Saturday the 14th April 2012 won’t be remembered by Cardiff City supporters for their hard fought away victory against a resolute Barnsley side but it will always be remembered as the date a true Cardiff City legend passed away.

Former manager Eddie May passed away in his sleep leaving a massive gap in his family and a hole in the heart of Cardiff City’s recent history.

Edwin Charles May was born on the 19th of May 1943 in Epping Essex and started his footballing career as a defender with Dagenham in 1965. He then moved to Southend United where he scored three goals for them before finally making the move over the bridge to Wrexham where he made 334 appearances and scored some 35 goals. In the eight years spell he spent a summer on loan in the National American Soccer league with the Chicago Sting scoring an impressive 7 goals.

Under his captaincy, Wrexham reached an FA cup semi final and the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. He left in August of 1976 to join arch rivals Swansea City for whom he made 90 appearances, netting 8 goals before retiring from football in 1978.

A spell in coaching followed took him to Saudi Arabia. Kenya, Iceland, Norway and the Midlands! In July 1991 he was appointed manager of Cardiff City; who at the time were languishing in the old division four [which became the third division in 1992 due to the creation on the Premier league while remaining the fourth tier of English football.]

Cardiff supporters were weary of being in the lower leagues and a multiplicity of mangers who just about settled before they were through the door again. May made an immediate impact with City fans, he was a gentleman with a great sense of humour who thanks to spells at Wrexham, Newport County and Swansea City not only understood the Welsh sense of humour but shared it too. He quickly became a favourite and well respected by fans, his players and Cardiff City background staff alike. He was given the nickname “The Ayatollah” – City fans had found their leader and what was even better was that his coaching skills lifted the team into another level winning the Welsh Cup in 1992 and retaining it the following year; 1993 also saw Cardiff City being taken out of Division Three as Champions.

May possessed a silver tongue which enabled him to bring in players of the class of Kevin Ratclife who at the time was a regular in the Everton squad; he also helped to make terrace heroes of unlikely players like Phil Stant.

The crowning moment in the Eddie May term as manager of the Bluebirds came on January 29th 1994 at Ninian Park with the fourth round FA Cup victory over the Premiership’s Manchester City, Cardiff out played their lofty opposition in every department. Gary Thompson and Nathan Blake caused all sorts of problems, Thompson rattling the woodwork twice before Blake scored what’s since been voted the greatest Cardiff City goal ever and its one that should grace any list of greatest ever goals.

Blake received the ball with his back to the goal he turned beating his marker before jinking past two others and chipping goalkeeper Tony Coton high into the corner at the far post. Ninian Park; already at a fever pitch; exploded with the joyous chant of “Bluebirds Bluebirds – Eddie Mays Barmy Army.”

However, a change in ownership brought about May’s sacking in 1995 but his place as a Bluebird legend was secure, it didn’t matter that he had played for arch rivals Swansea City because the man had taken the club and everyone connected to it to his heart and in turn him to theirs. So much so, did May take to the people and way of life that he returned to Cardiff in 2005 to run a bed and breakfast in the town centre.

May remained in Bluebirds hearts and minds, a regular at end of season dinners and The Supporters Trust annual meetings, he became popular even with a generation that had never seen him manage their team.

When Cardiff City relocated to newly built Cardiff City Stadium in 2009 from Ninian Park, May was delighted to take up the invitation to manage one of the teams in the legends game that marked the official opening on Saturday July 4th. May took charge of a Cardiff City side for the last time, the Eddie May all-star 11.

Eddie May was a gentleman of the old school, a giant of a man that on first impression could easily have been perceived as scary. The cockney accent and red face adding to the assumption, but that assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. May was a man of the people who would take time to purposely go out of his way to talk to City supporters, he would always ask your name, he seemed to have an almost photographic memory because if you bumped into him a few weeks later amazingly, he would know your name and greet you like an old friend. When out socially even during his tentureship of Cardiff he would join groups of fans and buy a round of drinks, he always had a witty quip should anyone dare to heckle him.

Eddie May epitomised the saying Once a Bluebird always a Bluebird and showed It doesn’t matter where you were born it’s a state of mind!

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My thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Eddie May at this terrible time…I would like to thank them for sharing him with us all and to Eddie himself I’d like to say thank you for all the great times Goodnight and God bless Eddie…Fly High Bluebird.

Following discussions with his family on Sunday 15th April and in full accordance with family wishes, an official tribute to Eddie will take place on Saturday April 21st for the visit of Leeds United where members of Eddie’s family will attend the fixture as guests. At that time Cardiff City Stadium will hold a minute’s applause as a mark of respect, along with full notices in the match-programme.

Bluebirds!!

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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.

Karachi, Oct 21: Fast bowler Mohammad Sami gets a chance to stamp his potential in big cricket when he plays for Pakistan `A’ against England in a day and night fixture at the National Stadium here on Sunday.Sami, considered as quick as an out of commission Shoaib Akhtar, has captured 14 wickets in two Quaid-i-Azam Trophy matches this season at an average of 12.But the thing that makes the 18-year-old Sami different from others is that he generates pace from an unlike Waqar Younis long run-up. Sami is not only quick off the wicket, he has complete command over his accuracy, line and length as evident from the fact that out of his 14 wickets, six are bowled and as many leg before wickets.Sami’s appearance will surely help the England players have a close look at home as they are expected to face in the Test matches.England will be playing their last warm-up match before backto-back three one-day internationals on Oct 24, 27 and 30. England haven’t named the team but are likely to make just one change with Ashley Giles replacing Paul Grayson.Pakistan `A’ squad includes just two Test players in Hasan Raza and Ijaz Ahmad Junior, while seven have represented Pakistan at different levels. They are Bazid Khan (captain), Humayun Farhat (wicketkeeper), Salman Butt, Zahid Saeed, Yasir Hameed, Naumanullah and Fahad Khan.The match starts at 2:30 pm and is expected to draw more crowd because of holiday. They spectators turn-out was not good on Friday chiefly because of the high prices of tickets that ranged between Rs 100 to 400.Teams (to be selected from):England: Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Nasser Hussain (captain), Graeme Hick, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Craig White, Mark Ealham, Ashley Giles, Andrew Caddick, Darren Gough, Paul Grayson, Vikram Solanki, Mark Alleyne and Matthew Hoggard.Pakistan A: Bazid Khan (captain), Hasan Raza, Humayun Farhat, Salman Butt, Mohammad Sami, Shiraz Haider, Naumanullah, Ijaz Ahmad, Fahad Khan, Zahid Saeed, Zaheer Chauhan, Shahid Yousuf, Akhtar Ali and Yasir Hameed.Umpires: Feroz Butt and Islam Khan.

ICC chief executive David Richardson has said that profitability of fixtures for broadcasters has been a stumbling block for getting top Associates Ireland and Afghanistan fixtures since their inclusion in the ICC ODI rankings table earlier this year. However, he said that the possible creation of an ODI facilitation fund could help alleviate these obstacles.”It’s a fact that even matches between the lower-ranked Full Members, like Zimbabwe versus Sri Lanka for example, don’t make revenues so that the series are making a profit or if it does it’s making a very small profit,” Richardson said at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Malahide. “You can imagine series between Afghanistan and the West Indies also cost a lot and the revenues might not necessarily be enough to cover those costs.”One of the talking points or suggestions that is being considered, and in October we’re having a joint meeting between our chief executives committee and the board on which there will be six representatives from the Associate members taking part in that discussion, will be trying to make sure that Full Members take some responsibility in scheduling fixtures against Associate members and if finances are a problem that we think of introducing an ODI fund similar to the Test fund that was introduced to help subsidise the costs of those series.”Richardson also said it is possible for Full Member countries to be forced to participate in future World Twenty20 Qualifiers. If Bangladesh or Zimbabwe finish outside the top eight spots on the ODI rankings table by September 2017, they will have to compete in the 50-over World Cup Qualifier with Associates for the final two spots in the 10-team event for 2019. That could be the case in the future for the ICC’s flagship T20 tournament as well.”When we put the package together for this next eight-year cycle, it was envisaged that we raise the profile of these qualifying tournaments, number one by making it crucial for qualification but also involving the Full Members, not excluding them from having to participate in these qualifying tournaments going forward. The objective to that is not only to make them self-sufficient and generate some more revenues for everybody for the development of the game but also just to raise the profile of these countries.”Before, for Holland, if they got to the World Cup they got a bit of profile.  If they just missed out, they lost out on that.  If we can raise the profile of these tournaments, and you’ve seen evenly matched teams provides for good entertainment, it will raise that profile. It is good for cricket in those countries as well, even if they don’t end up going to the tournament itself.”As for the ODI rankings table, if Zimbabwe were to dip below Afghanistan or Ireland, they may still be protected due to their Full Member status while the lower-ranked Associate would have a play-off with the top team in the WCL Championship for promotion into the ODI rankings table. Richardson conceded that this wasn’t meritocratic but that Zimbabwe had earned their status through historical performances, which needed to be taken into consideration.”At this stage the board, all they’ve agreed to do is say that it’s the lowest ranked Associate member who would play-off,” Richardson said. “At this stage we have got this distinction between Full Members and Associate members. I think long term, that distinction will eventually vanish but its really long term and not in the foreseeable future. A proper promotion and relegation would mean that the bottom ranked team would have to play off but that’s not the situation we’ve got. I think it’s a process and we’re working towards something.”Explaining the decision to move the World Twenty20 from a two- to a four-year cycle, Richardson argued it was done so as not to “kill the golden goose”. The increasing popularity of other domestic T20 tournaments such as the IPL, Big Bash and Caribbean Premier League were also factors.”I think the World T20 is valuable and if you play it too often it will become less valuable,” Richardson said. “We also have to recognise that around the world we have these domestic Twenty20 leagues which are high profile, are very attractive to broadcasters and it’s a case of there’s premium content out there and probably less is more.”A reduced tournament cycle means Associate nations will have fewer competitive and funding opportunities in a quadrennial World T20 cycle than the biennial tournament structure that was previously in place. However, Richardson claimed Associates will be better funded in other ways to make up for the loss in playing opportunities.”When it comes to funding for Associate members, it needs to be looked at not only in respect of participation fees,” Richardson said. “The bottom line is that a country like Ireland, with the projected revenues that the ICC is hoping to achieve over the next eight-year cycle, a doubling of the participation fee will be dwarfed by the increased funding Ireland will receive as one of the top Associate members.”Richardson commended the two host countries Ireland and Scotland for the job they have been doing in hosting the World Twenty20 Qualifier over the past two weeks. When asked what it would take to assign the World Twenty20 itself to an emerging market, similar to what World Rugby has done in awarding the 2019 Rugby World Cup to Japan, Richardson said that profitability would be the most important factor both from a gate revenue and television rights standpoint.”I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine. What we have to consider when awarding events is number one, will it at least optimise the revenues. So is it in the correct time zone, will sponsors want to get involved knowing that there’s an event in these particular places in the next four or five years? So that’s a factor that needs to be taken into consideration. At the moment we are too reliant on revenues generated out of India. It’s a problem for the game. Everybody says it.”If we can open up new markets, be it the USA, Europe or whatever, then there’s no reason we can’t take major global events to those regions. The other aspect of course is facilities. Cricket is difficult. We’ve got to have great facilities. We’ve tried Malaysia before for Under-19 events and yes everyone did their best and it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t really good enough. So when we’re deciding whether to go to Kenya or Ireland, Ireland could probably manage it. But a major global event needs 40,000 to 50,000 seat stadiums. Those factors have to be taken into account.”

George Bailey has kept the orange bib. The signifier of drinks duty became a point of contention during the World Cup when ICC officials insisted that Bailey had to wear it in the same tournament he had started out as captain. On the morning after Australia’s victory at the MCG, Bailey raised a warm cheer when he walked onto the podium in Federation Square while wearing the bib over his polo – the source of irritation having become a badge of honour.The episode signified how Bailey had stood in such an awkward position for some time, as either the leader of the limited overs team or a fringe member of the squad. There was much admiration for how he handled himself, and the team made doubly sure he was included in the celebrations of an achievement he had done much to the set-up, whether it was leading whenever Michael Clarke was injured, or providing a strong middle-order presence with the bat.”I think it was quite clear what was going to occur, given the lead-up,” Bailey said of his World Cup cameo. “I’m not sure there was any score I could’ve got in that England game that would’ve changed that. I think the role Michael and I played in that team was the same role, and that was it.”In terms of overall experience, it was the only cricket goal I’ve really ever set myself, so I was just making sure I was going to enjoy the few weeks – whatever the role, whatever the situation. At the end of the day you can be a good bloke or you can be a rotten bloke, but if you’re scoring runs or taking wickets then you stay in the team. That’s as simple as it gets. It’s not a popularity contest. That’s the same in any business or in any sport. It’s about results.”Now, though, the ODI stage has been permanently cleared of Clarke, Shane Watson, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin, while David Warner’s brief reign as vice-captain has been interrupted by a cracked thumb. Where once Bailey was surplus, now he is very much needed. There may even be a case for taking him to Bangladesh as a batsman and source of support for Steven Smith – once more the selectors must deliberate on Bailey’s ODI form, as they did two years ago when choosing him for the Test team after his 50-over runs in India.”I’d love to play cricket for Australia in all three formats – that’s my goal . . . I think that’s what everyone plays for but overriding that is just playing good cricket and being happy with the way I’m playing cricket,” Bailey said. “I feel like playing over here for the past few months has got me into that space.”Now it’s just about making sure I score the runs, and giving the selectors a headache or an option, whichever way they look at it. I’m loving playing and having a couple of young guys around and feel like I can contribute a lot to that. I’m hitting the ball really well.”Another man emerging from the shadows of others is Aaron Finch. While he did take part in the Cup triumph, Finch was a somewhat muted member of the squad, mixing innings of substance in the opener against England and the semi-final against India with a run of lowly numbers. In a way, Finch found himself running down at a time when the Cup campaign was revving up, and now he has returned to the team having had time to think about that.”It was a tough period because I started off the tournament so well then missed out for a few then played well in the semi-final,” he said. “It was just a case of I was doing everything I could off the field with my preparation and my training. I was just trying probably too hard, one of those things the harder you try the more you forget about the basics of the game, and you start to think about things you can’t actually control at the time.”Being away from the game a little bit just gives you a chance to sit back and reflect on why it might have been happening and I’ve got a few ideas. It’s just a case of being as clear-minded as you can. It’s a lot easier to say than to do at times, especially in a World Cup when you get to the back-end of it and you’re struggling for runs. It’s just a case of learning from those kinds of experiences and moving on and still having confidence in your ability.”There was some conjecture about how Finch was not selected initially for this squad, having resumed playing for Yorkshire, after recovering from a broken foot. Bailey went as far as to say that Finch had been “unlucky” not to be picked initially, but the man himself felt comfortable with the reasoning of the selectors.”I just hadn’t played any cricket and that was one thing that was relayed to me, that I wasn’t dropped from the team,” he said. “I just hadn’t played any cricket so I wasn’t available for selection in their eyes. I totally understand that, in that I come back probably a week and a half earlier from my foot injury than was originally planned.”Now he is back, and at Old Trafford batted in the adjacent net to Smith. With the Clarke-Watson years drawing to a close, these are Australia’s two captains now. Plenty is expected of Smith, but Finch will need to step up also. All the while, Bailey will be around the team to help out in whatever way he can. Pleasingly for him, this now includes batting at No. 4 and not wearing that World Cup drinks bib.”I think it’s an exciting time for Australian cricket with a few of the senior players moving aside,” Finch said. “It gives everyone confidence that if they’re playing well and in form, no matter what format of the game or where you’re playing, you’ll most likely be selected. I think that gives everyone around the country a real buzz that they know they’re not far away.”They know there might be a couple of a good scores from potentially playing Test cricket … that drives everyone, makes everyone strive to be better and be in as good a form as they can.”

ScorecardFour wickets, but no victory for Reece Topley as another Essex quarter-final went begging•Getty Images

The sight of Yorkshire, with their England contingent back in tow, arriving at Chelmsford for a Royal London quarter-final did Essex no favours in an uncomfortable season in which Paul Grayson’s future as coach hangs in the balance. The upshot of a fiercely competitive tie was a fourth quarter-final defeat in two seasons to encourage the narrative of an Essex side that never quite delivers.Yorkshire got home by 20 runs in a match that was much closer than the margin suggests. Their 252 for 9 was par at best, and even that required a transformative, unbroken last-wicket stand of 50 in 34 balls between Liam Plunkett and Matthew Fisher at a time when Grayson must have felt Essex were strong favourites to secure their first 50-over semi-final since 2008.Plunkett’s stern-faced muscularity was witnessed firstly with the bat – a bullish, unbeaten 49 from 32 balls with Jamie Porter the chief target – and then with the ball as he recovered from early punishment, much of it met with a haughtily disapproving sniff, to return 3 for 58 in a single spell in which Yorkshire’s stand-in captain, Alex Lees, dared to bowl out his fastest bowler in search of much-needed wickets and was rewarded for his enterprise.Essex looked down and out at 129 for 5 when Bopara, edging one slid across him, became Plunkett’s final victim, but Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster evened the tie once more with a stand of 59. Will Rhodes, the former England U-19 captain, dismissed both, ten Doeschate falling at long-on with 47 needed, but even then Yorkshire knew they had little licence for error.”Once again we have fallen at the quarter-final stage and that has to be a great disappointment – not just for me and the players, but for our supporters,” ten Doeschate said. “We felt on top for much of the game.” Lees called Yorkshire’s score “a fighting total,” a relief after losing the toss on a nibbly pitch but well below what they envisaged at 163 for 3 with 16 overs remaining.It was uncertain which Yorkshire would pitch up at Chelmsford – the Yorkshire who stand 30 points clear in the Championship with a game in hand, or the Yorkshire who fell so far below expectations in Twenty20 that they finished second bottom, never had the luxury of a settled side and responded by blooding youngsters with a vengeance. In the end, they fell somewhere in between.The first stage of Yorkshire’s innings was a procession to the wicket of slightly damaged England batsmen, regretting a summer that had not quite gone according to plan. Adam Lyth was an Ashes winner but barely averaged double figures in the series and had drawn a line by pouring out his regrets on Facebook; Gary Ballance had been dropped after two Tests, his back-foot play analysed as critically as if it was the Retreat from Mafeking; Jonny Bairstow had re-established himself but then, to the shock of many, he had been omitted from the ODI squad where he had made such an impact against New Zealand.Broken, not so; dented, without question. All made starts, all failed to deliver a matchwinning innings. On a slow pitch, they were given a sounding out by Essex’s medium pacers, who found the assistance that Essex had anticipated upon winning the toss. Pretty much every club in England has a bowler of the pace of David Masters, now in his 38th year, but like many before them Yorkshire never quite came to terms with his nibbling seam and he completed his 10 overs off the reel for 28.Lyth dragged on Porter as he tried to pull a slower ball; Bairstow was undone by the wiles of Jesse Ryder, who wanders up to the wicket with the insouciance of someone taking an empty glass back to the bar before heaving strong shoulders into the ball; and Ballance followed, the wiles this time bearing the mischievous outlook of Bopara.

Semi-final draw

Sunday, September 6: Yorkshire v Gloucestershire 1030
Monday, September 7: Surrey v Nottinghamshire 1130

It could have been worse. Lyth and Ballance narrowly avoided run outs and Ballance escaped when Reece Topley, diving close to a pitch mat at short midwicket, allowed the ball to spill from his grasp, a fact confirmed by the TV umpire.Topley’s most costly drop, though, was that of Jack Leaning, who has grown in stature this season while Yorkshire’s England trio have been otherwise engaged. The subsidence to 202 for 9 was damaging enough – six wickets lost for 39 in 11 overs with Rashid’s attempt to get off the mark with a six over midwicket the most outlandish contribution – but without Leaning’s 72 from 99 balls, his fifty brought up by flaying Porter over mid-on for six, the collapse could have been terminal.Topley silenced him with a skied pull into the deep, one of four wickets in a decent bowling night ahead of what he hopes will be an England T20 debut against Australia in Cardiff on Monday. His languid left-arm found swing with the new ball and his back-of-a-hand delivery offers solid variety in the later overs.Essex’s innings had early misfortune when Tim Bresnan ran out Mark Pettini, backing up, in his follow through, but they rallied with a second-wicket of 97 in 16 overs between Nick Browne and Tom Westley, the latter producing a half-century replete with handsome drives until Plunkett struck his stumps.The plucked-out stump that stuck in the mind, though, belonged to Ryder. Few cricketers play the game in such a relaxed fashion, but when Plunkett, from around the wicket, followed a delivery that whiplashed back into him with one that held its line to uproot his off stump, his look of befuddlement was proof of the quality of the delivery.

Former India batsman Ajay Jadeja has quit as coach of the Delhi Ranji Trophy team, and has said that his “opinions or inputs don’t matter” to the Delhi and District Cricket Association. Jadeja was appointed during Delhi’s controversy-filled run-up to the 2015-16 domestic season and did not travel with the side for their first Ranji game against Rajasthan in Jaipur. Reports suggest that former Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya is one of the contenders to replace Jadeja.DDCA president Sneh Prakash Bansal had told PTI that Jadeja missed the game because his son was unwell and denied speculation that his absence was due to Amit Bhandari’s appointment as assistant coach. Jadeja, too, denied his absence was related to Bhandari’s appointment, but said he was disappointed with the manner in which DDCA had appointed a few members of the support staff.”I have read in the newspapers that the reason I have not travelled with the team is because Amit Bhandari has been appointed assistant coach,” Jadeja told the . “I would like to clarify that this is not the reason. It is sad to see that once again, players are being used to settle personal scores in the DDCA.”Now, it seems the DDCA is back to working on its own and does not need the services of anyone appointed by the government nominees or otherwise. No one within the organisation seems to have a problem with this way of functioning.”Obviously, my opinion or inputs don’t matter to DDCA. I wish Delhi cricket the best.”Jadeja was appointed coach by nominees of the Delhi government, who stepped in after factions within the DDCA named three different probable squads for the Ranji Trophy. That was one of the issues in a pre-season camp mired in controversy, with nobody to oversee the preliminary nets at Feroz Shah Kotla and no certainty over who was running the team. Jadeja said he accepted the position to try and ensure that players would not be disadvantaged by the controversies in the DDCA.”I am extremely thankful to all the people instrumental in my getting involved with Delhi cricket. As I understood the developments, the government nominees had got involved after the fiasco of the three different lists of probables being proposed and the different factions claiming to be in control,” he said. “My purpose, I thought, was to see that cricket could carry on and the players would not be disadvantaged. That was the only reason for I being involved. I don’t belong to any faction in the DDCA.”Delhi’s problems were further compounded by selection controversies in the last couple of weeks. Ishant Sharma was left out of the squad because he didn’t answer DDCA’s call or text, and was selected for the first game a day later, even though he had stated he would be unavailable for the match. Allrounder Rajat Bhatia, who has represented the side for more than a decade, was excluded. Earlier, there was no clarity on whether Gautam Gambhir or Unmukt Chand would lead the side. Senior players like Virender Sehwag and Mithun Manhas had transferred to other teams ahead of the season.

Karnataka players will have to live with “appalling” crowd behaviour in Mysore when they take on Odisha in their Group A Ranji Trophy match starting Saturday. Robin Uthappa had said after the team’s last home game against Haryana that “a lot of us felt” the game against Odisha should be moved out, but Brijesh Patel, the secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), stated that the venue for the match starting on November 7 will not be changed.Close to 1500 spectators turned up on the opening day of Karnataka’s clash against Haryana on October 22, with several players heckled and booed during the course of the day in which Virender Sehwag made a swashbuckling century.”Murmurs were going around in the media, but no official request was made by the team management to change the venue,” Patel told ESPNcricinfo. “These incidents will happen from time to time. Fans can get excited sometimes when they see a great player in action. Legends like Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble have always found support when they have played at other venues. They [Karnataka] have to just get on with it. We need to just focus on the cricket.”Uthappa, who was at the centre of it all while fielding in the deep in the first innings, expressed displeasure at the abuse hurled at him and the team. HS Sharath and David Mathias, the pacers, also faced taunts from the crowd occasionally.”A lot of us feel like we’re playing an away game when we come here,” Uthappa had said. “Most of the boys want the next game, which is supposed to be in Mysore, to be shifted elsewhere because you don’t want the atmosphere to be like this when you are playing in a home game. You want it to be an advantage, not a disadvantage.”It is disheartening but you perceive it differently and you take it in your stride. It doesn’t really bother us because we are professionals. But if you look at it from an emotional perspective or a support perspective, it’s just appalling, to be very frank.”The game against Odisha will be Karnataka’s last in Mysore this season, after which they are slated to play their final home game against Delhi in Hubli from November 23.

After beginning both their bowling and batting in lacklustre fashion,Indian Railways came through strongly thanks to a thoroughlyprofessional performance. Beating West Zone by 74 runs, IndianRailways notched up their second win of the series and handed WestZone their first loss.West Zone have won both the matches they have played so far. IndianRailways have played one match (against Central Zone), winning it inconvincing fashion and are looking to further their chances in thetournament. The clash between the two teams at the Railway Stadiumwould decide who had the upper hand in the tournament.Indian Railways along with Air India are the established big teams. Inthe past they have dominated tournaments almost completely. A lot ofpeople expected the same of the CricInfo Rani Jhansi Trophy 2000. WestZone apparently were not told about this. In what must be called aspirited effort, the West Zone team snatched the initiative from thefirst over of the innings.As she has done so efficiently in the past, the West Zone skipperKalyani took the new ball herself when she lost the toss and was askedto field. Beginning with a maiden, Kalyani set the tone for the restof the bowlers. At the other end, Neelima Waghmare bowled withdetermination. Having bowled out her 10 overs on the trot yesterday,she proceeded to the same today. In just the 4th over, she beatPurnima Chowdury for pace, leaving the stumps in disarray. Despitebeing injured while fielding, she soldiered on, never losing out onpace. Attempting to field a ball on the rather uneven outfield, shewas surprised by uneven bounce and took a knock on the side of herhead.Turning down offers of treatment till she finished her spell, Neelimaended with figures of 10-5-10-1. What more could a captain ask for?What made the spell specially valuable was the fact that it cameagainst one of the better teams of the tournament. In starting withsuch a tight spell, the advantage was with West Zone.Sonali Chandok who has been the pick of the spinners so far once againdrove the point home, beginning her spell with a wicketmaiden. Beating Reshma Gandhi through the air, she had her caught atmid off by Neelima. After the fall of two early wickets IndianRailways were forced to spend a period of time consolidating theirinnings.West Zone too had its share of problems. After the frontline bowlershad done their bit, they seemed to be short of one bowler. SonaliChandok was clearly not at her best and was taken off after an initialspell of 4-2-11-1. Batting all rounder Chandarani bowled her offspinners rather loosely and was taken apart by Hemalatha. The 32ndover of the innings, bowled by Chandarani read 4 4 4 . 4 1. That tookall the pressure of the Indian Railways batswomen.Hemalatha grew in confidence as the overs progressed and the runsbegan to come thick and fast. She swung the ball effortlessly throughthe on side, unafraid to take the aerial route. Even the few chancesthat were on offer for West Zone went abegging as Sulakshana Naik hada bad day behind the stumps. Failing to collect the ball cleanly onmore than one occasion, the ball squirted through and stumpingopportunities were missed.When Hemalatha was finally caught in the deep by Vaishali playing atired shot, she had already made an invaluable 69. Kalyani had thedismissal to her credit, but by then, the damage was done. 45 overshad were completed and Indian Railways were well on their way to afighting total.After Hemalatha’s dismissal, Deepa Kulkarni took on the mantle ofsenior batswoman and continued the assault. Hitting crisply throughthe line, she helped herself to an unbeaten half century, crossing thelandmark in the last over of the innings. Indian Railways ended theirinnings on 184/5.Star of yesterday’s game Amutha Shinde and experienced campaigner ArtiVaidya got West Zone off to a flyer. Tackling the Indian Railwaysopening bowlers with ease, the right and left combination carted theball to all corners of the park. Driving and cutting powerfullythrough the off side the two took West Zone at a pace of almost fourruns an over till the 10th over. Then Indian Railways veteran DianaEduljee made her presence felt.Coming in to the attack with the score on 38/0 after 10 overs, Dianacompletely sealed one end, giving away no runs. Bowling two maidens onthe trot, she began to apply the brakes on the West Zone batting. Inher third over, she let two balls slip down the leg side and waswhipped away behind square for boundaries by Amrutha. Was thestranglehold broken? Far from it. When she was on 44, Amrutha tried toheave Rupanjali Shastri through the on side and missed theball. Rapped on the pads, she was adjudged leg before. With the scoreon 61, the momentum shifted completely towards Indian Railways.West Zone skipper Kalyani walked in amidst high expectation. Indeed,it would take an innings of character from her to see West Zonethrough. What happened in the next few minutes sealed West Zone’sfate. Running late on what was a tight single to begin with, Kalyaniwas found well short of her ground by a direct hit from RenuMargaret. With the captain gone without scoring West Zone’s hopes wereall but dashed.While Arti Vaidya waged a lone battle at one end, wickets tumbled atthe other. Spinners operating in tandem made run scoring verydifficult. Arti showed vast reserves of defiance, not getting boggeddown by the tight bowling. Every once in a while she took theinitiative, came down the wicket and lofted the ball over the infield.When Arti was caught behind attempting to cut spinner Deepa Kulkarniit was curtains for West Zone. Her innings of 33 bolstered WestZone. While she was at the crease there was at least the hope of alate charge.A silent West Zone dressing room watched the proceedings gloomily astheir side slumped to 110 all out after being 61 for no loss.Diana Eduljee proved to be the big difference between the twoteams. Having played the game for years now, she knew every trick inthe trade and did not hesitate to unveil a few. When Indian Railwayswere batting her voice could be heard loud and clear from the dressingroom appealing for wides. When Arti Vaidya, in some ways the lasthurdle for Indian Railways, was dismissed, Diana ran across andcongratulated the umpire for upholding the appeal. Needless to say,the umpire did not appreciate the gesture. Call it playing the gamehard or call it gamesmanship (gameswomanship in this case?). Eitherway, it won Indian Railways a game that had virtually slipped out oftheir grasp.

Air India won their quarterfinal encounter against Delhi by eightwickets in the CricInfo Trophy women’s National Cricket Championshipat the Jorhat Stadium at Jorhat on Monday.Set a target of 180, Air India made a shaky start losing Anju Jain (5)with the score at 6 in the third over. But Anjum Chopra (82 not out of75 balls) and Mithali Raj (58 runs of 50 balls) laid the foundationfor the victory with a 131-run stand in 23.5 overs for the secondwicket. Then Anjum Chopra and Mamta Mamben (14 not out of 12 balls)guided Air India towards victory in 35.1 overs.Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, Delhi lost opener RakhiMehra (15) at 20 in the fourth over. But S Jaya (35 runs of 77 balls)and Sima Wadhwa (14) added 50 runs in 12.3 overs for the secondwicket. Then M Reema (51 runs of 72 balls) joined Jaya in a fourthwicket stand that realised 44 runs in 12.3 overs. After the departureof Jaya, Asha Jain (13) and Reema added 26 runs for the fifth wicketin 5.3 overs. But once the fifth wicket fell at 148, Delhi lost itsway and managed only 179 in the alloted 40 overs.