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Daniel Manohar, the Hyderabad batsman, has retired from first-class cricket bringing to an end a career spanning 11 seasons. He made 4009 runs at 33.68 in 73 first-class games, including eight centuries, and finished with an impressive average of 37.85 in domestic one-dayers.He started his career with a 144 against a strong Karnataka bowling line-up in 1997, an innings he considers the highlight of his career. “The bowling attack consisted of Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, and Sunil Joshi [all of whom were part of the national team at that stage],” he told Cricinfo. “The first runs I got gave me a lot of confidence in that game that I was eligible to play higher cricket also. That was the best moment of my career.”Manohar made the India A in his debut season itself but the closest he came to India selection was during the 2002 Champions Trophy. He had been named among the probables of a second-string team after several top Indian players had refused to confirm their participation after a sponsorship row. “Any cricketer would like to play for India, and even I wanted to do so very badly at one stage, but that didn’t happen, ” he said.Manohar was very satisfied with his domestic performances over the years. “To be honest before playing Ranji Trophy I never thought I’d play Ranji for 11 seasons. Becoming only the third Hyderabad opener to score 4000 runs is itself an achievement for me.”He counts VVS Laxman, Hyderabad fast bowler Narender Singh and long-time opening partner Nand Kishore among the players who stood by him through the good and bad patches in his career. “VVS was always guiding me, though he was a friend, he was also an idol to me, and I was very impressed with the way he carried himself on the field and off the field, his attitudes towards cricket.”Narender and I both started our careers together, at the Under-19 level, and he used to guide me in many ways. Also Nand Kishore, we used to open for Hyderabad some six or seven years, I think there was no run-out between us that was the understanding we had.”Manohar, 35, is keen to remain involved with cricket after his playing days, but hasn’t yet decided in what capacity.

Doug Bollinger’s impressive five-wicket haul in Abu Dhabi on Friday has kept alive his chances of being part of the Ashes campaign. Bollinger, who took 5 for 35 in the series-sealing fourth game, hoped the performance could be the platform for an England tour.”It is a dream [to play in the Ashes], every young cricketer in Australia wants to achieve that as it is the best competition Australia can play and every player wants to be successful there,” he told AFP. “This can be it [the platform] but I just take it day by day. I get the next opportunity and make sure that I grab it with both hands and if it’s the Ashes it would be great.”Bollinger made his Test debut on his home ground in Sydney in January, but he was not used during the following series in South Africa. The Ashes squad is due to be named this month for the campaign starting in Cardiff on July 8.Bollinger was pleased to have played a part in the one-day series victory under Michael Clarke’s leadership. “It’s fantastic,” Bollinger said after only his second ODI. “It is great to win the series and I am very excited and will remember this for my whole life.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Doug Bollinger’s five wickets set up Australia’s series win, and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award•Associated Press

Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke produced a superb century to seal the five-match series with a game to spare after an eight-wicket win in Abu Dhabi. An unbeaten hundred, his fourth in one-day cricket and first as captain, was arguably his finest and was the key to Australia’s comfortable pursuit of Pakistan’s 197.Clarke and Shane Watson combined for a record-breaking 197-run partnership to lift Australia from its knees after Shoaib Akhtar wound back the clock with two early wickets in a blistering opening spell. Shoaib, on return after being left out of game three, claimed Brad Haddin and debutant Marcus North to leave Australia reeling at 3 for 2. But Clarke and Watson negotiated the rest of Shoaib’s sharp four-over opening spell before flourishing under the floodlights.The captain’s innings was easily the best and most fluent of the series and featured sublime footwork and timing against both pace and spin. The ease with which he found the boundary was breath-taking as he produced nearly every shot in the book, punctuated by a crushing cover drive to bring up three figures.Watson’s innings was at times the total antithesis of his captain’s but certainly no less valuable. For long periods he fought the Pakistan attack, the Sheik Zayed Stadium surface and even his own mind. Saeed Ajmal, whose ten overs cost just 20, mesmerised him but could not claim his wicket. Watson provided resolute support for his captain while exorcising his own demons with his best performance since returning from injury.The chase was never really threatened after the initial Shoaib burst. The spinners proved a handful but could not break Watson’s resolve and never looked like breaking Clarke’s.Doug Bollinger produced an exceptional bowling performance in just his second one-day international to help bowl out Pakistan for 197. Returning in place of Ben Hilfenhaus, Bollinger claimed his first wicket with the third ball of the day and came back in the 35th over to claim four more victims.He finished with a fine 5 for 35 from 7.4 overs on another very slow pitch. It was the Australians who were expected to wilt in the oppressive conditions but they produced a disciplined effort to stifle Pakistan.Shahid Afridi led a late rescue mission with a run-a-ball 40 to guide Pakistan to their total after they lost regular wickets in the blazing heat. They stumbled early after winning the toss, slumping to 12 for 2, and it could have been 12 for 3 after Misbah-ul-Haq survived a huge appeal for caught behind first ball off Nathan Bracken. Bracken was unfortunate to claim just 2 for 31 from his 10 overs.Misbah (34) and the 17-year-old Ahmed Shehzad (43) set about rebuilding the innings during a steady stand. They wrestled with the impeccable lengths of the four Australian fast bowlers who were very effective with their changes of pace. Bracken and Stuart Clark were particularly difficult to get away on a wicket which became lower and slower as the innings wore on.The two Pakistani batsmen were far more comfortable against the finger spinners. Nathan Hauritz and Clarke orchestrated Pakistan’s collapse on Monday, but there had been a clear rethink in strategy by the batsmen. Hauritz was tidy in claiming 1 for 34 but the other three finger spinners all conceded more than five runs per over.The big shots were shelved, barring a poorly executed slog sweep from Shehzad, as the batsmen worked the spinners into the gaps and ran neatly between the wickets. Afridi and Shoaib Malik accelerated during the middle period and a total of 240 looked a distinct possibility, but the reintroduction of Bollinger and Clark changed things dramatically.Afridi’s innings defied expectation. His strike-rate was typically brisk, he farmed the strike well to protect the lower order, was inventive but calculated with his stroke-play and placement, while his running was atypically intelligent.But his departure in the batting Powerplay signalled the beginning of the end for Pakistan as Bollinger and Bracken cleaned up by cleverly mixing their lengths and pace. Australia have sealed the series 3-1 with a match to play and might have the opportunity to use Brett Lee in the dead rubber.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle is confident they can close out the one-day series against England in the fourth and penultimate match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday. Already 2-1 up, he underlined the importance of sticking to the basics if West Indies are to cap a wonderful home series after clinching the five-match Test contest 1-0.”I’m confident, but not overconfident,” Gayle told the . “I’m a little nervous too, because it is a very important game. We want to win the series. It will ease the pressure off of us. We have to stick to our basic things, go out there and have fun like in the last game and prove that you can win the series.”Two successive wins after a freak defeat in the opening match have given West Indies the advantage, but Gayle expects England to bounce back. “We’re not going to roll back and expect it is going to be a rollover,” he said. “England will come hard at to try and even the series. It is going to be a hard competitive game. We just have to hold our nerves.”An eight-wicket demolition in the third ODI at the same venue on Friday shifted the psychological advantage towards West Indies and the opportunity is now there to deflate England, a point acknowledged by West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo. “We have to win our next game,” Bravo said. “We can’t afford to lapse or anything like this. The series is still open. We know England will do their homework and come at us hard.”We have our homework to do as well, and try to improve. The team has been playing very well throughout the series and we just believe in ourselves and taking the moments from the Test series to see everyone fit and ready to go for the challenge ahead of us.”West Indies fielded the same unit for the last two matches and will avoid tinkering with the winning combination. England’s batting has been woeful and the bowling had no answer to Gayle’s ferocious onslaught of power-hitting on Friday, during which he smashed an unbeaten 80 off 43 balls.Captain Andrew Strauss, however, is quietly confident about turning things around. “My experience with England is that when we have these kinds of performances, we always bounce right back,” Strauss said. “We’ve got to dig pretty deep and make sure we find a way to get over the line and give absolutely everything and come off the field with a victory. This will take individual players grabbing responsibility. If two or three of us can do this, we have a very good chance of winning.”England, who scored 117 in 41.3 overs, threatened to go under the lowest total at Kensington – 91 by Ireland against Australia at the 2007 World Cup. “In my experience, when we are bad, we are pretty bad,” Strauss said. “We can play some very good cricket as well. But we do not have that consistency.”In a five-match series, we cannot have one or two bad performances like we did. If we are beaten, we have to make sure we are beaten off the last ball in a very tight game. We cannot be Jekyll and Hyde. We are too much like that at the moment.”

Scorecard
Fast bowler Mark Davies took four wickets to help England Lions dismiss New Zealand A for 243 in their first innings in Lincoln, giving the visitors a valuable first-innings lead of 103. That advantage had been stretched to 159 by stumps, with the England Lions openers added an unbeaten 56.The day began with England Lions on 331 for 9 in their first innings and Sajid Mahmood clubbed 12 runs to reach his half-century before he was bowled with the score on 346.New Zealand A had a terrible start to their innings, losing opener Aaron Redmond in the second over with the score on one. Davies had given England Lions the early advantage and he struck thrice more to reduce the hosts to 59 for 5. New Zealand A were in danger of being bowled out for cheap until Reece Young and Ewen Thompson rescued the innings with half-centuries.Young scored 71 off 105 balls and Thompson hit ten fours and a six in his innings of 60 off 56 balls. The pair added 83 for the sixth wicket and helped their team recover to 225 for 6. However, another collapse triggered by Gareth Batty (3-49) and Mahmood resulted in the hosts being dismissed for 243.England Lions had 19 overs to face and Stephen Moore and Robert Key remained unbeaten on 29 and 25 respectively.

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has said the onus will be on the batsmen during India’s upcoming tour of New Zealand. “The key for India is to bat well,” Ganguly said at a private event in Mumbai.Ganguly led India on their last tour to New Zealand in 2002-03, where they lost 2-0 in the Test series and 5-2 in the ODIs. The batsmen struggled on seamer-friendly tracks then, and Ganguly said they would need to practice hard in the nets in order to adapt quickly to the conditions.”The biggest challenge is the lack of a warm-up before the series starts,” he said. “Also ahead of the Test series some of the Indian batsmen like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will need to adapt quickly as they will not be playing any practice games.” Dravid told Cricinfo that the 2002-03 tour was “probably an aberration”, but admitted that no practice game was not “an ideal scenario”.India have been successful in the recent past under Mahendra Singh Dhoni but Ganguly felt the performance on overseas tours would determine how good the present side is. “This will be a serious test for Dhoni, and the next two years very important for India’s progress to the No.1 ranking,” he said. “They play a lot of cricket overseas.”Ganguly also said the association of John Wright, the former India coach, with the New Zealand side should not be much of a concern for the Indian side. “John Wright is a coach, and probably contributes 10% to what happens on the field so I don’t perceive him as a threat,” he said. Wright, now a New Zealand national selector, recently said he had “a few ideas” on how to help the home team.Wright and Ganguly forged a successful association during their tenure as India’s coach and captain, and the former captain felt Kirsten was performing a similar role in the present India set-up. “There is a bit of Wright in Kirsten. Gary is doing a wonderful job. He supports the players. The coach needs to be a friend. The moment the coach starts dominating there will be problems in the team,” he said. “The captain is the most important person in the team. I have worked with John Wright and Gary Kirsten and both have the right mindset and have the right way to coach.”

Ricky Ponting is making the most of the unfamiliar role of underdog, insisting that the pressure of favouritism and the pursuit of the No. 1 Test ranking could overwhelm Graeme Smith’s men throughout the three-Test series in South Africa. Ponting was in a bullish mood at a pre-departure press conference in Sydney on Monday, confident that a victory in South Africa would go far to establishing a new, competitive identity for a team eroded by injuries and retirements in recent seasons.”You wouldn’t have to be Einstein to work out that they’re going to be favourites,” Ponting said. “If we get off to a great start over there with them being favourites, and with a lot of expectation from their people and their crowds, then who knows – things could turn against them pretty quickly.”There won’t be any added pressure on us, but maybe on South Africa. They’ve been striving for a long time to be recognised as being the No. 1 Test team in the world, so maybe that will weigh on their minds more than ours.”The Australians have reached a critical point in their evolution as a Test side. Series defeats to India and South Africa eroded the aura of invincibility, but the 103-run victory in the most recent Test in Sydney provided Australian audiences with hope that, while nowhere near their zenith, Ponting’s men may have ascended above the point of nadir.Ponting underlined the importance of the month ahead by equating a series victory in South Africa above anything he had previously achieved in his esteemed 128-Test career. “I’m ultra excited about the challenge of playing against the No. 2 ranked Test team in the world for three Tests on their soil,” he said. “It’s the reason you play the game.

“I’ve been around a long time and played a lot of games but this will be as big a series for me as any I’ve played in. This would be a huge win for us, there’s no doubt about that. Coming back from the Ashes in 2005 having lost over there and steeling ourselves for the Ashes in Australia was one of the biggest moments in my career. This one is certainly going to rank up there alongside that. A series like this could certainly be the making of the team. If we go there and play well and happen to win the series, then everything that’s happened over the last few months will hopefully be forgotten about.”The Australians will reveal their hand early on tour, with Ponting indicating that the XI selected for the three-day game against South Africa A in Potchefstroom will most likely be that which takes the field for the first Test at the Wanderers on February 26. The battle between the incumbent Andrew McDonald and the uncapped Marcus North for the allrounder’s berth looms as the most intriguing selection duel, although Ben Hilfenhaus could yet challenge Doug Bollinger for a fast-bowling place after taking seven wickets in four one-day matches against the South Africans.”I don’t think it was any coincidence that towards the end of the summer when we got a more steady and stable team on the park that we started playing our best cricket,” Ponting said. “Hopefully when we get to Potchefstroom for our first game [beginning on Thursday] we can pick what we feel might be our first Test team and, touch wood, we can go through the South African series picking the team that will be most suited to the conditions that we’ll be confronted with.”A lot of the guys in the squad were part of the squad that played South Africa out here so they’ve had a taste of losing and they’ve had a taste of winning that last Test match of the series. There are a number of things riding on this. The winner of this series will be the No. 1-ranked team in world cricket. We’ve been there before on a number of occasions and we’ve played very well in South Africa in the past, but probably not with a squad with this much inexperience. If we can do that again and have little things go our way more than they did in Australia, there’s no reason why we can’t win this series.”

Cricket Wellington will be looking forward to the words of wisdom from former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming following another poor domestic one-day campaign. Fleming, who returns to Wellington tomorrow to captain the Twenty20 team, will inherit a dressing room bereft of confidence after the side finished fifth among the six teams in the 2008-09 State Shield, with four wins and six losses from ten matches.Cricket Wellington chief executive Gavin Larsen said Fleming was the perfect man to help address their inadequacies. “We’re going very well in the championship, but you have to say it’s a bit of deja vu [in the one-dayers],” Larsen told the . “We’ll sit down, we’ll let the dust settle a little bit, but the Firebirds must now change their focus and Flem’s going to play a huge role in that when he’s back.”Larsen said he would have preferred Fleming, who is using the domestic Twenty20 competition to get up to speed for the IPL, to have captained the one-day team, led by Matthew Bell.”It would have been brilliant but, at the end of the day, it wasn’t possible, so that’s fine, we’ve just got to work with that,” said Larsen. “But what we’ve got to do now is absolutely maximise Flem’s input – his tactics, the strategies that he wants to develop around the Twenty20 team.”Larsen admitted a brainstorming session was on the cards between Fleming, coach Anthony Stuart, Wellington selectors Greg Hooper and Lance Dry and himself. Wellington have made the State Shield semifinals just once in the past six years, in Stuart’s first season as coach in 2006-07, and it has been seven years since they won the one-day competition.Stuart, whose contract runs till the end of the 2010-11 season, said the camp had a “heart to heart” about their one-day underachievement last Thursday before narrowly beating Otago in their last match on Sunday. “There were a few home truths, I think, from a few players and guys wore some criticism on the chin,” he said.The major areas highlighted were lack of partnerships, runs from the top four batsmen and not reacting quickly to match situations, even as the team had six players who had played for New Zealand in the series at home against West Indies.”The crux of the issue that we spoke about as a team was not enough runs,” said Stuart. “Northern Districts are leading it because their top four have all scored over 300 runs, whereas Belly was the only guy in our top four. Obviously the batting at the top of the order we were disappointed with and I think the numbers are there for all to see.”Just being able to read a game…it’s probably not something that we’ve been particularly smart with on the field, being able to adapt to certain situations.”The 2008-09 State Twenty20 tournament gets underway on February 4, and Wellington will be up against Central Districts in their first match, a day-night encounter in Napier.

West Indies 258 for 6 (Chanderpaul 100*, Nash 74) v New Zealand
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued his dominance of world cricket by scoring his 20th Test century on the first day of the second and deciding Test against New Zealand at McLean Park. Chanderpaul’s hundred was brought up with a flick off his hip to fine leg off Daniel Vettori just before stumps, with the innings steering West Indies to a useful 258 for 6.His partnership of 163 for the fifth wicket with Brendan Nash was the highlight for the visitors after a shaky morning session which had them wobbling at 74 for 4. The stand took the initiative away from New Zealand but they hit back as West Indies limped to stumps with the late loss of Nash and Denesh Ramdin.Chanderpaul, whose unbeaten 100 took him 214 balls with nine fours and three sixes, has produced an amazing 972 runs at 121.5 in 2008. The limits to his concentration seem immeasurable at present as he comes to the end of his second consecutive calendar year to yield an average of over 100.Nash joined Chanderpaul at the stroke of lunch and their long and patient stay gave the visitors a fighting chance of posting a respectable first-innings total on a flat pitch. Chanderpaul soldiered on throughout the day but lost his mainstay with the score on 237. Nash presented Daniel Flynn with a gift at short cover off James Franklin with the new ball, and was disappointed at missing his maiden century in his second Test. He walked off for a well-compiled 74 off 162 balls.Nash showed his natural talent and was strong square of the wicket. He cut nicely and collected runs off his pads, but also showed a very strong straight drive off the seamers and spinners.West Indies’ patience during the second session began to bear fruit as the New Zealand attack started to tire and become frustrated in the final session, before the second new ball was due. The pair’s confidence also grew as they began to trust both the pitch and their own instincts to push the score past 200.The New Zealand bowlers lost their patience and consistency through the latter stages of the second session and the beginning of the third as Chanderpaul and Nash prospered. However, Nash’s dismissal opened the door for New Zealand.The pair seemed to be shutting up shop with half an hour left before Nash’s resistance came to an end. Ramdin looked very nervous as he was forced to bat during the toughest period of the day just before stumps. He left a straight one from Vettori which cannoned into off stump. With the loss of the last two wickets, the visitors surrendered a substantial amount of momentum which they gained through the Chanderpaul-Nash association.The day ended in a similar note to how it began for New Zealand. West Indies, after winning the toss, squandered a golden opportunity in the first session with Ramnaresh Sarwan, Xavier Marshall and Sewnarine Chattergoon all falling to poor shot execution. Chris Gayle made 34 before being undone by O’Brien, who seamed one away and took the edge for Brendon McCullum to claim a simple catch.Sarwan played a loose cut off Jeetan Patel and he too was caught behind by McCullum. Marshall made 6 before pushing at a ball from O’Brien and guiding it to Jesse Ryder at third slip, who took a good catch low down to his right. Chattergoon slashed hard at a half volley from Vettori and Jamie How claimed a very sharp chance at second slip high above his head. West Indies will need their most consistent batsman, Chanderpaul, to rally the lower order on the second day.

The groupings for the crucial ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa next April are likely to pit Scotland against Ireland, with Kenya in the same group as Netherlands, Bermuda and the fast-improving UAE. The two six-team groups are based on standings in the ICC ODI rankings.Although an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo that no official announcement could be made until after the December 31 cut-off date – unless any of the Associates arrange games in the next three weeks, which is highly unlikely – then nothing will change.Group A features Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Oman, Namibia and the runner-up in the next month’s ICC World Cricket League Division 3 event in Argentina. Group B has Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark and the WCL Division 3 winners.It is the most important Associate tournament to date. The top four countries will qualify for the 2011 World Cup, and they will also pick up additional funding which could run into millions of dollars. The top six will be awarded full ODI status, and the top eight will compete in the next Intercontinental Cup.The rewards are considerable, but changes in the rules means that with fewer places available for Associates in 2011 than there were in 2007, at least two current top-six sides will miss out.Kenya are likely to be favourites, given the fact they are a fully professional outfit and are likely to be based in South Africa for some time before the tournament. But they have had a poor 2008, so much so that Cricket Kenya has launched a major inquiry into the state of the national team. Scotland and Ireland, who both harbour ambitions to go at least semi-professional, are also likely to he there or thereabouts.Beneath them, the situation gets interesting. Netherlands are going through a transition, Bermuda, having endured a truly wretched three years, are showing signs of improvement, while UAE and Namibia have done enough to suggest they will be pressing hard.The WCL Division 3 competition could produce a cricketing fairytale if Afghanistan, who started the qualifying process in Division 5, win through.Group A Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Oman, Namibia, WCL Div 3 runner-up.Group B Kenya, Netherlands, Bermuda, UAE, Denmark, WCL Div 3 winner.WCL Division 3 Afghanistan, Argentina, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Uganda.