McGrath runs out of time for series against Lanka

That means he will have played no cricket when the selectors sit down to finalise the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series, which starts in Galle on March 8. The Test squad will be named tomorrow, with Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee most likely to spearhead the Australian attack and Michael Kasprowicz, Brad Williams and either Nathan Bracken or Andy Bichel to be included as the other quicks.

Warne picks three more but team loses

Shane Warne took three wickets today — for a match total of five — but was on the losing side as he completed his comeback match with the Victoria 2nd XI at the Junction Oval. Warne, playing his first match since his one-year drug suspension expired on Tuesday, took 3-120 from 19.5 overs as the Queensland Academy of Sport won by three wickets on the second-last ball of the match.

With 10 runs needed off the last over of the match — Warne’s 20th in succession — former Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz hit a six over mid-wicket and then hit a single off the next ball to steer Queensland to victory. Hauritz finished on 54 not out from 29 balls and set up the win with a sixth-wicket stand of 68 with Chris Hartley (51). Queensland finished on 306-7 in 57.5 overs.

Warne’s first delivery today was hit for four by Chris Simpson (81). Warne was also slogged for five sixes, he dropped a simple caught and bowled chance and had another two chances put down in the field. He claimed the wickets of Lee Carseldine, Steven Farrell and Steven Paulsen with some clever bowling.

Ponting is Australian player of the year

New Test captain Ricky Ponting won Australia’s top international cricketer of the year award today, coming within four votes of the first clean sweep in the Allan Border medal. Ponting also won his second consecutive Test player of the year award.

Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist denied Ponting the third leg of the sweep when he won the first major category announced at today’s awards dinner, the international one-day player of the year. Gilchrist led the one-day voting for the second straight year with 28 votes, four ahead of Ponting and Brett Lee.

Ponting finished well clear in the voting for his first Allan Border medal in the award’s five-year history, polling 139 with Hayden second on 91 and Gilchrist third on 71. The award is named after Australia’s former Test captain. Ponting played in 11 of Australia’s 12 Tests over the voting period, starting with the West Indies tour last April. He scored 1,557 runs at an average of 103.8, with a top score of 257.

Last year he became the first Test batsman since Sir Donald Bradman to score three double centuries in a calendar year.

Ponting was the only Australian to play in all 37 one-dayers over the voting period, starting with last year’s World Cup, and posted the second-highest run tally with 1,317 at 43.90 and a strike rate of 81.64.