On a paata Uppal track, Baroda’s spinners absorbed the impact of a 131-run opening stand between Ravi Teja and Daniel Manohar and bounced back to restrict Hyderabad to 220 for 4 by the end of the first day’s play. The significance of the spinners, the left-arm-right-arm combo of Rajesh Pawar and Yusuf Pathan, was very crucial in keeping the hosts to that score, after Teja – in keeping with his season form – and Manohar dominated the opening session and set the platform for an imposing first-day’s total.Pawar and Yusuf sent down 52 overs for 107 runs and picked up three wickets to restore parity after the hosts began so well. But it was the other Pathan, Irfan senior, who gave the opening to the spinners by luring Teja to edge a loose drive for 71 from 118 balls. Irfan’s first spell read 7-0-35-0, and he recovered from Teja’s blitz and got better as the day progressed.Both Yusuf and Pawar applied the squeeze effectively and Hyderabad could only muster 55 in 32 overs after lunch before losing three more wickets in the last session for 43 runs. Yusuf sent down one miserly over after another, getting some bounce with his quick offspin while Pawar slowed the pace, gave the ball air, and tried to beat the batsmen in flight.As the day wore on both, Pawar in particular, got it to turn. Manohar was strangled by spin in the second session; he got into trouble on a few occasions, failing to keep his drives down and kept short cover and bowler interested. Pawar finally struck, luring him to drive one back low to his left. The Hyderabad gates were ajar and Baroda broke through.Mohammad Shakeer, on debut, swaggered in under an old-fashioned floppy hat and tried to live up to the billing of being an attacking batsman. He went for a slog sweep off his first delivery, and missed, but continued to attempt big shots. He swatted an Irfan bouncer, slashed him twice to the deep point boundary and cut Pawar for another four. But it was this same aggression which consumed him, as he top-edged a slog sweep to the wicketkeeper.Soon Yusuf got one to turn and jump at Arjun Yadav, who stabbed it behind the wicket and Baroda finished the day on top. Earlier, however, it looked a different ball game altogether when Teja unfurled an array of strokes to give a great start to the hosts. He impressed in his 164-minute stay in the middle and is likely to be a very valuable player for Hyderabad in the years to come. He was relaxed at the crease, moving his feet nicely and looked comfortable on front and back foot. He started off with a crisp on-the-up punch off Irfan through mid-off before the bumper barrage began.

Since the comatose pitch offered no swing or seam movement, Irfan decided to change the angle and length for Teja. He went around the stumps and punctuated full-length deliveries outside off with a few bouncers. After Teja nonchalantly pulled a couple to the boundary Irfan deployed an in-out field. A deep square leg was brought in, in addition to fine leg and a short leg. More bouncers came and Teja, mindful of the two catching men, chose to defend.A couple were fended away to the off side but for the most part he was composed. There was a glimpse of the Hyderbadi wrists too when he late cut Irfan to the third man boundary. He had scored 24 runs from 26 balls in Irfan’s first spell and had seized the early advantage for the hosts.However, twelve balls into the post-lunch session he threw it away as he chased an Irfan delivery that was well outside off and shaping away. Yet again, as eight fifties and one hundred show, he has been dismissed after getting a start. “He has to work on the conversion rate. He has the talent, the shots, brilliant attitude and the future looks really bright,” Vivek Jaisimha, Hyderabad’s coach, said. “It’s up to him how far he can go.”In a game that is likely to be decided by the first-innings lead, Hyderabad could well end up paying for his shot selection.

Fast bowler Iain O’Brien has been released from New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming Chappell-Hadlee Series.O’Brien was included after Shane Bond was ruled out due to an abdominal strain, but he too will take not part in the series after a poor start to the tour. His four overs during New Zealand’s warm-up loss at Lilac Hill cost 52 runs, though he did pick up a wicket.O’Brien, 31, has yet to make his ODI debut but played in both Test losses in South Africa last month.He will return home in time to play for Wellington in their State Championship match against Central Districts starting in Napier on Monday.New Zealand play Australia in a Twenty20 international in Perth on Tuesday before the first of three ODIs at the Adelaide Oval on December 14.

Andrew Strauss’s arrival in New Zealand has been delayed after flight problems at Johannesburg airport. He was due to make his debut for the Northern Knights on Wednesday, but that has now been pushed back to the clash against Otago on Sunday.Strauss had been on a family holiday in South Africa but after boarding his plane the main door would not close properly. The subsequent delay meant that he was unable to make it to New Zealand in time for the match against Canterbury.The stint in New Zealand, where Strauss will play in the State Shield and Twenty20 tournaments, had been organised with the aim of pushing for an England recall. That has now already happened after he was named in the 16-man Test squad for the tour of New Zealand in March, so his domestic stint is a chance for him to acclimatise before joining up with the squad.

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New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) Masters XI eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over New Zealand Under-19s in the first of the World Vision Cyclone Relief Fund Twenty20 matches in Hamilton. After limiting the U-19s to 103, NZCPA Masters XI knocked off the runs with more than three overs to spare.The U-19s won the toss and opted to bat, but started poorly, losing Michael Bracewell in the second over. Jeet Raval hit a couple of boundaries and a six before falling to Kerry Walmsley. Kane Williamson (18) and Corey Anderson (14) also got starts, but a middle-order collapse left the U-19s tottering at 59 for 6. An unbeaten run-a-ball 22 from Greg Morgan lifted them past the 100-run mark.The NZCPA Masters XI, comprising mainly former New Zealand internationals, got off to a rapid start, with openers Matt Horne and Mark Bailey plundering 64 runs in the first seven overs. Both fell in quick succession but Andrew Jones and Justin Vaughan played steady knocks to ensure the NZCPA side coasted to victory.The match was one of two fixtures to raise money for people affected by Cyclone Sidr which devastated Bangladesh in November. The touring Bangladesh team take on a New Zealand Cricket XI in a day-night Twenty20 match later today.

Shane Bond is facing the likely end of his New Zealand career after his national contract was terminated to allow him to participate in the Indian Cricket League. The decision comes after weeks of negotiations as Bond tried to find a way of mixing the two, but in the end he says he leaves with no hard feelings.”I think everyone has acted with best intentions and then we have found ourselves between a rock and hard place really,” he told the . “It’s probably not a way I expected to finish. It would always be nice to go out and walk off the field for the last time. But..if I’m never to play again [for New Zealand] it’s been a great run.”Although neither Bond or the New Zealand board has completely ruled out a return the fast bowler appears set to end is international days with an impressive record of 79 wickets from 17 Tests and 125 scalps in 67 ODIs. Those numbers would have been even greater had it not been for an endless string of injuries that limited his appearances and the lack of Tests played by New Zealand.Bond, who was a policeman before becoming a tearaway quick, says he regrets not having been able to enjoy more success, but is happy with what he achieved. “I would definitely go down as a player who got the best out of myself,” he said. “And that’s the one thing, I suppose, as a player you hope for when you finish. By doing that I have got the record I have, and I’m proud of the record I have got. It’s a shame that it can’t go any further.”With his injury prone body, Bond said that it was time he looked at securing his future which is one of the major reasons behind his decision to take the ICL over the national team. He turned down an offer to play county cricket last year to ensure he was fit for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa but, without revealing the figure, found the latest offer to good to refuse.”I have made some financial sacrifices to try to play my best for New Zealand. I think now is the time, even though I miss out on some of my goals I wanted to achieve for New Zealand, the benefits for my family are going to be there.””The winter that has just gone I got the opportunity to go and play county cricket and had a really good offer on the table. But I turned that down because I wanted to go to South Africa [with the Black Caps] and be in the best shape I could be to go over there.”Later on in the year I got another offer [from the ICL] – at that stage I was able to do both. So on one hand I could play for New Zealand and on the other hand secure the future of my family, which was a dream result for me.”However, Bond did sound a cautionary note regarding the explosion of Twenty20 in India in the form of the ICL and IPL which are generating huge sums of money.”Really I think everybody is unsure about what is going to happen,” he said. “I suppose what everyone can see is there’s a huge amount of money in cricket, so from a player’s point of view it’s an exciting time to be involved in the game. But what you do hope is that we don’t have a complete split, that they can find a balance that keeps everyone happy.”

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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.

Bails don’t budge
The last ball of the 70th over had an otherwise resolute Jacques Kallis in a spot of bother. Harbhajan Singh, with a 6-3 leg-side field, got one to turn and spit up from outside off stump and Kallis stayed back to uneasily fend it off. What followed drew loud gasps from all who saw it. The ball struck Kallis’ glove, rolled onto the stumps and made contact. The bails, however, stuck to the grooves and remained intact. The next time the ball deflected off Kallis’ bat the bails did come off, but by that time he’d helped himself to 132.Heads up
India’s fielding on day two was pretty ordinary, but there were moments when it appeared they didn’t care. On two occasions between lunch and tea, the fielder at cover collected the ball and passed it to mid-off, as is customary, who proceeded to throw it towards the bowler – andmiss the man altogether. The first occasion it was Irfan Pathan on the receiving end, who’d already seen a needless throw give up three runs, and on the second it was Sreesanth, walking back to his mark, who almost ducked as a lob went over his head. These were elementary errorsthat many school coaches would have sent their wards for laps of the ground for.Cheeky, cheeky
AB de Villiers has played some energetic innings in one-day cricket and while batting on 98 he pulled out a typical ODI shot to reach three figures. Clearly itching to get to the mark – he tried to hit one down the ground the over before – he walked right across his stumps and paddledSourav Ganguly from outside off down to fine leg. That shot has became rather en vogue, and de Villiers pulled it off like true pro.A four-storey shot
de Villiers scored a brilliant century against West Indies in last year’s World Cup, virtually on one leg, and today he raised his highest Test score with a shot off one leg. Skipping down the track to Harbhajan, he was beaten in flight but went through with his almighty heave, falling over and landing on his back. While de Villiers lay there in a heap, and the Indians craned their necks as the ball made its way onto the deep midwicket roof. That ball travelled at least 100 metres. It was a shot that would have made Rohan Kanhai and Denis Compton proud.No, is how you do it
As people looked up and wondered how to get that ball down from the roof, thankfully one of the manual scorers, already on the roof skipped across the tiles and threw the ball back onto the field. It was a fine throw to the bowler’s end, right in the line of the stumps before Pathan intercepted it with one hand. It was the best throw all day. This kid could be the news channels’ colour story of the day.Drama queen
Harbhajan was clearly the most animated player on the field and at the start of the 130th over he caught a bump ball off de Villiers and had the crowd excited by pretending to celebrate the dismissal. Spurred by the spectators’ response, Harbhajan repeated his act in the next ball. More drama from him four overs later when Sourav Ganguly failed to back up to stop five overthrows off his bowling. Harbhajan, peeved at such incompetence, gave Ganguly an earful.

Shoaib Akhtar’s troubles continue as Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, has served a legal notice on the fast bowler for comments he made to a private television channel in the aftermath of the PCB’s decision to ban him for five years.Shoaib appeared on a number of TV channels yesterday arguing his case, after he addressed a packed press conference claiming that he had been victimised. Though he refused to attack the chairman specifically on some channels, in an interview to the Express News channel, he alleged that the ban was punishment in return for refusing to give the chairman a share of his salary from the Indian Premier League (IPL). Shoaib also alleged that Ashraf had tried to extort money from other Pakistani cricketers as well.The notice, issued by the board’s legal firm on behalf of Ashraf, said that the comments made by Shoaib were “not only utterly outrageous, fabricated, and manifestly baseless” but were made “solely to character assassinate [Ashraf]”. It added that his allegations were a “counterblast” to the disciplinary action taken against Shoaib, and had damaged the reputation of Ashraf, as well as the Pakistan board.The notice called upon Shoaib to “retract” his statements against Ashraf, and “tender an unconditional apology”. The notice also sought damages of Rs100 million (approximately US$1.6 million) to Ashraf for “defaming him personally” and another Rs100 million to the PCB for “sullying the name of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket team.”Ashraf has threatened to seek legal remedies under the civil and criminal laws of Pakistan if Shoaib does not respond to the notice’s requirements.This is the second setback on the day for Shoaib, who just hours earlier, was barred from taking part in the IPL till the end of his five-year ban or until his ban is lifted.Shoaib was banned for comments he made after not being offered a contract by the PCB, in which he lashed out at domestic tournaments, pitches and the administration. The severity of the ban, argue the board, is the result of a litany of disciplinary issues; he was also on a two-year probationary period after hitting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat before the World Twenty20 last year, an act which also saw him banned for 13 matches and fined over US$50,000. The board had warned him that any further transgression during this period would result in a life ban.

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.

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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.
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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.
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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.