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It was another predictable day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where West Indies played out its final preparatory match before next week’s first Test against Australia.As the tourists completed their third sub-200 total from four first-class innings played on this tour so far, a spectator fanned a banner pleading “Bring back Viv”. But the great Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was nowhere in sight. And just as last week was Western Australia’s opportunity to upstage these once-feared tourists, so this week became Victoria’s chance to annihilate them.The result for the Windies: a seven-wicket loss in Perth, followed by today’s innings and sixty-three run drubbing inside three days by the bottom-ranked Australian domestic side. And both coach Roger Harper and captain Jimmy Adams are at a loss for explanations.”I have no explanation. It has been a disappointing performance to put it mildly. I’m not one to get angry but I’m very very disappointed,” said Harper.”It is very very frustrating because I know we are capable of a lot better cricket than we have displayed here and as we displayed in Western Australia. But it’s difficult to put an exact finger on it as to what will bring out the consistency we’re still striving for. Physically, I have no doubt that we’re working a lot harder, a lot better in terms of preparation. We’re still trying to get the precise, definite answer,” he said.Asked about what went wrong with the team’s batting – they were bowled out for 167 in the first innings and 114 in the second – Adams was direct.”I won’t take very long to describe, it’s just not good enough,” he said. “The bottom line is that we’re just not batting as well as we should be batting. We’re just not doing the basic consistent things. It’s just not happening.”For Victorian captain Darren Berry on the other hand, the match couldn’t have gone better. His bowlers began well in the first innings under overcast conditions on a helpful pitch, his batsmen continued the good work by amassing 7/344, and the Bushrangers finally tasted their opening first-class victory of the season. To top it all off, Berry himself claimed his four hundredth first-class catch today.”I think everything went right for Victoria. I think the toss was the start because it was a difficult wicket to bat on. I thought our bowlers bowled well and it was a good team effort. I don’t think it’s my position to comment on how the West Indies played, I’m more concerned about how Victoria played and I was extremely happy with our performance,” he said.The stars for Victoria were twenty-year-old paceman Mathew Inness (9/73 for the match, including career best figures of 6/26 in the first innings) and twenty-five year-old batsman Brad Hodge (134*), who was forced to retire hurt overnight after a Courtney Walsh delivery left his thumb severely bruised.There were other positives too. The patient batting of Jason Arnberger (99) in the first innings. The bowling of first-class debutant Ben Oliver (2/13 off six overs in the second innings, including the crucial wicket of Brian Lara). The successful return from injury of Damien Fleming (2/27 off tenovers today). And of course, the clever bowling of Test spinner Colin Miller (3/26 off 15.3 overs).After losses in the opening two Pura Cup matches, Berry believes today’s win will give the Victorians the confidence and inspiration they need for the next round of domestic matches.For the West Indians, the result simply exacerbates their woeful start to this Australian tour. With the first Test just four days away, the search is on for that elusive answer to their problems.Adams thinks the answer lies within. “I don’t think it’s so much a technical problem. I think what we have to do is to do whatever we can amongst ourselves to reinforce to the team that the players here are good players, quality players. I think they’re players that have done enough often enough, and ones who you figure will always carry that self belief. There might be a few younger players where it’s up to the rest of us to keep reinforcing that ‘You are good enough and you’re here because you’re goodenough’.”Adams says the most important thing is for the team to come together to solve the problems. “I think everybody has a role to play. I think even players who are struggling and might be young players, they still have a role to play. It’s not going to happen because one man stands up, it’s going to happen because the whole team comes together. And as well, you can’t get away from the fact that it is going to require discipline.”At the same time, coach Harper says the team still has time to realise its potential. “I still think we have it in us to play good cricket and precisely because of our unpredictability, it’s possible for us to getthrown out there and string it together. And hopefully we can achieve it come the Test match,” he said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Records continued to tumble at the Gaddafi Stadium as Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid led an emphatic Indian response to a mountain of a total on a start-stop fourth day of the first Test at Lahore. Blasting his way to the second-fastest double-hundred of all time, Sehwag propelled India to 403 for no loss, all but certain of leaving with a draw and starting afresh at Faisalabad. Dravid, overshadowed but essential, cruised to a masterful century himself, his first as captain, and played his part in getting 77 adrift of the follow-on mark.What Pakistan did on the first two days, India showed they could match and a 50-year-old record, for the best opening partnership of all time, came under threat. Zooming along at an astonishing run-rate of 5.4, India’s openers, thriving in batting paradise, engineered a thunderous reply undergloomy skies. Sehwag produced an off-side masterclass – only nine of his 46 fours came on leg side – while Dravid, factoring in the controversy surrounding the opening dilemma, offered stupendous support. Yet, a look at the scoreboard would reveal that India hadn’t even avoided the follow-on in what must surely rank as one of Test cricket’s most famous batathons.Mild overnight rain and gloomy skies meant that more than an hour of play was lost this morning – 185 minutes were lost all day – and the only highlight of a brief two-over session that followed was Sehwag muscling his way to his hundred, his first in nine months and the fastest by an Indian opener. Once lunch was out of the way, he didn’t even have to worry about the elements. Starting this game with a Bradman-esque average of 98.2 against Pakistan, he pounded his way to his second successive double-hundred against them, as blinding strokeplay blended seamlessly with cheeky strike rotation.For Sehwag, the key is in the simplicity – minimal footwork, maximum balance. When short, slash; when full, drill; when pitched on a good length, slap; when flighted, loft; when short and wide, carve; when fast, biff; when slow, bash. This isn’t cryogenics; just an art he makes look soeasy. He was dropped twice – once by Inzamam when on 125 and then by Shoaib Malik, a tough one, on 199 – and wasn’t given out when he gloved to Kamran Akmal when on 150. He missed a few but rarely did any of this matter. Shoaib Akhtar was blunted; Mohammad Sami, spanked; Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, dismissed; Danish Kaneria, destroyed; and the rest scattered. This was Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi in one body; a controlled blitz on a gloomy day.Dravid’s was an innings in contrast – absorbing the pressure before opening up with style – but it should be gauged on the controversial events that went before. Opening for the ninth time in a Test, he displayed supreme composure against the faster men, brushed off repeatedstoppages for bad light and soon unfurled an array of gorgeous strokes. The 124-ball fifty was a lesson in solidity but the second fifty, off 78 balls, was a treat for its controlled aggression. Finding the angles to a tee, he gently threw the bowlers off rhythm and then capitalised on theloose offerings, several of which were directed on his pads.The duo surpassed the record for the highest opening partnership for India against Pakistan, bettering the mark made by Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth at Madras in 1986, and were 11 away from beating the world-record 413 by Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad in 1956. If the light holds for the rest of the game, statisticians could have a tough time keeping up with the run flood on a chappati-flat pitch and both teams could already be keeping on eye on the surface at Faisalabad.

Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh and Henry Olonga are among an astonishing array of past and present Test stars to play for Lashings against the Scottish Saltires in a special Twenty20-format evening game on Friday, 25 June.The Lashings batting line-up includes players such as Richie Richardson, Grant Flower, Gregg Blewett and Shahid Afridi, and under the management of Alvin Kallicharan the star-studded team will surely provide spectacular entertainment for the Edinburgh crowd. More than a thousand tickets for the game have already been sold, which is thought to be a record advance sale for a cricket match in Scotland.Lashings Richie Richardson (capt), Jimmy Adams, Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Gregg Blewett, Sherwin Campbell, Vaspert Drakes, Grant Flower, Rashid Latif (wk), Junior Murray, Henry Olonga, Franklin Rose, Courtney Walsh, Stuart Williams.
Scottish Saltires Craig Wright (capt), Yasir Arafat, Stewart Bruce, Majid Haq, Dougie Lockhart (wk), Gregor Maiden, Dewald Nel, Sridharan Sriram, Ian Stanger, Greig Williamson, Ryan Watson, Simon Smith(12th man).

Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has said that he was both happy and relieved after playing a vital innings of 156, which helped Australia to secure a thrilling draw against England in the third Test at Old Trafford.Ponting denied the England bowlers for seven hours but his epic vigil appeared to have been futile when he gloved a catch to the wicketkeeper, eaving Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath to face four overs from Andrew Flintof and Steve Harmison. But both survived some gut-wrenching moments as Australia hung on for a draw.”I thought I had let the whole thing slip so the emotions have been up and down all day,” Ponting was quoted as saying in AFP. “I had a little tantrum when I got out and sat in the dressing-room with my head down for a while because I thought the game had slipped away from us. It was difficult enough for me batting out there against Flintoff and Harmison at the end,” said Ponting whose 156 was his personal best against England, “so having Glenn and Brett subject to it for four overs meant I didn’t have a lot of faith in them. But they managed to get through and do a fantastic job once again, as they have all series.”Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said that he was very proud of the way his side had played at Old Trafford. Having outplayed Australia for most of the Test only one wicket stood between England from taking a 2-1 lead in the series. “We were one wicket away from going 2-1 up,” he said, “and a lot of people will say ‘you must be disappointed’ but I’m very proud of the way the team have responded to going 1-0 down at Lord’s [where England lost the series opener by 239 runs last month]. Three weeks ago we were written off; we were out of the contest, 5-0 I kept on hearing. It’s now 1-1 with two to play.”Vaughan said that he was pleased with how the team had coped with tense situations in the series. “The team and individuals have shown a lot of character. We’ve got nine days to rest our bodies and minds. We will arrive next week at Trent Bridge fully focused and hoping to go 2-1 up there.”With Ian Bell scoring two fifties at Old Trafford and impressive performances from their bowlers, Vaughan felt that England had a very bright future because of the young talent in the side. “I think this England team can go as far as it wants to. We’ve shown, in the last two weeks, we’ve got a lot of character, a lot of ability and a lot of young players in the team which only bodes well for future.”Vaughan added that at no stage during the Test did he think that the match was won. “You can never think you’ve done it against Australia. There was a time when we took the ninth wicket and you’ve got four overs to go and you think you’ve got an opportunity. But those two [Lee and McGrath] hung in very well. I think we really used our resources well this week on this wicket, both with batting and bowling.”While a draw is never as good as a win, Ponting said that he was happy with how the team had rallied and salvaged parity from a grim situation. Rating his innings as one of his best, Ponting said, “That was one of my best knocks, not just a match-saving one. It is satisfying to put your hand up when it matters and do the things the team requires as a batter and as a leader. I don’t think a draw ever feels like a win but we worked extremely hard to sneak away. It was a long, hard day of Test cricket and an unbelievable Test match once again.”We have had to scrap and fight for everything; this is certainly the highest-intensity Test cricket I have played in for the last four or five years and you won’t find two better tussles than you have witnessed over the last two weeks,” said Ponting. “We haven’t done a lot right but they’ve been unbelievable games.”After being set 423 to win, Ponting admitted that victory had never been a serious possibility. “We thought if we could get through the first two sessions of play without losing many wickets an opportunity might present itself in the last session. If we had wickets in hand we could have had a go at it. We wanted to remain positive and at the end of the day we were only 52 runs away and we haven’t tried at all to win that Test match because we weren’t in a position to do that.”Australia’s batting has looked suspect all series and Ponting said that the performances of the top order weren’t satisfactory. “We’ve had two really good wickets to bat on in our first innings and we’ve only just managed to get to three hundred both times. That’s not good enough. We’ve got guys who are in good form and look good for short periods of time and they are just getting out. We’ve got to rectify that. If we actually start finding some form and hitting top gear you’d like to think the results would be slightly different.”Though the game ended in a draw, Vaughan said that England were dominant throughout the Test match and would take a lot of positives from the game. “We’ve been talking about psychological advantages and disadvantages all summer,” said Vaughan. “We can take a lot out of this game. We’ve dominated four days of Test cricket against the number one team in the world. I don’t think we lost any sessions.”Simon Jones, who took 6 for 53 in Australia’s first innings, was singled out for praise. “His [Jones’] bowling has come on in leaps and bounds since the Bangladesh series this season, said Vaughan. “To get six for 53 against the Aussies is a great effort.”Old Trafford was packed with 23,000 fans for the match and Vaughan was appreciative of their support. “I couldn’t believe how many people were outside the ground. It’s fantastic. It does show a respect for the two teams who are playing out there. They are playing good cricket, it’s great entertainment and the nation’s talking about it.”He said that he hoped that the last two Tests would do justice to the high-quality cricket that’s been on display so far. “I really do hope the final two games are as good as the last two because I think the series deserves that. Trent Bridge should be another classic, turn up.”

South Australia’s talented pair of Mark Cosgrove and Dan Cullen has been cleared to make comebacks from injury against Queensland at the Gabba. Cosgrove has shrugged off a calf strain and will play in the ING Cup match on Friday before joining Cullen, who has recovered from a broken finger, in the Pura Cup side for the game starting on Sunday.However, Matthew Elliott is still unavailable with a knee injury and Shane Deitz, the top-order batsman, has missed both 13-man squads. The Pura Cup match could have a serious impact at the top of the table with Queensland in second place, two points behind Victoria and two ahead of South Australia and New South Wales.Daniel Harris has also been added to the one-day side and the Redbacks have the chance to seal a spot in the final if they beat the last-placed Bulls. South Australia trail New South Wales by five points, but they have a one-point buffer over Victoria, who are third.South Australia Pura Cup squad Greg Blewett, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Darren Lehmann (capt), Ben Cameron, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Paul Rofe, Dan Cullen, Cullen Bailey, Shaun Tait.South Australia ING Cup squad Greg Blewett, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Darren Lehmann (capt), Daniel Harris, Ken Skewes, Ryan Harris, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Cullen Bailey, Shaun Tait.

Scorecard

Phil Jaques batted throughout the first day to guide New South Wales to a hard-won advantage in the top-of-the-table clash against Queensland at Bankstown Oval. In front of about 800 spectators and Mark Waugh, who was visiting his old club ground, Jaques reached 131 by stumps on a dull pitch and a deliberately sandy outfield to compensate for the short boundaries.Usually a dashing batsman, Jaques collected seven fours in his 266-ball innings, but had numerous firm shots stop short of the boundary. Queensland were ruing a Wade Seccombe dropped catch off Matthew Phelps when New South Wales were 1 for 122, and the No. 3 went on to reach a hard-earned 90. Seccombe grabbed his second chance late in the day off Ashley Noffke and the home side was 2 for 256 at stumps.”Any hundred is a good hundred but against Queensland, when the outfield is slow, it feels really good to have batted the whole day,” Jaques said. “They didn’t over-do it [with the sand] but it’s a bit disheartening when you hit a couple through the gap that would be four normally, and you only get two for it.”Queensland, who are two points in front of the Blues, started well with the wicket of Greg Mail, caught by Jimmy Maher at second slip off Andy Bichel, after Brad Haddin, who played for Australia at Adelaide on Wednesday, won the toss and batted. “You don’t normally come off the field after taking only two wickets and be excited about how well you’ve bowled,” said Maher. “It’s probably the first time in my career.”

Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka’s premier fast bowler, has been declared fit to tour England later this month, according to Tommy Simsek, the Sri Lanka team physio. However, questions marks remained on the fitness of Marvan Atapattu, the captain, and Ruchira Perera, the left-arm fast bowler. All three players missed out on the recently concluded home series against Pakistan due to injury.Vaas suffered a strain on his left side, but Simsek confirmed that he had begun to bowl with his full run up and was back to full fitness. Simsek said that Atapattu had got a big disc bulge and would require more time to assess his recovery, while Perera has yet to recover from a recurring hamstring injury.”With time the bulge becomes a little smaller and the pressure on the nerve ceases. He [Atapattu] is presently undergoing treatment for it and we are hoping it will be successful. But there is no guarantee,” Simsek told the . “This happens to people between the ages of 50-60 but in Marvan’s case it is due to wear and tear. He is improving slowly, but if he doesn’t respond to the treatment he may need surgery. We should get a better picture of his condition within the next couple of weeks.”Ruchira needs to rehabilitate the injury very thoroughly. He is getting better but is not 100 percent fit. He might have to pass a fitness test by early next week.”Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of selectors, said that he expected a report on the injuries from Simsek on Monday, the day the selection committee is expected to meet to pick a 16-man squad for the three-Test series against England. He said a separate squad would be picked for the five one-day internationals that follow the Tests. The Test series starts at Lord’s on May 11 followed by the one-day series also starting at Lord’s from June 17.Kaluperuma said that in the case of Atapattu, they would leave their options open until at least April 16 to ascertain his fitness. The team is due to leave for England on April 19.In Atapattu’s absence Mahela Jayawardene led the team in the series against Pakistan where Sri Lanka lost 0-2 in the one-dayers and 0-1 in the Tests.With Sanath Jayasuriya announcing his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the Pakistan series, Sri Lanka may find themselves going to England with a totally inexperienced opening pair. Those in the running, apart from Atapattu, are Upul Tharanga, Jehan Mubarak, Michael van Dort and Ian Daniel.Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka’s young allrounder, is also recovering from a chest infection, which troubled him during the second innings of the second Test at Kandy. Simsek said that Maharoof was on antibiotics and that he was recovering well.

Australia’s first official touring squad to England, the 1868 Aboriginal team, will be recognised when the Aboriginal flag is flown at major cricket grounds and offices on Friday to mark the 138th anniversary of their trip. Only two of the outfit, which also entertained audiences in the United Kingdom with boomerang and spear displays during breaks in play, went on to cricket careers after the 47-match schedule and there has been a long fight for appropriate acknowledgement.The squad left Sydney on February 8,1868 and arrived in England on May 13 for a six-month tour that included 14 wins, 14 losses and 19 draws. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the recognition date was a way Australian cricket could pay tribute to the courage of the first touring team.”The pioneering achievements of the 1868 team have in recent years started to become more widely acknowledged and celebrated, and we want that history and recognition to be ongoing,” he said. “In 2002 Australian cricket was successful in having the team inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and in 2004, individual player numbers were allocated to the touring party as formal recognition of their place in Australian cricket history.”Ashley Mallett, the former Test offspinner, wrote the book about the tour, and the Lord’s museum exhibits the boomerang of the player Dick-a-Dick as a lasting memory. Cricket Australia has developed the Imparja Cup, an annual, all-indigenous national competition, to lift the profile of the game in recent years, but Jason Gillespie, the great-grandson of a Kamilaroi warrior, is still the country’s only acknowledged Aboriginal Test cricketer.The squad 1 Arrahmunyarrimun (European name – Peter), 2 Ballrinjarrimin (Sundown), 3 Bonnibarngeet (Tiger), 4 Brimbunyah (Red Cap), 5 Bripumyarrimin (King Cole), 6 Bullchanach (Bullocky), 7 Charles Lawrence (captain/coach), 8 Grongarrong (Mosquito), 9 Jarrawuk Murrumgunarrimin (Two Penny), 10 Jumgumjenanuke (Dick-a-Dick), 11 Lyterjerbillijun (Jim Crow), 12 Pripumuarraman (Charles Dumas), 13 Unaarrimin (Johnny Mullagh), 14 Yellanach (Johnny Cuzens).

Tim May has attacked the upcoming glut of games between Australia and India by saying it devalues cricket. May, the head of the international players’ association, warned the 21 Tests and ODIs the two sides will play against each other from June revealed money-grabbing motives of administrators.”It’s getting completely out of control,” May told the . “We’re very seriously worried that a few countries are playing too much cricket.”It’s our ongoing battle with the ICC. Australia will play India 21 times in the eight months from June this year. From the perspective of players and spectators, it’s going to dampen your interest. And it detracts from the commercial value of the product. Vision has been lost about what’s important and what is not.”Until the 2005 Ashes series an Australia-India series was considered one of cricket’s headline events. The sides clashed in three gripping Test series between 2000-01 and 2004-05, each winning one with the other drawn.Australia are due to play seven ODIs in India in October, before a four-Test series in Australia the following summer and seven tri-series ODIs. To this list has recently been added a three-match ODI series in Ireland in June.”They were already playing each other 18 times and now they’ve thrown in another three (in Ireland),” May said. “We’re concerned about that. Players have a passion for the game and want to maintain that passion every time they play. But it’s becoming harder to play every game as though it’s their last.”No one wants a two-bit product where blokes are only giving 75% because that’s all they’ve got left. Or because they need to pace themselves for more games coming up.” May, who has criticised the heavy workload on players in the past as well, also took a shot at the upcoming World Cup, arguing that it dragged on purely because of TV broadcasters.”Our World Cup is too long,” he said. “Everybody bar the people who sell the TV rights believe we could compress it. The ICC sells the rights for significant amounts of money and obviously the broadcasters want to get their money’s worth. We have to develop the game in some countries but there are arguments about whether the World Cup is the place for them.”

The Lions have a 236-run lead against the Cobras going into the final day in Johannesburg. Their position was built around an undefeated 136 seventh wicket partnership between Matthew Harris (83) and Eugene Moleon (51) to end the day on 262 for 6. Earlier Herschelle Gibbs set the Cobras up for a big total with 149, but the lack of partners saw them bowled out for 325. The Lions attack shared the spoils with Gerhard de Bruin taking 4 for 64.In Port Elizabeth the game is delicately poised with the Eagles taking a 106-run lead into the last day with seven wickets in hand. Replying to the Eagles first innings of 391 the Warriors reached 350 with Carl Bradfield top scoring on 86. A feature in the innings was the 50 extras given away by the Eagle bowlers. Roger Telemachus came out on top of the bowling, taking 6 for 85. The Eagles second innings did not start as planned with three wickets going down for 65.For the third day in a row bad light stopped play early in Durban with the Titans in a commanding position. Having bowled the Dolphins out for 199 they increased their lead to 321 with five second innings wickets standing. Andre Seymore, who fell nine runs short of a deserved hundred, set the innings up for the Titans. The Dolphins will do well to share the spoils in this encounter.