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The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has refused to rule out the possibility of England’s leading players joining the Indian Premier League (IPL). Only Dimitri Mascarenhas has so far signed up to the IPL, while the likes of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen have poured water on suggestions that they and their team-mates could be lured to the IPL by money.Currently, the IPL clashes with England’s county season but Lalit Modi, its chairman, maintains his willingness to shift the dates of future tournaments in order to accommodate English players. The ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, strongly believes that England’s players would rather play for their country than an Indian franchise, but Sean Morris, the PCA chief executive, is aware of the need for a balance.”We will ask the players how they feel,” he said. “We need to sit them down and ask their personal views – some might have different opinions to others. But I would like to think on behalf of the players we would be able to take advantage of this concept and allow them to reap the benefits.”There may be a very strong collective view but there may also be different circumstances for each individual which would affect their decision. We have a very open dialogue with the ECB right now, we met this week and will be meeting with them again next week, so there is a strong channel of communication.”Mr Modi is saying that he’s prepared to move his tournament to accommodate English players and that is music to everyone’s ears in this country.”The issue the PCA are trying to address with the ECB is the potential restriction of employment.”Their priority is England, they’ve all said that,” Morris said. “But I just hope we can come to a point where they’re comfortable with their arrangement with the ECB as their employers and take advantage of the increase in income into the game, because you’re a long time retired.”Restricting employees anywhere will cause friction in a relationship – over a period of time that will break it down.”Meanwhile Dougie Brown, the PCA chairman, insisted that for all the players’ loyalty to England, “IPL is not something that is going to go away – it’s going to be around for 10 years” and the ECB need to act sharply.”So we have to compartmentalise it within our own calendar, create a window of opportunity, or it will be a precarious situation that the ECB will find themselves in. You might find guys coming to the end of their careers will not sign a central contract, they will go and sign with the IPL instead. Suddenly you will be losing people a couple of years earlier than you might have.”

Kent captain Matthew Fleming claimed four wickets to inspire a late Kent comeback against Yorkshire.Bad light stopped play five overs prior to the scheduled first day close with the Tykes on 365 for seven – yet the visitors had been in fine shape on 327 for two just 73 minutes earlier.After winning the toss, the white rose county took advantage of a sublime St Lawrence pitch and a short leg-side boundary on the lime tree side of the ground to punish Kent’s injury-hit attack.After the early loss of Simon Widdup, Vaughan – the only one on Yorkshire’s three representatives appearing in this game to have also played in last week’s series winning Test against The West Indies, started the run glut with a stylish 69 in almost three hours.He finally went to an excellent catch by Rahul Dravid at second slip to give Fleming the first of his four for 77 return, leaving Anthony McGrath to add a further 195 for the third wicket in partnership with Australian Darren Lehmann.Scoring at almost five an over McGrath notched 14 fours and a six on his way to a 181-ball hundred.Lehmann, who has past 50 in his last six championship innings, was even quicker to three figures needing just 89 balls to reach his fourth century of the championship summer.With the Yorkshire score on 330, Fleming removed McGrath to a catch at the wicket and then ended Lehmann’s stay to a leg-side catch also by Nixon.Gary Fellows followed in similar fashion in Fleming’s next over, then David Byas and Simon Guy both went cheaply to Martin Saggers and David Masters respectively to give Kent a second valuable bowling bonus point in their quest to stay out of the relegation zone.

ScorecardDay 5Bulletin – Warne and Gillespie seal series
Verdict – Sri Lanka not quite there
Quotes – ‘I couldn’t have bowled better’ – Warne
Quotes – ‘Batting and fielding let us down’ – Tillakaratne
Day 4Bulletin – Jayasuriya’s 131 sets up a classic
Roving Reporter – Percy’s spirit and Kandy’s spiritualism
Quotes – ‘We can still win’ – Jayasuriya
Day 3Bulletin – Martyn brightens a wet day
Quotes – ‘The toughest innings of all’
Day 2Bulletin – Gilchrist seizes the initiative
Verdict – Australia’s fourth-innings dilemma
Quotes – Gilchrist – ‘I was pleased to make an impact’
News – Ponting injury not serious
Day 1Bulletin – Seventeen wickets tumble on low-scoring day
Roving Reporter – A study in sepia
Quotes – Murali: ‘I’m aiming for 650’

S Badrinath has been retained as Tamil Nadu’s captain for the coming Ranji season. Apart from Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik, Tamil Nadu will have a largely inexperienced squad, with only five players who have played more than 10 first-class matches. L Balaji, the former Test medium-fast bowler, has been left out of the squad that was picked for the first two matches. The management plans to ease him back into competitive cricket as the season progresses.Even among the experienced players, Badrinath, Karthik and Yo Mahesh will be the first targets for India A teams, if not the national team in the case of the former two. Offspinner R Ashwin, who has taken 34 wickets in the five matches he has played, might be the one to lead in their absence.In the absence of T Kumaran, who was one of the seven players to have joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the pace attack will have to be spearheaded by Mahesh. C Ganapathy, the right-arm medium-pacer and Ramadoss Naresh, the left-arm medium-pacer, are the two other experienced pacers. Murali Vijay, the right-hand opener, who impressed in his debut season last year, will be the main hope in the batting department, along with Badrinath, Karthik and S Anirudha, who played in the Challenger Trophy.Squad: S Badrinath (capt), M Vijay, S Anirudha, Dinesh Karthik, Kuthethurshri Vasudevadas, R Prasanna, R Ashwin, C Ganapathy, V Yo Mahesh, R Naresh, R Srinivasan, P Amarnath, R Ramkumar, Abhinav Mukund and KH Gopinath

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Bangladesh were left clinging on to strands of straws after being tormented by a record-breaking tenth-wicket partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan and were laid low by another devastating burst of swing bowling from Irfan Pathan. Pathan’s second five-wicket haul in the match and his first ten-for reduced Bangladesh to 170 for 8 in their second innings, still 172 behind, and only the last rites remained in the first Test.On another day when records tumbled and fielders fumbled, Tendulkar and Zaheer notched up their individual best scores, adding 133 runs for the last wicket in about two hours. They eclipsed the Indian record (109) set by Ghulam Ahmed and Hemu Adhikari in 1952 against Pakistan at New Delhi and equalled the second-highest partnership in Tests. A familiar script unfolded when Bangladesh batted and just like the first innings, the top order came apart in the face of Pathan’s inswingers. The Test seemed headed for a third-day finish with Bangladesh tottering at 36 for 5, but fighting half centuries from Nafis Iqbal and Manjural Islam Rana delayed the inevitable.Exactly one year earlier, on a sunny day at Adelaide, Pathan took his first steps on the international stage. Today he celebrated the occasion with a masterly display of swing bowling with a clear plan that was perfectly executed, and was rewarded with his first ten-wicket haul in Tests. He tortured the batsmen with a few menacing short ones before nailing them with fuller deliveries that curved either way.The Bangladesh batsmen revisited the horrors of the first innings with Javed Omar and Rajin Saleh coming down too late on deliveries that swung in, Habibul Bashar pulling a short one straight to the fine-leg fielder and Khaled Mashud hanging his bat out tentatively. Ashraful couldn’t reproduce his first-innings defiance and Saleh capped a woeful Test, including a dropped catch off Tendulkar, with a pair. Pathan’s fiery inswingers helped him win seven lbw verdicts in the match, equalling Abdul Qadir’s record for the most number of such dismissals in a Test. Qadir had managed them against England at Lahore in 1987.Nafis Iqbal was the only batsman who handled Pathan with any sort of assurance and his 54, laced with nine fours, was one of the few silver linings for Bangladesh. Once he fell, trapped lbw to a straighter one from Anil Kumble, Manjural pulled the trigger, swinging wildly while racing to his maiden Test fifty, and ended a gloomy day on a cheerful note.Pathan’s jolts, though, was only the final phase of Bangladesh being ground to dust. Earlier in the morning, Tendulkar nearly ran out of partners in the 190s – with Kumble and Harbhajan Singh not lasting too long – when he found an unlikely ally in Zaheer. The two went on a merry drive as several milestones were passed with Tendulkar reaching his fourth double-century in Tests, and his second this year. Staggeringly his last five hundreds have all been over 175, and unlike his restrained classic at Sydney earlier this year, this one had glorious touches of his attacking range. He also went on to his highest score in first-class cricket and along the way, he passed Ijaz Ahmed’s 211 against Sri Lanka to post the highest score at the Bangabandhu Stadium.

At the other end Zaheer not only survived, but began a party of his own. Along with Tendulkar he put on 133 for the last wicket – an Indian record for the last wicket – where he outscored Tendulkar by 15 runs and took much more of the strike. He didn’t need any shielding and was more than eager to let fly some bullets of his own. He swished and drove with complete confidence, raced to his first fifty in Test cricket and went past Ghulam Ahmed’s 52-year-old record for the highest score by an Indian No. 11. Soon he cruised past Glenn McGrath’s 61 with an assured pull before overtaking Richard Collinge’s 68 for the highest score by a No. 11 in Tests. A left-arm fast bowler himself, Collinge had made the score against Pakistan at Auckland in 1973.Zaheer fell for 75 but, like many others, was the beneficiary of some sloppy fielding. Bangladesh were ragged with their catching and repeatedly erred with their ground fielding. Kumble and Tendulkar got themselves into a bizarre mix-up when both batsmen should have been run-out by yards. Instead, a bad throw, some clumsy juggling by Khaled Mashud and some poor reactions allowed both batsmen to make their crease. The Indian dressing-room was in fits of laughter while Bangladesh continued to wallow in the daze. It’s been the story of this Test.

Manicaland held out against champions Mashonaland until well into the afternoon at Mutare Sports Club, but a collapse by their lower middle order doomed them to defeat, which eventually came by nine wickets.For much of the morning session the overnight batsmen, Alistair Campbell and Stuart Matsikenyeri, raised hopes of forcing a draw as they played the bowling with little trouble on a placid pitch. The Mashonaland pace attack of Andy Blignaut and Gus Mackay rarely looked threatening under this conditions; Mackay returned the most economical figures and was the only bowler to find any significant swing during the match, but he has lost a bit of pace.When Campbell was bowled by Gripper for 92 – his third ninety in three weeks – the finger came out of the dyke. Matsikenyeri, with his second fifty of the match, lost his wicket through ball-watching; his new partner Guy Croxford played a ball to deepish mid-on but a fine throw from Craig Evans beat Matsikenyeri home. Three batsmen fell without scoring, and with Gary Brent making 14 Manicaland had lost six wickets for only 43 runs.Last man Justin Lewis showed more determination, however, and stayed in a last-wicket stand of 53 – a new Manicaland first-class record – with Croxford that ensured Mashonaland would have to bat again. They lost the wicket of Trevor Gripper in doing so, off-spinner Richie Sims winning an lbw verdict as some consolation for his tribulations of the first innings.

The ICC has asked Goolam Vahanvati, India’s solicitor general, to investigate incidents of racial abuse that have taken place in Australia. His appointment follows an official complaint from the South African board.Vahanvati will speak to venue staff, Cricket Australia representatives and ICC officials during his visit. He will then travel to South Africa and Sri Lanka to interview players and team officials from all three sides that participated in the recent Test and ODI series before reporting back to the ICC in March.”Racism in any form is abhorrent and everyone in cricket is unhappy with the way in which players from international teams have been subjected to racist abuse in Australia,” said Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive. “The actions of what would seem to be a small number of people are reflecting poorly on Australia and on cricket. It is essential that this issue is addressed.”What is now important is that the ICC is provided with a clear and independent understanding of exactly what has taken place to ensure that cricket is able to respond appropriately.”Speed added that the Australian, Sri Lankan and South African boards had all offered their support. “Since the first incident was reported, Cricket Australia, Sri Lanka Cricket, the United Cricket Board and their players have been united in condemning this sort of behaviour. The entire international cricket community is united in its commitment to doing everything possible to eradicate any racist abuse.”Once the ICC executive board has received this report, we will be in a position to identify what further steps cricket can take to tackle this issue before it spreads beyond the incidents that have taken place in Australia.”Vahanvati was part of a two-man panel that investigated allegations of racism in cricket in Zimbabwe in 2004.

Scorecard

At 127 for 3 off 16.3 overs, needing 20 more off 21 deliveries to triumph in a Twenty20, most would have gone with the Mumbai Champs to cruise to a convincing win. But two quick wickets from Andre Adams sparked the Tigers back into the hunt; another five fell in the space of three overs, and even if No. 11 Avinash Yadav’s attempt for the third run off the final ball had been successful, the Champs would have fallen short by the one run instead of the two.If it was his bowling at the death that snatched the win, Adams had earlier provided the much-needed thrust at the end during his team’s innings to set up a competitive target. Kolkata Tigers choose to bat, and got the momentum going with openers Subhomoy Das and Lance Klusener hitting four fours in the first two overs.But after West Indian Tino Best removed Klusener in the fourth over, things went quiet for the Tigers. Subhomoy fell to Ranjit Khirid, and when Michael Kasprowicz dismissed Craig McMillan for 8, the side were 62 for 3 at almost the halfway stage of their innings.Abhishek Jhunjhunwala made a 29-ball 33 but at 93 for 4 after 14 overs, the Tigers needed at least ten an over from then on to post a challenging total. Rohan Gavaskar kept the score ticking during his unbeaten 41 off 36, and it was Adam’s cameo 12-ball 21 that ensured the Tigers reached 146. Sixteen of those runs came off the final over by Best, in which Adams struck two sixes.Soon after Adams struck again, with the ball, removing former Sri Lanka international Saman Jayantha for a duck. But the next partnership, and a blazing fifty from Raviraj Patil, set up the platform for the chase. Patil smacked 52 off 31 deliveries, with eight fours and two sixes, and by the time his fusillade was over, the Champs looked on course, needing 71 more with a little over half the overs remaining.Nathan Astle, the Champs captain, almost put the Tigers out of the game when he began the final flourish with two sixes off Adams in the 17th over, but another run down the track only saw him being bowled by his fellow New Zealander, and opened the door for the Tigers to fight back.Johan van der Wath fell in the same over, and the remainder of the Champs batting line-up couldn’t keep their head to get a run a ball in the final three overs, bowled by Nantie Hayward and Adams. They panicked, three perished to run-outs – although the last being an optimistic try – as they fell prey to the pressure applied by the Tigers.

Pakistan’s preparations for their one-day series against Sri Lanka were disrupted after the ground they had planned to use for middle practice was booked for another game.The side nets at the Colombo Cricket Club had been reserved for the Pakistan squad, but they wanted to use the main pitch as they step up their training ahead of the series. The management tried to persuade Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to stop the game, but were unsuccessful so the players returned to the hotel.”We went to the ground as scheduled in the morning but found out some others were using it and we had no other alternative but to return to the hotel,” the team manager, Zaheer Abbas, told AFP. “After we contacted SLC we were given a different venue to practice in the afternoon.”However, the mix-up did not appear to frustrate the players too much. While they hung around for about 40 minutes some of them, including the bowling coach Waqar Younis, sent down a few deliveries for the locals.SLC officials said the inconvenience was caused by miscommunication. “We had earlier allocated the side nets for the Pakistan team, but subsequently they requested for the centre wickets and we couldn’t arrange that at the last moment.”The first one-day international is on March 17 and the three-match series is then followed by two Tests.

Caribbean Memories: VVS Laxman on 1996-97
Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAIndia’s tour of West Indies in 1996-97 was VVS Laxman’s second overseas tour, and it came at a time when he wasn’t yet an established member of the Indian side. He was a reluctant opener, struggling to come to terms with his position in the batting order, and nevertheless made two fifties in what was a difficult series for India.Laxman chats about the series with Cricinfo’s Sidharth Monga, and tells him that while it was a great learning experience, the hard part of the tour was the Test at Barbados, where India, needing 120 to win, made just 81. Laxman top-scored with 19.Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA