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Four internationals helped themselves to half centuries as India A ended the opening day against Zimbabwe Select at the Harare Sports Club on 331 for 5. Mohammad Kaif won the toss and his batsmen, led by Robin Uthappa’s characteristic 88 off 85 balls, made largely untroubled progress.Uthappa and his opening partner Cheteshwar Pujara got off to a brisk start, adding 56 before Pujara fell for 9, edging to the slips. Parthiv Patel, coming in at No.3, made 67 and was involved in two half century stands. He added 77 and 68 with Uthappa and Kaif respectively, strengthening India’s position. After his departure, Kaif (63) and Rohit Sharma (65) scored patient half centuries but they too failed to convert their scores to three figures. S Badrinath, the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman, was undefeated on 24 at the close.Chandrakanth Pandit, the coach, said he was satisfied with the number of fruitful partnerships. He also praised Uthappa for his aggressive knock. “They all batted extremely well and dominated the fast bowlers,” Pandit told the . “The only thing I thought could have gone better was that if one or all of them had gone on to get hundreds.”

Darren Gough has been ruled out of the remainder of the Natwest Series due to an injured left shin. Graham Onions, the Durham pace bowler, who is in England’s Champions Trophy 30 has been called up as a replacement and will join the squad on Monday.After playing in the Twenty20 against Pakistan as well as the opening two matches of the NatWest Series, Gough will miss the last three matches after an MRI scan revealed a bone stress reaction in his left shin.”Darren has been released following pain in the outer aspect of his left leg,” Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB Chief Medical Officer, said. “Prior to the Twenty20 he had rested for two weeks to settle mild bone bruising of the left shin. The pain from this had settled when he joined the England squad but has returned over the course of the past three matches.”An MRI scan today showed a marked bone stress reaction in his fibula and Darren has been advised to rest from bowling for six weeks. He will return to Essex to receive ongoing assessment and rehabilitation.”Gough added: “I’m obviously extremely disappointed that this injury has ruled me out of the England side, I was looking forward to a strong NatWest Series which could have helped my chances for the upcoming winter tours.”I’ve had a niggle for about a month which seemed to clear up with a couple of weeks rest before the NatWest Series but unfortunately it has returned to the point where I can’t go any further at the moment.”Gough failed to take a wicket during his brief return to the national team, suggesting he has lost penetration with the new ball. However, the bowler himself said: “I was pleased with the way I bowled without much luck during the first few matches so it’s disappointing I won’t be able to play any further part in this series.”England were already due to name a replacement pace bowler in their squad after Steve Harmison was ruled out with a back problem before the opening match. England are 1-0 down in the five-match series following Sunday’s seven-wicket defeat at Lord’s.

Greg Chappell, the India coach, has defended India’s batting performance which saw them set a modest target of 226 against an inexperienced Zimbabwe bowling attack, saying that criticism from outside was easier than performing in the middle.”Sitting outside perhaps it is not easy to understand how difficult the wicket was in the centre. It was moving and slow as well and the bounce was spongy,” Chappell was quoted as saying by PTI. “There has been some encouragement in the sense that all batsmen have managed to spend time in the middle, sometime or the other. It’s all a question of bringing it together and building up on the start.”Chappell backed Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, who yet again failed to play a long innings. “I am pretty happy with the way he [Ganguly] has shaped up. He was looking confident. On the ball he was dismissed, usually he hits it for a single but today he wanted to hit it for four. These things happen in the game.”He also said that he understood that batting collapses such as the one against New Zealand where India were 44 for 8 happened occasionally. “Having played the game myself, I know how wickets can fall in a clutter. The best way to come out of it is to not yell at the batsmen. Maybe now that they have had this experience they know how to react to such situations in future.”Venugopal Rao who has two ducks in as many games in the series also recieved Chappell’s support. “He [Venugopal] is a fine youngster with good attitude and he knows that the team is behind him,” said Chappell. “Unfortunately, twice in two games he got two very good balls.”Though Ganguly termed India’s victory by 161 runs over Zimbabwe as a much better performance than in their match against New Zealand, he still felt that there was scope for improvement. “We batted better and it should improve further as the tournament goes on,” said Ganguly. “The team needs to put partnerships together at the top of the order and batsmen need to get hundreds to win games for us.”Ganguly admitted that India has lost their way during the middle overs but also said that the wicket at Harare was soft and spongy. “The wicket in Bulawayo was quicker but here the ball came slowly off the pitch.”

Scorecard

The NatWest Series eventually got underway today at Edgbaston – well, almost.Like the opening match, the second one, between New Zealand and West Indies, was abandoned, but at least there was some action today. After a quickfire innings by Brian Lara boosted West Indies to 122 for 4 from their reduced and interrupted quota of 21 overs, New Zealand were cruising towards their revised target of 140 when the rain returned after 13.4 overs to force the umpires to call the match off at around 7.20pm.It was a stop-start day all along. When play finally began at 2.15, Stephen Fleming won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl first. West Indies progressed to 39 for 0 from 10 overs before another lengthy rain-break, and then added 82 more runs afterwards. New Zealand then reached 97 for 2 from 13.4 overs before the rain had the final say.West Indies’ innings was one of two parts. Before the showers returned in the afternoon, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was wearing two black anti-glare stickers under each eye similar to an American football player, made a solid start as the New Zealand attack failed to take advantage after winning the toss. However, in keeping with the series so far, the rain came back and the covers were whipped back on.Play resumed a little under two hours later, and New Zealand immediately hit back as the batsmen struggled against the seaming ball. Scott Styris struck with his first delivery when he trapped Chanderpaul lbw for a sluggish 14 from 42 balls (56 for 1). Dwayne Smith then clipped a wide one from Styris behind to Brendon McCullum for 1 (59 for 2), and Gayle edged Jacob Oram to McCullum for 30 (59 for 3).Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan got things back on track for West Indies. Sarwan cut and hooked Oram for four, and Lara clipped Oram past fine leg for his first boundary. Then came the improvisation from Lara, who smacked Oram for 22 runs in one over. The first three balls he shuffled right across to the off side and whipped him past fine leg for four, then smacked the next two over the off side for a four and a six.Lara was then out in bizarre circumstances. He again moved over to the off, and after he hit Chris Cairns to leg, his bat swung right round and touched the stumps (115 for 4). Sarwan then squeezed Cairns past fine leg for another boundary, and West Indies had given themselves a sporting chance of victory.Ravi Rampaul, though, had a nightmare first over, bowling four wides and two no-balls as it went for 18. However, Ricardo Powell helped to forget that bad start with a wonderful diving catch at backward point to dismiss Fleming for 12 (20 for 1), and Jermaine Lawson then took his second wicket when Nathan Astle edged him to Gayle at first slip for 12 (50 for 2).As the skies darkened and the drizzle returned, Styris and Hamish Marshall progressed with few scares towards New Zealand’s target. But as the rain became heavier, the umpires had no choice but to go off, allowing the weather eventually to win the day. West Indies – and England – will be hoping for more luck tomorrow at Trent Bridge.

Andrew Leipus, the physiotherapist of the Indian team, may get a two-year extension to his contract instead of the one year that he has been offered so far. Sources from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told Rediff.com that the abrupt departure of Adrian Le Roux had shaken up the management, and they were keen to make sure that Leipus stayed with them for the long term.Leipus has been on an annual contract since he began working with the Indian team in 1999. The BCCI had extended it by another year after the World Cup. But after Le Roux’s exit, the BCCI decided to preempt the possibility of Leipus quitting by offering him a two-year extension.Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the BCCI, was the brain behind the idea, arguing that a longer contract would elicit more commitment and loyalty from the physio. BCCI sources said: “He [Dalmiya] has informally spoken to Leipus, and the proposal should be ratified by the working committee soon.”It was unclear if John Wright, the coach, would also be offered a two-year contract. Wright was given a one-year extension after the World Cup.

Whatever else Hansie Cronje has said and done over the past couple of years, one contradiction keeps slithering through: if the former South African captain really loves cricket as much as he professes, then why does he persist in putting the game through such agony.Cronje’s High Court challenge to his life ban in Pretoria this week is a case in point, if not the case in point. In none of the arguments presented by Cronje’s legal team is there an acknowledgement that his behaviour over a long period was antithetical to the spirit of the game.This was never more the case than when he offered Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams money to underperform in a one-day international in India. Cronje’s contrition for this has extended to expressing regret for his actions but genuine remorse has been somewhat more difficult to find.He has persisted to characterise his actions as a "mistake", worse, perhaps, than playing a rash shot in a tight moment, but nothing so serious as to warrant a life ban from the game.On the face of it it is a harsh punishment, but he has not been quite so hard done by as he likes to pretend. There is nothing in the United Cricket Board ban to prevent him writing a newspaper column or giving his views on a game or a series in a television studio. The UCB don’t want him in their grounds at least until after the 2003 World Cup and, let’s be honest here, who could blame them.A recurring nightmare for the UCB, Ali Bacher’s World Cup Policy Committee and the International Cricket Council is the thought of two captains stepping out onto the Wanderers in 2003 for the toss for the World Cup final to be conducted by – Hansie Cronje.The arguments of Cronje’s lawyers in Pretoria were based on South African labour and constitutional law and, who knows, they may have found a loophole for him to slip through. Judgement has been reserved and both sides have been wary of predicting an outcome.But at its heart, the Hansie Cronje affair is far less about South African law than it is about the spirit of the game. At least one school of thought believes that Cronje’s only concern at the moment is with money (and he has not been slow to tell anyone who cares that his lawyers have cost him a packet. The irony that this is the consequence of his own behaviour appears to escape him).At the same time, it cannot be denied that he has substantial support inside South Africa. Quite possibly a substantial portion of this support comes from those who were first drawn to the game by the glamour and drama of the 1992 World Cup. Certainly, they seem to believe that contrary to the cliché, Hansie Cronje is greater than the game.Cronje’s challenge suggests that this is what he thinks – it might be worth recalling that Cronje was but a few months old in 1970 when South Africa played its last pre-isolation series. Whatever the case, if Cronje has his ban overturned it will be a tragedy for all cricket and South African cricket in particular.The ramifications are almost too ghastly to contemplate. Sanctions against South Africa could include suspension or expulsion from the ICC or the loss of the World Cup. All or any of these would change the form and the shape of cricket in the 21st Century.Does Cronje really want this? Is there no one close to him capable of telling him as much? Has his sense of grievance or his desire for money and recognition warped his better judgement to a point where self-interest has taken over completely?Banned or not, though, some things will not change. Cronje betrayed his team, his country and his sport when he allowed himself to be seduced by bookmakers. The best lawyers in the world can’t alter that fact.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes is in contention to be part of the England Lions coaching set-up during the squad’s tour to the UAE.Rhodes would join former England head coach Andy Flower, now the ECB’s technical director of elite coaching, and the ECB’s lead batting coach Graham Thorpe in working with the squad which will be named later this week. Thorpe will act as batting coach, with Flower overseeing the squad more generally.England Lions will spend much of the winter in the UAE. The squad have a training camp at a similar time to the main squad’s visit, and will then play five T20 fixtures against Pakistan A in the lead-up to Christmas, before returning to the UAE in January to play five 50-over matches.Unsurprisingly given their location and recent English shortcomings, there will be a focus on how the batsmen play spin bowling. It is also likely that a group of fast bowlers will spend time training in South Africa later in the year.Former England wicketkeeper Rhodes started his playing career with Yorkshire before moving to Worcestershire in 1985, where he played for 20 seasons. He joined the club’s coaching staff in 2005 and became director of cricket in 2006. He played 11 Tests for England in 1995 and 1996 and nine ODIs between 1989 and 1995.Under his watch, Worcestershire have yo-yoed between Divisions One and Two, and are likely to be relegated this season, their first back in the top division. Rhodes is highly respected on the county circuit for what he has achieved with limited resources and his ability to nurture young players. A number of the latest batch, such as Joe Leach, Ben Cox, Joe Clarke and Tom Fell, will be in contention for a place in the UAE. Rhodes is the latest in a line of highly rated county coaches to be introduced to the Lions set-up, such as Mark Robinson of Sussex.The most high-profile names in the squad are likely to be Gary Ballance, whose pair for Yorkshire against Middlesex has come at a terrible time, and Sussex’s Chris Jordan. Tymal Mills, the left-arm fast bowler, is likely to take a place in the squad for the T20 leg of the tour, while Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan will return to the national set-up and Essex’s Tom Westley – who impressed with a century against the touring Australians this year – is set to be called up for the first time.

Double impact
One of Sreesanth’s gifts as a fast bowler is his ability to move the ball both ways and he showed off his skill with great effect in the first over of the match. He seamed the first two balls away from Wasim Jaffer, brought the third back into the right-hander, and then took the fourth away once again. The mixture left Jaffer addled and he poked inside the line at the fifth delivery, which moved away from him and took the outside edge to the wicketkeeper. Cameron White was perhaps expecting an outswinger the very next ball and drove away from his body, Sreesanth threaded the bat-pad gap with the inswinger and uprooted middle stump.Not quite Jonty
Both teams were abject in the field today with several lapses resulting in boundaries but there was one offender who stood out prominently. Punjab’s VRV Singh began the match with two poor throws from the deep, one of which conceded overthrows, but his fielding was about to get much worse. Later on he let a cut from Dravid slip past him at short third man, a lapse which prompted Yuvraj Singh to move him to short fine leg. Later in the over a leg side delivery slipped past the wicketkeeper and VRV was unable to run quickly enough to save the boundary.Communication breakdown
A seaming pitch and two early wickets meant that the situation was tailor-made for the steady styles of Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid. While Dravid responded with a gritty innings, Kallis was a victim of an awful mix-up. He was sent back to the non-striker’s end by Virat Kohli after he had nearly completed the single and was hopelessly stranded.Duck hunting
There were as many as five zeroes in Bangalore’s innings. The first three wickets were all ducks – Jaffer and White falling off successive deliveries before Kallis was also run out before he could score. Praveen Kumar was the next duck, edging his second ball off Piyush Chawla to Uday Kaul while Zaheer Khan lasted one delivery, getting bowled through the gate a Chawla googly.Many times bitten, never shy
Ramnaresh Sarwan has lost his wicket several times in the past – in Tests and ODIs – to the miscued hook or pull. Today he resisted the urge when Praveen Kumar bounced him the first time and just about managed to sway out of the way. When faced with a second bouncer the very next ball, Sarwan went for it, aiming for the deep-square leg boundary. He didn’t get on top of the bounce and edged a catch to the wicketkeeper.A fitting end
One run to win, several balls remaining and Anil Kumble ends Bangalore’s misery with a wayward delivery down leg side. It summed up his, and Bangalore’s, night. Kumble had begun well, conceding three off his first over but finished with 0 for 36 off 3.2. Bangalore were shoddy in all departments: they failed to assess the conditions quickly while batting, ran shoddily between the wickets, and bowled and fielded poorly while defending a below-par total.

Eleven first-class players have been named in the Australian Academy squad that is aiming to win the Emerging Players Tournament for the first time. The 17-man outfit, which begins its campaign with two Twenty20 games on the Sunshine Coast on Monday, has been boosted by the inclusion of Mark Cosgrove, the former one-day international, and Luke Ronchi and Brendan Drew, who are in Australia’s 30-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.Cullen Bailey, the Cricket Australia-contracted legspinner, has been selected with New South Wales’ opening batsman Ed Cowan and the Western Australians Luke Pomersbach and Aaron Heal. The coaching contingent is also impressive with the national bowling mentor Troy Cooley working alongside the fielding expert Mike Young and assistant Dene Hills to back up the head coach Brian McFadyen.The World Cup winner Darren Lehmann is also part of the squad’s management and he will help prepare the players for the three Twenty20 and seven one-day fixtures against teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Karnataka in India. McFadyen said the tournament would test his men after they completed a 12-week preparation phase at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.”Many players have looked to expand their skill sets during the high-density training programme and we are excited about the prospect of improvement,” he said. “There is no doubt that they are all fitter and more advanced in all areas of their games than last year, so they enter this tournament with great confidence.”A side from India won the inaugural Emerging Players Tournament in 2005 while South Africa were successful last year. The event begins on Monday and finishes with the finals in Brisbane on July 28.Australian Academy squad Craig Philipson (Qld), Matthew Wade (Vic), Ben Cutting (Qld), Brendan Drew (Tas), Aaron Finch (Vic), Shawn Gillies (WA), Aaron Heal (WA), Luke Pomersbach (WA), Luke Ronchi (WA), Grant Sullivan (Qld), David Warner (NSW), Ed Cowan (NSW), Moises Henriques (NSW), Cullen Bailey (SA), Mark Cosgrove (SA), Michael Hill (Vic), Phillip Hughes (NSW).

Eleven days after he was hit on the face by a Shahid Nazir bouncer and a day after Jagmohan Dalmiya termed him a , Sourav Ganguly is in the eye of another potential storm. Speculation is rife about his possible rehabilitation, even though partial, in the form of a place among the 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.It all originated from a quote from an unnamed national selector who said Ganguly, who hasn’t played for India after being dropped following India’s tour to Pakistan last year and whose last appearance in an ODI was in last September, was very much in the frame for the long list. Since then, the story has already aquired layers of intrigue.Giving credence to the rumours is the talk of a bargain struck between Ganguly and the Indian cricket bosses. Ganguly wrote a dramatic email to his brother, which was made public in a press conference, accusing Jagmohan Dalimya, among other things, of having played with “my career”. The timing of the letter was significant: it came about a week before the CricketAssociation of Bengal election, in which Dalmiya was facing a tough challenge from Prasun Mukherji, the police commissioner of Kolkata, who was being publicly backed by the West Bengal chief minister.In return for his support to Dalmiya’s rival, Ganguly, it was suggested, had been offered a passage back to the Indian team. A charitable view is that having experimented with newcomers, the selectors were now ready to finalise the squad for the World Cup. Twenty-nine year-old Dinesh Mongia, who has not played for India since been found wanting in the last World Cup, has been recalled, and Anil Kumble is back in the fray for the Champions Trophy. So why not Ganguly, who has more than 10,000 runs in one-day cricket?Mongia of course has been recalled on the basis of solid performances in county cricket, and with Kumble, it is only a question of age and agility in the field. With Ganguly, there is a serious question of form. He managed 71 in the only one-day game he’s played so far for Northamptonshire and averaged 27.5 in nine Twenty20 matches. One can point to the fact that he snapped up 11 wickets in the Twenty20 but can’t discount the economy rate of 8. And from sixfirst-class innings, he has totalled a mere 24 runs.As expected, there has been a flurry of reactions. Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, has insisted that there is no order from “anywhere to consider or drop anybody”. Kiran More, the chairman of selectors, has dismissed the report as a piece of “kite-flying”. And Raj Singh Dungarpur, the former board president, termed it as “retrograde” and “disgraceful”.However, one selector, speaking to Cricinfo, felt that the whole speculation was triggered off by a section of the Indian board, “a political move rather than anything based on cricketing logic”.