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Punjab 202 & 18 for 0 trail Mumbai 436 for 9 dec (Muzumdar 113, Rohit 85, Rahane 80, Samant 65, Nayar 61, Kakkar 3-93) by 216 runs
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Mumbai continued to dictate terms for the second straight day at the Brabourne Stadium, with Amol Muzumdar and Rohit Sharma’s handsome knocks taking the game further away from Punjab. Muzumdar scored his first hundred of the season, and his 132-run fourth-wicket stand with Rohit was the main highlight of a day on which Punjab failed to make any impression.At stumps, Punjab’s opening pair of Sunny Sohal and Karan Goel played with caution the four overs of spin from Ramesh Powar and Ankit Chavan, who are bound to play a bigger role on Saturday as Mumbai try to seal the match.Ajinkya Rahane, who had cracked a stroke-filled half-century the previous evening, once again started off on a brisk note, punishing the loose balls from Gagandeep Singh and Amanpreet Singh. However, half an hour into the morning, Rahane was adjudged leg-before after he tried to push an offcutter from Gagandeep for a single into the vacant midwicket region. It was a big wicket because Rahane, the tournament highest run-getter this year, was key to Mumbai’s chances to score an innings victory.In walked Muzumdar with the weight of expectations on his slim shoulders: his unconvincing form (two fifties in six previous games) had added to the pressure on the top order. But, today, Muzumdar seemed to have exorcised his ghosts finally. He took charge straightaway with two magnificent drives past cover, both fours, against the well-flighted legbreaks of Sarabjit Ladda. Nimble on the feet, Muzumdar was quick to move forward as well as draw back if the bowler tried to attack him.Making use of the width on offer and the gaps in the field, especially behind the wicket, Muzumdar utilised the cut and the paddle- sweep frequently as he marched to his third half-century of the season before lunch.He was joined by Rohit once Vinayak Samant, the other overnight batsman, departed soon after reaching his fifty. In a moment of misjudgment, Samant stayed back to a delivery from left-arm spinner Ankur Kakkar; the ball jumped off the pitch and turned away to bowl him.Rohit started on an extravagant note with two full-blooded fours: the first over Kakkar’s head, followed by one clubbed over mid-off. When Ladda offered him width, Rohit accepted with glee, slashing the legspinner past point for another four.By lunch, Mumbai were set to post an imposing lead having gone past Punjab’s score. With the pitch completely dry, the ball gripped the surface and provided the comfort of an extra moment for the batsman to decide his shot. The only way Punjab could have expected to strike back was by tossing the ball up or pinning the batsmen down – something neither of their three spinners – Ladda, Varun Khanna and Kakkar – managed consistently. It only helped Mumbai dominate.Rohit brought up his half-century in a swift manner, charging Gagandeep for an easy on-drive for four. Two balls later, a solid front-foot punch raced away to the sightscreen behind the bowler. Playing with gusto, he stood his ground once again to punch it past the straight boundary to end the over. Rohit looked ominous as he neared his second century of the season, but a lofted attempt to clear the boundary landed in the hands of Ravi Inder Singh at mid-off.But Punjab’s misery was far from over, with Muzumdar, enjoying the Rohit show from the other end, closing in on the century with consecutive sweeps against Kakkar. Having cut Kakkar in front of square for another four, an emotional Muzumdar celebrated his maiden ton this season with a leap and a punch in the air. He was doubly happy as his parents were at the ground to witness his big moment. Then as a gesture to thanks his team-mates, he simultaneously doffed his cap and bowed towards the Mumbai dressing room.At the other end, Abhishek Nayar, playing his first game of the season, crushed Punjab’s spirits further with an attacking half-century as he stitched a valuable partnership with Muzumdar for the fifth wicket. Though Muzumdar failed to carry on, trapped plumb going for a prod against Khanna, he had done enough to help Mumbai take the game out of Punjab’s reach.

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A tight and dangerous opening spell from Chris Swan snuffed out Tasmania’s chances in Hobart, where Queensland jumped to the top of the FR Cup table with a 41-run win. Swan, Ben Laughlin and James Hopes ran through Tasmania so efficiently that nobody passed fifty, highlighting the value of the contributions from Nathan Reardon and Lee Carseldine in setting up Queensland’s 6 for 238.It was a gettable but challenging target on a two-paced pitch and when Swan bowled his ten overs straight and grabbed 3 for 17, it left the Tigers languishing at 4 for 54 after 20 overs. Swan’s collection included Michael Dighton caught behind second ball and he went on to deceive Rhett Lockyear with a slower ball and Daniel Marsh with extra bounce.Swan was the Man of the Match but Laughlin’s efforts were just as wide-ranging and effective. He picked up 4 for 43 and found some impressive reverse swing, while Hopes finished off the innings with his 3 for 39. The Tasmania lower order showed enough fight to avoid conceding a bonus point – the last three pairs put on 97 – but they needed their batsmen to copy the Bulls top order.Chris Simpson’s decision to bat first was not an easy one in the conditions and it began to pay off when Clinton Perren and Hopes combined for an 81-run opening stand. Perren made 40 and Hopes fell for 49, one of three wickets for Xavier Doherty, but it was Carseldine and Reardon who were the main problems for Tasmania.Carseldine, 33, kept up his strong comeback after his career looked to be over last year and his 55 pushed him to third on the FR Cup run tally this season. Reardon continued to show his promise with a powerful 66 from 63 balls and their 90-run partnership was enough to put Queensland on the path towards victory.

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has contracted a mystery illness ahead of the first Test against Australia starting next Thursday in Brisbane. Ryder has been quarantined from his team-mates and placed on an intravenous drip.With Brendon McCullum also struggling with a back problem, New Zealand have called up two reserves with Peter Fulton and Gareth Hopkins flying out to join the squad.Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, said Ryder was vomiting before and after batting in the first innings of the tour game against New South Wales at the SCG on Thursday. He was attended by the doctor on duty at the ground soon afterwards, who recommended the illness should be treated as viral.”He woke up yesterday feeling unwell and being ill,” Crocker told . “We quarantined him, basically, took him back to the hotel. He’s not eating so we rehydrated him. He spent the night quietly and he’s woken up this morning not feeling a good deal better which is a little concerning because we hoped it had run through by now.”Ryder was confined to the team hotel on Friday morning and did not take the field for New South Wales’ innings, with the allrounder Grant Elliott acting as a substitute. But Crocker said Ryder’s illness did not yet place him in doubt for the first Test, although there would be major worries if the symptoms continued through the weekend.”It’s run for a day-and-a-half now and he was vomiting again this morning. That’s the concern. That time away from eating means he’s starting to lose a bit of condition. It’s not alarming yet but we want to get him right quickly.”Other New Zealand players had also reported upset stomachs on Friday, though not enough to sideline them. “There’s a bit of diarrhoea amongst the group but no one’s reported in sick beyond that,” Crocker said. “We’re keeping careful watch in case it’s something that spreads.”Ryder made his Test debut in New Zealand’s most recent Test series in Bangladesh. He scored 169 runs in the two matches at 56.33, including 91 in the first innings of the second Test in Dhaka.New South Wales also had similar concerns on the first day of the tour match when the spinner Beau Casson was sidelined by food poisoning. New Zealand play two Tests in Australia before they host West Indies for two Tests, two Twenty internationals and five ODIs.

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Paul Nixon’s 24-ball 43 proved the difference between the Delhi Giants and the Ahmedabad Rockets after he powered Delhi from 89 for 3 to a match-winning total. Reetinder Sodhi and Parvez Aziz threatened briefly in the chase but Delhi had enough firepower with the ball to arrest their momentum.The game swung around in the 13th over with Nixon’s entry. His start was typical: a reverse-sweep, a shot he deployed repeatedly during his stay. He used it against S Sriram to get a six and then slog-swept S Kalia over midwicket boundary. Jason Gillespie’s full delivery was hit over deep midwicket, followed by another one over long-on.For Ahmedabad, Aziz, the the 20-year old left-hand batsman from Assam, kept the fight going with boundaries; his best shot was a monster hit to the cow corner off the left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza. But Aziz was cleaned up by JP Yadav, 95 runs short of the target.Sodhi played the seamers to his preferred on side and Sriram hit a couple of reverse-swept boundaries off Murtaza in a vain attempt to catch up with the required run-rate. It was Yadav again who terminated the promising 48-run partnership, leaving Sodhi with too much to do. Though Sodhi swung his bat around in the end and picked up a few boundaries, Delhi were always in control.However, the cheekiest shot of the tournament came off his bat: he went down on his knees to paddle-scoop Shane Bond, who operated around 135kmph, right over the keeper’s head for a stunning six.Delhi may have left the arena laughing but their start wasn’t all too auspicious. Gillespie, who bowled the only maiden over of the match, and Rakesh Patel applied the squeeze with the new ball before Heath Streak turned in a tidy spell. Avishka Gunawardene upped the tempo but was run out after a terrible mix-up with Abhinav Bali.Bali, picked as the best under-22 player by the BCCI before they found out he had signed with the ICL, was confident in the middle and made amends for the run-out with a 48-run partnership with Syed Abbas Ali. He punctuated his singles with three sixes; a pull over midwicket being the highlight of his innings.

The Marylebone Cricket Club’s world cricket committee believes Twenty20 cricket must be scrutinised to prevent it from damaging the impact of the traditional Test format. The group comprising former Test captains and players met over the weekend with a view to improving the game and focused on the growth of the sport’s newest version.Twenty20 has exploded over the past two years with the introduction of the IPL, the unofficial ICL, the Stanford Super Series, the World Twenty20 and Twenty20 Champions League. “The committee realises Tests are the true test of the game, it’s where the game originates from,” the former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock said. “We’d like to do all we can to keep it that way.”Traditional supporters are concerned Twenty20’s popularity could swamp the five-day game and there are already conflicts between Test boards and the private competitions. Players who take part in the ICL are banned from their national and domestic teams, while Sri Lanka’s tour to England next May has been cancelled because most of their contracted players have signed with the IPL.”The MCC world cricket committee appreciates the benefits of Twenty20 cricket – such as introducing the game to a new audience and emerging markets, as well as bringing in new levels of wealth into the sport,” it said in a statement. “However, the committee also recognises that its proliferation needs to be scrutinised to avoid a potentially damaging impact on Test cricket.”In a year of rapid evolution for the game, the committee feels that the time is right to carefully analyse the effects of Twenty20 cricket to ensure that this short format of the game does not become the sole focus for players and spectators alike.”Ways to increase the attractiveness of Tests that the committee discussed included further trials into using a pink ball for day-night matches and ensuring a minimum of 90 overs are delivered each day.”It’s only the colour of the ball,” the former Australia captain Steve Waugh said. “If that attracts more people to the game and they can see the ball better then that’s what we’re after. If spectators can get better value it’s got to be better for the game. Test cricket has got to move with the times.”Over-rates remain a regular issue in Tests and the committee said there had been no significant improvement since it requested in May that the minimum level should be 15 an hour. “All players should be fined equally – not just the captain – with immediate effect,” said Tony Lewis, the MCC world cricket committee chairman.Currently, the captain is hit with double the punishment of his players and he could be suspended for a match if the team is six overs behind the required rate at the end of the day. Something the sport’s lawmakers, the London-based MCC would take note of, as it can alter the rules of the game and use its influence to urge the ICC to change its position on other issues.

ScorecardTwenty five wickets fell on an extraordinary opening day to Namibia’s Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland in Windhoek. Ireland, who need to win both of their last two matches in order to qualify for the final, lead by 27 with only five second-innings wickets intact.Namibia inserted Ireland and soon had them reeling on 43 for 4, before Alan Cusack fell to Sarel Burger for 23, the only double-figure score of the innings. Ireland’s middle and lower order offered little resistance to Louis Klazinga who picked up 4 for 11 from 7.3 overs. In under 30 overs, Ireland were blown away for 69.However, the tourists fought back valiantly, as Jan-Berrie Burger was caught behind off the county-pairing – who have only just finished their season – of Niall O’Brien and the returning Boyd Rankin. While Rankin kept it tight from one end, Peter Connell continued to pick up wickets at the other, and when Gerry Snyman was caught by William Porterfield off Andre Botha, Namibia had collapsed to 37 for 7.Their tail had other ideas though, with Bjorn Kotze cracking 28 and Tobias Verwey, the wicketkeeper, a brisk 20. Kola Burger hit four fours in a spirited 16 as Namibia gained a vital first-innings lead of 50.Batting for the second time in a day, Ireland again struggled, limping to 77 for 5 after Botha smacked 29 from 28 balls. He was run out shortly before the close, and Ireland have it all to do if they’re to deny Namibia another Intercontinental Cup win.

While Pakistanis simmer following the ICC’s decision to postpone the Champions Trophy, Australia, one of the five nations who forced the switch, are already providing an obstacle for the 2009 event. While there are only two engagements listed for October 2009 on the ICC’s future tours programme, one is the major clash between Australia and India and it will need to be altered for the global tournament to occur.The one-day contest is currently scheduled for seven matches, which will take up most of the month, and Australia will have to squeeze any extra duties in between the end of their four-month Ashes campaign and the start of the home season against Pakistan in November. Australia’s final match in England is a one-day fixture on September 20 and there are some in the set-up who are already wondering how to cram it in.”Every team needs to fit the schedule,” Michael Clarke, Australia’s stand-in captain, said. However, Clarke was relieved that a decision had been made by the ICC to postpone the contest. “It’s a great result for all the players to find out whether we’re going or not going,” he said. “All the guys are happy now.”The ICC had known Cricket Australia’s strong position for weeks after both Creagh O’Connor, the chairman, and James Sutherland, its chief executive, told David Richardson, who was part of the ICC’s task force, that Australia would not be touring Pakistan in the current climate. They feel western nations who have been part of the United States’ “coalition of the willing” are at greater risk of being targeted in Pakistan and point to the Australian government’s travel advice. England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies also planned not to attend the Champions Trophy.”It’s a good decision for cricket and we are pleased it was unanimous,” a Cricket Australia spokesman said. “We look forward to dealing with our international colleagues over the details of when the tournament will be postponed to.” The other series set down for October 2009 is between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who have not qualified for the eight-team event.Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, said the decision was correct because the “security situation in Pakistan has deteriorated”. “By postponing the tournament until October next year there is time for the security situation in Pakistan to improve or for a suitable alternative venue to be chosen,” he said. “We appreciate the difficulties that this decision will cause the Pakistan Cricket Board and hope that the Champions Trophy can be held there in 2009.”Australia were due to be play Test and one-day series in Pakistan last March and April, but those engagements were postponed to 2009 and 2010, leaving the issue to rise at regular intervals over the next two years. Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998, but Clarke remained hopeful he would visit the country before the end of his career.”Hopefully I’ll be playing for a few years to come, so hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to play in Pakistan,” he said after telling of his relief that the decision had been taken away from the players. “Come next year, whenever they put it back on, we’re looking forward to regaining that trophy, but right now, all the guys are rapt that the ICC has made a decision.”

Match facts

Wednesday July 30 to Sunday August 3, 2008
Start time 11.00 (10.00GMT)

Big Picture

In any other contest, there’d be no question where the balance of power currently lies. After the drubbing that England received at Headingley, and the destabilising recriminations that followed, South Africa would appear to be in total command of this series. And yet, whenever these two teams meet, you just know there’s a twist lurking around the corner. On three occasions since readmission, South Africa have taken the lead in England with a brutally emphatic victory – 356 runs in 1994, 10 wickets in 1998, an innings and 92 runs in 2003. Not once, however, have they managed to convert that start into a series win. At the halfway mark, the tourists have the upper hand, but do they have the mental strength to build on their early advantage?

Form guide

England LDWWD
South Africa WDLWD

Watch out for…

Paul Collingwood: Back in England’s starting line-up, and desperate to make amends for his woeful recent form, Collingwood has a sum total of 92 runs in nine first-class innings this year, and he hasn’t made a Test century since West Indies visited his home ground of Chester-le-Street in June 2007. But in a batting line-up that has invited accusations of mental fragility, Collingwood is a player whose temperament is nothing less than rock-solid. He was missed at Headingley, where England folded with scarcely a whimper in both innings.Andre Nel: A gentle giant off the pitch, Nel takes white-line fever to pantomime extremes of absurdity with his alter-ego, “Gunther”, a madman who lives in the mountains in Germany and suffers from oxygen deprivation. The nickname was bestowed on him a few years ago by one of the South African technical team, and given the snarling and grimacing that marks his average performance, it has unsurprisingly stuck. “Gunther will definitely be coming out – there’s no doubt about that,” said Nel, as he prepared to take the field in his first Test since the West Indies series in January. South Africa will be without Dale Steyn, but their aggression levels will remain pumped to the max.

Team news

England’s chaotic selection process at Headingley last week has been swept very quickly under the carpet. Darren Pattinson might as well be the figment of a fevered imagination as Ryan Sidebottom waltzes back into the team after his back problems. Collingwood returns in place of the jaded Stuart Broad, whose magnificent batting could not distract from a bowling average that is rapidly moving into negative equity. And Steve Harmison remains on the sidelines for the eighth match running – although if England’s four-prong attack fails to take 20 wickets in this match, he could yet make his comeback at The Oval next week.England 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt),4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Tim Ambrose (wk), 9 Ryan Sidebottom, 10 Monty Panesar, 11 James AndersonSouth Africa remain the more settled of the two sides, although the loss of Dale Steyn is a major blow – especially given the hold he has had over England’s captain, Michael Vaughan, all series. Andre Nel is a more-than-adequate replacement, although South Africa’s pace attack does now have a certain amount of sameness to it, with three bowlers who prefer to bang it in rather than pitch it up and swing it. There could yet be another change to their team if Graeme Smith is forced out of the side because of his back problems. If that happened, JP Duminy would come in as opener, and Ashwell Prince would take over as captain.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith/JP Duminy, 2 Neil McKenzie, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini.Umpires: Steve Davis and Aleem Dar

Pitch and conditions

Steve Rouse, the groundsman – and a Warwickshire stalwart for 40 years – predicts that his pitch will favour the swing bowlers rather than the hit-the-deckers, and he also imagines that it will break up as the game goes on, to bring the spinners into play. Both factors, on the face of it, seem to favour England, although it promises to be another crucial toss. The weather will also play its part. Torrential rain on Monday night heralded the start of an unsettled week.

Stats and Trivia

Scorecard

Powered by half-centuries from middle-order batsmen Peter Forrest (81) and Theo Doropoulos (69), Australian Institute of Sports posted a challenging 274, and registered a 37-run win over New Zealand Emerging Players.New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers, Trent Boult and Brent Arnel, had Australia in trouble after the hosts had been sent in – three wickets fell in the space of six runs as Australia slumped to 3 for 30. A 131-run stand between Forrest and Doropoulos turned the game around, and though captain Moises Henriques fell cheaply, Steve O’Keefe’s 40 carried on the good work for Australia. Boult was the most effective bowler for New Zealand, finishing with 3 for 37.Unlike Australia, New Zealand got off to a solid start, but none of their top six went on to make significant score: all of them got into double-digits but no one topped 35. Their No. 7 Corey Anderson made up for his poor bowling by top-scoring with 73 but it wasn’t enough and they slumped to their first loss. Fast bowler Aaron Varun, one of the two Indian players from the MRF Pace Foundation in the Australian team, did most of the damage, taking three middle-order wickets.
ScorecardIn a match that was strikingly similar to the one between South Africa and New Zealand on Tuesday, the team batting first was again bundled out cheaply and the chasing side had some anxious moments before overhauling the target. The South African Emerging Players, though, triumphed this time, with their Indian counterparts having a day to forget.Sent in to bat, India folded for 80 – with 13 being the highest individual score – despite the presence of several impressive performers from the IPL. Wayne Parnell, South Africa’s captain at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, took three middle-order wickets to derail India and offspinner Thandi Tshabalala cleaned up the tail to set up what should have been a straightforward chase for South Africa.However, with fast bowler Siddharth Trivedi and legspinner Amit Mishra taking two wickets apiece, South Africa needed a resolute 36-run stand for the sixth wicket between Imraan Khan and wicketkeeper Daryn Smit to see them home.

Peter Chingoka, Zimbabwe Cricket’s chairman, has written to all the members of the ICC executive claiming that any move to ban Zimbabwe would be made for political and not cricketing reasons.Chingoka, who faces a motion to discuss Zimbabwe’s status tabled by his friend and ICC president Ray Mali, pointed out that there were no moves to ban Zimbabwe from other international sporting events or organisations.He maintained what he has always said, that Zimbabwe Cricket was an apolitical organisation that could not be held responsible for the political turmoil inside the country.Earlier this week Cricket South Africa suspended all bilateral agreements with Zimbabwe Cricket, and England cancelled the proposed tour by Zimbabwe due in May 2009.Chingoka’s claims were attacked by a former senior administrator who worked closely with him on the board but did not want to be named for fear of his safety. “The reality is that nobody survives inside Zimbabwe today unless they are linked to the ruling elite, especially in an organisation with access to precious foreign currency. The board are heavily politicised and anyone who suggests otherwise is blind. Chingoka and his cronies are desperate to portray an image of a brave souls standing up for cricket against tremendous odds. The reality is the quite the opposite.”And a former Zimbabwe Test player, who also requested anonymity, was equally forthright. “The board has destroyed grassroots cricket here and all that is left is a paper-thin veneer of normality. These guys have caused the world game, not to mention the ICC, no end of embarrassment and they’ve not even done so in defence of cricket. It’s all about self interest. Nobody wants to play us, nobody wants to tour here. What’s the point of maintaining this charade?”No spokesman from Zimbabwe Cricket was prepared to speak to Cricinfo.