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ScorecardFile photo – Shardul Thakur’s unbeaten 38 and his 68-run stand with Iqbal Abdulla helped Mumbai clinch a thriller•PTI

Mumbai scaled down 280, their highest successful chase away from home in Ranji Trophy history, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore to seal a quarterfinal berth. 19-year old Jay Bista, playing in only his second first-class game, set the tone for the chase with an aggressive 74. While they wiped out 173 in the morning session, the loss of five wickets including that of Bista and Shreyas Iyer, the highest run-getter this season, tilted the balance of the match.When Nikhil Patil was dismissed, Mumbai were in danger of losing the match as they were reduced to 215 for 7. But Iqbal Abdulla (39) and Shardul Thakur (38) rallied together by sharing an unbroken 68-run stand to see the team through to their fourth win this season. The efforts of the duo reduced Jalaj Saxena’s four-wicket burst in the second innings and match haul of 9 for 155 to second best as the game finished in the final session.With 17 points in seven matches, MP need to beat Andhra outright at home while hoping for a host of other results to go their way if they are to secure a berth in the knockouts.
ScorecardAnureet Singh was the star with the ball as Railways ended a disappointing season with a 148-run over Andhra at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Chasing 273, Andhra were bundled out for 123 in the second session, with Srikar Bharat top-scoring with 32. While Anureet ended with 4 for 32 to go with his three wickets in the first innings, Ashish Yadav, the left-arm spinner, had three scalps.Railways added 10 runs to their overnight score of 194 for 8 before being bowled out as B Sudhakar, the left-arm spinner, finished with five wickets to throw open the possibility of another thriller. But that was nipped in the bud by the Anureet-Yadav duo as Andhra slumped to 66 for 5. As it turned out, they didn’t recover from there. With 10 points in seven outings, Andhra need at least a first-innings lead in their final game to avoid being relegated to Group C.
ScorecardNo play was possible for the third straight day in Tirunelveli due to torrential rain and wet outfield, thereby denying both sides an opportunity to press ahead. While one point from the clash is unlikely to affect Gujarat too much, Tamil Nadu will need not just an outright win, but also a host of other results to go their way if they are to secure a knockouts berth. Uday, Mandeep consolidate Punjab’s lead

Cricketers rely on “feel” and Australia’s catching is currently badly out of touch. During the Test series against India the cordon was under-performing and the problems continued in the opening match of the CB Series when two edges were grassed in the same Mitchell Johnson over.The Australians are convinced there is not a problem with the amount or quality of their training, but there has been a recent addition to their methods. International teams have started wearing black, fingerless gloves to soften the impact of the repetition and most of the local players have been using them in the lead-up to matches.Michael Hussey is a fine fielder who has had some troubles over the past couple of weeks – he missed a reasonably comfortable offering at second slip off Gautam Gambhir on Sunday night – and is open to the idea that the accessory can reduce a player’s feel for the ball. “Maybe a little bit,” he said. “We practise very hard and we do a lot of catching as part of that.”You do build up some hotspots on your hands. If you do have hotspots and you favour a certain hand, then you are practising with the wrong technique. That’s probably one of the reasons why we use the gloves, so we can protect our hands and practise the right technique.”Australia’s previously exceptional standards have lowered since the exit of Shane Warne from first slip and in the subsequent restructuring a number of players are in unfamiliar international positions. Hussey, who spent much of his time in the gully after Matthew Hayden’s move to Warne’s old spot, was standing at second slip on Sunday night beside Ricky Ponting, who also spilled a tough chance off Gambhir, and Adam Gilchrist.Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds had unsuccessful stints next to Gilchrist during the Test series when a trend that started in Perth grew worse when eight – including some extremely difficult ones – were put down in the final game in Adelaide. Gilchrist’s drop of VVS Laxman convinced him it was time to retire.Under John Buchanan’s old guidelines the team wanted to catch 50% of one-handed diving takes, but that figure has been well out of reach. “It’s been a bit disappointing, I must admit,” Hussey said. “It’s not something we’re panicking about because we work that hard on our catching.”The guys in those positions have pretty good hands, I think it’s just a case that we’ve had a bit of a change and we’re in new positions. It just takes a little bit of time.”However, Hussey said the players fielded regularly in those spots during their state careers. “So they should be comfortable,” he said. “We are continuing to practice hard and will hopefully we become better at it.”

Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi has been named Oman’s spin-bowling coach ahead of the team’s maiden World T20 appearance in India next year. Joshi will join head coach Duleep Mendis as part of Oman’s support staff.”It gives me an opportunity to work with an international team in such a big event,” Joshi told the . Joshi said he and Mendis would share their collective experience of bowling and playing spin with Oman’s players.”I believe a coach should be able to demonstrate (in practice sessions) what he teaches,” he said. “Duleep Mendis is the head coach and we can both relate a lot on how to play and bowl spin. Eventually it would help the team to be aware of the nuances of slow bowling.”Oman will begin their preparations from December 20 with a 10-day camp in Rajkot. They are grouped with Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands in the World T20 qualifying round, and will play their matches in Dharamsala. The winner of the group will advance to the Super 10 stage.Oman’s most recent international engagement was their tour to UAE in November, where they beat Hong Kong 2-1 in a three-match T20 series and lost both their matches against Afghanistan. They also lost a T20 match to UAE on that tour.Oman’s next high-profile assignment is the four-team Asia Cup T20 qualifier in Bangladesh, which also features Afghanistan, UAE and Hong Kong. One of the associate teams will advance to the main draw involving the region’s four Full Member teams.

Western Australia have named a fresh looking 20-man squad for 2008-09 after a year of change during which several of their senior players departed. Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Arron Crawford, Wes Robinson and Matt Johnston earned their first full contracts, while four new rookies were also included.The list of departures is extensive and includes the recent retirees Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer, Mathew Inness and Darren Wates. Brad Hogg has not officially given up state duties but has been left out while he contemplates his future, while Chris Rogers has moved to Victoria. The Warriors also axed the allrounders Sean Ervine and Shawn Gillies and the left-arm fast bowler Danny McLauchlan.Among the new rookies is Mitchell Marsh, 16, a younger brother of the Cricket Australia-contracted batsman Shaun Marsh and the son of former Australia opening batsman Geoff Marsh. A right-hand batsman, the youngest Marsh has represented his state at Under-17 and Under-19 level and this season broke the record for most runs in the Perth schools competition, the Darlot Cup, where he scored 739 runs at 105.57.Liam Davis was bumped up from a rookie deal after an impressive start to his first-class career in 2007-08. An opening batsman, Davis played three matches and scored a century and a fifty and will become a key player with the loss of Langer and Rogers.Johnston also received a promotion from the rookie list having shown promise in the FR Cup last summer until a wayward throw broke his jaw and forced him off for surgery that disrupted his season. The fast bowler Paul Davis, 27, made his limited-overs debut in February while Crawford was welcomed back to the list having lost his rookie deal last year.Robinson, 27, was included following an outstanding club season during which he made 865 runs at 61.78 and collected 12 wickets at 17.80. He also picked up the Olly Cooley Medal as the best player in Perth’s grade competition.The new rookies include Nicholas Death, a former ACT under-age representative who grabbed 46 wickets in club cricket in 2007-08. The batsman Marcus Stoinis and the bowler Chris Thompson also picked up their first rookie contracts. Josh Mangan, Michael Johnson and Christopher Wood held on to their rookie deals while Chris Hansberry and Patrick Molinari were omitted.Tom Moody, the Western Australia coach, said the youthful group would help the Warriors look to the future. “We are very fortunate to have a wealth of local talent in Western Australia and I am thrilled that we have managed to secure some of that talent on our contact list,” Moody said. “Our main focus in the selection process was to reward performances while also keeping a keen eye on youth so we can continue to develop for the future.”Squad David Bandy, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Arron Crawford, Liam Davis, Paul Davis, Brett Dorey, Theo Doropoulos, Ben Edmondson, Aaron Heal, Clint Heron, Michael Hussey (Cricket Australia contract), Matthew Johnston, Trent Kelly, Steve Magoffin, Shaun Marsh (CA), Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Wes Robinson, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges (CA).Rookies Nicholas Death, Michael Johnson, Josh Mangan, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Thompson, Christopher Wood.

ScorecardDawid Malan’s impressive England Lions form continued with a century•Chris Whiteoak

Dawid Malan continued his productive few months for England Lions as his 114 set-up a 69-run victory against Pakistan A to put them 2-0 up in the series.Malan’s hundred led a complete batting performance, anchored by a succession of solid top-order partnerships then given a final flourish by Ross Whiteley’s 30-ball fifty as he and Joe Clarke, his Worcestershire team-mate, pummelled 66 off 31 deliveries for the sixth wicket.Pakistan A reached 172 for 4 in the 31st over after Fakhar Zaman hit 61 off 69 balls to give them a chance of making an impression on the target, but they fell away despite Mohammad Nawaz’s 51. Toby Roland-Jones and Liam Dawson picked up three wickets apiece.After being put into bat, Malan and James Vince – who added 103 in the first match – provided another solid start with a stand of 50. Malan and Sam Billings (31) then added 70 for the third wicket followed by a fourth-wicket stand of 69 alongside Dawson (33).Malan’s century came from 103 deliveries as he continued to make his case for consideration in England’s white-ball sides, most realistically the upcoming World T20 in India. He was the leading run-scorer in the T20 leg of this tour before Christmas when he made 253 runs in five matches. He fell shortly after launching his second six, but that did not prevent England from making a strong finish.Whiteley, the Worcestershire left-hander who plundered county attacks in limited-overs cricket last season, showed off his striking power as the final four overs of the innings included five sixes between him and Dawson.Roland-Jones, who was wicketless in the opening game of the series, found success early in Pakistan A’s chase when he had Sami Aslam lbw and Jake Ball struck with his first delivery when Khurram Manzoor dragged on a pull.Zaman and Umar Siddiq scored at a good tempo for the third wicket before Dawson, with his left-arm spin, made a telling contribution by removing both to leave Pakistan A 129 for 4 in the 24th over. A sharp piece of work from Billings from behind the stumps ran out Fawad Alam then it was back to the seamers as Roland-Jones and Tom Curran worked through the lower order.

Harbhajan Singh, who was alleged to have gestured and spat at a section of the Sydney crowd yesterday, will not be in the dock after match referee Jeff Crowe viewed all the evidence on the incident, and subsequently felt there was no need for action against him.”I have investigated the alleged incident with Cricket Australia’s ground security officials after reading newspaper reports and viewing related photographs that have been published. After reviewing all available information, I conclude that there is no need to take any action against Harbhajan Singh,” Crowe said in a press statement.Earlier, India had rejected the accusations against the spinner Harbhajan, following reports of the incident in the first final of the CB Series in Sydney. Indian officials felt it was a further attempt to unsettle Harbhajan.”This is the imagination of the Australian press, which has been trying to add pressure on Harbhajan at every moment,” Bimal Soni, the India team manager, said. India want to keep the focus on the on-field action ahead of the second CB Series final in Brisbane after they won the first decider at the SCG on Sunday.The and the both quoted members of the crowd who claimed Harbhajan had made monkey gestures towards them and spat in their direction. The papers also said Harbhajan was being abused by spectators.

Opening bat Sam Harper powered Melbourne Stars to a six-wicket win against Adelaide Strikers to extend their perfect start to the BBL season.With captain Matt Short top-scoring with 56 from 42 balls, the Strikers posted 155 for 8 as Stars’ quicks Haris Rauf (3 for 28) and Tom Curran (3 for 35) claimed three wickets each. Stars’ Harper struck 55 from 36 balls as they chased down the target at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night with 11 balls to spare, reaching 161 for 4 to bank a second consecutive win to open their campaign.Stars’ usual opener Tom Rogers couldn’t bat after injuring a shoulder in the field. But Harper and Joe Clarke (23 from 19 deliveries) set an ominous tone, smacking 52 runs from the initial 24 balls.Stars’ openers reached 67 before the partnership was broken when legspinner Lloyd Pope (1 for 22) bowled Clarke with a wrong’un from the top shelf on the last ball of the seventh over.Harper posted his half-century from 35 balls but was dismissed next ball when skying to mid-on from the bowling of Jamie Overton (1 for 39) in the tenth over.The visitors were at a comfortable 90 for 2 at the halfway stage, but lost Glenn Maxwell (2 from four balls) cheaply. Campbell Kellaway (28 from 22 deliveries) and Marcus Stoinis (32* from 22), who hit a six to win the game, ensured there were no following hiccups.Earlier, Strikers’ innings was rocked by a double blow in the second over when Stars paceman Curran snared two wickets in three balls. Curran bowled veteran Chris Lynn (4 off four balls) with an offcutter through the gate, and then produced a superb legcutter which clipped the off stump of Jason Sangha, who failed to score.Short and Liam Scott steadied, registering a 50-run stand from 34 balls, and taking the total to 62 in the eighth over. Stars allrounder Stoinis (1 for 23) ended the union when Scott (25 from 19) was trapped lbw, and soon after, Short was given a reprieve on 40 when a hesitant Tom Whitney turfed a simple skied chance at cover from Curran’s bowling.At their midpoint, Strikers were 83 for 3, and Short soon after posted his half-century from 38 balls.But just when the skipper was set to wind up, he smacked a Curran delivery to extra cover, where Stoinis took a sharp catch with both arms outstretched above his head.Short’s departure left Strikers at 110 for 4 in the 14th over, and the home side couldn’t gain any late traction, with Rauf taking two wickets in consecutive balls in the 19th over.

The Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva and Steve Davis of Australia have been promoted to ICC’s Elite Panel, following the body’s decision to expand the pool from 10 to 12 umpires.de Silva, the former legspinner who played 10 Tests and 28 ODIs between 1985 and 1992, was one of eight full-time umpires selected for the ICC’s Elite Panel when it was first introduced in 2002. de Silva has stood in 33 Tests and 76 ODIs after making his debut in 1999 and has served previously on the Elite Panel between 2002 and 2004.Davis, 56, has stood in 11 Tests, 71 ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals having made his top-level debut in 1992.”Their promotions are a result of perseverance, hard work and commitment and I am sure these two umpires will serve as an inspiration to the other international umpires who are striving hard to break into the Elite Panel,” Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, said. “For Asoka, it will be his second time in the Elite Panel and he has returned after performing outstandingly on the international panel over the past 12 months.”Asoka brings with him a combination of playing and umpiring skills and that combination is one that we believe will serve him well in the months and years to come.”Steve has served an apprenticeship on the fringes of the Elite Panel and his elevation reflects not only his consistency during recent years but also his excellence over the past year in particular.”I have no doubt that the elevation of these two quality umpires will strengthen the Elite Panel.”de Silva was understandably delighted in his promotion, adding: “It has required a lot of hard work leading to good decision-making on a consistent basis and I am glad my efforts have been recognised. I am now keen to ensure I maintain the high standards I have set myself.””I am thrilled to be appointed to the Elite Panel,” Davis said, “as it has to be the aim of every umpire to be appointed to this select group. I have worked hard for this and now I look forward to concentrating on umpiring on a full-time basis. I have always enjoyed the company of those umpires already on the Elite Panel and now I have the chance to work with them all on a more regular basis. I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

It’s incredible to think how long it’s been since Michael Vaughan was victorious in a foreign land. Last summer he became England’s most successful Test captain of all time, and today he duly notched up his 23rd victory in 44 Tests. But he’s not been able to sit down in an overseas press conference and reflect on the glory of his team’s efforts since January 2005, when England overcame South Africa in an incredible final-day onslaught in Johannesburg.Vaughan, as I recall, was incredibly peevish as he faced the press that day, berating the “so-called experts” who had written off England’s hopes of saving the match, let alone winning it. That was the game when Matthew Hoggard came of age as an England stalwart, with 12 wickets in 52.3 overs, including seven in two sessions as England stole the series from under South Africa’s nose. It was also the game that demonstrated the intensity of resolve that England would need to win the Ashes back later that year.Fast forward three years and two months. Hoggard is not even in the side any more, England no longer possess a record to match the “Played 15, Won 13, Lost 1, Drawn 1” that they took with them from the Wanderers, and as for intensity, well, it’s hard to imagine that a match tally of eight dropped catches and a missed stumping would have got them very far in those heady days.And yet, it was enough to see off a New Zealand side that had themselves let their standards drop after the near-perfection of their performance at Hamilton, and as far as Vaughan was concerned, that was quite good enough for now. “We’ve answered Hamilton in a positive fashion, with a good Test match on a decent pitch,” he said. “We couldn’t give you the perfect performance, our catching wasn’t as good as [last week], but overall things are a lot better than they were.”They certainly are. England’s victory brings to an end a barren run of seven games without success, dating back to the start of last summer’s 1-0 series defeat against India. They’ve won overseas for the first time in almost exactly two years, since that outlandish victory in Mumbai in March 2006 which Andrew Flintoff marshalled with a bit of inspiration from Johnny Cash. And whatever the flaws they’ve shown in the series so far, they go to Napier tomorrow with a chance to complete a remarkable comeback.”It sets the series up brilliantly now, at 1-1,” said Vaughan. “We’ll be trying hard [to win in Napier], but a week in cricket is a long time as this has just shown. What we’ve tried to do in this game is respect the game, play as well as we can and we’ve come out with a victory. We’ll aim to do exactly the same over the next week.”First though, there are a few pent-up frustrations that England need to, and doubtless will, get out of their systems. “We’ve got to make sure we celebrate today – it’s been a long while since we’ve won a game,” said Vaughan. “We’ll celebrate properly and then make sure we get our heads on and train very hard leading into that game in Napier.”It was an interesting priority for Vaughan to point out. There weren’t many celebrations to be witnessed, for instance, when England won that Johannesburg Test, but back then the circumstances were entirely different for a settled and ruthlessly focussed side – the endgame was all that mattered. For this young squad, the bonding process is every bit as important. Stuart Broad and Tim Ambrose, both of whom had pivotal roles, have never before tasted success in Test cricket, and even Anderson has been waiting around since Mumbai for a slice of the glory.

“We’re only 1-1 with a game to play, so we won’t go over the top, but it’s just nice to be sat in the dressing-room with a victory under our belts,” said Vaughan. “We were all desperate to win a game of cricket. We felt we were working hard, we wanted to get the series back on track, and I can only say how delighted I am for that set of players and the management. We’ve not won many games and we’ve all been working very, very hard, but there’s still a long way to go before we can say we’re a proper team again.”It’s an “exciting” time to be around the England camp. That’s Vaughan’s buzzword at any rate, one that pops up with the same sort of frequency as “focussed” did in his previous incarnation as captain. Apart from telegraphing his continued enthusiasm for the job, the word describes both the erratic nature of England’s recent results and the sense that, as yet, no-one is quite sure what to expect of the players at the team’s disposal.Take Ryan Sidebottom, for instance, who has currently taken 16 wickets at 17.50 for the series. He and Vaughan played together at Yorkshire, and for England at Lord’s in 2001, but then their paths diverged until the Headingley Test last May, when an injury to Hoggard created an opening for a tight and hard-working swing bowler. He’s not looked back since, taking 45 wickets in 11 consecutive appearances, including three five-wicket hauls.”We’ve all been surprised,” said Vaughan. “It’s his pace which is very impressive. His control is exactly want you want, and I think he’s got a really good cricket brain as well. You put that into a package as a bowler and you get a decent finish. He’s getting all the rewards now for all the hard work he’s put in over three years. Hopefully that will continue for a long, long while and he can have a sustained international career.”He’s our most experienced bowler,” added Vaughan. “I guess it proves bowling all those overs in the county game, and really knowing his game before he played at the international level can help. He never needs telling, he always knows what’s required in the situation, which is very handy for a captain.”Vaughan’s former charges never needed telling either. They just got on with their jobs and did them to the utter limits of their abilities. A solitary victory proves nothing about the long-term viability of this new-look side, but small steps are all that England can hope for at this stage of their re-development.”We’re not going to get too excited about it just yet,” said Vaughan. “But it was exciting to be out there with a young attack with a bit of pace.” Now that they’ve got the bandwagon rolling again, you sense that England won’t be harking back to past glories in a hurry.

Josh Hazlewood is out of the fifth Investec Test and for the seventh time on this and the previous West Indies tour Peter Siddle’s claims appear likely to be ignored by the selectors, opening the way for Pat Cummins to resume his Test career.The coach Darren Lehmann has been moved to explain why Hazlewood will not be playing, but a cloud remains over how the most experienced seam bowler in the tour party has not been used even once on this trip, even as England have prepared a succession of green, seaming surfaces ideally suited to Siddle’s skills.Siddle was understood to be utterly bereft about his omission for the Trent Bridge Test, and confided to his former captain Ricky Ponting that he felt his last chance to play for Australia had gone. The pitch for the Oval Test looks likely to provide similar levels of assistance to the bowlers, but with the Ashes gone it is likely that Cummins will be chosen alongside Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.The captain Michael Clarke said that Siddle remained in contention to play, and that at the age of 30 he should not be discarded as an Australian pace bowler. “Sidds is still working extremely hard and continues to get better,” Clarke said. “He’s played a few of the practice games and probably hasn’t got as many wickets as he would’ve liked.”But he’s certainly in contention for this Test match. He might’ve had a niggle after the tour game so the medical staff have tried to look after that. He bowled fine yesterday, I faced him in the nets and he bowled really well. Sidds is only 30 so I think he’s got plenty of time left in him, and he’s been a big part of the Australian Test team over a period of time.”Siddle has not played a Test since the first match of last summer in Adelaide when he bowled poorly while battling illness. Hazlewood has been preferred in each match since then, and Siddle was not awarded a Cricket Australia contract despite being chosen for this tour. The pitches in England seemed to create the ideal scenario for his inclusion as a consistent seam and swing bowler of much experience.Hazlewood, meanwhile, has struggled to maintain consistency, and Lehmann and the selection chairman Rod Marsh were seen in lengthy conversation with him in Northamptonshire. Lehmann said it had been decided that the least experienced member of the bowling attack needed rest before niggles became larger issues.”Josh has played six Tests since the West Indies tour and the last nine Tests for Australia, as well as playing an important part in the World Cup,” Lehmann said. “He has managed to get through this period without any major injury which is pleasing, though currently he does have some niggling problems that we would like to manage. As such, he was not considered for selection for the 5th Test.”On his return to Australia his niggles will be investigated further and he will work with our coaches, and our medical and fitness staff to have him prepared for the next series he is selected to play in.”Lehmann’s clarification leaves Cummins very much in line to play, resuming his Test career nearly four years after he made a memorable debut against South Africa in Johannesburg, taking the Man-of-the-Match award in a narrow victory on a helpful pitch for bowlers. According to Clarke, The Oval looks to be another such surface.”It still looks pretty green from the boundary so I imagine it will look even greener up close,” Clarke said. “It’s going to be another really tough Test match for the batters, but we just have to find a way to fight our backsides off, whether it goes two days or three days I’d just like us to be on the right side of that two or three days.”Mitchell Marsh has also firmed to return to the side ahead of his brother Shaun, after the latter was seen in deep conversation with Rod Marsh during Australia’s final training session.