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It’s funny what runs on board can do. It may not have been comprehensive, but there was a reversal of roles here in Napier. It was India who dropped on to the defensive too early, spilled the catches and struggled to stay alert.Jesse Ryder continued to bat like a dream, Brendon McCullum plundered when India were down, and Daniel Vettori put on aggressive fields and snuck out crucial wickets at the end of the day. Vettori the bowler and Vettori the captain were completely different from what we witnessed in Hamilton.He brought himself on first-change in the ninth over. After a characteristic charge from Virender Sehwag, who hit him for a six first ball, Vettori bowled the next one slower. Sehwag was late into the shot, but was also drawn into it. And when another move worked for Vettori, with Jeetan Patel getting Gautam Gambhir in his first over, New Zealand were on an all-out attack for the first time on this tour.Never before on this tour had their batsmen delivered so dominantly. Vettori has been quite a stranger to this feeling. This is only the third time New Zealand have scored 600 in their history but, more importantly, only the third time they have gone past 400 in 18 matches under his captaincy.After a remarkable comeback from 23 for 3 on the first day, they ground out India’s fielders today thanks to Ryder’s hunger and McCullum’s aggression. Ryder, in particular, went from strength to strength, getting his maiden double-hundred, and frustrated the bowlers with a chanceless innings, as opposed to Ross Taylor’s chancy knock yesterday.”I can’t ask for anything more at this stage of my career,” Ryder, always a man of few words, said. “It has been quite sensational for me. Everything seems to be working for me.”For McCullum, though, not everything had been working. Even as he has continued maturing as a limited-overs batsman, his Test batting has had a lot of room for improvement. His only centuries have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the last one in 2005. So, from a stage where he could have become an important middle-order batsman for New Zealand, he has found himself not being entrusted with a job higher than No. 7. He couldn’t have argued against that.”It has been so long between hundreds. There were some 90s and 80s in between. No disrespect to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but to get one against a top-quality side like India means a lot,” McCullum said.”It has been a long time coming. There was a bit of emotion there as well when I got to three figures. It has been far too long between centuries for my liking. It is nice as well to get it against a side as good as India. It was a good time to bat.”What will also please New Zealand is the timing of this combined effort from the three most exciting batsmen in the team: they were in danger of being completely outclassed in a home series. Three days ago, Vettori spoke about how the New Zealand public deserved to see the team fight, no matter if they win or lose. After first two days of the Napier Test, the public won’t be complaining.

Fidel Edwards might not be buying Jerome Taylor a drink any time soon. They are new-ball buddies, who have made England hop around at times in this series, but in this match Taylor has not done much to help his friend out. On the opening day he dropped a top-edge off Kevin Pietersen and on the second he shelled Ravi Bopara on 4.Edwards deserves a medal for the efforts he put in on a surface that is shaping up as another to make bowlers’ hearts bleed. The run-fest in Karachi has provoked a lot of debate about batsman-friendly surfaces and, for all the pre-match hype about pace and bounce, this pitch has plenty more runs to offer over the next three days.”It’s kind of tiring coming here,” a weary Edwards said. “I was hoping to get some grass and a good fast wicket to bowl on, given that in Antigua it was pretty flat. We were hoping to get some pace and we did not get it. It is one of those games where you have to be strong, keep bowling and hope for the best.”And that “best” doesn’t involve dropped catches. When Edwards finally snared Bopara 100 runs after the miss – ironically with the help of a third-time-lucky Taylor – he roared a celebration at Bopara, but the huddle with his team-mates was less enthusiastic. He won’t be framing his figures of 3 for 151, but they don’t even tell half the story because he also watched Andrew Strauss get put down by Chris Gayle before lunch yesterday.”Yes, it was frustrating, he went on from that to get a big hundred. He batted pretty well but it could have been a lot better for us,” he said. “It’s pretty hurtful but that is the way it goes. I don’t think the guys go out to drop catches, but you have to take the chances and sometimes they make you pay for them. Strauss was dropped [on 58] and went on to make a big score, Bopara as well, if we had taken the chances you never know how it might have turned out.”Edwards helped produce the most captivating passage of play as he gave Bopara a real working over. He hurled himself in from the Malcolm Marshall End and pitched more in his half of the pitch than the batsman’s. Bopara, for his part, was happy to play the hook which only enticed Edwards to keep banging the ball in.”I always enjoy a good challenge, almost every ball he was playing shots, it was pretty good for him and pretty good for me too.”Whereas England supporters cross their fingers whenever Andrew Flintoff runs in, hoping that his body holds together, the West Indies fans go through a similar process with Edwards. He has problems with his ankle and his back while his unorthodox action suggests he is an injury waiting to happen.However, in recent times he has improved his stamina. His pace remained impressive even during the latter stages of his spells, which included a nine-over burst during the morning. In the end, however, all his effort didn’t come to much as his team trooped off in final session, with another match-saving task ahead of them.They have already lost Gayle after he was given out lbw following a referral against James Anderson. He looked far from impressed as he dragged himself away from this featherbed. “I wasn’t near him when he came in the dressing room,” said a diplomatic Edwards. A few people might want to give Edwards a wide berth tonight as well.

West Indies 285 and 143 for 3 (Sarwan 47*, Chanderpaul 18*) need another 360 runs to beat England 566 for 9 dec and 221 for 8 dec (Cook 58)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

On an arduous day of Test cricket at the Antigua Recreation Ground, West Indies’ hopes of retaining their 1-0 lead over England rested with their veteran pairing of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. By the close, the pair were still together in an unbroken partnership of 47, after England’s bowlers had struck three times in the final session to boost their prospects of forcing victory on the final day of the match. Earlier, Andrew Strauss had declared their second innings on 221 for 8, leaving their opponents a daunting target of 503.It was a far cry from the situation at Sabina Park two weeks ago, when England’s all-out total of 51 was almost ten times less than that requirement. Nevertheless, if any two cricketers (Brian Lara excepted) know what is required on the uniquely benign surface at the ARG, it is Sarwan and Chanderpaul, who famously both made centuries at this venue in 2003, when West Indies compiled a world-record 418 for 7 to beat Australia.Such thoughts (and more recent aberrations in Chennai) were doubtless lurking at the back of Strauss’s mind as he contemplated the timing of his declaration. He eventually called his batsmen in midway through the afternoon session, and while that was considered to be over-cautious by some, the body language of England’s talisman, Andrew Flintoff, was a valid reason for reticence. Labouring visibly with a hip injury, he didn’t appear until No. 9 in the order, whereupon he scratched around for eight runless deliveries to record the third pair of his Test career, and though he did field at slip for the duration of the evening session, he contributed only three medium-paced overs out of 44.In Flintoff’s absence, England’s remaining seamers plugged away diligently on a surface that offered little save the occasional degree of dead bounce on the now-familiar football ridge. West Indies batted with poise for the first hour of their rearguard, reaching 32 for 0 at tea, before Steve Harmison – from round the wicket – forced the first breakthrough of the innings when he pushed Devon Smith back into his crease and claimed an lbw decision from Daryl Harper that looked a touch high on first examination, but would have whipped off the leg bail.The key scalp of the session, however, was the captain, Chris Gayle, who identified the spin of Graeme Swann as the most threatening weapon in England’s armoury, and took it upon himself to bludgeon him out of the attack. Swann was smacked for five fours in as many overs, including a brace of cool drives through the covers and a remarkable one-handed sweep that was middled straight through square leg. But Swann, who – unlike the ousted Monty Panesar – shows no fear of being attacked, maintained his composure, offered up more air, and Gayle, with a fifty in sight, missed another attempted sweep and was trapped lbw for 46.Ryan Hinds had time for a sumptuous on-drive, again off Swann, but before he could settle into a rhythm, he drove lazily at the fifth ball of a new spell from Stuart Broad, and picked out Owais Shah at short midwicket. At 96 for 3, West Indies were in some serious danger, but Sarwan set himself to counterattack, mainly through the covers with a range of his favourite cut shots, and Chanderpaul – after a rare first-innings failure – refused to chase any width as he dropped anchor in typical style for 18 not out from 41 balls.Patience was the key for England, and to a man their bowlers performed their tasks well – even Flintoff, who was well below full pace in his three-over spell, but nevertheless tormented the top of Sarwan’s off stump with his typical accuracy. They learnt a thing or two during their own second innings, which was a somewhat meandering affair, for all that their runs came at a reasonable lick – 4.42 per over by the time Harmison slogged the last ball of the innings for six.For the first hour of the day, however, their fortunes were marshalled by the overnight pair of Alastair Cook and James Anderson, who acquitted himself well in a 53-ball 20 as nightwatchman, but whose mere presence kept the hard-hitting duo of Owais Shah and Kevin Pietersen holed up in the pavilion. Anderson eventually fell on the stroke of drinks to Daren Powell, whereupon Shah – in an admirable bid to push the score along – belted a long-hop clean over midwicket for six before losing his middle stump to Powell in an attempted repeat performance.Pietersen chipped in with a hyperactive 32 from 46 balls, an innings replete with switch hits, the last of which led to his downfall as Benn found the outside edge of a slog over cover (or midwicket as it had become), while Paul Collingwood was busy during a 31-ball 34 before having his stumps splattered as he swung and missed against Ryan Hinds.Cook, for the second time in the match, provided ballast to the innings with 58 from 103 balls, and though he made it ten half-centuries in a row since his last three-figure score, at Galle in December 2007, he could not this time be blamed for the manner of his dismissal, as Hinds found some leaping bounce out of the rough and a looping catch ballooned off the glove to Smith at slip.The final overs of England’s innings dribbled away in an unsatisfactory fashion. Prior made a run-a-ball 15 to justify his presence after running Broad out for 1, but Flintoff’s awkward and revealing cameo suggested that they might have been better served with an earlier declaration, while leaving him back in the pavilion to get extra treatment from the physio. By tea, however, Strauss’s reticence had been justified, as West Indies pushed through 14 overs without alarm.The day’s play took place against a somewhat subdued backdrop. Many of the England fans who had packed the stands on the first three days were unable to attend the day’s play, as they had booked their holidays around the dates of the aborted second Test. The biggest queues of the day were not outside the ARG, but the various Allen Stanford-owned banks in and around St John’s.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has signed a lucrative deal with Sri Lanka’s leading telecom company, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, for US$4.85 million to sponsor the national team for three years, starting on April 1.Charith Senanayake, SLC’s marketing director, said this was the highest ever sponsorship package for the national team. Dialog Telecom, the current sponsors, and National Development Bank also bid for the rights.Dialog Telecom took over the sponsorship rights temporarily for three months till the Sri Lankan board found a permanent sponsor when the deal with Dilmah Tea Company finished at the end of 2008. The Dialog sponsorship runs out at the end of March when Sri Lanka finish their two-Test series in Pakistan.Dilmah sponsored the team for six years, paying a massive US$3.5million for the first three years, which was then the highest sponsorship deal for the national team.Meanwhile, Tommy Simsek has been reappointed as the physiotherapist of the Sri Lankan team, succeeding local physio Ranjith Nanayakarawasam, who held the job temporarily.Simsek broke ties with the Sri Lankan board last March to sign up with the Indian Premier League (IPL). Senanayake said Simsek will join the team for the Pakistan Tests.

Arul Suppiah, the Somerset allrounder, has had his application for permanent residency turned down and now has to return to Malaysia to apply for a work permit ahead of the 2009 season.Suppiah came through the cricket system at Millfield School before making his Somerset debut in 2002. Although he has failed to secure a regular first-team place, he has made himself a valuable squad player, especially in one-day cricket.”This is very frustrating for me because obviously I thought this was all done and dusted as I have been here in Somerset for 12 years now,” Suppiah told the Somerset website. “This is a bit of a shame but we have to now take things step by step.”I will use my time back in Malaysia as a chance to get outside and carry on my pre-season training on grass.”Chief executive Richard Gould added: “We think that Arul will be granted a work permit for this coming season, but at present we are uncertain beyond that. However we have got every resource and contact working to sort this out for us.”

The out-of-form Matthew Hayden retains the faith of his captain but the opener’s immediate future will be known when Australia’s limited-overs teams are named on Thursday for the South Africa fixtures. Ricky Ponting said he would love it if Hayden, who has struggled for runs since returning from a heel injury in India, kept playing.”I’d have him in my team every day of the week,” Ponting said. “He’s a champion player and bloke and great for our team at the moment. Those experienced guys are great to have around the team while you’re rebuilding.”The squad for Sunday’s first Twenty20 in Melbourne will be named alongside the outfit for the following five one-day internationals. If Hayden is missing from the team a Test return is unlikely, although the selectors have also publicly supported him. Hayden has not told his team-mates he is planning to depart despite the 39 he scored in the second innings at the SCG being his highest contribution of the Australian summer.”I’m pretty good mates with Matty and have known him for a long time,” Ponting said. “I have no indication or inclination either way. He showed a lot of good signs in the second innings of the game. I don’t know one way or the other at the moment. If anything, I’d be saying it’s all pretty positive that he’s going on, otherwise I think I would have known.”The fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is expected to be rested from parts of the one-day campaigns involving South Africa and New Zealand over the next month. Johnson has taken on a huge workload since India and he led the bowling in Sydney while Brett Lee was out with a foot injury.”He’s shouldered a lot of the responsibility for the attack and come on in leaps and bounds,” Ponting said. “There was some negativity about his place at the start, but he has started to show everyone over the past six or eight months how much of a quality player he is. He’s a pretty complete package.”

PCB officials will be meeting a British insurance risk expert in an effort to maximise the returns on its insurance investments. The board has, despite insurance cover, suffered huge losses from recent security-related incidents and there is an official inquiry into an alleged insurance scam involving Australia’s postponed tour of Pakistan in February-March this year.Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s chief operating officer said the expert, David Boorman, will meet key board officials during his short visit, due to begin today. “It’s a free-of-cost exercise aimed at getting expert advice on how we can maximise our interests when it comes to insurance,” he told the .Boorman will meet with a team of PCB officials, and the board may later take important decisions on the basis of his advice. “We have to tackle the matter very seriously because of past losses,” said Altaf. “We are paying a premium of almost 60 million Pakistan rupees annually and getting nothing in return.””It’s an important issue for us after what happened in the past,” said Altaf, who had met Boorman during an official visit in Dubai.Altaf was referring to the situation surrounding Australia’s tour earlier this year. Mindful of the security climate, the board had insured Pakistan’s series under the Future Tours Programme – including Australia’s tour – for $7.4 million. However, after Australia’s tour was postponed, Nasim Ashraf, the then PCB chairman, said the board could not claim insurance money for the series since it was a postponement and not a cancellation.It was later alleged by some board officials that the whole insurance affair was a scam and there was no record of the insurance deal, following which the PCB ordered an independent inquiry. Ijaz Butt, Ashraf’s successor, has said the inquiry was underway and details would soon be made public.The PCB is facing a serious financial crunch and is looking at ways to minimise its expenses, after the Champions Trophy scheduled in October was also deferred by a year.

An early taste for Australia
In his first outing with the India Under-19s, he averages 110.25 in three Tests against the visiting Australian U-19 team, which includes Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee and Andrew Symonds
A promising beginning
On his Test debut, against South Africa in Ahmedabad, he makes a composed 51 in the second innings – one of only two half-centuries in the match – to set up India’s victory in a low-scoring game
Top order, but not top form
India’s impregnable middle-order means Laxman has to play as an opener to remain in the side. On his first assignment in the West Indies, he has a torrid time and is dropped by the end of the series
A domestic giant
Still being shunted in and out of the Indian side, he makes his case with a staggering 1415 runs in the Ranji Trophy, the most ever in a single season
Let me entertain you
The knock that proves his international credentials. At the end of a wretched Test series for him and India, he strokes a majestic 167 off 198 balls against Australia in Sydney, his first Test century
Very, very special
The defining innings. Steve Waugh’s Australians were relentlessly marching towards conquering the “Final Frontier” with a 274-run first innings lead in the second Test in Kolkata. His epic 281 leads an astonishing recovery and India sneak to victory by 171 runs
Kolkata love affair continues
With nearly five sessions to play, India are four wickets down in the second innings and still trailing by 53 runs against West Indies in Kokata. He puts on a combative 214 with Sachin Tendulkar to take India to safety
Another dose of trouble for Australia
Spoils Steve Waugh’s farewell Test series. A backs-to-the-wall 303-run stand with Rahul Dravid sets up the famous victory in Adelaide before a dazzling 178 in Sydney and a triple-century partnership with Sachin Tendulkar gives India a chance to seal the series
Negotiating a Mumbai minefield
On an astonishing day when twenty wickets fell, on a dustbowl that Ricky Ponting called “nowhere near to being Test standard”, he scripts a doughty 69 that paved the way for a consolation victory in Mumbai
I love Sydney
India’s batting, which had struggled in the first Test, finally gets going in the controversial second Test in Sydney with a silken century from Laxman, who along with Sachin Tendulkar puts India back in the contest
Delhi demolition
He torments Australia again with his second double-century in Tests, which helps India amass 613 in Delhi and puts them on their way to reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Another Eden showcase
Laxman does his bit, scoring an unbeaten 143, as India pile up 643 against South Africa to inflict a series-levelling, innings defeat on the visitors – one that was sealed in thrilling fashion with nine mandatory balls to spare
Fourth-innings perfect
With India struggling at 62 for 4, chasing 257 to level the series against Sri Lanka, Laxman knocks off 103 unbeaten runs and takes India home with Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina for company
South African stunner
On a green Durban track, Laxman puts together one of the most memorable non-century innings: in the second gig, with the other batsmen tentative and India in danger of giving away the advantage they had gained, Laxman crafts 96 to set South Africa a target that is beyond their reach
Kolkata, again
If it’s Test cricket at Eden Gardens, it must be VVS Laxman. He hits 176 not out to help India on their way to an innings victory against West Indies
A rare Australia failure
After all that success against Australia, Laxman fails to make an impression on India’s 2011-12 tour there; he crosses 50 only once in four Tests. The series culminates in India’s eighth straight away Test loss, leaving several questioning whether this is the end for Laxman and other senior India batsmen
Laxman exits international cricket
At an emotional press conference in Hyderabad, ahead of the home series against New Zealand, VVS Laxman calls time on his international career with immediate effect

Darren Maddy has stepped down as Warwickshire’s captain and the club have appointed Ian Westwood as his replacement.Maddy, who led Warwickshire to promotion in the Championship in 2008 – his second year in charge – said that he felt he had taken the club as far as he could.”I feel that I am leaving the team and the club in a stronger position than when I took over,” he said. “It has been fantastic to lead such a big club but all good things have to come to an end and I believe now is an appropriate time to hand over the reins. I know Ian is keen to maintain the good progress that the team has shown in the last 12 months.”Maddy was one of four England players to have been involved in the first season of the unofficial Indian Cricket League in 2007, and though he did not return for the recently concluded second season in 2008, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles, denied that his involvement had been a contributory factor.”I can honestly say we’ve not considered that,” Giles told Cricinfo. “We both spoke about his decision, but he felt he had fallen into the role when [Heath] Streak left the club, and he believed now was the right time to pass the job onto someone else. Mads did a fantastic job for us for two years, and he still has a massive amount to offer the club.”Now the spotlight falls onto Westwood, 26, who endured a mixed 2008 in the Championship – 506 runs at 29.76 – but Giles was confident of the club’s decision to appoint a relatively young skipper.”Ian fulfils all the criteria you look for in a captain,” Giles told . “When he took over while Darren was injured, Ian responded in just the right way in terms of his personal performances and the team played well under him.”He is tactically very astute. It is great to have a captain who is a top bloke and a hard worker, both of which Ian is, but that extra dimension you need is the tactical one. Ian has that strand.”Westwood was understandably delighted with the news. “It is a great honour to be given this opportunity and I am thoroughly excited about the prospect,” he told the club’s website. “I had a taste of the captaincy when Darren was injured last year and am delighted to have been asked to take the role on full-time.”Under Darren the team has made real strides and it is a great time to be taking over. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and leading Warwickshire to further success.”

Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan legspinner, has confirmed his exit from the ICL but has denied his departure was linked to his recent appointment as the ECB’s spin-bowling coach. He said a nagging knee injury, which sidelined him during the current season, prompted his decision.”I have reached an understanding with them to part ways,” Mushtaq told . “I have sent them my resignation.” Mushtaq joined the ICL in February 2008 as part of the Lahore Badshahs, an all-Pakistan team. He played seven Twenty20 games and took 12 wickets at an average of 13.66 and economy-rate of 5.85.Mushtaq, currently back in Lahore, said he will begin his England role late next month. “I will definitely be joining the England team in the last week of November but if the ECB wants me to start assisting their bowlers before that in India I have no problems with that,” he said. England will be touring India in November-December, with the seven-ODI series starting on November 14.Mushtaq, 38, last played for Pakistan in 2003. Since then he forged a successful county career, and in 2003 he became the first bowler in five years to take 100 wickets in a season. That performance was instrumental in guiding Sussex to their first Championship title, a feat they repeated in 2006 and 2007. He retired from county cricket after the 2008 season.