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Mark Ramprakash has vowed to continue playing in his natural, attacking manner – despite the criticism he received after his dismissal against Shane Warne in the second innings at Trent Bridge.Ramprakash was stumped by Adam Gilchrist as he came down the pitch to hit Warne over the top in the second innings. The manner of his dismissal, and its timing, coming as England battled to save the game and not long from the close of day two, provoked a furious reaction from some sections of the media.But Ramprakash defended his positive intentions, and reiterated his desire to carry his county style of play into the Test arena.”I wasn’t happy with the execution of the shot at Trent Bridge, I didn’t get close enough to the pitch of the ball and I was disappointed with that but I’m happy with the thinking behind it,” explained Ramprakash.”I was looking to play my natural game, the seam bowlers were bowling very well at one end and I felt confident enough to try and attack the spinner.”The barrage of criticism that Ramprakash has been subjected to since his dismissal in the Third Test is ironic considering that, in the past, he has been criticized for his caution at Test level.”Throughout my Test career I’ve been accused of not playing my shots, but this year I’m happy with the way I’m approaching the game and I will be looking to take the attacking option when I can – even if that means going down the pitch to Shane Warne,” Ramprakash said.”At the start of the summer both Ian Botham and Graham Gooch said England should try and attack Australia wherever possible and I think that’s the right way to go.”Ramprakash also expressed concern at the effect the level of criticism he had been subjected to would have on young players.”It’s a shame about the negative reaction,” he said. “We want young players growing up in England to come up and play aggressively and play their shots – we want them to go out and express themselves.”As a player you always have to be honest with yourself and accept when you’ve done something wrong, which is what I’ve done, but the general way of thinking should be to encourage players to go out and play their natural games.”It’s something in the past that has concerned me. It’s almost as if in England we’d rather a batsman get out playing a forward defensive shot than trying to take the attack to the opposition.”When you play for England you know there’s a lot of media attention on you and you know that everything you do is going to be under the spotlight.”As a player you have to come to a decision that if you’re going out to play for England the best thing is to play your natural way. When you go out on the pitch you have to be certain in your own mind what you’re going to try and do.”I realise it was a shot that didn’t come off, but I know how to play the shot and if I think the shot is on then I will have to weigh it up when I’m out there.”The Surrey man conceded that with Thorpe and Vaughan likely to return to the England side for The Oval Test, his place could be in jeopardy. So a good performance in Leeds is crucial.”I realise that Graham Thorpe and Michael Vaughan have been playing really well for England over the last 18 months and I could be one of the guys left out for the Oval,” he admitted.”For me, it’s a question of looking to play hard in this match and go on from there. I’m taking this as a one-off and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Paul Grayson, Essex’s beleaguered coach, has been confirmed in the role until the end of the season as the club’s general committee has overwhelmingly resisted a recommendation from the new cricket chairman Ronnie Irani to remove him immediately from the post.The debate about Grayson’s future could hardly have been more disruptively timed, coming only a few days before Essex’s NatWest quarter-final against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston which was duly lost in one of their most disappointing displays of the season.The committee, clearly wary of a repeat, voted in Chelmsford on Monday to delay their decision on Grayson’s future, even as Essex travelled to their final Royal London Cup group match against Sussex at Hove, another season-defining match in which victory would ensure them of a home quarter-final.Grayson has supervised consistently excellent displays in limited-overs cricket since taking charge in 2008 with Essex second only to Hampshire in the number of victories in one-day cricket in that time. But while Hampshire have gone on to win trophies, Essex have repeatedly faltered in the final stages, encouraging Irani to press for change soon after being elected to the role last month.It is the timing of the recommendation that has brought most unease, although in some ways that was unavoidable. Grayson was anxious to determine his future before the end of the season after the decision of the former cricket committee chairman, Graham Saville, to step down after 27 years in the role naturally introduced a period of reassessment within the county.Grayson, it is interesting to note, is one year into an official three-year plan in which it was made clear that the priority was to secure a one-day trophy and reshape a young Championship side based on home grown players. That commitment has been followed to the letter with a whole host of debutants given an opportunity to prove their worth for a county that lacks the pace bowling depth to sustain a serious challenge.Irani sounded more ambitious, stating upon taking office: ” We need to try to get into division one of the County Championship. We’ve fallen short of that for quite a few years now. We have to change and we have to improve massively.”We have an immensely talented group of individuals and it is fair to say that at this moment in time we have underachieved in the last seven or eight years.”We are still talented and it is great to see young players coming through like Nick Browne, Tom Westley and Jamie Porter. We have to make sure we keep doing that, while getting Essex back to the level that we were in years gone by, knocking on doors and trying to win trophies.”At this moment in time Paul is the head coach and we have to respect that position until the cricket committee decide on anything different.”Quite how much Grayson can be blamed for a prolonged failure to reach Division One of the Championship is a question worth asking. As a coach, as opposed to a director of cricket, his powers have remained limited, much against the trend in the county game and Essex’s budget is considerably lower.Essex still have one of the most traditional structures in county cricket with the outgong cricket chairman Saville, a former England U19 coach, and captain, James Foster, having had most influence on the big cricketing decisions. That way of doing things is unlikely to change.

Portsmouth have stolen a march at the top of Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 after fighting back to beat Lymington by four wickets after an absorbing tussle at St Helen’s, Southsea.With Sparsholt also losing their unbeaten record – they crashed to a nine-wicket defeat at Trojans – Portsmouth are out in front at the top.The prospects of Portsmouth’s solitary unblemished record remaining intact appeared unlikely as they dipped to 90-5, chasing Lymington’s 205-6.But a splendid 72 by former Hampshire all-rounder Lee Savident, which preceded a match-clinching partnership between Raj Maru (37 not out) and schoolboy Michael Barnes (26 not out), turned a yo-yo match on its head.The game, which swung back and forth throughout the afternoon and evening sessions, produced some exhilerating stroke play, often followed by woeful dismissals.Both teams began their respective innings as if the win points were to be decided after 16 overs, instead of 50.Australian all-rounder Brian Clemow set a familiar pattern, blasting Dave Tiller out of the Portsmouth attack inside six overs as Lymington progressed to 43-0 in quick time.But when Maru introduced his left-arm spin into the attack at the sea end, Lymington’s initial charge was checked.First, Maru lured former county 2nd XI team-mate Glyn Treagus out of his ground and then, several overs later, bowled Clemow for a hard hit 37.Maru (2-27) and Savident (1-24) applied the brake to such an extent that Lymington lurched unconvincingly to 112-5 before the tide began to turn again.Despite suffering from hamstring strains, Neil Trestrail (60) and Dave Coles (44 not out) put bat to ball to great effect in a 45-minute aerial assault immediately before tea to lift the Lymington total to 205-6.Portsmouth came out of the traps with all guns blazing – South African teenager Stephen Cook (30) and Matt Keech producing a selection of sweetly timed drives and pulls.Lymington looked set to buckle as Portsmouth swept majestically to 55-1 in the eighth over.But Cook tried one shot too many and spooned up a return catch, Keech was run out (by Treagus) in a mix-up with Savident, then Jason Carr claimed his third scalp when he bowled Paul Dew.Portsmouth had scored 56 runs, yet lost four wickets inside a bizarre opening ten overs – and the game was back in the balance.The city club needed a responsible innings from Lee Savident and got one – the former Hampshire player producing the key knock of the match, amid the loss of a fifth Portsmouth wicket at 90.But the ball from Daniel Peacock that bowled James Moon proved curiously counterproductive for Lymington.Wicket keeper Dave Burgess needed hospital treatment after the ball struck him in the mouth – and Lymington, already handicapped by a variety of injuries, were left to field for the last hour or so with only ten men.For the second time in the match, the experience of Maru took a decisive hand – and wrested the initiative away from the visitors.Maru, missed before he had scored, provided the ideal foil as Savident struck a six and eight fours in a splendid 72 before being stumped by deputy `keeper Dave Coles at the second attempt.But Hampshire’s Development Coach had no need to concern himself at Savident’s dismissal.He dabbed and swept his way towards a crucial 37 not out – but left the final accolade to schoolboy prospect Michael Barnes, who completed Portsmouth’s victory celebration in real style.Five times in what was to prove the last over, the highly rated 16-year old, who had earlier produced a polished performance behind the stumps, cracked Jason Carr to the boundary.It was a five-star finish by a youngster who has the potential to go a long way in the game …

The Indians are once again in a familiar situation with their backs tothe wall. At the moment, they can only hope that rain will save themfrom defeat in the second test at St. George’s Park. The ordinaryperformance notwithstanding, the team management faltered from thevery outset with regard to the team composition. Logic and commonsense were put on the back burner before the final eleven was picked.Being diplomatic is one thing, but being wishy-washy is another thingaltogether, and a reluctance to take tough and hard decisions cannotbe deemed as diplomacy at any point of time.

The explanation of John Wright that the best four bowlers were playedwas about as convincing as the Indian batting. It appears that Wrighthas adapted himself very well to the Indian way of thinking and theprevailing system. Regardless of whatever explanations he dishes out,the think-tank has failed terribly in its moment of reckoning. Thegame plan was very obvious, with the Indians determined to field onwinning the toss. What was inexplicable was the decision of playingjust the two seamers; after all, playing two spinners can be fullyjustified only if the Indians were to bowl in the second and thefourth innings.The decision to drop a spinner was always going to be a tough one, butthe conditions warranted the inclusion of a third seamer. I hasten toadd that I am not being wise in hindsight; I had written about this inmy earlier article. It would not be unfair to presume that the teammanagement was weak-kneed and did not want to ruffle any feathers, andhence took the easy way out. They had a choice of five seamers, andthe reason they are in the squad is that they are required on SouthAfrican pitches.

The shuffle in the batting order had mixed results; to be fair, theyoung stumper Deep Dasgupta acquitted himself rather well, bearing inmind that he had kept wicket for a day and a half. Sourav Ganguly keptshouting wolf and threatening to open the innings, but it was fairlycertain that he would not. One should make some allowances for him,though, as he is not among the runs in a big way. Rahul Dravid yetagain became a yo-yo by acceding meekly to the wishes of the teammanagement. He should remain at one particular batting slot, simplybecause he has such a good record abroad. VVS Laxman batted muchbetter in this Test, and it is good to see that he has altered hisapproach towards batting. He was more at peace with himself, and hisshot selection was percentage-based rather than mere flamboyance.

Javagal Srinath was the only real silver lining in the cloud, and hisbowling in this Test was probably his best. His discipline wasexcellent, and when he bowls like this, he is on par with any topperformer in the business. But he has been given an excessiveworkload, and he will be better off when used in short bursts.Returning to the strange decisions involved in team selection, it waseven stranger to see Anil Kumble hardly being pressed into service. Itis normally difficult to see a leading wicket-taker for the countryunder-bowled and that too with just four bowlers in the ranks. If thatis the confidence level of the captain, then all the more reason forhim to have left Kumble out and played a third seamer. India mightstill have been in a similar situation with three seamers playing, butwhatever happened to that element of strategy?

Karachi, Nov 7: Karachi Whites chalked up their fourth victory in theQuaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I Cricket Championship with acrushing 208-run triumph over Gujranwala at the KCCA Stadium here onTuesday.The home side hardly felt the absence of their strike bowler DanishKaneria on Monday. The leg-spinner left for Lahore to join thenational camp for the first Test.Karachi Whites were allowed by the match referee Sikander Bakht toreplace Kaneria with pacer Kashif Ibrahim as per clause 3.iii in thePCB playing conditions, which clearly states that if a player iscalled on national duty during the course of a match, substitute willbe allowed who may bat and bowl.Kashif bowled eight overs but failed to take wicket.The match ended on a premature note, 35 minutes after lunch on thefourth and final afternoon, when the Abdul Rehman was unable to bat inGujranwala’s second innings because his left hand was heavily bandagedas result of the injury he sustained on Sunday evening.Rehman is likely to be out of action for 10 days at least.Resuming at the overnight score of 69 for three, the visitors lost theremaining six wickets for 92 runs. The only redeeming feature forGujranwala was Zahid Fazal’s gallant contribution of 74.The 27-year-old Test discard added 36 to his Monday’s tally of 38before his 182-minute stay was finally over with the total on 132.Adnan Malik on the long-on fence held a well-judged catch to provideoff-spinner Tahir Khan his third of four wickets.Zahid’s 188-ball knock was laced with 11 fours. He was involved in theonly major partnership of the innings with his captain Majid Saeed,who made 21 off 111 deliveries. The pair put on 71 for the fourthwicket in 123 minutes.Both Tahir and the slow left-armer Adnan Malik bowled with greatcontrol and variation to share all the wickets to fall on Monday.Tahir finishing with four for 44 in 24 overs while Adnan, who was notrequired to bowl in the first innings, chipped in with two for 28 in15.2 overs.With the maximum points from this win, leaders Karachi Whites have 51points to their credit. They take on Sheikhupura at the UBL SportsComplex from Friday in the sixth round.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAustralia arrived on the third morning in Birmingham dreaming of a monumental comeback. They left on the third afternoon still dreaming of one. It will have to come at Trent Bridge and The Oval, though. There were no last-minute surprises at Edgbaston, where Ian Bell’s second fifty of the match ensured a 2-1 series lead for England and snuffed out any hopes Australia raised during a tail-end fight that set England a target of 121.It might still have proved tricky had a few top-order wickets fallen early. And England did lose both openers cheaply. But Bell realised that a handful of boundaries would be enough to place the pressure back on Australia, so he counter-attacked. Five fours came from his first nine balls, all against Mitchell Starc. And when Michael Clarke dropped a sitter at slip from Bell’s 11th ball, all the wind was out of Australia’s sails.It capped off a listless match for Clarke, who managed only 10 and 3 with the bat. There was little he could do as captain with such a small total to defend, but still it was odd that Mitchell Johnson, the man who roughed up England on the second mornings, was not handed the ball until the ninth over. By then, England were already 47 for 1. From there it was just a matter of how much time. And a Test that had raced along for two days began to meander.Cannabis lamps had been used to prepare the surface and typical of gateway drugs, the match soon appeared to be on speed. Day one brought 13 wickets, day two brought 14. Thirteen more on day three would have meant an Australian victory. But instead only five eventuated. Alastair Cook was bowled by a Starc outswinger for 7 and Adam Lyth was lbw to a Josh Hazlewood inswinger for 12, but that was all Australia managed.Lyth’s continued lack of form was one of the only negatives for England in this match, although the major one was the side strain sustained by James Anderson, which will keep him out of the next Test. But the positives were significant: Steven Finn’s return from the wilderness brought eight wickets for the match, and Bell’s move up the order to No.3 resulted in a fifty in each innings.From his first ball, a clip through midiwicket for four off a fullish Starc inswinger, Bell looked in touch. There was a majestic drive through cover point and another straight down the ground, and his half-century came with a glide to the third-man boundary from his 68th ball, also off Starc. Bell found good support from Joe Root, and between them they ensured an eight-wicket win, with Bell on 65 and Root on 38 after he struck the winning boundary.That the match lasted until past the time of the scheduled tea break was thanks to the fight shown by Starc and Peter Nevill before lunch. They each managed a half-century and Australia’s last three partnerships extended their advantage by 97 from the overnight lead of 23. Nevill and Starc did their best to make a game of it during a 64-run eighth-wicket stand.Nevill had some nervy moments, edges and a near chop-on, and he should have been given out on 53 when he gloved behind off Stuart Broad; Chris Gaffaney did not pick up the contact and England had no reviews left. Nevill’s innings came to an end on 59 when he tickled a catch down the leg side off Steven Finn, who after his day two heroics finished with his best Test figures of 6 for 79.At the other end, Starc proved tough to remove and he later started to play his shots, going over the top when the spin of Moeen Ali and Root was introduced. Starc’s fifth Test half-century came with a six over long-on from his 83rd ball, off the bowling of Moeen, and Australia could have been forgiven for dreaming of pushing their lead up towards 150, and perhaps beyond.But Starc lost his partner Hazlewood (11) to a stunning one-handed catch at third slip from Root off Ben Stokes, and their 28-run partnership was over. Still, Nathan Lyon proved a capable ally for a further 20-run stand before Starc chipped a catch to extra cover off Moeen and was dismissed for 58.It was too little, too late. All of Australia’s bottom five batsmen reached double figures in the second innings. Only one of the top six did – David Warner with 77. It is hard to imagine the same batting line-up being retained for Trent Bridge, with Shaun Marsh for Adam Voges the most obvious change on the cards, given Marsh has piled up centuries in the tour games.Whatever XI is picked, they will need to recreate history. Only once in Ashes history has a team come from 2-1 down to claim the urn. That was in 1936-37, when captain Don Bradman scored 212 in Adelaide and 169 in Melbourne to lead the fightback. Australia may need Steven Smith to return to his recent Bradmanesque touch to have any hope of repeating the feat.England’s outstanding all-round match at Edgbaston has given them every chance of regaining the urn. Another win (or two draws) will do it. The good news for Australia is that England’s recent form is up and down like Tower Bridge: WLWLWLW. The bad news is there are five Tests in this series, not four.