ScorecardSussex’s batsmen took a firm grip on the Championship trophy at Trent Bridgetoday as they finished the first day of their title decider on 420 for 5, claiming all four bonus points.The day ended dramatically with Charlie Shreck bowling Murray Goodwin for 99 with the final ball but even this could not take the gloss off Sussex’s performance.They had recovered from a difficult start – Richard Montgomerie andMichael Yardy putting on 144 for the second wicket after Carl Hopkinson hadrun himself out in the third over. As it transpired, Hopkinson was the onlySussex batsman to miss out, with Yardy continuing his fine summer in scoring119 and Goodwin, Montgomerie and Chris Adams also scoring fifties.Yardy’s was a fine innings, full of character, after a scratchy start when he edged a couple of balls through the close cordon and could have been run out. He gained another reprieve when Stephen Fleming put him down at slip off Andrew Harris and damaged his little finger in the process, resulting in a trip to hospital for the Notts captain. This incidentepitomized Notts’ performance in the field, with missed opportunities allowingSussex to speed towards 400.Notts missed their captain badly, and their bowling became more ragged asthe day went on. Even Ryan Sidebottom, the one bowler to emerge with credit,seemed pedestrian by the end, conceding four fours to Matthew Prior in onelate over.Richard Montgomerie had scored a fine 82 to anchor the innings, and after hewas out to Harris, Yardy and Goodwin continued the good work in apartnership of 110. Yardy had begun to accelerate, looking every inch anEngland player as he feasted on a series of loose balls to move quicklythrough the nineties to his ton, before he was lbw playing across the lineto the spin of Samit Patel.Goodwin, whose effort was doubly commendable as he was batting with aninjured hand, was then joined by the captain Chris Adams. They moved rapidlytowards the 400-mark before Adams clipped an innocuous Shreck delivery with the second new ball straight to midwicket. Adams was visibly annoyed with himself after a 91-ball 72, but he had done his job, guiding his side to within touching distance of the title.With Lancashire 333 for 7 at The Rose Bowl and in danger of dropping vitalbonus points, Sussex can really turn the screw tomorrow, and with Matt Priorlooking in ominous touch and Robin Martin-Jenkins to come they are well set topush on to 500 before letting Mushtaq off the leash.

A match that was billed as the clash of two returning legends has now been overshadowed by the words of another from across the seas. Sachin Tendulkar and Glenn McGrath are poised to renew acquaintance on Saturday afternoon, but the build-up to the match was dominated by Shane Warne’s scathing comments on coach John Buchanan.”I’m a big believer that the coach is something you travel in to get to and from the game!” Warne said, and catchy line though it was, neither Ricky Ponting, who addressed the media ahead of the India game, nor Buchanan was amused. You can depend on Warne to cause a stir though. No other cricketer on the planet would have managed to steal the limelight from Tendulkar, that too less than a day after a stirring unbeaten 141 on his return to the big time.Both teams struggled in the face of stunning assaults from West Indies in the Powerplay overs, but Australia held on to prevail, while India were denied the chance of a comeback by rain. And given the fact that they already have points on the board, Ponting hinted that Australia would keepfaith in the relatively inexperienced faces that triumphed over West Indies. One change could be at the top of the order, where Matthew Hayden – who averages a mighty 54.81 in 17 matches against India – should get the nod ahead of Simon Katich.Though the redoubtable McGrath will ask stern questions of India’s line-up, the likes of Nathan Bracken and Mitchell Johnson will be under immediate pressure against batsmen who certainly aren’t shot-shy. DanCullen, the offspinner from whom so much is expected, will also relish thechallenge of bowling to players who play spin perhaps better than anyoneelse.India are also likely to make just one change, with Yuvraj Singh coming infor either Mohammad Kaif or Suresh Raina, who batted so well in the slogovers against West Indies. “He came through a training and net sessionvery well yesterday, he had good practice,” said Dravid, when asked aboutYuvraj. “Today, he did all the physical drills, and he is fully fit. Ithink he should be there tomorrow.”Dravid also suggested that Virender Sehwag could continue in the middleorder as India look to fine-tune their strategy ahead of the ChampionsTrophy. “It’s all about how best to utilise the 50 overs,” he said. “Inthe middle overs, we need players with power and creativity on slow tracksthat we should find in India in the Champions Trophy and for the WorldCup. It’s an area that we have suffered in; lots of teams don’t haveplayers who can dominate the middle overs. We have Yuvraj and Dhoni, andif it works with Sehwag, it will be great for us. One-day cricket is allabout flexibility and being able to adapt.”The five-man bowling attack is unlikely to be weakened given how easilyWest Indies took them apart. But with Sreesanth and Ramesh Powar waitingon the sidelines, Rudra Pratap Singh and Harbhajan Singh will need to showsome improvement to keep their places in the XI for the remaining matches.India will take heart from numbers that suggest they play better againstAustralia at neutral venues. Though the overall head-to-head record isoverwhelmingly in Australia’s favour – 49 wins to 27 from 80 games – itnarrows down to 11 Aussie wins and 9 losses when the teams clash onforeign soil.

Come Saturday though, even the statistically minded will have eyes trainedon the tussle between two of the game’s ultimate warriors. Tendulkaraverages an astonishing 49.02 in 44 matches against the world’s best,further evidence, if any was needed, as to why he’s light years ahead ofanyone else as a one-day batsman. The fact that McGrath has just 32wickets at 26.28 – his career average is 22.45 – in 22 games against Indiaoffers further proof of just how effective Tendulkar has been at taking onthe shiny white ball. That said, McGrath won the contest that mattered, inthe 2003 World Cup final, something that still rankles with Tendulkar.Expect some fireworks.It will also be a big match for one man on the sidelines. Greg Chappell’splace in Australian cricket’s pantheon is beyond dispute, and this will bethe first time that he leads his Indian wards in a contest against theteam that has set the standards for nearly a decade. As Ponting said athis press conference, Chappell knows most of the Australian players aswell as anyone, and any little chinks that he remembers will be of immenseuse to an Indian side that has to win to stay alive in the competition.India (likely): 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 IrfanPathan, 4 Virender Sehwag, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 7Mohammad Kaif, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Rudra Pratap Singh,11 Munaf Patel.Australia (likely): 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Phil Jaques, 3 RickyPonting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Mark Cosgrove, 6 Shane Watson, 7 BradHaddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Bracken, 10, Dan Cullen, 11Glenn McGrath.

Brad Hodge, the Victoria right-hand batsman, could open the batting for Victoria’s one-day side in the coming season. John MacWhirter, the chairman of selectors for Victoria, said that though it was difficult to disrupt the opening combination of Michael Klinger and Jon Moss, letting Hodge open remained a possibility.”We’ve discussed all possible options, because we haven’t got to a final in the one-day competition for a while and we’re looking at ways of doing that,” MacWhirter told . “One of the options could be for Brad to open, but that certainly hasn’t been finalised.”Hodge played three ING Cup matches last season – being busy with national duty for the most part – with a strike-rate of over 71. His overall domestic one-day average is 38.33 with a top score of 164. On their part, Klinger and Moss played ten matches each last season with strike-rates of over 79 and 91 respectively.Hodge wasn’t part of Australia’s victorious DLF Cup campaign in Malaysia and he has also been left out of the Champions Trophy squad. “We want to give our players every opportunity of playing for Australia, that’s one of our main missions combined with the fact we’re just looking to get whatever edge we can in winning games,” said MacWhirter.

James Foster, the former England wicketkeeper, has extended his contract with Essex until 2009.Foster, 26, had an improved season in 2006 averaging 42.41 and also took 68 catches, the most by a wicketkeeper in either division of the Championship.”There was never any question or problem with me signing a new contract,” Foster said, “but it just took a little longer to complete for a variety of reasons. It was just that there was no real massive panic because David East [the Essex chief executive] and myself both knew that I would sign it.”I’m very happy at Essex. I’m really pleased with the way we are going as a team – I think we are going in the right direction,” he said. “There’s a great mix of youth and experience at the moment and I firmly believe we will be able to continue to push for silverware.”Obviously in the last couple of years we’ve performed exceptionally well in one-day games and hopefully we can get promoted in the four-day game – which we should do. We just missed out this year but I believe we can do that. I’d love to be a part of an Essex team that is a force in the four-day game as well.”

Canterbury v Auckland
An out-of-form Lou Vincent will hold the key for Auckland in their chase for 271. Vincent was 26 not out at stumps and it will require all his skills for the home team to post the highest total of the match to steal an outright victory over Canterbury, who have already secured first innings points. Canterbury were dismissed for 200 with captain Chris Harris leading from the front with 52. Andre Adams was chief destroyer with 5 for 58. Richard Jones (1) and Tim McIntosh (2) were dismissed early as Auckland’s chase started disastrously.Central Districts v Otago
Central Districts will be faced with the task of batting for time to salvage a draw against Otago who plundered 624 against them, at Napier. Starting their second innings 230 behind, Central got off to a good start despite the loss of Peter Ingram. Central were 102 for 1 at stumps, with Geoff Barnett (51) still at the crease. Earlier in the day, Gareth Hopkins posted a century and was unbeaten on 126 when Otago were all out.Wellington v Northern Districts
Rain continues to play havoc with this match as Wellington seek an innings victory over Northern Districts at Hamilton. Resuming at 83 for 5, Northern showed some grit to get through to 253, with Peter McGlashan notching 50. It was not enough to avoid the follow-on though and Wellington, with pace bowlers Iain O’Brien and Mark Gillespie in good form, will be hoping for a full day to have a crack at Northern’s weak batting line-up tomorrow.

The West Indies cricketers might have returned from their four-month sojourn in Asia a wounded bunch, but they are the better for it. Tony Howard, the team manager, felt that despite a few physical injuries, the team had adapted well to the trying conditions and will be up to the task when the World Cup comes to the region next year.West Indies reached the finals of two one-day tournaments – the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy in India, losing to Australia in both. In Pakistan, they lost the Test series 2-0 and the five-match one-day series 3-1.”If I was to give a grade, I would have to say six-and-half out of ten,” Howard told Nationsports after the team returned from Pakistan via London. “We have to learn the lessons and we have to learn them quickly.”We have to be thinking always, and we have to be more consistent if we want to be among the major teams in the World Cup. We reached two finals and we were not altogether bad in Pakistan. There was a time, not long ago, when we were not winning anything.”Howard said even though they were missing regular players like Ramnaresh Sarwan to injury and Dwayne Bravo – who returned home after the Tests in Pakistan – they should have risen to a higher level of performance. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was also handicapped with a leg injury during the ODIs.”We missed their contributions to the overall team effort, and that is what we were looking for,” Howard said. “We have some capable substitutes, but there was not enough experience to take us through.”Left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw was a key member of the side in the DLF Cup and Champions Trophy, but said that the final leg in Pakistan was particularly challenging. He is listed at No.4 in the latest ICC one-day international rankings.”It was quite difficult over there and unfortunately we didn’t get the results we were looking for,” said Bradshaw. “We simply didn’t play to the level we were expecting, but we are not too disheartened.”It was quite a long tour and we did make some positive strides in our one-day game, and hopefully coming into 2007 we will have to regroup in the build-up to the World Cup and improve in those weak areas we have identified.”

The Asian Television Network International Limited has been confirmed as the sole sponsor of the Canadian full and Under-19 sides.A statement from the company said that the ATN name and logo would appear on playing and practice clothing used by the sides on ICC Americas Championship (World Cricket League; Division 1) and ICC Intercontinental Cup matches.The company said that the contract would also mean the side had exposure on the Commonwealth Broadcasting Network channel and ATN’s soon to be launched 24-hour cricket channel.

Australia 8 for 289 (Symonds 69, Gilchrist 61, White 45, Bond 4-61) beat New Zealand 184 (Taylor 84) by 105 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

New Zealand’s batsmen were unable to follow up on Shane Bond’s hat-trick and fell 105 runs short of Australia’s 289 despite Ross Taylor’s fighting 84. The visitors lost their final seven wickets for 23 in a disappointing finish after Bond made a memorable impact to close the first innings.Andrew Symonds and Cameron White launched a late onslaught of 90 in nine overs before Bond ended the partnership in the 50th over when White was caught in the deep and Symonds edged behind next ball attempting a huge drive. Bond, who became the second New Zealander to take a one-day international hat-trick and collected 4 for 61, finished the job with a ripper that took the top of Nathan Bracken’s off stump, but his team-mates failed to carry the momentum into their batting.Taylor, who came in at 2 for 7 in the fourth over, showed the 128 he made in his third ODI last month was no fluke and he was the only batsman to threaten Australia. His 82-ball innings featured three slog-sweeps that cleared the boundary – two off Symonds and one off White – and he repeatedly worked the ball from outside off stump to behind square leg.His pulling and square driving was also effective as he took on the Australians with ten fours and pushed New Zealand to 3 for 161 in the 32nd over. However, when Taylor flashed at a Mitchell Johnson delivery angling across him and was caught behind the resistance fell away against a relatively inexperienced bowling attack.Australia’s two newest fast bowlers, Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus, each contributed but nobody dominated the wicket tally. Hilfenhaus, playing his first one-day international in the comfort of his home-ground conditions, took only 12 balls to make his mark. After a maiden first over, Hilfenhaus had Brendon McCullum lbw playing across the line for 5.Nathan Bracken also captured an early breakthrough when Nathan Astle edged a very low catch to Adam Gilchrist and was out without scoring. Stephen Fleming and Peter Fulton both partnered Taylor in the chase but Fleming (29) tried to lift his contribution, having struck just one four and a six, and lofted a Johnson delivery to Michael Hussey at mid-off.

Fulton reached 37 before he fell to an athletic two-grab catch by Symonds at cover, but no other batsman reached double figures. The speed at which the innings ended was a concern for the visitors, who crashed to 73 all-out against Sri Lanka a week ago.Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat first looked like a good one when Gilchrist smashed eight fours in his 58-ball 61, but after he fell attempting to replicate a slog-sweep he had put out of the ground from Jeetan Patel, the bowlers but the brakes on. The New Zealanders found a good line and drew Ponting, Michael Clarke and Hussey into picking out fieldsmen while trying to improve the run-rate.Symonds and White pushed Australia to an impressive total and helped them to take 74 from the last six overs. Symonds started slowly but finished with 69 off 70 balls while White smashed three sixes in his 45 off 32 deliveries, including helping take 22 from Bond’s second-last over before the sensational hat-trick.Until then Bond, who has 28 wickets against Australia in eight games, appeared unable to rein in the late runs and White launched him for a massive six over midwicket that landed on a stadium roof. Symonds’ controlled display was reminiscent of his century in the Boxing Day Test and he took until his 46th delivery to strike his second four.White put two consecutive Daniel Vettori deliveries over the midwicket boundary in the 45th over before Symonds also began finding the rope. However, White could not prove as effective with the ball and gave up 18 in his first two overs, although he returned to earn the wicket of James Franklin. Johnson, Stuart Clark and Symonds collected two victims each as the spoils were spread around. The opponent might have been different but the result was the same as throughout the summer as Australia boosted their competition tally with a bonus point by sealing the win 11.3 overs early.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

At the end of the second day of the Ranji Trophy final Mumbai were right on top thanks mainly to a penetrative spell from Zaheer Khan, who picked up five wickets and skittled Bengal over for only 143 in response to the hosts’ 320. Bengal’s tail was good enough to avert a follow-on that seemed likely at one stage, but when Mumbai ended the day on 113 for 2, an overall lead of 290, one team held all the aces, with three days to play.When the day began with Mumbai on 281 for 5, there was still hope that they would post a score tall enough to allow them to bat just once in this game. But Abhishek Nair (15) copped an unlucky break, and was given out caught behind off Sourav Sarkar when the bat appeared to miss ball and strike the floor. With just 17 added to the overnight score of 281, the door opened for Bengal.Sarkar was in the action again as Rohit Sharma was sent back by Vinayak Samant after setting off for a single, and run out for 15. At 298 for 7, all that was left to do, with no recognised batsmen left at the crease, was scramble a few runs. But Ranadeb Bose, who bowled well without much luck on the first day, had other plans; he removed Samant (0) and Zaheer in the space of 15 runs. Ramesh Powar, usually good for a few runs, tried to disrupt the bowlers’ rhythm by stepping out or making room, but he failed in his quest, and was bowled by Sarkar, ending the Mumbai innings on 320.If Bengal felt any sense of relief it evaporated soon enough. The superior bowling firepower of Mumbai set to work immediately, and Ajit Agarkar produced a brute of a delivery that got big on Deep Dasgupta, who could only fend awkwardly to Sharma at short-leg. Bengal had lost their captain for a duck in the first over, and worse was to follow. Zaheer angled the ball nicely across Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and when the batsman prodded without much foot movement the result was a nick that Samant snapped up behind the stumps.A partnership of sorts built between Arindam Das and Manoj Tiwary, but Zaheer made his Mumbai debut memorable by hurrying Das for pace and having him caught behind with the score on 28. Then the excitement built to a fever pitch as Sourav Ganguly walked slowly out to the middle and took his time marking his guard as the crowd cheered his name.The hype was deflated instantly as Zaheer punched through Ganguly’s defences with a quick delivery that slanted back in and beat the stroke for pace. The ball took the inside edge and uprooted the middle stump, and Mumbai were over the moon, celebrating in a huddle as Ganguly was sent back for a first-ball duck. At 28 for 4, with their premier batsman gone, Bengal were in dire straits.For Zaheer, though, this was business as usual – he has now dismissed Ganguly for three ducks in the last three times the two have come up against each other. The last occasion was the Duleep Trophy final in the previous season when two screaming yorkers sent Ganguly back without troubling the scorers. Tiwari’s attractive strokeplay saved Bengal from further embarrassment as he who took the score from 28 for 4 till 72 before the next cluster of wickets fell.

Zaheer struck again, having Rohan Gavaskar caught behind. Two more wickets fell on the same score, as Zaheer and Samant combined again to remove Laxmi Ratan Shukla. The real big blow came soon after, though, when Tiwary was slow in moving his feet to a well-pitched up delivery from Wilkin Mota and was trapped lbw for 42.At 72 for 7 the follow-on target of 120 looked miles away. However, Mumbai’s intensity flagged and the tailenders made the most of this, swatting the ball for runs. Saurashish Lahiri (22), Sarkar (25) and later Ashok Dinda (22 not out), took Bengal to relative safety at 143 all out. Zaheer had picked up 5 for 40, and Mumbai had a more-than-handy 177-run first-innings lead.Sahul Kukreja went early once more, and then an hour of attractive strokeplay followed as Wasim Jaffer and Sharma put on 107 for the second wicket, making the most of good batting conditions against Bengal’s tiring bowlers. There was little in the pitch, and the runs flowed easily, till Sharma (57) was slightly late on a ball from Dinda and was bowled. Jaffer was unbeaten on 50 as Mumbai went off at stumps on 113 for 2.

It hasn’t been an auspicious start.The hotel housing four of the teams in Port of Spain had to be cleared because of a teargas attack, an embarrassing breach for the combined law enforcement services involved. The Barbados police chief rightly blew his top over the frisking of his officers by overzealous security staff at the Three Ws Oval. One match in Trinidad was in jeopardy when the teams complained about the state of the pitch.The company that manufactured the seats for the new stands at Sabina Park was sacked a week before the opening match, a seemingly unnecessary step given the empty spaces during the warm-ups at Trelawney, the other Jamaican venue. The bumped-up prices, for everything from peanuts to patties, from beer to burgers, and the ever-present annoyance of ambush marketing were soon to the fore. Not surprisingly, the clash involved the two telecommunications companies whose wrangle so divided West Indies cricket in recent times.Such setbacks over the first week of the Caribbean’s first World Cup, and others besides, have been moderated by the welcoming efficiency of the hundreds of gaily-bedecked volunteers, certainly at Trelawney and, from all reports, at the three other venues so far used. And, as the organisers are quick to point out, the warm-ups were not designed for the teams alone but also for the purpose of eliminating the inevitable glitches prior to the tournament proper that swings into full gear at Sabina Park on Tuesday.We are assured, as we have been all along, that all will be well but it is not undue cynicism to concede that we will continue to keep fingers firmly crossed over the coming six weeks. Nor, after the West Indies’ abject capitulation to India in their last preparatory match on Friday, is it pessimistic to fear for what is to come on the field. It was, it is true, an unofficial, 13-a-side contest. The 85 all-out was the type of double-digit total that has become as familiar a feature of West Indies teams as designer sunglasses and glittering gold chains. In this form of the game, they do not necessarily lead to disaster.Was the West Indies’ most ignominious defeat, when dismissed for 93 by Kenya in the 1996 World Cup, not followed by victory over Australia the next match and a spot in the semi-final? More recently, the all-out 86 and a nine-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the qualifying round of the Champions Trophy counted for nothing as they advanced to the final. And so on and so forth. It is tempting to clutch at such straws for the impact on a floundering sport of a West Indies’ triumph in the game’s most prestigious tournament on home territory is obvious. Sadly, the disunity and the absence of proper preparation within the team has become even more obvious.The lack of intensity in Friday’s effort was one symptom. The pre-match routine was so laughable that John Wright, the former New Zealand opener and India’s immediate past coach, believed at first glance they were the day’s ball boys tossing tennis balls to each other. The batting that followed might well have been by the ball boys as well. The contrast with India’s purposeful approach was distressing for the sizeable crowd that had never before witnessed such a high-profile international fixture on the north coast.The evidence of internal divisions was just as clear-cut, as it has been for some time. Interviewed by Jeffrey Dujon prior to the toss, head coach Bennett King offered the opinion that, since they had batted first in the previous match against Kenya, West Indies should bowl if the captain won the toss. Lara chose to do the opposite. It reflected the earlier difference of opinion between King and convener of selectors, Gordon Greenidge, over the choice of Dwayne Smith in the squad of 15.It might explain why the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is not sending its three appointed selectors, Greenidge, Clyde Butts and Andy Roberts, to any of the World Cup matches. Greenidge and Roberts will be at Sabina on Tuesday to be honoured along with others from the 1975 and 1979 World Cup champion teams, Roberts at other venues as an official World Cup pitch inspector. Had they had any input into proceedings, it was unlikely there would be as much messing around with the batting order as there was.

After his hundred against Kenya on Tuesday, Marlon Samuels had restated his preference for batting at No.4. Informed he was in the 13 only on the morning of the match against India, he was then slotted in at No.8. That placed him one down from Denesh Ramdin, the wicketkeeper who, in his diary on the internet, revealed that he was “a bit surprised by not being selected” for the opening match. Manager Clive Lloyd, never one to stand for nonsense during his time as the longest-serving and most successful captain, might have taken him aside and explained the meaning of team unity and the need for players to accept selections, far less airing their “surprise” globally.Such players’ diaries and newspaper columns are now common place. Almost every member of the England team in Australia recently enunciated his thoughts to a national newspaper, mostly through his “ghost” writer. It is a dicey practice. Either the player is cagey about what he puts to print, wary of upsetting captain and management, or is utterly frank. In the first case, the readers are not getting full value, in the latter the team’s dirty linen gets washed in public.Chris Gayle, for instance, let it be known in his diary on the same website in December that “I am not a scapegoat bowler to be used only when things are difficult”. It was an interesting insight into his feelings but hardly likely to endear him to captain or coach. And, like Ramdin’s “surprise”, it provided convenient sledging ammunition for opponents (“Hey Chris, Brian not bowling you today?” or “Denesh, I don’t think the captain and coach like you”).That the relevant website happens to be run by Digicel during a tournament of which Cable & Wireless is one of the sponsors adds a complicated twist to the tale. More will undoubtedly follow in several other areas before the finalists-India and Australia once more meet in the final at Kensington Oval on April 28.