Scorecard

West Indies won the opening one-day international against Zimbabwe by 51 runs in a rain-affected match at Bulawayo. Chris Gayle scored a one-day best of 153 not out, and he put on an electrifying 176 with Brian Lara, who smashed 113 off 82. West Indies made an imposing 347 for 6 and, in their reply, Zimbabwe had reached 173 for 3 from 34.5 overs before the heavens opened and brought an early end to the contest.There is not much any bowling attack in the world can do when Lara is at the top of his form, and Zimbabwe’s hard working, but limited, resources had little chance of keeping him quiet.The word Bulawayo means ‘place of slaughter’, and that was exactly what it was for the bowlers, as Lara tore them to shreds as he moved from 50 to 100 in only 24 balls. Zimbabwe did not bowl badly, and at times they did bowl well, but they were nothing more than cannon-fodder for Lara.Lara came in on the back of a sound opening partnership of 77 in 16.5 overs between Gayle and Wavell Hinds after West Indies won the toss on a superb batting pitch with a fast outfield. Lara’s innings overshadowed another fine century, by Gayle, who has not had much success so far on this tour.Gayle began cautiously, but gradually opened up to dominate the opening partnership. Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwe’s opening bowlers, managed to keep the brakes on without looking dangerous, and they were backed up by some excellent fielding, with Vusi Sibanda in particular distinguishing himself.Astute field placings also forced the West Indian openers to work hard for their runs, but they had maintained a rate of more than four an over when the first wicket fell, as Hinds (28) flashed outside the off stump to Blignaut and edged a straightforward catch to Tatenda Taibu (77 for 1).Lara soon left his stamp with two superb boundaries through extra cover. He was in awesome form, and after passing fifty he unleashed the full range of his repertoire, with his cover-drives and fierce pulls being the most memorable shots. It was his 18th one-day century and it took a brilliant run-out to remove him – he attempted a quick single to mid-on and Gary Brent pounced on the ball and threw down the stumps (253 for 2).Then there was a flurry of activity as a fine throw from the covers by Streak removed Ramnaresh Sarwan without him having faced a ball (289 for 5). Shivnarine Chanderpaul was lbw sweeping at Sean Ervine for 8 (282 for 4) and then Marlon Samuels, after hitting his first ball for six, went down the pitch to Stuart Matsikenyeri and was bowled off his pads (289 for 5). Ricardo Powell played a cameo innings, scoring 17 off eight balls, before driving Streak to Sibanda at long-on (328 for 6).Gayle stayed until the end, taking a two off the final ball to reach 153, the highest of his six one-day centuries. He faced 160 balls and hit 19 fours and two sixes. The nearest he came to giving a chance was when he skied a ball just clear of the covers when on 76. The only time he and Lara had any trouble was when Streak returned to reverse-swing the old ball, but they handled it the easy way – by complaining to the umpires that they couldn’t see the ball and having it changed.Sibanda and Trevor Gripper began Zimbabwe’s reply with some good running between the wickets, but the possibility of rain soon persuaded Lara to bring on his spinners to hustle through the overs.Sibanda and Gripper put on 40 before Gripper (16) drove Gayle, only for Lara, running from mid-off, to get a hand to the ball and catch the rebound. Incredibly, Zimbabwe lost another wicket the very next ball when Mark Vermeulen edged the ball low to slip, where Chanderpaul juggled the ball and finally held it.Sibanda, on his one-day debut, played some classic strokes, though, and Craig Wishart settled in well. They shared a stand of 110 in 21 overs, with Sibanda just beating Wishart to his fifty. He was out for 58, though, checking a cut and lobbing a catch to backward point off Vasbert Drakes (150 for 3).Blignaut came in next, but the rain soon followed. Two attempts were made to restart, but light showers kept intervening, and the match was eventually called off. West Indies won handsomely, thanks to batting of the highest class, but Zimbabwe at least went down fighting.Wishart finished unbeaten on 72, and the wonder remains why such class shines so intermittently. There was a joyful crowd of several thousand who provided a wonderful atmosphere, and most of them stayed in hope until the end.

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.

Close Indians 266 for 9 (Ramesh 87, Tendulkar 80, Parthiv 52*) v Victoria
Scorecard

Contrasting half-centuries by Sachin Tendulkar and Sadagoppan Ramesh, and some spunky resistance by Parthiv Patel, saved India’s blushes as they put in a below-par performance on their first day of the Australian tour. After winning the toss and opting to bat against Victoria at Melbourne, they were restricted to 266 for 9, with three of their top six failing to reach double figures.Tendulkar (80) and Ramesh (87) added 128 for the fourth wicket to bail the Indians out after a wobbly start, but Mathew Inness, the left-arm seamer, and Cameron White, the 20-year-old legspinner, chipped away at the Indian batting to ensure that Victoria had the better of the proceedings. Inness finished the day with 4 for 64 – the highlight being his domination of Rahul Dravid, whom he kept runless for 20 balls before dismissing him with the 21st – while White mopped up the tail with 4 for 59.The decision to bat backfired when Akash Chopra (2), Virender Sehwag (23) and Dravid (0) perished early. Chopra was caught at the wicket off Brett Harrop in the fourth over of the match (8 for 1), while Sehwag flourished briefly, hitting five fours before chipping a drive off Inness to Brad Hodge at mid-off (41 for 2). When Dravid perished, driving at a wide ball to Jonathon Moss at point, the Indian innings was in danger of unravelling rather quickly (45 for 3).

Tendulkar played out a few quiet overs before lunch, then went into overdrive soon after the resumption. Favouring the horizontal-bat strokes, Tendulkar latched on to anything even fractionally off length, cutting and pulling with gusto. Harrop and Andrew McDonald, both right-arm seamers, felt the heat when Tendulkar raced from 8 to 41 off only 20 balls.At the other end, Ramesh demonstrated the kind of concentration he is often accused of lacking. He did show a few flourishes as he grew in confidence, creaming Inness for two fours in the over before tea, but for the large part, it was an innings characterised by resolute defence and self-discipline.Tendulkar’s assault lit up the afternoon session, though, as the run-rate spurted from a less than two an over to more than three. The innings was motoring along – and a hundred was there for the taking for Tendulkar – when Inness returned to pull things back with two wickets in one over.First, Tendulkar drove off the back foot and was caught by David Hussey at point (173 for 4). Five balls later, Sourav Ganguly was back in the hutch too. After getting off the mark with a pleasing drive through cover for a couple, he flicked one straight to Jason Arnberger at midwicket (175 for 5).Ramesh carried on, though, adding 45 for the sixth wicket with Parthiv before driving at White and giving Harrop a low catch in the covers. Ramesh consumed 191 balls for his 87, and with the two first-choice openers failing in this match, firmly staked his claim early in the series.Parthiv started off cautiously, but with wickets falling at the other end, he soon became more adventurous, slapping Inness over point and then flicking him to square leg for fours. Nehra bettered Dravid’s effort earlier in the day, staying runless for 25 balls and allowing Parthiv to reach a well-deserved half-century.

Cricket Australia today announced that the Glenelg District Cricket Club has won the national Spirit of Cricket award for the month of December.In an A-grade match against West Torrens, Glenelg’s playing coach Ben Hook, took what appeared to be a catch at first slip.The umpire officiating at the bowlers’ end commented in his report that he thought the ball had carried to the slips fieldsman. Before a decision was required, however, Hook indicated that the ball had indeed bounced beforehand.Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland encouraged cricketers throughout Australia to follow Ben’s lead.”It can be tempting for a fieldsman to claim a catch of this nature, particularly in grade and local cricket, as the view is sometimes obscured to the umpire,” Mr Sutherland said.”I congratulate Ben on his honesty and hope cricketers around Australia continue to play the game in the spirit in which it was intended.”Glenelg is the third club to receive a national Spirit of Cricket award nomination. The two previous awards have gone to local Queensland Under-14 side the Everton Comets, and country Victorian club Barkers Creek.Winners of the monthly award receive an autographed bat signed by the Australian team.A separate Spirit of Cricket award for the Pura Cup and ING Cup competitions will be awarded at the end of the year and the next points update will be published on Wednesday 11 February. The West End Redbacks, Cascade Tasmanian Tigers, and the Victorian Bushrangers currently head the table on 42 points from 12 matches this season.

England 254 for 9 (Edwards 81) beat South Africa 216 (Logtenberg 76, Birch 5-50) by 38 runs
ScorecardCharlotte Edwards made 81, and Rosalie Birch produced a fine allround performance with 5 for 50 and 42 not out, as England’s women sealed the five-match one-day series against South Africa in emphatic fashion.After losing a thrilling opening match by one wicket, England stormed to victory in the remaining four games, wrapping the series up with a 38-run win at Potchefstroom. After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, England rattled up an imposing total of 254 for 9, and though South Africa were given a sniff of victory by their prolific 15-year old, Johmari Logtenberg, they fell away badly after a wretched collapse.With Laura Newton playing the anchor role, England added 95 for their first wicket and had reached 141 for 2 when the innings hit a rocky patch. First Clare Connor was stumped off Charlize van der Westhuizen for 4, and then Edwards and Lydia Greenway were run out in quick succession. Arran Brindle’s cheap dismissal made it 176 for 6, but Birch caned the South African bowlers for three fours and a six in her 38-ball innings.South Africa began their reply steadily, but when Logtenberg began to cut loose, they were looking capable of a pride-salvaging victory. Birch, however, came into the attack to twirl through the innings. First she bowled Alison Hodgkinson for 21, and then, when Logtenberg had fallen to Connor for 76 from 73 balls, she carved through the tail, as five wickets fell for 10 runs. The No. 11, Ashlyn Kilowan, restored some pride by hoofing a six, but England had already made sure of their win.

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to report today:Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, expects his people to extend their hospitality to the visiting Indian side. According to a report on the Pakistan News Service, he said, “It is not the question of win or lose, the good performance should be appreciated.” Musharraf added that he wanted the good folk of Pakistan to show India, and the rest of the world, that “we are a disciplined nation and we appreciate the good performance.”* * *Pakistan’s reports that India and Pakistan will run additional buses between Delhi and Lahore later this month, to cater to those who are expected to cross the border to watch the two one-day matches at the Gaddafi Stadium (March 21 and 24). Agreeing to the Indian proposal, the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has sent a formal note to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to start running two buses from March 19.According to the decision, DTC will run two buses instead of one on March 19 and 23, while PTDC will have two buses on March 22 and 25 to cater to the demand of the fans.* * *The also quotes Dr Ishratul Ibad, the Governor of Sindh, who has urged the people of Karachi – those who flock to the stadium and those following it from elsewhere – to be on their best behaviour in order to make it clear to the world that the city was one of the world’s great cricket venues.* * *When India and Pakistan play, can the bookies and touts be far away? According to the , the answer is no. They suggest that tickets will be changing hands for up to 20 times the marked price, with the racket mainly controlled by students. The story also quotes a Karachi bookmaker, who identified himself as “Afghani”, as saying that he expected to handle bets worth $1m during the course of the first ODI. With 40 such bookmakers estimated to be part of the scene, there are likely to be some happy bank managers come Monday morning.* * *The Calcutta Telegraph focuses on a story that has obsessed Indians like no other during the past few days – the question of live telecast. Ten Sports, who hold the rights for the series, have finally agreed to provide the signal to Doordarshan – India’s national broadcaster – albeit only for the opening game. India’s Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Madras High Court, forcing Ten to provide the feed from Karachi free of cost. But Ten and the cable operators have failed to come to any sort of agreement on the charges to be levied for the series.* * *In the midst of all the mundane prose, you can rely on Omar Kureishi for the elegant turn of phrase. Writing in the , he says, “In normal circumstances one would have written that all roads will lead to the National Stadium for the Karachi ODI. Precisely the opposite will be true. All roads will be closed. For ticket-holders it will be a sort of treasure hunt, for others an obstacle race.”Newspapers have printed maps outlining the traffic arrangements. They resemble navigation charts that might have been used by Christopher Columbus. He had set out to discover India and found America instead, but cricket fans will find the National Stadium, come hell or high water.”Kureishi also suggests that Shoaib Akhtar could be a decisive factor, given the absence of a quality spinner on either side. “The moment of truth has arrived for him,” he says with reference to Shoaib. “But he must understand that he is the matador, not the enraged bull. Never has a Pakistani bowler carried such a weight of expectation and the hopes of so many millions of people. His biceps are bulging. What about his nerves? Are they made of steel? If he is on song, it may decide the fate of the entire series. If India tames him, it may be an altogether different ball-game.”* * *And surely the last word should go to that most loquacious of cricketers. Javed Miandad turned diplomat on the eve of the Karachi game, waxing eloquent about cricket’s potential to play a part in the big thaw between India and Pakistan. “Given the craze for cricket in the two countries, the game has the potential to play a significant role,” he said. “We want the Indians to carry back pleasant memories.”The also quotes Miandad as saying that it’s the pressure from the fans that leads to unusually high tension-levels on the field. “The pressure on the players comes from the fans, we all know what happens during cricket encounters between the two countries,” he said. “I’ve instructed my players on good behaviour in the field. We have to convey a good impression to millions of cricket-lovers watching this series. People in both countries don’t want to lose these matches, but cricket will end up cooling frayed tempers.”

Scorecard

Before the start of this first one-day international between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, it was widely expected that the inexperienced new Zimbabwean team would be humiliated. In fact, it was a lukewarm Sri Lankan team that had to fight hard in the end to avoid embarrassment. It took a fine unbeaten 73 from Kumar Sangakkara, and a bit of help from Messrs Duckworth and Lewis method, to end Zimbabwe’s resistance.Except at the start and finish of the match, Sri Lanka were unimpressive, perhaps unable to motivate themselves properly knowing they were facing a stand-in Zimbabwe team with an average age of 21. But Zimbabwe put in a highly spirited allround performance and gave the tourists a several shocks before finally going down. The catalyst was their Man of the Match Tatenda Taibu, who hit a superb unbeaten 96 on his captaincy debut, when all seemed lost with the Zimbabwe batting.The partnership between Taibu and Alester Maregwede turned the Zimbabweinnings round from a precarious 79 for 5 in the 25th over. When Maregwede finally holed out on the long-on boundary for 37, respectability at least was assured.On a good pitch, Marvan Atapattu won the toss for Sri Lanka and amazedeverybody by putting Zimbabwe in to bat. Good, accurate bowling by Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa, both obtaining a little movement in the air and off the pitch, proved too much for Zimbabwe’s raw opening pair of Vusi Sibanda and Brendan Taylor, who both fell without scoring. Zimbabwe were two down after two overs, the only run on the board being a leg-bye.This brought Taibu to the crease for the start of the third over. DionEbrahim batted doggedly with him for 13, but never looked confident, while Elton Chigumbura, also made 13 in a brief cameo. But the situation looked bleak until Maregwede joined Taibu.Mluleki Nkala also played above himself with some powerful strokes in an unbeaten 33 at the end, including two sixes over midwicket. But Muttiah Muralitharan was surprisingly ineffective later in the innings, taking 1 for 47 in his 10 overs. Vaas, with 1 for 9 in his first seven, had his figures spoilt to the effect of 1 for 31 off ten, while Zoysa, who did not bowl at the death, was the pick with 3 for 21.Sanath Jayasuriya showed Sri Lanka’s intentions by lashing the first ball of the innings through the covers for four, but had just 9 to his name when he edged a catch to first slip, giving Tinashe Panyangara a wicket with only his second ball in international cricket. Atapattu was then adjudged lbw to Douglas Hondo without scoring, but Kumara Sangakkara began aggressively and was 18 not out off 13 balls when the rain came.The target was adjusted to 173 off 33 overs when play finally restarted. Mahela Jayawardene fell for 5, holing out at long leg, and the pinch-hitter Nuwan Zoysa made a brisk 14, but at 77 for 4 the match was still in the balance. The run rate, however, was good, and so that pressure was lacking as Tillakaratne Dilshan joined Sangakkara at the crease.This pair took Sri Lanka home by way of steady ones and twos rather than spectacular strokes. After 27 overs, though, the light had deteriorated and the batsmen accepted the offer of the umpires to leave the field. They were 12 runs ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis asking-rate at that stage, with Dilshan having contributed a valuable unbeaten 35.Sri Lanka kept their honour, but they will start the second match onThursday more warily than they did this one. As for Zimbabwe, theysurprised this time, playing above themselves, but adrenaline will notsuffice for ever and the fear remains that their serious lack of depth will soon be exposed.

ScorecardPreview – A time to riseDay 1
Bulletin – Bashar leads the way for BangladeshDay 2
Bulletin – Rafique century frustrates West IndiesDay 3
Bulletin – Bangladesh rue missed chancesDay 4
Bulletin – Bangladesh secure first-innings leadDay 5
Bulletin – Khaled Mashud defies West Indies
News – Best fined 75% of match fee

Wasting water is just not cricket – as players from Durham County Cricket Club have proved. When asked to support World Environment Day on Saturday, they certainly weren’t stumped and have pledged to take showers instead of baths – each saving enough water a week to make 2,000 mugs of tea.”Durham County Cricket Club is always keen to help a good cause and what better than the environment around us,” said James Bailey, the club’s marketing manager. “We’ll be bowled over if people can do their bit for World Environment Day by making a small pledge.””We are fortunate to live in the north east where we have a plentiful supply of water, but it is still a precious resource that we should take care of,” added Lorraine Coulson, water efficiency manager for Northumbria Water. “A shower uses less than half the water needed to run a bath and if a family of four took showers instead of baths for a year they would save two road tankers full of water.”

Scorecard
A century from Brian Lara and three wickets from Ravi Rampaul helped West Indies to a 96-run win over Ireland in the first of their one-day warm-up matches at Stormont. Despite some lacklustre batting, and some dogged Irish bowling, in their innings of 242 all out with four overs remaining, West Indies still managed to record an all important victory.Rampaul ran through Ireland’s top order to finish with 3 for 25 from 6 overs, picking up the wickets of openers Jason Molins and Jeremy Bray, as well as Niall O’Brien, to leave Ireland stuttering at 47 for 3. Ian Bradshaw then bowled Andre Botha for 21 (71 for 4), and almost immediately afterwards, Darren Sammy had Peter Gillespie caught by Chris Gayle for 3 as West Indies took control.Bradshaw had Andrew White caught by Carlton Baugh, the stand-in wicketkeeper (91 for 6), then caught Trent Johnston off Chris Gayle’s offspin for 17 (129 for 7). Gayle also bowled Eoin Morgan for 9 (145 for 8) before Jermaine Lawson wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Kyle McCallan for 32 with the score on 146, and Gordon Cooke unable to bat due to injury.Earlier, Lara saved West Indies’ blushes with a typically flamboyant century after they had stumbled to 40 for 3. He came to the crease with the fall of Gayle, bowled by Adrian McCoubrey for 16. Lara smashed 106 off 99 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes, in an otherwise dire batting performance. Apart from Dwayne Bravo (45), no batsman scored more than 16 and West Windies were bowled out in the 46th over.After the run out of Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 11 (29 for 1), the impressive McCoubrey had Devon Smith caught behind second ball for 4, after he had hit his first to the boundary (33 for 2), before bowling Gayle. Lara and Bravo steadied the ship with a 139-run partnership for the fourth wicket. They were particularly severe on the offspin of Andrew White, but he came back well to take the key wicket of Lara, caught by Kyle McCallan (205 for 5). He then removed Darren Sammy, on his first-class debut, for a duck.McCallan and Botha then combined to run through West Indies’ lower order as the last four wickets fell for only 18 runs, with Ricardo Powell bowled by McCallan for 15 (224 for 7), and Bradshaw caught behind off Botha for 7 (233 for 8). Baugh gave McCallan his second wicket, caught by the substitute fielder for 15 (239 for 9), and Botha wrapped up the innings, with 22 balls still remaining, by bowling Jermaine Lawson for 1.