Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwe Test player, is set to stay at Warwickshire for another two years.Streak, 30, made an impressive debut in the County Championship, taking 13 wickets in Warwickshire’s win against Northants at Edgbaston. Although he is currently out of action with a torn stomach muscle, Streak is keen to sign a new contract.Ray Warner, Streak’s agent, told BBC Sport that: “Heath hopes to commit his long-term future to Warwickshire in the next couple of weeks,” adding, “he is very happy at Warwickshire, the players and supporters have been first-class and he has been made to feel welcome by everyone.”Streak has also been coveted by New South Wales, who tried to secure his services this winter. However, Streak was forced to decline their offer on the grounds that his wife is expecting their third child.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan vice-captain, is confident of levelling the series in the second Test in the Bundaberg Rum Stadium in Cairns, beginning tomorrow, and hoped that the match would be played on a fair pitch.Looking ahead to the Test, Jayawardene said, “We have made good scores in the past. It is just that we need to go out there, put all our efforts in the middle, and perform. We have the capability to do that. There’s no doubt about it. We are not demoralised in any way by the result at Darwin. We know that we worked hard and put in 100% effort. We will put in 150% effort on Friday and see what we can come up with.”When asked about the disappointing show by the batsmen at Darwin, Jayawardene pointed out that most members of this line-up were experienced and would make amends for the failure in the first Test. “Most of our batsmen have played enough cricket and they average very high. Hopefully we can put that into practice.”Jayawardene insisted that the batsmen had done their homework before coming on this tour and spent a lot of time ironing out their weaknesses. “No-one can say we didn’t work hard. Even back home we had extra sessions on the bowling machine and some even had private batting sessions. We had long practice sessions doing throw downs, working on bouncy tracks and we put in a lot of effort. You can’t blame the guys for that.”Adam Gilchrist, who stood in for Ricky Ponting as captain in the first Test, had labelled the pitch at Darwin as below Test standard. Jayawardene chose to be less harsh and termed it as one with “an element of surprise for all of us”. He added, “No one expected it to play the way it did. When we played the practice game [against the Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI], there was a little bit of moisture on it, as on any pitch, in the morning. But in the Test, the moisture remained even on the second day. Every time they put the roller on, the water kept coming up. That made a huge difference. The Australians also said the same thing when we had a chat with them.”On his own batting in the Test, in which he made 14 and 44, Jayawardene said that he was never completely sure of the pitch. “I felt that I wasn’t going to be in on that wicket,” he said, “although I was batting OK. I knew that at any given time a good ball would take my wicket. No-one got any big scores unless they were very lucky to get away with a few shots and survive. The ball that I got out to was one of those deliveries which would have taken anyone’s wicket.”Ultimately, however, Jayawardene pointed to the huge difference in the first-innings score as being the decisive factor. “All in all we fought really hard but the difference was the first-innings score. We didn’t put enough runs on the board. If we had got somewhere closer to Australia’s total on the first innings there would have been a contest. Basically that was our downfall.”It is difficult to score 500 runs as we do in Sri Lanka or against any other country. A total of 250 to 300 will be a very competitive score over here. Our bowlers are doing well. We can exert some pressure on them if we can get a decent score, especially in the first innings.”Jayawardene also put in a word on the metronomic efficiency of the Australian bowlers. Though the Sri Lankans had studied videos and felt confident of playing the bowling, the consistency of the Australians undid them. “They are not like any other bowlers. They are very consistent with their line and length. They hardly give you anything loose to hit unless you create something. We have to be more patient with them. On any given track they don’t do anything different. They have a basic plan. Our bowlers are doing the same thing as well but it is just that Australians do it on a consistent basis. Those three bowlers [Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz] are a class act altogether and they are followed by Warne.”

ScorecardThis match continued to go India A’s way. After bundling out Kenya for 116, powerful batting performances got them to 429 for 4 at the end of the second day. The only success for Kenya was the dismissal of Sridharan Sriram, who scored a century before Peter Ongondo did him in. It was a day that showcased India A’s batting might. Venugopal Rao ran up an unbeaten 157 to pile on the runs further, and he was helped in this cause by Ambati Rayudu, who remained not out on 61.Sriram’s dismissal ended a 199-run partnership on a hot day where Kenya toiled for few gains. His 220-ball innings ended two overs before tea. Rayudu and Venugopal then put up 147 runs.Admittedly, India A were up against a weakened Kenyan side, but clearly, no favours were granted. They raced along at nearly three-and-a-half an over, and with the lead they’ve built, a result in the next two days looks quite possible.

Central Districts 291 and 181 for 3 (How 108*) beat Otago 193 and 278 by 7 wickets
ScorecardCentral Districts joined Auckland with maximum points after the first round of the State Championship when they completed a seven-wicket win over Otago at the Queenstown Events Centre.Starting at 61 for 1, CD were guided to their success by Jamie How, their opener. He scored his second century of the match and left the field to learn that a continuation of the sort of form he has shown could find him in the running for Mark Richardson’s opening spot in the New Zealand team. It is only the second time that a CD player has scored a century in each innings – the only other batsman was Martin Crowe in the summer of 1986-87.CD lost Geoff Barnett for 36 when the total was on 95, and there was a slight wobble when Glen Sulzberger was out at 104. But Jarrod Englefield backed How up perfectly and was 22 not out when victory was achieved. How batted for 198 minutes during his innings and Otago sensibly decided to let their faster bowlers fight another day by having their spinners Aaron Redmond and Nathan McCullum bowl most of the overs during the day. Redmond took 1 for 66 and McCullum 1 for 47.Wellington 384 and 153 for 7 (Parlane 50*) drew withCanterbury 298
ScorecardWhat had been shaping up as a close contest at Hagley Oval petered out into a draw when heavy rain stopped play with Wellington enjoying a 249-run lead. That it had recovered from its perilous position of 84 for 6 was thanks largely to a fine defensive hand of 50 not out played over 237 minutes and 150 balls by Neal Parlane.He defied the best intentions of the Canterbury bowlers, of whom Chris Martin had early morning success when he claimed the wicket of Graham Murray. But with Parlane enjoying good support from Mark Gillespie, who batted for just over an hour to be 37 not out at close, the job was looking much tougher for Canterbury.Martin maintained the touch he showed in the first innings and ended with m,atch figures of 8 for 97. The match was abandoned at 3.40pm.

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A superb unbeaten 115 off 135 balls from Salman Butt guided the Pakistanis to a 43-run win in their opening tour match against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill in Perth. In reply to the Pakistanis’ total of 9 for 256 in 50 overs, the CA Chairman’s XI were bowled out for 213.Butt smacked 11 fours and a six to enhance his chances of a call-up to the Test team, while Michael Hussey’s part-time bowling accounted for three of the wickets to fall.Geoff Lawson and Tony Dodemaide, Australian stalwarts of the past, gave the crowd something to cheer, picking up a wicket apiece as Pakistan made a spluttering start. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana both failed, making 16 and 15, while the big-hitting Shahid Afridi was out for 21.The Chairman’s XI were always off the pace, although West Australian keeper Luke Ronchi smashed five sixes in his 44-ball 51 and Chris Rogers made 61 from 59 deliveries. But they lacked support, with Justin Langer (1) and WA regulars Murray Goodwin (8) and Mike Hussey (8) all failing to trouble the Pakistan attack. Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan was the pick of the visitor’s bowlers, finishing with 3 for 36.Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted that Salman was in the running for a Test berth. "His knock definitely puts him into the mix, with a hundred against India as well at Kolkata on a much bigger occasion,” Woolmer said. “It showed what temperament he had then and he showed a bit of skill today, so I think if you’re in form you’re always pushing, aren’t you?”Dodemaide, now 41, said he had trouble sleeping as he contemplated facing the Pakistan top-order. His last game was a social outing for Surrey Cryptics in leafy Surrey, England some 14 months ago, when he made a hundred. He admitted his post-match routine might be at odds with his younger colleagues. “I came from the era where most of the ice in the rooms was keeping the beer cold,” he laughed. “I reckon that’ll be the best pain-killer.”Pakistan will play a four-day match against Western Australia before the first Test against Australia starts at the WACA on December 16.

Points Table
January 15
Tamil Nadu 212 for 3 (Badrinath 67, Vidyut 59) beat Kerala 207 for 8 (Jagadeesh 73) by 7 wickets
ScorecardTamil Nadu maintained an unbeaten record in the South zone league, notching up their fifth consecutive win with a seven-wicket defeat of Kerala. Requiring 208 for victory, TN powered to victory thanks to S Badrinath (68) and Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut (59). Tamil Nadu had already regained the Subbiah Pillai Trophy for the zonal champions after winning their first four matches.Andhra Pradesh 148 for 6 (Prasad 68) beat Hyderabad 146 (Venugopal 5-20) by 4 wickets
ScorecardAndhra Pradesh rode on a superb bowling performance by Venugopal Rao to clinch a low-scoring match by four wickets. Venugopal took 5 for 20 in 8.3 overs as Hyderabad were bundled out for 146. Andhra had a few hiccups along the way, but MSK Prasad made 68 as an opener to see the team through.Karnataka 133 for 3 (Rowland 53*) beat Goa 129 by 7 wickets
ScorecardKarnataka thrashed Goa by seven wickets to finish second in the league, behind Tamil Nadu. In their last match, in Margao, they bundled out Goa for just 129 and then coasted past the target with more than 13 overs to spare. Barrington Rowland rop-scored for Karnataka with an unbeaten 53.January 13

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Tamil Nadu regained the Subbiah Pillai Trophy and emerged as champions in the league phase of the South zone Ranji one-day tournament after recording their fourth successive victory. Though one round of matches still remained, Tamil Nadu had got enough points and gained an unassailable lead. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan led the Tamil Nadu batting brigade as they piled on 342 and cruised to a 149-run win over Andhra in Margao. Vidyut clattered 123 in only 115 balls before Dinesh Karthik’s manic 80 off 43 balls rocketed the score towards 350. Andhra were never in the hunt and MSK Prasad’s 56 was only a consolation.
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A blistering 160 from Robin Uthappa helped Karnataka post a mammoth total and then wrap up a comfortable 113-run win over Kerala in Margao. Uthappa hammered 18 fours and a six in his sizzling 129-ball knock and nearly carried his bat through the innings. Kerala didn’t threaten at any stage and they struggled against the medium pace of Chandrashekar Raghu and NC Aiyappa before folding for 193.
ScorecardAmbati Rayudu steered Hyderabad to a comfortable 78-run victory over Goa in the league phase of the South zone Ranji one-day tournament in Panjim. Rayudu steadied the innings before stringing together useful partnerships with the lower order and take Hyderabad past the 250-mark. Mandar Phadke gave Goa a faint chance of reaching the target but all the Hyderabad bowlers chipped in and wrapped the game up with plenty to spare.January 12

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Sreedharan Sharath’s led the way with a composed 103 not out as Tamil Nadu wrapped up their third consecutive victory in the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament in Margao. Sharath was supported by Subranamium Badrinath, who chipped in with 81, as Tamil Nadu easily chased down a daunting target of 289.Earlier, Hyderabad had got to 288 thanks to a fine hundred by Abhinav Kumar and a quickfire 68 from Anirudh Singh.
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An excellent allround batting effort from Karnataka helped them to an emphatic victory over Andhra in the Ranji one-day tournament in Panjim. Barrington Rowland and Sujit Somasundar cracked fifties but everyone in the top order played their part to boost the total to 287 for 7. Andhra were never in the hunt and folded for a mere 154.
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Raiphi Gomez’s composed 90 not out steered Kerala to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Goa in the Ranji one-day tournament in Margao. Kerala had little trouble in chasing down a modest total of 182 and Gomez shared a crucial 122-run stand with Vasudevan Jagadeesh (44) for the second wicket. Earlier, Sree Santh and Tinu Yohanan had snared seven wickets between them as Goa were kept down to 181 in their first innings.January 10

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A fine allround batting performance gave Tamil Nadu the advantage before their bowlers applied the pressure and wrapped up a crushing 82 run victory over Karnataka at Panjim. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan set up a solid launching pad with his steady 56 before Sreedharan Sharath and Dinesh Karthik plundered the bowling in the late assault. Karthik smacked six fours and three sixes in his blistering knock as Tamil Nadu finished on a commanding 278 for 4. Karnataka didn’t get the rapid start in the early over and were soon reduced to 44 for 3 as their top-order batsmen tried to up the tempo. The rest of the line-up didn’t keep the fight going and Karnataka folded for 196. The big win gave Tamil Nadu an additional bonus point.
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An attacking unbeaten 120 by Shami Asnodkar paved the way for a Goa victory over Andhra by 14 runs at Margo. He put on 96 more runs than the next-highest scorer, and more than half the side’s runs came off his bat. His innings contained eight hits to the fence and seven over it. Goa struggled to 217 for 9, with most of the damage done by Bala Reddy, who ended with 5 for 16 in only his fourth one-dayer. Andhra then began confidently, with Fayaz Ahmed (42) and MSK Prasad putting on 60. Prasad went on to score 75, but wickets fell around him often. However, once he was dismissed (193 for 7), Andhra’s last reasonable chance of victory was lost. Shortly after, they folded up for 203, falling short by 14 runs.
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A patient unbeaten 60 by Sreekumar Nair gave Kerala a five-wicket victory over Hyderabad at Goa. Chasing a low target of 167, Kerala went past in less than 40 overs in the 42-over-an-innings game. Nair’s knock steadied the innings after his team was wobbling at 65 for 3, but he found minor support from the middle order, which was enough for him to go about his work. Earlier, Ambati Rayudu had blasted 50 off 35 balls and put on 51 with Anirudh Singh, who scored a more sedate 61 not out. But runs were hard to find for the others, and only these two, of the top eight managed double-figures.January 9

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Tamil Nadu’s medium pacers ran through the Goa batting order, shooting them out for a paltry 116, and their batsmen cantered to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory in the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament in Panjim. MR Shrinivas and Rajamani Jesuraj justified their captain’s decision to field first, snaring seven wickets between, as the Goa batsmen floundered. Only Mandar Phadke managed to cross 20 and Goa were bundled out in 36.1 overs. Tamil Nadu were never in any sort of trouble and Hemant Kumar steered them home with a composed 40.
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Arjun Yadav’s fighting 80 wasn’t enough as Hyderabad fell 15 runs short in their game against Karnataka in Margao. Yadav shared two big partnerships, first with Daniel Manohar (51) and then with Ambati Rayudu (60), but Karnataka kept the pressure on and choked the runs in the slog overs. Earlier, despite no standout performer, most of the Karnataka batsmen chipped in to help post a competetive total.
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Vasudhevan Jagadeesh piloted the Kerala batting and helped them register a 21-run victory over Andhra in Margao. Kerala were inserted after losing the toss and Jagadeesh (104) played the lone hand while partners fell around him. He cracked eight fours in his 148-ball innings and was the last to fall as Kerala finished on 212. Tinu Yohannan and Prasanth chandran, their opening bowlers, then went about denting the Andhra batting line-up and the rest sustained the pressure right till the end. Gnaneswara Rao (58) and Hemanl Watekar (40) gave Andhra a whiff of a chance but they couldn’t keep it going till the end.

Despite going down to Australia in the VB Series finals, Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, drew several positives from the tour and was confident of putting up a better performance in the forthcoming series against India.”It is disappointing to lose the VB series finals 2-0 but I remain optimistic that the boys will show improvement in India, a tour which is very important for us,” said Inzamam. “These last couple of games, we have really worked hard and played good cricket. The India tour is crucial for us. The boys are playing well and hopefully they will continue this.”Pakistan had a poor tour of Australia, losing all three Tests and winning just three games out of eight in the VB Series, while Inzamam’s captaincy was severely criticised, most notably by Imran Khan, who called the team’s performance “spineless”. Their batting was extremely disappointing in the finals, when they failed to chase targets of 238 and 240 in the two matches, but their displays in the field were far more encouraging.Inzamam had earlier indicated that he might step down from captaincy before the Indian tour, but he has since received full backing from Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, to lead the side. “I am looking forward to leading the side against India. For the boys any match against them is special. It would be the high point of my career leading the side in the full series in India.”Inzamam’s record as a Test captain is quite ordinary. He has led in ten matches, with just three wins and five losses. He will have an opportunity to improve that statistic in the three-Test series against India, which begins next month.

It was a moment the crowd had been waiting for. Sachin Tendulkar, six runs short of a milestone no man has ever achieved, a 35th Test century, drove at a ball from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and got a thick outside-edge that was caught by Asim Kamal at gully. It was a measured innings, but Tendulkar had been losing that measure as he approached his century. At 86 he complained about a disturbance above the sightscreen. At 90 he tried a wild slog-sweep off Danish Kaneria and survived an lbw shout. At 94 it was over.Sunil Gavaskar was also out short of a 35th hundred once. Gavaskar made 96 then, and never played again. Tendulkar will be back.Making bad luck“Good players make their own luck,” the old cliche goes, and Pakistanhave relentlessly made their own bad luck in this Test. There theywere, having got Sehwag out and restricted India to 55 runs in 28overs after lunch. Sourav Ganguly decided to hit out. He flayed at anawaygoing ball from Mohammad Sami, edged it, and Younis Khan at sliptook a good catch. Then the umpire’s arm made its move. No-ball.The very next ball, Ganguly guided Sami to Taufeeq Umar at gully. Thiswas not a no-ball, but Umar spilt the catch. Sami looked as if hemight start crying.Reading KaneriaDanish Kaneria was the only one of Pakistan’s bowlers to get any respect from the Indians yesterday, but Virender Sehwag had figured him out today, and was reading him well. At one point, he twice made early decisions to let balls pitched just outside off stump go by, as he’d spotted that they were legbreaks. Then Kaneria bowled a googly, hoping Sehwag would let that go as well. But Sehwag read it perfectly, got into position early, and slog-swept it for four to midwicket. The batsman had set the bowler up.One, two, three, fourIt is rare that with Sachin Tendulkar at the crease, Indian crowds chant someone else’s name. That is the impact Virender Sehwag has had on Indian cricket. As Rana Naved-ul-Hasan ran in to bowl to Sehwag, the crowd chanted “Sehwag, Sehwag”. Short ball outside off, Sehwag slashed it past point for four.The crowd now began to chant:

Ek Chawkka aur maar
Ek do teen chaar(Hit one more four
One, two, three, four)

Naved ran in again, pitched short again, and Sehwag slashed him past point again. Four more.As an enraptured crowd continued chanting, Naved shifted to bowling round the wicket, and Sehwag edged him between the wicketkeeper and slip for four more. In that over, it was “Ee do teen”. Now, had it been an eight-ball over …

Pat Symcox, the former South African offspinner, has reacted strongly to reports saying that several players were not in favour of Ray Jennings remaining as South African coach. Symcox said that the players should not be given the authority to dictate the coach’s selection, adding that the senior players have their own agenda and manipulate matters to suit them.Speaking to a South African television station, Symcox revealed: “Go and look at the pattern since re-admission. Every coach of the South African team has been ousted by the players. It is usually the senior players who are behind this move. What can you do as coach when the players decide they have had enough of you and want to get rid of you? You are powerless.”According to reports, Jennings, who had received the support of Graeme Smith in his bid to be selected as full-time coach, was out-of-favour in the eyes of some players in the team. Jennings’s tenure comes to an end after the Caribbean tour, beginning March 31, and while the methods he used haven’t received support from all quarters, they have proved to be largely successful. His reapplication largely depended on the players’ support, but some have focussed on his unconventional and at times controversial methods.Symcox cautioned against too much power being given to the players. “It is usually also the players who decide who will take over, because that gives them bargaining power. That is why caution should be exercised not to give too much power to the players. They always have their own agendas and try to manipulate things to suit them.”The players have also drawn up a confidential report, which includes their opinions, and have handed it over to Errol Stewart, their representative, who is part of the panel of six to select the new coach.Symcox added: “What will happen if Jennings wins the Test and one-day international series against the West Indies and perhaps even achieves a whitewash victory? How ridiculous will South African cricket look if the bosses decide to get rid of him?”

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Jai Prakash Yadav continued his dream season and propelled Railways to an emphatic five-wicket win over Delhi in the pre-quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament. Yadav’s two early wickets pegged Delhi back in the morning before his thrilling 60 off 65 balls, including three sixes, ensured that Railways cruised home with 8.5 overs to spare. Sanjay Bangar also contributed a composed 55 and shared a vital 106-run partnership with Yadav in the middle overs. Ajay Jadeja managed a steady 98 for Delhi but 213 proved too small a total in the end.
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Despite making a formidable 284 in their first innings, Karnataka were shunted out of the tournament largely due to some fantastic hitting from the Orissa batsmen. BBCC Mohapatra began the carnage with a 26-ball 52, including 4 sixes and five fours, before Shiv Sundar Das and Rashmi Ranjan Parida raced to a 91-run partnership in quick time. Das anchored the innings with a rapid 82 as Orissa reached the target with more than four overs to spare. Earlier, Karnataka rode on Barrington Rowland’s century to post a competetive total. Sujit Somasundar, the captain, also chipped in with 77.