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Mark Butcher, the Surrey captain, has extended his contract with the club to keep him at The Oval until at least the end of the 2008 season.”Securing Mark’s services until the end of 2008 is great news for the club,” said Alan Butcher, Mark’s father and Surrey’s cricket manager. “Having his leadership is a huge bonus as he is very well respected by all of the squad, not to mention his invaluable contributions with the bat.” Butcher was instrumental in leading Surrey back into Division One of the Championship last season, scoring 1418 runs at 59.08.In addition to Butcher, Surrey also extended the contracts of Neil Sake, Jade Dernbach, Richard Clinton and Stewart Walters.

Scorecard
Points table

Tasmania lost three wickets and knocked 148 runs from their massive chase of 484 against Western Australia at the WACA. Michael Di Venuto, who was in his final outing for his state, went for 45 to Mathew Inness, another player who is stepping down, and Travis Birt (17) and Dane Anderson (47) also departed, leaving George Bailey and Dan Marsh with the work to do on the final day.Luke Ronchi’s brutal 93 off 76 balls, which was backed by half-centuries to Marcus North and Luke Pomersbach, allowed North to declare at 8 for 318, an advantage of 483. Ronchi’s first eight scoring shots were boundaries and he finished in a hurry during another aggressive display.He raised his fifty with a six and the innings was closed when he became Tim Macdonald’s second wicket. North had already strolled to 69 and Pomersbach gained 68 to give the Warriors few worries as they built their buffer. Brett Geeves and Luke Butterworth also captured two victims before the declaration arrived. The Warriors will finish third and Tasmania fourth whatever the result.

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has said that it was important for Pakistan to beat India in the two-match ODI series beginning in Abu Dhabi to regain their confidence. Pakistan lost the recent one-day series at home 1-4 after beating India 1-0 in the Tests. However, they toured Sri Lanka and won the Test series 1-0 and the one-day series 2-0, their fourth win in the last five ODI series.”Its needless for me to elaborate on an India-Pakistan series,” Woolmer told Press Trust of India. “These games draw massive interest around the world. Our team is in high spirits for the two games. We certainly would like to have our names as the first-ever winners at this venue.”Both matches are day-night fixtures and will be played at the Zayad Cricket Stadium which can seat 16,000 fans. It is the second venue in the United Arab Emirates, after Sharjah, to host international cricket matches. The proceeds from the first game will be donated to the survivors of the earthquake that hit parts of Pakistan and northern India.Since October 2005, India have beaten Sri Lanka 6-1, Pakistan 4-1, England 5-1 and held South Africa to a 2-2 draw, and Woolmer admitted that they would be hard opponents. “Obviously India is not an easy team to beat. They are playing well at the moment but Pakistan has got the type of players to match them in all departments of the game.”India’s strength has been that different players have produced matchwinning performances and therefore the pressure on Rahul Dravid in the absence of Sachin Tendulkar has been reduced. The poor form of Virender Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif has been balanced by sterling performances from Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “We need both Veeru and Kaif at their best but I am glad there are others willing to raise their hand for the cause of the team,” said Dravid. “We have always had good contests against Pakistan and it should be no different in these two games as well.” India had a practice session at the stadium on Monday but were without Greg Chappell who was suffering from an upset stomach.Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan president, arrived to watch the first game and several other dignitaries – UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, BCCI President Sharad Pawar and Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel – will be present during the match. A host of Indian film personalities – like Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Zayed Khan and Esha Deol – were also expected to be at the matches. Preperations were under way for a spectacular laser and firework, where around 200 acrobats will perform.India: Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid (capt) Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Venugopal Rao, S Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh.Pakistan: Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Rehman.

At the start of the CB Series there were mutterings about Australia’s outfit being so dominant – and the opposition so poor – that they would quickly regain the world record one-day score. While part of the belief is Australian chest-beating after the Ashes cleansweep and a strong limited-overs start, Adam Gilchrist insists scores of 400-plus will become more common as a flow-on effect from Twenty20.Gilchrist, who will lead the side against England in Brisbane on Friday, is likely to have a strong say in any massive Australian total and is convinced they will get bigger. “I do believe 400s are going to become parts of the game,” he said. “Slowly but surely they may become the norm, but they’re a little way off yet.”Batsmen are power hitting earlier and Twenty20 is going to show teams how expansive they can be.” However, he does not expect too many repeats of Australia’s mind-blowing game against South Africa last year when 872 runs were scored in 99.5 overs and Australia held the world mark for only an innings.As Gilchrist talked in the Gabba gym he was asked by Angus Fraser, the former England seamer, whether it was a good thing for the game if the batsman had an unequal advantage. “I can’t see why bowlers have got such a raw deal,” Gilchrist said. “The powerplay changes it a lot, but there was always an overs restriction. The bowlers will adapt and they are adapting. Looking at bowling now in one-day cricket compared to 20 years ago, they are smarter about it.”Australia will regain two of their most knowledgeable fast men for Friday’s match with Glenn McGrath cleared of a groin problem and Brett Lee recovering from a chest infection that ruled him out of the first two games. The pair’s inclusion forces Ben Hilfenhaus out of the squad – he will play for Tasmania in the Pura Cup game against Queensland in Hobart – and Stuart Clark and Brad Hogg will also be missing.

McGrath was rested for the 105-run win over New Zealand in Hobart on Sunday and did not bowl in the nets today. “They are just managing his workload and monitoring him closely,” Gilchrist said. “We’re sure he’s 100% fit.”Gilchrist will captain Australia for the 14th time in one-day games as he replaces the resting Ricky Ponting, and he downplayed the prospect of the side’s invincibility. “There’s every chance we could lose a game to England or New Zealand,” Gilchrist, who will play his 250th ODI, said. “It’s the nature of one-day cricket. That’s what we’re trying to guard against.”Not for a minute are we thinking we have wrapped up this tournament. Far from it. But if we maintain the standard and keep progressing we shouldn’t lose too many.”Australia 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt, wk), 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Cameron White, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Nathan Bracken, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Glenn McGrath.

In theory Mitchell Johnson and Ashley Noffke are competing for a fast-bowling place in the West Indies. The reality is different for the Queensland team-mates.Johnson would be devastated if he wasn’t picked for the opening Test from May 22 after being a fixture over the summer. When thinking about the tour he is as relaxed as any bowler can be when there are persistent threats from further down the queue.”It was a big summer, my first playing Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20,” Johnson said as the pre-tour camp wound up in Brisbane. “I wouldn’t say I’d nailed a spot there, but it’s given me a bit more confidence playing out the summer. I feel pretty confident that I can keep continuing my form.”For Noffke, who is going on his third senior tour, the initial aim is to play a game. Any game. Johnson, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark, who is a menace on the wearing surfaces expected in the Caribbean, are ahead of Noffke and there is only one practice match before the three Tests. Noffke is not in the one-day squad, so he may fill a sideline role like the one Johnson performed during the World Cup.While Australia eased to a third consecutive global triumph last year, Johnson was camped in the nets throughout the Caribbean. Only occasionally in the West Indies do the practice facilities mirror those in the middle so when he lands he will start with a conversation with Brett Lee.”Hopefully he can point me in the right direction because he’s toured there before,” Johnson said. “I’ll just take it day by day.” His main memory of the conditions was it was very hot.His recollections of the past summer, when he made his debut against Sri Lanka and held his spot throughout the India series, are more cohesive. Ricky Ponting is impressed with Johnson’s left-arm attributes and he gave him an average of 42 overs a game during his opening six Tests. He captured 24 wickets to finish behind Lee’s 40 and ahead of Clark’s more economical 21.”It’s pretty hard to get the ball out of my hand,” Johnson said. “I probably don’t want to do it [bowl long spells] all the time, but if Ricky needs me I’ll bowl.”One of the most memorable aspects of Johnson’s performances was his tendency to deliver a wide, full offering outside off stump early in his spell. For much of the summer he was trying to correct a faulty wrist position that prevented the ball from swinging in to the right-handers. It is something he is continuing to monitor, but insists is not a problem.”I have been working on it, but I’m not going to go out in games and be too worried about it,” he said. “If it’s swinging, it’s swinging. If it’s not swinging, I will still be trying to hit the deck hard.”The thought of bowling to West Indies’ main weapons, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, is also enticing. Johnson thinks the alteration in angle to the left-handers, a group which also includes Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ryan Hinds and Devon Smith, will help him achieve more movement through the air.At the moment Noffke has much more simple aims. “I’d love to play a game, but that’s out of my control a bit,” he said. “It can be fairly difficult on a set tour like this. There’s only one tour game at the start and I’m not sure what the set-up is going to be there.”It will be Noffke’s second time in the West Indies after he went with the side in 2003, but a series of injuries followed the trip. He swept back into national calculations with an amazing season of 741 first-class runs and 51 wickets, a convincing haul that could tempt the selectors into using him as an allrounder at some stage.”I hope I give them that option,” he said. “My first-class statistics last year prove that. Whether or not their perception of me is the same, I don’t know. I haven’t had any sit-down chats with them yet. I hope I provide some different options.”Noffke’s improvement over the past two seasons has led to him feeling reborn as a batsman and finding a niche with his right-arm fast bowling. “There’s nothing more pleasing than to see your name with the guys I am travelling with,” he said. “The reason I am there is because of top-quality performances for Queensland.” Unfortunately for Noffke, the same applies to Johnson.

Scorecard andball-by-ball details
How they were out

In a match that bettered Saturday’s series opener for pure adrenalin,Brendan Taylor single-handedly took Zimbabwe to a 2-1 series lead inanother thriller at Harare. Faced with the daunting task of scoring 17 offthe final over of the match, Taylor smoked Mashrafe Mortaza for two sixes- the second off the final ball with five to win – to overcome the oddsand take Zimbabwe to their second fantastic win in a week. All this in amatch in which Shahadat Hossain became the first Bangladeshi to take ahat-trick in one-day cricket as Bangladesh tried to keep the late-orderrally at bay.Taylor, the only Zimbabwean to shine, took the fight back to Bangladeshwith a spirited unbeaten 79 from 72 deliveries. Partnered by theenthusiastic Tawanda Mupariwa, Taylor added a record 81 for the eighthwicket. When the run rate soared past 12 in the last four overs – the 47thover, bowled by Abdul Razzak, seemingly added the varnish on the game asthe bowler allowed just five runs – there was little stacked in Zimbabwe’sfavour.But what a final over: Mupariwa, whose career-best 33 was immense,pinched a single, Taylor smashed six off the second ball, refused a singleoff the third, watched as Kevin Barbour called a dubious wide, slammed aone-handed four high over midwicket, watched as Mupariwa was runout, and wiped his brow. The equation, in the end, came down to five offone ball. The crowd was on its feet. And Taylor simply lofted the lastball over midwicket for maximum. It was electric stuff.Zimbabwe looked down for the count, but Taylor played an impossible innings. Mupariwa, who had done little in his brief career to suggest he could contribute such valuable runs, held his nerve to give Taylor fine support. It was hard to imagine a better Zimbabwean win than in the series opener, but this was heart-pumping cricket.For the value of this effort to sink in, we must rewind to Shahadat’s moment in thematch. In the 39th over of Zimbabwe’s chase, with the hosts on 150 for 4,he rocked the boat. And how. Tafadzwa Mufambisi, on debut, nicked a widedelivery to Khaled Mashud, Elton Chigumbura departed as he played all over afull and fast delivery and was given lbw in a flash, and Prosper Usteya hunghis bat out at one outside off. One, two, three. Every Bangladeshisupporter and more erupted, the flags were flown high, and Shahadat wasjoined by his team-mates in playful celebration.

The denouement apart, Zimbabwe had never really looked at easechasing 237 on a track that eased out during the day. A steady 30-runopening stand between Terry Duffin and Vusi Sibanda was snapped when Razzak trapped Sibanda leg before in the tenth over. Hamilton Masakadza chugged along to 38 before he slashed a wide delivery from Farhad Reza to backward point to give the bowler his maiden international wicket. Duffin, who had finally got a game, looked out ofdepth against this attack. He might have been preferred in place of ChamuChibhabha for stability, but his sluggishness may have done more harm thangood. His 80-ball 48 came to an end when he failed to execute a sweep and wasstumped off the part-time spin of Rajin Saleh. Saleh delivered a secondstrike when he forced Stuart Matsikenyeri to offer extra-cover thesimplest of chances, but that was nothing in comparison to what enfolded asShahadat took centre stage.Earlier, Zimbabwe’s bowlers came back from an Aftab Ahmed caning and apotential middle-order explosion to restrict Bangladesh to 236. In 49.1overs of see-saw cricket, they seized the impetus, lost it for a briefperiod but came back to wrest it and leave themselves with the lowesttarget of the five-match series thus far.Regardless of the fact that Bangladesh had lost both their openers withonly 13 on the board, Aftab tore into the bowling. Like his manic 40 off25 balls in the second match, he began with a carefree attitude, carvingthree fours to different parts of the ground in four deliveries. Two sixes- a punch over long-off and a merciless smash out of the ground overlong-on – stood out as Aftab raced to 50 off just 31 balls andswung the momentum Bangladesh’s way.

It was then that Anthony Ireland struck the second definitive blow when hebreached Aftab’s defences with a crafty slow yorker. From here, Saleh andMohammad Ashraful played valuable knocks but ultimately failed to sustainthe momentum. The two added 91 in good time, but a position that couldhave been lethal for Zimbabwe was remedied by Hamilton Masakadza, whoselegspin accounted for the duo before they really cut loose. With a fiftythere for the taking, Ashraful tickled one down the leg side and BrendanTaylor held a fine catch. Having just moved past fifty with a punchthrough mid-off for four, Saleh pulled a rank full-toss from Masakadzastraight to midwicket. Ireland came back to dismiss the dangerous MohammadRafique and Mashrafe Mortaza at the death. His spell, 3 for 41, did plentyto rein in the big-hitters and could prove to be vital to the result ofthe match.Overall, Zimbabwe’s bowling was a mixed bag but it did the trick. Irelandtried too much too soon in his first match of the series, but once hefigured out that line and length was better than pace, he was a handful.Mazakadza was preferred at the death despite his inexperience in that rolebut did well to pick up career-best figures of 3 for 39.How they were outBangladesh
Shahriar Nafees c Taylor b Mahwire 0 (4 for 1)
Javed Omar c sub (Chibhabha) b Mupariwa 6 (13 for 2)
Aftab Ahmed b Ireland 53 (83 for 3)
Mohammad Ashraful c Taylor b Masakadza 46 (174 for 4)
Rajin Saleh c Utseya b Masakadza 54 (179 for 5)
Farhad Reza run out (Sibanda) 15 (195 for 6)
Mohammad Rafique c Mupariwa b Ireland 0 (198 for 7)
Mashrafe Mortaza lbw b Ireland 2 (201 for 8)
Khaled Mashud run out (Masakadza/Mahwire) 11 (224 for 9)
Shahadat Hossain st Taylor b Masakadza 1 (236 for 10)
Zimbabwe
Vusi Sibanda lbw b Razzak 14 (30 for 1)
Hamilton Masakadza c Aftan b Reza 38 (84 for 2)
Terry Duffin st Mashud b Saleh 48 (121 for 3)
Stuart Matsikenyeri c Ashraful b Saleh 7 (131 for 4)
Tafadzwa Mufambisi c Mashud b Shahadat 8 (151 for 5)
Elton Chigumbara lbw b Shahadat 0 (151 for 6)
Prosper Utseya c Mashud b Shahadat 0 (151 for 7)
Tawanda Mupariwa run out (Rafique) 33 (232 for 8)

Scorecard
The tournament gets underway in Castletown•ICC/Cricket Europe

Italy got to a winning start in the European Under-17 Division Two Championships with a thumping victory against Belgium on the opening day. The Belgians had beaten Italy in the final of the previous edition of the tournament, but this time they were not given a chance by the clinical Italians.Captain Roshendra Abeywickrama set up the win with an accomplished 76 off 98 balls and he was supported well by Abdulla Al Noman Chowdhury and Jakub Peret who struck 30s. Italy finished with 214 for 5 in their 40 overs. Abeywickrama continued to torment Belgium with the ball, removing Shamin Shah for a duck early. Mohammad Adnan struck a double blow after some resistance from Robert Sehmi after which there was no respite for Belgium. They slid to a sorry 76 all out in 21.4 overs.
Scorecard
Hosts Isle of Man made a confident start to the tournament with a 66 run victory over Germany in Tromode. Openers Adam MacAuley and Carl Wagstaff built a solid platform with their 91 run stand after which there was no looking back. MacAuley struck a pleasing 53 off 68 balls as the hosts reached 180 in their 37 overs. Germany’s reply came unstuck against some persistent bowling from Robert Hester who finished with four wickets. Opener Krishna Cholleti resisted with 34, but it was not enough as Germany slid to 114 all out.
Scorecard
Spain were made to work hard by Switzerland before sealing a 38-run win in Crosby. Himesh Parikh and George Gaillet questioned Spain’s decision to bat first by reducing them to 51 for 4. Charlie Cook then turned the tables with a 46-ball 59 to turn the heat back on Switzerland, as Spain finished with a respectable score of 176. Switzerland’s reply was stunted by a fiery spell from Ben Girling who scalped six wickets. Ali Saleem tried to hold one end up, with 43 off 73 balls, but without support from the other end, as his side were bowled out for 138.
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France steamrolled Gibraltar by 222 runs in St John’s in the most one-sided match on the opening day. Gibraltar lost the initiative almost as soon as they invited France to bat after winning the toss. William Smati and Avishka Liyanaarachchi cashed in with lively 60s and received good support from the rest of the cast as France amassed 278. Zain Zahir’s opening burst reduced Gibraltar to 9 for 3 and ended the match as a contest early. Zika Ali then came on to run through the middle and lower order and finish with dream figures of 5 for 3 in four overs as Gibraltar were shut out in the 22nd over for 56.

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

Yuvraj Singh’s electrifying 70 led the batting charge and Sreesanthdelivered the telling blows with the ball as India produced a magnificentperformance to beat Australia by 15 runs and set up a dreamall-subcontinent final against Pakistan at the ICC World Twenty20. Formuch of their pursuit of 189, Australia were well in contention, withMatthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds muscling balls to the rope, but Indiakept their nerve superbly to clinch another famous victory.Thousands of Indian flags were waved with abandon as Kingsmead came toresemble Little India, but Australia were still marginal favourites with41 needed from the final four overs. Symonds was still there,having biffed his way to 43 from 25 balls, but the moment Irfan Pathanpegged back his off stump with a delivery that evaded the attempted cut,the momentum shifted decisively towards India.Harbhajan Singh conceded just three runs in the next over, yorking MichaelClarke in the process, and Rudra Pratap Singh then returned to bowl anoutstanding over, having gone for plenty in his opening spell. When theinexperienced Joginder Sharma was handed the ball for the final over, 22were needed. Michael Hussey, the master finisher, was on strike, but therewas to be no comeback here. A miscue induced by Sharma’s lack of pacelanded up in Yuvraj Singh’s hands at deep midwicket, and Brett Lee wasthen cleaned up by a yorker as the Indian players started impromptuvictory jigs on the field.Australia were left to reflect on a middle-order meltdown, and anastonishing second half of the Indian innings where Yuvraj, Robin Uthappaand Mahendra Singh Dhoni drove, flicked and bludgeoned 128 runs. Uthappaadded 84 with Yuvraj in just 39 balls, and Dhoni provided the finalflourishes as India ensured that Australia would have a TableMountain-like target to scale.Yuvraj, who had missed the South Africa game after his 12-ballhalf-century against England, carried on in six-hitting vein, pullingStuart Clark, the top wicket-taker in the competition, for a huge one overmidwicket. Adam Gilchrist responded by bringing back Brett Lee, but Yuvrajresponded with a sensational pick-up short over square leg for six, takingIndia to 60 for 2 at the halfway stage, marginally better than the 57 for3 they had against South Africa.Virender Sehwag had gone cheaply, edging Mitchell Johnson behind, andGautam Gambhir’s bright 24-run cameo ended with a stunning catch in theoutfield, but that merely set the stage for dazzling strokeplay thatripped up whatever plans the Australians may have had.Symonds came on and was straight away flicked for four, before both Yuvrajand Uthappa pulled him for sixes in a 19-run over. Neither NathanBracken’s slower variations nor Clark’s steadiness could stem the tide, asYuvraj played sumptuous shots over cover.Another massive pull for six off Clark took him to 50 from just 20 balls,in an over that went for 21, and the return of Johnson provedjust as expensive, with Uthappa slamming a straight six and poweringanother over midwicket. Australia were wobbling, but respite came in theshape of a nonchalant direct hit from Symonds after Yuvraj had turned downUthappa for a single.Dhoni, usually a watchful starter, was into his stride right away, carvingSymonds down the ground, and with Yuvraj carrying on merrily, Gilchristturned to his final bowling option, Clarke. The first ball was heaved forsix over midwicket, but Yuvraj didn’t quite time the next one, and Husseyran in to take the catch.Australia came out prepared to swing, and RP Singh, who had sent SouthAfrica tumbling out of the tournament on Thursday, found the best openingpair in the business a different proposition. Gilchrist repeatedly flickedhim over midwicket, once for six, and also lofted one straight down to thesightscreen.Hayden struggled against Sreesanth, whose eccentricities shouldn’t obscurejust how beautifully he bowled. There was pace and swing as Haydenrepeatedly swished at air, but it was Gilchrist that departed first,castled by a wonderful delivery that swung back in. That was the signalfor Hayden to move through the gears, and Sharma was the first to feel theimpact, taken for two huge sixes over midwicket as 18 came from the over.

Brad Hodge didn’t last long, heaving one to short fine leg, but the adventof Symonds changed the complexion of the game. Both men heaved Pathan forsixes in an over, and Dhoni’s gamble to give Sehwag an over, after he hadtweaked his hamstring while batting, backfired. Hayden heaved a six to getto 50 from 40 balls, and another loft down the ground saw 20 come from theover.When Symonds then clattered Harbhajan over midwicket for six more, the DJstarted to play Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of my Head, areflection perhaps on how the match was moving inexorably towardsAustralia. It was clear that India needed a hero, and they found one inthe swing bowler with the long stare and the quirky mannerisms.Sreesanth came round the wicket and send Hayden’s off stump for a walk toend the 66-run partnership, and though Symonds continued to swing to thebitter end, the rest of his mates weren’t up to the task. Sreesanthfinished with sensational figures of 2 for 12, but the no-name Sharma’slast-over best summed up what was a tremendous team effort.Australia will have to wait to get their hands on this trophy, but forIndia and Pakistan, who exited the World Cup in such humiliatingcircumstances just six months ago, Monday afternoon at the Wanderers can’tcome soon enough. It will surprise no one if the DJ decides to kick offthe festivities with .

10:30 – Ford gets the voteThe seven-man committee, after listening to both candidates, decided to recommend Graham Ford’s name to the BCCI working committee which will ratify the appointment. That is expected to be a formality, and Ford is now almost certain to take charge for the one-day series against his compatriots in Ireland later this month.9:30pm – Ford gets his chanceThe media weren’t allowed onto the first floor where the meeting was being held, but it was believed that Emburey had finished his presentation, leaving the floor to Ford, reportedly the players’ choice for the job.8:30pm – Embers goes firstJohn Emburey is first to make his presentation in front of the seven-member committee after the meeting starts half an hour late.8:20pm – Sunil Gavaskar arrives from GoaTwenty minutes after the others went upstairs, Sunil Gavaskar arrives after having attended a personal function in Goa. As with the others, he’s mobbed by waiting media. Before he goes into the elevator, Gavaskar asks: “Is nobody at the [Afro-Asia Cup] match?”8:00pm – Pawar makes his entranceAs the clock struck eight, Sharad Pawar came down from his suite to the first-floor banquet hall where the meeting is being held. Dressed in white as always, he was surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards.7:41pm – The stop-gap manRavi Shastri, who coached India in Bangladesh, turns up with Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Again, there’s a frenzied response from the assembled media. Shastri asks one if he wants to come in. “Into the elevator?” asks the mediaperson. “No, only into the elevator,” quips Shastri before the door slides shut.7:35pm – The coach-maker arrivesNiranjan Shah, the board secretary, arrives, accompanied by Ratnakar Shetty, the chief executive, N Srinivasan, the treasurer, and MP Pandove. As they’re mobbed by TV cameras, Pandove turns around and tells a cameraman: “He’s only the secretary, not the coach!” The reply is a classic. “But he’s the coach-maker.”7:20pm – Touching glovesBoth men, dressed in suits and carrying laptops, entered the elevator to proceed to the meeting. Despite a posse of photographers clicking away, Ford and Emburey were seen chatting amiably as they proceeded to make the presentations that would decide who would succeed Greg Chappell as Indian coach.6:30pm – The saga beginsAnd finally the day of reckoning for the future Indian coach arrived. On a warm yet cloudy Saturday evening, with the Asia XI taking on the Africa XI in the second one-dayer at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, the action, at least as far as the media was concerned, shifted to the Park Sheraton Hotel and Towers. Sharad Pawar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, arrived shortly after 5pm and checked into his suite. It’s believed – and there has been no information officially disseminated to the media so far – that Graham Ford and John Emburey, the two men vying for the coach’s job, would have to make their presentations either in Pawar’s suite or in the Elliot banquet hall.The rest of the committee were yet to reach the hotel. BCCI officials also on the committee were at the MA Chidambaram Stadium watching the match, and were only expected to arrive closer to 8pm, when it was believed that the meetings would begin. Sunil Gavaskar, the most influential of the three former Indian cricketers in the seven-man committee, had already excused himself from commentary duties with ESPN, who are broadcasting the Afro-Asia Cup. It has been reported that Gavaskar was in Goa, attending to a family function, but he was expected to be present at the meetings that will decide between Ford and Emburey.Ravi Shastri, another former cricketer on the panel who is on contract with ESPN, had asked his employers to be excused and would make it to the Park Sheraton in time for the discussions. At half-past six, however, only Pawar was present at the venue, and his presence was hard to miss given the elaborate police protection all round the hotel. Right from cars parked outside, with cops inside ready and on the go, to policemen in uniform keeping watch outside the hotel and in the foyer where the elevators to Pawar’s room were located, khaki was everywhere.When the same committee met in Bangalore and announced the short-list of Ford and Emburey, the media were kept out of the Hotel Grand Ashok, ostensibly on “security grounds”, and as yet, a similar measure had not been taken in Chennai.

Scorecard

A day before the Indian team for the tour of Bangladesh was to be selected, Yuvraj Singh hammered a stylish 70 to win Punjab a berth in the final of the domestic Twenty20 championships, where they will take on Tamil Nadu (see points table). After failing to fire in each of Punjab’s first three matches in this tournament, where he made 0, 25 and 12, Yuvraj came to the party in fine style against Orissa, going after the bowling with characteristic freedom and aggression, giving full expression to his range of strokes.Being put in to bat, Punjab’s strong batting line-up put up the first 200-plus score of the tournament. Ravneet Ricky, who has been scoring consistently, made 25 at the top of the order, but it was Yuvraj and Dinesh Mongia (43) who did the serious damage. Early on in his innings, Yuvraj was content just looking to hit fours, and his powerful pulling on a good batting surface meant that the fielders had plenty of work to do retrieving the ball from the boundaries. In addition to his eight fours, Yuvraj launched four sixes, one of which ended up on the roof of the stands over midwicket. Yuvraj’s 39-ball 70 took Punjab to 201.Orissa had little chance of chasing down the target and ended on 130 for 7 from 20 overs, falling well short of the target before them. One of the talking points, after Yuvraj’s innings, was the bowling of Harbhajan Singh, who managed 1 for 15 from two overs. Although Twenty20 is hardly a stage to judge a bowler, the outing at least gave Harbhajan a chance to get some overs under his belt in a competitive situation.”You need to play a lot more in Twenty20 to get an idea of what to do and what not to do,” Harbhajan said soon after the game ended. He also felt that Twenty20 was the sort of game where raw strength and power, rather than skill, would help batsmen succeed. He called the format a “fun game”, although who was having fun under the scorching Mumbai sun, with no spectators at the ground, was not immediately clear. “You need bowlers who can be effective in this game if you want to win,” said Harbhajan, while adding, “The challenge of playing Twenty20 at the domestic level is less. Bowling to the world’s best batsmen is not so easy.”And it has not been an easy few months for Harbhajan. Although he has enjoyed the support of his captain and the selectors, the wickets are not coming as easily as they used to and the bowler who gave the ball a rip and bamboozled the Australians to the tune of 32 wickets from three Tests back in 2001, seems a distant, faded memory. Harbhajan, today, is an offspinner who bowls flat rather flighted, restrictive rather than hungry for wickets. In his last 50 ODIs he does not even average one wicket a game, with just one five-wicket haul. Each of his 48 scalps has come at an price of 38.43 runs. These are not the numbers of a champion offspinner leading an attack.When the selectors and the team management sit down to pick the team for Bangladesh, Ramesh Powar will be the first spinner they agree on. If Dravid bats for Harbhajan, as he has in the past, then there’s a chance he’ll keep his place, albeit under careful scrutiny, with a clear brief to bowl for wickets. The one thing going in Harbhajan’s favour is that Powar is a naturally attacking bowler, and this might make space for a bowler who is restrictive. Also, just as Anil Kumble’s career – at least in Tests – was boosted massively by the competition for a place that Harbhajan brought, and he was forced to become a more versatile bowler, this might be the chance for Harbhajan to take his game to the next level. Whether that opportunity will be afforded to him, depends on the thinking of the selectors, the captain and Ravi Shastri, the cricket manager.Three of the selectors – Dilip Vengsarkar, Bhupinder Singh and Ranjib Biswal – have plenty of time to talk about the decisions they would take tomorrow as they watched a match of no consequence, between Karnataka and Railways. Rahul Dravid, under the weather, didn’t play, and Railways knocked off the 163 runs they needed to register a facile win.