After taking five wickets in the first innings, Mohammad Faiq scalpedfour batsmen in Kerala’s second essay, giving Andhra Pradesh arealistic shot at victory in their Ranji Trophy league match at Cochinon Monday.Andhra Pradesh, overnight on 234/8, lost their last two wickets forthe addition of only 25 runs. Kerala, however, could not capitalise ontheir fine bowling effort. Apart from Sreekumar Nair, who made anunbeaten 46, none of the batsmen could stay at the crease long enoughto post a decent total.Wickets fell at regular intervals and, at the close of play, Keralawere 131/7, with Nair and KN Ananthapadmanabhan at the crease.

West Indies secured a place in the LG Abans triangular series final afteranother poor performance by Zimbabwe’s batsmen and a pyrotechnic battingdisplay by Chris Gayle at Asgiriya International Stadium on Sunday.Beaten so convincingly by Sri Lanka on Saturday, West Indies won in anequally emphatic manner today, as they bowled out Zimbabwe for 154 and wonby eight-wickets, reaching their target with 16 overs to spareGayle started his tour of Sri Lanka with a brilliant unbeaten hundred inMatara in the second warm-up game, but flopped in the Test series, recordingthree ducks in his last three innings.The one-day series started badly too, with another duck in West Indies firstgame and a highest score of 21. But today, in front of a small Sunday crowd,he provided rich entertainment on an otherwise soporific days cricket.He started slowly, taking 15 balls to get off the mark, and scoring justnine runs in the first ten overs after losing his opening partner, DarenGanga, cheaply.But, from the 13th over, he went berserk, clattering the bowlers all roundthis small hill station stadium. Travis Friend was pummeled for 16 in theover and Henry Olonga for 20 in the next. He brought up his fifty with a sixoff Gray Brent’s first and last ball of the series, before smacking themedium pacer for four boundaries in his following over.Particularly ruthless square on the off-side, where he hit the ball withawesome power, Zimbabwe’s bowlers paid dearly for offering the left-handertoo much width.He added 106 runs for the second wicket with Ramnaresh Sarwan, who scoredjust 14 of them, before Olonga gained some revenge for his earlier bruisingwith a stinging catch in the covers.But, by then, West Indies were well ahead of the game and his dismissalsimply delayed the inevitable, as Sarwan (30 not out) and 20-year-olddebutante, Ryan Hinds (16 not out) sedately knocked off the remaining 35runs.During the morning, after Carl Hooper had won the toss and elected to bowlfirst, Zimbabwe’s top order had failed miserably, for the second time in theseries. For a while they looked unlikely to reach three figures, as theyslumped to 53 for seven.They had no one to blame but themselves after a succession of loose shots.Grant Flower (3) played down the wrong line, Stuart Carlisle (1) flashed ata wide delivery, Craig Wishart (6) was run out and Trevor Gripper (4),playing his first and last game of the series, wafted speculatively.Only Dion Ebrahim, trapped lbw by good ball from Corey Colleymore thatjagged back into the right-hander and Andy Flower, also trapped lbw, wereblameless.Medium pacer Darryl Brown, one of three changes to the side that lostyesterday, started his international career well with three for 21 in themiddle of the innings, capturing the key wicket of Flower.Heath Streak and Friend did show some belated resistance, as they added 60runs for the eighth wicket, with Streak scoring 57 before he holed out atlong off.West Indies now travel to Colombo to prepare for the final on Wednesdayagainst Sri Lanka. Hooper said afterwards he had a “strong feeling” that hisside could upset Sri Lanka.They will be without Brian Lara, who returned from the hospital to the teamhotel last evening after dislocating his elbow and will stay with the teamuntil the end of the tour. His arm will remain in a sling for two weeks andthe management is hopeful that he can be back playing in 5-6 weeks.Zimbabwe will now start preparations for a tough series against Sri Lanka,starting on 27 December. They have a three-day practice match starting 21December.

Agha Akbar: “By selecting Shoaib Akhtar for the tour of Bangladesh, the PCB is taking on the ICC. It would not have done so unless it was confident of a strong enough defence to get the tearaway speedster exonerated.”

The Pakistani selectors have included Shoaib Akhtar in the 16-member squad to visit Bangladesh for a short two-Test rubber against minnows Bangladesh. It is a daring step, considering that Shoaib has already been reported twice in less than a year. And if he is reported again, according to the ICC rules he would be automatically banned for a year. That could seriously harm the already much-chequered career of the dashing fast bowler who has barely worked his way back to full fitness.

Maybe the PCB felt emboldened after the Indian Board’s belligerent stance over the Sehwag affair forced the ICC into a compromise. Or perhaps the latest report from the University of Western Australia, reconfirming its position, has given the Board the confidence to dare the ICC to take precipitate action against Shoaib, and then face the consequences.The point to note here is that the PCB already had spurned, with unconcealed disdain, the ICC’s offer for correction measures, with Michael Holding standing watch. Some noises were even made to support Shoaib if he wished to sue the ICC for unfair treatment, even before Dalmiya’s histrionics and the University of Western Australia standing by its earlier verdict.
The argument for shunning Stage Two (the corrective measures) is that Shoaib action ‘cannot be modified’ due to excessive extension at at the forearm and the elbow joint.Logical course:Logically, the PCB perhaps already had a certain course of action in mind. Convinced that its stance was beyond reproach, and also that it had substantive evidence to have Shoaib acquitted for good, the PCB has decided to throw Akhtar in at the deep end to see whether the situation deteriorates further before the ICC Executive Board meeting in March. If it doesn’t, it would strengthen the hands of the PCB. If it does, and Shoaib is called again, the bull had to be taken by the horns in any case.In any event, the logical course is to get the issue resolved once and for all. A precedent exists in Muttiah Muralitharan who, once cleared, has not been hounded by umpires and referees around the world. Darrel Hair, the Aussie umpire who has questioned the actions of more than one Asian bowler, still thinks Murali’s action is “diabolical”. But despite penning such thoughts in his autobiography, he has desisted from raising a finger again. Meanwhile Murali has been allowed to ply his trade in peace, bagging a huge load of wickets at such a fabulous strike rate that he is likely to become the greatest spin bowler in game’s history.Double-standards: What has really been strange is the ICC’s attitude. The same evidence – the University of Western Australia’s opinion that an anatomical disorder made the bowler’s action seem illegal – which was enough to clear Muralitharan, is not being entertained in the case of Shoaib. It is a case of double standards, and is raising the hackles of PCB officials, making Chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia say in public that if Shoaib should want to sue the ICC, he would have the Board’s support.The Board has subsequently softened its rhetoric, not mentioning civil suits and court cases, but the issue will be up for discussion in the ICC Executive Board meeting in March. And it might be debated as heatedly as the Denness affair.The latest report (available with this scribe) of the three most authoritative voices of the University of Western Australia’s Department of Human Movement and Exercise Science on Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling reconfirms the conclusion reached in March this year. Both the earlier and the latest reports are with the ICC. But whether these will get Shoaib any permanent reprieve from the world body is a point of conjecture. This doubt and speculation is because the ICC, instead of opting for a logical course, has so far chosen to remain on the side of ambiguity while deciding on the issue. The sooner it decides to eschew from this policy the better it would for Shoaib, one of the few draw cards with the capacity to fill a stadium anywhere in the world, and for the game.

Making responsible fifties, Kiran Powar and Tanveer Jabbar saw Goa through to a four-wicket win in their Ranji one-day match against Andhra Pradesh at Visakhapatnam on Monday.Winning the toss, Andhra Pradesh opted to take first strike. None of their batsmen could make a significant score, however, and they found themselves bowled out for only 175 in 33 overs of a 35-over innings. Skipper MSK Prasad top-scored, making 37 off 35 balls. For Goa, SK Miskin took 4-46.Chasing 176, Goa got there comfortably in 31.2 overs. This was due largely to the fifties from Powar and Jabbar. Powar made 51 off 46 balls, while Jabbar scored 40 off 39. The openers – SV Kamat and SM Asnodkar – also contributed, making 33 and 27 respectively.

Standard Bank Cup log leaders KwaZulu-Natal squeaked to a one-wicket victory off the last ball of the match against North West in Potchefstroom on Friday while Free State picked up a bonus point in beating Easterns by 53 runs and Western Province firmed their claim for a semifinal berth with a 24-run victory over Griquas at Newlands.In Potchestroom the Dolphins chased down a challenging target of 262 set for the by the Dragons. The home team’s total of 261 for six was built around Arno Jacobs’ 112 with Graham Grace continuing his good form with the bat with a contribution of 44.The Dolphins batted all the way down the order with Jon Kent top-scoring with 59, but it was left to Andrew Tweedie and Jon Bastow to scramble eight of the last over for victory.At Goodyear Park the Eagles proved just too strong for Easterns. Cliffie Deacon’s 112 enabled Free State to compile 254 for seven before Easterns were bowled out for 201.And at Newlands Graeme Smith’s 70 gave substance to a moderate WP batting display, lifting the home team to 195 for nine. In reply Griquas crumbled against Claude Henderson’s left-arm spin and Smith’s gentle off breaks, collapsing to 171 all out. Henderson finished with four for 29 while Smith took three for 36.

Rawalpindi’s Naveed Ashraf was only himself to blame as he missed what was a perfect opportunity for him to score a century in the Quaid Trophy Grade-I match against Lahore Whites Wednesday at Rawalpindi Stadium.Just when he looked set to reach the three figure mark, he played one reckless shot and was caught and bowled by off-spinner Muhammad Asif for 95 as Rawalpindi finished the second day at 258 for seven replying to Lahore’s 373.Lahore Whites had resumed their first innings at the overnight score of 315 for eight and added some quick runs through Mohammad Asif who hit an unbeaten 42 and Wasim Khan chipping in with 23.Paceman Yasir Arafat picked up one to add to his overnight three while Naeem Akhtar took the other wicket dismissing Wasim Khan.Rawalpindi made a poor start and lost opener Arif Butt and Shahid Javed with just one run on the board. But then Babar Naeem, playing responsibly, scored a patient 96-ball 42 to put things in order somewhat.Naveed along with Shiraz Khalid, who stroked a half century, put on 136 runs for the fifth wicket to make up for the early Rawalpindi hiccups. However, two quick blows late in the day by off-spinner Tariq Mahmood who sent back Shiraz and then Yasir Arafat left Rawalpindi needing another 115 runs to match Lahore’s first innings score.

Building further on a first-innings lead of 32 runs, Bengal’s batsmen took their side to a position of considerable strength at the end of the fourth day’s play in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Gujarat at the Eden Gardens.Opener Amitava Chakraborty was the only batsman on the day to miss out on a good score. He departed for 10, with the score on 16, but thereafter Gujarat’s bowlers found wickets hard to come by. Deep Dasgupta, opening the innings for the national Test side, played calmly in the same role for his state side, making 84 off 185 balls with 13 fours.Devang Gandhi, coming in at number three, also chipped in with a score in the 80s, scoring 82 of 163 balls before falling with the score on 208. The run-fest did not stop there, however, as skipper Rohan Gavaskar and Subhomoy Das took Bengal to 279/3 at the close of play.At stumps, Bengal had an overall read of 311 runs, with Gavaskar batting on 74 off 81 balls and Das unbeaten on 21. With Sourav Ganguly and first-innings centurion Sanjib Sanyal to come, Gujarat will have to fight hard for a victory, for that is the only result that will get them into the semi-finals.

Nasser Hussain believes England still have plenty of work to do after his side registered the first win of their tour of Australia, beating Sri Lanka by 43 runs in their third match of the VB one-day series.”I thought we played well for a large part of the game,” said the England captain. “We were very poor in the last four overs – to get 270 for five and only get 292 was a disgrace, I wasn’t at all amused by that and we had to turn things around when we went out.”Luckily we had the young bowlers like Anderson and Harmison to turn it around for us. The fielding was a lot better, we showed a lot more enthusiasm, we played some sensible cricket and took our catches.”It’s a relief especially for the lads who have been out here from the start. Some of these lads have only played two or three one-day internationals so they’re off and running.”But for the likes of myself, the coach, Alec Stewart and people like Marcus Trescothick it’s been fairly poor really and it was something we felt we had to put right.”We’ll have a couple of beers tonight, we can’t afford to go over the topbecause we have another one-day international in two days time but I think it’simportant we do have a couple of beers just to enjoy the fact we’ve won a gameand then put that behind us.”Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s captain Sanath Jayasuriya could not hide his disappointment after the defeat.”The fielding was the key and we didn’t field that well and missed importantcatches and that have them 25 to 30 more runs, otherwise it would have been areally tight game,” he told Sky Sports.”Most of the English bowlers I was playing against for the first time and early on they bowled well, bowled straight, with good line and length, putting the ball in the right areas.”Sri Lanka took a bonus point after closing on 249 for six, with Russel Arnold unbeaten on 60, but they never looked like challenging England’s total.”We wanted to win the game,” Jayasuriya added. “After Mahela (Jayawardene) got out (for 71 with the score at 176 for five) it made it difficult and I think Russel knew 234 was the bonus point and to get that was the right thing to do.”The Sri Lanka captain is hoping that his team will have learned something from the conditions ahead of Friday’s match in Perth.”Perth is one of the fastest pitches in Australia and I think the batsmenare getting used to these conditions. I think if we can come back in the next two games it will be good.”Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore added: “If we’re going to catch and field like we did today it’s not going to help us – the difference between the two sides was 40-odd runs because we allowed them to get too many.”

No other decision than that made today by the board of New Zealand Cricket regarding forfeiture of their World Cup match in Kenya was possible.New Zealand, more than any other country on the world scene, has been closer to serious injury and even death occurring from terrorist acts in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.New Zealand Cricket (NZC) could do nothing else.The decision of the International Cricket Council to stand by Kenya as a venue for the match may have been made for all the right cricketing reasons, but realistically the New Zealanders, who last year escaped horrendous consequences by good luck rather than good management, have a different view.The bomb that killed 11 French engineers in a bus outside theirs and the New Zealand team’s hotel in Karachi on the scheduled first morning of the second Test against Pakistan was the closest call yet for a team which had ended its tour of Sri Lanka in 1987 when a bomb exploded in a downtown Colombo bus deport.In 1992, an assassination by car bombing occurred right outside the team’s hotel and caused the immediate disintegration of the tour with five players and their coach opting to return home and New Zealand having to prop up their obligation to Sri Lanka by flying players out from New Zealand.No-one should doubt New Zealand’s commitment to cricket around the world.It has taken the risks and so far it has not had to pay any cost other than missing some cricket opportunities.Given the strength of the intelligence received by what can only be described as reasonable security investigation in Kenya, New Zealand had little other choice than to forfeit their game.That took strength because the points to be earned at Kenya’s expense may well determine where New Zealand ends up in the final scheme of things at the World Cup.But to have security information that came from American and Australian Embassy personnel, which was not sought by the ICC delegation on an official basis, and not put it to use would have been unfortunate in the extreme.Once again chief executive Martin Snedden has had to make a difficult call. It has been an extraordinary 18 months in his position with a tour to Pakistan having to be cancelled, its replacement called off after the Karachi bomb, the abandonment of a women’s tour to India because security was not available to an acceptable standard, a players’ strike that demanded careful handling and now this.These have not been easy times, but in a manner that has not often been demanded let alone seen by administrators in other positions in the game, Snedden has once again emerged triumphant.He has had the full backing of the NZC board on the matter after a full day meeting today.Extra security information was also presented to that meeting.The issue is not over yet.The ICC is clearly likely to be unimpressed and there could be monetary issues that come out of this and while a fine may be applied there could also be some fall out in the television revenues to be distributed after the World Cup.That has a compounding effect on the way NZC runs its game.But there will not be a New Zealander who doesn’t applaud the decision that has been taken.It has taken guts.Snedden, a former international, who won praise during his career for putting his hand up and doing the extraordinary for the good of his team, has also been exposed to the terrorist threat himself in 1987.However, even if New Zealanders did not back his move, he will have won the plaudits of his players and they surely have to be the final consideration.The reality is that the security risk is too high, despite the protestations out of Kenya, predictable as they may have been.New Zealand has carried the cricketing torch when others have dared not pick it up and this decision may yet be seen as the finest of them all as far as Snedden and NZC are concerned.

Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting had warm praise for the Netherlands after his side clinched a comfortable 75-run win in their rain-affected World Cup Pool A clash in Potchefstroom.Damien Martyn hit a top score of 67 as the holders posted 170 for two from their 36-over innings, which was twice delayed by interruptions for rain.The Dutch, needing 198 for victory according to the Duckworth/Lewis method, were bowled out for 122 from 30.2 overs.”Full credit to the Dutch boys, they turned up and wanted to play,” Pontingtold Sky Sports. “It was done on a wicket that wasn’t 100%, so full credit to them for wanting to play the game.”We decided to get through those last six or seven overs without losing anywickets as we thought that would give us a decent enough score to defend as thegame went on.”Things are going really well. The lads are enjoying themselves and are playing some very good cricket so far. We have a big game coming up against Zimbabwe and hopefully we can play at our best in that game as well.”Netherlands skipper Roland Lefebvre felt his side had done themselves justice in their first one-day international against Australia.”I think we played very well. It was enjoyable for everyone,” he said. “It was the one game everyone wanted to play in and I think it showed. I hope we can carry this on.”This is the reason why we are here – to learn and to enjoy ourselves and wecertainly did that today. We worked hard and I was very proud of the way our bowlers handled the conditions this morning.”We kept a very disciplined line at to restrict this Australia team to 170 fortwo from 36 overs was a marvellous effort.”