Simon Jones has been dealt a double snub by club and country. After being overlooked for the second Test against West Indies at Edgbaston, Jones has been deemed surplus to requirements for Glamorgan’s Championship match against Hampshire at Cardiff.”We had a message from Duncan Fletcher last night,” explained John Derrick, Glamorgan’s coach, “saying that Simon was available to us. But the situation at the club is that there was no room for him in the side.”Jones was omitted from the Test side in favour of James Anderson, and now Glamorgan’s seam combination of Michael Kasprowicz, Alex Wharf and David Harrison have left him kicking his heels for the week.”We are playing on a used pitch which meant we played two spinners andthree seamers,” added Derrick. “Kasprowicz has come back after taking seven wickets in a Test for Australia, David Harrison is our leading wicket-taker and Alex Wharf has put in some good allround performances.”So there was no room for Simon. You can only pick 11 players.” Derrick added that there had been no pressure from above for Jones’s inclusion. “David Graveney said it was our call. He told me: ‘We need him to play but it’s your club – I can’t come down and demand he plays’.””Simon Jones is fit for selection for Glamorgan,” confirmed Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. “It was up to them whether they picked him or not. We don’t put pressure on counties about who to play. We are not in the business of arm-twisting.”Nevertheless, if Jones is to figure in England’s plans for the third Test at Old Trafford, he will almost certainly have to play in Glamorgan’s next match against Somerset. “The only way Simon is going to get back in the Test team isby playing,” admitted Derrick. “We will have to monitor the situation after this match and talk about it.”

India A 133 for 3 (Gavaskar 57*, Karthik 52*) trail Zimbabwe Select XI 152 (Chibhabha 41, Bahutule 4-27) by 19 runs
ScorecardSairaj Bahutule continued from where he had left off in the previous match, taking 4 for 27 as Zimbabwe Select XI were bundled out for 152 against India A at the Harare Sports Club. The Indians themselves had some early problems with the bat, but Rohan Gavaskar (57 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (52 not out) steadied the ship with an unbroken 107-run stand, ensuring a close-of-play total of 133 for 3.Bahutule had ended up with 10 for 114 in the first four-day game, which India A won by nine wickets, and it was clear that the Zimbabweans hadn’t figured him out yet. The seamers had done the early damage by getting the first four cheaply, including that of Tatenda Taibu, who followed scores of 0 and 5 with just 11. Bahutule then got to work with his legspinners, having Mark Vermeulen stumped for 23. Stuart Matsikenyeri, who shared a 46-run partnership with Vermeulen, was caught by Karthik for 28, and though Justice Chibhabha kept the fight going with 41, the rest of the batsmen were clueless against Bahutule.The Indians got some scares early in their reply. Gautam Gambhir and Dheeraj Jadhav had put together 149 in the previous game, but here they managed only 11 runs between them, as Tinashe Panyangara had them both caught behind. When Sridharam Sriram was trapped in front for a duck, India A had slumped to 26 for 3. Gavaskar and Karthik – playing in this game as a specialist batsman – then got down to repairing the innings, and by the end of the day, the Indians had wrested back the initiative that they had briefly given away.

New Zealand 215 (Rolls 71) v England 1 for 0
ScorecardEngland’s women produced another day of dominance to follow up their impressive displays in the one-day series, as the one-off Test against New Zealand got underway in Scarborough.In a fine team display, in which all six of England’s bowlers took a wicket, New Zealand were restricted to 215 in a marathon 94 overs. Rebecca Rolls top-scored with 71, and Paula Flannery anchored the top of the innings with 46, but the tail had no answer to the pace and aggression of England’s opening bowlers. When Lucy Pearson and Jenny Gunn returned to the attack, the last four wickets fell for 16 runs.England were asked to bat for a tricky two-over spell before stumps, but Charlotte Edwards and Laura Newton kept their wickets intact to set up an intriguing second day for England.

When Steve Waugh broke into the Australian Test team at the age of 20, he was dubbed "The Iceman" for his immeasurable coolness under pressure. And yet, even Waugh had a soft spot deep beneath his rhinoceros-hide skin, and in 1998, that spot was located on Australia’s tour of India.During that series, Waugh was taken by an aid group to Udayan, a town outside Kolkata, where a home for the children of leprosy victims had been established. Waugh was instantly touched by what he saw, and in the following months and years, he made regular repeat visits, and through his own donations and fund-raising efforts, he helped to build an 80-bed girls’ wing at the centre, which is also home to 220 boys.The children, most of whom are aged between 5 and 19, can spend several years of their lives at the centre, where they receive food, clothing and medical treatment, as well as education, exercise and vocational training, whereby they can prepare to live a normal live when the time comes to leave Udayan.With most of the parents work far away from the home, as beggars, peasants or labourers, Waugh’s regular appearances are eagerly awaited by the children, many of whom refer to him as "Big Brother". He has even adopted a girl, Laxmi, as his own daughter – like his own grandmother, she suffers from post-polio paralysis. As Reverend John Gregory Stevens, the founder of the centre, put it: “Steve is not only a great cricketer but also a great human being.”

Jonty Rhodes feels that lack of preparation cost South Africa their series against India. While maintaining that the inexperienced side would have gained tremendously from the tour, he admitted that England had a good chance of winning the forthcoming Test series.Speaking at The Country Club in Mumbai, Rhodes said that the selectors would do well to give the young players more chances. "Even in defeat they would have learnt something," Rhodes said. "They need to come to the subcontinent more prepared. One warm-up game is not enough. The same thing happened in Sri Lanka and they suffered."Having played under both Kepler Wessels and Hansie Cronje, Rhodes was candid in his assessment of Graeme Smith. "I think Smith has the passion, a cricketing brain and the commitment to do the job. But I think he is still very young. The pressures involved in captaincy are huge and not many captains these days survive for ten years. Smith could have probably been given a year or two more before being made captain."Ever since their return to international cricket South Africa haven’t lost a home Test series to any team apart from Australia. Rhodes, though, viewed England as a serious threat. "England are a very well-balanced team and in that aspect they are similar to South African sides of the past. We might not have had great individual talent but we gelled really well as a team. I think they [England] have underperformed over the years but Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher turned things around. South Africa generally prepare pitches that are hard and bouncy but with Steve Harmison and the rest, England will be a big threat. South Africa will have to play really well to win that one."As expected, several questions centered around fielding, an aspect of the game that Rhodes termed as "the index of team spirit. Your performance on the field doesn’t go on the scoreboard at the end of the day, but it is crucial from a team point of view. I think if we enjoy the success of other people, we’ll all go a long way in life. Allan Donald may finish with ten overs for 40 rather than ten overs for 50 [if the fielders back him]. A good fielding day lifts everyone."Rhodes elaborated on the current method of team selection in South Africa and encouraged young cricketers to look at it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. "It is very easy to blame the system," he said, "but if you’re prepared to work your way up, you will make it. If young white players get a negative attitude, they have themselves to blame."Today, all communities are getting the opportunity to show their skills on the cricket field. I wasn’t a particularly talented cricketer. But I had the right attitude, was prepared to work hard and saw things as opportunities and not obstacles. With that mindset you can overcome anything."

After four days of unrepentantly gloomy conditions in Johannesburg, thesun finally shone on England’s cricketers as they arrived in Potchefstroomahead of tomorrow’s three-day warm-up match against South Africa A. Andthe man with the sunniest disposition of all was Mark Butcher. He enduredan injury-plagued home summer, but is all set to reclaim his No. 3 berthfor next week’s first Test at Port Elizabeth, after being named in aTest-strength XI ahead of his understudy, Robert Key.In truth, it was a no-brainer of a decision for the England management.There is no substitute for experience, and until a series of freak injuries last summer, including a car-crash and a mishap with a cardboard box, Butcher had been one of England’s most consistent performers over the course of three years and 42 consecutive matches. “It was injury that kept Butcher out of the side, not a lack of form,” explained Duncan Fletcher, at a press briefing in Johannesburg, “so he’s got to have some credit in the bank.”Though Key grabbed his opportunity against West Indies last summer, with adouble-century at Lord’s and a matchwinning 93 not out at Old Trafford, he had long been resigned to a place on the bench, even aftertop-scoring with a slap-happy 87 at Randjesfontein on Wednesday. AsFletcher explained, it is rare for South Africa’s confidence to be asshaky as it currently is, and so the onus is on England to hit them ashard as possible come next Friday.For that reason, the raw pace of Simon Jones has once again been preferredto the mercurial talents of James Anderson, who made a rare appearance inthe Test side at The Oval last summer, but is now nursing aslight side strain and remains very much the fifth member of England’sseam attack.Jones, on the other hand, is hovering at something close to his best formaccording to his coach, and is ready to tear in against South Africa A.”Simon’s lines and lengths were outstanding in Zimbabwe,” enthusedFletcher, “although it was important that he held back and didn’t go at ittoo quickly. But now that his confidence levels are up, it’s time for himto up the pace as well.”If it appears that England are peaking at precisely the right time, thesame cannot be said of their opponents. Defeats, disputes and dismissalshave dogged the South African build-up to this series, although Fletcherfully expects their A team to provide proud and tenacious opposition overthe next three days. “There are a few players in that side who want toprove a point,” he warned, “and if they want to play for South Africa,they are bound to be determined opposition.”Few men will have more of a point to prove than South Africa’s deposedwicketkeeper, Mark Boucher. After 75 consecutive Tests, he wasdeemed surplus to requirements for the recent tour of India, and thoughwidely tipped for a recall at Port Elizabeth, he was again omitted infavour of Thami Tsolekile. It was a contentious boardroom issue that costOmar Henry his job as convenor of selectors, and earned the coach RayJennings a rap over the knuckles from the board chairman, Gerald Majola.”With his record against us, we certainly rate Boucher,” admittedFletcher, “although if South Africa’s selectors believe Tsolekile to beeven better, then we certainly can’t afford to be complacent.”For the second match running, England’s opponents will be led by AshwellPrince. He takes over the reins from the injured HD Ackerman, who wasrecently sacked as captain of South Africa’s provincial side, HighveldLions, in a team that also includes the talented 20-year-old strokemaker,JP Duminy, and the opening batsman, Andrew Puttick, who was HerschelleGibbs’s replacement in Sri Lanka earlier this year.But whoever the opposition, England’s attack is fully focussed and readyto hit top gear over the coming three days. “It’s all about buildingmomentum,” added Fletcher. “[Steve] Harmison looked pretty effective inthe Oppenheimer match, and it will just take two or three sessions in thisgame, and they’ll be ready for Port Elizabeth.”England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Mark Butcher, 4Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 GeraintJones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 SteveHarmison.South Africa A 1 Andrew Puttick, 2 Martin van Jaarsveld, 3 AshwellPrince (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 Justin Ontong, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 AlbieMorkel, 8 Alfonso Thomas, 9 Charl Langeveldt, 10 Ethy Mbhalati, 11 CharlWilloughby.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo