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

Ricky Ponting’s Australia emulated Steve Waugh’s run of 16 consecutive Test wins as they took a 2-0 lead in the series against India in a thriller of a game that went right down to the wire at the SCG. With only six minutes to spare as the shadows lengthened Michael Clarke picked up the last three wickets from only five balls as Australia sneaked home. India will be gutted, not merely because they had resisted stoutly but because once again they were at the receiving end of some umpiring decisions that will be talked about for some time to come.At the end of a very long day it seemed as though India had hung in there for the draw that left the series open heading into Perth when Clarke was thrown the ball in the 69th over of the day. Anil Kumble, who had resisted admirably, negotiated it with little trouble. But it was the next Clarke over that knocked the last nails into India’s coffin.Off the first ball, a brute that reared and took the outside edge to be smartly caught by Michael Hussey, Harbhajan Singh was dismissed. RP Singh planted his foot down the pitch to the next one but only interrupted the ball’s onward journey to the stumps and was lbw for a first-ball duck. Ishant Sharma negotiated the hat-trick ball, another straight one, and dabbed the next to the on side but the fifth ball did for him. Tossed up and outside the off, the ball gripped the surface and went via outside edge straight to slip, and Australia had the result they wanted.The knock of the innings came from Kumble, and you had to feel for him when he was left stranded on 45 off 111 balls as the last wicket fell. Kumble was a picture of concentration and determination, and if there was any anger at the decisions that went against India it was channelled into a batting effort that would have done many top-order batsmen proud. Although more comfortable playing off the back foot Kumble ensured that he came forward to the spinners when he could, taking the lbw out of play as much as possible.At the end of the day Australia won a dramatic Test but it was not entirely without some help from the umpires. When you pick up a pack of Benson & Hedges you get a statutory warning: “Smoking cigarettes is injurious to health.” From this day on, the firm of Benson & Bucknor may well have to come with some sort of warning. It’s a shame when you have to spend more time talking about the umpiring than the wickets taken or the runs scored, but when the errors umpires make play a big role in deciding the course of a game, there’s little choice.The first bad decision of the final day went against Rahul Dravid, who was a key component in India’s stonewalling after Australia had set them 333 from a possible 72 overs and shut them out of the game. Dravid’s dour approach at the top of the order has raised a good many eyebrows and elicited ironic jeers and cheers from Australian crowds, but it was just what India needed.Dravid was positive in his judgment of what to play and what to leave, confident in defence and when the occasion presented itself, willing to drive safely. He had consumed 103 balls for his 38 when he tucked his bat completely behind pad with all the safety of a Swiss banker and padded Andrew Symonds away. Even with no part of blade visible, Steve Bucknor upheld a spirited appeal for the catch behind when the ball had come off the knee roll. Dravid has copped his fair share of debatable decisions as he has tried to bat his way out a lean patch, but this one took the cake, and he shook his head in disbelief all the way back to the dressing room.When Dravid fell, India were 4 for 115 and precariously poised. Already Wasim Jaffer had gone for a duck, edging Brett Lee to Adam Gilchrist, VVS Laxman had been trapped plumb in front by a clever bit of bowling from Stuart Clark and Sachin Tendulkar had dragged one back onto his stumps.Sourav Ganguly batted as though he was under no pressure, bringing a refreshing confidence and positive mindset to the middle. Just as Dravid’s defensive approach was best for him, Ganguly had found a way to launch his own resistance and it was certainly more pretty to watch. Planting his foot well down the ground and driving superbly through the off side, Ganguly was scoring at a run-a-ball when none of the Indian batsmen before him had come close to doing so.

Andrew Symonds was the one to suffer the most against Ganguly, being taken for three consecutive boundaries through cover in one over, as well as having him dropped at slip off his bowling. The fast men did not trouble Ganguly much either, that is until the ball that terminated his innings. Having raced to a half-century Ganguly slashed one to Clarke in the slips cordon. Clarke went low to take the catch and it was not clear if he had got his fingers under the ball, but that should have proved to be irrelevant as he subsequently grounded the ball, tumbling to his left in the process of completing the catch. Mark Benson, called upon to rule on this one, chose not to ask his partner at square-leg, or go to the third umpire, and instead was satisfied by a word from Ricky Ponting, also stationed at slip. Only a few minutes before this Ponting had claimed a bat-pad catch after clearly grounding the ball in the process. Why Benson chose to take Ponting’s word for it, after all that had happened, is something only he knows the answer to. Either way it was time for Ganguly to go, on a well-made 51 and India were 6 for 137.Then a fresh rearguard began, with two new protagonists in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kumble. Dhoni has not been a force with the bat in the Tests so far and it was not his brute force but his mental strength that was called upon. Dhoni left his big shots back in the pavilion and defended stoically, albeit in somewhat unorthodox fashion. He was fidgety outside the off stump but ensured he did not nick the ball.The Dhoni-Kumble stand had pushed on to 48, and more importantly eaten up precious time – 21 overs to be exact – before an error of judgment from Dhoni, when he padded up to an offbreak from Symonds and was plumb in front, separated the two. Then came the Clarke special that sealed the deal. He’d endured a poor match with the bat, picking up more wickets than scoring runs, but playing such a big part in the win, he’ll take it.And Clarke’s wickets could not have been more timely. When Ponting prolonged the Australian second innings till they reached 401, thanks mainly to an unbeaten 145 from Hussey, there was just the thought that he hadn’t the time to bowl out the Indians. At the end of the day, 72 overs proved to be enough, albeit by the thinnest of slivers.

Hampshire County Cricket Club has received permission from Eastleigh Council to erect permanent floodlights at the Rose Bowl near Southampton, thereby improving the ground’s chances of becoming the premier venue for day-night internationals in England.Last season, the Rose Bowl was chosen alongside The Oval and Edgbaston as the venues for the ICC Champions Trophy, although it did not attract rave reviews, with access to the ground for England’s key fixture against Sri Lanka proving extremely difficult, as 16,000 spectators descended on the area.But Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s chairman, retains mighty ambitions for the ground, which hosted its first first-class match in 2001 and will this season host England’s first Twenty20 match, against Australia on June 13.Hove, Chelmsford and Derby are the only current grounds with permanent floodlights, although none of these has the capacity to host a one-day match, a fact of which Bransgrove is keenly aware. “I am confident we are offering the ECB something it both wants and needs,” he said, during the Champions Trophy.The plan is for six floodlights to be in place for the start of the 2006 season, although the county is taking something of a leap of faith, seeing as income from county cricket alone is not sufficient to meet the running costs of the ground. “Give us the opportunity to compete on the world stage,” Bransgrove concluded, “and make the Rose Bowl an international [cricket] centre.”

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.

New Zealand’s batsmen had their tactics well worked out when they came to face the Indian spinners on a fifth-day pitch. Play off the front foot, eschew strokes on the off side – especially shots against the spin – and sweep when in doubt.As the table below demonstrates, three-quarters of the runs scored off the bat on the final day came on the leg side. The stats were most stark in the first session, when only six runs were scored on the off side, and 43 on the on. It wasn’t as if the Indian bowlers strayed on leg stump either: out of the 540 balls bowled today, 400 pitched on or outside off, from which New Zealand managed 144 runs.

The sweep shot came in handy too: 35 of them were played in thefirst two sessions, fetching 47 runs. Craig McMillan might havebeen dismissed playing that stroke in the first innings, but thatdidn’t prevent him from favouring that stroke in the secondinnings: 25 of his 83 runs came from that shot.The New Zealand batsmen played forward almost 75% of the time -not surprising, considering the nature of the wicket – but apartfrom Lou Vincent, no-one was prepared to use their feet and comedown the pitch. Vincent did it nine times, the rest of the teamdidn’t step out even once.For India, Anil Kumble showed an encouraging return to form. Asthe graphic shows, 212 out of the 235 balls he bowled were ongood length or slightly short – that’s an impressive 90%. ForHarbhajan, the corresponding figure was a mind-boggling 95%. ThatNew Zealand held on despite such accuracy says much about thefortitude and doggedness of the batsmen.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has applauded the resumption of ties between India and Pakistan, insisting it will serve the game globally.With an India team taking part in the Asian Under-19 Championship in Pakistan, Syed Ashraful Huq, ACC’s chief executive, said: “It is a heartening sign that the deadlock is finally broken and both countries are now willing to play cricket at all levels which will ultimately serve the cause of cricket.”The ACC is delighted that the respective governments of both the countries have finally realised to resume cricket relations and the ice has been broken with the visit of the Indian junior team."Huq added, “As a body we can organise and promote cricket and can extend support to our affiliate members countries, but we cannot direct or influence any country to play cricket with another country.”Huq also revealed that the ACC received a grant of US$6.5 million from the ICC every two years which was used to promote the game in 16 member countries. He said: “A few countries, including Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, have made tremendous progress in cricket and they are now knocking at the doors of one-day international cricket which is due to the hard work of ACC.”

Western Australia 512 (Campbell 144, Rogers 95, North 70, Wates 53) lead Queensland 2 for 195 by 317 runs
Scorecard

Ryan Campbell clattered 144 and took Western Australia to a mammoth 512 all out in their Pura Cup match against Queensland at the WACA ground in Perth. In response, Queensland totted up 2 for 195, thanks mainly to a quickfire 76 from Jimmy Maher.Campbell, the star of the day, was severe on all the bowlers and Nathan Hauritz, the recently-capped offspinner, came in for special tap, as he was hit for three sixes in one over. Brad Hogg (44) and Darren Wates (53) ensured that Campbell had good support and Western Australia breezed past 500.Campbell’s innings included eight sixes and included a century in a session: in the morning passage he rattled up 112. Campbell shared in a huge 184-run partnership for the eighth wicket, with Wates.When Queensland replied, they were able to post a healthy 2 for 195 at the end of the day. Maher, the Queensland captain, made an invaluable 76 at the top of the order before skying Hogg to Wates. Clinton Perren, the other opener, made 41 before dragging a Wates delivery back on to his stumps. After the fall of Maher’s wicket, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson consolidated to ensure that no further wickets were lost on the day.

Scorecard
In Durban, KwaZulu-Natal’s pace attack had Gauteng in early trouble, as they slumped to 36 for 5, but Derek Crookes hit them out of trouble with a fiery 77. He was well supported by Shane Burger, who finished with an unbeaten 53, as Gauteng managed to reach 228. Crookes, who has played 32 one-dayers for South Africa, smashed 15 fours and counterattacked when all looked lost. Zahir Abrahim and Ugeshan Govender were the most successful bowlers for Natal and both had the batsmen struggling against the moving ball. Both ended with three wickets apiece. In reply Natal made a solid start with Rivash Gobind (40 not out) and Mark Sanders (36 not out) sharing an unbroken opening partnership of 82.
Scorecard
At Newlands, a middle-order collapse triggered by Eugene Moleon, the medium-pacer, cost Western Province a few jitters. But they recovered well and declared after reaching 276 for 7 in 85 overs. Renier Munnik was once again among the runs with an undefeated 65 while Doug Worth scored his maiden first-class fifty and notched up 71. North West started off shakily and were reduced to 22 for 3 but they fought back grimly and finished the day at 76 for 4, with Werner Coetsee unbeaten on 43.

On Friday Andrew Strauss became the first English batsman for 35 years to score a century in his maiden Test innings. “Strauss joins an elite quartet after composing historic score” read The Times headline, as the punsters of Fleet Street queued up to join him in a waltz.Not since John Hampshire hit a century against West Indies in 1969, also at Lord’s, has an English batsman reached the milestone in his first innings. Graham Thorpe, another left-hander, made an unbeaten 114 in the second innings of his debut Test, against Australia, in 1993.Hampshire, however, never came close to another century in the remainder of his eight-Test career. “Strauss’s innings was a lot better than mine because I was absolute crap”, he told The Mirror. “I nicked everything and I didn’t hit anything in the middle all through my innings. But I was proud of it, of course I was. I got my just desserts though, they left me out for the next Test. I had only played in the first place because they had injuries.” That aspect, at least, sounds familiar.Strauss looked nervous in the 90s, and took over 40 minutes to score the final 10 runs to reach his hundred. He was very lucky to survive an inside-edge off Chris Martin that actually clipped his off stump, and slashed a hard chance to gully when on 95. He finally drove Martin through the covers for his 12th four to reach a century off 199 balls.”The odds were in Strauss’s favour,” wrote Michael Henderson in the same newspaper. “The pitch was good and the bowling, all too frequently, was not. He plays for Middlesex so there was nothing unsettling about his presence on the game’s greatest stage, as there can be for others. Yet the runs still take some getting and he got them, somewhat methodically for some tastes but with no lack of conviction.”Strauss added 190 with Marcus Trescothick, his stand-in captain, against an attack that looked competent, but by no means dangerous. “Others have started well, including Ed Smith last season,” said Christopher Martin Jenkins, The Times’ chief cricket correspondent, “but not since Trescothick has it looked so abundantly clear that a Test batsman of substance has arrived for England.””And if England win this Test match, what about Trescothick?” wondered Martin Johnson in The Telegraph. “The stand-in captain has barely put a foot wrong here, which makes a change from critics of his batting complaining that he barely puts a foot anywhere. When Strauss makes a century the word “waltz” rarely fails to make it into the headline, but if Trescothick attempted an evening of waltzing, there would be a lengthy queue outside the chiropodist the following morning.”Strauss was not even in the original squad to play in the first Test atLord’s, but was handed his debut because of Michael Vaughan’s withdrawal through injury. His performance will now give the selectors and Vaughan, assuming he is fit, a lot to think about when picking the squad for the second Test.”Will the recently-mooted plan to move either himself or MarcusTrescothick down to No. 4 now be forced upon England?” asked Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. “Will an extra batsman’s slot be needed to accommodate Nasser Hussain, who will now feel under even more pressure?””So the cat has been placed very firmly among the pigeons”, added Mike Selvey in The Guardian. “As Strauss was completing his hundred,Nasser Hussein had been watching from the team balcony and no doubt reading the runes. One reason not to change a side is a fear of the unknown. Now though, the pressure is on him, the most vulnerable of the England batsmen, to continue to prove himself.”The day did not belong only to Strauss. Chris Cairns is the closest thing New Zealand has produced to a superstar since the days of Martin Crowe, and Richard Hadlee before him. Had his career not been blighted by injury, he may even have surpassed their achievements. Against England on Friday he smashed 82 off just 47 balls, a rate of scoring not often achieved even in one-day matches.With his third six, Cairns surpassed Viv Richards’s record number of sixes in Test matches, and had another record, also held by Richards, well within his sights. Had he scored 18 off the next nine balls, he would have surpassed Richards’s record for the fastest Test hundred. It was not to be, however, as soon after hitting Andrew Flintoff into the stands past extra-cover, he skied the same bowler to Steve Harmison at fine leg.”Cricket has a few dull, earth-bound records, but this is not one of them,” said Tim de Lisle in The Times. “A six is more than just the most runs you can make from one shot. It is also the most damage you can do to a bowler’s self-esteem and it is the biggest thrill you can give a cricket crowd. When Cairns was batting, it was a different match.”Liam Brickhill is editorial assistant of Wisden Cricinfo.

Ozias Bvute, the managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket, has defended the controversial policy of issuing new contracts to their professional players based on performance in terms of runs, wickets and fielding.Senior players Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu and Andy Blignaut have already met thecriteria but more than 20 others will be assessed by a panel including national team manager Babu Meman and coach Kevin Curran.”This is and will be a detailed assessment, on the basis of past, current andperceived future results and performance,” said Bvute. He said the 24 remaining “Level One” (lower rated) players had been offered basic salaries and expenses.This new policy lies at the root of the current dispute with the players. Bvute said that Stuart Carlisle, Barney Rogers and Neil Ferreira had demanded a minimum contractual income and had not been offered any contract at all. “If I wanted a 737 Boeing aircraft parked at Harare airport, that would be unreasonable, not a negotiating position,” he said, replying to a question abouttheir position perhaps being one for negotiation. “What I’m saying is that as far as those three are concerned there is no room for any negotiating position now.”But Bvute insisted: “We are not in a crisis.” Talks between Zimbabwe Cricket and players’ representative Clive Field are expected to resume later this week. Field warned that the dispute, which blew up last Thursday, “could become a major issue detrimental to Zimbabwe and indeed to international cricket”.”Some players have said it could become as destructive an issue as last year’s strike,” said Field, “which had been triggered by senior player accusations of national team selections based on race, and I think they could be right. This is a cause for real concern. The players have decided they will still be making themselves available for selection to matches remaining on the India tour (two Tests and a warm-up game) on the basis of them keeping the high moral ground.We have reached a situation where trust is paramount. We are told the contracts will now be re-presented on September 14 rather than the original date of September 30.”

The England cricket team were named as the recipients of the Spirit of Cricket Award at the ICC Awards celebration in Sydney on Tuesday. The Spirit of Cricket Award was presented to the Full Member team which, in the opinion of the Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires and Referees and the captains of the ten Test teams, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.This Spirit is described in the preamble to the Laws of Cricket: “Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit causes injury to the game itself.”The preamble goes on to say:”The Spirit of the Game involves respect for:
*Your opponents
*Your own captain and team
*The role of the umpires
*The game’s traditional values”
Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said: “On behalf of the ICC I wish to congratulate England for winning the Spirit of Cricket Award. Michael Vaughan’s side has enjoyed considerable success on the field during the voting period and this award shows they have done so by upholding the traditional values of the game.”Andrew Flintoff, who also shared the Player of the Year award with Jacques Kallis, said that the credit belonged to his captain, Vaughan. “Over the past two years since he has taken over we have beaten every side we have come up against,” said Flintoff. “Vaughny has wanted the lads to have no fear of failure, enjoy playing cricket and enjoy each others company.”I think we have played the game in the right way. He’s brought the best out of me, and is still bringing the best out of me. We are a happy bunch of cricketers, we enjoy playing cricket and I think it shows in the way we play.”England were the second recipients of the Award after it was won by New Zealand in 2004. The Spirit of Cricket Award was one of eight individual and team honours handed out during the ICC awards.