ScorecardBaroda wrapped up a comprehensive rout of Hyderabad inside four days at Vadodara, with Yusuf Pathan, the offspinning allrounder, bagging career-best bowling figures. Baroda, 150 for 3 overnight, were boosted by valuable knocks from Connor Williams and Kiran Powar despite a superb spell from Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, who also picked up his best analysis. Set 371 to get, with the entire fourth day remaining, Hyderabad hardly offered a fight and folded meekly for just 150. Pathan, who had earlier bailed Baroda out of trouble with a fine 72 in the first innings, ran through the lower order with his offbreaks after Irfan Safi Pathan rocked the top order.
ScorecardPowered by a superb unbeaten 152 from Rajat Bhatia, Delhi managed to avoid the follow on- effectively dashing Tamil Nadu’s hopes of making it to the semi-finals – and reached 366 for 8 at the end of the third day at Chennai. Bhatia first put up a 94-run stand for the fifth wicket with Mithun Manhas to propel Delhi before Aashish Kapoor clean bowled Minhas to trigger a minor collapse – 3 wickets fell for 17 runs as Delhi reached 228 for 7. But Bhatia stood between TN and a spot in the final four as he combined with Chaitanya Nanda to put on 102 runs for the eighth- wicket and guided the tail to charge Delhi past the follow on-mark.
ScorecardBengal, rocked by a four-wicket haul from Harvinder Singh, were bowled out for 278, gaining a 19-run first innings lead, before an unbeaten 76 from Amit Pagnis steered Railways to 140 for 2 by the end of the third day at Kolkata. Thirties from Manoj Tiwari and Deep Dasgupta shored up Bengal, overnight on 169 for 2, before Harvinder Singh removed Tiwari enroute to a four-wicket haul to reduce Bengal to 253 for 9. Deep Dasgupta shared a vital 25-run stand with Shib Sankar Paul for the last wicket to steer Bengal to a first-innings lead. Railways, lying at the bottom with 4 points in six games, are in danger of being relegated to plate..
ScorecardSiddharth Verma’s valiant 74 propelled Haryana, overnight on 221 for 6, to 282, gaining a 41-run first-innings lead before Madhusudhan Reddy powered Services to 182 for 3 by the end of the third day at Palam A Stadium in New Delhi. Verma guided the tail and was the last man out as he steered Haryana to a valuable lead before Reddy’s unbeaten 82 enabled Services to erase the deficit.
ScorecardP Kumar’s four-wicket haul put Uttar Pradesh in complete command as Andhra, following on, reached 292 for 9 – thanks largely to Syed Sahabuddin’s 84 – and led by 135 runs at the end of the third day at Anantapur. Earlier, Kumar grabbed two wickets to finish with a five-for as Andhra, overnight on 155 for 6, were bundled out for 208 in their first innings. Uttar Pradesh will be looking to come out tomorrow and register their second win in the tournament.
ScorecardSairaj Bahutule picked up three while Rohit Jadhav and Munaf Patel grabbed two wickets apiece to give the advantage to Maharashtra as Mumbai, chasing 226, were struggling at 155 for 7 by the end of the third day at Wankhede stadium. Munaf Patel struck twice to push Mumbai to a shaky 35 for 3 before Amol Muzumdar shared a 60-run stand with Vinit Indulkar to lift Mumbai to 95 for 4. But the spinners – Bahutule and Jadhav – struck to put Maharashtra ahead at stumps. Ramesh Powar had earlier grabbed a five-wicket haul to bowl out Maharashtra for 187 to bring Mumbai back in the game. Swapnil Hazare grabbed two early wickets to push Maharashtra to 79 for 6 before Anupam Sanclecha put on a 73-run stand for the seventh wicket with Bahutule to lift the score to 152 before Powar got into act. He spun the tail out to provide Mumbai a fighting chance of victory.
ScorecardPowered by a four-wicket haul from Siddharth Trivedi, Gujarat bowled out Karnataka, overnight at 68 for 1, for 226 before Niraj Patel’s unbeaten half-century steered Gujarat, chasing 143, to a comfortable 106 for 3 by the end of the third day at Ahmedabad. Karnataka were shored up by half-centuries from Bharat Chipli and Robin Uthappa before Balachandra Akhil’s unbeaten 41 gave them a target to bowl at.

Australia’s VB Series success, which was sealed with a nine-wicket win in the third final at Gabba, was set up by the team’s response to proving the doubters wrong. Mid-way through the series Adam Gilchrist’s position at the top of the order was being heavily debated, the team was considered to be ignoring the current competition for next year’s World Cup, and Simon Katich was being hassled out of the side.Gilchrist and Katich both finished the tournament with centuries to secure their partnership on next week’s tour of South Africa, and Australia responded from a shock loss in the opening final in Adelaide to crush Sri Lanka in the final two matches. “Half-way through the series people said I shouldn’t be in the team, so to prove them wrong like this is very satisfying,” Gilchrist said after his 91 balls of devastation.Sri Lanka’s target of 267 looked miniscule once Gilchrist, the Man of the Match, started to shower the ground, which was also being hit by empty cups from Mexican waves, with four sixes and 13 fours in his 122. “Tonight that was brilliant, I just loved it,” he said.”It was also good for Simon with the scrutiny he’s been under. We’ve tried to stay positive and the team has dealt with a reasonable amount of criticism. People said we were focussing too much on the World Cup and not this series. Well, we’ve won it.”Ricky Ponting was also understandably cheery, and not just because he captured a brilliant one-handed leaping catch to remove Russel Arnold for 76. “We were made to look silly in Adelaide but since then our cricket has been unbelievably good,” he said. “The individual efforts -Andrew Symonds in Sydney and Adam and Simon tonight – were very special and to come from 1-0 down and play our best cricket was very satisfying.” The only thing discolouring the victory was a fine by Jeff Crowe, the ICC match referee, for finishing the first innings two overs behind schedule.Despite losing the final two matches by 167 runs and nine wickets, Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lanka captain, was pleased with the way his side had responded from poor one-day tours to India and New Zealand. “It was only a matter of time before things clicked,” he said.While Katich eased Australia home with 107 from 142 balls, it was Gilchrist’s innings that stole the match from Sri Lanka. “We thought we were 15 to 20 runs short, not that it would have mattered to Gilchrist,” Atapattu said. “When Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya start hitting like that they take the game away from you just like that.”

No-one can be sure anymore with the way things are going, but for the moment it appears that Andrew Flintoff – Fred, the lad of lads – will in another 36 hours become the seventy-sixth Test captain of England, and, discounting Alec Stewart, the first allrounder to hold the position since you-know-who. “I’m looking forward to walking out in front of 10 lads on Wednesday, all of us fighting for the England side, doing everything I can to help them perform,” he declared in what was the verbal equivalent of fist thumping heart, his signature move in the glory of a summer that grows ever more distant.He also conceded that he might just get his choice of ends to bowl from, though “there isn’t a great deal of wind here anyway is there?” On the flip side he will no longer return home for the birth of his second child as he had planned to do – an indication perhaps that neither Michael Vaughan nor Marcus Trescothick will play any part in the series.There is rarely a perfect time for it, but Flintoff’s initiation to captaincy could barely have come in more challenging circumstances. Leave aside turn and heat and Dhoni and Sehwag, Flintoff’s biggest ask is to make an XI. It is doubtful if Sky, having been bled over the broadcasting rights, will feel benevolent enough to release Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.”There have been injuries, there’s been illnesses and that’s not been ideal. But it’s an opportunity for the team to show what we can do. When the lads walk out there on Wednesday I’m sure we’ll be looking forward to the challenge of playing against India. I think a lot of things have happened so far, as soon as you walk over the white line, it’ll be forgotten. We’ll be going out there to play cricket. We will be a 100 per cent prepared to play a Test match against India.”Having never led the A team on tour or Lancashire for more than the occasional match, Flintoff’s natural feel for the game will be more critically tested than ever before. By his own recollection: “The first time I did it [captain] was for the Lancashire Under-11s. Then I did England Under-19s, and a few games for Lancashire, both first-class and one-dayers. I think I’ve only done it for England briefly the other day [at Baroda] in the second innings when they were chasing down 58, and I captained a tour match in Sri Lanka.””It’s something I’m looking forward to, to be honest. I’m always involved in the game, batting, bowling, fielding at slip, so this is just one more thing I’m looking forward to doing. You know the workload I have, it’s pretty tough anyway – but the one thing is that I’m probably in control of my destiny now. It’s not something I’m worried about.”Still, it may be relevant to visit Vaughan’s observations on the subject in his book, Calling the Shots. “He bats, bowls and fields – I’m not so sure giving him the extra responsibility and all the other jobs that come with captaincy would be good for him. The workload would be overwhelming. He’d have to practise his batting, bowling and then half an hour in the slips and then think about the captaincy. That would be very tough.””He likes his fun and games,” Vaughan had added, “and so do I – but at the right time. He couldn’t act as he’s acting now and be captain.”How will Flintoff seek to put his imprint on a side led vibrantly for close to three years by Vaughan? What kind of captain will he be?”A good one I hope! In the dressing room the lads know their job. Each individual knows what he’s doing. Everyone’s pointing in the right direction, the same direction. I’ve just got to be myself. I’m just going to change the field around a little more!””It is Michael’s team. Michael’s someone that not just myself but the rest of the lads like playing under. I’ve just got to try and carry that on for a brief time, the enthusiasm and the fun that he puts into it and the determination and the courage that the side have. All I know is that when I walk out Wednesday and have ten lads behind me, I know they will give me the same respect, the same effort, the same energy as what they do for Michael. As for putting a stamp, I’m not in the job long enough. I’m just going to try and continue the great job that Michael does.”For the archives, the first man to shake hands was Shaun Udal, within earshot when Flintoff was officially given the news. The moment came towards the end of the practice session in the stinging dry heat of Nagpur this afternoon. Just as well for the late appointment. Captaincy is a wearying business, not least the lead-ups. An early introduction to the nature of the beast, or the bird in this case, came when he was asked about the flu-free chicken prepared by the hotel kitchen for the team.”Chicken is chicken,” he mused. “But to be honest with you, I’ve got a few mo’ things on me plate than chicken.”

Sachin Tendulkar has returned to India following a successful operation on his right shoulder.He was assessed prior to leaving London by the surgeon, Dr Andrew Wallace, who was reported to be very happy with his progress to date. His stitches were removed prior to departure, and an initial management plan for recovery has been put in place.Following ten days of Phase 1 recovery, which is designed to allow the tissue to fully heal and bind, Tendulkar will begin to initiate more movement through light jogging and swimming, under the supervision of the team physio, John Gloster. It is expected that he should be able to pick up a bat by the beginning of May.

Scorecard

Nottinghamshire completed a 142-run win over MCC to launch their season in fine style. Despite a defiant 123 from Alex Loudon and Tim Bresnan’s aggressive 94, Nottinghamshire’s attack completed an efficient display midway through the final session.Ryan Sidebottom finished with the best figures, 3 for 77 to add his first-innings haul of 4 for 42, and jolted his team into action with two wickets in two balls during the morning session. MCC had started confidently through Alastair Cook, who made up for his first-innings failure with a boundary-filled 51. He struck 11 fours in his 55-ball stay before being trapped lbw by Sidebottom, who followed up by having Ed Joyce caught behind first ball.Rikkie Clarke also fell before lunch and when Luke Parker and Steven Davies followed early in the afternoon session a quick finish was on the cards. However, Loudon didn’t waste the opportunity to show the talent that earned him selection for the tour of Pakistan before Christmas.He struck 19 fours and a six off 191 balls as he reached only his second first-class century, three years after his first for Durham UCCE. Even though it was his off-spin that primarily caught the selectors’ attention, at the end of last season, these runs will have done him no harm as England continue to search for players to bring balance to the one-day team in particular.Loudon wouldn’t have been able to post three figures if it hadn’t been for the support from Bresnan, who arrived in the middle with him on 74. When Loudon eventually fell, top-edging a pull, Bresnan delayed the inevitable with some powerful strokeplay. He was within touching distance of a maiden first-class century, but was left stranded with the tail, and was the last-man out when he clubbed a catch to midwicket off David Hussey.This match has provided a useful showcase for some of England’s promising young players. Cook will be hoping he returns to Lord’s next month as part of the Test team to face Sri Lanka, while Loudon and Clarke have put forward their claims to be considered as allrounders when the selectors next sit down.

Sambit Bal on India’s Test match squad for West Indies
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Streaming Audio: WMATeam selection is one issue that always sparks off discussion. On Wednesday, India named their team for the Test matches that will begin in West Indies in early June. Ramesh Powar and Suresh Raina have been picked after their impressive performances in the one-day internationals. VRV Singh, the Punjab fast bowler, and Dinesh Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper, have also been included in the squad.Should Ajit Agarkar, who has bowled so well in the ODIs, have been included for the Tests? Are India one short of a specialist opener? To answer these questions and more we catch up with Sambit Bal, Cricinfo’s editor.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: WMA

Sachin Tendulkar has been declared fit to play in the upcoming tri-series in Sri Lanka, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) said today.Tendulkar has made good progress after testing his right shoulder over the last five days under the supervision of John Gloster, the India team physio. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, also confirmed that that Tendulkar will not be required to undergo a fitness test, originally scheduled for Wednesday.”Tendulkar has been undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of team physiotherapist John Gloster and in the last five days has made progress satisfactory enough to make him available for the Sri Lanka series,” he told reporters. “The report we have got is that Sachin is fit to play. He is available for selection again.”Tendulkar also consulted his surgeon in London, Dr. Andrew Wallace, who was very satisfied with his recovery from shoulder surgery. Tendulkar showed little discomfort during his short tour of England, where he represented club side Lashings and participated in a Twenty20 charity match.If he is indeed selected, which is a certainty, the tri-series will mark his international comeback after a four-month layoff. After a successful surgery, Tendulkar was hopeful of being fit for the Tests in India’s tour of West Indies recently. However, he had to cancel a scheduled fitness test in May to determine his selection, as his shoulder required more time to heal.The selectors meet on Thursday to pick the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.

41.4 overs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Parsimonious spells from Prosper Utseya and Hamilton Masakadza combined with Gregory Strydom’s hard-hitting fifty powered Zimbabwe to victory in the fourth one-day international against Bangladesh at Harare. This was Zimbabwe’s 12th series win since their entry into the international fold in 1983 and their fourth in a bilateral series against Bangladesh.Zimbabwe outperformed Bangladesh in all departments to win the series with a match to spare – their spinners restricted Bangladesh to 206 for 9 before Vusi Sibanda and Strydom marshalled the run-chase superbly to achieve the target in the 42nd over. Despite winning the toss for the first time in the series, Bangladesh got off to another poor start. In earlier games they lost their first wicket for 15, 17 and 4; today they managed 21 before Rajin Saleh, who replaced the out-of-form Javed Omar, pushed one straight to Stuart Matsikenyeri off Ed Rainsford.There was a brief revival as Aftab Ahmed flung his bat around. Having scored 40 off 24 balls and 53 off 39 in his last two games, Aftab smashed four fours off Rainsford in the 11th over. However, the rush of blood eventually worked in Zimbabwe’s favour and Aftab’s innings ended on 27. Bangladesh had added 52 in 44 balls during Aftab’s stay and his dismissal in the 15th over prompted Utseya to take the third Powerplay immediately.Shahriar Nafees had played a steady hand at the other end after surviving a testy spell from Anthony Ireland. However, it was his indiscretion – ball-watching in the direction of mid-off – that led to Mohammad Ashraful’s run-out. Thereafter Utseya and Masakadza took centre stage. Utseya, fast aquiring a reputation for his miserliness as explained in S Rajesh’s Numbers Game, started uncharacteristically with a short and wide long-hop that Ashraful promptly cut for four. Thereafter normal service resumed. Overs zipped by in double-quick time and runs came at a trickle. Utseya compounded Bangladesh’s woes when Alok Kapali lobbed a tame shot to midwicket.Zimbabwe struck a body blow when Masakadza breached Nafees’s defences. He finished with 2 for 36, Utseya 2 for 25 and Stuart Matsikenyeri none for 18 after five overs. Between them they had conceded just two boundaries between the 20th and the 38th over – a period in which Bangladesh managed only 61. Farhad Reza had just struck a six when he was wretchedly stranded a few balls later. Such was the nature of Bangladesh’s effort. There were several spurts of intent but they were just that – spurts, as they allowed Zimbabwe to make frequent inroads.

Zimbabwe got off to a perfect start in a crucial run-chase. Sibanda and Duffin bucked the trend of poor opening partnerships by putting on 57 runs – the highest first-wicket stand in the series for both sides. Instead of approaching the target cautiously, both openers took on the opening bowlers – Shahadat Hossain and Mashrafe Mortaza – at every possible opportunity. The batsmen took turns at finding the fence and Hossain, the hat-trick hero of the previous game, leaked 26 runs in his first three overs. Bangladesh could ill afford runs to flow at such a pace – 43 had come off the first seven overs – and Khaled Mashud was forced to try Abdur Razzak’s left-arm spin as early as the eighth over. The drop in the run-rate that followed was dramatic.The first Powerplay had yielded 50 runs off ten overs but Zimbabwe struggled to score 12 runs off five in the second Powerplay. Both batsmen were clueless against Razzak and Mohammad Rafique who induced an edge from Duffin off his second ball. Sibanda, however, survived tense moments against the spinners and found his groove again in the company of Strydom.Strydom muscled his first few boundaries to get going and, once settled, took charge after Sibanda’s departure. He kept the runs flowing with regular boundaries and brought up his first ODI fifty – of 47 balls – with a lofted hit in front of square. By the time he fell, to a leading edge, Zimbabwe were on the threshold of victory. If Bangladesh thought they had a flicker of hope, it was quickly stubbed out by Matsikenyeri and Brendan Taylor, who fittingly sealed the series with another massive six over wide long-on.

BangladeshRajin Saleh c Matsikenyeri b Rainsford 11 (21 for 1)
Aftab Ahmed c Utseya b Masakadza 27 (73 for 2)
Mohammad Ashraful run out Duffin 6 (82 for 3)
Alok Kaplai c Sibanda c Utseya 10 (102 for 4)
Shahriar Nafees b Masakadza 45 (137 for 5)
Farhad Reza run out Utseya 30 (157 for 6)
Mohammad Rafique c Sibanda b Utseya (160 for 7)
Khaled Mashud c Rainsford b Ieland (190 for 8)
Mashrafe Mortaza b Ed Rainsford 23 (197 for 9)
ZimbabweTerry Duffin c Mashud b Rafique 24 (57 for 1)
Vusi Sibanda b Reza 46 (91 for 2)
Hamilton Masakadza retired hurt 19 (156 for 2)
Gregory Strydom c Ashraful b Razzak 58 (159 for 3)

Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has given the best assurance yet that the one-day series against England could go ahead. Speaking to PTI, Khan confirmed his side’s commitment to the forthcoming series and says their ‘focus is now on cricket’.A disciplinary hearing on charges faced by Inzamam-ul-Haq, for ball-tampering and bringing the game into dispute, was due to be held on Friday but it has been deferred. The date of the hearing will be announced tomorrow.”The players did not want to play the one-day series with the sword ofthe hearing hanging over them but now they have realised the importance of playing,” Khan explained. “Our focus is now on cricket.I’ve held meetings with the Pakistan players and captain. I’ve toldthem we don’t have any problems with the ECB so we must continue with the tour.”The postponement of the hearing is due to the unavailability of RanjanMadugalle, the ICC chief match referee, whose sister recently suffered a serious accident. Both England and Pakistan have requested Madugalleas the adjudicator, which was confirmed by the ICC chief executive,Malcolm Speed, who is flying to London in the next 48 hours to tacklethe situation head-on.Despite a calming of the waters in England, back in Islamabad, Pakistani MPs of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) party have tabled a motion in the lower house to discuss the issue. “We urged the government to formally intervene in the matter,” Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, the senior MMA leader, told AFP. “We support Inzamam’s decision,” he said adding that the Pakistan captain was justified in registering his protest after the team were dubbed ‘cheats’.Pakistan face England in a Twenty20 match on August 28 at Bristol.<!–The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has demanded that the ICC hold a disciplinary hearing on charges faced by Inzamam-ul-Haq for ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute before Monday. They added that they will not have a problem if Clive Lloyd is appointed to deal with the case.However, contradictory reports have emerged from the Pakistan camp with Zaheer Abbas, the team manager, telling journalists that it had been decided that they would wait until the end of the one-day series, on September 10, for the hearing to take place. "The board will have no objection if ICC appoints Clive Lloyd for the case hearing," a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying on Geo TV, a Pakistan news channel.But a spokesman for DLA Piper, the legal firm appointed to represent Inzamam, said: "We want the original bloke. Clearly he has problems to deal with, but the situation has not changed."Abbas, however, offered another different view: "There was an opinion we should ask the ICC to have the hearing before the one-day series to close this issue but since both boards have agreed on having Ranjan Madugalle as the adjudicator it has been decided to wait until he is available. Madugalle's sister has had a serious accident and the reasons for postponing the hearing are genuine." Rather confusingly, he concluded: "Our legal advisers also felt it was best to wait."He added that Thursday's fixture against Middlesex would go ahead as planned. "We are definitely playing that match and the remaining ones also. The players are now just concentrating on the cricket and winning the one-dayers."Earlier, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, who is flying to London in the next two days to tackle the crisis first hand, said Friday's planned hearing had been postponed since Pakistan and England preferred Madugalle to act as adjudicator.On Thursday Pakistani MPs of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) party have tabled a motion in the lower house to discuss the issue. "We urged the government to formally intervene in the matter," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, the senior MMA leader, told AFP. "We support Inzamam's decision," he said adding that the Pakistan captain was justified in registering protest after the team were dubbed 'cheats'."Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that David Morgan, the chairman of the ECB, took part in a 45-minute meeting on Wednesday with Shaharyar Khan and Inzamam at the team’s hotel near Heathrow. Morgan said he had been invited to the meeting by Khan, who said he was “very keen that the one-dayers are not disrupted”. The newspaper speculated that Khan may have been trying to use Morgan’s influence to persuade Inzamam to carry on with the tour.–>

A fire believed to have been caused by workers’ welding torches has caused an estimated A$50,000 damage to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.The fire, which was soon put out by Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade, damaged a small area of seating in a new stand under construction, as well as window panels and a section of the roof.”It could have been a lot worse,” a spokesman for the fire brigade said. “Our crews arrived four or five minutes after the fire and quickly got a couple of lines on and got it under control very quickly. The roof is damaged. Not majorly, but there is quite a bit of damage.”Up to 300 workers and other staff were evacuated from the ground while the fire was put out.