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NSW will start the new cricket season slightly down on strike power with skipper Steve Waugh and pacemen Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken all missing from the Blues’ season-opening ING Cup clash with Victoria at Bankstown Oval on Sunday.Waugh (calf), Lee (rib) and Bracken (shoulder) could all also miss the defending champion’s second ING Cup fixture against Tasmania the following Sunday, but coach Steve Rixon stressed the players would not be rushed back.He said their unavailability opened up opportunities for several young players.”We’re not going to rush any of them back. It’s not imperative they come back,” Rixon said.”With Steve Waugh out, it gives Michael Clarke opportunities to bat with the bigger boys and with Brett Lee out it gives Don Nash a chance.”All-rounder Shane Lee is expected to lead the side with Waugh still recuperating from a torn calf he suffered on the Ashes tour.Lee, who tore a muscle attached to his ribcage during the fifth Ashes Test, underwent further treatment today, with team physiotherapist Pat Farhart estimating the paceman was two weeks away from returning to action.”It just needs rest and I’ve had six weeks off,” Lee said.Also expected to come back in the fortnight was one-day international player Bracken, who recently resumed bowling in the nets after recovering from a rotator cuff injury which required surgery.”He did it in a one-dayer on the Ashes tour,” Farhart said.”Nathan has been bowling for about two weeks now, slowly increasing his duration and intensity.”Even without those three internationals, NSW will field a star-studded side to be announced tomorrow at its season launch.Australian spearhead Glenn McGrath will lead a pace attack which will probably also include Nash and Stuart Clark plus one or two seam-bowling all-rounders in Shawn Bradstreet and Scott Thompson.Leggie Stuart MacGill, who equalled the competition single season wicket-taking record last summer, will lead the spin department with Michael Bevan and Mark Higgs also capable of contributing overs.The Blues will field a powerful fast-scoring batting lineup even in Waugh’s absence, with international stalwarts Bevan, Michael Slater, Mark Waugh and Shane Lee supplemented by young dashers Higgs and Brad Haddin.

Amir back after a five-year hiatus
Mohammad Amir finished with a match haul of five wickets in his first domestic first-class match after serving out a five-year ban for spot-fixing. He played in Sui Southern Gas Corporation’s opening match against Lahore Blues at the Gaddafi Stadium. The match ended in a tame draw after SSGC were set a target of 267 on the final day.Amir last played a domestic first-class match in 2009. On his return to the format, he bowled 21 overs in the first innings, conceded 55 runs and took three wickets. He picked up 2 wickets in 13 overs in the second innings and also scored an important 66 runs off 187 balls to help SSGC overcome a collapse in the first innings.Zafar misses a Test chance, but takes four
Zafar Gohar the 20-year-old left-arm spinner, was also among the wickets for SSGC with a match haul of 4 for 124. The bowler could have been a part of the Tests against England had he not missed his flight to the UAE Dubai. Gohar, who played against England in their tour game before the Tests, was expected to replace an injured Yasir Shah and was expected to fly in overnight to join the Pakistan squad for the first Test in Abu Dhabi. Instead, Gohar – who had a visa and other logistical arrangements ready – missed his flight after sleeping through departure announcements, and Pakistan went into the Test with three seamers.FATA begin with draw
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) who recently qualified for first-class cricket began their stint in the tournament with a draw against Habib Bank Limited at the Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot. They debuted with five new players. Rehan Afridi, who has played most of his cricket from Abbottabad, joined FATA to score his first hundred of the season. The highlight of the match was a double-hundred and a half-century by Mardan-born Fakhar Zaman. Zaman’s knocks helped HBL set FATA a target of 304, but the latter managed to hold on for a draw.WAPDA wait on Butt, Asif
Water and Power Development Authority have recruited Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif but both players were left out of their playing XI against Karachi Whites. The players have been given a non-executive 17th grade employee contract but the department has directions from the PCB to not play them until they complete their education and rehabilitation programme in February.

Haryana were in a position of considerable strength at stumps on thesecond day of their North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match against Jammu& Kashmir at the MA stadium in Jammu on Monday. After being in arrearsby 218 runs on the first innings, J&K were 31 for two in their secondinnings at close.Resuming at 61 for no loss, Haryana declared at 346 for seven.Manvinder Bisla (45) left early but the other opener Bhuvnesh Sharmaand captain Ishan Ganda added 114 runs for the second wicket off 31overs. Sharma was then out for 78. He faced 137 balls and hit 12fours. Sumeet Sharma (13) did not last very long but Ganda and DeepakJoon compounded J&K’s agony by some fine strokeplay. Ganda reached hiscentury but retired hurt when his score was 101. He faced 186 ballsand hit 12 of them to the ropes. Joon’s 40 was compiled off 70 ballsand Amit Mishra contributed a valuable 28 inclusive of two fours and asix.In J&K’s second innings, opening bowler Nitin Aggarwal dismissedMudassar Ashraf and Vimarash Kaw in the space of three deliveries forducks, leaving the home team an uphill task to stave off defeat on thefinal day.

Pakistan’s trip to Zimbabwe is a short one, and in just over two weeks they will face an England side buoyed by their recent success in the Ashes. Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s coach, has said that the games against Zimbabwe will be good preparation for his team, as well as helping the side to build towards the World T20 next year.”We’ve got a very big tour coming up straight after this against England, so this is kind of a preparation,” Waqar said. “We had a couple of months layoff before this which we needed after a long tour to Sri Lanka, but I think the boys are fresh and we want to make the most of it. We’re going to make sure that we get the experience out of it and also have a look at the younger boys. We are in a situation as well where every team is looking to that [T20] World Cup, and that’s what we’re trying to do as well. That’s why we’re bringing youngsters in to have a look at them and see what our best team can be for the World Cup.”One of those youngsters is left-arm seamer Imran Khan, whose stellar performances in domestic T20 cricket earned him a national call-up and, potentially, a debut in the first T20. “We’re very excited about what he’s going to come out with because he has been very good on the domestic circuit,” Waqar said. “He’s not very quick, he has got that X-factor, he bowls a good slower one, he’s very young and inexperienced but he knows what he’s doing. If he plays, you’ll see something different.”Waqar credited the hosts whose tour of Pakistan in May broke a six-year cricketing drought in the country, and repeated the mantra that Zimbabwe are not a side to be taken lightly. “I’ve been here a few times, it has been wonderful. The hospitality here is superb and we’re also thankful to them because they’ve been to us. After six years we were in serious trouble so it’s a payback kind of a tour and it’s going to be a tough one.”Zimbabwe have always been a fine side, especially when they are playing on their home soil. They know the pitches and the conditions very well, so the idea is not to take them easy. It doesn’t matter how much experience you’ve got, especially with Twenty20 cricket it’s on the day. You have to really be on your toes to play against any side. So we’re going to make sure that we put up our best team and deliver the goods and hopefully win both of the games.”Waqar suggested that Pakistan weren’t quite sure of what to expect from the Harare Sports Club pitch, but good preparation meant they were ready for whatever was presented. “We’ve been keeping a close eye over the last few series and this pitch at Harare hasn’t really given much to us. On the odd day we have seen the ball spin a lot and on the odd day the ball going through. It gives a lot of flavour to cricket so we have to be really ready for it and make sure that whatever we come across we’re ready for.”Waqar added that Pakistan are looking to shed their reputation as an inconsistent side. “It has been the case from the past and we’re trying to cut it short and make sure that it doesn’t happen so often. Any side can falter on a given day – you’ve seen Australia go down badly in the Ashes when they were the favourites. We’re going to try and minimise that and make sure that if we put our right foot out then we’ll be able to win these games.”Pakistan’s preparations will also have been helped by the presence of Grant Flower on their coaching staff, who has worked extensively with Zimbabwe in the past.”That’s why we hired him – especially for this tour,” Waqar joked. “Grant has been superb, his work ethic has been superb. He has become very friendly, he understands the culture, he understands the boys and the work ethic is superb. So of course we are going to dig something out of him. That’s the advantage I guess.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:08

Did the seamers lose their zip?

If there was a hint of south India about Brisbane’s unrelenting tropical heat and humidity, then M Vijay ensured a corner of this foreign field would be forever Chennai by carving out a memorable century to set the platform for a dominant 4 for 311 at stumps on day one of the second Test at the Gabba.Having fallen one run short of a hundred on the final day in Adelaide, Vijay found the right method on a far more steepling surface, leaving the ball well while also collecting runs right around the ground. He made the majority of his runs in the first and third sessions, waiting out an afternoon during which Josh Hazlewood showed his readiness for the baggy green cap handed to him by Glenn McGrath before play.Ajinkya Rahane was the man who made the most of Vijay’s platform. He had not convinced in Adelaide but hustled into his work with an energy that contrasted with Australia’s growing fatigue.Vijay was fortunate to survive two chances dropped by Shaun Marsh, emblematic of a difficult first day of captaincy for Australia’s new leader Steven Smith. The hosts were unable to take the early wickets that might have alleviated their toil in high temperatures and unstinting sun. Mitchell Marsh was lost to a right hamstring problem, Mitchell Starc suffered from heat-related fatigue, and Smith was unable to keep the team’s over rate under control.Warner and Smith both bowled by day’s end, and even Hazlewood could not see out the day. He complained of discomfort when he took the second new ball and left Shane Watson to complete the over at gentle medium pace. Australia entered the match with no fewer than six frontline bowling options – they may now have as few as three.Hazlewood had been the beneficiary of a hasty raised finger from the umpire Ian Gould when Cheteshwar Pujara had been grazed on the helmet rather than the glove, and when he found useful bounce to also dismiss Virat Kohli, Australia had some chance of cutting down India’s middle order. But Vijay endured, and by the time he essayed a tired sally down the wicket at Nathan Lyon, the visitors’ advantage was pronounced.MS Dhoni had unveiled a side featuring three changes – his own return, plus the additions of R Ashwin and Umesh Yadav for Karn Sharma and Mohammed Shami. In addition to Australia having a new captain in Smith, the hosts included Shaun Marsh, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc for the injured Michael Clarke and Ryan Harris, while Peter Siddle was dropped.The Gabba pitch was hard and evenly grassed, promising some early pace and movement for Australia’s fast men, and a significant challenge for India’s top three. But Vijay and Dhawan began firmly enough, leaving the ball well, countering a hint of new-ball swing for Johnson and Hazlewood, and moving things a long with a few well-chosen strokes.One early Johnson short ball to Vijay might have been gloved to leg gully had Smith posted one, but otherwise the first hour passed with remarkably few dramas for India’s opening pair. Mitchell Marsh was clattered to the point boundary by Vijay when he pitched short, but when he tried another half-tracker after morning drinks, Dhawan could only touch it on the way through to Brad Haddin. Marsh had waited 346 balls and four Tests for that moment.Johnson’s second spell was a tad more venomous than his first, and in the next over after Dhawan’s exit he coaxed an edge from Vijay that flew at low but eminently catchable height into the slips. However Shaun Marsh tried to perform the party trick of catching this daisy cutter with his hands pointing to the sky, and felled the chance.There was time for Nathan Lyon to suggest he will enjoy Brisbane’s bounce before lunch, and for Pujara to inside edge past the stumps in the final over of the session, but overall the visitors had reason to be happy with their work.Pujara and Vijay carried on smoothly enough into the afternoon, and it was Australia feeling pressured when Mitchell Marsh felt soreness in his right hamstring and left the field. With temperatures touching 35C, plus humidity, Starc also sought relief after appearing to complain of fatigue.However a pair of wickets for Hazlewood kept the match finely balanced. The first of Pujara was the result of an error by the umpire Gould – a well-placed short ball had glanced helmet rather than glove on its way through to Brad Haddin. The second was a miscalculation by Kohli, who chanced an Adelaide cut at Brisbane bounce and snicked behind.The wickets, plus some sturdy fielding, prevented India from getting away from the hosts. But Vijay remained unflappable, and over a lengthy evening session that lasted two and a half hours but still featured only 31 of the 38 overs due to be bowled, with Rahane solid at his end, India took control.Having gone to tea at 3 for 151, they piled up 1 for 160 in the evening, losing only Vijay. Day two is set fair for Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Dhoni and R Ashwin to make merry against an Australian attack that was flagging badly by the end. Under sub-tropical skies they had foundered on the rock of Vijay’s blade.

ScorecardCallum Ferguson continued his productive season with 81•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Mark Cosgrove and Callum Ferguson both fell short of hundreds but ensured a solid batting display from South Australia on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match in Perth. The Redbacks made 328 and at the close of play Western Australia had reached 0 for 18, with openers Cameron Bancroft (2 not out) and Marcus Harris (15 not out) still at the crease and the deficit at 310 runs.In his first match as South Australia’s new captain, Travis Head chose to bat and the Redbacks made a strong start before Kelvin Smith departed for 30. Cosgrove and Ferguson then put on 87 for the second wicket but a cunning plan from Western Australia captain Adam Voges ended the partnership, when he snared Cosgrove caught at leg slip off Ryan Duffield for 89.Duffield was warned twice for running down the middle of the pitch but he picked up the two key breakthroughs, also removing Ferguson for 81. Nathan Rimmington, Michael Hogan and Voges each picked up two wickets as the rest of the South Australian order struggled to capitalise on the strong start, with Tim Ludeman’s 36 the third highest score.