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Daryl Tuffey, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been linked to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and is ready to sign on the dotted line for an “attractive offer”. The ICL is expected to start next month and Tuffey hoped it would not stop him from playing first-class cricket for Auckland later this season.”I’m leaning towards [signing]. It’s the money and a bit of security,” Tuffey told the . “Nothing’s guaranteed with New Zealand Cricket, even the money you get playing domestic cricket back home. You’ve got to start looking after No. 1 at some point.”Tuffey, 29, isn’t contracted by NZC and last week turned down a provincial deal with Auckland. Tuffey said he spoke to Auckland coach Mark O’Donnell, who indicated there would be a place for him when his ICL commitments finish at the end of November. “Not signing with Auckland has just made me a free agent. I’m can play for match fees if Auckland choose to do that. It’s a bit more relaxed for me now,” Tuffey said. “I’m pretty keen to come back and play for Auckland and see what happens from there, if I’m bowling well.”If he does join the ICL Tuffey will join former New Zealand team-mates Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Hamish Marshall. It is believed Craig McMillan will hold talks with Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive, over his potential involvement.Tuffey has played 22 Test and 80 ODIs and has taken eight wickets at 15.25 in the opening three rounds for Sutherland in Sydney grade cricket, where he is playing for six weeks. Tuffey said the side, which plays under the former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon, was keen for him to return later in the season if he wasn’t required by Auckland.Tuffey, who played one match in this year’s World Cup before returning home, believed he had “four or five” good cricketing years left. “Who knows what happens if I go to India, but if the chance arose again that would be great,” he said. “But I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket and hoping to play for New Zealand any more. I’ve had a great time playing international cricket but there’s other opportunities outside of cricket that I’m putting first at the moment.”

Michael Clarke has vowed not to look too far ahead after his short-term Test future was sealed with Damien Martyn’s sudden retirement. A century at Adelaide not only showed Clarke was ready for an extended stint in the side, but it also led to Martyn walking away from the game mid-series.The men are close friends and have exchanged text messages since Martyn’s decision, a move Clarke believed opened a spot for him during the third Test at Perth from Thursday. “If Watto [Shane Watson] was fit for this game, I still would’ve assumed I would’ve been the one to go,” Clarke said in the . “Marto’s performances have been outstanding over a long period of time. A player of that class is always going to come good.”With Marto retiring, I guess there are spots there. But I’ve got to focus on continuing to score runs. I feel like I’m batting pretty well and my goal is just to focus on that – one ball at a time, not look too far ahead – because as I’ve seen before it can all be taken away from you very quickly.”Clarke fell away after two brilliant centuries in his first month in the Test arena in 2004 and had to fight his way back. He has batted at No. 6 in the opening two games of the current series and does not expect a move to No. 4, where he sat for a couple of games when Martyn was dropped after the previous Ashes.”I haven’t spoken to anyone but I’d assume I wouldn’t go back [to No. 4],” he said. “I don’t even really want to think about it. In my opinion, Huss [Michael Hussey] is batting that well it makes sense for him to go to No. 4. I’m rapt just to be in the team at the moment given that a few games ago I was playing for New South Wales. It’s slow and steady for me now.”Clarke said he hoped “it’s not my fault” Martyn retired. “Marto made that decision because he did what he thought was best,” Clarke said in . “Now this gives us the chance to continue our friendship outside cricket, I guess.”He’s a great mate of mine and I’m not going to get the chance to play international cricket with him anymore. I’m the first guy to congratulate Marto on every single thing that he has achieved. He’s helped me a lot. He’s a very close mate.”

Gloucestershire have admitted they are interested in bringing New Zealand’s batsman Hamish Marshall to the county next season.Marshall has recently established himself in the Kiwis side and averages 48.58 in Tests. “He’s someone we’re interested in,” Tom Richardson, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, told Cricinfo. “We wanted to bring him in last season as an overseas replacement and he was very keen but it didn’t quite fit his schedule with New Zealand.”Gloucestershire were relegated from the top tier of the County Championship last year, and they are keen to add strength to their batting as they look to bounce straight back. “We’re looking for a top-order batsmen who can bring real quality to the county,” said Richardson. “We believe someone like Marshall would be a huge benefit on and off the field and is the kind of man who can enthuse our younger players.”

Zimbabwe A 18 for 0 trail South Africa A 272 (Morkel 94, Hondo 4-46) by 254 runs
Scorecard

Douglas Hondo was the star performer for Zimbabwe A, taking 4 for 46 as South Africa A were bowled out for 272 on the first day of the four-day game at Bulawayo. Had it not been for some spirited resistance from Albie Morkel, who made 94 from 141 balls, and his 102-run last-wicket partnership with Charl Langeveldt, it could have been much worse for the South Africans.Hondo rocked them early in the piece, taking four of the first five wickets. He started the slide by dismissing Abraham de Villiers, who had scored 91 and 84 in the first match, which South Africa A had won by seven wickets. de Villiers made just 8 this time before being bowled (20 for 1). Hondo then got rid of Loots Bosman, the other opener, for 23, before nailing two crucial middle-order wickets – Ashwell Prince (5) and Neil McKenzie (25) were both bowled as South Africa A slumped to 105 for 5.Worse was to follow as three more wickets went cheaply, reducing them to 137 for 8, before Albie Morkel stepped in. He added 32 for the eighth wicket with Paul Adams, but the partnership which really frustrated Zimbabwe A was his last-wicket stand with Langeveldt, who remained unbeaten on 37. Morkel was finally dismissed by Tinashe Panyangara just six short of a hundred. His innings included 14 fours and a six.Stuart Matsikenyeri and Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwean openers, saw off the seven overs in the evening, ensuring that they had all ten wickets in hand going into the second day.

Bangladesh teetered on the brink of yet another innings defeat, after collapsing in the morning session for 102. They fought better after following on, but at the end of the third day’s play, still needed 24 runs to make South Africa bat again, with just two wickets in hand. They lost 18 wickets in a day that epitomized their fragility perfectly.South Africa repeatedly snapped promising partnerships to ensure that Bangladesh’s cause stayed hopeless. Six Bangladesh batsmen went past 20 in the second innings; none had the temperament or maturity to consolidate on their start and play a long innings.It was similar to the first innings, when Bangladesh lost ten wickets in the morning session. Mehrab Hossain and Javed Omar put on 22 for the first wicket – the highest stand of the innings – before Hossain (8) nicked a legcutter from Shaun Pollock for Graeme Smith to catch at second slip (22 for 1). It started a shameful procession, and the remaining nine wickets tumbled in a heap for 80 runs.Pollock (2 for 21) and Makhaya Ntini (3 for 32) caused the early damage. Both bent their backs to squeeze some life out of a low and slow pitch, with Pollock in particular generating a surprising degree of seam movement in his six-over spell.Putting up stiffer resistance after lunch, in the second innings, Hossain and Omar played sensibly for over an hour to put on 46 for the first wicket.But with habitual carelessness, Bangladesh undid the good work. South Africa were gifted the first breakthrough when Hossain (16) was run out. Omar (27) departed without a run being added. The floodgates opened.In a spin-dominated attack after tea, Robin Peterson struck in successive overs to hasten Bangladesh’s end. He took the wickets of Habibul Bashar (33) and Khaled Mahmud (0), as Bangladesh lurched to 139 for 6.Spurts of strokeplay enlivened the evening session but defied logic. Surviving the day increased the possibility of rain rescuing Bangladesh. But the urge to entertain took precedence over basic common sense.Akram Khan’s cameo was a typical example. He struck five hefty boundaries, including three successive fours off Ntini. But he reacted late to a short, vicious ball in the same over and could only fend it off to Jacques Rudolph at short leg (119 for 4). Khan (23) was Ntini’s hundredth Test victim.So, for only the fourth time in ten Tests since the start of 2002, Bangladesh reached the fourth day. They were helped by rain along the way, which remains their only hope now. But surely even the weather gods have their limits.

What do Paul Adams, Roger Telemachus, Justin Ontong and Claude Henderson have in common? They are all graduates of the Western Cape Superjuice Academy.The Academy, an equal venture between Western Province and Boland Cricket and the brainchild of Rembrandt executive Anton Rupert, entered its seventh year with a celebration launch at Newlands on Monday evening.The Academy however faces an uncertain future as pending liquor legislation is taking its toll on sports sponsorship. Added to this, the Superjuice brand has been sold to a different company. Officials and sponsors were however upbeat about the Academy continuing with a new sponsor. An announcement is expected shortly.The new player intake for both Western Province and Boland, together with the highly successful coaching team of Peter Kirsten (WP) and Deon Muller (Boland) were introduced to the various dignatories present.The guest speaker, Western Province captain HD Ackerman praised the work of the Academy while a special presentation was made to former Academy chairperson Henry Paulse.

Match facts

Thursday, July 30-Aug 3Start time 9.30 am local (0330 GMT)3:16

Nafees: Time for Bangladesh to set a benchmark in Test cricket

Big picture

South Africa have not lost an away Test series since 2006, and they have always won in Bangladesh. The home side, however, will hope to build on the advantage they wrested during the Chittagong draw to end the recent string of successful results at home with another unprecedented outcome.The history between these two sides has been overwhelmingly one-sided in South Africa’s favour, but the Chittagong Test – though marred by rain – was different. Having picked four bowlers instead of the usual three, Mushfiqur Rahim’s side dismissed South Africa for only the second time in their bilateral contests. It was the first drawn Test after eight massive defeats for Bangladesh.Mohammad Shahid, Jubair Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman bowled impressively before Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan batted well enough to take a first-innings lead. Rain washed out the last two days of play but Bangladesh had done just enough to claim dominance.That there were a number of performers apart from the usual ones was an encouragement for Bangladesh. For example, Shahid’s string of 50 dot balls had a huge impact on slowing South Africa down after they cruised the first session of the Test. Liton too impressed by batting solidly on the third day.South Africa’s concerns will be their batsmen not staying long enough and also Quinton de Kock’s form. The SG ball softening up quicker has worried Morne Morkel but their group is perhaps the best bowling attack in the world and is expected to bounce back.The weather is also a problem. Plenty of rain is forecast, but unlike in Chittagong, entire days are unlikely to be lost in Mirpur. There will be plenty of interruptions, though, which will be frustrating for the players.

Form guide

Bangladesh DDLDWSouth Africa DWDWW

Players to watch

Tamim Iqbal batted for nearly four hours to make 57 off 129 balls and then got out to part-time spinner Dean Elgar. His innings was of immense value to Bangladesh and he said he would like to bat longer next time.Dale Steyn was made to wait for wickets in the first Test but now he is one away from 400. It will be a momentous occasion for the best fast bowler of his generation.

Team news

Soumya Sarkar’s exclusion from the first Test was a surprise but after Bangladesh’s impressive performance in Chittagong, it will be hard to include him in Mirpur. Nasir Hossain and Rubel Hossain could also find themselves on the bench if there are no last-minute injuries.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan , 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Jubair Hossain, 10 Mohammad Shahid, 11 Mustafizur RahmanOf the three South Africa batsmen to play all six games on tour, Quinton de Kock averages the lowest. Dane Vilas will replace him in Mirpur, and will play his first Test for South Africa.South Africa (possible): 1 Stiaan van Zyl, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Dane Vilas (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur pitch will offer more bounce and a bit more pace than the one in Chittagong. The fact that it has been mostly under covers in the week leading up to the second Test will also play a role in how it behaves. The forecast is for more of the same: rain and more rain.

Stats and trivia

• Steyn is one wicket away from becoming the second South African – and the 13th overall – to take 400 Test wickets.
• Shakib Al Hasan is three wickets away from becoming the 17th player to take 150 wickets and score more than 2500 runs in Tests.

Quotes

​”Our challenge will be to stop their pace attack. We did well in the last game, which gives us confidence. We will try to cross the pace hurdle.”

Bangladesh have drafted opening batsman Imrul Kayes into the squad for the Asia Cup in place of Tamim Iqbal, who has opted out due to the imminent birth of his first child. This is the only change from Bangladesh’s World T20 squad that was announced earlier this month.Imrul’s last international appearance for Bangladesh came at home against Zimbabwe last month in a four-match T20I series. He scored 1 and 18 in the third and fourth matches, which Zimbabwe won to level the series 2-2. He had made his comeback to the T20I squad against Zimbabwe in November after a gap of nearly four years. He had a successful run for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League 2015-16, finishing as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 312 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 114.70.The Asia Cup 2016 starts from February 19, with a qualifying round between Afghanistan, UAE, Hong Kong and Oman. The winner of the qualifying round will join the four Full Member teams in the region for the main draw which starts from February 24. Bangladesh play their first match of the tournament on February 24 against India.Bangladesh Asia Cup squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Abu Hider, Nurul Hasan

Mahela Jayawardene is already looking forward to Sri Lanka’s next challenge, a Test series in Australia, after their 107-run victory in the final one-day international against England in Colombo offered a timely boost. Despite going down 3-2 in a contest they had been expected to win, Jayawardene said the way his side bounced back in the final match bodes well for the future.”We knew we had this in ourselves and we know we are a very good side so it’s good that we’re off to Australia in 10 days’ time and it was a very good boost for us to go with a win,” he said. “It was a good start [to the series] and we finished well but we played some really ordinary cricket in between – it was well below par, especially for our standards at home.”That’s something we really want to work at, but I was quite happy with a lot of individual performances. Batsmen should have taken more responsibility in this tournament with the way we played.”Sri Lanka have a poor record in Australia having struggled with the extra pace and bounce in the wickets on previous tours. But the home side will take the field in a Test for the first time since the retirements of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, while Jayawardene feels there is time to adjust to conditions before the opening encounter at Brisbane on November 8.”What we’re going to get in Australia will be totally different,” he said. “We’ve got two warm-up games before the first Test and that’s something for us to work on. We’ve got two or three weeks before the first Test match so we’ve got ample time to get back into things.”This is what cricket is all about. If you’ve had a bad period you have to make sure you learn from your mistakes – that’s what being a professional cricketer is all about these days. You don’t have that much time to think about what went wrong, we have to get back into things straight away.”

Tasmania have the chance to leap further ahead of the field in their Pura Cup match against Victoria starting on Tuesday with Ricky Ponting to make a rare four-day appearance for his state. The Tigers are already on top of the Pura Cup table with wins from their only two games.But with rain expected at the MCG this week a result – and the out-of-form Ponting’s desire to spend time at the crease facing, among others, Shane Warne – could be difficult to achieve. Tasmania coach Tim Coyle said Ponting would be a great boost to a young squad of 12 that featured seven players aged under 25.”Having Ricky playing is a rare event for us,” Coyle told . “He’s really keen to spend some time in the middle in this game so hopefully we can look forward to a few hours of sitting back and watching Ricky Ponting bat. And it’s really good to have him around our group. Being as young as we are, it’s great to have the Australian captain here.”Coyle said Tasmania’s flying start to the Pura Cup season was the result of rigorous training. “We’ve really put some work into our preparation,” he said. “We were fortunate to have really good weather in September in Tassie so we played quite a bit of cricket. The preparation has been ideal because often we suffer with the wickets early in the season.”I think everyone was just really ready to play in October this year, more so than ever before. Then there’s the emergence of some of our young players with some match-winning performances, plus an attack that has taken 20 wickets twice. The four quicks are really doing the job for us at the moment.”Ponting replaces the injured Michael Bevan in Tasmania’s side, while Victoria have named an unchanged squad. The Bushrangers, who beat the Tigers in their one-day match on Sunday, are third on the Pura Cup table behind Tasmania and New South Wales.Victoria squad Nick Jewell, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Andrew McDonald, Jonathan Moss, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Warne, Clinton McKay, Mick Lewis, Gerard Denton.Tasmania squad Michael Di Venuto, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting (capt), Travis Birt, George Bailey, Daniel Marsh, Luke Butterworth, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Brett Geeves, Brendan Drew, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam Griffith.