Close Bangladesh 278 for 9 (Bashar 71, Kapali 46, Sarkar 41)
Scorecard

Bangladesh rode on a run-a-ball 71 from Habibul Bashar, and useful contributions from most of the top order, to reach 278 for 9 at the end of the first day’s play at the National Stadium in Karachi. Bashar’s 114-run second-wicket stand with Hannan Sarkar (41) put Bangladesh in control, but Pakistan chipped away with wickets in the last two sessions to pull things back.It was a fair effort by Bangladesh’s batsmen, especially considering the fact that they were asked to make first use of a pitch which had a fair smattering of grass, but it could have been much better had their batsmen not thrown away starts. Four of the top six passed 25, but only Bashar managed a half-century.Bashar’s knock was a chancy one – there were plenty of airy drives as he flailed at deliveries with minimal footwork – but his onslaught ensured that Bangladesh snatched the initiative after the early loss of Javed Omar, yorked by Umar Gul for 1 (9 for 1). It was Gul’s first Test wicket, but he marred his debut performance with plenty of loose balls later in the day.Even as Bashar tonked the ball around, Hannan Sarkar made an assured 41. Fresh from two fifties in the second Test against Australia, he was compact in defence and showed excellent judgment around the off stump. Bangladesh went into the lunch interval at a healthy 97 for 1, but spoilt all the good work with some reckless shots in the next two sessions.Sarkar gloved a leg-side lifter from Shabbir Ahmed to Rashid Latif (123 for 2), and four balls later, Bashar played a shockingly irresponsible stroke. A cross-batted swipe off Shoaib Akhtar presented Mohammad Hafeez with a simple catch at extra-cover.Shoaib then trapped Sanwar Hossain in front for 15 (146 for 4), and when debutant Rajin Saleh threw away a promising debut innings of 26 with a rash lofted shot off Danish Kaneria, Pakistan were on top (176 for 5).Alok Kapali put on a stubborn partnership of 55 with Khaled Mashud, and then decided that he was done with grafting. Another reckless lofted shot off Kaneria found Shabbir Ahmed at mid-off (231 for 6), and Kapali trudged back for 46.The lower order offered brief resistance, but with conditions getting increasingly murky – and Pakistan armed with the second new ball – the umpires called off play with seven overs still left in the day.Meanwhile, there was good news for the Pakistan camp when Latif’s finger injury, sustained while keeping wicket, turned out to be nothing more than a bruise. Latif had left the field after hurting a finger in his right hand, but x-rays revealed that he could return to his wicketkeeping duties tomorrow.

Nick Knight has been confirmed as Warwickshire’s captain for the 2004 season, following a poor run of form for his predecessor Mike Powell, who stood down last week.Knight, who retired from international one-day cricket after the World Cup, was Powell’s deputy in 2003, and enjoyed a superb season, in which he scored 1012 runs at first-class level, and excelled in the one-day competitions as well, in particular the new Twenty20 Cup.”It is an honour for me to be appointed as captain of such a great club,” said Knight. "I very much look forward to the challenge." Since his Warwickshire debut in 1995, Knight has played in almost 100 first-class matches, averaging over 54.”Nick is a natural successor to captain the club, ” said Warwickshire’s chief executive Dennis Amiss. "He brings with him tremendous experience and we all wish him well."

ScorecardIt took just 40 minutes on the final morning for West Indies to take the final Zimbabwean wicket and seal, by 128 runs, Brian Lara’s first victory away from home as West Indies’ captain.Zimbabwe resumed on 90 for 9 and, thanks to the resolution of the lastpair, who showed more fighting spirit than any of their predecessors, managed to lift their score into three figures, and to 104, before the inevitable. They were even cheered on by a few hundred voluble spectators, who had turned up for what might well have been a single ball.Corey Collymore and Merv Dillon began with a couple of maidens before two nervous fours off the edge of Heath Streak’s bat got Zimbabwe going. Blessing Mahwire held up his end well, but his stonewalling effort finally came to an end when a ball from Dillon proved too good, breaking through his defences to hit his stumps and end the series.Streak, who ended up undefeated with 33, should have sent himself in earlier than No. 9, as he seems to be the only batsman in the team at the moment who is capable of holding his nerve in a crisis. He had a fine series with both bat and ball, although his bowling figures did him little justice. He was the bowler the West Indian batsmen were content to keep out while they scored runs at the other end.At least Zimbabwe matched West Indies for most of this too-brief series, which contained much thrilling cricket. Had they still possessed batsmen of the ability and temperament of Andy Flower and Murray Goodwin, they might today have been celebrating victory instead of going down at the final hurdle in such humiliating fashion.

Doctors have declared that Sourav Ganguly will be available for the TVS Cup match against Australia on November 12. “We are very happy with his progress. He has recovered fast. From our side, we have no problem if he plays the November 12 match at Bangalore,” said Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, head of the six-member medical board which is treating Ganguly.Mukherjee stated that Ganguly now needed to be cleared by the Indian board. “Now the matter is in the court of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. As per the board’s norms, I believe he has to undergo a fitness test. On being cleared, he can again play for the country.”Mukherjee also clarified that Ganguly now had no problem in stretching, and was walking without a limp. “Today, we made him walk before us. He is perfectly fine.”However, the rehabilitation programme, including physiotherapy, would go on for a few more days. The course of antibiotics would also continue. Mukherjee said all the five ‘superficial stitches’ on the wound had been removed and one of the two deep stitches would be cut on Monday.Ganguly, who had to undergo mini-surgical procedures twice in five days for removing the abscess, missed the second Test against New Zealand at Mohali and all three ODIs that India have played so far in the TVS Cup.

Close Australia 323 for 9 (Langer 121, Ponting 42; Zaheer 5-95) v India
Scorecard

A day riddled with breaks caused by rain and bad light belonged completely to India. A mere 16 overs were possible, and Australia lost an alarming seven wickets as they added 61 to their overnight score to reach 323 for 9. As the players took the final drinks break, natural light faded away, and the umpires called off play for the day. India, though, did anything but fade, on the day. Zaheer Khan was the shining star, ending on 5 for 95. On the day, he was good enough to pick up an expensive yet vital 3 for 42 from eight overs.When play started, at the first possible moment, at 11.30am, Zaheer and Ajit Agarkar were pumped up. The rest in the dressing rooms seemed to have done them a world of good. Zaheer struck a good line and length straightaway, and put Justin Langer and Damien Martyn under pressure.The first to go was Langer (121, 17 fours), trapped in front of the stumps by Agarkar just balls after smashing him to the cover fence. Late inswing aided Agarkar’s skiddy mediumpace, and Australia were 268 for 3. Langer looked unhappy when he saw the slow finger of Rudi Koertzen going up, but replays showed that the ball pitched in line, and only swung enough to beat the bat. It would not have gone past the leg stump.Steve Waugh walked out to the middle amidst loud cheers from the Gabba crowd. But things began badly for him. Martyn (42) languidly punched a ball through cover, and scurried away to make the most of it. Waugh, momentarily ignoring Martyn, ran back for a tight third run. Martyn took a few steps down the wicket, then changed his mind and frantically pleaded with his partner to go back. By this time it was too late for Waugh to reverse his momentum and turn around. Harbhajan Singh’s throw from the deep was not the greatest, but it still gave Parthiv Patel enough time to lob the ball to Sourav Ganguly, who eagerly whipped the bails off at the bowler’s end. Martyn had sacrificed his wicket (275 for 4). Ironically, the run-out came off a no-ball, accentuating the bizarre nature of the dismissal.

Could Waugh make up for the Martyn run-out with a big score? Not today. A quick bouncer from Zaheer, who had been bowling well all morning, had Waugh moving to the off side and tickling the ball fine. While all eyes turned to Patel behind the stumps, Waugh overbalanced, trod on the stumps, and knocked the bail of the off stump out of its position. Waugh was hit-wicket for a duck, and the Indians were grinning ear to ear (275 for 5).From that moment on, the Indians could hardly put a foot wrong. As they were eating lunch, the rains came down, keeping the players indoors till 4.20pm. Then came a passage of play where India drove home the advantage.Adam Gilchrist lasted just four balls, and registered the second duck of the innings when he edged Zaheer to Laxman in the slips cordon (276 for 6). The Indians were visibly buoyed by the fall of Gilchrist’s wicket. There was a spring in the step of fielders, and the fast bowlers kept the heat up. Andy Bichel (11) tried to play too many strokes, and edged Ajit Agarkar to Laxman in the slips (302 for 7).Eight runs later Simon Katich’s nervous 16-run stay at the wicket ended. He poked tentatively at a Zaheer delivery and feathered a catch to Parthiv Patel behind the stumps (310 for 8).Jason Gillespie did not hang around for too long. To start off, he was tested with some sharp deliveries from Agarkar. He played and missed more than once, and was distinctly uncomfortable. Gillespie then got carried away when he worked the ball through the off side. He attempted an overambitious fourth run, and Harbhajan’s good throw deposited the ball in Agarkar’s hands right over the stumps at the bowler’s end. Two rather sheepish tailenders were at the other end of the wicket, and an easy run out resulted (317 for 9).As soon as thoughts of wrapping up the innings quickly and facing a tricky passage of play entered the minds of the Indians, the light worsened and play was called off. You can bet your bottom dollar India were not unhappy with that.

Sourav Ganguly has put to rest the speculations that has raged over Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘demotion’ in the batting order in the second innings, and that should be that. When pushed to answer what prompted the decision, Ganguly clarified that Tendulkar hadn’t suggested the move, but when given an option, had a shown an inclination to save himself for the battle the next day.”It’s not that he suggested it,” Ganguly said, “I asked him after they got bowled out that evening if we were to lose early wickets would he still like to go out for the last four or five overs. He said he wouldn’t mind coming the next day. I said fair enough. He deserves that consideration after the amount of runs he has scored for the country.”It wasn’t the best time to bat. And when you haven’t got runs in your last two or three innings it does become a bit harder when you come out to bat in the last five or six overs of the day. Sachin is the best batsman in the world and he is one of our key members. And there are times in your career when you have to look after certain people. I don’t think there is anything wrong in that. We want him to fire, and if he could have converted that knock into a hundred, me coming at number four would have done the job.”Not to anybody’s surprise Ganguly held the batting collapse in the first innings responsible for the defeat. “We were in good positions in the match, but we failed to capitalise on them,” he said, “we ended the first day on 336 for four and then got bowled out for 366. That’s where we lost the game. Of course, Zaheer [Khan] pulling a muscle before lunch on the second day didn’t help”, he added, because it left India with three bowlers for most of the match. “But in end, if we had put up a few more runs in the first innings, it would have helped. On a fifth-day MCG pitch, about 225 to 230 runs would have been competitive.”Ganguly said his head had been a bit sore after he took a blow from Brad Williams but that he had to return to bat because India were still in the game then. “Steve had come back to bat the earlier day and put on a partnership of 60 valuable runs,” he said, “and if I had stuck around for a bit more, it could have been different.”When asked if he and Dravid had been a bit too aggressive for their own good after the tea-break Ganguly asserted that the objective at that point was not saving the game but putting runs on the board. “It was tea on the fourth day, not the fifth, there was plenty of time left in the game for us to try to save it. We had to score runs. If a bad ball came along, you had to put it away. That’s the way I play my game and that’s how I have scored all my runs. If I suddenly tried to change that one afternoon, it wouldn’t have worked.”Has the momentum now swung in Australia’s favour? “Sydney is a new day,” Ganguly said, “It’s a new game. It’s going to be different. It’s the same situation that Australia were in after Adelaide. When two good sides play its the small, small sessions which will make the difference.”

Michael Kasprowicz and Brad Haddin have won spots in the Australian one-day team that will tour Sri Lanka beginning on February 20. Michael Bevan, who missed out on the two finals of the VB Series with a fractured rib, is also fit and returns to the 15-man squad.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of the selection panel, said “Playing in the sub-continent and taking on Sri Lanka presents a real challenge to this group, but we feel that 15 players will give us adequate depth and the necessary firepower to do the job.” He also welcomed Bevan’s return to the squad. “Michael Bevan’s return to the squad following injury is welcomed, and we feel that a back-up wicket-keeper to support Adam Gilchrist is also necessary.Hohns also justified the selections of Kasprowicz and Haddin. “Brad Haddin performed well when called into the squad during the VB Series and this touring experience should help in his overall development as a senior cricketer. In the pace-bowling department, we have included Michael Kasprowicz, who despite not playing during the two VB Series finals, is a proven performer on sub-continental wickets. His performance over a long period of time has been first-rate.”The Test team for the Sri Lankan tour will be selected on February 20.Squad 1 Ricky Ponting (capt), 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Michael Bevan, 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Jason Gillespie, 6 Brad Haddin, 7 Ian Harvey, 8 Matthew Hayden, 9 Brad Hogg, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Simon Katich, 12 Brett Lee, 13 Damien Martyn, 14 Andrew Symonds, 15 Brad Williams

Glenn McGrath has hit back at critics who have been keen to write him off as a player, claiming that he was fitter and stronger than ever after his enforced seven-month lay-off after an ankle operation.He returned yesterday in New South Wales’s 2nd XI match against Victoria at the MCG, taking 2 for 26 in 14.2 overs in front of 23 people. It was a stark contrast to Shane Warne’s much-publicised second-team comeback a fortnight ago.”I’ve been training harder than I ever have off the field, in the gym, on fitness so my strength and fitness has been a lot higher than in the past," McGrath told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I can only see positives out of this, and I think this or what I’ve had done over the last seven months will actually lengthen my career if anything.”Several former players – most recently Merv Hughes – have been quoted as saying that McGrath was as good as finished as a result of the injury. But McGrath himself was keen to dismiss such thoughts. “You see bad press saying, ‘He’s finished’, and they haven’t really spoken to me or seen what I’m doing,” he said. “I think it’s a bit early to be making a decision like that.He also rubbished articles claiming that he had made several aborted attempts in recent weeks to play, insisting that last weekend’s grade comeback was his first serious attempt to take to the field. “They basically just made it up," he explained. "There’s a lot of people out there reading it, and it’s so far from the truth it’s not funny."McGrath maintained that while some injuries are career-threatening, his was not. “I don’t look at it as an injury," he said. "I’ve had the spurs which caused all the problems removed. And the way the ankle feels, at the moment, it’s as good as it’s felt for years. It’s not going to be a recurring injury. It’s been totally fixed and each bowl I have it’ll get better and stronger.”McGrath’s aim is to make the Australian squad for the tour of Zimbabwe in May, and he was not too upset about missing out on the Sri Lanka series. "I look at the positive side of things and it means I could get a lot stronger, a lot fitter and finish the season off with NSW and hopefully be right for the Zimbabwe tour. So that’s my goal at the moment."And what of suggestions that at 34 he had lost some of his enthusiasm? McGrath smiled. “I think if anything, I’m fresher, keener, and looking forward to playing.”

The four “rebel” Zimbabwean cricketers selected for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts at Harare on Thursday, have pulled out of the match after the Zimbabwe Cricket Union refused a request from the 15 disaffected players for independent arbitration.Heath Streak, Trevor Gripper, Sean Ervine and Ray Price had been named in a 17-man squad, but their decision to withdraw left Zimbabwe with a squad of only 13 to choose from. Mark Vermeulen and Vusumuzi Sibanda were later omitted from the final eleven – Vermeulen being ruled out on medical advice.”The ZCU did not accept our proposals and we do not accept theirs,” said Grant Flower, one of those to have initiated the boycott in April. “There is simply no agreement, and on that basis the four chosen for the squad are withdrawing. They have fully agreed to that.”Vince Hogg, the ZCU’s chief executive, said: “I am extremely disappointed by their decision. It is very sad that it has come to this.”With Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart and Andy Blignaut not considered for the squad, Zimbabwe now face the harrowing prospect of going into the Test series with more or less the same side that was routed 5-0 in the one-day series.”We’re back to square one, we are boycotting again,” said an unnamed player earlier, after they threw out the ZCU’s offer of non-binding mediation. “In effect, we’ve had three weeks of mediation, and we believe arbitration is the only route. We’re meeting at 10am tomorrow [0800 GMT on Wednesday] to write what will hopefully be our final letter, to say we’re rejecting this.”The players had resumed training as an act of good faith, and Streak – Zimbabwe’s former captain – had declared his willingness to play if the ZCU acceded to the rebels’ requests. But according to a report in The Guardian in London, a source was quoted as saying that the board was not going to be seen to be “bowing down to a bunch of whites – their egos won’t let them”.”It was unnegotiable that this matter had to go to arbitration to give it the seriousness and the respect it deserves,” said Chris Venturas, the lawyer representing the players. “Mediation doesn’t assist in any way. Regrettably, [the ZCU] feel they will pacify us with a mediation process. Even if the mediator finds in our favour on all three points, the ZCU don’t have to abide by his ruling.”The players have made it clear that they do not trust the ZCU to honour any assurances it gives. They have been given until May 7 – the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka – to end their boycott, but face being fired if they are still holding out at that time.”Most of us are almost at the point where we wouldn’t bat an eyelid if they just fired us,” one of the players is quoted as saying. “We’re not getting through to these guys. If they say they want to mediate, maybe they think we’re bloody fools. They’re just not getting us. Mediation is going to take another three weeks, and Zimbabwe cricket can’t afford that.”We’re all sick of this, but we’re standing strong together. It’s very simple: arbitration with those three points and we’re all back.”Zimbabwe team for first Test
1 Dion Ebrahim, 2 Brendan Taylor, 3 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 4 Tatenda Taibu (capt and wk), 5 Elton Chigumbura, 6 Alester Maregwede, 7 Prosper Utseya, 8 Mluleki Nkala, 9 Blessing Mahwire, 10 Douglas Hondo, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.

The prospects of Muttiah Muralitharan touring Australia in July appear slimmer than ever after the prime minister, John Howard, repeated his claim that the world record-holder is a chucker.Pushed on the subject on Queensland radio this morning, Mr Howard said: “My understanding is that there were some tests carried out in Perth, weren’t there? And there were some conclusions that came out of that, and those conclusions were adopted by the ICC. I don’t know that I’ve got anything to add to that.”Mr Howard, who promotes himself as a “cricket tragic”, heaped fresh ridicule on Murali last Friday when he responded surprisingly candidly to a question at a Liberal Party function on whether Murali threw the ball. “Yes,” he replied. “They proved it in Perth, too, with that [biomechanics video] thing.”Murali, after months of threats, now seems unlikely to tour Australia when Sri Lanka visit for two Tests in Darwin and Cairns in July. He told Australian newspapers over the weekend that Mr Howard’s comments were “very unnecessary”.”[If] the prime minister of the country has accused me like that, why should I go out to that country?” Murali said. “It’s not right. Normal people can say something and I don’t care, but when the prime minister of a nation comes out it is very damaging to my image.”I thought of coming to Australia but now I will think three times before I come. I am disappointed and we are talking to our lawyers. He [Howard] should take away that word … I don’t know what is in his mind, but I am so disappointed that the prime minister of a country would be coming out and giving a statement like this, because he has more responsibility than this, I think.”But Murali confirmed that retirement, contrary to various reports, is not on his agenda. “All my career someone is trying to stop me because maybe I’m very good at bowling and doing things that others can’t do … But I won’t give in, I will keep fighting. There are ways to fight.”