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Andrew Flintoff might be the one name whose return English cricket is desperate for, but his looming presence isn’t wavering James Anderson’s focus ahead of the first Test against South Africa.Flintoff hasn’t played for England since the Sydney Test in 2007, but has bowled himself into terrific form for Lancashire this summer after recovering from an ankle surgery in the winter. He was not picked for the first Test at Lord’s, though few doubt the selectors will resist the urge to call him up at some point this summer. For Anderson, however, Flintoff’s return is regarded “as an extra incentive”.”There’s not just Fred [Flintoff] knocking on the door but there’s also Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones now back bowling well and players like Sajid (Mahmood) and Liam Plunkett desperate to get back into the side,” he said.”You’ve got all these guys taking wickets regularly so you know you’ve got to keep doing the same if you’re going to keep your place. It’s not just Fred we’re looking over our shoulders at, although he’s obviously the biggest of the lot trying to get back. We know he’s there but he’s a completely different bowler to me so I’m just going to have to continue what I’m doing and if they pick him ahead of me then that’s out of my hands.”Though the return of Flintoff is hotly anticipated, sneaking up on the inside is Jones. After moving from Glamorgan to Worcestershire in the winter, he has taken 26 wickets in five Championship games, nudging 90mph. He hasn’t played since his key role in the 2005 Ashes and Anderson admitted that he and his colleagues have been keeping a keen eye on the performances of former England bowlers.”When we’re in the dressing room we all look at each other’s counties to see how they’re getting on so we all know who’s doing well and what other people are doing,” he said. “I’ve been in the same situation as them when I’ve gone back to Lancashire and I had to bowl well and take wickets consistently for my county to try and get myself back in the team. I’ve been in their position and I know how they’re feeling and how frustrating it is when you can’t get back into the team, but all of them who are trying to get back into the team are my mates, I’ve been on tours and played with them so I hope they do well – I just hope I do better than them to keep my place.”He added: “We were talking the other day about how the four pace bowlers from the 2005 Ashes are now all back bowling again, fit and taking wickets.”From mine, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom’s points of view, we’re hoping they don’t get the chance to bowl again together for England – if we do keep them out of the team that obviously means we’re doing well which has to be a good thing.”

The cards keep falling the wrong way for the Waugh twins but their longest serving ally in the Australian cricket team believes it’s only a matter of time before the pair put a redemptive century next to their names.The brothers, playing their 150th and 127th Tests respectively, departed in successive balls on the first day of the second Test against Pakistan.Mark Waugh made two and Steve Waugh a first-ball duck as spinner Saqlain Mushtaq extracted some sharp spin.Between them, they’ve scored just 88 runs in six innings in this series and since last year’s Ashes tour the figures are starting to look ugly.They’ve both had 16 innings in the past year, Steve scoring 345 runs at an average of 24.38 and Mark making 495 at 30.94. And neither has made a century for over a year.After they were axed from the one-day side last summer, both realised that sooner or later, unless they made runs, time would run out for them in the Test arena as well.But Shane Warne, the most experienced Australian player after the twins, said there was no hint of pressure in the dressing room.”All of us who’ve played with Steve and Mark for a long time want them to do well,” Warne said.”They’ve been fantastic for Australian cricket and every one who watches them play wants them to do well.”It’s a just a matter of time – if they get through those first couple of overs they’ll be fine.”I thought they both played excellently in the first innings in the first Test.”Shoaib, with that sort of spell in the seconds innings, anyone could have got out,” he said in reference to their dismissals within three balls of each other in Colombo for a pair of ducks.”This time, unfortunately, they got out but knowing what they’re like, how competitive those guys are – Mark mightn’t show it as much as Stephen but they’re both very competitive guys – in the second innings they’ll both get some runs, I’m sure.”The only problem with that prophecy is that Australia may not get another bat in this match.Ahead of day two, Australia was 4-191 – an overall lead of 132 after they bowled out Pakistan for 59.Pakistan’s lowest score in Test came on day which Warne described as the hottest Test he’d been through.”I think the hottest day I’ve ever played was in Cochin in a one-day game against India. But, besides that, today – 49 degrees and 70 per cent humidity … it was unbelievable,” Warne said.”I don’t think it gets much hotter than that.”You started to cook up – it felt like you could fry an egg on your head.”

After their nightmare at Wanderers and a week marred by injury concerns, SriLanka rediscovered some batting form on the opening day of the second CastleLager/MTN Test at SuperSport Park on Friday.The game is evenly poised with Sri Lanka on 263 for six after being asked to bat first by South Africa captain Shaun Pollock under overcast skies.Pollock’s brave decision on a pitch that lacked the thick grass cover seenat Wanderers was influenced by the policy of fielding five fast bowlers as the home side resisted the temptation to play left-arm spinner Claude Henderson. Whether that will prove to be an error of judgment depends on how the South African bowlers perform tomorrow morning. They need to mop up the tail quickly.Their most pressing concern will be removal of the obdurate HashanTillakaratne, who reacted to the disappointment of being left out from theone-day squad with a fine unbeaten 82. The 35-year-old left-hander was dropped once on 35, but otherwise played impeccably in a four-hour vigil that has so far produced 15 boundaries.Had Sri Lanka won the toss they would have batted, according to coach DavWhatmore, who was pleased to see his top order fight-back after their woefuldisplay in the opening Test. Nevertheless, he was disappointed by the fact that his top four all failed to capitalise on good starts.”I was pleased with the amount of runs that we scored in the day but wasdisappointed by those who got starts and didn’t go on,” Whatmore said.”The game is fairly evenly poised now and we have to carry on and get as many runs as possible tomorrow – this could be a very interesting game.”South Africa admitted afterwards that they would have preferred to have bowled out Sri Lanka in a day. They may now be ruing their decision to bowl first.However, if their bowlers had shown the discipline that they displayed atWanderers then the plan could have worked again. As it was they bowled too many loose deliveries, a fact illustrated by the 42 boundaries scored in the day.Having inserted the opposition they needed to make early inroads, however, Sri Lankan openers Marvan Atapattu and Jehan Mubarak weathered the first hour of the morning, playing and missing on occasion but looking increasingly comfortable as the session progressed.However, soon after the drinks break the in-form Atapattu – captaining the side for the first time in a Test – was caught off his glove for 17 as he tried to pull a short ball from Jacques Kallis.Jehan Mubarak, drafted into the side after Sanath Jayasuriya damaged his right ankle during a game of football on Tuesday, and number three batsman Kumar Sangakkara reacted positively to the dismissal, adding 56 in 73 balls.Mubarak, playing in his first game of the tour and only his second Test, wasparticularly impressive. The 21-year-old has a poor first class record,averaging just 28.01 after 29 games, and was a surprise choice for this tour, but he showed sufficient class during his innings to suggest he does have a Test future.Born in Washington and the son of a highly regarded scientist, he lookedcomposed and comfortable at the crease. The feature of his innings was themanner in which he left the ball expertly, but he was also quick to seize onany opportunity to score, especially when the South African bowlers erred on to his pads or dropped short.Sangakkara was the more aggressive of the pair and especially strong off theback foot as he raced to 35 from just 38 balls with five fours. However, just when Sri Lanka looked like they would survive the first session with the loss of just one wicket, Sangakkara was caught at first slip trying to force a short delivery from Andrew hall through the off-side.After the interval, Mubarak moved to within two runs of a deserved maiden fifty, but perished when Pollock – the pick of the South African bowlers -produced a well-directed outswinger that caught the edge of the left-handersbat.With Sri Lanka on 108 for three another middle-order collapse appeared possible, but Mahela Jayawardene (44) and Hashan Tillakaratne (82*) played themselves in watchfully and gradually built a crucial 81 partnership.As the pair raised the tempo during the second hour before tea the SouthAfricans slipped back onto the defensive, testing the batsmen’s patience bybowling a large percentage of deliveries wide of the off-stump.After tea Pollock made the breakthrough, dismissing Jayawardene with a goodlength delivery that the right-hander dragged on to his stumps to leave the Sri Lankans on 189 for four.Russel Arnold, moved back down into the middle order after bagging a pair atWanderers, once again looked out of form before being caught at the wicket after 28 unconvincing minutes at the crease.With Sri Lanka’s fragile lower order now exposed, Tillakaratne correctlyjudged that the time had come to take the initiative – too often in his second coming he has failed to take responsibility when batting with the tail.Hitting three boundaries in an over off Kallis and keeping the scoreboard moving he took the pressure off a nervous Hasantha Fernando (24) who had started his Test career with a pair at the Wanderers. The pair added 54 valuable runs before Pollock took the second new ball and Fernando was caught off the shoulder of his bat.

Glamorgan and their captain Steve James had a record breaking day on the second day of their Championship match against Essex at Chelmsford.James compiled a magnificent 235* as his team raced to 505-6 to gain an overall lead of 274 over a lacklustre Essex side, who in the course of the day were hit by injuries to wicket-keeper James Foster and batsman Aftab Habib.James recorded the sixth double century of his career and his 235* is the highest ever score by a Glamorgan batsman against Essex, beating Jimmy Maher`s 217 at Cardiff last year.On the first day, Essex had struggled under a heavy cloud cover against the accurate Glamorgan attack, but in sunny and cloudless conditions, the Glamorgan batsmen, led by skipper James, feasted on the home attack. During the afternoon session, James, together with Mike Powell and Matthew Maynard, added 217 in just 38 overs between lunch and tea as the Glamorgan batsmen cut loose.By the end of the day, Glamorgan had scored 499 runs in the 104 overs – the most they had ever scored in a day`s play in Championship cricket, passing their previous best of 493 against Worcestershire at Abergavenny in 1990.However, there could be even more records to come and there is every prospect of James carrying on batting on Friday morning and beating his own record of 309* for the highest ever individual score by a Glamorgan player, set against Sussex at Colwyn Bay in 2000.”I would be very delighted if I went past my own 309″, James said after Thursday`s play, “and it would be a monumental effort if I did that. But tomorrow I could get out first ball and that would be that. Hopefully, though I can play myself in first thing, and maybe by lunch, I could be near that landmark.”

President of the Eastern Province Cricket Board, Mr Ronnie Pillay, today announced that he was resigning his position and cutting all ties with the game at a senior level. He has also resigned all his United Cricket Board commitments where he served on the Board.”I regret to announce that present circumstances does not allow for me to fulfill my duties as President of the Eastern Province Cricket Board (EPCB). In the light of these circumstances I have to resign from the EPCB. When and if these circumstances change satisfactorily I will seriously consider deployment in any position or in any way that I can contribute to this game to which I am so closely attached. It is a personal decision that was taken after thorough consideration.I have informed all board members, including the vice-president of the EPCB, Mr. Max Ntshona, of my decision as well as the President of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, Mr. Percy Sonn.I have also resigned from all UCB commitments where I served as an ordinary board member”.

SYDNEY – Australian cricket vice-captain Adam Gilchrist expects “one hell ofa fight” for the Ashes after England’s emphatic Test victory over Pakistanat Lord’s.England took 16 wickets on the fourth day – the first was washed out by rain- to humble the Pakistanis for 203 and 179 and win by an innings and nineruns.Gilchrist went to bed last night knowing Pakistan had been forced to followon but he expected the first match on the world Test championship rotationto last another day.He was wrong, with England seamers Darren Gough and man-of-the-match AndyCaddick taking eight wickets apiece to spark a pitch invasion from adelighted Lord’s crowd.”We were getting the feeling over here, even before this, that Englandreally had the wheels in motion and were going to give us one hell of afight,” Gilchrist said when told the result.”Beating a good side like Pakistan in three days is, well, a fantasticeffort whichever way you look at it, and it will give them a lot ofconfidence for the rest of the summer.”It should be a very good, hard competitive series and we’re looking forwardto it.”Victory over two Tests against Pakistan would be England’s fifth series winin a row while Australia, triumphant in the last seven Ashes battles, iscooling its heels after losing 2-1 in the Indian epic.Gough, who took three wickets in four balls either side of lunch, took hisTest tally to 205 and jumped past John Snow (202) into seventh on theall-time English bowling list.Man-of-the-match Caddick moved the ball through the air and off the trackfrom the outset.The result of the battle between Gough and Caddick and Australian pace trioGlenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee will go a long way to decidingthe outcome of the Ashes.”Vital,” said Gilchrist.”It’s going to be a matter of who can keep their bowlers fit over what is avery long tour, and then get them peaking at the right times,” Gilchristsaid.”Caddick and Gough can obviously make the most of the conditions over there,but so can our blokes.”Meanwhile, International Cricket Council headquarters at Lord’s will be busythis week.A three-day meeting starting Wednesday will determine whether technologyshould be increased, decreased or maintained, with Asian nations wantingvideo umpires to start ruling on bat-pad catches.The use of lights in Tests – currently dependant on mutual agreement – willbe discussed, as will the possible introduction of a panel of eight eliteumpires to control the game worldwide.Such a panel would most likely consist of Australian Darrell Hair, WestIndians Eddie Nicholls and Steve Bucknor, New Zealander Doug Cowie, SriLankan Asoka de Silva, Indian Srinivasan Venkataraghavan and EnglishmenPeter Willey and David Shepherd.The interim report of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, headed by formerLondon police chief Sir Paul Condon, will be released on the Internet onWednesday, Australian time.

Zimbabwe’s Captain Cool, the unassuming Stuart Carlisle, comes across as being an open and candid individual who learns with every match that he plays and knows that cricket is the teacher in his life.Captaincy came upon him all of a sudden, as he was asked to lead the side when Brian Murphy was headed homewards. At a time when the question of captaincy was more like a joke – "So who is the captain this time around?" – Stuart Carlisle made a bold decision and took the reins of his team in his hands. Self-set goals had to be readjusted, and new avenues opened. But the journey had to continue, and the man has walked well.In a free-wheeling conversation he reveals his thoughts on the team, on the future, on captaincy and a lot more. So get that cup of coffee, sit back and let this captain take you through the thoughts in his mind.Trishna Bose: Stuart. thanks for your time. First tell me about the Indian experience. How has it been for you?Stuart Carlisle: It has been very good. There are lots of pros and cons but obviously when you lose a Test series 2-0 it is not so nice. I thought that in the Second Test the guys fought very well and I also thought that we should have won that Tes. There is no doubt in my mind that we should have won it. There were a couple of instances that went against us that I would rather not talk about. It is a bit sad that we tried so hard and the fact is that we could not finish it off, but it was a good Test.In the First Test we definitely lacked runs in the first innings, and in Test cricket you can always say that you were 30 to 40 runs short, or your tail should have added on, or the top order should have got a certain amount of run. There are lots of excuses, but at the end of the day this has been a good experience and a couple of young guys have done well.TB: This is your third series as captain. How has captaincy suited you?SC: I think that it was a big decision and I took a while to decide on [accepting] the captaincy . Eventually in Bangladesh when Brian Murphy got sent home I decided to take it on and I was not sure if I was going to be on; in fact I am still not sure if I am going to be on permanently. So I have decided to go tour by tour and do my best that I can. I have enjoyed the challenge and the team meetings and being part of the management team and in a sense preparing strategies. You learn a lot even by just talking to media and dealing with the press. You mature a lot over the years.TB: Captaining in the tests and in the one-dayers must be two totally different challenges?SC: Test cricket is slightly easier than one-dayers. It is slower and therefore you can readjust ever so often. But one-day cricket is a lot more tense and you have to make quick decisions and there is a lot more pressure. Trying to open the batting in Tests and captaining the side I find rather tough and immensely draining, but I have to get on and lead from the front because it can work for you and against you. All in all it is a big challenge.But I would not say that captaincy is easy at all. It is pretty difficult and there is a lot of stress because you have to deal with individual players. There are always different characters. You have guys that are behind you sometimes and others who have problems, and you have to deal with them. You are always involved and never seem to rest. There are pros and cons all the time – right?!TB: With ex-captains in the side and senior players too, one notices that you consulted Andy Flower and Heath Streak on more that one occasion.SC: I think you should communicate with the seniors all the time and especially with the bowlers. I don’t think you should be stubborn as a captain and I don’t think you should make all the decisions. You have to work with the team and that would help. In captaincy there are two or three theories – but you have to decide to go with one theory; that is why you are captain of the side. It is a learning curve for me at the moment and I have already learnt so much on the field settings and just from thoughts from the other guys.TB: One department that the Zimbabweans scored over the Indians was that of fielding. In the other department there is room for improvement; would you agree?SC: The fielding was much approved, definitely. We are getting the energy levels up and the urgency on the field too. The boys are encouraging each other on the field, and they are getting more and more confident. We fielded really well this series so I am happy with that.At Test level what we need to work on is our top six batsmen. They need to get one or two hundreds going and we have to get big scores. We have to be more ruthless and more positive. What happens sometimes is that we get negative and tire ourselves down a bit, so we have to learn to keep the ball rolling and keep the pace throughout the entire innings. The tail has been relatively good, so no complaints there.In the bowling, Travis Friend in particular did not bowl to his potential, as he has bowled a lot better before. Brighton Watambwa is a good prospect for the future; this was his first tour to India and I think he learnt very quickly how to bowl on these pitches. It is tough for a seamer to get the right length on these pitches. But Heath Streak I think did a fantastic job again; he has really carried this team for a long time now. It is good that Friend and Brighton have learnt to bowl on these pitches, and they should be able to take more responsibility and bowl a few more overs, and take the pressure of Heath a bit. Consistency then is the answer in both the bowling and the batting.TB: Colour suddenly seems to be a big issue in Zimbabwean cricket. The goal is to get more coloured cricketers involved. How do you view this?SC: The future, we are all aware, relies on the young black kids coming through. We have known that for a long time and we have had development programmes. In the last eight to ten years we have had at least ten international black players. But what the public don’t understand is that in Test cricket and one-day cricket – but Test cricket specifically – it takes a long time to get to the top. It has taken Andy Flower 14 years to get to number one in the world. It is probably unlike other sports where it takes three to four years to get to the top.This is a sport where you never stop learning or growing. I know that is true for most sports, but cricket in particular is very technical and experience is a massive thing in cricket. I won’t say anything further, as I am not supposed to say more. But there is not one senior guy in the side who has not tried to help any young player, whether white, Indian or black, and colour has never been a big issue in our teams in the past. But now I feel it is certainly being used as a weapon by certain individuals. But I rather not comment any more on this. Has this affected relations within the team at all? How united in the Zimbabwean team?SC: We all get along very well, but we go through transitional phases and our team is changing very rapidly, too quickly. One understands the need for change, but they have to be careful what they do, because they could scare away a lot of players and Zimbabwe cannot afford that. It is as simple as that. The camaraderie in the team in the past couple of years has been tremendous. All players get along regardless of colour, creed or whatever; this has never been a problem. With World Cup 2003 less than a year away, has Zimbabwe started rebuilding the team towards that goal?SC: The biggest thing for us before the World Cup is for our country to get sorted out, so that all our families back home are more relaxed, and we will not be required to talk about politics. The other thing is that I would like to see a lot more of the experienced players involved in the one-day set-up because the World Cup will be a very massive occasion and it is very demanding and pressurizing event. I think we lack a bit in experience at the moment but it would be fantastic to see some of the younger players come through. So I would like to see more experienced players in the World Cup squad and with Geoff Marsh our coach working on them. We need more all-rounders, for that is the way one-day cricket is going. It is vital that we have a combination of these factors and I am certain we can make it to the top six again in World Cup 2003. Finally Stuart, how much have you changed as a person with all the experiences that you have had over the past few months?SC: I am very fortunate, I have a degree in marketing and I went to university for four or five years, and I think that broadened my mind totally as marketing is what makes the world go around. So that has helped with my job, dealing with press and media. Just being able to talk naturally, for talking can be a nerve-racking experience for most individuals (smiles). All this talking and interviewing, etc., is making me become a better person who can talk more freely.Captaincy certainly matures you and before I became captain one of my goals was to better my batting averages, both in Tests and one-dayers and get them into the mid-thirties. I did not know that I would get captaincy so soon; I thought it would eventually happen, but it all happened so suddenly, and then I decided to do the best I can as a captain. I have reset my goals and now they are even higher. I just have to see that I do not crack under pressure and that I move in the right direction.Stuart Carlisle is moving all right, and for the moment he is heading in the right direction. With an uncertain future and fledgling dreams, being positive is the next best thing.

There’s a familiar pattern developing at the top of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League, with Havant and BAT Sports contesting pole position.The two past Division 1 champions both won again – Havant recovering from early setbacks to beat Burridge by six wickets and BAT Sports skittling early season pacesetters Andover for 90 before claiming an 11th successive all-day win.Moeen Cheema (2-68) had Havant rocking at 39-3, in reply to an all-out Burridge total of 190, before Paul Gover (71 not out) and Andy Perry (69) turned the tide with a match-winning century partnership.Burridge, struggling themselves at 89-6 (Cheema 35), owed much to Jo Dixon (40) and Matt Godwin (37) for their eventual 190 all out.Andover‘s golden start has begun to lose some of its early season gilt – Richard Dibden (5-21) and Dan Goldstraw (4-38) skittling a weakened town side for a disappointing 90 at London Road.Only Roger Miller (27) and in-form Lee Wateridge (21) made reasonable contributions as Australian wicket keeper Michael Watson snapped up the first three victims.Andover lurched from 64-3 to 90 all out, but then had BAT on the hop, with three wickets falling for just five runs after the defending champions had moved to 31 without loss.Dependable Damien Shirazi kept his cool, hitting a decisive 47 as BAT got home, somewhat unconvincing five-wicket winners.James Hibberd hit an undefeated 87 as Calmore‘s match against Portsmouth at Loperwood Park petered out into a tame draw.But the ever improving Wiltshire all-rounder lacked any real support as Calmore closed on 177-8, well adrift of Portsmouth’s 226-9 off the full 66 overs.Portsmouth batted themselves into a strong position, with top order quartet Warren Swan (43), Geoff Pike (37), Lee Savident (32) and Matt Keech (30) all making their mark.Promising teenager Matt Metcalfe (4-46) and Allan Hurst (3-31) created inroads as Portsmouth slipped from 163-3 to 196-8 (Matt Scott 24), but a timely 24 by tailender Pete Hayward wrested the initiative from Calmore.Any prospect of a Calmore success effectively disappeared at 38-3, leaving Hibberd with the task of holding the innings together – one he performed admirably.Shaun Lilley’s undefeated 47, coupled with four-wicket hauls by Kevin Nash and John Whiting, ended Bashley-Rydal‘s three-match losing sequence and set up a much needed victory over South Wilts at Lower Bemerton.They reduced South Wilts to 33-5 in the morning session, but lost six wickets chasing South Wilts’ eventual 165 all out before match winner Lilley steadied the visitors’ nerves.John Whiting (4-71) struck the first two blows, removing Paul Draper and top Premier run scorer Russell Rowe before Kevin Nash (4-34) nailed Tom Caines and Jamie Glasson in quick succession to leave South Wilts floundering at 22-4.When Nash had Jo Cranch caught behind at 33-5, it looked as though the Salisbury club might collapse completely.But Jon Nash (no relation) led a courageous fightback as South Wilts rallied from an equally desperate 67-7 to reach 151 before Whiting returned to dismiss South African Shaun Adam (31).The pair added 84, with Nash going on to hit a season’s best 79 before South Wilts, after a late flurry by Chris Steedon, were finally dismissed for 165.Bashley’s recent lean form with the bat suggested the victory chase would be anything but straightforward – and so it proved.Former Salisbury Wanderers medium-paceman Adam Smith (3-66), extracting considerable movement off the surface, had Bashley wobbling at 56-3 (Luke Ronchi (33) and tottering again at 101-5 after Chris Sketchley had been needlessly run out.Lilley, arguably the guilty party in the run out, spared his own blushes with an unbeaten 47 which, supported by Dale Middleton and skipper Taylor, eased the nerves and guided Bashley to a four-wicket win."I had visions of another batting collapse," Taylor admitted. "But it was pay-back time for Shaun. He ran Sketch out, but went on, got his head down and won us the game."Bournemouth came within four runs of losing to bottom club Liphook & Ripsley at Ripsley Park.They totalled 218-4 off 64 overs, with Liphook closing at 215-8 after facing two overs less.Matt Swarbrick (52) and Tom Webley (35) provided Bournemouth with a 71-run start, which Dan Jackson (53 not out), Julian Cassell (26) and Alex Allum (32 not out) subsequently improved.But Liphook, with only one previous win, battled to the end, with South African youngster Alistair Gray (57) piloting his side to within a boundary of the Bournemouth total.Left-arm seamer Mark Mixer (3-34) and Kristian Wilson (2-31) bowled well for the visitors, with Tom Webley sending down an economical spell of left-arm spin.

Undaunted by the imposing Madhya Pradesh total of 490, Hyderabad did well in replying with 300 for four wickets off 99 overs at stumps on the third day of the Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal at the Daly college grounds in Indore on Monday.Hyderabad resumed at 34 without loss and openers Daniel Manohar and wicketkeeper M Srinivas put on 116 runs off 31 overs before the former gave Narendra Hirwani a return catch. Manohar faced 111 balls and hit seven of them to the ropes. Srinivas then found another able partner in Anirudh Singh and the two increased the score by 89 runs during a second wicket association that lasted 32.3 overs. Srinivas, who had by then reached his century, was second out at 205 when he was bowled by Bundela. For his 107, the 26-year-old right hander batted 4-1/2 hours, faced 186 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.Anirudh Singh was third out at 223 when he was caught by Yadav off Chauhan for 42. He faced 108 balls and hit five fours and a six. But Vanka Pratap and Vinay Kumar (27) then carried on the good work by adding 50 runs off 19.1 overs for the fourth wicket. Vinay Kumar was bowled by Chauhan but by close, Vanka Pratap had diligently built his score to 47 off 107 balls with five hits to the ropes. Keeping him company is skipper A Nandakishore (7). The stage is set for a keen duel for the all important first innings lead on Tuesday.

New Zealand batsman Dean Brownlie will travel to India in October, to work on his batting in spinner-friendly conditions. Brownlie, who was dropped from the New Zealand squad after a poor tour of the Caribbean, said he had been looking to take up such a training stint for ‘a couple of years’.”I’ve wanted this for quite a while,” Brownlie told . “I’ve been pushing for this for a couple of years, because I didn’t want to waste a tour – I suppose, like I did [against West Indies] – working out my best way to play in those conditions. But the cricket has been so full on and so busy, so it’s been hard to get the time to do it.”Brownlie will train at a Mumbai academy for five days, before heading to Pune to play in a few local matches. He will leave for India soon after the completion of New Zealand A’s home series against India A, which runs from September 18 to October 6.In the Caribbean, Brownlie had been dismissed on five occasions out of nine (including the tour game against WICB President’s XI) by the spinners, and got into double digits only twice on the tour, with a highest of 35.More than the technical aspects of his game, though, it is the mental side of it that needed some working on, Brownlie said. “It’s not so much about making big changes,” he said. “I need to learn to trust my game a little bit more. I realise it shouldn’t have taken six weeks on tour [in the West Indies] to realise what I was doing wrong, but it did.”I think I can play spin well, but I do need to work on how I play it in those [slow, low] conditions.”