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Division One

TableAn impressive bowling performance secured Essex a 39-run win over Worcestershire. As Stephen Moore and Graeme Hick were adding 66 for the first wicket, Essex’s 203 for 9 did not look like being enough. However, the part-time medium-pace of Will Jefferson claimed two scalps – including Hick – while James Middlebrook weighed in with three. Earlier, Jefferson top-scored for Essex with 39, as none of the Essex batsmen could convert solid starts.Northamptonshire eased to a five-wicket win against Gloucestershire after an opening stand of 166 between Martin Love and Tim Roberts. Love remained unbeaten on 97 and guided Northants through a mini wobble as the winning line approached. Gloucestershire had been rescued from 69 for 5 by Mark Hardinges’ 63 after Ben Phillips had taken three quick wicketsMiddlesex made the most of the flat Southgate pitch to amass 314 for 5 against Nottinghamshire, enough to give them a 31-run win. Paul Weekes hit a run-a-ball 106 and Scott Styris gave the innings real momentum with 82 from 64 balls. Ed Joyce added the final flourish as his unbeaten 41 came from only 18 deliveries. Notts were forced to play their shots and lost wickets at regular intervals. Samit Patel’s 82 was entertaining but came too late to change the course of the matchHampshire cruised to a seven-wicket win against Glamorgan with more than seven over remaining. Nic Pothas gave their run chase the ideal base with an aggressive 76 and Craig McMillan guided Hampshire home in style with a rapid 49. Shaun Udal and Shane Warne had restricted Glamorgan’s innings, following a positive start from Robert Croft and Matthew Elliott. Croft top-scored with 88 but was short of support.

TableIan Ward blasted 93 from 75 balls helping Sussex power to a seven-wicket win over Durham. Chris Adams supported him with 58 from 49 balls as Sussex won with more than 15 overs to spare. Durham’s batting stuttered along as James Kirtley took four wickets. Dale Benkenstein top-scored with 57 but their total of 195 was never going to be enough on a good batting strip at Arundel.Darren Maddy made an unbeaten 107 as Leicestershire beat Warwickshire by seven wickets with eight balls to spare. He added 100 for the first with with Tom New to put Leicestershire on track. They had reduced Warwickshire to 43 for 4 and would have expected to chase less than 200, but Jonathan Trott (93 not out) and Alex Loudon (51) led a recovery for Warwickshire. Ashley Giles made a successful return to action following his hip injury, taking 1 for 44 in his nine overs.Scotland earned themselves a thrilling tie against Derbyshire when Dewald Nel scampered a single from the final ball at Derby. Dougie Lockhart’s unbeaten 88 from 98 balls enabled Scotland to recover from 55 for four, but it wasn’t quite enough to get them past the winning post. Michael di Venuto’s 112 was the mainstay of Derbyshire’s 220 for 8 and Ant Botha scored a rapid 33 towards the end of the innings.

UAE 77 for 4 trail Ireland 350 for 7 dec (EJG Morgan 151, JP Bray 78, Ali Asad 5-93) by 273 runs
Scorecard

Eoin Morgan, 19, scored a run-a-ball hundred to give Ireland the advantage on day one of their semi-final against UAE at the Wanderers Sports Club. Ireland declared on 350 for 7 and reduced UAE to 77 for 4 at the close, a lead of 273.Morgan smashed 151 from 150 balls and ensured that Ireland’s good start wasn’t wasted as wickets tumbled around him. Morgan, who made his first-team debut for Middlesex in the National League last summer, hit 18 fours and a six against an under-strength UAE side.Ireland’s bowlers didn’t let Morgan’s good work go to waste, and Paul Morgan picked up the first two wickets of captain Arshad Ali and Sammer Ali with only three runs on the board. The wicketkeeper, Mohammad Taskeen, and Vairamoorthy Sockalingam staged a recovery with a third-wicket stand of 53 – aided by 12 no-balls – before Ireland’s captain Trent Johnston removed Sockalingam. Kyle McCallan then accounted for Kafish Ahmed to leave Ireland well in charge.After Johnston won the toss and put his side in, openers Dominick Joyce and Jeremy Bray – who has turned out for New South Wales – put on 111 for the first wicket. After a second-wicket stand of 32 between Morgan and Bray, Morgan took charge as wickets fell at regular intervals at the other end. Ali Asad was the pick of the bowlers, keeping UAE in the match with an impressive 5 for 93.

Occasionally sport has a significance that transcends nationality, politics, and religion. A fortnight after the Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed more than 150,000 lives and left millions more injured and homeless, a limited-overs game took place at the MCG. It involved players from Australia, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and England – all providing their time and energies free of charge. It depended on hundreds of volunteers, a myriad of sponsors, the attendance of 70,101 fans and a telecast into 122 countries. It was history in the making.The tsunami appeal was the idea of Tim May, the former Test offspinner who is now the chief executive of the Australian Players’ Association. The theory? Stage a star-studded match with proceeds going directly to the disaster-affected areas. The practice? Apparently not as complicated as it sounded. “I started making a few calls to players,” said May late last week. “I was amazed by the response. Everyone I talked to wanted to be a part of it.”By the time the coin toss took place, courtesy of the prime minister John Howard, it was clear that crowd numbers were massive. By the time the teams had gathered around the pitch for a minute’s silence, there was only a smattering of spare seats, and those, according to ticket agencies, had been snapped up days ago. By the time the game got underway, beneath a perfect Melbourne blue sky, there wasn’t a player, politician, official or spectator who didn’t seem excited and privileged to be in attendance.We’d come to see the local heroes Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting, Warne and McGrath. We’d come to witness the magic of imported talent such as Lara, Sehwag and Jayasuriya. And we’d come to welcome back fondly an offspinner from Sri Lanka who, after a plethora of chucking allegations, had vowed never to play here again. As the bowling change was announced and Muttiah Muralitharan took the ball from the City End, the cheer was loud and unanimous. If there was one, identifiable human face of this incomprehensible tragedy, it was his.The game itself proved to be a one-sided affair, involving the mandatory slap-dash, wham-bam, towering sixes and pointless stumpings. But along the way it also provided elements of the extraordinary. Stars from India and Pakistan in the same team. Steve Waugh, with that still-familiar Charlie Chaplin waddle, took the field to a standing ovation. Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting shared a scintillating partnership, high-fiving each other at regular intervals. And Glenn McGrath, who will dine out on the experience for years, was promoted to No. 6 ahead of Matthew Hayden.By the time the ICC World XI had cruised to a 112-run victory, the stats were in. Over A$14million had been raised through ticket sales, related telethons and at-the-ground wheelie-bin collections. The players’ shirts, as well as the coin used for the toss, were being auctioned on eBay, and Warnie’s shirt was already attracting bids of over $150,000. The unmeasurable stat was the palpable spirit surrounding May’s brainchild.”None of these cricketers had to do this, and none of the fans had to come,” said the Reverend Tim Costello as he received the cheque on behalf of World Vision. “Why did they? Because they’re part of this wave of compassion. We have begun to give hope to those who are still alive and to say to them you are not alone. We will see you through this. We will stand by you until the job is done.” Occasionally, sport can surmount the sum of its parts.Christine Davey is a freelance writer based in Melbourne.

Two days after Sourav Ganguly said that Yuvraj Singh would most likely replace Aakash Chopra as a Test opener, Virender Sehwag has suggested that he would prefer to open with a more defensive-minded partner.According to a report, Sehwag said that a defensive opener could stay at the wicket for longer periods, especially in testing conditions. “In my opinion, one opener should be defensive,” he said. “I need it and India need it. A player whose technique is correct and who can play 15 to 20 overs without any hassle and see off the shine. If the other opener is also a strokemaker like me, then nobody is sure if he’ll last one over or 20 overs.”But before the media could blow things out of proportion, Sehwag added that he didn’t mind opening with Yuvraj, as they understood each other. But he reasoned that it was easier for him to go for his strokes secure in the knowledge that the batsman at the other end was adopting a defensive approach. “I think my combination with Sanjay Bangar and Aakash Chopra is good,” he said, “because both of them are very defensive and play the new ball easily. That gives me the option to go for my strokes.”Changing opening partnerships out of choice, rather than compulsion, appears to be a new phenomenon in Indian cricket. For the best part of the last decade, India’s search for good openers was a fruitless one. More than 15 openers were experimented with, until Sehwag was uprooted from his middle-order position and asked to open. The move came off instantly, and he formed a reasonable partnership with Bangar.It provided India one of its most memorable victories in 2002, at Headingly. But Bangar then made way for Chopra, whose understanding with Sehwag was reflected in their running between the wickets, and consistently large partnerships. They were most successful in Australia in 2003-04, in stark contrast to the disastrous opening gambits that had characterised the debacle in 1999-2000.

The awards just keep coming for Mark Ramprakash, whose prolific season has now earned him the Player’s Player of the Season award and the Batsman of the Season which he picked up at Surrey’s End of Season Awards on Friday evening.Ramprakash became just the fifth player in an English first-class season to finish with an average of over 100. Only Sir Don Bradman (1938), Geoff Boycott (in both 1971 and 1979), Graham Gooch (1990) and Damien Martyn (2001) have reached this significant milestone before him.This was the second awards accolade in one week for Ramprakash, who also received the honour of PCA Player of the Year, which was presented to him at last Monday’s PCA Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall.Ramprakash finished the 2006 season with an incredible 2278 runs to his name – more than 400 runs more than his nearest rival, HD Ackerman of Leicestershire. He also had five scores of 150 or more in successive matches, something that has never been matched in first-class cricket.”It has been one of those seasons where, even though I have been doing things the same way, everything has clicked,” said Ramprakash and went on, almost needlessly: “I have really enjoyed this year.”But stiffer challenges lie ahead for him. This weekend Ramprakash will take to the dancefloor for the first round of Strictly Come Dancing.

Sri Lanka 246 for 7 (Arnold 51*) beat Zimbabwe 221 for 9 (Taylor 74, Muralitharan 5-23) by 25 runs, and won series 5-0
Scorecard

Sri Lanka, despite some periods of uninspired cricket, completed a predictable clean sweep of the one-day series when they beat a gallant young Zimbabwe team by 25 runs at Harare Sports Club. An unexpected and invaluable opening stand of 79 between Stuart Matsikenyeri and Brendan Taylor put Zimbabwe in with a chance of overhauling Sri Lanka’s modest 246 for 7, but the inexperience of the middle order in the face of Muttiah Muralitharan and an ever-increasing run rate proved too much for them.Both Zimbabwe’s openers were hesitant at first, but they gained in confidence,helped by the absence of Chaminda Vaas and by Muralitharan’s late appearance in the bowling ranks (apart from a single over to enable the new-ball bowlers to change ends). Matsikenyeri dominated the stand with 37, before being smartly stumped by the stand-in wicketkeeper Tillakaratne Dilshan, while Taylor was generally quieter, apart from a remarkable six over extra cover off Rangana Herath.Then Murali did come on, and immediately put a brake on the scoring – his first six overs cost just three runs. Taylor and Tatenda Taibu (26) tried their best,only to find themselves falling further behind the clock, and when both wereout in quick succession, Taylor perishing on the midwicket boundary for 79, hopes of an upset faded.Muralitharan, with 5 for 23 in his ten overs, turned the match, and waswell supported by the slow left-armer Herath, who took 2 for 36 and two catches as well. Again the raw Zimbabwean line-up was able to prove competitive, although Sri Lanka were inconsistent and seemed unable to lift themselves against such weakened opposition.Earlier in the day Sri Lanka survived another careless slump by their middle order to reach 246 for 7. They were struggling at 162 for 6 in the 42nd over before Russel Arnold and Farveez Maharoof tore the bowling to shreds in a dynamic partnership which swung the balance back strongly in Sri Lanka’s favour at the halfway stage.The weather remained fine, but the crowd at the start did not even numberthree figures. Sri Lanka this time played a stronger – but not their strongest – team, with Murali returning along with the captain Marvan Atapattu and Nuwan Zoysa.Douglas Hondo began with an impressive maiden over to Saman Jayantha, whileTinashe Panyangara again supported him well from the other end. With 21 onthe board, Jayantha (8) lost patience and lashed out at Hondo, only forTawanda Mupariwa to pull off a good flying catch at extra cover.After that, Atapattu and Jayawardene adopted a policy of steady accumulation, cutting out the big shots – except for one occasion when Jayawardene came down the pitch and lofted Panyangara high over mid-on for four – and working the ball successfully for ones and twos at almost five an over. They added 72 together before, in the 19th over, Atapattu cut Mupariwa uppishly and was caught at backward point for 38 (93 for 2).Dilshan, who later kept wicket in place of Kumar Sangakkara, came in next, and he and Atapattu continued to concentrate on the singles. Mupariwa again impressed with the ball, and produced a superb slower delivery, a yorker, that deceived and bowled Jayawardene for 47 as he attempted to hit it over mid-on for four and reach his fifty (128 for 3). Then Sri Lanka began to wobble, as Dilshan foolishly attempted a quick single straight to Dion Ebrahim, a fine fielder, and was easily run out for 21 by a direct hit (137 for 4).More trouble was to come, as Taibu took off his pads to bowl, as he had in the first match, and bowled Thilina Kandamby with a swinging ball for 7 (146 for 5). Upul Chandana had pulled Sri Lanka out of the mire on Tuesday, but Thursday was a different matter. He made only 3 before clipping Taibu straight to midwicket (162 for 6).This time Arnold and Maharoof came to the rescue in spectacular style. Taibu and Matsikenyeri, a part-time offspinner, had been keeping the runs down nicely, but Taibu fatally decided to return to his pacemen for the final overs, and they were smashed to the tune of 71 from just 41 balls before Maharoof holed out at long-on for 38 (233 for 7), including two fours and two gigantic sixes. Arnold reached a 51-ball fifty off the final ball of the innings.It proved enough, along with Murali’s tight spell, for Sri Lanka to win the match and sweep the series. Zimbabwe did better, and their improved showing might just persuade the Zimbabwean board that they can do without the 15 dissenting players in the forthcoming two-Test series which starts at Harare next Thursday (May 6).

Sri Lanka’s attorney-general has ordered the arrest of Thilanga Sumathipala, the cricket-board president and the chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, for alleged passport fraud, according to newspaper reports on Saturday.According to The Island newspaper, the attorney-general’s order, issued on Thursday night, follows a criminal investigation into Sumathipala’s involvement with an underworld gang leader called Dhammika Amarasinghe.The CID investigation was prompted by a series of newspaper articles during recent weeks published by another newspaper, the Sunday Leader, which alleged that Sumathipala had helped Amarasinghe obtain a fake passport.Sumathipala was also alleged by the newspaper, which passed on evidence to the police, to have authorised the use of cricket-board funds to help finance Amarasinghe’s trip to the UK to watch the 1999 World Cup.Sumathipala has strenously denied any involvement with Amarasinghe, claiming that the allegations are merely a cynical and malicious attempt to smear his reputation. Amarasinghe, currently being held in remand, stands accused of several contract killings and attempted assassinations, including the attempted murder of the Sunday Leader‘s editor Lasantha Wickramatunge in 1998.The attorney-general’s decision to issue a warrant for Sumathipala’s arrest followed the receipt of a CID report last week. Detectives visited his residence at midnight on Thursday but his whereabouts remained unknown on Friday night.Sumathipala was elected as board president for a third term in June, after winning landslide support among the member clubs that make up the board.

Dhaka 374 (Halim 119, Niamur 62, Muntasir 58) beat Barisal 193 and 118 (Mahmud 4-19, Muntasir 4-31) by an innings and 63 runs
ScorecardKhaled Mahmud, after a combative half-century to rescue Dhaka from a perilous position, bowled them to victory, taking 4 for 19 as Barisal were skittled out for 118 in their second innings. Fahim Muntasir, an offspinner fighting to get back into the national side, also had a fine match, scoring 58 and, then, taking 4 for 31.Sylhet 80 (Razzaq 7-11) and 145 for 9 (Hadi 43, Bashir 4-36) need 92 more runs to beat Khulna 160 and 156 (Parvez 48)
ScorecardKhulna was on the verge of victory at the end of the third day, with Sylhet needing 92 more runs to win, but with only one wicket in hand. Khulna’s second innings was wrapped up for 158 early in the day, giving them a lead of 236 runs. Tamim Bashir then got his act going, taking 4 for 36 as Sylhet crumbled to 145 for 9. Only Taqrimul Hadi, with a defiant 43, provided any resistance.Rajshahi 234 and 129 for 6 lead Chittagong 300 (Hossain 99*, Saifullah 6-91) by 63 runs
ScorecardFaisal Hossain was heartbreakingly left not out on 99, as Chittagong were all out for exactly 300 on the third day against Rajshahi. Saifullah Khan took 6 for 91 in 45.3 overs, and Rajshai then made 129 for 6 in their second innings to lead by 63 runs. Ahsanullah Hasan, with 3 for 24, was they key bowler for Chittagong.

Pakistan 364 for 6 (Hameed 91, Inzamam 77) trail India 675 for 5 dec by 311 runs
Scorecard

India inched closer to getting themselves into a position that would allow them to dream of a first-ever Test win in Pakistan. They ended a day of gently seesawing fortunes with the advantage, having taken six Pakistani wickets at intermittent intervals throughout the day, the last coming off the final delivery. India haven’t quite got a grip on this game, but there were signs of Pakistan choking under the sheer volume of runs. Yet they might just have kept India out in the field long enough to make them think twice about enforcing the follow-on even if they do have the option. At 364 for 6 by the close, Pakistan were 311 runs adrift of the mammoth Indian total.The two best batsmen in the Pakistan team, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana, were both extremely unhappy at being given out by Simon Taufel. Inzamam was at the wrong end of a bat-pad catch while Youhana was dismissed trying to flick a ball slipping well down the leg side. On a flat pitch, under the glare of the exceedingly hot Multan sun, it was not easy for the bowlers, and they were grateful for any help that they received. But it was not all bad news for Pakistan: Yasir Hameed batted exceedingly well for his 91, while Abdul Razzaq (who was still there when stumps were drawn) and Moin Khan struck some telling blows towards the end of the day. They took the aggressive route to survival, and it came off for them.India gained the early advantage by removing both openers in the first session, but Hameed and Inzamam looked to be batting Pakistan towards safety when the persevering Anil Kumble struck by removing Inzamam before tea, and then Irfan Pathan doubled India’s joy by dismissing Hameed.Inzamam was deeply disappointed, but had to go when he was adjudged caught at forward short leg for 77, with 13 fours. Hameed, whose assured batting delighted the small crowd, was unlucky to miss out on a century. Hameed made 91 (151 balls, 14 fours) and richly deserved a century just for the assured manner in which he handled everything that was bowled at him.

So all the good work of the second session was undone by a brief passage of play in which two wickets fell in the space of ten runs. Until he was given out, Inzamam had handled the barrage of around-the-wicket balls with aplomb. He cut out the horizontal-bat shots and defended with bat and pad held close together. When the ball was pitched well outside the leg stump he nonchalantly kicked it away. The fall of Inzamam’s wicket, with the score on 233, dented Pakistan’s hopes of avoiding the follow-on.Shortly afterwards, Hameed tickled Pathan through to Parthiv Patel (243 for 4), to give India a decided boost on a day when bowling was a thankless task. Despite a couple of accurate spells of bowling by Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji, India’s attack never threatened to run through the Pakistan batting line-up. Zaheer Khan was not at his best and Anil Kumble, though enthusiastic, did not trouble the batsmen consistently.But, thanks to the discipline showed early on, India had prised out two wickets in the morning session. The first to go was Taufeeq Umar (23), who was forced to push at a Pathan delivery that cut away, and only managed an edge to Rahul Dravid in the slips (58 for 1). Just 26 balls later, India had their second breakthrough when Balaji got one to pitch on the stumps and straighten enough to beat Imran Farhat’s bat. Farhat (38), who was trying to work the ball to the on side, missed and was trapped in front (73 for 2).Zaheer improved steadily through the day, but success eluded him till the 94th over of the innings, when he had Youhana (35) caught behind down the leg side (321 for 5). India then had to wait till the last ball of the day for their next wicket. Sachin Tendulkar set Moin up perfectly, and bowled him for 17 with a googly that ensured India ended the day on a high (364 for 6). Razzaq, battling it out on 47, will have to wait till tomorrow to meet his partner.

Northamptonshire recorded a double over Hampshire in the Frizzell County Championship Division Two match at the Rose Bowl today, when they reached their set target of 330 with some twelve overs to spare.In the hot sun, the Hampshire bowlers toiled, and did not find the wicket quite as bowler friendly as they did the previous day.Mike Hussey, Northamptonshire’s Australian captain and David Sales shared a 159-run partnership, this after Tim Roberts has been dismissed off Chris Tremlett’s first ball of the morning and Phil Jaques was well caught at forward-short-leg by John Francis.Although both batsmen were out just before the tea interval, Hussey, who compiled exactly 100 and hit 13 fours and Sales, a 125-ball score of 75 with 11 fours and a six, the partnership had set up the remaining batsmen towards victory.Mike Powell and Rob White then took their side to within twelve runs of the win. Shaun Udal took the burden of the overs, bowling 34 as he tried everything in his armory to dislodge the visiting batsmen.Simon Katich, the bowling hero of the first innings, found life much more difficult. His ten overs going for 56 runs. James Bruce took two wickets and showed some guts as he bravely battled, but all was in vein.The mutterings around the Rose Bowl were of whether John Crawley had declared too soon the previous evening. But in fairness, Northamptonshire batted soundly and deserved their victory.