A fine exibition of bowling by skipper Rasmi Rajan Das who finishedwith match figures of 11 for 37 helped Orissa defeat Assam by 10wickets in the East Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match at the North-EastFrontier Railway Stadium, Guwahati on Saturday.Batting first, Assam were shot out for 79 in 34.3 overs. JJ Rajkhawa(39) was the only batsman to offer any resistance to Das who finishedwith 6 for 21. Orissa scored 124/8 declared in 59.3 overs. SubitBiswal (35) was the top scorer of the innings. Assam in their secondessay struggled to muster 47 runs in 35.3 overs this time Das tookfive for 16 but they just about managed to make Orissa bat again.Needing three runs for victory, Orissa got there in 1.1 overs.

The citizens of Faisalabad showed much more enthusiasm for the Test between England and Pakistan than the people of other towns where the matches were held earlier. How encouraging it was to see the stadium almost packed with cricket lovers every day. Their cheers and chanting provided the players lot of impetus to perform.It was the day of safe and steady batting by both the sides. Except for the 3 quick wickets that the Pakistan bowlers grabbed at the closing hours on the 3rd day, the bowlers could not be described as ` having run through the side’ at any other moment. Notwithstanding the manner the pitch was designed to behave, it eventually helped everyone. It supported the spinners and the pace bowlers alike at the same time helping the tail enders like Ian Salisbury, Craig White and others scoring the number of runs even the players may not have expected.England resumed the innings at the overnight total of 282 for 8 but lost the early wicket when Andrew Caddick was out bringing England down to 295 for 9. The last pair of Craig White and Darren Gough , however, played like the recognized batsmen punishing the bowlers at will.They took a steady start but after surpassing the Pakistan’s total of 316, they were almost on the rampage. The rate of scoring speeded up when White lifted Danish Kaneria for a mighty six while Gough wrapped him for a four in one over. They were piling up runs with the object of taking a big lead Saqlain Mushtaq bowled White after he had contributed an invaluable 41 to his team’s total. England was all out for 342 runs, gaining a lead of 26 runs over Pakistan. Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdur Razzaq shared 3 wickets each while the debutante Danish Kaneria claimed 2.The prolific opener Saeed Anwar feeling indisposed, Pakistan opened the innings with Shahid Afridi and Saleem Elahi losing the 1st wicket with only 13 runs on the board. Not being able to control his slogging instinct Afridi played a crazy shot off —— giving a flying catch to —for 10. Promoted in the batting order, Abdur Razzaq joined Saleem Elahi to pursue a slow and steady race. They leveled the England’s lead of 26 runs in the 11th over and continued piling up runs at a steady pace.With a dashing boundary to mid-wicket off Caddick Elahi hoisted his first 50 in test cricket, at the same time raising Pakistan’s score to 78 for 1. Encouraged by his half century, Elahi opened up hitting all over the field. The result was obvious. In an attempt to sweep Giles, he was caught behind the stumps by Alec Stewart after playing a very solid innings of 72. While the 2nd wicket partnership between Elahi and Razzaq yielded 98 runs, Pakistan was now 111 for the loss of 2 wickets.Inzamam ul Haq took the crease and was off the mark with a single, on the very first ball. The score continued mounting at a steady pace with occasional hits to the boundary. The bowlers were apparently not making a significant impact on the batsmen with the result that 150 of the Pakistan’s innings came in 50 overs. It was followed by individual 50 by Abdur Razzaq which he completed in 140 balls. At this stage Inzamam was at 28 with Pakistan’s total at 169.Pakistan was at 177 for 2 when Inzamam trying to hook Giles was dropped by Caddick in the fine-leg region. It was a highly irresponsible shot by a fine batsman, especially at the time when only few overs were left for the close of play and the light was also fading. The play was stopped with Pakistan at 186 for 2. Razzq (60) and Inzamam (30) were at the crease. With a lead of 160 runs and 8 wickets in hand, Pakistan looked pretty safe. In a situation where the batsmen were excelling as against the bowlers who looked helpless, the match seemed to be heading for a draw.

After having conceded the first innings lead to Assam, Bihar came backstrongly to score a three wicket win in the East Zone Under-22 tournamentmatch at the Mangaldoi Sports Association Ground in Mangaldoi on Thursday.Set to score 259 for a win on the final day and moreover with just undertwo sessions of play left, Bihar were put on the right course, after theearly loss of opener A Vidhyarti (9), by a 132-run second wicket standbetween S Hussain (76) and skipper Neeraj Kumar (64). Thereafter, themiddle order chipped in with some useful contributions to take Bihar homein 47 overs.On the opening day, opting to bat, Assam came up against some good seambowling by Rajesh Thakur and Chakraborthy. Claiming eight of the Assamwickets, the duo skittled out the opponents for just 188. Bihar in responseconceded a 30-run first innings lead. The fact that only four of theirbatsmen crossed the double digits did not help their cause. Assam withtheir tails up on taking the slender lead, scored 228 for nine declared thesecond time around. The openers RM Gohain (64) and PJ Das (88) who shared a110-run stand were the mainstays in the innings.

Kent fought back bravely at Headingley after they began their second innings trailing Yorkshire by 201 runs but Gary Fellows grabbed two wickets near the close to leave them struggling on 174 for five and still 27 in arrears.David Fulton and Robert Key got Kent off to the ideal start with an opening stand of 93 but their task was made easier when strike bowler Chris Silverwood had to limp off with a groin strain.But both then fell to consecutive balls from Yorkshire’s new signing Steven Kirby who was drafted into the side after the first day when Matthew Hoggard had to withdraw to join the England camp.Bowling with great enthusiasm, Kirby destroyed Key’s stumps with a ball which kept low and off the first delivery of his next over he trapped Fulton lbw, Matthew Walker coming in to save the hat-trick.Kent continued to show plenty of determination until Walker was caught behind off White and Gary Fellows then dealt them two hammer blows by yorking both Ed Smith and James Hockley before rain ended play with 3.5 overs remaining.Yorkshire in the morning had resumed on 287 for six and they made rapid progress to 413 all out, collecting a maximum five batting bonus points on the way.The bulk of the runs came from Darren Lehmann who rattled up 90 off 133 balls with seven fours and a six but missed out on his first century of the season by edging a drive at Min Patel to Hockley at slip.Richard Blakey was also in his best form in a long while, knocking up 59 before being last out after Kirby had proved a reliable partner while the wicket-keeper completed his half-century.

The scenes I witnessed the during the England-Pakistan One-Day International at Headingley were disgraceful.To see a man carried off on a stretcher, and may I take this opportunity to wish Stephen Speight all the best in his recovery, was quite surreal considering that the game I was watching was being played in the land that invented the game.Herein lies part of the problem.England, with its tradition and gentlemanly ways, has not kept up with what other countries have been doing for quite some time – crowd control.What blows me away is that these exact messages from players about how dangerous crowds coming on to the field were, was spelt out to the ECB during the World Cup two years ago.It seems lessons have not been learnt and we now have a man lying in hospital because of inadequate deterrents.The penalties need to be harsh, and we need to face the fact that these are the times we live in.People shouldn’t be saying these things shouldn’t happen.Of course they shouldn’t. But what needs to be in place is something to stop it, and that should have been done two years ago.Some bloke named John Read from the ECB issued a statement today saying we shouldn’t jump to any hasty conclusions about what happened and that there were some positive initiatives happening.Get real mate, and get off the PC wagon.People need to know that if they transgress they are going to be punished.It’s time for action.A few people are spoiling the game for the rest of us and they need to be sorted out. There are plenty of well-documented examples the ECB can follow and I just hope commonsense prevails.With that taking the spotlight I feel sorry for Waqar Younis who produced such an outstanding bowling display for his seven wickets.One of the great fast bowlers the game has seen will not get the true accolades he deserves from the game.Back on the New Zealand front, it’s not long until the announcement of the new CLEAR Black Caps coach.I have not heard any whispers of who, and it has been a closely-guarded secret by New Zealand Cricket.With both the coach (David Trist) and the CEO (Christopher Doig) having left NZC (actually David leaves in July), one man we will be relying on a lot is the manager Jeff Crowe.Jeff is someone the public doesn’t see or hear a lot from but the job he does within the Black Caps is outstanding. He is someone who keeps everyone in check and provides all kinds of support in many different areas and is a man who I have the utmost respect for.With Jeff there helping the new coach, the transition will be very smooth I’m sure.

Day 1 of 3Bedford Town:
Bedfordshire 338-6 dec. (NA Stanley 101, JA Knott 70, OJ Clayson 50)
Buckinghamshire 26-1
St Austell:
Dorset 400-8 dec. (M Swarbrick 62, DJ Cowley 114, DA Kidner 73*)
Cornwall 7-1
Hertford:
Hertfordshire 272 (M Everett 70, DR Womble 4-85)
Staffordshire 27-0
Grantham:
Lincolnshire 279 (O Burford 58, CP Seal 4-45)
Suffolk 36-0Swansea:
Oxfordshire 376-4 (KR Mustow 110, AP Cook 70* R Hawkins 62)
Wales Minor Counties.

The three-day match between the touring Indian team and Sri Lanka A,scheduled to be played from July 8 to 10, has been shifted fromUyanwatta Stadium in Matara to the P. Sara Stadium in Colombo. Thismatch is the only first class game of the Indian side ahead of thethree match Test series against Sri Lanka.The chairman of the Tour Organising Committee, Kushil Gunasekaraspeaking to CricInfo said the decision was made upon the request ofthe Indian team management.The manager of the Indian team, AN Mate, explaining the request, saidthat it was due to the security concerns of the players after theterrorist attack at the airport in Katunayake.Meanwhile, rumours that the first Test match scheduled to be played atthe Galle International Stadium will not go ahead were dismissed bythe venue manager of the Galle International Stadium, JayanandaWarnaweera, who assured CricInfo that the Test will go ahead withoutany interruption.There were rumours that certain parties affiliated to the previousexecutive committee were trying to sabotage the first Test as aprotest for shifting the matches of the Coca-Cola Cup from Dambulla.

Wonders, wonders all the way! It seems they never cease to exist.The latest wonder, the 8th after Agra’s Taj Mahal, is the ‘humble-pie’ statement from Aussie captain Steve Waugh claiming, “England aren’t playing that badly. The results look very one-sided but we know it’s a good contest out in the middle. There are certainly no easy runs and no easy wickets so we’ve got to work hard.”

As if this wasn’t enough, Shane Warne, maintaining the essence of his captain’s words, asserted, “Although the score lines look like we’ve won quite convincingly, it’s actually been a lot closer than people think.”So what do you say dear reader, are these soft words from the players of a team, which is giving England a hard run for their money? Or aren’t they?Australia won the Edgbaston Test by an innings, and at Lord’s they secured an 8-wicket win. Watching those encounters, I had a feeling that 11 Aussie giants were trampling over 11 English dwarfs. While the English batsmen looked naïve against a very professional Aussie attack, their bowlers and fielders seemed to have no clue at all against the batting prowess of the opponents.In spite of all this, is it not surprising that Waugh and Warne insist that England players are not playing badly?I wonder whether the Aussies are really being humble, or is this a part of some strategy – a ploy to keep the opposition under an illusion that they are performing to the maximum of their ability, and that it’s the visitors’ sheer professionalism that’s working against them, not letting them come out on top?The Aussies seem to be enjoying their cricket so much, to be so possessed with beating their arch-rivals, that it is of no great concern what they say or do not say to the media. They know they can vent all of their anger (professional) against England with bat and ball, so why make a fuss about an off-the-field war that can very well be avoided.For me, it is a ploy and a very good one too. Teams visiting England often face a hostile press. This is an additional burden during almost the whole of the tour.So one unfriendly statement from the visiting captain, or for that matter any member of the squad, is usually enough to invite trouble – a barrage of allegations (warranted or not), based on historical incidences, in the local press, seemingly aimed to dampen the spirit of the opposition.I remember a Saleem Malik statement during Pakistan’s tour of England in 1992, calling their bowlers a “pop-gun bowling attack”. I also remember the way this careless statement was taken up by the English press. The retaliation was so severe that it must have made Malik cringe. It’s another story that Pakistan won that series, but this kind of media onslaught is often hard to swallow and dispiriting for visiting teams.Considering all this, I’d say these Aussies have adopted a great tactic – to avoid any confrontation with the press and focus all their efforts on the game, and they have been very successful so far.

After an extended meeting at the Mumbai Cricket Association, theIndian selectors today decided to make two major changes to the One-Day squad. Young Bengal stumper Deep Das Gupta makes an entry into theteam in place of Sameer Dighe. Shiv Sunder Das has been named in thesquad of 15 and this must be seen as a reward for his consistentperformance. Tamil Nadu southpaw Hemang Badani has been dropped.With almost all players on the injured list recovering in time, Indiawill field a full strength team that includes Tendulkar, Laxman,Kumble, Srinath and Nehra. However, it must be noted that players willhave to attend a physical fitness Test at the Wankhede Stadium inMumbai on the 22nd and prove their fitness. The selectors have selected five stand-bys, whose names were though not disclosed. In case any of the 15 were found to be unfit, they would be replaced by one from this list.Chandu Borde, chairman of selectors came forward with his familiarrefrain when speaking to pressmen after the team was announced. “Weare looking ahead to the future and have picked the best possible teamin that regard,” he said, speaking of Deep Das Gupta’s inclusion.”When it came to dropping Dighe we really had to give it a lot ofthought. But we felt that we had given him plenty of chances and itwas time to look at other options.”Sameer Dighe had a disappointing tour of Sri Lanka both behind thestumps and with the bat and his omission was expected in manyquarters. Deep Das Gupta, once selected as a probable for the homeseries against Australia, makes it to the final 15 for the first time.On the subject of Shiv Sunder Das’ inclusion in the side, Borde statedthe obvious, “A tour like South Africa is a tough one and we thoughtit best we include Das. He has been making runs consistently in theTests and we thought this is the right time to give him a chance.”Tamil Nadu’s Hemang Badani who had a very ordinary tour of Sri Lanka,averaging just 15 in three Tests has been dropped. Md. Kaif, who wasanother hopeful for the tour has also been left out.The fast bowling cupboard looks well stocked, with Javagal Srinath,the two left arm seamers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, and VenkateshPrasad making up the frontline. Reetinder Singh Sodhi will provideback up with his mediumpacers. After a long gap, the duo of AnilKumble and Harbhajan Singh will have an opportunity to ply their waresin tandem.Full squad: SC Ganguly (Captain), R Dravid (Vice-captain), SRTendulkar, VVS Laxman, SS Das, V Shewag, Yuvraj Singh, RS Sodhi, DeepDas Gupta (wicket-keeper), Harbhajan Singh, A Kumble, J Srinath, A Nehra, Z Khan, BKV Prasad.

Mark Butcher and his Surrey batting colleagues treated the Glamorgan bowlers with disdain on their way to a massive 572-3 and a lead of 314 runs on the third day of the CricInfo Championship match in Cardiff.Butcher finished with an unbeaten 215 to his name, Adam Hollioake made 97, Michael Carberry a career-best 84 and Alistair Brown was 67 not out at the close of a day peppered with attacking shots on both sides of the wicket.Butcher’s 200 – the second double century of his career – came after 405 minutes of intense concentration and included 20 fours. But he is unlikely to get the chance to extend his innings on the final day.His only blemish came when he had scored 87 and called for a quick single. Hollioake had pushed the ball just a couple of yards down the wicket and if wicket-keeper Mark Wallace, who sprinted around the stumps to grab it, had been more accurate with his throw Butcher would have been on his way.Butcher shared stands of 135 and 199 for the second and third wickets with Carberry and Hollioake and 20-year-old Carberry gave notice of his potential by reaching his maiden Championship half-century off 141 balls with eight fours. He then struck Dean Cosker back over his head for six but the bowler soon gained his revenge by holding one back and inducing a straightforward catch to mid-on.Hollioake brought up his half-century by lifting Robert Croft on to the roof of the media centre but fell three short of what would have been his first ton of the season when he was trapped leg before in his crease by a ball of yorker length from Darren Thomas.Brown started slowly but soon joined in the carnage and moved to 50 off 97 balls with six fours.