There is one certainty at the end of the fourth day in Mohali: there will be a winner. The hard part is predicting whom

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale04-Oct-2010India 405 and 55 for 4 (Tendulkar 10*, Zaheer 5*, Hilfenhaus 3-22) need another 161 runs to beat Australia 428 and 192 (Watson 56, Ishant 3-34, Zaheer 3-43)

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ben Hilfenhaus’ three wickets gave Australia the advantage going into day five•AFP

There is one certainty at the end of the fourth day in Mohali: there will be a winner. The hard part is predicting who. That alone was a good result after a day that began with a draw as the short-priced favourite. But fine bowling from Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan and the Indian spinners set up a gettable chase of 216, before Ben Hilfenhaus bowled Australia to a winnable position of their own late in the day.It left the Test finely balanced; India require 161 runs with Sachin Tendulkar at the crease on 10, and the night-watchman Zaheer on 5. Australia need six wickets, but they know that VVS Laxman, who batted at No. 10 in the first innings, would again be hampered by his bad back when he eventually comes to the crease. Much will depend on Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.The target seemed small enough, but if the hosts triumph it will be the fourth-highest successful chase in Tests in India. The loss of Gautam Gambhir to a dodgy lbw decision – Billy Bowden failed to spot an inside edge – in the first over from Hilfenhaus gave the Australians a spark.Doug Bollinger helped out with the wicket of Rahul Dravid, who edged behind for 13, before Hilfenhaus bounced out Virender Sehwag for 17 and Suresh Raina for a duck, both caught in the cordon fending away chest-high deliveries. The extra bounce was a pleasing sign for Australia’s fast men, after little assistance for the bowlers on the first three days.The Australians began the fourth day in a positive mindset, taking forward their 23-run first-innings advantage. A brisk half-century from Shane Watson rapidly took the lead into triple figures, before Ishant provided the first turning point of the day with three wickets in two overs just before lunch.

Smart Stats

• If India chase down the target of 216 it’ll be their seventh-highest successful fourth-innings chase in Tests. (Click here for more.)

• Shane Watson became only the third Australian, after Damien Martyn and Allan Border, to score a century and a half-century in the same Test in India. Martyn scored 114 and 97 in Nagpur in 2004, and Border made 162 and 50 in Madras in 1979.

• Zaheer Khan became the fifth Indian bowler to pick up 250 wickets in Tests. He has a strike rate of 58.6, the best among those five bowlers.

• Both Simon Katich and Mike Hussey reached the 4000 run mark in the second innings in Mohali. It was the 53rd Test for both batsmen.

• Virender Sehwag’s average in second innings in Tests fell to 30.35 after his dismissal for 17. He has 20 centuries at an average of 69.69 in the first innings but only one hundred in the second innings.

• Ricky Ponting has been dismissed by Ishant Sharma six times in Tests. Only three bowlers have got his wicket more often.

In truth, Ishant’s first wicket was more luck than outstanding bowling, as the aggressive Watson bottom-edged his attempted pull into the stumps and departed for 56. It was just the boost that Ishant required after a first-innings hampered by injury and inconsistency, when he returned 0 for 71 from 11.4 overs.Four balls later, Ricky Ponting pulled Ishant to square leg, and the bowler thought he was on a hat-trick when Michael Clarke chipped the next to midwicket for what appeared to be a golden duck. But Ishant delivers no-balls like Brad Hogg and Ravi Shastri do commentary clichés, and Bowden suspected an overstep.The umpire stopped Clarke from departing, radioed the third official and his suspicions were confirmed – it was a no-ball and the batsman was saved. Clarke’s reprieve was short-lived; in Ishant’s next over he could not evade a sharp and well-directed bouncer that lobbed off his gloves to Dhoni.The triple-strike caused a lunchtime re-evaluation from Australia, who had moved into a strong position while Watson was cutting and driving boundaries with ease. After the break, Simon Katich and Michael Hussey took a safety-first approach. Katich survived several close lbw decisions – including one against Ishant that Bowden wrongly called a no-ball – before he edged Pragyan Ojha behind for 37.That brought a tentative Marcus North to the crease, aware that he could have been on thin ice with the selectors even before his first-innings duck. He looked far from comfortable against Harbhajan Singh, whose angle from around the wicket kept the umpires in the game with several lbw appeals.Harbhajan had North caught at silly point for 10, his sixth failure in as many innings. In Harbhajan’s previous over he had removed the obstacle of Hussey, leg before for 28, although he was unlucky as the fullish ball had pitched well outside the leg stump.Harbhajan and Ojha had strangled Australia’s runs, and were now starting to kill off the batsmen as well. Tim Paine was caught in close off Ojha straight after tea, before Zaheer produced a fine display of old-ball swing by rattling through Australia’s last three wickets to dismiss the visitors for 192.It looked like a professional enough job to hand victory to India, until Hilfenhaus proved he could match the effort. By the close of play, any punters expecting rain could find odds of 101-1 for a draw. It would be a very unwise gamble.

Alastair Cook feels he has rediscovered his ‘rhythm’ at the crease after shaking off his poor form with a crisp second-innings hundred against South Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2010Alastair Cook feels he has rediscovered his ‘rhythm’ at the crease after shaking off his poor form with a crisp second-innings hundred against South Australia.Coming into the Ashes tour Cook was identified as England’s possible weak link. A difficult summer against Bangladesh and Pakistan allied to an average of 26.21 from 10 Tests against Australia was enough for Mitchell Johnson to excitedly declare “there’ll be a lot of pressure on him”.A pair of single-figure scores in England’s first warm-up game against Western Australia ramped up the ante but after an unbeaten 111 at Adelaide, Cook heads into England’s final match before the 1st Test, against Australia A at Hobart, full of confidence.”It was great for me to spend so much time in the middle, especially that first innings for me – to get that tempo and rhythm back into your batting,” he told reporters. Cook battled through 91 deliveries for his 32 in the first innings before edging behind chasing a wide delivery but was pleased to find things clicking into place after struggling at Perth.”It’s amazing how quickly that rhythm and tempo does come back to you,” he said. But it does take that time in the middle to find it. Obviously, it didn’t quite go to plan in Perth – so it was vital for me in this game to spend some time out there. In an ideal world, you’d obviously want to start as you mean to go on. But it was probably about two or two and a half months since I’d had a bat in a match.”It’s all right in nets, for picking the ball up. But trying to find the gaps in the middle is different, and that first innings was really important for me to find my feet. The runs look after themselves then.”His opening partner and captain, Andrew Strauss, has looked in fine form since arriving in Australia and followed his hundred against Western Australia with another fluent century at Adelaide, sharing a 181-run opening stand with Cook. After struggling with just a single half-century in England’s disastrous Test tour four years ago, Strauss looks primed to improve his record and Cook thinks he, and the rest of the side, are in good shape as Brisbane nears.”[Strauss] couldn’t have gone much better – two hundreds in the first two games,” said Cook. “He’s looking in great nick, and all the guys really are playing well. As a squad, things have gone really well. Every batter has spent some time in the middle, and the bowlers have bowled well.”England meet Australia A on Wednesday and despite their strong start to the tour Cook was at pains to warn against complacency. “The big challenges are ahead of us, starting this week against Australia A. We mustn’t get carried away with what we’ve done so far. It’s great to see Straussy and Colly [Paul Collingwood] hitting the ball really well, but ultimately it doesn’t count for too much before the first Test.”

Cricket South Africa have apologised to Herschelle Gibbs for prematurely announcing that his contract was terminated

Firdose Moonda05-Dec-2010Cricket South Africa has apologised to Herschelle Gibbs for prematurely announcing that his contract was terminated.CSA had issued a release on Friday saying that they had cancelled Gibbs’ contract “by mutual agreement.” At the time, Gibbs’ lawyer Peter Whelan was waiting for the board’s legal representative to get in touch with him in order to discuss the matter. They have since met and Whelan confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the contract has now been terminated. “Herschelle did a settlement with CSA, the terms of which are confidential. We can say that there was no bad faith from CSA. It was in everybody’s interests.”Whelan rejected claims that Gibbs had breached his contract as “just rumours”. A source on Friday said that Gibbs had fallen foul of the administration after violating the terms “on various grounds,” in his tell-all autobiography, . The book, which sold out its first print run of 15,000 copies in five days, made damning claims against the national team, detailing how it was run by a clique of senior players comprising Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers. Gibbs had also said former coach Mickey Arthur had been a puppet and revealed details of sexual debauchery, particularly on the 1997-98 tour to Australia.CSA asked its legal counsel to look into allegations made in the book shortly after its release but would not be drawn on whether the findings of their investigation led to Gibbs’ contract being cancelled. “Because of the sensitivity of the matter as well as the confidentiality agreements signed between the parties, the matter is now closed and there will be no further comments from the parties concerned,” Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, said in a statement.Gibbs was one of 23 players contracted until the end of April 2011 but speculation in South Africa was rife that after the cancellation of his contract, Gibbs’ international career was over. However, he “remains eligible for selection” according to the board statement. Gibbs has expressed his desire to play in next year’s World Cup and recently quit first-class cricket to concentrate on the limited-overs format.Gibbs has also obtained a no-objection certificate from CSA, allowing him to play in a Twenty20 competition in New Zealand later this month and sources say he is also interested in participating in the Australian Big Bash. He is also in discussion with his franchise, the Cobras, about signing a contract with them. According to Whelan, the possibility of an agreement with the Cobras “looks good.”

Suspended Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have flown out to Qatar to attend a hearing of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Tribunal

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2011Suspended Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have flown out to Qatar to attend a hearing of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Tribunal. The three-member tribunal headed by Michael Beloff QC will hold a six-day long session starting Thursday before delivering its verdict on the three players.The players were suspended by the ICC in September following spot-fixing allegations against them during the Lord’s Test against England a month earlier. The allegations were raised after a sting operation by Britain’s tabloid claiming that several Pakistani players took money from a bookmaker to bowl deliberate no-balls.”My lawyer has prepared the case extensively and I hope that I will be cleared,” Amir told reporters at Lahore airport. “This is the toughest period of my life but I am confident that it will be over and I will be playing for Pakistan soon.”Salman is being represented by British-based lawyer Yasin Patel, Asif by Allan Cameron, brother of British Prime Minister David Cameron, while Aamer’s lawyer is Shahid Karim from Pakistan.The ICC’s three-man tribunal includes Beloff, Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya. Beloff, the ICC’s code of conduct commissioner, had chaired the hearings into the appeals of Amir and Butt against their suspensions in Dubai, and had upheld the ICC’s decision.

South Zone romped to their first Duleep Trophy title since 1996 with a seven-wicket win over North Zone

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRobin Uthappa hammered three sixes in his 71 off 45 balls•Sivaraman Kitta/K Sivaraman

After a patient, and at times innovative, performance by their bowlers, South Zone’s batsmen played as if they had already made plans for a celebration on Sunday, scoring at 7.52 an over and making sure they completed the win on the fourth day itself. The victory marks the first time South has lifted the Duleep Trophy since the 1995-96 season.North had stumbled from 230 for 3 to 317 all out, leaving South 178 to win and Robin Uthappa had no intention of waiting until the fifth day to complete the chase. Uthappa went berserk on a flat track, smashing fours and sixes to all parts of the ground. The contest between Ishant Sharma and Uthappa was one to watch, after the two had been involved in an altercation on the second day that had cost them both their match fee. Uthappa was the clear winner of the bout. He slapped Ishant for six in his first over, and then pulled him for four in his next.One sensed at this stage that Uthappa was looking to finish it on Saturday itself, and that was made clear in the next over, when Uthappa mauled a hapless Sumit Narwal for 19 runs. On a slow wicket that was providing no sideways movement, Narwal was treated like a gentle medium-pacer. Uthappa was lucky to have an edge carry over the slips for four, but the next three shots were all off the middle of the bat. He dismissed Narwal over mid-on for four, guided him over the slips for another boundary, and then pulled him over fine leg for his second six of the innings.The mayhem continued when Amit Mishra brought himself on, with Uthappa favouring the straight boundaries but mixing things up with a reverse sweep to the deep point fence. When Uthappa holed out to Narwal, skying one to long-off, he had scored 71 off 45 balls with three sixes, and South had already brought up their 100 with 14 overs bowled.Yashpal Singh dismissed Amit Verma in the next over, but there was little respite for North as Manish Pandey came in and played in typically aggressive fashion. Pandey smashed three sixes and two fours before falling to Yashpal Singh, but by then South needed just 12 runs to win. Abhinav Mukund had been relatively quiet while Uthappa was around, but opened up after his opening partner was dismissed. He finished the match with a six over long-on off Shikhar Dhawan. South had taken just 23.4 overs to reach North’s total.The target North set was never going to be enough, and they would have hoped to have got more after Mithun Manhas and Paras Dogra had put together 85 for the fourth wicket. Sreenath Aravind had switched to left-arm spin instead of his seamers, and got the crucial wicket of Manhas, for 79. Manhas got a leading edge and Pandey took the catch at cover. Dogra was soon to follow, this time to South’s regular left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, playing an unnecessary slog and holing out to cover.Yashpal Singh held one end up, but the wickets kept falling at the other end. Aravind got another with his left-arm spin – an arm ball deceiving Uday Kaul – and Abhimanyu Mithun wiped out the tail with the new ball.North were out for 317, and though the speed of South’s chase was unexpected, they were always favourites to win after dominating most of the match.

Former Lancashire and Northamptonshire all-rounder Steven Crook has signed a one-year deal with Middlesex

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2011Former Lancashire and Northamptonshire allrounder Steven Crook has signed a one-year deal with Middlesex.He has been on trial with the club since the start of the year and is now set to start full-time training with the squad as they gear up for the 2011 season.”Steven has worked exceptionally hard during the sessions he has attended and made a positive impression on the coaches,” Angus Fraser, Middlesex director of cricket, said.”He is a talented cricketer who will add to our squad. Middlesex’s coaches believe he possesses bags of potential and after a year out of the game his desire to perform is strong. He is delighted to be back in cricket and is keen to show everyone what he is capable of producing.”In County Championship cricket Steven will initially act as cover for Gareth Berg, whose recovery from a stress fracture of the back is positive even though it is a bit slower than everyone expected. Gareth is expected to be fit for the start of the season but we feel we need cover in the allrounder department. Steven will push for a CB40 place straight away. In time there will be occasions where both Gareth and Steven play in the same Championship side.”Crook, 27, was born in Australia and played 35 first-class matches between 2003 and 2009, scoring 1271 runs at 31.52 and taking 59 wickets at 48.16. He played for Lancashire between 2003 and 2005 before moving to Northamptonshire, who released him at the end of the 2009 season.

While the highlight of day one was the batting of two Test stars, Phil Hughes and Simon Katich, day two featured a battle of wills between two hard-nosed Shield journeymen

Alex Malcolm18-Mar-2011
ScorecardSheffield Shield finals are rarely free-flowing, cut and thrust affairs. More often than not they are attritional, absorbing, last-man-standing encounters.And so it proved on day two of Australian cricket’s domestic showpiece in Hobart. While the highlight of day one was the batting of two Test stars, Phil Hughes and Simon Katich, day two featured a battle of wills between two hard-nosed Shield journeymen.Ben Rohrer has played just 20 Shield matches in four years since scoring 163 on debut at Bellerive. The 29-year-old was preferred for this final over 19-year-old Nic Maddinson, and his experience proved invaluable for NSW this morning.With the second new ball still nipping around, Rohrer made and unbeaten 64 with a positive display of strokeplay to help NSW reach their total of 440 by lunch time. Rohrer, who was well supported by cameos from nightwatchman Scott Coyte (25) and Trent Copeland (26), cracked seven fours and two sixes in his 91-ball stay. The Blues plundered 124 runs in 29.5 overs and the game charged forward at a rate of knots.Ben Hilfenhaus put a poor first day behind him when he took a wicket with his first ball this morning. It was little surprise it was his first ball to a right-hander in this innings. He bowled an impressive spell to remove the only two right-handed NSW batsmen – Peter Nevill and Steve O’Keefe – in the top nine, as he found prodigious swing on a cool and overcast morning. James Faulkner and Xavier Doherty both added to their tallies to finish with three wickets apiece.Whilst the Blues opening batsmen clattered 85 inside 19 overs yesterday, Tasmania’s top four took 35 overs to reach the same mark. The middle session was a grind, highlighted by a battle of wills between former NSW batsmen Ed Cowan and former Bathurst wicketkeeper turned wicket-taker in Copeland.Cowan watches each ball like a hawk and plays to his strengths without trying to over-extend himself. Copeland is the bowling equivalent. He doesn’t try to bowl any quicker than 125kph. And instead uses guile and patience to strangle his victims, delivering over after over with metronomic precision.It was a fascinating duel over four absorbing hours. Cowan finished unbeaten on 80 from 177 balls while Copeland delivered 21 overs and claimed two wickets and perhaps deserved more.There were other players who impressed aside from the duo. Teenager Pat Cummins, who became the youngest player ever to play in a Shield final, was exceptional in bowling 20 overs over genuine pace. His first ball of the day was 134kph, his last 142kph. In between he was far too fast for Nick Kruger trapping him in front for one, and troubled every Tasmanian he bowled to. No batsman was excluded from the barrage of high-velocity, short balls. George Bailey was troubled more than any but it was Copeland who was rewarded for Cummins’ work.Alex Doolan also played a nice hand as his 46 oozed class and reminded onlookers of the uncomplicated style of Martin Love. But the 25-year-old fell to Copeland, edging behind. Mark Cosgrove’s entrance unshackled Cowan and the pair adding 53 in from 13 overs. They will need a lot more tomorrow to eat into the 280-run deficit.

Canterbury opening bowler, Lea Tahuhu, 20, has been named in the 14-member New Zealand women’s squad for the quadrangular series in England in June this year

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2011Canterbury opening bowler, Lea Tahuhu, 20, has been named in the 14-member New Zealand women’s squad for the quadrangular series in England in June this year. The competition will be played over one-day and Twenty20 formats, with England, India and Australia making up the other three teams.The squad is without regulars Erin Bermingham, Sophie Devine and Sarah Tsukigawa. While Tsukigawa has announced her retirement, Bermingham is out with a shoulder injury and Devine has committed to hockey in her bid for inclusion in the New Zealand team for the London Olympics.The New Zealand women are also scheduled to play three one-day matches against Australia in Brisbane between June 12 and 16. Originally slated to be played in Christchurch, the venue for these matches was shifted following February’s earthquake.Squad: Aimee Watkins (capt.), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-captain), Kelly Anderson, Suzie Bates, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Lucy Doolan, Frances Mackay, Sara McGlashan, Katey Martin, Liz Perry, Rachel Priest, Sian Ruck, Lea Tahuhu

Skipper Alex Gidman led from the front as Gloucestershire made a successful start in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a three-wicket win over Glamorgan at Bristol

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Skipper Alex Gidman led from the front as Gloucestershire made a successful start in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a three-wicket win over Glamorgan at Bristol. The Dragons were able to post only 197 for 8 after winning the toss, Stewart Walters top-scoring with 79 off 98 balls and Jon Lewis taking four for 41.Such a target never looked likely to trouble the Gladiators once Gidman (63) and Hamish Marshall (55) had shared a second-wicket stand of 117 and they got home with 15 balls to spare. James Harris took 3 for 39.Glamorgan failed to gain any early momentum to their innings as the wily Lewis pinned opener Gareth Rees lbw with a ball that nipped back and then bowled Mike O’Shea for five in an opening four-over spell of 2 for 15. James Fuller had Alviro Petersen superbly caught at full stretch above his head by Ian Cockbain at second slip off a flashing drive and at 21 for 3 the
visitors had to show caution.Ben Wright (25) helped Walters take the score to 87 before being bowled giving left-arm spinner Ed Young the charge and it was 110 for 5 when Mark Wallace was unluckily run out at the non-striker’s end as Young got a touch to a Walters straight drive.Walters, who had reached his half-century off 77 balls, produced the first six of the innings with a pull off Fuller in the 32nd over before Graham Wagg was bowled by Lewis for 14. David Payne was slog-swept by Walters for a second six, before Glamorgan’s top scorer got a thick edge to Lewis which sent the ball spiralling up to Young at short third-man.Young conceded only 24 runs from his eight overs and was backed up by some excellent Gloucestershire ground fielding.The home side suffered an early setback when Cockbain was adjudged lbw to Harris for four, despite the ball looking to strike him rather high. But Gidman and Marshall played with great fluency to both reach their half-centuries in the 18th over. Gidman’s occupied 58 balls and featured five fours, while Marshall’s came off 43 deliveries, with six boundaries.There was a wobble from 122 for 1 to 146 for 5 as the pair perished and were joined back in the pavilion by Chris Taylor and Jon Batty, but Gloucestershire always had plenty of overs in hand. Young (32 not out) saw them safely to victory.

Rapid half-centuries by Riki Wessels and David Hussey helped Nottinghamshire maintain their 100% start to the Friends Life t20 campaign

08-Jun-2011
ScorecardRiki Wessels continued his good form with a rapid 70•PA Photos

Rapid half-centuries by Riki Wessels and David Hussey helped Nottinghamshire maintain their 100% start to the Friends Life t20 campaign with a 28-run victory over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.The Outlaws piled up 193 for 7 and made it three wins in three outings as Warwickshire sank to their second home defeat in four days. With Darren Pattinson and Luke Fletcher sharing nine wickets, they could only muster 165 despite a valiant 61 from 36 balls by Darren Maddy.Wessels set the tone for the match by pulling two sixes in Neil Carter’s first over and Hussey also cleared the ropes twice as the left-arm seamer finished with 2 for 61 runs, the most expensive return by a Warwickshire bowler in the competition.In his attempts to find a yorker length, the 36-year-old Carter bowled a number of full tosses which were dispatched over the shorter boundary. His main consolation was the wicket of Hussey with a comfortable catch by Maddy at deep point.Hussey made 56 from 31 balls and will go into the next match against Leicestershire at Grace Road on Friday needing seven runs to beat Brad Hodge’s world record total of 3,690 in Twenty20 cricket.Yet if anything Hussey was outshone by Wessels’ performance at the top of the order. Taking his cue from the early bombardment of Carter, he also hit two sixes in an over from Steffan Piolet and faced only 43 balls before he was run out for 70 by Maddy’s return from extra cover.Warwickshire stumbled at the start, crumbling to 36 for 3, but they found some momentum when Jim Troughton put on 54 in six overs with Maddy before Pattinson bowled the Bears captain for 30.Patel became a target for Maddy as the all-rounder smashed three of his five sixes off the offspinner. The other two came off Andy Carter – but the return of Pattinson killed off Warwickshire.Maddy and Keith Barker (20) put up straightforward catches from successive balls and when Pattinson accounted for Piolet and Tim Ambrose in his last over he had taken 5 for 25, the best figures in the competition for Nottinghamshire. Fletcher also picked up two more wickets for a personal-best Twenty20 return of 4 for 30.