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Scorecard
A career-best 90 from Shaun Marsh was not enough to set up a win for Western Australia as Victoria’s batsmen all contributed to their side’s last-over victory at Shepparton. Needing 235, the Bushrangers’ chase was led by David Hussey, whose 61 was his first one-day half-century of the season.The Warriors picked up wickets at regular intervals but were unable to spark the mini-collapse they needed to gain the upper hand. The openers Jon Moss, with 36 from 32 balls, and Michael Klinger (37) made important early runs before Cameron White kept his team on target with 33.Steve Magoffin (2 for 41) was the only Western Australia bowler to claim more than one wicket. He gave the Warriors one final chance when he bowled Hussey in the 48th over with 12 runs needed but Adam Crosthwaite brought up the win with a four from the first ball of the 50th over.Western Australia began poorly after electing to bat, and were 2 for 1 in the second over. But Marsh rebuilt the innings with help from Luke Pomersbach, whose 39 came from 46 balls, and Adam Voges (43). Marsh’s 90 included eight fours and one six but he fell in the 45th over and late wickets from Clinton McKay (3 for 41) restricted the Warriors to 234.

Mahela Jayawardene scotched suggestions that Tuesday’s match against South Africa was in any way a “grudge match”. Speaking to the media in a pre-game briefing, he said: “Mark [Boucher] can call it anything he wants. For me, it’s not about revenge or grudge. We are all professionals and we are here to play cricket. The media can build up any type of hype,” he said. “I know teams who have been called worse things. I don’t believe Mark really means it. We players never responded to South Africa leaving the Sri Lankan shores. We never called them chickens. But if they want to treat this as a grudge match, I think we are in good hands. Their focus will not be on cricket then. So we’ll be happy about that.”Jayawardene was reacting to the comments made by Mark Boucher, who was captain of the South African team on the recent visit to Sri Lanka in Graeme Smith’s absence when the team prematurely pulled out of the tournament and returned home amid security fears following a bomb blast near the team hotel in Colombo. Complaining about the reaction by the Sri Lankan media, Boucher had said, “We were called ‘chicken’ and various other things, which was unfair and uncalled for. We have nothing against the any of the players, but the press in Sri Lanka were out of order. I am definitely one of those treating this game as a grudge match.”Jayawardene, however, dismissed any suggestions that his team had these matters in mind when looking forward to tomorrow’s game. He was merely interested in winning a game of cricket that was crucial to his team’s chances of progressing to the next round in this competition. “We are pretty serious about tomorrow’s game because it is a crucial game for us and we want to emerge winners in that,” he said. “We have already played a match here earlier and we are hoping to derive some positives out of it.”Spin played a huge role in Sri Lanka’s comprehensive win over New Zealand in Mumbai, with Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya taking 6 for 49 between them. But Jayawardene conceded that the South Africans were good players of spin. “South Africa play spin pretty well,” he said. “They showed in recent matches that they can handle spin as well as any other team. The advantage we have is that Sanath is an experienced player and Murali is exceptional, and that give us a lot of flexibility.”When asked that well-worn question on the pitch, the answer was along expected lines. “All the pitches in India will assist spinners, but it depends to what extent. The wicket here will differ to the ones in Mumbai, Mohali or Jaipur,” he said. “Fortunately we have the luxury of a lot of part-time spinners in the side and all of them are very experienced. They can adapt to different conditions. Until we play on the pitch, I cannot say it will suit us. But we have played here before against Zimbabwe, and the wicket did turn. Hopefully it will do the same.”Taking a charming little detour from the controversy of grudge matches and the dourness of the pitch conditions, Jayawardene spoke of Jayasuriya’s visit back home to Sri Lanka to be with his new-born child. “Sanath became a father just before our last game. He flew back and spent some quality time with his new-born. He got back last night and is in a good mood,” said Jayawardene. “In situations like these, the family always comes first. We were in a good position to release him and give him that extra bit of time to spend with his family,” adding, with a smile: “We have a boy who might play for Sri Lanka one day.”

ScorecardThe name Compton has a long history with Lord’s and today it was back up in lights as Nick Compton, Denis’s grandson, struck his maiden Championship century to haul Middlesex out of trouble on the third day against Kent. He arrived after three early wickets during the morning session and, after initially playing second fiddle to Jamie Dalrymple, pushed Middlesex towards their eventual lead of 353.Last week Compton notched his first first-class century but, without trying to take anything away from Oxford UCCE, the bowling attack would not have been as testing as that on offer at Lord’s. His previous best in the Championship had been 40, on debut, against Worcestershire in 2004 and conditions weren’t easy when he arrived. The ball was still swinging considerably, but he quickly began to rotate the strike with Dalrymple, the senior partner, who steadied the Middlesex innings after it had slumped to 45 for 4.When Dalrymple departed, falling across the crease against the impressive Robbie Joseph, Compton took the innings under his young wings. Boundaries were limited but he sprinted hard between the wickets and when he connected with a big shot, he did so in style. A handsome straight drive into the pavilion loosened the shackles and he immediately appeared calmer at the crease.Understandably the tension mounted as three figures approached and he nearly edged Simon Cook twice while on 96. However, in the next over, from Min Patel, he danced out of his crease and smashed the ball over mid-off and into the Warner Stand to break through the 100-mark off 184 balls. A jig of delight followed as his team-mates and the crowd rose for a standing ovation. The giant electronic scorecard – a feature that certainly wasn’t around in the days of his grandfather, when he scored the last of his Lord’s hundreds on August 28, 1957 – flashed up the figures and he led the players off at tea.The significance of this innings goes beyond just the personal and historical factors as it put Middlesex in an increasingly strong position. The top order stuttered as they attempted to build on their 25-run first-innings lead with Kent’s seamers, especially Joseph and Amjad Khan, maintaining the pressureAlready one down overnight, following the late loss of Ed Smith yesterday evening, Middlesex quickly lost their other opener, Ben Hutton, when he miscued a pull for the second time in the match. There was useful movement for the pacemen as the sun struggled to pierce the morning could cover, but Owais Shah middled a couple of sumptuous cover-drives and was more compact than his rather skittish affair in the first innings. However, he could build on the promising start as he was beaten for pace by Khan – a slight lack of bounce – to be pinned in front, leaving Middlesex 45 for 3.The score hadn’t moved when Kent struck another major blow by removing Ed Joyce. Fresh from his 130 on Wednesday, Joyce was left needing to produce another sizeable innings but drove loosely at Joesph and Martin van Jaarsveld continued his excellent catching form with a sharp take at second slip.However, Dalrymple showed the composure and correctness that gained him A team recognition in the winter. He was quick onto anything off line, particularly through the offside, and brought up his fifty from 64 balls. His innings, though, was quickly overshadowed by Compton who, with valuable support from the busy Craig Wright, pushed the lead over 300.A determined start by David Fulton and Robert Key has left Kent needed 311 more runs and set up a fascinating final day, in what has been a superb advertisement for hard-fought county cricket. Today, though, was all about one of the most famous names in cricket making a 21st century appearance in the middle of the most famous ground in the world.

Shaun Tait has tested out his injured elbow in a novel way by joining an Indian chef in the kitchen. Experiencing heat of a different kind, Tait briefly added cooking chicken korma and fish curry to his rehabilitation programme in Melbourne, where he rated himself a “decent chance” of making the tour to South Africa.After having surgery in June, Tait has recovered well enough to be named in the Twenty20 World Championship squad, but he is still a few weeks away from his first bowl at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. “I’ll see how the elbow goes in the next couple of weeks to see whether I can get up for it or not,” Tait told .”It feels fine but obviously with bowling a fair bit of stress goes on it. I’m a decent chance but we’ll see how it goes.” He has no plans to tinker with his technique despite regular injuries since playing his first Test in 2005.If fit for the tournament in September, Tait will use the series to prove he is ready for regular action in the following seven-match one-day tour of India before focussing on adding to his two Test appearances. He played his first season of one-day internationals last summer and his 23 World Cup wickets were crucial to Australia’s overall success.”There’s going to be some pretty big opportunities coming up,” Tait said. “With Glenn McGrath stepping down I suppose there’s a new door that could be opened and if I get the opportunity hopefully I’ll do well.” Tait is also excited by the prospect of bowling with Brett Lee, who is due to return in South Africa from ankle surgery.Tait was in the kitchen to launch the general release of tickets for the upcoming Australian summer. Australia will face India in four Tests starting on Boxing Day after playing two matches against Sri Lanka in November. The three sides will also take part in the CB Series while Australia will attempt to regain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in December.Tickets go on sale in Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth on Wednesday while seats in Brisbane will be offered on Thursday and in Melbourne on Friday. “The team has had a great record in Australia for the past decade,” Tait said, “and a big part of that success is the encouragement we receive from our green-and-gold army of supporters.”

ScorecardIndia Under-19s combined a massive batting performance with incisive bowling to put Pakistan Under-19 between a rock and a hard place on the second day at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Piyush Chawla weighed in with a century as India declared on 611 for 9. Facing a daunting total, Pakistan withered to 109 for 6 and needed another 303 runs to avoid the follow on.Resuming on 393 for 4 on the second morning, India lost Tanmay Srivastava, who added only seven to his overnight score for 220. However, Chawla ensured that Pakistan’s misery did not end there. He formed the mainstay of partnerships for the sixth and seventh wicket that added 57 and 115 runs respectively. Chawla’s hundred pushed India past 600 and the only Pakistan bowler to emerge with some sort of credit was Mohammad Naved who ended with 5 for 118 from 32 overs.After spending ages in the field, the Pakistan batsmen returned to the dressing-room in a hurry as the top order crumbled. Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh removed Ahmed Shehzad before Pakistan had scored a run and Ishant Sharma soon reduced Pakistan to 16 for 2.All the Indian bowlers managed wickets and Chawla capped an excellent day by dismissing Moinuddin who was the only batsman to offer any sort of resistance during his 53.India had won the first match by a whopping 271 runs and unless Pakistan pull out all the stops a larger defeat is surely on the cards.

2nd day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKwaZulu-Natal completely outplayed Easterns at Willowmoore Park, nearlywinning inside two days. Was it not for an excellent 136, out of a total of 230 from Pierre de Bruin, Easterns would have been humiliated in their own backyard. In front of a total of seven spectators, maybe because the main public entrance was locked throughout the whole day, de Bruin’s lonely hand took the Natal attack by the scruff of the neck and pasted the ball to all parts of the ground. Seven towering sixes had outfielders craning their necks as they tracked the ball. Earlier Rivash Gobind, the Natal captain, had scored his debut first-class hundred, allowing Natal to declare at 300 for 7 after 85 overs when the bonus points stopped. Shiraaz Abrahams picked up three late wickets to make an impressive debut into first-class cricket. Natal need a further 63 runs when play resumes on day three.2nd day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCareer-best figures of 6-90 from Gerhard de Bruin helped Gauteng beat Northerns, who made a valiant attempt at saving the game at Wanderers. Being bowled out for 147, a deficit of 212 runs in the first innings was their undoing, but fifties from Kruger van Wyk, Nic van Woerkom, Gerald Dros and James Mokonyama nearly saw them attain the impossible. However, it was de Bruin who wrapped up the tail, leaving Gauteng ample time to score the 137 required with William Motaung undefeated at the end on 57.

Kenya have announced a 13-man squad for the forthcoming Intercontinental Cup and one-day matches against Canada in Toronto.The squad is a mix of youth and experience. Hitesh Modi, who has not made a one-day international fifty for four years but averaged 48 in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup, and Brijal Patel are included, as is Kennedy Otieno, was dropped after the series whitewash in Bangladesh and subsequently threatened to retire.Timothy Muange and Hiren Varaiya, who are both uncapped, have been drafted in, and Tanmay Mishra, the 19-year-old who was so impressive in Bangladesh, is also included.Kenya will leave for Canada next Wednesday, and Steve Tikolo, their captain, will join them on Sunday after completing his club commitments in the UK. Modi, another overseas-based player, will fly straight from London to Toronto.Kenya, who drew their opening Intercontinental Cup match with Holland, need to beat Canada to maintain their interest in the competition.Squad – Steve Tikolo (capt), Thomas Odoyo (vice-capt), Brijal Patel, Kennedy Otieno (wk), Tony Suji, Tanmay Mishra, Collins Obuya, Peter Ongondo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Timothy Muange, Jimmy Kamande, Hitesh Modi, Hiren Varaiya

Brett Dorey, the Western Australia fast bowler, is expected to be fit for the ING Cup game against Victoria on Saturday despite suffering a leg injury yesterday. Dorey complained of tightness in his quadriceps during the five-wicket win against Victoria and left the field, but he showed promising signs during a recovery session this morning.The Western Australia selectors named an unchanged squad for the return fixture against Victoria at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. The Australian players Damien Martyn, who scored 110 yesterday, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist and Mike Hussey will all make the trip.Tim Paine is in line for an ING Cup debut after replacing Michael Dighton, the opening batsman, for Tasmania’s match against New South Wales at the SCG on Sunday. Dighton broke his hand during the two-wicket loss to Queensland at the Gabba on Friday.Western Australia squad Justin Langer (capt), Mike Hussey, Marcus North, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Adam Voges, Darren Wates, Peter Worthington, Brad Williams, Beau Casson, Brett Dorey, Michael Clark.Tasmania squad Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto, Ricky Ponting (capt), George Bailey, David Dawson (wk), Tim Paine, Scott Kremerskothen, Damien Wright, Xavier Doherty, Adam Griffith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Adam Polkinghorne, Shannon Tubb.

Top-order batter Joshua Dorne will lead West Indies at the Men’s Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia in January-February 2026. Allrounder Jonathan Van Lange will be Dorne’s deputy.West Indies’ 15-member squad also includes 19-year-old batter Jewel Andrew, who has already played three ODIs and five T20Is for the senior national team.West Indies enter the Under-19 World Cup after back-to-back seven-match Youth ODI series at home against Sri Lanka and England. Dorne was the highest run-getter in both series, with van Lange the next-best from West Indies. Several others who featured in both those series, including Zachary Carter, Matthew Miller, Jakeem Pollard, Shaquan Belle and Vitel Lawes, have also been named in the World Cup squad.In ten matches spread across the Sri Lanka and England series, Pollard bagged 18 wickets at an average of 16.27. Belle picked up 15 wickets in nine games, while Lawes, who managed just a solitary wicket in three matches against England, hit back with 14 wickets at 14.92 in six games against Sri Lanka.”In assembling this group, we have aligned their development with the style of play we expect at the senior level, ensured exposure to high-quality match opportunities, and placed a strong focus on leadership, tactical awareness and individual support within their territories,” Dwain Gill, CWI’s High Performance Manager, said.At the Under-19 World Cup, West Indies have been drawn in Group D, alongside South Africa, Afghanistan and Tanzania. They start their campaign against Tanzania in Windhoek on January 15.

West Indies squad for Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026

Joshua Dorne (capt), Jewel Andrew, Shamar Apple, Shaquan Belle, Zachary Carter, Tanez Francis, R’jai Gittens, Vitel Lawes, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller, Israel Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Aiden Racha, Kunal Tilokani, Jonathan Van Lange (vice-capt)

Match facts

Friday, April 11, 2008Start time 09:30 am local time (04:00 GMT)

Big picture

Kanpur’s Green Park is known to produce more draws than results – 12 in 19 Tests to be precise – but after India’s embarrassing submission on a green first-day Ahmedabad pitch, the groundstaff have reportedly prepared a turner to try and suit what has traditionally been India’s strength – spin. Trailing 0-1 going into the final Test, India are up against it and may rely on a three-pronged spin attack to level the series.The pitch looks extremely dry and has no grass cover. Anil Kumble and the curator felt it would break as early as the third day and assist spin from there on. Gary Kirsten, India’s coach, is reported to have been taken aback by the track on first inspection. If all predictions hold true, neither side will want to bat last. The toss will be extremely crucial.The bounce is expected to be on the lower side which, given Dale Steyn’s raw pace, could also work in South Africa’s favour. If they win then Graeme Smith will become his country’s most successful captain after equalling Hansie Cronje’s record of 27 victories in Ahmedabad. South Africa will also be the first side to win in India since Australia in 2004.

Form guide – India

Last five matches: LWDDLPlayer to watch: Given the nature of the pitch and the slight doubt surrounding Kumble’s fitness, Harbhajan Singh could be the biggest threat to South Africa. After his captain he is the only bowler with some degree of success at this ground, with eight wickets at 28.62 here.

Form guide – South Africa

Last five matches: WWWDWPlayer to watch: Steyn has been hot all series and could again be a pain in India’s neck. If the pitch does stay low, it’s not improbable to envision Steyn causing trouble with the ball darting around the batsmen’s ankles at extreme pace. He has ran through the tail with ease but it’s the bigger, better batsmen that could be in for a spot of bother.

Team news

Injury concerns mean India might end up re-jigging their bowling line-up again. Kumble will play permitting a fitness test on the morning, and if he doesn’t make the cut Ramesh Powar could come in as the third spinner to go with Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla. Ishant Sharma’s fitness is being monitored and he is the likely candidate to partner Sreesanth with the new ball. Irfan Pathan applied himself excellently with the bat in Ahmedabad but his bowling was pedestrian and could face the axe.Smith is most certain to maintain the winning combination from Ahmedabad. Even though the pitch is expected to assist spin, and they have Robin Pietersen as another left-arm option, South Africa are tipped to play just the one spinner in Paul Harris.India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVS Laxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7 Anil Kumble (capt), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Ishant Sharma.South Africa (probable): 1 Neil McKenzie, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Asad Rauf.Weather: The weather in Kanpur is very hot, with clear skies and a chance of a few clouds as the game progresses. The temperatures are expected to hover around the 37 degrees centigrade mark, warmer than it was during the second Test.

Stats & trivia