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LAHORE, Nov 14: Former captain Moin Khan, battling to make a comeback to the national team has said that he was fit to play international cricket for the next four years.Talking to Dawn, Moin pointed out that earlier he had decided, he would call it a day after 2003 World Cup, but now had changed his mind and would continue international cricket.Moin who reached here to take part in the ongoing Super League Ramazan Cup One-day tournament vowed that he would regain his place in the national team after proving his form and fitness to the selectors.Having missed the first round of the tournament, Moin will now lead Whites against Blues Saturday.The former skipper said that he missed the first two matches because he was attending pressing family matters of which he informed the PCB.He expressed his opinion that on the basis of the performance of the national team recently, it’s World Cup chances does not look good. However, he believed that Pakistan being an unpredictable team anything could happen.Moin said that he would be happy to play as a member of Pakistan team. Meanwhile Azhar Mahmood will not lead PCB Blues against Greens in the Super League One-day Ramazan Cup on Friday.Azhar who has to leave for Zimbabwe Saturday to join Pakistan team there for the five One-day international match series.Wicketkeeper Atiquz Zaman will lead Blues and Abdur Rahman from Sialkot will replace Azhar.

Clare Taylor MBE, England women’s most experienced bowler and World Cupwinner, has today become the first English woman to take 100 wickets in hertest and one-day international career.She joins only one other female cricketers to achieve the feat, theAustralian pace bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick.Clare dismissed the India captain Anjum Chopra for just six runs as Englandbeat India by six wickets at the Grainville Ground, Jersey, havingrestricted India to just 59 runs, their lowest total against England.Clare, who was awarded the MBE in 2000 for her services to women’s sport,made her England debut in 1988 and was a member of the World Cup winningEngland team in 1993. She was made a Sport England Ambassador in 1999 andpromotes sport and a healthy lifestyle to young people in Yorkshire.Clare is a double England international, playing for England in the 1995Women’s Football World Cup, and at domestic level for Liverpool F.C. and hashelped her county Yorkshire win the Frizzell County Championship ten timesin the past eleven years.Speaking from Jersey, where England are currently playing the first leg ofthe Women’s One-Day international series against New Zealand and India,Clare said “I’ve had a fantastic career with England over the past tenyears, and I’m looking forward to taking more wickets this summer”.Debutant Isa Guha took two wickets opening the bowling for England on herdebut, and fellow teenager Laura Harper was Player of the Match taking 4-11.India face World Champions New Zealand in tomorrow’s match, with Englandplaying New Zealand on Friday to complete the first leg of the one-dayinternational series in Jersey. The teams then move on to Durham for thefinal three games and the final on Saturday 20th July at Chester-le-Street.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today confirmed that Warwickshirecricketer, Melvyn Betts, has received three penalty points under the ECB’s new discipline code following an incident during Warwickshire’s Second Xl Championship match against Essex last week.Betts was reported by Umpire Ken Shuttleworth for a Level Two breach of the new code (showing serious dissent at an umpire’s decision by word or action).The penalty points remain on Betts’s record for a period of 12 months. Theaccumulation of nine or more penalty points in any 12-month period will result in an automatic suspension.The ECB’s new discipline code came into force at the start of this season.

Steve James` Benefit Committee announced today that the sum of£160,287.63 was raised during Steve`s Benefit Year in 2001.” I would like to thank, along with my committee, all the Glamorgan members andsupporters, plus all of the firms and organisations who have supported methroughout the year, ” said a delighted James.This figures passes the £153,000 raised in Matthew Maynard`s Benefit Year in 1996.

It was billed as the biggest individual show-down in world cricket today, cricket’s answer to a heavy weight title fight to decide once and for all who is the fastest bowler on the planet.But the three-match confrontation which was planned, effectively turned into a single day of competition between the world’s two fastest bowlers.Shoaib Akhtar came to Australia as the fastest bowler alive and left with his reputation intact. In fact, Shoaib left Australia with a new found respect from the Australian public and batsmen alike and, perhaps, fear as the deadliest one-day bowler in world cricket.Brett Lee was effectively dropped for the first clash due to his poor economy rate since his return from elbow surgery some 12 months ago. Coming into the second game on notice to tighten things up, Lee understandably looked tense and never really got into gear. Lee’s pace comes from rhythm and playing competitive cricket but the seven week lay-off had also let a little rust set in and this showed in all the Australian bowlers.Glenn McGrath has not bowled as slowly since the beginning of the Test series against the West Indies in 2000. In this series his bowling was around 10kph slower than in the one-dayers in Australia earlier this year. Just four months ago, he was bowling whole overs above 140kph and as high as 143.7kph, yet from the start of this series, McGrath settled into the 128kph to 134kph range and barely got above 136kph.Jason Gillespie’s pace also suffered a little from his lack of cricket, as he was about 5kph below what he would usually be producing during an Australian summer. Gillespie, however, did manage to match Mohammed Sami for pace as the two men were constantly over 140kph and as high as 145kph in their only encounter.The amazing thing about Gillespie and McGrath is that although their pace may have been down due to a lack of cricket, their all important line and length was spot on target virtually from the first ball they bowled.Andy Bichel has been playing a lot of cricket, and it showed as he was around top pace and bettered the 140kph mark in each of his two matches.A surprise as far as pace goes was the tameness of the bowling of Shane Watson. Touted as being as fast as anyone on Australia’s domestic circuit and a genuine opening bowler, he looked anything but a fast-man. His fastest ball coming in game two at 136.0kph.Veterans Wasim Akram (136.9kph) and Waqar Younis (137.4kph) managed to pip young Watson in the third match but it shouldn’t be too long until we see just what the talented all-rounder is capable of. Once he begins to believe that he belongs at this level, he should loosen up somewhat and justify the faith which has being shown in his bowling. A couple of years back, Dennis Lillee showed some faith in him and took the then 18-year-old Watson to the MRF Pace Academy in India. Dennis Lillee has an eye for spotting a fine young ‘quick’.Shahid Afridi never fails to amaze me with the speed of his fast-ball. Off just a few steps he is able to make the jump from his standard 100kph to over 130kph almost at will. This is surely a rare sight in world cricket today.What the whole world really wanted to see was the match up between Shoaib and Lee. But the ‘main event’ nearly turned into a non-event as injury and poor form threatened to quash the battle before it had even begun.The television station responsible for showing the series in Australia had run their advertising campaign around the pace battle between the pair and a no-show would mean both poor ratings and a few television gurus with more than a little egg on their face.A special commemorative piece of memorabilia was even being promoted with signed pictures of the pair. The framed pictures entitled “Pace Fury” and selling for $395.00 (Aus) highlights the pair and also credits the men with speeds of 157.4kph for Lee and 157.2kph for Shoaib. One can only assume that the window of opportunity between the March 8, 2002 when Lee bowled 157.4kph (EDH guns) and April 12, 2002 when Shoaib hit 159.5kph (EDH guns) was utilised to both design and produce what is a marvellous testament to these two wonderful athletes.The bowling speeds recorded during this series proved Shoaib as completely dominant in both pace and skill. This dynamic duo had only the second of the three matches pitted against each other and each of the men were carrying baggage of some sort.Shoaib was clearly limping and labouring in his run to the bowling crease during his first match, yet as we have come to expect from Shoaib, he was able to exceed 145kph almost at will. His sharpest delivery was 151.9kph and he walked away with the top 10 speeds of the match.An interesting bit of byplay between the speed freaks came when Shoaib had just taken the wicket of Bichel and Lee strode to the crease. Shoaib eyeballed his fellow paceman and gestured towards his own head suggesting that a fast bouncer was imminent. The crowd loved it and saw the humour of the situation when the first ball to Lee was found closing in on his big toe at 148.4kph. Lee did exceptionally well to dig the ball out.Shoaib’s 150kph in-swinging yorker is fast becoming the most feared weapon in world cricket and has proved as deadly as a side-winder missile, honing in on the stumps. The New Zealanders were the first to bear the brunt of Shoaib’s new found combination of speed, accuracy and lateral movement in April and now it was Australia’s turn.The Australian batsmen have shown their dislike for genuine pacemen with Makhaya Ntini and Shane Bond dominating during the one-dayers earlier in the year, but now Shoaib was in another league altogether. Ricky Ponting (151.1kph), Darren Lehmann (150.3kph) and Michael Bevan (152.3kph) were dismissed in successive overs from Shoaib with balls exceeding 150kph. In his 96 balls bowled in the series, he exceeded the 150kph mark 19 times, 16 of those balls came in Shoaib’s second match when his injured leg seemed less of a concern.In that match, he bowled at a top speed of 153.9kph, just 0.9kph short of the fastest ball recorded by IDS on Australian soil and 0.8kph shy of Shoaib’s fastest ball in Australia. He has pushed the consistently accurate IDS guns even higher still, in Sharjah when he recorded 155.7kph.Shoaib looked perhaps one match away from recording that sort of pace again but more importantly ended the day as man of the match and also player of the series. In Shoaib’s last three series he has taken 23 wickets at 13.5 with a s/r of 21.4. Combine that with an economy rate of under four runs per over and you can see why Shoaib is being hailed as the best one-day bowler on the world’s stage.Lee’s poor economy rate of late was the focus of much media attention in the lead up to this series. Lee would no doubt realise that continued inaccuracy may ultimately mean the difference between being a hero or a spectator in the forthcoming World Cup. Over his last five series, Lee has conceded 5.3 runs per over and although he has the ability to break a game wide open with a few wickets in quick succession, it was deemed the Lee is not in Australia’s best 11 players. His only opportunity to impress came in the second game of the three-match series.The fastest ball which Lee produced against Pakistan was a relatively slow 147.3kph and he only exceed 145kph with four of his 60 legal deliveries. A worrying sign came early for Lee when he conceded three wides in his first over, two of those balls above 145kph. But although it was never going to be Lee’s day for setting any speed records, he performed admirably and was far from disgraced. Lee ended the day with two for 44, both wickets coming in an inspired burst during his fourth over.If Lee was to get into the 150kph plus range during this series, then realistically he needed to play in all three matches. Lee’s pace is different to Shoaib’s in that Lee needs a few consecutive matches under his belt before he really hits top gear. For instance, in the three Test series against New Zealand last year, it took him until the third match before he moved into the ‘express lane’ recording 154.5kph and he continued in the vein throughout the following four months of cricket. Lee’s speed culminated in producing the 157.4kph and 157.3kph deliveries in March 2002 which temporarily knocked Shoaib off top spot in the pace race. Lee has never bowled at 99.4mph (159.97kph) as more than a few recent reports have suggested.Lee usually builds up speed as a match progresses and in individual overs he customarily bowls his fastest balls in ball numbers 4 to 6. Shoaib on the other hand exceeds 150kph regardless of whether he has had an extended break from the game and often his fastest speeds come during his first twelve balls of a match.Shoaib came into this series as the ‘world champion of speed’, the unofficial world record holder and in the best form of his life. He left with his reputation enhanced and their is no disputing that Shoaib is the fastest bowler in the world.Super Challenge speeds per ball (kph):Shoaib Akhtar:Game 2:First spell
1st over – 136.2, 139.3, 144.8, 144.5, 144.6, 151.0
2nd over – 148.3, 146.1, 144.0, 141.7, 148.9, 145.0
3rd over – 145.3, 145.1, 147.8, 150.2, 151.9, 147.2
4th over – 140.6, 145.1, 144.0, 149.6, 120.0, 145.0
5th over – 144.5, 141.4, 146.7, 121.8, 139.0, 151.6
6th over – 145.1, 142.5, 138.9, 145.3*, 136.8, 132.2, 114.0Second spell
7th over – 135.7, 115.0, 138.9, 147.0*, 145.9, 140.3, 112.6
8th over – 133.5, 138.4, 148.4, 145.9, 148.4, 146.1Game 3:First spell
1st over – 131.4, 139.3, 144.4, 148.7, 152.0, 151.1
2nd over – 149.8, 151.5*, 151.1, 148.5, 150.6, 150.3, 152.8
3rd over – 147.4, 151.1, 152.3, 152.0, 151.1, 152.0
4th over – 153.6, 149.1, 148.2, 148.7, 152.0, 153.9
5th over – 147.1, 146.1, 123.6, 145.9*, 149.8, 144.1, 149.1*, 148.2
6th over – DNR, 143.8, DNR, 142.7, 144.6, 145.2Second spell
7th over – 141.9, 148.4, 147.9, 149.5, 146.5, 114.6
8th over – 140.2, 144.3, 121.5, 143.8*, 150.6, 151.1, 149.1Brett Lee:Game 2:First spell
1st over – 135.6*, 138.9, 140.9, 141.4, 145.0*, 146.1*, 141.4, 137.9, 142.8
2nd over – 139.5, 140.3, 140.7, 140.0, 143.1, 143.3
3rd over – 137.7*, 142.5, 143.7*, 146.1, 143.7, 141.4, 139.3, 142.6
4th over – 143.4, 142.5, 142.0, 145.9, 144.0, 142.0
5th over – 147.3, 141.0, 144.5, 139.3, 138.9, 142.0
6th over – 140.6, 142.5, 140.9, 140.9, 142.2, 140.9Second spell
7th over – 140.0, 142.5, 140.9, 140.9, 142.2, 140.9
8th over – 138.9, 138.5, 141.8, 142.2, 136.8, 134.3
9th over – 136.0, 139.7, 142.2, 139.3, 142.3, 145.3
10th over – 142.2, 138.4, 139.5, 138.9, 137.3*, 140.7, 140.9* – Wides and no-balls
DNR – did not register on the monitors

Irrespective of the score, whenever Sachin Tendulkar comes to bat he isunder pressure. The pressure comes from all those people who look up tohim, who pray that he gets a century, who cheer like India has already wonwhen he comes in to bat, and who silently troop out of the stands once hegets out. When a visiting team comes to India, they know whom the Indianslook up to. While they love watching India play, there is no doubt thatTendulkar is the player they love watching most. There is a buzz when hecomes in to bat and if he fails, the crowd goes quiet for the rest of thegame.The great player that he is, Tendulkar gets a fair bit of adulationwherever he goes. Australians love their sportsmen and know a championwhen they see one. Out here in Australia, he is seen as a great champ andis highly regarded by everybody who follows the game.

One of the significant reasons for this is the praise that Sir Don Bradmanlavished on him a couple of years ago. Sir Don had said that Tendulkarreminded him of the way he used to play. While I don’t quite agree with that ­ the little I’ve seen of Bradman on film proves he was in a different league ­people in Australia sat up and took notice. Whenever Sir Don spoke,Australians did take note of what he said, and while some like me may nothave agreed with him on this point, their regard for Tendulkar only grew.Like most Australians, the first look I got of him was when he came ontour in the early nineties. He was only 18 years old, but handled theconditions remarkably well. He scored two Test centuries, including one inPerth, and negotiated the pace and bounce of the pitches with consummateease. All who saw him on that tour knew that he was a player to watch outfor. And Tendulkar has proved just that in the subsequent years.

During the nineties, Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq and yours truly have oftenbeen spoken of as the best in the batting business, along with Tendulkar.However, I would rate Tendulkar higher than the rest. Lara comes closebecause he is a proven match-winner, but he does give the oppositionchances. Tendulkar is technically superior, has every stroke in the bookand some of his own, and above all is remarkably consistent.But these are not the qualities that set him apart or make him the greatplayer he is. Those qualities are in the mind. His aggression, hisknowledge of his abilities and limitations and his awareness of what theopposition bowlers are capable of are what make him remarkable. He alwaystries to control and dominate and this makes him an extremely dangerousplayer when he gets going.The only flaw, if one can call it that, is that he can get carried away. Ibelieve Tendulkar recently admitted that this is a drawback in his game.Sometimes he gets into the mindset of wanting to hit every ball to theboundary, and that over-confidence sometimes leads to his dismissal. Butif I know the guy, he will soon be working on that aspect of his game as well.While Tendulkar is a master of both forms of the game, he has the one-daygame worked out pretty well. This was in evidence in the one-day seriesbetween India and Australia. In the first two games he was in ominoustouch but was dismissed because of his over-confidence. He decided he wasworth more than 35 explosive runs in each match and changed his approachin the third game. Result: a superb century in which he did not murder theopening bowlers like in the first two games, but still managed to get acentury at more than a run a ball.

Add to that the fact that he is an underrated bowler and you know whythe Indians love this wonderful cricketer so much. It would be verydifficult to pick any one knock and term it as the best I’ve seenbecause Tendulkar has always saved his best for Australia. It is alsovery difficult to predict how many centuries he will get before heretires. I reckon he’ll play another 8 to 10 years, and would besurprised if he does not get more than 40 centuries.I personally love to watch him bat from my position in the slips. While Ikeep hoping he gets out, I must admit that his strokeplay is a treat towatch from that position. A great ambassador for the game, he is oneof those players who will be regarded as an all-time great long after hehas stopped playing.

MATTERS ARISING AND DECISIONS TAKEN BY UCB GENERAL COUNCIL IN JOHANNESBURGON 21 AND 23 MARCH 20021. UCB RESTRUCTURINGThe General Council has approved the Price WaterhouseCoopers recommendation to restructure the UCB and all its affiliates intoseparate amateur and professional arms. Other proposals regarding possiblechanges in the structure of domestic cricket are being considered. If thereis to be a change to the structure of the domestic game, this will occuronly for the 2003/4 season.2. DARYLL CULLINANThe General Council reiterated the position of the CEO,Gerald Majola, that the issue of Daryll Cullinan’s departure from the teamselected to play against Australia in the second Castle Lager/MTN Test matchat Newlands, is closed. The Council decided not to take the matter furtheras the UCB has no contract with Mr Cullinan.3. COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGYIndependent Communications consultants Spin Media have beenappointed to work in conjunction with Communications Director BronwynWilkinson to develop a strategy to improve communication between allstakeholders in South African cricket.4. UCB INDABAUCB CEO Gerald Majola recently signed a performanceagreement with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation in terms of which theUCB reaffirmed its commitment to transforming cricket in South Africa. AnIndaba will be held of all UCB stakeholders in July 2002 to discuss newtransformation targets and to assess adherance to those targets which wereset in the UCB Transformation Charter three years ago. The UCB has exceededthose targets in all fields except for umpires, coaches and groundsmen. TheIndaba is expected to set new targets for another period as yet to bedecided.5. SELECTION PANELThe decision to appoint the national selection panel untilthe 2003 Cricket World Cup was rescinded and a new national selection panelis to be elected at the UCB AGM in August. It is possible that the size ofthe panel may be reduced. Future policies for squad and team selection willbe set at the UCB Indaba.6. AFRICA CRICKET ASSOCIATIONThe General Council congratulated UCB President Percy Sonnon his appointment as Vice President of the Africa Cricket Association.7. CEAT CRICKET RATINGS TEAM OF THE YEARThe General Council also congratulated the South Africannational team on winning the CEAT Cricket Ratings International Team of theYear Award (2001) for the second time. Denis Lindsay travelled to India lastweek to accept the trophy on the team’s behalf.Gerald MajolaChief Executive Officer

Habib Bank‘s Ehsan Adil’s five wicket haul reduced Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTB) to 106 in the first dig, setting up a crushing nine-wicket victory despite rain washing out day one. Habib Bank’s pace trio of Adil, Fahad Masood and Kamran Hussain were instrumental to the win, sharing fifteen wickets between them in the match, and keeping ZTB to 168 in the second innings as well. Saeed Ajmal took six wickets for 64 for ZTB, but with no other bowler able to take more than one wicket, they conceded a 143-run first innings deficit from which they failed to recover.Adil nabbed three middle-order wickets on the second day, as ZTB lost five wickets for 33 runs, before returning to clean up the tail. Left-armer Hussain had removed both openers before Adil gutted the middle order, while Younis Khan also took two wickets. Only Yasir Hameed among the ZTB batsmen was able to breach 20, and their innings lasted less than 40 overs.In reply, openers Imran Farhat and Ahmed Shehzad made fifties before both fell to Ajmal. Younis Khan also contributed a circumspect 48, as Habib Bank progressed to 249 all out on the third day.ZTB lasted only slightly longer with the bat in their second innings, making 168 in 44.5 overs. Masood took 4 wickets for 37 for Habib Bank, dismissing three of the top four batsmen, while left-arm spinner Mohammad Aslam took 3 for 35. Babar Azam was unbeaten on 45, having not found support in the lower middle order, and Habib Bank were set 26 for victory – which they achieved on the fourth morning.State Bank Limited (SBL) also picked up their second win in the tournament when they defeated United Bank (UBL) by four wickets in Karachi. They are one place below Pakistan Internationl Airlines, though, they have the same number of points, but UBL remain on three points after gaining none in this game.Adnan Raees helped SBL’s chances when he struck his eleventh first-class century after being picked for the first time in the tournament. The left-hander hit fifteen boundaries, and stuck around for more than five hours, scoring 115 runs. But more importantly, his lengthy knock and SBL skipper Kashif Siddiq’s 80 put their side 117 runs ahead, after offspinner Adnan Rasool’s five-for in UBL’s first innings.Abid Ali staged a fight back for UBL but his 94 was not enough as none of the other batsmen left an impression in the second innings. Rasool took three in the second innings and left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood picked up four wickets as UBL were bowled out for 218 runs.It left enough time for SBL knock off the 102 runs in the second innings to win the game with time to spare.National Bank of Pakistan secured a 148-run first innings lead having sent Sui Northern Gas Pipelines into bat, but could not force a result after rain had made only 33.4 overs of play possible on the first day. Uzair-ul-Haq took six wickets for 58 in the first innings, as the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines batsmen failed to build any partnerships of note, and did not make a half-century between them. Uzair tore through the middle order to dismiss the opposition for 195, setting up National Bank of Pakistan’s lead. Mohammad Imran was also among the wickets with 3 for 61.National Bank of Pakistan’s top order all contributed in their reply, with the top five making 277 between them. Fawad Alam top scored, making a brisk 93 off 114 balls before being run out, while Sami Aslam also hit a half-century. Yasir Shah and Imran Ali took three wickets apiece.Imran then ripped through the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines batsmen, bagging 6 wickets for 68. A 70-run partnership for the seventh wicket halted the collapse long enough to save the match, as Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan and Yasir Shah all contributed 40s. At stumps on day four, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines led by 110 with one wicket remaining in their second innings.Pakistan International Airlines‘ pace pairing of Najaf Shah and Aizaz Cheema shared 18 wickets in their side’s 113-run win over Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in the President’s Trophy in Karachi. Shah ended up with his second 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket while Cheema took four each in the two innings.The pair rounded up the PQA’s second innings for 114 runs with the left-arm seamer Shah taking five wickets for 44 runs, adding to his five for 63 in the first innings when he helped bowl them out for 278 runs. Their performance with the ball overshadowed that of Mohammad Sami, who took seven wickets in PIA’s first innings.Sami however found little support from the rest of the attack as PIA batted out a day and a half to compile 334 runs. The middle to lower-order rebuilt the innings after they fell to 108 for five. Shoaib Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Tahir Khan struck half-centuries and by the time they were finished, PIA had posted a competitive total. Port Qasim conceded a 56-run deficit when they were stymied by the nine wickets shared by Shah and Cheema.The game continued to be a bowler’s game in PIA’s second innings when Abdur Rauf and Tanvir Ahmed took four wickets each. PIA were bowled out for 171, setting Port Qasim a target of 228.It became PIA’s second win in three games, plumping them up to second on the points table with 18 points. Port Qasim are still winless.A washout on day one, and a delay on day two prevented a result in Khan Research Laboratories’ clash against Water and Power Development Authority in Faisalabad. A 113-run eighth wicket partnership between Naved Yasin and Nayyer Abbas propelled Khan Research Laboratories to 331 for 9 declared in the first innings, and though Water and Power Development Authority were dismissed for 162 in reply, the match did not progress beyond the first innings.Saeed Anwar Jnr provided the early impetus for Khan Reasearch Laboratories with 65, before Yasin’s 89 and Abbas’ 69 transformed what was going to be a decent total to a superb one. Both Yasin and Abbas were measured during their stand, each scoring at a strike rate of less than 50, though they shared 22 fours between them. They were both dismissed by left-arm spinner Zulfiqur Babar, who finished with six wickets for 108.In response, only Sohaib Maqsood crossed 50 for Water and Power Development Authority, making 74, as Khan Research Laboratories’ pacemen shared seven wickets between them. Khan Research Laboratories secured a 169-run first innings lead, but with only nine overs left in the match after the opposition’s first innings had been completed, the match was deemed a draw.

India were 480/9 at the end of the third day’s play in the third and final Test match against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday. They lead by 89 runs going into the fourth day tomorrow. India scored 269 runs, losing eight wickets in the 90 overs bowled today.India resumed at a commanding score of 211/1. But Glenn McGrath drew first blood for Australia with the very first ball of the day; SS Das trapped in front of the wicket on his overnight score of 84. In the seventh over of the day, McGrath went on to dismiss VVS Laxman (65), caught by Mark Waugh at second slip.Sourav Ganguly who had a tense stay at the crease before lunch, troubled by Gillespie’s pace and bounce, was the next man to be dismissed. He made 22 runs off 76 balls and never looked convincing today, before playing a flashy shot outside the off stump to give Gilchrist a simple catch off the bowling of McGrath.Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar was cruising along watchfully, punishing the loose balls to the fence. Rahul Dravid who joined him in the middle was in attacking mood as the two batsmen went on reaping runs off some listless Aussie bowling in the post lunch session. Dravid’s good form was evident in his stroke play and in the assurance he has shown in the middle as he smashed Gillespie for a straight six.Soon after tea, Tendulkar lofted Colin Miller to the mid-wicket fence; the mistimed stroke went up in the air straight to Michael Slater. But Slater misjudged the flight of the ball completely and over ran forward to miss out an opportunity to dismiss the most sought after wicket in international cricket. Slater’s misery in the field on this tour was truly compounded.Aussies were losing their way as Gilchrist failed to latch on to a leg side catch offered by Dravid off the bowling of Gillespie. Tendulkar reached his 25th Test hundred in grand style, lofting Miller for a straight six. The crowd got to their feet to applaud the little master.Jason Gillespie was bowling with a big heart and rewards were due to him. Gilchrist and Gillespie got together to dismiss Dravid and Tendulkar in the space of 26 balls. Dravid made 81 attractive runs off 140 balls with the help of six and a dozen boundaries. He and Tendulkar added 169 runs for the fifth wicket in 42.2 overs.Tendulkar waltzed his way to 126, punctuating his knock with two sixes and 15 boundaries before being dismissed. The highlight of his innings were the three fours he scored off an over from Shane Warne. There were two little gems to the fine leg fence off Warne who was bowling around the wicket. This prompted Warne to bowl a bouncer and Tendulkar dispatched it to the third man fence with a stylish upper-cut.Gillespie’s telling spell of 7-4-15-2 made a difference to the outcome of the day’s play, enabling a late order collapse of the Indian innings. Warne who bowled well all through the day was at last rewarded with the wicket of Sameer Dighe (4), trapped in front of the wicket.Colin Miller who had trundled all along, being whacked to the fence by Tendulkar and Dravid, managed to get amongst wickets. In fact he claimed two, Zaheer Khan (4) caught and bowled and Harbhajan Singh (2) caught by Mark Waugh at slip. At close of play, Sairaj Bahatule was unbeaten on four with Nilesh Kulkarni who is yet to open his account.

Dominic Cork has never been someone to miss the chance to make a point and following Hampshire’s final-ball victory against Somerset in the Friends Provident t20 final, where they claimed the title by losing fewer wickets, he said the performance would have proved the club’s critics wrong.The trophy was secured when Dan Christian, who had a runner after injuring his hamstring the ball before, scrambled a leg bye and Somerset didn’t take the chance to run him out. Both Cork and Marcus Trescothick agreed they’d never seen a finish like it, but Cork believes his team deserved its triumph after battling a growing list of injuries.Cork is only leading the side because of Dimitri Mascarenhas’s long-term Achillies problem, while Nic Pothas, Kabir Ali and Michael Lumb are battling various serious injuries. Even Christian was sporting a pair of black eyes after being struck by a bouncer in the Championship match against Somerset a couple of days before.”I’ve never seen a last over like that. It had everything – changes of ball, runners, wickets, the lot,” Cork said. “It was a chaotic last two overs but I’m proud of all the guys here for taking us over that winning line. Maybe Christian could have been run out but the umpires declared it a match won and that’s that.”The young guys who’ve come in have transformed this side,” he said. “We’ve been slaughtered throughout this campaign in some circles: why weren’t we playing this person? Why weren’t we playing that person?”But with all the work that’s been done bringing the young lads through the academy and then the Dad’s Army we’ve got, we’re able to put a team out that can play against the best and beat them.”Trescothick reflected on his team’s near miss and the frantic scenes on the final ball where they didn’t try to run out Christian who had left his crease despite having a runner. Somerset had looked out of the contest when Neil McKenzie and Sean Ervine were adding 79 for the fourth wicket, but they almost stole the game in the final two overs bowled by Ben Phillips and Zander de Bruyn.”We had the game, but clearly just did not think at the end there,” Trescothick said. “Christian had to be in his ground, so one of them is out of their crease. The umpires were waiting to see what we were going to do, but it ended up being a case where we were tied and they won due to less wickets.”Somerset’s cause wasn’t helped by a nasty injury to Kieron Pollard, who went to hospital after being struck on the right eye by a Cork bouncer in the final over of their innings. Pollard’s eye immediately swelled shut and Cork was visibly shaken by the incident although he showed his professionalism to bowl a superb over.”I wish him all the best because it’s not a nice thing to happen,” Cork said. “I went into their dressing room at the end and asked after him. It’s a bit of a sickener. Nobody wants that to happen and I hope he gets back soon.”