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The Indian board will announce the name of sponsors for its international and domestic cricket matches for next 31 months on Monday at the conclusion of the bidding process for the rights.”The bidding process will end at 12 noon [on Monday],” said Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president and marketing committee head, who declined to reveal details on the number of bids received so far.The BCCI had invited bids from sponsors earlier this month for ground and title naming rights for all ODIs and Tests to be played in India and featuring the country from September 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010.Similarly, bids had also been invited for all Twenty20 internationals to be held in India as well as matches featuring India A and India juniors against international teams.It had also invited bids for the rights of its domestic tournaments, including the Ranji Trophy, N K P Salve Challenger Series, Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Irani Trophy and the Premier (one-day) Cup.A sponsor or agency for the branding of umpires’ clothing for all domestic ties had also been sought for through the bidding process by the BCCI.The bids are to be opened at 2 pm on August 27 in front of the board’s marketing committee and the bidders at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.But the board has also reserved the right to cancel or amend the entire bidding process at any stage and to reject any and all bids without assigning any reason.

Scorecard
Points table
Tasmania were made to fight as they closed in on first-innings points after hurting New South Wales’ hopes of defending their Pura Cup total by knocking them over for 141 on the first day at Bellerive Oval. The Blues are in a three-way tie for third with South Australia and Western Australia, but their plans for advancement were derailed when they were dismissed in 53.4 overs after being sent in.The opener Greg Mail top scored with 33, but he was part of a collapse of 4 for 13 and the only bright spot of the rest of the innings for New South Wales was Brad Haddin’s 24-ball 29, which included two fours and a couple of sixes. Adam Griffith and Ben Hilfenhaus were the main problems with three wickets while Brendan Drew and Brett Geeves each collected two victims.Tasmania’s innings followed a similar pattern to their opponents’, with Tim Paine and Michael Bevan pushing them to 105 in a 93-run second-wicket stand. However, Paine (36) fell to Grant Lambert, who also dismissed the nightwatchman Griffith in the third-last over, and Michael Bevan slipped up on 51 as they finished at 4 for 110.Trevor Bayliss, the NSW coach, said the match was still very much alive. “It’s been an interesting day’s cricket,” he told . “There was a little bit in the wicket this morning and their guys bowled very well and we made a good start but didn’t bat as well as we probably could’ve done or should’ve done.”

Division One

Ryan McLaren has put Kent within touching distance of a thumping victory over Warwickshire at Canterbury with eight wickets in the match, as the visitors were made to follow-on. After watching Kent pile up 550, Warwickshire collapsed in feeble fashion against McLaren’s brisk swing bowling, picking up 5 for 24 in 11 overs. Following on, Ian Westwood and Darren Maddy past the first innings total in an opening stand of 122, but there followed another dramatic collapse of 5 for 23 against McLaren, again, and James Tredwell. Darren Maddy held firm with an unbeaten 115, but Warwickshire will be looking to the heavens for an escape route.Adil Rashid was left stranded on 91 – an innings which spanned three days owing to the poor weather – but Yorkshire posted 307 before reducing Surrey to 87 for 3 on the third day at Headingley. Darren Gough swung with characteristic vigour in a brisk and brief 28 – which included two sixes and a four – before Deon Kruis offered valuable support to the senior Rashid in an eleventh-wicket stand of 55. Gough then nipped out the Surrey openers, Scott Newman and Jon Batty, and Mark Butcher for 11 in a tight eight-over opening spell in which he conceded just 14 runs.Ottis Gibson became the 79th bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings when he skittled Hampshire for 115 to pick up 10 for 47. A full report of Durham’s third day at Chester-le-Street can be read here.

Division Two

Leicestershire’s match against Middlesex finally got underway, on the third day at Grace Road as the rain at last relented. And in spite of the dreadful conditions to have blighted the match so far, it was a good track on which to bat with the hosts, who were put in by Middlesex, racing to 305 for 2. Tom New and John Maunders put on 104 for the first wicket, taking a particular liking to Chaminda Vaas who leaked 72 runs from his 13 overs. Like Vaas, Tim Murtagh proved a little too expensive but he did trap New in front for 56. The breakthrough couldn’t restrict Leicestershire’s bristling momentum as Maunders received excellent support from HD Ackerman who remained unbeaten on 93. Three shy of his own hundred Maunders were stumped by Ben Scott off Jamie Dalrymple, but Arno Jacobs joined Ackerman to take Leicestershire past the 300 mark.Andy Bichel blew Somerset away for 145 to put Essex in command of their match at Taunton, with Ravi Bopara continuing his excellent form in making 126. Somerset’s innings was a stuttering affair; Justin Langer struck four fours in his 24 before his former Australia team-mate, Bichel, trapped him leg-before. And James Hildreth was brisk in his 38, cracking seven fours before handing James Foster the first of three catches. In reply Essex raced to 294 for 6, Bopara adding to his 69 in the first innings with a 128-ball hundred in the second. Essex lead by a daunting 431 going into the final day.A sporting declaration from Simon Katich, the Derbyshire captain, might have injected life into their match against Glamorgan at Derby, with the visitors leading by 167 runs with nine second-innings wickets remaining. Derbyshire bowled Glamorgan out for 298 – David Hemp struck 14 fours and a six in his 97 – and Derbyshire went on the attack, smacking 150 before Katich declared in the 31st over. Tom Lungley then nipped out Jimmy Maher for 3 but, going into the final day, it will take something special from seamers on either side to force a victory.

Darrell Hair, the Australian umpire at the centre of the Oval controversy last month, has hit out at suggestions that his decisions which led to the forfeiture of the Test were hasty, and, even worse, motivated by racism. In a detailed interview in , Hair said he was forced to intervene because he absolutely had to, and that there were no other extraneous factors which influenced his decision-making.”The umpires intervene only when they decide the game is not being played within the spirit of the game,” Hair said. “People will tell you in matches I have umpired in the past 20 years that I have shown considerable restraint. There have been many times when official action could have been taken but wasn’t because you try to control the issue and resolve it on the pitch.”All good umpires will have a quiet word rather than jump in. I prefer the principle of non-intervention. That is a preferable route compared with someone making a song and dance about something that could be resolved quietly. But the decision to intervene finally depends on the seriousness of the matter.”Hair also said he was deeply hurt by accusations of racism, and by comments that his offer to the ICC – that he would quit umpiring if offered 250,000 pounds – were motivated by personal greed.”It really upsets me when people describe me as racist, because they have no idea how I spent my childhood and how that shaped my beliefs in adult life,” said Hair. “How can people judge me to have prejudices when I went to school in Australia alongside Chinese children, Hungarian refugees and all manner of other nationalities? I grew up in Orange, in central New South Wales, living next door to a large family of Aborigines. I had some of my happiest times playing rugby and cricket with the children. They were like brothers and sisters to me.”It’s particularly hurtful when I count as some of my closest friends the Pakistan umpires Aleem Dar and Asad Rauf, and the Sri Lankans Asoka de Silva and Peter Manuel. We are men from different cultures drawn together by the game of cricket. We exchange views and I have always found men of that calibre tremendously supportive.”Denying the charge of greed, Hair said: “Money has never been a driving force in my career as an umpire. No umpire I know does it for money. I can honestly say I am earning less than half I could have commanded in salary had I stayed in the private sector as sales manager of a clothing manufacturer in Melbourne.”Hair also admitted that some of the comments made after the incident had upset him and Amanda, his wife. “Amanda has been affected by this,” he said. “Normally she is very strong, an implacable woman. I think it has affected her because she knows a lot about cricket. She has spent a lot of her time on cricket committees and has a passion for the game herself. Some of the ill-informed comments made have upset her deeply. No matter how much I tell her not to worry, she does worry because she does not like to see what she perceives as injustice.”Despite all the controversy, Hair maintained that he was gratified by the amount of support he had received. “I can honestly say that all the letters, emails and text messages I have received have been supportive. The vast majority of people who have written, I have never met. A lot of them clearly do support the role of the umpire. None of the letters have been abusive. The messages I have received from official cricketing bodies around the world have been very encouraging.”Hair has had controversial moments with the teams from the subcontinent in the past as well, but he insisted that he enjoyed officiating there. “Pakistan is particularly receptive to a visiting umpire like myself,” he said. “Their idea of a venue for a chat about umpiring is one of their wonderful restaurants. They are very hospitable people and the discussion goes on all night. The subcontinent has so many happy memories for me and officiating in that region has been instrumental in improving many aspects of my umpiring.”The hearing against Inzamam will take place on September 27 and 28, and the outcome could well determine if Hair continues as an international umpire. “My wish is to carry on and enjoy the rest of my career as an umpire,” Hair clarified. “That is what I would like to do. My contract runs to April 2008. After that, who knows? How I am involved in cricket after that date is in the mixing bowl.”

A report in The Daily Telegraph says thatan umpire walked out of a Minor Counties match between Dorset and Berkshire at Bournemouth after allegedly being verbally abused by a player.Guy Randall-Johnson left the ground during the lunch interval on Sunday after an incident following his decision to give Julian Wood, Berkshire’s captain, out lbw for 0. The Dorset Echo said that Randall-Johnson felt he was owed an apology but when it became clear there would not be one, he went home.Cliff Pocock, the other umpire, had to stand at both ends for the rest of the day, and Peter Kingston-Davey came out of retirement to officiate on the second day.”It seems that Guy left the ground because he felt he had lost the confidence of the players,” MCCA competitions secretary Philip August told The Daily Telegraph. “We cannot have players behaving unacceptably towards umpires and we cannot have umpires walking out of games at lunchtime.”Wood, who played for Hampshire, declined to comment.Dorset went on to win the match by an innings and 91 runs inside two days.

Wiltshire came closest to causing an upset, pushing Kent all the way at Salisbury. The minor county dismissed Kent for 160 inside their 50 overs but the Kent bowlers showed their experience as they squeezed home by nine runs. Simon Cook took four wickets, including the top-scorer, Michael Coles, for 32. A fighting 24 from Richard Bedbrook got Wiltshire close, but he could not quite do enough. Michael Carberry (41) lifted Kent after they slumped to 72 for 5. But they had the bowlers to thank for not joining that unenviable list of first-class counties who have fallen to their less illustrious colleagues.Northamptonshire thrashed Denmark by eight wickets at Brondby – click here for match report.Gloucestershire are still favourites to overcome Berkshire despite a fighting performance from the minor county. Gloucestershire failed to completely capitalise on a second-wicket stand of 118 between Phil Weston (80) and Chris Taylor (57) that took them to 164 for 2. Nick Denning, the former Essex player, took three wickets to limit the damage in the final overs. After an early strike from James Averis, Berkshire progressed steadily but Gloucestershire have plenty of one-day experience in their attack.

Holland face a stiff task on their reserve day against Warwickshire, requiring 137 more runs in 23 overs. They do, at least, still have Daan van Bunge, their talented young batsman, at the crease with 37. Warwickshire’s innings was built around Nick Knight’s 108 from 145 balls and was boosted by Trevor Penney who cracked 51 from 50 deliveries.Ireland were struggling on 33 for 3 when the rain ended play against Yorkshire in Belfast. Matthew Hoggard claimed two wickets in an incisive opening burst with Tim Bresnan claiming the other wicket.Andrew Crook led the Lancashire run-scoring spree against Buckinghamshire at Sir Paul Getty’s ground in Wormsley, with an unbeaten 162 from 155 balls on his C&G Trophy debut. But it was Glen Chapple who produced the real fireworks, blasting 55 from just 16 balls as Lancashire amassed 370 for 4. James Anderson then struck twice before bad light and rain, which had also delayed the start, forced the match into a second day.

Leicestershire have signed Adam Griffith, the Tasmanian fast bowler, as cover for Mohammad Asif, who is away on national duty, for the remainder of the domestic season.Griffith, 28, was the leading wicket-taker in the 2005-06 Pura Cup season with 45 from nine matches, an aggregate that earned him the state’s Player of the Year accolade. Overlooked by Australia’s national selectors despite his impressive domestic statistics, Griffith’s accomplishments overshadowed the likes of Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Stuart Clark and Michael Kasprowicz.Tim Boon, Leicestershire’s coach, pointed out that Griffith had a point to prove. “Adam still has strong ambitions to play international cricket and believes that the chance to play county cricket gives him the ideal opportunity to strengthen those claims,” he told the ECB’s website. “He is a bowler of proven calibre, but he is hungry to achieve more success to push himself into the frame for a call-up. All the coaches we have spoken to about Adam gave us the green light to proceed with our interest and his Tasmanian team-mate Michael Di Venuto gave him a glowing endorsement.”He will be training with us this week before heading back up north to play his final match for St Annes in the Northern League, but the fact that he has made it his business to get to know his new team-mates really demonstrates his determination to perform well here.”Griffith takes over from Asif, who returned home to attend a training camp ahead of Pakistan’s forthcoming tour of England. Griffith has been slated to make his Championship debut against Gloucestershire at Grace Road.

Dennis Lillee, the former Australian fast-bowling great, called for Shane Warne to replace Ricky Ponting as captain of the Australian team. Lillee weighed into the national debate over the immediate future of the team with players returning home Wednesday after losing the series 2-1 to England on Monday. Lillee, one the giants of Australian cricket with 355 wickets in 70 Tests from 1971-84, also called for coach John Buchanan to go.”If Australia want to regain the Ashes they would dramatically improve their chances by appointing Shane Warne as captain,” Lillee wrote in newspaper.Lillee, 56, believed Warne, the world’s leading wicket-taker, acted as a “pseudo captain” during the drawn fifth Test and felt Ponting should be left to concentrate on his batting.”I got the distinct impression Warne was the pseudo captain during the fifth Test at The Oval,” wrote Lillee. “Warne was heavily involved in helping set the field and whenever I turned on the television, he was speaking on behalf of the Australian team.”There is no doubt Warne has an amazing cricketing brain – but not only that, any cricket he plays is at 120 percent and full of passion, guts and determination. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but Warne led from the front throughout the tour and I wouldn’t be worried about his previous indiscretions off the field,” he said, adding that captaincy could extend the legspinner’s career.Warne, 36, was Australia’s stand-out player of the series capturing 40 wickets in the five-Test series and scoring 249 runs – more than batsmen Simon Katich, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist.Lillee was wide-ranging in his criticism of the Australian team performance, railing on Cricket Australia officials and coach Buchanan. “If we are to get this team back on the rails, the plan has to go way deeper than making a few cosmetic changes to the team,” he said.”Make no mistake, Australia were ambushed by England because way too many people right across the board were living in a comfort zone. Cricket Australia executives, the coach, the manager, the captain and support staff must all be held accountable for this disaster.”Lillee said Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Simon Katich were the most vulnerable batsmen with selection for next month’s Test and one-day series with a World XI and this southern summer’s tours by West Indies and South Africa.A former fast bowling coach for the national side before falling out with Cricket Australia over a pay dispute last November, Lillee said the entire coaching structure needed to be reviewed.”Do we really need a coach in John Buchanan and a manager in Steve Bernard?” he asked. “Would it be better with one person in charge with the title of manager – someone who could then call in batting, bowling and fielding experts to assist the team as England did with spectacular results.”The coffers of Cricket Australia have never been so flush, so why isn’t the money being ploughed back into helping the Test team instead of being allocated to CA executives and their wives so they can follow the team around in great luxury.”

Match facts

Sunday July 19, 2015
Start time 1pm (11am, GMT)0:34

‘Focussing on our own strengths’ – Uthappa

Big picture

Whatever rustiness India may have felt in their tour opener last weekend appears to have been well and truly shaken off. Their slick, measured performance in the first Twenty20 suggested they weren’t exactly stretching themselves, and Zimbabwe will need to step up their game enormously if they are to bridge the yawning gulf in experience between the two sides in this format.India charged to 178 on Friday on a pitch that wasn’t entirely conducive to strokeplay, and a slightly less frenetic performance from Zimbabwe’s bowlers could have helped them keep the visitors to a slightly more manageable total. The brevity of this format means that every delivery matters, and for Zimbabwe to gift India 25 extras was unforgivable. After Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha’s steady start to the chase, the middle order wilted with a string of soft dismissals.Their win on Friday made it 4-0 to India on the tour, and everything has gone to plan for them. In each match, someone has performed with both bat and ball, and they’ve also blooded a number of uncapped players. India are clear favourites and will also not want to blot their copybook with a slip-up in the final match.Zimbabwe’s inexperience in this format was clearly evidenced by their approach to the chase in the first game, in which their dot-ball percentage was 50%. Against tight bowling, on a pitch that didn’t immediately lend itself to aggressive batting, they were found wanting and this will be a key area for them to improve upon.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLWW
India: WLLWW

In the spotlight

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time early in Hamilton Masakadza‘s career when he was considered too sedentary for limited-overs cricket. He’s yet to make a real impact in this series though, and Zimbabwe need Mount Masakadza to erupt at the top of the order if they are to take the pressure off their middle order and challenge India.Robin Uthappa‘s returns on this tour have been increasing with each outing, and though his innings in the first T20 match was less than explosive, it was the adhesive that held India’s lower order together. Given his position at No. 3 and the fact that he seemed to come to terms with the pitch and conditions quickly, he may be the key player to bat through and set up another big total.

Team news

Zimbabwe’s top six should be settled for the second match, although Craig Ervine is the sort of batsman who would probably be better utilised up the order. Offspinner John Nyumbu is the only man in the squad not to have played a game yet during India’s visit, and given the slowness of the pitch, and his control as a bowler, he could be a good pick.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 5 Charles Coventry (wk), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Graeme Cremer, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Neville Madzia, 10 John Nyumbu, 11 Chris Mpofu.Such was India’s dominance in the first T20 that they will probably feel safe giving a chance to a sixth debutant in Sanju Samson, who came in for the injured Ambati Rayudu.India (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane (captain), 2 M Vijay, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Kedar Jadhav/Sanju Samson, 6 Stuart Binny, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Sandeep Sharma.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch being used for this game is the same one used in the second ODI, and though it will have had a week to recover from that match, one can expect it to behave sluggishly. While the Dukes ball has offered some movement through the air to the quicks throughout, the pitches have played slow and low in the afternoon, and Sunday should be no different. Expect another bright, sunny day.

Stats and trivia

• Hamilton Masakadza is Zimbabwe’s leading runscorer in T20 internationals, with 943 runs, including seven fifties, in the format.
• India’s 178 for 5 was the fourth highest T20I total scored at Harare Sports Club. At the top of the pile is Pakistan’s 198 for 4 scored four years ago.
• Axar Patel is now India’s leading wicket-taker on this tour, with eight scalps at an average of 17.13 in four matches across two formats.

Quotes

“You’re already basically cooked when you’re coming in here, so you’re ready for it.”
“Not many people will expect us to win, but if we go out there with the attitude that we have everything to gain I think we will come out with a victory.” .

Andrew Flintoff has brushed aside, nonchalantly, concerns that the captaincy at home against Sri Lanka next week will be an added burden to his burgeoning list of roles within the England team.The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Michael Vaughan will definitely miss next week’s first Test and David Graveney, chairman of selectors, hinted yesterday that Flintoff is likely to take over as captain, continuing from where he left off in India. But Graveney also acknowledged that Flintoff’s workload is a concern.Flintoff though was excited about the prospect of captaining at home. “I got an opportunity in India which I enjoyed but to do it at the home of cricket would be fantastic. I enjoy being involved in the game and it’s been quite an easy side to captain – captaining your country can’t be a burden.”It’s been great fun to be honest. The lads all know their jobs and get on with their business and help me out whenever possible. When fielding at slip when I haven’t been captain, I’ve still been thinking about the game. So there’s no great change there and I enjoy the responsibility and being involved in the game.”It’s something I enjoyed rather than feared. Being England captain can’t be a burden, it’s a fantastic job and something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid. To get the opportunity to do it in India was great fun. Burden is very much the wrong word.”Steve Harmison’s absence has also been confirmed by the ECB for the first Test as selectors meet on Sunday to announce England’s squad. Graveney said only players who featured in at least one four-day Championship game would be considered. Neither Vaughan nor Harmison has played since returning from India. Vaughan has started running and batting in the nets was not named in the Yorkshire side playing Sussex at Headingley, while Durham, Harmison’s county, have no Championship game this week.Vaughan’s India tour ended early with a knee injury and Harmison left before the third Test with a shin problem. The squad to face Sri Lanka at Lord’s will be named on Sunday, four days before the match begins.England do have options in their batting at least. Paul Collingwood stood in for Vaughan in Pakistan and India, scoring a maiden Test century in the first Test in Nagpur and a couple of half-centuries in Lahore the Test before. Alastair Cook hit a debut century in the same Nagpur Test and is also pushing for a place in the final XI.Sajid Mahmood meanwhile, who is widely tipped to make his Test debut as a replacement for one of England’s injured pacemen, has said he is ready to play at Test level now. Mahmood was quoted by saying, “I’d like to think I’m ready for it. I bowled well in the West Indies on the England A tour. It would be a dream come true, especially to play it in England, at Lord’s as well. I’ve wanted that since I was about eight years old.”Mahmood was picked to play in the England A game against Sri Lanka but was withdrawn in a move interpreted as England not wanting the tourists to see him in action. He played for Lancashire instead, against Kent at Old Trafford, bowling 21 overs for 55 runs and a solitary wicket.Mahmood said he was aware of the extra attention. “It was in the back of my mind that I’ve got to perform well. The first over or so I was thinking, I’ve got to do this or got to do that, but then I thought, if I’m going to think about that I’m going to put pressure on myself. So I just sort of put it to the back of my mind and tried to relax and do what you normally do – just to try and do my best and see what happens.”