Melbourne, Mar. 2: Wicketkeepers in Australia are locked in a keen battle for being incumbent Brad Haddin''s understudy during the Ashes in England.

A Fox Sports report says that the leading contenders are scoring heavily in a late-season rush to impress the selectors.

The keepers are jostling to fill Luke Ronchi''s shoes after the West Australian was dropped by his state last month.

Ronchi''s future looks grim with national selector Jamie Cox declaring the understudy job vacant. Cox urged the prospective applicants to go forth and score runs.

Johannesburg, Mar. 2 : Australia cricket team coach Tim Neilsen has said that if the visitors pull off a victory today against South Africa in the Johannesburg Test, the mental strength of the side that has many youngsters will be sky high.

"I can''t see anything but us winning this game," Neilsen said after South Africa, set an improbable 454 to win, reached 2-178 at the close on the fourth day at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

"If we do win, the mental state of this young side will be over the top. I''m really excited about this young team reaching a position where we can win this Test match," Fox Sports quoted him as saying further.

Lahore, Mar 2 : Pakistan former skipper Javed Miandad listed former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar and West Indian Vivian Richards as his all time favorite players.

"I admired lot of players but I loved watching Viv and Gavaskar. They are my favorite players," Miandad said after accepting the cap that marked his entry into the ICC''s Hall of Fame that includes 55 players.

Attending the ceremony to award Hall of Fame Caps to Miandad and Hanif Mohammad at the Gaddafi stadium, Miandad listed his innings at Sharjah against India as the best of his life, The Nation reported.

IPL chief loses Rajasthan board presidential election to govt nominee

Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi failed to get re-elected as Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president on Sunday, losing the race 13-18 to state government nominee and senior bureaucrat Sanjay Dixit.

Modi's defeat will be seen as a serious setback to the dispensation within the Board of Control for Cricket in India, apart, of course, from putting obstacles in the path of his global ambitions.

Jaipur: Sanjay Dixit, a 1986 batch IAS officer, has occupied several posts including that of member, Board of Revenue in Ajmer, chairman of Rajasthan Financial Corporation in Jaipur, Barmer collect

IAS officer Sanjay Dixit defeats Lalit Modi 18-13,Dixit faction takes all posts,Paid back in own coin

Life came a full circle for Lalit Modi on Sunday, when he expectedly lost the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) presidential election by five votes (13-18) to a bureaucrat, Sanjay Dixit, who had the blessings of the entire state machinery.

The result must have brought a feeling of déjà vu for Modi who had dethroned the Rungtas from the RCA four years ago with the entire might of his mentor Vasundhara Raje behind him.