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Scorecard

Virender Sehwag shrugged off a horror tour of South Africa with a century on return, leading Delhi to 330 for 7 at the end of the first day at Rohtak. Coming in at No.4, Sehwag’s was a controlled effort – easing to 41 off 70 balls before stepping it up to complete his century in 124. He smashed 15 fours in his 160-minute stay and added a vital 112 with Aakash Chopra, who used to open with him a few years ago. Chopra compiled a steady 84, which included ten fours, and there was another half-century from Rajat Bhatia, who was unbeaten at the end of the day. Amit Mishra, Haryana’s captain, was the most effective bowler with 3 for 67.
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Rudra Pratap Singh and Praveen Kumar got four wickets each as Uttar Pradesh bowled out Andhra for 111 inside 38 overs and then lost four wickets to take a lead of 44 on the first day of their Round 7 Ranji Super League match at the Kamla Club in Kanpur.No Andhra batsman got to even 25 as RP conceded 30 runs and Kumar 47 for their wickets. Praveen bowled Prasad Reddy, the Andhra opener, with the score at 24 and 13 runs later RP had No. 3 batsman Satya Kumar Varma caught behind for four. The highest partnership was for 31 between Manava Prasad and Arjun Kumar for the sixth wicket. RP dismissed Prasad and Syed Sahabuddin in consecutive balls and in the next over Praveen had Arjun caught behind – all three falling with the score at 89.UP started slow, losing opener Rohit Prakash Srivastava for eight to Sahabuddin. But Suresh Raina, coming in at No. 4, was unbeaten on 50 at the end of day’s play. Sahabuddin got two wickets while Vijay Kumar and Mohammad Faiq got one each.
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Ranadeb Bose, with his second successive six-wicket haul, sliced through Rajasthan’s batting line-up as Bengal dominated on the opening day at Kolkata. Bose, the medium-pacer, justified his captain’s decision to field first, and along with Sourav Sarkar, shot out Rajasthan for just 193. Sarkar, his new-ball partner in just his third first-class game, ended with an impressive four wickets as the duo wrapped up all the wickets between them. Rahul Kanwat battled amid the ruins with a 63-ball 62 while Ajay Jadeja, the Rajasthan captain, chipped in with a hard-fought 41. Bose’s 14th five-wicket performance, though, stole the day.
Scorecard,br>Alfred Absolem wrecked Punjab with a seven-wicket haul on the opening day as Hyderabad gained the upperhand in a virtual quarterfinal at Uppal. Choosing to make full use of the pitch, Hyderabad, led by VVS Laxman, decided to bowl first and their medium-pace attack, as it has done all season, delivered. Playing only his sixth first-class game, Absolem snapped up his best figures, cutting a swathe through the strong Punjab line-up. Three of his victims were caught at the wicket and he got two others bowled and lbw. Laxman, with a grafted 44, led a strong Hyderabad reply as they ended the day on 145 for 4.
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Sahil Kukreja cracked his maiden first-class century as Mumbai, who won an important toss, took a firm grip over Maharashtra at Nasik. Kukreja’s was a patient knock, stroking 15 fours in his 322 minute stay and he was ably assisted by Wasim Jaffer, who cobbled together a steady 78. Hiken Shah, another newcomer with just one previous match, continued the good work with an unbeaten half-century at the end of the day. Maharashtra’s six bowlers toiled hard but managed only three dismissals between them.
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Ravichandran Ashwin, the Tamil Nadu offbreak bowler, got his third five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as Baroda were bowled out for 263 on the first day of their Ranji clash at the Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai. At stumps TN trailed by 250 runs with eight wickets left.Ashwin broke the third-wicket partnership between Rakesh Solanki and Baroda captain Jacob Martin worth 110 runs when he bowled Martin, top-scorer for the innings, for 57. In his next two overs he had Himanshu Jadhav and Irfan Pathan caught behind and stumped respectively off Dinesh Karthik. S Vidyut took 3 for 47 including the wicket of Yousuf Pathan for 49.

Ashley Noffke will warm up for his Test tour of West Indies with a brief stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Bangalore picked him to replace the injured Nathan Bracken. Noffke leaves for India on Tuesday but must be back in Brisbane in early May for Australia’s training camp ahead of the Caribbean series.Noffke did not originally nominate for either of the IPL auctions and intended to stay focused on his push for international honours. But after he was confirmed for the West Indies trip and named in Cricket Australia’s 25-man squad of contracted players for 2008-09, Noffke decided a short Twenty20 spell could be beneficial.”It’s a pretty exciting proposition to go up against so many good players,” Noffke said. “I’m taking the view that it will be good for my development as a player as well as a chance to get some bowling under my belt ahead of the Windies tour.”Noffke’s last-minute dash to India means he will be available for Bangalore’s opening clash against Kolkata on Friday. If selected, that could pit Noffke against the Australia captain Ricky Ponting as well as the newly-contracted David Hussey.He will also be free to play three more IPL games before heading home for the training camp. Bracken, who is still recovering after having knee surgery in March, will be assessed prior to the ODI tour of West Indies to determine whether he can take part.

Ricardo Powell, the West Indies batsman, has been confirmed to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford 20/20 tournament in Antigua after recovering from injury and a self-imposed break from the game.Powell, 27, migrated from Jamaica to T&T a few years ago and made his twin-island debut in early 2004. With 109 one-day internationals and two Tests for West Indies under his belt, the hard-hitting Powell has been expected to add some explosives to the T&T batting order.Though Powell made just 17 in the first of T&T’s two practice matches against St Lucia on Saturday, his side won by 64 runs. T&T play their first match on July 25 against the Cayman Islands.Meanwhile, in Guyana, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has pulled out of his regional team. According to the Guyana Cricket Board, no reason was given for the former West Indies captain’s withdrawal. Orin Forde, an allrounder with Under-19 experience, has been tipped to replace him.Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies vice-captain, has been appointed captain of Guyana and is expected to join the team today. His team will play Montserrat in their opening game on July 21.

India’s busy season after the World Cup kicks off with a short tour of Bangladesh as the Bangladesh Cricket Board released the itinerary, comprising two Tests and three one-dayers.Should India qualify for the World Cup final on April 28, they have a breather for just eight days before the the scheduled departure for Dhaka on May 7. The one-day series commences on May 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka, followed by the second match, at the same venue on May 12. Chittagong will host the third one-dayer three days later.India will stay back in Chittaong for the first Test from May 18 and will head back to Dhaka for the final Test, starting May 25. India last toured Bangladesh in 2004, winning the Test series 2-0 and the one-dayers 2-1. The reciprocal tour, however, is yet to happen.ItineraryMay 7 Arrival in Dhaka
May 10 1st ODI, Dhaka
May 12 2nd ODI, Dhaka
May 15 3rd ODI, Chittagong
May 18-22 1st Test, Chittagong
May 25-29 2nd Test, Dhaka

ScorecardRikki Clarke’s unbeaten half-century helped Birmingham overcome a poor start to their chase•Getty Images

NatWest T20 Blast champions Birmingham Bears are guaranteed a quarter-final place in this year’s competition after beating closest rivals Worcestershire Rapids by five wickets in front of a sell-out crowd at New Road.The North Group leaders opened up a four-point gap when old hand Rikki Clarke kept cool in making an unbeaten 52 from 43 balls as the Bears made it five wins in a row.Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Brett D’Oliveira made half-centuries in taking the Rapids to 160 for 5 and the Bears overcome a chaotic start to complete a successful run chase with three balls to spare after a quick-fire 22 not out by Ateeq Javid.It was an earlier partnership of 68 in nine overs by Clarke and Laurie Evans which restored order before the latter was caught at long-on off Saeed Ajmal.In the closing stages wicketkeeper Ben Cox intermittently employed the tactic of discarding his gloves and taking up a sort of long stop position, but it made no odds as the Rapids suffered a blow in their bid for a quarter-final spot.

Insights

Birmingham are the first county to qualify for the quarter-finals this season and within this victory there was evidence to why they are deservedly so. With 30 balls remaining in their run-chase they were still 57 short of the target – a less successful team may have panicked, but there was no sense of that as four consecutive double-digit overs saw Birmingham to victory with three balls remaining.

Their innings had been a tale of two exciting academy-developed prospects and two contrasting phases.Kohler-Cadmore registered his third half-century in the competition and D’Olviera, from the third generation of a famous cricketing family, reached an explosive 50 from 29 balls, his highest score in all formats for the first-team.Yet for all this enterprise, the Rapids were tied down for more than half of the innings as Warwickshire’s three spinners conceded only 71 runs – and three boundaries, all by Kohler-Cadmore – in the space of 11 overs.On a sluggish surface, which was used for two previous T20 games, Worcestershire were only able to break out of the shackles when D’Oliveira hit four sixes as pace bowlers Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Recordo Gordon were carted for 56 off the last four overs.When D’Oliveira hoisted the last ball of the inning over long off, the 23-year-old allrounder was undefeated with 56 from 30 deliveries, having more than doubled his previous best in the competition.Worcestershire made a poor start when captain Daryl Mitchell came down from a mid-week double century in the County Championship to a first-ball duck when he steered rather than smashed a short ball from Rikki Clarke to backward point.Richard Oliver was bowled for 10, aiming to slog wrist spinner Josh Poysden’s opening delivery, and Colin Munro was smartly stumped by Tim Ambrose off Jeetan Patel.Kohler-Cadmore managed to shut out problems at the opposite end by taking five boundaries in the power play and the former Malvern College batsman was up to 66 from 51 balls when he holed out to deep midwicket off Poysden.In contrast Warwickshire’s top order lurched into trouble. Brendon McCullum hit two sixes but the New Zealand captain’s dismissal, bowled by Joe Leach for 15, sparked off a slump to 48 for 4, one of the wickets falling to D’Oliveira.

Australia’s departing players have no worries about the side dropping from the top of the world rankings after spending the past decade keeping them there. And Ricky Ponting believes the group of low-profile replacements is capable of stepping into the gaps created by three of the country’s longest-serving performers.As the Australians accepted the applause for a 5-0 victory from a heaving SCG, Ponting spoke to Michael Clarke about the responsibilities of the new generation, which faces its first Test challenges against Sri Lanka and India towards the end of the year. “Make sure the next time we play an Ashes series we give it our best shot for the same result,” Ponting told Clarke, who scored two centuries in the contest.”For the next few years hopefully it’s Clarke and I and Michael Hussey leading our country. I see it as a pretty exciting time.” Ponting also expected players such as Adam Voges, who was in the squad for Perth, and the bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus would help replace Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer.”It’s not so much the unknown because I’ve got a good feeling about the next crop,” he said. “When you get young players in the squad there’s excitement around. The nucleus of this group will still be together and I can see us being a very dominant team.”The last time Australia lost three significant figures they suffered five years of misery, but Warne is confident the trough will not be repeated. In 1983-84 Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh and Greg Chappell retired on the same day at the SCG and the side struggled to recover.However, Warne believed Australia were currently so far ahead of the second-best side that the next batch of players would be able to hold the lofty position. “We’re very fortunate that first-class cricket in Australia is a good breeding ground for talent,” he said. “There are some wonderful cricketers out there.”It’ll be interesting to see which way the selectors go. Will they go for some 30-year-old players to replace us, or will they go for some youth? It’s a good time to get some younger players into the Test side while it’s been so successful and there is a decent gap between the next best side.”Warne said he would watch with interest “over a beer” to see how the team developed. “I don’t think Australia will come back to the field,” he said. “They’ll replace us three guys and I’m sure Australia will keep playing good cricket and winning.”Australia’s Ashes cleansweep has contributed to a 12-game winning streak that began at the MCG in 2005. Ponting said it would be a good tribute to the retiring players if they aimed to beat the mark of 16 set by Steve Waugh’s side in 2001, but Warne hoped it would stay untouched.”I bought a print for $35,000 that was for 16 in a row, so hopefully it rains in a couple of the next Tests,” he said. “Or maybe I’ll have to buy the next one when they win 17.”When we won 16 in a row I didn’t think it would happen again. To be on the verge of doing that again, and to have won 16 out of 17, that’s an amazing journey and a testament to the quality of players we’ve got.”Australia became a dominant team with the performances of Warne, McGrath and, later, Justin Langer, and Warne believed they first reached the new level in 1995 when they became unofficial world champions by beating West Indies. “We played some excellent cricket before that, but in ’95 we started to dominate rather than just win,” he said. “Once we beat West Indies over there we’ve dominated international cricket, except for a couple of hiccups – once in India and the 2005 Ashes – along the way. In general, we’ve dominated world cricket.”

ScorecardFile photo – Asghar Stanikzai smashed 13 fours and six sixes in his 127 off 163 balls•ICC/Helge Schutz

Coach Inzaman hails Afg’s come-from-behind win

Afghanistan coach Inzamam-ul-Haq has said the win against PNG was all the more significant given his team had been switching between formats a lot of late.
“The performance was exceptional and outstanding because this was the third different format they were playing inside four weeks,” he said, adding their aggressive approach after a poor start was important. “These are big, powerful and talented lads who play without fear. It requires a lot of guts and courage to hit the number of fours and sixes they hit in the second innings when they had their backs against the wall.
“These are positive signs and we just want to build upon these foundations without burdening them with too much information.”

Afghanistan completed a stunning comeback win as they overcame a 151-run first-innings deficit to thrash Papua New Guinea by 201 runs in Sharjah. Asghar Stanikzai (127), Mohammad Shahzad (116) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (112) all struck centuries as Afghanistan piled on 501 in their second innings – along with handy lower-order fifties from Gulbadin Naib and Mirwais Ashraf – to set PNG a target of 390.PNG were never in the chase at any point as they lost wickets in clumps to succumb for 188. Assad Vala struck his second half-century of the game and offered some resistance with his 81 but it was not close to enough. Zahir Khan and Yamin Ahmadzai both picked up four wickets to break the back of the PNG chase.Earlier, it was PNG that dominated with both bat and ball as they bowled Afghanistan out for 144, with Norman Vanua doing most of the damage with figures of 4 for 36, and then put up a total of 295 through Mahuru Dai’s 129 and Vala’s 62 to earn a lead of 151. Zahir and Ahmadzai were again the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets apiece.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A match that appeared to be drifting inexorably in Pakistan’s direction inthe afternoon session was left tantalisingly poised after a 115-runpartnership between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and VVS Laxman pushed India backinto contention. Shoaib Akhtar bowled with tremendous pace to dismiss bothopeners, and there were two wickets too for Sohail Tanvir on debut, butafter slumping to 93 for 5, India would have been satisfied to end the dayjust three runs adrift.Dhoni and Laxman eased the immediate pressure with scampered singles, apattern broken only when Dhoni cut Mohammad Sami powerfully for four.Laxman then played two magnificent strokes down the ground off Tanvir, andDhoni greeted Danish Kaneria’s reintroduction with a savage cut for four,but at tea, it was still Pakistan that were dictating terms.The complexion of the game changed after tea though, with Dhoni’s straightswat off Kaneria revealing India’s positive intent. Laxman laced somegorgeous shots down the ground and through midwicket, while Dhoni muscledthe ball through the off side field whenever he was afforded the width.Shoaib Malik rotated his bowlers often, using Shoaib’s pace in shortbursts, and both batsmen were largely content to see him off. Even then,the runs came at four an over as the partnership mounted rapidly. A pushthrough cover took Dhoni to 50, but his movement thereafter was hamperedby the ankle that he had injured in Jaipur.John Gloster, the Indian physio, came on to give it some strapping, but itwas clearly a factor as he charged a Kaneria leg break to get the thinnestof edges through to Kamran Akmal. His 57 had spanned just 93 balls, andbeen the dominant part of a partnership similar to that which saved theLord’s Test for India in July.Laxman eased to his own half-century soon after, Anil Kumbleplayed one flamboyant square drive off Shoaib, and the fag end of the day wasall about consolidation. When the umpires offered the light at thescheduled close, with Pakistan well behind the over-rate, both Laxman andKumble had little hesitation in walking off.The situation when Dhoni arrived to a raucous ovation had been verydifferent. Rahul Dravid, who had played some lovely shots in his 38,saw his off stump knocked back by a Tanvir delivery that pitched onmiddle and leg and left him a shade. Coming soon after Ganguly’s departure- bowled off the inside edge to give Tanvir his first Test scalp – it puta severe dent in India’s hopes of establishing a first-innings lead.The unlikely figure of Mohammad Yousuf had provided a telling blow minutesearlier. A sizeable crowd had cheered Sachin Tendulkar all the way to thecrease, but when there was a mix-up between him and Dravid over going fora second run, Yousuf’s throw to the keeper found him inches short.Another run-out, albeit a much more bizarre one, had precipitated the endof the Pakistan innings in the morning. Neither Munaf Patel nor ZaheerKhan could break through with the relatively new ball, and after 40 moreminutes of being thwarted, Kumble brought himself and Ganguly on.And it was off Ganguly’s bowling that the 87-run partnership – a Pakistanirecord for the ninth wicket against India – was finally broken.Misbah-ul-Haq, who had faced 243 balls for his 82, played one to point andset off. He seemed to have made his ground when Dinesh Karthik’s throwcame in. But rather than get his body in the way, Misbah chose airborneevasive action and the ball struck the stumps. When the third umpire handed down his decision, the crowd erupted.It took Kumble just two balls to clean up Kaneria, leaving India’s vauntedbatting line-up to chart their own course on a pitch predicted to be at itsbest for batting on the second day. Though Karthik went before lunch,fending at a Shoaib delivery that moved away, Dravid and Wasim Jafferproceeded to put on 56 without too many alarms.Shoaib was the biggest threat, combining the odd unplayable delivery withsome wayward stuff. Clearly unhappy with the landing area on the pitch, heasked for sawdust, changed his boots and then kicked a ball away infrustration on his followthrough when he couldn’t find rhythm.The second coming proved to be luckier. Dismayed to see Billy Doctroveturn down a leg-before appeal against Jaffer in the opening over of theinnings, he returned to thud one into the pads at serious pace. In theensuing 6.2 overs, India would lose 4 for 22 and stumble towards an abyss.Fortunately for them, neither Laxman nor Dhoni were in freefalling mood.

Fidel Edwards has been fined 15% of his match fee for using abusive language during the final Test at Riverside.”When bowling, and in frustration, Fidel swore loudly enough to be heard by spectators at the ground and television audiences,” ICC match referee Alan Hurst said. “We are not saying that players cannot show frustration or demonstrate passion, but Fidel’s means of doing that was totally unacceptable and does not set an appropriate example.”The player regrets his actions and I trust this penalty will serve to ensure it does not occur again.”

Mashonaland at loggerheads with Zimbabwe Cricket

The dispute between Mashonaland Cricket Association and Zimbabwe Cricket continues to rumble on, and ZC have upped the ante by refusing to recognise the new MCA executive.Although the warring factions sat down together, Peter Chingoka, the ZC chairman, insisted that his board refused to ackowledge the authority of the current MCA board and that he was speaking to Cyprian Mandenge and Elvis Sembezeya, the new MCA chairman and deputy chairman, purely as members of the association rather than as officials.An emergency meeting of the MCA in December kicked out the existing committee and elected a new board who were seen as being far more prepared to confront the board.However, ZC refused to acknowledge the election and has been refusing the new association officials access to their offices at Harare Sports Club. “We are supposed to be using the offices but we have been facing difficulties in this regard and how do they expect us to carry out the day to day running of the sport for our province?, Mandenge explained. “We are not trying to oust the ZC board but all we are saying is that the ZC should address the issue of the rebranding from ZCU and do it constitutionally.”It is not known at the moment what the outcome of yesterday’s meeting was.Although a number of clubs boycotted last weekend’s matches, Cricinfo understands that all but three – Alexandra, Old Georgians and Takashinga – have agreed to resume playing this week largely for financial reasons. Mashonaland itself is still refusing to participate in the Logan Cup.