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Sourav Ganguly was lost for words in trying to describe the effect such dead wickets have on a team’s performance, after the Kanpur Test had petered out into a dull draw. In the post-match press conference, both he and his South African counterpart, Graeme Smith, decided to move forward and expect a result at Eden Gardens.Sourav Ganguly
On the state of India’s pitch preparations
I don’t know. It’s the curator’s job to prepare the pitch and we play our game. I don’t want to make any statement on that. You see what happened at Nagpur. So we just have to forget what happened here and move on to the next game and try and win it.On the habit of picking three spinners and one fast bowler
This is only the second time we have done that. The first occasion was at Mumbai where it did prove to be the correct decision. Over the last four years at home we have played a two-and-two combination. When we looked at this surface, looking at the way it would have gone as the game progressed, we thought three spinners would come into play, but that didn’t happen. And until the third day I was the only seamer to have picked up a wicket, so you cannot say an extra fast bowler would have done a better job.On India’s strategy for Kolkata, in light of South Africa’s good performance
I don’t think strategy has anything to do with it. First of all, I lost the toss which was very crucial on this pitch. If the batting had been reversed, then we would have put more pressure on them and the result would probably have been a different one. We lost crucial time because of the early-morning fog on the last two days and that definitely affected the outcome on such a flat wicket. The other factor was the South African batsmen, who batted slowly on the first two days of the Test.On the negative approach adopted by the South Africans
I wouldn’t say that the South Africans went into the game with the mindset of playing out a draw. They put up a big score, and there is always pressure when you put a 500-plus total on the board, and obviously the wicket was flat on the first two days and everyone expected it to break up afterwards. So their gameplan was put up a big score and grab early wickets to put us under pressure. So I won’t blame them.On how Virender Sehwag prospered while others didn’t
You must realise that he was batting against the new ball and that is the best time to bat on this kind of a wicket. Even when Rahul [Dravid] and I were batting and the second new ball was taken, runs started coming very quickly. But you cannot take away anything from his innings, as he is always a positive player; that’s the way he plays his innings in both forms of the game. He plays only one way: attackingly. And after he got his hundred, and South Africa had set a tight field which was difficult to pierce with the old ball, he decided to go over the top and that worked.On his chances of overturning his ICC ban and playing in the second Test
I will get to know in the next two days.Graeme Smith
On South Africa’s performance
Considering that this was the first tour of India for lot of our guys, it was a pretty solid performance. I was impressed with the way a lot of the guys have handled things – the pressure, India’s discipline and the wickets. Not many people gave us a chance after the warm-up game in Jaipur, so I am happy with the way things have gone. Unfortunately there was no result in the Test, but we move on to Eden Gardens. It’s going to be a very stressful game for all of us and I am looking forward to us getting a result there.On the disappointment of failing to force victory
You always go into the match thinking about winning it, but Virender [Sehwag] played really well and put us under a lot of pressure. He was one guy who took the game to us. Apart from him, our bowlers bowled well to other batters and hopefully we can take a lot of the gains we took from this Test into the next one.On whether this draw has put psychological pressure on the Indians
I am not one for these big psychological edges. We got to make sure we keep our focus, and compete and improve on the areas that we missed out on.On India’s suggestions that South Africa had a negative approach to the game
That’s obviously their belief, but at the end of the day we believe we played pretty good. And when we get to Eden Gardens, we will play the same tough cricket we displayed here and put them under pressure.His overall assessment of South Africa’s performance
One thing that was very impressive was the way we reverse-swung the ball. It was something we really worked hard on, and something which we were not good at in the past. All our bowlers did well with that delivery. As for the disappointments, we missed a few run-outs, a few catches and maybe let them off the hook a bit; we missed Virender’s stumping and a few chances against [Gautam] Gambhir went down. All that can make a difference in a game, especially in the subcontinent where the chances are crucial and you got to take them. So that’s one area we’ve got to improve in the next game: we need to calm the nerves as there is a lot of energy playing a Test.

A Bhopal court has ordered the registration of a contempt-of-court case against the Indian board for appointing Jagmohan Dalmiya as its patron-in-chief. reported that PK Nigam, the judge, had given an order asking the BCCI not to proceed with the proposed appointment, and the contempt application charges the board with breaching this injunction.Yogesh Khattar, a former first-class cricketer, had approached the court in Bhopal to stop Dalmiya’s appointment, feeling that it was an inapproproate step. The plea was that there was no provision for the appointment of a patron with powers superior to that of the president.After hearing the case, the court had issued an order, saying that the defendants “will not act contrary to the rules and regulations framed by the BCCI in the Special General Meeting”. However, the BCCI went ahead with their scheduled meeting last Sunday and Dalmiya was made patron-in-chief.In the application, Khattar, has also asked that all properties of the BCCI be attached by the court and that all functionaries of the BCCI be “detained in civil prison for a term of three months”.

As widely expected, Mudassar Nazar has been named as Kenya’s interim coach following the resignation of Andy Moles over the weekend.Mudassar has been running the KCA academy and is familiar with Kenyan cricket. “In the interim basis, we have appointed Mudassar to coach the national team besides running the academy,” said Sharad Ghai the embattled KCA chairman. “He is a former captain of Pakistan and has been coach of the Pakistan team.”Ghai would not be drawn on Moles’s departure less than a fortnight after the coach had committed his future to Kenya. “He finishes his contract with KCA on February 28,” Ghai said. “He will spend this time handing over and then proceed to take up his new post in March.”

England today named their squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next week. Simon Jones returned after a foot injury, while Matthew Hoggard and Mark Butcher both kept their places despite being injury worries. Robert Key, whose last Test was against Zimbabwe last year, was also included as cover for Butcher.Jones’s foot injury forced him to miss the second and third Tests against New Zealand earlier this summer, but he, along with Matthew Hoggard, warmed up well in the recent MCC match against the West Indians at Arundel.Butcher was the only injury concern in the batting department after aggravating a thigh injury while playing for Surrey in the Twenty20 Cup. However, he has until Thursday to prove his fitness, with Key waiting in the wings if Butcher is forced to pull out.However, David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, was almost certain that Butcher would be fit to play: “We are confident he will be fit and available for selection, and the decision not to play him in Surrey’s Totesport League match is purely precautionary,” he said. “Key was included as cover only.”But one issue Graveney was not quite so sure on was whether Andrew Flintoff would be able to bowl. Flintoff was originally due to miss the recent NatWest Series due to a foot problem, but played in England’s last two matches as a batsman only – and scored two hundreds. “We will be closely monitoring Flintoff’s fitness in the run-up to Thursday,” Graveney said. “We feel that the more time he has to recover and receive treatment, the greater his chances of taking part in the game as an allrounder.”Meanwhile, Butcher said that with England on a winning streak, with six victories in their last seven matches, the side is a settled one. “The Test team virtually picks itself,” he said. “If you hit upon the right sort of formula, people’s roles become a lot more defined and you know what you are required to do. That all comes from developing a winning mentality, once you start winning, people trust in others to fulfil their jobs.”He also said that he expected to be fit in time to play in the first of the four-Test series: “I think the captain and coach would want me to be 100% by Tuesday night – but I am pretty confident I will be okay.”Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan, the captain, admitted his poor run of scores is something he needs to sort out. “You always have little peaks in your career where it goes well and troughs where it doesn’t go quite so well,” he told BBC Five Live. “I only average 33 as captain and that is a fact, but there is a time around the corner where these peaks will return again. It is not a major concern but it would be nice to get back to the fluency I know I can produce.”Squad
Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Mark Butcher, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones (wk), Robert Key, Ashley Giles, Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, James Anderson.

South Africa 658 for 9 dec (Kallis 177, Gibbs 142, Kirsten 137) beat West Indies 264 and 329 (Sarwan 114, Chanderpaul 109) by an innings and 65 runs
Scoreboard

South Africa duly wrapped up the second Test at Durban by an innings and 65 runs, and so took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-Test series. But the day itself belonged to Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who salvaged a degree of pride for West Indies with a pair of battling centuries.Sarwan, who was felled by a Makhaya Ntini bouncer when he had made 29, shook off the ill-effects to make 114, his third Test century. West Indies had been deep in the mire at 32 for 2 when he set about his rearguard, and he eventually found an ally in Chanderpaul, with whom he added 113 for the sixth wicket. It was not enough to carry the match into a fifth and final day, but it was something to cling to and carry forward into next week’s Cape Town showdown.West Indies had begun the day in a hopeless situation, still 376 runs away from asking South Africa to bat again. And it took just six overs for the first breakthrough of the day. With his fourth ball, Andre Nel produced a perfect yorker that zipped under Wavell Hinds’s bat and into his stumps for 11 (31 for 1). And almost before the dust had settled, Shaun Pollock struck Daren Ganga on the back pad with a typically accurate wicket-to-wicket delivery (32 for 2).That brought Brian Lara to the crease, in his 100th Test. He made 72 in the first innings, after the Windies had slumped to 17 for 4, and looked determined to produce something even more substantial, as he took his time to settle into his innings. Sarwan, by contrast, set off like a train, cracking six fours in his first 29 runs, including consecutive cover drives off Makhaya Ntini. But he was considerably shaken by his crack on the helmet, took the rest of the session to regain his momentum.To make matters worse, Sarwan lost his partner. After inching to 11 from 70 balls, Lara couldn’t resist taking on Andrew Hall, and spooned a simple catch to Neil McKenzie at square leg (78 for 3). Shortly afterwards, Jacques Kallis picked up his first wicket of the match as Carlton Baugh drove loosely to Ntini at mid-off, and West Indies were staring down the barrel.Ridley Jacobs thumped two typically unorthodox boundaries in his 15, before skidding a low catch to Gary Kirsten in the covers off the legspinner Jacques Rudolph, and Rudolph might have had a second wicket, but Martin van Jaarsveld couldn’t cling on at short leg when Chanderpaul had made 2.Sarwan went to tea on 95 not out, and brought up his century in the first over after the break, as Rudolph was met halfway down the track and on-driven for four. Chanderpaul took a liking to Rudolph as well, hoisting him into the midwicket stands and driving him down the ground. But Ntini returned after the drinks break, and instantly made the breakthrough, as Sarwan underedged onto his stumps (243 for 6).It was the cue for Chanderpaul to cut loose, and he had raced to 79, by the time Andre Nel grabbed two wickets in three balls to leave South Africa in sight of victory. Vasbert Drakes flinched a short ball to Rudolph at short leg, before Merv Dillon fished a comfortable catch to Herschelle Gibbs at third slip (271 for 8).But Adam Sanford proved a resolute ally, although he was aided by a Gibbs dropped catch when Chanderpaul was on 92. The pair added 46 for the ninth wicket, with Chanderpaul reaching his ninth Test century with consecutive fours off Nel. With little reason to hold back, he then chanced his arm once too often and pulled Ntini to Neil McKenzie, who clung onto a fierce chance at square leg. Ntini completed the rout by having Fidel Edwards caught behind for 5, but thanks to Sarwan and Chanderpaul the margin of victory was less emphatic than had been feared.

South Australia’s Chris Duval has not yet broken into the state first-team, but he has been spotted by baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers.Duval, 20, left Pat Kelly and Tony Harris, scouts for the Dodgers, impressed when his pitches were timed at 137 kph during a workout at the Adelaide Oval.”Definitely I would contact the Dodgers and say he’s an interesting kid,” Kelly said. “What he has is the ability to move the ball naturally, so he has no idea what he’s doing and the ball does things you cannot teach people to do.””He would be in the top one per cent absolutely, in the top one per cent of his age and his size,” Duval told ABC Sport. “He’s young, he’s a very strong big durable guy and he’s got arm strength which is something you can’t teach. All those three things you really can’t teach you know, they’re just God given.”

The International Cricket Council, in its firmest stand yet on the Zimbabwe cricket crisis, has set a 14-day deadline for the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to resolve its conflict with their disgruntled players, and has initiated an independent investigation into allegations of racism in selection policies. The announcements came on the last day of the ICC’s annual general meeting, during which a new vice-president was appointed, three new countries’ membership applications were accepted, and the new location of the ICC’s headquarters was discussed.The ICC has warned the ZCU that if significant progress is not made within two weeks, then Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, and Percy Sonn, the new vice-president, will decide to apply the Disputes Resolution process. Though the ZCU believes that the process has no legal jurisdiction, the ICC’s stand has been backed by its own legal team.Significantly, the ICC has also chosen to publicly acknowledge the racism factor, with Mani admitting that a large part of the dispute was race-related. “One of the most concerning aspects of this dispute has been the very serious allegations of racism that have been made,” he said. “The ICC will now proceed with the appointment of an eminent person or persons to deal with these claims and report to the Board on any findings and recommended actions. Candidates for this role have been identified and over the coming days the ICC will make the necessary approaches to finalise these arrangements. We are very mindful of the ICC’s responsibility to protect the game in Zimbabwe.”But the stick came with a carrot. Though, as expected, Zimbabwe’s participation in Test cricket remains suspended until early next year, they have been permitted to continue playing one-day internationals, as the ICC believes that Zimbabwe cricket needs all the help it can get. Mani said that by playing one-dayers, Zimbabwean players would develop the skills necessary for Tests, perhaps implying that with its current depleted side, Zimbabwe wouldn’t be dressed in whites for a while. “One-day international cricket is an important pathway in providing players with the skills and exposure to perform at the international level,” Mani said. “By providing the opportunity for Zimbabwe to continue at this level, the ICC is ensuring that cricket in Zimbabwe is given every opportunity to survive. It is important to recognise the efforts of the ZCU, which is operating in a very difficult environment. The ZCU has expanded the sport beyond its traditional narrow base, and is taking the game to 50,000 young cricketers every year.”The Indian and South African board have already planned A tours of Zimbabwe later this year, so though Zimbabwe will not be playing Test cricket, they will participate in first-class matches against near-international-standard opposition.Percy Sonn is the ICC’s new vice-presidentSonn, who was previously the president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, has been named as the ICC’s new vice-president, and will take over from Mani next year, when the presidency of the ICC moves from Pakistan to South Africa. The ICC’s presidency is passed on by rotation. Until a year ago, Australia’a Malcolm Gray was the president.Sonn served out most of his time with the South African board with distinction, barring an incident during a World Cup match last year, when he reportedly became abusive after a drink or two. He later offered an unconditional apology for his behaviour. He was also well-known for his benevolent stand on Hansie Cronje, who he publicly stated was “entitled to the freedom and liberties of all South Africans”, and there was a place for him in South African cricket.ICC’s three new membersChina, Mexico and Isle of Man have been accepted into the ICC, and are the newest affiliate members. This increases the number of ICC members to 92 countries. While ten can play Test cricket, 27 are associate members, and the other 55 are affiliate members.Pakistan has already offered assistance to China, with training and coaching facilities to prepare its national cricket team. Of late, the Chinese government has made a co-ordinated effort to make cricket a mandatory sport in certain regions of the country, and it plans to put China among the top rank of teams by 2020. China will also, in a few days’ time, become a part of the Asian Cricket Council.Decision on new headquarters delayedThe ICC has delayed a decision on shifting its headquarters to a new location because of a last-gasp move by the British government to keep it in England. Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said that India was among the contenders for the new headquarters, but the decision would have to wait for a while.”A last-minute intervention by UK Sport, on behalf of the UK government, to keep the ICC headquarters in England has forced us to defer our decision,” Speed said. “We are flattered by the Indian offer but the choice of venues is between London, Dubai or Malaysia, as the ICC does not wish to relocate to a full-member country.”Mani added that the decision would take financial benefits into consideration and that because of the late offer, the decision would take more time. “To accurately assess this information, the ICC Board opted to defer the decision on the future location of the ICC headquarters to its October meeting.”

If results were all that mattered then Kenya’s participation in the Carib Beer Cup would be judged as a failure. They have hardly set the world alight – in fact, they have been on the receiving end of more than one drubbing – but their presence in the Caribbean is all about gaining experience of competitive cricket, and in that regard it has been a success.Kenya’s surprising showing in the 2003 World Cup led some to predict that they would be front-runners in the Caribbean’s first-class tournament, but that never crossed the mind of Andy Moles, once of Warwickshire and now Kenya’s coach. “We could have brought the side that was in the World Cup,” he told the Barbados-based Nation newspaper. “But there was a 42-year-old, a couple of 37 and 38 year-olds, and they are past their best. They did well and got the side to the World Cup, but we’re building for the future.”At some stage, you have to look at your squad and say `the time is right’. We felt the time was right to bring a younger side here.”And Moles dismissed suggestions that Kenya had underperformed. “Everywhere we go, they are saying that we have been a bit disappointing. I’m not disappointed at all. We’re building for the future and the pleasing thing for me is to give these players an opportunity to come and learn how to play against good players in new conditions.”If Kenya are serious about becoming Test cricket’s 11th member, then they need exposure to the longer form of the game, and Moles said that was just what they were getting. “We’re learning to concentrate for longer periods of time. The pleasing thing has been the way the batsmen have developed in stages, grasping the skills of the four-day game. The concentration levels are longer.”If we’re going to be lucky enough to play Test cricket, the guys need to continue to play the longer version of the game.”

England’s elite players will rejoin their counties this week for the Frizzell Women’s County Championship which starts on Saturday July 26 in Cambridge.The competition lasts five days, with 18 counties competing in one-day matches in three divisions, across a range of university pitches in Cambridge.The Frizzell Women’s County Championship holders, Yorkshire, return to defend their title whilst the other first division teams – Kent, Sussex, Berkshire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey – seek to end Yorkshire’s decade-long domination.England captain Clare Connor will lead Sussex and admits the Championship provides the perfect preparation for the forthcoming npower Women’s Test Series and NatWest Women’s Series against South Africa.”With five matches in five days, the competition will be intense but it provides a showcase for women’s domestic cricket in England and gives England players a genuine opportunity to find form ahead of the international games,” she said.Connor will then see the international opposition as the Frizzell Women’s Champions play South Africa women on Thursday August 1 in the tourists’ first warm-up game at Fenner’s.Division One will witness some tantalising individual duals as England team-mates face each other. Two young bowling sensations of the England team, Isa Guha (Berkshire) and Laura Spragg (Yorkshire), will have a chance to bowl at England’s prolific batters, Charlotte Edwards (Kent) and Claire Taylor (Berkshire).

Tuesday July 29 will see Lydia Greenway and Charlotte Edwards – the strongest batting pair in the competition – face the world-class Yorkshire bowling attack which includes Clare Taylor, selected for England last month for the 12th consecutive year.The Frizzell Women’s County Championship welcomes Cheshire to Division Three following their success in the Emerging County Championship last year. One team is relegated and promoted from each Division, with the last placed team in Division Three reverting to the Emerging County Championship next year.The introduction of Durham and Cheshire to the competition, plus the three additional teams competing in the Emerging Counties Championship reflects the significant growth of the women’s game at county level in the past three years, with the greatest rise at U13 level where 22 counties now run a total of 87 U13 teams.Division One: Berkshire, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex, Yorkshire
Division Two: Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Middlesex, Somerset, Staffordshire
Division Three: Cheshire, Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire

South Africa have tasted success ahead of the first one-day match at Hyderabad, beginning November 16, as they raced to a comfortable eight-wicket victory in a warm-up match against the Hyderabad Board XI yesterday.Good performances from Andrel Nel (3 for 14) and Johan Botha, the offspinner, restricted the opposition to just 127. Botha took 3 for 34 in his 10 overs, impressing with the sharp bounce and turn he extracted from the pitch, and justifying the selectors’ decision to include him as their specialist spinner for the tour to India.Speaking to , Graeme Smith, the South African captain, said Botha’s performance, though against a weaker team, was just the start the team was looking for. “I was very satisfied with the spin Johan achieved. Even our opponents’ spinners did not get the same kind of movement. He changes his speed and also has good control. We don’t want to put too much pressure on him too soon and I think the tour will be valuable experience for him.” Botha is expected to make his debut in Wednesday’s match at Hyderabad as Smith and Mickey Arthur, the coach, have indicated that the same team could play.Smith himself scored 44 and AB de Villiers top scored with an unbeaten 56 as South Africa easily ran down the Hyderabad Board XI’s meager total. Speaking on de Villier’s knock, Smith said that it was good to see him among the runs, adding that he looked comfortable once settled in. “I think the time AB spent at the crease will do a lot for his self confidence. Net practice is just not the same,” he said.de Villiers, who struggled in the recent one-day series against New Zealand, remains unperturbed by his run of low scores in the shorter format of the game. “My form most of the time has been very good, in fact it’s been a while since I’ve been in such good form. (Unfortunately) the runs are just not coming, but… it’s just a question of time,” de Villiers told . “It’s just the nature of one-day cricket; if you’re a little bit unlucky then you can get five ducks in a row. If it’s your day you can get 150, if not, you get nothing.” South Africa will hope for the aggressive opener to fire as they look to continue their fine record of 19 matches without a loss.In the 12 one-day matches he has played in, de Villiers has yet to make a noteworthy score, and an average of just 17 seems way below what is expected of an audacious strokemaker. However, he is confident that a big score is around the corner, adding that adapting to Indian surfaces is not a major worry. “It’s just in the mind I think. There are a few small things, nothing major. You’re looking to play straight, the ball stays low and it swings for the first five overs.” With Irfan Pathan, the medium fast bowler, getting the ball to move a fair amount in India’s 6-1 drubbing of Sri Lanka, de Villiers is well aware of the threat that he poses at the start of the innings. “It swings more than in South Africa. So your technique needs to be perfect for the first five overs. But once you’re set it’s much easier.”In a surprise move, Justin Ontong was announced as replacement while Andrew Hall, Albie Morkel and Robbie Peterson did not make the team. Even though Ontong was included in the squad as batsman, Smith and the team management have decided to use him as an allrounder. “Onters can deliver a few overs as spinner, while we can also bat him at No.3 to get the most from him in the 20 overs when fielding restrictions apply,” Smith said. “To give guys exposure to the conditions here are exactly what we said we would do on this tour.”The first of five one-day matches begins November 16 at Hyderabad, and is the only day match.