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Graeme Smith, the South African captain, has backed Ray Jennings to be the permanent coach of the team. The United Cricket Board of South Africa, which is currently advertising the post, will consider Jennings, if he reapplies. However, Jennings said that he would reapply only if his team wanted him to.”Jet (Ray Jennings) is very important, but we will have to wait and see what the United Cricket Board of South Africa decides. It is a difficult situation at present,” said Smith. “I think Ray is also enjoying his position more now. It is always easier when you win.” After a humiliating loss 1-2 in the Test series against England, South Africa salvaged some pride by winning the one-day series 4-1.Jennings was appointed the temporary coach of the team before the tour to India last year, and had come under pressure after the series loss to India and England. He re-iterated that the support of his players would play a big part in his interest in pursuing the position further. “It does not help if I waste my time and energy and the people around me do not support me,” Jennings said. “I will talk to the players in the next two or three weeks and ask them, because I am still in the dark at present.”

England are “very likely” to take up an offer from Allen Stanford to play a multi-million dollar Twenty20 match during the tour of West Indies next year according to Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman.Clarke met with Stanford at Lord’s on Tuesday to discuss possible joint ventures which could include Stanford having a role in any future English Premier League plus the match next year, which could be worth as much as $20million, against an All-stars West Indies XI.”We did see Sir Allen – a date has not been fixed for when anything will be played, or what format it will take this year or going forward into the future,” Clarke told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme. “I think that match is very likely to take place. Sir Allen is doing a huge amount for cricket in the West Indies and we are keen to help things develop there.”With no window in the current international schedule to allow England’s centrally contracted players to compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) the ECB is eager to appease players who are keen to cash in on lucrative Twenty20 tournaments.Clarke added: “Of course we are also keen to give our players the chance to make a significant amount of money and these types of games can be tremendously dramatic. We are extremely interested in his ideas but there is a long way to go.”We need to confirm a lot of things with our friends in the West Indies. There is not a specific date at this moment of time and no specific structure at this time.”Clarke also admitted that the ECB are still formulating plans for an English Premier League. “I think what the IPL will achieve is remarkable given the time and speed with which it has been put together. We are spending a lot of time looking at creating a robust, sustainable and economically viable league that still protects our core revenues of Test cricket.”Stanford has previously tried to invite South Africa for a winner-takes-all match but it fell through after a clash with the West Indies board. Last year Stanford also offered to bring the World Twenty20 winners, India, to the Caribbean but the BCCI wasn’t keen on taking part in an unofficial event.

Danish KaneriaOn comparing his performance here to the effort at Kolkata
The wicket here suited me much more than the Kolkata pitch. I was also suffering because of dehydration at Kolkata and couldn’t get into the right rhythm. Here I found my rhythm early and it worked out well.On whether he had a specific plan for Sourav Ganguly
Nothing was planned for Ganguly. He was dropped of the earlier ball so I thought he would try and come down the track and attack me. I thought he might want to disturb my length and sent down a googly. That’s exactly what happened and he was stumped.On tomorrow
I am confident of giving it my 101% and bowling India out tomorrow. We will surely be trying our best for a win.On the pitch
It has deteriorated day by day. The ball was turning today but it was mainly slow turn. But if a bowler is willing to put in some effort then he can surely get some turn. Considering it will be a fifth-day wicket, it will surely help me. The bowlers haven’t done much in this game so far because of the pitch and also because of some extraordinary innings played. But it depends on the day tomorrow and I am confident of doing well.On the declaration
I think it is a fighting target.On his own performance over the last few months
My confidence has improved after every performance. County cricket definitely helped me because I learnt to bowl on pitches that didn’t suit me.On the key wicket tomorrow
Definitely Rahul Dravid. He is a big player – the Wall as they say – and he is the one batsman who can prevent us from winning. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag are also very dangerous but Dravid will be the main wicket.VVS Laxman
On the strategy tomorrow
We will definitely go for a win. The start is very important. We have had fantastic starts throughout the series from both Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The strategy will be based on the start tomorrow.On his innings today
I was disappointed at not reaching a hundred. It was not my usual type of free-flowing innings but I had to adapt to the situation.On batting with the tail
It’s a different experience at No. 5 or 6. One has to adjust to the situation. It’s also important to have confidence in the tailenders’ batting ability. All our tailenders have done well in the recent past and there is a lot of competition in the lower order now. Lakshmipathy Balaji did well at Mohali. Harbhajan Singh and Kumble had a good partnership at Kolkata. And Irfan Pathan has batted well earlier. I just tell them to hang in there.On a few tailenders throwing away their wickets irresponsibly
It is disappointing but the tailenders can also benefit from going for their shots. So it works both ways.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Cricinfo.

Northerns 316 for 6 (Smith 97, Paleker 51, Dros 57, Almeida 3-35) beat Easterns 236 for 9 (Bodi 76, van Woerkom 3-43) by 80 runs
Northerns made the best possible start against Easterns at SuperSport Park as Aldin Smith (97) and Allahudien Paleker got away to a flier scoring 77 runs for the first wicket, with Paleker’s 50 coming off 31 balls.Nic van Woerkom then smashed a quick 49 off 45 opening the door for Gerald Dros to race to 57 off 40. Not to be outdone Justin Kemp then fired 26 off 10 balls for Northerns to end on 316. Easterns had struggled in the field with only Renato Almeida featuring by taking a creditable 3 for 35 in his nine overs.Easterns made a good start with their first fifty coming up in 10 overs as Andre Seymore tried to accelerate the innings. He edged an expansive drive into his stumps to be bowled for 40 while Goolam Bodi tried to emulate the Northerns tactics. His 50 came up in 35 balls after sending eight fours and two sixes to the ropes.But maintaining an run-rate of seven or eight an over proved to be just too much as Bodi swung across the line once to often to be trapped in front for 76. With wickets falling at regular intervals Northerns ran out worthy winners by 80 runs.KwaZulu-Natal 190 for 4 (Smit 74, Lazarus 52*) beat Free State 187 (Summers 50, Africa 4-48) by six wicketsFree State made the cardinal mistake of getting bowled out by KwaZulu-Natal inside their 45 overs at Kingsmead. Shane Summers, batting at No. 9, gave Free State a glimmer of hope by scoring a half-century, but with no-one able to stay with him the innings closed on 187.Keegan Africa, the young Under-19 KwaZulu-Natal pace bowler, was the main wicket-taker as he walked off with four scalps. Kyle Smit, the hard-hitting Natal opener, gave the home team the start they needed, stroking eight fours and a six in his 74. Fabian Lazarus then made sure that Natal won by carrying his bat for 52.

Shane Warne has warned South Africa they could need their team psychologist after Australia has finished with them in the three-Test series starting on Friday. Referring to the squad’s plan to fly Francois Hugo from Johannesburg to motivate the players, Warne said it may be a good idea.”They might need one by the time we’ve finished with them,” Warne said. There is little love lost between the two Test nations and South Africa are aiming to regain some lost pride, having failed to beat Australia in a Test series since being readmitted to international cricket in 1991.Warne is a particular concern for the Proteas and has an excellent Test record against them, having taken 101 wickets at 22.34. The visitors have also rankled the Australians by claiming they use sledging to upset and distract their opponents. Herschelle Gibbs said last week the players had come to expect such tactics and would think something was wrong if they weren’t sledged.”As usual, the South Africans have had a bit too much to say, they should worry about their own backyard, get it in order first,” Warne said. After recovering from back soreness, Warne said he was looking forward to the first Test even though the WACA is not known for taking spin.”I feel pretty good, I’ve done a lot of yoga, I’ve done stretching, I’ve done pool and all the strengthening for my back,” he said. “It’s still a bit stiff, hopefully it will loosen up with another three or four more days of treatment. It’s an ongoing thing I suppose at 36. I’ve bowled a few balls over 15 years – I’m going to have to put up with some sort of soreness.”Warne was under no illusions about his role on the pace-friendly WACA, saying he would be called upon more to break partnerships than as a front-line strike bowler. “You know when you go there,” Warne said, “that you’re not going to take a big haul of wickets.”

Ricky Ponting’s tenure as captain of Tasmania has been renewed for one more season, giving him the dual responsibility of leading his state, as well as his country. Daniel Marsh was named vice-captain, and would lead the side in Ponting’s absence.Michael DiVenuto was named as Marsh’s deputy, and with Ponting and Damien Wright, the four formed the core of Tasmania’s ‘team leadership’. David Johnston, the state’s chief executive, said he was hopeful about the future. "We are delighted with all these appointments,” said Johnston, “and all concerned are looking forward to success in the coming season. The Tasmania board is excited at Tasmanian cricket’s prospects for the coming season and we believe we have the leadership team in place to give us the best chance of success."Brian McFadyen, the coach, lauded Marsh’s insights and commended his captaincy. "Daniel is a well-respected person and player, he possesses an articulate knowledge of the game and led the team well last season. He continues to deserve the opportunity to captain in Ricky’s absence."Tasmania’s showing last season was a mixed bag. While they placed third in the Pura Cup, they finished at the bottom of the table in the ING Cup.

ScorecardPankaj Singh’s six-wicket haul guided Rajasthan into Friday’s Ranji Trophy Plate final with a nine-wicket win over Orissa.Resuming their overnight score of 91 for 5, still 55 in arrears, Orissa lost Niranjan Behara early with the score on 97. Priyabrata Pradhan made 26 before being dismissed by Singh. Debashis Mohanty, the Orissa captain, and Rashmi Parida did offer some resistance with a 58-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Singh removed Mohanty five runs short of his half-century and Orissa were finally dismissed for 220, with Parida not out on 67.Rajastan will face either Saurashtra or Madhya Pradesh in the Plate group final on February 2.

Ricky Ponting wants his team to be “ultra-competitive” and said “nothing over the top” occurred to spark Lou Vincent’s comments about Australia’s ego-driven behaviour. Vincent complained the home players thought they were “bigger than the game” and were always talking, but Ponting said the chatter was an element of international competition.”Lou is a player who is always yapping up a bit and chirping when he is out on the field, trying to get an advantage for his team, and I think that’s just part of the game at the highest level,” Ponting said in The Australian. “There was nothing over the top that went on the other night, and what he is saying merely highlights how tough our two sides go at it out in the middle.”I want the guys in my team to be ultra-competitive. That’s what it is to play cricket for Australia, and I’m sure New Zealand are exactly the same.”The Australians have taken Vincent’s claim that they “hunt like a pack of dogs” as a compliment. Matthew Hayden said he was proud of the way the players stuck together and Brett Lee said it was what the team tried to do.”One of the reasons we have played really well recently is that we have had a never-say-die attitude, and sometimes other teams see that as a bit of ego,” Lee said in the Courier-Mail. “That is definitely not the case.”People talk about our sledging, and we play really tough cricket. We are renowned for that, but we know there is a line in the sand. We are well aware of the boundaries.”Lee said things on the field were not spoken “in a bad way”. “There are no racial things said, and nothing that represents a bad image for kids,” he told the paper. “Of course there are mind games. There is always going to be chat out there.”Stuart Clark, who is a quieter member of the squad, said he was surprised Vincent was listening to the Australians. “He should be thinking about what he has to do,” Clark said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I don’t think we’re nasty or unfriendly, but I do think that the Australian cricket team hates losing as much or more than anyone, and I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”John Buchanan did not feel there was a problem with his team’s behaviour. “We play the game hard, there is no doubt about that,” he said in The Australian. “But we play it fair and within the spirit of the game.”

Somerset 139 for 4 (Gazzard 59*) beat UAE 138 (Khurram Khan 67) by six wickets
ScorecardSomerset cruised to a six-wicket win over UAE with almost 19 overs to spare in the Pro ARCH Trophy at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.On a day when Somerset’s attention was centred on Marcus Trescothick, who pulled out of this tour at the 11th hour, this one-sided match barely registered on the radar.UAE were always second best, slipping to 32 for 4 before a gutsy 67 from veteran Khurram Khan gave them respectability but nothing remotely close to a winning score. Khan was the last man out.Carl Gazzard, opening in Trescothick’s absence, made an unbeaten 59, including consecutive sixes to finish the match, while James Hildreth chipped in with a breezy 29.

Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Yasir Arafat helped Pakistan ‘A’ complete a clean sweep in the one-day series against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at Gaddafi Stadium Thursday. Kamran hammered a scintillating 72 and Yasir claimed five for 28 as the home side won by 34 runs. Pakistan ‘A’ had already sealed the three-match rubber by winning the two first ties at Multan and Faisalabad, respectively.Sri Lanka ‘A’ made a partial recovery from 75 for six before being dismissed for 210 in 47.2 overs. Skipper Thilan Samaraweera and Khaushal Lokuarachchi saved face for the visitors by putting on 112 for the seventh wicket.Samaraweera struck seven fours in making 74 off 101 deliveries before being last out while Lokuarachchi hit 63 off 75 balls with six fours and one six.Yasir, who claimed three wickets in his opening burst, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match. He got excellent support from off-spinner Irfanuddin with three for 51.Earlier, Pakistan ‘A’ made another fine start when wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt shared an opening partnership of 108.Salman departed after stroking 44 off 62 balls. His knock included six boundaries. Kamran’s 93-ball knock of 72 was laced with seven hits to the fence.Stand-in captain Naved Latif contributed 25. Saeed bin Nasir made full use of an extended opportunity in the middle by remaining unconquered on 43, which were scored off only 41 balls with the aid of three fours and one six.