Gavaskar guides East home in last-ball thriller

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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.

Dravid is captain for next three tours

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The BCCI has got tough on endorsements as the players have been told not to shoot commercials two weeks prior to a series © AFP

The BCCI’s reaction to India’s early exit from the World Cup, and its bitter fallout with senior players voicing their displeasure over the team leadership, has been swift and strong. The working committee, meeting in Mumbai today, took several key decisions aimed at bringing senior players into line, including replacing the graded system of contracts with a standard fee for all and imposing stringent curbs on player endorsements.It also appointed Rahul Dravid team captain for the next three tours, to Bangladesh, Ireland and England and asked the selectors to pick a “young side” for the first of those tours. Dravid’s retention of the captaincy had been under question, with senior players airing their opposition to him.”All of us are very disappointed that the team was knocked out in the first round and the captain and coach admitted that the whole team was responsible for the loss”, N Srinivasan, the BCCI treasurer, said. “But it is not the end of the world. We have to move forward and I am sure we will do well in future. By retaining Dravid as captain, we want to send out a signal that there is no cause for panic.”The board has gone further in backing Dravid by acting on his suggestions on coaching personnel for the upcoming Bangladesh tour. The hole left by Greg Chappell’s exit will be filled by specialists for each department: Robin Singh, the former allrounder, has been appointed fielding coach, while Venkatesh Prasad, the former fast bowler, will take over as the bowling coach. Ravi Shastri, one of the former captains invited to the meeting on Friday, will go as cricket manager.Another move that will send out a message to the senior players is the decision to issue notices to Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, asking them for an explanation of recent comments made by them in the media.Announcing these decisions, Srinivasan said the Board had also decided to do away with the zonal system of selection in a year’s time; they will be replaced by fulltime selectors chosen on the basis of their elgibility based on factors including stature as a player .The subject of player earnings appeared to be the main focus of the meeting, and it was decided to replace the system of graded contracts with a standard fee for all, and additional bonuses for series wins. However, no figures were mentioned in this regard. This effectively means that seniors and juniors all earn the same, the difference being in what they earn from endorsements.There, too, the board has cracked down: each player will be allowed a maximum of three endorsements a year but will not be allowed to shoot any commercials up to two weeks prior to any series. Also, not more than two players can endorse the same product. However, Srinivasan stressed that these were decisions taken looking ahead, as a plan for the future.With a view to improving domestic cricket, it was decided that all international players would play a specified number of domestic games every season; the Ranji Trophy Elite group would be reduced from 15 teams to 10 by 2008-09; all state associations have asked to prepare “fast and lively” wickets; the home and away rotation system has been scrapped for all tournament semi-finals and finals; these venues will be chosen by the board.”We have instructed the selection committee to send a young team to Bangladesh with an experienced captain,” BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan told reporters at the end of a two-day review of the World Cup performance.”It’s a sport after all and there will be wins and defeats.”Main features

  • Rahul Dravid to captain team for next three tours
  • Performance based payment structure
  • Players can do a maximum of 3 endorsements
  • Ravi Shastri appointed Cricket Manager, Venkatesh Prasad as bowling coach, Robin Singh as fielding coach for Bangladesh tour
  • The frequency of under-19 tours will be increased
  • All state associations to have academies to develop young talent by April 2009
  • Cricket advisory committee set up with Sharad Pawar as its head and including seven former captains who attended Friday’s meeting

    • Unconvincing England battle past Bangladesh

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    Scorecard
    How they were out

    England were terrific with the ball; damn near terrible with the bat © Getty Images

    England have done what neither India nor South Africa could manage: they have beaten Bangladesh. That they succeeded with more than five overs remaining belies the mess their batsmen got themselves into in chasing a mere 144, and fails to hide the basic errors which have blotted their pithy World Cup journey. Despite the loss, Bangladesh very nearly notched their third felling of a giant, further polishing a reputation which continues to gleam with every match.On a pitch more suited to pace than spin – or so we thought – England approached their target with inexplicable trepidation. In fairness, both Andrew Strauss and their captain, Michael Vaughan, are in varying stages of rediscovering their form, but their top-order continues to creep along without conviction. Strauss did show glimpses of aggression form in his bullish 23, though, cracking a huge six over midwicket and at last unleashing his favourite cut stroke with pleasantly crisp timing.Vaughan was mercurial as ever. He scratched, he poked and he prodded, occasionally cover driving with his trademark panache, before top-edging Abdur Razzaq to short fine leg, 70 short of his maiden one-day hundred. And there went another chance to assert himself on this tournament, and on one-day cricket as a whole. Kevin Pietersen soon followed before Mohammad Rafique sent England into a blind, nervous panic with two quick wickets. Andrew Flintoff was first, bowled by a beautiful arm ball before Ravi Bopara – inexperienced against such high class spin – chopped him onto his stumps via his boot. At 110 for 6 with 34 still needed, Bangladesh believed they would win.England did not, judging by the hapless running between the wickets that Paul Collingwood and Paul Nixon showed. But, somehow, they hauled themselves over the line with a great deal of huffing and puffing. The batsmen’s feeble effort, albeit against a useful bowling attack, was at complete odds with the excellent, disciplined bowling performance England produced earlier in the day.Where Bangladesh’s spinners enjoyed the bounce, it was England’s seamers who made the most of a lively Bridgetown pitch – in particular Sajid Mahmood. He continues to blow hot and cold, but continues to show tantalising glimpses of rare star quality. Against batsman of small stature desperate to get onto the front foot, he was more than a handful. Tamim Iqbal was first to go, fending a lifter straight to Paul Collingwood at point. It was a classic fast bowler’s dismissal, short of a length and threatening Iqbal’s throat; with it, Mahmood and James Anderson adjusted their lengths accordingly. Bangladesh’s batsmen couldn’t cope.

    Rasel and Bangladesh gave England a scare © Getty Images

    As pleasingly accurate Anderson and Mahmood were, it was left to Vaughan to highlight Bangladesh’s inexperience, not to mention England’s own misgivings in the shorter game. A lazy, careless flick from Shahriar Nafees spooned a simple catch to Vaughan at mid-on who jogged back a couple of yards to spill the simplest of chances. Furious with himself, and unaware of the batsmen taking a single, the ball was flung in disgust to Nixon who whipped off the bails, leaving Habibal Bashar – unaware of the dropped catch – short.It was shoddy cricket all round, but at least spared Vaughan’s blushes for a pantomime performance at mid-on. More sloppiness from England followed, though, with Paul Nixon iron-gloving a simple catch to Andrew Strauss at second slip to remove Nafees. The wickets were falling, if not in the most conventional fashion.There was some hope for Bangladesh in Saqibal’s counterattacking 57, shining like a beacon in the foggy chaos. Cracking Flintoff flat for a powerful six over backward point, before smacking him for successive fours, he was joined by Mashrafe Mortaza in a pressure-relieving stand of 47 spanning more than 13 overs. Mortaza couldn’t last forever – bowled by a beautiful Monty Panesar delivery – but Bangladesh’s tail resisted the inevitable long enough for Saqibul to raise his bat for his fourth one-day fifty. His was a lone effort though, and Bangladesh were left wondering what might have been had they managed to reach 200. In four years time, especially on subcontinent wickets, they could be a serious handful.England’s class with the ball won them the game, but their meekness with the bat raises questions as to how far they believe, as a team, they can realistically progress. South Africa, England’s next opponents, will not be so forgiving.

    Majola hits out at South Africa's 'mental strength'

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    Graeme Smith’s team was blown away in the semi-final to complete a tournament where South Africa flattered to deceive © AFPs

    Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s CEO, has criticised the team’s mental strength and inability to build on recent successes following their seven-wicket thrashing by Australia in the World Cup semi-final. A statement issued by him less than 24 hours after South Africa exited the tournament pulled few punches, saying the board was “deeply disappointed in the performance in the semi-final and at the World Cup in general.”South Africa, he pointed out, had failed to reach the final despite being offered assistance of every conceivable kind. “No stone was left unturned over the past two years in preparing them for this World Cup. In addition, they were given a professional support staff of 12 for the World Cup. So against this preparation and support background, we have to find out why they were so inconsistent and put remedial measures in place.”Majola outlined where he felt the team fell down. “Other general weaknesses facing South African cricket lie with mental strength, swing and spin bowling,” he said. “We must remember that this is virtually the same squad that won 13 matches on the trot and established themselves as the world’s best ODI exponents over the last two years. We have to find a way of taking this consistency into tournaments because this World Cup has shown an alarming inconsistency in the performances.”Plans are already in place, he said, to try and solve the problems. “We are dealing with these issues at the High Performance Centre. In addition, CSA and the boards of Pakistan and India have agreed to an academy exchange programme.”This will enable us to send a squad of spinners to the subcontinent for specialist coaching and for selected batsmen to learn to play spin in those conditions. Pakistan and India will then be able to use their bowlers and batsmen to train in our quicker conditions.”

    West Indies set to send A team to Zimbabwe

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    ‘The plan is to go to Canada which should be ideal preparation for the tournament in South Africa’ © WICB

    West Indies are hoping to travel to Canada in August to play a series of Twenty20 matches in preparation for the format’s inaugural World Championship the following month, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirmed to Cricinfo today. The board also revealed it will be sending an A team to Zimbabwe in July, despite the recent withdrawal of Australia from their tour of the country.”We have our regional [domestic] Twenty20 in the middle of August, and we are hoping to select our team for the World Championship in South Africa immediately after that tournament, around August 25,” Bruce Aanensen, WICB’s chief executive, told Cricinfo. “And once we select our team, the plan is to go to Canada which should be ideal preparation for the tournament in South Africa.”Though its preparation is still in the preliminary stages, Aanensen is “anxious that it takes place, as it’s part of our build up”. Inevitably, there are television contract rights to be finalised before the tour gets the go ahead.The board is also in negotiations to send an A team to Zimbabwe in July for three four-day matches in Harare and two one-dayers. “We feel at this stage that the tour is on,” Tony Deyal, the board’s Corporate Secretary, told Cricinfo. “Our understanding is that Zimbabwe Cricket is doing everything possible to ensure the players’ safety, so we will be going to the West Indies board to seek approval that the tour goes ahead.”Should it be confirmed, West Indies A will leave on July 1 and return on July 27. An announcement from the board is expected by the end of next week.But under the agreement signed with the players’ association (WIPA) both tours should be agreed before they are planned and announced. Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA’s CEO, told Cricinfo that neither trip had been discussed. With an ongoing dispute regarding the England tour with arbitrators at the moment, it seems possible that the next two tours could also end up going down that route.

    Morgan set to become ICC president

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    David Morgan: the new man at the helm © Getty Images

    David Morgan, the chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board, is set to be named as the next president of the ICC, and will take over from Ray Mali, the South African acting president next year.According to the BBC, a deal has been struck between the two leading candidates for the job, Morgan and Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI, who met in private this week in a bid to overcome the impasse that was created after an ICC governance committee cast equal votes for the two candidates earlier this year.There had been some speculation that the job could have been decided on the toss of a coin, but instead both candidates will become vice-presidents, in effect presidents elect. Morgan will take the helm next year for a two-year tenure, with Pawar succeeding him in 2010 – in time to take control of the 2011 World Cup in the Subcontinent.The ICC executive committee is currently in London for a series of meetings ahead of the annual conference at Lord’s on Friday. Mali will take the chair left vacant by the untimely death in May of his predecessor, Percy Sonn, but the news of an agreement between Morgan and Pawar is a welcome development at the end of an unsettled period for the organisation.A formal announcement of the agreement is expected later in the week, as the ICC embarks on a tricky agenda that will include the fall-out from the recent World Cup, and the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe.Morgan, 69, has been the chairman of the ECB since January 2003, and prior to that was at the helm of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. He was seen as a “safe pair of hands” when elected to succeed Lord MacLaurin, but attracted criticism for his handling of the Zimbabwe question in particular.

    Feeble Warwickshire succumb to McLaren

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    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.

    Prior and Anderson available for Twenty20

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    Matt Prior and James Anderson have been made available by England for the Twenty20 Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday.Anderson, if selected by Lancashire, will take part in the first semi-final, against Gloucestershire, then Prior will line-up for Sussex against Kent in the second match. Prior hasn’t played domestic Twenty20 this season with Andrew Hodd proving an able deputy with the bat and behind the stumps.Lancashire may also include Andrew Flintoff in their line-up after he was named in the current County Championship match against Sussex where he is playing as a batsman following ankle surgery.Kent and Gloucestershire did not have any players on international duty.

    BCCI title, ground sponsors to be known on Monday

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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.

    Jhunjhunwala still hopes to play for India

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    Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, the Bengal batsman who signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), says he still nurtures hopes of playing for India despite the Indian board making it clear that players had to choose between the two.”If I’m doing well and if everyone is watching it [the ICL], no one can ignore me,” Jhunjhunwala told the on the sidelines of the league’s camp in Chennai. With 473 runs at 39.41 in the Ranji Trophy last season, Jhunjhunwala was expected by many to be called up to the national team.Jhunjhunwala and the other Bengal players, including the then captain Deep Dasgupta, who signed with the ICL, were omitted from the squad for the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup this month.Dasgupta, who is also at the camp, said he believed the selectors would be forced to take notice if Jhunjhunwala and other young players in the ICL performed well. “The idea is for the best 14 or 15 to play for India. It’s up to you to perform and put pressure on the selectors,” Dasgupta said.Balwinder Sandhu, the former Indian medium-pace bowler who is now a coach with the ICL, also appeared confident of things being sorted out. “If these players hammer international players, how can anyone keep them out? There will be public opinion,” Sandhu said. “You can’t ignore them only because they are playing for ICL.”The ICL plans to hold a Twenty20 tournament in October featuring six teams, each with two Indian internationals, four overseas players and eight juniors. Over 50 domestic players have already signed up with the league and more are expected to join. A second camp begins on October 8, when the format and schedule of the tournament will be announced.