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The East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter between Bihar and Orissa whichwitnessed tall scores at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur drifted to adraw with Orissa getting five points due to their 186-run firstinnings lead. Bihar had to be content with three.Resuming at 470 for 7, Orissa’s overnight batsmen P Jai Chandra andDebasish Mohanty added eight more runs before RR Parida declared. JaiChandra who remained unbeaten on 95 the previous evening reached hiscentury and remained unbeaten on 101 off 188 balls. He hit ten foursand a six.Bihar in their second innings batted out the rest of the day whilemaking 213 runs for seven. The main contributors were skipper RajivKumar (33), Sunil Kumar (46) and A Hashmi (49). Sunil Kumar and Hashmiwere involved in a 67-run fourth wicket stand which went a long way insalvaging a draw for the hosts. The spoils were shared all around withMohanty (2 for 42) and Barick (2 for 63) being the pick.

With an utterly charming Neil McKenzie century as the cornerstone, South Africa produced their best one-day performance of the summer to crush Sri Lanka by 95 runs in the second game of the Standard Bank Series at Buffalo Park on Sunday.The home team were superior in every respect as they amassed 302 for seven and then broke through quickly as Sri Lanka replied. In the end the tourists were held to 207 for six and the South African victory gives Shaun Pollock’s side a commanding 2-0 lead in the six-match series.On Friday night in Port Elizabeth the Sri Lankans had been competitive while losing by four wickets, but on Sunday they scarcely challenged the South Africans. As Sanath Jayasuriya noted, they gave themselves a useful start by taking two South African wickets quickly, but then lost the plot, dropping three catches as South Africa piled it on.The most expensive miss came off McKenzie who had 35 when he swept Muttiah Muralitharan around the corner to Upul Chandana at square leg. It was not a particularly easy chance, going at shin height, but it went in and it went out. McKenzie stormed on to make an unbeaten 120 and make it a matching pair with his maiden Test 120 in Port Elizabeth two weeks ago.McKenzie and Boeta Dippenaar have been rotated in the South African middle order, but it is difficult to see how or why McKenzie should have to wait his turn when the one-day series resumes in the New Year after the second Test match.It is an odd itinerary, as Jayasuriya pointed out, but it was arranged by the boards of the two countries to allow the Sri Lankans to trundle off elsewhere at the end of January. The players simply have to deal with it.And to be fair to the South Africans, they’ve hopped back and forth between one-day and Test cricket over the past few weeks, not that you’d notice it on the evidence of Sunday’s display.Quite apart from McKenzie there were terrific contributions from Jonty Rhodes, who scuttled to a 50-ball 50 and added 88 for the fourth wicket with McKenzie, and Mark Boucher, who carved out 55 off 48 balls as 100 was added in 14 overs for the fifth wicket.All of this left Sri Lanka with a bit of a hill to climb, an ascent that grew rapidly steeper as Shaun Pollock nipped out the opening pair. Romesh Kaluwitharana didn’t look entirely happy with his LBW decision and Jayasuriya dragged Pollock on for the second game running.Sri Lanka were two down inside five overs and they never quite got back into the match. Marvan Atapattu made 36 and Mahela Jayawardene hung around for his 59, but the substantial contributions were not forthcoming and by the time the sixth wicket fell at 147 with just on 16 overs remaining, the match had, to all intents and purposes, been won and lost.Jayasuriya conceded afterwards that if Sri Lanka are to compete in this series, the Sri Lankan top order has to fire. So far it hasn’t and all too quickly the South Africans have been able to smother the tourists in the field. The Sri Lankan skipper also felt that the fielding effort had been the worst by his team in, well, a long time.As for Pollock, he was pleased with his decision to bat first. "I only made up my mind when I went out to toss and the sun came out," he said. "It turned out to be a good decision."Indeed it did as the bounce evident in the pitch during the morning disappeared after lunch, as Chandana will testify. He was trapped leg before by Lance Klusener by one that struck him about boot height. For the Sri Lankans it was that sort of day.

Matt Bulbeck completes his comeback from injury as he is named in a 12-man squad for Somerset’s CricInfo Championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.The full squad is: J Cox (capt); P C L Holloway; M Burns; P D Bowler; M N Lathwell; R J Turner (wkt); P Trego; J I D Kerr; K P Dutch; M P Bulbeck; P S Jones; I D Blackwell

My job is to get more out of the team: WrightIndian coach John Wright expressed concern over the crucial number six spot in the Indian side and said he was desperately looking for an all rounder. In an interview to PTI in Mutare, Wright said “We are in desperate need for someone who is an all-rounder… or someone who can be a genuine number six…. We do need a balance”. He added “I think the captain (Sourav Ganguly) is in a better position to fill in this spot. He probably has to bowl a bit more. Of course he is a very capable bowler. We need more people like him. Even Sachin (Tendulkar).They can change the course of any match on their day. If they can expand their roles, they can help us to become a better cricket team.”The former New Zealand captain said “Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan can both develop on their batting skills. They have already shown signs that they can bat to a certain extent. Even Ajit Agarkar is capable of a lot more with the bat. And that’s my objective – to get more out of them.” Apart from allrounders, Wright expects the seamers to perform saying “There is some promise, but we need performance. We need to be on the look out for fast bowlers. Javagal Srinath at the moment is looking sharp. And then there is quite a bit of battle for the other two medium pacers’ slot.”On the gruelling schedule ahead for the Indians, the coach said “The coming six months will be good for us because we will be away from home and this will help the team to form into a close-knit unit. We have to keep it tight together in victory or defeat.”Condon report does not say anything new: DalmiyaFormer International Cricket Council President, Jagmohan Dalmiya on Wednesday said Sir Paul Condon’s report on match fixing was “merely cosmetic” and had no real substance. “The report does not really throw much light on the match fixing issue. It does not say anything new. Just making references to some events does not help in solving the issue,” Dalmiya told a press conference in Kolkata.Dalmiya said that the report had not gone into the match fixing issue in depth though Condon had studied the reports of various other agencies and commissions probing the matter. He said that Condon had also questioned the credibility of the final of the ICC KnockOut tournament in Kenya between India and New Zealand but had not mentioned any specific wrong-doing. “He has made a passing mention to that match. The New Zealand Board have been quick to defend their players. I don’t know whether the BCCI has defended their players since I was out of the country”, Dalmiya said.On Condon’s view that the present structure of the ICC was inadequate to run international cricket and manage large sums of money, Dalmiya said the ICC’s executive board would meet at Lord’s on June 18 and Condon’s recommendations will be discussed in detail.”Ministry could consider introducing provision for misconduct: JaitleyThe Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday that ‘misconduct’ by cricketers found guilty by the CBI of match-fixing did not come under any of the existing penal provisions adding it was for the Sports Ministry to suggest changes in the law to prosecute such offenders. “Those found guilty of match-fixing did show misconduct. But the ingredients of misconduct strictly did not fit into any of the penal provisions of criminal code of conduct wherein they could be prosecuted,” Jaitley told reporters in London.Jaitley, who is also President of Delhi and District Cricket Association, said. “As of today, with the kind of evidence they have, all accusations showed misconduct by concerned cricketers and therefore, the Indian Cricket Board was empowered to take action which they did.”On the case referred to him by the Sports Ministry to find out whether any penal action could be taken based on the CBI report, Jaitley said there was no proposal before the Law Ministry to incorporate penal provisions for such misconduct and added, “It is for the Department of Sports to consider.” He added “If such acts are repeatedly still taking place in spite of the exposures, then you have to come out with tougher provisions of law.”Kumble turns down lucrative offer to turn TV commentatorAnil Kumble, India’s main strike bowler in the last decade, has turned down a highly lucrative offer to become a television commentator in the forthcoming India-Zimbabwe Test series and the Triangular series between the two countries and the West Indies. According to information available from Star-ESPN sources, Kumble had been given the offer a few days back to join Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri as a member of the commentary team. However, he declined the offer as hehad some prior commitments. One of them was to take part in some shooting for advertisements and also appear in a regional film.Meanwhile, the leg-spinner is not expected to be fit before India’s tour to South Africa. As a result, he will miss the India-Sri Lanka series, the Asian Test Championship and a few other one day tournaments.Yadav to hold discussions with DalmiyaThe President of the Bihar Cricket Association, Laloo Prasad Yadav, is expected to visit Kolkata next week to hold discussions with his counterpart in Bengal, Jagmohan Dalmiya. Yadav, who took over the post recently, is determined to improve the state of the game in Bihar. Other than that, he is also interested in hosting international matches in various parts of Bihar and also to improve the playing conditions.Reports from Patna indicated that Yadav would hold discussions with Dalmiya and seek his co-operation in improving the facilities for the game in Bihar. He would also ask for suggestions to improve the infra-structural facilities including a face-lift for the stadium at Patna. Sources however, made it clear that at the moment Yadav’s aim was to put Bihar on the cricketing map of the world.Sekhar coaching bowlers in BangladeshA five-day long workshop for young and emerging bowlers began at the Dhanmondi Club ground in Dhaka on Thursday under the supervision of former Indian fast bowler TA Sekhar, currently the chief coach of the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai.The workshop, which brought together 28 youngsters in the morning, was reduced to 16 by the afternoon. “By the time I finish, hopefully I’ll be able to recommend eight to ten bowlers to the Board for further long-term training,” said Sekhar. He added that Bangladesh had a couple of very promising bowlers and if they could be given proper attention, then they would be an asset in the future.Later, Sekhar intends to select at least four boys for a month’s training at the MRF Pace Foundation, starting on June 17.

Sunday June 24th is the Open Day for the Glamorgan Short Legs, and below are the timings for the various activities at the Sophia Gardens ground:

11.00am Short Legs to meet at Stand F.11.00 – 11.30am Meet players, autographs, photo session(Photos cost £1.50 each)1.45pm Short Legs to meet in Indoor School2.00 – 3.30pm Cricket Skills Competition4.20pm Prizes (donated by Astoria CricketShop of Wales) presented by one of thesenior Glamorgan players

* Arrested Prabhakar in hospitalFormer Indian all rounder Manoj Prabhakar. arrested in connection witha cheating case and admitted to a private clinic following a suspectedbrain stroke was on Tuesday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by acourt at Haldwani.The judicial magistrate Ashok Kumar visited Prabhakar at the hospitaland ordered that a medical report of the former cricketer be sent tothe court on a daily basis, the Superintendent of Police, NainitalJeevan Chand Padney told PTI over phone on Tuesday.Prabhakar was arrested by the Uttaranchal police from his south Delhioffice on Monday following a non bailable arrest warrant issued by themagistrate in connection with a chit fund company scam case on May 11.Police had alleged that Prabhakar as the director of the company haddefrauded and cheated people while accepting deposits from them.* Chauhan reacts sharply to drug allegationsIndian team manager Chetan Chauhan on Tuesday reacted sharply to anews magazine article that some Indian cricketers had used steroidsand cortisones to enhance their performance.”I can state categorically these players do not take drugs of anyperformance-enhancing type,” said Chauhan. “They may take boosts likeenergiser and other things but these were taken even in my time,” saidChauhan who represented India in 40 Tests from 1969 to 1981. “The teamhas been upset by the allegations and we deny them completely,” hetold a television network.The cover story of the latest issue of ‘Outlook’ alleged that someplayers, including Rahul Dravid, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar haveresorted to drug-taking in the past. The Indian team deliberated onthe issue on Tuesday morning before entrusting to Chauhan the job ofclearing the position.* Narvekar, three other GCA officials arrested, releasedGoa Cricket Association (GCA) president Dayanand Narvekar and threeother GCA officials were arrested and subsequently released by Margaopolice last evening, police sources said in Panaji on Tuesday.Narvekar, GCA secretary Vinod Phadke, former treasurer Rama Shankardasand a member Vivek Pednekar were arrested under section 336 of IndianPenal Code (IPC) on charges of endangering human lives during theIndia-Australia ODI on April 6, they said. They were subsequentlyreleased on bail bond of Rs 10,000 each, sources said.Narvekar, a former deputy chief minister, Phadke and Shankardas are onbail in another case connected with the fake ticket scam. Achargesheet in the case was likely to be filed by the police thisweek, they said. According to police, around 15,000 ticket holders hadto be denied entry fearing a stampede on the day of the ODI as thestadium was packed to capacity. It had to then resort to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd.

Iain Sutcliffe scored a career best 203 to put Leicestershire in awinning position at the halfway point of their CricInfoChampionship clash against Glamorgan at Cardiff.Leicestershire were eventually dismissed for 588 in their first inningsbut not before the top three batsmen had reached three figures withSutcliffe top scoring with his first three-figure score for fourseasons.It was the highest total by a visiting side to Sophia Gardens, beatingthe 584 amassed by Middlesex eight seasons ago.The daunting total left Glamorgan needing 439 to avoid the follow-on andthey started badly when Phil DeFreitas dismissed opener Ian Thomas inthe sixth over to leave the home side 8-1.But by the close Steve James and Matthew Maynard had guided their sideto 52-1, leaving them a further 383 to make Leicestershire bat again.Sutcliffe, started the day on 86, took an hour to reach three figureswhich he did from 182 balls with 13 boundaries. He went to his centurywith a fine square cut for four off Darren Thomas.The Leicestershire left-hander was eventually dismissed aftersix hours in the middle when he was bowled by Steve Watkin, who claimedfour wickets in all as Glamorgan managed two bowling points despitetheir attack coming out second best.Abtab Habib also chipped in with a quickfire half-century but there wasdisappointment for Shahid Afridi who was dismissed for just two on hisChampionship debut.

Alan Mullally strengthened his Ashes claims by taking five Australian wickets as the tourists were dismissed for 97 in a morning by Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.But it was not just Mullally who grabbed the headlines because rookie seamer James Schofield, making his first-class debut, had instigated Australia’s collapse. By the close Hampshire were 238-3, a lead of 141, with Robin Smith and Neil Johnson having added 122 for the fourth wicket.Schofield had set Hampshire on their way when he removed Matthew Hayden with his first ball in first-class cricket. He added the wicket of Justin Langer in his third over before capturing the prize scalp of Australian captain Steve Waugh for ten. Mullally had already disposed of Simon Katich to leave the Australians on 20-4.Worse was to follow for the visitors as Mullally also accounted for wicket-keeper Wade Seccombe, Jason Gillespie, Ashley Noffke and his former Hampshire teammate Shane Warne to finish with 5-18 off 11.4 overs.Dmitri Mascarenhas and Shuan Udal picked up the wickets of Brett Lee for 22 and Damien Fleming for six as the Australians were dismissed on the stroke of lunch.In the afternoon session, Lee made two early breakthroughs by removing Giles White and Will Kendall for ducks in his fourth over to leave Hampshire on 14-2.That brought Smith to the crease and he rolled back the years to add 102 for the third wicket with Derek Kenway.Kenway was eventually caught at silly point by Steve Waugh for 70 off the bowling of Warne in the last over before tea.After tea Australia’s seven-man bowling attack failed to take a wicket between them as Smith and Neil Johnson set about extending Hampshire’s lead.Smith had an escape when his off stump was knocked back by Noffke when on 69 – only for umpire John Steele to signal a no-ball. He finished the day unbeaten on 79.Johnson reached his fifty by cutting Katich for four moments after edging Gillespie through the slips. But he was still there on 64 at the end with Hampshire in charge on 238-3.Afterwards Mullally said: “Robin Smith thinks I have improved phenomenally atHampshire – and who am I to argue?”I am never going to be a Brett Lee in terms of pace. But I have cut it downand am consistently putting the ball in the right areas.”

Sri Lanka’s five-man selection committee will select the Test squad for theforthcoming three-match series against India on Thursday night and they lookset to omit veteran batsmen Aravinda de Silva.De Silva, recently cleared by the Sri Lankan board of the match fixingallegations levied against him by Mukesh Gupta in the Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) report, was not awarded a player contract in June, buthad been selected in the 26-man training squad for the India tour.De Silva and Tillakaratne Dilshan, both of whom played against England inMarch, are expected to be dropped, as in form opener Avishka Gunawardene andveteran middle order batsman Hashan Tillakaratne are earmarked for recalls.This is not the first time that the star batsman has been dumped. He hasonly played sporadically in Sri Lanka’s successful one-day squad since the1999 World Cup and he was dropped for the three-Test tour of South Africalast December.Sri Lanka struggled without his experience and he was eventually sent toSouth Africa for the final Test at Centurion, as a replacement for UpulChandana, who suffered a hand injury. He stayed with the team for their fivematch one-day series in New Zealand and was selected for the England series,in which he scored his 19th Test century in the first Test at Galle.Since then, however, he has played little competitive cricket and questionshave been raised by his laissez faire attitude to training. He has been inand out of the country and there is the suspicion that he no longer has theappetite for Test cricket, especially after failing to turn up for athree-day training camp in Dambulla before the Coca-Cola Cup.Unfortunately, it seems that there has been little communicationbetween the selectors and De Silva. He was understandably disappointed tohave not been awarded a player contract and has been left guessing as to hisposition within Sri Lankan cricket.A recall and a proper farewell is not out of the question – it has happenedtoo many times before to rule it out – but that depends on the performanceof the middle order in the first two Test matches. Certainly, if injuriesoccur, he can expect a call.Sri Lanka are likely to play seven batsmen. Sanath Jayasuriya, MarvanAtapattu, Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold are automatic selections, butthe remaining three places will be the subject of some conjecture atThursdays selection meeting.Early indications suggest that Avishka Gunwardene may be rewarded for recentfine form and asked to open the innings, pushing Atapattu down to numberthree. Jayasuriya may prefer, however, to stick with his erstwhile openingpartner in Test cricket.Hashan Tillakaratne looks certain to play after a two-year absence since the1999 World Cup, when he and Roshan Mahanama were summarily dropped as theselectors looked to the future. Unlike Mahanama, however, he never gave uphope of playing again and has impressed with a stack of runs in the domesticseason and a good attitude. Captain of Nondescripts Cricket Club he toppedthe averages having scored 665 runs at 110.83 and made three hundreds.His tenacious batting style has helped to bring him back into recognitiontoo, with Sri Lanka’s middle order failing too often in recent times. The34-year-old used to be one of Sri Lanka’s most consistent Test batsmen,averaging 38.59 after 52 matches, and the selectors will be hoping that hecan add some steel to the batting line up.Kumar Sangakkara’s position is apparently in doubt after some poor form inrecent times, but his omission would be scandalous. He was the third highestSri Lankan run scorer in the last Test series against England and was thehighest run scoring in South Africa. With four half centuries to his name ina relatively short career his name should be penciled in immediately.Whether he keeps wicket or not will depend on whether the selectors arewilling to hand Romesh Kaluwitharana another chance. He was jettisonedbehind the stumps after his inconsistency with the bat, but the selectorsmay look favourably upon him after a more consistent run of form in theone-day game of late. If he plays then Gunawardene would have to make way.The bowling is simpler. Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando and MuttiahMuralitharan can start marking out their run-ups, but the selection of thethird seamer is harder now with Nuwan Zoysa still on the sidelines. SureshPerera, Ruchira Perera, and Dinusha Fernando are all in the running, withRuchira Perera being the slight favourite. It could though be decided by who bowls best in the current practice game against India.

A staunch Queen’s College supporter left the Cable & Wireless BETSports Complex at 4:45 p.m. yesterday with his chest pushed high.By the time he got to Bridgetown 15 minutes later, it would have takena massive droop.In the space of seven minutes, the Cable & Wireless Under-15 cricketfinal took a twist following a Lodge School fightback in the finalmoments of the day.For four hours yesterday, Queen’s College made all the running. In thelast hour, however, a moment of indecision and another of indiscretionbrought Lodge back into the match. If anything, they have a slightadvantage on the final day.With 50 minutes to the close, Queen’s College were 124 for two inresponse to Lodge’s 232. With 11 minutes remaining, they were 155 forthree, representing a very good day’s work.Then came their big setback. Nicholas Standford, their solid openingbatsman who had been firmly entrenched for more than four hours, wasrun out for a disciplined 61.And just before stumps were drawn, Kofe Hurdle was adjudged to haveedged a catch to the keeper off Shamarh Brooks’ probing leg-breaks.Even before those two went, Queen’s College suffered a major loss whenKerwin Elias, their captain, leading run-scorer and seemingly mostfree-scoring batsman, fell to a rash stroke after featuring in athird-wicket stand of 73 with Standford.The day went well up until the end of the last session when we gaveaway two or three wickets which we shouldn’t have, said Rory Sidaway,a Queen’s College official.Standford set off for a single to mid-off, but got no response fromnon-striker Kofe Hurdle and failed to regain his ground when wicketkeeper Nicholas Squires broke the stumps.If we were still two or three wickets down at the end of the day, I’dbe a bit more confident about the outcome, Sidaway said. I still thinkwe can get the 75 runs that we need, but it will be more difficultnow. That’s for sure.In the first half-hour, the St James boys polished off Lodge’s lowerorder. Lodge, 207 for six, overnight, lost their last four wickets forfive runs after a seventh-wicket stand of 69 between Pierre Atwell(53) and Rio Brathwaite (31).For the remainder of the day, Queen’s College diligently pursued thetarget with the type of disciplined application that some local clubteams should try to emulate.Standford presented a straight, broad bat for the entire afternoon andwas never drawn into playing any false strokes. He and Nekoli Parrisput on 43 for the second wicket after Niaz Dokrat was bowled by fastbowler Damien King as he went into a drive.Queen’s College lost Parris just after lunch to a neat stumping bySquires off Brooks, but Standford and Elias made sure only one wicketfell in the middle session that produced only 57 runs.Elias batted confidently and just before tea cracked two fours in anover, a rare occurrence on the day.Lodge desperately needed a wicket and captain Squires’ move to takethe second new ball two overs after it was due paid dividends.The pacy Andre Gill, operating from around the wicket, shattered thestumps of Elias, who was drawn into an inexcusable cross-batted shot.It was a wicket that turned the tide for Lodge.