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A gallant unbeaten 91 by Ahmed Quadri helped Hyderabad to salvage threepoints from their South Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match against TamilNadu at the Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad on Monday.In arrears by 168 runs on the first innings, Hyderabad were in dangerof losing when they were five down for 77, despite a second wicketpartnership of 69 runs between Shashang Nag (37) and Abhinav Kumar(28). It was at this critical juncture that Qadri entered. First withAT Rayudu (13) he added 39 runs for the sixth wicket. This wasfollowed by a seventh wicket stand of 41 runs with Varun (11). Finallyafter eight wickets had gone for 167 runs, Qadri and Nadeemuddin (9)shared an unbroken ninth wicket association of 43 runs off just 6.2overs to steer Hyderabad to safety. P Satish, who had caused themiddle order collapse, was the most successful bowler with four for73. Qadri faced 114 balls and hit 14 fours in his match saving knockas Hyderabad ended at 210 for eight.Earlier, Tamil Nadu resuming at 313 for six, declared at 384 foreight. Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan (36) and G Vignesh (59) added 88 runsfor the seventh wicket off 24.4 overs. Vignesh faced 84 balls and hitten fours and a six. Tamil Nadu got five points from the match. TamilNadu finished their engagements with 18 points and Hyderabad with 25points.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have met with the interior secretary and other government officials to discuss next month’s home series against India, The News has learnt.According to available details, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and director board operations Abbas Zaidi met with interior secretary Kamal Shah and other interior ministry officials on Saturday in Islamabad to discuss some security issues related to the Indian tour.”The Pakistan Board has got some feelers from India that they still have some security concerns regarding playing a Test in Karachi and the Indian board will probably send a high-level security inspection team soon to finalise security arrangements for the tour,” a board source said.He said that even during the meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf, Shaharyar had discussed the Indians’ tour and had been told in clear words that India must play a Test in Karachi after the successful organisation of the one-day game against England. “The fact is that again there are some issues related to Karachi which is one of the reasons why the Indian board is delaying approving the proposed itinerary sent to them by Pakistan.”Under the proposed itinerary, which has already been amended twice, India are due to arrive in Lahore on January 5 and then play Tests at Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi with the one-dayers at Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan and then Karachi. Pakistan are keen to get the itinerary finalised and released by next week due to logistical and other reasons.Last year when India toured Pakistan for their historic ground breaking series, they refused to play a Test at Karachi and only played a one-dayer in the southern port city which was a major incident free success. England also shunned Karachi as a Test venue on their current tour but relented to a one-dayer. Touring teams have shunned Karachi which has been at the centre of militant and sectarian related violence which, however, has been controlled by the government in the last one year.The source said Shaharyar and Zaidi had met with Kamal Shah to get a clear directive and guideline on security issues surrounding the Indians’ tour specifically Karachi. The Indians say they have sent the proposed itinerary to their government for final clearance and want to discuss it one final time with their team management before approving it.

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.

Trinidad & Tobago 209 for 8 (Mahabir 46, Samuels 4-21) beat Jamaica 206 (Marshall 88, Gayle 48) by 2 wickets
ScorecardAn undefeated 52-run partnership for the ninth wicket between Richard Kelly and Reyad Emrit helped Trinidad and Tobago clinch a tense two-wicket win against Jamaica in the regional one-day competition. Chasing 207 for a win at Georgetown, Trinidad slumped to 157 for 8, but Kelly (39 not out) and Emrit (26 not out) kept their heads in the face of adversity.Trinidad were also helped hugely by the Jamaican batsmen, who self-destructed thoroughly to be bowled out for 206 after being 100 without loss at one stage. Chris Gayle was run-out at that stage for 48, but Xavier Marshall kept the innings going with a superb 88, scored off 136 balls with eight fours and a six. However, wickets kept falling at the other end as Sherwin Ganga choked the middle order, taking 3 for 39. They weren’t helped by some shoddy running between the wickets either, as the last seven wickets fell for 24.Trinidad lost an early wicket in reply, but the two Gangas – Daren and Sherwin – made 25 each and put together 52 for the second wicket. Then, it was Trinidad’s turn to collapse, as five wickets went down for 22, as they slumped to 84 for 6. Fortunately for them, their lower order wasn’t as brittle as Jamaica’s.This was T & T’s second win of the tournament, and lifted them to fourth place with eight points. Jamaica have now lost two out of three games and are in fifth spot.Windward Islands 230 for 9 (Smith 49) beat Leeward Islands 228 for 9 (Cornwall 53, Morton 50) by 1 wicket
ScorecardIn a nail-biting finish at Berbice, Windward Island sneaked home by one wicket with just one ball to spare to notch their second win of the competition. Set a target of 229, Winwards needed five to win with two balls to spare, when Rawl Lewis (31 not out) lofted Alex Adams for a straight six to seal the issue.Leewards seemed to have the match well in their grasp when they reduced the opposition to 178 for 8, but Lewis and Kenroy Peters (20) added 45 for the ninth wicket to bring them back into the contest. Earlier, a couple of half-centuries, by Runako Morton and Wilden Cornwall, were instrumental in helping Windward Island post a competitive total.The win put Windward in second place in the championship table – though they have played an extra game – while Leeward are languishing at the bottom of the pile with only one win from four games.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been recommended by the West Indies selectors to be retained as captain and Ramnaresh Sarwan his deputy for the tour of New Zealand from February 16 to March 29, convenor Joey Carew confirmed yesterday.Carew was quick to end speculation initiated by a report on a Trinidad radio station, repeated on Voice of Barbados yesterday, that Daren Ganga, the Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies A captain, was likely to replace Chanderpaul. But Ganga, who played the last of his 31 Tests against South Africa in Georgetown last April, was recalled for the Twenty20 match, five one-day internationals and the three Tests.Carew indicated separate squads of 14 for the shorter matches and 15 for the Tests have been chosen. They went through the usual process of ratification by the WICB yesterday but were not officially announced up to last night. Carew said his panel has acceded to Brian Lara’s plea that he wanted to reduce his ODI appearances in an effort to prolong his phenomenal Test career. Lara will join the team for the first Test in Auckland following the ODI series.Coach Bennett King’s input at the selection meeting in Port of Spain on Monday was influential in the decision to retain Chanderpaul as captain, Carew said. “The coach gave a lengthy explanation of what went on, and what didn’t go on, during the tour of Australia late last year. His recommendation was that we continue with Chanderpaul as captain.”He did not say whether there were other nominations. The Jamaica captain Wavell Hinds’s modest Test record [an average of 33 in 45 Tests] appears to have ruled him out of contention for the leadership. Hinds was chosen only in the ODI squad, to be replaced for the Tests by Devon Smith who had a disappointing series in Australia after an innings of 88 in the first Test.Chanderpaul was appointed captain for the home series against South Africa and Pakistan last season following the withdrawal of Lara over the West Indies Cricket Board ruling to debar six players from selection because of their personal endorsement contracts with Cable & Wireless, direct competitors of new team sponsors, Digicel.Ths sixth man in the position since Viv Richards’ retirement in 1992, Chanderpaul has endured a similar failure rate to those before him while West Indies slid from No. 1 to No. 8 in the ICC rankings. Under him, West Indies have a record of one Test win, nine losses and two draws, and one win against 11 ODI defeats.Chanderpaul led a team of inexperienced reserves to Sri Lanka for three Tests and a triangular ODI series also involving India last July and August after the other leading players observed a West Indies Players Association (WIPA) boycott over a contracts dispute. He was retained for the tour of Australia last October and November following an end to the WIPA’s action that cleared the way for the selection of all the players.

In addition to Ganga, Rawl Lewis, the legspinner and Windward Islands captain, who last played for the West Indies on the tour of South Africa seven years ago, fast bowlers Jerome Taylor of Jamaica and Deighton Butler of the Windwards and batsman Runako Morton of the Leewards have been recalled. Lewis, Taylor and Morton are in both Test and ODI squads. Butler, who got his unexpected chance in the revamped team in Sri Lanka last year, was only chosen for the ODIs.”Lewis has been playing so well that we’re thinking of giving him a bit of a run to see whether he could become a permanent fixture in the team,” Carew said. “He has definitely matured. I think the captaincy [of the Windwards] has done a lot of good for him.” Lewis was Windwards’ leading wicket-taker in last season’s Carib Beer Series with 32 wickets and he has 14 in two matches this season. He is preferred as the specialist spinner to left-arm chinaman-googly type Dave Mohammed and offspinner Omari Banks, both of whom have had brief stints in the Test team.Taylor made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2003 but was soon sidelined by a back injury for over a year. He led the bowling averages for Jamaica on his return last season, with 26 wickets at 16.61 each, and clinched his place with his 5 for 85 against Barbados in the match that ended on Monday.Batsman Marlon Samuels and fast bowlers Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson are dropped from the team on the Test tour of Australia last October and November. An operation to remove a bone spur from his knee ruled out Corey Collymore, the leading West Indies bowler since he returned to the team for the Tests against Pakistan last season.Carew said that the teams for the one-day and four-day matches against England A in the Caribbean next month would be chosen after two more rounds of the Carib Beer Cup.Test squad(with ODI replacement in brackets)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vc), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith (Wavell Hinds), Daren Ganga (wk), Brian Lara (excluded for ODIs), Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Rawl Lewis, Ian Bradshaw, Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, Daren Powell (Deighton Butler).

Glenn McGrath’s dismissal of Stephen Fleming was the critical moment of play on the fourth day. As the only batsmen capable of consistently batting for long periods and making huge scores, Fleming was New Zealand’s chance of being the hero he had hoped – probably prayed – for the previous day.Fleming’s presence at the crease is so reassuring that he gives his more fragile team-mates something to hold on to. During this whistlestop series they have had no driftwood to cling to since Jacob Oram’s fine century in the first innings at Brisbane. By conquering Fleming with his off-stump line, McGrath has ensured that Australia should take the Trans-Tasman Trophy as easily as collecting shells.Usually McGrath publicly targets the highest-profile opposition batsman before a series. It was unusual that he pointed at Nathan Astle this time, leaving Fleming to Shane Warne. Neither got their man over two Tests, but McGrath probably really had his eyes on Fleming. He has nailed him every time since the second innings at Brisbane.Before this match Fleming had averaged 55.23 in 15Tests since the Sri Lankan tour in April 2003, scoringtwo double-centuries and a 192. His potential danger to Australia was comparable with Brian Lara, Michael Vaughan and Michael Atherton, the regulars on McGrath’shit-list, in match-saving situations.Fleming joined the squad late to recover from illness,and battled to catch up. Michael Kasprowicz dismissed him second ball in his tour’s first innings before McGrath took over. Ricky Ponting first bowledMichael Kasprowicz, Warne and Jason Gillespie to Fleming yesterday,and he was well set when McGrath finallyarrived at the bowling crease.Stirred from fielding for so long, McGrath delivered a rising ballslightly above off stump that brushed Fleming’s bat,and he was again late in his downswing today. McGrathappealed forcefully to Steve Bucknor, who did nothingas the off bail had been tipped. It was the perfectdelivery for Fleming. McGrath had dismissed him forthe fifth time, equalling Warne and standing only onebehind Javagal Srinath as Fleming’s most successfultormentor.New Zealand were 2 for 18 as their captain walked off,and rain or natural disaster seemed their onlysaviour. By the time his pads were packed away it was4 for 34. Fleming must hope Chris Cairns, Chris Harrisand Andre Adams fly in this week for the one-daymatches with methods to lift a wounded squad.The scheduling meant that the series would always be decided intwo weeks, but the ease with which Australia will earnthe prize tomorrow will be frustrating for New Zealand. Sadly,Fleming’s main achievement has been to earn a wallhook in McGrath’s trophy room.

Don’t for one moment think that Scotland will be at Cricket World Cup 2007 just to make up a number.There are those – thousands maybe – who feel the biggest stage of the game is no place for fledgling cricket nations. Scotland’s upset win against a Barbados XI last week should be enough evidence that they can cause another shock result at the big event.”Absolutely … we can cause an upset,” said coach Peter Drinnen. Whether or not they or fellow lightweights like Bermuda, Holland, Ireland or Canada could do the unthinkable and topple any of the big guns, there would always be the debate that too many of International Cricket Council associate members are at the World Cup.For the first time in nine World Cups, as many as six “second rate” teams are on show. “The ICC has been very supportive of associate members and are trying to push us forward to that next level. We welcome that,” Drinnen said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to prepare the players in a professional manner.”If that opportunity arises, we will try to be as competitive as we can at that next level. We’re excited by the challenge and the players are certainly putting in the work.”They are making the most of the opportunity they have in Barbados. One win in six matches might not be an accurate reflection of their quality. When they lost their first two matches to University of the West Indies and Empire, we might have figured they were no better than local club standard. But Drinnen had to point out they were coming off an inactive period stretching back to last September because of the winter season.”What we’ve been doing is building up. We’ve been learning about the conditions,” the coach said. “A lot of the players haven’t played here before, so our lengths and lines vary from British conditions. We’ve learnt about that.”For the World Cup, Scotland will have warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the 3Ws Oval and for the competition itself, they will be based in St Kitts where they will meet Australia, South Africa and Holland.Conditions are likely to be slightly different from what they meet at the 3Ws Oval, Weymouth and Windward, but the experience would put them in good stead. By the time the World Cup comes around, they would have had considerable preparation.After this trip, they have a host of opportunities, Intercontinental Cup matches, leading up to tournaments in Kenya and United Arab Emirates early next year. They will also welcome a recent decision by the ICC to increase the programme of ODIs for the associate members who are competing in the World Cup, and among the assignments for Scotland will be a home series against Pakistan.”The ICC is delighted to be able to announce such a dramatic increase in the number of ODI matches to be played by these associate member countries,” said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed. “It is essential that their top players are exposed to regular competitive international cricket if they are to continue to develop and this is a very significant step in the right direction.””We in this part of the world won’t know too much about cricket in Scotland, but the game is surely developing. There is a considerable amount of cricket played in Scotland which is not realised around the world,” Drinnen said. “We’ve got more cricketers in Scotland than rugby players. We have a major domestic league in the premier division and two other divisions under that. Outside that, we have many other regional leagues that operate.”With the extended playing calendar for the national team, cricket has grown considerably over the last three to four years in the country. It really is progressing. There is more cricket than what people realise in the country.”

Bruce Reid, the former Australian left-arm seamer, has sounded a warning about the dearth of quality fast bowlers in Australian cricket at present, and believes that the current international incumbents will have to hang in there for a little while yet before the next generation is ready to step into their shoes.”They are not jumping out of the trees as such,” Reid, Hampshire’s bowling coach, told Cricinfo at the county’s press day at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. “One or two guys in the first-class system are getting there, but otherwise there’s a bit of a lull at the mo.”We haven’t got three or four who are ready to take over,” added Reid, “so Australia is really relying on those current guys to hang around for a couple more years to see us through this little patch.”Such a pessimistic outlook is good news for England ahead of the forthcoming Ashes rematch. During the recent Australian summer, the selectors made half-hearted attempts to blood one or two youngsters, such as Brett Dorey and Mitchell Johnson, but aside from the admirable 30-year-old, Stuart Clark, there have been no significant personnel changes since the Ashes.Consequently, Australia – to universal surprise – turned back to the old faithfuls, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, for the current trip to Bangladesh. “Gillespie and Kasper seem to be bowling okay again which is good news,” said Reid, “but if you look back to the last Ashes, Australia struggled to bowl sides out.”Part of Australia’s problem in the Ashes stemmed from the absence of a specialist bowling coach, an issue since rectified by the recruitment of England’s mentor, Troy Cooley. “It’s a catch-22 when you’ve had such a good bowling attack for so many years,” said Reid, “you think you don’t need one. Then when a couple of those guys get a bit old and some new faces come in, or a couple struggle as Jason did in the Ashes, then who do you turn to?”There’s always been an abundance of batting coaches but the poor old fast bowlers have been left to their own devices a little bit. If they can have someone to come and talk to, then so much the better. It’s a way of getting the best out of that player.”Of all the young players vying for the Ashes, Reid’s own tip for the top is the strapping 24-year-old left-armer, Johnson, who stands 6’4″ tall, and bears more than a passing resemblance to Reid himself, who took 113 wickets in a 27-Test career that was plagued by injury.”He’s tall and quick and moves the ball around, and he’s got the potential to play a big role in the Ashes,” said Reid. “I did well as a left-armer against England, as did Brendon Julian. It’s something people haven’t often seen before, and it could provide the variation Australia need.”

The Indian board (BCCI) has come to the defense of Chetan Desai, the manager of the Indian team on the tour of South Africa, and said that it would seek an explanation from Rahul Dravid for his outburst against Desai.Desai had come under a scathing attack from Dravid for his tour report which criticised the selection of an out-of-form Virender Sehwag and an unfit Munaf Patel for the series-deciding Test at Cape Town which India lost.”We would like to talk to Dravid and find out the exact situation in which he has been reported to have said these words,” said Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary. “Chetan Desai was the manager on the tour and as per tradition he filed his report after the team’s return. And he has not said anything about his [Dravid’s] abilities as a player in the report. The report is with Mr Sharad Pawar [BCCI president] and after he reads it he will give us guidelines on what to do.”Dravid told reporters in Kolkata that Desai had no standing in the game.” Anyone is entitled to give his opinion; anyone is entitled to give a report. But me commenting on that, I will comment only when it is worthy of my comment.”It is important to put it in perspective and understand that I have been asked for my views on a report given by someone … When I last looked at the history of Indian cricket I did not necessarily see his [Desai’s] name featuring very prominently.”The report was said to be critical of Sehwag’s attitude to the game and also did not spare Dravid for being stubborn in selection matters, especially in the third Test. Shah also sought to play down the matter of how the report got leaked to the media and what the BCCI was going to do about this. “We are certainly interested in knowing how it happened,” Shah shot back when queried whether the BCCI was not worried how the leak took place

Moin Khan will captain a strong Pakistan squad in the Hong Kong Sixes at Kowloon Cricket Club on October 22 and 23. Naved Latif, Riaz Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Yasir Arafat – all with international experience – are also in the seven man party.The remaining two places are taken by Tahir Khan and Kamran Hussain. Pakistan will line up in Pool B for the preliminary round of the matches, alongside India, South Africa and West Indies. They have previously won the tournament on four occasions and are most successful team along with England.Squad Moin Khan (capt), Yasir Arafat, Naved Latif, Riaz Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Tahir Khan, Kamran Hussain.