Sydney, Nov 13 : As cricket is changing by the day, so are the paraphernalia. A new bat is in the making which would enable a batsman to hit with both the sides.

The back of the bat could be used to defuse full-length yorkers often employed by bowlers in Twenty20 cricket to restrict scoring options. With the back of the bat in play batsmen figure they can reach forward and "lap" it up over their shoulder to the undefended boundary behind first slip.

Stuart Kranzbuhler, the bat maker, said that but young hitters, looking for an advantage in Twenty20 cricket, are already interested in the new blade.

Abu Dhabi, Nov 13 : Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar missed the first one-day match against the West Indies here after pulling his left calf muscle during a practice session.

Team manager Yawar Saeed said that the latest setback in the 34-year-old bowler’s injury-prone career was not serious.

“We are not treating it as an injury, it’s just a calf muscle pull and we will reassess his injury on Wednesday and then on Thursday before deciding when he can take the field,” said Saeed.

Sydney, Nov. 13 : The New Zealand cricket team see captain Ricky Ponting as the key to their chances of beating Australia in the two-Test series that gets underway from tomorrow.

New Zealand paceman Chris Martin, who will lead a likely four-pronged pace attack on the hard and fast Brisbane surface, said Ponting''s wicket remained the key for the tourists.

Sydney, Nov. 13: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has received strong backing from Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland over the over rate debacle in the fourth Test against India.

Speaking at the launch of Ponting''''s Captain''''s Diary 2008, Sutherland backed Ponting''''s decision to bowl spinners and part-timers in a bid to reel back a slow over rate when wickets were needed to salvage the series, ultimately lost 2-0.

Sydney, Nov. 13: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting says the current over-rates controversy ranks with last summer''s Sydney Test turmoil as his toughest time in cricket.

"(Sydney) was probably the most difficult time I''ve had to deal with as an Australian captain and an Australian player and I''m probably confronting the other one right at the moment," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ponting, as saying.

Melbourne, Nov. 13: Australian opener Mathew Hayden launched a stirring defence of his skipper Ricky Ponting, warning that rival nations would pay for the criticism Punter has copped.

Arriving back home in Brisbane on Wednesday, the veteran opener said Ponting would respond with both his bat and his leadership.