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Ishant's accuracy restricts Rest of India to 252

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

Wasim Jaffer acknowledges the crowd on reaching his fifty © AFP
 

Ishant Sharma bent his back on a benign pitch to help Delhi restrict a star-filled Rest of India batting line-up on the first day of the Irani Trophy. He triggered a dramatic collapse after a free-stroking Wasim Jaffer and a circumspect Rahul Dravid had raised 77 for the first wicket. From 105 for 1 at lunch, Rest of India slumped to 187 for 8, before a mix of adventurous strokes from the tailenders gave a semblance of respectability to the innings.Ishant extracted variable bounce from a pitch that offered no pace or lift to bring the game alive in the post-lunch session. Even in the first session, he had managed to trouble Dravid enough to induce an exasperated slash outside the off stump, and he eventually got his reward by trapping him lbw with an incoming ball that had a hint of reverse-swing. He also harried VVS Laxman with a few balls that climbed up the batsman’s throat.Ishant claimed Badrinath soon after when the batsman played on to a length ball wide outside off stump. Badrinath had survived a similar shot earlier when an inside edge missed the stumps on its way to the fine-leg boundary. Mohammad Kaif survived a close leg-before appeal from Ishant but by then Delhi were in charge. His second spell of 7-2-14-2 allowed the other bowlers to turn on the pressure.At one end Chetanya Nanda, the tall legspinner, bowled an unbroken and tidy spell of 17.1 overs after lunch, while medium-pacer Pradeep Sangwan angled deliveries away from Rest of India’s right-hand line-up. Dhoni edged one such delivery and Aakash Chopra, who had dropped Dravid on two, didn’t falter this time. Laxman had already departed trying to loft one over midwicket.Anil Kumble, the Rest of India captain, chose to bat knowing the pitch was slow and could disintegrate in the next few days. Through the first session, with the ball keeping low, Delhi’s fast-bowling trio of Ashish Nehra, Ishant and Sangwan found it hard to beat the bat.But the contrasting styles play from the Rest of India openers allowed Delhi to experiment with the bowling. While Jaffer was using his wrists to drive across the ground, Dravid was biding his time before he could open up. But Dravid looked scratchy throughout; the life he received from Chopra’s dropped catch was off a shorter delivery from Ishant that hit him on the thigh and deflected towards the second slip. Replays suggested he had inside-edged it.Jaffer hit successive fours off Sangwan, the first clipped to the leg side off a fuller delivery and the next between cover and mid-off. Sehwag introduced spin after the first hour and got his first wicket soon after. Jaffer reached his fifty with a single off Nehra but once again he failed to convert it into a big score, falling in Nanda’s fifth over. He tried to push a flighted delivery to midwicket but got a leading edge instead, which was caught by Virat Kohli, positioned at short cover for that sort of error.The tailenders, RP Singh, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh, added 65 for the last two wickets. They rotated the strike and combined slogs with clean hits to give their side a competitive total.

'Good to be back' says Stumpy ahead of Sabres clash against Outlaws

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In reply to a number of enquiries that the website has received from concerned fans, Somerset Sabres friendly dragon mascot Stumpy has talked to us about his re-appearance tomorrow after a period of enforced absence.From his secret hideaway deep in the heart of the Somerset countryside Stumpy told me: “It seems like a lifetime since I was last at the County Ground, but after being away for seven weeks it will be good to be back amongst all my friends,and I am really looking forward to it.”Stumpy will be at the County Ground for the crucial day-night relegation NUL National League match between Somerset Sabres and Nottingham Outlaws, that gets underway 4.10pm tomorrow.The last time that Stumpy was at the ground the Sabres suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Worcester Royals, so tomorrow he will be hoping to bring the team better luck.One thing Stumpy can be assured of is a large crowd to welcome his return to the ground which has become his spiritual home since he first appeared earlier this season.Membership secretary Jo Betsworth told me earlier: “There has already been a large interest in the match and we are expecting one of our biggest crowds of the season to watch the Sabres take on Nottingham Outlaws. As well as the cricket there will be a number of other activities including the ever popular face painting, and of course the return of Stumpy who will be walking round the ground to meet his friends and sign autographs.”With a large crowd expected, the advice to those who are going along to the ground is to arrive well in advance of the action on the field. With the game being televised there will certainly be no shortage of entertainment so everybody is guaranteed a good time.Lets just hope that the Sabres get the result that they so desperately need from the match to help them climb away from the relegation zone.

Hussey retained as Northants skipper

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Mike Hussey has been reappointed Northamptonshire captain for next season.The West Australian, who made 69 for the ACB Chairman’s XI against England at Lilac Hill today, remains in the job despite failing to lead Northants to promotion in either league competition.All-rounder Tony Penberthy remains as the club’s vice captain.Hussey said: “It’s a great honour to captain the county and it’s something I love to do.”I learned a great deal last season and I hope that some of those lessons will be put into practice next year.”I’m looking forward to working again with Tony, whose experience of Englishcounty cricket is invaluable.”Hussey scored 1,379 County Championship runs at 72.57 last season.

Manager denies forcing Muralitharan to play at Edgbaston

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Sri Lanka team manager Chandra Schaffter has denied that MuttiahMuralitharan was forced to play at Edgbaston after media speculation that hewould have preferred to sit out the match and allow his shoulder to fullyheal.”That is the last thing I would do. We left the decision entirely to him andhe did not confirm that he was playing until the morning of the match,” saidSchaffter.He also claims that team morale had not been affected by the remarks made bykey bowler to the media after the Edgbaston game.Muralitharan had criticised team mates, saying: “Sometimes I have to takeall the wickets. But you can’t expect a miracle bowling spell from me everytime. The rest of the bowlers weren’t up to the mark in this match”.”There is no reaction from any player. They know Murali well now, not totake what he says seriously,” said Schaffter.Muralitharan also said that he was not certain whether he would play in thenext Test at Old Trafford because he ‘felt ugly to play without being 100percent fit’.Schaffter said Muralitharan was asked to play only for his bowling atEdgbaston and the rest of the team members were to protect him on the field.Batting was not a requirement from him, said the manager.Muralitharan bowled a marathon 64 overs and took five wickets for 143 runs,but complained of pain and soreness in his injured left shoulder. He facedonly one ball in the entire Test swishing his bat one handed in the firstinnings. He did not bat in the second.Team coach Dav Whatmore said Muralitharan bowling more than 60 oversvindicated their decision to play him, and added that he would be incontention for the third Test starting on June 13 at Old Trafford,Manchester.The British press have been unhappy over the restrictions imposed on them bymanager Schaffter in talking to the Sri Lankan players. Only the captain,coach and manager are available to them.”I have to take such precautions because some of our players are not sofluent in English and what they say can always be misinterpreted in themedia. Murali’s case is just one of them,” said Schaffter.Today’s British newspapers said that Muralitharan “had been pressurized intoplaying” and that “the rest of the bowlers seemed deflated by his return asa one-dimensional bowling machine who had to be coddled in the field”.

Keeping it simple and straightforward

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Adulation would be one word to describe it, but it would be a fairly poor one. Directly after an AMP-Sanmar press conference at Chennai, veteran journalists – stern inquisitors of the company’s advertising budget and fiscal-year targets during the conference – metamorphose swiftly into starstruck boys and girls, hurrying photographers into getting their pictures taken with Steve Waugh.Waugh, suave brand ambassador that he is, is only too happy to oblige, putting aside a mild case of stomach trouble to smile on as hotel waiters and cameramen flank him, beaming sunnily. In an exclusive interview with after the press conference, however, Waugh lets on that he is not as used to the adulation as he looks.

© CricInfo

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” says Waugh. “You might do if you live here, but living in Australia and coming to India only sporadically, it amazes me more and more every time. It’s pretty incredible the following cricket has in India. In fact, it’s actually good to go back to Australia, get your feet back on the ground, and realise that you’re a normal human being, just like everyone else.”Ask any cricket-obsessed schoolboy in India, however, and Waugh is anything but a normal human being. His grit and spirit are bywords in cricket across the vast spread of India, which is why his omission from Australia’s one-day squad was greeted with possibly more shock in India than in his home country.Not being named in the Australia ‘A’ one-day side is merely the latest setback to Waugh’s declared objective of playing in the 2003 World Cup. “I didn’t know when it was going to be picked, but the selectors have been sticking with their policy of giving younger players a go,” says Waugh. “What I have to do now is to give my complete best when I start playing for New South Wales this current season.”His first-class performances just ahead may well decide whether Waugh sets out for South Africa next January, and he is all too aware of that. “It’s an important season, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” he says. “I just want to go out and try to enjoy my cricket. I’ve always tried to do that, and last year perhaps I didn’t do that enough. But I think if I focus too much on just getting back into the World Cup side, I’ll lose track of where I’m going.”But that doesn’t preclude any preparation altogether. “There’s maybe one or two things I’d like to work on – my footwork and a few other things,” says Waugh. “But cricket is a mind game at this stage; you don’t lose technique all of a sudden. It’s just a matter of how you’re thinking and getting your head cleared – that’s the biggest hurdle.”Did that hurdle get harder to scale towards his last few one-day matches for Australia, then? “No, I wasn’t unhappy with the way I was playing one-day cricket; in fact I think my Test form wasn’t as good as my one-day form,” says Waugh. “It was just a very hectic season, and it all happened very quickly. I hadn’t had a pre-season because of the DVT (deep-vein thrombosis) in my leg, so looking back, that wasn’t great preparation.”A relatively quiet international season – for him – hasn’t stopped Waugh from keenly analysing the game, and his views on recent developments are clear-cut and concise. On the ICC’s trial of the third umpire for leg-before decisions during the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September, for instance, Waugh finds himself resolutely opposing the proposal.”Cricket has always been a great talking point, and that’s why people love it so much, because they can discuss the decisions and speculate on what might have been,” says Waugh. “With that gone, you lose a lot of the beauty and uniqueness of cricket. I think the umpires do a pretty good job, and really, if I was an umpire and that was taken away from me, that’s like saying you can’t play the cover-drive or the hook-shot.”

© CricInfo

On the consensus about playing too much cricket at the recent Test captains’ meeting in London – and on the ICC’s subsequent rejection of it – Waugh is more ambiguous. “I think 12-14 Tests and 25-30 one-day internationals per year is reasonable, but there’s a lot of money involved in cricket these days, and I think the players have a responsibility to play,” he says. Waugh does recognise that a packed schedule would lead to players having to choose between Test and one-day cricket. “I myself would like to play both types, but it’s an individual decision. If you’re a fast bowler like Javagal Srinath and want to prolong your career, a good way to do it is just play one type of cricket.”Preparation becomes doubly important in the face of so much cricket, but Waugh laughingly admits he has his own routines for the day before a Test. “I have a massage or a swim, probably see a movie or eat some pasta,” he says. “I also definitely have a shave; I like to feel clean and fresh and prepared, which may sound stupid, but you feel good about yourself physically and mentally.”It’s a simple enough theory, just like Waugh’s simple-enough goals for the immediate future. “Obviously winning in India’s a big goal for Australia,” he says with a smile. “But as a player, my goal has always been to play the next ball to the best of my ability, and that’s the way I approach my career – simple and straightforward.” As philosophies go, that is a difficult one to challenge. But perhaps that is only too appropriate; as cricketers go, Steve Waugh is a difficult one to challenge as well.

Otago finish in the best possible fashion

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Otago should be awarded 10 out of 10 tonight for avoiding 10 out of 10.Entering the 10th and final match of their State Championship season and with nine outright losses already listed against them, Otago faced with horror the possibility of losing all 10 matches in a single year.But at McLean Park in Napier today, clasping fervently to themselves their last chance for redemption, Otago beat Central Districts by eight wickets and so finished the season with a record saved by one gold star among all its black marks.Otago dismissed Central Districts for 152 in its second innings and, after having led by 90 runs on the first innings, needed only 63 to reverse the trend of the season to date. They took only 16.5 overs to score those runs and to complete their win almost an hour before stumps on the third day.Central, resuming at 27/0 in its its second innings, went on to 112/2 then lost eight wickets for 40 runs to leave Otago a chase for victory which must have appeared to them almost glorious in its simplicity.They made only two misteps on the road to victory when they lost the wickets of Brendon McCullum and Craig Cumming within three balls when they were 53. Perhaps to a team so used to losing, it might have seemed at that moment that their worst nightmare would come about – that a defeat, more ignominious than any other, would seek them out.But they regrouped again and they took only five more overs to hit their victory target. Chris Gaffaney stayed at the wicket throughout the innings and went to 35 with the single from Andrew Schwass that brought up Otago’s winning total.Jordan Sheed, who had been with Gaffaney through the last five overs, was only one not out. In the final hurry towards victory McCullum made 20 and Cumming failed to score.Otago entered the third day of this match, in which they had held the upper hand from the outset, needing to play positively and with concentration to complete their win. They knew that if they let their guard slip now Central might still deny them, might make the match unwinnable or, even worse, might win it themselves.They had early success when Kerry Walmsley dismissed Campbell Furlong two runs after the resumption and in the fourth over of the morning. But there must have been concern among the Otago players as Central recovered to 59/1 and then to 112/2, when Mathew Sinclair was at the wicket and apparently in commanding form.Walmsley gave Otago another wicket, another increment in their victory drive, when he removed Peter Ingram for 13 and left Central 59/2.The next wicket, which restored Otago’s momentum, and which signified the point that the match really turned in their favour, came almost 20 overs later. Those were long and nervous overs for Otago and their coach Glenn Turner.But when their wicket drought finally broke and as is often the case, it was followed by a torrent of wickets. Simon Beare, who bowled only 27.2 overs in the entire season and took only seven wickets, claimed the wickets of Sinclair and Jacob Oram within seven deliveries.Central went to 112/3 when Sinclair was out for 42, caught by Nathan Morland, then to 112/4 when Oram was caught by Duncan Drew for 0. Craig Pryor removed Glen Sulzberger for 26 four overs later, Morland dismissed Peter McGlashan, then Morland worked out Schwass. Drew had four catches and Central was 145/7. They had erased Otago’s lead with only two wickets down but they had lost five further wickets and were yet only 55 ahead.Bevan Griggs signfified their last hope but he was out only five balls after Schwass for 24 and Central’s collapse was in full swing. Walmsley, who had started the process, returned to finish it. He took the last remaining wickets – those of Michael Mason and Lance Hamilton – and Central was all out for 152 in the 69th over.Victory loomed over Otago as a prize and a challenge.Walmsley finished with four for 37 from 18.3 overs but all five Otago bowlers contributed to Central’s downfall. Beare took two for five from seven overs, his best bowling return. Morland took two for 21, Neil Rushton one for 29 and Pryor one for 50.It was now up to the batters to complete the business of victory, to avoid at all costs the possibility of another failure. They did the job, as they had in the first innings when they scored 268 to Central’s 178, with their hearts in their mouths at time but with steady and commendable resolution.The season ended for Otago on its solitary high note.

SPCL 1 – Andover with key pair for Havant visit

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Andover’s bid to cling on to their new found ECB Southern Electric Premier League leadership has suffered a double blow.They go into the key match against Havant at London Road 14 points clear at the top – but minus broken-wrist victim Toby Radford and former skipper Jeremy Hayward.It’s a bitter blow for Andover, who boast the only unbeaten Division 1 record after three straight wins against South Wilts, Calmore Sports and Liphook & Ripsley.Radford, the former Middlesex and Sussex batsman who joined Andover from Hungerford in the close season, broke his wrist in last Sunday’s Hampshire Board match against the Channel Islands.His place goes to Marc Kavanagh, with Ian Gardner’s reward for a 2nd XI century last weekend a call up as Hayward’s replacement.”It’s obviously a great shame we’ve lost Toby and Jerry, but I’ve every confidence that Marc and Ian will come in and do a good job for the team,” said Andover skipper Roger Miller.In contrast Havant, who saw their unbeaten start perish at the hands of Bashley (Rydal) last week, expect to be back to full strength.MCC Young Professional Steve Snell and all-rounders Mackie Hobson and Bevis Moynhan, who all missed the Bashley defeat, should return for Havant.Dominic Carson, anticipating a stern workout, says : “Andover will be buzzing after three straight wins and we haven’t forgotten the defeat they inflicted on us at Havant Park when we took the title a couple of seasons ago."”London Road is a difficult place to win at normally and with Andover top of the league, it promises to be doubly difficult.”Watching the outcome with interest will be reigning champions BAT Sports, who lie in second place. They expect to be unchanged and at full strength for the visit of Bournemouth, whose season has hardly got off the ground.”We’ve had two blank weeks out of three so far and lost to South Wilts, so we desperately need to get ourselves motivated,” said Bournemouth skipper Matt Swarbrick.”We’ve assembled a pretty decent, balanced side at Bournemouth, butwhen you can’t get out and play it’s difficult – almost impossible – to get anything together.”Bournemouth go into the match minus Somerset’s Tom Webley, whose place goes to Andy Bell.Fourth placed South Wilts have a weekend double against Portsmouth, who visit Lower Bemerton for a Premier League match tomorrow and an ECB Club Championship third round tie on Sunday.Hampshire’s James Tomlinson is on British Universities duty, so Rob Down comes into the South Wilts bowling line up. Portsmouth, bottom of the pile after two defeats, are back to full strength, with Lee Savident returning from holiday.Burridge have opening batsman Paul Hawkins back for the visit to revitalised Bashley (Rydal), who should have opening bowler John Whiting fit after missing the Havant victory because of a hamstring problem.Neil Taylor lines up three spin bowlers for Bashley – Chris Sketchley, Ross Grierson and Andy Sexton, who took three Havant wickets last week.Calmore Sports look to their top order batsmen to get amongst the runs against Liphook & Ripsley at Loperwood Park.The Totton club’s first five batsmen were bundled out for just 29 runs by South Wilts last week and skipper Tom Pegler is demanding more application from his senior players.

Worcestershire move weekend fixtures

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Worcestershire have moved two one-day matches to Kidderminster because of the wet state of New Road and a poor weather forecast for the weekend.The Birmingham League club will host the Norwich Union League Division Two game against Sussex on Sunday and the Benson and Hedges Cup zonal clash with Northamptonshire on Monday.

Somerset fail to recover from dire start

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Darryll Cullinan led Kent to a 31-run Norwich Union League win over Somersetin a low-scoring game at Taunton.Given a sunny afternoon and the true nature of the County Ground pitches,the visitors’ total of 180-7 after losing the toss did not appear enough,despite Cullinan’s well-made 70.But the South African’s first innings for Kent in the competition proved thedifference as Somerset quickly subsided to 15-4 against the bowling of BenTrott and Martin Saggers before eventually being dismissed for 149.Trott, playing against the county who discarded him in 1999, took 2-22 fromhis nine overs, while Saggers returned 3-19 from 7.4 overs.They were well backed up by Min Patel (2-38) and skipper Matthew Fleming(1-25), while Somerset contributed to their own downfall with the run-outsof Peter Bowler and their top scorer Ian Blackwell (32).Earlier, Kent had been in trouble themselves at 14-3 against Jason Kerr andSteffan Jones, who were both awarded their county caps by Somerset beforethe start.Cullinan came to the rescue, reaching his half-century off 91 balls, with four boundaries, and marking the achievement by immediately launching Keith Dutch out of the ground over long-on with a big six.He was out trying to repeat the shot against Blackwell and only Paul Nixon,with 26, among the later batsmen managed to cope with some tight Somersetbowling.Jones, Kerr, Jamie Grove and Peter Trego all performed well for the homeside, whose batting has now let them down in two successive Norwich Uniondefeats to start the season.Kent, on the other hand, now have six points from two matches, and can feelhopeful of a successful 45-over campaign.

Assured Khawaja leads Bulls

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ScorecardUsman Khawaja’s 88 was watched by his former NSW teammate Phillip Hughes•Getty Images

Usman Khawaja wasted little time showing his potential worth to Queensland, compiling a sturdy 88 in the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia as the Bulls reached 5 for 202 on a bowlers’ day at the Gabba.Naming Khawaja’s former New South Wales teammate Phillip Hughes in their XI alongside the debutant Sam Miller, the Redbacks were happy to be in the field under cloudy skies on a green-tinged pitch, but were unable to engineer a rush of wickets.Instead, they spent much of the day watching Khawaja show how to bat in testing conditions, taking his time, cutting and pulling short deliveries from the pacemen, then advancing to attack the spin of the Test spinner – and acting Redbacks captain – Nathan Lyon later on.Khawaja gave one chance, a difficult catch to Gary Putland at fine leg on 11, but was otherwise assured. He has a particularly strong record against SA, and this innings took his tally to 918 runs at 76.50 in 13 innings.He looked likely to add to his five centuries against the Redbacks but was ultimately out 12 short, pinned LBW by the swinging mediums of Chadd Sayers, who had also dismissed Wade Townsend LBW in the second over of the match.The left-armer Gary Putland was another to claim two wickets, including that of the Australia A tourist Joe Burns for 35. James Hopes and the wicketkeeper Chris Hartley will resume on day two with the expectation of further runs.