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Scorecard
Victoria face an uphill battle to avoid defeat after their injury-depleted attack struggled to capitalise on a deteriorating MCG pitch against Queensland. Without their strike bowler Gerard Denton, who left the field with a leg injury, the Bushrangers were unable to provoke one of the major batting collapses that have dominated the game as the Bulls worked their way to 9 for 293 declared and a lead of 312. Victoria are 0 for 6 at stumps and will need to score the highest innings total of the game on the final day to secure their second Pura Cup win of the season.The Bushrangers had the sniff of an easier run-chase when Queensland were 8 for 230 but once again they failed to skittle the tail. Chris Hartley batted for 144 minutes for 29 not out and put on a valuable unbeaten 38 for the last wicket with Daniel Doran, the No.11. Doran (24 not out) rubbed salt into Victoria’s wounds, smashing Cameron White for two sixes in the last over before Queensland declared.Lachlan Stevens and Martin Love defied the bowler-friendly trend of the match, adding 82 to Queensland’s overnight total of 1 for 51 before Jon Moss exploited the pitch’s variable bounce and trapped Stevens lbw for 61 to a ball that kept low. Two overs later Adam Crosthwaite took a sharp chance standing up to the stumps from Moss’s bowling to dismiss Love for 63.When Andrew Symonds had a brain-fade in the next over and was bowled for 8 attempting to slog White over midwicket, leaving Clinton Perren and James Hopes both yet to score at lunch, another middle-order collapse was on the cards. But without Denton to negotiate, the pair steadied the Bulls with a 52-run partnership until Perren (22), the man whose direct hit from third-man on Saturday ran out Clinton McKay, became the victim of a run-out.On a day when a little-known substitute fielder caught Andrew Strauss in the Test match at the Gabba, another ring-in ended Perren’s innings. Tom Stray, a former member of Australia’s Under-19s team, was fielding instead of the 12th man Robert Quiney who was playing club cricket, when he ran Perren out from point. Hopes was bowled by a Shane Harwood skidder in the first over after tea for 46 and when Andy Bichel (4) and Ashley Noffke (0) fell the Bushrangers had hopes of wrapping up the tail cheaply.Victoria’s fast-bowling situation went from bad to worse when Denton hurt his leg in the morning session. Denton, whose 6 for 62 in the first innings was his second six-wicket haul in the Pura Cup this season, could miss two to three weeks depending on the result of scans on Monday. Victoria are already without Mick Lewis, Allan Wise, Dirk Nannes, Rob Cassell and Peter Siddle through injuries and have only just regained Harwood from a side strain.

The international career of Kennedy Otieno, the Kenya wicketkeeper, appears to be over after Cricket Kenya failed to offer him a new contract. Otieno, 35, announced on Tuesday that he would return to Australia to play for Caboolture, a club in Queensland which he represented for six months last year.”If I was offered a contract I would not have gone to Australia,” Otieno said. “It is a polite way of telling me that I am not needed. I would have loved to continue playing for Kenya but I have to look elsewhere for a livelihood.”Otieno first headed to Australia last year, but his unavailability for Kenya’s training camp ruled him out of the World Cup in the Caribbean. Now he has been overlooked for Kenya’s series against India A and Sri Lanka A next week.After two three-day matches between Kenya and India A, the teams will play a triangular one-day series from August 14-20.

Click here to let us know your viewsThe ICC has dismissed suggestions by Matthew Engel in Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack that it is putting money ahead of other considerations.Referring to the recent challenge to authority of the ICC by the Indian board, Engel wrote that it was time someone stepped up as “the ICC’s entrepreneurialrole is damaging its regulatory one. There was a crucial symbolic change when its web address switched from .org to .com. It constantly now has to refer to its own financial interests – exacerbated by the fraught TV deal with the Global Cricket Corporation, which expires in 2007 – rather than the good of cricket, which should be its only concern.”But Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC’s media manager, told the BBC that the ICC was not a profit-making organisation and plouged income back into its 96 member countries, but he admitted it still needed to be careful. “There’s always a balance to be found between on the one hand making sure we safeguard the future of the game, while at the same time ensuring we look after that future by maximising revenue.”We’re acutely conscious of the need to protect the heritage of the game, but we have to ensure any events we put on earn revenue, which we’re able to pass on to our members. That’s our rationale – to ensure the health of the game worldwide.”Murgatroyd also defended an attack on the Champions Trophy, which Engel described as “yet another ugly-looking [tournament], to the delight only of TV channels with more airtime than content.”He said that the competition was being altered. “It’s gone through a few facelifts and we feel we’re getting closer to an appropriate format. The profits that the ICC make from that tournament are going to be ploughed back into the game – it benefits cricket for that tournament to take place. It’s a very worthy event.”

Division One

Hampshire fought back well against Durham after Michael di Venuto and Will Smith’s century opening stand put them on the back foot at the Rose Bowl. Resuming on 160 for 5, Hampshire lost their last five wickets for 72 today and then watched di Venuto pile up a century, as he and Smith (28) added 116, then Gordon Muchall (58) joined him to add a further 94. But di Venuto’s dismissal, for 124, heralded something of a collapse, with Durham falling from 210 for 2 to 247 for 7.Brad Hodge’s 46th first-class hundred put Lancashire firmly in the driving seat against Kent at Old Trafford. Hodge helped the runs to pile up, assisted by half-centuries from Iain Sutcliffe, Mal Loye and Stuart Law and they reached 451 for 5 before declaring. Kent were 14 without loss by the close.Warwickshire managed to boost their total from 86 for 4 to 343 at Edgbaston, thanks to the efforts of Jim Troughton, who hit his 13th first-class century. Worcestershire lost just Phil Jaques before the close, reaching 77 for 1.The leaders Yorkshire were given a thorough working over by the champions Sussex after play finally got underway on the second day at Headingley. Jason Lewry and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan proved virtually unplayable as they combined to reduce the top order to 26 for 5. Robin Martin-Jenkins and Mushtaq Ahmed did further damage as Yorkshire slid to 139 all out. A rare bright point was the 32 not out made by Ajmal Shahzad in just his second first-class match this season. 21-year-old Shahzad shared in two stands, for the ninth and final wicket, which boosted Yorkshire from 85 for 8 to 139. But Sussex have an early glimmer of leapfrogging Yorkshire to the top.

Division Two

Essex’s seamers took three quick wickets to leave Middlesex struggling on 74 for 3 – trailing by 302 – on a curtailed second day at Lord’s. Essex’s lower order was quickly wrapped up – bowled out for 376 – but Alex Tudor made the most of the swinging conditions to remove Billy Godleman and Owais Shah, while Martin Saggers dismissed Nick Compton. Heavy rain ended the day early.Somerset continued to boss proceedings in a way to make Alan Sugar proud – with gritty authority – at Bristol, dismissing Gloucestershire for 121. But Andrew Caddick’s performance was from no apprentice – he took 7 for 30 from 18.5 overs. Marcus Trescothick took five of those catches, although he was later to lament a duck. With conditions favouring quicker bowlers, Justin Langer used just four bowlers; Charl Willoughby claiming two and Peter Trego the other. Langer was Somerset’s other faller as Neil Edwards and James Hildreth quickly erased the deficit and ended up with unbeaten half-centuries.Leicestershire piled on the misery for Northamptonshire on another truncated day at Northampton. Resuming on 53 for 3, they struggled to 105 for 6, before David Sales (72*) and Steven Crook (32*) put together the first meaningful partnership of the innings. They added an unbeaten 66 before an early stumps, with David Masters now having three wickets to his name.A ball has still yet to be bowled between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire at Nottingham.

The Indian squad which went to Sri Lanka for the ill-fated tri-series last month is likely to be retained for the triangular tournament in Malaysia, which also features Australia and West Indies. However, Anil Kumble could be in contention for a place in the 14-member Champions Trophy squad, which will also be named later on Sunday.Kumble has been named among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy, and was considered a strong candidate for a berth in the final squad. However, he might be left out if the selectors feel he needs more time to recover from tendonitis – Kumble was detected with the injury when he was playing for Surrey last month. Also, the ICC stipulations state that after the Champions Trophy squad has been named, no replacements will be allowed if the concerned player already had the injury when the squad was announced.The 30-member probables list also included Sourav Ganguly, but it is highly unlikely that he will make the cut.The squad that went to Sri Lanka
Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Mongia, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth.

Sourav Ganguly and Lou Vincent were much talked about on the final day of the Ahmedabad Test. Ganguly, for letting things drift and being unable to force a win; Vincent, for his mastery of the conditions and the Indian spinners. Here’s what they had to say:Sourav Ganguly
On India’s bowling performance: I thought we bowled pretty well. The pitch got slower and slower as the game progressed, and there was notmuch help for the bowlers. I thought they tried very hard.On the surface: It’s the responsibility of the BCCI pitches committeeto prepare wickets accordingly, which they have not done here.On the pressure on India at Mohali: I thought we dominated them here, so there won’t be too much pressure. It will be a different surface inMohali, and if we can put up the runs on the board, we should win. But to win the series, we have to win there, so that’s the bottomline.On his groin infection: The infection has not healed very much, but it isbetter than on the first day. We’ll have to wait for a couple of days to see.On why he started off proceedings on the fourth daywith Kumble and Balaji: There wasn’t much for the spinners, and I thoughtBalaji bowled well in this Test. He had gotten RobbieHart the night before and had troubled Paul Wiseman afew times. He brought the ball into the batsman too. Ithought he bowled well and was unlucky not to getwickets.On the playing XI for Mohali: Playing five specialist bowlers is definitely a thought. With Ajit Agarkar coming in for the injuredAavishkar Salvi, we can afford that. But we’ll have towait and see the pitch before decidingLou Vincent
On his innings: In the morning it was a pretty tough situation. Indiahad 18 overs at us last night and went all out to get a few wickets. After Zaheer Khan performed well in the first innings and took three early wickets, it wasimportant for somebody to hang in there and see the shine off the ball. I was surprised to see Mark Richardson go, because he had been in good form forNew Zealand.If we’d had a good couple of sessions, wecould have set up a good chase in the final hour orso, but things didn’t turn out that way. As you couldprobably have seen, I was gutted to get out. I wasdisappointed to miss out on a century.On the wicket:It was pretty flat, although the footmarks weregetting rather nasty by the time the game ended. It’smy first Test in India, and I don’t know much aboutpitches here. It had both spin and bounce, though, andin my limited experience, I thought it was a good Test wicket.On perceived friction between Anil Kumble and StephenFleming on the field: I didn’t see any, from where I was, but it’s alwayslike a war out there. If, from a spectator’s point ofview, I saw the teams applauding each other’s runs andwickets, I’d think: “What are the wallies doing?”On New Zealand’s strategy for the Mohali Test: Well, we’ll have to see. Right now, we’re just happy to get through this little battle. We lost only fivewickets in the final day to two world-class spinners, so we’re pretty happy about that.On the heat: Ah, I don’t know how you Indians live here! It’s souncomfortable! But as professional athletes who playso much in Asia, it’s important to adjust and be ableto perform regardless of the conditions.

Denying any involvement in leaking Greg Chappell’s controversial email last September, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), dismissed Sourav Ganguly’s charges against his group saying he did not expect loyalty as he was no more the chief of the Indian board (BCCI).”I am no longer in the BCCI. I have nothing to give. So, I do not expect loyalty from him,” Dalmiya told newspersons shortly after Ganguly’s email was made public by CAB dissidents.Ganguly blamed Dalmiya for leaking Chappell’s sensational email but Dalmiya said that Chappell himself had not wanted to send the mail to him. “Yes, I was one of the intended recipients,” he continued. “But in the meeting of the high-powered committee held in Mumbai after the controversy erupted, Chappell himself stated that he could not send it to me.The six-member committee, set-up to investigate that email, comprised Dalmiya, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the then BCCI chief, SK Nair, the secretary, and three former India captains — Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and S Venkatraghavan. Asked whether he agreed with Ganguly that the email was leaked to damage his career, Dalmiya said “the e-mail does not concern me.”You put the question to those quarters who leaked it,” he said at a hurriedly convened media meet at the Eden Gardens. “This question can be best answered by the affected and those who made him affected.”

Somerset are hoping to speak to Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith in a bid to get one of them to play next summer.Ponting’s brief spell at Taunton in 2004 coincided with a marked upturn in Somerset’s performances, while Smith led the county for part of 2005, guiding them to victory in the Twenty20 Cup.”We will be talking to the connections of both players,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, Was quoted as saying by the official website. “But we won’t commit ourselves unless either can play for a meaningful period. It could all come down to how long their respective cricket boards are willing to let them play county cricket for next season.”Ponting is due to lead Australia in Bangladesh at the start of the 2006 season and Zimbabwe at the end of the summer, while Smith and South Africa should be in Zimbabwe in August.

Desert Vipers batter Shimron Hetmyer has been ruled out of the remainder of the ongoing ILT20 season due to a hamstring injury. Hetmyer got injured while playing against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) earlier this week, and has been replaced in Vipers’ squad by former England batter Jason Roy.Hetmyer played in all seven games for Vipers so far this season, but had a quiet time with the bat. He scored just 111 runs in six innings at an average of 18.50, although at an impactful strike rate of 160.86. Hetmyer’s highest score was the 48 off 25 balls he smashed against ADKR on December 5.Roy, meanwhile, enters the ILT20 after three matches for Pokhara Avengers in the Nepal Premier League, where he scored 68 runs at an average of 34. Before that, he was at the Abu Dhabi T10, where he was Royal Champs’ captain. Roy also has previous experience of playing in the ILT20. In 2024, he played two matches for ADKR, while next season, he played 12 games for Sharjah Warriorz, and got 298 runs at an average of 29.80.”We are extremely disappointed to lose a player of Shimron’s quality and experience as he has played a positive role in our squad this season, but securing someone of Jason’s pedigree and experience certainly softens that blow,” Tom Moody, Vipers’ Director of Cricket, said.”Jason ticks all the boxes for us. He knows the format inside-out, he is a versatile batter who can go through the gears, he provides us options up and down the order, he has been playing recently and he has experience in the ILT20.”Vipers are currently at the top of the points table, with six wins in seven games. The one-run loss they suffered against ADKR this week was their first after six back-to-back victories to start the tournament. Vipers are next in action on Sunday evening, when they face Warriorz in Dubai, with their new recruit Roy having already arrived there.

Match facts

Friday, April 18, 2008Start time 20:00 local time (14:30 GMT)

The Big Picture

After months of hype, excitement, controversy and speculation the high-profile Indian Premier League kicks off in Bangalore with the Royal Challengers hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders. “Eight teams, without any players, only warriors” is the maxim for the inaugural tournament and there’s plenty riding on it. Fans from all around the world will zoom in to see players who have squared off on the international level come together to try and trump others, and many, not least the organisers who have gone to town promoting the event, will follow with bated breath. Not since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket has an event so divided and stirred up the fraternity. It might be too much for a traditionalist but against the backdrop of a cricket-crazy host country, and with plenty of huge names involved, there’s little going against the lucrative tournament.

Watch out for …

After the Chinnaswamy Stadium is plunged in darkness, a spotlight will focus on the rival captains, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The duo has been solid for India for over well over a decade and would’ve played against each other on the domestic front but this is something completely new.Dravid and Jacques Kallis are champions for their respective countries, one recently going past 10,000 Test runs and the other soon to get there, but they’ve done little of note in Twenty20 cricket. Kallis was unceremoniously axed from the ICC World Twenty20 at home and has only played seven matches; Dravid has played only two domestic matches. Pitted together in the same team, its going to be interesting to see how they adapt.Just 21 years and six first-class games old, young Debabrata Das could be forgiven for being a bit overawed around some of his acclaimed Kolkata team-mates. But with Pakistan’s Salman Butt on international duty, Das finds himself on the verge of playing in the big opener. He’s up against fellow Bengal batsman Wriddhiman Saha, but being a wicketkeeper may go against Saha given that Kolkata have Brendon McCullum. It’s a great opportunity to impress.Not many in India would’ve followed Ashley Noffke’s career. Ushered in for Bangalore as cover for fellow Australian Nathan Bracken, he can be expected to play the first game. Noffke, 30, has played one ODI and two Twenty20s for Australia, and apart from his skills with the ball he is also a capable lower-order batsman, with two first-class centuries.

Team news

With only four overseas player allowed in a team, its unlikely that Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Cameron White will both play and White’s excellent Twenty20 record puts him ahead. With Anil Kumble ruled out through injury, White is also placed to take the lone spinner’s slot ahead of local lad KP Appanna. Kallis and Mark Boucher were expected to leave for the South African domestic Twenty20 competition but will now stay back but with Dale Steyn absent, Noffke could easily fill in. Misbah-ul-Haq will miss the opening clash because of the ongoing series in Pakistan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul is reportedly carrying an injury so another of the local boys, B Akhil or Bharat Chipli, could come into the middle order.Bangalore (likely) 1 Praveen Kumar, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Virat Kohli, 6 Cameron White, 7 B Akhil, 8 Mark Boucher (wk), 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ashley Noffke, 11 R Vinay KumarKolkata are without Butt and Umar Gul, in Bangladesh, and that opens up slots for young Das and Ashok Dinda, the Bengal medium pacer. Ganguly has said he will open, which means the explosive McCullum would come in after Ricky Ponting at No. 3. David Hussey and an in-form Laxmi Ratan Shukla strengthen the middle order. Shukla will assist Ishant Sharma and Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik – with Twenty20 experience in England – adds variety with his left-arm spin and handy lower-order batting. Chris Gayle has yet to arrive for the match and so his place in some doubt.Kolkata (likely) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Brendon McCullum (wk), 5 David Hussey, 6 Debabrata Das, 7 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

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