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The Australia one-day squad will take a detour on its way from Adelaide to Brisbane with the players set to visit bushfire victims in Victoria. Tuesday’s match against New Zealand was turned into a telethon of sorts as the Commonwealth Bank bushfire appeal raised more than $6 million for those affected by the fires.That included the Australian players handing over their own match fees and New Zealand’s squad also contributed but after the game Ricky Ponting said his men wanted to do more. Squad members Peter Siddle and Cameron White are both from Gippsland and know of people affected by the fires and they will be part of the group that will spend time with victims in Whittlesea, about an hour north of Melbourne.”There are a few guys in our side that are reasonably affected by it at the moment so for them at the moment it’s incredibly difficult obviously,” Ponting said after the match. “We’ve actually decided as a group we’re going to fly down to Melbourne tomorrow and get on a team coach and go out to Whittlesea and spend a few hours there to try and make things a fraction easier if we can.”We want to get in and help out wherever we can. It was actually an idea sparked by Michael Clarke this morning – he rang me early this morning – and we and people from Cricket Australia have been working on this whole idea all day to get it functional, so we’ll go and lend our support tomorrow wherever we can and pay our respects.”During Tuesday’s match Siddle, who was the 12th man, wandered through the Adelaide Oval crowd collecting money for the appeal. The Australians will also auction off their match shirts from Friday’s game in Brisbane and the proceeds will go towards the bushfire cause.

At a time when India’s international cricketers are increasingly feted, the plight of players in the domestic game doesn’t seem to have improved. Members of the Services team, currently playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Una district in Himachal Pradesh, have spoken to Cricinfo – on condition of anonymity – about the poor playing and staying conditions. While some of the problems are common to smalltown India, concerns over the playing conditions – which officials from the staging association concede to – should raise eyebrows given that this is the premier domestic one-day tournament.The problems for the Services squad began when they landed in Una on February 14 and found they had no place to stay – there was no hotel booked by the Una District Cricket Association (UDCA). “It was mismanagement,” Rajkumar, the general secretary, admitted. “We had asked for a hotel to be booked from February 13 but the hotel manager had booked it from February 15, so we had to shift the players to another hotel.”That, too, presented problems as the initial plan was to split up the squad into several hotels. Once the players refused, threatening to complain to the BCCI, they were put up in one hotel.”That hotel – where they are currently staying – is 15 km outside Una, and suffers frequent power cuts but doesn’t have a back-up generator. “The lights have gone out for the last two hours; it came in between and went again. And we have a game tomorrow,” one player said.At the ground, the Jawaharlal Navoday Vidhyalay Stadium, the outfield was bumpy, the make-shift sightscreen – made from tent material – collapsed during the first game against Himachal Pradesh, leading to a 20-minute disruption in play, and the dressing rooms too were tents, partitioned for the two teams. “It was horrible,” a Services player said. “It was like we had gone to some village to play cricket. We don’t feel that we are playing in a BCCI-sponsored tournament. Someone can get badly hurt on this ground.”The UDCA said it had to use this ground as the Amtar ground at Navdaung was not ready in time. Daljit Singh, head of the BCCI’s Ground and Pitches Committee, made two visits to Amtar before the tournament, and eventually asked the local association to shift the games. There are three grounds in the area and Singh said the tight schedule didn’t leave them with any other option but to include the Una ground on the schedule.”There were15 matches to be played in eight days,” Singh said. “So there was no other option but to play in Navoday Vidhyalay also. Five games in each of the three grounds. I made sure the pitch would be good for the game; we had the equipment shifted out of Dharamsala and it was done. Unfortunately, the outfield was poor and things couldn’t be changed overnight in this hilly area by the local authorities.”He said he would return to Una on Thursday to re-assess the conditions. “I had told them that since it was their problem and responsibility, the local team, Himachal Pradesh, should take the onus of playing more games on this ground.”Meanwhile, more trouble broke out in the ground. BCCI stipulates that every domestic game should be recorded on camera but they couldn’t do it in the first game. The administrators didn’t realise that they had to erect 15-feet structures around the ground for the cameras to be placed. “We didn’t know what exactly was required from the camera people,” Rajkumar said. “But we did it after the first game and the next game was recorded.”

Before Sri Lanka’s chase began, few would have placed even a on Bangladesh defending 152. At the end of eight dramatic overs, unprecedented in Bangladesh cricket history, the score read 6 for 5 and the improbable seemed likely.As it happened, a freakish blitz from a tailender to settle the issue but, even in defeat, Bangladesh were not disgraced. Their level of commitment and body language and their overall performance in the field were remarkable but those eight overs showed just what Bangladesh are fully capable of as a unit.Their first task was to attack an already brittle Sri Lankan top order. The pitch didn’t have as much grass as it had for some of the earlier games in the tournament but that didn’t necessarily make batting any easier. It was a surface that demanded the ball be pitched up to induce mistakes and the opening bowlers, Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain, stuck to the plan, backed by attacking fields and agile fielding.It took just one ball to show that Bangladesh meant business. Upul Tharanga tapped the first ball of the chase to extra cover and the batsmen set off, only to hesitate and turn back on seeing Shakib Al Hasan slide across to his left and stop the ball. He threw while still on his knees and hit the target with Sanath Jayasuriya yards short.That start gave Bangladesh some belief and they followed it up with two maidens, pinning Sri Lanka down with a stifling, accurate off stump line. Nazmul’s inclusion ahead of the struggling Mahbubul Alam was expected and, running in hard and cranking up his pace, he was the ideal foil for the senior Mortaza as they combined to plug both ends.Tharanga looked to break free but at no point in his stint did he look convincing and when he did make contact with the ball he found the fielders. His dismissal was perhaps inevitable – he lashed out at a full and wide delivery from Nazmul but failed to use his feet and was caught behind.The score, then 4 for 2, became 4 for 3 two balls later when a circumspect Mahela Jayawardene, on a horrible run of form, was caught in two minds by a delivery that shaped away from him; the ball traveled off the face of the bat to the wicketkeeper. It seemed Bangladesh worked to a plan for Jayawardene – he’d been trapped in similar fashion by Zimbabwe’s Ed Rainsford a few days earlier – his last eight innings now read as 15,4,0,0,0,28,0.There was more of a contest between Nazmul, still sticking to his offside line, and Kumar Sangakkara, who had the patience demanded by the situation. Nazmul’s strategy was simple – pitch it up and get it to slant across – and, though Sangakkara didn’t fall for the bait, the bowler deserves credit for maintaining the pressure. Sangakkara shuffled across his stumps at times and withdrew his bat on several occasions but, with each passing dot ball, the belief in the Bangladesh camp increased – as did the decibel levels in the packed stands.All the while the fielders kept up the pressure, charging in and attacking the circle – and, crucially, showing positive body language. Chamara Kapugedera fell before he could get his eye in, poking at a delivery from Mortaza that bounced more than usual and angled across him to Junaid Siddique at second slip. 4 down for 5. Mortaza, who charged towards the slips cordon in delight, didn’t let the intensity drop in his eight-over first spell; indeed, it seemed the two opening bowlers were inspiring each other to a higher level of performance.That wicket brought in Thilan Thushara, promoted to a pinch hitter’s role. He faced nine balls but failed to clear the infield were met with no success. When he inside edged Nazmul on to the stumps, the score read an astonishing 6 for 5, the lowest score at which a team had lost five wickets. It beat the 12 for 5 by Pakistan against West Indies in Brisbane, 16 years ago.At that point Bangladesh had the match, and their first-ever one-day series title, in their grasp but Sri Lanka had the depth and the match experience – and Sangakkara, whose 59 was the highest score of the match. Bangladesh didn’t let the intensity drop and Ashraful kept changing his bowlers to deny the batsmen a chance to settle into any rhythm, the discipline reflected in the fact that the innings run rate crossed three only in the 46th over, the start of the batting Powerplay.Slowly, but surely, Sri Lanka swung the match back their way and waited for Bangladesh to make the mistakes. Ashraful’s gamble of introducing the rookie Rubel Hossain probably cost Bangladesh the match; he failed to slip in the yorkers and allowed Muttiah Muralitharan a free rein. The 46th over, when Murali hit him for 20 runs – including three fours and a six – effectively ended the match.

Luke Ronchi is keen to repay the faith of the Australian selectors after they confirmed he would replace Brad Haddin in the two Twenty20 internationals against South Africa. Haddin is being rested following his busy schedule over the past few months, which has included consecutive Test series against India, New Zealand and South Africa.The decision has opened the door for Ronchi, who impressed with his batting and his excellent glovework in the Twenty20 and ODIs in the West Indies this year when Haddin flew home with a broken finger. However, Ronchi fell into a batting slump with Western Australia this season – he has made only one half-century in any format – and he said it was reassuring to be confirmed as the No. 2 gloveman in the country.”You think about it sometimes,” Ronchi said on Saturday. “Obviously after the West Indies I thought about it a bit and sometimes not performing the way you want to and you doubt yourself. For this to come up is a nice reassuring feeling and puts my mind in a good place.”Haddin is expected to return for the one-day internationals, which begin at the MCG on Friday. For now, he will enjoy a rare few days at home in Sydney with his wife and baby son Zac.”I talked to him about it a little bit, see how he was going,” Ronchi said. “I think more than anything he was quite tired and sore from the Test series. So I don’t think he was overly disappointed not playing because he knew he’d have a little bit of a break and then he’d be into the ODIs.”I don’t think he’s too worried about it. He obviously knows that he’s number one. I’m his backup at the moment and whenever he’s raring to go I’ll get flicked, time to go home again.”Haddin, who became Australia’s keeper following Adam Gilchrist’s retirement last year, struggled with niggles during the tours of the Caribbean and India. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said Haddin would benefit from a short break.”Brad arrived in Melbourne yesterday feeling the effects of his heavy workload over the past three months,” Hilditch said on Saturday. “In accordance with our policy of managing the workloads of players involved in all three forms of the game, it was decided that he would benefit from not playing in the two Twenty20 internationals.”Despite being initially selected in the squad, we wanted to assess Brad once he had arrived in Melbourne. It is the same process we employ for all players in that we assess them after they have had a chance to rest and recover immediately following a match, especially if they have been involved in a lot of cricket as Brad has been.”Haddin was not the only player being watched closely in the lead-up to Sunday’s match. Michael Hussey missed practice in Melbourne on Friday because of a stomach bug but is expected to play.

Ramnaresh Sarwan believes the target for the West Indies in their upcoming Test series against New Zealand will be to stay ahead of the hosts in the ICC rankings before looking to move upwards.New Zealand slipped to No. 8 in the ICC rankings, just behind West Indies following their 2-0 walloping in Australia last month. If they beat the West Indies, they can immediately move back to seventh but a draw or a loss will leave West Indies on top. “We want to make sure that we stay ahead of them and move up the ladder,” Sarwan said. “We need to keep pushing hard.”West Indies drew their only warm-up match of the tour, against Auckland on Sunday, with Sarwan the sole centurion for his side. He was happy with his performance but felt there was still room for improvement.”It was a very good pitch to bat on and I tried to make the best use of it. The pitch was quite flat but we expect conditions to be a bit different for the Test match in Dunedin. It is important that I start over again when we enter the Test match. I will take confidence into the first Test.”Sarwan scored 158 as West Indies made 431 for 7 in reply to Auckland’s 587 for 7, which included a maiden double-century from captain Richard Jones and a hundred from wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins.West Indies last played a Test in June against Australia but Sarwan felt the team had adapted well since arriving in New Zealand last week. “It was good to spend some time at the crease … and fortunately I made the most of it.” The first Test starts on Thursday in Dunedin.

Scorecard

Naved-ul-Hasan took three wickets and top scored with 64 to take the Lahore Badshahs to the brink of a semi-final berth after they beat the Dhaka Warriors comfortably by five wickets on Friday. Lahore have an excellent net run-rate, the second-highest among all teams, but will be keen to round off their league-phase with a win against the Chennai Superstars on Sunday, to leave it to victories and not run-rates to determine their place in the final four.Dhaka will be disappointed, as they squandered a good start to eventually get to 145 for 7, which the Lahore batsmen chased down with little difficulty.Shahriar Nafees and Nazimuddin provided their team the ideal start, after being put in, adding 51 in a little over seven overs. The introduction of Saqlain Mushtaq’s off spin into the attack, however, gave Lahore their first breakthrough, as Nazimuddin was bowled for 20.But the Dhaka batsmen continued to score briskly with Nafees, and Aftab Ahmed, who made 20 off 12, adding a further 40 before Saqlain struck again to trigger a collapse. Nafees fell for 35, caught brilliantly by Imran Farhat in the deep while attempting a slog-sweep, and Aftab followed soon after, bowled off a slower ball by Naved. Mahbubul Karim was lbw for 1 in the same over as Dhaka lost three wickets for three runs in seven balls. Alok Kapali, who has a century to his name in the competition, too got a start, but like his other team-mates, failed to convert it into something significant, as he fell to Saqlain for 16 with the score on 114.Dhaka limped to 145, losing two more wickets on the way, as their final score was far lower than what they would have expected with the start they got.Lahore lost Imran Farhat in the second over, but recovered well as Naved, who came in at No. 3, added 53 for the second wicket with Imran Nazir, and as many runs for the fourth with Inzamam, on his way to a quickfire 64 that included six sixes, three off an over from Mohammad Rafique, the left-arm spinner. The only time when Dhaka may have sensed a genuine opportunity was following the dismissal of Mohammad Yousuf for 12, as Lahore slid to 68 for 3 in the sixth over.Yousuf, the latest addition to the Lahore squad, made his ICL debut today, getting off to the perfect start, hitting boundaries off his first three balls. The first was a delightful square-cut followed by a trademark on-drive wide to mid-on. The third was the best of the lot, a beautifully executed extra-cover drive but then an attempted drive on the up through the covers produced a thin outside edge, snapped up by Dhiman Ghosh.However, Dhaka’s hopes were dashed by Inzamam and Naved, who kept the runs coming. Inzamam was the more sedate, focusing more on rotating the strike and leaving it to his partner to go for the big shots. But soon after Naved’s departure, while attempting a fourth six off Rafique, and with just 25 more runs to get off almost eight overs, Inzamam freed his arms, aiming at a more comprehensive win and a higher net run-rate, and succeeded in achieving both.

Match facts

Nov 1, 2008
Start time 7.30pm (1400 GMT)

Big Picture

Delhi’s chances of making the semi-finals were dealt a crushing blow after a 58-run defeat against Mumbai Champs in their last match. With their two big-name foreign players, captain Marvan Atapattu and pace spearhead Shane Bond, not at the top of their games, Delhi’s hopes of progress are almost non-existent. They need to win their remaining games and hope for several other results to go their way to stay in contention for the semi-finals.On the other hand, Hyderabad, their opponents on Saturday, further strengthened their place in the top half of the table with a narrow win against the Ahmedabad Rockets. With a relatively easy game against Mumbai, whom they take on after Delhi, and home advantage against Bengal in their last league game, Hyderabad are poised for a spot in the final four.

Where they rank

Delhi are second-last in the league with two victories. They need to win their remaining two games to keep their improbable chances of qualifying alive.Currently in second place, Hyderabad will look to climb to the top of the rankings with a win, at least for a brief period, with table-toppers Chennai Superstars playing Mumbai the next day.

Form guide (most recent match first)

Delhi: LWLLL
Mumbai: WWLW

Stats

• Delhi have been on the receiving end of three of the four largest defeats (in terms of runs) in the tournament – 62 against Dhaka, 58 against Mumbai and 35 against Bengal.
• Delhi’s Ali Murtaza is the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 10 scalps. He also has the best bowling figures of 4-0-7-4 against Lahore.

Players to watch

S Abbas Ali has been enjoying a rich vein of form for Delhi . His brave performance (31 off 19 balls) against Mumbai followed a match-winning 52 against Lahore. He also shared the best fourth-wicket partnership with Abhinav Bali in the tournament, putting on 80 runs against Lahore.
Nicky Boje is having a great time with both bat and ball for Hyderabad. He has seven wickets from five matches, with a best of 3-20 against Dhaka, and scored a crucial 30-ball 47 against Ahmedabad.

Quotes

“If we have to chase a target against the Delhi team, seeing off Shane Bond would be the priority. If we succeed in it, we have the potential and the confidence to chase any target.”

The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) has outlined contracts for its players among the measures passed at its annual general meeting last week at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva.”In an effort to modernise and professionalise the organisation to keep up with international standards, the board gave its approval to strengthen cricket operations and administrative capabilities of the board,” a TTCB said in a statement. The plans include preparing retainer contracts for national and developmental players at an estimated cost of US$2.5 million, as well as providing a stipend of $220,000 to all board members, the Trinidad & Tobago Express reported.”We are looking to have players retained so that they receive a salary to train and develop their talent,” Deryck Murray, the TTCB president, told CMC Sports. “Many times we have players who cannot show up to training because of problems with time off from their workplace.”Now there is the peace of mind knowing that you can fully engage your attention to the sport and get a salary at the end of the month,” he said. “We are studying the English county cricket system and we are moving in that direction. We have officials who give their valuable time and also their resources. They would spend their money in travelling and telephone calls etc. and we are concerned about this.”With this little stipend, they will now at least be able to recover some of their money. In the modern day world of sport, we aim for professionalism and in order to achieve that, we must keep the people around happy.”The TTCB’s decision to provide contracts comes in the wake of the West Indies Cricket Board’s objective to provide fees and facilities for all first-class players, one of the many goals the WICB outlined to improve the game in the region.

Ten players, products of the Lancashire Development Programme, have agreed to new contracts or contract extensions with the county. The players, seven of whom have come through the club’s academy, are expected to form the backbone of the senior squad in the future.Manager Mike Watkinson recently held contract talks with Lancashire’s uncapped players and said he was delighted with the signings and had high expectations from all ten.”Despite four no-results, a number of our younger players have had opportunities in this year’s Pro40 campaign,” he said. ” It has been very encouraging to see the energy, talent and commitment demonstrated by these players, and it bodes well for the future.”Fast bowler Tom Smith, among those given a contract, hopes to establish himself as a key member of the Lancashire attack. He has impressed Watkinson with his form with bat and ball since his return from a stint at Leicestershire.”My batting has come on in leaps and I would like to think of myself as more of an allrounder. I batted in the top six at Leicestershire in the limited-over games and at seven in the four-dayers, and I got 50-plus a couple of times and had a run average of about 40. After the responsibility there I know I can do it,” he told the .Smith said he had worked very hard on his bowling, which earned him a place in the Lancashire first-team attack. “After my first season I played really well, but I then changed a few things and it did not quite work out. This season, I have gone back to basics, hitting a good length six times out of six.”The others to sign new contracts are Simon Kerrigan, Stephen Cheetham, Karl Brown, Steven Croft, Gareth Cross, Kyle Hogg, Steven Mullaney, Oliver Newby and Stephen Parry.

Harbhajan Singh is confident that Australia’s two new spinners will pose little threat to India’s batsmen in the upcoming Test series. Australia picked the uncapped Bryce McGain and Jason Krejza as their frontline slow bowlers for the India tour and Harbhajan said while he knew little about them, the two men were clearly a step down from Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill.”We were always aware when we played Australia at home that Shane Warne was the main threat, and now that he is not there, it is obviously good for us,” Harbhajan told the . “Warne and Stuart MacGill have both been great spin bowlers.”There are no spinners in Australia of the quality of Warne and MacGill now, and I’m sure our batsmen, who are the best players of spin in the world, are going to have fun with this challenge. We are not worried about whoever comes. I’m sure our batsmen will be okay.”The slow men could potentially be the weak link in an Australian attack that will be led by Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson, although none of the bowlers have played a Test in India. Australia have a vastly different line-up to the group that won in India in 2004-05 and only four members of the current squad have Test experience in the country.”It is obviously a big advantage to us that players like Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Warne and Jason Gillespie are not around this time,” Harbhajan said. “All of those guys have done well here in the past. The last time they were here they beat us, but I genuinely think that if we play to the level we’re capable of, we can defeat them.”We know that whoever Australia pick, they will be a good team, whether Shane Warne is playing or not. They are still the No. 1-ranked team in the world, and it is always a challenge to play them. But we think we have a very good chance, playing in our home conditions and with the crowds supporting us.”India’s spin attack will be in stark contrast to that of Australia, with Harbhajan needing only nine more wickets to reach 300 in Tests. India’s leading spin pair of Harbhajan and Anil Kumble have 907 Test victims between them; McGain and Krejza’s joint total is zero.