The England Performance Programme XI claimed a win by virtue their first-innings leady against an MRF XI in Chennai after rolling the home side out for 121. The second day of the match was washed out, but England’s bowlers enjoyed a solid work out with James Tredwell taking three wickets and two apiece for Chris Tremlett and Steven Finn.The EPP declared on the 358 for 4 they’d racked up on the opening day and the quick bowlers made an immediate impression. Tremlett, who would be the favourite to bolster England’s squad in Sri Lanka if the current injury problems escalate, grabbed two early strikes to leave the MRF XI at 25 for 3.Finn, the 18-year-old Middlesex quick bowler, nipped in with two during a four-over spell before Tredwell worked through the lower order. The only significant resistance came in a ninth-wicket stand of 56 between Onkar Khanvilkar (38 not out) and Malolan Rangarajan (27).The EPP declined to enforce the follow-on, favouring some extra batting time, and Chris Schofield hit a quickfire 43 off 40 balls. He then claimed two late wickets after the MRF XI had been set a notional 326 off 23 overs.

Scorecard
India Under-19 piped their Bangladeshi counterparts by one run in a rain-affected game in Pretoria. The match was the last of the round-robin stage of the triangular tournament – also featuring hosts South Africa – and both India and Bangladesh had already made their way to the final.Chasing 220, India were at 161 for 5 after 39.3 overs, before no further play was possible due to rain. According to the revised scores tabulated by the D/L method, India were ahead of the required target by one run, thus maintaining their unbeaten run in the tournament.For India, without Tanmay Srivastava, who had starred with his all-round performances in the tournament, Manish Pandey made 51, but it was a brisk 44 off 47 balls from Virat Kohli, the captain, and a cameo of 18 from 16 by D Shivkumar that sealed the win. Their unbroken 44-run stand from six overs proved decisive in the final result.Dolar Mahmud and Mahmudul Hasan bagged two wickets apiece during India’s chase, and had conceded only 27 runs from the 12 overs they had bowled. Bangladesh would rue the fact that their key bowlers couldn’t complete their entire quota of ten. With India needing a further 59 at nearly a run-a-ball when rain intervened, they would have considered themselves in with a chance to choke the chase.Earlier, Bangladesh were fortunate to manage 219, as they were struggling at 11 for 3 after choosing to bat. A 86-run stand for the fourth wicket between Nasir Hossain and Marshall Ayub helped them recover. Left-arm spinner KP Appanna, playing his first match of the tournament, dismissed Ayub for 38 and later got the wicket of Nasir, who scored 61. Bangladesh’s captain Suhrawadi Shuvo made an unbeaten 39 to guide the team to 219; his counterpart Virat Kohli finished with figures of 3 for 39.The two teams will meet in the final on Tuesday.

Scotland have made one change to their squad for the ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa next month from the one they had announced for the tournament in Pakistan last November with Caroline Heron being replaced by Paula Ritchie.Heron underwent an operation and is not yet fit to make it to the squad. Vari Maxwell, who was part of the squad in November, will not be able to make it to South Africa because she is a Royal Navy employee and her ship is still at sea.Fiona Urquhart will lead the side in what will be Scotland’s first international tournament since July 2003 when they played in the International Women’s Cricket Council Trophy in Netherlands. Six players from their last match of that tournament – Kari Anderson, Kathryn White, Fiona Campbell, Urquhart, Caroline Sweetman, Sahar Aslam – will be travelling to South Africa next month.Scotland play their first game of the qualifiers against Zimbabwe on February 18 at the Van der Stel Cricket Club in Stellenbosch. “Qualifying for the World Cup would be an absolute dream for all the girls in the squad and, although this tournament is going to be very demanding, I don’t think I’m being unrealistic in saying it’s not out of our reach to qualify,” said Urquhart.Simon Smith, the Scotland men’s side wicketkeeper, will coach the team for the tournament. “I’m very pleased to be working with Fiona and the girls in this adventure,” said Smith. “They are all determined to do their level best to represent Scotland with some good performances. If they do succeed, it will be no more than they deserve.”Scotland squad:
Fiona Urquhart (c), Kari Anderson, Kathryn White, Charlotte Bascombe (wk), Abbi Aitken, Catherine Smaill, Fiona Campbell, Caroline Sweetman, Leigh Kasperek, Sahar Aslam, Charlotte Farr, Diane Pedgrift, Paula Ritchie

ScorecardSarah Taylor and Claire Taylor both made fifties to help England to a six-wicket victory with 11 balls to spare and push them ahead for the first time this series. They are now 2-1 up with two to play after hunting down their required 200 runs thanks to Sarah Taylor’s 86 not out and Claire Taylor’s 70 to follow up her unbeaten century last match.England’s surge continues apace, well marshalled by Katherine Brunt’s 2 for 18 from seven overs in her first series since recovering from back problems. There were two each for Jenny Gunn and Charlotte Edwards too, the visitors bowling out New Zealand with an over to spare.Ingrid Cronin-Knight (36) and Sarah Tsukigawa (37) helped to boost them to a competitive total in this closely fought series but England paced their reply too well after losing Beth Morgan early. Charlotte Edwards was out for a rare duck and Tsukigawa also bagged Lydia Greenway for 12, but Gunn fired them home along with Sarah Taylor who made her first fifty of the tour.Sarah Taylor said after the game: “I made sure I was in and I knew I had to stay there towards the end. All credit to New Zealand – they bowled in good areas today. We’ve got a day off tomorrow and then two back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday, so we’ll prepare ourselves accordingly.”Acting head coach Mark Lane added: “We’re improving in all areas of the game. Different players are stepping up and contributing to the team performance, which is great. These have been two terrific victories against a quality New Zealand side.”We now have a day off to regroup and our intention is to come back on Sunday and try and improve on the last two performances to wrap up the series.”

Ryan Sidebottom admitted he had no idea how to react after becoming the 11th Englishman to take a Test hat-trick during an extraordinary fourth day’s play of the first Test in Hamilton. Sidebottom struck three times in three balls en route to career-best figures of 5 for 37, as New Zealand lost six wickets for 20 runs to finish the day on a precarious 147 for 8. Nevertheless, with a handy lead of 122 on first innings, Sidebottom was aware his hard work isn’t over just yet.”I suppose I’ll remember it for as long as I’m alive,” said Sidebottom, who achieved the feat in front of his father, the former England paceman, Arnie. “I’ve never had a hat-trick before and getting one in a Test match is even more special. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but it’s not just about me. We want to win Test matches and it’s a big day for us tomorrow.”We said in the dressing-room if we got two or three early wickets we might be right back in it because they’d come out to play a few shots,” said Sidebottom. “Daniel Vettori will be a key wicket, he’s in good nick, but if we can open up an end and get Chris Martin in, the onus is on us to play well. In the first hour we’ve got to be right on the money.”Sidebottom may ply his trade for Nottinghamshire these days, but he began his career at Yorkshire, where he shared a dressing-room with each of the last two Englishmen to record Test hat-tricks. Darren Gough achieved his at Sydney during the 1998-99 Ashes, while Matthew Hoggard emulated the feat five years later in Barbados, during England’s 3-0 victory in the Caribbean.”Goughy always likes a bit of a chirp in the dressing-room, and he used to talk about his hat-tricks,” said Sidebottom. “You always dream of doing it and I don’t know what to say to be honest. I’ve not taken a hat-trick at any level before – I’ve been on one two or three times in my career, but I’ve never got one before.”Sidebottom was in fact on a hat-trick at the start of New Zealand’s innings, after dismissing Jeetan Patel and Chris Martin with consecutive deliveries in the first innings, but he had not been aware of the opportunity. “I was just concentrating on hitting the right areas,” he explained. “The Kookaburra [ball] doesn’t swing for very long.”It was, however, reverse swing that did the trick for Sidebottom, as he tailed a perfect off-stump delivery into Jacob Oram’s front pad to trap him plumb lbw. Once the appeal had been upheld by umpire Daryl Harper, he hurtled off in the direction of midwicket where he was smothered by his jubilant team-mates.”Swanny [Graeme Swann, a substitute fielder at mid-off] said he’d do a few things to me if I got the hat-trick,” said Sidebottom. “I didn’t think the umpire would put the finger up, but when he did I just ran away like a bit of a headless chicken.”Sidebottom’s first two wickets were both to excellent catches in the gully from Alastair Cook, but ever the team man, he was more concerned with passing the praise to England’s batsmen, Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose, whose 90-run stand for the seventh wicket had set the game up for his grandstand performance.”They fought so hard,” said Sidebottom. “Timmy was fantastic on his debut, it wasn’t easy and he showed a lot of patience. It’s going to be difficult [to chase in the fourth innings], their guys are in good form and bowling really well. But we’ve still got to get two wickets and then see what the score is.”One man who wasn’t surprised by Sidebottom’s success was his county captain, Stephen Fleming, who also happened to be the first of the hat-trick victims. “He is deserving of that and he’s a great guy,” said Fleming. “He has worked incredibly hard and I have known for some time the qualities he possesses and he has shown that consistently for some time so our dressing-room is not surprised.”In a way it’s spectacular to see a hat-trick as well,” he added. “It has breathed some life into the game that was meandering along. We were the only team to be positive enough to do it to create this opportunity, so from that point of view England must be pretty pleased they have given themselves a chance. We knew that would have to be the case if we were to win this match.”

Virender Sehwag, who will captain the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, felt his side had a good balance despite missing out on Ishant Sharma, the Delhi fast bowler who made a fine impression during India’s recent tour to Australia.Sehwag said Ishant was among the players he had short-listed but decided against the bid because of the “high price” attached to him. Ishant, who was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping US$ 950,000, is the costliest bowlers in the IPL.”We wanted Ishant but the team budget forced us to decide against going for him,” Sehwag said. “His bid price had soared up. We have to spend a lot more on the icon player [Sehwag himself] and had we bid for him and we would not have got some other big stars.”I would not call it a loss but it would have been great if he was in our team. I am happy that he was taken by Kolkata on a big sum.”Sehwag spoke about the allround capabilities of his side, one filled with utility players. “Our team combination is good, it is a balance side,” he said. “We have very good batsmen, brilliant bowlers and excellent allrounders. It is young side. Leaving a few, most of the players are young and I think we have the best fielding side of all the IPL teams.”The squad has eight international stars – Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Shoaib Malik, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Asif, Farvez Maharoof, Tillekaratne Dilshan and Brett Geeves – but Sehwag said he is confident that the team members would gel.”We did not want any superstars in the team,’ he said. “We have quite a few youngsters from the domestic cricket. I am happy that we gave chance to these youngsters and at the same time I will be leading players most of whom I know and played along or against. I am a professional and have played international cricket for some years. A captain takes decision on the field and players have to go by it.”Sehwag, who will open the innings, also revealed that he was keen to lead the Delhi side. “I grew up here and wanted to play for Delhi and not for any other team. Had I not been made the icon player I could have been landed up in any other team. So I had asked the owner to make the arrangements,” said the 29-year-old batsman.Meanwhile,GMR Holding, the owners of the Delhi side, have announced that two-wheeler company Hero Honda will be its main sponsor, while sportswear company Adidas will design the uniforms of the team.The Delhi Daredevils play their first game against Rajasthan Royals on April 19 at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi.

South Africa will know India had to resort to the most desperate of measures to keep them from winning a series in India for the second time in the same decade. And even on the underprepared Green Park pitch, they didn’t disgrace themselves, and went into the third day with a chance of victory.After the match, Graeme Smith was not so disappointed that he would be bitter, yet he knew they could have done better on the third day when they let India’s last wicket add 37 to their overnight lead. “We were also not as good with the ball as we have been in the series,” Smith said. “We were a little bit too anxious to bowl India out instead of just bowling in the right areas. Today India proved that if you just got the ball in the right areas there is enough up there in the wicket for you. We let ourselves down slightly.”When you are playing on a wicket like this, the margins are very small. We were 30 runs short in the first innings. That and India’s getting a lead like that were the two big swinging points in the Test match.”This was a dramatic end to the third leg of their subcontinent tour during which they have done themselves proud. “It has been a terrific season,” he said. “When we went to Pakistan, with three series in the subcontinent ahead of us, I don’t think many people gave us any chance. We won in Pakistan, won in Bangladesh, and we came up good against a very good Indian team.”Their batsmen have come up in leaps and bounds over these series, and Smith said that the development of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, along with the comeback of Neil McKenzie, were the biggest gains of the season. “The way McKenzie has made the comeback and made the opening position his own is superb,” Smith said. “Hashim has taken over the crucial No. 3 position, he has got all the shots, and has become stronger and stronger. I hope he carries that form into England.”AB has batted at different positions, and the way he has adjusted is just great. We all know he has all the shots, and the ability, to become an outstanding cricketer. I think he is learning how to manage all that, and he will go from strength to strength.”It must have been disappointing to lose at the brink of a major upset, but Smith said 1-1 was a result the hosts will be more disappointed with. “If we were playing India at home, and it was 1-1 we would be sitting in our dressing room a touch disappointed. Both teams are strong at home. We would obviously have loved to win the series, but we have played some terrific cricket so far in this season. We have won eight out of 12 Test matches and lost two.”What was most remarkable about the South African team might not come through just by looking at these numbers. They were given a pitch that might have had other touring teams complaining bitterly. The South Africans, on the other hand, made no complaints – their captain and coach even mentioned that they wouldn’t hesitate to give the tourists a greentop if they were looking to come back in a home series – and instead went ahead and gave it their best shot. This was in stark contrast to Ricky Ponting’s team that lost in Mumbai in 2004-05.

Gilli, but not Adam: As you walk down from the Madras Cricket Club gate to the media entrance, there are dozens of posters on lamp posts and walls. All of them feature a young man in various smiling poses. This is Vijay, matinee idol for a new Tamil generation. His biggest hit was called and we’re reliably informed that it has nothing to do withthe greatest wicketkeeper-batsman of all time.Welcome to Chennai, Mr Cricket: After that breathtaking 50-ballcentury in Mohali, this was Michael Hussey’s first home game and the roars and chants of his name as he walked out to bat were similar to those that will greet Lionel Messi later tonight when he steps onto the Nou Camp turf. The silence when he inside-edged one from Dhawal Kulkarni was all-pervasive and it suggested that IPL fans are quickly becoming one-eyed, like every good home crowd should be. The sole exception was when Sachin Tendulkar was spotted on TV, talking to the commentators. God, afterall, transcends parochial boundaries.Friendly fire: Dwayne Bravo over-pitched and Matthew Hayden teedoff so quickly that Suresh Raina had to fall to the ground like someonepole-axed by Joe Frazier. After that, ducking a bouncer should be child’splay.Queen for the Super Kings: For most of the evening, the soundsystem belted out popular Tamil tunes, but after the 16th over of theinnings, it was Queen’s We Will Rock You that had them stomping theirfeet in the stands. The way Hayden and Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished the innings off,it was an appropriate tune as well.Going going, Gony: If the Mumbai Indians were going to score 209, it really needed Sanath Jayasuriya to play a blinder. But after carving Jacob Oram for four boundaries, he was too late on a pull against Manpreet Gony. The displaced Punjabi is built like Brian McMillan and bowls at lively pace. That crucial wicket was part of a fine spell where he conceded only 18 runs and did a McGrath by bowling a maiden.A soapy hat-trick for Murali: Coming on to bowl the 11th over, Chennai’s adopted son – his wife is from here – started with three shocking wides down the leg side. If you ever needed proof of how badly dew can affect a bowler, this was it – Mr. Accuracy himself looking likehe was trying to grip a wet bar of soap.

Afghanistan and hosts Jersey progressed to the World Cricket League Division Four, the next stage of qualification for the 2011 World Cup, when they convincingly won their Division Five semi-finals.Afghanistan successfully defended a modest 142 to defeat Nepal by 37 runs at the Grainville while Jersey outsmarted USA by 84 runs at the FB Fields. Besides progressing to Saturday’s final, Afghanistan and Jersey will join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team Division Four in Dar Es Salaam in early October. In turn, the top two teams from that tournament will progress to Division Three in Argentina next January and hope to finish in the top two to qualify for the World Cup qualifier 2009 in the UAE, which incorporates Divisions One and Two.The star of Afghanistan’s victory was Mohammad Nabi, who scored a priceless 48 from 64 balls with three fours in his team’s 142 all out in 49.3 overs, and then returned figures of 6-0-15-2 as Nepal were bowled out for 105.Electing to bat in overcast conditions, Afghanistan made a confident start but collapsed from 26 for 0 to 40 for 4 in a space of 10.4 overs before Asghar Stankzai (18) and Nabi boosted the innings with a 43-run fifth-wicket partnership off 72 balls. After the departure of Stankzai with the score at 83, Nabi added another 26 runs for the sixth wicket with Raees Ahmadzi (22). But after Nabi was sixth out with the score at 119, the last four Afghanistan wickets added only 23 runs in 37 balls.In turn, Nepal’s innings never got going after they lost opener Paresh Lohani to the second ball and they slumped to 72 for 7 in 33 overs. The last three wickets offered some resistance but it was not enough to guide Nepal home and they were bowled out for 105 with 25 balls remaining. Fast bowler Dawlat Ahmadzi did the top-order damage with 3 for 18.Afghanistan fast bowler Hamid Hassan, who finished with superb figures of 2-12 off 10 overs, was overjoyed with his side’s victory. “It is a huge win for Afghanistan. For four months we have been thinking about Division Four, so it is like a dream come true. The [World Cup] dream is alive and we’ll try our best to get to 2011. The people in Afghanistan will be very happy and there will be huge celebrations. They will all be in the roads dancing and everything.”At the FB Fields, a century opening stand between Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon and a five-wicket haul by captain Matthew Hague helped Jersey to an 84-run victory over pre-tournament favourite USA.The two openers featured in a 122-run partnership in 31.3 overs, the cornerstone of Jersey’s 220 for 5 after being put into bat. Gough scored 65 from 110 balls with four fours and Carlyon’s 88-ball 45 included three fours. In the middle order, Ryan Driver (28*) and Hague (25) also batted well and added 37 for the third wicket. Driver and Jon Gough (15*) smashed 33 from the last 22 deliveries.USA slumped from 25 for 0 to 32 for 3 in reply before recovering to 99 for 4. But that was their high-water mark as they lost their last six wickets for 37 runs in less than 12 overs to be bowled out for 136 with 11.4 overs to spare. Fast bowler Hague, later adjudged Man of the Match, was the wrecker-in-chief of USA’s innings and finished with figures of 5 for 38.Hague hailed his team’s achievement, saying: “It feels absolutely fantastic. I am so proud of everybody today. Posting 220 while batting first when there was a fair bit in the wicket, was a fantastic effort. Peter Gough and Steve Carlyon got us off to a great start and the bowling performance was excellent.”A disappointed USA captain Steve Massiah said: “I had believed we would finish in the top one or two and move forward.”In classification matches, Botswana beat Germany by 10 runs while Singapore defeated Mozambique by 54 runs and Norway beat Bahamas by 52 runs.Japan easily beat Vanuatu by 99 runs, a result which puts paid to Vanuatu’s chance of gaining Associate status at the ICC annual conference in a month’s time. Although they met the criteria regarding facilities, they had to beat two Associate countries in this tournament to fulfil playing requirements and, with one game to go, they have yet to record a win.

Australia’s captain Steven Smith has shown he is his own man by resisting calls to switch Mitchell Marsh and Peter Nevill in the Test batting order. Advocates of the change had included the selector Mark Waugh, and the coach Darren Lehmann had flagged a move by saying he had discussed it with Smith in Adelaide.Nevill has batted at No. 6 for New South Wales in recent times, while Marsh’s uncertainty as a batsman has been in contrast to his burgeoning displays as a seam bowler. However Smith ultimately decided to keep the pair in their previously allotted roles, conscious of allowing Nevill to maintain his current upward trend while also imbuing Marsh with confidence ahead of a series against West Indies, in which he may yet stretch his wings.To swap Nevill and Marsh would have been an admission of middle-order weakness ahead of a Test match in Hobart where the tourists have already noted multiple times that they can see opportunities for wickets beyond the imposing records of Smith and David Warner in the top three of the batting order. Significantly, Smith’s mentor Brad Haddin argued against such a move in the lead-up to the match, advocating Marsh’s development in the No. 6 role.”Nup, same order,” Smith said matter-of-factly when asked if there would be a change. “We think Mitch has a very bright future. We’d obviously like him to score a few more runs and I think he knows that as well and he’s been working extremely hard on his game in the nets, and it looks like it is coming together pretty well.”So, he can gain a lot of confidence out of the way he played in the second innings at Adelaide. He doesn’t need to do anything different to that; go out and play his natural game and hopefully score some runs for us in this Test match.”If it’s there to hit, go after it and, if not, maybe playing it with a little bit softer hands so the nicks maybe won’t carry. He’s been going quite hard at the ball and I know that’s something he’s been working on. So, if it’s there, go at it and just continue to play your natural game and back your instincts, I think that’s the best advice I can give him.”James Pattinson was also recalled in place of the injured Mitchell Starc, for his first Test appearance since Cape Town in March last year. In the nets this week Pattinson has been a figure of some menace, striking Joe Burns a stunning blow on the upper shoulder.”I think he’s played enough, he’s been bowling really well in the nets as well, and he deserves an opportunity and I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes,” Smith said of Pattinson. “I think he just needs to go out, do what he does well and that’s bowl fast and swing the ball, get up there and try to get it moving.”He’s a quality bowler. He bowls at 150kph when he has got everything together, so he brings that sort of x-factor to the team. He’s got a lot of aggression, he’s not afraid to show that, which is a great attribute, and hopefully he can have a successful comeback to the Australian team. I think he’s pretty similar to Josh Hazlewood in the way he bowls and hopefully those two can lead our attack really well.”The Bellerive Oval pitch has retained its liberal grass coverage all week, though it is somewhat less green than it appeared when the teams arrived in Hobart. Smith pointed out with some frankness that Australia’s recent record on pitches affording movement off the seam and through the air was none too impressive, and said he wanted a ruthless display against a West Indies team that looks badly outmatched.”There’s a little bit of grass on it so the seamers will get a little bit out of it and the batters are going to have to step up,” he said. “I think we’ve been a little bit disappointing in the past couple of months when the wicket has been doing a little bit. Hopefully we can learn from that and keep improving.”We want to win this series 3-0. I wouldn’t read too much into the way the tour match went for West Indies. I still think they have got some quality players and we are going to have to be at our best if we want to win this series 3-0. Look, it is going to be a tough series and hopefully our boys can continue playing the way they have been this summer.”