ScorecardMohammad Kaif hit a furious 131-ball 151 to help Uttar Pradesh amass 365 before Shalab Srivastava and Praveen Kumar shared seven wickets between them to bowl UP to a crushing 197-run victory over Rajasthan. Kaif launched a ferocious assault on the bowlers, smashing 10 fours and five sixes in his 184-minute stay in the middle. Anshul Kapoor, playing in his sixth game, gave Kaif able support with a career-best 87 and Suresh Raina too joined in the carnage with a 39-ball 50. For Rajasthan, Anshu Jain hit a career-high 95 but he was the only batsman to cross 25 as the seamers wreaked havoc.
ScorecardIn a low-scoring encounter the Delhi bowlers shared the spoils equally to bowl out Himachal Pradesh for 68 to secure a win. Earlier, Virender Sehwag, batting in the middle order, hit 54 and Abhishek Sharma contributed an unbeaten 34 in the lower order to take Delhi to a fighting 170. Amit Bhandari rocked the HP chase with three early wickets after Ashish Nehra got a wicket in the first over. Pradeep Sangwan joined in the fun as HP slid further towards defeat.
ScorecardKaran Goel and Dinesh Mongia came to the party again as Punjab posted 269 and coasted to victory as Rajesh Sharma grabbed a four-wicket haul to polish off Jammu & Kashmir for 185. Goel was involved in two century stands – 106 for the opening wicket with Ravneet Ricky and 141 with Mongia – to lift Punjab to a healthy total. J&K lost wickets at regular intervals, with their chief tormentor Sharma, the offspinner, ending up with figures of 4 for 25.
ScorecardHaryana rode on an allround effort from Amit Mishra, 45 runs and 4 for 29, to beat Services by 112 runs at Ludhiana. Mishra put on 114 runs for the opening wicket with Sumit Sharma before Mahesh Rawat, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and Dhruv Singh added an unbroken 92-run stand to lift Punjab to a huge 294. Services started off confidently courtesy, a 72-ball 73 from Yashpal Singh, and reached 110 for 1 when Mishra got into the act. He struck twice is quick succession, including the wicket of Yashpal, to reduce Services to 115 for 3. Vinay Singh, the other spinner, got two wickets in two balls to push Services to 128 for 5, a position from which never recovered.
ScorecardSunil Dholpure grabbed a career-best five for 44 to spun Madhya Pradesh to a 72-run victory at Indore. Put into bat, MP rallied through fifties from Syed Abbas Ali and Shadab Khan to reach 246. The Railways chase seemed to going smoothly at 86 for 2 when Dholpure, the offspinner, derailed them, ripping through the middle and lower middle-order. Railways collapsed to 124 for 8 and only a dash from the tail helped them reach a decent 174.

Ashley Giles has been named Warwickshire’s vice-captain for the 2007 season although he retains ambitions to fight for his England place after the World Cup. He will provide support for club captain Heath Streak starting with the pre-season tour of Grenada this month.Giles missed the whole of the 2006 season with a hip injury and although he regained his Test place at the start of the Ashes series he was dropped after two poor matches. He then flew home after the Perth Test to be with his ill wife who’d been diagnosed with a brain tumour. He hasn’t played for Warwickshire since the 2005 C&G final at Lord’s.Giles said: “We have a strong squad in place and I know we can be challenging for trophies this year. I hope to pay a big part in the success both in my performance and my leadership.”

The appointment of the new Pakistan captain and coach will be announced soon, Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told a parliamentary committee in Islamabad on Monday. Ashraf had been summoned to the National Assembly to explain Pakistan’s poor results.The replacements for Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq will be discussed on Tuesday when the board’s ad-hoc committee meets in Lahore to discuss the future appointments.Inzamam was also called to the National Assembly to discuss the World Cup. Inzamam says he was “hurt” by the match-fixing allegations that arose after his team’s early exit from the World Cup. He said Pakistan had played badly, but added that defeats were part of cricket.”I told them of the hurt I have felt since these match-fixing allegations were made,” Inzamam told Reuters. “I told them not to expect the younger players to perform under such pressure. But coming up with such allegations, which basically questions our patriotism, is not on and not good for our cricket.”Ashraf was also grilled on the decision to appoint Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach for the World Cup. Mushtaq was fined and named in the match-fixing inquiry in Pakistan between 1998 and 2000. Ashraf explained that Bob Woolmer and Inzamam had recommended Mushtaq. In turn, Inzamam said that he would not have made the recommendation had he been aware of the Justice Qayyum inquiry report which said Mushtaq should not be appointed to any senior position.Looking to the future, Ashraf explained the board would set up a special commission of former Test players that would aim to improve Pakistan cricket and make it more consistent. The team’s balance will also be re-examined.Inzamam told , a local sports channel, that he backed Younis Khan as the next captain and that a swift decision was necessary in the matter. “A delay will be harmful. I am surprised that the same people who were in my time pushing Younis Khan to replace me as captain are now discussing other names,” he said. Inzamam said he was clear in his mind that Younis was the automatic choice to replace him as captain.

Friday’s clash between West Indies and Ireland at Sabina Park will be a rematch of sorts for two star players of either side, Niall O’Brien, the Ireland wicketkeeper and Brian Lara, the West Indies captain. The pair crossed paths three years ago in a one-day match at Belfast during an incident involving a disputed catch.In June 2004, West Indies stopped over in Ireland to play two one-dayers en route to England for their Test tour. During the second match, O’Brien was upset that Lara refused to walk after edging the ball to him, leading to a stand-off between the two. However, Lara didn’t last long, making just 1 as West Indies suffered an upset defeat despite posting 292. The two have apparently made peace since that incident, and O’Brien said he was looking forward to another challenge with Lara.”Lara was funny,” O’Brien told AFP. “We had that disagreement at Stormont and then two days later I turned up to play against him for Kent. I don’t think he could believe his eyes. I think he’d seen enough of me. I talked to Dwayne Bravo recently and he said ‘Brian said to say hello’. I’m looking forward to seeing him in Jamaica.”O’Brien added that his reaction against Lara had much to do with his aggressive instincts. He shot to fame when he starred in his side’s surprise victory over Pakistan last Saturday, scoring 72 in a tense three-wicket win which toppled Pakistan out of the World Cup.”I’m a fiery character,” he said. “I play aggressive cricket. That’s part of my game. If I wasn’t you’d be taking away 50% of the player I am.”With Ireland making a surprise entry into the Super Eights, captain Trent Johnston was hopeful that their new-found confidence would rub off against West Indies for their final league match.”We’ll take on the West Indies with confidence and give a good performance,” said Johnston. “We will give it 100% and be very competitive.”

Speculation over the possibility that Bob Woolmer, the late Pakistan coach, was poisoned has increased following a report in a Jamaican paper, apparently quoting the toxicology report, to that effect. says samples taken from Woolmer’s blood, stomach and urine have shown the presence of a foreign substance and has quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the substance could have been poison.This seems to tie in with the theory that Woolmer may have been poisoned before being strangled.The also says that Scotland Yard has been called on to analyse the results of the report.Mark Shields, the Jamaican Deputy Commissioner of Police, has decided not to comment on the report till all investigations are over. “We have some results from toxicology now, but they will require further investigation and analysis, and therefore it would be totally inappropriate for me to elaborate any further on that,” Shields was quoted as saying in the newspaper.Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room in Jamaica on March 18, just a day after Pakistan’s sudden exit from the World Cup, and was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital. The post mortem, conducted by a government pathologist, stated that the death occurred due to asphyxia from manual strangulation. The histology tests will establish the time of death, while the toxicology tests are expected to reveal whether Woolmer was poisoned before being attacked.There is speculation that he may have been poisoned with aconite, a poison that causes the body’s organs to stop functioning and leads to death through asphyxiation within 30 minutes.

Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain, has been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest award for sports. Dravid was recommended for the award last year as well but lost out to Pankaj Advani, the billiards player.Yuvraj Singh, the middle-order batsman, and Anjum Chopra, the former women’s team captain, were recommended for Arjuna awards. Incidentally, Yuvraj was also recommended for the same award last year.Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to have received the Khel Ratna to date. It is awarded for spectacular and outstanding performance in sport and carries a cash award of Rs 5 lakh. The Arjuna award is given for consistent performances in the last three years and has a cash award of Rs 3 lakh.

Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, entered into the revolutionary spirit of 20/20 cricket on Tuesday when he announced low-cost ticket prices for the World Twenty20 in South Africa in September and sniped at the ICC’s handling of previous tournaments.”We have to ensure every person is able to enjoy the event and that the stadia are full,” Majola said on Tuesday at the unveiling of the tournament logo and the cheap ticket prices, even by South African standards. We looked at the previous two ICC tournaments and, in my opinion, they were not successful. So we have looked at those pitfalls and will take care of those in South Africa,” he added.And Majola and tournament director Steve Elworthy are being true to their word.The cheapest tickets for the 14-day championship starting on September 11 cost just R20 [£1.40] for those happy to sit on the grass banks during the group stage of matches. Grandstand seats cost R40 [£2.80], while the prices go up to R40 [£2.80] and R80 [£5.60] respectively for the Super Eights stage.The tariffs for the opening game (SA v WI) and ceremony, semifinals and final are R100 [£7] and R160 [£11.20] respectively.And if fans want to attend one of the five double-header days – two matches in one day at the same stadium – they won’t pay through the nose either. For group stage double-headers the ticket prices are R40 [£2.80] and R80 [£5.60] and R60 [£4.20] and R120 [£8.40].”The pricing of tickets will be fundamental to our success,” Elworthy said. “So it was a major challenge getting the blend of pricing right to ensure we filled each stadium nine times in 14 days, because there are 27 games split amongst three venues. So the tickets are very competitively priced to ensure there is no barrier to entry.”The tournament logo, designed by Minardi Brice, features a de-constructed graphic of crashing wickets and a ball rebounding from them and, according to Elworthy, “directly targets the youth, but also captures the format’s vibrant energy and the strength in diversity South Africa is known to stand for globally”.”We believe 20/20 was born in South Africa so it is only fair that the first world championship is held here,” Majola said. “We pride ourselves in South Africa that we host the best events here and we have to make sure we keep that tradition,” he said, referring to the 2003 World Cup and the Women’s World Cup held in 2005.”We understand what Pro20 has done for cricket in South Africa. We wanted to make cricket a truly national game, accessible to all. Pro20 has been the vehicle we’ve used to take cricket to the masses,” Majola said.Elworthy announced that ODI champions Australia would be the first team to arrive in South Africa, on September 3. All the competing nations, barring India and England, have requested warm-up games, which would be held in Benoni, Centurion and Potchefstroom on September 8 and 9. India and England will be busy finishing up their series in England that weekend.”It’s going to be non-stop cricket action,” Elworthy promised.

Ken Gordon will not be seeking re-election as president of the West Indies Cricket Board at the end of the month.Gordon, who was 77 in February, had offered his resignation to the board at the end of April but was persuaded to change his mind. But his tenure, which started in August 2005, has been blighted by continuing poor results on the pitch and an alarming decline in relations between officials and players.At the moment there is only one candidate for the vacancy, Julian Hunte, the former St Lucia foreign minister.Val Banks, the current WICB vice-president, is also not seeking re-election and Dave Cameron, a director who currently represents Jamaica on the board, is the only nominee.The election, if there needs to be one, will be held on July 29, 2007 at the Marriott in Trinidad as part of the board’s AGM.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene heaped praise on his bowlers, especially Dilhara Fernando, after his team had completed a comprehensive 70-runs victory over Bangladesh in the first ODI at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium on Friday.Sri Lanka defended their moderate total of 234 for 6 exceptionally well by bowling Bangladesh out for 164 in the 41st over. Fernando rocked the Bangladesh top order after openers Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees had put on 45 for the first wicket by taking four wickets for 24 runs off nine overs to take the Man-of-the-Match award.”There wasn’t much juice left on it when Bangladesh batted, but there was a bit of bounce in it. Dilhara, Lasith (Malinga) and (Farveez) Maharoof bowled their hearts out. They bowled in really good areas and kept asking questions. All credit should go to Dilhara and the bowlers. They kept it tight and put pressure on the Bangladeshis. Hats off to them, they single-handedly won the game for us,” said Jayawardene.Heaping further praise on Fernando, Jayawardene said: “Dilhara’s been doing well for the last 2 ½ to 3 years. It is just that he has on and off days. There was a lot of criticism thrown at him that he is not consistent. As a captain and as a team we always knew the potential this guy has. We gave him a lot of confidence and he is thriving on that now. It’s good to see the way he is bowling. He’s giving everything he’s got and looking good.”Jayewardene also praised the batting of Upul Tharanga and Chamara Silva who each made half-centuries and figured in an 83-run stand.”The wicket had a bit in the morning. We would have bowled as well if we won the toss. It is just that it was tough. They bowled pretty well. We lost three key wickets and it was very tough for Upul and Chamara to consolidate which they did brilliantly and helped us get a competitive score. I thought we planned it nicely afterwards. 235 was a very competitive score, but it was not a winning score,” Jayewardene said.Fernando lamented the chance of missing out on getting his first five-for in an ODI. After taking 4 for 23 in his first spell of seven overs, he came back to bowl a further two overs without success.”I was a bit unlucky not to get five wickets although I tried hard. Anyway I am happy I bowled my team to victory. It was a good hard wicket, very flat so I tried hitting the deck hard,” he said.Bangladesh’s captain Mohammad Ashraful blamed his middle order batting for letting his side down after his bowlers had done an excellent job in restricting the strong Lankan batting. “We didn’t bat well in the second Powerplay. By the time we went to 50 we had lost too many wickets. The foundation was laid for us by the openers but the middle order disappointed. Fernando bowled well to put us in a spot. It was a good enough score for us to chase on a wicket which had eased up. It was a gettable score on that pitch,” Ashraful said.”The series is still open. We will remain positive and go out for a win in the second one-dayer,” he added.

Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, has criticised the Indian board for not utilising his services enough at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and stated that as his reason for joining the Indian Cricket League’s executive board.”Though I’m based in the same city, my services at the NCA were utilised only up to a bare minimum,” Prasanna told . “When [ICL chairman] Kapil Dev spoke to me he told me the league wanted me to fulfil one of its prime objectives – developing good spinners. I found that my objective tallied with theirs. So, I liked the idea and joined the league.”Prasanna said his duties with the NCA this season were restricted to five days each in Nagpur and Kolkata and none at the academy in Bangalore.But despite having spent only a few days with young spinners, Prasanna said his coaching had positive results. He cited the example of Piyush Chawla, the legspinner picked for the one-dayers against England. “When everybody else shouted that he should be made to play domestic cricket for some more time, only I contended that he needs to be utilised in the top level. And the results are for all to see,” he said.Chawla had a successful India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya where he picked up 30 wickets in four first-class games including a 10-wicket haul against Zimbabwe before being called up to the senior squad in England.”Despite showing results, they under-utilised me. When I raised this issue I was cold-shouldered,” Prasanna said. “So, I thought here is a platform [ICL] where I can dedicate myself to the job of developing spinners for India.”Apart from Kapil and Prasanna, former players Kiran More, Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Rajesh Chauhan and Madan Lal have also joined the ICL in different capacities. The tournament is expected to be played in October between six teams comprising four international, two Indian players and eight upcoming players. The ICL has signed over 45 Indian first-class players and six international players including Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq.