Scorecard
Nerves were on edge as Barbados defeated the Windward Islands by one run in a dramatic third round match of the KFC Cup yesterday.All and sundry at the Cable & Wireless ground, Wildey, kept their eyes fixed on the middle in fading light when fast bowler Corey Collymore ran in from the south to bowl the third-to-last over with seven runs required and two wickets standing.Needing 221 for victory off 50 overs, the Windwards recovered significantly from 129 for six in the 34th through an 81-run partnership off 14.1 overs between captain Rawl Lewis with 38 from 56 balls, and Liam Sebastien, the fellow all-rounder, who was left high and dry on 43 without facing a ball in the final over.The pair kept Barbados under pressure with excellent running between the wicket apart from a few telling boundaries and seemingly had victory secured when Collymore plucked out Lewis’ leg stump with a yorker off the last ball of the 48th over, leaving the score 210 for seven. Ronald Etienne was then leg before wicket by Sulieman Benn, the left-arm spinner, without scoring as he played across a full-length ball in the next over which yielded four runs.Mervyn Matthew was bowled off the first delivery of the final over and last man Alvin LaFuille could only find short midwicket three times as a helpless Sebastien looked on. With six runs required off the last delivery, LaFuille managed an edge to the fine-leg boundary – the total ending on 219 for nine – as Barbados celebrated their second win to join their victims on eight points.Sebastien’s only consolation was the man-of-the-match award. Apart from his knock, which took 39 balls and included five fours, he picked up two for 42 with his off-breaks. Earlier, Barbados, powered by opener Dale Richards’ 71, scored 220 in 48.4 overs.

India’s cricket chiefs plan to speak to Greg Chappell, India’s coach, over a rude gesture he reportedly made to crowds in Kolkata last week, an official said on Monday.”We will certainly discuss the matter at the board’s annual general meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday,” said Inderjit Bindra, former head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “I don’t think any action will be taken but we will tell him such a thing should not happen in future.”Television footage showed Chappell putting his right hand out of a window of the team bus and pointing the middle finger towards the crowds outside the Eden Gardens prior to the fourth one-day match against South Africa. Newspapers slammed Chappell for what they said was an insulting gesture to fans who were taunting him for excluding local hero Sourav Ganguly from the one-day side. Team spokesman M Baladitya said “Chappell had injured his finger during practice and he said he was just attending to it. He did not gesture at anybody.”It was an explanation few were willing to buy, but Chappell insisted he had done nothing wrong. “I see no reason to keep defending myself for something I have not done,” he was quoted as saying in the . “If I want to point a finger at someone, I would point it openly, not when I am inside a bus.” The newspaper also commented: “Indian fans might be a tad too emotional for Chappell’s tastes. But they don’t deserve such disrespect. By his extravagantly tasteless gesture, the legendary Australian cricketer has virtually guaranteed that the debate would now be on him rather than the overtly sentimental crowd.”The Indian team was jeered off the field after South Africa thrashed them by 10 wickets last Friday to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Many in the 90,000-strong crowd taunted Rahul Dravid and his team during and after the match and raised slogans against Chappell and the selectors. Ganguly, India’s most successful Test captain with 21 wins, was sacked and replaced by Dravid this season following a public spat with Chappell. The 33-year-old left-hander was not picked for the home one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, but has been named in the team for the first Test against the Sri Lankans at Chennai from December 2. Chappell, 56, was appointed India’s coach in June for a two-year term till the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.India must win the final one-dayer against South Africa at Mumbai on November 28 to draw the series.

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

A fiery six-over spell from Makhaya Ntini, when he rocked Australia’s middle order with darting pace and whizzing bounce, turned the first Test around, putting South Africa on top on the first day at Perth. In a span of 13 deliveries, he prised out Michael Hussey, Brad Hodge and Adam Gilchrist and wrenched away Australia’s advantage, set up by a glorious counterattacking half-century from Ricky Ponting.An absorbing opening day of the series, with South Africa playing a Test at the WACA for the first time, witnessed a see-saw battle as a four-pronged seam attack kept Australia to 258, despite three partnerships that threatened to take the game away. The South African openers then raced to 38 off the last seven overs of the day, with AB de Villiers hooking the very first ball for four, and gave them a great chance to drive home the advantage.At 3 for 175 at tea, with Hodge and Hussey having found their groove, Australia were well set up for reaching a cosy position but Ntini dashed all those plans in a trice. Running in with customary verve, varying his length cannily and hustling the batsmen with zip, he floored the two set men in a quick burst – Hussey became the third batsman to get on the front foot and top edge a pull with Charl Langeveldt pulling off a sensational one-handed catch running in from mid-on; and Hodge snicked an attempted front-foot drive after being beaten by the seam movement. Ntini then got Gilchrist to edge a full swinging delivery, endured seeing Justin Kemp grass a low chance at first slip, ran in faster, pitched it shorter and, four balls later, got him to edge again. This time, Herschelle Gibbs, at second slip, held on to the chance and the game had well and truly changed course.It was Ntini who had given a Jacques Kallis-less South Africa a near-perfect start, under overcast conditions, as his second ball of the game accounted for Matthew Hayden, undone by the bounce as his attempted pull ballooned to gully. And just when the game appeared to be slipping away, with Ponting engineering a serious drilling, he forced Langer into a similar indiscretion, as the top edge soared straight to mid-off. He could have had Hodge when he was on 3, with Mark Boucher managing to only get his gloves to a steepling edge, as Ntini, snapping up his 10th five-wicket haul, refused to let Australia run away with the game. It was on this ground, nearly eight years back, where he took his first strides in international cricket and it proved to be a happy return for the lad from Mdingi.

For all his zest, Ntini might have not had as good a return if not for the workman-like spells from Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel, choking runs and inching South Africa back into contention. Bustling in with his characteristic vigour, Nel maintained a full length while bowling against an attacking Ponting. He was driven on a couple of occasions, gloriously in fact, but didn’t dig it in short, unlike the erratic Charl Langeveldt, and stopped the leak of runs from one end. Pollock’s rigorous methods added to the batsmen’s frustration and Ponting was trapped in front while trying to turn one to the on side. Nel was rewarded for his consistency with two wickets at the end of the innings and if not for Langeveldt’s extravagance, conceding exactly 100 runs in his 17 overs, Australia might have been in deeper strife.What saved them, though, was some feisty brilliance from Ponting, who cut through the morning tension like a hot knife through butter. Ponting’s first ball had a sense of déjà vu as Ntini’s superb bouncer rattled him on the side of his helmet, reminding one of Steve Harmison’s snorter that caused a bleeding cut on the opening morning at Lord’s. But a change of guard was enough to get back his terrific judgement. In Ntini’s next over he rattled 13 – a cracking pull to midwicket, another pull backward of square, and a drilled boundary in front of square when Ntini pitched it up. Four more controlled fours flowed from his bat and he got stuck into Langeveldt with two classic pulls.Langer’s gritty knock was just beginning to flower and the duo motored along after the lunch break. Despite both falling in quick succession, Australia carried on the momentum through Hodge and Hussey, who belied their international inexperience by constructing a composed 63-run stand. Shane Warne and Brett Lee also chipped in with plucky contributions, and pushed the score past the 250-mark, but South Africa fought fire with fire and took most of the day’s honours. The aggression with which Graeme Smith and de Villiers went after the bowling in the end of the day, showed that they weren’t willing to hold back and Australia, for the first time this summer, had an opponent looking them in the eye and engaging them in a scrap.How they were outMatthew Hayden c Rudolph b Ntini 0 (1 for 0)
Justin Langer c Smith b Ntini 37 (2 for 111)
Ricky Ponting lbw b Pollock 71 (3 for 117)
Michael Hussey c Langeveldt b Ntini 23 (4 for 180)
Brad Hodge c Boucher b Ntini 41 (5 for 185)
Adam Gilchrist c Gibbs b Ntini 6 (6 for 199)
Shane Warne lbw b Langeveldt 24 (8 for 243)
Nathan Bracken c Boucher b Nel 10 (9 for 258)
Glenn McGrath c Boucher b Nel 0 (258 all out)

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, and his teammates are keen to do well in the first one-day international against England on Saturday, which has been declared a fund-raiser for the October 8 earthquake victims.”It is a significant match for us as there is a need for us and the rest of Pakistan not to forget about the problems being faced by the earthquake victims and that we need to do a lot more for them in future to rehabilitate them,” said Inzamam. The earthquake in the northern areas of Pakistan killed over 80,000 people and has left some three million homeless.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its players have been in the forefront of organising events to raise funds for the quake victims. The entire gate money from Saturday’s day and night fixture will go towards the rehabilitation of the victims with a board official saying a sum of approximately 12 million rupees (US$ 200,761) should be raised from sale of tickets. The PCB has already donated 50 million rupees (US$ 836,505) for the quake victims with the players also contributing a percentage of their matches fees for the next one-year.Inzamam made a fervent appeal to the people to make the match a big success. “It is an occasion when we can all do a lot to raise awareness about the plight of those affected by the earthquake. I hope companies and individuals will also donate at the match.” He added that the players were also planning to sponsor some villages in the affected areas.

Around 20 years ago, a left-arm seamer called Rudra Pratap Singh playedhis first and penultimate one-day game for India. Hailing from UttarPradesh, he was one of the several new-ball bowlers who were tried out inthe mid ’80s, when India were almost obsessed with choosing medium-paceover spin, but ended with a lone international wicket and failed to makethe Test grade. In a queer parallel, another Rudra Pratap Singh, also fromUttar Pradesh, also a left-arm seamer and also a consistent domesticperformer, turned out for India. However, this was a Test and RP made it amemorable debut to boot.RP Singh’s selection made the headlines primarily because of the man whomhe replaced but he carved a niche of his own with a diligent effort.Dennis Lillie, who bowled on this ground around 25 years back, had termedthe pitch as a “graveyard for bowlers” and it appears to have retained itscharacter over the years. Having being given the new ball on his debut, RP Singhinduced a chance in his very first delivery, only to see a thick edge flythrough Anil Kumble’s outstretched hands at gully. “I just treated it likea normal ball,” he said when asked about what he had thought before thebig moment. “I didn’t try anything different. I always try to maintain adisciplined line and that is exactly what I was attempting right through.”He revealed that he had been told about his selection on the morning ofthe game, and acknowledged his team-mates for helping him cope with thenervousness. “We were told to be prepared before every game and I foundout that I was playing in the morning. I got a lot of advise from thefielders and they told me to treat it like a one-dayer, maintaining an offstump line. That released the pressure. I needed to bowl to a disciplinedline and the results followed.”He’s not the sort of bowler who will have jaws dropping but the ability topersist with a certain length, to worry only about hitting the rightareas, and to weather a torrential run-glut make him a valuable asset. Hesaid he wasn’t too intimidated to bowl to a “great batsman” likeInzamam-ul-Haq adding, “my job was to keep a disciplined line. I did notthink of anything else. I think four wickets on this track is a goodperformance.”He revealed that making one’s debut against Pakistan was a “specialfeeling” and added that he had hoped for a chance on this tour. “I didn’tget a chance against Sri Lanka and was hopeful of playing here,” he added.”The conditions are the same here and playing here is a different sort offeeling.” It was interesting to see Dean Jones getting excited about RPSingh and praising his accuracy. Jones probably remembers his dismissal ina one-dayer at Rajkot in 1986, when another Rudra Pratap Singh snapped himup to get his only international wicket.

Scorecard

Bengal continued their dominance over Baroda by amassing 617 in their first innings and then dismissing both opposition openers to leave Baroda 101 for 2 at stumps on the fourth day at Kolkata. Having easily gained the first-innings bonus points, even a draw here will see Bengal progress into the finals against a resurgent Uttar Pradesh.Much like yesterday, where the Bengal pair of Deep Dasgupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla dominated, at times slaughtered, and ultimately frustrated the insipid Baroda attack into submission, today the lower order fought well against a negative line to further their dominant position. Despite the fall of Shukla, for a career-best 141, to the persevering Shekhar Joshi in the fifth over of the day, Bengal’s tail wagged well enough to see a further 102 added to their total.By lunch, Bengal had surged to 611 for 7, with Saurashish Lahiri getting to his fifty in an 88-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Shibsagar Singh(40*). That stand was broken two runs later as Irfan Safi Pathan, Baroda’s opening bowler, got one to sneak through Lahiri’s defense. Pathan followed that up with the wickets of Ranadeb Bose and Shib Paul in quick succession, and Bengal were finally bowled out for 619, a lead of 378. It was a much-needed breakthrough that came about four sessions too late for Baroda.Baroda would have been disappointed not only in their bowling, but in the manner in which Pinal Shah and Rakesh Solanki, their openers, misread the pace of Ranadeb Bose and Shukla. On a pitch that turned benign with each session – making the bowlers toil for wickets – and assisted the Bengal batsmen for the better part of three days, both Baroda batsmen found themselves clean bowled by Bengal’s medium pace duo.Still 277 runs behind Bengal, much of Baroda’s hopes rest on Jacob Martin and Connor Williams, the not-out batsmen, who have so far added 71 in 31.1 overs. A win will give Bengal undoubted confidence heading in to the finals, but following their extended batting display at the Eden Gardens, it seems they were content on even settling for a draw.

Once upon a time A teams used to serve as a feeder for international squads. The trends these days, however, show a reverse. Be that as it may, the forthcoming series of two unofficial Tests and three ODIs between West Indies A and England A is of major significance for everyone involved.When these two teams first met in a series of this kind in 1992, both squads comprised a seasoned professional as captain, a few others with international experience and mainly young, promising players on the verge of international recognition.Fourteen years later, the teams that have assembled in Antigua include familiar faces that have already played for the senior West Indies and England teams, but are now out of favour and are given a chance to re-establish their credentials.The West Indies A of 1992 included Courtney Walsh, a seasoned Test player as captain and three others with international experience – Carlisle Best, Clayton Lambert and Tony Gray. Nine of the 13 had not yet played Test cricket and seven of them – Jimmy Adams, Roland Holder, Junior Murray, Kenny Benjamin, Ottis Gibson, Robert Samuels and Nehemiah Perry – would later graduate to the international ranks.It’s the opposite this time around. Eight of the 13 – captain Sylvester Joseph, Narsingh Deonarine, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh, Dave Mohammed, Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson – have had more than one crack at the higher level. Of the remaining five, three – Lendl Simmons, Sewnarine Chattergoon and Richard Kelly – have already worn West Indies A shirts, and only two – Dale Richards and Andrew Richardson, are newcomers to this level. It’s a similar comparison for their opponents.The visitors’ 14-man squad here includes nine players with international experience – captain Vikram Solanki, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Rikki Clarke, Sajid Mahmood, Chris Read, Owais Shah, Alax Wharf – and there would have been a tenth had Ian Blackwell not been summoned to join the seniors in India.In 1992, the England A contained nine who had no international experience, six of whom went on to play Test cricket, while six had come to the Caribbean with senior England caps.The West Indies A team that toured Sri Lanka last summer also included 13 players who had the “benefit” of international exposure.The reasons for the reversal of trends are obvious. The quality of talent these days is hardly much to shout about, and perhaps there isn’t a lot of difference between those here and those in New Zealand with the senior West Indies team. Players hardly perform to maintain a settled place in the West Indies team and the end result is a rotation of personnel in what can be summed up as musical chairs.Case in point. Tino Best, who was a member of West Indies A teams of 2002 and 2005, graduated into the senior team in 2003 on the back of his outstanding regional season the same year. Dropped after a solitary Test, he gained few more opportunities and once more found himself in the A team ranks last July.The dispute between the leading players and the administrators led him being drafted in for the senior tour of Sri Lanka and he retained his place to Australia later in the year. Dropped by Barbados, the West Indies selectors ignored him for New Zealand, but he has another chance to show his mettle.Given the trends, it won’t be surprising if Best is back in the reckoning for the home series against India in June, and someone in New Zealand now, maybe Jerome Taylor, finds himself in the A team for the series against Sri Lanka A that coincides with India’s visit to the Caribbean.Best’s case is almost mirrored by fellow fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, who will also be embarking on a third stint with the A team. It is also a third chance for Lendl Simmons, who is still only 21, but has not exactly fulfilled the promise selectors saw in him when they sent him on the 2002 tour to England as a 17-year-old.In the circumstances where we’ve merely reshuffled the pack, the selectors have not been afforded a chance to introduce new young talent. Hence, no room for someone like Alcindo Holder, who expertly hit three half-centuries in his first first-class outing for Barbados or someone like 20-year-old Kittitian Steve Liburd, who made two half-centuries in his first two matches. Ryan Austin, whose 22 wickets were the joint third highest in this season’s Carib Beer Cup – has also been unrewarded.Having said that, the 13 in the West Indies A and their England rivals, have everything to play for in the coming weeks.

Duncan Fletcher, England’s coach, says that the inexperienced one-day side must be given time to develop. England, after drawing the Test series in India, are trailing 0-3 in the one-day series with four games to play. “From our point of view it’s been quite a difficult series,” Fletcher told BBC Radio Five Live. “People must be a little bit patient with this squad. On Monday, there were six changes from the side which played very successfully against Australia.”England are without Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. Kevin Pietersen missed the third ODI at Goa because of a stomach bug.”It makes it more difficult for the younger players, who don’t have that experience, to come in and perform,” said Fletcher. “When you look at the Indian side there’s quite a few players who have played over 100 games – we haven’t got one player who’s played 100 games. It shows you they are a very experienced side.”It’s very important that these players do learn and I think this series is a good experience for some of them. As long as we learn from our mistakes – and we’re going to make mistakes – it can only do them good for the future. We’ve still got a chance. There are four games to go and I still believe we have a positive attitude.”

Gerard Denton’s shock withdrawal with appendicitis has upset Victoria’s preparations for the Pura Cup final against Queensland starting on Friday. Denton had surgery in Melbourne last night after complaining of stomach pain during a training session yesterday.While his team-mates flew to Brisbane for the final, Denton went for scans and a Victoria spokesman said he would remain in hospital for a couple of days. Allan Wise has stepped in as a replacement and Greg Shipperd, the coach, said Denton had been an integral part of the squad and would be missed.”He’s swung the ball, taken wickets consistently, and been a popular member of the team,” Shipperd said. “We wish him a swift recovery, but know that Wise will be a handy replacement should he get the nod in the final XI.” Denton has completed his most successful Pura Cup season after finishing with 33 wickets at 28.15 while Wise has 27 victims at 27.55 in seven games.Victoria have also been forced to deny Mick Lewis is considering a move to Western Australia after reports he talked with the state’s officials about playing at the WACA next summer. “There’s been nothing come to us through the correct channels in relation to asking permission that they’re going to speak to Mick, so it’s pure fabrication,” Shaun Graf, the Victoria spokesman, told . “Mick Lewis is a Victorian, he wants to finish his career in Victoria, and that’s where he’ll stay.”Victoria Jason Arnberger, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, Nick Jewell, David Hussey, Cameron White (capt), Jon Moss, Nathan Pilon (wk), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Dirk Nannes, Mick Lewis, Shane Harwood, Allan Wise.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Lachlan Stevens, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Shane Watson, James Hopes, Brendan Nash, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Daniel Doran, Mitchell Johnson.

The ICC has asked for an explanation from the Indian board for the crowd trouble that had erupted during the April 9 one-day international between India and England at Guwahati.”Malcolm Speed [the CEO of ICC] has sent us [BCCI] a letter asking for explanation over what he’s called serious breach of security,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told PTI. “I will forward the letter to the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) for its reply which I hope to get in four or five days.”The ICC has also sent a copy of the report sent to it by match referee Roshan Mahanama which is a standard procedure. After getting the reply from ACA we would send a reply to the ICC.”However, the ACA had not received any letter from the BCCI till late last evening. Ghanshyam Baruah, the treasurer of the ACA, told the , a Guwahati-based daily, that they had not yet received any intimation from the Indian board.Crowd trouble erupted during the game after the umpires had called off play because of a wet outfield. There was rioting in the Eastern stands and the police had to fire tear gas shells to break up the mob. The trouble escalated when the crowd began to target the television cameras, in place to cover the match and at least four cameras were badly damaged. It was later revealed that the damage was around 6.5 to 8 million rupees (US$146,000 to 180,000).