Cook preferred the original line-up.”There were thoughts of it, but we decided not to go with that,” he said. “We got 200 the other day playing with that order, so we decided to stick with it. Unfortunately the big hits, we didn’t hit them as cleanly as they did. In hindsight, we could have maybe changed it, but whether it would have changed the result I don’t know, because 240 is a lot of runs.”Cook praised his opposing batsmen and suggested England weren’t skilful enough to match them on the day. “It was not the result we wanted, they took the game away from us from the fourth or fifth over and from then on we were behind the eight-ball. I’m not sure if anyone has chased 240, we had the belief but we didn’t have the skills today.”It’s always tough when you go round the park like that, it was great hitting and you have to give credit to the way they played. You can set a field but if you don’t put the ball in the right place the margin on that wicket was very small.”Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, questioned England’s approach and argued his side can take more out of the shared series than the tourists can. “I must say I was very surprised they didn’t do that [change the order]. I thought they would certainly have used Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott at the top of the order with KP batting three.”I think the emphatic way in which we won, I guess we come out of the weekend I think far better than England have. That’s if it does count for anything down the line because we go into a different format [50-over one-day internationals]. But we probably do take a little more from it. I think we’re probably a little more settled and a little more unpredictable.”

Middlesex have signed a contract with Adam Gilchrist, and are in talks with Sachin Tendulkar, to play Twenty20 cricket for the county during the 2010 domestic season.Vinny Codrington, the Middlesex chief executive, said he was “absolutely delighted” with the signing of Gilchrist. “We’ve worked extremely closely with the MCC to ensure that Adam comes on board with us next season,” he said “and this signing is great testament to how well our two clubs are working together to guarantee that Middlesex supporters and MCC members alike are rightfully treated to the very best world talent that Twenty20 cricket has on offer.”Codrington confirmed that the county was also in discussion with Tendulkar and his agent. “As a result of Sachin’s busy schedule of late however; representing India in the one day series against Australia, playing in the current Test series against Sri Lanka and celebrating his twenty years in international cricket, this is yet to be confirmed,” Codrington said. “He is due to be speaking to the BCCI about playing for us next season when the time is right.”Gilchrist has played 13 Twenty20 internationals for Australia, while Tendulkar gave up the format at the international level after just one match, but both batsmen are captains of their respective IPL franchises – Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. Gilchrist has never played for a county while Tendulkar’s only appearance was as a 19-year-old for Yorkshire in 1992, when he was the county’s first overseas player.Signing up Tendulkar will be an expensive proposition but the MCC and Middlesex could hope to recover costs partly through gate money – targeting the sizeable South Asian community in and around London – and, given that England’s domestic limited-overs games are shown live on Indian television, from international sponsorship deals.

Ricky Ponting was a relieved man at the end of a gripping game in Hyderabad, with Australia taking a 3-2 series lead after Sachin Tendulkar threatened to chase 351. Having made 350 on a pure batting track, Ponting was indebted to his replacement players who he felt stepped up admirably in a display that saw Australia edge India by three runs.Australia have so far lost five players to injury and Ponting was pleased with the way the replacements responded. “It’s remarkable considering the number of players we have had injured on this tour and we had a couple of our better players who didn’t make the tour,” Ponting said. “When you take all those things into consideration, the way we are continuing to improve our cricket is fantastic.”It is a great win for the boys and I am really happy to see some of the young guys doing well. It’s a really good sign for the team.”Ponting was also full of praise for Tendulkar, whose superb 175 was cut short with India needing 19 from 17 deliveries. “Sachin played beautifully. It was one of the best knocks I’ve ever seen,” he said. “We just had to keep hanging in there and I kept telling the bowlers to stick to their plans and to execute them well.”It just takes one false shot and you are back in the game, but Sachin didn’t play too many false ones tonight. I thought we batted well too and Shaun Marsh and Watson were terrific for us today at the top of the order.”Marsh scored his first one-day international century and finished with 112 at a run a ball in his first series back after six months out of the Australia team. Marsh was a regular at the top of the order for Australia until suffering a hamstring injury in the series against Pakistan in the UAE and his nagging problem, combined with the success of Tim Paine as a replacement opener, meant he faced some nerves about whether he could regain his position.”It felt like I was never going to get there when I was doing recovery with my hamstrings and all that,” Marsh told AAP. “It was a long six months when I did it in Dubai and knew it would be a lot of hard work. All the hard work I have done over the past six months is paying off a little bit so I have to continue now to make sure I don’t get too far in front of myself as I know this game can bite you on the bum very quickly.”Marsh has now followed in the footsteps of his father Geoff Marsh, whose first ODI century was also against India. “It’s a day I will remember for a long time,” he said. “It’s a good feeling to know that he [Dad] has scored a century for Australia and that now I have has well.”

In a blast from the past, Dennis Lillee and Greg Chappell will stand in opposing camps when the Australian Cricketers’ Association all-stars play an Australian XI at the Gabba on November 22. Lillee, the WACA president, will guide the high-profile team that already includes Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden, while Chappell will help out a side made up of current players in the Twenty20 exhibition.”No doubt Greg is shaking in his old run-down cricket boots right now!” Lillee joked. Both Lillee and Chappell retired on the same day in 1984 and they remain huge figures in the game. Lillee took a then world record 355 wickets while Chappell scored 7110 runs and collected 122 catches.Chappell has the better resume, having looked after South Australia, India and now the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, while Lillee has worked with a lot of fast bowlers. “It will be my first time coaching against Dennis Lillee, which will be enjoyable and I hope he’s improved his vocabulary since I last played against him!” Chappell said. “It was always good fun playing with and against Dennis and I’m looking forward to this opportunity to get one back against him.”The pair had some great battles for their states in the 1970s and 80s, something Lillee remembers clearly. “The win-loss ratio of Western Australia versus Queensland when we played was highly WA’s way,” he said. “I will draw on that experience.” The match is a warm-up for the first Test against West Indies, which starts in Brisbane on November 26.

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Mills has said that Daniel Vettori’s new role as a national selector will not affect his relationship with his team-mates or disrupt team harmony. Vettori, the New Zealand captain, and coach Andy Moles were formally appointed to the selection panel last month, giving them extra responsibilities and power unlike any other captain-coach combination in world cricket.Mills admitted that the hardest job for Vettori would be to inform a player if he is dropped for a particular match or series. Mills was speaking from personal experience; he was omitted for the Brisbane Test against Australia last year and asked to return home to play domestic cricket.”I think that’s the hardest thing as a captain,” Mills told . “I’ve been given the word by Dan before on previous tours. In Australia, he came up and told me I’d been dropped from the Test side so he’s made those gutsy conversations.”At the end of the day I’d probably rather hear it from him than someone else. I’ve played a lot of cricket with him from a young age, he’s a mate of mine and we still go for a beer.”Mills backed the decision to have two selectors on tour.”Prior to yesterday we had no selectors on tour and I don’t think that’s quite right,” Mills said. “I think there should be a selector on tour. Braces (John Bracewell, Moles’ predecessor) as a selector worked well because he could see how hard guys were working in the nets and at training.”After being appointed, Vettori hoped that the players would take the news of their omission in an objective way.”There are guys who are good friends, and one day I might have to sit them down and say that I was a part of the process that left them out,” Vettori said. “I’ve had a heavy involvement prior to this appointment so hopefully my role within the team, and the way I’m perceived among the team, remains the same.”Former players Glenn Turner and Mark Greatbatch are the other two selectors on the panel.

Mark Ramprakash has yet to be contacted by Geoff Miller’s selection panel, but said he would “cherish and savour” the opportunity to make a dramatic comeback for the Ashes decider at The Oval. A day after Miller told Cricinfo Ramprakash was firmly in the frame for the contentious No. 3 position after a seven-year absence from Test cricket, the Surrey batsman declared himself available for a call-up that would fall a fortnight shy of his 40th birthday.”I just think that mentally, in terms of approaching a Test match, I’m probably in the best shape I’ve ever been,” Ramprakash told the Surrey website. “I’d be thrilled like any player selected to play for England in what is now a fantastic occasion. It’s been a fascinating series, and now at the Brit Oval it’s going to be a showpiece occasion. That’s why you play the game. For any player that is selected, it’s the sort of occasion that they will savour and cherish for the rest of their careers.”I suppose (the publicity) is all a result of what happened at Headingley and not only the defeat but the manner of defeat. Of course, as England supporters we’re all disappointed with the fact that having a 1-0 lead we’ve let the Aussies back in. The speculation has probably been whipped up really through that performance. I’m no stranger to this situation. I’ve had it before when my name has been linked strongly with trips to Australia – in fact the last two trips to Australia – and also the last tour to Sri Lanka. I’ve always tried to let my performances do the talking and I believe that I’ve presented a very strong case for all those occasions and again this year. I’m happy within myself, I’m batting well and playing good cricket.”Ramprakash insists he is a far superior cricketer now to that which made a tentative Test debut against the West Indies in 1991 alongside the likes of Graham Gooch, Allan Lamb and Graeme Hick. The 39-year-old has scored 1,209 runs at 100.75 for Surrey in the Championship’s second division this season, including scores of 80 and 130 not out in his most recent match against Derbyshire. He has averaged in excess of 90 over the last four first-class seasons, and has been a dominant force at his home ground, The Oval, which will host the Ashes decider from August 20.”I’ve seen some comments and articles and I think I have to respond because people sometimes still talk like it’s 1995,” he said. “I had a very difficult start in Test cricket, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve had two careers – 1991-1997 and from 1998-onwards, where I have performed a lot better. My last Test match was in 2002 at the age of 32 and I had a difficult tour of New Zealand along with several other batsmen on some juicy pitches. But over the last few years I’ve worked very hard at my game.”I still enjoy playing with Surrey. I think as a player and a person you just keep evolving, improving and developing. I’ve completed the ECB level four coaching course, which is aimed at professional coaching and has benefited me tremendously – just knowing myself as a person and communicating with other players. I was involved for 14 weeks in a very highly pressurised reality TV show, which was something totally out of my bubble. That’s a life experience. I think if you ask anyone if they had know ten years ago what they know now then they’d all say it would have helped them a great deal.”Alec Stewart, the former England captain and current Surrey consultant, insisted Ramprakash would be a stronger candidate for the England No. 3 position than incumbent Ravi Bopara and contenders Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Rob Key and Marcus Trescothick.”You have to move all sentiment to one side,” Stewart said. “England’s selectors I hope will pick the best side to regain to the Ashes. Forget anything about sentiment, forget anything about looking to the future, forget anything about consistency or continuity. Go and pick the best XI that gives England an opportunity to win the Ashes.”Ramps is in my best XI. The last Test he played was seven years ago, and people are allowed to change and mature. We don’t know what Jonathan Trott will do, we don’t know what Robert Key will do. All I’m saying is that if we don’t know about people, is it not better to pick the very, very best player that we’re not sure about.”He’s a mature person. He’s comfortable. Just look at his record: he averages 91 over the last four years. It’s never been technical, he did struggle to cope with everything that was thrown at him, but he’s seven years older and he knows what a great player he is. I have no doubt that if Ramprakash is picked, he will perform.”