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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA patient unbeaten 79 by Rohan Gavaskar guided East Zone to a tense one-wicket win against South Zone at Ahmedabad. Swapnil Asnodkar’s run-a-ball 107 propped South to 270, a total which proved to be competitive in the end as East were made to sweat it out after cruising along at one stage, scampering home off the last ball.Ranadeb Bose, coming in at No.10, gave Gavaskar company in the final over, needing five off six balls. Bose, playing and missing, never looked like scoring a run and ultimately sacrificed his wicket to give Gavaskar the strike. However Syed Sahabuddin, the Andhra seamer coming off a good Ranji Trophy season, made the mistake of spraying the ball at a driveable length outside off stump, allowing Gavaskar to swing across the line and fetch an easy two to snatch the victory.The eventual result justified Deep Dasgupta’s decision to insert the opposition, probably taking the cue from West Zone’s victory yesterday. The openers, Parvez Aziz and Wriddhiman Saha got off to a flier, scoring at nearly seven an over before Saha departed for 15, caught behind off seamer Sahabuddin. Aziz meanwhile traded in boundaries, belting 50 runs in fours and sixes alone, regularly planting his front-foot down to the seamers who were often guilty of spraying the ball full and wide. A miscued pull off Vinay Kumar ended his knock but his breezy 56 laid the platform for the middle order to cash in and build steady partnerships.Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Manoj Tiwary, one of the stars in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy campaign, failed to convert their starts, thereby allowing South to claw back with the score at 139 for 4. Gavaskar and Dasgupta, the most recognised pair, buckled down and brought their experience into play with a 79-run stand. Both showed an inclination to graft it out against the spinners and a comfortable victory was in sight.However, a sudden lapse of concentration from Dasgupta, hitting straight down long-on’s throat off Pragyan Ojha, opened the gates again for South. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Shibsagar Singh fell in quick succession and the pressure was right back on East with the required rate creeping up. Gavaskar eased the tension with some sensible batting, sensing every opportunity to pick up an extra run to hog the strike and dispatched the poor deliveries in his chanceless knock.The early honours belonged to Asnodkar who struck his third century in domestic limited overs cricket. He was particularly fluent on the off side, smashing a majority of his 14 boundaries in that direction. Anything off line was punished by Asnodkar who was quick on his feet. Shib Shanker Paul, the Bengal seamer returning after an injury layoff, came in for some punishment in his seven over spell, conceding 46 runs. Asnodkar’s breezy knock and his half-century stands with VVS Laxman and Venugopal Rao meant that a score of close to 300 was on the cards.Arjun Yadav maintained the momentum with a quick 25 off 21 balls but East pulled things back with a couple of quick blows, courtesy of Singh’s left-arm spin in the slog overs. Bose chipped in with two wickets to restrict the opposition to 270.

Marvan Atapattu will look to lift his side from a humiliating defeat in India and cure them of travel sickness © Getty Images

As New Zealand and Sri Lanka square off in a four-match one-day series beginning at Queenstown tomorrow, the captains of both teams know that victory will provide a huge boost do their chances of direct entry into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in India in October 2006.As of April 1, only the top six teams in the ICC’s ODI points table will gain automatic entry into the knock-out tournament, with the rest relegated to a further preliminary round of matches. New Zealand, currently placed at No.4, and Sri Lanka, at the sixth position, are tightly squeezed into the middle section of the table, with India at five. Both teams, however, have 109 points, and a series sweep will move the winner to 115 points. England, just outside the crucial top six, will undoubtedly carry an eager interest in the four-match series, as a sweep by either team will move them up a notch.John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, was looking to get off to a winning start in the first couple matches in order to seize the initiative. “Our guys have already mentioned it,” Bracewell said to AFP. “It would be nice to be in the top six, and nice to be in the top three.” New Zealand play West Indies in a one-day series in February, and this would provide them with a second shot at progressing up the rankings.In the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, New Zealand were beaten 2-1 by Australia, and despite clinching a record run-chase in the final match at Christchurch, New Zealand are still struggling for form and consistency. Stephen Fleming, the captain, has taken paternity leave, while Andre Adams, the fast bowler, is out with an injured hand. With Jacob Oram struggling to regain his bowling form, and Craig McMillan dropped due to indifferent performances with the bat, New Zealand will be forced to rely on Scott Styris, Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori, key players with plenty of experience. Vettori, who captained his side during the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, is ranked fifth in the ODI bowlers table. Shane Bond, back in form after a long injury lay-off, will lead the attack.Sri Lanka, for their part, were hammered 6-1 in India and have to contend with a hectic schedule as well. They have a more accomplished batting line-up than New Zealand – Kumar Sangakkara, Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya are ranked in the top 20 – and in Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga they have two bowlers who have troubled the home side in the past.New Zealand were victors in the Champions Trophy in 2000, comprehensively beating a strong Indian side, but have yet to achieve a series win of that magnitude since.* * *
New Zealand Cricket has announced the team for The National Bank series match against Sri Lanka at the Queenstown Events Centre tomorrow.New Zealand Daniel Vettori (capt), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Peter Fulton, Jamie How , Hamish Marshall, Brendon McCullum (wk), Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent.

Scorecard
Ashish Nehra continued his wicket-taking spree in the Duleep Trophy tournament as a strong South Zone batting line-up was kept down to 327 for 9 on the opening day at Indore. Robin Uthappa, VVS Laxman and Sridharan Sharath stroked half-centuries but Nehra’s regular strikes prevented them from gathering too much momentum.Having chosen to bat first, South were given a fiery start by Uthappa, the opener from Karnataka, who carted 15 fours in his 95-ball 80. Nehra’s double strike pegged South back to 125 for 3 but Laxman and Sharath ensured any collapse with a fighting 87-run partnership.Sharath’s dismissal, though, left North with only the tail to contend with. Dinesh Karthik remained unbeaten on 49 when stumps were drawn but South’s inability to make a big total might prove decisive when one considers their relatively inexperienced bowling attack

When India’s most destructive batsman and their most elegant strokeplayer add 191 runs, it is bound to be treat for the eyes. So it was when Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman made centuries in their first one-day international against Australia since the World Cup final. There was nothing indiscriminate about their batting – it was a measured performance, with neither batsman taking too many risks.One of the most common strokes in one-day cricket is the dab down to third man for a single. But opening the face of the bat carries its attendant dangers, and Tendulkar and Laxman were wary of getting out that way. The statistics tell that story well: only six of Tendulkar’s 100 runs came in that region, as opposed to four of Laxman’s 102. And the first time Tendulkar tried that shot, he was out.

Where Tendulkar got his runs	Runs	Runs off boundaries
Behind wicket – off side	6	0
Square of wicket – off side	9	4
Cover – off side	24	12
Front of wicket – off side	5	0
Front of wicket – on side	13	10
Midwicket – on side	6	0
Square of wicket – on side	20	8
Behind wicket – on side	17	0

The cover region was the most productive one for both players – Laxman got 32 runs there, while Tendulkar got 24. Laxman, during his innings, also took a lot of balls from outside off and on off and turned them wristily on the leg side. He hit 17 runs in the midwicket region and 16 square on the leg side. He got 22 runs in the V between mid-on and mid-off.

Where Laxman got his runs	Runs	Runs off boundaries
Behind wicket – off side	4	0
Square of wicket – off side	11	4
Cover – off side	32	12
Front of wicket – off side	16	4
Front of wicket – on side	6	0
Midwicket – on side	17	8
Square of wicket – on side	16	8
Behind wicket – on side	0	0

Tendulkar favoured the region square on the leg side, and the area behind square – 37 of his runs came in those two areas. He also got 13 in the long-on region, on-driving impressively when the ball was in the slot.Laxman played a lot more on the front foot than Tendulkar. Laxman played on the front foot for 70% of his innings (94 out of 134 balls), going on the back foot only 30 times. Tendulkar, in contrast, stepped forward 73 times in his 119 balls (61%) and went back 43 times. Tendulkar’s strike-rate on the back foot was 90, as opposed to an overall rate strike-rate of 84. Laxman’s strike-rate, whether stepping back or moving forward, was in the late 70s.Part of this was perhaps because the Australian bowlers, for some strange reason, bowled fuller to Laxman than to Tendulkar. As many as 26 of the balls Laxman received were either full, yorkers or half-volleys, as opposed to nine for Tendulkar. Tendulkar got 47 balls which were just short of a good length, or shorter, while Laxman got just 40, despite playing 15 balls more. The strategy was befuddling: Tendulkar’s strike-rate against those short balls was 87, while Laxman’s was 78.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India. Chandrahas Choudhury is staff writer of Wisden Asia Cricket

South African Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour has expressed concern over the axing of bowler Makhaya Ntini from the national cricket team playing the second Test in Melbourne against Australia.Ntini, who has taken four wickets in his previous five Tests and failed to take any in the first Test loss, was replaced by Allan Donald.Balfour has questioned why, if selection is based on form, Lance Klusener managed to escape the selectors’ axe.United Cricket Board chief executive Gerald Majola says he’s not prepared to comment on the merits of the issue other than to say he respects the minister’s opinion.South Africa has an obligation to pick “one player of colour” in the Test side, a requirement satisfied by the inclusion of Herschelle Gibbs.

Going into the final, India on the basis of their sterlingperformances and all win record, were the favourites. And theydid not falter at the last hurdle. With a convincing 54-runvictory over Pakistan, India emerged as champions in the AsianCricket Council under-15 tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.An Indian victory was always on the cards, especially after theyhad got the better of Pakistan by 33 runs in their league match.India, opting to bat first, were all out for 209 runs in 38.5overs. After the early fall of Ashraf Ali (2), Ambati Rayuduand Sushil Kumar pieced together a second wicket partnership of117 runs. The consistent Rayudu notched up the top score of 70off 77 balls with ten hits to the ropes. Shortly afterwards,Sushil Kumar was out for 48, which was compiled off 62 ballsand inclusive of seven fours. Palash Das, who took a century offthe weak Hong Kong attack on Saturday, was this time restrictedto 20 off 23 balls. The middle and late order did not add anythingsubstantially and with Akbar Ali taking four for 44 off sevenovers, Pakistan were able to keep the Indian total down tomanageable proportions.Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and were never reallyin the hunt. With six wickets down for 62, the destination ofthe trophy was already decided and all that a seventh wicket partnership of 41 runs between skipper Kasheef Mahmood (26)and Mohd Azhar Ali (15) did was to delay the inevitable. Infact, extras with 31, contributed the most to the Pakistan totaland stretched it to 155 for nine in 40 overs. Nikhil Rathod(2 for 10) and Navin Choudhury (2 for 24) troubled the Pakistanbatsmen the most.Not surprisingly, the Indian lads made a clean sweep of theawards. Ambati Rayudu was the man of the match and the man ofthe series, the best wicket keeper award was given to AbhinavKumar, the best bowler award was presented to Mrigen Talukdarand Palash Jyoti Das who hit two centuries was adjudgedbest batsman.

Celtic have spent a significant amount of money on new players over the past few years in their efforts to win every domestic competition they play in and go as far as they can in Europe.

However, as tends to be the case with almost every club, not every completed transfer that sees a new player join the squad ends up being particularly successful.

One prime example of this with Celtic in recent memory is regarding striker Albian Ajeti, who the Hoops signed 83 weeks ago back in the 2020 summer transfer window for a fee of £4.5m from Premier League side West Ham United.

Since then, the 25-year-old has gone on to make 48 appearances for the Parkhead club across all competitions but has only managed to score nine goals and provide five assists in the process, which is less than what the club’s fans and hierarchy will have been hoping for in terms of his goal contributions given how long he’s been there.

His debut season with the Hoops saw the attacker score just six times in 30 appearances, highlighting the fact that he didn’t exactly hit the ground running at his new club.

This season has seen the Switzerland international make just 17 appearances and find the back of the net three times, which suggests that Ange Postecoglou doesn’t rate Ajeti as highly as some of his other attacking options such as Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis who have both played more league minutes than him in this campaign.

As well as his lack of regular goal contributions, the former Hammers figure hasn’t done much to impress his manager when he has been able to get on the pitch, with WhoScored listing him as the second-lowest rated player currently in the squad to have started more than one league game.

In fairness, the centre-forward has had to deal with a significant injury issue that saw him miss 22 games between December and March which will have undoubtedly hurt his chances of convincing Postecoglou he deserves to be in the squad.

All in all, it’s safe to say that the player has pretty much rinsed the club out of a combined total of £5.9m from his transfer fee and weekly wages of £18k-per-week based on the lack of consistency he showed in terms of his goal contributions and overall performances.

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That certainly backs up what Frank McAvennie had to say by claiming that it was “unbelievable” the striker is getting paid by the club at all.

In other news: Cost £0, now worth £6.75m: Celtic hit the jackpot on “outstanding” £30k-p/w machine – opinion

James Hopes is in line to play his first state Twenty20 match for the summer © Getty Images

Queensland have regained James Hopes for their Twenty20 match against South Australia on Friday after he missed the opening game due to illness. The Bulls lost their encounter against Victoria and are hoping to inflict the Redbacks’ second defeat of the competition.While Hopes is back, Queensland are still without Chris Simpson, who will miss not only Friday’s Gabba outing but also the Bulls’ trip to the WACA on Sunday with a finger injury. They have named the same squad of 13 for both matches.After the Perth match Queensland travel to New South Wales on Tuesday before finishing their Twenty20 campaign at home against Tasmania next Thursday. The Bulls ended up second-last in the 2006-07 competition.Queensland squad Jimmy Maher, James Hopes, Shane Watson, Nathan Reardon, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Aaron Nye, Lee Carseldine, Michael Buchanan, Ashley Noffke, Chris Hartley (wk), Michael Kasprowicz, Grant Sullivan.

England seamer Katherine Brunt has been ruled out of the the quadrangular series with Australia, India and New Zealand after failing to recover from a back injury.Brunt remained in England for intensive treatment at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) at Loughborough as her team-mates flew out to India to Tuesday, but a decision was made on Friday that she wouldn’t be fit for the tournament, which starts on February 21. Lynsey Askew, who was on standby, will join the squad in India.Head coach Richard Bates said: “It’s definitely disappointing news for us because Katherine is a key player for England. However, we do have quality cover in Lynsey, who is a very capable bowler and was a member of last summer’s squad.”

Attempts are on to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is a well-secured cricket-playing nation by the time the World Cup starts © Getty Images

The Warner Group of Companies, chaired by Jack Warner, has funded the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) for the 2006 season to the sum of $1 million.Warner made the announcement yesterday after he came to an agreement with Deryck Murray, the TTCB president, following recent discussions.The financial assistance, according to Warner, is being provided with the aim of ensuring that the game is properly run throughout the five zones, including Tobago, and the TTCB is fully functional.Warner, for the second year, will also sponsor Central-based Joe Public Munroe Road Cricket Club for the 2006 National Division League One season in excess of $250,000, inclusive of administrative duties, team management and preparations, match fees and other incentivesWarner said his contribution was an attempt to develop the sport of cricket and to ensure that T&T is a well-secured cricket-playing nation for the future, especially by the time the 2007 Cricket World Cup comes around.”Today we have with us the greatest batsman to ever live and he is a Trinidadian. I don’t need to tell you his name but I can tell you that we are today searching very deep for another individual as our next great one and this doesn’t come overnight,” said Warner yesterday. “The game of cricket must be alive in all corners of the country and it must be developed and well managed. While you may have the hands capable of doing it in the offices and on the playing fields, you also need the right resources to achieve it and this is merely my contribution towards reaching there.”