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ScorecardAt SuperSport Park in Centurion five maiden overs in a row at the top ofthe innings nearly cost the Titans dearly as Western Province Bolandfought back strongly, only to fall short by 23 runs.Three maidens from Alan Dawson and two from Charl Willoughby from thethird to the seventh overs, during which the Titans lost the wicket ofAlviro Petersen, was neutralised by some devastating final-overs hittingfrom Gerald Dros and Albie Morkel. Together the two put on 41 in 18balls to allow the Titans to end on 249 for 4 after the 45 overs.AB de Villiers (102) and Goolam Bodi (72) put on 164 for the secondwicket as de Villiers went to his maiden limited-overs hundred. Thepartnership laid the foundation for the innings but very littleacceleration through the middle part of it probably cost the Titans 20to 30 runs. Dros, however, once again proved what a powerful hitter he isat the death of an innings. Two fours and three sixes allowed him to race to 31off 13 balls while Morkel collected 16 off 10.Except for Dawson, most of the Western Province Boland bowlers cameunder attack. Dawson went for 16 runs in his last over, but stillonly gave away 40 in nine. Willoughby, more interestedin a continuous verbal battle with Bodi, ended with 1 for 54 despite thetwo early maidens.A brisk start from Western Province Boland – the 50 came up in eight overs -was halted when Henry Davids was bowled for 15 and AndrewPuttick, fell to the leg-side trap off a short ball for 18. Both wickets were taken by EthyMbhalati, who struck for the third time when he knocked back Ashwell Prince’soff stump for 4. Justin Kemp made short work of Neil Johnston,trapping him in front for 4, and when Paul Harris bowled GerhardStrydom for 35 Western Province were in deep trouble at 90 for 5. JPDuminy (78) and Con de Lange (47) started a recovery that broughtWestern Province Boland right back into the game. Their 118-runpartnership ended when Justin Kemp got rid of them bothand then cleaned up the tail to end with 4 for 47.
ScorecardAt Buffalo Park in East London the Warriors moved closer to a homesemi-final spot as their bowlers restricted the Lions to a mediocre 194for 7 and then managed to score the winning runs in the final over.The Lions won the toss and chose to bat, but their innings never got off the ground. Despite a 62 from Neil McKenzie and a 55 from HD Ackerman the inningsdidn’t gained any momentum. By the time McKenzie joined Ackerman at thecrease the Lions were already in trouble at 44 for 3 in the 12th over. A partnership of 72 followed, but the lack of acceleration meant that the innings petered to a close at 194 for 7 with Enoch Nkwe, the next highest, not out on 21.The Warriors then lost two early wickets, which gave the Lions a slender chance of defending 194. Justin Kreusch (65) stayed calm as further wickets fell withthe target seemingly getting tougher. At 154 for 6, 41runs were still required off 39 balls, but Pieter Strydom (22not out) and Tyron Henderson saw the Warriors through with four ballsto spare.

A record number of tickets have been sold for Tuesday’s NatWest Series match between England and South Africa at Edgbaston. A grand total of 20,260 tickets have been snapped up for the day-night game – the most ever at the ground. It beats the next highest of 19,223 for the England v Pakistan match in 2001, and the 18,319 for England against New Zealand in 1994.Dennis Amiss, Warwickshire’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted that Edgbaston is sold out for the one-day international on Tuesday. It promises to be a great encounter and the atmosphere at a packed Edgbaston is always memorable. We hope that this success will be mirrored for the Test match later in the month and I am sure that all those who buy tickets for that will witness a fantastic sporting encounter.”Stuart Robertson, who has recently been appointed head of marketing at Warwickshire, added: “Edgbaston is second only to Lord’s in terms of capacity and it will be great to see the ground full to the rafters during the NatWest Series match. Although we are not yet sold out for the npower Test match, we expect to see some huge crowds for that match as well. With big crowds at the recent Twenty20 matches cricket in the West Midlands is very much alive and kicking.”The Test match between England and South Africa takes place from July 24 to 28, and although tickets are available for all five days, they are selling out fast. They can be purchased by calling 0121 446 5506. Discounts are available for groups, schools and families, information about which can be found on that number.For further information, call Warwickshire’s marketing department on 0121 446 4777.

Fighting back from a first-innings deficit, Himachal Pradesh bowledDelhi out for only 228 on Day Two of their Ranji Trophy league matchat Bilaspur, with Sandeep Sharma returning figures of 5-68.Resuming at 69/1, Delhi lost wickets rapidly, with four wicketsfalling for the addition of only 27 runs. Sarandeep Singh and SohailRauf staged a small partnership before the former fell, having scored21. Rauf received some more support lower down the order from RahulSanghvi (35). Delhi finally folded for 228, with Rauf remainingunbeaten on 58.Himachal Pradesh wicket-keeper Ravikant Sharma notched up six catches,while Shakti Singh aided Sandeep Sharma well by taking 4-58.Himachal Pradesh started their second innings disastrously, with bothopeners falling for just seven runs. Sangram Singh and captainVarinder Sharma, however, took their side safely through to the closeof play by defending stolidly. At stumps, Himachal Pradesh were 25/2,with Sangram Singh on 11 and Sharma on 7.

Former USA vice-captain Timroy Allen and fast bowler David Pieters were the standout players during Sunday’s trial matches at the ICC Americas Combine in Indianapolis. Allen top-scored in the first T20 trial match, which was played on the main turf wicket at the Indianapolis World Sports Park, before following it up with a fiery opening spell as his team defended a total of 102 to win by six runs.”In every trial scenario, they’re always going to look at techniques and all that but on the other hand you have the match situation and the position you have been put in. You have to do whatever it takes to get your team through,” Allen said.Allen also spoke highly of the talent at the trial and was impressed with the level of competition on display. “There’s a lot of potential here. For there to be these many guys here, and the amount of cuts they’re making, there’s going to be a lot of potential that get bypassed.”Pieters, who hails from San Diego, was the leading wicket-taker in the opening match with 3 for 15 in his four overs and also executed a run-out in the field. He gave credit, particularly, to being able to work with Courtney Walsh on Saturday during the skills assessment rotations.”That was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Just being in that personal space with him and having him actually challenge you. He wasn’t an easy coach. He wasn’t taking it easy on us at all. He wanted to push and get the best out of us and that’s exactly what he did. Just the way I ended with that session yesterday, hitting the cones that he wanted me to hit and getting a clap from him, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”The 66 players will have another day of trial matches on Monday before final selections are made for phase two beginning on Friday.

Points Table
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Baroda completed a stunning fightback and enhanced their prospects of reaching the semi-final stage after a four-wicket win against Tamil Nadu at Vadodara. Having completed all their league games, Tamil Nadu will now await the results of the last league round. Chasing 272 for victory, Baroda were in a deep hole at 113 for 5 but Kiran Powar and Yusuf Pathan added 159 in an unbeaten seventh-wicket stand and sealed the win. Powar stroked 11 fours in his steady 90 while Yusuf, Irfan’s brother, cracked 81 in 124 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. For the second successive game Baroda came back from a low first-innings score to triumph in a thrilling chase. They take on Uttar Pradesh in the final league game, beginning on December 31, and need to win with a bonus point to ensure a place in the last four.
Scorecard
Hyderabad’s 60-run win in a low-scoring scrap gave them a great chance of entering the semi-finals. Chasing 278 for victory, Punjab couldn’t manage sizeable partnerships as Gaurav Gupta, who made a solid 87, lost partners at regular intervals. Gupta was stranded on 87 when the last wicket fell. Narender Pal Singh, the medium pacer, snapped up four wickets while Inder Shekar Reddy, the left-arm spinner, picked up three. Earlier VRV Singh, Punjab’s 20-year-old fast bowler, completed a great match with six wickets in the second innings, and finished with 13 for 115 for the game. The Punjab batsmen, though, faltered in both innings and though they were still favourites to make it to the semi-finals, big wins for Baroda and Hyderabad in the final league game would snuff out their chances.
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Uttar Pradesh began confidently in their pursuit of 232 at Karad in a contest that had no bearing on the semi-final slots. Maharashtra were shot out for 119 in their second innings with Rudra Pratap Singh, the left-arm medium pacer, claiming 5 for 33. Ashish Winston Zaidi contributed three victims as Maharashtra’s batting worries continued. Jyoti Prakash Yadav led the chase and was unbeaten on a composed 36.
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Sairaj Bahutule’s eight first-class hundred helped Mumbai tighten their stranglehold and they led by 390 at the end of the third day at the Wankhede Stadium. Having gained a 126-run lead in their first innings, Mumbai were in a spot of bother at 67 for 6 when Bahutule and Ramesh Powar came together. Both added 117 for the seventh wicket with Powar contributing 65. Bahutule was unbeaten at the close as Karnataka’s semi-finals hopes had all but disappeared. Mumbai have already booked their spot in the semis.
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Gujarat’s bowlers struck at regular intervals as Madhya Pradesh struggled in pursuit of 353 in the third day at Ahmedabad. All the MP batsmen reached double figures but none crossed 35 as Hitesh Majumdar and A Makda, the opening bowlers, grabbed seven wickets between them. At the end of the day, MP still trailed by 111 with only three wickets standing and may concede two points in a game that was bound for a tame draw.
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Shib Shankar Paul and Ranadeb Bose helped Bengal claw their way back into the contest at Kolkata, a game that they had win to enhance their chances of staying in the Elite Group. Delhi collapsed from 193 for 4 to 251 all out as Paul and Bose ended the innings with five wickets apiece. Mithun Manhas and Vijay Dahiya made 70s but their dismissals early in the day triggered a collapse. Bengal’s reply was much more promising than their first-innings effort, where they managed 240, and ended the day on a comfortable 190 for 3, an overall lead of 179. Deep Dasgupta top scored with 56. Delhi will have to push for a win tomorrow to boost their chances of a last-four berth.
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Amit Pagnis hammered 107 in just 136 balls as Railways took command in their crucial game against Andhra at Anantapur, a game that could decide if they remained in the Elite Group or not. After managing a 61-run lead, Railways didn’t lose any wicket till stumps with Pagnis and Sanjay Bangar adding 151 in 42 overs. Pagnis smashed 19 fours on the way to his eighth first-class hundred. Earlier, Andhra had wriggled out of a tight spot with their tailenders taking the score from 120 for 6 to 202.

Martin Snedden, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, has admitted that the desultory attendances at the Christchurch Test have left him baffled. On all three days of the match the players and officials almost outnumbered the spectators.Snedden said he was fairly sure that the cost of tickets was not the issue. No-one showed up despite adult tickets costing just $15 and children having free entry over the weekend, as long as they wore cricketing clothes. He added that attendances were up overall, but that included ODIs and Twenty20 matches.One theory put forward for the poor attendances was the limit of a one litre bottle of water per person, but that hardly accounts for the missing thousands.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Brian Lara: another masterclass at Adelaide © Getty Images

It was the Brian Lara show all the way at the Adelaide Oval, as he uncorked an innings of stunning class and vintage majesty on the opening day of the Adelaide Oval. His eighth double-century – an unbeaten 202 – lifted West Indies to 7 for 352 at close of play on the opening day, and left him just 12 runs away from breaking Allan Border’s record for the highest aggregate in Test cricket.Dogged by poor form and bad luck throughout this series, Lara fought back in style at a venue which has always been a lucky one for him – he now averages 94.83 here. As has happened so often in the past, though, none of the other West Indian batsmen offered him substantial support – the second-highest score was a measly 34 – which ensured that despite Lara’s monumental effort, West Indies still only had a par score on the board on a pitch which is an excellent one for batting.Coming in to bat at 2 for 19, Lara had to battle hard for his runs – and for survival – early in the piece. The ball was swinging, conditions were slightly overcast, and both Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath had their tails up. Lara negotiated both, not entirely comfortably, but his biggest test of the day came from an unlikely source. The first ball that Andrew Symonds bowled to him nearly had him trapped in front – though replays showed that Aleem Dar made an excellent judgment as the ball pitched just marginally outside leg – and then, throughout that eight-over spell, Symonds probed ceaselessly with his swing and control.

A lone man keeps the flame burning © Getty Images

Lara survived that, battling his way to a 67-ball 27 at lunch. After that, none of the Australian bowlers had much of a chance. The twinkle-toed footwork gradually returned, the uncertain shuffling around the crease stopped, and those supple wrists soon began to work their magic: when the legspinners tossed it high and wide, Lara took the bait, crashing the drives either side of cover; when they drifted towards leg, the sweep shot – including a single-handed one – did the trick. As the confidence returned, so did the ability to pick the gaps and make use of the short boundaries square of the wicket. When Lee returned for his second spell, he was greeted with a scorching square-drive – little footwork but all flourish – and then a pull shot which brought him his hundred.By the final session, Lara’s mastery over the Australian bowlers was complete. Though this was a first-day pitch, both Warne and MacGill got reasonable turn from it, but Lara’s presence meant they were far less effective than they might have been otherwise – off 107 balls, they leaked 88 runs to him. Ponting took the second new ball as soon as it was due, but that only increased the flow of runs for Lara. On 190 with just three overs to go, Lara turned it on in style, pulling Lee in front of square for four, flicking him for a couple, and then unleashing another pull which crashed into the square-leg fence – his 20th four – and brought up his double-hundred. The Adelaide crowd, which had given him a rousing welcome in the morning sensing that it was probably be his last Test in Australia, rose to a man to applaud an outstanding effort.At the end, the score was a damning indictment on the rest of the batsmen. Wavell Hinds, back in the team in place of Chris Gayle, and Devon Smith were consumed by the pace and swing of Lee, who bowled an inspired opening spell, and while Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell to a fine delivery, some of the others were guilty of throwing it away – Ramnaresh Sarwan fell to the pull for the umpteenth time, while Dwayne Smith tried to smash the cover off the ball when what was needed was sensible support for Lara.The best support acts came from the batting heroes at Hobart, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin. Bravo batted with all the assurance he had shown at the Bellerive Oval, scoring a fine 34, while Ramdin handled both the spinners and the new ball with aplomb till he was trapped on the shuffle late in the day. With only the bowlers for company, expect Lara to turn it on from the start on the second day. And expect another standing ovation when – and if – he gets those 12 runs.

Wavell Hinds c Hayden b Lee 10 (1 for 16)
Devon Smith c Hayden b Lee 7 (2 for 19)
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Symonds b Lee 16 (3 for 53)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Gilchrist b Symonds 25 (4 for 121)
Dwayne Bravo c Ponting b MacGill 34 (5 for 237)
Dwayne Smith c Symonds b MacGill 14 (6 for 263)
Denesh Ramdin lbw b McGrath 27 (7 for 333)

When Anil Kumble trapped Mohammad Rafique in front on the first day at Dhaka, he went past Kapil Dev to become India’s leading wicket-taker in Test cricket. The milestone came 14 years, four months and one day after he bowled his first ball in Tests – against England at Old Trafford in 1990 – and in the intervening period, there have been plenty of highs, and a few lows, in his career.The most striking aspect of his career has been Kumble’s contribution to Indian victories, mostly at home, but more recently in overseas wins as well. The table below shows just wide the gulf between him and the rest is – Kumble has 199 wickets in Indian wins, 101 more than BS Chandrasekhar, who is in second place, and more than Chandra and Bishan Bedi put together.

	Matches won	Wkts in matches won	Matches won at home	Wkts in home wins
Kumble	28	199	23	165
Chandrasekhar	14	98	9	56
Bedi	17	97	9	65
Harbhajan	15	94	11	83
Kapil	24	90	20	74
Prasanna	15	81	8	39
Srinath	17	68	13	52

When Kumble started off, he was largely a one-trick pony, firing in his deliveries tirelessly and with unerring accuracy. He was lethal on uneven surfaces, but wasn’t quite as effective on good tracks. However, of late, he has added more strings to his bow: he turns the legbreak much more than he used to, and he bowls at a much slower pace. That may have resulted in a slight compromise on the economy rate – it has gone up from 2.46 before December 2003 to 3.23 in the last 12 months – but it has also made him a more complete bowler. The difference shows in his stats – he has been taking more wickets in the first innings, and in overseas matches.Of the 78 wickets he has taken in his last 13 Tests (since the Australian tour of 2003-04), 50 of them have come in the first innings. That by itself might not be surprising, since India haven’t always bowled twice in these matches, but Kumble’s average and strike-rate are better in the first innings too. He has taken eight five-fors during this period, six of them in the first innings.

Kumble since Australian tour	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
1st innings	50	27.74	51.80
2nd innings	28	27.96	54.80

Kumble before Australian tour	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
1st innings	196	31.38	76.51
2nd innings	162	24.39	59.46

Kumble’s first 200 wickets took him 47 Tests, but since then he has been accumulating them at a much faster rate – 236 more in just 44 games (including the ongoing Dhaka Test). Kumble’s first 100 wickets came quickly enough, in 21 Tests, but his next 100 took 26 more, which spoilt his numbers somewhat. Kapil, on the other hand, took plenty of time to go from 200 to 400.

Bowler	First 100 in …	100 – 200 in …	200 – 300 in …	300 – 400 in …
Kumble	21 Tests	26 Tests	19 Tests	19 Tests
Kapil	25	25	33	32

Several changes have been made to the international and domestic programsfor Australian cricket next summer, and India will benefit during their tour with an extra match, Cricket Australia said today. They will play a Queensland XI in a three-day match at Allan Border Field from November 29-December 1.As a result of the inclusion of this match, the Indian three-day gameagainst Victoria in Melbourne will now start two days earlier on November25. The one-day match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra has beentransferred from December 1 to January 28. India¹s other tour match, athree-day clash against Australia A in Hobart (December 19-21), remainsunchanged.

South Wilts left-arm pace bowler James Tomlinson and promising batsman Chris Benham, from Cove, have been signed by Hampshire on a summer contract basis in 2002.The pair, who have graduated through the county’s colts network, will link up with their Hampshire team-mates after completing the first year of their respective university studies.Tomlinson, 20, played an integral role in Hampshire’s Second XI Championship triumph this summer, taking 14 wickets.Farnborough-based Benham, 19, a past Hampshire Academy graduate, has been a prominent run scorer in the various Young Cricketer sides in recent seasons.Besides playing regular 2nd XI cricket, Benham and Tomlinson are expected to be among the young players Middleton will include in the county’s Development XI in the SouthernElectric Premier League next season.”These lads are very talented players and have to potential to progress if they continue to work hard at their game,” said Hampshire 2nd XI coach Tony Middleton.”They are both ‘home grown’ and underlines again how the development work at both county and club level is flourishing.”