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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

India, led by Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir, put on a show of batting might at Chittagong, ending the first day on 334 for 2. Dravid ended his dry run with an unbeaten 145 that made him the first cricketer to score Test hundreds in all ten Test-playing nations, while Gambhir scored his first, an attractive 139. They came together when Virender Sehwag fell early on, and went about decimating a modest attack on a heartbreakingly flat pitch. There was no respite for Bangladesh even when they were parted, for Sachin Tendulkar took control and ended the day with a flurry of boundaries.After his 270 against Pakistan in April, Dravid endured a run of low scores and batting seemed to have become a struggle. In the last Test he had the mortification of being bowled for duck while offering no stroke. But today, the confident strokeplay returned as he marched to his 18th Test hundred, which he brought up with a cover-driven four off the back foot in the first over after tea. It took him 196 balls to reach the mark.A feature of the 259-run stand between Dravid and Gambhir, India’s highest second-wicket partnership abroad, was the beauty of their strokes. Gambhir was fed a stream of hittable deliveries outside off, which he eagerly cut and drove to the boundary. In one over by Nazmul Hossain, Gambhir effortlessly split the field on four occasions. He brought up his 50 in 60 balls, and scored his next 50 in 71. By then he had hit 16 fours, many of which had enviable placement and timing, and allowed Dravid to bat himself in.

Dravid began circumspectly, but quickened the pace after lunch. He scored a number of his runs down the ground as the bowlers strayed in both line and length. There were cover-drives and on-drives as well. One push off Talha Jubair, timed well, threaded through a narrow gap between two fielders in the covers and raced to the ropes.Barring Mashrafe Mortaza, none of the bowlers threatened the batsmen. Hossain found swing but no pace, while Jubair – who swung the ball at 130kph – was wayward and expensive. However, Hossain, making his first-class debut as well as his Test one, claimed his first wicket when Gambhir attempted a pull and dragged the ball onto his stumps instead (273 for 2). His 139 came off 196 balls.Then Tendulkar asserted his dominance over the bowlers, playing a series of cover-drives and flicks to the leg side to end the day on 36. He ran hard, hit hard, and displayed form that would worry most teams. Bangladesh struggled, and had a hard time on the field, while India had it easy. A little too easy, perhaps, for this game to be an accurate barometer of their form.

Brian Lara has been appointed to the Win World Cup committee by the West Indies Cricket Board to help produce a successful team for the 2007 World Cup. Bennett King, the West Indies coach, is the chairman of the committee, which also includes Gary Sobers, Desmond Haynes, Courtney Walsh, and Michael Findlay, the former West Indies wicketkeeper and former chairman of selectors.Clive Lloyd, who had originally been invited as chairman, and Michael Holding, declined to join the committee due to overseas commitments. A press release by the board stated the purpose of the committee: “To address the more comprehensive development of players; to develop the physical and mental toughness which will deliver a consistent standard of excellence on and off the field; to deliver in conjunction with Bennett King, a programme of preparation that will deliver the targeted results.”Ken Gordon, the new president of the West Indies board, also announced another committee – a financial one – to be led by Dr Grenville Phillips.The board also permitted one foreign player to represent domestic teams. The board agreed to the “free movement of players among regional teams” and said that a non-West Indian player could participate in the Carib Beer Series and the President’s Cup one-day competitions.”With respect to the residency requirements, a person is eligible for selection to a West Indies team if he is a citizen or permanent resident of a member country of the WICB and has not been disqualified by the board from representing a West Indies team,” said Zorol Barthley, the WICB’s chief cricket operations officer. “This opens the way for teams to bolster their weak areas while allowing all our prospective international players an opportunity to be on show. There is the additional feature of utilising the services of at least one non-West Indian player. This could allow the fans to see top players from other countries in action in our domestic tournament. [It] could only make for more competitive cricket and a higher standard of play.”

The Victoria selectors have named the squads to play against New South Wales in the upcoming ING Cup and Pura Cup matches. The teams will clash at the Junction Oval, first on Sunday, in the ING Cup encounter, and then on Tuesday in the Pura Cup.The team for Sunday’s one-day match remains unchanged from the side that were narrowly defeated by WA in last week’s rain-interrupted clash. Ian Harvey was named in the Pura Cup squad but will undergo a fitness test prior to the game.Squad for ING Cup game
1 Cameron White (capt), 2 Adam Crosthwaite, 3 Gerard Denton, 4 Matthew Elliott, 5 Brad Hodge, 6 David Hussey, 7 Brad Knowles, 8 Michael Lewis, 9 Andrew McDonald, 10 Jonathan Moss, 11 Graeme Rummans,12 Tim Welsford.Squad for Pura Cup game
1 Cameron White (capt), 2 Matthew Elliott, 3 Ian Harvey, 4 Brad Hodge, 5 David Hussey, 6 Mathew Inness, 7 Brendan Joseland, 8 Michael Lewis, 9 Andrew McDonald, 10 Jonathan Moss, 11 Peter Roach, 12 Graeme Rummans, 13 Allan Wise.

A ray of hope has emerged in the ongoing dispute between the Zimbabwe Cricket Union and the 15 disaffected players.Wisden Cricinfo understands that some of the rebels met with Much Masunda, a prominent businessman, earlier today and agreed that they will allow him to meet with the board, in the hope that the move will lead to mediation. No dates have been set, but everyone involved knows that there is a need to resolve the standoff as soon as possible. Masunda should be acceptable to the ZCU, as he was its original choice as a possible mediator.The deadline imposed by the ZCU – return to work or be fired – expired today, and although both sides have publicly been quiet, there is little doubt that behind-the-scenes attempts to find a resolution have continued.Other details have emerged regarding the well-publicised confrontation between Stephen Mangongo and Ozais Bvute during the final one-dayer at the Harare Sports Club last week. What is not in doubt was that the two men had a heated exchange – most sources agree that it got physical – over the number of black players in the Test side.But Wisden Cricinfo has been told that during the row Mangongo, the chief of the selection panel, turned on Bvute and asked why he appointed him as a selector if he was not allowed to select. Bvute replied that he was there to support black interests, and Mangongo apparently snapped: “I am here to serve the interests of cricket.”Although Mangongo is not overly popular with the rebel players, this exchange underlines the rift within the ZCU between those with cricket’s interests at heart, and those who appear determined to purge the sport of anyone they perceive as opposing the Zanu-PF government, whatever the cost.Mangongo is thought to be one of the selectors the rebels want removed on account of his lack of a cricket-playing background. There can be little doubt that Bvute is another whose behaviour has alienated many, as has Max Ebrahim, another hard-liner.

Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted on his return to Pakistan that he would not seek legal action against Darrell Hair after being cleared of ball tampering charges by the ICC. “Our religion Islam teaches us to forgive and forget, so I forgive Hair and will not take any action against him,” Inzamam told AFP on his return.Inzamam said he had nothing in his heart against Hair. “It will take time to forget what happened at The Oval but my heart is clear as always, and since we have been cleared of the more serious charge of ball tampering I think we should bury the matter,” he said.Imran Khan and other ex-players had urged Inzamam to seek an apology and take the Australian to court for defamation but Inzamam justified the decision not to appeal against the ban. “The penalty imposed is the minimum in level III so it would neither be reduced nor would it be lifted if I had appealed. So I see no reason to take the matter any further.”Earlier, Inzamam stood by his decision to protest at The Oval last month, when his team was judged to have forfeited the fourth Test, even though his punishment means he will miss the Champions Trophy.Inzamam was cleared of ball-tampering at an ICC hearing on Thursday, but found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute over his side’s refusal to continue play against England. He will therefore be unable to lead his country into next month’s Champions Trophy, with Younis Khan taking control of the team in his absence.”I knew I was going to be in trouble when I made the protest,” Inzamam told Bigstarcricket.com. “It was not a decision I took easily, because nobody wants to prevent the spectators from watching the cricket – both at the ground and on television.”Even so – and despite the fact Pakistan became the first team in Test history to forfeit a Test match – Inzamam does not believe he did the wrong thing. “Although I regret the public were deprived of watching cricket, I don’t regret making the decision to stay off the field – because there are certain things more important than winning and losing or the rule book.””I felt the respect and integrity of my country had been brought into question, so the support the country has given me in this issue has been comforting. It told me that we were right to do what we did.”Inzamam believes his decision – which meant England won the series 3-0 – helped to focus attention on what he saw as an unfair ruling. “If we had just carried on with the game, the world would not have sat up and taken notice of how we had been accused of something we were not guilty of.””We felt we had to stand up and protest. Ultimately, I understand the ICC’s decision to ban me. I did what I felt was right – and so did they.”During the press conferences held after the hearing at The Oval Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, stressed how he felt ‘a slur’ against Pakistan as a country had been lifted following ICC’s ruling. However, he confirmed that Pakistan are not happy with the current law on how penalty runs are awarded in a case of ball tampering.Meanwhile, Inzamam said he was heartened by the support he received from well-wishers: “I had a call on my mobile literally every minute after the hearing and I appreciate everyone’s good wishes.”

ScorecardSouth Africa pulled off an exciting three-run win – and ended India’s unbeaten record in the competition – in their floodlit Super League match at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka. Chasing South Africa’s 226, their highest score in the tournament so far, India looked dead for all money at 188 for 9 – but a stirring last-wicket stand between Abhishek Sharma and Rudra Pratap Singh took them agonisingly close to victory.India started well, but on a slow pitch they struggled after the shine went off the ball. The opener Shikhar Dhawan contributed a measured 66, and Rakesh Solanki’s 29 included one big straight six, but the South Africans kept the pressure on with regular wickets. Vernon Philander and Waylain September took two wickets apiece, but the South African bowling hero was Boland’s fastish left-armer Vince Pennazza. He dismissed Sunny Singh for a duck and Gaurav Dhiman for 12, and was on at the death when the last-wicket stand seemed set to bring India an unlikely victory. But Pennazza swung a well-judged yorker into the base of Sharma’s off stump, and the fun was all over.Earlier India’s spinners had whizzed through 40 of South Africa’s 50 overs – and bowled them so quickly that there was time for India’s openers to come out to face eight overs before lunch, in which time they piled on 56 of an evenhtual opening stand of 86.All the South African batsmen got starts, but the only one to pass fifty was Roelof van der Merwe, who biffed four fours in reaching 54 from 68 balls, before an attempted reverse-sweep looped gently to Dhawan on the fielding circle at backward point. But van der Merwe already suspected he had done enough: “It’s a slow wicket, and it’s difficult to play spin on it,” he said.The early impetus was provided by Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who hit 26 from 25 balls before lofting Dhiman to Sunny Singh in the sixth over. Fellow opener Clint Bowyer made 33 before Suresh Raina slipped an offbreak through his defence. Divan van Wyk, South Africa’s captain, laboured to 23 from 47 balls before he lobbed his opposite number, Ambati Rayudu, tamely to Raina at midwicket. And Jaco Booyen’s 33 ended equally tamely, when he wasn’t even in the frame as Raina’s sidearm flick from backward point zeroed in to the keeper Dinesh Karthik.After van der Merwe’s departure Philander (34*) and the patriotically named Keagan Africa (19*) conjured 29 runs from the last 5.4 overs, to set the Indians a stiff target. It proved to be enough … just.After the match Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach, said that the match had gone much as planned. "Before the match I thought that a score of around 230 would be enough and I was pleased with the way our boys batted," he said. "I was a bit concerned when India’s batsmen got off to such a good start but our bowlers fought back well and I think we deserved the victory. I still think our players have more to show but after today’s result I feel that we are capable of beating anybody."But Robin Singh, India’s coach, was predictably less impressed. "It was a very disappointing performance," he said. "I don’t think we bowled particularly well, we fielded poorly and batted appallingly."

The highlight of Ronnie Irani’s benefit year – a professional kickboxing and martial arts show – is to be held at Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre at Chelmsford on October 4. It will feature Europe’s leading kickboxers battling it out for European and World Title bouts in a televised event, plus martial arts and weapons demonstrations. All proceeds are in aid of the Ronnie Irani Benefit Fund.Ronnie won’t be taking part himself, especially as he has just had a major knee operation, but he is usually the first in the ring. Since moving to Essex from Lancashire, he has used kickboxing as a way of preparing for the past six seasons.”I really enjoy kickboxing and find the training helps to develop many of the fitness attributes which I need for my cricket training,” Ronnie said. “As a teenager I found that the martial arts training involved with the kickboxing helped give me focus and direction and I feel it is a great thing for youngsters and all ages to get involved in.”Tickets go on sale from tomorrow and are available from The Fitness Academy Martial Art Centre, Church Road, Boreham tel. 01245 467680 and Terrence Hill Bespoke Tailors Maldon Road Great Baddow tel. 01245 471193.

Behind the bullet points and corporate speak, what does ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ really mean?The simple answer is:New Zealand Cricket intends to pursue the goal of excellence, not only on the New Zealand stage, but the world front by:Producing clear, decisive and innovative leadershipRecognising that people are critical to successContinued growth of the gameA relentless drive to win and to dominate international cricketHaving a strong and sustainable commercial base.Some key factors in achieving this will be the adoption of an organisational risk identification, assessment and management programme. This will allow NZC to monitor the financial performance of the Major Associations and also its various processes.Service Level Agreements (SLAs) will be established with each Major Association and funding will be provided with the SLAs to ensure NZC strategies can be delivered.As part of the policy’s plan, special emphasis will be placed on the retention of young women in the game, and on increasing the participation of Maori and Pacific peoples. It is also intended that the national development policies and programmes must have the best possible support infrastructure providing quality coaches, umpires, scorers, statisticians and playing facilities to stimulate the continual development of the game. The place of volunteers will be recognised and encouraged.Central to these aims will be specific development pathways in the playing and coaching of the game at all levels. Current and former players will be encouraged to become coaches and past coaches will be targeted to come back to the game. Umpires and scorers and statisticians will also be targeted to increase their respective contributions.At the lower levels, administrators will be encouraged to indulge in succession planning with training also provided for future administrators. Playing facilities will continue to be addressed with more in-depth research programmes and the implementation of a warrant of fitness for standards at international and domestic levels for pitches and outfields, practice and player facilities.A strategy will also be developed to protect cricket’s right to have access to dual-purpose grounds while NZC will also develop and/or support new technology to enhance playing facilities.The administration has also signalled that at the elite level it is not prepared to be satisfied with a No 3 Test ranking or No 5 in the one-day structure. Beefed up coaching strategies are to be sought at elite and domestic levels while coaching development will see reseach aimed at development world leading coaching and performance enhancing practices, which will be central to the overall coaching network in the country.Those players chosen at the front end of the strategy should want for nothing as they seek to push their own performance boundaries. Those players will also have a greater role to play in the presentation of the game to the public.It is a radical upgrade to the policy already enacted by the Hood Report, but it is vital to New Zealand Cricket’s continued expansion as one of the leading sports performers on the national and international scene. And it starts now.

England 238 for 7 (Newton 84, Greenway 47, Connor 41, de Beer 3-35, Bronkhorst 3-41) beat Northerns 123 (van der Merwe 44) by 115 runs
ScorecardEngland dusted off the cobwebs and started their South Africa tour with a comfortable 115-run victory over Northerns at Pretoria.Winning the toss and batting, England found conditions very trying, losing two early wickets to Lonell de Beer, who surprisingly opened the bowling with her legspin.Showing a lot of patience, Laura Newton was rewarded with a well-played 84 before being bowled in the final overs by a ball that stayed very low. During her innings she struck seven boundaries executing some excellent cover and straight-drives.Newton was well supported by Clare Connor, England’s captain, who lost her wicket in trying to up the tempo. Lydia Greenway, quick on the pull, gave the innings the impetus it needed and was involved in a 100-run partnership with Newton.Northerns were not overwhelmed and maintained a steady length throughout the innings. Twenty-six wides and some sloppy fielding was their undoing with de Beer and medium-pacer Yolandie Bronkhorst rewarded with three wickets apiece. England scoring 238 for 7 was no disgrace.Northerns lost quick wickets at regular intervals and fell behind the asking-rate, but a 50-run partnership between Mignon du Preez, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, and Yulandi van der Merwe was the highlight of the innings. Du Preez, who has scored a 200 in a senior league game, is a definite star of the future, playing well off both the front and back foot while van der Merwe showed why she is included in the national women’s team.England now move on to Port Elizabeth for the official start of their tour.

Central Districts have decided to change the nature of their administrative structure to that of the board model suggested for New Zealand Cricket and its associations in the Hood Report of 1996.Applications are being sought for a seven-member board. The applications will be assessed by a selection panel comprising, the president of CD Jon Cunliffe, CD life member Graeme Young and New Zealand Cricket nominee Barry Dineen.The selected seven members will then appoint their own chairperson. The board will also decide the order of retirement rotation as two will be required to retire at the end of year one, two in year two and three in year three. Retiring members will be eligible for reappointment should they wish.Applications close on July 25 and the panel recommendations will be announced on August 22 in time for the board to be confirmed at CD’s annual meeting on September 7.Applications and a CV should be sent to: Chief Executive Officer, CDCA, PO Box 309, Napier.