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Kenya 237 (Odoyo 53) beat Zimbabwe A 152 and 73 (Odoyo 5-31) by an innings and 12 runsKenya’s tour of Zimbabwe got off to an excellent start when they beat Zimbabwe A by an innings and 12 runs with more than a day to spare in the opening match of their brief visit.The first day ended with honours just about even. Zimbabwe won the toss and batted, but were almost immediately in trouble, slipping to 66 for 6 at lunch before recovering to 152 thanks to a last-wicket stand of 55 between Allan Mwayenga and Christopher Mpofu. Kenya found the going equally hard, sliding to 111 for 6 by the close.But on the second day, Kenya established an 85-run lead, thanks largely to Thomas Odoyo’s 53, and then skittled Zimbabwe A out for only 73, Odoyo leading the rout with five wickets. Zimbabwe A’s top order was again found wanting as they slumped to 29 for 5, with Dion Ebrahim, the most expereinced player in the side, collecting a pair.

Few reporters had good words for either the ICC or the ECB as they repacked their bags and prepared to head for Zimbabwe

“After promises from David Morgan [the ECB chairman] that they would never again be placed in such an invidious position, leadership has failed them once more,” wrote Derek Pringle, one of the 13 originally banned, in The Daily Telegraph. But he also warned: “Uncertainty and obfuscation are the stock-in-trade of places like Zimbabwe and this tour is by no means settled.”Writing in The Guardian, Mike Selvey said that Robert Mugabe had acted with “the timing of a top comedian”. He added: “[Mugabe] sat them on a whoopee cushion to end all whoopee cushions. Guess what lads, just when you thought you had it taped; just when the Sons and Daughters of News International had delivered their 11th-hour get-out trump a la Cape Town; just when, for the very first time, the members of the International Cricket Council, a body with all the natural flexibility of a whalebone corset, had moved onside, you are all coming to play after all because we are letting your scribblers in.”But The Times‘s Simon Barnes said that rather than blame Morgan, it was the ICC who were at fault. “No one in the ICC is prepared to consider that this is exactly what Mugabe wants of them. Rather worse, no one in the ICC has felt that support for a murderous dictator is not morally sound … and as the ICC politicos assume their posture for the next round of power struggles in the game of cricket, so members of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe are murdered. Once again, the ICC is relishing England’s discomfiture. And if a few more Zimbabweans have to wear electrodes on their balls as a result, that’s a small price to pay for pleasure.”Back to The Daily Telegraph where Kate Hoey, the former sports minister who last year visited Zimbabwe under cover, said that she had repeatedly warned the ECB not to be “drawn into a position where they would be used by the master manipulator Mugabe as a pawn in his battle for unfettered power. Now they have ended up looking pathetic with Morgan, in particular, resembling nothing more than a half-dead mouse.”The Independent warned that when England arrive, their visit will attract “considerable anger because it coincides with a controversial bill that critics of the Mugabe regime claim is driving out the aid organisations which have been a last line of defence for a population already threatened by famine and an HIV-Aids epidemic.”Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe the overtly pro-Mugabe Daily Herald merely reported that today’s one-dayer had been postponed because England would be arriving late in Harare. It mentioned in passing that some media had been given accreditation late, but didn’t touch on the real crisis which threatened the series.

Gone, but not forgotten. Andrew Miller tracks the highs – and some of the lows – of Darren Gough’s nine years as a Test cricketer.Test No. 1 – v New Zealand, Old Trafford 1994
It is typical that a character as exuberant as Darren Gough should jump in at the deep end of Test cricket and make as big a splash as possible. His buccaneering and fearless performance at Old Trafford was the most uplifting debut by an England player since the days of Ian Botham and David Gower. He puffed out his chest and wound up his followthrough to clatter a wonderful 65 in an unlikely 130-run partnership with Phil DeFreitas, then bounded in and blew Mark Greatbatch from the crease in a barrage of bouncers in his first over. He finished that first innings with figures of 4 for 47, and there was no looking back.Test No. 4 – v South Africa, The Oval 1994
Gough had taken eight wickets in the first Test at Lord’s, a rare highlight in a depressing defeat for England, but in the decisive third Test he was once again in the thick of the action … with the bat. England were staring down the barrel at 222 for 7 when Gough joined DeFreitas for their second vital stand of the summer. Gough’s 42 not out in a partnership of 70 reignited England’s challenge, and paved the way for Devon Malcolm’s unforgettable assault in the second innings. Malcolm took the plaudits for his 9 for 57, but Gough landed the one that got away – Daryll Cullinan, who top-scored for South Africa with a fine 94.Test No. 7 – v Australia, Sydney 1994-95
The match that confirmed Gough as a superstar of world cricket, even though his heroics couldn’t quite secure England a series-salvaging victory. England had been slaughtered in the opening two Tests of the series, and were in an equally unpromising position in the third, when Gough’s whirling blade once again came to the rescue. His seat-of-the-pants 51 transformed an innings for the third time in his brief career, as the unlikely trio of Gough, Angus Fraser and Devon Malcolm added 112 for the last three wickets. But that was just the start. Gough followed up with 6 for 49 as Australia were bundled out for 116, and it required a determined rearguard from Mark Taylor and Michael Slater to salvage the match for the Aussies. By this stage of his career, Gough was averaging 34.85 with the bat and was being talked of – without irony – as the next Ian Botham. The pundits were half-right.Test No. 8 – v West Indies, Headingley 1995
A cruel foot injury had curtailed Gough’s Ashes campaign, but his comeback Test, in front of his beloved Yorkshire crowd, was an eagerly anticipated event. Unfortunately, it was also a terrible anticlimax for Gough. His first ball, from Ian Bishop, was hooked belligerently into the hands of Curtly Ambrose at fine leg, and he managed only five overs in the match before limping off with a side strain.Test No. 12 – v South Africa, Johannesburg, 1995-96
Not a happy match for bowlers, as Mike Atherton and Jack Russell saved England’s bacon with their immense partnership at the Wanderers. And Gough was no exception. He returned match figures of 0 for 116, and Raymond Illingworth did not pick him for another Test all tour. Astonishingly, he was also overlooked for the entire of the following summer.Test No. 16 – v New Zealand, Wellington, 1996-97
Respite for England, and Mike Atherton in particular, following a grim tour of Zimbabwe. And the first glimpse of a bowling partnership that would carry England to unaccustomed heights in the coming years. Gough and Andrew Caddick shared the spoils as New Zealand were blown away for 124 in their first innings, and Gough returned with a further four scalps in the follow-on for matchwinning figures of 9 for 92.Test No. 18 – v Australia, Edgbaston, 1997
At last, success against the Aussies for Gough, as England launched the 1997 Ashes series with a stunning victory at Edgbaston. Gough’s six wickets in the match were a vital part of England’s achievement, but more important than that was the spirit he brought to the team. One passage of play summed up his contribution. After bowling Greg Blewett with a no-ball, most bowlers would have sunk to their knees in exasperation. Not Gough. He merely grinned, returned to his mark, and immediately had Blewett caught at slip, as Australia slumped to 118 all out.Test No. 26 – v South Africa, Headingley, 1998
As one of life’s winners, Gough had remarkably little to show for it, until he applied the finishing touch to England’s fightback against South Africa in 1998. After a disappointing year, in which he had had to pull out of the tour of the Caribbean with the first of his many knee injuries, it was fourth time lucky for Gough in front of his home crowd, as he picked up nine wickets including a career-best 6 for 42 in the second innings. The finish was pure theatre. With the series locked at 1-1, it all came down to the final morning. South Africa needed 34 for victory, England needed two wickets. But Gough bounded in and settled the match within 28 minutes, as England won a five-Test series for the first time in 11 years.Tests No. 30 & 31 – v Australia, Melbourne and Sydney, 1998-99
The back-to-back Christmas and New Year Tests provided two of the most memorable Ashes battles of the decade, and Gough was at his irrepressible best in both. At Melbourne, he first kept England in touch after a poor batting performance, with a first-innings haul of 5 for 94, then applied the coup de grace to a spectacular Australian collapse in their second innings, with two inswinging yorkers in four balls to dispatch the tail and secure a memorable 12-run victory.That was just the prelude, however, to Gough’s most memorable achievement in Oz – a magnificent hat-trick in the fifth Test at Sydney. If the calibre of his victims was ordinary, then the manner of their dismissals could not have been bettered. Ian Healy was startled by a rearing lifter which he gloved to the keeper; Stuart MacGill had his middle stump uprooted by the perfect yorker; and, best of all, Colin Miller was bowled neck-and-crop by a Wasim-esque outswinging yorker that seemed to move six ways from Sunday before taking the off stump. Michael Slater survived a controversial run-out to make a second-innings century, which ensured that Gough’s final Test Down Under would end in defeat, but his respect had been secured.Test No. 40 – v West Indies, Lord’s 2000
Gough’s five wickets in the first Test hadn’t been able to stave off an innings defeat at Edgbaston, and England were in the last-chance saloon if their dreams of winning back the Wisden Trophy were to be fulfilled after a 32-year hiatus. Gough did his bit with the ball, taking 4 for 72 in the first innings, but it was his extraordinary catch in the deep off Caddick that changed the course of England’s recent history. England trailed by a hefty 133 on first innings, but when Sherwin Campbell uppercut Caddick towards the third man boundary, Gough leapt to his right and clung onto an inspirational catch. West Indies were blown away for 54 in their second innings, and in an excruciatingly tight finish, Gough then showed the more measured side to his game, scoring 4 not out from 19 balls in support of Dominic Cork, who inched England to victory by two wickets.Test No. 42, v West Indies, Headingley 2000
The day England all but secured the Wisden Trophy, as Gough and Caddick combined to rout West Indies inside two days. Gough had done a pretty good job in the first innings as West Indies slipped to 172 all out, and England’s first-innings lead of 100 looked like being a handy advantage. In fact, it was more than that. Gough started the West Indian rot with four wickets in five overs, before Caddick trumped him with as many in a single over of mayhem. West Indies slumped to 61 all out and an innings defeat, and England had taken a decisive lead in the series.Test No. 46, v Pakistan, Karachi 2000-01
The great Dennis Lillee managed three wickets in his entire career on the soul-destroying featherbeds of the subcontinent. Gough, now at the pinnacle of his game, managed twice that in a single match, as England became the first side ever to topple Pakistan in their favourite stadium in Karachi. They did so in spectacular fashion, chasing 176 in near-darkness, but without Gough’s tireless improvisation, including 3 for 30 in Pakistan’s second innings, they might never have had the opportunity.Test No. 48 & 49, v Sri Lanka, Kandy and Colombo 2000-01
The mightiest performance of Gough’s career. England had been routed in the oppressive heat of Galle, but bounced back supremely to level the series at Kandy. Gough was head-and-shoulders above his colleagues, picking up eight wickets on a pitch as unresponsive to fast bowling as might be expected of Muttiah Muralitharan’s home turf.He was equally impressive in the final, series-clinching, Test at Colombo, where his three second-innings wickets helped to bundle Sri Lanka out for 81, the third double-figure score made against England in ten Tests. Gough’s total of 14 wickets earned him the Man of the Series award, and the eternal gratitude of his captain, Nasser Hussain.Test No. 50, v Pakistan, Lord’s 2001
It had always been a bone of some contention for Gough that he had failed to make it onto the honours board at Lord’s in five attempts. At the sixth time of asking, however, he made no mistake at all, and celebrated his 50th Test in effervescent fashion. In addition, Gough had entered the match needing three more wickets to join the exclusive 200 club. He duly dispatched Rashid Latif to bring up that milestone, then picked up two more wickets in the same over to land the five-for. Pakistan were thumped by an innings, and England’s Ashes summer was off to the perfect start. It didn’t last, however …Test No. 55, v Australia, Headingley 2001
Another five-wicket haul on his home ground, but this was not a happy occasion for Gough, for whom the prospect of Ashes glory had once again been extinguished – inside 11 days of actual playing time. He did at least have the pleasure of being part of a winning side, thanks to Mark Butcher’s once-in-a-lifetime 173 not out, but had it not been for rain and Adam Gilchrist’s generous declaration, England would surely have finished the match 4-0 down.Test No. 58, v South Africa, Lord’s 2003
Gough has made a career out of bubbling through adversity, and the fact that he managed to make a comeback to Test cricket after a chronic knee injury was completely against all predictions. He deserved better, simply for the chutzpah he had shown, but after a solitary wicket in two Tests, it was all too clear that he had lost that magic touch. He retired with a final tally of 229 Test wickets in 58 matches, but his impact on English cricket has transcended mere figures.

The opening day of the crucial second Test at Asgiriya International Stadiumin Kandy ended with honours even on Wednesday despite an extraordinary firsthour in which the West Indies were handicapped by the loss of half theirbowling attack in the space of four balls.West Indies, asked to field by Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya, startedthe day well, taking a wicket in the very first over, but then saw theirpremier fast bowler, Mervyn Dillon, break down with a mystery injury in histhird over. Three balls later his replacement, Colin Stuart, was banned frombowling again in the innings after bowling two beamers at Jayasuriya.West Indies were left facing Sri Lanka with just one fast bowler, PedroCollins, who had not bowled a ball under match conditions in the tour priorto today, and leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, whose fingers will still havebeen sore from his heavy workload in Galle.Nevertheless, Sri Lanka’s reckless batsmen conspired to lose four wickets inthe morning to hand the tourists the initiative before polishedhalf-centuries from Mahela Jayawardene and Hashan Tillakaratne led anafternoon recovery to leave the home team moderately well placed on 193 forfive when rain ended play for the day.The rain, which wiped out the entire final session, will have been warmlywelcomed by the West Indies management, who will be hoping that Dillonrecovers sufficiently to take a full part on tomorrows play. He did returnto bowl a five over spell in the afternoon, but did so in great pain.The management remains confused as to the reason why Dillon suddenlyexperienced shooting pains in his diaphragm after each delivery. He was fineyesterday and during the warm-up this morning. They are to consultspecialists as soon as possible.For Stuart, however, there will be no return until the second innings afterLaw 42.6 (b), which deals exclusively with the bowling of ‘High Full PitchedBalls’, was tightened up in September 2000. In the past, bowlers receivedtwo warnings before being removed from the attack, but now they get a firstand final warning.There was some confusion. Stuart marched back to his mark expecting tocontinue the over, complaining of a sweaty bowling palm, whilst the umpiresconferred with each other and the match referee, before informing CarlHooper of the freak situation. There may have a case for discretion beingused, but the rules were purposely changed to reduce subjectivity indecision-making on a dangerous issue.Kandy, of course, is no stranger to the unusual. It was here that Australiancaptain Steve Waugh broke his nose and fast bowler Jason Gillespie his legduring a horrific on-field collision in 1999.Then, earlier this year against England, Sri Lankan umpire B.C. Coorayneeded police protection after one of the most disgraceful umpiring displaysin recent times.All the while, some Sri Lanka’s cricketers and fans now privately worry thata hill country hoodoo conspires against them whenever they play here.They batted like they were cursed too, having won a good toss. MarvanAtapattu stumbled into a straight delivery from Dillon and was adjudged lbw,to record his 19th duck in 87 Test innings.Jayasuriya, perhaps unsettled by the unusual sight of five different bowlersin the first seven overs of the innings, clubbed three boundaries beforebeing surprised by some sharp bounce and edging to third slip.Kumar Sangakkara and Russel Arnold then played dreadful shots, as they triedto force leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine against the spin were clean bowledto leave an embarrassed home team on 53 for four.Jayawardene and Tillakaratne continued their prime form from Galle to savethem from total humiliation, adding 116 in just over two hours.Jaywardene, who came into the match with scores 104, 25, 139, 150, and 99 inhis last four Tests, counter attacked in style as he went on to score 88. Itwas a faultless innings full of well-balance pulls and compact drives.But after the after the post-lunch drinks break he became becalmed, asTillakaratne, batting with greater freedom than at anytime since returningto Test cricket in August, dominated the strike. Seemingly anxious to getmoving again he was caught and bowled in Ramnarines’s first over of a newspell as he tried to work the ball into the leg-side.Tillakaratne correctly sensed that this was not the time for one of hispainful attritional innings and pull-swept high over mid-wicket and thensquare cut for four to bring up his fifty before finishing the day unbeatenon 60.Tillakaratne has now batted for 883 minutes without being dismissedfollowing scores of 139* against India, 10* against Bangladesh, and 105* inGalle last week.The match remains evenly poised with Sri Lanka holding a marginal advantage.During the last three Tests in Kandy the first innings scores have been 253,297 and 274. With a strong lower order they are well placed to surpass this,especially if Dillon remains in capacitated.For their part, West Indies take credit from the teams response to suchmisfortune. Considering their predicament they did very well indeed,especially Ramnarine, who enjoyed some bite off the wicket in the firstsession and bowled accurately throughout.Earlier in the day both sides made one change from Galle. The Sri Lankanshad recalled left-arm fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa in place of Charitha BuddikaFernando, whilst the West Indies included left-arm fast bowler PedroCollins.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been signed by Rangpur to play in the third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League which begins from November 22. Misbah has not played international T20 cricket since he stepped down as Pakistan captain in 2012, but he has been a consistent feature in domestic T20s and foreign leagues.Misbah, 41, recently led Pakistan to No. 2 in the Test rankings after a 2-0 defeat of England in the UAE. He had hinted at retiring after the series but the PCB had asked him to delay those plans.So that means his next assignment would be a tour of England in July 2016. The remainder of Pakistan’s Test specialists will play plenty of limited-overs cricket, including the Asia Cup and the World T20 next year, but Misbah who has retired from both the shorter formats, is hoping to keep himself match-ready by playing the Quaid-E-Azam trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament, and later the Bangladesh Premier League.”I have signed with BPL,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “I want to carry on and keep myself motivated and maintain my fitness. So whatever cricket comes in I want to play to avoid being complacent.”Pakistan’s domestic season will conclude in February next year. The first Test at Lord’s is in July, four months later. So Misbah is keen to secure a contract with an English county to make sure he doesn’t turn up undercooked.”I love the game and want to play it,” Misbah had said after the England Test series. “It’s really difficult when you have not played any competitive cricket for six, seven, eight months and suddenly you come and play against top players. So this is a period you need to motivate yourself.”I can still play domestic cricket and be ready for that kind of challenge, but that’s not easy. I have mentioned that before because after retiring from ODIs, I can feel that whenever the Tests come the first game is always difficult and the body mechanism is not working. I feel that I am playing after a long time and it takes one or two innings to settle and if you are getting out early it could be horrible for you so these things are there so I am just trying to rethink and work out.”

Twice, the captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz got Bangladesh Under-19s back into the semi-final against West Indies Under-19s. But when he came to bowl his last over, with West Indies needing just eight runs off 18 balls, he was tasked with scripting a miracle. There was not to be any, as he gave away one run in his over, took the cap from the umpire and slowly walked towards Mohammad Saifuddin, who eventually conceded the winning runs.Mehedi was one of those Bangladesh players who did not sit down on the floor after Shamar Springer hit the match-winning four. Instead, he pulled a few of his team-mates to their feet, and when all of them were slowly walking towards the on-coming West Indies players to shake hands, the Shere Bangla National Stadium gave them a standing ovation.Mehedi had been the face of Bangladesh Under-19s side all tournament. His calmness under pressure, and his ability to bring the team out of trouble had touched one and all.From 88 for 4 with the set batsman Joyraz Sheik just dismissed, Bangladesh could have folded quickly, but Mehedi held on, adding 85 runs for the sixth wicket with Saifuddin. He rode out the pressure period and found a boundary whenever the West Indies bowlers tried to put together a cluster of dot balls. With the ball, Mehedi bore the brunt of Gidron Paul’s early bashing but kept himself on until he removed Pope in the seventh over.Bangladesh were still in the game at that stage, but it was not to be their day. Despite Mehedi’s 60 off 74 balls and the two early wickets, Bangladesh could not really find a way to beat West Indies. The crux of the trouble was not the West Indies fast bowlers’ early verve, but the way the hosts only made 30 runs in the last five overs and lost four wickets, including those of Mehedi and Saifuddin, before the pair could start the final assault.Mehedi later said that 20 more runs towards the end of their innings would have made the difference, though he stood by the decision to bat first.”The wicket was slow. We don’t play under pressure at this level of cricket,” he said. “We thought if we score 240-250, it would be difficult for any opposition. We were short by 20 runs. When Saifuddin and I got out at that time, the runs dropped down. That’s where it went wrong for us. If I was there till the end, we could have reached 250. We had to take risk as we had six wickets in hand in the last five overs. We went behind the eight-ball as soon as Saifuddin got out the next ball to my dismissal.”Mehedi rued the extra runs mainly because of the way Saifuddin kept bowling those yorkers. He was proud of how Saifuddin kept Bangladesh in the game with his yorkers but realised that unless the West Indies batsmen went after him, they would not be effective. “He does bowl good yorkers but since we were defending a low total, it wasn’t working because they were not trying to go after him.”Their attacking start reduced the pressure that was on them at the start of the chase. Had the spinners bowled better, we would have stopped them,” he said.Mehedi said that his team learned how to handle pressure at a young age, particularly playing in front of a large crowd and handling expectations. “As much as we say there’s no pressure, there is some at the U19 level. We never played in front of such a big crowd.”We had the pressure from the expectation that we have to win the semi-final. We are still very young. We have to manage all this, and now that we have seen such situations, played in front big crowds, we will manage it well next time.”Mehedi’s side may have been the first from Bangladesh to reach the last four of the competition, but he hoped that the team would improve even further in the next World Cup.”The third-place match is also important as it would mean we would be among the top five Test-playing nations in this competition. Mushfiq bhai’s team were fifth, and after us, the next generation can better our result.”

The London County Cricket Club has embarked on its third year of looking for the next generation of England bowlers, with the aim of giving disadvantaged youngsters the opportunity to realise their potential as cricketers. For a small entry fee of £10, the contenders have just twelve balls to prove to a panel of first-class coaches that they have what it takes.So far, so Pop Idol, but the project has far greater historical depth than a vacuous venture fronted by Simon Cowell. The club was launched in 1899 by WG Grace to give “invaluable first-class match experience to many cricketers who could not otherwise get it”. The club lay dormant for a century before Neil Burns, the former Leicestershire wicketkeeper, forged its renaissance in 2004 to launch Search 4 A Star.”I believe that there are many young cricketers aged between 16 and 24 who have the ability and the desire to be nurtured as cricketers who can succeed at the highest level,” Burns said. “If for any reason they feel overlooked, rejected or unaware of the ECB county system, we at London County Cricket Club want to play our part in identifying, developing and bridging them into the system where they can ultimatelybecome successful cricketers.”And that is Burns’ chief concern, that too many talented teenagers fall through the ECB’s net – or worse, aren’t aware the net exists in the first place. The club provides a vital bridge from obscurity (and often hopelessness) to possible recognition and success. And all for a tenner.The inaugural winner was Tim Linley, a fast-medium bowler from a large Leeds family who had had little opportunity in cricket. He was subsequently offered a contract with Sussex, but found it difficult to break into the first team and was released in 2006. It was as disappointing for the club as it was for Linley.But then there was Sachin Vaja. “His is an exceptional story,” Paul Carter, LCCC’s spokesman told Cricinfo. “We discovered him in our trials in Ilford in 2005. He had played very littlestructured cricket before [apart from] a lot of tape-ball cricket. A friend of his hadread in the local newspaper that we were holding these trials and phoned himto say he should go.”He was in the car running an errand for his father andat a junction it was essentially turn left for the cricket club or right torun the errand. At the last minute he decided to turn left and attend, inthe clothes he was wearing. He turned the ball with his off-breaksunbelievably.”So impressed were the coaches – especially Jack Birkenshaw – that he was invited into the finals and joined the ECB’s spin academy last September. Vaja was awarded the inaugural Jim Laker Scholarship last September before Essex swooped to offer him a Development Contract. His story encompasses LCCC’s primary aims: spotting talent; nurturing potential.This year there is an added twist, or incentive, to the event: six youngsters will join LCCC, alongside first-class and former international players, to tour West Indies in September and October, at the invitation of Sir Viv Richards, the club’s honorary captain. From there, Burns will pick two of the six to join him at his academy in Cape Town this winter, and one of those will receive a full county contract for 2008.The chances might be slim but the rewards are plentiful. As Vaja has demonstrated, talent can take people a long way – but not without a catalyst such as Burns and Grace.To register, visit

The injured Bangladesh fast bowlers Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel will be fit for the Champions Trophy, Dav Whatmore, the coach has confirmed. Mortaza and Rasel missed the first of Bangladesh’s practice games while the second one at Savar was washed out without a ball being bowled.Mortaza, the architect of Bangladesh’s recent 3-0 whitewash of Kenya in an away one-day series, sustained an ankle injury earlier this month while Rasel had a foot injury.Meanwhile, Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain who has recovered from the finger-injury he sustained in Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe in July, regretted that the side could only play one practice game before the Champions Trophy. “We are looking forward to the only practice match in India,” Bashar told , a Dhaka-based daily. Our target is very simple. We want to play in the second round and I honestly believe that we have the ability to make it happen.”It is tough as Sri Lanka are in very good form while West Indies played good cricket in their last tournament and Zimbabwe won the last series against us but still it is not impossible for us. We have to win at least two games if we want to reach the second round that’s why we will try to win all our three games. There have been much talk about the Zimbabwe match but it will not surprise me if we qualify for the main tournament beating the strong opponents.”Whatmore accepted that the most realistic ambition for Bangladesh was qualification, and said that the team was determined to win all three qualifying matches. “West Indies played pretty well in the DLF Cup in Malaysia. They made it to the final. So, for us to make it through to the Champions Trophy proper, it will take really a good effort but we are capable of it.”It would be preferable to get some runs at the top. If we are able to get some good runs without losing too many wickets then that would be a nice start. At times we expose the middle order and the lower order a bit early that is not nice. But this is a young team and have tremendous potential,” he added.The chief selector Faruq Ahmed said the primary goal of the side was to beat Zimbabwe, to whom Bangladesh lost 3-2 in Harare. “We have to do it to prove that we are better than the Zimbabweans,” Ahmed said. “But it will not be easy to beat the West Indies or Sri Lanka as both are playing good cricket.”Bangladesh have to win at least two ties of the qualifying round, which features West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, but the injury news will be a boost.

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Rahul Dravid led the way with a superb 66 and Shaun Pollock, given the honour of captaining the side, chipped in with a terrific 38-ball 54 as the World XI held off a determined challenge from Victoria to post a narrow 12-run victory in a warm-up match at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Brad Hodge top-scored with 92, and Michael Klinger chipped in with 62 as Victoria made a bright start in pursuit of 282 for victory. But with the exception of David Hussey, who made 32, none of the other batsmen could make a decisive contribution as the chase floundered. Muttiah Muralitharan ended Hodge’s marvellous innings on his way to figures of 2 for 54, and there were two wickets apiece for Shoaib Akhtar – the pick of the bowlers, in a fiery spell of 2 for 29 – and Jacques Kallis as the World XI staved off embarrassment.That had certainly been on the cards when Cameron White, seen by many as Shane Warne’s legspin successor for Australia, bowled Shahid Afridi to end an 18-run cameo, leaving the World XI reeling at 131 for 6. But Dravid added 64 with Chris Gayle and 53 with Pollock as the Victorian bowling was taken apart in the final overs.There was no hint of the drama to come as Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara added 63 for the first wicket. But a probing spell from Shane Harwood changed the complexion of the game, with Brian Lara – caught flicking one to square leg – and Kevin Pietersen, caught behind going for a big one, both falling cheaply.Dravid and Gayle started the riposte, taking the total into the realms of respectability before Rudi Koertzen gave Gayle out stumped off the bowling of White. Fortunately for the world’s finest, Pollock provided a devastating sting in the tail. After that, it was the bowlers who proved their mettle, despite Hodge’s announcement of intent to the Australian selectors.

Elite Group

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Ajay Jadeja produced an unbeaten 103 as Delhi piled on a massive total at the Roshanara Club Ground in Delhi. Resuming at 258 for 2, Delhi lost Aakash Chopra (78) and Mithun Manhas (95) early in the day. However, Jadeja found an able ally in NS Negi and the two added 81 in quick time. Jadeja, who was elevated to the Delhi captaincy in the beginning of the season, cracked 15 fours in his knock on his way to his 18th first-class hundred.
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The Karnataka batting disappointed for the second successive game as they struggled on the second day at Bangalore. Barrington Rowland, the opener, managed a battling 59 but the rest hardly put up a fight. Earlier in the day, Timil Patel (59) helped Gujarat past the 300-mark and his 66-run partnership with Siddharth Trivedi took them to a competitive 330. Vinay Kumar, the medium pacer playing just his second first-class game, finished with impressive figures of 5 for 83. Gujarat’s total, though, may end up being more than enough.
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After Ravneet Ricky’s century had put them in control yesterday, Punjab were pegged back a bit on the second day at Amritsar. Punjab were kept down to 422, after being 297 for 3 overnight, with only Chandan Madan making an impact with a lively 43. Pankaj Dharmani added 23 to his overnight score before he was lbw to Rajagopal Sathish, the part-time medium pacer. Gagandeep Singh, the opening bowler, then prised out the Assam openers before a 92-run third-wicket stand put the innings back on track. At stumps, though, Assam still had a lot of catching up to do.
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Nikhil Patwardhan’s valuable 80 helped Madhya Pradesh fight back on the second day against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. Patwardhan added 94 with the last three batsmen as MP inched past 250 in the face of some disciplined bowling. Mumbai then struggled against Sunil Dholpure, the offspinner making his debut, who snapped up the prize wickets of Wasim Jaffer and Amol Muzumdar and had them hobbling at 87 for 5. Vinod Kambli counterattacked with an 89-ball 68 and, along with Ajit Agarkar (37), helped Mumbai finish on level terms when stumps were drawn.
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Jai Prakash Yadav made a vital 93 and took Railways to 348 on the second day at the Karnail Singh Stadium at Delhi. Yadav added 43 with last man Santosh Saxena before falling to Ranadeb Bose, the medium pacer, who finished with 5 for 67, his fifth five-for in first-class cricket. Yadav then removed both the openers with his medium pace in an economical spell of 16 overs, conceding just 23 and Saxena picked up two more as Bengal were precariously placed at 153 for 4 at the close.
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Yusuf Pathan’s breezy 92 helped Baroda tighten their stranglehold on the second day at the Nehru Stadium at Pune. Pathan, who creamed eight fours and a six, stitched together vital partnerships with the lower-order batsmen and Baroda reached 446 in their first innings. Iqbal Siddiqui, the medium pacer, finished with a six-wicket haul. Maharashtra began well in their chase and were 72 for no loss at the end of the day.
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Sreedharan Sharath compiled his second successive century this season as he took Tamil Nadu to a competitive 353. Unlike his first hundred, which was made in a run-feast, this one was made when the rest struggled. He spent more than eight hours in the middle and put together some useful partnerships with the tail. Rudra Pratap Singh, the left-arm opening bowler, ended up as the most successful bowler with 5 for 96.