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Defending champions Karnataka began their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with defeat, as Railways hung on for a one-wicket win off the last ball in Bangalore. Chasing 229, Railways were struggling at 70 for 4 once their opener Asad Pathan was dismissed for 50. However, Mahesh Rawat and Karn Sharma chipped in with fifties of their own, and Railways were seemingly on track at 190 for 5. Karnataka, though, wrestled their way back into the game, as bursts from Vinay Kumar and Aniruddha Joshi saw Railways lose four wickets for 32 runs, with the equation now reading seven required off nine balls, with one wicket in hand. Railways’ final pair of Akshat Pandey and Krishnakant Upadhyay held their nerve though, with Pandey striking two fours during a run-a-ball 19 to complete the win.Karnataka would have hoped to post a total in excess of 228 for 9 when their openers Mayank Agarwal and Lokesh Rahul added 60 inside 13 overs. However, Pandey (3 for 45) and Ashish Yadav (3 for 25) struck blows at regular intervals to throw the hosts off course, and only an unbeaten 48-ball 50 from the captain Vinay dragged Karnataka above the 200-run mark.Half-centuries from Ishank Jaggi and Kaushal Singh set Jharkhand up for a nine-run win over Jammu and Kashmir in Alur. Jaggi’s 54 at the top of the order, and Kaushal’s 64-ball 53 at No. 7 helped Jharkhand post a total of 210 after they were sent in to bat. Sixties from Shubham Khajuria and Parvez Rasool took J&K to a strong 144 for 2 in the 36th over, but they slipped thereafter, losing both in the space of seven balls to finish on 201 for 7.Jharkhand’s win came despite lukewarm displays from their two biggest stars. Batting at No. 5, MS Dhoni was out for 9 off 24 balls, while Varun Aaron, bowling first-change, went wicketless, conceding 52 in his 10 overs. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was their most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 28.Three-wicket hauls from Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra fired Haryana to a nine-run win against Kerala in Alur. Kerala were struggling at 106 for 9 in their chase of 242, but recovered through a 92-run partnership between Sachin Baby and Padmanabhan Prasanth. Prasanth was dismissed for 27, but with three wickets in hand, and Baby still at the crease, Kerala had every chance of gunning down their required 44 runs off six overs. Kerala were unable to gather the required acceleration though, and three wickets in the final over, bowled by Mohit Sharma, meant Haryana hung on for victory.Earlier, Haryana’s 241 for 7 was built on the back of fifties from Nitin Saini and Mohit Hooda, and the pair’s 95-run partnership. Besides just sharing six wickets between them, Jayant and Mishra also contributed with the bat, scoring 40 and 27 respectively.

Yorkshire have formally appealed to the ECB regarding the decision to reschedule Worcestershire and Kent’s match which was washed out last week. The club has sent a letter asking the ECB to revoke its decision.Their chief executive Stewart Regan said: “We have made a submission to the ECB, on behalf of 10 first-class counties, appealing against the decision. Two other counties have expressed their opposition independently.”This decision challenges the integrity of the competition and could affect the outcome of the championship and relegation. We are all convinced that the ECB must reconsider.”Even though the ECB stressed the extraordinary situation regarding the events at New Road over the past week, Yorkshire believe it sets a dangerous precedent and their coach Martyn Moxon called the decision “an absolute disgrace”.Yorkshire’s recent Championship match, against Lancashire at Old Trafford, lost the first two days to a flooded outfield and Moxon added: “We had a flooded ground here after the rain on Monday. Is that exceptional circumstances?”He received backing from Lancashire’s chairman Jack Simmons who signed the letter “on the basis the Club believes it was a flawed decision”.In a statement on their website, Lancashire said: “Whilst Lancashire County Cricket Club sympathise with Worcestershire CCC and Kent, in these circumstances we are of the view that the board has made an incorrect decision in this instance and we therefore urge the ECB to reconsider this decision.”The Worcestershire match will now be replayed on July 30-August 3 with a one-day break on August 2 because Worcestershire have a Pro40 match at Chelmsford.

Mark Ramprakash, the Surrey and former England batsman, is to appear as a contestant in the new series of BBC’s in October.The show, which Darren Gough won last year, is fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly and returns to Saturday nights next month. Ramprakash’s prolific form for Surrey this season prompted certain sections of the media to suggest he could be called up for England’s Ashes squad, but he was overlooked.Gough, who had never danced before, said “I started with nothing and I have worked myself up to something decent” when he and his partner, Lilia Kopylova, won last December.Ramprakash is joined by the former England rugby player Matt Dawson; the BBC newsreader Nicholas Owen; Emma Bunton, the former Spice Girl; Peter Schmeichel, Manchester United’s former Danish goalkeeper and the comedian Jimmy Tarbuck among others.”With a line-up like this, the new series is set to be bigger and better than ever before,” Daly said in a press release. “Where else could you see a Spice Girl dancing alongside Jimmy Tarbuck?”

Ken Gordon, the recently-elected president of the West Indies Cricket Board, has said that as part of his bid to ensure that there is transparency in the board’s dealings the “relevant parts” of the report by Justice Lucky into the Cable & Wireless and Digicel contract negotiations will be made public.Gordon was handed Lucky’s report last Friday, and he and senior officials have been examining it over the weekend. There were fears that it would be kept under wraps – critics of the WICB had certainly raised such suspicions – but Gordon said that he would discuss its findings with the executive and then divulge relevant sections of it.The report was commissioned by Teddy Griffiths, Gordon’s predecessor, after months of speculation and rumour over the way Digicel had been awarded the sponsorship of West Indies cricket. There was considerable unease over the way Cable & Wireless, the previous sponsor, had been replaced, and the board’s marked reluctance to make information available only increased the unrest. The recent players’ strike was a legacy of the contract dispute.Gordon was in no doubt that the board had to be more open in its dealings. “I hope you will always keep in mind that this report has come about because the West Indies Cricket Board recognised the need for transparency,” he explained. “They didn’t have to do this. So that if there was anything to hide, if there was any intention to keep anything under the carpet, this would not have happened. I think you must give jack his jacket, and whatever criticisms are levelled at the board in the past, I think we should give it full marks for that initiative.”Gordon also stressed that he did not believe that there had been any attempt to cover anything up in the past. “My own view is that the members of the Board with whom we’ve had contact are all understanding of the need to be transparent. I don’t believe that anyone was deliberately keeping things quiet because there were any sins to read. But still, events tend to move things along, and I believe that the timing is propitious for that.”And, cruciially, Gordon offered a hope that relations between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association, which have all but broken down, could be improved. He praised WIPA for its role in trying to resolve the dipute, and said that he hoped the outstanding issues could be resolved before the scheduled tour to Australia in October. WIPA has set a deadline of September 30 to find a solution.Justice Lucky, who along with accountant Gregory Georges and Avondale Thomas had produced the report, explained the the constraints placed on him and his colleagues. “This was just a committee, we were not a commission of enquiry. With a commission of enquiry, for example, if CARICOM had appointed this commission of enquiry, with a specific mandate, then they would have indicated that we would have the power to subpoena witnesses. We had to depend on their [witnesses] good will.”Lucky also said that of the all members of the board requested to come before the committee, only two directors, whom he neglected to name, did not make an appearance, saying they had expressed doubts about the interview.

Martin Bicknell took his 1000th first-class wicket when he had Matthew Dennington caught behind by wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty on the final day of Surrey’s Championship match against Kent at The Oval today. It was Batty’s ninth catch of the match.Bicknell was made to wait for the wicket, and the mounted-ball trophy which had been on standby in the Surrey dressing-room for much of yesterday afternoon was finally unveiled. He should have reached the landmark shortly before tea on Thursday, but Azhar Mahmood split a routine second-slip chance from Michael Carberry.Bicknell, 35, made his debut for Surrey in 1986 and has been their most reliable bowler for more than a decade. He played four Tests for England, two in 1993 and two last season after a decade on the sidelines."To reach 1000 first-class wickets is a hell of an achievement for any bowler and one I’ve targeted since I went past 700 about five years ago," Bicknell told the Surrey Advertiser. "My dream has always been to do it at The Oval, my home ground, but you can’t get too choosy really. I had a few problems with my hamstring at the start of this season but the ball is coming out well now."

Kenya opening batsman Kennedy Otieno is planning a return to the Southern Electric Premier League cricket scene with BAT Sports this summer – after the small matter of playing in the World Cup semi-finals!Otieno, who also plays under the name of Kennedy Obuya, is set to link up with the Tobaccomen in time for BAT’s opening league game at Bournemouth on May 3.But before he contemplates counting the number of sweaters he’ll need to pack into his coffin for a summer in England, the popular Kenya opener and wicketkeeper has more immediate matters on his mind.Like facing Australia this weekend and then playing in the World Cup semi-finals against India next Thursday!”We play Australia in the last of the Super Sixes under the Durban floodlights on Saturday, and then it’s the semi-finals. It’s unquestionably the highspot of all our careers and we’re aiming to make the most of it.”I’m really looking forward to facing Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee at the weekend and hope I manage to keep everything bodily intact so I’m fit for the semi’s,” chuckled Otieno, who hit a World Cup best 85 against the Aussies in the 1996 tournament.Otieno, whose teenager leg-spinning brother Collins has been one of the stars of the Kenyan side, reckons he’ll enjoy cult hero status when he returns home to Nairobi after next week’s final.”With South Africa knocked out, everyone has taken to us here. It’s an amazing experience – but one I really think we’ve deserved.”Our bowling, acrobatic fielding and catching here has been quite exceptional – it’s been a real joy to see up close,” said Otieno, who has so far bagged eight tournament catches and four stumpings behind the stumps.Yesterday’s (WED) seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe – in which Otieno snapped up three catches and a stumping before being trapped leg before wicket for 19 – was Kenya’s second Test scalp in a fortnight.”We did really well to beat Sri Lanka last week and gave India the fright of their lives before Sourav Ganguly hit that marvellous ton to turn the game around,” he added.Otieno’s block-bash batting style has certainly proved effective with knocks of 60 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town and 79 against India.BAT are hoping that Otieno’s aggressive batting will help them regain the Premier League championship pennant they conceded to Havant last summer.”Kennedy will add real quality to our batting, which proved our nemesis last year,” said Richard Dibden, the former Hampshire 2nd XI off-spinner, who has taken over the BAT captaincy from David Banks.”He’s a terrific player but, above all, a super guy to have in the dressing room. He coached the colts here three years ago and all the youngsters are relishing his return to Southern Gardens.”BAT are hoping they get a full summer out of Otieno this time around. Three years ago, he scored 319 runs, including centuries against Hungerford and South Wilts, at an average of 53.17 – before being ordered home for squad training in late July by the Kenya Cricket Association.Otieno, who celebrated this 31st birthday this week, said he was delighted to be rejoining his old BAT team-mates.”I really enjoyed my time there in 2000. It is a thriving club and I got enormous satisfaction from coaching the youngsters, some of whom have begun to make their mark in the senior teams,” he said.But before Otieno arrives back at BAT, there’s some pretty serious cricket to be played …

The Executive and Board of the Canadian Cricket Association thank the fans,players, officials, umpires, referees, management subcommittee, volunteers,organizing committee and the ICC and IDI staff for their outstanding support,commitment and contributions.ICC Trophy 2001 is the largest cricket tournament in the world. ICC Trophy2001 was on preliminary reports one of if not the best of all the ICC TrophyEvents to date. Congratulations to all who contributed to make the Eventsuch a resounding success.The Regal Constellation Hotel did a fantastic job in meeting the needs of ourguests. Congratulations to them and we wish the management and staffcontinued successes in the future.We were saddened by the absences of our friends from Italy and from WestAfrica. We hope that no such problems will be repeated in the future.Canada and the Canadian cricket community must now carry the torch into theworld Cup in 2003 in south Africa. This requires even more herculean effortsin preparing our players for battle. Support is needed to ensure that ourbest team can be allowed to take the field. Contributions to the CanadianCricket Association World Cup fund are welcome and Federal tax receipts areavailable for any contributors who so wish.How can you help? Sponsor a player, coach a junior team or help to provide acoach, be a manager of a junior team? The avenues are endless.Call your M. P., M. P. P., City Councillor for their support for betterrecognition for cricket. All such lobbying is needed to allow us to becompetitive in 2003 at the World Cup.We have turf wickets in Toronto, Ajax, King City and Mississauga. They mustbe maintained to allow our junior and senior players to become familiar withturf games of 1 to 4 day duration. We thank all municipalities and hostingclubs for their stellar performances and also to Mike Corley, his associatesand his professionals for their contributions.Finally, to the International Cricket Council members and staff, thanks forthe opportunity to allow Canada to host ICC Trophy 2001, especially in thetrying financial circumstances of the devastating loss of vitally neededfunding from the Pakistan India Sahara Cup series. Such funding is ofcourse, even more critical now.We trust that Canada will get another opportunity to see and play againstsuch great players from any of the Full Members and top notch Associates,where funds permit. All FM’s have assisted in the past and we need that helpin the future. To the WICB and to the BCCSL, we especially thank you foryour assistance especially in the last year. Those tours and competitionmaterially enhanced our chances of qualifying. We greatly appreciate yourfriendship and your selfless contributions.Take time out to visit other parts of this magnificent country, the best inthe world next time out.’Dr. Geoff EdwardsPresidentCanadian Cricket Association

With their batsmen in ominous form, Orissa placed themselves in acommandable position on a day which witnessed the visitors amass 470for seven in their first innings even though none of the main rungetters reached the coveted 100. At stumps on the third day, Orissaensured themselves of a massive 178 run lead over Bihar in the EastZone Ranji Trophy match at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur onTuesday.Resuming at 147 for 2, overnight batsmen Sanjay Raul and Pradeep Dasrealised the first significant partnership of the Orissa innings. Thepair which came together at the fall of P Mullick’s wicket forged a152-run stand for the third wicket. While Das got 88, Raul hit 98. Thepair was separated when Raul fell to a catch by Dhoni off VikashKumar. Raul during his 211-minute stay at the crease faced 154 ballsand found the signboards on 17 occasions.This brought skipper RR Parida to the crease and with Das for company,the two added 89 runs for the third wicket. After the departure of Dasin the 98th over of the innings, Jai Chandra joined his skipper andfrustrated the Bihar bowlers further with a 83-run partnership for thefifth wicket. Parida (98) was dismissed after a 202-minute stay at thecrease during which he received 171 balls and hit 11 boundaries. ButJai Chandra continued on his way even as he lost stumper Y Mohanty(19) and Sanjay Sathpathy (8). Jai Chandra, who remained unbeaten on89, faced 172 balls and hit nine fours and a six.

Match facts

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

Chennai and Punjab clashed for the first time in the second match of the Indian Premier League and a century from Michael Hussey ensured that the match was a no-contest. Since then Punjab have hit a formidable run of form, and are on a five-match winning streak, while Chennai took a beating after their top performers left. Punjab’s strength lies in their contingent of effective Indian bowlers – Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, VRV Singh and Piyush Chawla – which allows them to pack their top order with quality international batsmen to complement Yuvraj Singh.Chennai suffered three consecutive defeats before they were able to fine-tune their combination after the departures of Matthew Hayden, Hussey and Jacob Oram and beat the Delhi Daredevils. They restructured their batting order: dropping Parthiv Patel, who had scored 96 in seven innings, and opening with S Vidyut. They also promoted their best batsmen – Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Albie Morkel – to No. 3 and No. 5 respectively with Suresh Raina at No 4. The changes gave Chennai’s batting solidity at the top and the tinkering was vindicated as they chased down 188.

Tournament position

Chennai Super Kings P8, W5, L3, NRR -0.001
Kings XI Punjab P7, W5, L2, NRR +0.442

IPL form (last five matches)

Chennai Super Kings: WLLLW
Kings XI Punjab: WWWWW

Watch out for …

England coach Peter Moores has defended Michael Vaughan’s tactics on the final day of the first Test against India after rain forced a draw with India nine down. There has been criticism that England weren’t quick enough between overs even though they knew about the poor forecast.An over-rate of 15 per hour is meant to be maintained in Tests, although this is rarely managed by any team unless two spinners are bowling. During the morning session on Monday England bowled 28 overs and in nearly two sessions before the weather closed in sent down 55, despite 26 overs from Monty Panesar.However, often Vaughan’s meticulous field settings bring results, such as the pressure created by a man at silly mid-on or Wasim Jaffer’s clip in the second innings that found Kevin Pietersen at a specially placed midwicket.”We have to look at the bigger picture,” said Moores. “If we’re a couple of overs short in a session because the captain has moved the field and it’s gone towards getting a wicket then it’s great.”We try to bowl our overs at a good rate and we’ve shown that we have done that over the summer against teams who sometimes haven’t. Over the course of a game we’ve been able to maintain that without being fined and have done it the right way.”England’s inexperienced attack was expected to struggle against a powerful Indian batting line-up. However, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Tremlett excelled to such an extent that Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman made a top score of 40 between them.”At certain stages of the game it sometimes takes time to set things up and get things right and get people in the right places,” said Moores. “I thought Michael Vaughan was outstanding in his captaincy and trying to winkle out some of the batsmen who were intent on staying there and trying to save a Test match.”Could we have saved a minute here or 30 seconds there, could we have run a bit harder to retrieve that ball? You could go on forever. They key thing for me is that we look at areas and the way we performed and we’ll review it like we review everything good and bad because we need to make sure we move forward next time.”There are arguments either way, but I don’t really think it was that influential to the outcome of the match and whether we’d have got another over – it was all about the momentum of the game and we just managed to swing it really strongly towards us before it rained.”As with Vaughan, Moores was fulsome in his praise of the young bowlers who nearly managed to force victory. “As a coach you’re always really pleased when people go out there and relax on the big stage and make sure they perform,” he said. “We all know they’ve got to do that over a longer period of time, but it’s great because someone like Jimmy, has worked really hard.”We also saw one man just miss out in Stuart Broad and it would have been good to have a look at that as well. It’s exciting times and when people perform as a unit like that it can create the sort of pressure that they did.