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Australia’s players will be given extra rest days to cope with the rigours of a tight schedule during this year’s Test series in India. They play four Tests in 33 days in the familiar venues of Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai and in the relatively unknown Nagpur.Given all four Tests against India last summer went to a fifth day and with hot weather expected, Australia’s coaching staff plan to give Ricky Ponting and his team as many rest days as possible between matches. That means key players may not even train between Tests to help them stay fresh in a country where coping with crowds, food and heat can be a challenge.”It’s something we’re conscious of,” assistant coach Tim Nielsen said yesterday. “We’ve got to be careful how we keep the guys physically and mentally fresh for the whole tour.”Staff will plan between-match routines days in advance. There may also be a back-up for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, as the schedule makes it tough to fly in reserves if injury strikes. “That will be the key criteria for selection – that you are 100 per cent fit,” Nielsen said.Ideally, Australia will arrive in India soon after reaching the September 25 final of the Champions Trophy in England.Nielsen said recent visits to India – in 2001 [Tests] and last year (ODIs) – would also aid Australia in their quest to win a series there for the first time since 1969-70. “A lot of the guys who make up the core part of the team have been there before, so they know what to expect,” he said.The Australians rate Bangalore, in India’s south, as one of their favourite venues – they are undefeated there in two Tests. The second Test will be played in the south-east city of Chennai, formerly Madras. It is where Allan Border’s side played cricket’s second tied Test, in 1986. The most recent time Chennai hosted Australia was in the 2001 series.While the second Test in Calcutta, where VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid steered India to a remarkable win, was unforgettable, the Chennai decider was also memorable. Matthew Hayden scored 203, but had his thunder stolen by Harbhajan Singh, who took 15 wickets and was at the crease as the home side won by two wickets to clinch the series 2-1.Mumbai, where Australia won by 10 wickets in 2001, will host the fourth Test this time around. Australia have never played a Test in Nagpur and only one ODI, beating Zimbabwe during the 1996 World Cup.The India tour starts with a three-day match against the Indian board president’s XI, from September 30.

If the officials of the England & Wales Cricket Board had a sleepless night fearing civil unrest and rioting in St John’s Wood, they needn’t have worried. There were demonstrations outside Lord’s, but they were fairly low-key – if noisy – and universally good-humoured.The security had been beefed up, but it was discreet and by and large limited to a closer examination of bags than the usual cursory glance. This still caused consternation among one group of members, until they were assured that their bottles of wine weren’t the reason for the search. Inside the ground there was a cordon of security men guarding the square, but the plethora of respresentatives of the media, sponsors, and ECB hangers-on milling about in the middle meant that any protesters would have struggled for elbow room, let alone to unfurl a banner.The demonstrations were concentrated outside the Grace Gates where the main group, numbering 30 or 40, were cordoned off in an area opposite the entrance where they nosily and cheerfully blew whistles, chanted, and held up banners. These concentrated on anti-Mugabe slogans, although one accused Tim Lamb, the ECB’s chief executive, of being “Mugabe’s own Lord Haw Haw”. Am open-top bus drove round the perimeter road, those on the top who braved the drizzle adding to the cacophony.The ubiquitous Peter Tatchell was also in evidence, busily marshalling banner-wavers and ensuring that protestors were situated in spots where they would gain the maximum exposure from the large numbers of cameras and television crews assembled. Tatchell’s Outrage group provided the photo opportunity courtesy of a man dressed as a cricketer with a blood-soaked bandage round his head.

There was briefly the threat of an disagreement when one gentlemen, holding up a banner encouraging passing drivers to “Honk for freedom in Zimbabwe”, was told to move on by the police. Tatchell intervened, insisting that there was no justification in their request, and the police retreated. The man returned to his duties and the horns continued to sound. That was as heated as it got.But while Tatchell, as ever, will probably get the coverage, the most effective work was being done by the group from the Zimbabwe Vigil organisation. They were handing out leaflets and black armbands, all done with a cheery smile, generally getting a good response from those on their way in to the ground. The cold day meant that many had overcoats on, most of which were dark, thus negating the visibility of the armband. But it was the thought that counted.Kate Hoey, the former sports minister, took an active role, genially fielding requests from the media, talking to spectators, and handing out armbands with a politician’s skill. Rarely can she have turned in a more polished performance, even when on the campaign trail.The contrast with the brutal suppression of dissent in Zimbabwe couldn’t have been more marked.

After a humiliating loss, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly came up withsome brave words and predicted that India would come back into thethree-Test series against Sri Lanka just as they did against themighty Australians earlier this year.”We will come back as we did against the Aussies,” Ganguly said afterIndia suffered their first Test defeat to Sri Lanka in 16 years.”(Unfortunately) we have got injuries to a few key players,” he saidreferring to the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and VVSLaxman from the side.”They (Sri Lankans) batted better (than us) and bowled a decent lineespecially on the third day,” Ganguly said conducting a post-mortem ofthe ten-wicket loss.Not ready to accept that India were a very different team outsidetheir own soil, Ganguly said that his team had won a match abroad,against Zimbabwe, in recent months.”(And) we have been in winning positions on a number of occasionsabroad but have not been able to capitalise… Now we have got thepotential and have a much better batting side. We have four or fivegood guys,” he said.A jubilant home skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, who was declared the manof-the-match for his brilliant century that set the tempo for histeam, lauded his bowling attack.”First Dilhara (Feranando) and then Murali (Muthiah Muralitharan)bowled well. I’am happy for Dilhara and we’ve got a host of fastbowlers coming up,” he said.

Sri Lanka Cricket has agreed to release seven high-profile cricketers to play in the Bangladesh Premier League, an about-turn from their stance last week.A desire to maintain a good relationship with the BCB, and the one-week postponement of Sri Lanka’s domestic one-day tournament have led to the change of heart. SLC’s desire to see foreign cricketers – including those from Bangladesh – participate in its own city-based T20 league, may have also influenced the decision.

List of players to be given no-objection certificates

• Jeevan Mendis

• Ajantha Mendis
• Tillakaratne Dilshan
• Chamara Kapugedara
• Thisara Perera
• Sachithra Senanayake
• Seekkuge Prasanna

Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sachithra Senanayake and Ajantha Mendis are among those who will now be allowed to play in the BPL.SLC had been opposed to issuing no-objection certificates to its centrally contracted players largely because their absence would have diluted the quality of the forthcoming Premier Limited Over Tournament. That tournament was originally scheduled to begin on November 20, but it now appears likely to be put off until around November 27, thanks to prevailing bad weather in Colombo.As the BPL runs from November 22 to December 15, the cricketers leaving to Bangladesh will miss several rounds of the Premier Limited Over Tournament in any case. However, SLC officials said the home clubs had agreed to release these seven centrally-contracted players, and some players themselves had made appeals to be allowed to play in the BPL. The players had argued that BPL experience would stand them in good stead come the Asia Cup in February next year, which will also be played in Bangladesh. All seven players released are likely to be in contention for Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup squad, and indeed the World T20 to follow.SLC has also said it would like to have overseas cricketers participating in the inaugural Elite Championship T20, which is set to begin towards the end of January. That tournament would appear more attractive to sponsors and broadcasters if two foreigners featured in each of the five teams. Given the current international schedule and the money that is likely to be on offer, SLC believes cricketers from Pakistan and Bangladesh are most likely to be drawn by the Elite Championship T20.In addition to the seven centrally-contracted players, two other Sri Lankans had already been confirmed to participate in the BPL – Kumar Sangakkara, who had been awarded a central contract but is now retired from international cricket, and Dilshan Munaweera, who does not have a central contract.

The Sheffield Shield final could soon become a thing of the past. Although there are no immediate plans to scrap the five-day decider from Australia’s domestic fixture, Cricket Australia has indicated that it might be squeezed out of the schedule in the coming years if the Big Bash League continues to thrive and expand.Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland and outgoing chairman Wally Edwards have both questioned the value of the Shield final, which was described by Edwards as being too often “a bad advertisement for the game”. The concept of the top two teams playing off in a final was introduced in 1982-83; until then the Shield was awarded to the team that finished on top of the table.While the final theoretically gives the second-placed team a chance of winning the title, the advantages given to the top team – home advantage and needing only to draw to win the Shield – have led to very few away wins. The last time the away team managed to claim the title was in 2004-05, when New South Wales scraped home by one wicket over Queensland at the Gabba.Not just that, the home side needing only to draw has often meant dull, defensive batting and ridiculously long innings. At the Gabba in 2005-06, Queensland finally declared their first innings at 6 for 900, with Victoria, who bowled 242 overs, having no hope of winning. Edwards said he would prefer a return to the old system, which was in place when he had been a state player.”I don’t think it plays any real part in our season,” Edwards said about the final after Cricket Australia’s AGM in Melbourne. “I think, and this is just me, when I played Shield cricket, we didn’t have a Shield final. The games were played in two rounds – home and away. The best side wins. It seems to be the fairest way.”And to me, it feels the Shield final over many years has proven itself to be a bit of a non-event to be honest. There have only been three or four good Shield finals, the rest of them have been shockers; a bad advertisement for the game. I think it confuses the back end of our season. I think the best team should win in Shield cricket. We play ten games, which should sort it out.”The final is still very much part of the schedule for this season but how long it can remain so will likely depend on whether Cricket Australia looks to expand the BBL in coming years. Should the BBL add extra teams or rounds, its schedule may well swell into February, and if any other cricket had to make way, the Shield final would likely be first on the chopping block.”I think Wally is right, if you do have a look through history the Shield finals have been absolutely dominated by the home team or a long draw,” Sutherland said. “I think it is very rare – maybe 5% of the time or something – that the away team has actually won. So, from that point of view, it has never been a great spectacle. And I think that’s part of where we continue to review and assess the mix of content.”At the moment it is there and I don’t think we’d change it unless there was a good reason to change that. But at the same time, we’re in a very fortunate position at the moment of having a burgeoning domestic Twenty20 competition which is in big demand. At some stage in the future, we’ll be looking at ways in which we can expand that, whether that’s expansion in the number of matches or teams or what have you, and that might put pressure on other parts of our program.”

ScorecardA record 240-run fourth-wicket partnership between Neil McCallum and Ryan Watson set up a big win for Scotland over Netherlands on the third day at Aberdeen. McCallum smashed a career-best 181 and captain made Watson 154 to take Scotland to 452 before a much-improved bowling and fielding display knocked over the tourists for 138.McCallum was the aggressor on the third day, hitting 19 fours and three sixes in his 254-ball innings. Overnight on 277 for 3, he and Watson added a further 55 to their stand. Watson fell with the score on 295 for 4, hitting Alexei Kervezee to Geert-Maarten Mol. In the compant of Majid Haq (37), McCallum added 73 runs and from there on minor yet handy contributions from the lower order helped Scotland to 452. McCallum was the ninth wicket to fall, as he mistimed a pull off Mudassar Bukhari’s medium-pace into Nick Statham’s waiting hands. Bukhari finished with 3 for 70 when he removed Dewald Nel for 2.Trailing by 197, Netherlands put up a meek performance with the bat. John Blain, fresh from his 5 for 84 in the first innings, removed Tom de Grooth, Statham and Atse Buurman cheaply, while Paul Hoffman got rid of Kervezee and stand-in captain Peter Borren to leave Netherlands limping at 49 for 5 inside 17 overs. Bukhari and Mol added 41 for the sixth wicket but a quick mopping up of the lower order sealed a fine start to Scotland’s trophy campaign.Andy Tennant, Scotland’s interim coach, had plenty of praise for McCallum’s hundred. “It was a great innings from him,” he told the . “After the first day we had, it was important to get the guys making runs in the middle and Ryan [Watson] and Neil did that. Macca’s batting was just excellent. He keeps improving all the time and you saw it out there, how he flourishes at this level and in these kinds of situations.”Scotland’s opening match against the UAE was washed out, but they did very well to grab six bonus points on first-innings lead and add 14 more for an outright victory. Boosted by the return of Gavin Hamilton after a five-month gap, Scotland travel to Belfast this week to take on Ireland.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has acknowledged the success of the recently concluded Stanford 20/20 tournament and sought to clear the air after reports suggested that the board was not supportive enough of the venture.The WICB has claimed that it was not aware of the dates of the one off 20/20 international between South Africa and a Stanford 20/20 Super Star team, which was to include a host of West Indies players. In March, the ICC gave the green signal for the match to take place on November 10 after meeting with the organisers of the Stanford 20/20 and even authorised the two countries, namely West Indies and South Africa, to release its players to participate in the match. However, the WICB claimed that they were not informed of this.”At no time did the WICB agree to the possible dates of the Super Star Match with the representatives of Stanford 20/20″, a board media release stated. “The possible dates for the Super Star Match came to the attention of the WICB when the ICC wrote to the WICB advising its approval of the Stanford 20/20 event for 2006 only.”With West Indies scheduled to tour Pakistan in November, there are chances of the dates clashing with the 20/20 match. The representatives of the Stanford 20/20 contacted the WICB to have the dates changed. The WICB wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in June to amend the dates but the Pakistan board rejected the request, stating that it had commitments with the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The presidents of both the WICB and the PCB discussed the issue during an ICC meeting in London in July, but the parties failed to reach an agreement. The WICB has now sought the help of Malcolm Speed, the ICC”s chief executive, and are awaiting a reply.”A further request for reconsideration of the dates and reopening the matter with Pakistan was sent to the CEO of ICC as recently as August 14th 2006”, the release continued. “We await a reply. “Earlier, Clive Lloyd resigned from his post as the chairman of the Stanford 20/20 board citing concerns over how the future of the tournament would affect West Indies cricket. Unconfirmed reports have indicated that West Indies are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on November 7, just two days after the final of the Champions Trophy.

Division One

Points TableHampshire completely dominated Warwickshire on the second day of their match at The Rose Bowl, thanks to a brilliant undefeated double-century by Shane Watson. Hampshire were 353 for 6 overnight, and added a further 223 runs without losing a wicket. Watson, 91 at stumps on day one, cruised to his century – his first of the season and ninth of his career – and combined brilliantly with Dimitri Mascarenhas, who also struck a century, in a partnership worth 234. Both were unbeaten, as Hampshire declared on an imposing 576 for 6. In reply, Warwickshire stumbled to 145 for 4: Nick Knight stabilised the innings with an unbeaten 97 as the visitors trail by as massive 431 runs.On a rain-affected day at Cardiff, Nottinghamshire gained a lead of exactly 100 over Glamorgan but lost five wickets in the process. Younis Khan struck a fifty and Darren Bicknell, 81 not out overnight, went on to make his second hundred of the season. Bicknell was the first man to fall, dismissed by Dean Cosker, which spelt a collapse for Nottinghamshire who lost five for 20. Robert Croft took three of those to fall, as Notts ended the day on 251 for 7.Ed Smith struck 70, and Ed Joyce was left unbeaten on 71 as Middlesex went to stumps on 238 for 6 against Gloucestershire. Smith, Ben Hutton and Owais Shah all fell to William Rudge who finished with 3 for 64 from 17 overs. Despite wickets tumbling all around him, Joyce was steadfast and patient, taking 166 balls to craft his 71 runs. Middlesex trail Gloucestershire by 95 runs, with four wickets left in hand.

Division Two

Points TableDerbyshire slipped to 64 for 4 in their match against Durham at Chester-le-Street, before Chris Bassano and Australian Jon Moss both hit half-centuries in a stand worth 148. Liam Plunkett took 3 for 49, and Brad Williams 2 for 68. Derbyshire have a slender lead of 58, with Luke Sutton unbeaten on 42, as they ended on 288 for 7.Dominic Cork quickly wrapped up Northamptonshire’s innings, as Lancashire dismissed the home side for 289, Cork ending with impressive figures of 4 for 27. Lancashire stuttered in reply, however, losing three wickets to Jason Brown. Brown and Monty Panesar bowled 68 of the 94 overs in Lancashire’s innings, and it was Brown who dismissed Stuart Law, the only batsmen who could stay for any length of time at the crease. His 111 was his third hundred of the season. With just two wickets left, and trailing Northants by nine runs, bad light called an end to proceedings.Only 51 overs were possible at Worcester with Worcestershire struggling on 177 for 4 against Leicestershire. It was an encouraging start for the home side whose openers, Chris Gayle and Stephen Moore, put on 75 for the first wicket. Gayle’s typically aggressive half-century, at nearly a run a ball, was ended on 51 when he was caught behind off David Masters. But Ben Smith and Graeme Hick soon followed, and as rain forced the players off, the home side were still 228 runs behind with six wickets in hand.

Muttiah Muralitharan recently wore a specially designed elbow brace to demonstrate to a crowd at the Shenley Cricket Centre in Hertforshire that he does not throw while bowling. The demonstration was filmed by Channel 4, and will be made into a documentary. and have reported that the brace was administered by Dr Mandeep Dhillon, who Muralitharan got in touch with in Colombo at the suggestion of Mahinda Wijasinghe, a local reporter. Dhillon said that the brace would not allow a bending of the elbow. “Murali wanted to prove a point that he could spin with his wrists and shoulder and does not need his elbow as support,” said Dhillon. “I designed a brace for Murali and asked him to bowl with it. The brace weighs 2.5 kg and has three steel rods covered in nylon. I strapped it to his elbow to make it immoveable.”He compared Murali’s predicament to CB Fry’s “who faced a problem similar to Murali’s. Fry, accused of chucking, apparently bowled with a brace for a couple of Tests and cleared his name.”Murali’s reaction indicated he was satisfied with the exercise, and though he denied he was making a point to the ICC, he took a pot shot at people who he believed were ignorant about his action. “It is to educate certain people and cricketers in England and Australia,” he said, “who think they know a lot about the game but actually don’t.”Some of the most vocal disapproval of Murali’s action has come from Australia, with even the prime minister, John Howard, getting in on the act. But Murali’s manager was confident that he would get back to his job soon, as Channel 4’s coverage would be conclusive. “He will soon be allowed to bowl the doosra and get back to doing what he knows best,” said Kushil Gunasekera. “Taking wickets.”

The classy elegance of Yousuf Youhana and the true grit of Taufeeq Umar combined to lead Pakistan to a facile eight-wicket victory in the Sharjah Cup. Coming together with the team in a spot of bother, they added 144 for the third wicket to put the game to bed with 14.4 overs to spare. Youhana’s 61 was especially imperious, though Taufeeq’s 81 did his future claims no harm at all – a display that made up with determination what it lacked by way of style.Heath Streak had given Zimbabwe hope with two wickets, only for Taufeeq Youhana to extinguish it with a commanding batting display. Streak struck early, getting Mohammad Hafeez to play a loose stroke outside off stump. Craig Wishart pouched the catch at first slip and Pakistan were 10 for 1. Faisal Iqbal came in next but made just 6 before flicking a Streak delivery straight to Gavin Rennie at midwicket (28 for 2).Youhana though started confidently and Zimbabwe compounded their problems with some erratic and wayward bowling. Andy Blignaut was the chief culprit and Umar cashed in with some super shots on the legside. Once Streak left the attack, the sting went too and Sean Ervine was greeted with two hits to the boundary ropes.With Taufeeq then dropping anchor, Youhana decided to up the ante, playing two gorgeous straight drives off Douglas Hondo before thumping Ray Price for six over long-on. Presumably, the Thursday nightlife in Sharjah/Dubai was worth getting off work early for.Once both batsmen crossed fifty, the shots were played with more of a flourish and before you knew it, it was all over. Truth be told though, this match was won for Pakistan by an inspired opening burst from Mohammad Sami, who confounded the Zimbabwe batsmen with his extra pace and bounce. Despite a superb, gritty innings of 74, in adverse circumstances, from Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe were shot out for 168.Taibu’s partnerships with Ervine – who made a defiant 25 – and Dion Ebrahim gave the total some respectability but Sami’s early burst of 3 for 20 from six overs meant that they were always behind the eight-ball.Zimbabwe’s tale of woe started as early as the third ball of the innings, which Wishart tickled through to Latif behind the stumps. Rennie pulled Umar Gul for four soon after but he had no answers to the pace of Sami. A delivery that left him a shade had him marooned to the crease, and the outside edge was gleefully accepted by Latif, for his 200th dismissal in ODIs (19 for 2).Douglas Marillier, who had earlier survived a vociferous appeal for leg-before, didn’t stick around very long either. Sami set him up with a short one, and the next ball sent the leg stump for a triple somersault (22 for 3). Marillier made 14.Much rested on Grant Flower, but he made just seven before a crude hoick off Shoaib Malik went straight to Younis Khan at short square leg (36 for 4). Taibu, who nudged and pushed the ball around, while scampering through on those little legs, rebuilt the innings with Ervine, who announced his intent with a superb cover-drive off Malik.Two fours in an over off Abdul Razzaq and a sweep for four off Malik saw the run rate go up a notch, but that was spoilt by a poor decision from umpire Jayaprakash. Ervine went for another sweep off Malik, and the ball ballooned off his pad to Latif behind the stumps. Latif’s appeal was loud and Jayaprakash’s finger went up in a trice (82 for 5).Ebrahim and Taibu then added 40, taking the score to the respectability of three figures before a reckless shot signalled the beginning of the end. Ebrahim flayed at a wide one from Danish Kaneria and the ball flew off the leading edge to Malik at point (122 for 6).Hafeez then chipped in with two wickets, trapping Streak leg-before for 0 – going for the paddle sweep – and taking a superb diving catch to send back Blignaut (127 for 8). Kaneria’s flipper did for Price and Zimbabwe were tottering at 133 for 9. Taibu though finished with a flourish – spanking Sami for two fours in the penultimate over and adding 35 for the final wicket with Douglas Hondo – and remained unbeaten on 74 at the end, receiving a word or two of congratulation from the Pakistanis as they left the field.Taibu’s pocket-sized heroics notwithstanding, the target was unlikely to ask questions of any batting line-up, even one as brittle as Pakistan’s. So it proved. After a World Cup to forget, Rashid Latif and his refashioned side celebrated the early days of the renaissance with a trophy, that too in the 2000th one-day international to be played.