Scorecard
How they were out

A patient and polished century from S Badrinath ensured that Tamil Nadu did not suffer the fate of some other teams on the first day of the opening round of Ranji Trophy matches. After choosing to bat, they ended the day on 184 for 3, a healthy score on a slow pitch that might just be a tough one to bat on last.The day began well for Delhi. Ashish Nehra, feeling his way back from injury, played his first Ranji Trophy game at the Feroz Shah Kotla, his home ground, in six years, and bowled well with the new ball. But it was immediately obvious that Tamil Nadu’s last-minute decision to play the extra spinner in C Suresh in place of D Tamil Kumaran, the medium-pacer, would pay off.The going was tough for M Vijay, making Ranji debut, and S Vidyut. Ishant Sharma, the tall young Delhi fast bowler, struck an early blow, trapping Vidyut in front of the stumps in the fourth over. At 2 for 1 Tamil Nadu had gotten out off to a terrible start, and Hemang Badani was in the middle much earlier than he would have liked. He toiled with the industrious Vijay, and spent 40 minutes at the crease for 5 runs. Just as Nehra was flagging, having done all the hard work, Badani felt for one outside off and tickled an edge to the wicketkeeper. In the 13th over, the score was only 11 and Tamil Nadu had lost two wickets, including the vital one of Badani.Given the history of the Feroz Shah Kotla, where the ball inevitably does a bit in the first hour, it should have been Tamil Nadu’s aim to merely see the new ball off and then settle down for a long stint out in the middle. That the first boundary came as late as the 20th over, when Badrinath picked off Chaitanya Nanda’s legspin, indicated how difficult it was to bat.But Badrinath, who has been in a rich vein of form, and Vijay, having got over his early nerves, realised that there was little point playing on the back foot on a pitch that showed signs of low bounce as soon as the ball got a bit soft, and began to build a partnership. Although the runs did not flow freely at any stage in the day, Tamil Nadu were able to take control of the game.Nehra bowled a long first spell – 12 overs on the trot for 27 runs – and should have had a second wicket when Badri, on 17, slashed one to gully, only for Rajat Bhatia to drop a catch he would have taken nine times out of ten. It proved a costly drop as Badrinath and Vijay put on 127 for the third wicket. When Delhi finally broke the partnership, it was against the run of play, and much needed.Delhi had used Bhatia in a containing capacity and he’s capable of sticking to one line and toiling away, despite not quite having the pace to force batsmen out. And it was his perseverance, sticking to an off-side line that paid off. Vijay, who had spent 17 minutes less than five hours at the crease for 59, shouldered arms to one on the stumps and was out lbw.Fortunately for Tamil Nadu, Badrinath was nonplussed by the change of partners, and began to show his full range of strokes with R Sathish for company. He was superb when there was any width and drove superbly through the off side. When the bowler overcompensated and was too straight he efficiently whipped the ball off his pads through the leg side. He played the one big shot of the day, a clean hit off Sanghvi straight back over his head that thudded into the sightscreen next to the players’ dressing-rooms.When play was called off at 4.45pm because of bad light, Badrinath was on an even 100. Tamil Nadu would have liked to have had more than 184 on the board but given that they were 11 for 2, on a wicket where batsmen could not trust the bounce to commit early, they will be well pleased with their solid start. It remains to be seen if they can sustain it on the second day.

S Vidyut lbw b Sharma 2 (1 for 2)
Hemang Badani c Dahiya b Nehra 5 (11 for 2)
M Vijay lbw b Bhatia 59 (138 for 3)

The late loss of VVS Laxman’s wicket made the scoreboard a less appealingprospect for the Indians, but Greg Chappell, the coach, was satisfied withthe application that most of his batsmen showed on a surface that gaveenough encouragement to the pace bowlers.”I thought all the middle-order batsmen batted well and fought it out,given the conditions and the nature of the surface,” said Chappell,speaking to the media after the day’s play. “It wasn’t easy to bat at all.It’s not a wicket where you could say you were ‘in’ at any stage.Hopefully, there will be more sunshine tomorrow, and we can continue fromhere and bat better.”The decision to bat, despite the damp pitch, was Rahul Dravid’s, andChappell supported it. “It was a courageous decision to bat first,” hesaid. “But as a team, we always look to bat first. This appears a drytrack, and we wanted to take the initiative because batting last will bevery difficult here.”Jacques Kallis, who sent back both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, wasdelighted with his nine-over spell, and said that it had been pretty mucha typical Wanderers pitch. “There was a little bit in the wicket, and youjust needed to put the ball in the right areas. You always expect it toplay a little up and down. If anything, what was different was the lack ofpace. It was very slow. If you get in and see off the new ball, it’susually a good scoring ground.”He was confident that South Africa could wrap up the Indian inningsquickly and then set up the game with the bat. “We would like to cash inbatting during our first innings, and put them under pressure,” he said.”Normally, days two and three are the best batting days on this ground,hopefully the track will get a little quicker too.”South Africa might well be without Dale Steyn for that second day, afterhe pulled up with a recurrence of a quadriceps strain after bowling thefirst ball of his 11th over. “He had a Grade I strain in his left thighsome three weeks back,” said Shane Jabaar, the team physio. “He has beenreceiving treatment and bowling in the nets for the last one week, but ina Test match, there is an increased ten percent intensity in bowling.”He felt very mild pain and left the field as a precaution, which wasgood. We’ll see how it responds in the morning, and see if he can comeback for the first innings, or whether we should get him ready for thesecond innings.”They might need him too, on a pitch that Chappell reckons will growincreasingly bowler-friendly. “I think the bowlers will dominate thisgame,” he said. “This could turn out to be a low-scoring Test. The oddbatsman might get stuck in, but generally, the bowlers will have the upperhand. We have no target as such, but 350 is usually what we aim for in aTest match batting first.”Even if they get within a 100 runs of that stated target, it will be anachievement in itself. After the limp surrender of the one-day series,this was a day to show some fight. And though no man lasted the distance,there was some true grit on display. What price a Ganguly epic on day two?

Focus is the buzzword for Tino Best during the 2007 season. The West Indies fast bowler has bounced back with an impressive start to the new regional season after the disappointment of last year.”The selectors gave me the confidence. I just need to focus,” he told . “As long as the Lord gives me the strength to focus and I don’t get into any foolish trouble … I know I have a short fuse. I know I have to focus and concentrate.”Best, 25, has quickly made up for lost time after spending most of last season on the sidelines. His four-wicket haul, generated with genuine pace that caused Trinidad and Tobago’s batsmen discomfort in the Carib Beer Series match at the North Stars Club last weekend, went a long way in helping Barbados to a come-from-behind victory.It was his first game for Barbados since he was dropped after his only match last season, and his performance won him many admirers. There are some who still aren’t impressed, but Best isn’t bothered by his detractors.”They don’t get to me. Some people tell me I am a Ferrari without control. If they tell me I am a Ferrari, that is a top car. If I am a Ferrari without control, all I need is a steering wheel.”This game has shown me again how to get wickets. It slipped a bit, doubting yourself but the confidence is back there. I’ve got to remain humble. That is the most important thing for any sportsman, just remain humble, do the right things, keep it simple.”Best concedes that he was under some pressure in the second innings after he was wicketless on the opening day. But the advice of Wayne Daniel, the former West Indies fast bowler, helped put him on the right path.”I was under a bit of pressure,” he added. “Barbados has got a lot of quality bowlers. I don’t mean bowlers who are just bowling. We’ve got guys who are wicket-takers. I must commend Wayne Daniel. After the first innings, he called me. He even came into the dressing-room and spoke to me for about 45 minutes. He spoke to me about my action. Once I got my action in place properly, things worked out for me.”After losing his place in the Barbados team, Best was in and out of the West Indies A squad, but he never gave up hope of returning to the regional arena. His goals for the remainder of the season are simple – to bowl fast and put the ball in the right areas.”Once I bowl well, I think my team will win,” he said. “I know I am a wicket-taker. Once I get one, I know I have the ability to bowl out a side by myself. I’ve just turned 25. When you have something like 170 odd first-class wickets in about 50 games, I don’t think anything is slipping by.”

A disappointed Stuart Clark will use the off-season to work on his one-day bowling after failing to make the 15-man World Cup squad. Clark was omitted on Tuesday in what Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said was “as hard a decision as you could make”.Shaun Tait, who played his first two one-day internationals during the CB Series, was preferred for his extreme pace – he clocked 160kph during his second game – and an ability to bowl bouncers and yorkers to unsettle the batsmen. Despite leading the wicket list in the Ashes and taking ten in six CB Series games, Clark was overlooked because of a predictable armoury and an expensive strike-rate.”I am very disappointed but understand why the selectors have not selected me,” Clark said in the Daily Telegraph. “It just means I am going to have to work on my game in the next six months so that I can place myself in the best possible position to be selected in the future. I wish the boys the very best defending and bringing home the World Cup for Australia.”Tait told The Advertiser he would try to “shake up” the batsmen in the Caribbean. “It’s the same attitude Brett Lee has,” Tait said. “You have one or two bowlers who can run in and stir the pot a bit with the new ball. I suppose I add something different, which was probably the attraction.”Brad Hodge, whose unbeaten 99 was the highlight of his CB Series, earned a spot in the squad at the expense of his Victoria team-mate Cameron White. White scored quickly when he had opportunities, but he was unable to make an impact with the ball and was replaced as the allrounder when Shane Watson returned. If Andrew Symonds fails to regain fitness after an arm injury White is likely to be the replacement.”I feel extremely disappointed for Whitey, naturally,” Hodge said in the Herald Sun. “I suppose he can look at me as a mate and an example of a path to take. I know exactly how he feels right now, but he’s young enough and certainly good enough to achieve what he wants in the long run.”Brad Haddin, the back-up wicketkeeper, said he had tried to keep a low profile when being talked about as a World Cup contender. “I’ve just been concentrating on playing well for New South Wales, and hoping my stats would warrant the selectors taking a close look,” he said in The Australian. “I’m ecstatic about it.” The squad leaves for the Caribbean at the end of the month and will play two warm-up games in St Vincent before the opening match against Scotland on March 14.

Irfan Pathan, the Indian allrounder, will after all travel to the West Indies for the World Cup, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, confirmed in Ahmedabad today. Vengsarkar, along with two other national selectors, watched Pathan’s performance for West Zone in their Deodhar Trophy match against Central Zone.”There are no alterations in the 15-member World Cup squad,” Vengsarkar told reporters. Under pressure to prove his form and fitness for the World Cup, Pathan conceded 48 off his 8.4 overs and took two late wickets.Vengsarkar reasoned that it was too early to gauge Pathan’s fitness on the basis of just one match. Pathan was part of the original 15-member squad but the selectors sprung a surprise when they warned that Pathan’s selection wasn’t guaranteed if his fitness wasn’t upto scratch.”Irfan has not played for the last one month and needs to bowl more” Vengsarkar said. “There is not much time left for the World Cup and Pathan will be bowling in the nets and will also be playing in the warm-up matches before the World Cup begins.”

ScorecardNew Zealand suffered their first defeat of tournament as they failed to chase down 234 against Australia, falling 49 runs short in Chennai. Australia’s attack produced a team effort with Kirsten Pike claiming key middle-order wickets as they also earned a vital bonus point in their push for the final.The Kiwi batting had led them to victories in their first three matches, but this time came unstuck once Sarah Andrews removed both openers and Haidee Tiffin was run out by Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Rebecca Rolls and Sara McGlashan added 45 for the fourth wicket, but Rolls was caught behind off Pike just as she was looking dangerous. McGlashan and Aimee Mason then both fell with the score on 121 and Australia went for the kill.Lisa Sthalekar, who top-scored with 45 in Australia’s innings, said: “We had to win today to stay in the game and getting the bonus point means we are starting to get things right a bit. Where we still have to improve is the fielding. It has been dropping off a bit. I didn’t think 232 was a good enough score though in the end it proved to be much too many runs.”She praised New Zealand and said they are the best side on show. “Their bowlers have been really effective, it was fortunate for us that Sarah Tsukigawa was injured for this game,” she added. “Bowlers bring the fielders into the game by bowling right. New Zealand bowlers get their line and length right. And their batsmen have firepower. They are big girls who can easily go over the boundary.”New Zealand had made regular inroads into Australia’s batting, taking wickets each time a stand threatened to develop. However, the lower order scored at a decent rate with Fitzpatrick, Jodie Purves and Andrews hitting at more than a run-a-ball.Tiffen said missed chances cost her team: “We bowled well in the start but dropped catches and that let the Australian batsmen build partnerships. The score was not so high bit we just kept losing wickets and didn’t form any partnerships. The batsmen who have been doing well didn’t this time.”The tournament looks good. In international cricket you want the games to be challenging. You want to be tested in every aspect of the game and we want to go into the final winning the rest of the matches.”

Pakistan are being “kept in the dark” by the Jamaican Police regarding the murder of their coach Bob Woolmer according to Pervez Mir, their media manager.Mir insisted that the “visibly disturbed” players were not being kept in the loop on the investigation. “We assisted in whatever way they [the Jamaican police] wanted, but we need an official statement from their office to notify us officially as to the causes of Mr Woolmer’s death,” Mir told AFP during Pakistan’s stopover in London on their way home. “We heard on television that he was murdered, but we’ve not been officially told and we need to know the reasons for his death.”He said that Pakistan were ready to assist the police and that he had left a message for Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy commissioner of police, “because my chairman [Nasim Ashraf] wants to know, my board wants to know, what’s going on as far as the investigation is concerned and what the Jamaican police are doing to catch the killers of Mr Woolmer.”Rumours of the involvement of match-fixing in Woolmer’s death have been doing the rounds but Mir sought to play them down. “When a man has been murdered, to divert a murder inquiry into a match-fixing inquiry, that’s not fair, because we have to find the killers, then we will know what’s happened. To bring up the murky world of match-fixing, I think it’s not the right thing and not the right time.”Ashraf also strongly denied the possibility of any match-fixing links. “I am absolutely convinced, I have no information or proof that there is any corruption in Pakistani cricket at all,” Ashraf told . “There is no idea or anything of that nature to suggest that there is any corruption involved or any match-fixing linked to the Pakistani cricket team.”This has been a terrible ordeal, the boys have been through terrible stress. No one could have imagined that in a gentleman’s came like cricket things like murder could happen so it’s been a tremendous shock for all of us. We have been the victims of this dastardly crime – our boys have been through hell – so it’s vital that whoever is responsible is brought to book. Our boys are on their way home to be with their families – you can imagine what their families have been going through.”

Former captain Rameez Raja backed the appointment of young Shoaib Malik as Pakistan’s captain but stressed that he needs a strong system and support from all corners to succeed.Malik, on Thursday, became the 25th man to captain Pakistan after Inzamam-il-Haq had decided to resign following a dreadful World Cup campaign that saw them crash out in the group stages.”On one side it is a good decision because he is gutsy and a team player but he can be emotional and temperamental because he has not been tested at the top level so he needs a strong system for support,” Raja told AFP.”I am a bit guarded as well, it’s young leadership but it can only be good if you strengthen the system which must assure the young talent is not taken hostage by senior players,” he added.Malik’s selection at the helm came about after Inzamam’s deputy of two years, Younis Khan, turned down the board’s offer to take on the team’s captaincy and other senior players like Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzak and Shahid Afridi were over-looked for various reasons.”It is a right decision because every team is now looking four years ahead to give it a refreshing look and for me it is a chance worth taking and its now up to Malik to show his capabilities,” said Raja.Malik’s first assignment as captain will be in next month’s Abu Dhabi series against Sri Lanka which starts on May 9. The team for that tournament will be announced by the recently-appointed selection committee on May 6.

Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and “more big names to follow” are being linked to a breakaway Twenty20 competition taking place in India this October, according to the latest issue of Spin magazine. There is expected to be a formal announcement on the same on May 14.Both McGrath, the former Australia fast bowler and Lara, West Indies’ former captain, announced their retirement from cricket after last month’s World Cup. Warne retired from international cricket earlier this year following Australia’s 5-0 trouncing of England in the Ashes, but it appears the trio’s playing days are not quite finished.The series, called the Indian Cricket League (ICL) was announced in April by Subhash Chandra, who heads Essel Group – the owners of Zee TV who will broadcast the tournament, though it is only now that names as high-profile (and retired) as Warne are being mentioned. Equally, confirmation of the players’ involvement has yet to be made from their respective agents.The tournament is rumoured to take place mere weeks after the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in September, held in South Africa.

The Indian board has re-started the process of searching for a national coach, according to a report in . The national daily reported that three new candidates had applied for the job following Graham Ford’s refusal, on June 11, to be the next Indian coach.The report says John Dyson, the former Sri Lanka coach, Terry Oliver, the Queensland coach, and Dave Nosworthy, the Canterbury coach, have sent in their applications to the BCCI.Oliver, who had also applied for the Sri Lanka job only to lose out to Trevor Bayliss, told the newspaper that though he was comfortable where he was he also had more ambitions. Nosworthy, currently coaching New Zealand A for the Emerging Players tournament in Australia in July, applied for the job through his agent and said that if there was anything more to do with the job, his agent would handle it. “Dave is doing well with Canterbury but he is open to international jobs,” his agent, Paul Carrick, was quoted as saying.The newspaper also lists names of those who have expressed no interest in coaching India. Steve Rixon, the former New Zealand coach who turned down the offer to coach Pakistan, said he was not going to pitch for anything. “I do not want to be in a situation where there are five of us,” Rixon said. Martyn Moxon and Mark Greatbatch, the directors of cricket at Yorkshire and Warwickshire respectively, said they were happy where they were coaching.