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Heavyweight showdown, lightweight battle.It has been more than three years since South Africa last lost two Tests in succession. Prior to this one, the Proteas also hadn’t been defeated in aseries since August 1998. But they have surrendered each of those proud records today, crushed in less than four days by Australia in the SecondTest in Melbourne.It was suffocating; it was intimidating; and it was pressure by sheer presence as Australia used the platform of a 210-run first innings lead to sweepto a nine wicket triumph that guaranteed an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series.As in his team’s 246-run loss in Adelaide eleven days ago, Jacques Kallis (99) was typically stout of heart and stout of mind as he defied thenear-inevitable today. Yet he again found few teammates willing to aid him and was tragically even drawn into running himself out one short of acentury in a bid to farm the strike. In plunging to a second innings total of 219, the South Africans were duly a demoralised unit long beforeAustralia’s win was completed.There were wickets for all four of Australia’s bowlers, and two run outs, as the home team again combined brilliantly all the while in the field.Visions of a South African fightback from a near-impossible position overnight – and the dream of staving off an early end to the series – wereimmediately encouraged as Shaun Pollock (3/84) trapped Glenn McGrath (0) lbw to wrap up the Australian first innings just six balls into the day.But such hopes quickly proved illusory.Herschelle Gibbs (21) and Gary Kirsten (10) opened the batting in a positive mindset, unafraid to play shots on a true pitch. Yet Kirsten quicklyedged a Brett Lee (2/52) outswinger to third slip; Gibbs underedged a cut and was wonderfully caught low and to Adam Gilchrist’s left; and theluckless Boeta Dippenaar (23) was out to another stunning catch – this time a reflex effort by Matthew Hayden at short leg as a shot was slammedat his midriff.Kallis reaffirmed his credentials as one of the world’s foremost batsmen with another sophisticated display of defiance and received fleeting helpafter lunch from Pollock (18) and Neil McKenzie (12).But, as soon as any kind of protracted fight looked like developing, the Australians struck. McKenzie, neither forward nor back, followed a ShaneWarne (3/68) leg break off the pitch; Lance Klusener (7) avoided a king pair but not a straight delivery from McGrath (2/43); Mark Boucher (0)drove a Warne delivery off the edge to slip; and Pollock was needlessly run out from a Kallis push to cover.Ultimately, no partnership spilled to so much as the half-century mark.If they had held on until stumps, then the South Africans might have been able to profit from a forecast which shows that grey may replace sunny blueacross Melbourne’s skyline tomorrow. But not even that could be managed.Claude Henderson (16) stamped a defiant imprint over the lower order batting again but couldn’t avoid being drawn into edging a McGrath legcutter to second slip. Allan Donald (7) survived a brace of short balls, only to be conquered by a wickedly deceptive yorker from Andy Bichel(1/52). And, then, Kallis – not only running out of time but also doubtlessly patience with his teammates too – elected unwisely to take a second runto deep point that was probably never on offer.Justin Langer (7) holed out with a cut, but it took Australia’s upper order a mere 14 minutes to tidy up the rout.If this all represented a battle between cricket’s two best teams, then it bodes ill about the current state of the game.It’s hard to imagine that the South Africans won’t better showcase their considerable skill and talent as a side when another three-match seriesbegins in the Republic in early 2002. But if this is any kind of pointer to the balance of world power at the moment, then the scales are dreadfullylopsided.For their part, the only sour note at all for the world champion Australians arrived early in the day as their captain, Steve Waugh, was relieved ofhalf of his match payment for a show of dissent yesterday.In the eyes of others in the world, the Australians’ approach and their attitude might not always be politic. But their power remains absolute.

A score of 172 in 45 overs does not suggest particularly proficient batting, but it was more than enough for Warwickshire to see Middlesex off in a crucial National League Division Two game. The Bears’ victory condemns the Crusaders to another season in Division Two.All this said, it was a desperately dull game. The only light points were that Lord’s let kids in free, and also – shock horror – allowed to play on the outfield at tea-time.Not only was this game dull, it was of poor quality. Some accurate bowling was combated with some of the most appalling batting. The Crusaders won the toss, and put the Bears in on a decent looking track. Openers Mark Wagh and Anurag Singh made a steady, dour start, putting on 72 for the first wicket. Wagh was trapped leg before for 24, attempting to pull Simon Cook. Skipper Neil Smith came and went, run-out by his younger partner. Ostler was castled by Johnson, Hemp well caught by keeper Alleyne, and Penney bowled by seamer Tim Bloomfield.At the other end, Singh was batting neatly. A firm hitter of the ball, his drive is particularly flamboyant. His 74 came from 125 balls, much slower than usual, and his dismissal gave Johnson his second wicket. It was all down hill from there on, with wickets falling in a hurry. Donald played what must have been one of the most irresponsible shots of his career, aiming a wild slog at Cook, only to see his off stump flattened. The Bears were eventually skittled for 172, with Johnson (3-26) and Cook (3-22), the pick of the bowlers.Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they only have two consistent batsmen. Ramprakash and Langer were at the crease a lot earlier than they would have hoped, after Strauss was leg before to Dagnall for one, and Alleyne caught going for a rash pull shot for four. Langer played one glorious trademark pull shot, before he was run out thanks to a Trevor Penney direct hit. Ramprakash didn’t last much longer, trapped leg before to give Dagnall his second wicket. When Ed Joyce was caught at cover following one of the most awful shots Lord’s has ever seen, the Crusaders were 24-5.Some dour defence followed from Paul Weekes. He was run out thanks to Allan Donald, and the writing was all but on the wall. Donald bowled seven overs in what will almost certainly be his last game at Lord’s finishing with figures of 1-8.Ben Hutton kept the Middlesex fans interested, making 49 before becoming Dagnall’s third scalp. Brief cameos from Simon Cook and Richard Johnson could not sway the result, as the Bears duly completed a 37 run victory.

New Zealand fast bowler James Franklin will miss the one-day series against SouthAfrica and Australia because of a knee injury which requires surgery. Franklin has missed the last six months of cricket because of the injury which flared again in a trial match for his state side Wellington, forcing him to pull out of the New Zealand squads.He will have surgery later this month, which will prevent him from taking part in the three-ODI series against South Africa which starts on November 25 and the Chappell-Hadlee series in December. A replacement for the series against South Africa will be named later this week.Franklin could miss even more international cricket, with his rehabilitation expected to take between four and six months. During that period New Zealand host Bangladesh for three one-dayers in December and then England for five ODIs in February.A more realistic target may be the return five-ODI series in England, which kicks off in June.

Rahul Dravid will watch from the sidelines as the Indians take on Rest ofSouth Africa in a four-day game at Potchefstroom that starts on Thursday, and he’ll haveplenty to assess from beyond the boundary as his team bids to inject somelife into a tour that has been an utter nightmare so far. Speaking to themedia ahead of the game, Dravid made no attempt to play down theimportance of the game, and expressed his disappointment at having to missout.”It’s good that it’s a four-day game,” he said. “Hopefully, there’ll betwo chances for us to bat, and the guys will get some time in the middle.The bowlers will also need to show intensity during long spells, and getinto Test-match mode.”I can’t fault the effort. As a group, we just haven’t played the bouncewell. It has a lot to do with the fact that we’ve come here with guys whoare out of form. That has accentuated the struggle.”Despite the heavy defeats in the one-day games – three drubbings by morethan 80 runs, and one nine-wicket defeat – Dravid insisted that the tourwas far from a lost cause. “We’ve got to remain positive,” he said. “Wehope this game will be the start of that. We know we can play much bettercricket than we showed in the ODIs. We won our last Test series in theWest Indies, and we’ll take some confidence from that. If the experiencedplayers get runs, we can put pressure on them and take 20 wickets.”Along with Dravid, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik and Munaf Patel are restedfor the game, and the team management will choose between Gautam Gambhirand Irfan Pathan on the morning of the game. Sachin Tendulkar hasrecovered fairly well after Andre Nel caused bruising in a forearm boneduring the last ODI at Centurion, but there’s understandable concern atMunaf’s failure to recover in time from his ankle troubles.”It wasn’t progressing as well as it should,” said Dravid, when askedabout Munaf. “The surgeon in Cape Town had suggested that he might beready to play this game, but now we’ve sent him to Johannesburg foranother check-up. Anil [Kumble] has gone with him since he’s been herebefore for treatment. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for the first Test.There’s a whole week to go.”There were no worries about his own broken finger. “I’ve been knockingaround a little in the nets,” he said, “and I’m hopeful that I’ll play thefirst Test. Fielding in the slips will be a challenge, but Sachin’s beencatching beautifully there, and [VVS] Laxman will take his usual place at secondslip. I’ll start batting in the nets in a couple of days.”According to Dravid, the final composition of the XI for the tour gamewould be decided by the captain for the game, Laxman. “Wasim Jaffer and[Virender] Sehwag will open,” he said, when pressed about the opening positions. Andwhen asked where that left Gambhir, Dravid said: “If we play theextra batsman, he may play at No.3, unless Laxman wants to bat there.We’ll take a look tomorrow morning and then decide.”Dravid didn’t read too much into Sehwag being replaced as vice-captain,but talked of how he and Laxman would gel well together. “He has a goodhead on his shoulders,” he said. “We go back a long way. We can be frankwith each other, and he won’t be shy of telling me what to do.”Though the debate continues to rage on the subject, Dravid flat-batted away aquestion on the need for a bowling coach or consultant. “The batsmen wehave here have played in these conditions before. We know what lengths andlines to bowl. We’re clear about that. Zaheer [Khan] has been here before, andwe’ll tap into his experience. Anil has bowled all around the world, andwe’ll make use of his knowledge too.”India last sent an Under-19 or A team to these parts nearly five yearsago, and Dravid admitted that other international sides had stolen a marchover India in that regard. “Even if they don’t send A teams, mostcountries send players to MRF [Pace Foundation, Chennai] or to the CCI-runWorld Cricket Academy. Alastair Cook is a good example of a guy who hadplayed in India before coming out for the last Test tour. They’ve gotacclimatised to the conditions in the subcontinent, and there’s a case forlooking into such tours for young players. You can work up tie-ups withteams. Even a Ranji Trophy side could work out a reciprocal arrangementwith local associations elsewhere.”As expected, he was asked a question about Sourav Ganguly’s return to thefold. “We hope he’ll make runs for us,” said Dravid. “He has theexperience of these conditions to play match-winning innings for us.”It will take more than one man though to halt India’s slide on this tour.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, officially launched the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka on Monday, telling reporters said that hosting the event would demonstrate the island’s strength and resilience in the wake of last year’s tsunami.”In December 2004 Sri Lanka was devastated by a terrible tragedy, and yet 11 months later the country is preparing to welcome 15 overseas teams full of the best young cricketers in the world,” Mani said. “Sport cannot compensate for such a tragedy but the fact this tournament is set to take place in Sri Lanka sends a wonderful and very positive message to the rest of the sporting world. It shows Sri Lanka is moving forward after the massive problem that has confronted the country and this World Cup should prove the perfect stage to once again highlight all that is good about the island.”The teams are scheduled to arrive in Colombo on January 31. The opening ceremony is on February 4 and that is followed by 44 matches over 15 days at five venues in the city. The final will be held at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, February 19.Mani pointed out this was the third time Sri Lanka has hosted an ICC event in the past six years, following on from the Under-19 World Cup in 2000 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2002. “No other nation can match this feat and it is something that reflects the confidence the ICC has in Sri Lanka to host these important events,” he said. “It also reflects Sri Lanka’s continuing passion for the game of cricket and the importance of the game in the fabric of the country.”He added that the event offered glimpses of the potential stars of the future. “Sanath Jayasuriya, Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Graeme Smith and Michael Clarke are all veterans of this ICC event,” he said. “Smith and Clarke played in the tournament here six years ago, along with the Indian duo of Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh, Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria and Marlon Samuels of the West Indies. And in 2004, in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka was captained by Farveez Maharoof, a player that made his Test debut just two months later.”

In the aftermath of their first-Test defeat against England at Port Elizabeth, South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, has appealed to the United Cricket Board for stability, warning that the side will be unable to progress unless the upheaval surrounding selection issues was brought under control.South Africa’s squad for the second Test at Durban will be announced tomorrow, the first to have been unveiled since the appointment of the new convenor of selectors, Haroon Lorgat, who took over from Omar Henry ahead of the Port Elizabeth Test. Nicky Boje is sure to be back in the squad, and Herschelle Gibbs is also in the selectors’ thoughts once again after recovering from injury. However, Smith is adamant that South Africa need to follow England’s example, and stabilise the entire structure surrounding the national side.”We do need to know what our best team is,” said Smith. “We’re a young side, and we need to stabilise all areas from the selectors down to the coach down to the team. A new convenor of selectors means different issues. A new coach wants different things to happen in the team. We have to start working towards a goal. Every time we start again, it’s back to the beginning.”As a captain you’re starting the same processes you started six months ago,” he continued, “with new players, a new coach and a new convenor of selectors. At the moment we keep starting a goal, and then we have to start again with the next one two months later. It’s crucial that South African cricket stabilises.”The more you jump around, the worse things become. Everyone’s got different beliefs and different thought processes about what needs to happen. Within the team, you’ve got to identify key positions and key players. If the convenor of selectors changes in four months’ time, we’re going to have different views again.”I’m expecting a phone-call today,” confirmed Smith, who believed there would be some “good consultation” before the team is unveiled. The return of Gibbs, who tests his fitness in a match for Western Province on Wednesday, will be a key issue, while Jacques Kallis’s ankle injury remains a big concern.”[Jacques] bowled about 15 minutes the other night and he woke up a bit stiff the next morning,” said Smith. “The physio is working hard, but that’s one we’re not sure of. But it will be nice to have Nicky back, and if Herschelle can perform the way he did last year, I think the England team will fear him a bit. He’s the type of guy who can turn a Test match on his own and take the game away.”Gibbs would doubtless take over from AB de Villiers at the top of the order, while Zander de Bruyn also seems likely to miss out to allow the talented young batsman Hashim Amla a chance for a home debut in front of his home crowd. “He’s a talented boy,” said Smith about Amla. “If he gets his opportunity I’m sure he’ll do well, as he knows the ground well. But we are inxeperienced, and that’s a reality for us. We are a young side and we’re developing key areas of our game. We’re selecting a squad of 14, so we’ll see what the selectors decide.”

Looking back on the first Test, Smith awarded his side a mark of “six-and-a-half out of ten, and probably lower” after England wrapped the match up on the fifth morning at Port Elizabeth. Though they battled hard to stay in contention throughout the match, South Africa were eventually outplayed on the decisive fourth afternoon, and slipped to defeat in less than ten overs’ play today.”We’ve got to learn to play for five days,” said Smith. “We’re very good at coming back when we get ourselves into hard situations, but it’s when we start the Test match on an even keel that we’ve got to do better. We’ve got to learn how to dominate those days.”There was a suspicion that England had not played to their full potential in this match, especially Steve Harmison, who managed a solitary wicket, but Smith didn’t think they had much more to give. “I think they played pretty well,” he said. “We don’t expect them to get too much better. Maybe some of their key performers might find a little bit more rhythm, but we expect ourselves to improve a lot.”And he insisted: “Durban offers us an opportunity. We’ve got a couple of days away, so we have to regroup pretty quickly. We’ve got to improve on one or two things in our game, especially under pressure. But we know how it feels to be 1-0 up – England came back [to level the series] against us last year. Maybe you relax and take one or two things for granted.”I think we did well to get ourselves back into contention,” added Smith. “The only thing that was a worry was the extras.” South Africa conceded a staggering 35 no-balls in the first innings, and the eventual cost to his team was more than 60 runs. “Without those, we could have had a much bigger lead. We’ve got to be harder on ourselves – in a Test match you can’t afford to give any freebies away. And if you give freebies away it ends up biting you hard towards the end of the match.”Smith remained hopeful of a return to winning ways, however, and the expected return of Boje will open up a few options in the bowling department. “It’s important to have a spinner, even if the track’s not turning. In the first innings he can hold up an end and you can attack from one end, and [Ashley] Giles did play an important role of giving his quicker bowlers rest.”[England’s] whole attack works well together, and that’s the key to a team performance. On any given day you’re not going to have everyone performing well. One or two guys have to put up their hands and take responsibility. That’s how it works. The England team played well, and they’re confident now.”Smith concluded: “Durban will be very hot and humid. It is one of our bounciest wickets, and it’s got good pace. But I’m more concentrating on where we can improve. In Test-match cricket you can’t play for one or two days, or for one or two sessions in a day. That’s just not good enough. If you have two good sessions and one bad session you’re really behind the eight-ball. So we’ve got to improve and be hard on ourselves and show a bit more presence.”

It’s D-Day for Calmore Sports in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League, Division 1 survival battle.They must beat Andover in their last 50-over match of the season at London Road tomorrow (1 o’clock) if they are to stand any chance of avoiding relegation.But, if survival is to be achieved, they need last year’s champions, Havant to beat Portsmouth at St Helen’s, Southsea."It’s what we do that counts," Calmore skipper Tom Pegler will remind his players before the start of play."We’ve got to build on last week’s top performance against Portsmouth (which Calmore won by a massive 162-run margin) and go out and win at Andover."No other result will do," he emphasised.But Pegler, who admits to being "very nervous" about tomorrow’s match, believes Calmore can do it."The lads showed last week what they can do. Andover are a useful side, but they’ve nothing to play for. We have – our future in Premier League cricket," Pegler said.Hampshire 2nd XI all-rounder James Hibberd, Paul Cass, seamer Charlie Freeston and Pegler himself will be the key players for Calmore, who have availability doubts over John Wall and left-arm spinner Mark Boston.Andover, seventh in the overall table, plan to field the side beaten by five runs by the Hampshire Academy last week.Calmore’s neighbours, BAT Sports will be formally presented with the Premier League championship trophy before the match with South Wilts at Southern Gardens.But left-hand opener Damian Shirazi will probably be on MCC Groundstaff duty at the C & G Trophy final at Lord’s.It’s a big day for his batting partner Neal Parlane, who needs another 52 runs to beat Robin Smith’s all-time Southern League 1,015 record, set in 1982.Parlane will receive his Premier League Batsman of the Year award prior to tomorrow’s match.But, even if BAT win, there’s no guarantee they will finish top of the 50-over Pennant as Bournemouth currently boast the best record after eight (of the nine) limited-over matches.Victory for Bournemouth over Liphook & Ripsley at Chapel Gate will give Richard Scott’s side the prize.Scott captains Bournemouth instead of Farnham-bound Matt Swarbrick and will have Dorset skipper Stuart Rintoul at his side.It’s a crucial day for Bournemouth, whose 2nd XI will clinch promotion to Premier Division 3 if they win – and take a decent point haul – from their final Hampshire League game with mid-table Eastleigh & Otterbourne at Wellow & Plaitford.Bashley (Rydal) must beat the Hampshire Academy at the BCG to finish third in Premier Division 1.They might have edged ahead of the county youngsters but for a 203-runs each tie against South Wilts last week.Second XI captain Graham Pardey, who has scored almost 500 Division 3 runs this summer, is set to replace Chris Sketchley.

Taking advantage of a fine first-innings batting effort, Baroda wontheir Ranji Trophy league match against Saurashtra at Rajkot by aninnings and 184 runs inside three days.Skipper Tushar Arothe’s century was superseded by a patient 164 fromNayan Mongia. Batting for 453 minutes and 281 balls, Mongia struck 15fours in his knock and was the ninth wicket to fall, with the score onexactly 500. He received good support from the lower order, with AjitBhoite making 51 and Rakesh Patel a quickfire 41.In the face of a total of 509, Saurashtra’s batting wilted in theirfirst innings. Zaheer Khan, bowling to catch the national selectors’eye again, returned figures of 20-11-25-5. Saurashtra could only make115 in their first innings, with the top score being skipper ShitanshuKotak’s 28 off 141 balls.Following on, Saurashtra did only marginally better in their secondessay, making 210. Opener Sujith Somasunder top-scored with 57, butnone of the other batsmen could even get to 50. Bhoite took 4-31 inthe second innings, and Baroda went on to collect eight points byvirtue of their comprehensive outright win.

West Zone lost an absolute humdinger to Air India in the CricInfo RaniJhansi Trophy in Chennai today. Losing by just five runs to an AirIndia side that was made to work hard for victory, West Zone settledonce more for silver in a big match. Despite a fighting 51 fromskipper Kalyani, West Zone could not make the required runs.Chasing 152, West Zone got off to a bad start, losing Amrutha Shindeearly in the innings. Arti Vaidya looked confident while she tookstrike, stroking the ball effortlessly through the off side. Coming tothe pitch of the ball, she used the angled bat to great effect,carving the ball through the gaps in the off side. However when shewas going strong on 14 she tried to force the ball through the offsideoff the bowling of mediumpacer Smita Harikrishna. The ball flew offthe face of the bat towards Manju Nadoda at slip. Sticking her righthand out in a split second, she plucked the ball out of the air justbefore it hit the ground.In walked captain Kalyani Umbrani. She started slowly, content onpushing the ball into the gaps for ones and twos. As the overs piledon, the asking rate steadily crept up towards the six an overmark. Vice captain Sunetra Parajape played steadily at the otherend. However, she perished just when things began to look solid forWest Zone.After Sunetra was dismissed, things began to look decidedly better forAir India. Sangeetha Kamat played a few good shots but could notsustain her aggression. Sulakshana Naik, drafted into the side tobolster the batting, livened up the proceedings with a pugnaciousknock. Hitting cleanly through the line, she narrowed the gap betweenballs remaining and runs required. Sweeping the off spinners, she gaveWest a glimmer of hope. When she ran herself out pushing hard for arun that was simply not on, things were all but over.Kalyani toiled bravely at the other end, but the pressure soon got toher as well. Till the end she showed enormous reserves of patience,waiting for the loose ball. When she made the fatal error ofattempting to swing medium pacer Kusumalatha across the line, AirIndia had sealed the game. Kalyani had done well, making 51, but hadnot done enough.Chandarani Kamble and Ashwini Nadkarni found the task at hand too bigto handle and could only pick ones and twos. When the last ball wasdelivered and only a single taken off it, Air India had won by aslender margin.Earlier in the day West Zone lost its fifth consecutive toss and wereasked to field. Beginning well, skipper Kalyani and Neelima Waghmaregot into rhythm immediately. Neelima has been right on the spot in thetournament so far, with returns of 2/17 from the last 20 overs she hadbowled. Today was no exception. Bowling her overs on the trot as shehas done so far in the tournament, Neelima troubled Purnima from theword go. When Purnima brought her bat down a shade late to a quickerdelivery, the ball squirted through bat and pad and dislodged thebails.Anjum Chopra, who made a flawless unbeaten 89 in her last innings,joined Anju Jain at the wicket. Anju grew more confident as the oversrolled by and chanced her arm against off spinner Sonali Chandok. Anjuwas lucky to be at the crease after three overs from the offspinner. Coming down the wicket she was totally beaten and only alapse from wicketkeeper Ashwini Nadkarni let her off. However, shecashed in on the chance and went on to hit the ball crisply throughthe line.Anju continued to strike the ball well, till she began to play acrossthe line. Attempting to hit Sonali over the onside with the spin, shecame very close to being caught at midwicket on more than oneoccasion. The ball eluded the fielder and it looked like it would beAnju’s day.Neelima finished her 10 overs for just 27 runs and captured the allimportant wicket of Air India captain Purnima Rau.Anjum Chopra too looked comfortable at the wicket. Turning the ballbehind the wicket with ease, she grafted for runs. When she hit theball to Sangeetha Kamat at mid on and took off for a quick single shewas struggling. Sangeetha, one of the better fielders of thetournament so far swooped in on the ball, picked up with one hand andlet the throw rip. The ball nailed middle stump and Anjum was wellshort of her ground.With two of the top three back in the pavilion and just 37 on theboard, Air India would have worried a bit. There was more cause forworry as Anju skied a catch to Neelima at mid off. Beaten in theflight and just a shade off the wicket, Anju could not get to thepitch of the ball and Sonali was rewarded for a good spell. Once gainSonali had shown that it was not essential to bowl flat to keep thingstight. Giving the ball a lot of air she enticed the batswomen intofalse shots on many occasions without luck. She ended with a return of1/29 from her 10 overs.After the top three were dismissed, West Zone managed to keep thingsquiet. In turn the Air India team felt the pressure, having lost quickwickets. Sangeetha Kamat was pressed into action to bowl hermediumpacers and she was steady as ever. While not tumbling, wicketsfell at regular enough intervals to stifle the scoring rate. Sangeethahelped herself to 2/22 off 9 overs.In the last few overs, Air India managed to up their scoring rate withsome crisp shots to the outfield. Air India ended on 152. DeepaliPatkar and Manju Nadguda were the two unbeaten batswomen with 15 and31 respectively.At the end of the day it was the experience of Air India skipperPurnima Rau that made the difference. It was again a case of West Zonelooking good for glory but having to settle for a pat on the back. Itwill be to their credit that they gave Air India a serious run fortheir money. However, there will be players in the West Zone camp whowill believe that they lost a match they should have won. That is notvery far from the truth.

Uganda’s women will host their counterparts from Rwanda between October 12 and 14 in a series of warm-up games at Lugogo Cricket Oval.The matches are aimed at preparing the sides for the ICC Eastern Africa Regional women’s tournament which takes place in Nairobi this December. Four countries will participate – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.Uganda and Rwanda were due to meet this weekend but the games were postponed. “Most of the Rwandese players are doing exams and their coach Eric Mbanga has requested us to postpone the series to next weekend,” a Uganda Cricket Association official told The Monitor.Uganda are the defending champions of the ICC Eastern Africa women’s regional tournament.