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Jesse Ryder’s third successive half-century of the tournament capped off a dominating batting performance by Central Districts as they beat Wellington by 55 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in North Palmerston. Their third win in five matches put them behind table-toppers Canterbury on the points table.Ryder’s 74-ball 83 was one of three half-centuries for Central Districts as they posted 324 for 7 after being sent in to bat. That he had a platform set when he came out to bat at No. 3 was courtesy George Worker (64) and Ben Smith (57), who put on 112. The next highest stand of the innings was 74 for the third wicket between Ryder and Will Young, who made 34 to pave the way for a strong finish.Michael Pollard and Michael Papps, the Wellington openers, started slowly by adding 61 in 13.5 overs, but the loss of three quick wickets further slowed their progress. Wellington had moved on to 141 for 4 in 29.1 overs when rain forced an end to proceedings, with Central Districts well ahead by the D/L method.Neil Broom’s unbeaten 124 was the standout in a low-scoring thriller, which Otago won by three runs in Whangarei to register their first victory in the competition. Otago’s 298 for 6 nearly didn’t prove enough as Anton Devcich and BJ Watling led Northern Districts‘ fightback with 81 and 56 respectively. When Devcich was dismissed, Northern Districts still needed 96 off 62 balls.Watling and Daryl Mitchell (31) kept them in a hunt with a 55-run stand off just 38 balls, but their dismissal in the space of 13 deliveries pulled the plug on their chase. With four losses in five matches, Northern Districts are currently at the bottom in the league standings.

Ottis Gibson continued his age-defying season with 7 for 46 as Durham and Worcestershire traded blows at Chester-le-Street. Seventeen wickets fell in the day, but thanks to half-centuries from Michael Di Venuto (50), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (54) and Gordon Muchall (62 not out) , Durham edged into the lead as Gareth Batty grabbed five. Worcestershire were in early trouble against Gibson and slumped to 50 for 4. Graeme Hick (64) and Steven Davies (26) added 60 before Paul Wiseman broke Gibson’s monopoly on wickets. But Gibson was soon back into it, ending Hick’s counter-attacking 65-ball innings. Nadeem Malik began Worcestershire’s fightback, but the key wickets fell to Batty. Any runs that Muchall and the tail can add in the morning could prove vital.Glen Chapple revived Lancashire with a rapid 88 at Canterbury after Kent threatened to take a significant lead. Lancashire slipped from 127 for 1 to 179 for 5 before Chapple joined Stuart Law (66) in a sixth-wicket stand of 118. Chapple dominated by clubbing five sixes and 10 fours in his 81-ball innings, a season-best for the allrounder. With a century in sight he was bowled by Martin Saggers, who led Kent’s attack with 4 for 43 off 25 overs, and two further wickets leaves the game shaping as a one-innings contest.

Stephen Fleming struck his third century of the season as Nottinghamshire enjoyed a profitable first day against Middlesex at Lord’s. He reached his hundred off 142 balls and added 188 with Mark Wagh, who struck 92 before falling to Tim Murtagh. Middlesex’s bowlers stuck to their task and fought back as Nottinghamshire went from 245 for 2 to 346 for 7 either side of tea. However, Chris Read’s jaunty 47 held the lower order together and guided his side towards 400.

Division One

Second day
Mushtaq Ahmed took his 11th five-wicket haul of the summer, also giving him 10 wickets in the match, as Sussex edged closer to the Championship title on the second day against Kent at Canterbury. Although Sussex were quickly dismissed for 289, to gain a slender 41-run lead, Kent’s batsmen once again fell victim to Mushtaq’s wile. Matthew Walker anchored the sinking ship with 66, spending over three hours at the crease, while Darren Stevens batted aggressively in his 54. However, Kent’s lead only amounts to 138 with two days (and two wickets) remaining.First day
Nick Compton became the 20th batsman to carry his bat for Middlesex who were torn apart by Charlie Shreck, who claimed a hat-trick on the first day against Nottinghamshire at Lord’s. Shreck was given excellent support by his team-mates, with lively fielding and some sharp catches held. After losing Ben Hutton, Owais Shah and Compton batted attractively, although Shah was reprieved – dropped by Mark Ealham at second slip. But Paul Franks trapped Shah leg-before for 28 shortly afterwards. Then came Shreck. He’d removed Ed Smith with the last ball of an over, then bowled Eoin Morgan who attempted rather ambitious drive first ball; Paul Weekes was the hat-trick, his stumps destroyed. He didn’t stop there, as Nash fell in the same over handing a straightforward catch to David Hussey in the slips. Four wickets in six balls. Compton was defiant, however, finishing on 105 as Middlesex were bowled out for 230. In reply, Nottinghamshire moved to 120 for 2, with Will Smith unbeaten on 54.

Division Two

Two contrasting hundreds from Phil Weston and Craig Spearman led the way for Gloucestershire, who reached 385 for 7 on the opening day against Surrey at Bristol. Although it was arguably Gloucestershire’s day with the bat, Surrey were confirmed Division Two champions at exactly 17.10 with the fall of the sixth Gloucestershire wicket – Steve Adshead bowled by Nayan Doshi – to hand them the required two points. It was Spearman who took the attack to Surrey, smashing a 98-ball hundred to put on 154 for the opening wicket with Weston (130). Hamish Marshall took up the attack, clobbering a run-a-ball 56, but Gloucestershire’s middle-order collapsed from 316 for 2 to 285 for 7.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Upul Tharanga grasped a prime opportunity to stake a long-term claim for a regular position in Sri Lanka’s top order with a fine 105 against Bangladesh at a depressingly empty Premadasa International Stadium. Tharanga laid the foundation for an imposing total and then Tillakaratne Dilshan starred with the ball as Sri Lanka cruised to a series-clinching 75-run victory.Young contenders dream of being given a chance against such threadbare bowling attacks, but the trick is to cash-in, which Tharanga has now done twice in successive matches. Once again, he was the fortunate beneficiary of some sloppy Bangladesh catching, as Manjural Islam Rana grassed a regulation slip chance when he was on just 13, but he also batted impressively with a composure and focus that hinted at a real future.Bangladesh will certainly have grown sick of him after a string of scores that reads 104 (for Sri Lanka President’s XI), 60 and 105. Sanath Jayasuriya is rarely overshadowed with the bat, but Tharanga outscored him early-on, racing to his fifty off just 44 balls, driving beautifully through the covers. Sri Lanka piled on the runs in the first five-over power play, adding 51 runs to reach the 15-over mark with 100 runs already in the bank.Bangladesh badly missed their key strike bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, who has been struggling with back spasms, although Syed Rasel, a left-armer, bowled steadily for the second consecutive match. But the visitors, thanks mainly to their spin twins, Mohammad Rafique (2 for 47) and Manjural Islam Rana (2 for 37), did still manage to disrupt the run fest during the middle overs after Jayasuriya flashed a catch to Khaled Mashud behind the stumps having made 40 from 45 balls.Sri Lanka’s surprise decision to promote Dilshan to the No. 3 slot, ahead of in-form batsmen and potential pinch-hitters, backfired badly as the momentum of the innings was checked. Moreover, his shaky confidence will have not been buoyed by a laboured 27 from 59 balls. Sri Lanka, who before the game had stressed a desire to capitalise on the fielding restrictions, wasted the second power play, scoring just 19 runs between the 15th and 20th over.Tharanga also slowed after reaching his fifty and the innings only perked up after the arrival of Marvan Atapattu, who batted fluently for his 53 from 43 balls and raised the tempo with Kumar Sangakkara (28) and Mahela Jayawardene (24 from 18 balls) in the final overs.Realistically, Bangladesh’s task was hopeless. No side has successfully chased such a large total at Premadasa, Sri Lanka’s one-day home, and their innings was all about salvaging some respect after a dismal performance in the opening game that had left the coach having stern-faced one-to-one post mortems late into Wednesday night.And Dav Whatmore’s sessions appeared to have worked as the top order showed a far higher level of application. Shahriar Nafees was especially impressive with his gritty 51 from 83 balls, once again displaying the swagger of someone capable of cutting it at the top level. His efforts were supported by Mohammad Ashraful (31), Habibul Bashar (41 not out) and Tushar Imran (31).But Bangladesh were always well behind the pace and when, belatedly, they did try and step on the gas, Dilshan snapped up three scalps with his useful off breaks.Earlier, Bangladesh bolstered their seam attack, dropping Khaled Mahmud who was substituted after just first overs at the SSC and calling up Nazmul Hossain. Sri Lanka also made a change, resting Farveez Maharoof as a precautionary measure because of his recent hamstring tweak and including Dilhara Lokuhettige.How they were outSri LankaSanath Jayasuriya c Mashud b Hossain 40 (100 for 1)
Tillakaratne Dilshan c Omar b Rafique 27 (171 for 2)
Upul Tharanga st Mashud b Rana 105 (194 for 3)
Kumar Sangakkara c Rana b Rafique 28 (245 for 4)
Dilhara Lokuhettige lbw b Rasel 2 (252 for 5)
BangladeshJaved Omar c Atapattu b Vaas 18 (38 for 1)
Aftab Ahmed b Muralitharan 18 (77 for 2)
Shariar Nafees c Muralitharan b Dilshan 51 (122 for 3)
Mohammed Rafique c & b Dilshan 9 (137 for 4)
Mohammed Ashraful b Dilshan 31 (140 for 5)
Tushar Imran b Lokuhettige 31 (211 for 6)

ScorecardAs if a featherbed of a pitch hadn’t already killed off this match, the Warwickshire weather made doubly sure, as the heavens opened over Stratford-upon-Avon to curtail proceedings shortly after lunch. In the time available, Warwickshire’s captain, Nick Knight, moved along to his second half-century of the match, after Lancashire had been bowled out for 508 first thing in the morning.Knight was unbeaten on 67 when the rains came, having repaired the innings alongside Jonathan Trott (36 not out), following the swift losses of Mark Wagh and Ian Bell. He now needs just 36 more to reach 1000 runs for the season, ample proof that the pressures of the captaincy have not impaired his batting. And under Knight’s leadership, Warwickshire are currently 28 points clear at the top of the table, although they have a vital match against second-placed Kent at Beckenham later this week.Lancashire can be relieved at ending a dismal run of five consecutive defeats in all competitions, but once again they did not enjoy the better of what little play was available. After resuming on 505 for 8 overnight, their innings was brought to a swift conclusion by Dewald Pretorius, who grabbed two wickets in three balls to remove Peter Martin and Gary Keedy.Warwickshire then began their second innings with a free-flowing stand between Knight and Wagh, that was only brought to an end when Wagh chanced his arm once too often and steered John Wood straight into Stuart Law’s hands at second slip. One over later, and Bell was on his way for 1, finding the thinnest of edges to a sharply-spun delivery from Keedy. But Knight and Trott prevented any further mishaps, to cement Warwickshire’s position at the top of the table.

An inquiry into Bangladesh’s disastrous performance in the World Cup has concluded that a combination of politics, partying and complacency was to blame for a set of results that embarrassed a nation.Bangladesh finished bottom of their group after defeats to Kenya and Canada, their only points coming from a rained-off fixture against West Indies. The Bangladesh Cricket Board established the inquiry in March, and was set to announce its findings at a press conference on Saturday, until the report was leaked to the national Daily Star newspaper.”The truth remains that there was noticeable inadequacy and complacency on the part of both the [present and past Bangladesh Cricket] Boards,” the committee said in its report after an inquiry lasting nearly three months. “[This had been] adequately reflected in the quality of our team’s performance. The sooner things are put right, the sooner cricket will improve.”Bangladesh have lost 18 out of 19 Tests since their inaugural Test against India at Dhaka in 2000. Their only draw came in a rain-hit fixture against Zimbabwe two seasons ago. They have not won a one-day international since defeating Pakistan in a dead World Cup match in 1999.The committee laid the blame for the World Cup debacle squarely at the door of the team management. The captain, Khaled Masud, who has since been dropped from the team, “fought with the manager on the issue of tickets, and there were instances where he spent nights out of the hotel.”In particular, the night before the Kenya match, [Masud] was seen outside the hotel at well past midnight, and this obviously contributed to the deterioration of his ability as a player and it is no wonder that he dropped three regulation catches against Kenya the following day. It appears that his conduct and captaincy do raise questions about his motives.”The report added that there was no consultation among the captain, physio and trainer over the team line-up. Bangladesh’s Pakistani coach Mohsin Kamal, now succeeded by Australian Dav Whatmore, had a communication and language problem with the team. “One gets the impression that the selection of the coach, to say the least, was poor and gives the impression it was more a political choice rather than a selection of an able and competent hand.”Following interviews with Kamal and his assistant Ali Zia, the committee concluded that “neither of them was really competent, dedicated, sincere or committed enough to perform their duties. The fact is, they were being paid well and were quite happy.”The team manager, ASM Faruque, also came in for criticism.

The old fellow (!) Khaled Mahmud, the diminutive all rounder and anex-member of the National Squad, is given the task to lead the Bangladesh-Ateam that are heading off for India on October 13, 2001. Mahmud’s gettingcaptaincy suggests no surprise because it was presumed that he is the onlyman in the team who can take such load with ease.Mahmood was axed for nearly two years from the Bangladesh side and ruled outfor the Test against India. He was included in the A team this year that ranits practice sessions in BKSP for months.The declared 14-member squad has four players who played Tests and three ofthem are directly contracted with BCB as the national pool players.Mehrab Hossain is one of the four luckiest members of Bangladesh who playedall five Tests the team has so far played. It is quite surprising to findMehrab’s name in the A-team list. The selectors defended themselves sayingthat the right-handed opener needs more overseas matches to hone his knack,as his Test statistics is not imposing. Then what is wrong with Al-Sahariaror even the old hand Akram Khan? They too have poor streak of records thatdo not go in parallel with their genius.Why it’s only Mehrab to hit their eyes?We are swollen with pride for Ashraful’s unique pull-off in Colombo, butthat does not make us feel he should get a chance in the second best ofBangladeshi squads. He is already a Test player who has a brighter futureand he has the Zimbabwe team to face in November. Why did the selectors optfor a rising star like him to play for Bangladesh-A? Is it simply becausethey want to shun defeats at the hand of Indian teams?Since Bangladesh got the Test status, we should heave our morale a littlehigher. When we are thinking of sending the A-team we should send a bonafide A-team not like one that have a few national players added with itonly to enhance its strength. I can say without a shred of doubt that Indiaor any other Test playing nation would never go for such decision.It is something that undermines a teams’ self-worth and demean them toothers. Besides these four inclusions have sidelined four youths, who haveworked out hard with a dream to play for Bangladesh-A.Think about the potentiality of a batsman like Rajin Saleh whose progressmay face setbacks because of this inordinate decision. Niamur Rashid, theright-arm slow medium and a hard hitter batsman has to see the machete, sameto say about the promising Ahsan Ullah Hasan, the left-arm offie.The better part of the selection is the inclusion of Masrafee-Bin-Murtaza,more widely known as Kowshik, indisputably the fastest bowler of the countryat present surely this chance would boost him up. The worse part is tokeep Talha Jubair out and let Bikash Ranjan in. Talha drew close notice ofAndy Roberts for his versatility and pace the West Indian was full ofadmiration of his brilliance. Bikash is a contracted player who bagged theexperience of the inaugural Test and presently serving the National Squad.We should be bolder in our approach giving a break to a young worthycandidate in the right direction in the right moment. That is the only waywe can get a generation of flourishing cricketers to show our merit in thisgame.

Kenyon Ziehl has been appointed Zimbabwe’s convener of selectors. He will head a panel that includes national coach Dav Whatmore, assistant coach Douglas Hondo and captain Elton Chigumbura.Ziehl, 52, has played two first-class matches, one List A game, and was part of a Zimbabwe A team as well. Although he did not play international cricket, a ZC release said he did represent Zimbabwe in rugby. He has previous experience as a selector, having led the panel from 2007 to 2009. He has also had a good reputation as the CEO of the Rhinos franchise.”It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed once again as convener. I will carry on the good work my colleague Givemore [Makhoni] has been doing because it is vital that as the national selection panel, we do our best to ensure a positive team performance,” Ziehl said.His predecessor Givemore Makhoni has been named the new director for development and club cricket.

ScorecardFile photo – Henry Davids anchored the chase with a 38-ball 35•BCCI

A spectacular innings from Mangaliso Mosehle took Titans to the Ram Slam T20 title after a seven-wicket win against Dolphins in Centurion. Mosehle smashed 87 off just 39 balls, with six fours and seven sixes as Titans overcame a target of 160 with 19 balls to spare.Dolphins were given a solid start, after being inserted to bat, as openers Jonathan Vandiar and Morne van Wyk put on 47 in the Powerplay. However, the momentum swung Titans’ way as their bowlers conceded only 30 in the next six overs to keep the score to 77 for 3.David Miller (33 off 25) and Dwayne Bravo (53 off 30), then, stitched an 83-run stand as Dolphins posted a total of 159. Both fell off successive balls – the last two of the innings- but not before plundering 65 off the last six overs to give Dolphins a competitive score in the final.The competition’s top-scorer, Quinton de Kock was dismissed for 12 in the fourth over after lobbing a leading edge to cover off the bowling of Andile Phehlukwayo. However, Henry Davids and Mosehle first stabilised the innings and then got stuck into their work. Seventy runs were still required off nine overs before Mosehle clobbered Imran Tahir for three sixes and a four off successive deliveries as the game turned decisively in Titans’ favour.A partnership of 123 off 67 balls was broken in the 15th over by Kyle Abbott who held onto a return chance to dismiss Mosehle. Davids, too, was caught behind off the next ball but with 12 required off five overs, it was too late for Dolphins.

Even as the Indian board remains inflexible over the Indian Cricket League (ICL) , the federal railway minister and Bihar Cricket Association president Lalu Prasad Yadav today openly backed the ICL, saying the million-dollar tournament could be played in stadiums owned by his ministry.Railways, the ministry’s side in the Ranji Trophy, have won the tournament twice in the past five seasons and own around 50 grounds across the country. That could come in handy for the ICL who face a lack of venues to stage the league. Most cricket grounds are owned by local cricket associations, and the BCCI has discouraged any sort of interaction with the ICL.Yadav described the ICL as a “good initiative” and said competition was good for the game. “The parallel league is a good thing for those who complain that they were not selected or were ignored. This competition will be good for spotting good players.”We will definitely allow them to play in our stadiums. We will charge money for it.”The board said yesterday that cricketers associating themselves with other organisations would not be entitled to any benefits from the BCCI or “be connected with any of its activities”. Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, had last week threatened to impose life bans on players who joined the unofficial body.