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Melbourne Renegades, unfashionable and unfancied before the tournament began, won their third straight game, beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at Docklands Stadium

Alex Malcolm in Melbourne19-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMelbourne Renegades, unfashionable and unfancied before the tournament began, won their third straight game, beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at Docklands Stadium.They stuck to the formula of winning the toss and bowling. All 11 matches in this tournament so far have been won by the chasing team. But their attack is proving extremely effective as they strangled the Hurricanes on a surface that looked relatively good for batting.There is a touch of Moneyball about the Renegades. They have the all-time leading wicket-taker in international cricket, Muttiah Muralitharan, and the Man of the Match from the 2012 World Twenty20 final, Marlon Samuels, as marquee men. But there are two journeymen in Nathan Rimmington and Aaron O’Brien, who happen to be in the top five leading wicket-takers in Australian domestic T20 history, as well as the seamer Darren Pattinson (who played one Test for England) to round off a well-balanced bowling unit.The Hurricanes started steadily. Pattinson erred by dropping short to Ricky Ponting twice in the second over and paid for it by giving away two boundaries. But Rimmington’s late swing removed Tim Paine to start a rot that would prove fatal for the visitors. The dangerous Travis Birt nearly hit the roof when he launched Samuels but it landed in the doctor-safe hands of Daniel Harris.Ponting threatened to unleash when he lofted an imperious cover drive into the stands off Pattinson. But Ponting lost his off stump off an uncharacteristic reverse-sweep off Muralitharan and the Hurricanes began to slide. They lost 4 for 16 in 28 torturous deliveries, with Muralitharan striking twice, O’Brien and Rimmington once apiece.Owais Shah was unbeaten in that period but he did not help his team’s cause, scoring a boundary-less 14 from 29 balls before becoming Samuels’ third victim in the 18th over. Xavier Doherty and Doug Bollinger scored 15 from the last 10 balls to ensure the Hurricanes went past three figures and didn’t get bowled out.Aaron Finch continued to prove himself as one of the star players in Australian domestic limited-overs cricket, making light work of the chase with an unbeaten 46 from 40 balls. He went after Bollinger, but because it hit a beam supporting the roof, outside the boundary line, and bounced back onto the field it was ruled a dead ball. That denied him a fifty.Finch lost Harris early in the chase, but had the support of Samuels in maximising the Powerplay overs. Samuels smoked 21 from just nine deliveries before chopping Michael Hogan onto his stumps via his pads. Ben Rohrer made a crafty 18, and Tom Cooper made an easy unbeaten 10 to see the chase home with his captain Finch with 40 balls to spare.The Hurricanes, last year’s semi-finalists, have now lost two in a row and need to recover against Sydney Thunder on Sunday in Hobart. The Renegades will be gunning for four straight wins when they host Brisbane Heat on Saturday.

The New South Wales captain Steve O’Keefe led from the front with four wickets to keep the Blues on top in their match against Western Australia at Sydney’s Blacktown Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2013

Scorecard
Steve O’Keefe had eight wickets for the match by stumps on day three•Getty Images

The New South Wales captain Steve O’Keefe led from the front with four wickets to keep the Blues on top in their match against Western Australia at Sydney’s Blacktown Oval. At stumps on the third day, the Warriors’ tail had wagged enough to give them a 109-run lead but with only two wickets in hand – Ashton Agar was at the crease on 29 with Jason Behrendorff on 4 – it appeared they would need something special on the final day to avoid defeat.The day began with New South Wales at 6 for 263 and they were able to add a further 81 runs for the loss of their final four wickets. Moises Henriques, who was not out on 62 overnight, was caught off the bowling of Nathan Coulter-Nile for 71 but O’Keefe (36) and Trent Copeland (39) combined for a useful 54-run stand that pushed the Blues up to 344. Coulter-Nile collected 3 for 89 and the debutant spinner Ashton Agar took 3 for 104.The second innings for the Warriors began well with a 67-run opening partnership between Marcus Harris (43) and Liam Davis (32) but after Chris Tremain broke that stand, O’Keefe became a danger to the middle order. After picking up 4 for 55 in the first innings, O’Keefe added 4 for 47 and his work could hardly have come at a better time, as Australia’s selectors prepare to choose their Test squad to tour India.Copeland also claimed two important wickets, including that of Michael Hussey lbw for 8, and the Warriors had slipped from 2 for 100 to 6 for 102. Coulter-Nile helped fight back with 42 before Agar and Behrendorff came together, but with only Michael Hogan still to bat the Warriors remained in trouble at stumps.

The Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the inaugural edition of which is set to begin on July 29, will include six franchises with 90 contracted players in all

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2013The Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the inaugural edition of which is set to begin on July 29, will include six franchises with 90 contracted players in all. Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard have been named ‘franchise players’. Each of these icon players will turn out for one of the six teams, which are likely to be from Antigua, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.This was announced by the WICB, alongside Verus International – the Barbados and USA-based company that is funding the Twenty20 league – during a press conference in St James on Tuesday. The CPL agreement between Verus International and the West Indies board stands for a minimum of 20 years. This tournament, the WICB reaffirmed, will replace the existing Caribbean T20 as region’s domestic Twenty20 competition.The financial benefits that the league will offer the players are a big positive, WICB president Julian Hunte said: “The WICB is elated with the agreement, which will allow for regional retainer contracts for a broad pool of players. These contracts will be funded by the CPL to the tune of US$360,000 annually. This significant investment will truly allow for cricketers in the Caribbean to pursue their profession as professionals.”The icon players will not necessarily represent their country in the league. Dirk Hall, managing director of Verus International, said this was to ensure better balance: “The CPL has chosen the top six T20 players in the region based on their stats and performances in this format of the game. Doing it this way ensures that each team is bolstered by a talented, top West Indian player, and that there is balance and fairness across the board on all six teams.”The CPL is also looking to rope in six international ‘franchise players’, one for each franchise. Every franchise will contract 15 players in all, with a maximum of four overseas signings. Of the regional players, at least six must be from the franchise country (in the case of St Lucia, locals will include players from the Windwards Islands and the in case of Antigua, players from the Leeward Islands) and four must be under-23 players. Apart from the appointed icon players, the rest of the squads will be assembled via a draft system, the working details of which are as yet unknown.The WICB confirmed that the tournament’s schedule has been drawn up so that the dates do not clash with any other West Indies international or domestic tournaments, or the IPL. All contracted players will be under an obligation to turn out for their franchises in the tournament.The inaugural edition will include 30 group matches, followed by an eliminator and a final. Each of the franchises will play the other five on a home and away basis during the group stage.The 2014 edition of the CPL is scheduled to be played between July 5 and August 10, while the 2015 tournament will run from June 21 to July 26.

Scotland and Netherlands have each been awarded grant of $1.5m over the next three years as part of the ICC’s Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP)

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2013Scotland and Netherlands have each been awarded a grant of $1.5m over the next three years as part of the ICC’s Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP). They are the second and third Associate Members, after Ireland, to benefit from the initiative, which is aimed at increasing the level of competition in international cricket.Both Cricket Scotland and the Netherlands board will receive the extra funding until 2015. Scotland’s plan involves continuing development work to increase the profile of the game. Netherlands hope to use the money to enable them to play more international fixtures, as well as increase domestic cricket; it will also help provide more support for current and future players.”We are thrilled to be signing a TAPP agreement with the ICC, and are extremely grateful for this enhanced support to improve our internal domestic structures and to have more international fixtures, all geared to making us competitive on the world stage,” Cricket Scotland’s chief executive officer, Roddy Smith, said.The Netherlands board chief executive officer, Richard Cox, said: “KNCB is extremely grateful to the ICC for this award, which will help us achieve our medium- and long-term objectives and help the Netherlands become even more competitive – from the domestic level with the new regional domestic playing structure through to the international arena. It is a real boost for everyone involved.”ICC chief executive, David Richardson, added: “I am very pleased to have witnessed the signing of these TAPP agreements. Both Cricket Scotland and KNCB provided excellent submissions to the ICC Board, and I have no doubt that both Boards will do their very best to deliver those plans to continue the enhancement of competitiveness at the higher levels of cricket.”New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe are also expected to agree TAPP funding with the ICC in the near future.

Haseeb Ahsan, former Pakistan off spinner, has died at the age of 73 in Karachi

Umar Farooq08-Mar-2013Haseeb Ahsan, the former Pakistan offspinner, has died at the age of 73 in Karachi. Ahsan was staying with former Pakistan captain Hanif Mohammad and was on dialysis for the last two years.Ahsan played 12 Tests for Pakistan between 1958 and 1962. His last stint in cricket was in England, when he represented Pakistan Eaglets in 1963 against Scotland. Following his first-class career, which lasted almost eight years, he took up an executive role in American Express.He went on to become one of the most influential selectors in Pakistan cricket. As chief selector, he picked the teenager Wasim Akram for the national side in 1984. He was also the chairman of the 1987 World Cup technical committee and a member of the tournament’s organising committee.Akram paid tribute to Ahsan, telling : “Ahsan convinced everyone of my talent and selected me against New Zealand. He was very close to me and, as a powerful selector, spotted young talent and threw them into the bigger battles. I have lost a very close supporter.”In the official history of Pakistan cricket, he was recorded as a “prodigious spinner of cricket ball”. On debut in first-class cricket, he didn’t take a wicket against MCC in 1955 in his only match of 1955-56 season, but followed up that with a solid second season, finishing with 19 wickets at 12.68. In 1957-58, his tally was 26 wickets at 9.76, and he claimed his career best of 8 for 23 – that eventually brought him into contention for international cricket, and he was subsequently picked for a tour to the West Indies. Ahsan finished with 27 Test wickets at an average of 49.25. He took his best figures of 6 for 202 against India in Chennai in 1961.Later, Ahsan was a key figure in Karachi cricket and became the pivotal figure in the Sindh Cricket Association in 2003. In 2006, he was named in the panel that heard the appeals of fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif against doping bans.PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf praised Ahsan’s administrative skills: “Haseeb was not only a superb Test cricketer but also was a good administrator who intimately knew the game. His death is a loss to the cricketing fraternity.” Karachi City Cricket Association president Sirajul Islam Bukhari said: “Ahsan fought illness with courage.”

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain, has revealed he refused a a lucrative two-year deal to play for Worcestershire, due to it clashing with his national team commitments

Umar Farooq13-Apr-2013Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain, has revealed he refused a a lucrative two-year deal to play for Worcestershire, due to it clashing with his national team commitments.Worcestershire, relegated last season, were looking for an overseas batsman after it became clear Australian Phil Hughes, who played at New Road in 2012, was not going to be available. Worcs held exploratory talks with Misbah earlier this year but failed to reach an agreement on a lengthy deal for the entire season.”It was potentially a lucrative deal for me but it was actually clashing with my international commitment,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “They actually offered me a two-year contract with an extension of one more year on mutual agreement.”Playing county is obviously a great experience but for a while I think I have a key role in Pakistan cricket and I am fully committed to the team.”Worcestershire, who drew their opening Championship fixture against Lancashire, ultimately signed former Sri Lanka middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera for the 2013 season.

James Taylor and Steven Mullaney added the meat to Nottinghamshire’s total, but some loose shots meant the home side did not get away from Durham

George Dobell at Trent Bridge29-Apr-2013
ScorecardJames Taylor fell three runs short of back-to-back hundreds•Getty Images

When you’re not much over five feet tall, being overlooked comes with the territory.Certainly James Taylor could be forgiven for feeling that way. Despite making a decent fist of his baptism in Test cricket – the 147 he added with Kevin Pietersen on debut at Headingley was England’s highest fifth-wicket stand against South Africa since they were readmitted into Test cricket – he was dropped just one game later and then omitted from the senior squads to tour India or New Zealand. To rub salt in the wound, he was then omitted from the 30-man performance squad named by the ECB at the start of this summer.Not only were the England management unconvinced by his ability outside off stump, but there were rumours that one of Taylor’s England colleagues in that Headingley Test made no attempt to conceal his own surprise at the batsman’s early elevation to Test cricket. It wasn’t easy being JT in that dressing room.But Taylor – who, to be fair, claims to be five foot six (but much in the way that Father Ted used to claim the money was “resting in his account”) – continues to make a persuasive case for a recall. Following a century in his previous innings against Derbyshire he came within three runs of recording another here and produced the most solid batting of a day on which 11 wickets fell.While some might explain away a first-class career average of 47.71 by stating that many of those runs were made in Division Two of the Championship, his record for England Lions is excellent – he averages 61.60 in first-class cricket for them and 38.20 in List A cricket – and, if his technique is unusual, his record suggests it is also highly effective.While the watching national selector, Geoff Miller, cannot have been totally assured of Taylor’s ability on the off side – two third of his runs came on the leg side and he was beaten outside off on several occasions – he can only have been impressed by the application shown by the diminutive 23-year-old.On a day on which several batsmen played a large part in their own downfall, Taylor fought hard and produced a number of pleasing strokes to fully justify his place in the England Lions team to play New Zealand at his previous club, Leicestershire, that was announced during the day’s play.”I’ve had some good chats with Geoff Miller,” Taylor said afterwards. “I know it’s down to me to score runs and it will be nice to go back to Grace Road and do well against an international attack. My game can definitely work at Test level. Sachin Tendulkar is the same height as me. Just look at my record: I’ve scored hundreds against very decent attacks.”I felt very comfortable when I played Test cricket; the only problem was the experience was a bit brief. I know I didn’t express myself as much as I would have liked, but that was dictated by the match situation which dictated that someone had to dig in.”This was another day for digging in. While Taylor did take Ben Stokes for three successive fours at one stage – two pulls and a drive – he was generally content to accumulate and played a supporting role to the fluent Steven Mullaney in a fifth-wicket stand of 111. Mullaney contributed 80; Taylor just 24.

Broad calms injury worries

Stuart Broad was forced to leave the field after bowling just three overs in Nottinghamshire’s County Championship match against Durham. Broad edged the ball into his groin while batting earlier in the day and later felt some tightness in the area when he started to bowl.

His first over cost 12 and, after two more, he left the pitch as a precaution and will be assessed before the second day’s play before any decision is made about his participation in the rest of this game. He later tweeted: “Got hit in the groin while batting. Nothing major will be bowling 1st thing 2moro.”

When Taylor eventually fell, pushing at an arm ball well outside off stump, he became Gareth Breese’s first Championship wicket since September 2008 and only his second since 2006. Breese, playing ahead of Keaton Jennings, has played only five Championship games in six seasons, which perhaps says more about Durham’s confidence in Scott Borthwick’s leg-spin than it does anything else.While Taylor reckoned Nottinghamshire’s final total was “about par”, Durham will be disappointed to have allowed them to score so many. They put down five chances in all, with Stokes, usually so reliable, missing four of varying degrees of difficulty. Will Smith put down the other.Most of the misses proved expensive. Ed Cowan, who went on to score 40, was reprieved on 4, Mullaney was missed on 6 and Stuart Broad, who made 46, survived chances on 1 and 7. A crude calculation would suggest the drops cost Durham 157 runs.Graham Onions, as reliable as ever, was the unfortunate bowler on several occasions, but Mark Wood – preferred to Callum Thorp – was just as impressive. Decidedly brisk, he beat Taylor with successive deliveries on off stump and dismissed Mullaney, flashing outside off stump to the first ball of a spell, and Chris Read, beaten for pace and bounce as he attempted to drive. In Stokes, who also bowled with good pace, and Wood, Durham possess a pair of outstandingly talented young allrounders.Earlier Alex Hales left a straight one, Cowan’s pleasing innings ended when he uncharacteristically failed to move his feet to a drive and edged to gully, before Michael Lumb was struck on the foot by a yorker and Samit Patel guided the ball before lunch – a long hop – to point as obligingly as a coach providing catching practice.While Mullaney batted with pleasing fluency – he drove Breese for sixes from successive balls at one stage – and Broad thrashed about with characteristic abandon – he, too, struck two sixes and, at one stage, four fours in six deliveries – Nottinghamshire could have done with a little more of Taylor’s determination if they were to have built a match-defining position.

David Warner has publicly apologised for his bar-room altercation with Joe Root over the weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2013David Warner has publicly apologised for his bar-room altercation with Joe Root in Birmingham last week, which has seen him suspended until the first Ashes Test.In front of a phalanx of TV cameras and photographers, Warner faced the press for the first time since the incident, and he accepted that he had to be “a bit smarter with what I do on and off the field”. Australia captain Michael Clarke termed Warner’s behaviour “unacceptable” and would not be drawn into endorsing Warner’s leadership qualities as he had done in the past.”I’m here today to apologise publicly and put my hand up and say I am responsible for my actions,” Warner said. “I am extremely remorseful. I have let my team-mates down, the support staff, myself and my family.”Cricket Australia has already fined him and he has also been suspended for the rest of the Champions Trophy, as well as two Ashes warm-up matches. “I have accepted the punishment. It is up to me to do everything I can to help the team to progress in the Champions Trophy, and move on to have a great preparation for the Ashes.”Warner didn’t expand on the details about the incident with Root – and would not confirm or deny that fancy dress was involved – but accepted that he had been drinking. “I definitely remember the night. It started out with a few drinks in the bar and as a team we went to the Walkabout. I made a mistake and I put my hand up,” he said, adding that he had already apologised to Root. “I have exchanged text messages with Joe. He accepted my apology, which I am thoroughly grateful for.”He also denied he had a drinking problem. “I don’t think I have a drink problem at all. I’ve got to make the right decisions at the right time. That night wasn’t a good time to go out and have a beer. We’d lost the game, and even though we’d had a day off we’d still lost. We don’t have curfews, but looking back I shouldn’t have been in that situation.”This was Warner’s second disciplinary problem in less than a month – having earlier had a Twitter spat with two journalists, Malcolm Conn and Robert Craddock, last month. “Although the punishment for David is quite harsh, that’s the reality when you play for the Australian cricket team,” Clarke said. “This is not an IPL team, this is not state cricket, it’s not county cricket, when you play for Australia there are standards you have to uphold.”David Warner: “I am extremely remorseful. I have let my team-mates down, the support staff, myself and my family”•Getty Images

“It’s probably not the right time for me to sit here and be bragging about David’s leadership qualities,” Clarke added. “I’ve said in the past that he does have a lot of leadership qualities, but right now as captain of this Australian team, he knows very clearly how I feel. His behaviour is unacceptable as an Australian cricketer.”Clarke said that Warner “deserves credit” for owning up to his mistake. “I respect the fact David has put his hand up and wants to move forward, has apologised to Joe, and acknowledged he has made a big mistake. He does deserve credit for putting his hand up.”Clarke felt the next few weeks provide Warner a chance to show his maturity, and insisted the incident wouldn’t disturb Australia’s Ashes preparations. “I’ve said for a long time it’s not what you say, it’s what you do, and this is an opportunity for Warner to show the world what he does rather than what he says. We’ll be 100% ready for the Ashes. There’s no doubt about it.”Warner admitted he was thankful to still be part of the tour, although with a lack of warm-up matches his chances of appearing in the first Test at Trent Bridge appear slim. “I’m grateful to still be on this tour,” he said. “I’ve got no cricket in the next month so I will have to go back into the nets and prepare as well as I can, and help my team-mates that I’ve let down as much as I can.”It’s disappointing to have two incidents in a matter of months. It’s come three, four weeks after that incident out in India as well, so I have to keep moving on from this.”

Middlesex moved back to the top of the Friends Life t20 South group after a six-wicket win over Sussex at Hove

16-Jul-2013
ScorecardDawid Malan extended his lead as the tournament’s leading run-scorer•Getty Images

Middlesex moved back to the top of the Friends Life t20 South group after a six-wicket win over Sussex at Hove.Although Middlesex did not secure victory until the fourth ball of the final over, they always looked in control chasing a target of 149. Dawid Malan continued his outstanding form with 41 to take his competition aggregate this season to 335 runs while Joe Denly weighed in with 53.Middlesex needed just a single run off the final over to claim victory but after failing to score from the first three balls, Adam Voges sealed their fourth group win when he chipped Dwayne Smith over midwicket for a boundary as the Panthers reached 152 for 4.Earlier, Sussex skipper Chris Nash had held the hosts’ innings together with 61 off 46 balls but he lacked the necessary support as the Sharks finished on 148 for 7. Nash made his first half-century in this season’s tournament, coming in during the fourth over after Sussex had been reduced to 31 for 2.Smith was caught behind wafting across the line at the first ball of the match from Kyle Mills and Rory Hamilton-Brown picked out midwicket in Gareth Berg’s first over after briefly prospering with four boundaries in his 18. Opener Matt Machan looked in good touch with 27 off 17 balls including six fours but when he holed out to long on in offspinner Ollie Rayner’s first over it was left to Nash to steady the ship.Nash lofted the first of three sixes over the pavilion roof in the sixth over off Mills, having been hit on the collar bone earlier in the over. Then in the 18th over he twice cleared the ropes off Gurjit Sandhu. Nash also hit five boundaries, adding 45 for the fourth wicket with Scott Styris (24) in the most productive stand of the Sussex innings.Berg picked up two wickets at the end to finish with 3 for 19 but Sussex’s total was immediately put into context when debutant Lewis Hatchett’s first over in the format disappeared for 26. His first delivery went for four leg byes and he then conceded four boundaries and a six, 22 of the runs scored by Paul Stirling.Andy Miller, in his first T20 game for two years, knocked back Stirling’s off stump in the second over but an asking rate of seven an over was never going to inconvenience a strong Panthers’ outfit on a good pitch and fast, parched outfield, especially with the form Malan is enjoying.Malan and Denly put on 80 in 12 overs for the second wicket with Malan continuing his impressive form with 41 at a run-a-ball while Denly’s 53 from 46 balls, which included four sixes, was his second T20 half-century this season. Denly was bowled coming down the pitch to Styris, whose four overs cost just 19, and Malan drove to extra cover in the 17th over when 18 runs were needed.Adam Rossington drove Chris Liddle to point but Middlesex comfortably avenged their earlier defeat at Lord’s which remains Sussex’s only win so far.

The organisers hope to emulate the home of cricket with a Lord’s-themed five days for the first fixture between South Africa and India

Firdose Moonda08-Jul-2013Kingsmead plans to celebrate the return of the Boxing Day Test in Durban with an explosion of the tradition it represents. The organisers hope to emulate the home of cricket with a Lord’s-themed five days for the first fixture between South Africa and India.”We made a big push to get this match back and the Durban public did so as well. We’ve got a lot of things planned and additional activities on the go,” Jesse Chellan, chief executive of the Dolphins, the franchise that operates out of Durban, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re looking to replicate what goes on at Lord’s in terms of the food courts and corporate tents.”Chellan and his staff have been waiting for South Africa’s 2013-14 home schedule to be announced to see if it would deal them a better hand than it did last season. Then, not only was Kingsmead robbed of its festive five-dayer but it did not host a Test at all.Instead, the venue was given an ODI and two T20s, one of which was washed out, as Cricket South Africa tried to maximise interest in the two visiting teams. New Zealand’s trip was over the holiday period and because they were considered less marketable than opposition like India, England or Australia, CSA scheduled T20s in the week between Christmas and New Year.That decision, however, was criticised. Although all the T20s were sold out, cricket fans lamented the removal of the Boxing Day Test. With India providing a significant draw card, CSA was able to restore the fixture in Durban.Kingsmead has been criticised for crowds that do not match expectation but Chellan said it’s not those numbers alone that indicate interest in the event. “We are very pleased for the Durban public and the South Africa public as a whole. The Boxing Day Test is an institution and people put away time to watch it, whether it’s on the stadium or on television,” he said. “We don’t really make money on the Test matches but it’s an important match to have.”It has also been dubbed South Africa’s bogey venue because they have not won in Durban since beating West Indies in 2008, but Chellan hopes the No.1 ranked Test side can change their fortunes at his ground.South Africa’s form suggests they may be able to. They won all five Tests they hosted last summer – two against New Zealand and three against Pakistan – inside four days. They will expect a sterner challenge this season. India and Australia visit for three Tests each but both will have to take South Africa on at fortress Newlands, where the home side last lost in 2006.Cape Town and Johannesburg will host Tests against India but there was also good news for Port Elizabeth. After going without a Test from 2007, the venue given one last summer against New Zealand and will host Australia this year.That left only Bloemfontein among the major grounds, which are understood to be the primary venues of each of the six franchises, without a Test. The city has only hosted four Tests in the past, the most recent against Bangladesh in 2008. With talk of seven Tests this summer – the administrators were pondering a fourth against India – Bloemfontein was hopeful of being among the grounds to host but are willing to bide their time for now.”We are a little disappointed but maybe if there were more Tests in a season, we would come into contention,” Johan van Heerden, the Free State cricket boss said. “We’ve hosted very few Tests so it’s difficult to judge what the spectator numbers will be like here. But we’ve kept maintenance of our stadium superb and we are starting the building of a new hotel on the northern side of the stadium. When that is complete, I think we will have a far greater chance of hosting a Test.”