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Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, has applauded the man-management skills of the current Indian coaching staff and was pleased that the tour has proceeded without any “hiccups”.Ganguly, who had some major differences with former India coach Greg Chappell, was happy with the current atmosphere in the dressing room, adding that the team did not need a “professor” to coach them at this level.”The youngsters have enjoyed themselves,” Ganguly told Cricinfo when asked about the dynamics in the team. “It’s been a lovely dressing room, a free dressing room. No hiccups, not many controversies off the field, not too much rubbish going around, which has been good. It’s been fantastic.”Did he think the lack of a head coach had affected the team in any way? “We have coaches – Robin [Singh] and Venky [Prasad] have been superb,” he said. “They’ve been nice, their man-management skills have been worth watching. Chandu Borde has been nice. Lot of people said he’s 73 when he got appointed. He may not be the most active because of his age but thebatting ideas he gives – stands behind in the nets, watches every ball – that’s all you need.”You don’t need a professor at this level. You don’t need to treat international players like students. What are you going to teach Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Anil Kumble? What are you going to tell them? [There are] minor things which you notice in the nets you come and tellthem, ‘This is what I feel, this is how you can do it better’. And Mr Borde does it perfectly.”After India’s Test series triumph at The Oval, their captain, Dravid, had also acknowledged the efforts of Prasad, Robin and Borde. However, when asked about the lack of a coach before the first game of the one-day series, he was guarded with his stance. “We’ve had some goodsuccess on this tour, but it will be too simplistic to say it’s because we haven’t had [a coach],” he said. “There are other factors that have gone into us playing well. You can’t just focus on the coach.”Sometimes you’re in the team and looking at it from one perspective. People from outside can look at a team and see the direction it’s going in. They must provide some intelligence and input as well.”

Ashley Giles, the England left-arm spinner, has flown home to England and will play no further part of the Ashes following news that his wife, Stine, is suffering from a brain tumour.Jamie Dalrymple, the Middlesex allrounder, has been drafted in from the England Academy in Perth. He is the second Academy player to join the senior squad after Ed Joyce replaced Marcus Trescothick who flew home at the beginning of the tour.”The news came to me [last night] that his wife had a bit of a problem,” Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said. “And it was confirmed that it could be a potentially very serious problem, so he asked to go home. Our thoughts and sympathy are with him and he flew out this morning. We’ve called up Jamie Dalrymple and he’ll join up with us on the Melbourne leg.””I’ve been involved with England for seven years and I rate him probably the most professional cricketer I’ve dealt with in England, or in the top three,” added Fletcher. “He really wanted to play, he got upset when he wasn’t, but he came back and took the flak. And so this news must be hard, but he handled it very very well. When he left last night, we wished them well, and hope everything turns out fine for the family.On a day when England’s Ashes hopes were brutally extinguished this is a further blow to their morale.

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.

Ireland have announced a squad of 13 for their opening fixture in the Friends Provident Trophy against Nottinghamshire at Clontarf this Sunday (April 27).As expected, William Porterfield has been confirmed as captain for the game, taking over from Trent Johnston. Nineteen-year-old James Hall makes his first appearance in the squad, while 17-year-old opener Paul Stirling retains his place, giving the line up a youthful look.Ireland haven’t named an overseas player for the match, and coach Phil Simmons explained: “It’s been difficult to get the right player because of the IPL. I hope however to be in a position to confirm a signing on Tuesday, and he will be available for the seven other games in the competition.”It’s hard when you lose players of the calibre of Trent Johnston and Dave Langford-Smith, but it does give some of the other players a chance to make a name for themselves, and cement a place in the team. It’s a new era, and captain, William Porterfield will be able to assert his style on the team.”Ireland squad William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Phil Eaglestone, Thinus Fourie, James Hall, Gary Kidd, Kyle McCallan, Kevin O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Reinhardt Strydom, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

The Australian board has suggested that umpires from England and Australia be allowed to stand during this year’s Ashes series. The ICC rules stipulate that all Test matches should have third-country umpires, but the Australians believe that the quality of decision-making will be better if the umpires from the two countries are part of the panel.According to , though a formal request hasn’t yet been placed, Cricket Australia directors have been exploring the option with the ICC. Peter Young, a spokesman for Cricket Australia, said that a contest between the two best teams in the world should have the best officials as well. “It’s one of those issues that is frequently discussed socially. Australia and England are the two top-ranked sides in the world, and by chance the top-ranked umpires in the world … won’t be able to umpire in that series.”In a perfect world, it would be great for a series that will not only determine who wins the Ashes but could decide the world No. 1 ranking to be officiated by the world’s top-ranked umpires.” Australia’s Simon Taufel is regarded as the best umpire in the world at the moment, while England’s Mark Benson – their only representative in the Elite Panel – is highly rated as well. Daryl Harper and the controversial Darrell Hair are the two other Australian umpires currently in the Elite Panel.

Ahmedabad has been chosen as the venue for the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, after Kanpur opted out of the race. This also means Mohali, and not Ahmedabad, will host a Test against England. This was decided after a meeting of the Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee in Mumbai.According to the original schedule, Kanpur was slated to host the third Test against Sri Lanka from December 18 to 22. However, with the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, which hosts matches at Kanpur, and the municipal authorities, who actually own the Green Park ground, involved in a dispute, the third tie has been moved out of Kanpur.This also means that, according to the rotation policy followed by the Indian board to allot matches, Mohali will now get the Test against England which was originally scheduled to go to Ahmedabad. The one-day international between India and England which was supposed to be played at Mohali will now be shifted to Jamshedpur.Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, also announced that the Asia Cup tournament, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from February 16-28, had been called off. The Indian board had made the request to postpone the tournament due to the team’s packed itinerary. Pawar said that the tournament will be held at a “mutually convenient” date.

One of the most common remarks made whenever a New Zealand cricketer gets injured is that misfortune never seems to hit other countries in the way it hits New Zealanders.While it might seem that the fates have conspired against New Zealand in these matters the truth is, of course, a little different.New Zealand’s lack of playing numbers, by comparison to most other countries, leaves it vulnerable to the loss of its key players to injury.But when considering the effects on other countries, ponder the plight of Australia’s Jason Gillespie.This man has to be a case of a walking medical textbook on sports-related injuries if ever there was.His latest mishap occurred during the just-completed Test match in Colombo against Pakistan.He tore a calf muscle and now faces the prospect of missing the first Test in the Ashes series at Brisbane starting on November 7.Gillespie, you will recall from last summer, was the one bowler capable of getting right in among the Kiwi batsmen during that result-less series.Fortunately for the Australians, they have a production line of bowlers well capable of ensuring the English have no respite whoever they face in Brisbane.But try this for a list of injury complaints, three foot injuries, stress fractures in the back, a shoulder injury, a groin injury, a side injury, another back injury, a crook hamstring and never to be forgotten, the broken leg he suffered during his horrific collision with Steve Waugh in Sri Lanka in 1999.All of these have afflicted Gillespie since 1997.Yet in that time, he has still managed to play 34 Tests and take 126 wickets at the healthy average of 26.36.While New Zealand bowlers might have suffered more debilitating and career-ending injuries, most notably Geoff Allott and Dion Nash, the fact remains they are not alone in the wear and tear they suffer, and nor is New Zealand alone with the problems of fast bowler breakdown syndrome.

Punjab 159 for 4 (Sodhi 51) trail Railways 355 (Ali 80, Vineet 5-91) by 196 runs
Scorecard
How they were outLike they have done all season, Railways summoned every ounce of collective responsibility and fought back when the game was drifting away to regain their dominant position at the end of the second day’s play at Mohali. After adding only 68 to their overnight total, Railways were soon made to look inadequate by the Punjab openers, but four crucial strikes in the post-tea session shifted the balance comprehensively in their favour.For the second day running, the tea break proved to be the fulcrum that tilted the game. Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ravneet Ricky had waltzed through the second session with some merry drives and cuts and the Railways bowling, despite their variety, appeared to lack the penetrative quality. The pitch had gradually turned into a benign pancake and Sodhi began in a turbo-charged vein. Ricky joined soon and the two eased the score to 94 for 0 by tea.But Madan Yadav, a left-arm spinner whose action resembles Sunil Joshi, produced a four-over spell in which he varied his length, pace and angle, and undid both batsmen to even the contest. Harvinder Singh then produced a fizzer of a bouncer and Kulamani Parida ripped out a sharp offspiner. Punjab had lost four wickets for 34, their last recognised pair were at the crease, and thoughts of the first-innings lead were rapidly evaporating.If Sodhi was culpable of going too far back in his crease and cutting straight onto his stumps, after an innings where powerful punches were interspersed with uncharacteristic restraint, then Ricky was simply reckless. He had frozen his scoring shots initially in his innings and grafted hard to get into his stride. Soon he drove and flicked confidently and attacked the spinners with some lofted drives, one of which soared for a massive straight six. But adventurous forays turned into mindless risks and a needless swipe off Madan across the line cost him his wicket. It was symbolic of both their careers so far – promising much initially but not managing to kick on.Ankur Kakkar had no clue when confronted with a mean, straight, screaming bouncer from Harvinder and the prod ballooned up to the left of the slip cordon. Jai Prakash Yadav had the time to charge to the ball and pull off an acrobatic catch diving forward (109 for 3). Gaurav Gupta offered no shot to Parida’s good-length ball that turned appreciably and Pankaj Dharmani was left with the massive task of reproducing a defiant classic, like the one he managed in the semi-final against Mumbai.The highlight of the morning was Raja Ali continuing his tenacious innings and adding some valuable runs with the tail. A journeyman cricketer who has nine years of domestic cricket behind him, Ali survived several lucky moments on his way to 80. For the second day in a row, VRV Singh charged in and caught the splice on several occasions but groaned and cussed as catches went to ground. Ricky and Dharmani fluffed chances and a few more edges flew wide of the slips. Sudheer Wankhede, the wicketkeeper, chipped in with a cheeky 35 as Railways harboured hopes of reaching the 400-mark. The tail, though, disappeared in no time with Vineet Sharma wrapping up the last man to finish with a five-wicket haul.The Punjab tail, though, may need to do much more if they have to have any chance of defying a Railways bunch whose combined effort appears to be exponentially greater than the sum of the parts.How they were outRailwaysKhaonolkar lbw b Gagandeep 9 (292 for 6) Missed one that came in after pitching. Wankhede c Sawal b Rajesh 35 (345 for 7) Pushed at one that kicked up from a good length. The edge was easily snapped up at first slip.Ali c Dharmani b Vineet 80 (355 for 8) Hesitantly pushed at one that seamed away and edged straight to the wicketkeeper.Harvinder b Rajesh 1 (355 for 9) Tried to cut a straight one but the ball kept low and crashed into his stumps.Parida b Vineet 0 (355 all out) Comprehensively beaten by an indipper that cut him in half and hit idle stump.Punjab Sodhi hit wicket b Madan 51 (102 for 1) Attempted to cut off the back foot but went too far back and struck the stumps with his bat. Ricky b Madan 47 (109 for 2) Couldn’t connect while trying a swipe across the line. Kakkar c JP Yadav b Harvinder 2 (109 for 3) Received a well-directed bouncer and fended it to the left of third slip where Jai Prakash Yadav completed an acrobatic catch.Gupta lbw b Parida 13 (136 for 4) Didn’t offer a shot to a good-length ball on off stump.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Cricinfo.

In a well contested game, Gujarat defeated Saurashtra by 24 runs inthe West Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at the GSFC ground in Barodaon Friday.Put in to bat, Gujarat thanks to valuable knocks by opener AmrishKotecha (42), Kiran Damani (45) and Bhavin Mehta (38) scored 218before being all out in 49.4 overs. Wickets fell at regular intervalsthanks in the main to some good bowling by Niraj Odedra who took fourfor 50 off ten overs.Saurashtra started well and were 55 for one in the 14th over. ButLalit Patel and Tejas Varsani caused a collapse and Saurashtra were107 for six. A seventh wicket partnership of 64 runs off 11.4 oversbetween Hitesh Parsana (39) and Sudip Mehta (42) revived Saurashtra’shopes but the late order succumbed meekly and Saurashtra were all outfor 194 in 47 overs. Lalit Patel (3 for 35 off ten overs) and Varsani(2 for 26 off nine overs) caused the main damage.

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.