Bushrangers opening bowler Mathew Inness has this morning been ruled out of Victoria’s Pura Cup match against the SpeedBlitz Blues starting at the MCG today.Inness has a mild case of glandular fever and is expected to be sidelined from between one to four weeks.Shane Harwood who has recovered from a side strain replaces Inness in the 12.

Elite Championship Sixth RoundTamil Nadu 240 (Sriram 58, Viswanathan 50, Vishnuvardhan 5-79) and 37 for 1 trail Hyderabad 447 by 170 runs
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Tamil Nadu folded for 240, largely due to Sankinani Vishnuvardhan’s five-for, and were forced to follow on at Hyderabad. Despite half-centuries from Sridharan Sriram and Sunil Vishwanathan, Hyderabad’s 447 was always a daunting target. Vishnuvardhan, the left-arm medium-pacer, followed up his breezy 59 yesterday with an effective bowling performance, while Faiz Ahmed and Jogram Yadav chipped in with two wickets each. Tamil Nadu lost the wicket of Dinesh Kartik when they batted again, and need to summon their entire batting prowess to prevent an outright defeat tomorrow.Baroda 249 (Mongia 85) and 69 for 4 trail Uttar Pradesh473 by 155 runs
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Baroda were forced to follow on after a modest batting performance at the IPCL Stadium in Vadodara. After chasing leather for almost two days, Baroda began disastrously, and were reduced to 74 for 6, but Nayan Mongia, first with Tushar Arothe (34) and then with Shekhar Joshi (33), nudged them towards the follow-on mark. In the end they fell short by 24 runs as Ashish Zaidi and Rajneesh Mishra, the medium-pacers, grabed seven wickets between them. There was no change in the script the second time around, and Baroda found themselves in a deep hole as stumps were drawn, although Mongia was still there in the middle.Mumbai 388 and 82 for 3 lead Railways 198 by 272 runs
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The last seven Railways batsmen could muster only 97 runs, as Mumbai gained a huge lead on the third day at the Wankhede Stadium. Ramesh Powar followed up his heroics with the bat with a four-wicket haul, and was supported by Swapnil Hazare and Usman Maulvi – who snapped up two apiece. Mumbai lost quick wickets in the second innings – all to Jai Prakash Yadav (3 for 13) – and were reduced to 28 for 3. But Vinod Kambli and Amol Muzumdar steadied the ship with a 54-run stand and remained undefeated at stumps.Delhi 108 for 0 (Gambhir 61) trail Kerala 371 (Kudva 123, Oasis 63*) by 263 runs
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Ajay Kudva and Sunil Oasis propped up the Kerala innings at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi. Kudva completed a patient century which included 13 fours. But Sarandeep Singh and Rahul Sanghvi ensured that the tail did not wag, before the Delhi openers made a strong statement before stumps. Gautam Gambhir and Rajat Bhatia got them off to a rollicking start, adding 108 runs in only 20 overs. Gambhir smashed nine fours in his 57-ball 61, while Bhatia summoned the strength to clear the ropes once.Gujarat 210 and 152 for 5 (Modi 53, Joshi 5-51) lead Karnataka 353 (Rowland 150) by 9 runs
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Sunil Joshi’s fine bowling performance gave Karnataka the distinct advantage on the third day at Ahmedabad. Joshi snapped up all the five wickets to fall, after Nilesh Modi and Akash Christian had set up a solid platform. Modi remained unbeaten on 53, complied in 216 balls. Earlier, Barrington Rowland added 28 runs to his overnight score to finish with a round 150. He received valuable support from Joshi and Venkatash Prasad towards the end. Siddharth Trivedi’s medium-pace brought him four wickets, while Salil Yadav, the legspinner, snapped up three this morning.Punjab 209 (Sahabuddin 5- 52) beat Andhra30 and 84 (Gagandeep 5-32, Sharma 4-32) by and innings and 95 runs
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After being run over for 30 yesterday, Andhra were demolished again as Punjab wrapped up the match (with a bonus point) at Mohali with two days to spare. Punjab’s batting was characterised by some quick cameos by Yuvraj Singh (38), Dinesh Mongia (38) and Pankaj Dharmani (39), which gave them a mammoth lead of 179. That proved to be more than enough, as Andhra crumbled to only 84 with none of the batsmen passing 25. The bowling heroes were again Gagandeep Singh and Vineet Sharma taking nine wickets between them.Plate Championship Fourth RoundTripura 255 for 8 (Chanda 73*) trail Madhya Pradesh 454 by 199 runs
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Yogesh Golwalkar, the legspinner, finished with 4 for 73, and enabled MP to move towards the first-innings lead at Indore. Timir Chanda stood tall with a 137-ball unbeaten half-century, but the rest of the Tripura batsmen frittered away their starts. T Roy, Sadagoppan Mahesh and Chetan Sachdev managed to pass 30, but failed to kick on to something bigger. Chanda stroked 11 fours in his 154-minute knock and needs all the support from numbers 10 and 11 to eke out as much as possible tomorrow.Vidarbha 379 beat Jammu & Kashmir 111 and 163 (Mahajan 51, Gandhe 5-49) by and innings and 112 runs
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Dhruv Mahajan made a sedate 51, but that only delayed the inevitable as Vidarbha wrapped up the match at Nagpur with a day to spare. The J&K batsmen fell to the wiles of Pritham Gandhe, the offspinner, who bagged five wickets. J&K had folded for 111 yesterday and none of their batsmen could match the exploits of Vidarbha’s Faiz Fazal, who hammered 151 on the first day. And that was after Vidarbha lost the toss…Himachal Pradesh 111 and 230 for 8 (Mannu 58*, Sandeep Sharma 53) lead Goa 312 (D’Sousa 74, Jakati 66) by 29 runs
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Amit Dani, who had rocked HP on the first day, picked up four wickets in their second innings and Goa inched towards their first victory of the season at Dharamshala. Ajay Mannu and Sandeep Sharma provided some resistance, but HP finished the day just 29 runs in front, with only two more wickets remaining. Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner, was also in the thick of things with 3 for 41.Services 287 for 7 (AP Singh 144, Yashpal 58, Kulkarni 6-47) trail Maharashtra 403 by 116 runs
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At Pune, Amit Pal Singh slammed a fine 144 and Yashpal Singh contributed 58, but Maharashtra clawed back into the match through Charudatta Kulkarni’s medium-pace. The two Singhs added 94 runs to the third wicket, before Yashpal was out to Iqbal Siddiqui. Kulkarni devoured the other six that fell, as Amit Pal lost partners at regular intervals. Amit Pal hit 22 fours from 386 balls, and fell at the fag end of the day, with Services still 116 runs adrift.Orissa 320 for 8 (Raul 107, Mullick 60, Subrat Behera 50) lead Saurashtra 228 by 92 runs
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Orissa put on a solid batting display at Cuttack, with Sanjay Raul leading the way with a steady century. Raul, the captain, stroked 14 fours in his 242-ball effort and was ably supported by Pravaranjan Mullick (60) and Subrat Behera (50). Though a result is unlikely, Orissa have done enough already to take away two points from the game.

Canterbury and Wellington shared the State League trophy after rain forced the abandonment of the women’s final at Lincoln University.The final had already been switched from the original venue – Redwood Park in Christchurch – after yesterday’s washout to try and beat the weather, and the captains got as far as tossing. But no sooner had they done so than the heavens opened again and th rain was unrelenting."It is disappointing not to be able to play the match, but it is out of our hands," Haidee Tiffen, Canterbury’s captain, admitted. "We wanted to win it but we are still happy to have a share of it."Maia Lewis, the Wellington captain, said the strength in depth in the competition was a bonus."Central Districts have always been strong on paper but they came on this season so there is not much difference between the top four and us," she said. "The competition is healthy."

John Morris, the former England batsman, has put his name forward as a candidate for election to the Derbyshire committee.”The way the club has been run has been a shambles,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “Since retiring in 2001, I’ve spent a lot of time at the County Ground and very little of what I have seen, on or off the field, has given me any satisfaction.”Morris scored 13489 runs at 40.26 in an eleven-year career with Derbyshire. He also played for Durham and Nottinghmashire.Derbyshire have suffered several years of poor performances and internal unrest. At the end of last summer Dominic Cork left by mutual consent, and county chairman Trevor Bowring said that it marked “the beginning of a new era, an era of development both on and off the field to which we are all looking forward.”It appears, however, that Derbyshire are set for another difficult season.

Anil Kumble has said that he will return to fitness in time to play in the Test series between India and Pakistan, which begins on March 28. Speaking to The Asian Age in New Delhi, at the unveiling of the Samsung Cup, Kumble said that he would leave “no stone unturned” to make sure that he was available for selection.”I am not fully fit now,” Kumble said, “but I am confident of playing in the Tests. There are still three weeks to go for the Test team to be announced, and till then I will be bowling in the nets and doing some strenghening exercises. I am sure I will be fit by then.”Kumble said that it would be “a bit of a challenge” to bowl at the pakistan batsmen. “None of us have toured there before,” he said, “and a lot depends on the pitches. But still, if you look at their record, it is not so great against spin. Any spinner from here can look forward to playing there if the pitches are somewhat similar to what we have at home.”

Tamil Nadu 481 and 306 (Ramesh 97) drew with Railways 342 and 117 for 5 and progressed to the Ranji trophy final
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At Chennai, Sadagoppan Ramesh made up for his first-innings failure with a steady 97, as Tamil Nadu cruised into the final of the Ranji Trophy. No result was possible in their semi-final against Railways, so Tamil Nadu’s first-innings lead took them through. Having gained a 139-run lead, Tamil Nadu didn’t try to force the issue. Sridharan Sriram (38) and Dinesh Karthik (48) chipped in with useful knocks as Ramesh steered the ship to complete safety. Kulamani Parida, the offspinner, and medium-pacer Jai Prakash Yadav snapped up four wickets apiece, and Tamil Nadu finally finished with 306. A target of 446 was never on the cards, and Railways were reduced to 15 for 4 within the first eight overs. However, Raja Ali and Siddharth Varma held on and the match petered out to a tame draw. In the first innings, Sriram and Karthik had starred in a 211-run stand that put Tamil Nadu on course to a huge total. Railways fell short by a long way, despite Yadav’s fighting 116. Tamil Nadu, for the second year in succession, will take on Mumbai in the final and will be out to avenge their loss at the Wankhede Stadium last year. The final will be played at Chennai from March 26.Madhya Pradesh 258 and 315 for 5 (Abbas Ali 90*, Ojha 54) beat Orissa 318 and 253 by five wickets
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Madhya Pradesh chased down a target of 314 on the final day at Cuttack and got the better of Orissa in an absorbing contest. They began the day at 84 for 2, and all the batsmen played their part. However, Syed Abbas Ali clinched the issue with a crucial 90 off just 75 balls, and MP cruised home with five wickets to spare. Ali smashed eight fours and four sixes in his fiery knock. The pendulum had swung each day, with Pravanjan Mullick and Sanjay Raul the star turns for Orissa. Yogesh Golwalkar, the legspinner, led MP’s fightback in the first innings with 6 for 95, then Ali shut Orissa out completely with his timely innings on the final day.Maharashtra 592 and 11 for 0 beat Haryana 236 and 364 (Adhav 5-125) by 10 wickets
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Maharashtra romped into the Plate Group final with a comprehensive ten-wicket win over Haryana at Pune. Kiran Adhav, the left-arm spinner, finished with a five-wicket haul as Haryana managed 364 in their second innings. That left Maharashtra a target of only nine runs, which the openers duly knocked off. The victory, though, was made possible on the second and third days as Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Deeraj Jhadav and Satyajit Satbhai amassed hundreds and helped Maharashtra pile up a massive 592. Shafiq Khan’s 114 in the first innings was the standout effort for Haryana, but it wasn’t enough in the face of such a daunting total. Maharashtra will face Madhya Pradesh in the final of the Plate Group. And both teams, by virtue of their semi-final wins, will now play in the Elite Group next season.

Enamul Haque Junior, the young left-arm spinner, and the allrounder Manjural Islam Rana have been awarded “rookie contracts” by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”This will encourage talented youngsters in the future,” the BCB’s cricket-committee chairman Mahbub Anam told the Dhaka Daily Star. “They will get a basic salary per month which will be less than a senior player’s scale in the payroll. But all contracts are valid for six months. We will evaluate their performance during the next six months and, if they do well, they might be included under our regular payroll.”Enamul made his Test debut against England late last year, and went on to be the highest wicket-taker in the Under-19 World Cup. Manjarul is also a left-arm spinner, but has made his mark in one-dayers with his aggressive batting.Mahbub also confirmed that Mohammad Ashraful, the youngest player to score a Test century, has also been given a contract, having returned to form after something of a slump. The BCB now has 12 players under contract.

The confusion surrounding South Africa’s tour of India in November deepened with the news that the Indian board (BCCI) had submitted a revised itinerary less than 24 hours after the initial schedule had been rejected by the South Africans.The South African board (UCBSA) dismissed the original proposal, for seven one-day internationals and no Tests, yesterday on the grounds that it wanted Tests as well as one-dayers. But last night Gerald Majola, the UCBSA’s chief executive, revealed that he had been sent a new itinerary which included two Tests in place of the one-dayers.Majola was clearly as confused as everyone else. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he shrugged. “They keep on moving the goalposts. It now looks as if they want to host Pakistan as well for some sort of jubilee match, and they are trying to fit us all in to a very short period of time.” He added that it would be impossible for South Africa to agree to the new schedule.”They now want to extend our tour to December 7, whereas it would have ended on November 30 with the limited-overs itinerary. But we can’t possibly agree to extend the tour that far because England arrive here on December 5, and the first Test against them is on December 17. That means, with their journey home from India, the players would not even have two weeks to recover before going straight into another Test series.”South Africa would certainly reject any suggestion that the England tour be rearranged. Majola explained that tickets had been printed, and with thousands of tourists traveling from England to watch the games, any revision of dates would present a logistical nightmare. He added that ICC regulations stipulate that there should be a two-week gap between Test series, adding that tour schedules should be finalised a year in advance.The confusion is not only at South Africa’s end. Majola revealed that he had been told by the BCCI that the earlier schedule sent to him had not been approved by them before it was forwarded. He described the situation as “crazy”.Majola concluded by expressing his disappointment with the role of the ICC in the matter. It had, he claimed, washed its hands of the whole matter and said that it was down to the two countries to resolve. But Brendan McClements, the ICC’s general manager, said that: “It’s not unusual for these discussions over schedules to occur.”

Come October and the West Indian cricketers are likely to become full-time, contracted cricketers. According to a report in Trinidad and Tobago Express, the West Indian Players’ Association (WIPA) and the board held discussions last week in which it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed between the two parties soon.Roger Brathwaite, the chief executive of the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB), announced that the second stage of negotiations had been completed. The report mentions that the next stage of talks – dealing with the WICB’s use of the contracted players’ images for advertising – would be held later. Brathwaite confirmed that the contracts should be ready in about four months: “I think it would be realistic to expect that we would have tied up everything and that the chosen players would be on contracts by October 1, which is the start of our financial year.”Teddy Griffith, the president of WICB, mentioned that while the contract system of various countries were studied, the Australian model was the one that they decided to follow most closely. He noted that since the West Indian team comprised players from various countries, the contract was designed keeping in mind the different labour laws in various regions. Under the system, the contracted players would be assured an annual salary, apart from the match fees and endorsement money.Griffith also clarified that the board was planning to have a system in place which would reduce the possibility of a strike by the players. “We have agreed on a process that overcomes that and ensures that we should not have a repetition of the players’ strike of last year. It does not remove the players’ right to strike but it does put in place an agreed procedure before that can occur.” The semi-finals of the Carib Beer Cup was delayed by a day last season due to a strike.Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and Zimbabwe all have a contract system in place, while India is likely to have one too before the start of the next season.

Derbyshire ran into trouble against Scotland in the National League, making only 182 in their innings at Derby. It could have been worse: they were 100 for 7 before an undefeated 50 from Mo Sheikh improved matters somewhat. David Watts (45) started brightly for Scotland, but Sheikh nipped in with the ball, removing Ryan Watson and the Pakistan Test opener Yasir Hameed, both for 9, and the Indian Sridharan Sriram for 8. No-one could hang in there for Scotland, as Paul Havell and Ant Botha took three wickets apiece, and they were eventually all out for 154 – 29 runs short of a big upset.In the floodlit match at Chelmsford, Essex made a lively start against Hampshire, eventually reaching 211 for 4 in their 45 overs. Will Jefferson (32) and Andy Flower (41) made a lively start, putting on 59 for the first wicket, and James Foster (46*) and Ravi Bopara (40*) rounded things off with a unbeaten stand of 68. Shane Warne was uncharacteristically loose: his first two balls were full-tosses, and he finished his nine-over stint with 0 for 62. Hampshire recovered after a poor start, with their other Australian, Michael Clarke, in good touch. But after Clarke was run out for a boundary-studded 42, only John Crawley – who finished unbeaten with 70 – made much progress. Darren Gough, who earlier removed both openers, Derek Kenway and Nic Pothas, for ducks, wrapped things up to finish with 3 for 19.

National League Division One

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National League Division Two

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