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Sachin Tendulkar is in favour of one-day cricket but believes the 50-over format can be tinkered with in order to reduce the advantage gained by the team winning the toss. He said that the total of 100 overs could be split into four innings of 25 each, which would mean that no side would have the best of the conditions for the entire match.Tendulkar said he first thought of the format during the Champions Trophy final in 2002 where India played Sri Lanka in Colombo. In that match, Sri Lanka batted 50 overs before rain washed out the game shortly after India began their chase. On the reserve day, rain once again forced an abandonment after Sri Lanka had completed their innings.”I am for 50-over cricket. I think we should have 25 overs a side to start with. I thought of this during the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka,” Tendulkar told , an Indian news channel. “In the finals, we ended up playing 110 overs against Sri Lanka. First they played 50 overs and we played 10 overs before the rain interruption. The next day, Sri Lanka again played 50 overs and in the end we were declared joint winners. I thought, 110 overs and still no result.”That is when I thought, we should have 25 overs first for one side and then the other, and then once again 25 overs for one side and then the other. Today, we can tell the result of close to 75% of matches after the toss. We know how the conditions will affect the two teams. But it [his idea] is not too dependent on the toss because, for example, in a day-night match both the teams will have to bat under lights. The conditions change very dramatically but this would ensure that it’s same for everyone.”Tendulkar’s comments come at a time when the future of the one-day game is being questioned. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has scrapped its domestic 50-over tournament while Cricket South Africa is considering changes to its domestic 45-over competition. The ECB is also likely to propose that the ICC conduct a formal review of the future of the 50-over format after the 2011 World Cup to protect the ODI structure amid the rise of Twenty20 cricket.

Cricinfo has learned that Chris Silverwood has been signed by Zimbabwe franchise side Mashonaland Eagles as their new player-coach and is expected to arrive in the country before the weekend.Silverwood, 34, was released by Middlesex last month. He played six Tests and seven ODIs for England making his debut in Zimbabwe in 1996-97.In a further sign that Zimbabwe cricket is well on the way back to normality, former England seamer Mike Hendrick has been unveiled as the new national fast-bowling coach. He will succeed Heath Streak who is widely expected to become national coach when Walter Chawaguta’s contract expires at the end of the year.

Rohit Sharma will captain the Board President’s XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in a three-day tour opener to be played in Mumbai from November 11 to 13. The 14-man squad, announced by the selectors in Nagpur today, also includes Robin Uthappa who was named vice-captain after an impressive showing in the Champions League Twenty20.”We have made a conscious decision to make sure that we have given lot of opportunities to everybody; lot of new faces, new comers, and some cricketers who have been around but are now out, to redeem themselves,” Kris Srikkanth, India’s chairman of selectors, said. “We are trying to get new faces. People who we have seen or are absolute certainties, we didn’t want to pick. We wanted everybody to prove themselves, that’s the idea of the Board President’s XI.”Rohit was dropped from India’s one-day squad for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. He was in indifferent form during the one-day series in the West Indies in June-July, scoring just 15 runs in four matches. Rohit, Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, and Pragyan Ojha are among the ones who need to “redeem themselves”.Apart from Rohit and Uthappa, two consistent performers in domestic cricket, Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane, make the core of the batting order alongside Manoj Tiwary. Abhishek Nayar, discarded from India’s ODI team, comes in as the allrounder. The spin of Chawla and Ojha is backed up by the pace of Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashok Dinda, Pradeep Sangwan and Pankaj Singh.Board President’s XI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Robin Uthappa, Abhinav Mukund, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha, Pradeep Sangwan, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Abhishek Nayar, Ishank Jaggi.

Ricky Ponting has credited his bowlers, and particularly Doug Bollinger, with rescuing Australia in Mohali to level the series 2-2. The Australians appeared to be in trouble when India were 78 for 1 in the 15th over, chasing 251 for victory, but in his fifth ODI Bollinger grabbed three wickets to set up Australia’s triumph.”I thought Bollinger was outstanding,” Ponting said after the match. “He came on and his wickets probably brought us back into the game.”Bollinger finished with 3 for 38 from his nine overs and helped restrict the scoring while his fellow left-armer Mitchell Johnson leaked runs. Shane Watson grabbed three wickets in the lower order when India were threatening a late fightback, and combined with two sharp run-outs from Ponting it added up to a strong performance in the field.”It was good to get a couple of run-outs,” Ponting said. “Yuvi and I had a chat in the field and he called me a little bit slow, but I got one back on him tonight. We have worked hard on our fielding and I thought it has been at its best in the whole series tonight.”It’s surely a good win for us, coming up short with the bat, but bowling and fielding very well. Peter Siddle got only five overs in the game which means we thought things out really well. The series is level again, it has been up and down all the way through and no team has been able to grab the momentum.”Ponting said it was disappointing that Australia had failed to make the most of a strong start with the bat – four of their top five scored 40 or more. However, nobody else reached double figures and the innings fell away dramatically, with the final wicket falling for 250 in the 50th over.”We felt we had missed out on a few runs out there with the bat,” he said. “At one stage it looked like we would get close to 300, but we didn’t capitalise on the Powerplay. We lost a few wickets leading up to our powerplay again and that’s been a bit of a problem for us through the series so far. But the boys bowled exceptionally well tonight.”Australia were also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 24-run victory. They were ruled to be two overs short of their target at the end of the match after time allowances were taken into consideration. Ponting was fined 20% of his match fee while his players received 10 % fines.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has extended the contract of coach Jamie Siddons to June 30, 2011, keeping him in charge of their 2011 World Cup campaign. Siddons began coaching Bangladesh in October 2007, replacing Dav Whatmore, and during his tenure Bangladesh won their first overseas Test series, against West Indies in July this year.The meeting of the BCB board of directors, chaired by president Mostafa Kamal, also decided that assistant coach Khaled Mahmud will stay with the team until June 2011.However, a decision was taken not to renew the contract of Mohammad Salahuddin, the Bangladesh fielding coach, after it expires on November 30, 2009. National Cricket Academy head coach Ruwan Kalpage will oversee the fielding of the team until the appointment of a specialist foreign fielding coach.The BCB also said that the South Africa and West Indies A teams would tour Bangladesh in April-May 2010. The teams would participate in a tri-nation one-day tournament with Bangladesh A, and play two four-day matches each with Bangladesh A.

Victoria have called on Ross Taylor, the energetic New Zealand batsman, as a last-minute overseas replacement for the domestic Twenty20 tournament that begins at the Gabba on Monday. The Bushrangers lost Sohail Tanvir to a knee injury this week and Taylor’s signature was secured just before the Christmas Eve deadline.However, Taylor is only available for the first group game against Queensland and the preliminary final – if his side makes it that far. Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has been picked up by the Bulls on a similar deal, although he won’t be playing in Brisbane on Monday. The already powerful Victoria have Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, on their books as they aim for a place in the final, which will secure a spot in next year’s lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in India.”Both Ross and Dwayne will add an enormous amount, in terms of ability and excitement,” Victoria’s chief executive Tony Dodemaide said. “Each of them can hit a long ball, have a presence in the field and are sure to engage the fans. Their extensive international experience will be of great benefit to some of our younger guys as well.”The bowler Clint McKay is back with the side after making his Test debut last week in Perth while Dirk Nannes is returning after a long-running hamstring injury. The Bushrangers were second in the tournament last year, ending their sequence of three consecutive victories.

Overseas players

Victoria – Dwayne Bravo, Ross Taylor
South Australia – Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi
Western Australia – Chris Gayle
New South Wales – Dwayne Smith
Queensland – Daniel Vettori
Tasmania – Rana Naved-ul-Hasan

Queensland suffered a setback when the wicketkeeper Chris Hartley was ruled out for two games with a thumb injury, allowing the understudy Ben Dunk a promotion. Andrew Symonds, who no longer plays first-class cricket, is the state’s A-list Twenty20 player while Vettori will be available for a group match later in the tournament, and the preliminary final if they repeat their performance of last year.Two Australian teams will qualify for the Champions League and it is the reason why this tournament is being treated so seriously. There has been an influx of overseas players for the event, with two allowed per team, as the states eye the big pay cheques if they can reach the final. New South Wales won last year and went on to take the Champions League in October, returning home with US$2.5m in prize-money.The Blues will look to their heavy hitters at the top of the order, where they have David Warner, Phillip Hughes and Phil Jaques, as they attempt to re-qualify for the Indian adventure. After the main men come the strong men, with Steven Smith and Ben Rohrer capable of blasting away in the middle.

2008-09 standings

1st New South Wales
2nd Victoria
3rd Queensland
4th South Australia
5th Tasmania
6th Western Australia

With such a stunning line-up the Blues don’t really need an overseas player, but they have called on the West Indian Dwayne Smith to boost their all-round qualities. The Blues travel to Hobart on Wednesday to face Tasmania in their opening game.Tasmania have had no luck with their international signings. Lasith Malinga was ruled out due to Sri Lanka’s added international commitments while England’s Dimitri Mascarenhas pulled out last week due to a knee injury that requires surgery. However, they picked up Rana Naved-ul-Hasan at the last minute and he will link up with George Bailey, Brett Geeves and Tim Paine.Chris Gayle will have his first fixture on Tuesday when Western Australia play South Australia in Perth. The Warriors have a 13-man squad that includes Luke Pomersbach, who was suspended following a drink-driving, sand-dune hiding escapade in the off-season which led to a court appearance.Adam Voges captains the team and the side’s big-hitting ability excites the coach Tom Moody. “We have a significant batting line-up full of players that are well-suited to Twenty20, such as Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Theo Doropoulos, Mitch Marsh, and Adam Voges,” Moody said. “Throw Chris Gayle into that mix, and it is an exciting prospect.”South Australia have some enviable signings, with Kieron Pollard the most wanted man in the competition, while Shahid Afridi is another of the most brutal hitters in the game. The Redbacks will also have the chance to see Shaun Tait operate over consecutive games as the limited-overs specialist faces his most important month of the year.Victoria squad Rob Quiney, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Ross Taylor, Cameron White (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Aaron Finch, Andrew McDonald, Matthew Wade (wk), John Hastings, Jon Holland, Clint McKay, Dirk Nannes, James Pattinson.Queensland squad James Hopes, Nathan Reardon, Lee Carseldine, Andrew Symonds, Craig Philipson, Glen Batticciotto, Chris Simpson (capt), Ben Dunk (wk), Chris Hartley (wk), Ryan Harris, Ben Laughlin, Ben Cutting, Alister McDermott, Nathan Rimmington.New South Wales squad David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Phillip Jaques, Usman Khawaja, Ben Rohrer, Moises Henriques (capt), Dwayne Smith, Daniel Smith (wk), Steven Smith, Simon Keen, Grant Lambert, Dominic Thornely, Stephen O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Aaron Bird, Josh Hazlewood.Western Australia squad Shaun Marsh, Chris Gayle, Adam Voges (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Luke Ronchi (wk), David Bandy, Theo Doropoulos, Ashley Noffke, Aaron Heal, Michael Hogan, Brad Knowles, Nathan Coulter-Nile.South Australia squad Tom Cooper, Daniel Harris, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Shahid Afridi, Kieron Pollard, Aaron O’Brien, Graham Manou (capt, wk), Dan Christian, Mark Cleary, Jake Haberfield, Shaun Tait.Tasmania squad Tim Paine (wk), Ed Cowan, Rhett Lockyear, Michael Dighton, George Bailey (capt), Travis Birt, Alex Doolan, Luke Butterworth, John Rogers, Jeremy Smith, James Faulkner, Jason Krejza, Brendan Drew, Brett Geeves, Gerard Denton, Xavier Doherty, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

Early start counts
Anyone caught unaware by the early start to the second day would have been in for a quite a surprise. Seventeen balls was all it took for England to wrap up South Africa’s innings, starting with Graham Onions’ removal of Jacques Kallis with a cracking second delivery and then it was over to Jimmy Anderson. He grabbed Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in his first over, both with the help of sharp slip catches, then secured his eighth career five-for by trapping Friedel de Wet lbw. Maybe it was South Africa caught out by the early start. They certainly weren’t ready.Morkel’s bunny
Andrew Strauss hasn’t quite managed to hit the heights of recent times with the bat on this tour – and that’s mainly because of one man. Morne Morkel has the England captain’s number at the moment and it was a shrewd move from Graeme Smith to hand him the first over. All it took was six balls before Morkel lured Strauss into a flat-footed drive and the edge was snaffled by Mark Boucher. After the batting collapse it was just the start South Africa needed and meant Morkel had removed Strauss five times in seven innings on this tour.Trott kept waiting
Normally it is Jonathan Trott who keeps the bowlers waiting at their mark as he takes an age to set up at the crease. It has already annoyed Smith during this series and he was at it again during this innings. However, at one point it was Trott who was made to wait – although so was everyone else – when there was a sightscreen issue under the media centre. Apparently it’s a common problem at Newlands and it resulted in Dale Steyn running to the boundary to tell someone what needed fixing. Still, even when it was fixed Trott kept everyone waiting just a little longer.Steyn’s grab
This series has been missing Steyn at his best. He missed the first Test with his hamstring injury and was still moving through the gears at Kingsmead. However, in this match he has already had a significant impact and the most spectacular moment was the one-handed catch to remove Kevin Pietersen. Taking a return catch is tough for a fast bowler but Steyn managed to stop his momentum and stick out the right hand as Pietersen lobbed the drive in his direction. It stuck in the middle of his palm and Steyn celebrated with real gusto. He had waited a while to be central to the action.Oh, Ian
It was looking so good for Ian Bell, he had done so much hard work to battle his way to 48. It was the innings he needed to finally silence the doubters who believe he doesn’t score runs when England need them, rather than building on a solid base as he did in Durban. When he walked in at 73 for 4 the scenario was set for him and for nearly three hours he played superbly. Then, with the first milestone of a fifty in sight, he was suckered into cutting a Jacques Kallis long-hop to point. He could barely extract himself from the crease.The shot of a No. 7?
In the lead-up to this series a huge debate was whether Stuart Broad was capable of batting at No. 7. The final decision, and the right one, was not quite yet… but he isn’t far away. During his useful 25 he played one shot – a flowing drive off Kallis – that was as good as anything played throughout the day. The ball may have been old and soft, but he had so much time to pick his gap and dispatched it dismissively. That promotion may not be far away.

Tasmania 8 for 254 (Bailey 58, Cowan 57, Doolan 53, Magoffin 4-40) v Western Australia
ScorecardEd Cowan added 57 to his impressive summer collection•Getty Images

Tasmania relied on three half-centuries before Steve Magoffin rocked them late on the first day as they finished at 8 for 254. Ed Cowan began with a fifty and was joined on the list by Alex Doolan and George Bailey, who top scored with 58, but there was frustration that none of them went on, especially when Magoffin struck to collect 4 for 40.Cowan leads the Sheffield Shield run list with 861 at 66.23 and he set up the platform with 57 before he was caught behind off Magoffin early in the second session. Doolan, who survived a drop from Mitchell Marsh, took over and had 53 when he was taken by Luke Ronchi off Michael Hogan.Bailey, the captain, was also in control before slipping to the debutant Nathan Coulter-Nile and the side’s position worsened with the loss of four wickets for 18. Dan Marsh (21) also made a start before he played on to Magoffin before Xavier Doherty was taken at second slip off Brad Knowles. Brendan Drew’s edge gave Magoffin another victim and his final blow came in the last over when he removed Adam Griffith to another edge.The late burst helped Marcus North feel more comfortable after his decision to send the Tigers in. Western Australia are fourth and Tasmania fifth on the table, with both needing to win to remain a chance of making the final.

The second one-day international of South Africa’s India tour, on February 24, has been shifted to Gwalior.The Indian board (BCCI) confirmed the shift via a media release but did not specify the reason. However, it is reportedly believed that a section of the Green Park stadium, allotted for students, was not in good condition and thus the officials did not want to risk hosting an international match. The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association has apparently decidedly to rebuild the stand in question.The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association was quick to offer its support to the BCCI by hosting the match. South Africa’s touring security unit will travel to Gwalior to inspect the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, which last hosted an ODI in November 2007 when Pakistan toured.Kanpur was the venue for India’s series-squaring Test win over South Africa in April 2008, where the visitors lost the final match by eight wickets after their batting line-up crumbled on an under-prepared surface. Kanpur last hosted a Test between India and Sri Lanka late in 2009, and an ODI between the hosts and England in November 2008.The first ODI will be played in Jaipur on February 21 and the third and final game will be held in Ahmedabad on February 27.

Muttiah Muralitharan says he has forgiven John Howard for publicly deciding in 2004 that he was a chucker but remained unconvinced of the former Australian prime minister’s ability to woo the powerful Asian bloc. Howard was today nominated by the boards of Australia and New Zealand as their candidate for the post of ICC president from 2012 but Murali felt he would have to do plenty of convincing to do outside his home territory.Murali, 37, had boycotted Sri Lanka’s Test tour in 2004 after Howard copied the view of many of his subjects by questioning his action. “At the time I thought it was wrong – that was my opinion and he had his,” he told the .”It was not appropriate at the time but it’s all [in the] past. We’ve got to think about the future: how is he going to handle things in cricket? It won’t be an easy job. He has to convince the subcontinent – that’s going to be a tough challenge for him.”Murali was subjected to crowd taunts during that visit to Australia but the reception he received during the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal in 2005, as well as a meeting with Howard afterward, changed his mind and he visited as part of the World XI later that year as well as during his country’s tour in 2007-08.The Australian captain Ricky Ponting believed Howard, who led the country from 1996 to 2007, would “do a terrific job for world cricket” while endorsing the nomination. “He gets my congratulations and he gets the congratulations of the team,” he said in Napier. “It’s great that someone of his standing wants the job. It can’t hurt the ICC to have someone of his ilk in the position he’s going to be in. It’s not about Australia, it’s not about anybody else, it’s just about the global game and I’m sure he’ll do a good job in that role. It’s good news for cricket.”