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There comes a time when every trend is bucked. Stock markets that are crashing take an upswing. Drought-ridden, parched regions are blessed with rain. In keeping with this truism, at Jodhpur, the run glut in this one-day series came to an end as India leveled the series in a low-scoring game. After knocking the visitors over for a paltry 201, the hosts clinched the game by three wickets with as many overs to spare.When stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss in the morning, he did not think twice before putting West Indies in to bat. But even he would not have expected to roll the men from the Caribbean over for as low as 201. It was a combination of Dravid’s midas touch ­- this win makes it three in three as captain for the Karnataka man -­ and some intelligent bowling that saw India come out on top.There have been two surprise packages for India in this series -­ Sanjay Bangar and Murali Kartik. While Bangar has blossomed into a hard-hitting batsman in the shorter version of the game, Kartik has shown that he is a left-arm spinner with more than a few tricks in the bag. On the day, the two came good, backed up by the mercurial Ajit Agarkar and India practically strolled to victory.It all began when Ajit Agarkar got rid of Wavell Hinds with just 34 runs on the board in the tenth over. Hinds, who had crawled along to one from 28 balls, fell in an attempt to break the shackles that only resulted in an easy catch for Dinesh Mongia at deep midwicket. The man who had crashed his way to a 61-ball 80 just days ago, had barely been able to get the ball off the square during his painstaking stay at the batting crease.Kartik began by trapping Chris Gayle (27) in front of the stumps with a little help from umpire Asoka de Silva. The Railways left-arm spinner grew in confidence after claiming that scalp.He stepped in smartly and made life miserable for batsmen who were new to the wicket. Tossing the ball up well while cutting down on his pace, Kartik got the ball to grip the surface and turn and jump. He was helped by the fact that although by no means a difficult wicket to bat on, this Barkatullah Khan stadium strip was the first one where the ball did not come onto the bat readily to be thumped.After giving the ball an exaggerated tweak to lull the batsmen into thinking there were demons in the wicket, Kartik sent down two perfect arm balls that clean bowled both Marlon Samuels (3) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (14) and reduced the West Indies to 74/4 in the 25th over.The Guyanese pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper were left topick up the pieces and to some extent they staged a recovery. Chanderpaul, in his no-nonsense manner picked the ones and twos, putting away the odd loose delivery. Hooper was his classy elegant self, despite being troubled by a knee injury. At the end of the day, however, both fell trying to force the pace of the game – Chanderpaul for 58 and Hooper for 38.None of the other West Indian batsmen did enough to be of significant help to their team’s cause. Oh yes, Ricardo Powell swatted the bowling around for hiscustomary run-a-ball 29 but that was a case of too little too late.When Ridley Jacobs was run out, and the players walked off the field with West Indies being all out for 201 in 46.3 overs, Dravid was a happy man. His bowlers had done the job effectively. Kartik had 3/36, Agarkar 3/24 and Bangar a tidy 2/39.At this stage, the game was already safely in India’s pocket, barring the odd minor miracle that strikes the game. None struck on the day.The Indians got off to a bad start, in their response, losing both openers with just 26 runs on the board. Dinesh Mongia (5), unimpressive in his comeback, edged Vasbert Drakes to the keeper while Virender Sehwag obliged the same bowler by patting a half-volley down Samuels’ throat at short cover. There was more trouble soon after as VVS Laxman fell for just seven as India were reduced to 38/3.At this time Hooper would certainly have wished that he had another 50 runs on the board. Maybe, just maybe, he would have been able to apply some pressure on the batsmen if that was the case.As it turned out, Dravid and Yuvraj Singh strung together a partnership that all but settled the issue. While Dravid pressed on with his good form, Yuvraj took the opportunity to spend some quality time out in the middle. There was enough in the West Indian bowling -­ especially from Gayle -­ to score off, and the two made good.Off the back foot both players were in control, punching with panache to send the ball scurrying into the gaps and to the fence. Deft dabs and delicate cuts were the order of the day rather than big hits. In a 99-run stand for the fourth wicket, the pair took India within striking distance of the West Indian total. Yuvraj (54) perished flicking a full delivery from Corey Collymore to Powell at square leg. Dravid (58) followed his companion back to the pavilion soon after, finding midwicket as he tried to clear the infield.A mini-collapse soon after ensured that no one left the stadium in haste but did nothing to alter the course of the game. Reetinder Sodhi mindlessly slogged the third ball he faced straight up in the air while Mohammad Kaif (15) fell playing a lazy stroke.A cool Bangar, however, was still out in the middle. Carving three boundaries in a 38-ball 32, Bangar stroked the winning runs with more than three overs to spare.The series is leveled, the honours even. The one-day circus now moves to Vijayawada where the teams come head-to-head to determine the winner of this seven-match series. Back to square one, some would say. The glory of the one-day game, others would retort. Either way, as the cliché goes, there’s everything to play for in the final game.

“Show me the money,” hails from the film , but it could just as easily fit with the ECB in recent months. When Allen Stanford landed his helicopter at Lord’s in June he offered England’s elite players a chance at the biggest payday of the lives. And it hasn’t stopped there. Now county cricket gets its slice of the action after it was confirmed the winners of Saturday’s Twenty20 Cup will form part of the Stanford Super Series event in Antigua in October.The highlight of that tournament is the All-Stars match on November 1, but one successful county will play three matches – against the England XI, Stanford All-Stars and Trinidad and Tobago – with the prospect of a bumper payday if they are successful. If the winning county beats Trinidad and Tobago, the reigning Stanford 20/20 champions, they stand to pocket US$400,000 (£200,000).It adds even more spice to Finals Day, when defending champions Kent along with Durham, Middlesex and Essex will battle for the big prize. To put into perspective the riches on offer, winning the Twenty20 Cup itself brings a cheque for £42,000.Even before Stanford’s latest proposal, there was a huge financial carrot being dangled in front of the counties with the multi-million dollar Champions League. However, that event continues to be shrouded in doubt with Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, maintaining the stance that any team with ICL links wouldn’t be invited to join. That would rule out Durham and Kent if either progressed to the Twenty20 final.It has gone against the odds that two of the three counties without ICL players – Essex and Middlesex – have made it to Finals Day, but even if they both qualify there is still plenty of uncertainly whether the Champions League will get off the ground. The other aspect is that before Stanford’s offer, the semi-finals where shaping as the most important matches of the day, but now the result of the final brings more than just the domestic Twenty20 crown.It’s notoriously difficult to pick where the trophy will finish in Twenty20, but Durham have a side packed with international stars and also have the advantage of playing a recent Twenty20 match – the delayed quarter-final where they thrashed Glamorgan. They have managed to retain Shaun Pollock while Shivnarine Chanderpaul gives the top-order an international feel. This will also be Steve Harmison’s biggest stage since he was dropped by England.

Essex, though, are the form team going into Finals Day and have played outstanding one-day cricket this season. Graham Napier has become one of the most talked-about players on the circuit, and could yet be tapped up by the IPL following his record-breaking 152 against Sussex. They have a well-balanced team, with Danish Kaneria’s legspin being their trump card with the ball.But you can’t discount any defending champions; Kent have the been-there-done-that knowledge of how to succeed on Finals Day. As with all four sides, Kent bat deep into their order but their key weapon, especially when the pressure is on, is the death bowling of Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat. Joe Denly was one of the surprise omissions from England’s 30-man Champions Trophy and has another chance to show the talent that has brought him 384 runs this year.Middlesex are the dark horses of this year’s tournament, having had a miserable Twenty20 record since it began in 2003. They have formed a powerful unit and swept all before them during the qualifying stages, yet saved their most impressive performance for the quarter-final against Lancashire. They were 21 for 4 when 20-year-old Dawid Malan played one of the innings of the season with 103 off 54 balls before the bowlers took over. Their five main bowlers have all taken at least 10 wickets, a key to them being able to restrict opposition.The live music and mascot race which have been part of Twenty20 cricket remain – and like everything in this form of the game the mascot race is bigger this year – but the format has developed out of sight from its early days. No longer is it a bonus trophy, but the path to previously unheard-of riches. This is serious cricket with a serious prize at the end.

Heath Streak has recently been reappointed as captain of the Zimbabwe national team, less than a year after resigning.The 28-year-old all-rounder handed in his resignation after the England tour last October, finding the job too stressful and feeling that he was not getting enough support from the administrators. It was quite a problem who was to replace him. Of the senior players, Andy Flower had been sacked unceremoniously after the England tour of 2000 after conflicts with the administrators; he was the players’ choice as captain but he is no doubt still considered too strong a man for delicate times. Alistair Campbell did not want the job again, while Grant Flower and Guy Whittall both had problems with their personal form.So the selectors turned to the younger players and appointed Brian Murphy. Murphy has a sharp cricket brain and showed excellent leadership qualities as captain of the national Under-19 team, but unfortunately he was lacking in personal confidence and still feeling his way at international level. Even more unfortunately, he injured a hand in Bangladesh, and although he tried to return he missed the rest of the international season.Stuart Carlisle was the next man to accept the job, which he did with reluctance. It seems the reluctance was on both sides, as he never felt he had the confidence of the hierarchy and was reappointed at virtually the last minute on a tour-by-tour basis. He did his best and a fair job, which was appreciated by the Board, but they felt that Streak, if he was available, was a more prominent personality in the country and a more prominent figure in the game.So Streak was offered the job again, and he felt that things behind the scenes had changed enough for him to accept. The invitation came as some small compensation for tragic events in his personal life. His family has farmed near Turk Mine in Matabeleland for four generations and Zimbabwe is the only home they have. Yet, under the current `land redistribution’ scheme, they were ordered to leave the farm by 10 August, along with thousands of other white farmers, and Heath’s father Denis was briefly arrested for failing to do so. The courts have given a temporary respite, but their future livelihood is in serious jeopardy.Heath is not the only international player to suffer in this way: Sean Ervine’s father was also imprisoned briefly, Dirk Viljoen’s family have been removed from their farm, and the future of Guy Whittall’s family farm hangs in the balance. Gary Brent and assistant coach Kevin Curran are others whose farms have been requisitioned.Heath’s personal form with the ball suffered badly during his first stint as captain. He was no longer the formidable spearhead of the Zimbabwe attack, which in consequence often looked totally toothless, most notably when South Africa toured a year ago. In contrast, his batting flourished with the responsibility."I worked hard after relinquishing the captaincy," he says. "That was one of the major reasons I resigned, feeling I needed to work on my game. I have put in a lot of work during the winter and hopefully I can continue where I left off last season. I felt I was regaining some of the form that I know I am capable of, and hope I can continue that trend. I know it’s important for the team that I perform consistently, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I intend to spend enough time on my personal performance to produce what is best for the team."To the suggestion that he should concentrate on ensuring his bowling was the best he possibly could, and consider his batting a bonus, he replied, "Geoff Marsh and I have discussed that, and it’s what I intend doing."Why did he take on the captaincy again? "I think the major difference now is that there is a major support structure around me as captain, with Geoff and Kev Curran there. We have a good professional management now and the administration side of the game is a lot better and more professionally run now. I think there is a lot more help for the captain, so hopefully I can focus on my own game as well as strategy and team aspects, and spend enough time with the coach to work out things on the field. Things are run much more professionally now under Vince Hogg as managing director."After the Board AGM in July, where they discussed the issue of captaincy, the Board and coaching staff asked me if I would rethink the matter of captaincy. After a few meetings and discussions with the Board and the convener of selectors and coaching staff, I decided to take the challenge. I look forward to working with the guys and with Geoff."Is he satisfied with all the changes that have been made? "I think there’s a lot that’s working in the right direction and the trend is a good one. We just need to keep improving the player-administrator relations and realize we’re planning together and need to pull in the right direction. Certainly things are looking positive – there have been some very positive moves by the ZCU, with appointments of people like marketing managers within proper marketing structures. We now have public relations and media affairs people, and committees set up to arbitrate on player issues. There has been another look at the structure of our domestic cricket – I think four first-class teams is a fantastic idea – and also a provincial one-day tournament."I think these are all very positive steps. They now have provincial managers, running cricket at a provincial level, and we are now having players contracted to provinces. I think those are all steps in the right direction. I see the trend as a good one; the players are fortunate to have all these positive steps and I hope they can justify them by going out and focusing on the games without having to worry about issues off the field. The guys can concentrate on playing and the administrators on running the game, but with input from players and players representatives."Heath spent the off-season taking a break and resting a niggling foot injury, which has given him no more trouble. "Then we just worked on our base fitness with Malcolm Jarvis, and the guys are a lot fitter at the beginning of this season now," he says. "That’s a plus for us. We also worked on specific skills with our bowling, batting and fielding. Now we’ve got into some match practice, so we’re nice and fresh after a bit of a break and raring to go."

Inconsistency is the bane of Indian cricket teams and the currentsquad in the West Indies is no different. One can’t really be surewhen the side will touch the heights of glory or when they will plumbthe depths. They alternate so quickly between the two extremes that itbecomes extremely frustrating. Just last year it happened in Zimbabweand Sri Lanka and now again they have followed up a notable triumph atPort of Spain with a humiliating loss at Bridgetown only some ten dayslater.

But then of course the Indians must have known that conditions at theKensington Oval would not be as amiable as those prevalent at theQueen’s Park Oval. There are batsmen who intimidate bowlers andbowlers who intimidate batsmen. But here we have a ground that has ademoralizing effect on the Indians.Seven defeats in eight matches at this venue ­ including five in arow, which makes it next only to Lord’s where the Indians lost sixsuccessive Tests in the period 1932-1967 ­ is frankly an unnervingrecord. The West Indies would seem to hold all the psychological acesagainst India at Bridgetown and unless the visitors are able to shakethis off ­ like they did with a splendid fighting performance in 1971­ more defeats are bound to follow.After all, it is not just the pace of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding,Ian Bishop, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose andFranklyn Rose that has laid the Indians low at this jinxed venue. Eventhe spin of Sonny Ramadhin, Lance Gibbs and David Holford has been thecause of much misery for the visitors. And the infamous collapse in1997 when the Indians, set to get just 120 runs for victory, werebowled out for 81 symbolises India’s dismal showing at Bridgetown.The Indians did just about everything wrong but there is little doubtthat the batting caused more problems than the bowling. When a side isbowled out for 102 on the first day, it is an arduous uphill journeyfrom then on and only some incisive bowling followed by determinedbatting can possibly save the day. Sadly, both were missing.The bowling was generally wayward. There was little planning or efforttaken to think a batsman out. During the long fifth wicket partnershipbetween Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, frequently it seemedas if the bowlers were just going through the motions of completingthe over.A deficit of 292 can be crippling but it was hoped that the Indians,by a better showing the second time around on a pitch that looked tohave eased out, could put up a fight. The optimist’s mind instantlywent back to Lord’s in 1979, when despite being shot out for 96 on theopening day and finishing 323 runs behind on the first innings, theIndians came back to save the Test thanks a 210-run third wicketpartnership between Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar, one ofthe most famous rearguard actions in Indian cricket.It was quaint to think of such heroics but we were all to be badlydisillusioned. The second innings was an improvement over the first ­anything would be ­ but that was not enough.There are a couple of disturbing thoughts even as the Indians licktheir wounds. One is that the remaining two Tests are at Kingston,Jamaica and St John’s, Antigua. The Indians have not exactly coveredthemselves with glory at these venues, especially at Kingston, wherethe tally reads five losses and three draws. Conditions at Sabina Parkare generally similar to those at the Kensington Oval.The Indians will be a bit more comfortable with their record atAntigua where both the Tests in 1983 and 1997 have been drawn. All thesame, the fun and games of Bourda and Queen’s Park Oval are over andthe tough part of the tour starts now. But one wonders whether theIndians are mentally, physically and technically prepared to tackleit.The second worrying aspect is that there is precious little that canbe done to work out any change in strategy. Yes, the top-order is abit more secure with Wasim Jaffer proving to be a success and ShivSundar Das providing some semblance of substance. The failure of thefamed middle-order ­ with the notable exception of the skipper who atlast seems to be coming into his own ­ did cause some dismay but it isstrong enough to make one feel that this was just an aberration.The main problem concerns the bowling. The spin department, inparticular, is a major worry with neither Anil Kumble nor HarbhajanSingh inspiring confidence. Both have bowling averages of 40 plus whenit comes to Tests abroad. And whichever combination the teammanagement opts for ­ three seamers and one spinner or two seamers andtwo spinners ­ there is nothing to suggest that the four bowlers willdeliver the goods.The line-up, to be candid, is quite problematic but then there arehardly any other options for the selectors and one supposes the teamwill have to soldier along with this tried and tested ­ though onlypartly successful ­ quartet for the rest of the series. And that is asobering thought even for the most optimistic Indian cricket fan.

Yorkshire have a lot of work to do if they are to avoid another defeat at Guildford at the hands of the Championship leaders. Surrey took a first-innings lead of 210 after Rikki Clarke (56), Saqlain Mushtaq (44) and James Ormond (39) ensured another impressive performance by the tail. Chris Silverwood and Ryan Sidebottom ended with three wickets apiece. Half centuries from Victor Craven (56), Darren Lehmann (55*) and Michael Lumb (68*) have taken Yorkshire to a slender lead of 44 at the close, with seven wickets remaining.An unbeaten opening partnership of 151 between Trevor Ward and Iain Sutcliffe has put Leicestershire back into their game with Kent after yesterday’s poor start at Grace Road. Matt Whiley took three for 60 as Kent were eventually bowled out for 339 today, before Sutcliffe (74*) and Ward (66*) came within 57 runs of wiping off the arrears.Nick Knight duly completed his double century, finishing unbeaten on 245 as Warwickshire were bowled out for 493 by Sussex at Edgbaston. Jason Lewry (four for 151) and Kevin Innes (three for 106) were the main wicket-takers. An unbeaten 105 from Tony Cottey was then at the core of the visitors’ reply, which had reached 237 for four at stumps, still 256 runs behind.Chris Tremlett (five for 68) and Shaun Udal (four for 25) made it a poor first day for Lancashire at The Rose Bowl. The visitors were dismissed for just 183, with an innings of 66 from Alec Swann the only substantial contribution from the visitors.In Division Two, Glamorgan hammered an incredible 499 runs in a day of drama for both sides at Chelmsford. James Foster, playing in only his third match of the season, broke his left thumb and is now expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks. It was much brighter for Glamorgan, though, as their batsmen steered them into a comfortable lead of 274. Steve James dominated throughout, recording his highest score of the season with an unbeaten 235. With Matthew Maynard (76) he added 156 for the fifth wicket as the Essex bowling fell apart. Glamorgan closed on 505 for six.Durham made a woeful reply to Nottinghamshire’s total of 362 at the Riverside. Greg Smith (four for 24) and Richard Logan (three for 36) were the pick of the bowlers as the home side were forced to follow on after being bowled out for just 116 in their first innings. Jonathan Lewis (70) and Bradley Hodge (42*) led the fight back with a second-wicket stand of 112, but Durham still need 62 runs to make the visitors bat again.Middlesex need a miracle if they are to avoid the follow-on against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. The home side were eventually dismissed for 494 after Alex Gidman (94) fell narrowly short of a maiden Championship century. Middlesex started positively in reply, with Andrew Strauss (49) leading from the front. However wickets then fell at regular intervals, and despite another impressive performance by in-form Owais Shah (65), the visitors, on 218 for six at stumps, still trail by 276 runs.Derbyshire suffered a late collapse at Northampton, as they were dismissed for 388 after losing their last seven wickets for 58 runs. Earlier, opener Andrew Gait had produced a superlative batting display, with a career-best 175 to put his side in the driving seat. He put on 156 with Chris Bassano for the second wicket before off-spinner Graeme Swann claimed six quick wickets, including Gait and Dominic Cork (released from England duty) for a duck.

Though he won’t allow himself to dwell on it, Nasser Hussain should beparticularly proud of his England team after their performance in Wellington.The significance – or lack thereof – of the cricket was brought starkly intofocus with the tragic loss of Ben Hollioake, yet England showed admirableprofessionalism amidst their obvious grief.Ghastly though it was for them, the team should take positives from Wellington.As was the case in Christchurch, individual efforts were backed up by a strong team spirit. Hussain, along with Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher and the rapidly-improving Andrew Flintoff set up the chance for victory. With the ball, Andrew Caddick and Ashley Giles bowled in the right channels, and secured rewards in a poor New Zealand first innings effort.Hussain looked good for successive centuries, only to fall to one of manyquestionable umpiring decisions, with only served to highlight the good sense of the ICC’s elite panel.Trescothick and Butcher batted positively in both innings, and the foresight to promote Flintoff – whose blistering knock was a clinical demolition of below-par bowling – surely confines England’s ‘boring’ tag to the past. Many captains would have been content to bat for half of day five, and whilst Hussain’s declaration did not give New Zealand a realistic chance, the manner in which it was reached showed a desire to win a Test from an improbable position.England still have a long way to go. They remain a quantum leap away fromAustralia, but are – as has been the case for two years – a decent side.Auckland will be a difficult task. Nobody can suggest England will be in theright mind-set for international cricket. But they know they will have to treat the game with dedication and professionalism.The team for the third Test appears to pick itself, although inevitable questions about James Foster will continue as long as he continues to spillsimple chances. Foster is likely to keep his place, and should do. After hisnightmare debut, his batting has improved massively. The flair with which he plays his attacking shots indicated class and potential superior to Warren Hegg’s. Hegg is the better keeper, but Foster will only improve if given the chance to do so.England may consider replacing Mark Ramprakash with Craig White. Ramprakash has struggled on tour, although in a Test which England only need to draw, he looks a more solid prospect at six than White or Flintoff.Michael Vaughan also needs a score, though his starts in the first innings at Christchurch and the second in Wellington underlined his potential.There is virtually no competition for bowling places and, barring injury, the attack will be unchanged. The development of Steve Harmison and Steve Kirby (both bowlers with genuine pace) has been encouraging, and they should be pushing for places in the English summer.Despite their inexperience, England have performed admirably so far in theseries. There is no indication that a weakened Kiwi side will pose more of athreat in Auckland.Hopefully, cricket will edge back towards normality at Eden Park. Certainly no one who was at the Basin on Saturday as a numbing silence fell on the ground would want to repeat the experience.

THE most exciting batsman in world cricket says the best birthday gift he could have would be a series-levelling victory over India in the forthcoming third Test.Brian Lara told NATIONSPORT he was still not fully recovered from the elbow injury sustained from the collision with Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu last year, but remained committed as ever to the West Indies’ effort.”There is nothing more I would love than a hundred this week, but I am not fully there yet. I am now getting gradually back into the game, I am looking to peak soon, but it is going to take some time.”Hopefully, my contribution to this match, whether it is a hundred, whatever it is, is going to bring success to the team,” he said.India, without a series win outside the sub-continent since 1986, lead the five-Test series 1-0 going in to Thursday’s third Test here at Kensington Oval where they have had six defeats in seven matches. Lara, scorer of 18 Test hundreds including the world record 375, celebrates his 33rd birthday on Thursday.Lara, the only world-class player in the West Indies team, thinks his side has learned the lessons from the 37-run loss at the Queen’s Park Oval and are ready to hit back in Barbados where they have endured just two defeats since World War II.”Hopefully, five days after my birthday we will be celebrating a win, that is most important. I think, it will be nice to win a Test match, I will be turning 33, and levelling the series is where it is at for us right now. It is going to be a very crucial match.”It can turn the series our way and if things don’t go our way, India could be in full command, so I am looking forward to the game. I think we have assessed what went wrong in Trinidad and know what we have to do to square the series here,” he said.Lara was greeted warmly by Barbadians on Sunday night when he attended the unveiling of the life-size replica of superstar allrounder and National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers.”The Barbados Government has done a great job in recognising Sir Garry. The people of Barbados have a son they can be proud of.”It was a very special occasion and the words of Sir Garry have given me added inspiration for this series with India. We sit down here, and we talk about scoring centuries and winning matches, but we have got to give due to Sir Garry, a very simple man who played the game with the class and hallmark of a champion, and at the end of the day, greatness was bestowed upon him,” the champion left-hander added.

While Auckland fought their way back into their Shell Trophy match against Wellington on the second day today Wellington, 113 runs ahead at the close, must still be slightly favoured to get the outright win they need in the sprint to the Trophy finishing line.Wellington wrapped up the Auckland first innings in the first two sessions today for 182 runs, giving Wellington a first innings lead of 65 and two valuable Trophy points.However, Auckland struck back to take the top four Wellington second innings wickets for 48 runs between tea and stumps of a lovely summer’s day today, and so Wellington will have to step carefully lest Auckland start the quicker tomorrow morning.The trend of this match suggests they will not. In fact, the evidence of this game so far shows that Wellington would be an almost unbeatable team if they could abolish the third session of play each day.On the first day yesterday Wellington scored 109 for two wickets before lunch, and 192 for four wickets by tea.Then they lost six wickets for 55 in the fateful third session. Today the pattern was virtually the same. Wellington dominated the Auckland first innings, taking six wickets for 89 runs before lunch, and finishing off the innings at 182 a click or two after afternoon tea.Then Wellington turned about and lost four prime wickets for 48 runs in the third session.If it is any consolation to the Wellingtonians who seem to take two steps forward and one step back, the fate of the game should be decided in the first two sessions today, and Wellington might escape the pitfalls they have encountered between tea and stumps.Auckland made their usual dreadful start to their first innings. They lost four wickets for three runs in their last first innings against Central Districts last week.Today they were three “ducks” for nine runs as Andrew Penn (two wickets in his second over) and Ian O’Brien (one wicket in his first) made the usual early inroads.Thereafter Auckland struggled along, Dion Nash scraped together 27 runs and Auckland’s perpetual batting hero, Kyle Mills (promoted to No 6) kept the rest of the innings afloat with a solid 50.This continued the amazing runs of big scores by a bowler who used to live about No 8 or 9 in the list.In nine innings this season Mills has scored 538 runs from five completed innings, average 107.6. Going back to his debut a few seasons ago Mills’ average is now a neat 69.Wellington seemed to have caught the Auckland collapse disease when they lost Richard Jones at nine in their second innings, and there was worse to follow when Matthew Bell (5) was second out at 11.Grant Donaldson was taken at 24 and Dion Nash had Selwyn Blackmore lbw at 42 – Blackmore the ninth lbw victim so far among the 24 dismissals.

Pakistan were seeing light at the other end of the tunnel after Mother Nature came to their rescue and curtailed fourth day’s play to just 32 overs in the Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium Saturday.Nearly 323 minutes were lost due to intermittent drizzle as Pakistan progressed from an overnight score of 193 for five to 248 without any further damage. The reigning champions still require 46 runs to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat.The home team can take heart from meteorological department’s forecast for thunderstorm late Saturday evening. In case there is no rain Pakistani batsmen will have to battle out for the remaining 97 overs scheduled to be bowled on the final day.Not that Sri Lanka didn’t had their chance to end the match in the 32 overs that were bowled on the penultimate day. They got the opportunity as early as in the 15th ball of the day but Mahela Jayawardene failed to hold a regulation catch off Shoaib Malik in the first slip off Muttiah Muralitharan.That was the only blemish by the Sri Lankans in the match but may now cost them the lone possession of the Asian championship title.Pakistan’s hopes of escaping with a draw rest on the broad shoulders of experienced Inzamam-ul-Haq who was holding the fort brilliantly and batting with great deal of patience and responsibility.The big man, starting the day at 38, was unbeaten at 72, his first half century in five innings. But more importantly, he has been occupying the crease for 268 minutes. His innings is laced with three boundaries.”My spirits are high and I am geared up to play out tomorrow’s day. I know a big responsibility lies on my shoulders and I am prepared to take up the challenge,” the 30-year vice-captain said.Inzamam, who threw away his first turn to a poor shot, has looked compact and a model of concentration. He has kept his head down, hasn’t disturbed the ball outside the off stumps and countered the dangerous Muralitharan with great care.”The objective is to take bulk of the strike and save the partner from being exposed. I don’t suspect the potentials of my remaining partners. It’s just the need of the hour since I am the only frontline and specialist batsman left,” he said.Inzamam has not only played excellently, he has taken Shoaib Malik under his wing and has carried him along nicely. Shoaib, whose selection ahead of Saqlain Mushtaq as a specialist spinner sparked a controversy, was showing a lot of patience, guts and skills with the wood.The youngster has been occupying the crease for little over two hours and has evaded 151 deliveries while scoring just 19. But his job to prove a better Test batsman than Saqlain is not even half over. A full day remains ahead and he needs to stay there for as much time possible.There were three stoppages in the day’s play. The early start was delayed by two minutes but the play was halted after only 29 balls. The game resumed 35 minutes after lunch and stopped again after 35 minutes.The proceedings finally got going at 4.50pm. Pakistan safely negotiated the 18 overs and in the meantime reached the eventual score after resuming at 218 for five.In Rashid Latif, Pakistan has a batsman on whom they can still trust. Rashid, since his comeback last year, has proved that he is not a rabbit with the bat when he hammered a magnificent 150 and 47 against West Indies. Prior to that, he scored 94 against Bangladesh.An intriguing last day’s play is in store and if Pakistan manage to hold the Sri Lankans, that would be the most satisfying result for them after being outplayed in every facet of the game by a more professional and committed performance by the tourists.

Michael Hussey, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting and Ben Hilfenhaus will be among the beneficiaries in Australia’s Test team after the decision to move two Sheffield Shield fixtures forward by a day to allow extra time to prepare for the start of the South Africa series.The elimination of the Perth Scorchers from the Twenty20 Champions League allowed Victoria’s match against Western Australia at the MCG to be shuffled forward from November 2 to November 1, while Tasmania’s Bellerive encounter with South Australia had already been slated to make the same move. A domestic limited overs match between the teams has also moved, to Tuesday, October 30.Siddle and Pattinson will turn out for Victoria, while Hussey is expected to be named for the Warriors, having already returned home from the CLT20 for personal reasons. Chennai’s early exit also means Ben Hilfenhaus will be available to join Ponting in the Tasmania side to face the Redbacks – an important outing for the swing bowler given it will be his first non-T20 match since the West Indies Test tour in April.The only match of the last Shield round before the first Test at the Gabba not to be moved is Queensland’s match against New South Wales at Allan Border Field. This game might also have been shifted had the Sydney Sixers been eliminated from the CLT20, but their progress has prevented such a change.Nevertheless, the NSW and Queensland selectors will be able to nominate replacement players for the final day of the game, and the players’ presence in Brisbane prevents the need for any travel time between the end of the Shield game and the start of Test training at the Gabba. The first Test squad will be announced in advance of this round of matches.Pat Howard, the Cricket Australia team performance manager, had flagged these changes last week in explaining how the team performance hierarchy was doing all it could to prepare players for the Tests while still having the squad assembled in Brisbane on the Monday of Test match week.”Results at the Champions League Twenty20 have enabled us to move these matches and while we would’ve liked to move the match between Queensland and NSW as well, that hasn’t been possible due to the Sydney Sixers’ good performances,” Howard said.”Any player playing in that Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and NSW who is selected in the first Test squad will leave on Sunday and the state will be permitted a replacement player. NSW and Queensland will obviously know how this may affect their selection once the squad for the first Test is announced later this month.”These changes have been adapted to give those players selected in the squad for the first Test the best preparation we can.”An Australia A fixture has also been scheduled for November 2-4 in Sydney against the South Africa tourists, with some members of the Test squad likely to be chosen for this match. The opening batsmen Ed Cowan and David Warner may be among those considered.