ScorecardAvinash Aware’s triple strike restricted Tripura to 141 for 5 to give the advantage to Goa by the end of the opening day’s play at Margoa. Rajesh Banik and Sujit Roy, the Tripura openers, had pushed the score along to 40 when Aware struck twice off successive deliveries. He first trapped Banik lbw and then removed the next man in Subal Chowdhury in a similar fashion. Chetan Sachdev was the lone Tripura batsman to offer some resistance.
ScorecardAn unbroken 82-run partnership between Dishant Yagnik and Ajay Jadeja, the captain, lifted Rajasthan to a commanding 240 for 4 against Kerala at the close of play at Jaipur. Earlier Rahul Kanwat stroked a fine 61 to lay the foundation for a big first- innings score. Sreekumar Nair, the Kerala captain, tried eight bowlers on a day where Rajasthan batsmen applied themselves admirably to grind out the attack.
ScorecardAnand Rajan, Madhya Pradesh’s opening bowler, struck thrice as Jharkhand slipped from a comfortable 149 for 1 to 258 for 6 by the end of the opening day at Indore. Half-centuries from Manish Vardhan and Ratan Kumar, the openers, had lifted Jharkhand to 110 when Rajan, the debutant who honed his fast-bowling skills at the MRF pace Foundation in Chennai, trapped Ratan Kumar in front. At close, Jharkhand’s hopes of a big first innings score rested on the shoulders of Ghosh (36 not out) who added an unbroken 47-run partnership with Rajiv Kumar.
ScorecardA 147-run opening partnership between Shiv Sunder Das and P Patel lifted Orissa, opting to bat first, to a comfortable 271 for 3 against Vidarbha at the end of opening day’s play in the third-round Ranji Plate match at Nagpur. Subit Biswal (41 not out) and Pravanjan Mullick put together an unbroken 57-run stand to ensure Orissa didn’t waste the Das-Patel laid platform.
ScorecardVikrant Taggar and Arshad Bhatt hit half centuries as Jammu & Kashmir, choosing to bat first, plodded along at a tedious rate to reach 172 for 2 against Assam at close of the opening day at Guwahati. Zakaria Zuffri, the Assam captain, deployed eight bowlers but couldn’t disturb the patience of the batsmen. Taggar in particular was extremely cautious, his unbeaten 73 coming off 297 balls as he steered J&K to a position of strength.Saurashtra v Himachal PradeshPlay to be rescheduled following political problems within the Himachal Pradesh camp.

Send us your feedback on this storyThe first meeting of the interim board of Zimbabwe Cricket ended with a number of announcements in addition to the decision to suspend the country from Test cricket.Since a controversial AGM last September, the ZC board has not been able to meet as opponents of Peter Chingoka, the embattled chairman, boycotted all meetings. It took government involvement – the removal of most of those opposed to Chingoka on race and political grounds and their replacement with pro-Zanu-PF supporters – to enable the board to achieve a quorum. Given the less-than-democratic constitution of the new board, embarrassing questions or criticism were not going to be the order of the day.The main issue, that of the players, was the one that needed addressing but it was brushed aside “pending the finalisation of player issues”. The reality is that ZC remains aware that despite the end of the strike, there is every chance that many of those involved are ready to walk away. It had been speculated that a new captain would be named to replace Tatenda Taibu, but Andy Blignaut, the favourite, is not in the country and is rumoured to be about to quit anyway.The board did name Kevin Curran as coach, but that too will not go down well. The players have been training with Phil Simmons – sacked last year by ZC but fighting his dismissal in the courts – and are said to have little time for Curran who is seen as too closely allied to ZC officials. Andy Pycroft was appointed to run the A team and Walter Chawaguta the national Under-19 side.Bruce Makovah was named as head of the selection panel previously headed by Max Ebrahim – one of those culled on the basis of his race – with Curran and Zimbabwe Cricket Academy Manager Kudzai Shoko as the other two members. In September last year Makovah was accused of stopping a match in Harare and of racially abusing and threatening players.The board also appointed various sub-committees. Chingoka was named to chair the International Relations Committee; Wilson Manase the Constitution Review Committee with Sylvester Matshaka, Tavengwa Mukuhlani and Stanley Staddon as the members; Oliver Kanhukamwe the Development Committee with Levy Hombarume, Charles Maunze and Crispen Tsvarayi as members. Mike Weeden, who is involved with women’s cricket, will be an ex-officio committee member. Reading though the lists of other committees made the degree of the cleansing of almost all white and Asian people all too clear.The other issue which has attracted the most media attention – the financial affairs of the board – was also addressed with the board deciding to appoint “a firm of auditors of international repute”. Their brief will be to investigate alleged financial mismanagement and/or irregularities, if any, and to advise ZC on the way forward, and to audit ZC’s accounts for the period May-December 2005, because some of the allegations fall outside the period of the last audited accounts which was up to the year-end of April 2005.There was a passing reference to Ozias Bvute, the ZC managing director identified by many as being to blame more than anyone other than Chingoka for the current crisis, but that was enough to show that he was firmly in situ.But the creation of five new provinces – all expected to be pro-Chingoka – and the dissolution of the old County Districts – who have been leading the fight to have him removed – which was expected to be pushed through appears to have been delayed until the next meeting in February.

Marylebone Cricket Club has appointed a 42-year former Australian first-class cricketer as its new secretary and chief executive. Keith Bradshaw will take up the reins in October, when Roger Knight’s 13-year stint comes to an end.Bradshaw, who played for Tasmania for three years between 1985 and 1988, and captained the state team when David Boon was away on international duty, has since forged a successful business career, including spells with both PriceWaterhouse and Deloitte, where he is a Partner.”We are delighted to have found Keith for this appointment,” said MCC chairman, Charles Fry. “He has all the attributes we were seeking. As well as having played first-class cricket in a highly competitive environment, Keith has a high level of commercial and management experience, which is essential for an organisation with a turnover of more than £23 million a year. Equally importantly, we believe that Keith has the right skills and personality for the task of leading one of the country’s largest members’ clubs.”A commitee member put things more simply when he said: “We needed someone who will not only be financially savvy but completely at home when talking cricket with ex-Test players.”Bradshaw himself was equally thrilled at his appointment. “I am delighted and extremely honoured to have been selected,” he said. “I have long regarded MCC as the finest, most active and most respected cricket club in the world. I am determined to play my part in maintaining its values, upholding its traditions and continuing to improve Lord’s – which is not only MCC’s home, but the spiritual home of world cricket.”The appointment of an overseas chief executive reflects MCC’s growing desire to cast off its traditional image. “MCC is a truly international organisation,” added Bradshaw, “which works for the good of the game right across the globe. It is fantastic, for example, that one of its teams is currently touring Argentina – playing some of the 500 or so fixtures that MCC arranges each year.”Lord’s hold a very special place in every cricketer’s heart and I know from my ownexperience that every young Australian who ever put on a pad aspires, as I did, to one daywalk through the Long Room on to the ‘hallowed turf’. This is true the world over. While I never fulfilled that dream as a player, I will be incredibly fortunate to start playing a part in keeping Lord’s truly special for players and spectators alike.”

Steve Waugh believes Australia’s current rotation policy doesn’t make sense and the selectors are tempting fate by resting key players at a crucial time in the VB Series. Waugh, writing in his column, said the wrong people were being given a break after Glenn McGrath missed Sunday’s match at the SCG and Ricky Ponting was given this week off, including Thursday’s Australia-Day game against Sri Lanka.Mark Taylor, Ian Chappell and Tony Greig are other former Test captains confused with the policy. “While I strongly support a rotation system for limited-overs matches,” Waugh said, “it doesn’t make sense to be resting Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting.”It’s a bit lame to suggest McGrath was told to put his feet up in Sydney after roughly 27 days’ cricket since the Ashes campaign, which was 135 days ago. The decision was doubly surprising considering he is a bowler who enjoys and needs a heavy workload to keep his body in sync and fine-tuned to the demands of quick bowling.”Waugh was a strong advocate of rotation when he was captain, but he said changing the team needed to serve a purpose such as trialling a player or allowing someone to recover from a niggle. “Change should not be just for the sake of change,” he said.The main issue has centred around Ponting being given a break from the Adelaide match and he has been replaced at No. 3 by Brad Hodge. “If anyone has a need to recharge, it would have to be the captain,” Waugh said. “But that’s exactly why you are the captain – because you are the benchmark for resilience and mental toughness, and seen by the team as almost indestructible. To be having a rest at a crucial juncture in the limited-overs series is tempting fate and opening the door to both Sri Lanka and South Africa, who will see this move as a lack of respect and be motivated by it.”Hodge was unsure how long he would be in the squad, but he supported Ponting’s holiday. “We were just joking about it before that even the prime minister had a few weeks off over Christmas while Ricky was busy making a century in Melbourne and a century in each innings in Sydney,” Hodge said in .Taylor spoke about the rotation problems on before South Africa’s win over Sri Lanka last night and said not playing the best team was “dangerous”. “If you start to struggle, you are not winning the games you think you are going to win, I think you have to get the rubber out, say: No, no, that rest is now out,” Taylor said. “Sorry Ricky, you are now back in.” Australia have won only two of their four VB Series games and they lead the competition by one point.

Bangladesh’s one-day series at home to Kenya has been confirmed after weeks of delays caused primarily by Zimbabwe’s reluctance to confirm whether they would participate in a tri-series.Kenya will now play four ODIs on the 13-day tour which starts on March 13. They will meet Bangladesh at Bogra (March 17) and Khulna (March 20) before heading to Dhaka for two more games on March 23 and 25. The exact venue in Dhaka has yet to be confirmed.Kenya will leave on March 26, three days before they take on the Netherlands in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Nairobi. The tour means that the ODI which had been discussed against the Netherlands to be played on March 26 will not now happen.The news is a great boost to Kenya, as these four games will mean that they have enough matches under their belt to qualify for a place in the ODI rankings. If they beat Zimbabwe, this might enable them to take the fourth and final qualifying spot for the ICC Champions Trophy.The Bangladesh Cricket Board is reportedly far from happy with the lack of communication from its Zimbabwe counterparts. Sources close to the board have been telling Cricinfo that Zimbabwe were not expected to travel for two or three weeks.Lovemore Banda, the ZC media and communications manager, told Cricinfo on February 17 that talks were still being held with the BCB, even though the ICC was informed three days earlier that Zimbabwe Cricket had pulled out of the series.

Final points tableRajshahi secured their first National Cricket League title on Monday after their closest rivals, Chittagong, slumped to a six-wicket defeat at Barisal.Rajshahi, who thrashed defending champions Dhaka by ten wickets with a day to spare on Sunday, became the first team to complete the double of winning both one and four-day tournaments.They finished on 40 points with six wins in ten matches with Chittagong, who had led the competition at the end of the penultimate round, finishing runners-up in both events.Barisal’s win over Dhaka ensured they ended in third place – their best finish in the league.

Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has defended the proposed appointment of Jonty Rhodes as a short-term fielding coach, arguing that the his role is part of a broader change the PCB is trying to bring about.The idea of appointing Rhodes for only two weeks has led a number of people to question the value behind such a short appointment. In the past, Pakistan has hired Geoffrey Boycott and Greg Chappell on a similarly short-term contract with little ostensible benefit. Imran Khan, among others, launched a scathing and broad-based attack at a number of PCB and team management decisions, one of which was the decision to pursue Rhodes.Imran had told reporters, “The Pakistan cricket team has a bowling coach. Now they have a fielding coach and the skipper himself is a batsman. I don’t understand what will Bob Woolmer do. Fielding cannot be improved by appointing coaches. The PCB has to understand that Australia and South Africa are good fielding sides because their players play [domestic cricket] on good grounds and in near perfect structure.”But Shaharyar told Cricinfo that Rhodes was not being brought to Pakistan to immediately improve Pakistan’s fielders. “Obviously we do not expect our fielders to become like Jonty, as some ex-players have thought. But we want our national team, our academy and younger players to have exposure to his thinking. Above all, we are hoping that he will be able to give seminars to some of our coaches so that they can also utilise his experience and skills in their training.”We know standards will not improve overnight but we want to instill into the team, into the academy, into the cricketing structure of the country, the importance of fielding as a discipline. This process can begin by bringing Jonty Rhodes to Pakistan. If it goes well then we can think about bringing him back again six months down the line.”Rhodes meanwhile, contrary to reports that suggested the deal has been finalised, has told Cricinfo that he is awaiting the South African board’s approval before he agrees to the appointment. “I was approached by Bob Woolmer last week, asking if I would be available to come and spend a week with the national team prior to their departure to England in June, and then stay on for another week to spend time with the A and U-19 teams. I have spoken to the United Cricket Board of SA, and am meeting Gerald Majola and Vince van der Bijl, CEO of professional cricket, next week to ensure they have no problem with this.”This decision is expected by the end of this week or the start of the next. In case Rhodes cannot make it then some replacements, revealed Shaharyar, had been lined up, though none have, as of yet, been approached. “We have talked about a few names in case Jonty cannot make it, including Mike Young and Trevor Penney. But no approaches have been made – these are just names that cropped up in discussions.” Both Shaharyar and Saleem Altaf, director cricket operations, PCB, confirmed that Woolmer will be in touch with Rhodes in the next day or so to get his final decision.

Sachin Tendulkar has ruled himself out of India’s tour to the West Indies after deciding not to undergo a scheduled fitness test in Mumbai this morning. Tendulkar, who had been operated on for a shoulder tear in the last week of March, had been training hard to regain playing fitness in order to make it to the Test squad which will be announced tomorrow.However, the much-anticipated fitness test, scheduled to be conducted under the supervision of Andrew Leipus, the former physiotherapist to the Indian team who has been overseeing Tendulkar’s rehabilitation process, did not take place, and Tendulkar infomed the Indian board that he should not be considered for selection.Speaking to reporters, Tendulkar said, “We have been trying hard. Andrew Leipus has been with me all the time and all my sessions were monitored. There is weakness in my arm. I am not still ready to compete at the international level. I will be going to London for further treatment.”Leipus told Cricinfo (click here to listen to him on Cricinfo Audio) that Tendulkar was desperate to get back but was also aware of the risks of a premature move. “I don’t think there was any doubt that he wanted to get back and play and that is a very strong driving force – that desire to get back is pretty motivating factor in terms of the lengths of recovery. If you are very positive to getting back as quickly as possible then you will get back as quickly possible. You’ll get back quicker than someone who is very negative or very scared about moving.”So in that respect he has done very, very well to get where he is in such a short period of time. At this stage, though, he just functionally doesn’t have that strength to be comfortable about playing all his shots. He understands that his focus isn’t completely on what the bowler is doing, there are other issues at the back of his mind, which means that the rehabilitation process hasn’t been completed yet.”Tendulkar was unsure about how long the treatment is likely to take, or indeed when he will regain full fitness. When asked, he said “It’s a difficult question. I don’t know. I leave it to the doctors to guide me in the right direction. The doctor will be in touch with the board.” Tendulkar will leave for London tonight to consult with Andrew Wallace, the doctor who operated on his shoulder.Leipus said that Tendulkar needed to rest and recuperate, instead of over-exerting himself with training. “Primarily the decision has been based on functional weakness, not on performance basis. We don’t want him to do any further damage to his shoulder. We are looking at the big picture of his career. Recovery is important. He can’t just keep training – he has to rest in order to get his body stronger.”He also revealed that the decision was a joint one. “A player’s opinion is critical, so it was a joint decision. He understood that he wasn’t quite comfortable in what he was doing in the nets and I just supported that by what I saw in the gym and functionally in the other tests I did with him. It was a tough decision from a point of the view of keeping the player away from play but it was an easy decision to make in terms of physical assessment,” Leipus said.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that the board was keen to have Tendulkar in the team as soon as possible and his rehabilitation process will be reviewed in two to three weeks time by the team management.Tendulkar’s shoulder ruled him out of the recent ODI series against England and is a further blow in what has been an injury-plagued period in his career; the problem comes on the back of a tennis elbow he suffered last season. The injuries have been compounded by a relative lack of success on the field.Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer, the Indian opener who made his comeback in the series against England, is available for selection after he passed a fitness test following a shin surgery. “We looked at it [Jaffer’s fitness test] from the point of view of his legs and he is fit,” Leipus said. “He was slightly out of breath today because he is recovering from viral fever.” Jaffer, who scored his first Test hundred at Nagpur against England in March this year, is likey to be selected as opener, ahead of the inexperienced Robin Uthappa. The tour to West Indies will be Jaffer’s second, having played there in 2002 under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy.The four-Test series begins in Antigua on June 2.To listen to Sambit Bal’s views on Tendulkar in Cricinfo Audio, click here.

Brian Lara says that the third Test between West Indies and India will go ahead at St Kitts tomorrow, despite fears that the ongoing contract row could put paid to proceedings.West Indies’ captain Lara told reporters on the eve of the Test: “As far as we are concerned, we are going ahead with the Test. I have not seen any unease among players because of the pay matter. Everyone is looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

In a reversal of sorts, Sourav Ganguly has launched an attack against his long-time mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya, accusing the former cricket board chief of “playing” with his career.Ganguly, who lost his place in the Indian team after a spat with Greg Chappell, the coach, chose the upcoming presidential elections for the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to hit out at Dalmiya, facing a challenge for the post from Prasun Mukherjee, the police commissioner.Currently playing county cricket for Northamptonshire, Ganguly, trying to make a comeback into the national team, sent an email to his brother Snehashish supporting Mukherjee. The email was released by Mukherjee at a press conference in Kolkata. Ganguly said in the email: “People who leak e-mails and sacrifice players’ careers should be heavily punished. There are people in CAB who are playing with players’ careers to suit them. They should not be allowed to go scot-free as it takes years of hard work to reach a certain level in sports.”Complaining of unethical practices in the CAB, Ganguly also expressed satisfaction at the stand taken by the West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, who openly said that Dalmiya should stay away from the CAB presidential race. “I am happy that the Chief Minister and people concerned are addressing the issues and working towards the right path,” Ganguly wrote.Ganguly’s email, which also accused Dalmiya of leaking Chappell’s controversial email to the board in September last year, comes as a major boost to the dissident faction ahead of the polls on July 30. Chappell’s email, which contained damning criticism of Ganguly, created a furore after its contents appeared in a Bengali daily in the midst of the board’s Annual General Meeting.Ganguly’s outburst is the latest twist in the drama for control of the CAB, where Dalmiya is facing a determined challenge from dissidents being backed by Bhattacharjee and other former Ranji Trophy cricketers from Bengal. Ganguly’s message in support of the police chief comes a day after Subhas Chakraborty, the West Bengal sports minister known to be soft on Dalmiya, admitted his failure to dissuade him from contesting the elections. Chakraborty’s statement had been interpreted as a confirmation that Dalmiya was prepared to fight it out in the polls.Chakraborty, who had been directed by the chief minister to convey his stand on the CAB polls to Dalmiya, also said that his attempts for a compromise between the two factions had not borne fruit. The police commissioner had filed his nomination yesterday, while his close lieutenant and former Bengal cricketer Raja Venkat threw his hat in the ring for one of the two joint secretaries’ posts during the day, which also saw Dalmiya filing his nomination for the top post.