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Andhra 116 and 133 for 4 (Pathak 59*, Kulkarni 4-32) trail Mumbai 515 by 266 runs
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Andhra hurtled towards defeat as Nilesh Kulkarni helped Mumbai into a strong position at the end of the third day’s play. Andhra were 133 for 4, following on, and were still 266 runs adrift of Mumbai’s first-innings score. Kulkarni, the left-arm spinner, picked up all four second-innings wickets. Andhra began their second innings well, with Amit Pathak and LNP Reddy defying the bowlers. Pathak was unbeaten on 59, while Reddy made 33, the only other meaningful contribution of the innings. But an outright loss was still the strongest possibility for Andhra, who have one more day to bat out just to secure the draw.Madhya Pradesh 296 for 4 (Dholpure 107) trail Karnataka 619 for 5 dec by 323 runs
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Sachin Dholpure’s century kept Madhya Pradesh’s hopes up at the Chinnnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. At the close of the third day, Madhya Pradesh had reached 296 for 4 in response to Karnataka’s mammoth 619 for 5 declared. While Amay Khurasiya, the captain, fell to Chandrashekar Raghu without adding to his overnight score of 45, Dholpure cashed in. He scored 107 with 18 fours before being caught behind off Stuart Binny. With one day to play, the game is heading for a draw, and all honours go to Karnataka.Uttar Pradesh 132 and 163 for 2 (Raina 89*, Yadav 51) beat Assam 184 and 107 by 8 wickets
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Uttar Pradesh completed an 8-wicket win over Assam at the Kamla Club ground in Kanpur. They began the day on 77 for 1 needing a further 82 runs to secure victory. In the end Suresh Raina ensured that there were no hiccups. He scored 89 not out with 15 fours and 1 six off 11 balls in the company of Jyoti P Yadav (61) and steered Uttar Pradesh to a comfortable win.Bengal 161 for 3 (Gavaskar 68*) and 298 lead Gujarat 361 by 98 runs
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Having conceded the crucial first-innings lead to Gujarat at the Kanchanjungwa Krirangan ground in Siliguri, Bengal restored some pride with a healthy second-innings reply. They reached 161 for 3, and have an overall lead of 98 runs. Rohan Gavaskar did the bulk of the scoring, reaching 68 not out batting at No. 4. Deep Dasgupta kept him company on 36.Hyderabad 231 and 170 (Sanclecha 5-46) beat Maharashtra 83 and 233 (Jadhav 124, Singh 6-87) by 85 runs
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Hyderabad clinched an 85-run win against Maharashtra inside three days. After they were skittled out for just 83 in the first innings Maharashtra struggled to catch up. A fighting 124 by Dheeraj Jadhav, the left-handed opening batsman, delayed the inevitable, but was not enough to stave off defeat. Narender Pal Singh, the medium-pacer, was the most effective bowler claiming 6 for 87.Delhi 216 and 101 for 1 (Dhawan 55) lead Railways 201 by 116 runs
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Delhi’s bowlers did a fine job in bowling out Railways for just 201, thereby taking a slender 15-run first-innings lead. Railways, who began the third day on 147 for 5, were in with a good chance of overhauling Delhi’s poor score of 216. However, Amit Bhandari (3 for 55) and Sanjay Gill (3 for 48) bowled well enough to knock Railways over for just 201. Then, Delhi piled on the agony, reaching 101 for 1 at close.Punjab 175 and 370 for 4 (Mongia 108, Dharmani 92*, Kakkar 90*) lead Baroda 155 by 390 runs
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Punjab rode on the high of securing the first-innings lead and clattered 370 for 4 in their second dig. The Baroda bowlers were first sent on a leather hunt by Dinesh Mongia who scored 108. Pankaj Dharmani (92*) and Ankur Kakkar (90*) were both on the verge of reaching three figures when the day’s play ended. Punjab now have a big lead of 390 runs with one day to play.

Although it was USA’s turn to have a day off on Friday, heavy rain which washed out the games involving their nearest rivals ensured that they won the tournament before their last match, leaving Cayman Islands, Canada and Bermuda scrapping for second place.USA beat Cayman Islands by six wickets
USA completed an impressive clean sweep, confirming beyond any doubt that they were the best team. That they beat Cayman Islands, the side drafted into the Intercontinental Cup at the senior team’s expense, will give them added pleasure.Cayman Islands were inserted on a wicket that had a little moisture from the overnight rain. Openers Ricardo Roach and William Quin got off to a reasonable start but then disaster struck as both fell with the score on 26 . Wickets fell rapidly thereafter as the spinners tied down the batting and Cayman Islands were skittled for 86. Hemant Punoo, USA’s captain, was the pick of the bowlers with 8.3-3-12-4. The solid USA batting side struggled somewhat, but again it was Punoo to the rescue with a brilliant 42 not-out as the USA won the match by six wickets. Unsurprisngly, Punoo was named Man of the Match.Canada beat Bermuda by 99 runs
Originally planned as the championship decider, this contest took a new meaning with USA already securing the Championship Trophy all the winner could hope for was the silver medal.Canada won the toss and surprised the crowd by electing to bat on a damp wicket , and that decision looked dubious as they slumped to 65 for 5. Then Trevin Bastiampillai was joined at the wicket by Waqas Junaid and the pair put on the best batting display of the tournament with a 142-run sixth-wicket partnership. Junaid fell for 43 but Bastiampillai carried his bat through the innings for 110 not out, the first century of the tournament. The Canadians finished on 239 for 8.From the moment Bermuda lost their Captain O.Bascome to the first ball of their innings, they were never really a threat. Rodney Trott (30) and Dickinson (42 not out) were the only two batsmen to offer some fight. Gunraj Patel 7.5-2-18-3 and Krunal Patel 6-2-21-3 made certain that Canada gained the silver medal.For his fine innings Trevin Bastiampillai was the obvious Man of the Match. There was further gloom for Bermuda who lost out on a medal as they tied with Cayman Islands in the points table, but the Cayman Islands had a better run rate.

Perhaps the most famous spectacle-wearer ever to have stalked the covers, Clive Lloyd was one of the great captains of all time. With his hulking six-foot frame and a slight air of professorial detachment, he was the natural leader of the great West Indian side of the late 1970s and early 1980s and, in 1975, his century at Lord’s secured victory in the inaugural World Cup. And yet, Lloyd’s career might have been ended before it began, when his eyesight began to deteriorate in his early teens.At the age of 12, Lloyd was already a budding schoolboy cricketer, when he was poked in the eye with a ruler while breaking up a fight between two younger boys. At first he took no real notice of it, but before long he was unable to read the blackboard in the classroom, and he had to squint to make out the score while batting in cricket matches. But most importantly of all, he was failing to sight the ball properly. “I was getting out lbw far too frequently,” he wrote in his autobiography. “The umpire couldn’t have been wrong every time.”So out came the spectacles, and a legend was born. Lloyd’s prowess as a fielder was ample proof of the benefits they provided to his game, while in a 22-year career, they enabled him to score more than 30,000 runs, with 79 centuries.

Traditional dances, callisthenics and spectacular fireworks lit up the opening ceremony for the Under-19 World Cup in the Dhaka. A full house of around 30,000 people packed the Bangabandhu National Stadium.Sixteen countries, including the 10 Test-playing nations and six associate members of the International Cricket Council, are participating in the biennial tournament that started in 1988.Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia formally opened the tournament, which runs from February 15 to March 5 and will be played at six venues. “Bangladesh is now ready to host World Cup Cricket and we are committed to cricket,” she said. “I hope our youth and organisers will strive to turn this pride into success.” Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, and Malcolm Speed, its chief executive, also attended the ceremony.

Some 5,000 performers of Bangladesh Army, Navy, Rifles, Ansar, Shilpakala Academy and Rifles School took part in the two-hour-long opening pageantry. It also featured a march past by the 16 teams.The teams now have five days to acclimatise with warm-up matches, before the tournament opens on Sunday with hosts Bangladesh playing New Zealand at the Bangabandhu.

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In what will definitely rank as a big upset, and one which Andy Pick, the Canada coach termed an “embarrassment”, Bermuda traipsed to a memorable six-wicket win in the opening one-dayer at Toronto. Having bowled out Canada for 145, Bermuda, thanks to a solid 39 from Saleem Mukkudem, knocked off the target in just 40 overs.”Since we arrived this morning, everything has been substandard,” said Pick in his assessment, “our warm-ups, our practice and our performance.” Not for the first time this season, Canada failed to put enough runs on the board, a trend hard to explain considering their good win in the four-day game, against the same opposition, earlier in the week.Mukkudem, who took Bermuda to victory with a six over long-off, couldn’t hide his excitement after the triumph. “It was a huge effort for us to put that defeat [in the four-day game] behind us,” he said. “We got off to a fantastic start. It was good to get [out] the guys who had got runs [in the four-day game] out cheaply.”Canada lost John Davison, their captain, and Desmond Chumney early. Both fell to the pace bowling of Kevin Hurdle. Ian Billcliff followed soon and Canada were in a deep hole at 21 for 3. Ashish Bagai began comfortably but he too didn’t last long, caught at backward square leg after making just 10 (46 for 4). Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti added 29 for the sixth wicket before Bhatti was caught and bowled by Dwayne Leverock, diving to his left. Samad was out for what proved to be the top-score (28), driving Leverock into the hands of Irvine Romaine at cover.The Canadian innings was completed so quickly that Bermuda began their innings before lunch. The Bermudan opening batsmen, Borden and Outerbridge, scored 23 by the interval. Their partnership was broken with the score on 41 but there continued to be little success for the home bowlers. Canada sniffed a faint chance when Bermuda were 86 for 3 but Mukkudem and Janeiro Tucker played sensibly. They added 48 for the fourth wicket and Mukkudem stayed unbeaten till the end.There continues to be very little effort from the Canadian Cricket Association to promote the sport in this country, particularly these international matches. There was talk of selling off an existing inventory of merchandise at this summer’s home games but no evidence has been seen of that initiative to date. It seems hard to believe the World Cup is just seven months away.The two four-day matches in the Intercontintental Cup have been exciting and went down to the wire in the last hour of available playing time. The home ODIs have been disappointing but with plenty of latent cricket interest in the Toronto area it seems pathetic that a mere 30 people, including scorers and some officials, were dotted around the ground some ten minutes after play began. It cannot be much fun for the batsmen to hear louder roars for dismissals from the fielding side than the applause from home fans.Canada and Bermuda play again on Monday at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The ground is on Wilson Avenue, near the intersection with Avenue Road. Play is scheduled to begin at 10 am. This match is an ODI but also forms part of an ICC Americas Regional Tournament that takes place next week. All other matches in that event take place at Maple Leaf CC at King City. USA, Cayman Islands and Argentina are the three other sides in this tournament.

Brian Lara: To get my first hundred against South Africa, away from home after 12 tests was very pleasing and the team needed it. The bowling was good but the pitch played very good. I struggled to get set but batting withGanga reminded me of batting with Jimmy Adams and had a very steadyinginfluence on me. Once set I am an attacking batsman and try as hard as I canto get as much as I can.When Peterson came on during the second-last over the field was all up and Iplayed every ball on its merit, the players were up and I went over the top.I did not know that 28 was a record and just did what I thought was right.Today you saw a different Brian Lara, From what I learnt from Jimmy [Adams]and Carl [Hooper] I have become a more determined player and a bettercaptain.I woke up early this morning and watched the Indians play against Australia.Australia and South Africa are teams that the rest of us want to do wellagainst and I took the impetus from Dravid, Laxman and Patel and playedtoday from their strength.Eric Simons: It was a hard day but I am really happy with the way we bowled, especially in the first and last session. It is two good teams and a good contest. On another day we could have bowled worse and come away in a better position. The Nel vs Lara contest was a good experience for the bowler bowling at one of the best batsmen in the world. He has picked up a lot of pace after some technical changes and losing some weight.

The ongoing debate over Steve Waugh’s future as Australia’s captain surfaced again at the weekend with comments from two former players turned commentators, Jeff Thomson and David Hookes, that the time is right for him to step down.Thomson and Hookes said that with the Australian middle-order aging and with a series against Bangladesh starting in July, Waugh should go in the interest of the team. “It’s time to move on and it’s a good time to do it when the opposition isn’t that good,” Thomson argued. “When he [Waugh] got the hundred in Sydney, I thought that was enough. What’s he going to prove if he plays Bangladesh? Who cares if Steve Waugh gets a hundred?”Hookes, a long-standing critic of Waugh, agreed. “I can’t see any point [him] playing against Bangladesh. He won’t get a hit for starters. Look at the batting,” he continued. “You’ve got him, Lehmann, Ponting and Martyn to come back – they are not young blokes.Thomson went one step further, suggesting that Glenn McGrath should be relived of his new-ball duties in favour of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. “If the wicket’s got something in it, you may as well use Gillespie and Lee,” Thomson said. “Lee should be opening the bowling, get the choice of ends. To bowl Lee into the wind is not on any more. McGrath wouldn’t have to wait long. They are only going to bowl five or six overs.”

Frizzell County Championship Division OneKent 362 and 418 for 3 dec beat Nottinghamshire 156 and 337 by 287 runs at Maidstone
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Mohammad Sami completed the superb match figures of 15 for 114, the best bowling figures of the season so far, as Kent completed their first Championship victory of the season by overwhelming Nottinghamshire at Maidstone. Kent didn’t have it all their own way, however, as Notts mounted a valiant rearguard, led by Jason Gallian’s six-hour 106 and ably supported by Kevin Pietersen, Chris Cairns and Paul Franks. Sami though was irresistible, and followed his eight wickets in the first innings by skittling Notts’s tail with five more wickets in the space of seven runs. Muttiah Muralitharan arrives at the end of the month, and Kent’s prospects are on the up at last. Leicestershire 447 and 148 for 2 trail Middlesex 620 for 7 dec by 25 runs at Southgate
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It’s not often that a side scores 447 and still has to follow on, but that indignity was inflicted on Leicestershire, after Middlesex had compiled a whopping 620 for 7 Dec on the first two days at Southgate. Chad Keegan added three more wickets to his overnight haul to finish with a career-best 6 for 114 from 29 overs, and when John Maunders fell to the first ball of the follow-on, caught behind off Ashley Noffke, the omens didn’t look good. Noffke then dealt with Leicestershire’s first-innings hero, Virender Sehwag, in similar fashion (31 for 2), but Darren Maddy and Brad Hodge knuckled down to rescue the innings with an unbeaten 117-run stand for the third wicket. By the close, Leicestershire were 25 runs behind, with eight wickets remaining, and a draw seemed to be the likely result.Essex 340 and 254 for 6 lead Sussex 282 for 8 by 235 runs at Arundel
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The Championship fixture between Essex and Sussex remained evenly poised, after another day of slow manoeuvring at Arundel. The early honours belonged to Sussex, who secured a first-innings lead thanks to Mushtaq Ahmed, James Kirtley and Jason Lewry, who added 79 runs for the last two wickets. Essex then slipped to 50 for 2, with both Nasser Hussain and James Foster dismissed, but Paul Grayson’s 71 and a pair of half-centuries for Andy Flower and Aftab Habib put Essex back in the reckoning. Warwickshire 245 and 304 for 5 trail Surrey 355 and 450 for 5 dec by 256 runs at Edgbaston
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Warwickshire’s pursuit of the improbable suffered two devastating blows shortly before the close, when Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott were prised out in quick succession, to leave Surrey on the verge of their fifth Championship victory of the season. Warwickshire’s slim hopes had been ground into the dust in the morning session, as Mark Ramprakash converted his overnight 121 into a magnificent unbeaten 182, allowing Surrey to declare on 450 for 5, a lead of 560. But Michael Powell led the charge with 91, and at 293 for 3, Warwickshire dared to dream. But Adam Hollioake trapped Trott lbw for 51, before Saqlain Mushtaq picked up Bell three runs later for 71.Frizzell County Championship Division Two Gloucestershire 277 and 171 for 5 beat Derbyshire 89 and 356 by five wickets at Derby
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Derbyshire were made to pay for a pathetic first-innings effort, as Gloucestershire eked out a five-wicket victory that might have been very different had they been set more than 169 for victory. After collapsing to 89 all out in their first effort, Derbyshire fared considerably better second-time around, as Michael di Venuto (148) and Luke Sutton (81*) carried them to a healthy 356. Gloucestershire, who had managed 277 in their first innings, then slumped to 52 for 4, with two wickets each for Kevin Dean and Graeme Welch. But Jonty Rhodes calmed the nerves with an unbeaten 62, and Alex Gidman added a brisk 41 from 46 balls before being bowled by Dominic Cork with 48 runs still required. Northamptonshire 322 and 206 for 2 beat Durham 327 and 199 by eight wickets at Chester-le-Street
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Jason Brown gave a reminder of the form that earned him a place on England’s tour to Sri Lanka in 2000-01, as he bowled Northants to victory at Chester-le-Street with second-innings figures of 7 for 69. Northants and Durham had been level-pegging on first innings, but match was transformed when the spinners Brown and Graeme Swann entered the fray. From 70 for 0, Durham slumped to 100 for 5, and though Nicky Peng and Phil Mustard slowed the rot with a 71-run partnership, Brown ripped through the tail for his best figures in first-class cricket. Set 205 to win, Mike Hussey and Phil Jaques broke the back of the run-chase with a 156-run partnership, as Northants took their place at the top of Division Two. Somerset 233 and 129 for 3 trail Glamorgan 349 and 307 by 294 runs at Cardiff
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Matthew Maynard completed his third Championship century of the season as Glamorgan closed in on victory against Somerset at Sophia Gardens. Maynard, who had been 32 not out overnight, was in scintillating form, rushing to 101 from 114 balls, with 13 fours and two sixes to give Glamorgan plenty time to force a result. By the close, Somerset had limped to 129 for 3 in pursuit of 424.

Graeme Swann has ended speculation that he is leaving Northamptonshire by signing a new one-year contract.Swann admitted that he had received offers from other counties, but said he was keen to stay at Northants despite Kepler Wessels, the coach, questioning his attitude last season.Talking to the Swann, 23, said: “It’s nice to have all the negotiations finally sorted and I’m now looking forward to playing another season with Northants back where we belong in the first division.”I don’t think things were ever that bad between myself and Kepler. He was probably a bit frustrated with me at the time, but judging by how things went at the end of the season I think that is all in the past now and we’ve moved on.”Swann was offered a new contract at the beginning of August, but preferred to wait until now to commit. “It was more a case of wanting to finish the season first and leave all the negotiations till then," he said. “Although leaving was an option, and there was quite a bit of interest from other counties, the thought of moving was never really there. I wanted to leave it till the end of the season and not have my mind clouded with contract negotiations.”I finished the season really well and it wouldn’t be the best idea to move when we have got back into the first division and with the way we play with spinning wickets here. I want to start next year where I left off last season.”Swann also predicted big things from the two new signings, Usman Afzaal and Steffan Jones and insisted Northants have a great chance of doing more than just avoiding relegation next season.”They are both players with immense experience,” he said. “I toured with Usman with England Under-19s. He is a very good player and will do well. I don’t know so much about Steffan, but he is the kind of player that will improve the team. With the players we have already got, to add these two is a real bonus and hopefully means we will be challenging for silverware.”

PAARL – Saeed Anwar and Saleem Elahi became the first two Pakistanis to undergo a random dope test here under the new regimen introduced by the ICC.The urine samples of the two Pakistani batsmen were taken immediately after the side won its fixture against Holland by the ICC panel of doctors. The result of the tests are likely to come within a week.The entire Pakistan team was tested for banned substances by the PCB’s panel of doctors, and each of the players was found negative after examination by an IOC-approved clinic at Penang (Malaysia).The Pakistan team management was told on the morning of the match that random tests would be conducted after the match.Speaking on the issue, the team spokesman said: “We have nothing to be concerned about. We believe that our boys are clean, but we have to follow the ICC regimen”.