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Rain affected more than half a day’s play as Tamil Nadu and Hyderabadsettled for a tame draw in their KSCA Coca Cola Under-25 Tournamentmatch at the Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodayar Sports Complex inBangalore on Saturday.Play started only at 14.15 hours on the third and final day due to acontinuous drizzle in the morning. Resuming at the overnight score of262 for 8, Hyderabad’s first innings folded up at 290. Ravichandra(104), who was stranded at 97 overnight, completed his century in notime. However he was the first to go when he was caught at square legby K Velmurugan off DS Doss. Then Fatima Reddy (17 notout) andMallikarjun (6) took the score on to 290 when Mallikarjun foundhimself stranded out of his crease.Tamil Nadu in reply made a disasterous start to their second inningslosing opener Ravindra John (0) off the fifth ball of the innings whenhe offered a catch to Saberwal off Ghouse Baba. Then the other openerS Badrinath (3) and N Lokesh (19) took the score upto 26. Badrinathwas the next to be dismissed when he gave a chance to Fatima Reddy atmidwicket off the bowling of Ghouse Baba. Ghouse Baba claimed histhird wicket of the innings, that of Lokesh, when he shattered thebatsman’s defences.C Hemanth Kumar (11) and R Satish (10) then took the score on to 49for 3 when play was called off for the day. Tamil Nadu got 5 pointswhile Hyderabad had to be content with three. Tamil Nadu now take onKarnataka in the finals which is to be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadiumin Bangalore from October 9 to 11.

Moments after Sachin Tendulkar created a record for most centuries in Test cricket, Sunil Gavaskar, the man whose achievement Tendulkar surpassed, and Kapil Dev, the former Indian allrounder, heaped praise on the master.Gavaskar, a man who has been close to Tendulkar throughout his career, was lavish in his praise. “I have said it before that Tendulkar is the closest thing to batting perfection that the game has seen,” he told Press Trust of India. “Look at the stillness of the head, the straightness of his backlift, the ease of playing shots off either the front foot or the back foot and of course, the range of shots that he possesses against both pace and spin in all kinds of conditions.”What makes him even more special is his demeanour on and off the field,” he continued. “He is the perfect role model for youngsters who want to make a success of their lives. Congratulations are also due to his family who have helped him to stay focused. They deserve a big round of applause too for their part in his success. Well done Sachin, and keep that Champagne on ice.”Kapil, who was in the Indian team when Tendulkar made his debut as a 16-year old in 1989, was among the first to pay tribute to Tendulkar’s achievement. “I think it’s important he sets another target, another challenge, because it’s very hard once you achieve everything,” Kapil told BBC Asian Network Sport. “It’s entirely up to him now, how long he wants to play.”Gavaskar too was adamant that Tendulkar had much more to contribute to Indian cricket. “Make no mistake, he is not going to stop at 35,” he added. “He will score many more and give pleasure to cricket lovers all over the world … he is only 32 years old and should be able to play for another six years at least, if not eight. He could well finish with 50 centuries in Tests and be the first to score 100 international centuries. Congrats Sachin, and God bless.”Wasim Akram, the legendary Pakistani bowler, was convinced that the best was yet to come. “This guy will get more dangerous now. He will break many more records,” he was reported as saying by , a Mumbai-based tabloid. “The pressure is off and India will win more matches now.”Akram, who bowled to Tendulkar in the 1980-90 Test series in Pakistan, remembered him as being something special. “We bowlers did not fear him but we were wary of him. He is undoubtedly the most talented player I have seen,” he added. “This hundred had to come. He’s got plenty of cricket left in him.”Sourav Ganguly, who was at the non-striker’s end when Tendulkar crossed the milestone, was glad to have been there. “Today is Sachin’s day…I’m really fortunate to congratulate him first,” he told . “He’s a champion. I want to use the word genius for him because of his 73 hundreds, about 25,000 international runs, 17 years of play maintaining the consistency – only a genius can do that.”Cricketers aside, Tendulkar even received a message from Abdul Kalam, India’s President. “The nation is proud of you and may you achieve success in future in all your ventures,” President Kalam wrote in a special note to Tendulkar.Tendulkar finally fell for 109 early on the second morning, and departed to a standing ovation from the crowd at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

England 242 for 5 (Taylor 82) beat South Africa 142 for 9 (Birch 3-28) by 100 runs
ScorecardEngland’s women sealed the five-match ODI series with a thumping 100-run win over South Africa at Johannesburg. Claire Taylor’s rollicking 82 from 76 balls formed the backbone of an impressive total of 242 for 5 – one that proved far too much for a South African team that has failed to live up to expectations after their thrilling victory in the opening match.England won the toss and were given an excellent start by Charlotte Edwards and Laura Newton, who added 78 for the first wicket. Both fell in quick succession, and Clare Connor didn’t last long either – the first of three wickets for Cri-Zelda Brits – but Lydia Greenway scampered her way to an unbeaten 41 from 52 balls, which included a solitary boundary.South Africa made a stodgy start to their reply, and had managed just 38 runs in the first 14 overs when Connor gained revenge over Brits and bowled her for 20. She was followed swiftly by Johmari Logtenberg (39 for 2), but the innings truly fell apart in a crazy over from Rosalie Birch. Alison Hodgkinson and Cindy Eksteen were both dismissed within three balls of each other, and then before another run had been added, South Africa’s mainstay, Daleen Terblanche, was run out by Greenway for 25 (58 for 5).Edwards made it a brace of Terblanche run-outs when Claire followed suit for 10, and at 89 for 6 the game was well and truly up. Alicia Smith rallied the tail with a defiant 38, but she soon became Birch’s third victim, as England took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with one match to come.

Scorecard

Somerset have already caused one or two upsets this summer – just ask Australia – and today was no different when they defeated the favourites Lancashire to lift the Twenty20 trophy for the first time. And, again, it was the imperious Graeme Smith who led from the front to mastermind victory in a rain-reduced, relatively low-scoring chase under the lights.Smith was in control from the outset, mixing up his bowlers, setting fields with aplomb and then striking 64 not out to take them home after Lancashire made just 114 for 8 from their 16 overs. James Hildreth, who hit the winning runs, joined Smith in a matchwinning fourth-wicket stand of 53 from 36 deliveries.Earlier, the pace bowlers Richard Johnson and Andrew Caddick had taken five wickets between them to put Somerset in a dominant position. Stuart Law topscored for Lancashire with a battling, brave 59 after some injudicious batting had left his side reeling at 40 for 5, with Mal Loye and a brace of Andrews – Symonds and Flintoff – all back in the pavilion. Another Andrew, Crook, added 15 but there was little else to cheer about for Lancashire’s batsmen.Somerset made steady progress in their reply, until Flintoff struck two vital blows, removing Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Wood. But by this time, Somerset had more than half of the runs they needed, and they knew that from there on in it would be a case of hanging around, playing a patient game. Ian Blackwell showed no such patience, holing out for 3, but no matter, for this was the last wicket to fall, and Smith seized control of the match from there.Showing shades of the former Somerset bighitters Viv Richards and Ian Botham, Smith casually swatted boundaries like flies. Lancashire’s captain Mark Chilton threw Symonds and Flintoff at the latest incarnation of Somerset brawn, but neither of these experienced campaigners could make a dent in Smith’s well-fashioned armour. Smith stood firm and did the job, but admitted later such efforts had taken their toll. “I’m going to go and put my feet up for a bit,” he said. He deserves it.Lancashire’s total, though, had never seemed enough after their middle order was dismantled by Johnson. He followed up from where he had left off in the semi-final, with nagging, wicket-taking form. He took two wickets in successive balls to continue the slide started by Andrew Caddick, who had decided that he, too, was coming to this Twenty20 party. Johnson brought his own bottle – having dropped a sitter from Loye in the first over off Caddick, he stayed calm to hang on to an identical chance three balls later. That was the first of Caddick’s two big wickets, and his second was even bigger: Flintoff, for 2, caught by Blackwell (15 for 2).Symonds was next to fall, run out for 12. Just one run later, Dominic Cork (a skier to Marcus Trescothick) and Glen Chapple (golden duck, bowled) joined him, both cleaned up by Johnson. Chilton followed soon afterwards. At 69 for 6, a dire Lancashire were in the mire and, although Crook followed the long handle of the Law – they shared a stand of 32 – it was too little, too late.

Allrounder Dwayne Bravo and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin will join the Trinidad and Tobago side as they tackle Jamaica in their second match of the 2006 Carib Beer Series at the UWI ground at the St Augustine campus beginning Friday. But former West Indies fast bowler Mervyn Dillon has been omitted from the national line-up.Both Bravo and Ramdin had good performances on the West Indies tour to Australia, as Bravo impressed with bat and ball, recording his second Test century, while Ramdin shone with the bat and behind the stumps as well. The Ganga-led T&T squad also includes West Indies Under-19 vice-captain Jason Mohammed, who stroked a confident 117 against the Ganga XI last weekend, as well as allrounder Richard Kelly, who had a strong bowling performance in the same trial match.The regional fixture was originally scheduled for the Wilson Road Recreation Ground in Penal, but due to bad weather, the ground preparations will not be completed in time and the match has been shifted to St Augustine.Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels and Jermaine Lawson have been predictably included in Jamaica’s 13-man squad, named on Friday for the match. The 29-year-old Hinds will resume leadership of the team, replacing Tamar Lambert who led the unit for the first two matches of the Carib Beer Series while Hinds was away on West Indies duty.All three players, however, will suit up for the January 6-9 game with some question marks over their form.Hinds enters the match short of form after scoring just 17 in the three-day practice game that concluded Friday. In his only Test on the tour Down Under, Hinds recorded scores of 10 and 15.Samuels, who returned early from the tour of Australia through injury, will also enter Friday’s match in Trinidad with dodgy form after scoring 32 and 1 in the practice game. His four innings in Australia also yielded paltry returns, with 56 runs in just four Test innings, despite amassing 257 against Queensland in the opening tour match. Lawson also struggled on the Australian tour and was dropped after the first Test in Brisbane, where his 20 overs cost 120 runs with just one wicket to show for his efforts. West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who underwent surgery in Australia during the West Indies tour to correct a long-standing heart defect, was not considered.Barbados recalled Tino Best and Dwayne Smith to the team for the upcoming Carib Beer four-day match against the Windward Islands starting Friday at the Tanteen Cricket Ground.Chairman of selectors Joel Garner said the duo would replace left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and right-arm pacer Antonio Thomas who were in the team for the first match against Guyana.”We have kept what we believe is strong team,” said Garner, who will accompany the side to Grenada. “The two West Indies players are back and we hope they will do well and add strength to the side.”The Barbados team has been on a break since the end of November, after taking first innings points from their drawn opening match against Guyana at the Everest Cricket Ground. They were slated to play against Trinidad and Tobago in early December but that match was put back until February by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Since the Christmas break, the team has been training at the 3Ws Oval and the Carlton Cricket Club. Wendell Coppin, the WICB’s development officer, along with former West Indies players Vasbert Drakes and Ottis Gibson, has conducted the operations.West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan will boost the Guyana team for their Carib Beer Series match against the Leeward Islands starting on January 13. Chanderpaul will take over the captaincy from stand-in skipper Reon King who led the squad in the first match against Barbados. Both Chanderpaul and Sarwan missed the first round game because of international commitments with the West Indies team in Australia.Batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon has also returned to the team after injury while fast bowler Rayon Griffith has been recalled after being overlooked for the first match. Steven Jacobs, Damodar Daesrath and former West Indies Under-19 captain Andre Percival have been omitted from the travelling 13-man party to Philipsburg, St Maarten. The team will play a four-day practice match against a Rest Team, skippered by Percival, from January 5-8 at the Enmore Community Centre ground.Jamaica squad Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Xavier Marshall, Shawn Findlay, Tamar Lambert, Brenton Parchment, David Bernard Jr, Carlton Baugh Jr, Gareth Breese, Nikita Miller, Jermaine Lawson, Andrew Richardson, Jerome Taylor.Barbados squad Ryan Hinds (capt), Ian Bradshaw, Dale Richards, Wayne Blackman, Alcindo Holder, Patrick Browne, Kurt Wilkinson, Floyd Reifer, Ryan Nurse, Ryan Austin, Jason Bennett, Tino Best, Dwayne Smith.Guyana squad Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Krishna Arjune, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Derwin Christian, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Neil McGarrell, Reon King, Esaun Crandon, Rayon Griffith, Imran Jafarally.Trinidad & Tobago squad Daren Ganga (capt), Tishan Maraj, Gregory Mahabir, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Sanjeev Gooljar, Imran Khan, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Richard Kelly, Dave Mohammed, Amit Jaggernauth, Sherwin Ganga.

Australia’s Test series against India will be shown on live television following an 11th-hour TV rights deal.Fox Sports said it had finalised its rights to show direct telecasts of the four-match series, starting in Bangalore next Wednesday.The telecast – and the series itself – had been in jeopardy because of a legal battle over TV contracts.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) completed a deal overnight which effectively froze out both initial bidders – Zee Telefilms and the Disney-Murdoch owned ESPN-Star Sports.Live feeds of the matches will now be provided by TEN Sports, with distribution and marketing handled by the BCCI’s old television partner Doordarshan.Fox Sports will pick up the feed for exclusive live telecasts in Australia, which will be hosted by Brendon Julian, the former Test allrounder.

Pakistan’s World Cup-winning Under-19 squad returned to Karachi on Tuesday from Sri Lanka to a worthy lunch reception arranged by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) at the National Stadium. The board immediately announced cash awards for the entire squad of 14 players as well as three officials (coach Mansoor Rana, manager Aftab Baloch and trainer Grant Compton) and also plans to further their careers by involving them in the upcoming Twenty-20 Cup as well as the next first-class season.Shaharyar Khan, the board chairman, announced awards of Rs 200,000 each and applauded the team’s achievements in becoming the only side to retain the U-19 title – Pakistan were the defending champions, having won the title two years ago in Bangladesh. He said “We must say that the team exhibited unity, discipline and hard work. We are extremely proud of what these youngsters have achieved and brought laurels for their country.”Anwar Ali, who ended with 15 wickets in the tournament and a five-wicket haul in the final, was a product of the PCB’s first-ever national Inter-school tournament and came in for special praise. “Anwar’s superb performance vindicated our decision to hold a national Inter-school tournament for the first time last year where this boy came into prominence while playing for Karachi’s GBSS Metroville.”Shaharyar also announced tentative plans for the further development of these players by saying he would advise regions taking part in the Twenty20 Cup to include them in their teams to give them further exposure. “That would enable the boys to get experience of playing in front of large crowds and handling pressure situations. Also they will benefit greatly from playing with the senior players.” He also added that plans were underway to field a team of youngsters – based loosely on the concept of the now-defunct Pakistan Eaglets – to play in next season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to further their development.Two years ago, Pakistan, led by Khalid Latif beat West Indies in the final at the former Bangabandhu Stadium. Australia is the only other side to win the U-19 World Cup twice — in 1987-88 and 2001-02.

England’s stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff and Katherine Brunt were named the Vodafone England Cricketers of the Year for 2006 at a dinner in London on Monday night.”To be named as one of the Cricketers of the Year is a great honour,” said Flintoff. “It’s been a fantastic year for English cricket and I’m very proud to have been able to play a part in regaining the Ashes.”The support I’ve received from the British public has been very humbling and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their words of encouragement. I’m now looking forward to building on this success during what promises to be a very exciting summer for English cricket as we head towards another Ashes series and a World Cup campaign this winter.”Katherine Brunt was equally thrilled. “I love playing for my country and am very honoured to have won this award. As a team we’ve enjoyed a fantastic 12 months and I’m delighted to have been able to play my part in ensuring we regained the Ashes. The women’s game in England is gaining in strength year on year and I’m looking forward to another successful summer.””Last summer’s Ashes series proved that cricket holds a special place in the hearts of the British public,” explained Lord MacLaurin, Vodafone’s chairman, “and we’re delighted to be able to officially recognise the talents and performances of two outstanding cricketers, both of whom were instrumental in ensuring England emerged victorious, in both series, at the end of what was a fantastic year for English cricket.”

Fifteen months after the Southern coastal village of Seenigama was hit by the tsunami which took away 125 lives, a cricket ground has been opened there to help empower disadvantaged and displaced rural youth.The grand opening of the Seenigama Oval, the latest project undertaken by Foundation of Goodness, a Sri Lankan NGO, was highlighted by a twenty-over match between the Seenigama Village XI and the Sri Lanka Cricketers’ Association. Both sides fielded former and current Sri Lankan cricketers, including Hashan Tillakaratne and Muttiah Muralitharan.The match turned out to be a high-scoring affair with a record 483 runs being scored off just 37.1 overs. The Cricket Association XI scored 241 for 5 with Chandika Hathurusingha, the former opener, contributing 81 off 42 balls and Nishantha Ranatunga 42 off 15 balls.In reply, Tillakaratne, a former Sri Lankan captain, made the most of the run scoring opportunities to hit an unbeaten 139 from 58 balls in a six-wicket victory, while Muralitharan contributed a breezy 40 off just 10 balls.A proud moment for the village team was the performance of local boy Isuru Sampath, who took 3 for 20 in three overs with his left-arm pace and bagged the Best Bowler award. His victims were Hathurusingha, Ruwan Kalpage and Champaka Ramanayake. Another local lad Kasun Sarathchandra was the Best Fielder, Tillakaratne was awarded the man-of-the-match and Hathurusingha, the Best Batsman.Paul Sheldon, CEO of English county side Surrey, the major sponsor of this project, said that it was a dream come true for both his club and the people of Seenigama. “I am humbled by all this. I am honoured to have played a small part in helping the communities recover from the tsunami by creating these new grounds. It is the first project of its kind anywhere in the world. It has brought ties between Sri Lanka and England closer.”Surrey were responsible for building the entire ground, including the club house, indoor nets, gym and sports office at a cost of ₤100,000. Sheldon added that a Surrey Cricket Village, complete with 50 houses and a cricket ground, would be opened in Kalutara in association with the Sri Lankan board.

James Kirtley, the former England seamer, has been suspended from bowling by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after an independent assessment of his action at the National Cricket Centre.The assessment was undertaken at the beginning of the month by Dr Mark King, an expert from Loughborough University, after Kirtley was reported to the ECB twice during the 2005 season. King concluded that Kirtley’s action was outside ICC limits. The finding means that he cannot bowl until further tests show that he had rectified the faults.”It is disappointing and frustrating to be in this position again,” said Kirtley, “but from the experiences of last time I know the processes involved and am confident of clearing my name.”Kirtley is no stranger to such problems. In 2001-02 his England one-day debut was overshadowed by his being reported by the match referee in Zimbabwe, although he underwent remedial work and was subsequently allowed to continue. He has since played four Tests. He will now work on his action with Troy Cooley, England’s bowling coach, and will be re-examined when the problems have been ironed out.”We are obviously disappointed for both James and Sussex,” Mark Robinson, the Sussex manager, told the BBC. “The club is looking to digest and analyse the information in order to formulate the right plan for the way ahead.”