Simon Katich, who was dropped from the Australia squad for the second Test against West Indies, will lead the top-of-the-table New South Wales in their crucial ING Cup match against Queensland at the SCG on Sunday. The squad also includes Nathan Bracken, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and Glenn McGrath, who will all play the match before flying to Hobart for the Test.Brad Haddin, the wicketkeeper, has been ruled out due to a finger injury he suffered in Perth. A further assessment on the injury will be made next week but Haddin is hopeful of being fit to play in the Pura Cup match against Tasmania starting next Friday.Matthew Hayden is the only change to the Queensland team that lost to South Australia on Friday night, replacing the injured James Hopes. Hopes hurt his shoulder during the match and expects to be fit in time for Australia’s Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series against New Zealand in December.Queensland squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Chris Simpson.New South Wales squad: Simon Katich (capt), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Phil Jaques, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Aaron O’Brien, Corey Richards, Daniel Smith, Dominic Thornely.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A Scott Styris hundred and a last-gasp half-century from Brendon McCullum surged New Zealand to a world-record chase of 332 for 8 as they avoided a cleansweep of Chappell-Hadlee Series losses. McCullum’s mind-blowing 50 from 25 deliveries saved a near-helpless situation of 74 required from seven overs with two wickets remaining, and they ended up securing the victory with an incredible six balls to spare.Australia went into the match with an experimental bowling line-up, which contained only 34 appearances for the five front-liners, and they were handed a book full of dreadful lessons, particularly in bowling at the death thanks to McCullum and Daniel Vettori. McCullum continually found himself with room and belted four sixes and three fours while Vettori scampered 23 from 12 deliveries to earn a wild victory as captain.Vettori won the toss and chose to bowl on the basis that his side was better at chasing a total than setting one. The logic had almost worked at Wellington on Wednesday when they lost by two runs, and today they refused to give up, not only winning by two wickets but knocking off Australia’s previous mark of 330 for 7 against South Africa in 2001-02. “It’s been a privilege to be part of this amazing game and hopefully it will set us up for the season,” Vettori said.A chase requiring more than a run a ball needed one of the top order to play a significant role and Styris delivered with an innings combining a calm outlook and explosive shot-making. His 101 meant New Zealand always had an eye on the target, but after Lou Vincent continued his fire-breathing from the second match he received little help until Jacob Oram connected with a flurry of big swings as light rain arrived with ten overs remaining.When Oram and Styris, the Man of the Match, fell in the same over from Stuart Clark, who collected career-best figures of 4 for 55, the Australians were confident of a whitewash, but the match swung again with the arrival of McCullum. The target was not so much chipped away as chopped at and Mick Lewis, the hero from Wellington, was unable to repeat his nerveless display and his final over went for 20 runs. McCullum and Vettori both sent him for sixes in what should have been the penultimate over to grab New Zealand’s 27th win in the 100 matches between the countries.The home side suffered an early problem when they lost the Supersub Stephen Fleming for 0 and the dismissals of Vincent and Nathan Astle, who both went in Clark’s first spell, were also costly. However, Hamish Marshall and Styris, who thumped 12 fours and two sixes, gave the innings a much-needed boost with an energetic partnership and the high tempo remained as Styris brought up his third one-day century from 94 balls.While McCullum’s flourishes at the finish will remain the defining moments of the match, Michael Hussey showed similar batting greed with a jaw-dropping display at the end of the first innings. Australia had dropped to 259 for 7 with the loss of Michael Clarke and Cameron White to Chris Martin, but Hussey usually either found the boundary or cleared it in the final ten overs, which earned 125 runs. It did not matter where the New Zealanders bowled as Hussey, who hit seven fours and five sixes, raced from 32 to 88 in 18 deliveries.Maintaining his fabulous record of being dismissed only four times, Hussey ensured his average, which started the day at 129.00, actually increased to 151. He lifted Chris Cairns for two sixes in a row to bring up his half-century and probably needed only one more over to reach a century with an exhibition of power hitting that would have made McCullum or Andrew Symonds proud.A stand of 82 between Hussey and Clarke, who posted his second consecutive fifty, set up the total after Ricky Ponting dragged Australia from the early trouble of 7 for 2 with a 67-ball 75. The first of many stunning turnarounds was led by Ponting and Brad Hodge (59 from 83), and the change was best seen through Ponting, who played, missed and struggled over 5 runs in 24 balls before switching clothes to reach his fifty off 48 deliveries.Vettori was again the best bowler with 2 for 37 off ten, his wickets of Ponting and Symonds coming in the 21st over, and he made free-flowing scoring difficult. However, while Styris was again frugal Vettori was let down by his closing bowlers and the allrounders Cairns (0 for 61 from six overs) and Jacob Oram (0 for 69 off eight). Their generosity did not matter in the end and actually helped make sure of a satisfying world record.

AustraliaAdam Gilchrist lbw Mills 0 (0 for 1)
Simon Katich c Styris b Martin 2 (7 for 2)
Ricky Ponting lbw Vettori 75 (122 for 3)
Andrew Symonds c Mills b Vettori 1 (124 for 4)
Brad Hodge c Mills b Styris 59 (177 for 5)
Michael Clarke c Mills b Martin 71 (259 for 6)
Cameron White c Vettori b Martin (259 for 7)
New ZealandStephen Fleming c Gilchrist b Bracken 0 (12 for 1)
Nathan Astle c White b Clark 14 (50 for 2)
Lou Vincent c Hussey b Clark 39 (61 for 3)
Hamish Marshall b White 27 (149 for 4)
Craig McMillan c Gilchrist b Symonds 11 (179 for 5)
Chris Cairns c Gilchrist b Lewis 6 (194 for 6)
Jacob Oram b Clarke 42 (257 for 7)
Scott Styris c Symonds b Clark 101 (258 for 8)

The picturesque Mote cricket ground is part of an 558-acre estate that dates back tothe 13th century, although Mote House, the manor house itself, was constructed inthe latter years of the 18th century. The first Kent County Cricket Club match at TheMote was in 1859, 2 years after the founding of the Mote Cricket Club. However,visits by Kent to The Mote remained sporadic until the beginning of the 20th century,and the development of the cricket ground into the facility it resembles today.The development of Mote Park’s cricket ground was largely motivated by Sir MarcusSamuel, the last private owner of Mote Park, who was later to become 1st ViscountBearstead. 1908 saw the levelling of the playing area to form the middle of threeterraces, with the upper and lower levels becoming rugby pitches. At this time, thewicket was moved to its current position, at right angles to the original orientation.In 1910, the two permanent, enclosed structures present on the ground wereofficially opened. The larger of these is that pavilion, containing the players’ dressingrooms and covered members’ seating. This is an unusually grand structure for acounty out-ground, being a two-level building of brick and wood.It has been extendedfrom the original structure to provide bar and catering facilities. Access to these islimited to staff, members and players. Thankfully, the surrounding fauna softens themodern architecture of these appendages.The smaller building, to the left of the pavilion from the wicket, surrounded by neathedges and low fences, is The Tabernacle. The term “tabernacle” refers amongstother things to a “nonconformist meeting-house” and the architecture of this curiousstructure ceratinly reflects this. The Tabernacle was formerly the private pavilionof Viscount Bearstead, for spectating and entertaining in luxury. In modern times,the building has provided a useful committee room for both the Mote and Kent countycricket clubs when either body is present.There is a small, open stand to the right of the pavilion from the wicket. This is amore modern concrete structure and the underside is used for equipment storage.The scoreboards are small, portable boxes of little known note.Mote Park was sold to Maidstone Borough council by the heir of the late 1st ViscountBearstead in 1928 and it remains partly in their ownership to this day. Mote Househas become a Cheshire Home, part of the charitable organisation founded byLeonard Cheshire, a former member of the Royal Air Force’s 610 (“Dambusters”)squadron. However, in account of the 1st Viscount’s love of the game, his heirpresented the cricket ground to Mote Cricket Club itself. The Tabernacle was givento the Band of Brothers, who in turn reunited it with the rest of the ground under theownership of the Mote Cricket Club in the late 1940s.Apart from restoration work, the ground resembles closely the facility that wasdeveloped in the early years of the 20th century, and provides a picturesque settingreminiscent of the classic picture-postcard portrayal of an English cricket ground.Several events of note have occurred at The Mote in first class cricket. The county’shighest partnership for any wicket in first-class cricket was made there during thenow almost-legendary 1995 season. Kent had signed the tiny Sri Lankan AravindaDeSilva as overseas player for the season, reputedly on more or less the soleinitiative of Mark Benson, the incumbent first team captain. This was a move thatalledgedly even gained him hate mail, DeSilva being deemed unworthy of theposition. However, when an intemperate spring gave way to a tropical summer, thepleasant DeSilva proved to be an inspired signing and by this point in the seasonwas being hailed as a Kent hero, applauded without seemingly actually needing toperform any longer and yet, showing no signs of stopping. This was the thirdconsecutive match in which he made a century, the second consecutive match inwhich he made a double century and the second consecutive match in which he tookpart in a record stand for Kent. He also became the first batsman past 1,000 runsthat season and scored over 100 in both innings. In partnership with GrahamCowdrey (137), who arrived with the score on 54 for 3, the two scored 368, DeSilvabludgeoning the small matter of 255. A wonderful photograph exists of the two arm inarm, celebrating beneath the scoreboard. Within the year, DeSilva was to win theadmiration of the entire cricketing world, with his almost single-handed destruction ofthe mighty Australians in the World Cup final.In 1910, C. Blythe (11 for 95) and the legendary F.E. Woolley (8 for 91) bowledunchanged throughout both innings of the Yorkshire fixture at The Mote, the mostrecent of 2 occasions on which this feat has been performed at the ground. Theprevious occasion was in 1889, also against Yorkshire (W. Wright 9 for 51 andF. Martin 10 for 65).The small playing area of The Mote can make it an interesting venue for one-daycricket. Emotional scenes at The Mote accompanied Kent’s 1976 John Player League(as the 40-over Sunday League competition was then known) victory. Entering the lastround of matches, Kent were the outsiders of 4 teams still capable of winning thetrophy. The BBC recorded each of the contenders’ matches and, to add to thedrama, commissioned a helicopter to act as a real-life “swingometer”, moving thetrophy closer to the ground of the likely winner of the moment. Kent played one ofthe most convincing performances in the history of the league, with Asif Iqbal making106 and Mike Denness, in his final Sunday game both for Kent and as their captain,making 56. Gloucestershire were left facing 279 to win, and barely batted out theirovers to lose by 123 runs. Somerset, the favourites, looked unperturbed for most ofthe afternoon but finished on the receiving end of a shock narrow defeat. Thehelicopter duly made its way to Maidstone and landed on the pitch, delivering thetrophy to the triumphant Denness who, only a week later, played his final game forKent.19 years later, in the 1995 Sunday League, Mark Ealham made the fastest centuryin the history of the 40-over game. Batting at 7 against Derbyshire, Ealham came tothe wicket with Kent, needing to set a good target to remain in contention for thetrophy, having collapsed to 105 for 5 with 14 overs left. To make matters worse, thepitch was offering little help to the bowling. Derbyshire looked to have won already.However, 44 balls later, Ealham passed his hundred, with 9 sixes and 9 fours. Oneach of the three occasions he was dropped, the ball was travelling too fast for thefielder to hold on to. The latter attempted dismissal saw the ball merely fly straight onthrough the fielders’ hands for six. Such batting was later to prove vital, as Kent wontheir first trophy for 17 years by the slimmest of margins, seasonal run rate.On a lighter note, in 1984 The Mote was the scene of pace bowler Kevin Jarvis’ Kenthigh score and his sole first-class six. Jarvis, although twelfth man on two occasionsfor England, is remembered rightly as one of the 10 worst batsmen ever to be seenin county cricket, with twice as many wickets as runs in his long career, and anaverage well below 4. However, a delivery from the former England allrounder GeoffMiller was on this occasion smote rom the ground, on Jarvis’ passage to the dizzyheights of 19.

It’s been exactly two weeks since India landed in Pakistan but for all practical purposes the series will probably start here at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. The tour game at the Bagh-e-Jinnah was more like a carnival; the first Test at Lahore, more like a batsman’s party interrupted by the gloom. Now we’re down to a two-Test shoot-out on a pitch that would probably rival the one at the Gaddafi Stadium as a batting paradise. A lot has changed since India arrived; yet nothing much has changed in the context of the series. And how much ever one talks about psychological advantages and statements made, the first session’s play tomorrow can easily change all equations.TeamsWith the batting line-ups in a bullish state, it is unlikely that either side would make any changes to the ones that turned out at Lahore. Before the game, there were concerns about Inzamam-ul-Haq’s back and Shoaib Akhtar’s ankle, but both appear to have brushed off niggles as they geared up on match eve. Inzamam, who reeled off two hundreds in his previous game here, clearly stated that there wouldn’t be any changes in the batting line-up, adding that they were looking at options in the bowling department. The only likely change is Mohammad Sami, erratic and flat at Lahore, giving way to Mohammad Asif, the 23-year-old fast bowler yet to play a Test after his debut at Sydney in 2005.India were unlikely to tinker with their line-up, despite the treatment meted out to the bowlers in the previous Test, and one would expect them to pick both their world-class spinners, rather than risk a third seamer on a belter of a surface.Drawing a blankThree of the last four games at Faisalabad have ended in draws and it may require, as Rahul Dravid put it, “one session of brilliance” to conjure up a result in this one. Sanath Jayasuriya’s whirlwind double-hundred steered Sri Lanka to an emphatic win two Tests back while England played out a drama-filled contest, highlighted by a gas canister going off, exactly two months ago, clinging on to a draw on the final day. If the sun has its say, there is no reason to not expect a fierce battle here.Opening conundrumsJust as Shoaib Malik’s half-century in the previous Test helped Pakistan get closer to finding a settled opening pair, Rahul Dravid’s hundred, his first as captain, presented India with a pleasant dilemma. While speaking to the press, Dravid hinted that he would continue to open, though he reiterated that it wasn’t a long-term option. For the last few days, most talk has centered around a certain Virender Sehwag, who averages a colossal 112.36 against Pakistan, and there is no betting against him repeating the savagery he displayed at Lahore. India’s real test would come if the top order falls cheaply and it would be interesting to see if the lower order can respond like they did against Sri Lanka when put under the hammer. Pakistan have already shown their lower-order might, and not too many teams possess a wicketkeeper who has managed four international hundreds in the last month.Return of the kingOf the 16 members in the Indian side, only Sachin Tendulkar has played in Faisalabad before. It will be a happy return to the ground where he made his first Test fifty, after which he was convinced that he could handle cricket at this level.More frolic, more atmosphereTwo months ago, packed houses watched the Test against England and all signs point to a similar turnout for the next few days. The murkiness of Lahore has given way to sunny skies on the last two here; the lukewarm response of the Lahoris, to one of buoyant anticipation. Locals point to the festive flavour that accompany games here and a relatively smaller Iqbal Stadium could well produce a run-filled cracker.Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shoaib Malik, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Danish KaneriaIndia (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Sourav Ganguly, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Anil Kumble

Scorecard

A defiant Phil Jaques hundred was not enough to stop Queensland from romping to an eight-wicket victory over New South Wales on the third day’s play at Brisbane.Jaques was the dominant partner in a 75-run stand with Matthew Phelps as he marched on to his 19th first-class century. Resuming on 1 for 63, NSW added 89 for the loss of Phelps (28) – caught at slip by Jimmy Maher off Mitchell Johnson – during the first session. Jaques and Dominic Thornely then guided their side to 2 for 152 at lunch before both succumbed to the quicks after the interval. Thornely went first, lbw to Johnson for 9, while Jaques was caught by Brendan Nash off Michael Kasprowicz after facing 165 deliveries and hitting 19 fours and a six.Aaron O’Brien (64) and Brad Haddin (76) overcame the setback by adding 130 for the fifth wicket as the Blues forged a fightback. Haddin was in fine form, smashing nine fours and two sixes in his 72-ball knock before hitting one straight to Maher off Daniel Doran’s legspin (5 for 323). Kasprowicz (4 for 96) then swung the momentum Queensland’s way by snapping up two more wickets as NSW finished on 378.Set 91 to win, Queensland knocked off the runs in 17 overs with Martin Love, who had hit a first-innings hundred, scoring a quick 46.

West Indies suffered another blow to their already dismal tour of New Zealand when Ramnaresh Sarwan was ruled out of the rest of the series because of a torn muscle in his left leg, an injury he picked up during the third ODI a fortnight ago. He further damaged his leg while fielding in the second innings of the first Test at Eden Park. Imran Khan, the team manager, said that Sarwan would fly home from Auckland while the team heads for Wellington, where the second of the three Tests starts on Friday.Khan pointed out that the blow Sarwan took to the back of the helmet from Shane Bond on Sunday in West Indies’ second innings, forcing him to retire hurt, was not the reason for his withdrawal. “That left him temporarily groggy but there was no concussion and he is feeling fine as far as that is concerned,” Khan said. “But he tore a muscle in his leg fielding in the New Zealand second innings and he has been advised by team physiotherapist Stephen Partridge that it would need rest and treatment over the next few weeks.”According to Khan, no replacement has been sought.Sarwan’s place at No.3 in Wellington is almost certain to be taken by Runako Morton. Devon Smith, the left-handed opener, is another alternative. Morton was unlucky not to make the starting XI in the first Test after averaging 57.25 in the preceding National Bank ODI series, in which his unbeaten 110 in Napier remains the only hundred by a West Indies batsman so far on tour.Sarwan’s injury follows those that have prevented Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor from bowling. Bravo, the allrounder, strained muscles in his left side in the opening match of the tour, the Twenty20 International, and played in the first Test strictly as a batsman. Taylor strained his left hamstring during the first Test and was confined to eight overs in the first innings and one in the second. Bravo, who scored 59 and 17 and remains outstanding in the field, will retain his place in Wellington, barring further mishaps. Daren Powell would be a straight swap for fellow Jamaican Taylor. The damages, both psychological and physical, will severely test West Indies’ resilience.Given little hope of even competing favourably in the Test series, following their 4-1 loss in the ODIs, West Indies matched New Zealand until their middle order collapse on Sunday led to defeat. Their limited bowling staff, with less than 100 wickets between them and further depleted by Taylor’s injury, demonstrated what can be achieved by discipline and commitment. Ian Bradshaw, a Test debutant at 31 but an experienced and thoughtful cricketer, set the example with his persistence and patience that earned him overall figures of 57.1-13-156-6. The constant concern has generally been the perceived inability of West Indies’ bowling to claim 20 wickets against Test opposition. There could be no such complaint this time.The batting, featuring Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Chris Gayle in the top five, has a formidable look but, as in this match, frequently breaks down. Whenever it does again, West Indies will inevitably lose.

Indeed, West Indies would surely have won had the bowlers had the support of both their main batsmen and their wicketkeeper. Chanderpaul and Lara scored 33 runs between them, Denesh Ramdin missed two vital second innings catches, off Stephen Fleming before he had scored and Daniel Vettori at 4 off his second ball, completely spoiling his 21st birthday yesterday.Bennett King, the coach, was clearly disappointed with the defeat, the West Indies’ seventh in succession and their tenth in 12 Tests in the past year. But he was adamant that the team was “moving in the right direction”.”We’ve lost a lot of games, but sometimes you’ve got to get to the depths of despair before you start re-emerging,” he said. “You can look at a lot of cricket teams in the history of the game, and you can see how many have been in similar positions before. It’s how you react at that stage that counts.”Over the time that I’ve been here, I certainly think we’ve improved and progressed in different areas,” King added. “We’re creating opportunities to win Test matches … [and] this was a game that was there for the taking.”King was philosophical about the missed catches. “I guess it’s better to have created chances and lost them than not to have created any chances at all,” he added. “Catches went down on both sides and if New Zealand had lost they would have said their misses were costly. As it was, we lost so our missed chances were just as costly.”

Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India captain, has given his green signal to the Indian board for his name being proposed as match referee to the ICC.”I was first given an offer in 2002 but could not accept it. I would be free from the post of the chairman of the talent research development wing of the board at the end of this month and that’s why I have said yes to the board when they approached me,” Vengsarkar said.Vengsarkar, whose specially done portrait is set to adorn the Lord’s pavilion for his feat of scoring three Test centuries on the trot at the Mecca of cricket, said as per his information, ICC would decide on the panel of match referees in April.”I have received a letter from the MCC seeking my permission to pose for a specially made portrait which would be put up at the Lord’s pavilion.”It’s a big honour and I have said yes to the MCC proposal who are to send a painter to Mumbai for doing my portrait sometime in January 2007,” Vengsarkar said.

Division One

Andrew Strauss struck a timely century but Middlesex are still facing an uphill battle to avoid defeat against Hampshire. Strauss’s ton marshaled a much-improved batting display, although with Shane Warne finding his range, a long battle remains. Nic Pothas hard earlier guided Hampshire past 400 with a grafting century and received solid support right down the order. Only one batsman – last-man Billy Taylor – failed to reach double figures.Mark Chilton’s first Championship century of the season guided a strong Lancashire reply to Kent’s 327 at Old Trafford. Chilton played his own, unhurried brand of cricket, content to wait for the bowlers to come to him. Paul Horton, who is facing a crucial year of his career at Lancashire, joined him in a century stand for the fifth wicket to push their team close to a first-innings lead. Sajid Mahmood played his part in wrapping up Kent’s innings, claiming two wickets in the morning session.Following a tough winter with England, Matt Prior swung Sussex’s clash with Yorkshire their way with a superb century. From staring at a likely deficit, Sussex climbed their way to a useful lead of 29. Prior engineered most of the recovery, after Matthew Hoggard had struck early, but he was also indebted to support from Robin Martin-Jenkins and Jason Lewry. Hoggard conceded barely two-an-over as he enjoyed a solid workout ahead of the first Test. Yorkshire were creaking at the close, having already lost Matthew Wood and Jason Gillespie.Warwickshire’s seamers put in another team performance before Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott built a commanding position against Nottinghamshire. Heath Streak and Dougie Brown struck with the new ball as Notts slipped to 36 for 6, with Ian Bell also chipping in. David Alleyne fought back with a half-century but Brown and James Anyon wrapped up the innings and a lead of 91. After Andy Harris struck back, Bell and Trott cemented Warwickshire’s strong position with a stand of 148.

Division Two

Surrey v Gloucestershire. For a full report from Andrew McGlashan at The Oval click here.Essex youngster Tony Palladino took five wickets for nine runs in 31 balls as Leicestershire collapsed from their overnight 392 for 5 to 417 all out. Palladino was rewarded for finding a fuller length after the Essex bowlers had been punished on day one for repeatedly pitching too short. Essex’s top order was then decimated by David Masters and Mohammad Asif as the home side slumped to 29 for 4 in reply. Asif deceived Grant Flower and Mark Pettini with in-swingers before returning later to again wreak havoc. Tim Phillips and Graham Napier put up most resistance in a stand of 78 for the eighth-wicket but part-time spinner Dinesh Mongia broke the stand when Phillips flicked to John Maunders at short-leg. They lost Mark Pettini in their follow-on and are still well behind.Anything Marcus Trescothick can do, Lance Klusener can do better. Klusener’s unbeaten 147 powered Northants to a lead of 191 against Somerset and Bilal Shafayat continued his run-filled start to the season with 101. Klusener’s average for the summer now stands at 335. Dan Cullen bagged five wickets on his Somerset debut, but it was a tough day in the field. Trescothick couldn’t repeat his first-innings performance as he fell before the closeA tight contest is brewing up at Cardiff after Mark Cosgrove launched his Championship career in style for Glamorgan with a run-a-ball century. However, Derbyshire stayed in touch with some vital wickets through Ant Botha and Stefan Jones. Cosgrove gave another example of his much talked of talent, threading 23 fours and a six and adding 106 with Michael Powell, who fell late in the day after reaching his own century, in slightly more sedate fashion.

Mohammad Azharuddin, the legendary Indian batsman, has said he has given up hopes of playing for India but was fighting his case in the court of law to get his name cleared from match-fixing.”I have no hopes of playing for India. But I want to get my name cleared,” Azharuddin was quoted as saying in Press Trust of India. “I am expecting that the final hearing of my case will be in May before the judgment is announced.”Azhar was slapped with a life ban while Manoj Prabhakar, the former Indian fast bowler also involved in the scandal, was banned for five years in 2000. The court exonerated Ajay Jadeja who was earlier banned for life by the Indian board.Azhar however, refused to comment on whether he was made a scapegoat by the BCCI. “The matter is sub-judice and I cannot comment on that,” Azhar said. “But I firmly believe that the whole issue was blown out of proportion. I was destined to play 99 Tests, that’s the way I look at it. If I can play 99 Tests, I could have played one more,” he said when asked if he was deliberately prevented by the BCCI from achieving a personal milestone.However, Azhar, 43, said he cannot be banned from cricketing activities. “I don’t need any permission from anyone to play charity or veteran’s cricket. I cannot play in BCCI or ICC approved or sanctioned tournaments. Veterans’ cricket is a different body that is neither controlled nor governed by the BCCI or ICC.”Meanwhile the Pakistan Senior Cricket Board (PSCB) gave a new twist to the Veteran Cup controversy, claiming it was the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which allowed Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar to play in Pakistan. Fawad Ijaz, the PSCB president and chief executive, told a news conference that the “Pakistan High Commission granted visas to the entire Indian cricket team, including Azharuddin and Prabakar, to travel to Pakistan for the one-day matches on the advice of the PCB.”When we applied for the no-objection certificate with the PCB, the names of the Indian team were clearly stated. The PCB issued us the NOC on the basis of which the Indians were issued visas in New Delhi,” Ijaz said. “Issuing of the NOC, followed up New Delhi granting visas clarifies that the entire Indian team is here with the permission and knowledge of the PCB.”Ijaz’s remark came in the wake of Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, disassociating his establishment from Azharuddin and Prabhakar’s visit. “The senior cricket board is operating on their own and they have invited Azharuddin and Prabhakar,” Shaharyar had said. “The senior board is not affiliated with the PCB so they are holding this series on their own.”The veterans’ cricket board of India today came out in support of Azharuddin and Prabhakar, saying both were technically eligible to take part in the veterans’ tournament against Pakistan.Chetan Chauhan, former cricketer and President of Board for Veteran Cricket in India, said: “Prabhakar’s five-year ban is over and Azharuddin is banned from playing Test and first class cricket. Veterans’ cricket does not fall under any of these two categories. So both are eligible to play.”The veterans’ series is more of a friendly one to improve relationship between the two countries. Since Azharuddin is playing all sorts of festival cricket, there is no harm in his participation in it,”However, Chauhan refused to draw any comparison between Malik, who was prevented from taking part in the series, and the two Indian players. “Salim Malik’s case is different, “he said. “In their country, Justice Qayoom Commission has banned him from all forms of cricket. So he is not eligible to play veterans’ cricket.”

Ray Price, the former Zimbabwe left-arm spinner now playing for Worcestershire, has set his sights on playing international cricket again – for England.”My best years are still to come,” Price told the Press Association. “You learn so much with all those experiences you have gained from when you are younger. I just wish I could go back five or six years with the same mental approach I have now and apply it.”Joining the likes of Heath Streak in rebelling against Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), Price chose to resume his playing career in England where he was eligible to play for Worcestershire under the Kolpak scheme. Making his debut in 2004, he is nearly halfway through a four-year qualifying period to play for England.”You sit and watch the Test matches and one-day internationals, I really miss that, playing in the heat of battle, enjoying yourself in front of a large crowd and being under pressure the whole time,” he said.”You miss it. It’s a bit like eating cod and then having to go back and eat sardines. Once you have tasted it, there is nothing like it.”This is my second full year at Worcester. I have got two years after this and then I am qualified for England when I’ll still only be 32, 33 which is nothing for a spinner.”Look at Shaun Udal who is in his late 30s. I think it is really great that England gave Udal a go in India. He bowled so well on that India tour and it just showed that he has got so much experience under his belt.”