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.

With the aid of some rigid captaincy from Victoria’s Paul Reiffel, Michael Di Venuto (62*) and Scott Kremerskothen (41) have rescued Tasmania fromembarrassment on day two of their Pura Cup clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.A ninety-six run partnership between the pair has salvaged the Tigers after their first five wickets fell for just twenty runs.At stumps, the visitors are still 188 behind Victoria’s first innings total with Di Venuto and Sean Clingeleffer (7*) at the crease.Joined after Shaun Young’s (0) dismissal at seven minutes past two, the pair worked hard to rebuild the Tigers’ innings, staying together for three hours and nineteenminutes. Knowing another wicket could finish their innings well inside the hundred-run mark, the two left handers took their time and batted to stay in rather thancompile runs.Their slow and steady approach frustrated bowlers and spectators alike, with the morning’s strong crowd full of cheering schoolchildren giving way to just a handfulof purists by the end of the day. Their scoring rate of less than two runs an over – at one stage thirty-one deliveries went by without a single run – was tedious to saythe least. Still they soldiered on, with chants of “boring, boring” ringing in their ears.Victorian captain Paul Reiffel did not seem too interested in effecting a succession of bowling changes, retaining faith in Ian Harvey (1/25) and off-spinner JohnDavison () rather than introducing occasional bowlers such as Clinton Peake or Brad Hodge to perhaps break the Tasmanians’ concentration and add a bit of spiceto the proceedings.Although devoid of flair and excitement, the partnership did get the job done for the Tasmanians, who would have been happy to watch an alliance ticking intodouble figures, especially after they had lost three wickets for just one run at the head of their innings.Di Venuto was well rewarded for his patience with a half century which included four boundaries and took 176 balls. All-rounder Kremerskothen was not as lucky,falling lbw to Harvey for forty-one. His innings included four boundaries and lasted 141 deliveries.Harvey nearly claimed another wicket from the very next ball, with wicketkeeper-batsman Clingeleffer appearing fortunate to survive a strong lbw appeal.Having lost opener Dene Hills (0) in the fourth over of the day, the Tigers fell into a hole – four batsmen returning to the pavilion with ducks beside their names.Reiffel (2/22) and young left-armer Mathew Inness (3/19) were the main destroyers, with the pair taking all but one of the day’s wickets.Fresh from his Australia ‘A’ experience against the West Indies last week, the red-haired Inness was in fine form – bowling with typical accuracy and consistency.Reiffel, at the other end, did much the same and the pair had a stranglehold on the Tigers for their forty-one overs.After a rush of dismissals on either side of the lunch break, Victoria failed to drive home the advantage in the second half of the final session. However, given that itstill leads by 188 runs, the home team looks certain to capture first innings points tomorrow morning.Earlier today, the Victorian tail wagged to its heart’s content, with Davison (33) starring in a quickfire fifty-one run partnership with Reiffel (23). Althoughunimpressive with the ball, Davison shone with the bat, smashing four boundaries in his thirty-two minute innings.Controversially selected for this match over talented all-rounder Ben Oliver, Davison was eager to make an impact and ended up doing better than his moreestablished teammates such as Jason Arnberger (0) and Ian Harvey (15).An unbeaten eleven runs from fast bowler Mick Lewis also helped, taking Victoria from yesterday’s 6/250 to a healthy 322.

Chris Harris might be New Zealand’s leading One-Day International wicket taker but his desire to be a serious bowling option for the Test side has seen him develop a new bowling style.The 31-year-old has been working during the winter on a new action which sees him bowling with his left foot on the ground, instead of his familiar left-foot-in-the-air style that he has used throughout his career.The new style results in him bowling quicker and produces more spin. Harris started out as a medium-slow inswing bowler who then developed a leg roller option.While those two options were effective in one-day play, it is the Test arena which still beckons for him.”I have been seriously working on it. After last season I enquired of the selectors where they saw me and I was told to be considered for the Test team I needed to be a wicket-taking option,” he told CricInfo today.Harris is eyeing a role for himself similar to what Colin Miller fills for Australia.”I wouldn’t have changed otherwise,” he said when confirming his desire to become more of a Test regular.Harris has played 19 Tests for New Zealand but his 15 wickets have been at a cost of 66.93 compared to his 164 ODI wickets at 35.95.Making the change hasn’t proved easy.”After 25 years of bowling in one way it is pretty hard to change. It has been pretty tough but I am getting their slowly,” he said.He will not be trying his new style in one-day cricket in Sri Lanka next month and it is more likely to be the New Zealand domestic season before it is unveiled.”It could be that in the future I could bowl both styles during one-dayers but that would depend on conditions,” he said.Harris was happy with how his one-day summer finished up last season, and especially after the treatment he received during the home series when Andy Flower unleashed his reverse sweeping on Harris.”That’s not happened to me before. But I was happy with the way I came back against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. I just went through a little phase when things didn’t go too well against Zimbabwe,” he said.NZC’s director of player development Ashley Ross, who has been working with Harris said that Harris’ delivery style meant he wasn’t getting as much power into his bowling as he could.”His lower body power was not being transferred to the trunk and the bowling arm. He always released the ball with his left foot in the air and he was getting his power from a very small portion of his body.”His new style will be more efficient and while it is hard to quantify, he has probably picked up 20km in speed, and bowls more at Nathan Astle’s speed.”By bowling medium pace leg rollers he is also working at utilising the extra power on the side of the ball to bowl a genuine leg spinner.”Once he has it worked out he will have more variety in his bowling.”Chris is a very talented guy and he will have to see how it happens in the heat of battle,” Ross said.Shayne O’Connor had a similar problem, but not to the same degree, and like Harris, once his left foot was in the correct place he had a lift in the speed he could bowl.Harris also has another change coming in his life. He and wife Linda are expecting their first child in two months.

Following his comments regarding the possible relocation of Somerset County Cricket Club to a new out of town site Chief Executive made the following statement at The County Ground on Tuesday.”As a result of the meeting with the Chief Planning Officer, Somerset County Cricket Club has requested that the planners try to identify a suitable relocation site for the club.”Mr Anderson went on: “The position of the council has always been neutral and until they knew whether or not the club wished to move they would not identify a suitable site. The Somerset strategy has been that there is no point in going to the members until we know where we might be moving to if a buyer could be found.”The Chief Executive concluded: “What I am now thinking of suggesting is that we go to the members offering them the same deal that was available four years ago and asking them if they would be prepared to move should it become available again.”

ECB Premier Division 1BAT Sports 156-3 (37.1 overs) (Carson 53 n.o.) v Havant
Match abandoned as a drawBurridge 198-7 (21pts) (Hawkins 51, Jackson 41, Francis 39, Wheatley 2-34)
Liphook & Ripsley (rain reduced target 155 off 28) 102-9 (6pts) (Jansen 25, Wright 21, Godwin 4-29, Ancell 3-22)
Burridge won by 57 runsSouth Wilts 82-8 (36 overs)(Caines 21 n.o., Woodhouse 21, Warren 3-18) v Bournemouth
Match abandoned as a drawMatches postponed: Bashley (Rydal) v Hungerford, Calmore Sports v AndoverPremier Division 2OT & Romsey 172-7 (22pts) (Smith 49, Rapley 25, K Trodd 22, Ball 3-39, Mariner 3-48)
Sparsholt 81 (5pts) (target 124 off 25) (Richings 35, Ord 6-33, Wood 4-18)
Old Tauntonians & Romsey won by 48 runsMatches postponed: Easton and Martyr Worthy v Lymington, Portsmouth v Cove, Trojans v Old Basing, U.S.Portsmouth v HambledonPremier Division 3All matches postponed
Flamingo v Bashley (Rydal) II, Havant II v New Milton, Hursley Park v Portsmouth II, Leckford v Alton, Lymington II v Winchester K.S., Paultons v Hook and Newnham Basics, Rowledge v Gosport Borough, St.Cross Symondians v U.S.Portsmouth II, Waterlooville v Purbrook

Jeremy Snape and Jack Russell revived Gloucestershire’s second innings atBristol today in the low-scoring CricInfo Championship Division Two game withWarwickshire.The pair came together with Gloucestershire on 100-5 in the 45th over andwith a lead of only 41. But by the premature close they had taken the score to 157-5, with Snape on 42 and Russell on 15, and put the game back in the balance.Bad light and rain wiped 35 overs off the day’s play, with 27 of them lost in the last session.Alan Richardson, Dougie Brown and Neil Smith claimed a wicket apiece in themorning as Gloucestershire lost Dominic Hewson (11), Kim Barnett(21) and Matt Windows (14) in reaching 85-3.Warwickshire’s victory hopes were raised further when Mark Alleyne and ChrisTaylor were then removed in successive overs after the interval.Alleyne cut a Brown delivery to Mark Wagh at third man, to fall for ten, thenTaylor gave a legside catch to wicket-keeper Keith Piper off Richardson for33.Warwickshire had to do without seamer Melvyn Betts in the afternoon sessiondue to illness and the rest of their attack were frustrated by Snape and thetypically obdurate Russell.The scoring rate was only just above two an over, but Snape and Russellbriefly broke the stranglehold with a boundary apiece off Vasbert Drakes inthe 56th over.Snape took two more boundaries off Richardson in one of the three-and-a-half overs possible, the second of which brought up the half-century stand.Richardson finished with 2-40 from 20.3 overs, while Brown has 2-17 from 15 overs. Off-the-field, Gloucestershire have been dealt another injury blow ahead of next Saturday’s Benson & Hedges Cup final with Surrey at Lord’s with news that vice-captain Tim Hancock broke a bone in his right hand during fielding practice.Hancock has not been selected for Gloucestershire’s last three Championship matches, but he is a key member of the one-day team and has no chance of being fit for the Lord’s showpiece.Gloucestershire are also expected to be without pace bowlers Mike Smith (groin) and Jon Lewis (back) for the game due to injury.

In-form Kent took advantage of excellent batting conditions and Richard Johnson’s shock call into England’s Trent Bridge Test squad to run up 381 for four on the opening day of this CricInfo Championship match in Canterbury.The 26-year-old Somerset seamer was summoned just after lunch as cover for the injured Chris Silverwood having sent down just eight overs in the match.Already without the services of Andrew Caddick, Johnson’s departure at 2.30pm left Somerset another seamer light on what is a superb St Lawrence wicket.Not surprisingly David Fulton cashed in; the first man to 1,000 runs this season, the Kent opener finished unbeaten on 160 which represents his fifth Championship century this summer and his sixth in all first-class cricket.The right-hander featured in an opening stand of 91 with Rob Key, who also reached four-figures for the season before he went for a suicidal single with his score on 50.Key was later rewarded with his county cap in a presentation by Kent patron, HRH the Duke of Kent, as was Ed Smith whose contribution amounted to eight before he hooked into the hands of square-leg.Fulton teamed up with Australian international Andrew Symonds to add a further 90 for the third wicket before the Queenslander played fatally across the line, having hit 56 from 70 balls.Not to be outdone, left-hander Matthew Walker joined in the run spree with a fluent 81 as his contribution to a fourth-wicket partnership that added 175 in 57 overs.The pair looked like seeing Kent through to stumps until Walker drove back a low return catch to spinner Keith Dutch two overs from the close and in the time added on for the Duke’s tea-time presentations.