Tamil Nadu emerged worthy winners of the MJ Gopalan Trophy 2001after they got better of Colombo Districts Cricket Association(CDCA) XI by virtue of their 199 runs first innings lead. Onthe fourth and final day of the match at the MA ChidambaramStadium, Chepauk in Chennai, on Monday, play was called offafter eight mandatory overs were bowled. CDCA XI had moved onto 206/4 in their second innings with Ian Daniel unbeaten on77, giving him company was skipper Samaraweera on 4*.Earlier in the day, resuming on 154/3, Tamil Nadu lost theenterprising Sridharan Sriram (81), he had added just two moreruns to his overnight score. Sriram was caught well in thedeep by Dinusha Fernando off the bowling of Samaraweera,looking for quick runs. After batting for eight overs in themorning, Tamil Nadu skipper Robin Singh declared the innings closedon 178/4, setting CDCA XI a target of 378 to win. Sharath(20*) and Arasu (6*) were at the crease at that stage.CDCA XI were in for an early shock, Jehan Mubarak (7) nicked aball from Balaji into the safe gloves of Arasu. The Tamil Naduwicketkeeper is better known as ‘Evander Hollyfield’ for thestriking semblance to the great boxing star.Michael Vandort once again threatened to play a big knock butfailed after making 28 runs off 37 balls with the help of fourboundaries and a six. He was caught by Madanagopal off thebowling of Ashish Kapoor. Tillakaratne Dilshan continued inthe same form he showed in the limited over matches, to score56 runs off 83 balls. He fell to the left arm spin ofRamkumar.Wishvanath Jaywardene made a slow 16 runs off 55 balls andalong with Daniel, ensured that Tamil Nadu did not sneak inan outright win. MR Shrinivas who was generating good pace andbounce claimed the wicket of Jayawardene, caught by Balaji. Bythen both the teams had closed shop and the players wentthrough the motions.Winning the MJ Gopalan Trophy must have been a tonic to theTamil Nadu team led by Robin Singh; they are to start theirRanji campaign very shortly. The highlight of the match wasthe bowling of the young fast bowler Balaji and the battingexploits of Sriram (100 and 81).

Zimbabwe won the one-day series today at BNS defeating Bangladesh by a fair margin of 42 runs in a high scoring match. The visitors won the toss and sent their opponents to field first.The decision to bat first in a dry wicket like that in BNS was a very wise decision and Zimbabweans took full advantage of it. After an early loss of Grant Flower clean bowled by Manjurul Islam, Carlisle and Dion Ebrahim built a partnership of 108 runs in the second wicket. The sloppy fielding by Bangladeshis allowed them plenty of gaps to score runs frequently.Carlisle departed managing 44 runs before he was run out. The crowd at BNS was utterly jubilant to watch Andy Flower leaving the crease with just 10 runs in his bag. Khaled Mahmud grabbed his wicket assisted by Al-Sahariar who took the catch.But that did not stop the flow of runs as Craig Wishart and Ebrahim were running the run-feast with quite ease. Wishart played his natural knock, a stroke filled innings that included three massive sixes. He and Ebrahim added 124 runs in the fourth wicket to take the tally to 269. Wishart made 68 before Mashrafe clean bowled him. Javed Belim sent back Ebrahim by a superb throw that broke the stumps before the batsman was in. Ebrahim score 121 and struck 11 fours.Zimbabwe ended their innings in style taking 22 runs off Rafique from the final over. Streak whacked two huge sixes and a boundary. The Zimbabwean totals reached 309 after full 50 overs, but match adjudicator reduced 5 runs from their total as a penalty as Wishart obstructed a Bangladeshi fielder while he was picking the ball. So, Bangladesh got a target of 305 to win the match. Mashrafe captured 2 wickets for 48.Al-Sahariar and Javed Belim made a dream start hammering eight boundaries in their 46-run partnership. It was Al-Sahariar to go first tragically when Belim summoned him to take a risky improbable single. Garry Brent himself clipped the bails off before Al-Sahariar could touch the line. A remorseful Javed Belim departed soon after his mate edging a lollypop catch to Andy Flower. He made 27.Little Ashraful was dismissed before he could set at the crease when the score was 76, clean bowled by Travis Friend, who was erratic at his first spell. Bashar, the most successful among the hosts, and Sanwar Hossain started playing rather prudently. They remained inseparable for 24.2 overs to manage 115. Bashar like his other golden days notched up a sparkling 66 before he missed an Ervine delivery that displaced his stumps.Sanwar Hossain, though batted judiciously, spent too many balls to get his fifty. Marillier’s direct throw returned him bagging 52 valuable runs that contained a solitary boundary.Khaled Mahmud (50) hammered Brent for a six and a deafening applaud welcomed his endeavor. He hit several dazzling boundaries all around on his way. He reached his half-century, the third one in Bangladeshi innings, playing only 37 balls. He was caught at extra cover off Friend soon after he got that fifty.Bangladesh managed 262 runs from their stipulated overs. Brent took 2 wickets for 40 and Streak captured 2 for 45. Dion Ebrahim was unquestionably adjudged the man-of-the-match.

The Redbacks and the Black Caps sound more like families of insects than sporting teams. Fitting then that, as the home side reached a score of8/281 by stumps, there consistently remained a sting in the contest as South Australia and New Zealand opened their tour match at the AdelaideOval today.With an expertly compiled century, the quick clatter of wickets, sizeable partnerships at either end of the day, and contrasting individualperformances, this was the quintessential example of a day of fluctuating fortunes.Last week, South Australia scored 5/589 in a Pura Cup fixture against Tasmania, and two of its number – Darren Lehmann and Greg Blewett -shared a record-breaking association of 386 along the way. That was on a more capricious pitch, and the Kiwis might well have had grounds inmid-afternoon for believing that their bowlers were set to suffer a similar fate today. Especially as they had already experienced a horrible sense ofdéjà vu as an extraordinarily close lbw decision against Shane Deitz (4) was turned down from the very first ball of the match.At 1/131 in mid-afternoon, things could barely have looked any better for the home team. Both Blewett (106) and David Fitzgerald (50) wereplundering runs at will at that stage, leaving acting New Zealand captain Craig McMillan with plenty of headaches in the arrangement of both hisattack and field settings on a cloudless and increasingly warm afternoon.In the rarely-ruffled figure of Daniel Vettori (3/60), though, McMillan had just the right player to combat the situation. The left arm spinner is stillshort both of match practice and full physical fitness but could scarcely have produced a better repertoire of deliveries as he set about relaxing SouthAustralia’s early stranglehold.As Daryl Tuffey (3/71) gained no more than a narrow edge in the battle between their three pace bowlers for elevation to the eleven for the SecondTest, the form of Vettori was particularly encouraging for the tourists. From the brink of potential despair, he swung the complexion of the day’s playcompletely. He is so determined and indomitable in these kinds of situations that he is probably exactly the sort of character who would prove adeptat selling refrigerators to Eskimos too.On a surface blessed by little more than speckled tinges of grass, he extracted both bounce and turn to put something akin to a hex over thebatsmen. Fitzgerald, who had survived a missed stumping only three balls earlier, suddenly found himself induced into cutting to backward point inthe spinner’s 11th over. After a 112-run partnership, the shot kick-started a slide.No contemporary Australian player has a better first-class average than Lehmann (0) but his lead over the field wasn’t about to be extended.When he proceeded to smash Chris Martin (0/63) deliveries to fieldsmen on both sides of the wicket as a means of playing himself in, it appearedthat something typically significant in the way of entertainment was afoot.Yet Vettori promptly ended such a prospect in a trice as the South Australian captain advanced a pace at him and tried to loft a flighted deliveryferociously over the leg side – and possibly even out of the suburb too. He miscued, ballooning the ball toward Shane Bond, who stood his groundwell under the catch at mid off. Less than a week after the powerful left hander had thrashed an innings of 246 in Hobart, more than one observer was heard to mutter something along the lines of cricket being a funny game.All the while, Blewett played some sparkling strokes on the path to his third first-class century for the season.He was subdued in the period that followed Lehmann’s dismissal, was beaten twice in one over by Martin, and wasn’t always certain against theaccuracy of the redoubtable Vettori. But, before top edging a Glen Sulzberger (1/39) off break, he was otherwise in near-complete command. Over222 minutes, his was a fine innings which mixed elegant attacking strokes with periods of watchful and equally stylish defence. It has been a whilesince he last played for Australia, but he looked perfectly happy again in this kind of international company.

Richard Scragg’s spare innings at the top of the order, and combative performances by Glen Sulzberger and Bevan Griggs, kept Central Districts in the hunt for first innings points after the third day of their State Championship match against Wellington at the Basin Reserve today.Central were 260/7 at stumps, responding to Wellington’s first innings total of 326/8 declared, and with a day remaining and a possibility of rain, the prize of two points for a first innings led has loomed larger in the sights of both teams.There were times today when a first innings result seemed to have slipped beyond Central’s grasp and they flirted with the possibility of declaring in deficit to leave Wellington to concoct the prospect of an outright result tomorrow.But after Scragg had provided an anchor to the innings and Sulzberger had followed him to a half century, particularly when Griggs disturbed the equilibrium of the match with a quick 49, Central’s expectations changed.They still believed at stumps, despite the exposure of their tail, that they might be able to eke out the 67 runs tomorrow which will give them a first innings lead and two points, though no other result might then be achievable.Wellington’s desperation for points is much greater than Central’s and they would have hoped the match would have been far more advanced by stumps. The New Zealand first-class champions have only one point near the end of this third round of Championship matches and they need at least first innings points here to begin closing the gap on the leaders.They would have hoped for a Central declaration behind and there were times today when it seemed it might come, particularly when Sulzberger was out and Central were 203/6. Central considered a declaration at that point but Griggs was then in full flight and as he hurried to 49 from only 88 balls with eight fours the incentive to freely award Wellington first innings points declined.Central also rationalised that it might rain tomorrow – the forecast is not promising – and that they would have shown unnecessary generosity in giving up the first innings points without a greater fight.Central’s progress through this third day, which began 18 minutes late because of a damp outfield, was slow at times. Scragg’s was a innings of almost glacial slowness but he still played an important hand as he reached his first first-class half century in three minutes less than four hours.Scragg, formerly of Auckland and whose previous highest first-class score was 24, batted for 253 minutes and received 196 balls from which he carved only four boundaries but he was at the crease till Central had reached 152/4.He shared a 66-run first wicket stand with David Kelly, who made 34 in 116 minutes, and which lasted from before stumps last night to within sight of lunch this afternoon.Kelly’s dismissal brought to the wicket Black Caps batsman Mathew Sinclair who stood in glaring need of a long innings to repair his form and confidence after an unproductive tour of Australia and before the announcement tomorrow of the New Zealand Test team to meet Bangladesh.Sinclair survived 33 minutes and accumulated 16 runs with a single boundary before he rashly, or rather dreamily, cut short his own innings when he backed up too far and was run out at the non-striker’s end. He had advanced too far down the wicket in support of Scragg and seemed cast when Matthew Bell fetched the ball at mid on, turned and threw down his wicket.Ben Smith came and went, contributing only nine runs in a 15-run stand with Scragg, before he was caught by Chris Nevin from the bowling of James Franklin for nine. Franklin bowled unproductively for the remainder of the day and is lacking the rhythm he showed at times last season.Scragg was out when Central were 153/2, bowled by Jeetan Patel who had previously dismissed Kelly and who ended the day with 3-80 from 31 overs. Patel bowled with beguiling flight and only a little turn, particularly into the wind, and he drifted one through Scragg’s previously impenetrable defence, knocking off his leg bail.Jamie How was out for 0, then Sulzberger and Griggs added 51 for the sixth wicket before Sulzberger’s dismissal for 56 – the innings’ highest score. He had batted 164 minutes and hit seven fours.Griggs carried on positively, striking two sixes from Patel’s bowling over the long leg side boundaries. His was an innings which progressively tipped the match Central’s way or at least took some of the initiative from Wellington.Andrew Schwass further defrayed the deficit when he took 24 from 44 balls before stumps. He had added 15 with Brent Hefford, who was two not out at the close.Wellington’s medium pace attack functioned poorly for much of the day. Its leader, Andrew Penn, was twice removed from the attack after being warned for running on the pitch while bowling with the wind at his back. He bowled with some economy, conceding only 29 runs from 17 overs, but did not always compel the batsman to play a shot.

Double-centuries from Shiv Sunder Das and captain Sanjay Raul helped Orissa pile on a massive 575 for four at the end of the second day of their all-important East Zone Ranji match against Bengal at Baripada on Sunday.Earlier, Orissa after winning the toss, lost opener BBCC Mohanty for no score. No. 3 Rashmi Ranjan Parida made 28 before he too was out. It was at this juncture, with the team score on 58-2, that Das and Raul began their grand stand. Das, who made 253 before he was run out, also had the pleasure of registering the highest Ranji score of the current season. Raul too must have been pleased at the end of a day which saw him register 210 runs against his name. The two men put on a massive 456 runs together before Raul was out. PM Mullick on 22* and P Jayachandra 30* were holding fort when stumps were drawn.

Stuart Carlisle, enjoying a three-week break at home before the national side takes off for India, is not downhearted at the struggles Zimbabwe cricket is going through, but he is concerned. He talks to CricInfo about the recent tour to Sri Lanka.This was my first visit to Sri Lanka. I had always heard it was going to be hard, and I believe it’s one of the hardest countries to tour. We hadn’t won a game there until we beat the West Indies. It’s very difficult mainly because of the pitches, which suit Muralitharan.At the end of the series it was very simple – Muttiah Muralitharan took 30 wickets and he had us in all sorts of trouble. Only one or two of us seemed to play him reasonably well, but at the end of the day, if you took him out of the team, there’s no doubt that it would be a different series altogether.The heat was very similar to here (in Zimbabwe), so it wasn’t a problem at all for us. We did have patches of rain, including one huge storm on the second evening of the First Test. The whole field was flooded to a depth of about a foot, but we started on time the following morning. It was quite incredible.Otherwise the grounds were relatively good; there are some scenic grounds as well, such as in Kandy. It was a good experience for me and a lot of the guys who hadn’t toured there before. It was quite tough on myself, and also Brian Murphy, to captain the team on our first visits there, because we didn’t really know what was going on.Brian took on the captaincy when we went to Sharjah. There was a bit of a mix-up in the story after that because I had been asked first, and I asked the selectors to give me some time to think it over, and I would let them know at the end of the Sharjah trip; in the meantime I told them I would be vice-captain and support Brian Murphy. But after two or three days in Sharjah they decided they would not appoint a vice-captain after all, and the story given was that I had refused the captaincy from the first day. I had not refused the captaincy; I felt it was right to have some time to consider the matter because it’s a serious position. It’s obviously a great honour to be captain but there were a lot of things I needed to consult people on.The main thing was my personal performance. I’ve been on the up, if you look at the stats, in one-dayers and Tests. I’ve also got my own personal goals, and I’ve been getting my recent averages into the thirties. Nobody has yet contacted me at all about what the position regarding the captaincy in India will be; after being back here for ten days, I still don’t know what is going on. I’ll have to speak to Dave Ellman-Brown and find out.Some of the players still have very clear memories of our last tour to Sri Lanka, where we should have won the Second Test but for the umpiring. It was quite funny when we met Bruce Yardley, the off-spinner, who was commentating throughout that series, but doesn’t have much to do with Sri Lanka. He was coaching during that Test match where the team was robbed, in a sense, by very poor umpiring. Bruce Yardley mentioned on this last tour that he had had no doubt that there was something going on and we certainly should have won that Test match.On this tour, again one of the reasons why it was so hard was that we had a Sri Lankan umpire throughout the three Tests, while we had a Pakistani umpire for the First Test, an Indian umpire in the Second Test and then David Shepherd for the Third Test. In the First Test, which was obviously the most vital of the series, we counted six very unlucky opportunities, near chances that could have gone our way but didn’t, and with television coverage there were probably about 15 throughout the series where we had very near chances, decisions that could have gone our way and didn’t.The first Test match is obviously very important, and with those five or six opportunities we could have had, it would certainly have changed things. We won the toss and fielded first. We had been told, by the locals as well, that from ten o’clock until about eleven the ball would swing and seam around a bit, and also that there would be a bit of bounce. We did get some seamage and we had our opportunities. We decided to go in with four seamers because we didn’t have a spinner.The whole team was behind fielding first, and we thought that if we could take a few wickets early on and get them 50 or 60 for three we could put some pressure on them. We hadn’t been getting good starts with our batting and that was one of our weaknesses, so we decided to begin the First Test like that.We could have had Jayasuriya out early, and he made 92 eventually, and with two or three early decisions they could have been 40 or 50 for three. We had to field a long time, and they had guys like Jayawardene and Sangakkara who batted really well. We understand that umpires make mistakes, but sadly it doesn’t seem to be going that well for us at the moment. We just need a change of luck.We didn’t have a specialist spinner throughout that series, and I can’t go too deeply into that. It was an absolute travesty. We were unlucky in that sense as well because the Board were pushing for Brian Murphy to go on tour. I’m not sure if Brian felt he was 100% ready, and then he got injured a second time.Paul Strang came out to Bangladesh but he didn’t bowl well at all and we could see he was struggling again. The coach and I asked for Paul to return home and play for Zimbabwe A in Kenya, so he could get some more bowling behind him and come to Sri Lanka, but when he arrived back he was told he wasn’t going to play in Kenya. The other option was Raymond Price; we asked for him but they didn’t send him. They wanted Brian to come, but I don’t think he was fit enough or bowling well enough – and Brian I’m sure would tell you that.There’s no doubt it made a huge difference, because if you don’t have a genuine spinner in Sri Lanka you are asking for trouble. We had part-time spinners trying to take wickets and it just didn’t work. It puts a lot of pressure on guys like Doug Marillier who is a part-time off-spinner, and he really got hit around. We should have had at least two specialist spinners and we didn’t even have one.If you have two spinners, at least you have the option. Throughout the tour we had a badly balanced team; we always had one extra seamer or one extra batsman we had to play, because we didn’t have spinners. Looking forward to the coming tour of India, we have to have two spinners. If we don’t, it’s going to be very hard for us to try to win games. At least, if we do have spinners there and still don’t win games, we can then say we’ve tried our best or it’s our own fault or we have to work on something.In the triangular tournament we won’t forget our `freak day’ when we were all out for 38, and I call it a freak day because it was just incredible how we all lost our wickets. That was obviously a record that goes against us and it’s not a nice day to remember at all. Chaminda Vaas in all seriousness swung the ball about a foot; he got it to go the other way and really had the guys in trouble. He bowled brilliantly; I would never take any credit away from him. I for instance had 16 and we were four down already, so I thought maybe I could hit him to reverse the pressure. But it didn’t work for me, so I got out, and everything we tried to do went wrong.And some of the inexperienced guys up the front there had no idea how to face the in-swinging ball at all. We did take a relatively inexperienced side over, and I’m sure some of the young guys have really learned a lot on these long tours. We’re broadening our squad, but there’s no doubt we should have had one or two more experienced players to balance the side. We’re all for taking youngsters, but when you take six or seven at one go, especially to Sri Lanka, it’s hell of a tough for them all.In saying all that, to come back the next day and beat the West Indies showed fantastic character. I told the guys it was great that they should bounce back and win a game. We then lost the next two games, but Sri Lanka are playing fantastic cricket at the moment, especially in their own country – we didn’t do too poorly, we competed, but we just didn’t make big enough scores. It was up and down, and we needed a greater consistency level.Jayawardene is rated very highly in Sri Lanka and he looks like being a great prospect. Sangakkara is also relatively new as a keeper-batsman, and to have one of his quality is really good. I say this, and I said it to the reporters in Sri Lanka, that the pitches are relatively good batting pitches once you get in – provided you don’t have to face Muralitharan! We didn’t have a lot of problems in the Test matches with their seamers or any of their other bowlers. The only other bowler that gave us a few problems was on that big turning wicket in the last Test, where Jayasuriya got a few wickets and he managed to get the ball skidding and gripping.None of the other bowlers really hassled us a lot on those pitches, so to me that says we could have got 450 or 500 if Muralitharan wasn’t in their team. He’s a really big asset to them. They can say they made big scores with their batting, but they didn’t have to face a guy like Muralitharan! He can bowl you six different balls in one over; he’s quite incredible.I think Trevor Gripper played him very well, and I don’t know how to say this, but I thought I also played him relatively well. I felt comfortable against him, and `Grips’ and I tried to be really patient with him. In the Third Test especially it worked. Grant Flower played him very well in the Second Test, and Gavin Rennie also played him well there. Gavin Rennie swept a lot as a left-hander, which was good, while Grant played a patient innings. Murali beats the bat every so often and you have to expect that.He put it very simply himself; he said, "I just put it in the area and the batsmen get themselves out." It’s quite true, because as soon as we started playing sweep shots we got ourselves in trouble. Scoring off him is very hard.Heath Streak didn’t take many wickets, but I think he is actually on the way up. He took seven wickets and bowled at a very good economy rate, and it’s very difficult for a seam bowler there because of the pitches.Andy Flower is a different kettle of fish. It’s the first tour where he really failed. He tried a couple of things but it didn’t go his way. He is in bad form at the moment, but he’s a class player. If I’m still the captain I’m not fussed at all by the fact that Andrew is out of form at the moment, because I know he will come back and he has a very strong mind and a great temperament. He took the brunt of Muralitharan, who is the number one bowler in the world. Muralitharan got the better of him, and that’s one of those things.The relationships between the teams was pretty good to start with, but as the series went on it got a big lively. Finally Cammie Smith, the match referee, had to step in once or twice. It came from both sides, not really aggressive sledging but more friendly and humorous. But it started getting a bit too noisy from both sides and we were quietened down after a while.I can’t say any of our players had a really good tour, but if anyone I’d say Trevor Gripper. I was quite happy with the way Trevor played as an opening batsman. I think he showed a lot of maturity and confidence out in the middle. He got several twenties and thirties, and then that big 80, and he learned quite a lot in Sri Lanka.For Hamilton Masakadza and Tatenda Taibu, it was definitely a big learning curve. I think cricket has got the better of them at the moment, but I think it’s a good thing for the future. Sadly they get back here and are called teenage sensations, but there’s no doubt they have lots of talent. At the end of the day there are thousands of other youngsters like them trying to make it in world cricket, and I hope they both realize – especially `Taibs’, who had a rough time in the one-dayers – it’s very tough at international level and it happens to all of us. Cricket will eventually bring you down, and if they work hard they will be better for it.The opening partnership in both the Tests and the one-dayers has been a bit of a problem. Obviously the Alistair Campbell affair is over and it’s good to see him making runs again – he probably is our opener in one-day cricket. But for the last Test Geoff Marsh came to me and wanted me to open the batting. He felt I was batting well and had the confidence, and also one of the better techniques. So he thought I should go in with Trevor Gripper and try to put up a good stand, and it worked out well for us.I may be opening in India, and I’m quite happy to do it, if that’s the case. I still prefer number three, but if it’s better for the team or it means a better balance for me to go up front, then so be it.I think Geoff Marsh has been very good as coach. He is obviously a great guy to have on board and he has a fantastic CV on him, with his years of experience. He’s very professional and I think many of the guys have lost several kilograms of weight, training very hard on the physical side. We’re definitely a much sharper side than we were a couple of months ago. But he needs to be given the respect his opinions deserve when it comes to selection.I think the management team is now very good. We have Kevin Curran as assistant coach – I think he has fantastic energy, maybe too much energy at times. He’s been really good for the bowlers. We have Malcolm Jarvis, who has been very good with the statistical side, and the physical as well. And Babu Meman has been a good manager. We just need to sort out the captaincy issues and get the right balance for the tours coming up. We don’t have too long before the World Cup now.We now have three weeks until India and we haven’t been told when we’re choosing the squad. I hope they select the best balanced side for India, because it’s important for Zimbabwe cricket. I know there are several problems happening off the field, but we need to iron that out and start concentrating on our cricket.

Give away a bonus point, offer a team a berth in a finals series, and evidently media criticism, a small crowd, and an eight wicket hiding is all that New Zealand receives by way of thanks. Or at least that’s the way it seems after South Africa’s batsmen, bowlers and fielders all savaged the Black Caps to open up a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three VB Series deciders in Melbourne tonight.It had lost three of its four previous matches against South Africa in the series and won only one of its last 16 games against the Proteas overall.And, today, New Zealand never really looked in the game either.Lopsided as the contest may have been, though, there was plenty to appreciate in the performances of a number of the South Africans. The bowlingof Makhaya Ntini (5/31) was outstanding; Shaun Pollock (1/30) and Lance Klusener (2/27) were also consistently threatening; and then BoetaDippenaar (79*) and Jacques Kallis (59*) led not so much a chase of a victory target of 191 as a saunter.The New Zealanders (the targets of criticism on both sides of the Tasman over recent days for their decision to give away a bonus point to SouthAfrica in their previous match) had the opportunity to tilt the scales their way when captain Stephen Fleming enjoyed a victory at the toss.But, while that outcome killed any prospect that they would be forced to chase another big South African total, it only hastened the emergence offurther problems at the top of the New Zealand batting order.Even before falling to early catches behind the wicket in the midst of Ntini’s sizzling opening spell, openers Nathan Astle (9) and Lou Vincent (7)played with uncertainty. Only 15 runs were added in a first wicket partnership that extended a dismal run for the New Zealanders at the top of theorder across the series as a whole.Craig McMillan (73) and Fleming (50) rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 109 runs for the third wicket. But their stand was blessed more bypatience than by power and there was never a real flow about New Zealand’s exhibition.As the strain of needing to accelerate the run scoring rate eventually impacted upon them, the Black Caps lost their way. Fleming, Andre Adams(13), Dion Nash (9) and Chris Cairns (0) all hit catches into the leg side while ambitiously attacking; McMillan and Shane Bond (1) badly misjudgedsingles to be run out; and Chris Harris (9) and Adam Parore (2) feathered from outside edges to the ‘keeper.Ntini rattled batsmen into error at both ends of the innings; Klusener collected two wickets in an over; and Pollock’s trademark awareness ofnear-perfect line and length meant he was always at the batsmen.Nevertheless, there was no great venom in the pitch and a number of the New Zealanders’ wounds were self-inflicted.They would have learnt a lesson about measured batting if they had closely watched Gary Kirsten (25) and Herschelle Gibbs (24) assemble theirthird half-century stand of the series in reply. Or Dippenaar and Kallis in their unbroken, risk-averse union of 139 runs.Once the two openers had weathered the new ball threat posed by Bond (0/21) and seen Nash (0/6) succumb to an abdominal muscle strain after only oneover, the result was never in doubt.Kirsten fell to a run out verdict that was unlucky on two counts – given that it was caused by a deflection back on to the stumps from bowlerMcMillan and that several replays were needed before it could be assumed that the veteran left hander’s bat had merely reached rather thantraversed the line of his crease as a bail was lifted.But Dippenaar then looked contrastingly lucky to survive a caught behind decision as he drove inside the line of a Cairns (1/27) leg cutter with hisscore at just 6. With the New Zealanders needing even so much as half-chances to translate themselves into wickets, it was a decision thateliminated even the last signs of activity from a flickering pulse.Dippenaar, who has been due good fortune all tour, was later dropped in the gully when he aimed a powerful cut toward Fleming with his total at40. He capitalised on the two reprieves with magnificent driving to both sides of the wicket and disdainful punishment of short deliveries with someglorious horizontal-bat strokes.Kallis, ever-composed, assisted in the cause in no small measure at the other end.A crowd of only 20671 arrived all the while, producing the spectacle of vast banks of empty seats on a fine and sunny day and at least challengingthe contention that sports-loving Melburnians will turn up in their droves to watch any international game.With no bonus points on offer to help spark a contest, what the patrons saw was a remorseless performance.

Paultons boosted their chances of avoiding relegation from Division One of the New Forest Indoor Cricket League with a 9 run victory over bottom of the table Swan Green.Sorry Swan fell to their eighth consecutive defeat, although they pushed Paultons hard in this match and might well have won had John Murray received better support from his fellow batsman.Chasing Paultons’ 102 for 5, Murray was left unbeaten on 33 as Mark Weaver’s two wickets helped restrict Swan to just 93 for 5. The result means that Paultons now require just one point from their final match to finish outside the bottom two.The other Division One match saw Cadnam beat Esso by two wickets. John Doe was Esso’s most successful batsman, scoring 28 in a total of 111 for 4, but this wasn’t enough as Mike Caffyn (30no) and Neil Kerley (25no) guided Cadnam home with six balls to spare.In Division Two, champions Cadnam Seconds dented Esso Seconds’ promotion hopes with a 19 run victory. Alan Dunning (35no) and Neil Garvey (22) batted well for Cadnam and enabled their side to reach 141 for 4. Although Tony Shelley (28no) and Alan Kellett (32no) battled gamely, Esso fell well short as Cadnam completed their fixtures with an unblemished record.Brockenhurst threw themselves a lifeline at the bottom with an 11 run win against Ringwood. Simon Naylor (30no) and Mickey Williams (29no) were the heroes for Brock who scored 135 for 4. Graham Bowater (29), Terry Cooper (26) and Alan Gregory (23) gave Brockenhurst a few anxious moments before the Ringwood reply was finally held at 124 for 5.The win lifts Brock out of the bottom two and they now face fellow strugglers Lymington in their final match this Sunday.Bashley Seconds and Pylewell Park Seconds also face a showdown this Sunday to decide the destination of the Division Three title. Bash, currently just 5 points behind, enhanced their title hopes with a four wicket victory against Esso Fourths.Tight bowling has been a feature of Bashley’s game all season and once again the opposition were kept well under tabs as only young Callum Earl (29no) threatened in an Esso total of just 88 for 3.Chris Plummer then timed the Bash reply to perfection, scoring an unbeaten 25 as his team reached their target with five balls to spare.New Milton Seconds’ hopes of promotion were blown away by Burley Seconds. Milton’s 100 for 4 (Jamie Snellgrove 24) wasn’t enough as Les Browning (26no) and Robert Trotter (27no) took just eight overs to ensure a four wicket victory for the men from the Forest.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was left lamenting the fact his batsmen had not been able to score another 40-50 in their runs to shut New Zealand out of the second National Bank Test in Hamilton yesterday.New Zealand got home by four wickets today in their quest for 160.The result had been very disappointing, he said.But those extra runs would have made them competitive.He had been disappointed that more batsmen could not stay with Rahul Dravid to get those extra runs but he didn’t blame his lower-order players as he doubted they had the techniques to get by in the conditions.Ganguly said he didn’t want to make any excuses but there had been two 50s from the Indian batsmen and one from the New Zealanders in four innings for each side in the series.”That would show that it was not an easy time for the batsmen,” he said.Indian coach John Wright said in his experience, when playing in New Zealand, the Basin Reserve wicket had been something like those in the series, but today’s pitch had been a good one for Test cricket.”What was interesting from my point of view was that both the wickets were watered three or four days before both Test matches. The one in Wellington had been watered the day we turned up for training two days before the Test match, covered with scrim the day before the Test match and this one was watered before we arrived because the groundsman had said he was worried it would dry out too quickly and obviously the weather before the Test match probably delayed the pitch recipe or preparation.”Today was about right for a good Test wicket,” he said.The formula appeared to be one that was working for New Zealand from the way they picked their side and it was successful and he congratulated them on their success because India hadn’t been good enough to win on either occasion.While more runs were needed in the second innings, he had been very pleased with the way the side competed in the match, especially in the field. To get New Zealand out for a score less than their own in the first innings had been a good effort.Batting conditions today had probably been the best in the match but his players had stuck at it very well.”We had no complaints. We could make some observations but we are certainly not complaining,” he said.Ganguly explained the reason Virender Sehwag was dropped down the order in the second innings with Parthiv Patel opening.Patel had shown good technique in the first innings and it was thought if Sehwag could come in later he might be able to score 50 or more runs that could be useful. But, unfortunately, for India he got out before he could give them what might have been a winning advantage.Wright looked ahead to the one-day series and hoped that good wickets would be available for the series.”I think it is very important for both sides heading into the World Cup that they go in there with batsmen in form. From what I understand the wickets in South Africa are going to be very flat and so the preparation and for the sake of a good series I hope the wickets are really batsmen friendly, which will suit us.”But if you are going to win a World Cup you’ve got to put big scores on the board so from that point of view I imagine the New Zealanders perhaps will be thinking along the same sorts of lines,” he said.India were looking forward to the one-day series and he remained hopeful that the New Zealand public would yet see his batsmen in full cry.

The South Australian Cricket Association has announced that Woodville batsman Daniel Harris, has been flown to Brisbane to take part in the Pura Cup clash against the Queensland Bulls, starting today (January 19).Harris replaces Jeff Vaughan, who injured his left foot in Brisbane yesterday. Vaughan was hit on the foot while batting in the nets, and sustained severe bruising.Fast-bowler Paul Rofe, who dislocated and cut his finger during the ING Cup game on Friday, has been declared fit for the Pura Cup clash.The Redbacks team to face the Bulls is:

Greg Blewett (c)
Mark Cleary
Mark Cosgrove
John Davison
Shane Deitz
David Fitzgerald
Daniel Harris
Mark Harrity
Ben Higgins
Ben Johnson
Paul Rofe
Shaun Tait