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‘It’s very good to see the younger players make a contribution’ © Getty Images

Brian Lara once again cited Greg Chappell’s comments – that West Indies’poor run of form had made it difficult for them to win close games – as the spur for athrilling three-wicket triumph at the Motera Stadium. The victory not onlytook West Indies into the semi-finals as they seek to defend the trophythey won two years ago in England, but it also ensured that eitherAustralia or India, two of the pre-tournament favourites, will be missingfrom the climactic week of action.Addressing the media after his batsmen had chased down 223 with two ballsremaining, Lara said: “Going back to that statement that Greg [Chappell]made in Jamaica, the guys are really determined each time they get out onto the field against India. We’ve done that in the Caribbean, and inMalaysia we had a win and a loss. Here again, most importantly, playingIndia at home, the guys knew the enormous task it was.”Yes, we were winning against them, but in foreign conditions to them.Playing here in Ahmedabad, they definitely had the advantage, with thecrowd and knowing the pitch. We wanted to win, and we planned to win, andthe guys executed well.”Despite a worrying wobble at the end, Lara was more than satisfied withthe manner in which the top order went about the task, propelled byanother blistering cameo from Chris Gayle. “I thought it was very wellcalculated by all the batsmen,” he said. “Partnerships were veryimportant, and it was a lot of mature batting from the likes of ChrisGayle and right through. Dwayne Bravo, batting for the first time at No. 3,had a 50-run partnership with Chanderpaul, the man of the match, whoguided it.”Sarwan seems to be gaining more and more with experience, showing theclass and determination that he has. It was a good victory, but notcomprehensive. It came down to the last. Someone was saying: ‘West Indieswill always give you excitement’. We gave you this match and we gave you ado-or-die in Mohali on Sunday (laughs).”Though he didn’t focus too much on individuals, Lara was delighted withthe form shown by Runako Morton, who followed up a superb 90 againstAustralia with a vital 45 in this game. “We’ve been working on getting himto play a lot of shots and manoeuvring the ball around the field,” hesaid. “He knew he had to work on it, and was willing to do it. What weknow about Morton is that he doesn’t give up his wicket very cheaply, andhe’s someone that done very well in Test matches in recent times. Now’s headapting to the one-day game, and he’s definitely someone we like havingaround. The last two games, he’s shown that he wants to be in the team.Consistency is now what’s expected.”

‘It was a good victory, but not comprehensive. It came down to the last’ © AFP

In the space of little over a week, West Indies have prevailed over bothAustralia and India, and Lara, who played his part in the first triumphwith a dazzling 71, refused to rate one above the other. “We spoke aboutthese two games, playing against the No. 1 team in the world and playingagainst the hosts, and I don’t think any one gave us more satisfaction,”he said. “If we get past the first round in the World Cup, Australia andIndia are two teams we’re going to meet in the second round. Getting thatadvantage, playing away from home and beating them, is good. But we’ve gotto move on. This is just the build-up to it [the World Cup], and I’m veryhappy with the way we’re approaching it.”The upswing in West Indies’ one-day fortunes has coincided with Lara’sthird stint at the helm, and he attributed recent impressive victories tomore thorough preparation off the field. “I think regrouping and findingout exactly where we’ve been going wrong,” he said, when asked if he couldpinpoint a factor or two for the reversal of fortune. “It’s never been asituation where we’re short in confidence, or on talent. It’s aboutgetting it together, and doing a lot of background work. The guys talk alot of cricket off the field, that’s where you learn the game. It’s verygood to see the younger players make a contribution and that’s where we’rewinning the game – off the field.”There was some sympathy for an Indian line-up that will face intensecriticism if they exit their own party on Sunday. “The conditions arepretty difficult, the pitches are not batting paradises,” he said. “Indiaalso have a lot of their experienced batsmen up in the top five. So if youkeep them tight, contain and take wickets, it’s a little vulnerable in themiddle. But the likes of [Suresh] Raina and [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni haveless than 100 one-day matches. They’re going to learn the game as they goon, and you expect India in their conditions to excel. In a tournamentlike the World Cup in the Caribbean, where the pitches are similar toIndian ones, I think India are going to be a force to be reckoned with.”His own participation in the game was in doubt till the very last, butLara suggested that pulling out had never really been an option, givenwhat was at stake. “I wasn’t a hundred percent, but I thought we’d leaveit as late as possible,” he said. “This morning, I did some work with thephysiotherapist and felt a lot better. I thought it was a very importantgame for us. We didn’t want to come back on Saturday and have to winagainst England.”The fact that he made only five didn’t bother him, with Marlon Samuels’slash to third man ensuring that there would be no fatal twist in thetale. “It was a short ball, but I didn’t pick up the slower ball,” he saidwhen asked of his dismissal. “I had to try to change the shot midway. Itwas unfortunate to drag it back onto the stumps. But we knew exactly whatwe had to do. We kept wickets in hand, and won at the end of the day.”And after an outing where nearly everyone impressed, it’s going to be abrave man who ridicules their chances of going all the way again.

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Dinesh Mongia’s innings of 39 and two cheap wickets earned him the Man-of-the-Match award against Somerset © Getty Images

Leicestershire’s 66-run victory over Somerset booked them a place in tomorrow’s finals day. Set 173 to win, Somerset failed to take the attack to Leicestershire’s bowlers, and wickets continued to tumble. Only John Francis, with an innings of 49 from 44 balls, threatened to deny Leicestershire a victory; Jeremy Snape and Dinesh Mongia both bowled remarkably tidily, each picking up two wickets. Mongia’s figures of 2 for 6 from four overs were particularly impressive. Leicestershire’s innings was built around the top four batsman, with Darren Maddy hitting 42 from just 27 balls, and Mongia 39 from 23 balls; Mongia’s innings, and his two cheap wickets, earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
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Paul Harris took two wickets in consecutive balls for Titans, but Chilaw Marians knocked over their opponents for just 112 © Getty Images

Sri Lankan champions Chilaw Marians booked their place in the finals of the International 20:20 competition by cruising past Titans. Setting Titans 180 for victory, the South African side could only manage 112.Janaka Gunaratne claimed 4 for 21 to polish up the Titans’ lower order as they lost wickets at regular intervals in the run chase, while Dinuk Hettiarachchi claimed three victims to give the Marians a further boost.The Marians had chosen a bold approach when batting first with Ishan Mutaliph blasting 32 as they raced along to 98 for 1 off eight overs. Nimesh Perara hammered eight fours in his 39 off 18 balls to give them further momentum, after Paul Harris had claimed two wickets with successive balls and come very close to claiming a hat-trick.But Johann Myburgh three wickets for seven runs in his first two overs as the Marians’ failed to bat out their full 20 overs. In the end, their total of 179 proved more than enough.But it wasn’t to prove costly as they came out on top, and will accompany the PCA Masters XI in Finals Day tomorrow.

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Imran Khalid grabs the wicket of Arul Suppiah © Getty Images

After yesterday’s near washout, the International 20:20 got underway today with Somerset against Faisalabad Wolves, and the Wolves eased through to victory by 30 runs. Mohammad Hafeez got proceedings off to an electric start, clobbering 79 from only 35 balls to give the Wolves early momentum. He then took three wickets in Somerset’s reply in what was an excellent all-round effort.Hafeez hammered six sixes and six fours in his explosive innings, four of his sixes coming off one over from Keith Parsons. The opener received good support from Asif Hussain, whose 30 from 32 balls was positively pedestrian in comparison to Hafeez’s knock. The Wolves, who yesterday lost their opening game in a bowl-out against Leicestershire, needed a good score and a high run-rate in order to qualify for the finals, ending on 207 for 5 from their 20 overs.Haveez was eventually out to Ian Blackwell, who trapped him leg before, but Ijaz Ahmed struck a quickfire 40 to see the Wolves past the 200 mark.Somerset couldn’t match the Wolves’ run-rate, and lost crucial early wickets. Despite a predictably violent innings from Blackwell, the outcome of the match was never in doubt. He came to the crease in the second over of the innings, and smashed 12 fours and two sixes in his knock of 82 from just 48 deliveries. When he holed out to long off, it spelt the end of Somerset’s hopes, although John Francis did strike a quick 41.Hafeez was the chief destroyer for the Wolves, picking up 3 for 23 from 3.4 overs and deservedly collecting the Man-of-the-Match award.

Ricky Ponting’s stand on technology is similar to his predecessors’: he doesn’t want any© Getty Images

In a survey conducted by the ICC, technology has found favour with most international captains, who believe that it will result in better decision-making by umpires. While some aspects of already existing technology were questioned, the general opinion was that umpires needed to have a load taken off their shoulders. Incidentally, the ICC’s recent experiment with no-ball calls at the Videocon Cup was given a thumbs-up by the umpires.The two dissenting voices came from Australia and Zimbabwe: Tatenda Taibu believed that "what’s already there is enough", while Ricky Ponting felt that decisions were best left to the umpires.Michael Vaughan was more vocal in its support, but also suggested that existing technologies needed to be looked at again. He also felt that the role of technology should not overshadow the role umpires played."In general, I am in favour of using new technology to assist the umpires as they only have a split second in which to make a decision which can be analysed over and over again," Vaughan said. "So I don’t believe they should be the sole judge of all appeals.""But I have reservations about the use of certain types of technology. I am not convinced, for example, that Hawkeye is always 100 per cent right on lbw decisions because the umpire in the middle is still the person who is best placed to judge how the pitch is behaving and what the ball is doing."That said, I do like the idea of using technology to highlight the wicket-to-wicket area on a pitch so the umpire can get a better idea as to whether the ball has pitched inside or outside the line of leg stump. I think that would really help eliminate some of the more obvious bad decisions when a batsman is given out when the ball has pitched outside the line of leg stump."Inzamam-ul-Haq agreed with the idea of removing some load off the umpires, for they were prone to make tiny errors, and in international cricket, even small mistakes made a difference. "Yes, I’m very much in favour, because the game of cricket has become very professional, small errors have been affecting results. So much cricket is being played and umpires have been under tremendous pressure due to the heavy workload on them."Graeme Smith, Stephen Fleming and Marvan Atapattu were a few of the other captains who favored more technology.

John Wright has said that working with a pool of 36 players in two pre-season camps will give him and the selectors a good idea of which players can make the transition to the international level. Wright arrived in Bangalore yesterday with Gregory King, the newly appointed trainer, ahead of the conditioning camp which will be held from August 14-26.The Times of India quoted Wright as saying: "Managing 36 players could be a bit difficult but the main idea is to get more players used to the training methods of King. It’s the beginning of the season and as it progresses the number of players will come down. Having more players will also provide a wider pool of talent. It will give the selectors and myself a good indication of who’s keen on working harder."When asked about the absence of Javagal Srinath, who pulled out from the camp due to an injury in his right knee, Wright said that he hadn’t spoken to him yet. “Sri is an experienced professional. He is big enough to make up his mind. But at the end of the day we need to talk to him.”Wright also spoke about the areas where the team needed to improve. “There are certain areas like the top of the order, fast bowling and fielding …where we need more competition from players.”The list of 36 probables includes four openers apart from Virender Sehwag and Sanjay Bangar, who opened the innings in India’s last Test, but one name missing from the line-up was Sadagoppan Ramesh. Ramesh last played for India in 2001 before being forced out with an injury. Speaking on Ramesh’s chances of making a comeback, Wright said: “Ramesh is a good player. But there are always some unlucky players. He’s scored runs in the domestic season and will have to take his chances.”

Rain should ruin any chance of an outright result in the Pura Cup cricket match here between Victoria and New South Wales.Showers forced four delays today, with more than two and a half hours of play lost, and the forecast is also grim for tomorrow’s final day.Victoria was 4-69 at stumps, with Ian Harvey 12 and Darren Berry 10, after losing 3-0 in a brief session of play soon after tea.Stuart Clark had 2-15, while Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill had a wicket apiece and Brad Hodge scored 26.NSW was dismissed for 338 before lunch, giving it first-innings points and a lead of 79 after Victoria made 259.Michael Bevan top-scored with 128, Mathew Inness impressed with three wickets this morning for innings figures of 4-61 and Harvey snared 3-53.The Blues resumed on 5-257 and Brad Haddin (33) sent them past Victoria’s first innings score with a four in the second over of the day.Victorian captain Matthew Elliott was unable to field again this morning because of a stomach virus that had him laid up on a massage table in the changerooms.Under competition rules he was unable to open the batting, but if he is well enough and any play is possible tomorrow, he will be the next man in for Victoria.

Newcastle navigated their way through the January transfer window without a permanent director of football in place at St. James’ Park.

PIF delayed making an appointment and were still able to enjoy a strong month, with Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Matt Targett, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes all coming in.

However, they are reportedly ready to bring Dan Ashworth to the club at the end of the season to oversee all footballing matters to assist Eddie Howe moving forward.

Early disaster

The ex-Brighton chief will be thrown in at the deep end in the summer to bolster Newcastle’s team with new signings ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. He must also engage in squad management with the current crop of players by deciding who should and who should not stay.

One player he must avoid an early disaster with is central defender Fabian Schar. Ashworth is heading for a quick blunder as it stands as the Switzerland international is out of contract at the end of June and is set to leave on a free transfer.

Unless the situation is resolved before the former FA supremo officially takes the role on, it would be a huge howler not to hand the centre-back a fresh deal. Thus, Ashworth’s first decision in the job should be to offer him a new contract to extend his time with the Magpies as he has been in sensational form of late under Howe.

Since the turn of the year, Schar has played seven matches for the Magpies in all competitions and averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.31. Newcastle won four of those games and kept three clean sheets, with the defender also picking up an assist in the win over Brentford as he teed up Joe Willock for the second goal.

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Journalist Dominic Scurr recently dubbed him as “absolutely outstanding” and his statistics certainly reflect that. A rating of 7.31 in the Premier League would place him second, only behind Kieran Trippier (7.68) in the Newcastle squad this season – highlighting just how impressive he has been for the team.

Therefore, it would be a major blow to lose the £40k-per-week tank for nothing in the summer. The Magpies cannot afford to let him leave for nothing and Ashworth must make keeping him on a long-term contract one of his priorities at the end of the season, as losing him would represent an early disaster for the Englishman in the role.

AND in other news, “I know..”: Journo delivers exciting Newcastle claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…

The BCCI ombudsman Justice AP Shah has received a fresh set of complaints alleging conflict of interest, this time involving BCCI media manager Nishant Arora and national selector Vikram Rathour.Freelance journalist Niraj Gunde wrote an email to Shah on Tuesday saying Arora and his wife were involved in a commercial venture that has on its clients list senior Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh and also the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Assocation, where BCCI secretary Anuraj Thakur is the president.In the email, which Shah has forwarded to BCCI president Shashank Manohar and Ratnakar Shetty (manager, game development), Gunde said Arora had violated the conflict of interest rule pertaining to BCCI employees, which states neither he nor his near relative can be associated in any commercial venture with a member association and also cannot represent a cricket player.”Mr Nishant Arora was formerly manager/agent of Mr. Harbhajan Singh and Mr. Yuvraj Singh, current cricketers of the BCCI,” Gunde wrote. “In addition, Mr. Nishant Arora’s wife Ms. Neha Soni Arora is a Director of a company called Final Score Management Pvt. Ltd. This company has had commercial relations with various persons associated with the Board.”Gunde also attached the client list of Final Score which included Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence (YSCE), YouWeCan (the cancer foundation promoted by Yuvraj), Harbhajan Singh Institute of Cricket, and a photo of Thakur along with the HPCA insignia. Arora was not available for comment, but a BCCI official pointed out that Arora had dissociated himself from Final Score completely before joining as the board’s media manager. He also clarified that Arora had never managed Yuvraj and Harbhajan and only done public relations work for the two players. As for Final Score, the official said it was a “defunct” business.In the case of Rathour, Gunde produced a scan of the former India opener’s passport that had him listed as a British citizen. According to Gunde, Rathour’s “loyalty” to the BCCI “is conflicted” and hence he should not be part of the board.Shah asked BCCI to respond by February 2 after which he will decide whether to send any notice to Arora and Rathour. Gunde has now sent four applications to Shah accusing various people of conflict. Last week he had pressed allegations of conflict against former India captain Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan.

Ricky Ponting wonders if India can maintain their on-field aggression through four Tests and the tri-series © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath believes India’s upcoming tour of Australia will be a major test for Sreesanth, who he says needs to start backing up his aggression with more consistent bowling. Sreesanth took nine wickets from four ODI outings in this month’s home series but he was expensive and his efforts were overshadowed by his frequent clashes with members of the Australia team.”I’ve had a chat to him a few times and it doesn’t seem to be in his character,” McGrath told the . “He’s trying to be aggressive and it’s a little bit unusual. You want your fast bowler to be aggressive.”Giving blokes send-offs or sledging when you talk back I don’t agree with but that’s up to the officials to sort out. At the end of the day you’ve got to be able to back it up. You can talk the talk but if you can’t go out there and perform then you’re not going to be around for very long.”Sreesanth was rested for three of the recent ODIs but he will be a key factor in India’s Test and one-day tour of Australia starting in December. Stuart MacGill said Sreesanth and his team-mates would find it difficult to maintain their fiery approach in Australia.”It’s always easier when you’ve got a lot of support at home to ride your emotions,” MacGill said in the . “They only need to look around and know they’ve got a billion countrymen supporting them. I think you’ll find it doesn’t work for them if they’re pretending.”Ricky Ponting said a seven-match ODI series was a completely different scenario to four Tests and the tri-series, which would test India’s resolve. “They made it pretty clear right at the start of the series they were going to fight fire with fire,” Ponting said on returning home from the trip.”We know that’s generally not the way they play their cricket. We’ve got a lot of cricket against them in the next few months, so it will be interesting to see just how long that aggressive-natured cricket does last from them.”

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

Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara’s third-wicket partnership of 165 is the highest in Champions Trophy history © Getty Images

Upul Tharanga’s rich vein of form continued as he hammered his second hundred in a row and his fourth in nine innings, to help Sri Lanka coast to a 144-run win against Zimbabwe and all but ensure a place in the main draw of the Champions Trophy. Tharanga’s 110, and his 165-run third-wicket stand with Kumar Sangakkara, lifted Sri Lanka from an ordinary start to an imposing 285 for 7. Zimbabwe briefly looked in the mood for a fight when Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza were involved in a 63-run partnership for fourth wicket, but a heap of wickets on either side of the stand meant it was yet another dreary one-sided contest.To be fair to Zimbabwe, though, this effort was some improvement on their shambolic display against West Indies. During large parts of the Sri Lankan innings they kept the runs under control – in fact it was the first time in six innings that Sri Lanka didn’t top 300 – and bowled and fielded with plenty of enthusiasm, with the 19-year-old legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi being the pick of the bowlers. However, Tharanga and Sangakkara eventually turned it on, and when it was Zimbabwe’s turn to bat, their utter lack of ability against top-class bowling was again ruthlessly exposed.When Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and chose to bat, he would probably have expected another deluge of runs from the start, but Zimbabwe’s bowlers weren’t in the mood to follow the expected script. Sanath Jayasuriya and Jayawardene went cheaply without striking a single boundary between them as Anthony Ireland and Tawanda Mupariwa, the new-ball bowlers, kept a tight leash over the runs with their control over line and length.Tharanga and Sangakkara began the rebuilding exercise, but after 30 overs there were still only 137 on the board, with the slow bowlers taking over from where the seamers had left off. Gradually, though, the batsmen took charge, taking more risks, using their feet and peppering the boundaries.Tharanga continued from where he had left off against Bangladesh, driving sumptuously through the covers and point off either foot, and once even tonking Mupariwa straight and long for a superb six. When the spinners came on, he creamed more fours the offside, making room and hitting into the gaps to perfection.Sangakkara’s start was very subdued – after 42 balls he had 22 – but recognising the need to up the pace he changed gears in style, putting the spinners on the defensive by using his feet to clip it through midwicket or drive through cover. Both batsmen targeted Prosper Utseya, who had a rare off day and even bowled a couple of no-balls, and Kamungozi in a seven over burst which fetched 65 and changed the momentum of the innings completely.Both Tharanga and Sangakkara – who went past 5000 ODI runs during his innings – fell in successive overs after adding 165, the highest third-wicket partnership in Champions Trophy history. Sri Lanka lost a couple of quick wickets thereafter, and though Marvan Atapattu batted with plenty of urgency at No.5, Sri Lanka managed only 65 in their last ten overs, with Kamugozi showing plenty of maturity in bowling during the slog.As it turned out, the total was more than sufficient. There was a brief threat – and signs of a challenge – during a 12-over period when Taylor and Masakadza went after the bowlers with aplomb, flaying fours through the off side against a listless Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof and forcing Jayawardene to cast furtive glances at the scorecard. However, both bowlers hit back with wickets, and when Zimbabwe lost three in five balls – including those of Taylor and Masakadza – to slump to 89 for 6, the match was as good as over. Utseya and Mupariwa resisted stoutly, but it only served to delay the inevitable and marginally reduce the margin of defeat.

<Sri LankaSanath Jayasuriya run out (Chigumbura) 9 (38 for 1)
Mahela Jayawardene c Taylor b Ireland 4 (49 for 2)
Upul Tharanga b Matsikenyeri 110 (214 for 3)
Kumar Sangakkara c Matsikenyeri b Chibhabha 80 (219 for 4)
Tillakaratne Dilshan c Kamungozi b Utseya 6 (235 for 5)
Farveez Maharoof lbw b Kamungozi 13 (259 for 6)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Matsikenyeri b Kamungozi 10 (273 for 7)
Zimbabwe
Piet Rinke b Perera 1 (7 for 1)
Tafadzwa Mufambisi c Jayawardene b Malinga 5 (7 for 2)
Chibhabha c Dilshan b Malinga 4 (23 for 3)
Brendan Taylor b Fernando 30 (86 for 4)Hamilton Masakadza c Sangakkara b Maharoof 30 (86 for 5)
Elton Chigumbura run out 2 (89 for 6)
Stuart Matsikenyeri c Jayasuriya b Fernando 2 (107 for 7)
Prosper Utseya c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 20 (126 for 8)
Anthony Ireland c Sangakkara b Muralitharan 0 (134 for 9)
Tawanda Mupariwa b Malinga 20 (141 all out)

New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) confirmed the appointment of JustinVaughan and Steven Riddell as its two new directors, at NZC’s AnnualGeneral Meeting in Christchurch today. They will replace Terry Jarvis and Peter Sharp, who did not seek re-appointment.The outgoing directors were congratulated by Martin Snedden, the chiefexecutive of New Zealand Cricket. “Both these directors selflessly gave their time and expertise to assist with the governance of cricket in New Zealand and have assisted in steering NZC to develop and maintain cricket as the country’s number one summer game,” he said.Vaughan is the chief executive of a medical technology company and has played six Test matches and 18 One-Day Internationals for New Zealand. He was the captain of the Auckland team for four seasons and was twice voted Auckland Player of the Year. He has served on the board of Auckland Cricket since 2001.Riddell is a company director who has served on the board of Canterbury Cricket since 2001. He has served on the management committee of the Buller Cricket Association and is its life member.The new directors will be faced with the task of lifting the board out of its current financial crunch.New Zealand Cricket posted a loss of $6,105,152 in the 2004/05 financial year, NZC announced in its annual report.”Revenue was down on budget as NZC felt the full impact of theabandonment of the Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand. Fortunately we shouldrecover most of these lost revenues when Sri Lanka tour in January nextyear,” NZC Chief Executive Martin Snedden said today.”Revenue was also affected by the ICC’s continued prudent retention offunds from the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup.”It is hoped the ICC’s contractual dispute with the Global CricketCorporation can be brought to an end during the current financial year, at which time NZC should receive a final distribution from the retainedfunds.”NZC operates a four year financial cycle to cope with the fluctuatingnature of revenues received between world cups. In some years revenue is significantly higher due to NZC’s participation in international cricket tournaments and in other years revenues are significantly reduced due to lower overseas broadcasting income from inbound tours. The 2004/05 year is the third year of the current cycle.