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Australia 288 (Symonds 88, Clarke 63, Agarkar 6-42) beat India 270 (Ganguly 82, Tendulkar 63) by 18 runs
Scorecard

The opening match of the VB Series didn’t quite produce the enthralling cricket which was on view during the Tests, but it was another close contest which, in the end, Australia nailed by 18 runs at Melbourne. After Andrew Symonds (88) and Michael Clarke (63) – both players who had missed out on the fun in the Tests – revived the Australian innings to take them up to 288, their bowlers just about managed to keep the in-form Indian batsmen in check.The Indians had a couple of heroes in the match: Ajit Agarkar kept the Indians in the hunt with a career-best haul of 6 for 42 to restrict Australia to a sub-300 total, while Sourav Ganguly led the run-chase with a superbly paced 82, but his run-out proved to be the turning point, as the Indian lower order fell away and handed Australia with the first points of the VB Series.The Indian run-chase got off to a splendid, if chancy, start. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar put together 103 for the first wicket, but the partnership could easily have ended in a single-digit score, as both Sehwag and Tendulkar played and missed on numerous occasions. With Sehwag, a regular dose of play-and-miss was only par for the course, but more surprising was the way Tendulkar struggled to come to grips with the pitch and the bowlers.Gillespie was especially superb, homing in around the corridor and shaping the ball away from the right-handers. On more than one occasion, Tendulkar groped for the ball, which shaped away just enough to beat the outside edge. As if those near-misses weren’t enough to ruin the day for Gillespie, Tendulkar added to his misery, top-edging a pull over the wicketkeeper’s head for six, and then clipping one off his legs for four.Sehwag was rather subdued throughout his 59-ball 35, which finally ended when he dragged a drive off Ian Harvey back onto his stumps. The next three pairs all put together useful stands, but each time a pair seemed to have the measure of the bowling, a wicket fell. Tendulkar fell to a miscued pull off Symonds, which Ricky Ponting, at short midwicket, hauled down with a perfectly timed leap to bring off a one-handed catch (134 for 2). Tendulkar’s 63 came off just 69 balls, but he was nowhere near his best.VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid made 16 apiece, and fell attempting to force the pace, bringing Yuvraj Singh out in a familiar scenario – 94 required at over a run a ball. He immediately got to work, working the ball into gaps and running hard. In the process, he forced Ganguly, normally fairly slack between the wickets, to sprint the twos and threes as well.Ganguly struck the big blows well too, giving himself room to club the ball on the off side and over the bowlers’ heads. The pair had added 62 in just more than nine overs, when Australia dealt the fatal blow to the innings, dismissing both batsmen in successive balls. First, Clarke at short midwicket held on to a scorching drive from Yuvraj, whose 24-ball 25 included just one boundary, and next ball, Ganguly failed to regain his crease after being sent back by Sanjay Bangar (257 for 6). The lower order was ill equipped to deal with an asking rate which had climbed to well over eight.Earlier, Symonds and Clarke revived an Australian innings that was in danger of being bowled out well within 50 overs. After Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden had got the innings off to the customary frenetic start, four wickets fell in the space of 39 balls, as Australia slumped from 59 without loss to 89 for 4. Agarkar caused most of the damage, taking three of those wickets. He wasn’t particularly impressive in his first spell – in fact, Irfan Pathan, with his ability to swing the ball late, troubled both batsmen far more.However, Agarkar was the chosen one for the day, as Gilchrist flicked a leg stump half-volley to Pathan at fine leg (59 for 1), and Hayden slashed one to Yuvraj at point (70 for 2). Agarkar then nailed Damien Martyn first ball with a superbly directed shot ball, which Martyn pulled despite being cramped for room, and top-edged to Lakshmipathy Balaji at fine leg. When Ponting spooned a return catch to Balaji, a dream start for Australia was suddenly going sour, but Symonds and Clarke turned it around.Both were unhurried in their approach, putting the bad balls away in style, but without taking undue risks. Whenever given the opportunity, Symonds freed his arms to awesome effect – Balaji and Ganguly, especially, felt the heat. Balaji was slammed for six over extra cover and then square cut for four off consecutive balls, while Ganguly was tonked for consecutive sixes over midwicket when he pitched short.Clarke, on the other hand, was altogether more polished, essaying some superb flicks and cover-drives, and showing some twinkle-toed footwork against Anil Kumble, whom he pulled with exquisite timing for his only six. Kumble did finally nail him, when Clarke miscued a lofted shot to VVS Laxman at midwicket (232 for 5), but by then, the Australian innings was back on track.Even a rare failure by Michael Bevan, chipping a flick to Ganguly at midwicket for 1 (233 for 6), didn’t affect the momentum, as Ian Harvey chipped in with a vital cameo of 28 from 24 balls. Agarkar came back with a much-improved second spell, though, ensuring that Australia failed to bat out their 50 overs, and ended up with a score which was about 25 short of what seemed likely at the 35-over mark. As it turned out, the total proved enough to win the match for Australia.

ScorecardAfter skittling out Services for 91 to gain a first-innings lead of 72, Vidarbha added 237 for the loss of four wickets in their second, to end the day with a lead in a commanding position.Tottering at 37 for 5 at close on day one, Services lost another wicket on 39 before their innings was propped up by Jasvir Singh and Ashish Mohanty. The two added 44 runs before Mohammad Hashim struck, dismissing Jasvir, Mohanty and Arun Sharma to bag career-best figures of 7 for 26, also the best in the Plate League so far this year.Vidarbha seized the advantage in the second innings, with Faiz Fazal and Amit Paunikar putting on 168 for the first wicket. Fazal was first to fall for 80, while debutant Paunikar went on to score 102. Left-armer Rakesh Kumar took all four wickets to fall, to go with the three he took in the first innings.Gujarat 154 and 2 for no loss trail Kerala 340 (Prem 124, Vinan Nair 61, Chandran 61*, Parmar 5-77) by 184 runs
ScorecardPreambhastn Prem’s patient 124 helped Kerala take control of the game in Surat as they piled up 340 in reply to Gujarat’s first-innings total of 154. Prem put on 82 runs for the fifth wicket with Vinan Nair, who made a breezy 61 to gain the vital first-innings lead. Kerala then suffered a mini-collapse which saw them reduced to 206 for 9.Prasanth Chandran, the No. 11, stuck it out with Prem to add 134 for the last wicket, a Kerala record for the tenth wicket, surpassing the 95 runs that Satheesan Thampuran and P Mackey added against Hyderabad in 1974-75. Mackey’s 59 was the record for a Kerala No. 11 batsman, before Chandran’s unbeaten 61 today, which came off 89 balls, including 11 boundaries.Gujarat offspinner Mohnish Parmar added three to his overnight tally of two wickets, and ended the innings with figures of 5 for 77. Gujarat’s openers then safely played out the only over they were left to negotiate.Madhya Pradesh 109 for 4 (Ojha 45, Mishra 2-17) trail Haryana 302 (Lavasa 76, Vishwanathan 63, Pandey 3-58) by 193 runs
ScorecardResuming on 268 for 7, Haryana added 34 runs on the second day before picking up four Madhya Pradesh wickets to seize the advantage in Rohtak. Sunil Viswanathan, overnight on 47, was the last man out for the hosts, finishing on 63. Madhya Pradesh offspinner Sunil Dholpure ensured Vishwanathan got little support at the other end, dismissing two lower-order batsmen.Madhya Pradesh were off to a shaky start in their innings, with Sachin Rana trapping Jalaj Saxena leg-before in the second over. Amit Mishra, the legspinner who has represented India in one-dayers, then struck with the wickets of Jatin Saxena and Devendra Bundela, before offspinner Gaurav Vashisht removed opener Naman Ojha, who made a sedate 129-ball 45. Rahul Bakshi and Brijesh Tomar ensured there was no further damage, as the visitors ended the day at 109 for 4.Goa 104 for 4 (Joglekar 24*, Ratra 29*, Sharma 3-29) trail Jammu and Kashmir 147 (Bhatt 31, Bandekar 5-49, D’Souza 3-32) by 43 runs
ScorecardGoa were poised to take the first-innings lead against Jammu and Kashmir, finishing the day at 104 for 4 in reply to the hosts’ 147 in Jammu.Saurabh Bandekar and Robin D’Souza shared the final two wickets for Goa, Bandekar finishing with his second five-for in first-class cricket. Goa were soon in trouble as Vivek Sharma grabbed three wickets to reduce them to 42 for 4. Manoj Joglekar and Ajay Ratra, the former India wicketkeeper, then put on an unbroken 62-run stand to take the visitors to a position of ascendency at stumps on day two.Assam 68 for 1 (Palash Das 35*) trail Tripura 460 (Shetty 165, Chanda 72, Tushar Saha 73*, Kushaljit Das 5-140) by 392 runs
ScorecardTripura consolidated on their overnight 285 for 4 to make 460 in the first innings in Guwahati. Nishit Shetty added only one to his 164 on day one, but Timir Chanda and No. 9 Tushar Saha scored seventies. Saha had 11 fours and a six in his 72, and added 82 runs for the final wicket with Jayanta Debnath, who made 36. Debutant Kushaljit Das took a five-for for the hosts, conceding 140 runs in his 37.1 overs.Assam then played out 30 overs before stumps, crawling to 68 for 1. Opener Palash Das remained unbeaten on 35.Railways 217 for 2 (Bangar 77*, Rawle 73*) lead Jharkhand 183 by 34 runs
ScorecardSanjay Bangar followed up his four wickets on the first day with an unbeaten 77 on the second, to give Railways a lead of 34 runs over Jharkhand, with eight wickets still remaining in their first innings.Railways lost their first two wickets for 61, but Bangar, whose knock included 13 fours, added 156 runs with Harshad Rawle to guide their team to 217 at close. Rawle was also unbeaten at stumps, having scored 73.

Darren Lehmann has announced his retirement from first-class cricket, citing injury concerns and “other frustrations” as the reasons he is ending his 20-year career. Lehmann will make two farewell appearances for South Australia against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval, in an FR Cup match on Wednesday and a Pura Cup game starting on Friday.Lehmann, 37, stepped down as the Redbacks captain at the end of last summer following the side’s disappointing Pura Cup campaign that resulted in only one win. Although he was keen to stay on as a player, he struggled with a persistent Achilles tendon injury during the off-season and hamstring problems have also kept him out of two Pura Cup games and one FR Cup match already this summer.”The past 12 months have not been easy,” Lehmann said. “Ongoing concerns and conjecture about whether I could remain injury free and finish the season as well as other frustrations have contributed to my decision to retire.”It was always my plan to retire while I was still performing well at first-class level. This goal was important to me and injuries aside I think I have been true to it.”While the injuries were his primary reason for quitting the game, there had also been reports that his frosty relationship with Rod Marsh, South Australia’s high performance director, had played a part. Lehmann did little to douse that speculation while announcing his decision.”Rod, as a player, was one of the guys I loved and idolised,” Lehmann said. “His views and I differ on the way to manage cricket teams and that’s probably all I’d like to say on that one.”Lehmann’s departure brings to an end of one of the most decorated careers in Australia’s domestic history. Since making his debut for South Australia at the age of 17 in 1987-88, Lehmann has become the highest run scorer of all-time in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup matches, with 13,468 runs at 54.52. He was also a prolific scorer at Yorkshire and in total he made 25,628 first-class runs at 57.79.Although his Test career was limited to 27 appearances, during which he made 1798 runs at 44.95, Lehmann was a goliath of the Australian domestic scene. He was named the State Player of the Year in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and was also a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2001.He had the honour of striking the winning runs in Australia’s World Cup triumph at Lord’s in 1999 and helped the side defend that title four years later. Lehmann was a key member of South Australia’s Sheffield Shield-winning side in 1995-96, having also played a part in Victoria’s title in 1990-91 during his brief stint in Melbourne.

A Pakistan legends side will play their Indian counterparts at the Rogers Centre, Toronto on March 3, 2007. The match comes one week before of the start of the World Cup in the Caribbean.Wasim Akram will captain the Pakistan side, and Mohammad Azharuddin India in the 50-overs-a-side game. The organisers and the Canadian Cricket Association President, Mr Ben Sennik, hope for a capacity crowd of 60,000.Canada holds the record attendance for a cricket match in North America, when around 43,000 watched a game at the same venue in 1989 (when it was called the Skydome).This new event, which is billed as an attempt to bring “community togetherness through sports and entertainment”, is being presented by M+D Community Corporation in partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cricket Association.

Warwickshire’s failure to beat Worcestershire at Edgbaston has put them under stronger pressure in their bid for promotion.They now need to win their last two games to put themselves in contention, while Worcestershire need to win their last game of the season against Northants at New Road to move into the First Division.Poor weather prevented either team making a bid for victory at Edgbaston.Warwickshire moved to maximum batting points when they declared at 407-7 giving them a first innings lead of 144.Pace man Glenn McGrath demonstrated his skill with impressive figures of 6-90 after picking up three cheap wickets for ten runs on the Edgbaston wicket which was never very helpful to bowlers.The result was that Worcestershire were reduced to just surviving for the rest of the game.This was not difficult on a dead wicket and for the first time this season their openers, Philip Weston and Elliott Wilson, produced a second half century stand.Wilson was the more dominant player as Weston was quite happy to play the anchor role.Wilson was the first to be dismissed for 51, which included six fours, following a wild sweep at Neil Smith which enabled Allan Donald to mark his final championship appearance at Edgbaston with a catch at backward square leg.Vikram Solanki took full advantage of some gentle bowling and during his innings recorded 1000 runs in championship games this season.He raced to his 50 in 63 minutes after facing only 57 balls. At the close Worcestershire were 181-1 with the patient Weston 58 and Solanki 57.

Glamorgan CCC are pleased to announce a special `Buy One, Get One Free` ticket offer for forthcoming one-day matches at Sophia Gardens.If you buy a ticket for the National Cricket League game between the Glamorgan Dragons and the Essex Eagles at Cardiff on 13th July, you will get a ticket for the Glamorgan Dragons National League match at Cardiff against the Warwickshire Bears on 10th August ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!To book your tickets, call Glamorgan Cricket on 029 2040 9380

A superbly constructed 171-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Graeme Smith and Gary Kirsten completely swung the match South Africa’s way, as they levelled the series 1-1 with a convincing six-wicket win at Wellington. Needing 152 on the final day with seven wickets in hand, Smith led the way with an unbeaten 125, but Kirsten, in his last Test innings, played an equally crucial hand, battling his way to 76 before being dismissed in the last over before lunch.The story of the day was the matchwinning stand, but the most poignant moment came off the last ball of the morning session, when Kirsten left the field for the final time in Test cricket after being trapped in front by Scott Styris. Normally not given to emotion, Kirsten passionately kissed his helmet before walking off in tears, while all the New Zealand players stood aside and applauded the effort of the man who had – one last time – helped steer his team to the brink of victory.When play began on the final day, both sides had an equal chance of victory, but Smith and Kirsten shut New Zealand out with a nerveless batting display. Smith carried on from where he had left off on the fourth evening. Pilloried for everything from lack of mental toughness to lack of tactical acumen in the last month, he hit back in style. The feature of his knock was his leg-side batting, as he repeatedly took balls from around off stump and effortlessly clipped them to midwicket, a stroke which, fittingly, brought South Africa the winning run. It would normally be termed risky cricket, but so fluent was Smith that it seldom appeared so.Kirsten, on the other hand, was far more scratchy at the start – he mistimed drives, played and missed at a few, and generally struggled with footwork and timing. Hardly the sort of person to be bothered by it all, he just knuckled down, soaked up all the pressure, knocked around the singles, and gradually got back into the groove. By the end of his innings he was in excellent form, stroking drives through cover and back past the bowler, and even executing a couple of delightful late-cuts for four.With early wickets so crucial to their chances of victory, New Zealand started proceedings with Chris Martin and Jacob Oram. However, both began by straying towards leg stump, and were picked off for easy runs by Smith, who flicked fours off both bowlers to reach his half-century in style. Martin failed to get the swing that had made him such a potent force in this series, which meant that the deliveries which were supposed to pitch on leg and move late across the left-handers now became regulation runscoring opportunities.Twenty-four came off the first seven overs, but New Zealand gradually tightened their line, as Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori were pressed into the attack. The next nine overs produced only ten runs, but both batsmen survived that period patiently, knowing that with plenty of time in hand, the onus would be on New Zealand to force the issue. Cairns, in possibly his last home Test, bowled with plenty of fire and tried every trick in his bag, bowling from round the wicket, teasing the batsmen with wide half-volleys and then with the short stuff, but today, he came off second-best.The highlight of the session was the way Smith and Kirsten neutralised the threat of Vettori. On a pitch that – despite some rough areas outside the left-handers’ off stump – was still an excellent one for batting, both used their feet regularly against him, not to tonk boundaries but to work him with the spin just wide of mid-on for ones. And when Vettori altered his length, the batsmen were waiting on the back foot to turn it away behind square for more singles. It was risk-free cricket, and it added to the frustration for Vettori and Stephen Fleming.After working their way through a critical runless phase, Smith and Kirsten slowly turned it on: Cairns was slashed through gully for four by Kirsten, ending a sequence of 19 consecutive singles by both batsmen, while Vettori was lofted for four over mid-on.The over that completely shifted the momentum was the 55th, Vettori’s tenth and last of the match. Smith creamed an on-drive and a flick for two fours, in between chopping one past slip for two, as 12 came from the over. Vettori went into the drinks break – the second of an extended morning session – completely demoralised; Smith and Kirsten went in for the breather with victory well in sight, and the target whittled down to 73.The personal landmarks for both batsmen came immediately after play resumed – Kirsten clipped one from Oram to square leg for three to bring up his 34th Test fifty, and next ball, Smith eased a four to midwicket for his seventh century. Kirsten’s wicket was a bit of a dampener, but he had done enough to ensure that his swansong would end in a memorable victory for South Africa.

As had widely been expected, Virender Sehwag’s contract with Leicestershire has been cancelled by mutual consent.Sehwag has been suffering from a sore back, and a scan revealed a disc problem which requires a few weeks rest in order for him to be fit in time India’s series against New Zealand."We have both agreed that it is in his and the club’s best interests that he returns home to link up with the Indian team’s medical people," Phil Whitticase, Leicestershire’s coach told the county’s website. “His long-term health and fitness are of paramount importance.”Latika Khaneja , Sehwag’s manager, said that the injury was not serious but that "Sehwag felt it will be better to heal in time for the forthcoming cricket season."Leicestershire are believed to be trying to sign Australian Matt Nicholson as his replacement.

The Southern Electric Premier League annual meeting will be at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday 19 November 2003 at 7.30pm.Any club wishing to submit any alteration to the constitution, rules and playing conditions should do so, in writing, to Colin Savage by no later than Monday 15 September 2003.The Premier League is seeking player representation, particularly from Division 2 and 3 clubs, on its Management Committee and, again, nominations should be made by 15 September. These roles are not onerous.

India were comprehensively outplayed by Pakistan in the opening match of the Videocon Cup, and after a 66-run loss in a rain-shortened encounter, Sourav Ganguly rued the team’s lack of consistency, and hoped they could pick themselves up in a hurry. “All of us need to be more consistent, not one match here or there, said Ganguly.” Unfortunately that is not happening.”Ganguly said the target of 194 was not out of India’s reach, but conceded that batting second was tricky. “Batting second did make a difference, but not much. Even in the first innings, the wicket was slow and gripping when the seamers were bowling.”PTI reported that Ganguly also said that the last two overs of India’s bowling, when they conceded 32 runs, had made a big difference.Inzamam-ul-Haq was understandably delighted with his team’s performance and dished out the praise all around. “The boys played well and it was a total team effort.” Two cricketers came in for special mention: “[Shoaib] Malik has been playing well for us in the last few matches,” he said, “and [Abdul] Razzaq is a good all-rounder. I hope he continues his good performances.”When asked about not reaching the Asia Cup final because of a bonus point they conceded, Inzamam said, “What happened in the Asia Cup was unfortunate but we were determined not to let that happen again.”