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Nathan Hauritz has been recalled to the New South Wales Pura Cup squad to take on Tasmania as a late replacement for Beau Casson. Casson, the left-arm wrist-spinner, failed to recover after injuring his shoulder in last week’s loss to Victoria and was left out of the 12-man squad for the match to start on Saturday at Sydney.Hauritz has been in excellent limited-overs form but did not take a wicket in his only Pura Cup game this season. Since moving from Queensland he has found it hard to break into a New South Wales side already boasting Stuart MacGill and Casson.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Ed Cowan, Greg Mail, Simon Katich (capt), Dominic Thornely, Brad Haddin (wk), Grant Lambert, Nathan Hauritz, Matthew Nicholson, Doug Bollinger, Stuart MacGill, Mark Cameron.

Blaming the mediocre standard of batsmen in school cricket today partly to the preparation of substandard pitches, Aravinda de Silva, the former Sri Lanka batsman, is of the opinion that playing school matches on matting surfaces than on turf pitches would improve the quality of batting significantly.Being appointed consultant coach to the Sri Lanka under-19 World Cup team enabled de Silva, who retired from international cricket five years ago, to make a close study of the declining standards of school cricket in Sri Lanka and this is what he observed.”As I see it, playing on matting wickets will create much better players because that extra bounce will encourage batsmen to play shots square of the wicket and produce more gutsy players,” de Silva said. “One thing we should look at is that some of the fast bowlers of today can’t get the ball to rise waist high.””We played most of our cricket at school on matting wickets. It is easier to switch over from matting to turf. There are two sides to playing on matting. On turf you get use to playing on different sort of surfaces. But at a younger age I don’t think that is necessary. You must allow them to go and play their normal cricket, to play with aggression. The advantages are greater to develop batsmen than bowlers on matting.”Throughout his illustrious career he remained the most feared batsman in the middle-order, capable of single-handedly changing the course of a match. He was renowned for being a fearless hooker and cutter of the ball even against the fastest of bowlers in the world. He had the freedom and confidence to play shots all around the wicket because of the quality of cricket he played at DS Senanayake MV where his natural talents were allowed to flow.”Playing tough competitive cricket on good wickets is what our youngsters lack. They lack a lot of confidence because of poor wickets. Arjuna [Ranatunga] made a triple hundred at the age of under 15 and players used to get double hundreds regularly during our time. Today as a team schools are averaging totals of 190-200 except for some schools that play on good wickets.””That is perhaps mainly because the batsmen lack in confidence to play their shots. The only way to give them the confidence is to prepare good batting surfaces. But most schools cannot afford to maintain turf wickets and therefore play on substandard surfaces.”Even for the bowlers why we don’t develop good spinners is because the wickets are all crumbling. Also there is no competition to create situations because they play safe games. Some of the coaches go round setting fields and not allowing the players to think on their own. More than winning competitions coaches must get players to think and make decisions on their own. This would allow the boys to study the game from a young age.”De Silva’s remedy to overcome this shortcoming is to field a schools team in the inter-provincial tournament. “They will gain a lot of experience from the exposure that will be given to them. Playing with guys like Mahela [Jayawardene] and Kumar [Sangakkara] will give them competitive cricket and a chance to learn the game.”Having watched how the under-19 World Cup teams of Pakistan and England played in the recently concluded tri-series in Colombo, De Silva said: “The Pakistan and England sides are very much matured. They have more thinking cricketers than our guys. The Pakistan bowling attack is a lot better that Sri Lanka and England because most of the bowlers have got exposure at first-class level. Every bowler was able to move the ball, which is a very good sign at that age. Our batsmen found it difficult to face up to the Pakistani bowlers when the ball started to move around because they play on flat and slow wickets at school.”Sri Lanka lost all three fixtures (including the final) to Pakistan in the tri-nation series. de Silva suggested that as the Junior World Cup is played every two years, Sri Lanka should pick a pool one year ahead from the under 17 squad and prepare for the event.

Virender Sehwag admitted India’s intensity had dropped during the course of the second day, but attributed it to the hot conditions and flat pitch that the team faced in Chennai.”I think maybe because of the heat and the flat wicket,” Sehwag said after a day when India’s fielders veered from shoddy to dismal. “There was nothing for the bowlers, but still they worked hard for the wickets. So it [misfields] happens sometimes but we will work on it in the second innings.”India can never aim to be spectacular in the field – especially with five of their players on the other side of 30 – but the worrying factor was the amateurish efforts from youngsters like RP Singh and Sreesanth. Both let through regulation stops, prompting Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to let off some steam.Sreesanth also failed to judge a skier from Dale Steyn late in the innings and received a fiery salvo from Harbhajan Singh, the bowler who also ran towards the ball. Wasim Jaffer wasn’t quick to get down to a tough chance at short leg and the rest too had a few sloppy moments on the field.”Everybody didn’t field well,” Sehwag said. “It wasn’t just them [RP Singh and Sreesanth]. We all want to do well but sometimes the intensity level drops maybe because of the heat.”The heat obviously played a big part but what chance do India’s fielders then have in the rest of the series? Ahmedabad and Kanpur are renowned for their oppressive conditions and the situation could only get bleaker as the series goes on. Not only will it affect the runs conceded but also take a toll on the players’ fitness.Sehwag, though, contradicted himself a bit by saying the players were used to these conditions. “All the players are used to playing in India,” he said when asked about the weather. “And in India wherever you play after March it is hot. Next we are going to Ahmedabad which is also a hot place and after that Kanpur, where you find dry heat in April. We are pretty used to the heat.”

While he was optimistic about the team handling the weather, he didn’t seem too upbeat about the pitch cracking up. “Maybe on the fifth day,” he said with a wry smile, suggesting the game was destined towards a draw. However, he did add India’s best chance was to bat for another two days before trying to sneak a win from the back door.”We will try to bat for around two days and look to put them in on the final day,” he said. “We will look to get a lead of around 50-100 runs and put pressure on them. If we get close to their first innings total, then it will be difficult for them because batting will not be easy on the fifth day. Everyone knows that the Chennai wicket spins and bounce so it will be difficult to bat against Harbhajan and Kumble.”Despite India being put on the back foot, Sehwag credited the bowlers for sticking to their guns. “I think the bowlers had to work hard to get their wickets because it is not an easy wicket to bowl on,” he said. “We planned to be patient because whenever you play in India you always expect to bowl out the opposition as early as possible because Kumble and Harbhajan are bowling. I think Harbhajan and Kumble deserve special praise for their efforts with the ball. We tried to get them out as early as possible but they also batted well.”

ScorecardBermuda might have gained a first-innings lead of 166 over UAE, but most of their batsmen barely contributed. Once again, it was David Hemp who led the way with a fine 174, remaining unbeaten when Bermuda were finally bundled out for 311.Bermuda’s middle-order offered scant resistance against the UAE bowlers, which was a trend on their tour of Kenya last month. The tourists were facing capitulation when Dwayne Leverock fell to Arshad Ali at 163 for 8 – with a slender lead of 20 runs. In came Kevin Hurdle, more comfortable with a ball in his hand than a bat, who stuck with Hemp in a ninth-wicket stand of 132 – though he only added 26 himself.Hemp was defiant in his unbeaten 174, helping Bermuda gain a sizeable lead of 166. Malachi Jones picked up the early wicket of Gayan Silva, but Arshad Ali (76) and Naeemuddin Aslam (31) led a steady reply as UAE finished 51 runs in the red on day two, with two more days remaining.

Scorecard

Bermuda’s women carved an unwanted niche in the international record books with one of the most abject performances in the game’s history. In their opening match of the World Cup Qualifiers at Stellenbosch University, they were bowled out for 13 and then South Africa took only four balls to sweep to a ten-wicket win.Bermuda’s men haven’t made much of a positive impact in the game either – eleven months ago, they conceded 413 for 5 against India in the World Cup and lost by 257 runs, the biggest margin in one-day history. But their women have just lowered the bar by several notches.They crawled to 7 for 2 after ten overs, but that represented the high-water mark. By the time drinks were taken after 15.5 overs they were 13 for 7 and had lost their 42-year-old captain, Linda Mienzer, for a determined 1 off 48 deliveries. Such was the confusion that when play resumed the batsmen returned to the wrong ends.The last three wickets failed to add to the score as Sunette Loubser finished with 6 for 3, including 5 for 1 in 12 balls.Terry-Lynn Paynter opened Bermuda’s attack but struggled to find the cut strip, conceding nine wides and a no-ball. Olivia Anderson did manage to reach one, which she dispatched for four.The statistics of the match are mindboggling. Eight Bermudans failed to get off the mark, and the three that did only managed a single each. Ten of the runs that helped make up their meagre score were extras – 71%. South Africa’s score of 15 for 0 was also made up of ten extras – nine wides and a no-ball. Anderson scored 50% of the runs scored off the bat in the match, and 80% of her side’s runs.Unfortunately for South Africa, but mercifully for the record-books, Bermuda’s debacle does not count towards the official statistics because they are ranked outside the world’s top ten countries. “I am disappointed that today’s stats don’t count for nothing,” said Loubser, “but I would say it was a team effort to win the opening match of the tournament.Bermuda’s captain, Mienzer, tried desperately to put a positive gloss on the performance. “I am extremely proud and our team is very proud to be here,” she said. “Just a year and a half ago there was no women’s programme so we went to Canada and qualified to come here which is an achievement in itself. In terms of women’s cricket in Bermuda, it has come a long way but we still have a long way to go.”South Africa’s next match is against equally unheralded opponents, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday. “We are taking one match at a time and we are happy that we are off to a good start,” said Loubser. “It should augur well for the whole tournament. We don’t know anything about our next opponents, but that doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels. We should be ready for anything.”

For over twelve years now Curtly Ambrose has been putting the fear of God upbatsmen all over the world. But that will not happen for much longer as thissupreme fast bowler insists on bowing out of international cricket at the endof this series. It is of no surprise that this exceptional man does so havingtoday joined that exclusive, elite group of just four who have reached fourhundred Test wickets.Such illustrous cricketers as Sir Richard Hadlee, Wasim Akram and Kapil Devare in that group but leading it with 475 wickets is Courtney Walsh, the manwho has formed a most formidable bowling partnership with Ambrose. Betweenthem they have accumulated a staggering 875 Test wickets as they went aboutdemolishing the strongest batting line-ups over the years.Today they shared the five wickets that England lost for 105 by stumps andonce again, as is usually the case, the runs came more easily when these twostalwarts were replaced. For England, Graham Thorpe’s innings of 46 was theonly one of any note, but with 67 runs behind and five wickets remaining inthe first innings the match is evenly poised after the first day.The Headingley pitch lived up to its reputation of assisting pace bowlers butin the absence of low clouds – indeed, the first morning of the fourth Testwas greeted by a lovely blue sky which remained so for the rest of the day -Jimmy Adams decided to make first use of a wicket which had little grass. Hecertainly would not have wanted to bat last on the Headingley wicket whichdeteriorates rather than get any easier for batting.Although he lost Sherwin Campbell in only the third over, Adams wouldn’t havebeen unduly concerned until the score had reached 50 for 1 when things beganto happen for England.Craig White, who finished with his Test best figures of 5 for 57 and looksnow to be such an improved bowler, began an alarming West Indies collapse. Heswung the ball most effectively into the left handers and that movement wasthe basis of his first three dismissals.He brought one in sharply into Wavell Hinds who got a thin edge to it to becaught behind and struck again quickly in his next over when he trapped themaster batsman Brian Lara leg before. He drew him forward and moved the ballacross towards leg stump.After Darren Gough had removed Adrian Griffith, White again produced thein-swinger to Jimmy Adams who played on, via the inside edge. It reduced WestIndies to 5 for 60 before lunch and White had been instrumental in thatbatting debacle.It took an unbeaten half-century from young Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was ablysupported by Ridley Jacobs to halt the slide. Playing in only his fourthTest, Sarwan has shown tremendous potential since making his debut last May.This Test is already showing signs of a close finish.

Things have changed a lot since India last visited Bangladesh. Rahul Dravid, after a tough practice session today, said as much. “Bangladesh have improved a lot since last time. Their team has changed a lot. You can see they are playing some really good cricket. We are aware of that and expect a stiffer challenge than the last time.”India had become the first team to lose an ODI to Bangladesh in Bangladesh then. They have beaten Australia, Sri Lanka, India again, and South Africa in one-dayers and come within three wickets of beating Australia in a Test match too.The Indian team themselves wear a different look. They are without a coach; they have a cricketing manager instead. For the first time they are touring with a bowling coach and a fielding coach. There is no Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, or Harbhajan Singh in the team. Instead, looking to make debuts are Manoj Tiwary and Piyush Chawla. Dravid praised both of them on the way they have performed in domestic cricket and said they had earned the opportunity. “It’s not only this series, selectors are investing in these players for the long-term future. They are exciting talents and good players,” Dravid said.

Following the shoulder injury to Manoj Tiwary, another possible injury was evaded when a Sreesanth beamer hit Ramesh Powar’s left glove at the nets. Powar went off for a moment, but came back to bat and field without any obvious discomfort.After having taken yesterday off, India trained hard today in the afternoon heat of Mirpur. The first look of the ground conditions – what with temperatures hovering around 35 degree Celsius through the day and a high humidity – has suggested this is going to be a tough tour physically. “It’s going to be challenging, especially for the bowlers,” Dravid said, “But the conditions are same for both the teams. Kolkata camp has been good for us in that regard.”The nets, otherwise, followed India’s normal routine of late – two batsmen go out on two simultaneous wickets; pace bowlers bowl on one and spinners on the other. The spinners’ net is observed by Ravi Shastri, the pacers’ by Venkatesh Prasad. The batsmen interchange when they are done with one type of bowlers. Two players, at the same time, practice catches with Robin Singh and Greg King.With a day to go before the first one-dayer, India haven’t zeroed in on any particular combination. “Any 11 out of the 15 can play,” Dravid said, “We are going to play according to the conditions; we are pretty clear we are going to be putting the best team possible. If it means some have to sit out, they will sit out.”

Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket, 1984-85, Final, Melbourne
India won by eight wickets

This was the first high-profile ODI clash between the two teams. India entered the final as favourites, having bowled out every opposition team till then. Three-wicket hauls from Kapil Dev and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan helped India restrict Pakistan to a below-par 176 for 9. Kris Srikkanth and the Man-of-the-Series Ravi Shastri scored contrasting half-centuries to take India home with six overs to spare.World Cup, 1992, Sydney
India won by 43 runsThis was the first World Cup encounter between the two. In conditions that aided swing and seam movement, India overcame a very slow start to reach 216 for 7. Srikkanth played an uncharacteristic innings, batting out 40 balls for five runs, before Sachin Tendulkar hit a counter-attacking fifty and Kapil made a breezy 35 to give the bowlers a total to defend. Pakistan’s reply was built on an 88-run partnership between Javed Miandad and Aamer Sohail but Tendulkar broke the partnership, dismissing Sohail for 62. That turned the match – Pakistan crumbled as the asking run-rate spiralled up and Javagal Srinath sealed their fate with a yorker that cleaned up Miandad.World Cup quarter-final, 1996, Bangalore
India won by 39 runsThere was controversy even before the start, with Pakistan captain Wasim Akram pulling out at the last minute. Navjot Singh Sidhu laid the foundation for India with 93 before Ajay Jadeja set the stadium ablaze with a brutal 25-ball 45, including 40 from the final two overs by Waqar Younis, to catapult India to 287. Pakistan came up with a stunning riposte with Saeed Anwar and Sohail thumping 84 in the first 10 overs. Anwar fell at that score but Sohail continued to shred the opening bowlers till a verbal joust with Venkatesh Prasad did him, and Pakistan, in. After hitting a boundary to extra-cover fence, he openly lampooned Prasad, pointing to the region with the bat. But when Sohail tried to repeat the slash off the next ball he was bowled by a charged-up Prasad who gave Sohail a verbal send-off. India went on to complete a famous win. Incidentally, this was Miandad’s last international game.World Cup, fourth Super Sixes match, 1999, Manchester
India won by 47 runsIndia and Pakistan squared off during a time when the armies of both countries were engaged in a stand-off over Kashmir. Fears were raised to a great levels and security was incredibly intense. Against that backdrop, fans of both sides came together in tumult to cheer their heroes on. There was much flag-waving, whistle-blowing and drum-beating, creating a passionate atmosphere. Tendulkar dominated the start after India opted to bat, passing 8,000 one-day international runs, but the batting did not quite click thereafter. Mohammad Azharuddin was left to construct the innings, and he added 60 in nine overs with Robin Singh to get India to 227.In reply, Saeed Anwar began with with six hurried fours even as Javagal Srinath chipped away at his partners. But it was that man Prasad again, bowling accurately and with good movement, to finish with 5 for 27. Sample his victims: Salim Malik, Anwar, Moin Khan, for an explosive 34 in 37 balls, Inzamam-ul-Haq, unusually subdued for 30 overs, and Wasim Akram, the captain. It all added up to a third successive victory over Pakistan, with Azharuddin winning all of the three India – Pakistan matches he’d captained in World Cup history.

World Cup 2003, Centurion
India won by six wickets
Anwar guided Pakistan to a daunting 273 with a dogged hundred but an awe-inspiring 98 from Tendulkar helped India romp home to a memorable win. Tendulkar dismantled the bowling attack with shots all around the ground and in particular, took apart Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar with some clinical hitting. He stitched together a 102-run partnership with Mohammad Kaif to help India win with more than four overs to spare.Champions Trophy 2004, Edgbaston
Pakistan won by three wickets
Pakistan broke the jinx of losing to India in what would be the last encounter between the two sides in a major tournament before the World Twenty20. English conditions in late September meant nine of the 15 matches were won by the team chasing. Inzamam-ul-Haq won the crucial toss at Edgbaston and put India in. Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul-Hasan shared eight wickets as India were bowled out for 200. Irfan Pathan gave India a shot at reaching the semi-final when he reduced Pakistan to 27 for 3 in 11 overs. But Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf’s calm 75-run partnership steadied Pakistan’s nerves. Yousuf was unbeaten on 81 as Pakistan reached the target with four balls to spare.ICC World Twenty20, 2007, Durban
Match tied, India won on bowl-outViews remain divided as to the virtues of having a bowl-out in the 20-over format, but when India and Pakistan met for the first time in the inagural ICC World Twenty20 it was another classic. Ultimately India’s players held their nerve to win an extraordinary encounter, taking the game 3-0 in a bowl-out to beat Pakistan and seal their place in the Super Eights after their group match ended in a thrilling tie. India were reeling after Mohammad Asif took 4 for 18 but Robin Uthappa (50) helped set Pakistan 142 to win in Durban. Misbah-ul-Haq made a brilliant 53 from 37 balls even as Pakistan lost three wickets for three runs and Pakistan, who had already qualified, needed one to win off the last ball. However, Misbah could not manage it off Sreesanth’s last ball and was run out to set up the dramatic bowl-out to decide the winner. India’s first three all hit the stumps but Pakistan’s top three all missed. Few could have predicted this thriller, but once again it was India would had trumped Pakistan in a major world tournament.

The Royal Challengers received a boost when Zaheer Khan announced that he had regained his fitness and that he would feature in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League, when the Bangalore-based outfit take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 18.”Twenty20 should not be a problem. I have been bowling every day in the last three days and yes I will be playing the first game,” Zaheer said.His return to fitness is set to give a fillip to the Challengers, who will be without services of Dale Steyn for the initial stages of the event. Steyn will take part in the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament in South Africa, before returning to the team. The franchise may also miss Nathan Bracken for the entire tournament, after he was advised four to ten weeks rest for a knee injury.Zaheer, who was recently named as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year, said he expected the stands to be filled during the Challengers’ matches. “The cream of the International players will be playing and there should be crowds. This is the first year, lets see how it goes.”He has been on the road back to recovery since returning mid-way through the tour of Australia, when injury forced him out of the Sydney Test. He subsequently underwent rehabilitation in the Centre for Sports Medicine in Johannesburg, and missed the mandatory fitness Tests ahead of the South Africa series.Meanwhile, Cameron White, the attacking Australian batsmen, said he was looking at the IPL as an opportunity to work on his game. “I am lucky that I played well for my state [Victoria] in Twenty20 and now I get to play for Bangalore,” said White. “I am in the one-day squad for the tour of West Indies after the IPL, so I will try to improve in this tournament.”

ScorecardMumbai Champs turned in yet another disappointing performance to allow Chennai Superstars to register a facile win at Panchkula in Chandigarh. T Kumaran grabbed a four-wicket haul to restrict Champs to 123, a total that was never going to threaten the Superstars, who romped home by nine wickets with 44 balls to spare.G Vignesh chose the occasion to equal Chris Cairns’ tournament record for the fastest fifty with a 17-ball effort and picked up the Man-of-the-Match award.Kumaran struck in the fifth over to dismiss the opener Saman Jayantha, after which wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. That Dhiraj Jhadav’s 28 was the highest score of the innings reflects the Champs’ woes.The chase was over in a hurry after Vignesh exploded at the start with a 30-ball 61 that featured eight hits to the boundary and three over it. Michael Kasprowicz had a forgettable day, leaking 20 runs in his solitary over. Ian Harvey remained unbeaten on a 30-ball 31, while R Sathish hastened the end with a 17-ball 29.