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East Zone’s primary objective in their Duleep Trophy match against North Zone at the Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi, is, at the end of the third day, abundantly clear. With the prospects of a win annihilated by a featherbed batting track, East will be looking to just surpass North’s first-innings total and pick up five points instead of three from the drawn match.It was, on the whole, a gritty batting display from East Zone on the third day. The openers, Parag Das and Debang Gandhi, added another 54 runs for the first wicket before Das fell to Sarandeep Singh for 63 off 74 balls, with 11 fours.Gandhi fell to the same bowler eight runs later for 44, and a collapse looked imminent. But 90 runs were then added for the third wicket by Sanjay Raul and Rashmi Ranjan Parida before Rahul Sanghvi picked up a wicket, dismissing Raul for 32 off 104 balls.Twenty runs later, Sanghvi took out Pravanjan Mullick for 11. Sarandeep then got back into the act by dismissing Parida for 62 (145 balls, six fours, one six) and, at 236 for five, East Zone were again teetering.But Subhomoy Das and wicket-keeper Zakaria Zuffri then posted a 40-run stand for the sixth wicket that stabilised the situation in part. Zuffri made only 11, but he was at the crease for 53 balls, proving valuable support for Das.At the close of play on Thursday, Das was unbeaten on 56 off 117 balls, with eight fours in his innings. He was accompanied by Laxmi Rattan Shukla, who had cracked a whirlwind 43 off 36 balls with three fours and three sixes.East Zone ended the day on 354 for six, just over 200 runs behind North Zone’s first-innings total. If Das and Shukla can bat calmly on the last day to compile centuries, East Zone may yet see a result that, when Vikram Rathour was going strong on the first two days, seemed completely out of reach.

South Africa may be without the injured Dale Steyn for the third Test against England, but coach Mickey Arthur is awaiting the return of a fired-up Andre Nel at Edgbaston.”Any time Andre [Nel] plays for South Africa he’s fired up,” Arthur told the BBC. “I can’t wait to see him bowl hard. I think he’s going to do really well.” Nel last played a Test against the West Indies at home in January. Nel, known for his aggressive approach, had been controversially dropped from the Test team to India in favour of Charl Langeveldt.”We’ve backed him a huge amount over the last couple of months and I’ve got a feeling he is going to come through this one fantastically,” Arthur said. “It just shows that when you plan there has to be a queue and some succession in place.”We have the ability now to lose one guy and be able to bring back a guy who is a hardened Test-match campaigner. So we are fortunate to do that, but that’s how we structured our team.”Nel goes into the Test having warmed up against a Bangladesh A team in the tour game at New Road, in which he picked up three wickets and his maiden first-class fifty.”Andre is a good tourist, but he certainly doesn’t like not playing,” Arthur told the Daily Telegraph. “He wants to be involved all the time and there is a lot of pent-up energy and aggression there that will hopefully come out at Edgbaston. Every time he has bowled in the nets on this tour, he has wanted to prove to me that he belongs and that he should be in the team.”Andre has got much better of late in learning how to channel his aggression in the right direction,” Arthur said. “If he can, it gives him his competitive edge and I never want to take that away from him.”Nel has played just one Test against England – at Centurion in 2005. He had figures of 6 for 81 in England’s first innings; the match, though, ended in a draw.

ScorecardScotland at last showed their true form as they ran to a convincing nine-wicket victory over a disappointing Kenya. They began with a fine bowling performance, spearheaded by Dewald Nel, and then their opening batsmen Ryan Watson and Kyle Coetzer gave the other teams in the tournament an object lesson in how to bat in such circumstances. They put on 102 together, taking their team to the verge of victory, and completing it with eleven balls to spare. Should Zimbabwe confirm their withdrawal from the Twenty20 World Cup, Scotland will replace them.Kenya batted despite their nasty experience after being put in by Ireland this morning and decided on a discreet start, but this approach still failed them at the first, Maurice Ouma departing lbw to Nel. Gordon Drummond, coming on for the sixth over, beautifully yorked Nehemiah Odhiambo for 11; 27 for 1. Four runs later, Kennedy Otieno was bowled by Berrington for 14, trying to work a straight ball down the third man.Steve Tikolo began carefully, and after ten overs the score was 47 for 3. But in the next over came the major blow, Tikolo lbw to Berrington for 19, with Thomas Oboyo (6) following, relucantly, also lbw to Gregor Maiden in the next over. Kenya were 56 for 5, and with little batting to come.Ragheb Aga did his best, and hit a six over long leg off Gordon Drummond, but could not find a capable partner. He reached 28 off 25 balls but, in the penultimate over, he holed out to long-on attempting another six. That made the score 89 for 8, but unexpectedly Kenya brought up three figures. They scored 12 off the final over, bowled by Drummond, and including a huge six well over the long-off boundary by Peter Ongondo, who ran himself out next ball.The final total was 105, an almost certain loser in a normal Twenty20 match – or a quality match of any sort – but in this tournament, who knew? Nel, with 3 for 10, returned excellent figures, continuing a fine event, while Berrington took 2 for 21.Watson and Coetzer finally displayed the type of batting required for success in these situations, which no other partnership in the tournament to date had been able to achieve. Naturally some risks needed to be taken, but they were well-calculated ones, proper ‘percentage’ cricket, instead of the wild heaves that so often had ended other partnerships prematurely over the past three days.They were 50 without loss after ten overs, well on their way to victory, with only five fours – showing their ability to hit the loose ball, but not to be obsessed by the boundary – and a great many well-run ones and twos. The bowling was fair enough in quality; it was just the batting that for once was so much better.Watson, the dominant partner, reached his 50 off 54 balls; this was only the second fifty of the tournament, following that of Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate in the first match. The team hundred came up in the 17th over, and this made it the first century partnership of the tournament. At 102, though, Watson tried to win the match with a six, but instead skied a catch to mid-off, departing for 54. But it did not take long for Coetzer, finishing on 48, to complete a victory that would be very satisfying in every way, except that it failed to win them a place in tomorrow’s final.

Lack of preparation won’t be an excuse for Northern Districts when they open their State Championship campaign against Auckland at the Harry Barker Reserve in Gisborne on November 29.Four of the side’s front-line players, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, James Marshall and Bruce Martin, have been playing club cricket in Sydney over the last six weeks.Marshall has scored 251 runs for the Eastern Suburbs club, including a 154, to average 50.20 after five matches. Tuffey has taken 12 wickets for the Sutherland club at an average of 20.08.All four players will return to New Zealand on Sunday or Monday after completing the round of games that is underway in Sydney at the moment.Their inclusion in teams in Sydney resulted from Scott Styris going to Gordon where former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon was associated last summer.ND coach Bruce Blair said the inclusion of four players this year was a strengthening of the on-going relationship between ND and New South Wales.After he and ND operations manager Pat Malcon visited Sydney to speak with senior NSW officials, they learned there had been acceptance of the ND players being involved. The New Zealand players, all of whom were good first-class players here, with Tuffey and Styris being international players, were bolstering the Sydney competition and it had been good for club players there to mix with the New Zealanders and to see them in action.Blair was keen to see the system applied again next year because it not only gave the players cricket at a time when not a lot was happening due to climate restrictions in New Zealand, but it also helped develop the players’ life skills.”They’ve done pretty well and James Marshall has hit his straps,” Blair said. “And Daryl has been very happy with the rhythm he has got and the way he’s been feeling. Scott has been bowling on very, very true wickets to good players who look to attack.”The Australian four will not be included in the ND side to play Auckland, in Auckland, on Monday and Tuesday.That will allow the selectors to have a look at three of four players who are on the fringe of the squad.The full ND squad will then meet back in Hamilton on Wednesday for a fitness testing session and squad work.The squad for the first part of the season will then get together in Hamilton for two days of practice before bussing to Gisborne on the Wednesday afternoon.For those players back in New Zealand there have been two rounds of Hawke Cup play over the last two weekends.Blair is looking forward to getting the team back together and looking forward to further develop the skills in the side.

THE Western Australian Cricket Association today announced its team to play the Southern Redbacks in a Pura Cup match in Adelaide from December 19-22.The team is:Justin LANGER (Capt), Mike HUSSEY (VC), Jo ANGEL, Ryan CAMPBELL, Beau CASSON, Michael CLARK, Murray GOODWIN, Brad HOGG, Chris ROGERS, Adam VOGES, Brad WILLIAMS and Paul WILSON.Fast bowler Matthew Nicholson and batsman Shaun Marsh, were not considered for selection because of injury.Nicholson ruptured a tendon in his right forearm during last week’s ING Cup match. Marsh is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in Brisbane last month."On medical advice given to the selectors, Matthew Nicholson and Shaun Marsh were not considered for selection," Chairman of Selectors Wayne Hill said."We look forward to our Australia `A’ team representatives returning to the team and we are extremely excited that some of our new young players have held their places in the team following encouraging starts to their first-class careers."Hill said wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi was unlucky to lose his place after making 90 and 33 in his debut match against Tasmania."Luke is extremely unfortunate following his outstanding debut, but we have an international representative in Ryan Campbell returning to the side," Hill said."Luke was chosen as replacement wicketkeeper in Ryan’s absence, but there is no doubt that Luke will continue to be a major figure in our future planning."

Is Tendulkar a better batsman than Bradman? Was Garfield Sobers a superior all-rounder in comparison to Ian Botham? Or does Shoaib Akhtar generate more sheer pace than Imran Khan? Or Freddie Spofforth a bigger demon than Waqar?The above are questions that perplex young enthusiasts of the game all over the world. Unfortunately for them (and also for the game of cricket) the yardstick, which these youngsters choose as their reference of comparison, is the statistical analysis of these players.By the above I do not wish to run down or devalue the importance of statistics in the game of cricket. Indeed the study of facts and figures forms an integral part of the cricketing canvas. Probably no other sport in the world lays as much stress and importance on statistics as the game of cricket. The amount of time, research and printed space allotted to statistics by the world of cricket is immense, to the extent of being phenomenal. Indeed the grasp of cricketing records and their implications on performances and merits is of pivotal importance for any cricketing academy but the problem begins when an overdose of importance is attached to statistics alone and other factors are neglected.For me to write on such a topic is more difficult than most would imagine. Not only because I myself started in the field of cricket writing as a statistician but more so because my favourite cricketing scribes have been the great statistician of our times. I am sure that I am not the only one who has based the foundations of his academic cricketing interests on the statistics of the game. But after having remained a chronic addict of facts and figures for so long, I feel that there is a limit to where numbers can guide us in our cricketing queries.Can we really call Taslim Arif the best ever batsman ever produced by Pakistan just because he has an average of 62.62? Can we forget the daredevil cavalier style of Maqsood Ahmed who won the title of ‘MERRY MAX’ on the merit of his aggressive batting in England but never managed a Test century?Is it just for us to call Zaheer Abbas a better batsman than Hanif Mohammad only because ‘ZED’ has more Test runs to his credit? Was Bob Willis a greater bowler than Fred Trueman just because he overtook Fred in the tally of Test scalps?All these are questions whose answer can never be found in the record books.Cricket may well be a numerical analysts’ dream come true but even then it is primarily the domain of the romantists and idealists.The rhythm, which flowed from the bat of Majid Khan in the 1976-77 series against New Zealand; or the sting of Imran’s swing and patience of Hanif’s marathon innings against the West Indies in 1957-58 can never be measured quantitatively.The stature of W.G. Grace, the sting of Fred Spofforth, the bite of Wes Hall, the charm of Bradman and the mastery of Garry Sobers is for posterity to remember. Their impact can neither be measured numerically nor can their performances be compared with those of current cricketers.As with Einstein’s theory of relativity so with cricket; the correct impact can only be ascertained in an environment.Bradman playing against Shoaib Akhtar would face as much of handicap as Tendulkar’s facing S.F. Barnes. Even if Shahid Afridi hits six sixes in an over today, he would neither be better nor worse a cricketer than Sir Garfield Sobers. Even if the record books say that Border, Gavaskar, Steve Waugh, Javed Miandad and Graham Gooch have more runs to their credit than Bradman it certainly does not imply that the latter was not as great a cricketing giant as the others.Drawing parallels in any field of life is a tricky business but in cricket it becomes all the more arduous since here we tend to overestimate the potentials of cricketing records. Indeed records are a great asset but let us not forget the statistics. Let us give due respect to those who create new records but then let us not forget those who created the original records in a time when doing so was a much more difficult and much less profitable exercise.

With four of its most senior professionals sitting out this important ‘home from home’ rubber against Australia, Pakistan go into tomorrow’s first Test seriously impaired in terms of resources. But if skipper Waqar Younis is to be believed, his young wards are all charged up to pick up the Aussie gauntlet, making up for their lack of experience with the zest and vigour of youth, and a grim resolve to make a fist of it.”You will see a spark on the field, that is something I promise you”, said Younis to a clutch of cricket scribes in the lobby of the team hotel. “We had to rely on a bunch of youngsters eventually. It has only happened a bit sooner. But maybe not soon enough; maybe we should have tried it earlier than this.”I’m relishing the pressure and the challenge. The Aussies are very very good, but we will try and match them. Our bowling is still good enough to take on all comers, and I’m not too desolate about batting either. There is Younis Khan (the new vice-captain), and he is seriously good. Misbah-ul-Haq is in very fine nick, and at the top of the order Taufeeq Umar is shaping well too.”Younis is counting on the stronger parts of the whole to deliver, and in this, with an unreliable and largely untried upper and middle order, it will be of great importance that all-rounders Abdul Razzaq and Rashid Latif deliver with the willow as well.None of the young guns making comebacks – Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal and speedster Mohammad Zahid – are completely new to big time cricket. Discarded after a taste of the big league, they should be hungry to takeadvantage of this opportunity and cement their places in the side. But whether their hunger translates into sizable contributions remains to be seen.The morale of the team, said Younis, was far better than before. “The PCB Chairman, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia was here for the ICC meetings and we had two sessions with him and this had an affect on everyone,” he said.On a square that is green but hard, the experts here believe that the wicket will offer purchase to the spinners. With Pakistan likely to go in with a full compliment of five bowlers, it is likely that Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria will bowl in tandem in long spells. Younis didn’t divulge what bowling combination he would prefer, saying that Pakistan might field a pace quartet instead of three-two pace-spin mix.”Mohammad Sami is bowling very well”, he said, but it seems unlikely that Pakistan will go in with four pacers in the hot and humid conditions. That means that Zahid’s comeback, although he looks lean and hungry, would be put off till at least Sharjah, the venue for the second and third Tests.Of crucial importance will be the form of Saqlain and Kaneria against Australia’s captain, Steve Waugh. Coming back to Test cricket after a six-month hiatus, with his and twin brother Mark’s careers on the line, Waugh has seen his team undone by spin on the sub-continent, most recently in the Champions Trophy semi-final against Sri Lanka, though the memory of Harbhajan Singh demolishing them in the 2000-2001 series in India won’t be too distant either.Judging by his demeanor, Waugh looked anything but relaxed, but talking to reporters here he said that captaincy was all about pressure and how one coped with it.Referring to Younis’ statement that since it was Pakistan’s ‘home’ series, they should have a say on the type of surface the Test is held, Waugh said that it was not how cricket should be played. Younis reacted with a raised eyebrow, a hint of a smile and a shrug. Hosts decide the surface to suit their strengths all over the world, including the Antipodes.This minor row reveals cricket at the highest level to be a cut-throat business, with no quarter given. So should it be. If the Pakistanis take this message on board, perhaps they will be less vulnerable than they tend to be due to their own unpredictability.

Chris Adams has been given the all-clear following a ligament injury to his left knee.Adams was injured on the eve of Sussex’s B&H Quarter-Final against Warwickshire in May and underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament. He makes his return to first-class cricket in tomorrow’s Championship match against Yorkshire at Arundel.Commenting, Chris Adams said: “I’ve been out for five weeks and this is a big match to come back for. But I’ve always played well at Arundel and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of taking on Yorkshire.”I’ll be continuing where I left off in May and I’m determined to have a great season for Sussex and in doing so put myself in the frame for the Ashes and World Cup this winter.”The squad for the Yorkshire match is as follows:

MontgomerieGoodwinAdamsCotteyYardyAmbroseMartin-JenkinsPriorInnesDavisTaylorLewry

Choosing to bat first on a good batting strip, Minor Counties scored a competitive 242-9 in their 50 overs.Dawson fell early, but Dobson and Nagra proceeded steadily, adding 53 for the second wicket before Dobson flicked one to square leg. Lowe was dismissed without scoring and Nagra was stumped soon after. Stephens, promoted in the batting order, dug in to score a well earned 45 and added 72 with Naylor, who also batted responsibly, for the 5th wicket.The ninth wicket fell with the score on 217. Blanchett with 2 overs left to him, hit 24 not out, mainly with powerful straight drives, including one towering 6.Blanchett, bowling with good pace and direction, picked up two early wickets before a third wicket stand of 97 between Cassar and Brophy took the score to 127-3 off 30.1 overs.Cassar and White took the total to 181 in 40 overs before Cassar fell to a stunning mid-wicket diving catch by Blanchett off Naylor for 97 with the score on 214.Two further victims for Naylor and Northants were left requiring 12 runs off 8 balls.In a tense finish with 9 runs to win off the last over, Northants got the single they needed off the last ball of the match.Minor Counties, without their ECB players, had put on an excellent performance and but for a couple of dropped catches, which marred an otherwise excellent fielding performance, would in all probability have won this match.

With seven players unable to play last weekend, Manicaland withdrew from their Logan Cup fixture against Matabeleland. As no suitable replacements were available, the ZCU agreed to their request to have the fixture postponed. Players could have been drawn from the Mutare social leagues but it was considered an unsatisfactory solution for first-class cricket. The match will instead be played this weekend, starting on Friday 12 April.Whittall and Sims will be away in Namibia with Zimbabwe A – participating in an African ODI tournament – but into the side come Gary Brent, Alistair Campbell and Paul Strang. Unable to get a game for either Mashonaland team, Strang was given special dispensation to play. This will be Manicaland’s final game of the season with most players flying to Britain to take up club contracts shortly thereafter.It was announced yesterday that Manicaland’s Kevan Barbour has been selected to the ICC’s `emerging panel’ of ODI international umpires. He and Harare’s Ahmed Esat will be Zimbabwe’s representatives. Between them they will do all Zimbabwe’s home games and travel to other countries to officiate as neutrals. In a huge career move the 53-year-old Barbour will find himself exploded from the backwaters of Mutare to the eye of an often-unforgiving storm.Last week Hillcrest College – a private school near Penhalonga 16 kilometres north of Mutare – was the venue for a ZCU-sanctioned national Under-14s tournament. Accommodated and fed at the boys’ hostel, two teams from Mashonaland, one from Matabeleland and one from `Country Districts’ participated.Played in fine autumnal weather in front of a small band of vociferous parents, the games proved competitive without throwing up any obvious superstars of the future. What would have pleased the authorities was the quantity and quality of black players coming through. Ranging from `Prince’ – a scary left-arm quick who can bat too – to a young leg-spinner with good flight, the signs are good for Zimbabwe cricket circa 2008. And these black kids don’t play to lose.Mutare was stretched to find four experienced umpires for a mid-week tournament like this. Fortunately only one bad decision marred proceedings. A Matabeleland batsman was given out `hit the ball twice’ whilst using his bat a second time to protect his stumps. Such injustices are difficult to bear in festival cricket, but assume galactic proportions when delivered in front of national selectors.After losing an advice-shouting session with the confused umpires, the boy’s father, Grant Paterson (ex national batsman of the 80s), repaired to a distant shady tree to cool off. That the umpire happened to be a recent graduate from the CFX Academy came as no surprise – few players know the laws of the game. Academy supremo Dave Houghton should introduce a basic umpiring exam for participants – with a pass being essential for final graduation.Watching the recent annihilation of South Africa by Australia in the Test and one-day series, it was interesting to hear the views of modern Zimbabwean cricketers. Up to the late eighties most had a soft spot for their southern neighbours. The former Rhodesia used to participate in the Currie Cup and at one stage during the sixties had four players representing the Springboks.The Cronje era has changed things forever. South Africans are viewed as arrogant, unfriendly and deserving of every reversal. The fact that they avoided the whitewash was greeted with much sorrow.