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Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s stand-in captain in the last two games, admitted the team never managed to hit the stride after a long lay-off since the World Cup win in the West Indies.”A bit stuttery for us, wasn’t it? A bad start and then a win and a loss and a win … We never really got into a great rhythm,” Gilchrist said after the semi-final loss to India at Kingsmead. “Probably to be expected from the break we had – and the lack of preparation. But by the time tonight came around, we’d played enough to be ready.”Gilchrist singled out Sreesanth’s dismissal of Matthew Hayden as the turning-point of the semi-final at Kingsmead. “I felt Sreesanth was the difference in that game. I felt like we were in control, particularly with Matty [Hayden] and Symmo [Andrew Symonds] there, but then that big over. Getting Matty out just turned things their way.”Unsurprisingly, he also praised the form of one particular Indian batsman: “Yuvraj is in a great mindset. He’s confident, he’s seeing the ball well, he’s just trusting himself. Crowds love [cricketers who] play without fear.”And there was admiration, too, for his opposite number as captain. “I thought [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni captained beautifully tonight. He just chose the right times to bowl those bowlers in the last three or four overs.”But when encouraged to pick a winner of Monday’s final in Johannesburg, Gilchrist refused to be drawn. “Both teams are playing with a high level of skill. The Indian batting is so dangerous – and Pakistan are bowling beautifully … so I can’t pick a winner because it’s that type of game. A little bit of luck does help teams get over the line in the big game. I’m sitting right on the fence.”There was a moment’s hesitation when he was asked if he thought Twenty20 was cricket dumbing down. “I’ve been wrestling back and forwards with it … I do think it’s going to improve one-day cricket. I’m not sure it’ll do much for Test cricket, but Test cricket’s still a pretty good product.” But, warming to his subject, he declared, “I think it’s very much a positive for the game.”However, he did call the worth of individual, non-tournament Twenty20 games in to question. “It’ll be interesting to see the one-off Twenty20 games now, what rides on those if there’s nothing really up for grabs.”

Division One

Day 2
Callum Thorp took six sharp wickets and Phillip Mustard six keen catches to bring Durham right back into their match against Hampshire at Southampton. This was Thorp’s second six-for in a week, after he wrecked Scotland in the C&G match on Sunday and it was a timely one, too, after his side had been dismissed for 234 in the first innings. Hampshire had looked threatening, their openers putting on 59 for the first wicket, but after that things swung Durham’s way. Their own openers, John Lewis and Jimmy Maher, soon erased the first-innings deficit of 22 and by the close Durham had made a solid 165 for 3 on a pitch that was beginning to show signs of wear.Matthew Walker and Neil Dexter joined Martin van Jaarsveld as centurions as Kent passed 600 for only the second time at Canterbury – the first time was against Somerset in 1996. Dexter’s maiden Championship hundred was well made but he survived a run-out appeal when he appeared well short, but the umpire was unsighted. Nottinghamshire began their reply well, losing just Jason Gallian for 7 before stumps, as Darren Bicknell (44*) and David Alleyne (27*) took them to 79 for 1.Day 1
Sussex’s decision to put Yorkshire in on a bowler-friendly pitch was rewarded when the visitors were nipped out for 238 at Arundel. Jason Lewry bowled well – he jagged one back between bat and pad to bowl Michael Vaughan, one of four scalps for him. But Craig White and Richard Dawson led a counterattack to lift Yorkshire from 101 for 6 to 200 for 7. The pitch did a bit early on, but flattened out during the afternoon as White, who was the last man out, and Dawson put on 99 between them. After Dawson fell, though, the momentum fell away, too. Sussex had reached 55 for 2 by the close.Full a full report of Middlesex‘s first day against Lancashire click here.

Division Two

Day 1
The unstoppable Phil Jaques struck a splendid double-hundred to give Worcestershire the upperhand against Northamptonshire at New Road. He was joined by fellow run-machine Graeme Hick with Worcestershire 139 for 3 and together they put on 245, gunning down Northants’ bowlers on a day of toil for them. Of the four wickets to fall all day two of those were run outs, which put paid to Stephen Moore and Ben Smith in their twenties. Matthew Nicholson and Monty Panesar picked up the only bowlers’ wickets, Nicholson removing Vikram Solanki for 23 and Panesar finally prising out Jaques. If Hick, 93 not out overnight, complete his century. it would be his 100th for Worcestershire and his 130th in all, taking him past Len Hutton’s first-class total.Day 2
Varun Chopra continued to show what he’s made of, striking his fourth half-century for Essex in his first seven innings at a cold and windy Derby. Chopra, who is keeping Grant Flower out of the first team, just keeps blossoming and today, on his 19th birthday, he put on 92 with Mark Pettini for the first wicket until Graham Wagg broke their partnership to remove Pettini for 30. Chopra finally fell for 65, removed by Mohammad Sheikh, but by the time Ravinder Bopara (50) and Andy Flower (84*) had also made fifties, Essex had made decent inroads into Derbyshire‘s 312, reaching 271 for 4 before bad light stopped play. Travis Birt had added nine more runs to his overnight score of 121 before falling to Andy Bichel, which brought Derbyshire’s innings to an end.Glamorgan squeezed into a slender first-innings lead against Surrey at Sophia Gardens. While three Glamorgan players made fifty – Mark Cosgrove, Nicky Peng and Alex Wharf – none of them were allowed to progress from there; they were each out shortly after bringing up the milestone. But Robert Croft remains unbeaten on 48 by the close, with Glamorgan leading by 15, with just one wicket remaining. Ian Salisbury struck a flighty 42 from No 9 to add some spice to Surrey’s tail – they added 32 in the morning before he was finally removed.A frustrating day for Gloucestershire‘s batsmen at Grace Road, as most of them made starts, but none failed to go on to fifty. Stuart Broad did the bulk of the damage for Leicestershire, grabbing the last four wickets in 24 balls to claim a career best 5for 83. Gloucestershire declared on 282 for 9, giving Leicestershire a lead which they had extended to 105 runs by stumps, with just one wicket down.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

After the run-fest at the Wanderers on Tuesday night, it was back tonormalcy and worse for Kenya at Kingsmead. New Zealand may have enjoyed alengthy off-season and gone through a change at the top, with DanielVettori taking over from Stephen Fleming, but out on the pitch, it wasvery much normal service as the World Cup semi-finalists romped to anine-wicket win after bowling Kenya out for the lowest-ever score inTwenty20 internationals, 73.Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin and Vettori exploited the extrabounce on a well-grassed pitch to bowl the hapless Kenyans out with 19balls remaining of the 20 overs, and it took New Zealand just 7.4 overs toannounce their intent. But for a 36-run partnership for the fifth wicketbetween Thomas Odoyo and Collins Obuya, it might have been immeasurablyworse. A late flourish from Rajesh Bhudia and Jimmy Kamande nudged thetotal further towards respectability, but it was never going to stretch apowerful New Zealand line-up.Predictably, it was Bond’s pace that started the slide, with a balldarting back into Maurice Ouma and crashing into the stumps via the elbow.When the promising Tanmay Mishra then slashed one to point, it brought thecaptain, Steve Tikolo, to the crease.But worse was to follow as Gillespie took over. David Obuya went gingerlyback to the first ball, and ended up treading on his stumps, and fourballs later came the biggest blow as Tikolo was trapped plumb in front bya delivery that swung in at pace.Odoyo and Obuya revived matters somewhat, taking Jacob Oram for two foursin an over when he came on, but New Zealand had too much in reserve. ChrisMartin had Odoyo miscuing a pull to mid-off, and Nehemiah Odhiambofollowed in identical fashion before Vettori decided to get in on the act.

Obuya was smartly stumped off a leg-side wide, and Alex Obanda bowled offthe pad, and after Budhia slammed a six to slightly tarnish Martin’sfigures, two full tosses from Gillespie finished things off.Kenya needed early wickets, but after two vociferous appeals from Odoyowere turned down, Lou Vincent and Brendan McCullum made short work of aminiscule target. Vincent crashed four fours and a six in his 27 beforesmashing one low to mid-off, and after Peter Fulton survived an excellentshout from Peter Ongondo, two huge sixes off Bhudia put the seal on anemphatic display.Bond’s figures of 2 for 12 were the best for a completed spell in aTwenty20 game, but Gillespie’s 4 for 7 fetched him man of the matchhonours. And the four zeroes at the top of the Kenyan order were anominous sign as Vettori’s team illustrated just why the All Blacks aren’tthe only team in with a chance of a world title in the not-too-distant future.

Scorecard
Sanjay Bangar returned career-best figures of 6 for 41 after to dismiss Vidarbha for 106 before Tejinder Pal Singh steered Railways into the lead on day one at Nagpur. Bangar, at the age of 34 and after 13 years on the circuit, rocked Vidarbha’s middle order with his medium pace variations. Amit Deshpande, the top-scorer with 23, was trapped lbw before Bangar snared three more victims in his next six overs. In reply, Railways stuttered at the start but Tejinder buckled down for a 106-ball 65 to help them take the lead just ahead of stumps.
Scorecard
Led by Sangram Singhs’ superb unbeaten 132, a hungry Himachal Pradesh top order powered on the ignominy against Jammu & Kashmir and finished the first day on 337 for 2. Sandeep Sharma, the captain, got the ball rolling with a polished 65 after his opening partner Manish Gupta was forced to retire hurt early on, but it was the unbeaten 191-run stand for the third wicket that really punished the hosts. Taking the innings by the reins, Sangram smashed 132 from 128 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes, and was ably partnered by Maninder Bisla, who carted 86 from 114 balls. Neither batsman had really gotten going this season – Sangram’s highest was 37 and Bisla had just one fifty – but the duo stepped it up in style and promised plenty more on day two.
Scorecard
Niranjan Behera’s 77 and a solid lower-order rally helped Orissa overcome a jittery start and post 265 for 6 on the first day’s play against Tripura at Agartala. Reduced to 60 for 3 by Vineet Jain, Tripura’s opening bowler, Orissa regained ground thanks to Behera’s 207-ball effort – a career-best knock, incidentally – and handy contributions from captain Pravanjan Mullick (39) and Rashmi Das (27). Behera and Rashmi both departed with the score on 189, but Debasis Mohanty (44 not-out) – who hit 67 in the last match against Jharkhand – and Halhadar Das (25 not out) added a vital 76 to varnish their efforts.
Scorecard
Yashpal Singh, Services’ middle-order batsman, continued his good form with a crucial 103 out of a total of 216 against Jharkhand on day one at Jamshedpur’s Keenan Stadium. A feeble top and middle order crumbled against the spin trio of Sunny Gupta, Shahbaz Nadeem and Shahid Khan, but Yashpal, his side’s highest run-scorer this season by far, held the innings together. He watched batsmen come and go – three fell between overs 31 and 34 – but in Ashish Mohanty, who cracked 57 from No. 8, he found an able ally and the two added 123. Shahid wrapped up matters with 4 for 31 before Jharkhand’s openers played out eight overs to finish the day on 15 for no loss.
Scorecard
Half-centuries to Somasetty Suresh and Sreekumar Nair formed the crux of Kerala’s first-day effort against Goa at Margoa, with the tourists finishing on 204 for 8. Hurt at the top of the innings by Saurabh Bandekar and Anil Naik, Kerala owed much to Suresh’s dour 58 and Nair’s gritty 65 and an 88-run stand for the fourth wicket. Once both departed, there was another mini-collapse with three wickets falling in the last seven overs of the day.
Scorecard
It was slow moving on the first day’s play between Assam and Madhya Pradesh at Dibrugarh, with Assam inching along to 117 for 4 from 65.4 overs. Jagadeesh Arunkumar, the captain, top-scored with an unbeaten 44. The only wicket-takers for MP were the opening bowlers, Sanjay Pandey and Taduri Prakash Sudhindra, with two each. Rahul Bakshi, the wicketkeeper, had three catches to his name.

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain who’s now on the threshold of a Test recall, has said that thoughts of retirement never crossed his mind after being dropped from the team earlier this year.Ganguly is expected to be included in the Test side that is to be named tomorrow, with several voices calling for more experience in a batting line-up struggling for form.In an interview to after Bengal’s Ranji Trophy win against Punjab at Mohali earlier this week, Ganguly insisted that he had it in him to give his best at the highest level, and that it was too premature to give up.”It’s true, a lot of people said I should retire,” he said. “They told me that I had achieved everything in any case, played for the team for 11 years, been captain for five – what else did I want to get out of the game? But I just felt I still had it in me to play at the highest level for longer. At some level, I felt my career will be incomplete if I simply give up now.”Ganguly has had a good start to the domestic season, with a hundred in a Duleep Trophy match against North Zone and a crucial 43 in a low-scorer at Mohali. He has also been among the wickets, picking up nine in three games. Often found wanting against the rising delivery, Ganguly said that he had consciously worked on keeping the ball down during his time off from the Indian side.”When you are out of the team, you get a lot more time to analyse your batting, otherwise you’re just going from one series to another and you don’t get much of a chance. I’ve had time on my hands and I’ve worked on certain things. That’s why I’m so happy with the way I’m playing right now.”Yes, I do have a bit of a problem against short bowling, but you have to understand that a batsman at this level has a lot of strengths as well. If I actually had as big a problem against the short ball as people say, I could not have scored 15,000 international runs. I could say that Virender Sehwag has a problem with balls directed at his body. I could say Dravid has a problem with so-and-so delivery. The point is that you have to play to your strengths and cover your weaknesses.”Ganguly has a reasonable record against South Africa in their backyard, averaging over 43 in nine one-dayers and an average of over 32 in five Tests. He began India’s last tour in 2001-02 with a blistering ton in a one-dayer at Johannesburg, followed by an equally aggressive 85 at East London sending out a statement that he was back among the runs following a lean patch. Recollecting the tour, five years on, Ganguly remained optimistic that his reflexes are still strong to unleash the strokes that fetched him those runs.”I certainly think I can play knocks like the ones you’re mentioning. Otherwise I would’ve given up the game a long time ago. I still feel I have it in me to play those innings again, and perhaps even better ones. Why else would I be fighting to get back into the Indian team?”

Pakistan 292 for 7 (Inzamam-ul-Haq 73, Abdul Razzaq 107*, Shahid Afridi 58, Hondo 3-54) beat Zimbabwe 148 (Sibanda 57, Shoaib Malik 3-37, Shahid Afridi 3-18) by 144 runs
Scorecard and ball by ball details

It was never expected to be a contest, and so it proved in the end, as Pakistan’s new improved unit overwhelmed the rookies of Zimbabwe by 144 runs in an echoingly underpopulated Multan stadium in the first match of the Paktel Cup. But for the first 40 overs of the match, Pakistan’s prospects were not quite as cushy as they seemed, and it required a blizzard of sixes towards the end of their innings for the prospect of an upset to be completely banished.After a woeful start to their innings and a cautious rebuilding process, Pakistan had slipped to 146 for 6 when Shahid Afridi came out to join a cautious Adbul Razzaq, whose 95-run partnership with Inzamam-ul-Haq had rescued the team from a sketchy 38 for 4. Without so much as a by-your-leave, Afridi set about the bowling with typical fury, smacking four sixes and five fours in a 26-ball 58, and Razzaq took up the cudgels as well, racing to his second one-day century – 107 not out from 114 balls – of which the second fifty came from just 21 balls.At 292 for 7, that was effectively that, although Vusi Sibanda did his best to hold up Pakistan’s victory surge with a spirited half-century, as Zimbabwe trickled to 148 all out in 38.3 overs. He received little meaningful support, however, apart from an adhesive 29 from Dion Ebrahim that, if anything, erred a little too far on the side of caution given the massive asking rate. Nevertheless, it was a useful learning experience for the Zimbabwe team, especially their bowlers, who could not have been expected to prosper on a typically batsman-friendly subcontinental wicket.But instead, they came storming out of the blocks. The last time Tinashe Panyangara had been called upon to bowl the first over of a one-day international – against England at Edgbaston in the Champions Trophy – he had sent down seven wides in a fretful performance. Today, however, he was right on the money immediately, as Yasir Hameed edged his first ball straight into Tatenda Taibu’s gloves behind the stumps (0 for 1).Matters got worse before they improved for Pakistan. Douglas Hondo struck with his fourth delivery, as Shoaib Malik attempted to whip across the line and was adjudged lbw to an inducker for 1, and even Yousuf Youhana couldn’t turn the tide. Youhana amassed 405 runs in five matches (average: 405) on Pakistan’s previous trip to Zimbabwe, but this time he feathered a good-length ball from Hondo through to Taibu, as Pakistan slumped to 6 for 3.Panyangara then struck for a second time to remove the debutant opener, Bazid Khan – son of Majid – for 12 (38 for 4), and all eyes were on the captain, Multan’s favourite son, Inzamam. He attracted immense criticism for that decision to bat first in the Champions Trophy semi-final, but this time he was utterly blameless for his team-mates’ shortcomings, even though he might have been a part of the collapse, had Taibu held onto a thin leg-side tickle when Inzamam had made 7.But surely and maturely, Inzamam set about rebuilding the innings, in partnership with the cool and collected Razzaq, who picked the gaps and stole the singles off Zimbabwe’s second-string pairing of Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya. Razzaq had one moment of good fortune, when a checked drive burst through Stuart Matsikenyeri’s fingers and clattered him on the nose, but in the very next over, Utseya removed Inzamam for 73, courtesy of an unfortunate lbw decision.When Moin Khan was stumped off Brendan Taylor’s speculative spinners for 7, Pakistan looked set for a second wobble, but Afridi had other ideas. He and Razzaq launched into their brutal onslaught, and before long, Zimbabwe’s spirited start to the match was just a distant memory.Sibanda did his best to forge a reply, batting with great common sense for his 57 from 69 balls, which included a six over long-on to bring up his fifty. But the rest of Zimbabwe’s top order found survival rather harder to cling to. Matsikenyeri was pinned lbw by Naved-ul-Hasan for 0, before Brendan Taylor had his off stump plucked out by a fizzer from Shoaib Akhtar, that would have cleaned up many more experienced players (8 for 2).It was left to the spinners Afridi and Malik to wrap up the match. Afridi’s spell was particularly buoyant – he bowled Taibu for 3 with his very first delivery, and caused havoc among the tailenders as he whistled topspinners and legbreaks past cagey defensive shots. He even sent down a venomous 76mph bouncer, before wrapping up the match by bowling Hondo for 1.

Michael Hussey’s phenomenal run of form has moved him to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings for one-day international batsmen for the first time following the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, India’s failure to reach the final of the tri-series has resulted in a two-place slip to No.5 in the ICC Championship table.Hussey, 31, went into the DLF Cup at seventh place, but an unbeaten century against West Indies and an average of 152 shot him into first place. Only 12 batsmen have reached higher ratings than Hussey’s mark of 805 points in the past 10 years. With the Champions Trophy beginning in India next month, Hussey will have an opportunity to better his tally. No international batsman has reached 900 rating points since South Africa’s Gary Kirsten in 1996.Incidentally, Hussey displaced Adam Gilchrist, who did not take part in the Malaysia tournament, from the top spot. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, has slipped from second to fourth place. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s poor tournament – just 23 runs from four innings – slipped him down to eighth position.In the bowling category, Brett Lee’s 12 wickets from three matches moved him back into second place. Lee is still well behind South Africa’s Shaun Pollock who retains his status as the world’s top-ranked bowler and all-rounder in ODIs. Nathan Bracken has moved up to fourth in the bowling list, a career best placing, while Ian Bradshaw ends the tournament where he started, in sixth place.

India have the same number of points as Pakistan and New Zealand but now sit below both sides in a tightly packed section of that table when the ratings are re-calculated to three decimal places. The West Indies have taken the seventh position, three points ahead of England and five points behind Sri Lanka. Australia still occupy the first place, seven points ahead of South Africa at No.2.

Click here for the full ICC rankings.

Steve Harmison believes Darren Gough would make the perfect replacement bowling coach for Troy Cooley. Gough, 35, who last night won the BBC’s show, is uncertain whether he will be picked for England’s tour of India in March.”I still believe he could do a job for us as a bowler and I think he would be a great addition to the squad for India,” Harmison told the . “Whether or not he is picked again as a player, I would love to have him as coach.”England are actively seeking a replacement bowling coach after Troy Cooley’s decision to return home to Australia. Yesterday, Cooley suggested it was the ECB’s hesitancy in offering him a renewal which forced him to leave; he had requested a two-year deal in May which was turned down by the board.Gough retired from Test cricket in 2003, but has remained available for selection in one-day internationals, where he has been an exceptional exponent of bowling at the end of the innings.”He is a master of the art of bowling with the new ball and ‘at the death’ and some of that knowledge would be invaluable, particularly in the one-day game,” Harmison added. “He would have the instant respect of all the bowlers because he’s been there and done it, the kind of man you would always go the extra yard for.”

The Central Zone Cooch Behar Under-19 Trophy match between Uttar Pradeshand Railways at the Kamala Club ground in Kanpur ended in a draw on Mondaywith Railways gaining 5 points out of the match since they took the firstinnings lead. Uttar Pradesh had to be satisfied with three.Railways who started their second innings on the final day got to score 152runs in 81 overs, while losing 7 wickets in the bargain. Manoj Srivastava(42) was the top scorer for Railways while the top order chipped in withsome sedate performances.Earlier on the second day Railways managed to take a slender 6 run lead,when the bundled out UP for 179 in their first innings. Apart from theopeners Faizan Khan (42) and A Kapoor (56), who added 86 in 37.5 overs,none of the others stayed long enough to forge significant partnerships.Raza Ali with 3 for 26 was the pick of the Railways’ bowlers.Railways who elected to bat on the opening day, were reduced to 185 after afine 84 run second wicket partnership between Surinder Singh (46) and MSSrivastava (43) which took the score to 101 in 39.2 overs. N Choudhary (3for 46) was the best bowler for UP.

ScorecardKenya won the first one-dayer against Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club by a comfortable 107 runs. Despite this margin, Canada bowled and fielded well in the opinions of both coaches – their own Andy Pick and also Kenya’s coach Roger Harper. But once again the Canadian batting lacked discipline in the one-day format.Yet if the result was routine, the after-match speech provided the most surprise. In a bizarre speech at the conclusion of the game, the Canadian players were clearly stunned by Canadian Cricket Association President, Ben Sennik, saying ‘he was glad Kenya won.’ He commented on his Kenyan heritage and how Canada could learn from the Kenyans, but his remarks neglected an understanding of Canada’s fine win this week over Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup.James Kemande top-scored for Kenya, making 68, and he received solid support from captain Steve Tikolo, who posted 50. Tanmay Mishra added 38 useful runs in the later stages and the opener Kennedy Obuya made 36. But Tikolo said later that he thought his team “were 20 to 30 runs short” of what they should have made.Sanjay Thuraisingham was the pick of the Canadian bowlers, ending with 4 for 35 in 9 overs. He bowled a very tight line in his first spell. He bowled a good line in his first spell, conceding only 2 runs an over, despite there being nothing in the wicket.The Canadian innings never got going and the familiar theme of shot selection proved a problem, as it had in this season’s opening ODI’s in Trinidad. Too many wickets were lost to careless strokes, and the total of 129 all out was a disappointment. George Codrington provided the main resistance, making 40. The slow left-arm bowler Hiren Varaiya took 3-24 for Kenya.It was a frustrating batting performance for Pick. “The batting embarrassed us again,” he said. “It did in Trinidad, and it did again today.” As in Trinidad, where Canada lost to Zimbabwe and Bermuda, he was happy with the bowling and fielding. “Something, somewhere in the top five has to change.”The sides meet again on Sunday at the Toronto Cricket Club. Play begins at 10 am.