Daren Ganga, the victorious Trinidad & Tobago captain, has attributed the Carib Beer Series double-success to an all-round team performance. In the aftermath of a comprehensive 125-run triumph over Barbados which saw them win the Carib Beer Challenge at Guaracara Park, Ganga explained that hard work by the entire team had reaped due rewards.”I thought the Bajans played a good game, they pushed us to the limits, and we were able to come out on top,” Ganga said. “So this shows the character of our team, of Trinidad and Tobago’s team, and it just shows the way that we’ve been playing cricket throughout the entire season. And it’s justice for our hard work, coming out with a double in this competition.”Ganga also paid tribute to lower-order allrounders, Man-of-the-Match Rayad Emrit and Richard Kelly, the series’ Best Allrounder, for holding together both T&T innings at crucial times. “I think it was the allrounders that really pulled us through in this game. If you look at the performances of Richard Kelly and Rayad Emrit, you would see that they definitely helped us when we were in dire straits. It shows the depth in our batting, it shows the depth in our ability as players, and it’s just a wonderful feeling to be leading a team with such calibre as this one.”Ganga felt the turning point of the match for his team was when Emrit earned his maiden first-class hundred. “I think that was the session that really set the game up for us, a good first innings total was always going to put us in front,” he said. “I think all in all it showed we’re a team. It showed that where (there are) situations or problems somebody’s putting their hand up and coming out and delivering it for Trinidad and Tobago.”Ganga felt Barbados were worthy finalists in the way they fought during the match, but said T&T deserved the title, having played the better cricket. “They’ve pushed us to the line on several occasions, and we’ve just shown more character, more determination and more guile in terms of our strategy, in terms of our experience as a team, and we’ve come out on top.”David Williams, the former West Indies and T&T wicket-keeper and national coach, was also elated at his side’s achievements this season. “This is very special. Having one trophy in the bag and doing the double, that’s really fantastic,” Williams said. “There’s a saying “every dog is bad in his backyard”. We knew what we have here, we had home advantage, and although we did beat Barbados in Barbados, it was a pretty good wicket… we backed ourselves, and we just did it.”

Nick Kruger, the left-hand batsman, has been given a further boost in his successful rehabilitation from two serious shoulder operations by winning back a full Queensland contract after a stunning grade season. Kruger, a 23-year-old Valley opener, overtook Matthew Hayden’s club record last summer with 903 runs at an average of 82, including a highest score of 206 and a pair of 190s.Kruger first appeared for Queensland in 2002-03, but he struggled with his shoulder and lost his state deal during his recovery. He joins the fast bowlers Nathan Rimmington and Grant Sullivan on the full-contract list after the pair was promoted from the rookie level. Ben Cutting, the Australia Under-19 fast bowler, has been handed a rookie contract while Ryan Broad and Daniel Doran, who made their first-class debuts in 2005-06, accepted total offers.Nathan Hauritz, who has left for New South Wales, Joe Dawes and Aaron Nye were dropped from the list and so was Steve Paulsen, who was too old for a rookie posting. Nathan Reardon and Ryan Le Loux, who both earned full contracts during 2005-06, were dropped back a rung for next summer. Murray Bragg will be the understudy to Chris Hartley after he was awarded a rookie deal.Squad Andy Bichel, Ryan Broad, Daniel Doran, Chris Hartley, James Hopes, Shane Jurgensen, Nick Kruger, Martin Love, Jimmy Maher, Brendan Nash, Ashley Noffke, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Nathan Rimmington, Chris Simpson, Lachlan Stevens, Grant Sullivan.Rookies Murray Bragg, Ben Cutting, Ryan Le Loux, Nathan Reardon.Cricket Australia contracts Matthew Hayden, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson.

Amit Varma and S Rajesh discuss the fifth day of the Antigua Test
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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAWest Indies averted defeat by just one wicket in the Antigua Test, and India felt the absence of Harbhajan Singh. S Rajesh, who wrote the bulletin for this game, told Amit Varma that not only would Harbhajan’s presence have meant more penetration, it would also have given the Indians more overs, because Harbhajan would have gone through his overs much quicker than VRV Singh and Munaf Patel, who dawdled on the field.They also discuss how this Test would have given both teams the confidence to be aggressive, and has set up the rest of the series beautifully. Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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New Zealand’s lack of cricket in coming months may not be an ideal situation for many, but Daniel Vettori is unlikely to be arguing about it.The Black Caps are not scheduled to play any international cricket till October, when they take part in the Champions Trophy in India and that break allows Vettori ample time to successfully recover from a stress fracture of the back.Vettori arrived back in New Zealand earlier this week, having had to cut short a county contract with Warwickshire after just one game due to his injury and he now begins the long road back to full fitness.”It’s just the process it has been in the past of resting and once the pain subsides I can get back into rehab,” Vettori told the . “I’m fortunate there’s no international cricket till October and I’m confident of being back for the Champions Trophy.” New Zealand cricket said recently they expect Vettori to resume training in approximately 12 weeks, which would give him another month before the start of the Champions Trophy to regain fitness.Having broken down once already with a stress fracture of the back – in 2000 which eventually compelled him to remodel his action – Vettori said he was aware that it might be something similar during his first game for Warwickshire.”I’ve grown accustomed to a bit of pain but it got a little sorer in England and I thought I needed to do something about it.”New Zealand open their Champions Trophy campaign against South Africa on October 16 in Mumbai in a difficult group which also includes Pakistan.

Scorecard</aVijaykumar Yomahesh's glorious hat-trick killed off England to gloss a performance of pure Indian silk at Cardiff.Tanmay Srivistava may have lost the toss but from then on neither he nor his team put a foot wrong, smothering the England batsmen with suffocating fields, bowling tight lines and then knocking off the 165 required runs inside 30 overs for just one wicket to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in this three-match series.England may be playing for pride only now, but there will be no let-up for them as the teams return to Sophia Gardens tomorrow. It was their batting that let them down today; they were a clear 90 runs shy of a competitive target and the game was pretty much up at the half-way stage. India's openers Uday Kaul and Parveez Aziz promptly confirmed matters with a rollicking stand of 125, showing just how flat the pitch was.Kaul made a polished 58 not out, while Aziz scorched his way to 79 from 55 balls with some sumptuous cover-drives before holing out in the deep going for glory. This was supposed to be a floodlit match, but the lights were needed for just three overs as India well and truly dazzled.While Yomahesh's memorable three-card trick of hostile quality put paid to England's tail, the innings had melted long before under a sultry sun. On a true pitch, the only gremlins were those in England heads, created by India's demon bowling and equally devilish fielding.Frustrated by the lack of scoring opportunities, too many batsmen sent easy catches straight to fielders – that is, when they weren't being blasted out by Ishant Sharma. He used all of his six foot four inches to slam down delivery after nagging delivery and take three wickets, all bowled. Both openers fell to him: Varun Chopra for a duck, bowled through the gate, and he then yorked Moeen Ali (51 for 2). Later he removed England's topscorer Adam Lyth for 36, just as the batsman was looking like he could push England to at least 200.Sharma hunted well with Yomahesh: at the start and end of the innings they really put the skids under England. Yomahesh followed up his destructive three-wicket haul in the opening match with the hat-trick here. Paul Dixey stopped on a cover-drive, Andrew Miller was clean-bowled, and then it was as much as Steven Finn could do to feather through to bring England's misery to an end on 164 and complete only the second one-day international hat-trick at this level, following Luke Wright's example a few years ago.An ecstatic Indian team, who had been chirruping all of England's innings, then whooped around the field for joy. They knew Yomahesh had done something special. They also knew what a strong position they were in, even after just 50 overs. England's bowlers stuck well to their task, and they fielded with application, but despite the game attempt at geeing each other up, they knew their batting hadn't been at the races. India cantered home in style.

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.

Zaheer Abbas, former Pakistan captain and manager on the recent tour to England, will not be attending the ICC hearing as a witness on charges laid against Inzamam-ul-Haq for ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute. Abbas was listed by the PCB as one of their witnesses, as well as Danish Kaneria and Umar Gul, but it was confirmed by the board that neither of the three will be going and written statements will now be sought from the three.Abbas told APP, “I am not required to appear as a witness in the hearing and according to my information, Gul and Kaneria are not needed to appear either.” This was confirmed by the PCB. Abbas Zaidi, director board operations, told the Karachi-based daily that Abbas had been advised to stay at home.”Since we are bound to act on the advice of our lawyers whom we have engaged to plead Inzamam’s case, we have now been informed that Zaheer, Danish and Umar are not required to attend the hearing in person,” said Zaidi.He added, “In fact, the lawyers have now sought written statements of these three individuals. Now apart from Inzamam, the PCB chairman and Bob Woolmer will be present when the hearing begins next week.”Abbas was replaced by Talat Ali last week for the upcoming Champions Trophy as manager of the Pakistan side. At the time, the PCB explicitly stated that the move was not “any indictment on the capability or ability of Zaheer Abbas as team manager.” Instead, it was explained, that because of Abbas’s involvement as a witness in the hearings and any possible appeals thereafter “we wouldn’t like to put any extra pressure on him” by retaining him as manager.But the developments now confirm what many in Pakistan had assumed but what the PCB refused to acknowledge publicly – that Abbas’s removal as Pakistan manager was the result of his perceived lack of action during the Oval Test crisis and the criticism he came in for in its aftermath. Many felt he should have played a more proactive role in trying to negotiate between the ICC, the umpires and the PCB.Abbas was also attacked him for a number of statements he made in the immediate aftermath of the incident, including his terming of Darrell Hair’s US$500,000 resignation offer, a “moral victory” for Pakistan.

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.

Stuart MacGill can let the ball do the talking after serving his two-week ban for a verbal stoush in a Sydney club game. MacGill will return to the New South Wales team for their Pura Cup clash with South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting on Friday.He told he regretted his actions in the grade match for Sydney University that led to his suspension. “I was very, very disappointed that I wasn’t able to be part of the New South Wales squad for the week,” MacGill said. “My disappointments aren’t individual, they’re related to how I’ve let people down.”I think I had a lot on my mind. It was 35 degrees, I bowled 35 overs and I was trying to fast-track my preparation for the season. I was probably thinking of everything but the things I should have been thinking of.” The fast bowler Aaron Bird has been left out of the squad to make room for MacGill but the Blues have made no other changes to the line-up that pushed New South Wales to third on the Pura Cup table when they beat Queensland at the Gabba on Monday.South Australia will take the same 12 players who suffered a demoralising last-minute loss against Victoria on Monday into the New South Wales match. The Redbacks sit second-last on the table after two games, having claimed a first-innings victory against the Blues in their opening game of the season. Since then, Matthew Elliott and Graham Manou have returned from injury to strengthen the South Australia team.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Greg Mail, Ed Cowan, Dominic Thornely, Aaron O’Brien, Brad Haddin (capt, wk), Moises Henriques, Beau Casson, Matthew Nicholson, Stuart Clark, Stuart MacGill, Doug Bollinger.South Australia squad Matthew Elliott, Shane Deitz, Daniel Harris, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Darren Lehmann (capt), Graham Manou (wk), Cullen Bailey, Jason Gillespie, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait.

At 10 past eleven on a hot and dry day at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom, aMercedes minivan pulls up a few feet away from the outdoor nets. As soonas its doors open, the TV crews make a beeline there from their vantagepoints. Sourav Ganguly gets out quietly, picks up his kitbag from theboot, and wheels in into the practice area.Initially no one sees him, all of them occupied midway through a session.Then, as he sets his kitbag down and set about opening it, Munaf Patelturns around. He stares wide-eyed for a minute and then extends his hand.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had been chatting to Munaf just moments earlier,follows suit. ‘You drove straight from the airport?” asks Dhoni. Gangulyjust nods, and half smiles.Ian Frazer, who had just been lobbing balls to Rahul Dravid in a net keptapart from the others, is next to see him. He too goes up and shakes hishand, sharing a few words. Greg Chappell is having a quiet word in GautamGambhir’s ear when he spots Ganguly. Ganguly crosses the few metres thatseparate them and they shake hands. “Welcome back, mate,” says Chappell.”Glad you made it.”Dravid has just finished a small session with Frazer and Greg Kingthrowing them down when he wanders across to meet the man he replaced asIndia’s captain. They chat for a couple of minutes, both men gazing in thedirection of the batsmen and bowlers engaged in the nets.Soon after, Ganguly breaks away to see to his equipment. The SG thigh padcomes out, and he puts his bat, gloves, pads and helmet on the grass inreadiness for what will be his first experience of South African pitchesin nearly four years. As he pads up, Irfan Pathan spots him and waves.Ganguly waves back. After nearly a year away from the limelight,he’s back. Only time will tell if he still belongs.