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Regional cricket associations have been knocked for seemingly withholding their best players from representing the West Indies ‘B’ team in the Busta Series.Additionally, team captain Roland Holder feels the cream of the regional Under-23s, with the exception of Test players, should be made to play for the ‘B’ team if it is to make a greater impact.A lot of the territories need to be honest in their nominations for the ‘B’team if it is going to serve the purpose for which it is intended, the experienced former Barbados batsman told NATIONSPORT yesterday.We had a couple of players who could not make their national trials or, in the case of one or two from the Leewards and Windwards, who could not make their national side.It was Holder’s forthright view that a player who is put forward to represent the West Indies ‘B’ team should be someone who is on the verge of making his national team.I think most territories have selected their 16, kept the best of the reserves and then sent basically what has not been a true representation of this team.As a reference, he pointed to Guyana fast bowler Reon Griffith who was kept in their 13-man squad for the first five matches. Griffith did not play a single match and was only released to the ‘B’ team for the sixth round.I know all the territories want to win . . . [but] it is all about the development of West Indies’ cricket, said the 34-year-old Holder, who played successfully for Barbados in regional competition between 1986 and 2001.In cases like that, I think we need to be honest with ourselves.West Indies ‘B’, which is participating in the Busta Series for the second successive year, are languishing at the bottom of the table ahead of their final match against Barbados, starting tomorrow at Kensington Oval.However, there have been encouraging signs, among them centuries from Guyanese Krishna Arjune and debutant Donovan Pagon.For a team which has passed 250 in six of their 11 innings and has only been dismissed for fewer than 200 on one occasion, four defeats in six matches might not been an accurate reflection of their performance.Defeats will always be defeats. It means that you didn’t play better or as well as the opposition, Holder said.We have been batting reasonably well consistently. We have scored on average 500 runs per game.The only problem is that we tend to score most of those runs in the second innings. By then it’s usually playing catch-up cricket.Holder described the overall performance of the team as indifferent.It is very difficult under this present structure to get the sort of results you are looking for granted I’ve seen lots of improvements in all of these players, he said.What needs to happen is that the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) decides that the best Under-23 side, excluding those who have played Test cricket, be selected to play as this team.Under such a proposal, promising players such as prolific Windward Islands opener Devon Smith, West Indies youth captain Narsingh Deonarine, Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best and fellow pacer Darren Powell of Jamaica would have to play for the West Indies ‘B’ ahead of their national sides.

Sachin Tendulkar said he was happy to have notched up his first hundred at the Adelaide Oval, one where he hadn’t made much of an impact earlier. Returning to the city where he met Don Bradman in 1998, he brought up his sixth hundred in Australia and second of the series.”I knew that Adelaide hasn’t been a great ground for me,” he said after his unbeaten hundred at the end of the first day. “In 1999 I scored 65 runs here and that was my best, so I was determined to get a big one here. It also happens to be Sir Don’s home ground. I wasn’t thinking about that while batting out there but am very pleased to have got a hundred at this venue.”Tendulkar admitted that this was one of his most complete innings, talking about how certain balls went exactly where he intended. “The first straight drive off [Brett] Lee gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “I middled it and the shot went exactly where I wanted it to go. In the next over I repeated it [against Mitchell Johnson]. So I took it from there.”There are days when you are moving well, days when you’re not. There are also days when you middle the ball and days when you don’t. You need to wait for that moment. I’ve felt those moments off and on in my career. Any hundred is special but when the team really needs one, it means more. Today there were big shots in between and defensive ones too. It was important we [Laxman and him] just stayed there and played according to the merit of the ball. We needed to play out the good spells properly.”Tendulkar has received an overwhelming reception in Australia, entering to standing ovations and being cheered throughout. No other Indian batsman has been accorded such a warm applause. “It’s truly special,” he said, “and sometimes I need to look at the scoreboard to figure out whether I’m 100-plus or zero. It means a lot to me and would like to thank each and every person for treating me like this. It makes every trip of mine very special.”Like in the first two Tests, Tendulkar was particularly severe on Brad Hogg but denied having “targeted” him for punishment. “Any bowler can get you out, you don’t want to take anyone for granted,” he said. “It all depends on the flow of my innings. If I pick the ball early enough, I will put it away. There were patches when he bowled well and patches when I felt I could put the ball away. Whenever I got the opportunity I made it count. That was my strategy.”Tendulkar went from 86 to 100 in a sequence that read 4,2,6,2, smashing the part-time spin of Michael Clarke. “I thought the wind was behind me and wanted to use it,” he said. “I knew if I middled the ball, it would clear the field. Even if I don’t middle it the wind would work.”I was very positive at that stage and if the ball was there to put away, I was prepared to do that again,” he said off the six that took him to 98. “When I played that off-drive [to get to 100], I played inside out, though it was not a half-volley. I had that chance to force the ball. I got the time to force it a little bit.”He was pleased to have weathered the old-ball burst from Lee – “he has been their stand-out bowler” – and thought India would need to bat as long as possible to increase their chances of leveling the series. “I think to put up a big total in the first innings would be the key. Later on I think the wicket might have some big cracks. Ideally we would like to score as many runs tomorrow. The first session will be very important.”

Cricket Australia will wait at least eight weeks before deciding whether Australia will tour Pakistan in March. The assassination of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on Thursday raised further concerns about the series, but James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the shooting and subsequent violence in the country had not changed the organisation’s view.”During February we’ll have a look at the circumstances that are relevant to the tour,” he said. “Right now playing in a neutral venue is not something that’s under consideration. There’s a commitment to tour Pakistan and we’ll be pursuing every avenue we can for that tour to go ahead.”Sutherland said Cricket Australia was not at the stage of “looking too deeply into this”, but it would remain in contact with the federal government and take advice from its security experts. “The tour is nearly three months away,” he said. “The appropriate time for us is really eight weeks away.”A delegation of officials from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association is due to visit the country in February to make a decision on whether the trip will proceed. Sutherland said the safety of the players and the advance party was paramount.Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was confident the tour would go ahead as he felt that cricket is a tool to improve diplomatic relations between countries. “I think we’ll sort that all out with Cricket Australia as the time approaches,” Rudd said in a radio program. “It’s always hard, it’s always difficult, but (cricket) is a great international game. It’s a great language of international diplomacy.In response to that, Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said he was happy with Rudd’s positive statement. “We are happy that the Australia prime minister has taken a very positive approach on the issue,” Ashraf told . “The Australian team will be safe in Pakistan, which is a nation that loves sports. In addition, we will be providing them a fool-proof security cover here.”Michael Clarke said the team was confident with any choice made by Cricket Australia. “We’ll all be leaving it to them, we’re out of our depth,” he said. “I certainly don’t know enough about it. Cricket Australia will let us know when we get closer to touring there and I’ll go on whatever they say.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said if Australia’s investigation concluded that touring would be too dangerous the ICC would complete its own report. “If ultimately it’s decided it’s unsafe, the next step is a neutral venue and the next step is to defer the series and fit it in to the schedule,” he told ABC radio. “There will be no decisions in the next week or the next month.”Pakistan staged the 2002-03 series against Australia in Sharjah and Sri Lanka, but Speed said the ICC could not force the next contest to be held at a neutral venue. “That’s another option for Pakistan,” he said. “We need to wait and see how things settle down.” The Pakistan Cricket Board has said the matches would not be played outside Pakistan.Wasim Akram said the PCB could do nothing at the moment to ensure the Australia tour occurred. “First the country has to settle down into some state of normalcy,” he said. A previous Australian delegation visited Pakistan in July before the Australia A and Under-19 tours that were held without any problems.

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Twenty wickets fell in a day at Jammu as the hosts secured a 28-run first-innings lead against Jharkhand, which may prove crucial in the low-scoring encounter. Jharkhand, opting to bat first, crossed the 100-run mark, thanks only to a 30-run last-wicket stand between Kuldeep Sharma and Sandip Roy. Kuldeep scored 24 and stayed unbeaten. For Jammu & Kashmir, the new-ball bowlers did all the damage, with Vijay Sharma taking five and Samiullah Beigh taking four wickets.The two were not done, though, as they put on 48 for the eighth wicket to take J&K past Jharkhand’s total. Beigh stayed unbeaten on 33, while Vijay scored 26. For Jharkhand, Kuldeep followed up on his batting performance with 3 for 57, while SS Rao took 3 for 56.
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Haryana never really recovered from the early blows Sanjay Bangar dealt them, and were bowled out for 193 on the first day at Rohtak. Railways made a bright start and reached 80 without loss by stumps.Bangar struck in his second and fourth overs to start the rot for Haryana. Sanjib Sanyal joined in the demolition job and soon Haryana were 71 for 6. Amit Sharma and Sandeep Singh took them to 100 with a 29-run stand, but three quick wickets followed. That’s when Gaurav Vashisht, the offspinner, came up with a timely half-century to provide some respectability to their total.Siddharth Joshi and Amit Pagnis, the Railways openers, came out with an aggressive mindset and hit 13 boundaries in 20 overs.
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S Suresh scored a crucial half-century to take Assam to 198 and then took two wickets to help reduce Kerala to 23 for 5 at Guwahati. Dhiraj Goswami, Suresh’s new-ball partner, took three wickets for five runs in seven overs. Scoring, generally, happened as an afterthought as Kerala scored 23 runs in 22.3 overs.Earlier, it was Suresh’s 57 at the top of the order, along with wicketkeeper Rajdeep Das’s 30, that held the Assam innings together and took them to a total, which by the end of the day, looked huge.
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At Margao, the Madhya Pradesh batsmen punished the Goa bowling to end the day at 334 for 6. They were led by a century by Jatin Saxena and half-centuries by wicketkeeper-opener Naman Ojha and Murtaza Ali.Jatin, who came in at No.3 and shared an 87-run stand with Ojha, scored his second first-class century, in his fourth match. Ali finished the day unbeaten on 75, his maiden first-class half-century. For Goa, Saurabh Bandekar, the former India Under-19 medium-pacer, stuck to the task and took four wickets for 98 runs, even though he bowled eight no-balls.
ScorecardNiraj Patel scored his 10th first-class century to take Gujarat to a comfortable 230 for 3 in Delhi. Niraj’s unbeaten 107 came off 192 deliveries and featured 18 boundaries. Niraj joined opener Nilesh Modi when Gujarat were at a tricky 50 for 2. Modi scored a cautious 51 and put on 75 for the third wicket with Niraj. Bhavik Thaker scored an equally cautious 35 in an unbeaten stand of 105 for the fourth wicket.
ScorecardFaiz Fazal’s second first-class century and Alind Naidu’s 87 put Vidarbha in a commanding position against Tripura, at Nagpur. The two shared a 160-run stand after Vidarbha had lost their first wicket for two runs. Fazal hit 19 fours and a six in his innings of 110.Tripura, though, struck with Naidu’s wicket in 83rd over of the day, after which Vidarbha scored only 11 runs.

The first international match in ten years at Hyderabad’s Niaz Stadiumheralds a potential return for a venue that, though not often used, is a significant one in Pakistan.The stadium has hosted only five Tests and six ODIs before Zimbabwe becamethe first international team to play here since 1997-98. But the venue isassociated with some key moments in Pakistan’s cricket history.This was the venue, for instance, when two Pakistan teams turned up toplay a Test against New Zealand in October 1976. The senior team was thenembroiled with the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) in apay dispute and the chairman, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, had selected and sentan entirely separate XI to play the Test. The issue was eventuallyresolved just before the Test started and Pakistan went on to win by tenwickets, sealing a first series win at home since 1964-65.Niaz Stadium is also remembered for what was then a world-record equallingpartnership between Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar, against India inJanuary 1983. The pair scored double hundreds and put on 451 runs for thethird wicket equalling the stand set by Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford in1934. Miandad was famously left stranded on 280, after Imran Khan, thecaptain, declared Pakistan’s innings on the third day. Imran later rattledIndia with a celebrated spell of five for 8 in 23 balls, leading his sideto an innings triumph.The ground hosted what turned out to be Test cricket’s 1000th Test,against New Zealand in November 1984. That remains the last Test to beplayed here, though it later staged the opening match of the 1987 WorldCup, between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. But since 1997, the ground has falleninto disrepair and at one stage, it was being used to host weddings. It also hosted the first hat-trick – Jalal-ud-Din against Australia in 1982.The current PCB administration has taken back control of the ground,however, and the successful hosting of the second ODI against Zimbabwe,said Nasim Ashraf, chairman PCB, is a sign that more international cricketmay be played here in the future. “We’re extremely proud that the stadiumhas been restored to international status. We’ve put in a fantastic newpitch and we’ve got this ground ready to host a game in four months. Thefacilities in the city and in the stadium are very good.”We want to develop a regional academy in the city and build more groundsto enable club cricket. Our policy now is to host matches on a rotationalbasis and we need to develop grounds in places like Sahiwal and Sialkot togive them more exposure.”The ground’s capacity is currently limited to only 7500 and it wasexpectedly full – and raucously so – for the match. But plans are underwayto increase that. There are also plans to build a five-star hotel, a keyICC requirement for any city hoping to stage international matches.”Crime is lower in Hyderabad than any other city in Sindh,” said KanwarNaveed Jamil, the city’s mayor. “The district government is planning tobuild a five-star hotel right next to the ground and that should attractmore matches in the future.”It may be hard to dispute that claim: despite worries before the match about whether the stadium – and the city – would be able to cope, the second ODI passed off without incident, in front of a healthy, appreciative crowd.

Ryan Sidebottom missed England’s disappointing showing in the ICC World Twenty20 with a side injury, but that setback has made him all the more determined to succeed in the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka.The first of the five-match series begins in Dambulla on October 1, and Sidebottom is confident that he has the ability to overcome the heat and humidity in what promises to be his first overseas international for six years.”You can only improve as a bowler if you test yourself in different conditions,” Sidebottom told PA Sport. “I am really looking forward to doing that. I’ll be working with the coaching staff, preparing as thoroughly as possible and getting my plans right for playing out there.Sidebottom is expected to test both his fitness and his aptitude for Sri Lankan wickets during England’s warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Board President’s XI at the Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo on Friday. Although he is not the quickest bowler in the England set-up, as a left-armer he offers variety and in his Sri Lankan counterpart, Chaminda Vaas, he has the ideal template for success.”Someone like Vaas has taken a lot of wickets for Sri Lanka and shown that there is a place for seamers,” he said. “He has shown that you do not have to be able steam in and bowl at 90mph to be a quality international bowler on those types of pitches.”Having spoken to Darren Gough about how to bowl and get wickets out in the sub-continent I realise it will be a different challenge for me, but I believe I will be able to get wickets. I might not be able to get orthodox swing all the time but I am sure I will be able to get the ball to reverse a bit.And Sidebottom has no qualms about adapting to touring life. “Adjusting to the conditions [off the pitch] should not be too much of a problem. I love curries so I should be okay on that front, although with the heat out there I might even have to get my hair cut!”

Mark Ramprakash has expressed his disappointment at not earning an England recall after selector Geoff Miller called him three weeks before the squad to Sri Lanka was announced and asked him about his future plans.”When selector Geoff Miller rang me before the squad was picked, asking lots of questions about my future plans, I thought I had a genuine chance of going to Sri Lanka,” Ramprakash told the newspaper. “Chairman of selectors David Graveney rang me before the squad was announced to try and explain the rationale behind leaving me out, but afterwards I was still none the wiser. He said I had a great season and couldn’t have done any more to get in the squad, so I replied. ‘Hang on – if I couldn’t have done any more, why am I not in the side?'”Ramprakash was the highest run-scorer of the 2006 and 2007 County Championship with averages of over 100 and was the only batsman to go past the 2000-run mark in the two seasons.”It’s cause for concern when people score 2000 runs and average more than 100 in back-to-back seasons, which is hardly a flash in the pan, and they are still overlooked,” he said.”I would love to know which boxes I hadn’t ticked.”All my fitness charts at Surrey last summer showed I’m as fit at 38 as I was when I broke into the England side at 21. And if age alone was the issue, all I can say is that’s unfair – Graham Gooch scored heaps of runs for England between the age of 35 and 40.”

India Pistons set up a title showdown with Chemplast in the Moin udDowlah Cup in Hyderabad on Sunday with a comfortable 49 run win overIndia Cements. In the semifinal clash at the Gymkhana ground, Pistonswere dug out of a hole by the familiar crisis man Robin Singh whoshepherded the lower order to 218 with a priceless unbeaten 80. Inreply, Cements were never in the running, losing wickets at closeintervals and it was only a lone hand of 77 by Sunil Oasis whichhelped them to 169.In the morning, Tamil Nadu seamer J Gokulakrishnan bowled an incisivefirst spell of 5-0-26-3 to leave Pistons reeling at 33/3 after havingbeen put in to bat. Vikram Rathour and JR Madanagopal restored someorder with a battling 44-run stand before both fell in the space oftwo runs to leave Pistons in grave peril at 79/5. Pistons were missingReetinder Sodhi for this vital game, the Punjab youngster havingfallen ill after yesterday’s game and flown back home.Robin was thus the last hope and he responded with the typical gustoof a man who thrives under the challenge of a pressure cookersituation. Two more partners left him along the line after brief showsof solidarity to leave Pistons at 135/7. But although No’s 9, 10 and11 made precisely 13 runs between them, they helped Robin add 83 forthe last three wickets with the skipper running out of partners aftermaking 80 in 90 balls inclusive of six fours. Gokul finished top ofthe pack among the Cements attack with figures of 4/46.Robin led with the way with the ball too, dismissing Jesu Babu withhis first delivery. The other opener VB Chandrasekhar was not hisusual aggressive self, hanging around for 43 balls to make 19 beforeleg spinner Balaji Rao dismissed him. Balaji Rao delivered anothertelling blow by removing S Sharath for three and at 61/5, Cements werein dire straits. Left arm spinner Satyajit Medappa then stepped in andcleaned up the tail in spite of Oasis’ heroics. The Kerala Ranjiplayer was last out for 77 (106 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes) as Cementsfolded up ignominiously for 169 with 14 balls to spare.

The West Indies cricket team arrived in South Africa on Monday evening and Chris Gayle is promising a “fight” in the upcoming series.Speaking after the team touched down at the OR Tambo Airport, Gayle said that the West Indies were full of confidence and believed they could win when the sides meet in three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals.”We respect the South Africans but we don’t fear them. They are a good team and are playing good cricket at the moment, so we know the challenge at hand. “But we are confident and we believe in our ability. We played well in Zimbabwe and we are here in South Africa to continue the good work. They will be in for a fight.”Gayle hoped to be fit for the first Test against South Africa on December 26. “My injury is coming on very well, hopefully I’ll be ready for the first Test, but I need to work with the physio.”He believed that the absence of retired Brian Lara and the injured middle-order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan could serve as motivation for the members of the team to prove their worth.”Brian is no longer in the team and Sarwan is injured and with this in mind we expect to see some of the younger players taking the opportunity to make a big contribution and possibly make a name for themselves. This is a big series and full of big opportunities.”

Chris Schofield is confident that his hand injury won’t prevent him from taking part in the ICC World Twenty20.Schofield split the webbing on his left hand when fielding during Surrey’s Pro40 victory against Kent on Tuesday and had to have four stitches, but his club says there is nothing to worry about. He even batted as Surrey moved to the one-wicket win.”He was keen to return to the field,” a Surrey spokesperson told Cricinfo, “but Alan Butcher and Mark Butcher didn’t want to risk it, particularly with the internationals coming up.”He did, however, bat and made 11. “He batted really well – a little gingerly to start with, but then as the adrenaline kicked in he started to play his shots.”The stitches are due to come out around the time Schofield heads to South Africa on September 9. His international commitments mean he will miss the closing stages of Surrey’s Pro40 promotion campaign, which continues in earnest with the floodlit match at The Oval against Somerset on Tuesday.While Schofield is sad to be missing out on the end of Surrey’s season, he knows it’s for the right reasons. “It’s not a bad thing because I’m playing for England,” he told Cricinfo, “but Surrey have been brilliant and have given me every opportunity to express myself.”The change in Schofield’s fortunes has been well-documented, but his inclusion in the England side still hasn’t sunk in. “It was a massive surprise. The start of this year was a new beginning, like I hadn’t been in first-class cricket. I’ve had lots of challenges in the last two years and now I’m about to face another big challenge.”