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Australia won their second warmup game against Queensland at Allan Border Field, Brisbane, today, completing their program of match practice before this week’s Super Challenge 2000. The Australians will be facing their 1999 World Cup adversaries South Africa in three one-day games under a closed roof at Colonial Stadium, Melbourne, starting Wednesday.They didn’t have it all their way, however. Chasing a small target of 174, they won the game with thirteen overs in hand, but only one wicket to spare.Played under the Mercantile Mutual Cup twelve-a-side rules, Australia played Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who were rested from Friday’s game against the Queenslanders, with Michael Bevan taking the day off.Queensland captain Jimmy Maher won the toss and batted first, but tight bowling by the Australians saw the home state bundled out for 173 at the end of their fiftieth over. Lee Carseldine (40), opening the batting, was top score for the Queenslanders. Shane Warne (3/24 from eight overs) removed the Queensland middle-order cheaply, with Shane Lee taking 2/36. Brett Lee and Ian Harvey claimed one wicket apiece, while Jason Gillespie (1/28) removed Jamie Hopes to take his first wicket in his comeback to the Australian team.It was a casual batting display by the Australians, as if this were not the area where they needed practice. No batsman scored more than the 29 achieved by both Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh. Ricky Ponting (21 from 13 balls, two fours, two threes) provided a brief cameo early in the innings.Australia were always well ahead of the required run-rate, but with nine runs to go in the 34th over they lost three wickets in the space of seven deliveries – including Warne for a duck – and found themselves at 169 for 9. Gillespie and Brett Lee levelled the scores with four runs off Bichel’s next over before Lee took a single off Prestwidge to win the game.Former Australian international Andy Bichel was the most successful of the Queensland bowlers, though expensive, taking 3/54 from his ten overs. Another former Australian Test paceman, Scott Muller, was less successful, being removed from the attack after two overs cost him 21 runs.A good crowd well in excess of a thousand took advantage of free admission to see the two teams in action. The Australian team travel to Melbourne tomorrow morning for more practice and a string of promotional activities.Queensland continue to perform duty as practice partners for international teams, with two matches against New Zealand at Border Field on Monday and Tuesday. The Black Caps are en route to Singapore for a one-day triseries against Pakistan and South Africa commencing next Sunday.

ScorecardBen Foakes ensured Surrey made reasonably smooth progress to their target•Getty Images

Ben Foakes finished unbeaten on 57 as Surrey completed a convincing six-wicket LV= County Championship win against Kent to close to within eight points of Division Two leaders Lancashire.Surrey, who had bowled Kent out for a second innings 99 to take control of the match, reached their fourth innings target of 125 with few alarms, the 22-point victory being confirmed in 36.1 fourth day overs.Rory Burns led the way with 46, with Foakes helping the opener to add a valuable 55 for the third wicket. And, as Surrey closed in on the win, Foakes had some fun by pulling Joe Denly’s leg spin for six and also twice lifting James Tredwell over the legside boundary for maximums.In all, Foakes faced 91 balls, hitting three fours besides those three sixes, while Jason Roy hit the winning runs by cover-driving Tredwell, who finished with 3 for 61, for four.Resuming on 4 for 1, having seen Zafar Ansari bowled by the last ball of day three by Tredwell, Surrey were a nervous 26 for two when Kumar Sangakkara fell for just a single in the sixth over of the morning.Jumping down the pitch to drive, Sangakkara was beaten by off spinner Tredwell’s sharp turn and stumped by wicketkeeper Sam Billings.Burns, however, looked in good touch from the start, punching Tredwell through mid wicket for the day’s first boundary and later lofting him over mid on for another four.Tredwell was Kent’s chief threat in spin-friendly conditions, but both Burns and Foakes, promoted to no 4, played him well as he toiled away from the Pavilion End.Both needed some good fortune against the turning ball, with two Tredwell deliveries beating them and keeper Billings to fly away for byes.Foakes, on 21, also edged Tredwell just short of Matt Coles at slip but soon he was hitting him high over mid on for four to keep Surrey moving swiftly towards their target.It was something of a surprise when Burns was bowled around his legs aiming a sweep at Tredwell, but by then he had hit eight fours in an important 85-ball knock for his team.Arun Harinath replaced Burns at the crease and joined Foakes in a partnership of 34 before on 14 edging Denly to Tredwell at second slip to leave Surrey 115 for four. But withonly ten more runs required, it did not take Foakes and Roy long to see Surrey over the line.

ScorecardFidel Edwards•Getty Images

Fidel Edwards bagged a nine-wicket haul for the match as Hampshire won their first County Championship match at the Ageas Bowl in 2015.West Indian fast bowler Edwards took two of the four morning scalps – ending with figures of nine for 87 – as Hampshire, forced to bowl spin because of woirsening weather, beat the rain by moments.The victory boosts Hampshire’s unlikely survival bid with 21 points and all but ends Warwickshire’s hopes of stealing the Championship crown from an increasingly dominant Yorkshire.Edwards has now taken 22 wickets in four Championship matches at 21.45 and has bowled some of the fastest spells of the season, making him a key figure in Hampshire’s attempt to escape demotion.Jackson Bird has announced he is returning to his Australian state side Tasmania at the end of the month to be replaced by South African all-rounder Ryan McLaren.Rikki Clarke provided solid resistance on the third day with a stoic 53, but he appeared in a rush in the morning flicking the first ball through the leg side for two. Atempting to repeat the shot to the fourth ball of the day he loosely chipped to Joe Gatting at mid-wicket off Bird.Edwards added his eighth wicket of the match by having Keith Barker lbw in the second over of the morning – as Warwickshire capitulated before the forecast rain.Chris Woakes provided a luscious cover drive and a clip off the hips for boundaries as he offered a selection of good looking shots for the sparse crowd.Jeetan Patel got away with an edge to slip which did not quite carry to Liam Dawson at second slip. Then in the next over a vicious bouncer from Edwards saw off the New Zealander, as the ball looped off his glove to Will Smith at short leg.Woakes and Boyd Rankin frustrated the home side with a 41-run partnership in 86 balls as Hampshire were only allowed to utilise spin in dreary conditions.Smith finally broke the partnership nearly 90 minutes into the morning as Woakes clipped to Mason Crane at mid-on – to give Hampshire a 216 run win.

Shane Watson could be heading back to Hampshire now that his Test career is over.Watson, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Sunday, admitted to ESPNcricinfo he had held “general discussions with the club’s chairman, Rod Bransgrove” but has yet to agree a deal.Watson enjoyed a successful stint at the club in 2004 and 2005 – he was in the side that won the C&G Trophy at Lord’s in 2005 – and has maintained a close relationship with Bransgrove. He has been linked with a return on several occasions – he actually signed for them in 2008, but did not play – but has been busy with international commitments. The news that his Test career is over would appear to have removed that obstacle.”I absolutely loved my time playing at Hampshire and I’d love to play here again,” Watson said during the ODI in Southampton last week.It is understood that Watson is being lined up to play only white ball cricket for Hampshire, with another overseas player signed for Championship cricket.Hampshire are looking to strengthen after a disappointing year in the County Championship which has left them fighting to avoid relegation from Division One. They have already announced the signing of left-arm swing bowler, Reece Topley, and are understood to be talking to South African seamers Ryan McLaren and Kyle Abbott about joining the club.McLaren, 32, who is currently at the club as an overseas player, would be a Kolpak registration, while Abbott, who played T20 cricket for Hampshire in 2014 and was a frequent visitor to the club this year during a spell at Middlesex, has made it clear he would only sign as an overseas player.”Those players are in our thoughts,” Giles White, the Hampshire coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “But nothing firm has been agreed.”

Phil Simmons has been suspended with immediate effect as West Indies coach, two days after he expressed his unhappiness with the ODI squad selected for the Sri Lanka tour. Simmons was caught unawares by the decision, which was communicated to him in an email from WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead, as he was in the UK preparing to join the squad in London on their way to Sri Lanka.Simmons will now not travel with the team, and former West Indies fast bowler Eldine Baptiste, who is also a national selector, will take up the position of interim coach for the tour of Sri Lanka. The series, which begins on October 14, is the new Test captain Jason Holder’s first assignment.”The West Indies Cricket Board has learnt of the comments from head coach of the West Indies team Phil Simmons in the print and electronic media which appear to question the legitimacy of the selection process of the one-day international squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. As a result, the management of the WICB has taken action to suspend the head coach, pending an investigation into the issue,” the board said in a statement. “The head coach will not now travel with the team on the tour of Sri Lanka.”Though West Indies’ limited-overs squads for the tour had not been announced, Simmons revealed that “interference from outside” at a selection meeting on September 23 had kept allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard out of the ODI side. Simmons said that he, as coach, and chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd had voted for their inclusion, but were outnumbered 3-2 despite Holder also wanting Bravo and Pollard in the team.”I think it’s disappointing from the fact that I haven’t got the best 50-over ODI squad that we can select in the Caribbean,” Simmons had said at a media conference, at the conclusion of the West Indies training camp at the 3Ws Oval in Bridgetown. “The chairman, Mr Lloyd, he came and he gave an exceptional speech saying that he thinks it is time they are back in the squad and he gave exceptional reasons for them being back in the squad. Unfortunately, when we went into the selection [meeting] we lost it 3-2. Him and myself – the captain [Holder] doesn’t have a vote in this – but the captain also gave his views as to why they need to be back.”Bravo and Pollard have not been considered for ODI selection since they were dropped for the series in South Africa in January this year, and their omission from the World Cup squad generated plenty of debate. At the time Lloyd had said he had spoken to the two players and explained to them that the selection panel wanted to move on and give youngsters more chances.

Virender Sehwag has become the latest high-profile former cricketer to confirm his participation at the inaugural Cricket All-Stars series, co-promoted by Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, in the USA next month. However, his decision means he will miss part of Haryana’s Ranji Trophy campaign. Sehwag scored a century in his most recent match for them, against Karnataka in Mysore.Anirudh Chaudhary, Secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association, told ESPNcricinfo that Sehwag had said he would miss one game for the state side, which they were “absolutely okay” with. Chaudhary confirmed that Sehwag would be playing Haryana’s next match against Bengal starting on Friday, October 30, in Rohtak before leaving for the US.While Sehwag will surely miss Haryana’s next match against Assam, starting November 7, it appears unlikely that he will be back in India in time for the one after that, against Odisha on November 15. The All-Stars matches are scheduled for November 7 in New York, November 11 in Houston and November 14 in Los Angeles. Chaudhary conceded that Sehwag would struggle to return in time for the match against Odisha “if he plays all the matches”, but insisted the association wasn’t perturbed about his absence.”Every match he is part of this team is huge for this team,” he said. “Every interaction with him benefits the players. We are looking at him mentoring the players and our objective is achieved by his presence around the squad. Once a player has announced his international retirement, anything he contributes at Ranji level we should gleefully accept.”Sehwag had announced his retirement from international cricket last week and joins VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar as the former India internationals who will play in the USA. However, Sehwag is the only player still playing domestic cricket. He has also signed up for the Masters Champions League, another tournament featuring retired players, expected to be held in January in the UAE.

Rajasthan placed themselves in a commanding position by obtaining afirst innings lead of 93 runs against Bengal in their Ranji TrophySuper League Group A encounter at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. In theprocess they also guaranteed themselves of five points. Bengal wereall out for 284 replying to Rajasthan’s first innings score of 377. Intheir second innings at close of play on the third day, Rajasthan were72 for three wickets at stumps.Much depended on Devang Gandhi. But the former Indian playerdisappointed getting out in the fourth over of the day. Trying to cutoff spinner Rahul Kanwath, Gandhi nicked a catch to wicketkeeperR. Jahalani. It was a stroke that could have been avoided as the ballwas too full for the cut shot. It was then a matter of time before theBengal innings ended. The only person who waged a single handed battlewas Srikanth Kalyani. He fought on gamely and remained unbeaten on 83with the help of seven boundaries when the innings ended. He playedeach ball on its merit and was severe on anything that was pitchedshort.However, other than Wrichik Mazumdar, nobody was there to supportKalyani’s cause. Mazumdar (25 with three boundaries) added 46 for theseventh wicket. But then he fell to good catch at silly point of thebowling of R. Jaykumar, Nikhil Doru anticipating the sharp bat-padchance to his right.Left arm spinner Devinder Pal Singh was the most successful bowlerscalping three wickets. He bowled a restrictive line forcing thebatsman into errors. Anshu Jain, Jaykumar and Kanwath picked up acouple apiece. However, Bengal came back strongly in the match in thesecond innings. They had both the Rajasthan openers back in thepavilion with only 20 runs on the board. Lakshmi Ratan Shukladismissed skipper Gagan Khoda and Utpal Chatterjee, bowling with thenew ball, trapped Anhsu Jain leg before. However Kanwath and NikhilDoru steadied the innings. Kanwath fell two overs before close toChatterjee but by then the two had probably thwarted Bengal’s hopes ofa victory.

The final of the Asia Cup was as absorbing as expected considering there was hardly anything between the two sides. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka had the ammunition in their ranks to blast the opponents out. The one thing that the final proved was that if the main strength of any team falters on the day of reckoning it would be disastrous. The fielding of Sri Lanka was incredibly appalling with as many as six catches being dropped and the three beneficiaries, Anwar, Inzamam and Moin Khan made them pay.The customary efficiency of Vaas in the early overs was absent and the Pakistanis got off to a good start. Saaed Anwar has the ability to come good at the right time and he decided that the final was as good as any other important game. He used the sweep shot to maximum effect to counter the Sri Lankan spinners. The key to his sweeping successfully was that he concentrated on placing the ball rather than hitting hard. Inzamam took his time to settle down and the onus was on him to consolidate the innings as the main batsmen were dismissed.The Sri Lankans depend heavily on Muralitharan and he delivered as efficiently as a postman to stem the flow of runs during the middle overs though it was Zoysa who got the wickets. Realising that there was some aid for the spinners from the wicket, Jayasurya brought himself on. In fact he dismissed Anwar who was out to an ordinary shot after a very good effort. The arrival of Moin Khan always gets the crowd excited in anticipation not to mention the discomfort in the opposing camp. As usual he walked in to bat at a pivotal time and alot depended on him to steer the course of the innings. Inzamam in the meanwhile developed cramps in the calf muscle and there was no way hecould have kept up with his captain in running between the wickets.At the end of 40 overs, the match was in balance and neither had established any authority over the other. It was expected of Moin Khan to get some quick runs, but what he ended up doing was simply mind-boggling. The improvisations were out of this world and at times definitely too cheeky. His blitzkrieg motivated Inzamam to come out of his shell and the pounding this duo gave the Sri Lankan bowlers was akin to the Hiroshima bombing. The final ten overs were a nightmare for Jayasurya and his boys and Moin Khan ran away with the match with his superb innings.The Sri Lankans needed Jayasurya to fire on all cylinders along with Kaluwitharana to keep their hopes alive. With Kaluwitharana departing without facing a ball, Vaas was sent to tonk the ball around the park. It is not an easy job pinch-hitting when Wasim Akram has the ball in his hands. In no time the Sri Lankans lost three wickets and much depended on the experienced pair of Aravinda and Atapattu. De Silva looked a shadow of himself and he could not force the pace like he normally does. His dismissal left Attapattu on his own along with the inexperienced lower order. Arnold provided Atapattu company to put up the highest partnership of the innings.Atapattu’s century may not have won the match for his team but it was an innings of high quality. Chandana gave some hopes towards the end of taking Sri Lanka to an unlikely victory but the re-introduction of Akram ensured that nothing of that sort happened. In the end it was a convincing victory for the Pakistanis and the first success in the Asia Cup. This triumph is coming on the heels of victories at Sharjah and the triangular series in the West Indies. Moin Khan led from the front and the main batsmen produced runs as and when required. The Sri Lankans can draw some solace from the fact that it was one of those days where nothing went right for them.The Asia Cup provided the public of Bangladesh with some fantastic entertainment besides sidelining the controversy of match fixing currently prevailing in the sub-continent. The only country, which would forget this edition of the Asia Cup in a hurry, is India, as they were knocked out of sight far too early. In comparison with the other full member countries, the attitude, fielding and motivation level of individuals was far below par and it is a pity that the trend has carried on for far too long. Somebody must be accountable for the continuing debacles but there are enough shelters to hide under for the time being.

Surrey is on the verge of winning the National League 2nd Division thanksto an unbroken partnership of 93 in 119 balls between skipper AdamHollioake and Jason Ratcliffe against Derbyshire at The Oval.Batting first Derbyshire were 89 for 2 at one stage. Australian MichaelDi Venuto made 30 from 44 balls before he was caught by wicket keeper JonBatty off Martin Bicknell. The trouble started when Saqlain Mushtaqremoved Dowman as Derbyshire slipped to 118 for 6. Then Bailey who topscored with 43 (76 balls) joined Paul Aldred who made a quick 25 totake Derbyshire to 175. For Surrey, Saqlain claimed 2 for 34 while IanSalisbury took 3 for 32.In reply, Surrey lost Mark Butcher very early, run out while backingup. Then Ian Ward and Nadeem Shahid put on a stand of 55 from 99 ballsto put Surrey in a better position. Hollioake (48* from 66 balls) andRatcliffe (42* from 58 balls) saw Surrey through. Aldred was thebest bowler for Derbyshire with 2 for 26. This defeat keeps Derbyshirerooted at the bottom of the division.

There are days when a batsman stands tall and plays well outside hisperceived ability. There are days when a team revels in distinguishedmediocrity when things aren’t going their way. There are days when anunlikely pair come together and defy all odds. Today was one of thosedays. Andy Flower was that peerless batsman, Henry Olonga his partnerand India the hapless side at the receiving end. Andy Flower’smarathon unbeaten 183 put Zimbabwe in a strong position at the end ofthe second day’s play at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The visitors amassed422/9 before declaring and putting pressure on India.Resuming on a less than inspiring 232/5, Zimbabwe would never haveimagined that they would be in a position to declare after puttingover four hundred runs on the board. As it happened, the Indian team’sinability to deliver at crucial times helped Zimbabwe do this andmore. Javagal Srinath once again gave India a breakthrough early inthe day. Removing Heath Streak before he could add to his overnightscore of 25, Srinath opened the door for the spinners. The spinnershowever, had no idea what to do, once this door was opened for them.At 325/9 Zimbabwe were on the ropes. Or so we thought. Henry Olonga isa rather unpredictable man. When he’s bowling, he’s troublesome -either for the opposition batsmen or for his captain. Today, theIndians would not have minded facing up to Olonga at his quick best.The sight of him occupying the crease for 90 balls was something theIndians would badly like to have avoided. To achieve that however, youneed bowlers. Sourav Ganguly’s decision to go into this match withonly four bowlers was widely criticised. The way things have pannedout, justifiably so it seems. Having opted to go with just the fourbowlers, Ganguly’s reluctance to hand the ball to Murali Kartik isanother situation that needs to be addressed. And fast, if India wantto go at the Zimbabweans with a serious thought of winning.The visitors’ attitude in this regard is beyond doubt. When AndyFlower was a mere 17 runs from reaching what would have been amemorable double hundred. If Heath Streak harboured any thoughts ofbatting on till Andy Flower notched up his double ton, those thoughtscertainly did not get in the way. At 422/9 Zimbabwe spared the Indiansa further drudgery and declared their innings closed. Not before AndyFlower had given the Indians a lesson in batsmanship in their ownbackyard. Applying himself immaculately, Flower cornered the Indianbowling. Milking them for timely singles and twos, Andy Flower brokethe monotony by striking boundaries at will. Whether it was pullingthe fast bowlers, or sweeping the spinners, Andy Flower was always incontrol. The day clearly belonged to him, and therein to Zimbabwe.When India played Bangladesh in last month, they managed to concede400 runs in the first innings. Snide remarks abounded at how Indianarrowly missed the ignominy of allowing Bangladesh to declare theirinnings. There was no such escape this time. The Flower-Olonga combineadded an unbeaten 97 runs for the last wicket. Heath Streak once againrefused a chance to make history. If the pair had been allowed tocontinue on, and add another three runs, it would have been only thesecond time India would have conceded three figures to the last pair.Statistics and records clearly don’t interest the Zimbabwean captain.Pressing on for a win was clearly high on Streak’s list of priorities.Sending down seven overs to Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das, theZimbabweans tried hard for early breakthroughs. Fortunately for Indiathere was no further damage and they went through to stumps at 9 forno loss. Still 413 behind, India will have to do something veryspecial to regain the initiative.