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Leicestershire will be looking to boost their Norwich Union League title hopes with their fifth victory in a row at Edgbaston on Sunday.Their four-match winning streak includes a four-wicket success over the Warwickshire Bears at Grace Road three weeks ago, and coach Phil Whitticase is looking for his side to complete a memorable double.He said: “We have got our act together again in one-day cricket, and this run has given us real a chance of challenging for the title.”We are in a good position and this is a big game for us. We have won four in a row while Warwickshire have lost their last four.If we can win this one we will be right up there keeping the pressure on Worcestershire, who we have to play in the final match of the season.”The Foxes have named an unchanged 12 for the game with batsman Rob Cunliffe standing by to come into the side. There are slight doubts about Phil Whitticase and Matt Whiley but both are expected to be fit.The Leicestershire 12 is: Wells(captain), Ward, Sutcliffe, Stevens, Bevan, DeFreitas, Burns(wicket-keeper), Maddy, Crowe, Grove, Whiley, Cunliffe.

Justin Langer was full of praise for England’s performance after the drawn warm-up match in Perth, in which England came within five runs of a memorable win. He singled out Simon Jones, who took five wickets as Western Australia were bowled out for 248 in their second innings.”I thought England played very well,” Langer enthused. “Nasser’s innings was superb, the best I’ve ever seen him bat and he looks very focused – that’s going to be an issue for us to sort out in our preparation for the Test match.”It’s all about momentum and I was expecting them to gain some leading into the Test match. I’m sure England will take a lot of positives out of the last three days which is a shame.”I’ve played at the WACA for 12 years and when pace bowlers get it right theytend to clean up the tail and Jones did well. I thought he probably bowled a bitshort, but he looks a pretty good prospect.”He’s been a bit rusty so it’s probably not that surprising that he bowledshort some of the time, but when he got it right, anyone who swings the ballback into the tail is always going to be a dangerous prospect.”Jones himself is hoping to play in the final warm-up game in Brisbane against Queensland, which starts on Saturday. It was his first full outing since he injured his side on his Test debut against India at Lord’s last July.”I’m very happy with the way things went in this game,” he admitted. “It’s the first game I’ve really played since I did the injury and I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made.”My fitness has come on a heck of a lot over the last week and a half. I’vestill got a bit to go before I’m full pace, I’d say another 10%, but I was ableto bowl the odd ball a little bit quicker.”I had a chat with Fletch (England coach Duncan Fletcher) before the game and he said just to work on the rhythms, not to try and go full pace yet. I also did some work on my action in the nets with Graham Dilley. It has worked really well for me in this game.”

Viv Richards wants West Indies to retain their bulging pace attack to take advantage of a Kensington Oval pitch that is expected to help the fast men in Thursday’s third Test. The home side did not pick a spinner in the drawn second match against Australia and Richards wants more of the same.”We will have the conditions that should suit fast bowling – Antigua was not,” Richards said on Cana News. “West Indies have to try and find the best fast bowling attack that is possible, and bring back some memories of what it used to be like at Kensington Oval.” West Indies need to win the match to level the series, but the Frank Worrell Trophy has already been re-captured by Ricky Ponting’s team, which leads the contest 1-0.While Richards has confidence in the hosts’ attack, his former team-mate Joel Garner said the current bowlers were “lazy”. “Fitness is a major part of their problem,” Garner said in the Courier Mail. “If you are physically fit you are mentally fit. They aren’t.”The mental attitude is not right. I would say they are lazy. The intensity is only there for 1½ sessions and then they go to sleep. They bowl in bursts which is not what is needed.”Richards said the team had taken “great strides” recently, but “we can only keep on speaking about potential for so long”. “There comes a time when you are measured by winning,” he said. “Sometimes we make a little progress this year and then, for some reason, we take a few strides back the following year.”

Middlesex enjoyed the better of the first day at Southgate in the Frizzell County Championship match featuring two of the top three sides in Division Two. Essex just about held on to prevent Middlesex running away completely, but the home side made full use of winning the toss to reach 376 for six at the close of the first day.They lost their captain, Andrew Strauss, with only seven on the board, but his opening partner Sven Koenig went on to a century and there were solid sixties from Ben Hutton and Owais Shah. Tim Phillips had bowled Essex back into contention by taking three wickets that left Middlesex on 272 for 5 at one stage, but 67 not out from Paul Weekes towards the end of the day put the initiative firmly back with his team.The match marks a return to first-class cricket for James Foster – the Essex and England wicket-keeper who has been out of action with a broken arm. Zimbabwean Andy Flower is playing as a batsman and Foster snared his first victim when Catching Hutton off Justin Bishop. That will have pleased Foster more than the tally of 12 byes. The 20 no balls will not have pleased the Essex coaching staff very much either.

Sharjah Cup has assumed great importance after Pakistan’s dismal defeat in the Asian Test Championship. Fortunately the selectors have made amends for their mistakes in the ATC Selection.Waseem Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq have once again been included in the team as dropping them was an unpardonable lapse that Pakistan dearly paid for. Anyway better late than never.The team that the selectors have picked is in my view appropriate barring the inclusion of Misbahul Haq and Faisal Iqbal. In fact there could not have been a better squad. The only shortcoming is the absence of leg-break bowler – left arm or right arm. We have not produced a noteworthy left-arm spinner after Iqbal Qasim. But there is no dearth of talent to fill this gap only if the selectors launch an earnest search. Ofcourse it will take time and sincere effort.As regards the right-arm leg-spinner also called a wrist spinner, we have a talented player in Danesh Kaneria who proved his worth even on the slowest pitches in Bangladesh and Sharjah. The selectors should focus attention on him as he can prove to be an invaluable asset for Pakistan in future, provided he is given ample attention and opportunity. True, he is a poor fielder but I have seen him improving on this count in recent matches.We presently have two spinners – both of whom are off-spinners. While Saqlain is world class Shoaib Malik is ordinary. The selection committee during the tenure of Dr Zafar Altaf had picked Shoaib Malik as Saqlain’s under study for Australian tour. But contrary to expectations he could not improve. Anyway he is a very good fielder and a useful batsman. But he does not actually serve as an off-spinner the burden of which Saqlain has to carry.Misbahul Haq, has however, no place in the team. In my opinion which may not exactly tally with the selectors and the coach, the playing eleven should be as follows: 1. Shahid Afridi, 2. Imran Nazir, 3. Younus Khan, 4. Inzimamul Haq, 5. Yousuf Youhana, 6. Abdul Razzaq, 7. Rashid (WK), 8. Wasim Akram, 9. Saqlain Mushtaq, 10. Waqar Younus (Captain) and 11 Shoaib Akhtar.If the top five batsmen cannot score I think Pakistan doesn’t deserve to win a match. In the past batting posed a problem but we do not have a better line-up. The selectors deserve credit for picking fourteen players on merit. Danesh, as I pointed out earlier, should have been the 15th member if there was room for one. But probably he doesn’t have the same recommendation that Faisal Iqbal has. This lucky lad has had a free trip to Dhaka, Sharjah and the ATC venue.Recently he was given an opening slot in the PIA team against the weakest contestants in the group – Hyderabad and Bahawalpur and when the contest was challenging against Customs – the strongest team after PIA, the batting order was changed to shield him. Who are they trying to fool! He is still a part of the latest outfit perhaps over the heads of Waqar and Mudassar Nazar, the skipper and the coach.When a player monopolises the reserved seat at the expense of others, a front is naturally formed against him – a handicap he has to suffer from all his life. In the past too there are many such examples. If selection depends on relationship and connections what is poor Bazid Khan’s fault when Majid Khan has had special equation with Mudassar, Rameez Raja and Mohsin Kamal. I think the PCB should now float a next of kin XI to put the pressure lobby at rest.I am glad that Waqar will continue as captain till the World Cup. As I have written before he is a good captain and his bowling changes as well as field placing reflected the much-needed cricketing sense. Besides that he enjoys respect among players which is very important. He should not, however, allow his ego to affect his decisions. He has got an excellent team – class fast bowlers, a world class off-spinner and a very competent wicket-keeper in Rashid Latif, a courageous and useful batsman and a fighter to the core.Pakistan team under the leadership of Waqar is no doubt a strong contender for the forthcoming World Cup. Only the in-fighting will have to be controlled. The PCB Chairman who is bent upon building up a high-class outfit and an infrastructure, we have been dreaming about for a long time is capable of fulfilling these ambitions.In Karachi where cement pitches have been dismantled and stadium floodlights are beaming, significant development is in sight. Promotional activities in remote areas are in progress. The whole nation is appreciating these developments. He should continue this commendable effort and give due recognition to merit totally rejecting all pressures to prepare a level field.

He had every reason in the world not to come out and bowl. Everyrational, pragmatic advisor would have told him to put up his feet,nurse his fractured jaw, thumb the pages of a paperback and watchIndia bowl at West Indies from the cool confines of the pavilion atthe Antigua Recreation Ground. Perhaps even sipping a cool, tall PinaColada. But then, even that might be hard to do with a newly-repairedjaw.God help you if you were one of the kind souls who made any of theabove suggestions to Anil Kumble. He’s the kind of man who iscomposed, thinks intensely about his game and when it comes to crickettakes no prisoners. After waiting patiently by the sidelines, sittingout two Tests, Kumble finally got a crack at the whip. Once he did, hewas not going to be a spectator once more – injury or not.And as they say, beware the anger of a patient man.Before reports filtered through that Kumble was out of action and thathe would be making the Antigua-Barbados-London-Mumbai flight, there hewas, all strapped up and asking Sourav Ganguly for a crack at the WestIndians. Clearly, Brian Lara was surprised to see Kumble coming out tothe middle. Clearly, the batsmen were rattled by the prospect offacing upto a few sliders and top spinners on a wicket that wasbeginning to lose its top.But that’s strategy. That’s for coaches and captains and turbanedexpert analysts in studios. It’s not what made Kumble take the field.”I knew that I had to go back home because of this injury so I thoughtI’ll give it one last try,” Kumble told pressmen at the end of theday’s play. One last try was not the kind of bowling that has causedcritics to bay about his 40-plus bowling average overseas. It was ahigh adrenalin burst. Heavily strapped up, with bands going around hisjaw, over his head and across the back of it, a semi-mummified Kumbleran in and presto, scalped the wicket of Lara.Classic Kumble, ball not turning much, skidding through, trapping thebatsman in front of the stumps.And make no mistake about it. This is not a case of Kumble doing aRick McCosker. Knocked over by a Bob Willis bouncer on day one of theCentenary Test at Melbourne in 1976-77, McCosker came back todo battle later in the game. Strapped up much more heavily than Kumble,McCosker famously came back to bat at No 10 in the second innings,made 25, was involved in a 54-run partnership with Rod Marsh who madea century and helped Australia win. The eventual margin of victory was 45runs, making the last wicket partnership crucial.There’s no such thing at stake here. India have 500-plus on the board,the wicket is less than conducive to bowling sides out and the gameseems to be heading for a draw.So what then was Kumble trying to achieve?Some say his appearance and bowling was simply a case of insecurity -he was booking a place in the squad that will tour England later. Somesay it was a calculated stunt to gain the sympathy of the public andthe media. Andrew Leipus, team physio, made it clear that localdentists had patched up Kumble’s jaw and there was little chance ofworsening the injury by playing. That should be good enough to takethe conspiracy theorists and nay-sayers out of the picture. But thatnever happens. People will believe what they want.There are others who feel this was a defining moment in Kumble’scareer. A testament to the man’s approach to the game. His job is tobowl and take wickets, he thought it was well within him to pushhimself and give his best. “At least I’ll go back home havingthought that I tried my best. If it did work it would be great, but itwas pretty tough. I just wanted to try,” said Kumble. That’s commendable to theextreme. It’s the kind of spirit rarely shown by Indian cricketers.Those are the two sides of the argument. To attribute either motiveunequivocally to Kumble would be a touch unfair and oversimplifyingmatters. Only Kumble himself will ever know why he did what he did -somewhere bang in the middle of the sentimental, pish-tosh attempt tobe a folk hero and the calculating schemer. He’s human after all. Andyet, he’s just turned in a superhuman effort.

At the end of a day when 42 overs were lost to rain, Northamptonshire finished the day trailing Essex by 87 runs with six first innings wickets standing in this compelling encounter between two of last season’s promoted teams.The complete afternoon session was washed out but when Northants resumed at 4.15pm on 35 without loss, both openers were dismissed inside five overs. Mal Loye pushed forward to Ronnie Irani and was trapped lbw and then Michael Hussey touched a ball down the leg side to the wicket-keeper off the bowling of Ricky Anderson.Russell Warren and Jeff Cook patiently attempted to rebuild the innings but having added 38 for the third wicket, Cook was undone by a ball from 20-year-old Andrew McGarry that nipped back.The home side were given further encouragement shortly before the rains arrived again when Anderson found the edge of Alec Swann’s bat for a catch to third slip.Warren though has played with confidence, his unbeaten 29 spanning 62 deliveries to complete the highest innings of the day.Earlier in the day, Northants needed only 80 minutes to capture the remaining four Essex wickets for whom Ashley Cowan hit a spirited 27 including a six that took his side to their only batting point. Former Essex paceman Darren Cousins collected his fourth wicket of the innings, assisted by a magnificent slip catch by Hussey, that removed Tim Mason for a duck .

LAHORE-The rain, overnight and intermittent through the day came to Pakistan’s rescue, and with the weatherman forecasting more showers between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, it might end up saving Pakistan from the humiliation of defeat in this second final of the Asian Test Championship. Other than rain, only Inzamam-ul-Haq (unbeaten 72, 209 balls, 268 minutes, 3 fours), and to a lesser extent Shoaib Malik (19 not out, 125 balls, 151 minutes, two fours) and Rashid Latif to come, stand between Sri Lanka and victory.At close on the fourth day, Pakistan had made 248, adding only 55 to their overnight 193, and now they are adrift by just 46 runs from the massive deficit of the first innings, but more crucially without losing a wicket, to go into the last day hoping for more of the same.Rock-solid, Inzamam didn’t offer the Lankans a ghost of a chance in his resolute stay on the wicket.At the end of the day, the question on many a lip was whether Pakistan can escape. This is now very much a possibility, albeit a remote one. If the duo continues in the same cautious vein, especially Inzamam, Pakistan may have an outside chance of saving this game. But if they do, it would be one of their more famous escapes.Pakistan needed this huge slice of luck through weather (323 minutes of play lost) and some application by the batsmen, to survive after a thoroughly inept batting display by the top order in both innings. At stumps on the third day, they had been still 101 shy of the overall deficit of 294. And with six sessions to go, and save only one recognised batsman in Inzamam unbeaten, without weather having mercy at them they really had very little chance of braving the trial by Muttiah Muralitharan and the three seamers, Chaminda Vaas, Buddhika Fernando and Nuwan Zoysa.The play was possible in only three brief spells of 11, 35 and 70 minutes in the pre-, post-lunch and after-tea sessions, with a total of 31.5 overs possible out of a regulation 90. On an otherwise grim day, the only bright spot was Inzamam making a workmanlike fifty while Shoaib Malik tried his best not to lose his wicket. In that he was helped by the Lankan fielders, with Mahela Jaywardene dropping a sitter at first slip off Muralitharan when he hadn’t added to his overnight 6.With that chance spilled, Lankans had further agony in store for them, as immediately afterwards rain started again. Fortunately for Pakistan, this time it came down in buckets. It slowed down, but continued for the rest of the first session, and no play was possible until 35 minutes after the lunch break. When play recommenced eventually at 1.15, Jayasuriya tossed the ball to the tall and sinewy Nuwan Zoysa in the hope that he may be able to take advantage of the dark, overcast and windy conditions.Undeterred Inzamam continued in a watchful mien, working his way towards his first score of 50-plus in four Tests and six innings. But once he was within touching distance, he thumped Muralitharan to the cover boundary with a drive on the back foot. That brought the lean spell to an end for Inzamam; for his 31st score of fifty or more, he consumed 147 deliveries in this patient 187 minute vigil on the crease.Rain stopped and the sun made a brief appearance late in the day. The Lankans, full of bounce and nerves all jumped onto the ground as if they were running out after a jail-break. So keen were they to get back in the fray after the rain holdups and get it over and done with to crown off their single most glorious season, adding to a succession of eight triumphs, that they all including the coach and physio literally started tearing off the covers from the turf. The hapless ground staff joined them willy-nilly. Their over-exuberance caused lots of water to spill on the outfield, and there were some howls of this being against the rules, but the Pakistan team, the neutral umpire and the ICC match officials looked the other way.The Lankans over-enthusiasm, however, brought no dividends to them. When the play resumed for the third and last time, Pakistan had to go through 18.5 overs, but Inzamam and Malik both batted dourly to add only 30 runs in this period. But none of the Pakistani supporters grudged them not being more enterprising.

ScorecardYuvraj Singh’s second first-class double-century – 208 off 241 deliveries – put North Zone in a commanding position against Central Zone on the second day of the semi-final in Hyderabad. There had been doubts about Yuvraj’s fitness after his return from cancer treatment, and whether he could last the rigours of long-form cricket. This performance would have put to rest some of those questions.Yuvraj’s innings helped North Zone score 451, and by the end of the day Central Zone were 146 for 5, trailing by 305 runs.”I was not trying to prove any point to anyone. My aim was to go and enjoy myself out there in the middle. I wanted to have fun,” Yuvraj told . “Especially, after what I went through, it really felt good that I batted for so long. What makes this double hundred special is that I had spent a good amount of time in the middle which is satisfying.”As he had on the first day, Yuvraj scored quickly on the second. North Zone were 346 for 4 overnight and they added 105 more before they were dismissed. Yuvraj’s contribution was 75. Praveen Kumar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik took eight wickets between them for Central Zone.Besides Yuvraj, the other North Zone batsmen didn’t last against Praveen and Kartik. North Zone lost four wickets for 36 runs and were in danger of being dismissed for less than 400. Ishant Sharma then stayed with Yuvraj for 11.2 overs for a stand of 51 to take the total beyond 450.Central Zone made a solid start to their reply, with the openers adding 64. Once Tanmay Srivastava was run out, however, the innings lost direction and four more wickets fell for 46 runs. Parvinder Awana took 2 for 29 to reduce Central Zone to 146 for 5 at stumps.
ScorecardIn Visakhapatnam, Saurabh Tiwary scored a century to help East Zone fight back after they were reduced to 66 for 6 by South Zone on the first day. Tiwary was dismissed for 145, and after East Zone were all out for 267, their bowlers reduced South Zone to 134 for 5.Tiwary and Basant Mohanty, who had already added 121 runs for the seventh wicket on the first day, scored 32 more before Mohanty was dismissed by seamer Abhimanyu Mithun. Iresh Saxena and Tiwary added 24 for the eighth wicket and Tiwary was eventually the last man out. East Zone’s last four wickets had added 80 runs on the second day.Biplab Samantray ensured the day would belong to East Zone, as he took three wickets to peg South Zone back. East Zone took their first wicket only in the 20th over, after openers Abhinav Mukund and Robin Uthappa had put on 69 runs. South Zone lost two more wickets for the addition of only two runs, and after a stand of 44 between Manish Pandey and Amit Verma, they lost two more to Samantray.

What a match. What a season. What a climax.At the end of what might come to be remembered as one of the all-time great matches in Australian first-class history, Queensland has prevailed here at the ‘Gabbaground in Brisbane to win a thrilling Pura Cup Final against Victoria by a margin of four wickets.But the Bulls didn’t grasp a fourth domestic first-class title – one which gave them back-to-back victories for the first time in their history – without weathering close tothree hours of extraordinary drama on the final day of this memorable 2000-01 summer.Controversy hit the Final in the fifth over of the last day when Queensland captain Stuart Law (47*) was awarded the benefit of the doubt – courtesy of a series ofinconclusive television replays – after it had appeared that he had been wonderfully caught by a diving Michael Klinger at third slip from the very first ball that he faced.Around a series of incisions made by a remorseless Victorian bowling attack at the other end, Law then proceeded to lead not only a charmed existence but todeterminedly lead his team to the finishing post as well.He was caught behind off a no-ball with his score at 4, frequently played and missed, and was dropped by Matthew Elliott and Matthew Mott on 10 and 39respectively when he edged strokes behind the wicket. In the end, though, he was there to hit the winning runs in mid-afternoon. And, to a captivated crowd of 1374,that was all that really mattered.”It was probably the toughest game of cricket I’ve ever played in,” confessed a drained Law shortly after the seal had been set on his record-breaking fourth first-classsuccess as a captain.”The Victorians never let up, they never said die out there. They knew that they were only a couple of wickets away and that it could have turned on a knife-edge atany stage. To their credit, they stuck at it right until the last runs were hit. (To win) was total and utter relief.””I’ll remember it for the circumstances but not for the execution – it was pretty ordinary. It was very ugly but it became effective in the end,” he added of his innings.Even by the time that his back foot cover drive from the bowling of Michael Lewis (0/82) finally settled matters, this had not ceased to remain the gripping contest thatit had proved for each of the preceding four days as well. Virtually every ball was loaded and, while there were not a huge amount of them occupied, it was the edges(rather than the bases) of most chairs in the stadium that were being utilised. The result hung in the balance until close to the very end; even the conclusion of the matchdidn’t dramatically alter the tense atmosphere: heartfelt relief predominating on one side and heartbreak on the other.By stumps on the fourth day, the Bulls had worked themselves into a winning position at a score of 2/137 as they pursued a fourth innings target of 224. But this matchhad been so tight, so absorbing and such a struggle that it did not deserve a tame finish. Happily, it never came close to such.Key batsman Martin Love (52) was removed in the fifth over of the day when Mott, reaching high above his head at gully, held the remains of a forcing cutstroke off the back foot at Paul Reiffel (1/34). And then massive controversy erupted.Having been dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings, it appeared that Law had suffered the ignominy of recording a king pair when Klinger dived athletically tohis right and appeared to clutch a magnificent one handed catch. Simon Taufel, umpiring at the bowler’s end, was not immediately convinced that the catch had beentaken on the full, though, and the decision was referred to third umpire, Peter Parker.Obvious disgust from the Victorians – so obvious that Reiffel was later fined $200 after being found guilty by Match Referee Peter Burge of conduct unbecoming,intimidation of umpires, and dissent – ensued as a series of inconclusive television replays failed to either prove or disprove the validity of the catch.”We obviously thought he’d caught it; (the fact that it was given not out) was very disappointing. It was a clear catch to us,” said Reiffel.The worth of using the third umpire as the final arbiter to rule on catches has been debated many times in Australia this season. There is no doubt that this latestincident will only add fuel to the fire, coming as it did at such a defining moment of such an extraordinarily tense arm-wrestle. It added to simmering Victorianresentment that still carries over after Law also profited handsomely from another controversial no-catch decision on the first day of last season’s Pura Milk Cup Final.”It’s impossible to know,” added Reiffel, when pressed to comment on how crucially today’s decision impacted on the outcome. “Stuart, with his experience, hassteered them home in the end. To have got him out first ball … who’s to know?”Ultimately the one thing that was clear by the end of the match was that Queensland has reaffirmed its dominance and extended what has become a golden era ofsuccess for a state that took sixty-nine long years to even win the trophy once.This victory did not have the tears of 1994-95, not the emotion of 1996-97, not quite the same brow-beating dominance of 1999-2000. But what it did possess wasresolve, character and application … and indeed many of the same players who have been such a key to making Queensland such a good side.The bottom line, all controversies aside, is that there are five other state teams and five other sets of supporters which remain inordinately envious of the Bulls thisafternoon. The modern-day kings of Australian first-class cricket have triumphed once more; long may they rule if their cricket remains as inspiring as this.