Rahul Dravid, the India captain, hailed Yuvraj Singh, who played a vital role win India’s come-from-behind series win over South Africa in the Future Cup at Belfast, as among the best one-day players in the world.”He [Yuvraj] has been a fantastic finisher for us,” Dravid said at the post-match conference. “It’s not an easy job to do under pressure and he does it really well.” Apart from making an unbeaten half-century and leading India to a six-wicket win in the third ODI, Yuvraj was also unbeaten in the second ODI when he made 49 and along with Dinesh Karthik (32 off 37 balls) took India to a six-wicket win after Sachin Tendulkar had fallen for 93 in the 32nd over.”He’s got the power, he’s got the skill and he’s matching that power and skill with temperament, mental strength and brains,” said Dravid. “That’s a deadly combination. He is up there among the best one-day players in the world without a doubt.”Yuvraj said that what kept him going during pressure situations was knowing that he had previously done well in similar situations. After the World Cup, it was a bad time for all the players,” Yuvraj said. “But beating a tough side outside of India gives us a lot of pride.”This was India’s first series-win outside the subcontinent since 2002 when they beat England in the Natwest Series. In fact Yuvraj played a major role in India’s winning that series, especially in the final at Lord’s.”It was nice to win this,” said Dravid. “Away from home, we haven’t won a lot. It meant a lot to the team. We’ve had a few disappointments lately.” The Indian team had been criticised for their early exit from the World Cup after their shock defeat against Bangladesh in the group stage of the tournament.”To win a one-day series, against the No. 2 side in the world, away from home, in conditions that suited them rather than us, in three close games, we acquitted ourselves very well,” Dravid said. He added that the Indian fast bowlers had managed to make use of the seaming conditions, pitch the ball up, and execute the team’s plans successfully.Jacques Kallis wasn’t too disappointed by his side’s performance. “We came here with a young side, and I don’t think we’ve performed badly against a very strong Indian side,” said Kallis, who was leading South Africa in the absence of Graeme Smith, recovering from knee surgery.The purpose of bringing in younger players for the series, Kallis said, was to try and create variety in the bowling attack. “We’d given Thandi [Tshabalala] couple of games and needed to have a look at Dale Steyn as well. We came on this tour wanting to give a lot of guys opportunities.”While India will now travel to Glasgow to play a one-off ODI against Pakistan on July 3 before going to England for three Tests and seven ODIs, South Africa are scheduled to host the Twenty20 World Championship in September.

Division One

Michael Carberry struck a career-best 192 as Hampshire completed a fantastic run-chase against Warwickshire at The Rose Bowl. They were set 331 after some pleasingly aggressive negotiations between Shane Warne and Darren Maddy following the third day washout. Carberry was dominant throughout, adding 117 with Michael Lumb, to put the chase on course, then a matchwinning 86 with Dimitri Mascarenhas. Carberry plundered 24 boundaries and a six as Hampshire completed a victory, one which closes the gap in a tight division. It was another example of Warne’s positive captaincy paying handsome dividends.Lancashire and Yorkshire completed their battle for bonus points at Old Trafford and the visitors edged ahead as Adil Rashid produced a highly impressive spell of legspin on the final afternoon, extracting sharp, if slow, turn from the surface. He troubled the Lancashire top order and trapped Brad Hodge with an impressive topspinner and had Stuart Law stumped off the final ball of the match to help Yorkshire claim an additional point. James Anderson produced a sustained spell of strong pace bowling as Lancashire claimed a full hand of bowling points. His 5 for 98 was his first five-wicket haul since August 2005.

Division Two

Derbyshire pulled off a thrilling 15-run win against Middlesex at Southgate after the home side lost their last six wickets for 58. Jamie Dalrymple and Alan Richardson added 32 for the last wicket, but Graham Wagg had the final say when he bowled Richardson and handed Derbyshire their second win of the season. When Ed Smith was going well on 65 Middlesex were 208 for 4 and needed 74 more for victory, but Greg Smith trapped his namesake lbw and claimed two more vital wickets. Andrew Strauss fell early in the day for 53 and Ed Joyce failed to build on his promising start.Monty Panesar claimed six wickets as he bowled Northamptonshire to a 138-run victory against Gloucestershire at Northampton. Panesar struck quickly on the final morning as he removed nightwatchman Steve Kirby and Chris Taylor for ducks and it was only a matter of time before the innings folded. Panesar helped himself to his best figures of a productive season before Steven Crook claimed the final wicket.Records continued to tumble in dream batting conditions at Chelmsford as Nottinghamshire amassed their highest first-class total, 791, against Essex. Chris Read made a career-best 240, the first time both wicketkeepers had made double-centuries in the same match after James Foster’s 204, while Graeme Swann fell three runs short of the seventh century in the match. The final session consisted of Nottinghamshire improving their over-rate and Read performed the rare triple of batting, keeping and bowling on the same day.It took Leicestershire only 25 balls to wrap up a 10-wicket win against Glamorgan at Grace Road. Arno Jacobs and Tim New knocked off the runs which carried Leicestershire to their first Championship win of the season.

Scorecard

India A called all the shots at Nairobi today, winning the toss, bowling out Sri Lanka A for 165 and then easing to a nine-wicket win to clinch the final of this three-nation tournament. There were big wickets from the pace bowlers and seamers and positive innings from Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Kaif as India reached their target inside 26 overs.Early morning rain meant the game got underway later than scheduled, and was consequently reduced to 39 overs a side, but the Indians wasted little time in getting stuck in. The last ball of the fifth over, from Irfan Pathan, swung away from Dilruwan Perera and the resultant nick was easily held by Parthiv Patel for the first of his six dismissals. Praveen Kumar continued his good series by beating Mahela Udawatte for pace, the batsman reacting late and losing his off stump for a brisk 35 from 27 deliveries.Pankaj Singh dealt the third blow when he forced Kaushal Silva to fend at a rising delivery outside off stump and edge to Kaif at first slip to make it 52 for 3. Gayan Wijekoon (38 from 42 balls) and Malinda Warnapura added 52 before Yo Mahesh dismissed Warnapura, and from there Sri Lanka were unable to string together and sizeable partnerships. Mahesh added Wijekoon and Sujeewa de Silva to his kitty. Pathan came back to get Kaushal Lokuarachchi and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha finished with 2 for 33 from his eight overs.India’s chase began with Pujara slashing one over the slips and to the boundary and edging another from Chanaka Welegedara that did not carry to the fielder but Kumar was not as shaky, hitting consecutive fours off Nuwan Kulasekara back past the stumps and over mid-off. Another flick to fine leg followed but Welegedara forced Kumar (26) to scoop a slower one back to him just after the 50 was raised in the seventh over. Kumar finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with a total of 165 runs.Pujara edged through the slips a second time and had to work hard for his runs but Kaif opened up with two pulled fours and one drive back down the ground. In one de Silva over he twice drove through the covers and slogged one past mid-on, raising the 50-run stand with Pujara in just 8.2 overs.A crowd of about 1000, mostly Indian, cheered loudly and made their players feel at home in the afternoon sunshine. Wijekoon erred in line slightly and Kaif pulled him for four; Pujara brought up his half-century, from 60 balls, with a drive for three down to long-on; Lokuarachchi tossed it up and Pujara hammered him over the infield. Kaif brought up his own fifty before hitting Lokuarachchi for a huge straight six. Pujara swept the same bowler for four take the partnership to a match-winning 115 runs.At the post-match conference, Warnapura, the Sri Lankan captain, conceded that his side batted poorly. Kaif said the toss was important as it set the tone for his game plan, and singled out his bowlers as key to this victory. He also thanked the fans and acknowledged his players’ commitment throughout the series in Zimbabwe as well as in KenyaPujara was awarded the Man of the Match and Kumar Man of the Series.

18.1 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, that’s out the ground, super shot over cow corner and it just kept going up.18.2 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, now that really is sweet, no more than a dismissive flick off his legs, swatting a fly, and the ball arcs deep into the crowd beyond backward square leg. The dodgy TV measurement says that’s 111 yards but as it landed outside the ground how do they know? They guess that’s how.18.3 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, he’s hitting them everywhere, he steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover and it keeps on traveling. The fireworks start on top of the scoreboard and they’ve been going off in the middle for some time.18.4 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, Shiver me timbers! Broad goes round the wicket, bowls a filthy wide full toss and Yuvraj steers it over backward point and it clears the rope again.18.5 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, down on one knee and larruped over midwicket, that one was more nine iron, it went into the night sky and dropped with a thud in the jubilant crowd. England have a team meeting.Broad looks quizzical and miserable. Can he, can Yuvraj do it. Broad looks like a man who knows he is about to be mauled again.18.6 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, and he has, Yuvraj leans back and smacks that over wide mid-on. It was the maximum from the moment it left that bat and the crowd was roaring as it flew.

With a jaunty , Graeme Smith announced the arrival of South Africa in Pakistan for a short, sharp tour which takes in four cities, two Tests, two warm-up games and five one-day internationals in just over a month.Not that the tourists are likely to see much of the country anyway but security issues have hovered over the tour from the very start and Smith acknowledged, as he did before his departure, that being cooped up in hotels with little else to do would be as much a challenge as anything on the field. In 2005-06 Duncan Fletcher’s England side were unable to overcome similar problems, eventually losing both the Test and ODI series.”I’m not going to lie about it,” Smith said. “It’s different to how we live back home but its not the first time. Security issues are becoming a part of international sport and something we have come to terms with. It will be one of the challenges for us but the security provided to the team is fantastic. It allows us to focus on our cricket.”The cricket will not be of the kind they have been playing recently. South Africa and Pakistan played their last Test, against each other, in January this year and switching modes, in such little time, will not be easy.”Mentally it’s going to be tough to switch your mindset for the longer version, not only for us but also for Pakistan,” Smith said. “We haven’t played a Test for so many months now and it’s tough to play Test cricket on the subcontinent. Pakistan are formidable at home, so we have to be ready for that.”For focusing on the field, the composition of the 14-man squad couldn’t be better balanced: seven members of the side have toured Pakistan with the senior side before and seven others are making their first trip.The role of the seniors, Smith said, would be crucial: “We have some players with a lot of subcontinent experience now, and it’s important they help the young guys, especially in the bowling department, where we have some good new talent. The selection committee has given an opportunity to young players and we certainly feel that they can also play a role.”As they have done since their readmission into international cricket, South Africa will rely heavily on pace. Though the policy served them well in their early years in this region, the lack of spinning options has eventually told. South Africa have not won a series in the subcontinent – apart from beating Bangladesh – since 2000. Paul Harris’ tall, left-arm orthodox is the sole option and he bears a heavy responsibility.”You’ve got to have spin options available to select them,” Smith ruefully acknowledged. “But a big responsibility lies with Paul. He had a good debut and is a hungry guy. This will be a challenge to him. There will be tough times and also times when he will do well.”Two sides looking to improve their Test rankings, in the process of ensuring a smooth procession between older players and younger replacements, could come together to provide a stirring series.Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, recognised the potential for a worthy battle. “We have a chance to blood a young team which could carry us for a couple of years to come. Pakistan might be in the same boat, we both want to get up in the rankings and that could make the series a thrilling one.”Smith is on the same page. “One thing I can predict is that this will be a tough series. There will be some very good cricket and a hard-fought battle.”With or without Shoaib Akhtar, as it happens. When asked whether facing a Shoaib-less Pakistan would be an advantage, Smith cheerily replied, “I don’t know, for us or for Pakistan?”South Africa play a three-day warm-up game against a Patron’s XI beginning tomorrow, before the first Test starts at the National Stadium on October 1.

Brendan Nash, the former Queensland batsman who left Australia to restart his career in the Caribbean, has been named in Jamaica’s 17-man squad for this season’s forthcoming KFC Cup.Nash is eligible to play for Jamaica as his father, Paul, is of Jamaican origin, having represented the country as an Olympic swimmer. Nash is joined by two new faces in the squad: Donovan Sinclair and Krishmar Santokie, the left-arm fast bowler.Chris Gayle leads the strong side which includes Daren Powell, JeromeTaylor and Marlon Samuels.David Bernard, Xavier Marshall and Donovan Pagon, who have all played for the West Indies, have been left out, as has Dwight Washington.

ScorecardMithun Manhas’ hundred and Rajat Bhatia’s 83 took Delhi to 387 before the home side’s bowlers, led by legbreak bowler Chetanya Nanda, took seven Rajasthan wickets on day three at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Manhas duly moved from an overnight 86 to 100, but Bhatia could only add 18 to his score in the morning as fast bowler Pankaj Singh took his second five-wicket haul in the game to bowl Delhi out.Gagan Khoda (71) and Robin Bist (50*) battled hard but there was little support against Nanya (3 for 61) and Delhi’s opening duo, Pradeep Sangwan and Amit Bhandari. Rajasthan need 234 to win, but with the pitch suddenly cracking, it is Delhi’s game tomorrow.
ScorecardBowled out for 227 in 79.1 overs, Hyderabad were forced to follow on and finished day three 158 runs behind Bengal’s 461 at Eden Gardens. Resuming the third day 386 runs behind Bengal, Hyderabad combusted further and needed a career-best from Amol Shinde, in his third game, to get them to a respectable total. He added 74 for the eighth wicket with Pragyan Ojha (35) but fell to Saurashish Lahiri ten short of a maiden hundred. Lahiri picked up his fourth wicket to finish the innings, and following-on, Hyderabad slipped to 86 for 3 by stumps, all three wickets falling to Murtaza Lodhgar’s slow left-arm spin.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh rallied around Ashok Thakur’s second five-wicket haul in the match, and a maiden first-class hundred from opener Manish Gupta, to draw with Saurashtra at Dharamsala. By virtue of a first-innings lead Saurashtra took three points to HP’s one, and but lost their last four wickets for 47 runs in the morning. Cheteshwar Pujara added just three to his overnight 106 as Thakur, who took 6 for 73 in the first innings, finished with 5 for 73. With an unattainable target of 384, HP lost two early wickets but Gupta, with 104 from 144 balls, and Ajay Mannu, with 57 from 93, steadied the ship.

ScorecardAndhra made Punjab toil in the field, hitting 287 for no loss on a fourth-day pitch, but the hosts took three first-innings-lead points from their draw at Amritsar. Pankaj Dharmani declared at Punjab’s overnight 372 for 9, just 38 runs ahead of Andhra, but none of his bowlers could manage a wicket as the top order weighed in. Hemal Watekar followed up his first-innings century with 100 from 146 balls before retiring hurt, and fellow opener Prasad Reddy finished with an unbeaten 114*, his fourth first-class ton. For good measure, No. 3 Satya Kumar Varma chipped in with an unbeaten 58 from 86 balls to deny Punjab. Medium-fast bowler Gagandeep Singh, who took 4 for 53 in Andhra’s first innings, did not bowl and his absence was felt on the final day.
ScorecardRahul Dravid found his true form on the last day of this match, hitting a double-century to guide Karnataka to a draw against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. Karnataka made 397 for 6 at tea before declaring to set Mumbai a target of 256 in 32 overs, 17 of which had gone by before both captains settled on a draw. Dravid fell one short of his highest score in the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai secured three points for their first-innings lead while Karnataka got one.Maharashtra 430 (Takawale 76, R Ashwin 6-133) drew with Tamil Nadu 338 for 7 (Badrinath 72, Srinivasan 62, Karthik 56, Ashwin 51*)
ScorecardTamil Nadu fought back from an overnight 58 for 3 to finish 338 for 7 in their rain-hit draw with Maharashtra at Chennai. There were no hundreds, but fifties from Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath, Rajhamany Srinivasan and R Ashwin helped the host complete a facile draw. Ashwin, after taking 6 for 133, scored his maiden half-century in his just sixth match. Both teams shared one point each.

The Sri Lanka selectors have kept Marvan Atapattu on the tour of Australia to minimise disruption for the team, but will take “the necessary disciplinary action” when they return home. SLC issued the statement on Tuesday, following a committee meeting, which said they felt “distressed and disappointed”.Atapattu, then, will be considered for the second and final Test which begins this Friday in Hobart. His tour was in jeopardy when he called the selectors “muppets headed by a joker” in a press conference during his first Test since 2005, in Brisbane this week. Whether he will now be considered for the home Test series against England which follows remains to be seen.SLC said in their statement: “Sri Lanka Cricket does not wish to disrupt the ongoing tour of Australia, especially as the second Test in Hobart will commence on November 16. However, Sri Lanka Cricket is very distressed and disappointed about the statements made by Marvan Atapattu on the selectors and Sri Lanka Cricket – and will take necessary disciplinary action on his return to Sri Lanka.”The captain Mahela Jayawardene had joined Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s coach, in support of Atapattu. “He’s worked really hard in the three to four weeks he has been with us,” Jayawardene said. “His contributions at team meetings, in the dressing room and off the field have been brilliant.”Bayliss added: “The way he batted in this match, he was one of our better players in the first innings. He’s batted well in the warm-up games as well and he is an important part of the set up at the moment. The comments he made didn’t have any effect on his involvement in the team whatsoever.”

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