Opening the batting in temperatures that barely made it to double figuresand with rain never far away it isn’t an easy task even for the mostexperienced players. Gautam Gambhir had been expected to open thebatting for India at Stormont so, when he came in at No.3 followingSachin Tendulkar’s dismissal for 4, he could have been forgiven for afew nerves. But he responded with a calm and composed unbeaten 80, which ledhis team to a nine-wicket win as they opened their two-and-half-monthtour of the UK in positive style.”It will be a long tour so it’s important to start off well. For anycricketer, not just me, it’s nice to start well and I’m pleased I gotthe runs,” said Gambhir after he’d collected the Man-of-the-Matchaward. “It’s not like in India where you can just go out there andplay through the line of the ball. Sometimes you have to be a bit morepatient and work the ball into the gaps in these conditions.”After missing out on the World Cup, Gambhir returned to Indian colourswith 21 and 101 against Bangladesh before backing those scores up withtoday’s unbeaten 80. “At this level it’s all about being consistentand that’s what I was lacking in the past and it’s very important forme.”And previous experience of English conditions played a valuable partin his innings. “I toured England with India A so I know somethingabout batting on these types of tracks. You want to start off a seasonon a high note and I’m happy about the way it’s begun.”Gambhir’s match-winning stand of 162 with Sourav Ganguly followed atidy display in the field, with Piyush Chawla leading the way withthree wickets. Some smart catches were also taken and Robin Singh, the fielding coach, said this was an important area they wereworking on.”We did a lot of work in Bangalore on the fitness,” he said. “Thefitter the guys the better they will field. These conditions werepretty cold but we fielded well in patches today, some didn’t do sowell, but overall some very good catches were taken.”We have ensured we have worked on the fielding because it’s a crucialarea in one-day cricket. I think you’ll see an improvement especiallywith the younger guys in the side. As long as the senior guys keepthemselves fit they know what to do, but the emphasis is on theyounger guys.”Trent Johnston had less to be pleased with as his young side weregiven a tough lesson. His team did well to recover and post 193,thanks to a half-century from Niall O’Brien and some effective hittingfrom the captain himself before some wayward bowling let them down.”When we asked questions we were in with a show but we just didn’t dothat often enough, we bowled too many four balls,” he said. “Webowled two sides of the wicket, we were bowling short, we were bowlingfull and you wouldn’t be able to get away with that in club cricket,let alone bowling to a guy that’s got 10,000 ODI runs.After Roger Whelan struck in his first over thoughts did turn back toa few of those memorable days in the World Cup. “Getting Tendulkar outfirst over, I thought something might happen here,” said Johnston. “Ireally did believe we had enough runs to do that but we just didn’task enough questions and that was the disappointing thing.”They had a young spinner but a good spinner and that’s been our majorproblem, spin bowling. It’s something we’ve got to work on but it’sonly playing games like this that’s going to bring us along.” Theirnext chance comes immediately as they take on South Africa on Sunday.

A delighted Chris Gayle brushed off suggestions that he could permanently take over as West Indies captain following the 2-1 ODI series win over England.”I am just the back-up captain right now and whenever he [Ramnaresh Sarwan] comes back he will get the same support from the guys. Because we have won the series a lot of people might be saying that Chris should continue as captain but I think Sarwan really deserves his chance. It was unfortunate that he got injured.”Gayle also said that it was a tremendous experience for him to lead the team. Talking about the series win, Gayle said, “I am very very happy. I have to give thanks to the guys for the support.”I thought it was a tremendous effort. It means a lot to me, not only because I am the captain; even if I was a player under [Ramnaresh] Sarwan’s captaincy it still would have meant a lot to me. You have to give credit to everyone. It’s all about the momentum. The vibes on the field was so good and you are just happy and enjoying the moment.”Gayle also mentioned the work that went on behind the scenes. “We did a lot of planning and all the guys communicate well with each other. We have a lot of team meetings and we know what responsibility each guy has. All the guys deserve it.”.Gayle, whose appointment as captain by the selectors was initially rejected by the West Indies cricket board, commended the effort of his team-mates. “To be one-nil down and come from behind to win 2-1 it was tremendous and we have to give credit to everyone, everyone had an input in winning this series.”I thought the players were outstanding, not just one individual. Man-of-the-Series Shiv (Chanderpaul) was tremendous for us with the bat. Daren Powell, Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards always gave us a good start and I have to give those guys credit. Everybody chipped in, everybody played a part and we were well backed up in the field as well so I recommend that these guys really deserve to take a rest.”The West Indian captain played an uncharacteristically slow innings on Saturday. “We lost a couple of wickets and I decided that I wasn’t going to take any chance at all. I was just going to play according to the situation and eventually it worked for me in the end with a few chances. As a professional you should be able to adapt to situations and be able to adjust as well.”In the end it paid off for us with [Runako] Morton and [Dwayne] Bravo playing a big part in the innings. It is important to keep wickets in hand. Once you have wickets in hand it can always be a slog in the end.”Gayle took a guarded stance when asked about the relaxation of the 11.30 curfew.”We are driving to London right now and we need to take a rest, we are going to Gatwick to get a flight tomorrow to Ireland and another tour starts again. We might have a bit of celebrations on the bus, the guys deserve to take a rest but we have to not lose focus, we have three games more to go [in Ireland].”

South Africa 232 and 86 for 1 dec (Benade 51) beat Netherlands108 (Loubser 5 for 37) and 50 (Loubser 3 for 22) by 159 runs
ScorecardSouth Africa crushed Netherlands on the final day of the one-off Test at Rotterdam, to win by 159 runs with Sunette Loubser returning match figures of 8 for 59 from 54.3 overs. Netherlands crumbled twice on Tuesday – they lost their final six wickets for 19 runs in the first innings, and then were all out for 50 in the second, after South Africa set them 211 to win.The visitors rushed to 86 for 1 from 22.3 overs before declaring to leave Netherlands an ask which was way beyond them. Susan Benade led South Africa’s run-glut, with 51. South Africa weren’t always on top in the match, though, after a first day wobble to 159 for 5.However, this score was soon put into context when they showed their true class on the last two days (with the third day washed out).The result is bound to put into question the value of Netherlands playing another Test. This form of the game is already played infrequently, and while the side’s first outing in this game was promising to begin with, it quickly unravelled.

A report in The Sunday Times says that Darrell Hair will be backed in his legal action against the ICC for racial discrimination by Billy Doctrove, his fellow umpire during the controversial Oval Test in 2006.The case, which will be heard at the London office of the Tribunals Service, starts on October 1. Also expected to appear on Hair’s behalf are John Jameson, former assistant secretary of MCC, and Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain.Although Hair has remained on the ICC’s elite panel, he has not officiated in a major match since August 2006 and has been limited to a handful of Associate games. His contract with the ICC expires in March next year and will not be renewed.Hair will be represented by Robert Griffiths QC, an MCC committeeman, while he will be opposed by Michael Beloff QC.”I look forward to this matter being over and done with so my wife and I can get on with our lives,” Hair said.

New South Wales number plates say it is Australia’s premier state and Shaun Tait has called its cricketers arrogant, but finishing last in the one-day and Twenty20 competitions was a humbling experience for the Blues. The poor 2006-07 limited-overs performances, which were complemented by a fall at the final Pura Cup hurdle against Tasmania, have provided ample motivation for a form reversal this summer.While there have been no major player changes in the off-season, the Blues have a new coach in Matthew Mott, who has graduated from his three years as the assistant to take the head role following Trevor Bayliss’ departure to Sri Lanka. The allrounder Grant Lambert said the transition to Mott as mentor has been seamless. “Matty is fitting in well,” Lambert says. “He’s been around us for a few years now, so he’s settled in.”Lambert has been in and out of the New South Wales side since his debut in 2001-02 but has been a more regular feature in the past two years. A flood of runs in the Sydney grade competition led to a state recall in 2006-07 and the breaking of the 63-year-old record set by Bill Alley. Lambert finished with 1527 at 95.94, 114 more than Alley. “It was a bit of an honour,” Lambert says. “It was good to actually do it in the end because there was a lot of talk about it leading up to it.”At club level Lambert, 30, opens the batting and bowling, and his belief that he’s an “equal allrounder” was shown in his 2006-07 New South Wales averages of 39 in each discipline. “I played the last six games and then the final of the Pura Cup and it was great to get back in the team,” he says. “I didn’t go too badly, but there’s always room for improvement.”Despite his 353 runs last season and a stint as opener, Lambert is expected to bat No. 7 and his medium pace will be used at first or second change. However, with Phil Jaques in contention for a Test spot, there is the possibility of Lambert slotting in at the top of the order during the campaign. “I’d love to open the batting,” he says. “Hopefully Phil does get the call up to the Australian side and if I get the chance I’d love to give it a crack.”The 14-man squad for the Blues’ season-opening trip to Perth was touted as a “good blend of youth and experience” and Lambert has nominated Peter Forrest and Stephen O’Keefe as ones to watch. “Pete’s doing really well so far this year, he’s scored a few runs already,” he says. “Stephen is playing very well too, so we’ve got a few good young players coming through.” Forrest, a 21-year-old batsman, received a senior contract for the first time after three seasons on the rookie list while O’Keefe retained his junior deal.

With Brad Haddin on the fringes of national selection, the reserve keeper Daniel Smith should play more of a role. Smith, 25, got four Pura Cup starts in 2006-07 – one was as a specialist batsman alongside Haddin – and was behind the stumps during the final loss at Bellerive Oval.Australia’s selectors will again have an impact on the success of the Blues. Seven squad members hold national contracts and they might translate into regular international appearances for Stuart MacGill and Jaques. Simon Katich, the captain, seems to have disappeared from the national radar and he was re-signed on a five-year deal during the winter.Previously the percentage of troops drafted into the Australian side hasn’t stopped New South Wales from achieving success. Having won the Pura Cup in 2004-05, finished runner-up in March and taken the one-day title in 2005-06, the Blues now want to prosper in all forms of the game. They’ve got the players and, according to Lambert, “it’s just a matter of doing it”. If successful the state’s confidence would be justified.Captain Simon Katich
Coach Matthew Mott
Squad Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Mark Cameron, Beau Casson, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Ed Cowan, Scott Coyte, Peter Forrest, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Phil Jaques, Simon Katich, Grant Lambert, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Greg Mail, Matthew Nicholson, Aaron O’Brien, Ben Rohrer, Craig Simmons, Daniel Smith, Dominic Thornely. Rookies Tom Cooper, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Stephen O’Keefe, Martin Paskal, Steven Smith, David Warner.2006-07 results Pura Cup 2nd, FR Cup 6th, Twenty20 6th.

The Canadian squad for the forthcoming tour of Kenya and Namibia has been further weakened by more withdrawals.Already without many leading players – including Ashish Bagai, the captain – the selectors have had to bring in more replacements as a result of unavailability.Ontario’s Moishan Mulla had been called up to stand in for Steve Welsh, but work commitments means that he is now replaced by Calvert Hooper. Arvind Kandappan has been drafted in to replace Bagai and Mohammad Iqbal has also been added to the squad.A spokesman from the Canada board recently told Cricinfo: “We were extremely disappointed with the number of non-availabilities for the Kenya and Namibia games, but this is really a fact-of-life with amateur sports, particularly in the North American commercial context.”While it’s obviously disappointing, it does give us an excellent opportunity to assess the performances of players who might not otherwise have been exposed to this level of international competition – which can be helpful in the long-term development of the game here.”The squad leaves for Kenya on October 7.Canada Sunil Dhaniram (capt), Qaiser Ali (vice-capt), Trevin Bastiampillai, Mohammad Iqbal, Umar Bhatti, Chaudrey Jabbar, Ashif Mulla, Calvert Hooper, Henry Osinde, Krunan Patel, Jason Patraj, Aftab Shamshudeen, Durand Soraine, Arvind Kandappan.

Scorecard

Persistent rain in Sydney gave New South Wales and Queensland their first points of the FR Cup as the match was abandoned with the Bulls sitting at 4 for 127. The fourth and final rain stoppage came in the 28th over as Ryan Broad (55 not out) was trying to set the Blues a challenging target.He had survived a tough new-ball period after the Bulls chose to bat and fell to 3 for 44. Aaron Nye provided a flicker of entertainment for the spectators who braved the conditions, belting 43 from 44 balls before skying a catch to Nathan Hauritz in the outfield from what proved to be the final ball of the match.The no-result meant Queensland’s under-strength attack – Andy Bichel and Michael Kasprowicz are injured – earned a reprieve against a New South Wales line-up boasting Phil Jaques, who is pushing for a Test call-up. Both sides had lost their opening one-day games and the Blues now sit fourth on the table ahead of the fifth-placed Bulls.

Group A

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were eyeing a possible climb to the top spot as they gained a 131-run first-innings advantage over ranking leaders Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the NBP Sports Complex. The hosts dismissed WAPDA for 312 after compiling 443 in their first innings. The lead was stretched to 190 as NBP moved onto 59 without loss in their second innings. Resuming on their overnight 121 for 3, needing another 173 runs to avert the follow-on, WAPDA achieved their first objective but fell considerably short of the lead. Nawaz Sardar, overnight on 32, added only three runs to his score and his fourth-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad ended at 77 runs. Aamer then added 84 with Bilal Khilji before Zulqarnain Haider chipped in with 33 runs to reduce the deficit further. For National Bank, Wahab Riaz excelled with figures of five wickets for 93 runs in 29 overs while seamer Tahir Mughal picked up 3 for 71.Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took a big step towards returning to the top against Lahore Ravi at the Lahore Country Club. After obtaining a first-innings lead of 105, HBL declared their second innings at 212 for 7, gibing them an overall advantage of 317 runs. Fahad Masood set HBL’s victory in sight by picking up 4 for 13 in seven overs as Lahore Ravi crashed to 58 for 4 in their second innings, still 260 runs away from a win with six wickets standing.Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) are still 175 runs behind Faisalabad with only one wicket intact at the Sargodha Stadium. Replying to Faisalabad’s 521 for 7 declared, SSGC made 346 but lost nine wickets on the way. Saeed Bin Nasir showed the way with a composed 73 and Mohammad Zafar hit 81 while Ahmed Zeeshan, the wicket-keeper, missed his century by just one run.Placed at the bottom of the Group A table and with six successive defeats, Pakistan Customs hit 446 for 6 against Multan at the Gymkhana Ground, requiring a further 121 runs to match Multan’s first-innings total. Customs’ imports from England domestic cricket finally came good in the form of Rawait Khan (62) and Bilal Shafayat (99) while former international Zahoor Elahi scored a 191-ball 132 to boost his team’s score. The 36-year-old Elahi batted for almost four and a half hours while hitting 23 fours in his 28th first-class century.Sialkot reached a comfortable 346 for three but still trail Hyderabad by 69 runs at Jinnah Stadium. Their innings was powered by a 158-run opening partnership between Kamran Younis (90) and Naeemuddin (122*) before a useful contribution from Faisal Khan allowed the hosts to post a strong reply.

Group B

Karachi Blues were struggling at 41 for 3 against Lahore Shalimar as they chase 352 for victory at the Sheikhupura Stadium. Lahore compiled an impressive second innings total of 329 runs after gaining a slender first-innings lead of 22. Reduced to 112 for 5 at one stage, Lahore were rescued by Ahmed Butt (75) who shared an 80-run sixth-wicket partnership with Ali Raza (60). Needing a strong foundation for a march towards victory, Karachi were left reeling by the Lahore bowlers as they need a spirited, and improved, batting performance to have any chance of gaining maximum points.Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) thrashed third-placed Islamabad by an innings and 54 runs inside three days at the Diamond Cricket Club Ground and took top spot in the group for the first time this season. With a first-innings lead of 222 runs, SNGPL had Islamabad reduced to 102 for 9 after seamer Asad Ali grabbed 10 wickets in the match. However, Raja Kashif delayed the inevitable with an aggressive 53 off 59 balls and added 66 for the last wicket with Yasin Bari (22*).Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have every opportunity to displace SNGPL at the top after they first grabbed a 153-run first innings lead and then left Quetta tottering at 166 for 6 in their second innings at the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Stadium.Abbottabad posted 440 for 9 in their first innings to take a big lead over Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Riaz Kail scored a career-best 153 off 231 balls with 17 fours and three sixes while useful contributions from the middle and low-order enabled Abbottabad to race past 400.KRL were looking towards an innings-victory over Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. Powered by Yasir Arafat’s 6 for 54, KRL had Peshawar bowled out for 131 runs in the first innings thus gaining a 321-run advantage. Following on, Peshawar were 205 for five in the second innings and still require another 116 to make KRL bat again.

Scorecard

Greg Mail, who was a late addition for New South Wales, registered his first Pura Cup century since 2005-06 to give the Blues a healthy lead of 278 at the MCG. At the close of the third day the Blues had 6 for 281 with Dominic Thornely on 48 and Matthew Nicholson out for 20 from the last ball.It was slow going once again – the run-rate has been below three for the entire match – until Nicholson and Thornely added a brief spark. Nicholson’s 16-ball flurry ended when he clipped Bryce McGain to midwicket where Rob Quiney took an excellent catch, giving McGain just reward for his day of hard work.Mail contributed to the leisurely pace, scoring 125 from 276 balls as Victoria’s attack plugged away with only occasional success. He only played because Ed Cowan withdrew with an ankle injury, and would be pleased with his contributions of 43, 125 and 1 for 12. There was no express delivery from Mail, who struck eight fours in his stay of nearly six hours.He was stuck in the 90s for some time before reaching triple-figures, which was a relief in his first game since his horror 2006-07, when his top score from five matches was 27. He eventually edged an attempted drive to slip off McGain, who was clearly Victoria’s best bowler and finished with 4 for 83.McGain became the first man to dismiss Simon Katich for less than 50 in a Pura Cup game this season when he deceived the batsman with a straighter ball. Katich misjudged the line and feathered a catch to the wicketkeeper, departing for 10 and adding the first blemish to his outstanding first-class summer. Phillip Hughes enhanced his developing reputation with 51 before he flicked McGain to Brad Hodge at midwicket just before lunch.After the break the other of New South Wales’ young top-order prospects, Peter Forrest, was dropped by the bowler McGain only to be run out from the same delivery. After the ball eluded McGain, Forrest took off for a gettable single but his partner Mail was oblivious, and Shane Harwood at mid off threw to the wicketkeeper who removed the bails with Forrest still halfway down the pitch.It was a rare moment of excitement on a quiet day that the Blues used to set up their tilt at a fourth-day victory. The Bushrangers might need to lift the tempo of the match when they are set a target on a final day that could be interrupted by Melbourne showers.

Australia are determined to avoid mentioning a record that is taking on the he-who-must-not-be-named characteristic of the villain Lord Voldemort. With the four-day crushing of India, Ricky Ponting’s team is only one win from equalling the world record of 16 consecutive Test victories.Like any potential naming of Voldemort in the books, it seems that anyone in the team who dares raise the milestone is greeted with loud shooshing and terrified looks over shoulders. The players insist the record, which was set by Steve Waugh’s sides between 1999 and 2001, was not talked about during the Sri Lanka series last month and Ponting said it wasn’t discussed in the lead-up to Melbourne and won’t be in Sydney.”We didn’t speak about it all – there was not one mention going into this game – which is the way I prefer it,” he said. “There’s no doubt it is something we could all be really proud of if we achieve it, but there’s a lot of hard work and great play before that.”We played well here and hopefully we can go to Sydney and play even better. If we do that record will be even closer.” Ponting will have to wait a week to see if there are any repercussions for breaking the in-house ban.However, after the 337-run demolition at the MCG, Australia’s prospects of another win in Sydney are strong. Anil Kumble was not sure what went wrong for India, which makes it hard for the team to recover before Wednesday’s second Test.”It hurts, not just as an individual but as a team, that we haven’t put up a good show and I can tell you we will address that and try to put up a better show in Sydney,” he said. “It’s important that as a collective unit we come out there and do the job. Everyone is equally disappointed.”Kumble said the problems were “mainly a mental thing”, but he was also confident a more friendly pitch at the SCG would help his batsmen against the restrictive Australian bowling. Cluttered fields were set to wear down the Indians on an MCG wicket offering slow, low bounce.”You have to give credit to the way they bowled,” Kumble said. “They put pressure on the batting and I’m sure Sydney will be a better wicket in terms of stroke-making. We have stroke-makers and I’m sure the ball will come on to the bat better in Sydney.”Ponting knew how difficult the chase of 499 would be after seeing his batsmen grind in the second innings. When he declared late on day three he had no doubt India would fail to achieve the target, but he was surprised by the ease of the success.”I expected it to be really hard work, we knew it was going to be hot,” he said. “I felt with Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, who have been known to bat for long periods on wickets like that, that it might have been really tough.”He believed the 135-run opening stand on the first day, which was the largest of the match, set up the victory on a pitch he rated the hardest to bat on of any of his Tests in Australia. Matthew Hayden, the Man of the Match, was responsible for carrying the first innings with 124, but he also picked up a back problem.Hayden said it was “nothing a Panadol wouldn’t fix” and was not worried about backing up at the SCG. Australia’s comprehensive performance means only injury will force changes and by sealing the win so quickly they have another day to recover from any niggles. India appeared to need a much longer turnaround to sort out their troubles.