Greg Chappell has warned of a regimented approach taking hold of cricket and stifling natural instinct. He identified scientists and academics with little playing experience as a threat, and said that strong-minded people with a sense of the game could counter it.Describing them in gangland terms, Chappell said they were a “mafia” that had complicated training and squeezed players’ enjoyment and understanding of the game, according to the . He said he felt that the world was following the Australian way, but didn’t realise that the present players had reached the national team because of older systems.”These new methods are not the methods that got us to where we are,” Chappell said. “They have come in subsequent to the development of most of the players in the present Australian team.” He highlighted the Australian Academy as a case in point. “I worked in my last few years with South Australia with the first generation who have come through this new system and they’re lost. They don’t understand the game, they don’t have an intrinsic love for it because they’ve never been emotionally involved. They don’t watch any cricket, they don’t know where the game has come from and they are confused.”What they needed, Chappell believed, was a firm guiding hand, an ability to broaden their horizons, and play positively. That’s what the great West Indians had in common. “Garry Sobers, Viv Richards, Dessie Haynes, all your great players, didn’t know what made them play the cover-drive or the hook the way they did, but could they ever play them!” said Chappell. “To try to explain to them the biomechanics of it all would just confuse them. The more structure you get at an early age, the more it messes you up.”Chappell suggested that the monotonous regularity of a bowling machine could not prepare batsmen for a match situation, where bowlers had different ball-release times, and were sometimes, in the case of Wes Hall – and Paul Adams of more recent vintage – a flurry of movements. “When Wes Hall was bowling, all arms and legs, the important part of batting was to time your movements with his movements. You don’t get that with a bowling machine. Bowling machines don’t replicate what a bowler does.”Chappell said that changing times had brought new methods, and though he wasn’t one for sticking to the past, to dismiss old methods as outdated was missing the point. “Society has changed and the game has changed with it. We can’t go backwards and I don’t propose that we do.”But we’ve got to look at the things that made us great, not reject them out of hand and replace them with new approaches like biomechanics that are not yet proven to be workable and that, in other sports like swimming and athletics, have been tried and discarded.”

Scorecard

Brian Lara overcome a bout of flu to score a quickfire century for the West Indians in their tour match against MCC at Arundel. Lara raced to 113 from 105 balls, including 18 fours and two sixes as he and Devon Smith, who also hit a ton, put on a hundred stand to boost the total to 373 for 6 at the end of the first day.Lara had been feeling under the weather for the last two days, and he was forced to retire after scoring his hundred against an MCC attack consisting of Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones, two England bowlers making their way back from injury and hoping to play in next week’s first Test at Lord’s.Hoggard was the more economical of the two, taking 2 for 28, but it was Jones who made the breakthrough when Chris Gayle edged him to Alastair Cook at first slip, who had fumbled a similar chance off the same batsman only two balls earlier. That broke a stand of 90 with Gayle gone for 43, and Dwayne Bravo was then stumped by Riki Wessels off Min Patel’s left-arm spin and the West Indians had stalled at 99 for 2 after their good start.However, Lara and Smith stepped on the gas. Smith reached his half-century from 89 balls, and then accelerated to three figures as the 100 stand with Lara came up in only 20 overs. Lara slammed strokes all round the ground, but did have one life when, on 81, he was dropped by Sven Koenig at backward point off Charl Willoughby.Lara stayed in the dressing room after tea to receive treatment and Hoggard then struck twice in quick succession with the wickets of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Smith. Hoggard trapped Chanderpaul leg before for a four-ball duck, and Smith was caught behind for 2. John Stephenson, captaining the MCC side, removed Devon Smith for an impressive 142 before Carlton Baugh smacked an entertaining 38.

Australia will begin their tour of India with a warm-up game in Mumbai, instead of Hyderabad as was originally scheduled. According to a Reuters report, the venue was changed after officials from Cricket Australia voiced their dissatisfaction with the facilities at the Uppal Stadium, a newly constructed venue in Hyderabad. Australia, who were supposed to play a Board President’s XI team there, will now take on Mumbai, the Ranji Trophy champions, in a three-day game at the Brabourne Stadium.Speaking about the change in the itinerary, SK Nair, the BCCI secretary, clarified that though the board thought the venue would be ready in time for the game, it opted to play it safe. The dates remain the same though – September 30 to October 2.This will be the third time in succession that Australia will play Mumbai on their tour to India. Their two earlier instances haven’t been happy ones. In 1997-98, Sachin Tendulkar blitzed an unbeaten 204 to help Mumbai win, while in 2000-01, Mumbai had the better of a drawn game after taking the first innings lead.

On his team’s display over the three Tests
We got better but there’s lots of room for improvement. We can bat better. It was interesting that our bowling was tested by Australia and to see how the bowlers fitted in this type of cricket.On Shoaib Akhtar’s series
He’s complaining of a hamstring injury and he’s having a scan tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll see how fit he is after that. Certainly in this Test match he’s been a shadow of himself. He bowled pretty well in the first two Tests. If you want to run that far in this country you have to be triathlete fit. Either he shortens his run-up or he gets triathlete fit.On Akhtar’s attitude in this Test
He was tired and in a way everyone was disappointed with his commitment. From a team point of view we understand he’s given his all in the first two Testmatches.On Danish Kaneria and Kamran Akmal
Danish is a very exciting Test legspinner and I think he’ll grow as he starts to learn and play more. He has all the tricks of the trade – probably more than heneeds. Kamran kept brilliantly and is one of the best wicketkeepers I’ve seen for a long time. His batting needs to improve, but he played well in the firstinnings and has a super future.On Inzamam’s back injury
He wants to play in the one-day series and he’s captain of Pakistan until the end of the West Indies tour. He desperately wants to play and is trying toget fit. He had a net today.On Shoaib Malik’s remedial work on his suspect action
He went to Perth today, we’ve been working on his action and we want to get him cleared before the one-day series. He’s going for re-testing on January10 and he’s worked very hard on his action. I watched him and from what he’s done I can’t see any semblance of a throw.

Ricky Ponting has expressed surprise at Shoaib Akhtar’s insipid performance with the ball in Australia’s second innings in the Melbourne Test, which Pakistan lost by nine wickets. Akhtar, who had been steaming in at around 145kph in the first innings, considerably shortened his run-up and his pace in the second, allowing Australia to canter to their 126-run target for the loss of just one wicket.Australia started their run-chase ten minutes before lunch on the fourth day, and though they lost Justin Langer during that period, Pakistan could make no further inroads. “We had a bit of a feeling for those couple of overs before lunch that he might have really charged in and let some fly there,” Ponting said, according to a report in the , “but he didn’t then, so I wasn’t that surprised when he didn’t do it after that.”I don’t know whether he was carrying some sort of injury or not, but I would have thought that little spell before lunch and the spell after lunch was the perfect time for someone like him, of his pace, to run in and bowl as quick as he could. I was surprised that he did come off that short run and didn’t really extend himself as much as he did in the first innings.”Maybe they were resigned to the fact that, only having the three bowlers in their side today, they weren’t much of a chance of winning so they might have been saving some petrol for Sydney. But I would have been very disappointed if I was the captain and that was my bowler running in and bowling like that, and I knew what he could do.”Akhtar did ping Ponting on the helmet once, even with that shortened run-up, but he generally bowled at less than 140kph and was repeatedly pulled away by both Ponting and Matthew Hayden, and returned figures of none for 35 from seven overs.Bob Woolmer, the coach, suggested that Akhtar might have been conserving his energy for the Sydney Test, which starts on January 2. “Shoaib Akhtar bowled a lot for someone of his pace and the length of his run-up. I think he was saving his energy for the next Test match.”Woolmer went on to praise Pakistan’s performance, terming it a huge improvement from Perth, when they were thrashed by 491 runs. “I think they fought very hard,” he said. “I actually feel they did really well. There were one or two decisions that could have gone either way that might have made a difference, specifically when we were batting, and those are the kind of things that sometimes turn a game. For two days I thought we were really competitive. Danish Kaneria just gave everything the whole way through. The fielding was pretty good and I just felt it was a much more positive attitude.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Pedro Collins gave Australia a huge scare before they replied with a frightening performance to secure an impressive come-from-behind victory. The Aussies rose from a debilitating 4 for 38 through Simon Katich and an Australian-record ninth-wicket partnership between Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, who then led a strangulating bowling effort with four wickets.After letting Australia escape when they fielded, West Indies showed few signs of urgency in their chase of 269, leaving too much for a middle order containing Brian Lara at No. 5. As Lara skyed Lee, his side’s final hope of leapfrogging Pakistan on the tri-series table vanished, and he must have wondered how things had turned round so quickly (6 for 153).It was a disappointing end to a day that began so well for West Indies. A second dose of Collins proved too much for a sick Australian top order as they melted in heat hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. Collins, who took 3 for 8 when Australia were 5 for 43 at Brisbane, found his swinging groove again with a devastating four-wicket opening spell and a career-best performance that toppled an ill-disciplined and out-of-form line-up.Lee countered for Australia by being on a hat-trick in his second over after dismissing both openers with assistance from Brad Haddin. Wavell Hinds nicked his first delivery, and Lee struck again when he angled a ball down the leg side that flicked Chris Gayle’s glove. Haddin snapped up a stunning, one-handed diving catch (2 for 3). Shivnarine Chanderpaul padded up to the next delivery, but survived the loud appeal.

Returning for his second spell, Lee was on another hat-trick after removing Lara and Courtney Browne, and was again declined an lbw shout. By then Chanderpaul, who registered a solid half-century when a sparkling one was needed, was run out by a combination of Michael Clarke and Hinds, his runner, and West Indies were unable to lift their pace to match the required run rate.Australia had little problem maintaining their scoring despite wickets initially blowing like plastic beer cups. Katich, the stand-in batsman whose 76 was his first one-day half-century, provided Australia with a valuable tonic from No. 6 in reply to Collins, who was regularly unplayable and finished with 5 for 43.A fantastic rearguard was responsible for the total, which would have been much worse if Lee and Gillespie had not stepped in with a lively 73-run stand. Lee was unbeaten on 38 and Gillespie 44 as they clipped and chipped into the West Indies, including taking 15 from the final over.The Australia Day public holiday turned from a lazy stroll into a batsman’s afternoon to forget by the ninth over, when Australia were in disarray at 4 for 38. Suddenly Andrew Symonds, a player with five ducks and a 20 in his past six innings, and Katich were asked to haul their side from disaster.Katich proved capable but Symonds, looking like an unsure tap dancer as his feet started slowly, was only briefly entertaining in making 31. Symonds shared a 47-run stand with Katich and appeared comfortable again until he edged Hinds through to Browne (5 for 85).Playing his second one-day international of the season, Katich calmly scored at a run a ball in a mature innings that eased the nerves. With Haddin, Katich added 82 and, despite losing five wickets, Australia were still jetting towards a comfortable total. Then Dwayne Bravo deceived Haddin and Brad Hogg, while Katich was hit by a severe, late Collins inswinger that dented the charge until Lee and Gillespie arrived (8 for 196).Collins’s fifth wicket was his most impressive, but his early collection also glittered. Clarke lashed 12 from his first over before Collins added to Matthew Hayden’s wretched season with his first strike. Trying to hit out of his struggles, Hayden aimed a slog through midwicket and clipped an under-edge to Browne. Two balls later Collins collected Ricky Ponting’s leading edge (2 for 24).The next target was Clarke, and Collins knocked him over when he left a gap between bat and pad for a very useful inswinger. Darren Lehmann walked out to three slips and a bouncer, and stepped off following a pull similar to Hayden’s (4 for 38). But the early disruption to the holiday festivities was overcome, and it soon became the national team’s night. They even finished with a bonus point.Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo.

Imran Khan has admitted that he talked Shoaib Akhtar out of making himself available for the Indian tour. Shoaib pulled out with a hamstring injury, and Imran said that he had been consulted before the decision was taken.Speaking to Times News Network, Imran said, “Shoaib was willing to make himself available for the selection but I advised him against doing so. He was confused whether to tour or not. He was in two minds when he came to me for advice. He didn’t know how to respond to the hamstring niggle. I told him if it’s a hamstring rupture then he shouldn’t tour at all. As it turned out, Shoaib had a big rupture.”Shoaib performed exceptionally in the first Test against Australia at Perth, and also bowled with real zeal in the first innings of the second Test before losing his zip and fitness. Thereafter, he was a convenient whipping-boy for Pakistan’s poor displays on tour – but Imran suggested that others were just as much to blame. “Shoaib is slightly difficult to handle and the PCB likes to pass the buck,” he said. “They all need soul-searching.”Imran edded: “It’s sad that in Pakistan everyone, even President Musharraf, is unwilling to accept his mistakes. I say that because it is President Musharraf who formed the PCB which in turn appointed Inzamam-ul-Haq as captain. None of them realise that our poor performance is due to them also.”According to Imran, there was little point in Shoaib rushing back into the fray. “Realistically, I don’t see him playing the Test series, but if he stretches himself too far then maybe he can play the third Test,” he said. “But for me, he shouldn’t play before the third or the fourth one-dayer. He should first play a first-class game and then think of international cricket. Shoaib also realises that if he plays and fails then he’ll again be made a scapegoat.”Shoaib himself ruled out any half-baked comeback bid. “I don’t want to rush back,” he said, perhaps aware of how poorly he had performed under the weight of expectation against India last year. “I want to be away from media attention. It’s a question of my career and I don’t want to compromise on it. But yes, I don’t rule myself out from coming back for the one-day series.”

Yorkshire have announced a new agreement which will ensure that country cricket continues to be played at Scarborough’s North Marine Road ground until at least 2010.The five-year-deal, which is dependant on the ground being maintained to first-class standards, will provide for two four-day and two one-day games each season."We believe the relationship between the two clubs is as good as it has ever been," said Bill Mustoe, the Scarborough chairman. "By sharing expertise, we welcome the partnership which will considerably enhance the financial arrangements of both parties".Yorkshire first played at Scarborough in 1874 and the ground became synonymous with end-of-season festivals. It has also hosted two one-day internationals, against West Indies in 1976 and New Zealand in 1978, and five women’s Tests.

Stumps
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Rain washed out the first day of the second Test between Australia and New Zealand without a ball being bowled at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. Misty showers and fog prevented play in the opening session and the weather set in, forcing the umpires and match referee to call it off at 1pm local time.John Bracewell, the coach, said despite losing a day there was no need to change tactics. “It will have no significance on the match itself based on the way in which modern cricket is played,” he said. “The fact the covers will have been on the wicket for at least two days by the time we get started could have an impact on the make-up of the XI.”Stephen Fleming will wait to name his team at the toss and the decision between Paul Wiseman’s offspin and the medium pace of Iain O’Brien is the contentious one. New Zealand, who trained indoors today, trail 1-0 in the three-Test series after losing the opening match at Christchurch by nine wickets.The match will start 30 minutes earlier for the next four days, but the forecast is not encouraging with heavy rain expected tomorrow, and there is a chance the first two days could be washed out. A strong southerly wind is also predicted to blast into Wellington to increase the discomfort of players and spectators.Australia chose Michael Kasprowicz to be their into-the-breeze man ahead of Brett Lee, who was snubbed by state and country in a bid for some first-class action. He stayed in Wellington while his New South Wales team-mates played Queensland for the Pura Cup at Brisbane.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath.New Zealand (probable) 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Craig Cumming, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Hamish Marshall, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Paul Wiseman, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Iain O’Brien.