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Five doves flew to freedom, colourful balloons floated in the air, and a thunderous applause went around the arena as the picturesque Gangothri Glades in Mysore hosted its first Ranji Trophy match. Two of the doves were released very gently by two legends from Karnataka, one who’d made a name with his caressed drives and the other who is one of India’s finest spin bowlers. Brijesh Patel and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar.The Ranji Trophy returned to Mysore after an 18-year hiatus; though a Ranji match was played last year here, at the Infosys campus, it was organised entirely by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and no local hand was involved. This time, the local crew ran the show completely. Balachander, the local convenor was a proud man and for a reason other than the obvious: His father, K Sethuraman, was the convener in 1988 when Karnataka last played here.”You can’t find a better venue”, Patel said, and it’s tough to dispute that sentiment. The Chamundi Hills provide an idyllic backdrop, the Kukkarahalli Lake just a big-hit away and the ground itself has lovely trees ringing the boundary.It’s the perfect argument for cricket in India moving to smaller centres – a policy, Patel pointed out, that Karnataka had long followed. “In the ’70s and ’80s we played all over Karnataka. That’s when stadiums came up in all the districts. Now, though, many have athletic tracks so they can’t be used for cricket. Mysore is well suited and we have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mysore University for 20 years. We spent Rs 3,500,000 [US$ 80,000 approx] to build the pavilion and open stands for the crowds to come in and enjoy a good game.”There’s an element of charm when cricket is staged at smaller venues. “I have always loved playing in the smaller towns, because there is more enthusiasm,” Patel agreed. “When Rahul Dravid scored a double-hundred in Bangalore, there were only 10 guys watching the game. Here you can see the crowd watching some good cricketers. There is tremendous enthusiasm in Mysore and we have to tap that.”Chandrasekhar, quiet and shy as ever, also showed he’d lost none of his trademark wit. “I last came here during a women’s cricket tournament and this venue has only grown more charming.” The thought of a big six stirred his curiosity. “Will the ball return if it flies over this ground surrounded by hills and lake?” Balachander’s solution: “No problem. There are open spaces around but we have a bunch of volunteers to do the job!Balachander’s efforts weren’t restricted to the ground structures – the right authorities were approached to give schools a day off, which they agreed to. That explained the hundreds of enthusiastic school kids who cheered every four and every negated appeal with a huge roar.

The only concern for the authorities was the newly-laid pitch, which they’ve handed to Ravindra, a former state cricketer. “This is a good result-oriented wicket,” said Ravindra. “I have worked on it for nearly two months and I am confident it will last five days.” Bharat Chipli, Karnataka’s No 3 batsman who got for a first-ball duck, couldn’t offer first-hand experience of the track but added: “The ball stops a bit on some patches, but there is good bounce and carry overall. The players are happy.”So were the crowd, whose pre-match entertainment included the song , in praise of the goddess Chamundeswari, who slayed the demon king Mahishasura (after whom Mysore is named). The song was composed by Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, the last king of Mysore – and his main cricket connection is that when EAS Prasanna was picked for the Indian team, and his father was reluctant to send him, the king cajoled him into changing his decision.That wasn’t the only song today. The first ball from Joginder Sharma landed on a length, Robin Uthappa leaned forward, covered his stumps before shouldering arms, and Mahesh Rawat collected the ball behind the stumps. Chandrasekhar leant back in his seat and hummed a famous Mukesh number.

Scott Styris is likely to miss the first Test against Sri Lanka due to an ongoing back problem. Styris managed only two games in the Champions Trophy before his injury flared up again.New Zealand team manager Lindsay Crocker said Styris was suffering from a small rupture to a disc in his spine and the priority was to ensure he was fit for the World Cup starting next March. “It’s not in anyone’s best interests for Scott to play when he isn’t 100 percent right, so it’s unlikely he’ll be considered,” Crocker told the .”We just need to be patient and get him back to full fitness,” he said. The injury first appeared in September when Styris was playing for the English county side Middlesex. The opening batsman Michael Papps will also not be considered for the first Test in Christchurch starting on December 7 due to a broken finger.New Zealand will play two Tests against Sri Lanka, followed by two Twenty/20 matches and five one-day internationals.

Venugopal Rao has been named captain of the India A side for the six-nation EurAsia Cricket Series at Abu Dhabi from April 22 to May 5.Robin Singh has been named coach of the squad, which, apart from Rao, also includes three players who were part of the mix in the national side during the home series against England: Piyush Chawla, the 16-year-old legspinner, played in the first Test, while RP Singh and VRV Singh were in the one-day squad and played the fifth match at Jamshedpur. The squad also includes Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper from Tamil Nadu who played for India before being upstaged by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.India have been bunched along with Pakistan and Holland, while Sri Lanka, Ireland and UAE comprise Group B. India open their campaign with a match against Holland against April 23.Squad
Robin Uthappa, Shikhar Dhawan, Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut, Venugopal Rao (capt), S Badrinath, Abhisek Jhunjhunwala, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Shib Sankar Paul, RP Singh, VRV Singh, Piyush Chawla.

Cricket Kenya has confirmed that it will host A-team tours by India and Sri Lanka in August.India arrive early in the month to play two three-day games against the national side, and then Sri Lanka join them to take part in a triangular one-day series in which each side plays the others twice with a final in Nairobi on August 23.The deal is a boost to the Kenyan board whose media deal with Nimbus means they need to attract overseas sides to play in the country. It will also assist the board’s attempts to secure lucrative local sponsorship deals.The series will be followed by a Twenty20 tournament which will act as a warm-up ahead of the Twenty20 World Championships in September. Bangladesh are understood to be one of the participating countries, although negotiations continue about which other side will make up the numbers.

Australia’s batsmen say they are planning to dominate Monty Panesar from the outset of this year’s Ashes series. Panesar was one of the stars of England’s recent home Test series win over Pakistan, and is generating considerable interest ahead of the Ashes, with Australia’s cricketers singling him out in their pre-series talks.”He’s a terrific young bowler, a terrific young character and has an obvious passion for the game and he’ll add a real flavour and touch to this series,” Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist said. “Like any new spinner we haven’t seen before we’ll try to get on top of him before he gets on top of us but a lot of that will be dictated by the conditions and the match scenario.”Simon Katich, who is trying to bat his way back into the Australian Test team after being axed after the first Test against West Indies almost a year ago, rates Panesar highly. “I faced him last year on the Ashes tour and I was impressed,” Katich said at the Australian team camp. “Monty is a bowler who tries to give you a bit of air. He does try and turn it. He is bowling genuine wicket-taking balls and knocking good players over.”Panesar may have his critics as a batsman and an out-fielder, but he is highly rated by national team coach Duncan Fletcher. “As a finger spinner there is probably no one to match him in world cricket at the moment – his control is very, very good,” Fletcher said.Stuart MacGill, the Australian legspinner, believes Panesar’s guile and variety will add plenty to the England bowling attack, which was dominated by its reverse-swinging pace attack in the last series between the two teams. “I think the more variations in personality, approach and background that you can incorporate into your team set-up, the more able you are to deal with a variety of situations,” MacGill said last week. “Monty’s certainly got an approach that will help any team he’s in. He’ll definitely help the England side out just by being there. His approach is different to the other guys in the side and I think that’s very valuable.”

Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) have signed a new four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will result in both national and state players receiving pay rises and increased career and welfare support. In April this year, the players had finally ended months of negotiation and avoided a potential repeat of the sponsorship crisis that afflicted West Indies.The agreement meant that retainers of players contracted to the Australian board will grow at an annual rate of 5.78% and those of state-contracted players will increase at an annual rate of 5.53% over the term of the agreement. Test players, who will earn a minimum retainer of Au$145,000 in the 2005-06 season, will see their base income rise to Au$160,000 by the end of the deal in 2008-09. State players receive a maximum of Au$95,000 and a minimum of Au$34,000 next season, rising to a maximum of Au$110,000 in 2008-09. However, match fees for each Test (Au$12,250) and Pura Cup game (Au$3300) will not change yet.James Sutherland, the CEO of the Australian board, said the new agreement will allow the game to reward Australian and state players with increased payments, balanced with the ability to continue investing heavily in the game at grassroots level.”Cricket Australia is pleased that it has been able to continue the partnership with the Australian Cricketers’ Association,” Sutherland said. “Our starting point in negotiating this new agreement was to ensure that we can continue paying our players well, allowing them to share in the financial success of the game, without compromising the game at grassroots level. Results of a recent review into Australian cricket suggest it is in good shape, but can’t afford to rest on its laurels and expect to maintain its privileged place in the Australian way of life. We need to nurture the game, both at the elite level and the grassroots and due to the co-operation of the ACA we are now in a better position than ever to do this.Tim May, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said the new agreement was an acknowledgement of the players’ contribution to the success of Australian cricket both off and on the field. “Our players have worked hard and achieved great things for Australian cricket and they deserve to be rewarded for this success and the revenue growth that this success has created,” May said. “By maintaining a 25 per cent share of Australian Cricket Revenue, players have an incentive to grow the game’s revenues and satisfy and support sponsor initiatives. An important platform of the new agreement is the significant increase to funding for the players’ Career and Welfare Program.May added that The Career and Welfare Program, coordinated by the ACA in conjunction with the state cricket associations, will enjoy an injection of a further Au$2million over the term of the agreement. The amount will assist the appointment of C&W specific resources in each state, subsidies to assist and encourage players to commit to higher education and development of their after cricketing careers, together with an expanded base of welfare resources off the field.The new MOU will also see:* Players receive 25 per cent of a redefined Australian Cricket Revenue pool, known as the Player Payments Pool (PPP). Cricket Australia-contracted players will receive 55 per cent of the PPP, while state-contracted players will receive 45 per cent of the PPP;* The ability for state teams to offer up to three extra rookie contracts per season (now eight); and* Au$2.8 million invested in career and welfare programs over the life of the agreement, including a set fund designed to encourage players to take up tertiary study. This is up from $800,000 in the previous MOU.

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)

For the umpteenth time in this series Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell insisted that there was still a long way to go, and that being 2-0 up would make no difference to the way they prepared, and to the intensity they carried into the third game.”We will just concentrate on what we have to do. I am happy with the way my team has played in the last two games,” Dravid said on Sunday after a lengthy practice session at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. “But I am not worried too much about the results. We need to focus on the processes we put in place and on our goals, and I believe if you do the processes well, the result takes care of itself.”Dravid also reiterated the need to be consistent, and said that it was something he had put across to the team. “I have put the challenges forward to them,” he said. “We know that we have been inconsistent in the past, and the challenge is to make sure that doesn’t happen again. We have learnt to prepare hard for the match in hand, irrespective of the result of the previous game.”The fact that India are 2-0 up gives them the luxury of considering resting Sachin Tendulkar – who has just managed a successful return to cricket after a long lay-off owing to a painful tennis elbow – although perhaps the time has not yet come for that. “We are aware of that, we have to make sure that we don’t put too much pressure on him,” said Chappell. “If and when the opportunity presents itself, we will look to rest him for a game somewhere down the line.”Dravid added that Tendulkar’s style of playing was in line with the team’s current needs. “When you play 15 years of international cricket, you can’t score in every game, and we don’t expect him to score in every game,” he said. “He’s hitting the ball well, is in good form, and we hope he may continue to do that. Most importantly, he is a team man who can play according to the requirements of the team, who can play differently in different conditions.”Chappell conceded that playing at home did give the Indians an edge. “Playing at home does make a big difference, and Sri Lanka are on the road,” he said. “But the fact is that we have played good cricket in the last two games. We have approached matches with strategies that we think will give us an advantage and work against them, and so far, they have succeeded. Good teams are those who have different players performing in different matches. If someone fails, then someone else turns up.”

Marvan Atapattu, the beleagured Sri Lankan captain, was once again faced with questions on how his team planned to bounce back in the series after suffering heavily at India’s hands. Keeping his cool, he said, “We need to play well as a group for us to bounce back. We have a few things planned, and one of those is not to pressurise individuals. The team has to gel together for us to come up trumps. There is no point having stars and putting pressure on them. As a unit, we all have to respond to the challenge.”Atapattu also defended Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, who have not had as big an impact as expected. “Murali is a class act, and it’s not easy to bowl on flat tracks,” he said. “Actually, if you take the figures of all the bowlers in the series so far, you will find that Murali has the best figures. As for Vaas, it will be unfair to pull him down when he is bowling to someone like Sachin, who is batting as well as he has done all career long. Vaas is among the top five bowlers in one-day cricket, but how he is bowling here is a reflection of both the conditions and the person he is bowling at. He can’t go from being very good to very bad overnight.”Mahela Jayawardena, who also attended the pre-match press conference, echoed Atapattu’s words, and said he, as an individual, was not feeling any special pressure to perform. “I don’t feel any additional pressure. As a team, we need to get our acts together. We all have the capability, of that there is no doubt. What is important is how we approach the task tomorrow. Personally, I will take it as just another game.”

Phillip DeFreitas needed just three deliveries to strike the first blow for Leicestershire at the start of their County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.The former England all-rounder needed to be in a hurry because the three balls were the only ones bowled on an opening day that was a virtual wash-out.After heavy showers had delayed play until mid-afternoon, Leicestershire won the toss and invited the home side to bat.Somerset opener Mark Lathwell left one ball from DeFreitas and defended against another before edging the third and being well caught by wicketkeeper Neil Burns, moving to his right.The drizzle was already falling again and home skipper Jamie Cox stood at the other end with hands on hips, clearly far from happy, as Lathwell trooped off to be followed by the other players.More showers soon made the outfield treacherous and umpires Vanburn Holder and Trevor Jesty eventually abandoned play for the day at 4.40pm.All-rounder Jason Kerr passed a fitness test to be named in Somerset’s team, while Scott Boswell was selected by Leicestershire in place of the injured James Ormond.

A year after the recruitment of Matthew Elliott ended in a serious knee problem, South Australia have returned their focus to home-grown players as they named their contract list for 2006-07. Elliott, whose injury ruled him out of an off-season stint with Glamorgan, retained his place on the list alongside Greg Blewett, another former international who performed below expectations last summer.Mark Higgs and Matthew Weeks were not offered new deals while the rookie Peter George was also dropped from the squad. Gary Putland, the left-arm swing bowler from Southern District, has been added after he played five ING Cup games in 2005-06 and took two wickets. Three rookies have been called up with Lachlan Oswald-Jacobs, the 21-year-old batsman, Chadd Sayers, an 18-year-old from Woodville, and the Southern District batsman Simon Roberts earning their first contracts.”The selectors have continued to show faith in the product of grade cricket and the young talented cricketers in this state,” Harvey Jolly, the SACA general manager of cricket, said. “After the promise shown last season and from my discussions with the playing group it is clear they are excited about being part of the future.” The captain and vice-captain will be named during the pre-season campaign, but it would be a surprise if either Darren Lehmann or Graham Manou were demoted.Squad Nathan Adcock, Cullen Bailey, Greg Blewett, Cameron Borgas, Ben Cameron, Mark Cleary, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Cullen (Cricket Australia contract), Shane Deitz, Matthew Elliott, Callum Ferguson, Jason Gillespie (CA), Daniel Harris, Ryan Harris, Trent Kelly, Darren Lehmann, Graham Manou, Gary Putland, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait (CA).Rookies Lachlan Oswald-Jacobs, Tom Plant, Simon Roberts, Chadd Sayers, Ken Skewes.