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All-round efforts from R Vinay Kumar and J Suchith ensured that Karnataka overcame a middling batting effort to register a 38-run win over Haryana in Bangalore. The defending champions lost Mayank Agarwal in the first over after being put in to bat but looked to recover through partnerships between KL Rahul, debutant Sadiq Kirmani and Manish Pandey. They collapsed from 99 for 2 to 104 for 6 in the space of three overs, with Yuzvendra Chahal accounting for Rahul and Karun Nair off consecutive deliveries in the 28th over. Two partnerships of 58 and 54, between Stuart Binny and Suchith and later Vinay Kumar and and Suchith lifted the score past 200. Suchith scored 46 off 63 deliveries while Vinay Kumar struck a 30-ball 41. Harshal Patel was Haryana’s most expensive bowler but also picked up four wickets for 62 runs.By the fourth over, Haryana’s chase had been reduced to 10 for 3. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dagar tried to stabilize the innings with an 86-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but Karnataka kept chipping at the wickets. Dagar finished unbeaten on 96 and watched from the other end as Haryana were bowled out for 204 in the 47th over.VA Jagadeesh’s fourth List A century helped set up Kerala‘s 60-run win over Railways in Alur. The opening batsman struck 121 off 137 balls to lead Kerala to 256, although the side suffered due to a cluster of late wickets. Anureet Singh had the best returns for Railways, claiming 4 for 40 off his 10 overs. The Kerala bowlers then combined to bowl out Railways for 196. Saurabh Wakaskar and Arindam Ghosh scored 77 and 53 respectively but the rest of the batsmen could not match their efforts as the side was bowled out in the 44th over.

Had he been a cricket writer, Oscar Wilde’s novel might have been renamed . He may not possess Wilde’s poetic ability but even the great playwright could not deny Adam Gilchrist’s ability on the cricketing stage.Glenn McGrath has shown in this match why he is a living legend but, leaving the immortal Sir Donald Bradman on his rightful pedestal, it is hard to imagine there ever being a more important cricketer than Adam Gilchrist. To put his achievements into Trans-Tasman perspective, if he was a New Zealander, his 14 Test centuries would be second to Martin Crowe’s 17.From 201 for 6, Gilchrist, batting at No.8 after Jason Gillespie was used as a night watchman, guided his team through to 413 and away from danger with a blistering 121 from 126 balls. Before Gilchrist’s arrival Simon Katich had given Australia some momentum with a gritty display of attack and defence; after it he proved the perfect foil.If he was a rugby player Katich would be dubbed a utility. Since his Test debut at Leeds in 2001 he’s been both in and out of the side and up and down the batting order. In Sri Lanka he lost his place to Andrew Symonds for two Tests, and in India he was given Ricky Ponting’s No. 3 spot before being dumped again for Darren Lehmann.Katich’s effort today was symbolic of why Australia continues to be so successful. Players given a start take their chances and standards never drop. Gilchrist saw little strike for a period after the second new ball was taken and Katich responded with a flurry of boundaries to move rapidly from 68 to his second Test century. The 86 he scored from 20 fours and one six reflected Katich’s expertise at punishing anything wayward and exceeded Gilchrist’s 84.Had he fallen cheaply his side would have been in deep trouble but Gilchrist amazed again. Two early sixes in one Daniel Vettori over made it clear to all that Gilchrist’s natural game would prevail over the match situation. The pickets were peppered further when Stephen Fleming reintroduced the pace trio of Chris Martin, James Franklin and Iain O’Brien and it was left to Vettori and Nathan Astle to perform a rescue act.Vettori recovered to outfox Gilchrist and wrap up the tail. His arm ball, especially, was spot on, leading to numerous leg-before shouts and the dismissal of Gillespie. Vettori’s analysis of 40.2-13-106-5 continued his outstanding form against Australia: six of his 12 five-wicket bags have been in trans-Tasman Tests.The challenge for New Zealand is to bat Australia out of the game, something they’ve had little success with since John Bracewell became coach. Excluding a stroll-in-the-park victory in Bangladesh in October, when they batted third, New Zealand have avoided losing only once from seven attempts – way back in December 2003 against Pakistan.The 212-run partnership between Katich and Gilchrist was four short of Australia’s record for the seventh wicket against New Zealand, which was made at the same ground in February 1977 by Doug Walters and Gary Gilmour. Perhaps it was appropriate that the record was not broken for the final 80 runs of the Walters-Gilmour stand were made after the pair celebrated Walters’ century the day before by drinking well into the night. Although New Zealand could do with a similar effort in these professional times, it’s unlikely they’ll adopt the same preparation.

Danish Kaneria, Pakistan’s 22-year-old legspinner, has signed for Essex, ending several weeks of negotiations. The deal was sealed when Essex received the sanction of the Pakistan Cricket Board."The PCB have now given us permission to sign him," said David East, Essex’s chief executive. "As with all overseas players, they have first call on the player should any international cricket be arranged during the English season.”And Graham Gooch, Essex’s coach, said that signing a top-class spinner was crucial. “We felt we needed a wrist spinner because here at Chelmsford it is difficult to bowl teams out twice," he explained. “We did have opportunites in the early part of last season but we couldn’t drive them home, so we thought Danish would be a welcome addition to the squad.”

Chittagong 61 for 2 trail Dhaka 143 (Alamgir 5-44) by 82 runs
ScorecardDespite losing two early wickets, Chittagong had the better of the day and restricted Dhaka to only 143 on the second day of their Mirzapore Tea National Cricket League match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Chittagong ended the day on 61 for 2, with Mohammad Rafique snapping up both the wickets.Dhaka began the day on a precarious note (75 for 4 overnight) and things just got worse as they put in an insipid batting display. Only Halim Shah offered some resistance with a gritty 208-ball 39.Gazi Alamgir, the young medium-pacer, wrapped up the Dhaka innings by picking upthe last two wickets with successive deliveries to finish with fine figures of 5 for 44. Yasin Arafat, the offspinner, conceded 35 runs in 19 overs for his three scalps – including Khalid Mahmud, the captain.Chittagong lost the wickets of Anisul Hakim and Masumud Dowla before the close of play. Anisul was caught in the slips and Masumud offered a catch to Rashedul Haq at gully. Masumud made 29 off 48 balls that contained five fours.Sylhet 102 and 15 for 2 trail Rajshahi 200 for 9 dec (Hasanuzzaman 77, Samad 5-41) by 102 by 83 runs
ScorecardAt Rangpur Cricket Garden, a 100-run sixth wicket partnership betweenHasanuzzaman and Shamimul Haq guided Rajshahi to a 98-run first-inningslead. Sylhet were in trouble when they batted again and lost two wickets before stumps were drawn.Sylhet’s bowling effort was lead by Nabil Samad, who bagged five wickets, but even that could not stop Rajshahi surging ahead. Hasanuzzaman cracked 11 fours on his way to 77 off 112 balls, while Shamimul Haq was unbeaten on 33.Khulna v Barisal
ScorecardThe second day’s play at the Jessore Stadium was also called off due to rain without a ball being bowled.

Under fire from the ECB for being to blame for many of the ills affecting county cricket, one of the county chairmen attacked recently by the board has hit back. In an exclusive interview in today’s Daily Telegraph, Neil Davidson, chairman of Leicestershire, accused the ECB of “talking nonsense”.Davidson, who runs Arla Foods, the country’s biggest milk supplier, defended the position of his fellow chairmen. “The majority of us are not old farts, but are either entrepreneurs or running businesses, and the average age of the chairmen is 50. So when John Read [the then ECB press spokesman] says county cricket is holding back English cricket he is talking nonsense. The counties are English cricket. Without us there would be no Test team and no cricket in this country.”What really upset Davidson was the recent proposal put forward by the ECB, and rejected by the chairmen, for domestic reform. “These were crackpot proposals,” he told the paper. “Lamb did not say much at the meeting but John Carr [cricket director] said this was for the good of cricket. But they had not tested it with the consumers.”Davidson admitted that four-day cricket will never draw the crowds in significant numbers, but said that it was vital for the future of the game. “[It’s] not a bum-on-seat event. However it is necessary to produce players for the Test team and that is are our prize asset and our cash cow. But Twenty20 and the other one-day matches are bums-on-seats events and we need to make them happenings, like baseball in America.”I would like the ECB to provide floodlights for all counties, to see Twenty20 made into a national league and played on a Friday evening so people can bring their kids and those who would otherwise go to the pub and drink, could drink at cricket. The National League should be 40 overs starting at 5pm.”And, like many of his colleagues, he was not happy with the way the Zimbabwe issue was handled. “The ECB were unfortunate to be caught in a political situation, but how did England find itself isolated on the world stage? The chairmen kept being told by the ECB we are going, when we really don’t want to go. That is no way to handle such an issue.”

Pinnacles and troughs featured heavily on the West Indian cricket landscape in 2004. Two home series against England and then Bangladesh produced spectacular steeples and mortifying challenges. England’s long tour, from March to May, started with crushing win in the first Test at Sabina Park where Steve Harmison announced his arrival with 7 for 12 as West Indies crashed to a demoralising 47.The second Test at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad ended with team manager, Ricky Skerritt, quitting in despair and calls for captain Brian Lara’s resignation. The third Test at Barbados saw England replanting its flag amidst a Matthew Hoggard hat-trick. Only two runs separated the teams in the first innings but West Indies were bowled out for 94 in the second and England reached the target with the loss of two wickets. Antigua provided magic turf for the retrieval of the world record from the beleaguered Lara as he constructed an incredible innings of 400 not out to repeat his feat of ten years before at the same ground. It went a long way to restoring some face to West Indians apprehending a whitewash on home turf.The seven one-dayers to follow were reduced to four after unseasonal rains washed out game after game, leaving the West Indies Cricket Board more than US$1million short of gate receipts and the scores tied at 2-2.By the time Bangladesh arrived in June, there were complaints of weariness, which may have contributed to the lacklustre performance at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia that saw Bangladesh pile up a first innings total of 416to the West Indian 352 and left the match drawn, despite Chris Gayle’s 141 and 66 not out. Lara was criticised for doggedly persisting with spinners on the fast track, although it was felt he was protesting the selectors’ choice of a spin-oriented attack. The Windies won the second Test at Sabina Park, after scoring 559 for 4 declared, and Pedro Collins taking six for 53.But a depressing whitewash followed during the long and arduous tour to England. The batting continued to cave in and Engalnd needed only a run in their last innings to notch up their seventh straight Test win.That humiliation complete, the West Indies moved on to the NatWest series with England and New Zealand, after twice beating England with Ramnaresh Sarwan scoring 89 and Gayle 132 not out to take them to meet the winners, New Zealand in the finals, which they lost.

All the while, the cacophony of West Indian voices quarrelling and venting solutions to the zigzags of the team filled the air. It took the ICC Champions Trophy to distil some harmony. A team more carefully blended withexperience and youthful potential came together to work its way steadfastly into a final showdown with England. During a thrilling encounter with Pakistan Lara was floored by a Shoaib Akhtar neck jab that left him frighteningly stillon the ground for long moments, Wavell Hinds took two wickets in four balls and Sarwan carried the team home with a beautifully played unbeaten half century.The September 25th final was intense and unpredictable, teetering this way and that until it all seemed decided with West Indies at 147 for 8 chasing 218. Under gloomy skies like hangovers from the hurricanes that had devastatedGrenada and other parts of the Caribbean, the last, improbable stance was taken by the ninth-wicket partnership of Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw who put on 71 runs to lift the trophy to an astonished world.As the year looked to end on a high note, another snag hit the fan. This time it was off the field as preparations for the 2005 VB series in Australia began. The West Indies Cricket Board changed its major sponsors from its long time partner, telecoms giant, Cable & Wireless, to its newestCaribbean rival, Digicel. New contracts provided the ammunition for a battle between the WICB and the players’ association, WIPA, as the two sides squared off over contentious clauses relating to endorsement agreements andindividual deals with the former sponsor C&W. The matter was eventually put into the hands of an arbitrator, who has somewhat smoothed the situation but not enough to make it clear if the tour to Australia is on or not.In April it was heavy rains and brilliant sunshine, and September was certainly one to remember, but 2004 will go down in memory like the hurricane season, full of extremes.Top performers:Chris Gayle dominated matches with powerful strokes and exciting batting, while his bowling was tidy and effective, making him a thrilling and consistent performer.Ramnaresh Sarwan has tempered some of his recklessness and is playing with more consistency and class, carrying responsibility with more aplomb and ease.

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ScorecardUnder cloudless blue skies, but with a breeze to temper the heat, Mashonaland and Midlands fought closely throughout the day at Kwekwe Sports Club. Good bowling from Ed Rainsford, who took 4 for 36, was matched by a determined 73 from Tatenda Taibu, Mashonaland’s captain, whose side looked in the stronger position at the close after capturing four Midlands wickets for 82 in response to their first-innings total of 277.Alester Maregwede, Midlands’ captain, put Mashonaland, the defending Logan Cup champions, in to bat after winning the toss, hoping that recent rain would leave the pitch damp underneath and help his seamers during the first hour. The ball did move, but there was no early breakthrough while Brendan Taylor held together the top order with a canny half-century. Barney Rogers, a returned rebel, looked in good form with 30 before running himself out, while the allrounder Cham Chibhabha scored 48 before hitting his own wicket.Douglas Hondo bowled well to take two of the four wickets to fall before the close. He trapped Maregwede leg-before with the final ball of the day, and this tilted the balance of an otherwise even match towards Mashonaland.

The Pub Charity Youth Cricket Draw – November 15Please Note: Colts & U14A are 2-day matchesU18 (1-day)No matchesColts (2-day)8 & 15 NovSection 12nd day of 2Section 22nd day of 2U16A (1-day)No matchesU16B (1-day)No matchesU15A (1-day)No matchesU15B (1-day)No matchesU14A (2-day)8 & 15 Nov2nd day of 2U14B (1-day)No matchesU14C (1-day)No matches

After weeks of no news – a legacy , so it was claimed, of gagging orders imposed by the courts – the USA Cricket Association and Council of League Presidents have finally made an announcement about the future running of the game in the USA. Few will be surprised to learn that the outcome is yet another fudge.In short, the legal proceedings have been referred to October 28, by mutual agreement, during which time an amended USACA board can operate. That consists of the ten members who won the contested elections earlier this year, plus the four individuals controversially disqualified for supposedly failing to adhere to the letter of the law regarding candidature.However, the quorum remains at six members, which effectively ensures that the controlling group led by Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, can maintain the same hold over the running of the board that they have since those elections.What is also clear is that the CLP is to all intents and purposes shut out. Not only does it not have ant real representation on the board, it is also prevented from making any comments or putting up any postings on its own website. Given that the USACA has operated in virtual secrecy for some time, that means that the rank and file inside the US cricket fraternity will be even less informed about what is going on – as hard as that seems, given that they have been told almost nothing throughout this drawn-out affair.Rumours had been doing the rounds for a few weeks that the CLP was in retreat, and this announcement appears to confirm that. After arriving in a blaze of publicity and offering hope that there might be a chance for cricket in the US to salvage something from the wreckage of the previous regime’s mismanagement, The CLP looks to have been all bluster and little substance. There has been no new dawn – in fact, the national game looks to be crawling even further into the darkness.

Marcus Trescothick hoped that the subcontinent would not be serving up anymore surprises for England’s cricketers, after an eventful second day’splay in the second Test at Faisalabad. By the close, England had inchedalong to 113 for 3 in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 462, buttheir struggles had been overshadowed by controversy – involving bothumpires and players – and moreover, by a large explosion on the boundary’sedge.”You don’t expect things like that when you’re out in the middle,” saidTrescothick, who was on 41 when a blast ripped out the advertisinghoardings at midwicket and held up play for five minutes while England’ssecurity team ascertained that a gas cylinder had exploded. “My instantreaction was that it was something quite serious, and we were a bitworried for a while.”Trescothick, who was on 41 at the time, is no stranger to suchdistractions. At Rawalpindi on England’s last tour of Pakistan in 2000-01,he and Alec Stewart were affected by tear gas that had been fired onrioting fans outside the stadium. “Hopefully this is as bad as it gets,”he said. “It was a bit of a shock to the system, but fingers crossed thatnothing else bad happens.”England were already in some difficulty when the incident occurred, withTrescothick and Ian Bell regrouping after the loss of two early wickets.”We talked for a while afterwards and just took time to switch back on,”he explained. “It’s just like you would after a drinks break or interval.As much as you can, you’ve got to get your focus back as quickly aspossible, and get back into a routine at the crease.”England’s distractions didn’t end there, however, for no sooner had theyresumed than they were talking to the umpires about some mysterious damagesuffered by the bowlers’ footmarks. TV replays showed that Shahid Afridihad used the distraction to twist his studs into the pitch.”I can’t really judge on it too much at the moment,” said Trescothick,”but we showed the umpires straight away because they were on a goodlength, and it was up to them to judge it from there on. I have a goodidea how they might have been caused, and I think most people have seen iton camera.”Trescothick was eventually dismissed on 48, caught behind by Kamran Akmalwho swooped to complete the latest of a series of debatable low catchesthat have been a feature of this Test. But Trescothick, who himselfclaimed a similar catch to end Afridi’s innings earlier in the day, had noqualms about the decision.”With low catches you instantly have an idea about whether you’ve caughtit,” he said. “With mine, I got it in my fingers, and generally speaking,if you feel you’ve caught it, that’s fair enough. It’s all a part of thegame.”A less common part of the game, however, was the controversial run-outthat ended Inzamam-ul-Haq’s magnificent innings. Steve Harmison shied atthe stumps in his followthrough, Inzamam seemed to take evasive action,and after viewing the incident from several angles, the third umpire,Nadeem Ghauri, gave him out.”It’s an instant reaction from the bowler,” said Trescothick, “but sometimesthe batsman has taken a few steps down the pitch. I spoke to Darrell [Hair] andhe said he thought he might just have lifted his foot, but it’s the firsttime I’ve seen it referred to the third umpire while we’ve been fielding.”Amid all the excitement of the day, Trescothick’s thoughts while off thefield remain with his family, after his father-in-law was hospitalisedfollowing a fall from a ladder last Saturday. “I’ve got to remain focusedon my cricket,” he said. “Things aren’t too good at home but they areimproving which is good news. I’ve been in good form, so I can’t afford todwell on what’s happened. I’m obviously concerned and get regular updates,but once I step over the rope, just got to focus as much as I can.”