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How they were out

Shane Bond took 2 for 23 including the crucial wicket of Wavell Hinds. © Getty Images

New Zealand found a cool head in Daniel Vettori and held their nerve to sneak home in a low-scoring ODI against West Indies at Queenstown to take a 2-0 lead in the series. When West Indies were put in to bat and restricted to 200 for 8 it appeared as though New Zealand would saunter to victory. But Ian Bradshaw and Fidel Edwards reduced New Zealand to 13 for 4, and wrested the initiative back for West Indies, but watched in dismay as Vettori made a calm and collected unbeaten 53 to guide New Zealand home with three wickets to spare.West Indies’ inability to close out a game once they had a grip on it – they simply lacked the firepower in both batting and bowling departments – once again came to the fore, and New Zealand’s depth in batting, with Vettori coming in at No. 8 ensured that even the loss of early wickets could be overcome. Had New Zealand been asked to score at more than four an over the situation may have been different, but in the end all it took was for one man to bat sensibly.When New Zealand began their pursuit of 201, though, the pace of Edwards and the probing accuracy of Bradshaw proved too hot to handle. Edwards hustled the batsmen from the word go, and struck in his first over, trapping Jamie How lbw for a duck. Bradshaw ensured that Edwards’s effort was not wasted, backing him up well with some controlled swing bowling. Lou Vincent played down the wrong line to a perfectly pitched delivery that straightened and hit the top of off stump.One run later Edwards put New Zealand in deeper trouble, getting rid of the dangerous Nathan Astle. Edwards fired one in short and Astle went for the pull, but was beaten for pace and could only hit the ball to Wavell Hinds at square-leg. Again Bradshaw backed up Edwards, trapping Stephen Fleming in front of the stumps. At 13 for 4, New Zealand were in serious danger of collapsing.Scott Styris and Peter Fulton were left to arrest the slide and they were helped by the fact that their target was only 201, and a few quiet overs would not overly affect their chances. Fulton, graceful and considered, became the fulcrum of the New Zealand innings, and even the fall of Styris, who played away from his body to one from Jerome Taylor that bounced a bit more and presented a catch to slip, did not deter him. At the halfway mark of the innings New Zealand’s hopes rested largely with Fulton, who was motoring towards his half-century. But he fell soon after – one run shy of 50 – edging to Denesh Ramdin off Rawl Lewis.When Brendon McCullum, shouldering additional responsibility in the absence of Chris Cairns, was run out by a sharp bit of fielding after he had made a better than run-a-ball 45, West Indies had New Zealand on the run at 141 for 7, and should have swooped in for the kill. They did what they could, mixing spin with pace, rotating things around, but no single bowler looked consistently threatening.Vettori, realising that all he needed to do was stay at the crease to ensure victory, settled in and began to score freely. He used angles to good effect, squeezing the ball through third-man and shoveling it past square-leg to pick up boundaries at regular intervals. Before they realised it, the match had slipped from West Indies’ grasp as Vettori (53 not out) shared in a 60-run unbroken partnership with James Franklin for the 8th wicket that took New Zealand to victory.But it wasn’t as though West Indies were particularly in control when they first began. Their batsmen showed excessive caution against disciplined and tidy pace bowling, and Bond, although excellent, should not have been allowed to get away with a first spell of 6-4-2-1. While not looking to score quickly West Indies’ top-order lost wickets, and at 60 for 4 from nearly 21 overs, were in need of something special to boost their score to respectability.Runako Morton diligently ground out 93 balls at the crease for 39, but it was Wavell Hinds who did the bulk of the scoring, showing what could be achieved by positive intent. Although he did not at any stage attempt to attack the bowling outright, Hinds was constantly on the lookout for ones and twos and eventually the loose ball came along. When it did – mostly off the mediumpace of Styris – Hinds made sure he made it count, slicing through the off side with good bat speed.Hinds could not have done it all himself, and he was fortunate to have Morton drop anchor at one end and ensure that the bowlers were forced to work hard. From the precariousness of 60 for 4 Hinds pushed the score along to 184 for 6 before Bond, returning for a second spell, had him caught behind for 76. The tail had little to offer after Hinds was gone, but managed to push the score to an even 200 for 8 off 50 overs. In the end, that proved to be too little to stave off defeat.

Chris Gayle b Bond 0 (5 for 1)
Daren Ganga c McCullum b Mason 7 (10 for 2)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c McCullum b Mason 14 (37 for 3)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul b Franklin 17 (60 for 4)
Runako Morton c Astle b Vettori 39 (130 for 5)
Dwayne Smith run out (Styis/McCullum) 17 (158 for 6)
Wavell Hinds c McCullum b Bond 76 (184 for 7)
Ian Bradshaw b Patel 5 (197 for 8)
Fidel Edwards run out (Franklin/Bond) 2 (200 for 9)
New ZealandJamie How lbw b Edwards 0 (10 for 1)
Lou Vincent b Bradshaw 5 (13 for 2)
Nathan Astle c Hinds b Edwards 2 (13 for 3)
Stephen Fleming lbw b Bradshaw 0 (13 for 4)
Scott Styris c Gayle b Taylor 10 (49 for 5)
Peter Fulton c Ramdin b Lewis 49 (120 for 6)
Brendon McCullum run out (Morton/Ramdin) 45 (171 for 7)

Nathan Bracken has bowled himself in Ashes contention© Getty Images

Nathan Bracken’s demolition of the Queensland batting order in the Pura Cup final at Brisbane has boosted his chances of being named in Australia’s squad for the Ashes tour. Bracken took 6 for 27 to rout the Pura Cup holders for just 102 on the opening day.Bracken’s last Test was against India at Sydney in January 2004, and later in the year he lost his Cricket Australia central contract. But he has responded in fine style, spearheading the New South Wales attack this season. However, he is not getting carried away with his chances of touring England.”If I get an opportunity I’ll be wrapped with it, if I don’t, I don’t,” Bracken told the news agency. “I’m happy with the way I’ve bowled this year but my priority is to finish this game here well. I set a goal at the start of the year to take 40 wickets. I’ve now taken 41. So now I’m setting my goal at 45 and taking 45 will ensure a good game here and make it a close finish.”Bracken had a brief spell with Gloucestershire towards the end of the 2004 English season and says he enjoys the conditions. “I enjoyed my time over there before. I’ve been over there with Gloucester and also on the other Ashes trip and enjoyed the opportunity to go there. The ball does swing a lot over there and you do get wickets that do a bit so I guess any fast bowler is happy with the situation where the ball swings around and seams.”

One positive that arose from Pakistan’s disappointing showing at the 2003 World Cup 2003, was that Javed Miandad then returned to the fold. His appointment to coach the young blood injected much-needed energy and enthusiasm into the team. In Pakistan you often hear comments to the effect that Pakistan cricket is always safer when it is in the hands of Javed. He is the undisputed king of cricket in Pakistan – which leads some other leading personalities to be wary, even jealous, of him.And now one of those who made his debut under Javed Miandad’s captaincy is going out of his way to criticise his mentor. Aamer Sohail was given a great honour when he was appointed Pakistan’s chairman of selectors, in what was a well-intentioned move to show how keen Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, was to get the country’s cricket back on track. Sohail, who is also a TV commentator, must have impressed the PCB bigwigs with his insight on the game.However, Sohail has crossed the fine line between being proactive and being dictatorial, by ignoring – or not even bothering to seek – advice from a man whose knowledge of the game, and the players he is coaching, is second to none.Javed Miandad always was a master tactician, and presumably he felt at first that it had been agreed that he would not be involved in selection, and the selectors wouldn’t get involved in coaching. This approach was long-overdue in Pakistan cricket – but it only works if the personalities are compatible. Ignoring the chance of consultation with a person like Javed is simply undesirable, especially when the team is being rebuilt.Nevertheless Sohail started publicly criticising the performance of the coach, using his TV commentary as a platform. And now, in unilaterally announcing a 22-man list of probables for the five-match one-day series against New Zealand, he has managed to upset not only the coach but also the captain, the PCB chief executive, and his fellow selectors. This lack of consultation has resulted in a media outcry, and a sea of statements and counter-statements – just when Pakistan cricket was on the way up.It’s high time that these matters were set straight. Aamer Sohail, as the chief selector, has a duty to provide the coach with the best available squad. They should already be almost the finished articles, just like the Aussies or the Indians, ready for the coach to apply the final polish and teach them the rigours and strategies of international cricket.International cricket remains the ultimate forum, and to think or even express on television that someone should be taught cricket at that level by the coach or captain is living in a fool’s paradise. No coach can go out and play, no matter how great a player he might have been. It’s the player who has to go out and perform: the coach can only spruce up the 90-95% players and make achieve 110% or more.But during his tenure Sohail has selected a number of average – and even below-average players – who were found lacking in the international arena. There you don’t have time for learning the basics, you are playing for your nation and the people want to see you perform, not watch you taking an exam in front of the TV cameras.Recently Pakistan have given caps to youngsters like Yasir Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Farhan Adil and Junaid Zia, who have all struggled. A player like Mohammad Hafeez, who has serious technical flaws, has been given a long run in the side too. That’s not Hafeez’s fault – the fault lies with the selectors who chose him before he was ready.This latest squabble over the unwarranted criticism of the coach will take its toll on the young team’s morale, just when important new challenges lie ahead, like the long-awaited arrival of the Indian team and the Asia Cup. If Aamer Sohail feels that he can somehow overshadow the legacy of Javed Miandad he must wake up and face the truth – his credentials do not match.

The batting of Darren and Damien featured in the lead-up to a declaration. Its effect was then negated by the discipline of Dighton and Di Venuto as Victoria and Tasmania fought out an even second day of the Pura Cup clash between the teams here in Melbourne today.But D-day in the match might still be as many as 48 hours away with the teams locked in a battle within a battle for six outright points that could potentially define each of their seasons.After experiencing frustration at the hands of Darren Berry (62*) and Damien Fleming (39*) as Victoria made its way to 8/371 before a lunchtime closure, the Tasmanians had looked in further trouble when they surrendered two early wickets in the reply.But an unbroken 141-run union for the third wicket between Michael Dighton (78*) and Michael Di Venuto (68*) re-imposed their side’s mark on the game. In carrying the visitors to comfort at a scoreline of 2/191 by stumps, it also eased them into an excellent position from which they might be able to shape the destiny of the match.In light of a forecast that indicates rain will hit Melbourne during the match’s final day, the Tasmanians are likely to be interested in claiming first innings honours tomorrow before challenging the points-desperate Victorians to throw the match open a second time.While Tasmania’s Cup juggernaut keeps rolling inexorably forward, though, it might well have crashed and burned if the home team had not granted Dighton three slices of fortune in the midst of his plucky innings. Errant cuts should have brought him undone at 53 and 58 but resulted in dropped catches at slip by Brad Hodge and at point by Michael Klinger respectively. A sharp caught and bowled chance at 33 had earlier eluded leg spinner Cameron White (1/41) to add to mounting Victorian frustration.The Victorian attack had shown signs of early intent by regularly defeating the bats of both openers with the new ball. Jamie Cox (24) and Scott Mason (11) each flirted with danger, playing and missing serially outside the line of off stump at both Fleming (0/32) and newcomer Will Carr (0/29).Paradoxically, bowling changes eventually yielded both wickets, with Mason summarily driving loosely at an outswinger and presenting a catch to third slip as Mick Lewis (1/28) was introduced. Cox’s stay then ended when umpire Geoff Morrow upheld an appeal for a short leg catch as an attempt to sweep at White ended with the ball lobbing just beyond Klinger’s crouching pose at short leg.Cox had looked out at 3 when trapped on his crease by Fleming but wasn’t; then didn’t look out at 24 when he was. He greeted Morrow’s latter decision with restrained disgust.But that was the cue for the entry of Di Venuto and an exhibition of impressive resolve.Toward the end of a first-class season that has been savaged by an ankle injury, a bout of food poisoning and a selection panel that elected to axe him after generally indifferent form, he played a masterful innings.His bat was even touted as a cannon at times as he drilled several matter-of-fact boundaries and peppered the bowling with a series of murderous on drives. The stylish left hander also embedded an air of responsibility in his game that must have represented an immensely heartening development for his state’s hierarchy.Dighton capitalised on his reprieves all the while by adorning sagacious defence with a mix of elegant drives that helped keep the Tigers’ score moving at a respectable clip.Earlier, Berry and Fleming had offered contributions of inestimable value of their own for Victoria as the locals swelled their overnight score of 6/257 to its eventual resting place.Following up a score of 148 in his last first-class appearance, Berry looked at ease against both spin and pace in an innings that formed the backbone of important stands of 65 with Ian Harvey (87) for the seventh wicket and 69 with a belligerent Fleming for the ninth.The only two wickets to fall in the morning session each went the way of young left arm spinner Xavier Doherty (2/78), though paceman David Saker (4/71) continued to test the batsmen in a spell that netted six successive maidens at one point.

Martin Saggers – used seam to unpick Derbyshire batting Photo © AllSport

Derbyshire, who failed to garner even one batting point, lost ground to Kent,fellow-strugglers in the First Division, in their championship match at Derby. They fell to Martin Saggers, using the seam to good advantage, at the beginning of the innings and David Masters taking three wickets in three overs at the close.With half-centuries in two consecutive championship matches Steve Stubbings and Dominic Cork provided the only resistance in an otherwise inadequate batting performance. Derbyshire began unconvincingly against Saggers, who dismissed Stephen Titchard and Michael Di Venuto in the first four overs, and first-class debutant Ben Trott as the ball moved around.A ECB pitch liaison officer watched the difficulties of the batsmen but the county are not likely to face a second points deduction. The early batsmen fell in an attempt to push along the score before they had settled to the pitch. Matthew Dowman and Stubbings, let off before he had reached double figures, put on 52 runs for the fifth wicket.The latter went on to his fifty from 130 deliveries but lost his partner to a slip catch not long after lunch. A ball from Saggers struck Cork on the left foot causing him to have treatment, but showed resilience in hitting the next to the ropes to put the total into three figures. Stubbings’ innings endedto a cover-catch after 227 minutes at the crease.Wickets tumbled after that: Cork lashed out to try to break spinner Min Patel’s tight bowling of giving away only 31 runs in nearly 27 overs. Kent then began their innings in the gathering gloom. Tim Munton dismissed David Fulton to a catch at the wicket in the first over, but Robert Key and Rahul Dravid held on until the umpires, prodded into action by a Cork bowler, offered the batsmen to come off at 27-1 which they accepted.

Leeds United striker Joe Gelhardt may earn opportunities under Jesse Marsch than he did under Marcelo Bielsa, according to journalist Joe Donnohue.

The lowdown

The young striker played the final half-hour as the Whites fell to a 1-0 defeat at Leicester City in the American’s first game in charge on Saturday.

The 19-year-old, who has 18 goals in 27 games for Leeds at under-23 level, has featured in the Premier League matchday squad 20 times this season but only made 11 appearances (totalling 411 minutes) and has been awarded just two starts up to this point (via Transfermarkt).

Freelance sports journalist Pete O’Rourke told Give Me Sport on Saturday that ‘the Leeds fans have been crying out for him to be given more of a chance’.

The latest

Donnohue feels it was significant that, in his first game as Leeds manager, Marsch turned to Gelhardt ahead of Tyler Roberts and Patrick Bamford, even if the latter was ‘lacking match fitness’.

The journalist tweeted on Saturday evening: “With the game poised at 0-0, Jesse Marsch turned to Joe Gelhardt from the bench. He’s worked with him for less than a week, but was summoned ahead of Roberts & Bamford – albeit lacking match fitness – today. Impression made, and rewarded.”

In a corresponding article for Leeds Live, Donnohue stated: “If his first thought when seeking a breakthrough was to turn to Gelhardt, this certainly bodes well for the young striker’s first-team prospects.”

The verdict

Gelhardt should arguably be given a start against Aston Villa on Thursday night.

Bamford returned to the bench on Saturday but he may not be ready to play from the off just yet, having been out injured since early December and also had a prolonged absence during the autumn.

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As for Roberts, he could well miss the game after ‘struggling’ with an apparent injury he sustained after coming on at the King Power Stadium yesterday.

If Gelhardt is to break into the team, Rodrigo should be the man to make way from the starting line-up. In the words of BBC Sport’s Raj Chohan, ‘he makes too many mistakes with his final pass or shot’, so the Spaniard may yet find himself as Marsch’s fall guy.

In other news, this duo looked ‘nervous’ in Marsch’s first game 

The Women’s World Cup qualifiers have been switched to South Africa in mid-February following political turmoil in Pakistan in November which forced the ICC to postpone that event. The tournament had to be rescheduled within six months and following some quick work by the ICC and the South African board, it has been rearranged within just three months.The new dates are 18 to 24 February for the tournament which will be held in the Stellenbosch region. An ICC statement said: “The decision was arrived at following independent security reports and extensive discussions by ICC management and the ICC Women’s Committee.”Pakistan couldn’t host it because of the general elections which start on 18 February. The proposed election date had been 8 January, but following the rescheduling, the decision was made to move the event to South Africa.Zakir Khan, PCB’s director cricket operations, confirmed to Cricinfo: “It was clashing with election dates and the ICC couldn’t organise it much later. We tried to find a way but the schedule clash meant we couldn’t go ahead with it.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, regretted that the tournament couldn’t be in Pakistan. “It is unfortunate that the timing of the event ended up clashing with the elections and forcing us to change the venue,” he said.”I would like to thank all those from the PCB who so enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to host this event. We remain committed to international cricket being played in Pakistan but, sadly, events beyond the control of the ICC and the PCB have conspired against us on this occasion. Thanks are also due to Cricket South Africa and particularly those from Boland who have been able to take over the running of this tournament at short notice.”The safety of all participants is our number-one priority and on the basis of the independent advice we have received – as well as the material concerns expressed by many of the participating countries – we concluded it was not appropriate to stage the tournament at this time.”So now South Africa have the home advantage. They were disappointed to have just missed out on the previous World Cup, when a tight finish in their last match handed the fifth automatic spot to the West Indies. They are one of the favourites to qualify in this tournament, where the top two sides go through to the eight who will contest the World Cup in Australia next year.Ireland and Zimbabwe were particularly disappointed that the Pakistan event was, rightly, called off as they were coming into some decent form. Ireland’s players will now have to come in from the off-season and hope to get used to conditions immediately.The players, all of whom are amateurs, will of course have to arrange time off work and study to attend this event. Ireland are already down one player. Jillian Smythe has had to withdraw due to a clash with her final year examinations – she will remain in the senior squad but will not travel. Instead, Melissa Scott-Hayward will now travel in her place with Carol McGuire being named as the non-travelling reserve.An Ireland spokesperson told Cricinfo of their tentative plans which are still to be finalised with less than a month to go. “We’re all set. We intend to travel out on Saturday 9 February and spend a week in camp in Stellenbosch or Port Elizabeth – all to be decided – and rejoin the formal ICC event on 16 February.”Pakistan have already announced a 20-player list of probables for a month-long training event which will start next week. The camp will run from 13 January to 11 February at Lahore Country Club, Muridke.Training squad Bismah Maroof, Taskeen Qadeer, Sana Javed, Almas Akram, Sabeen Abdul Samad, Saima Jamil, Sana Mir, Urooj Mumtaz Khan, Nain Abidi, Batool Fatimam Arman Khan, Javeria Khan, Sajida Shah, Sumaiya Siddiqui, Asmavia Iqbal, Naila Nazir, Qanita Jalil, Nida Dar, Sadia Yousaf.

Ranadeb Bose carried the torch for Bengal with his penetrative spells in the path to the final © AFP

The two teams could not have had more contrasting routes to the final. Bengal were steady throughout, with a couple of outright wins and no defeats. They had well laid-out plans and went about executing them quite professionally, spearheaded by the bowling of Ranadeb Bose and the batting of tyros Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Manoj Tiwary. Mumbai’s progress was far more dramatic: at one stage they were staring at relegation, before they scripted a quite amazing turnaround, winning their last three group matches.BengalRound 1, v Punjab at MohaliFirst morning in chilly Chandigarh, put in, and 18 for 5. Deep Dasgupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla resurrected the innings, Dasgupta at his gritty best. Sourav Ganguly provided the crucial breakthroughs with the ball for Bose to mop up the tail. Ganguly played a quick cameo with the bat too to set up a competitive target. But it was Ashok Dinda, filling in for the injured Shib Shankar Paul, who provided the decisive blows in the second innings to provide a win that would contribute hugley, both arithmetically and psychologically, to their advance into knockouts.Round 2, v Mumbai at KolkataA first in mutual history. Bengal enforcing a follow-on on Mumbai, Manoj Tiwary converting promise into numbers. Bose raised his game a notch, persisted on a dead Eden Gardens track, and ended up with figures of 34.1-14-69-5.Round 4, v Gujarat at Kolkata
If Punjab was a narrow escape, this time they conceded the first-innings lead by three runs. The game was always going to be a first-innings battle, and Bengal looked good with Shukla and Bose carrying them from 291 for 7 to 324, and then they collapsed to lose the next three wickets for only two runs. This loss of two points could have proved crucial in the end.Round 5, v Maharashtra at KolkataLosing the toss at Eden is not good news if you are a medium-pacer. Yet Bose and Sourav Sarkar, a 22-year-old debutant, somehow got Maharashtra out cheaply. The batsmen did nothing spectacular but all eight of them (Lahiri at No. 8) got starts and that was enough to get the first-innings lead.Round 6, v Hyderabad at HyderabadBengal’s most sensational result. Having fallen behind by more than 100 in the first innings in an away match, they came back with the resolve of champions. Bose this time changed identity: from a workhorse on flat tracks he became a destroyer, taking seven wickets in 20 second-innings overs for only 25 runs. The win restored them to the top of the table; they still needed to seal their place in the semis, though.Round 7, v Rajasthan at KolkataBose just couldn’t do anything wrong. He and Sarkar, answered the captain’s call of bowling first on an Eden Gardens track with typical bravery, and blew away Rajasthan. Tiwary, Ganguly, and Jhunjhunwala joined in the festivities to book that semis berth.Semi-final, v Karnataka at KolkataBose and Sarkar were lethal again on first day. Before Karnataka knew what hit them, they were bowling on Day One. Contrary to style, though, Bengal failed to close the game out in the first innings, giving Karnataka a glimmer which they used in the second innings to set an imposing target. But Tiwary again came to the party with his third score of 150-plus, as Bengal cruised to 307 for 4.

Ramesh Powar played a big part in Mumbai’s maiden win © Getty Images

MumbaiRound 2, v Bengal at KolkataMumbai’s young attack got ground into dust as the seniors Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni failed to inspire. Nine bowlers were used, only seven wickets taken over more than two days. The inexperience in batting showed too, with only Bhavin Thakkar making any impression.Round 3, v Punjab at MohaliThis was a cracker, even if only for the first-innings lead. From 139 for 5, Amol Muzumdar stitched partnership after partnership with the tail, and fell in freakish circumstances. Mudeep Mungela, No. 11, straight-drove Amanpreet Singh who got a touch on to the ball which hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end, where Muzumdar was backing up too far. On his way back, Muzumdar wept.Round 4, v Hyderabad at HyderabadIf Muzumdar had thought he had seen the worst, he was wrong. The batsmen hit a new low and the bowlers never reached threatening proportions, except for a lone battle put up by Ramesh Powar. Three matches, all three with the toughest sides of the group, one loss but no points. They needed inspiration which was not coming their way.Round 5, v Gujarat at MumbaiTheir first home game and Mumbai found inspiration in a young batsman, a young allrounder, and two old spinners. Rohit Sharma finally got a first-class hundred – a double, at that – and, with the help of Abhishek Nair, put up enough for the spinners to come into play. With the Wankhede pitch assisting them, Nilesh Kulkarni and Powar became an imposing proposition, and Mumbai was alive again.Round 6, v Rajasthan at MumbaiThe pace bowlers got their act together this time and all of a sudden Mumbai started to look like contenders. After dismissing Rajasthan cheaply, they made enough – Muzumdar got a century – for bowlers to chip in towards a collective second-innings effort. Two wins with bonus points from both meant they were still alive and within a win of a semi-final berth.Round 7, v Maharashtra at NashikLosing to Maharashtra last year had hurt them the most, which is probably why they had reserved their most emphatic display for their junior neighbours. Youngsters Kukreja and Shah took them across 500. Ajit Agarkar, on a break from international cricket, forced Maharashtra to follow on, and Kulkarni showed his lethal side again, as Mumbai literally stormed into the semis.Semi-final, v Baroda at VadodaraThe value of Muzumdar’s 97 in the first innings was felt in the other three scores: 142, 145, and 173. But the semi-final win did not come without its twists. After securing a first-innings lead on a green top, Mumbai got off to the worst possible start in the second. Five ducks at the top of the order, and no run on the board; that was embarrassing. But their lower order had little time to think about embarrassments; they were busy collecting enough runs which would matter in the end and not the scoreline that once read: 5 for 0.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced it is to pay West Indies players $135,000 of outstanding sponsorship fees and incentive payments for their tour of Australia last year.The board were quick to confirm that the sponsors, Digicel, weren’t responsible for the delay in payment. In a press release on Saturday, the board said that “it has put facilities in place to settle these outstanding liabilities,” which would take place on Monday January 30. The board also reiterated that “payments from the team sponsors Digicel are fully up-to-date and Digicel is in no way responsible for the delay in payment.”This isn’t the first payment dispute to surface in the West Indies. Speaking to CaribbeanCricket.com, a source was quoted as saying “[the] WICB is always in breach of the contract. This is something that happens all the time, every time”.

Jason Gillespie roared back to life after some advice from the stands© Getty Images

A piece of technical advice from two of Australia’s most zany Test bowlers revived Jason Gillespie’s first Test and helped repel the threat of Brett Lee. Gillespie struggled with 0 for 87 in the first innings at Christchurch, when Lee was a surprise choice as 12th man, before sealing three important lbw decisions in the second after Merv Hughes and Colin ‘Funky’ Miller spotted a flaw in his action.Hughes and Miller, who now take supporters’ tours instead of Test wickets, popped into the dressing room to find Gillespie and the tip worked. “There was a bit of a difference between the first and second innings because big Merv and Funky came into the rooms and said, ‘Dizzy we reckon you’re running in on too much of an angle, straighten up your run-up,'” he said.Gillespie said he would give it a try because he couldn’t bowl any worse. “So I straightened up and it went really well,” he said. “So I’ve got big Merv and Funky, the pink-haired goon, to thank.” Gillespie captured the wickets of Craig Cumming and Nathan Astle in his first spell yesterday before returning to trap Brendon McCullum.The haul took his Test record to 244 and he could pass Graham McKenzie, who collected 246, and Richie Benaud (248) in the second match at Wellington beginning on Friday. Only Shane Warne, Dennis Lillee, Craig McDermott and Glenn McGrath have taken more than 250 wickets for Australia.