Reliable middle order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq has arrived in New Zealand today to join the Pakistan team ahead of the second Test at Wellington on the 3rd of December.

Misbah-ul-Haq is the replacement of Skipper Younis Khan who had opted out of the NZ tour following a disastrous Cool and Cool Cup Series in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan now has as many as 18 players in its Test Squad.

The 35-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq will most probably get into the playing XI straightaway and making way for him could be either Khurram Manzoor or Imran Farhat. There is a lot of pressure on Pakistan to win the second Test at Basin Reserve after losing the first Test at Dunedin by 32 runs.

? 2009, CricketMove.Com. All rights reserved. Partner with APakistanNews.com

India’s dashing left handed opener Gautam Gambhir will miss the third and final Test at Mumbai due to family commitments. The southpaw has been given leave by the BCCI to attend his sister’s marriage. Gambhir has been in cracking form for India saving the first Test at Ahmedabad with a century and then starring in the innings victory at Kanpur with a superb 167 on the first day.

Replacing Gautam Gambhir is most probably going to be another specialist opener Murali Vijay from Tamil Nadu. The right handed Vijay had played one Test so far which was against Australia. The third and final Test at Mumbai is to be played at the Brabourne Stadium from the 2nd of December.

India’s Squad for third Test at Mumbai : MS Dhoni (Captain and Wicket Keeper), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Murali Vijay and S Badrinath.

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After a crushing 112-run defeat in the third ODI, England have bounced back in style at Port Elizabeth with a demolishing victory. James Anderson took five wickets to have South Africa bowled out for a mediocre 119.

South Africa had won the toss and batted first, a move that clearly backfired. The hosts were not just losing wickets but were also struggling to keep the scoreboard moving with Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan combining well with Anderson. Only Alviro Petersen could stand up against the English attack to score 51 from 79 balls (with 5 fours) to take his team into three figures. The Proteas were bowled out in 36.5 overs with Anderson finishing with 10-3-23-5. Tim Bresnan suffocated the batsmen with his 8-2-15-1 while Broad and Collingwood took two wickets each.

England had a cakewalk reaching the target in 31.2 overs at the loss of three wickets. Opener Jonathan Trott played the sheet anchor scoring an unbeaten 52 from 77 balls with 7 fours. Skipper Andrew Strauss made a patient 32 to seal the chase with an opening stand of 74.

? 2009, CricketMove.Com. All rights reserved. Partner with APakistanNews.com

England Vs Australia 1st Semi – Final, Match scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (12:30 GMT) :-

1st Semi Final
ICC Champions Trophy 2009 :
England vs
Australia

1st Semi Final Match will take place at Centurion

Aus vs Eng (Semi Final) Match will start at 2 October

Start Time 2:30 (Local Time ) and 12:30 GMT.

Australia Squad or Team for Champions Trophy 2009 (Champions Trophy) 1st Semi Final Match

RT Ponting, MJ Clarke, DE Bollinger, CJ Ferguson, NM Hauritz, BW Hilfenhaus, JR Hopes, MEK Hussey, MG Johnson, B Lee, TD Paine, PM Siddle, AC Voges, SR Watson, CL White.

England Squad or Team for Champions Trophy 2009 (Champions Trophy) 1st Semi Final Match

Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright, plus AN Cook, Jonathan Trott.

JOHANNESBURG: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss Tuesday and sent England in to bat in their Champions Trophy match at Wanderers Stadium.

New Zealand was affected by a wave of injuries, and brought in Ian Butler to replace fast bowler Daryl Tuffey, and reserve wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins to replace Jesse Ryder.

England brought in Ryan Sidebottom for Graham Onions in the only change to the team which eliminated host South Africa from the tournament.

Teams:

New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Neil Broom, Gareth Hopkins, James Franklin, Daniel Vettori (captain), Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Ian Butler.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Joe Denly, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom.

JOHANNESBURG: England captain Andrew Strauss elected to field after winning the toss against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy here on Friday.

Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 55 runs in their opening match of the four-team group, while England are playing their first game. New Zealand are the other side in the group.

The top two sides advance to the semi-finals.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Thilina Kandamby

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Graham Onions, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Billy Bowden (NZ, TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZ)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND).