Wellington beat Central Districts with more than a day to spare at Napier, while Northern Districts and Otago have the upper hand in today’s other State Championship matches.Wellington 181 and 310 beat Central Districts 63 and 197 (Taylor 66, Gillespie 4-71) by 231 runs
ScorecardWellington made the most of some indifferent Central Districts batting to take an outright win in less than three days at Napier, to increase their prospects of a place in the State Championship final. CD, after their miserable first-innings batting effort of 63, faced what would have been a record victory target of 429, but they could do little to boost their own cause after losing all bar Ross Taylor of their best batsmen in reaching 57 for 4. Taylor scored a typically aggressive 66 off 57 balls, but it was only a holding action before the accurate Wellington attack had the final say. Mark Gillespie ended with 4 for 71, while James Franklin and Iain O’Brien took two wickets apiece.3rd day close Otago 336 and 143 (Hopkins 50, Wisneski 4-45) lead Canterbury 219 (Harris 63) and 78 for 4 by 182 runs
ScorecardCanterbury, the competition front-runners, are under pressure from a resurgent Otago team at Alexandra. Otago had the benefit of a substantial first-innings lead to assist them, even though they slumped to 143 all out in their second. Warren Wisneski (4 for 45), Chris Martin (3 for 32) and Stephen Cunis (3 for 42) shared the wickets for Canterbury. Chasing 261 to win, the Cantabs ended the third day at 78 for 4, with Gary Stead 30 not out and their captain Chris Harris on 2. They represent Canterbury’s last realistic hope of securing another victory.3rd day close Auckland 283 and 123 for 4 (Horne 53*) lead Northern Districts 388 (Marshall 78, Orchard 97) by 18 runs
ScorecardNorthern Districts’ best batting effort of the summer could also be sufficient to upset Auckland’s chance of a finals berth. Auckland, with only six wickets in hand, have only an 18-run lead. Mark Orchard led the ND batting effort with 97 before he was bowled by Kerry Walmsley. Previously, ND have failed to provide support for batsmen who were in, but this time Matt Hart scored 46, Joseph Yovich 40 and Robbie Hart 32. At one stage in their reply, Auckland were 34 for 4, but the first-innings centurion Matt Horne was still there with 53 at stumps, after an 89-run stand with Aaron Barnes, who had 36 not out.

Muttiah Muralitharan has given the Sri Lankans a pre-match scare after complainingof a severe stomach upset. Muralitharan first complained of stomach crampson Sunday afternoon and then endured a sleepless night. He remained unwell onMonday morning.Sri Lankan team sources were confident that he would recover in time for the second Test, which starts on Tuesday, but the potential loss of their star bowler, who claimed 11 for 212 against Australia in the first Test, is still a serious concern.Muralitharan has taken 496 scalps in 86 matches, and is poised to join Courtney Walsh (519 wickets) and Shane Warne (501) in the 500-wicket club during the match, which will be played at Kandy, his home city.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, were forced to abandon their morning training session on Sundaybecause of heavy rain. The afternoon practice was also disrupted, and the players were forced to wait for a break in the weather before returning to the Asgiriya International Stadium.

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’

Shoaib Akhtar is facing possible disciplinary action after reports alleged he may have feigned an injury to avoid bowling on the third day of the Rawalpindi Test because of differences with Inzamam-ul-Haq. In a telephone conversation he had with Rashid Latif, Shoaib suggested that he wasn’t happy with Inzamam’s field settings for his bowling.Latif disclosed the contents of the phone call on a local channel on Wednesday night, where he claimed that some other players had also complained about problems within the team. A local newspaper reported that some team members were not convinced of Shoaib’s injury, and also revealed that X-rays on his injured wrist showed no damage.When Shoaib subsequently came out on Friday to bat, signs of a side strain or wrist injury were not immediately apparent as he blasted 28 off 14 balls, with four fours and two sixes. The cameo prompted Inzamam-ul-Haq to claim that he “was surprised at the way Shoaib had batted”. On being questioned about Shoaib’s alleged phone call to Latif, Inzamam said that an inquiry would be held and, depending on the result, disciplinary action would be taken against Shoaib. “If something like this has happened then we will take action against it. This sort of behaviour can cause disruption within the team. There will be an inquiry into the matter and action will be taken.” Inzamam did say, however, that there was no question of differences between him and Shoaib.Shaharyar Khan, the PCB’s chairman, in a chaotic press conference, also faced persistent questions about Shoaib. “He was seen hitting sixes today after not playing yesterday. But we will sit down – the management committee will look at the doctor’s report, the players’ views and the captain and manager’s views and if it is found that any player didn’t play or give their all for non-cricketing reasons, then action will be taken. Nobody is bigger than the national team.”He further added, “I went up and spoke to Shoaib myself. He was on the massage table at that point. I asked him what was wrong with him since I assumed only his wrist was injured. He said that he felt an unbelievable pain in his side when he fell over while bowling. He said that he was in so much pain that he couldn’t sleep and that regardless of what the X-rays showed, he was in much pain. The doctor’s report can say whatever, but if a guy is still saying he is in so much pain then maybe an investigation is required.”Both Latif’s statements and Shoaib’s actions attracted the scorn of the PCB chief executive, Rameez Raja. Raja said, “We are certainly going to ask Shoaib about this because it is not good for the dressing-room atmosphere. And how can Rashid be so irresponsible to discuss such things in public.”Shoaib, meanwhile, has been preparing to visit India for a commercial shoot.

Zimbabwe 228 and 44 for 2 trail Sri Lanka 713 for 3 (Sangakkara 270, Atapattu 249, Jayawardene 100*) by 441 runs
Scorecard

It was a day of records at Queens Sports Club, but it wasn’t a contest. Sri Lanka batted into the final session, amassing 713 for 3, before Marvan Atapattu gambled on a declaration. Some gamble. Zimbabwe ended the day on 44 for 2, still needing 441 to avoid an innings defeat.Brian Lara can breathe again, as neither of Sri Lanka’s double-century makers had the stamina to challenge his Test record. Atapattu fell for 249, while Sangakkara made 270 before both fell to Zimbabwe’s bowlers, who were totally outclassed but never surrendering. It was the first time in Test cricket that six bowlers had conceded more than 100 runs in a Test innings.In the morning, it took Sangakkara 18 minutes to move from his overnight 186 to his second Test double-century. He was 208 when another difficult chance went down, third man spilling an uppish slash. At the other end, Atapattu drove Elton Chigumbura classically through extra cover for four to take him past his previous Test best of 223, and continued on his stately way.Every now and then, though, the batsmen showed signs of boredom, and Atapattu’s concentration finally lapsed once too often when he tried to run Chigumbura through the vacant slip area and was well held by a diving Tatenda Taibu, the wicketkeeper (538 for 2). Atapattu’s innings lasted 516 minutes, he faced 324 balls and hit a six and 36 fours. The partnership with Sangakkara realised 438, the sixth-highest in Test cricket for any wicket.Sangakkara’s wicket was the only to fall in the afternoon, and that was the sum total of Zimbabwe’s success. Sangakkara, 250 at lunch, and dropped before he had scored, and he also fell to a Taibu catch when he attempted to glideTinashe Panyangara to third man and only got a thick edge (627 for 3). He hit 36 fours and two sixes, in 468 minutes off 365 balls. Many expected Atapattu to declare there and then, but perhaps he was under pressure from his middle order, who also wanted the chance to fill their boots.So Mahela Jayawardene took centre stage, stumbling out of the changing room like a bear roused from hibernation and determined to join the party. He was soon driving sweetly and late cutting with abandon in the absence of any slip fielders. He was in a race to reach his century before tea, but ended the session on 93. Atapattu let him go back out after the break to score the seven runs, and then called time.That left Zimbabwe facing a tricky 90 minutes and a massive deficit. Stuart Matsikenyeri began more solidly than he has often done, but it did him little good. After surviving confident lbw appeals from Chaminda Vaas to the second and third balls of the innings, he made 14 off 40 balls before Nuwan Zoysa slanted a ball across him and had him caught at the wicket (22 for 1). Shortly before the close, Mark Vermeulen fell in the same way as he had done in the first innings, driving Zoysa loosely to mid-off for 6 (40 for 2). Brendan Taylor, after a cautious start, decided to go down fighting, swinging Muttiah Muralitharan high over midwicket for six and ended unbeaten on 19.As for Muralitharan, he has been virtually anonymous in this match, Still troubled by a combination of a bruised finger, scrutiny by the ICC, and announcements made by his own board, he spent most of his nine-over spell toying with legbreaks. But he could probably switch to left-arm seam and Sri Lanka would still win at a canter.

Sourav Ganguly has named Yuvraj Singh as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner for India’s next Test series, against Australia, in October. Yuvraj, 22, will replace Aakash Chopra, who has suffered criticism for his slow scoring, for the four-match home series. “At the present moment Yuvraj is the first choice, considering the number of games he has won for us,” said Ganguly.Yuvraj, who built a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman in one-day matches, has played just four Tests in the middle order, but Ganguly is confident he has the ability to succeed in his new role. “Virender Sehwag also never used to open before, but has done amazingly well,” he said. “Yuvraj has got the ability to open the innings, and a player of his stature should not be kept out of the team.” In the first Test against Pakistan in March, Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to score a triple-century in Test cricket, smashing 309.Ganguly also said he was looking forward to the return of Harbhajan Singh, who has not played since December last year, when he suffered a finger injury in the opening Test against Australia. “I am looking forward to Harbhajan’s return as he is a match-winning bowler,” he said. “I want him to be fit before the Australians arrive here.”Ganguly added that he was confident his team would put in a good performance against Australia and South Africa, who play a two-match series after Australia’s visit. “We have been playing well as a team for the past couple of years. The boys are playing their best cricket. I hope we continue that,” he said. “I do not see any reason why we cannot win.”

Surrey, Leicestershire, Glamorgan and Hampshire have been given home ties in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup, which will be played on Monday, July 19.Leicester will face Essex at Grace Road, Hampshire take on Lancashire at the Rose Bowl, Glamorgan play Warwickshire at Sophia Gardens and Surrey, the defending Twenty20 champions, meet Worcestershire at The Oval.The match between Hampshire and Lancashire will be shown live on Sky Sports.Twenty20 Cup quarter-final draw:
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan Dragons v Warwickshire Bears
The Rose Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Lancashire Lightning
Grace Road: Leicestershire Foxes v Essex Eagles
The Brit Oval: Surrey Lions v Worcestershire Royals

England’s hopes of giving all their squad a decent practice against Namibia have been thwarted after local officials refused a request to allow 14 players to take part in each of the two warm-up matches at Windhoek.Although this kind of situation has happened on recent England tours – not always to the appreciation of local players and officials – the Namibian Cricket Association were having none of it."We want to play a proper, 11-a-side match and I know our supporters would want the same. We’re expecting a capacity crowd of 4,000," explained Francois Erasmus, the association’s chairman. "If England want to give everybody a game, they will have to use the three players who don’t appear on Sunday in Tuesday’s second match.""We wanted to play a normal 11-a-side game of cricket,” Deon Kotze, Namibia’s captain, told the Press Association. "It’s the biggest match we’ve ever played in and possibly even bigger than the World Cup because we’re playing this at home. It’s the first time we’ve ever had a team of the standing of England playing in Namibia.”The last – and only – time Namibia played England was in the 2003 World Cup when they took considerable credit despite losing; indeed, at one point they were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis before England rallied. “We enjoyed watching our young players bat and get us into a position when we were on course to win the game," Kotze reflected. "There was actually a bit of panic going through the English ranks, but unfortunately it didn’t last long enough.”And unfortunately for Namibia, they have not been given the chance to progress since then. Ahead of the World Cup they gained valuable experience by taking part in South Africa’s domestic competitions, but a restructuring of those tournaments brought that to an end.Their only major games of late have been in the Intercontinental Cup when they were eliminated by Kenya.

Ray Jennings, South Africa’s coach, was keen to downplay any suggestion that his team had gained a psychological advantage ahead of the first Test at Port Elizabeth, following England’s emphatic seven-wicket defeat against the South Africa A side at Potchefstroom on Monday.The England camp was in a bit of a lather after that game. Michael Vaughan described the result as a “kick up the arse”, while the players took part in an emergency middle session after the early finish, to put their undercooked batsmen through their paces. Jennings, however, was dismissive of the result, claiming that points scored in practice matches counted for nothing, and that the only relevant battle was the one that begins at St George’s Park on Friday.”We can take nothing out of that game that we didn’t know already,” Jennings told reporters at South Africa’s training camp in Pretoria. “It wasn’t a positive factor for us. England are the type of guys that struggle on quicker wickets, and they are coming off the back of a quiet period at the end of their season. Nothing jumped out [of that match] to say: ‘hell, we didn’t know that.'”Jennings even went so far as to suggest that the result could be bad news for the senior side which, in the course of a chaotic few weeks, has begun to cultivate an image of plucky underdogs ahead of this series. “It could be a bad thing from our point of view,” he admitted. “The public’s expectations will be higher, along with those of the players. But from a positive aspect, England didn’t occupy the crease for any length of time, and it is exciting to see pressure for places being created in South African cricket. The A guys wanted to do well, and there’s nothing better than beating the opposition.”South Africa’s build-up to Port Elizabeth has not been without its complications, with Jacques Kallis rated “80 percent to play, and 50-50 to bowl”, after his slow recovery from an ankle injury, and several players including Thami Tsoleleki (tonsillitis), and Graeme Smith, Zander de Bruyn, Andrew Hall and Boeta Dippenar (food poisoning) all under the weather in recent days. Furthermore, Nicky Boje seems unlikely to recover in time from an operation on a cancerous growth in his neck, even though he bowled for 40 minutes at the nets, and declared himself optimistic at the end of it.

But, following a tough tour of India last month, Jennings was looking forward to unleashing his charges on home soil. In particular, he hopes to unveil his exciting young pair from the northern Limpopo Province; the fast bowler Dale Steyn, and the batsman AB de Villiers, who is set to open the batting alongside his captain, Smith. “Both Dale and AB are very confident and organised cricketers,” enthused Jennings, who explained why he resisted the temptation to blood them in India. “There are too many unknowns over there – the pitches, the people, the food, for example. Here it is more comfortable for them. They know the players, the grounds and the opposition, and their fear factor comes across as excitement instead of apprehension.”That subtle shift in mindset could be enough to change South Africa’s whole approach to the series, and Jennings believes that de Villiers and Steyn have what it takes to carry the attack to England’s cricketers. “If we turn on the gas, it could take England’s bowlers all series to find their right areas,” he suggested, pointing out that India’s Virender Sehwag had done just that to his own bowlers in the series just gone.”AB is a Sehwag type of guy,” added Jennings. “He plays with freedom, just like Herschelle Gibbs. I’m not asking him to change his technique, I’m only here to smarten it up and make him understand what ball to hit and when. Likewise, I’m not going to ask Steyn to slow down and swing the ball. Pace is his strength and I want him to reproduce it.””We may be underdogs for this series,” concluded Jennings, “in terms of the world ratings, and in terms of the number of caps in the team as well. But England are playing in our own back garden, and we are not going to allow them to play their own game. This is a new phase in South African cricket. We want to beat the world No.2 in front of our home crowds, and we intend to win convincingly.”Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo.

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.