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On a frustrating day at Trent Bridge the elements triumphed, allowing only 9.4 overs play during which Notts, put in to bat, reached 41–1.Overnight rain prevented any play at all until 3.l5pm and only eight deliveries were then bowled before the first in a series of stoppages.Admirable work by the ground staff enabled a re–start after tea and Darren Bicknell profited by picking up successive boundaries off Melvyn Betts. The first was allied to good fortune when an inside edge sped to the ropes past the diving ‘keeper but the next ball was perfectly clipped through square leg.With the score on 16 the Bears picked up their first wicket. Guy Welton fenced at a sharply lifting ball from Betts and turned to see his thick outside edge well held by Keith Piper diving across in front of the slips.Three runs were added before another heavy shower drove the players off the field but again they returned 45 minutes later.Bicknell began this short session with an on–driven three and Blewett hit the next ball to the midwicket boundary. Without any major alarms the pair had advanced the score to 41 in the 10th over when again, a combination of bad light and rain sent the players from the field.With an unsettled forecast we can expect more of the same on the second day although, thankfully, there are brighter prospects for the final two days of this match.

England’s hopes of getting the winning result out of the first National Bank Test against New Zealand in Christchurch largely depend on how they do tomorrow.Dismissed for 228 by New Zealand on the first day, but with the pitch still offering some encouragement to the bowlers, England have to make the most of it to put the pressure back on New Zealand.

And already the home team is without opener Mark Richardson who was out leg before wicket for two, as New Zealand ended the day on nine for one.That England scored so many was attributable to the innings played by captain Nasser Hussain. His 106 gave the innings substance.The top order had been ripped out by Chris Cairns when he took Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher in his first over and then picked up Michael Vaughan later.Hussain came to the wicket before a run had been scored and departed, the last man out for his 10th Test century. It could best be described as a functional innings scored in testing circumstances as the New Zealanders made good use of the sporting conditions.He took 307 minutes to reach the mark and his total innings time was 323 minutes. His 50 was scored off 113 balls, although he waited 19 balls on 49 to reach that mark.He did have a life when on 52, when a straightforward chance was put down by New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming at first slip. But for the main part he showed a degree of resourcefulness aptly suited to the match situation.It was a classic example of a captain leading the way and showing the sort of application that the less experienced batsmen in the side needed.”There were a large percentage of unplayable balls,” he said.The ball was still leaving little green marks in the pitch and that offered hope there would still be life tomorrow when play resumes. There is also the prospect of rain overnight.”I knew it might zip around a little but the ball does go off for four very quickly. It is by no means impossible but it was a bowler-friendly wicket,” he said.”You were never fully in on it, but you had to have positive intent. It was nice getting a hundred and to carry your team as captain but we were 20-30 runs short.”It was important that I got a hundred. I have had a lot of scores between 30 and 80 but today I was determined. I saw Ricky Ponting on television this morning score his 10th century and I said to myself it was about time I scored a century,” he said.”At the moment we are in the game,” he said.Ten Test centuries was a goal he had set himself some years ago and he had wanted to do it in Mohali, in India, for different reasons last year but he was happy to get one in New Zealand.”I can’t emphasise just how important tomorrow is,” he said.Two bad umpiring decisions did nothing to aid the England cause.The first was suffered by Mark Ramprakash when umpire Asoka de Silva, named yesterday on the elite ICC panel of eight umpires, gave Ramprakash out to a ball that was never near his bat and, in fact, came off the top of his pad to be taken by wicket-keeper Adam Parore.He was out for 31 having helped Hussain add 56 runs for the fifth wicket at a vital stage of the innings.Later, Andy Caddick was given out, leg before wicket, by Brent Bowden from an inswinging yorker bowled by fast man Ian Butler, when the ball looked to be heading down the leg side. He was out for a duck.Hussain was last man out, leg before wicket for 106 off Chris Drum’s bowling. He clearly wasn’t happy with de Silva’s decision but on the replay he wasn’t as harshly done by as Caddick.Cairns’ opening burst was a triumph of experience over enthusiasm as affected Drum and Butler during the first stages of their spells. He had three for 32 after his first seven overs, eight of them from deliberate slashes over the gully area for boundaries.By the end of the innings he had three for 58.Drum, who gained the valuable wicket of Graham Thorpe for 17, courtesy of a slip catch by Fleming, maintained the remarkably low bowling average he has enjoyed in domestic cricket this summer by taking three for 36 from his 20.2 overs.Matthew Hoggard did give England something to cheer about however, when removing the dangerous New Zealand opener Richardson for two with a fine ball that left no doubt about his fate.

The titans of Indian domestic cricket, West and South Zones, met atthe Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Thursday with some of thebiggest names in the game locking horns in this Duleep Trophy match.West Zone took the honours on the first day which they ended on asatisfactory 310 for three wickets off 90 overs. Vinod Kambli (48) andJacob Martin (85) were at the crease at close of play.Skipper Nayan Mongia began the four day game on a winning note andasked South Zone to parade their bowling skills. His openers did notdisappoint the skipper’s decision as they set out to negotiate the newball. Both Connor Williams and Wasim Jaffer played the new ball attackof Dodda Ganesh and KS Shahabuddin comfortably.The duo were together for 58 runs before Sunil Joshi had Williamscaught by Hemang Badani in the 24th over of the day. The dismissal ofthe southpaw brought Hrishikesh Kanitkar to the crease to join theMumbai opener. Kanitkar and Jaffer added 43 runs in 9.5 overs for thesecond wicket. The second left arm spinner in South’s armoury,Venkatapathy Raju, scalped Jaffer who missed his half-century by asolitary run. Jaffer played 99 balls with six hits to the fence.Kanitkar and Martin played sensibly and returned to the pavilionwithout any further damage at the lunch interval. West Zone were 110for the loss of both openers in 37 overs, with Martin on 14 andKanitkar on 21.After the lunch interval, Kanitkar and Martin batted out the sessiontaunting and tantalising the South spinners. None of the bowlers wereable to have any effect on the proceedings in the session. The Westbatsmen added 97 runs in 30 overs after the lunch interval, returningto enjoy their tea break without any further damages as the Southbowlers toiled hard to get a breakthrough. West were comfortableplaced at 207 for two at tea, Kanitkar on 79 and Martin on 51.The century partnership came to an end in the sixth over of the finalsession of the day. Kanitkar became overambitious as he attempted tohoick Joshi for a six. He mistimed the stroke and was gobbled by DoddaGanesh on the boundary. He missed out on a century as he was back inthe pavilion for 95 off 150 balls, with 13 boundaries and a solitarysix. The pair had added 129 runs for the third wicket off 39.5 overs.One southpaw was replaced by another, as the explosive Vinod Kambliwalked in to join Martin at the crease. Kambli was his destructiveself as he went about plundering the spinners all around the ground.He amassed a quickfire 48 runs from 53 balls with eight hits to thefence and one trademark six. Kambli added 80 runs off 17.2 overs forthe unbeaten fourth wicket partnership with Martin as stumps werecalled.

Current Lancashire al-rounder and former Sheffield Shield player Joe Scuderi has been named in Italy’s final 14-man squad for the ICC Trophy in June/July.He is joined by Hobart based Peter Di Venuto, the brother of former Australian One-Day International representative, Michael Di Venuto.Italy is the first of the 24 Associate members of the International Cricket Council to name its final squad ahead of the ICC imposed May 15 deadline.The ICC Trophy finalists and winner of the play-off for third place earn berths at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.The squad is: Kamal Karyiyawasam (Captain), Valerio Zuppirioli (Vice-captain), Alessandro Bonora, Andrea Corbellari, Samantha De Mel, Peter Di Venuto, Benito Giordano, Hemanta Jayasena, Riccardo Maggio, Warren Mazzoncini, Andrea Parisi, Akhlaq Qureshi, Joe Scuderi, Aamir Shah. Coach – Doug Ferguson.

Steve Rixon, Australia’s fielding mentor, will take over as head coach for the one-day internationals against Afghanistan and Pakistan in the UAE to allow Mickey Arthur to focus on preparations for the World ICC Twenty20. Arthur will return to head coaching duties for the T20 leg of the UAE trip, which is followed closely by the world tournament in Sri Lanka.It won’t be the first time in recent years that Australia have left their head coach at home – Tim Nielsen took a break during the ODIs in England that followed the 2009 Ashes loss and his assistant Troy Cooley was placed in charge. However, this year’s move has more to do with the wider role of the head coach following the Argus review than allowing Arthur time off.”Part of the broader scope of the new Australian team head coach role since the Australian team performance review was conducted was to have a wider view over the team’s plans and how we prepare and we have a very important T20 tournament coming up,” Arthur said. “I’ll spend the time away from the team to really hone our T20 plans and study the opposition ahead of the ICC World Twenty20.”We have great experience and harmony within our support staff group now and I know that Steve will do a terrific job in partnership with Justin Langer and Ali de Winter while I’m away.”Rixon is no stranger to handling an international side, having been head coach of New Zealand from 1996 to 1999. He will be in charge for four matches and will act as a selector during the ODIs, as Arthur does when he is in command.”Of course you look forward to opportunities like this; it’s not every day you get to coach the Australian cricket team and I’m looking forward to that extra responsibility and working with Michael Clarke,” Rixon said. “In saying that, my job will be to simply carry on with all the good work and planning that has been done in recent times and hopefully hand back over to Mickey after four good wins.”The Australians fly out for the UAE on Tuesday and their tour begins with a one-off ODI against Afghanistan on Saturday. That is followed by three one-dayers and three T20s against Pakistan.

The Bangladesh government has named Nazmul Hassan, a member of parliament, as the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The appointment came a week after Mustafa Kamal was confirmed as the vice-president of the ICC, effectively ending his three-year tenure as the BCB president.Hassan is the son of Zillur Rahman, the president of Bangladesh. He is also the managing director of one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical companies and has been connected to cricket through Abahani, a Dhaka-based sports club, as the chairman of its cricket committee.The new president was selected according to the existing constitution, which states that the board president will be a government nominee. The board has submitted its amended constitution to the National Sports Council for approval and one of the major amendments is that the president will be elected and not picked by the government. The sports regulatory body in the country is yet to pass the amendment.Hassan will have his hands full when he begins his tenure, with a number of major issues remaining unresolved. He will have to handle the umpires’ corruption investigation and ensure the franchises who have already signed with the BCB to run first-class teams are given a separate tournament. He would also need to finalise a long-term broadcasting rights contract, as only a single-series deal has been put in place.

They called him a (eunuch), sledged him and tried to bowl a tight line but Mumbai couldn’t remove Vineet Saxena today. Saxena, who was unbeaten on 111, later said his mistakes in previous close battles against Mumbai egged him on during the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Jaipur. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, batting on 96, stressed the game wasn’t over yet and that Rajasthan needed to bat Mumbai out of the game on the third day.”We came close to beating them in 2003 and 2007 but we failed,” Saxena said. “In 2003, we needed 12 runs, with three wickets intact, to take the vital first-innings lead but we collapsed (Rajasthan were 230 for 7 but were bowled out for 230). In 2007, chasing 384 to win, we needed around 135 runs from about 35 overs, with seven wickets in hand, but we lost by two runs. I had hit a hundred then but had played a loose shot to get out. I was determined not to repeat that mistake today. I will give my best to stretch my innings as long as possible tomorrow.”Saxena and Kanitkar added 206 runs in 84 overs to grind out Mumbai. “We just told each other that we shall not throw our wickets,” Saxena said. “We just wanted to keep out the good deliveries and wait for the bad balls. Patience was our key today.” There was a lot of chirping from the Mumbai fielders but they couldn’t break Saxena’s focus. “One player called me too,” Saxena said with a chuckle. “I was doubly determined and just focussed on the job on the hand.”Aakash Chopra, who was out for 19 to a dubious lbw decision, put Saxena’s effort in the right context. “It’s one thing when professionals like Kanitkar or I score but for someone like Saxena to score a hundred in a pressure quarter-final against Mumbai, it means a lot to him, to his team and the local cricketers. The innings was of great importance. Saxena is not someone who is a strokemaker; his forte is patience and he is someone who is well aware of his own game. He gritted it out there brilliantly.”Chopra said the first session was the most crucial phase of play. “Mumbai bowled well in that session and kept it really tight. Only 60 runs came but it was fascinating to watch how Saxena and Kanitkar applied themselves.”Kanitkar didn’t want his team-mates to get complacent. “You can’t get take anything for granted right now. There are still two days to go. We have to ensure that we keep batting and don’t allow Mumbai the time to get back into the game.” Most domestic teams are wary of Mumbai’s reputation to script jailbreaks and Rajasthan, too, were understandably cautious.

The ECB has stepped up the pressure on Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, for his attack on Stuart Broad by accusing Lehmann of “incitement” and warning that they will take “all necessary steps” to ensure Broad’s safety in the return Ashes series in Australia this winter.England’s unforgiving response looks bound to lead to the safeguard of additional security for Broad throughout the Australia tour in case Lehmann’s comments on a Melbourne radio station lead to threats of aggression against him.It is not clear whether the player has expressed concerns about his safety. Neither has there been any indication from Cricket Australia about whether they regard any such fears as remotely justified.Lehmann, the first coach to be fined by the ICC for making comments about an opposition player, pleaded guilty to a charge of “publicly criticising and making inappropriate comments” about Broad during an intemperate interview, characterised by laddish banter, on the Melbourne radio station Triple M on the eve of the Oval Test.He had invited the Australian public to target Broad and accused him of cheating for not walking during the first Test at Trent Bridge when he clearly edged a catch which rebounded to first slip off the wicketkeeper’s gloves.”I hope the Australian public give it to him right from the word go for the whole summer,” Lehmann said. “And I hope he cries and goes home… Certainly our players haven’t forgotten; they’re calling him everything under the sun as they go past. I hope the Australian public are the same because that was just blatant cheating. I don’t advocate walking but, when you hit it to first slip, it’s pretty hard.”Lehmann has been widely condemned in the media and by former players including the ex-Australian captain Ian Chappell for double standards and unprofessional behaviour.He was also fined 20% of his match fee by Roshan Mahanama, the ICC match referee after an intervention by the ICC’s chief executive Dave Richardson.Richardson said: “Whilst noting the context and nature of the comments made, showing mutual respect for one’s fellow professionals – including for coaches, players and match officials – is a cornerstone of how we play the game.”The ECB has decided, however, that the matter should not end there, issuing a statement on Friday evening which read: “England and Wales Cricket Board, having reviewed the disciplinary process undertaken by the International Cricket Council overnight, have welcomed the swift action taken and also noted Cricket Australia’s acceptance of the sanctions handed down to their team coach Darren Lehmann.”The ECB, in supporting its players, management support staff and their families, believe no one in the game condones incitement of any kind and we will take all necessary steps to ensure safety on tour. The ECB now wishes to bring this disappointing incident to a close and will make no further comment.”Lehmann, it seems, has yet to adjust to an increasingly globalised world where somebody in his influential position can no longer temper his message to a selective audience without it becoming more public knowledge.It remains to be seen whether his relaxed, outspoken attitude can prove successful in the present-day environment where every comment is logged, analysed and held to account.England’s public statements, by contrast, are repeatedly criticised as anodyne, but they generally possess a measure of self control which ensures they are not left open to the same allegations.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGraeme Swann made the most of Australia’s generosity to claim five wickets•Getty Images

It will require the services of a cricket historian to determine when Australia last batted as woefully as this. Many Australian supporters will neither know nor care. It will be enough merely to condemn the sheer awfulness of their batting performance in the second Investec Test.England were serviceable in the field, Australia were simply dreadful with the bat. This was an opportunity to bat themselves into a winning position, the occasional sign of sharp turn for Graeme Swann notwithstanding. Instead, they floundered, dismissed in only 53.3 overs. Nothing in their three innings defeats against England in 2010-11 felt as bad as this.Just as bafflingly, presented with a first-innings lead of 233, England then tossed away three wickets of their own, all of them to Peter Siddle with the new ball. This pitch, although dryer than normally seen at Lord’s, has over the first two days essentially been a batsman’s surface. But in 20 overs to the close, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott both dragged on and Kevin Pietersen gifted a catch to point. England lead by 264.Australia’s dismissals variously revealed frailties of temperament, technique and team ethic. Swann was the chief beneficiary with five wickets and, as ably as he bowled, if he claims he worked hard for it, he will be playing it for laughs. As for Darren Lehmann, Australia’s new coach, he now knows the size of the job.Ryan Harris must have been beside himself with fury. He had bowled with skill and resolve to put himself on the honours board before lunch with his return of 5 for 72, only for Australia’s top order to produce a dishonour board of their own.Harris helped reduce England to 28 for 3 on the first morning with the attributes developed over a decade as he defied a broken body time and again; Australia lost ten wickets for 86 primarily because of their own negligence. Swann confirmed that England felt as much as 450 was par.It would be easy for Australia to hide behind more resentful discussion about the Decision Review System. It is little more than scapegoating. If Australia did not make things any easier with their irrational use of DRS, the dominant story should be one of batting incompetence.Shane Watson’s decision to review his plumb lbw decision against Tim Bresnan will rightly leave him open to accusations that he put his ego ahead of team needs, but the cricketing accent should also be on his desire to plant his front pad and work Bresnan through the leg side in the final over before lunch.Australia’s self-possession in an opening stand of 42 fell apart. The psychological fallout from his twin error was astonishing.Chris Rogers will understandable gain sympathy for his dismissal: firstly for a dreadful lbw decision by Marais Erasmus, who was as caught unawares as the batsman when the ball slipped out of Swann’s hands and arrived as a waistband-high donkey drop; secondly because Watson’s selfishness left him reluctant to risk Australia’s final review.But that should not preclude an examination of why such a wise old hand, a batsman who must have seen everything over a long career, failed to survive the shock of receiving such a stray delivery.Phillip Hughes walked off shaking his head, contending that he had not edged Bresnan to the wicketkeeper. Hot Spot was not clear, leaving the TV umpire Tony Hill with no evidence to overturn umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision; Snicko, for what it is worth, indicated that there was a nick and Hughes was just posturing. But that was not the point. The emphasis should have been on why Hughes was hacking so wildly at a wide one.Usman Khawaja, a batsman held by his captain Michael Clarke to be ready for Australia’s No. 3 spot, was badly dropped by Trott at first slip when he pushed defensively forward to a routine offbreak. But if that persuaded him he must be more assertive, it does not formulate a case for why he lofted Swann so weakly down the ground – not much more than a badly timed push shot – to be caught out of the sun by Pietersen, standing at mid-off.At least Australia’s last two batsmen to fall before tea were dismissed in a more approved fashion. Steven Smith was beaten by extra bounce and caught off the glove at short leg – Ian Bell having just been moved by Swann for that very eventuality. Clarke, a captain who repeatedly finds himself lacking support, pulled Stuart Broad dismissively, but fell lbw in the same over to a near yorker.There had to be a run-out. There were indications at Trent Bridge that Brad Haddin and Ashton Agar have no understanding between the wickets, not as much a different approach as much as a generational divide.Agar dashed for a single from the non-striker’s end when the ball bobbled into the leg-side off Haddin’s body, Haddin did not respond, and Matt Prior returned quickly to the bowler’s end. And this was a subdued Agar, hindered by a hip injury.After tea it got no better. Anderson, upon whom England were so reliant at Trent Bridge, took his first wicket when he had Siddle caught at second slip. Haddin heaved at Swann and Trott held on this time.The last-wicket pair clung on for eight overs, but only because Swann dropped a simple return chance from Harris. A good running catch by Pietersen, as Harris went long, gave Swann a five-for.All this mayhem on the pitch where Harris had bowled so gamely, removing Bresnan to the first ball of the day and Anderson for his own five-wicket haul. England were grateful for an ebullient last-wicket stand of 48 from 40 balls between Broad and Swann, a stand which illustrated both the quality of the pitch and the chemistry that can result when they combine in some late-order hitting.James Pattinson, so out of sorts that he bowled his 20 overs in nine spells, finally put an end to it when Broad nicked to the keeper. Broad naturally reviewed it and by the time Hot Spot revealed an edge, Australia, to a man, were stood by the Pavilion gate, having had quite enough for one series of watching Broad remain at the crease under false pretences.Anderson’s appearance as a nightwatchman for Broad, a No. 9 batsman, had caused grumbles. But there were logical reasons to try to protect Broad and Swann from the new ball in the hope they would create havoc later. And they did just that.

The sight of MS Dhoni jumping triumphantly as James Tredwell failed to connect with the final ball of the match will become etched in the mind, just like his iconic six two years back that helped India to the World Cup.But even on that April evening in Mumbai, Dhoni had not celebrated in such an exhilarating fashion as he did as India won the Champions Trophy. Dhoni later explained why he let his guard down at the end of a long, long Sunday.”This means a lot because we were playing one of the best sides and also the kind of match that we had won,” Dhoni said. “To beat England in a 130-odd game is very difficult.”Although India entered the final as the only unbeaten team, playing England on home soil against their quality fast bowling attack was a challenge that was altogether different. Add to that the pressure of playing a final of a world tournament.Questions had been asked of Dhoni on Saturday if the Indian middle order, which had not done much batting in the tournament, could stand up to the task if the top order failed. Dhoni responded by saying his batsmen would need to play the situation.Yet the Indian middle order crumbled under pressure only barring some late fire fighting from Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian target seemed small. Dhoni agreed that the frequent rain interruptions did act as a distraction.

BCCI awards cash prizes for win

The BCCI has announced prizes of Rs 1 crore (USD $167,530 approx.) to each member of the playing squad and Rs 30 lakhs (USD $ 50,265 approx.) for each member of the support staff

“After every few overs our batsmen had to come off,” he said. “People talk about getting set, getting used to the pace and then playing the big shots but that was never the case. Whenever the batsmen felt they were set, they had to come off and we had a break of 15-20 minutes. That never allowed us to gain any kind of momentum or build partnerships which were needed. And that was reflected when the middle order went in to bat. It was the main reason why we ended up scoring less than what we ended up scoring than what we had liked to score.”Before India began their defence, Dhoni pointed out upfront to his players that the only way India could win was by working hard and working to the plans: “Before going in I said, Let us firstly get rid of the feeling that it is a 50-over format. It is a 20-over game. We have seen in IPL that 130-run can be very difficult target to achieve.”He also asked them to not to look for the rain to act a saviour. “God is not coming to save us,” Dhoni told his team in the huddle. “If you want to win this trophy we will have to fight it out. We are the number one-ranked side so let us show it that they will have to fight for these 130-odd runs. So let us not look for any outside help.”The key was not allow England to build the partnerships, hence it was important to see the back of two batsmen, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, both classical and highly successful Test batsmen, as quickly as possible.”Trott was a very important wicket,” Dhoni said. “Cook also. They are two batsmen who look to play through the innings and the others rotate around them. That means if they get they get a good partnership going they can play freely.”The fact that he is the only captain to have won all three global limited over tournaments is something Dhoni will admit is a special feeling. According to him there were similarities in the way India won the 2007 World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy because the players were hungry to succeed and that had helped raise the overall spirit of the squad.”There were also quite a number of players who were making a comeback and wanted to do well desperately and be part of the team,” he said. “There are a few who wanted to do well and have a settled position in the side.”