Sheikhupura’s top order batsmen dazzled on theopening day of the National Under-19 Grade-I Championship as theyhanded Islamabad a 68-run defeat at the KRL Stadium Saturday.After batting first, Sheikhupura helped by fine knocks from KashifImran (89), Khalil Ahmed (63) and Javed Hussain (76) scored animpressive 269 for six off their 50 overs.Islamabad however ran out of overs in the end finishing on 201 fornine with Rashid Amin Butt (63) and Shakir Mahmood (43) doing somegood work.Sheikhupura opener Kashif Imran was in cracking form, hammering theIslamabad bowlers to all parts of the ground in scoring 89 thatincluded 13 strikes to the fence.Kashif was ably assisted by Khalil Ahmed who was equally impressive ashe contributed 63 with eight boundaries. Also among the runs was JavedHussain with a valuable 76.When Islamabad batted they suffered some quick blows and it was onlylater in the innings that Rashid and Shakir lent some kind ofrespectability to the total. The two sides now start a three-day gameto be played at the same venue from Sunday.

Tormented once, as Shane Warne says, by master-blaster SachinTendulkar in nightmares, the legendary leg-spinner has finally foundwords to express his admiration for the batsman.A candid and insightful autobiography by Warne, which hit the standsin Sydney, describes how he was “Tendul-corized” and hails the Indianas “number one” in the game.Amongst descriptions of the many memorable matches played againstalmost all cricketing nations across the globe, Warne relates thelegendary on-field battles with Tendulkar and Brian Lara.”Much has been made of my personal contest with Tendulkar,” he writes.”Some people have said that my duel with Tendulkar in India in 1997-98was the most compelling Test cricket they have ever seen, but there isno doubt he enjoyed the better of the exchanges.”He has played me better than anybody. Most Indian batsmen pick thelength very quickly, even when it is flighted above the eyeline, butTendulkar moved into position even earlier than the likes of MohammadAzharuddin and Rahul Dravid.”The eulogy continues. “His footwork is immaculate. He would either goright forward or all the way back and he has the confidence to go forhis strokes. I suppose I would be confident too if I batted as well asTendulkar.”The candid admissions seem to flow right from his heart as he says,”Although my statistics in that series don’t make happy reading, I amstill prepared to say it was a pleasure to bowl to him”.Warne even goes on to write: “Obviously, I never bowled to the Don,but if he was consistently superior to Tendulkar then I am glad he wasan Australian.”On the loss in the Coca Cola Cup final in Sharjah, Warne says, “Wewere once again Tendul-corized!”He also talks of how ahead of the 1997-98 series against India whilehe was recuperating in Australia, Sachin was practising intensively bydeliberately scuffing up an area outside leg stump in the nets to facethe Aussie wrist spinners.”I suppose I should take it as a compliment that he felt he needed todo that before he took Australia and me on. I have nothing butadmiration for the guy and as the series progressed he showed why heis the number one.”The other Indian batsman who impressed Warne during the series was theopener Navjot Singh Sidhu. “One batsman I never felt received thecredit he deserved during the series was Navjot Sidhu,” he writes.Among the spinners during 1990s who gave Warne most pleasure were AnilKumble and Mushtaq Ahmed. Warne writes, “If he was not a hero in Indiaalready then Kumble set himself up for life when he took all 10Pakistan wickets in an innings in Delhi in February 1999.”Kumble was always like an old buddy for Warne. “We would chat aboutour methods. It is no different from a couple of used-car salesmenbumping into each other. They will pass on a few tricks aboutdeceiving customers while we talk about deceiving batsmen.”Kumble’s strengths are his longevity and consistency…. He is athorough gentleman off the field but extremely competitive on thefield.”Warne talks at length about the match-fixing controversy whilepleading his innocence.”I have never attempted to fix a game or any part of a game in mylife. I never would and never will. Nor have I knowingly receivedmoney from a bookmaker.”As far as the man I knew only as John is concerned, I was stupid andnaive to accept money. It didn’t dawn on me that he might be involvedwith trying to fix cricket matches. I thought he was a wealthy man wholiked to bet, who had won money on Australia in the past and wanted toexpress his thanks. I took it at face value and thought he was tellingthe truth.””In hindsight I think it would have been better for all of us if theBoard had made it public straight away.”The news that Mark Waugh and Shane Warne had taken money from a bookiebroke after months of silence from the ACB in December 1998.”In my heart I knew I had done nothing wrong. I would love John tocome forward to confirm my version of the story. In future, if I canstill help the cricket authorities to get to the bottom of anythingrelating to corruption then I will be happy to assist,” he writes.He further writes: “Like Hansie Cronje, Mohammad Azharuddin wasanother guy I never held under any suspicion, but who is said to havebeen involved. I thought of him as a very polite, sensitive, quietperson, who dressed extremely smartly away from the game.”He was also a particularly high class batsman, capable of takingbatting to another level on his day.”Even while discussing Sharjah and charges of it being the hotbed ofcorruption, Warne cannot help but allude to Tendulkar, albeit in ahumurous vein. “I have played in Sharjah, where investigations havecentred, and not to my knowledge, set eyes upon a bookmaker.”I am afraid, like Sachin’s straight drives, it all went over myhead!”In Warne’s opinion, match-fixing warrants a life ban and it is theduty of every cricketer to pass on any information however small andinsignificant it might seem to the authorities.But his own gambling habits are no hidden secrets. “I played blackjackand roulette and bet on Aussie Rules, but never on cricket when I wasinvolved.”Warne, who made his Test debut against India in 1991-92, says, “Apartfrom the pitches in India, the harsh conditions, heat and humidityexplain why so few sides come out on top.”But I must say that food did not present quite the problem for methat people might have imagined from some of the newspaper headlinesand pictures of tinned spaghetti and baked beans being shipped outwith the words ‘To Shane Warne in India’ plastered all over thecrates.”Warne is indignant about the Australian team being labelled as theworst sledgers in the world. “Fast bowlers generally sledge out offrustration. For some reason Australia have acquired the reputation ofbeing the worst sledgers in the world, but I think New Zealand shouldhold that mantle.”Compared to the Australian side I joined in the early 1990s, the teamof today is relatively quiet, even with McGrath in our ranks,” hewrites.And it was none other than Allan Border who taught Warne theusefulness of sledging. “If things were not happening for me, he(Border) suggested it was probably worth having a word with thebatsman – not for the sake of having a go, but to switch myself on forthe contest.”While Shane Warne may not have been included in Bradman’s Dream Team,he has been voted one of the five greatest cricketers of the twentiethcentury along with Sir Donald Bradman, Gary Sobers, Vivian Richardsand Jack Hobbs.In the book, Warne lists his own Dream Team and Tendulkar, who is theonly contemporary cricketer to find a place in Bradman’s XI, figuresin both Rest of the World Test and one-day teams.

Having already lost the services of internationals Matt Horne and Paul Wiseman, Otago coach Glenn Turner was philosophical about today’s announcement that Mark Richardson has joined the list of Otago’s departing players.Richardson, a member of the CLEAR Black Caps to Australia, is returning to Auckland to play his cricket this year.”Mark’s got to do what he’s got to do. He’s been here for 10 years and he has got to look to life after cricket,” Turner said.In light of the fact that non-One-Day International players will be available for only three matches in the State Championship, if they retain their places in the Test side, Richardson’s absence was not as harsh as it might otherwise have been.Richardson commented today: “I have really enjoyed my time in Otago which has certainly been a positive and supportive environment in which to develop my game.”I am really looking forward to the challenge of playing in Auckland again with the State Auckland Aces,” he said.In 49 games for Otago, Richardson scored 3089 runs at 39.10 and hit eight centuries, behind only Bert Sutcliffe (17), Ken Rutherford (14) and Turner (13) on the Otago honours board of century makers. He was 11th on the all-time Otago run scoring list.Turner, who has been able to watch Richardson’s transformation from a left-arm spin bowler who lost his way and developed into an international opening batsman, acknowledged Richardson’s achievements.”He has certainly been focused and single-minded and he has been prepared to put in a lot of work,” Turner said.The former New Zealand, Worcestershire and Otago opener said he first recalled Richardson when he attended camps in Christchurch as the country’s most promising young left-arm spin bowler.”It’s always dangerous to say that someone is unique, but it is unusual for a player who was a tail-end batsman and our most promising left-arm spin bowler to become a Test opening batsman.”He lost all his confidence with the ball but then started to work on his batting. He used to be a swashbuckler, and he’s still prepared to play that way when he can,” he said.Turner still thinks Richardson could play One-Day International cricket for New Zealand and the disappointment he feels about his leaving Otago is based on the fact that Otago could have helped him achieve that goal.”Most of the groundwork for that has been done, and it may be that he can build on that in Auckland.”We still haven’t seen the best of him as a one-day batsman,” he said.Richardson’s adaption to Test quality batsman was based on the fact that he had sorted out what shots he could play.”And players who can stick around are valuable. That hasn’t always been the case and some [Turner talks with some personal knowledge here] have been criticised for doing that.”I have spent lots of time with Richie and in playing spin he’s improved,” he said.Turner didn’t agree that Richardson was not equipped to play ODIs and felt that criticism of him in the field was based around people looking for reasons why he wasn’t being selected in sides.”He’s not the quickest in the field, but he is capable nevertheless. If you were looking at two players of equal ability, what would be the differences in making a decision?”If Richie bats as well as he is capable of doing, they would very quickly forget about his fielding.”He overcame the hurdle of being a bowler who became a Test batsman, why can’t he overcome this hurdle?”That’s as long as he scores ducks against Otago and gets all his runs against other teams,” Turner quipped.

NSW leg spinner Stuart MacGill tonight was fined $1,500 after being found guilty of breaching two clauses of the Australian Cricket Board’s code of behaviour.A NSW Cricket spokesman said that MacGill was fined $750 for each of the charges, which related to showing dissent and crude and abusive behaviour during the second day’s play of the Pura Cup match between the Blues and Tasmania at the SCG today.MacGill was placed on report after he vented his anger at umpire David Brandon, who had turned down an lbw appeal from the former Test spinner.Code of Behaviour commissioner Terry Buddin SC found MacGill guilty of the charges but dismissed a charge of unbecoming behaviour.The NSW Cricket spokesman could not provide any more details on the incident.

The Zimbabweans are due to arrive tomorrow night and open their Sri Lanka tour with two one-day practice matches on December 1 and 3 in Colombo before departing to the beach during the Sri Lankan elections.For the next three days they will be at Taj Exotica in Bentota before returning to Colombo for the commencement of the one-day triangular series with Sri Lanka and West Indies on December 8.The West Indies will remain in Colombo after the Test having net practice at the SSC on December 4 and 6. On the advice of the police, the Cricket Board has kept the dates from December 3-7 free of any cricket due to the December 5 parliamentary elections.Sri Lanka’s one-day squad is expected to be announced soon after the third Test ends on December 3.

The Otago selectors have marked a line in the sand with the finalising of their senior squads for the summer.Barring injury the State Otago Volts and Otago 2nd XI will be named from the two squads.However, Volts coach Glenn Turner is keen to point out there are no guarantees. Turner notes those in the A squad have the opportunity to force their way into the Volts, while those higher up will need to maintain form to retain that lofty position.The Volts squad is: Martyn Croy, Craig Cumming, Chris Gaffaney, Lee Germon, Andrew Hore, Robbie Lawson, Brendon McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Evan Marshall, Nathan Morland, Craig Pryor, Bradley Scott, David Sewell, Robert Smith, Kerry Walmsley.The A squad is:Hayden Anderson, Simon Beare, Jamie Brundell, Duncan Drew, Shaun Haig, Mike Hesson, Nathan McCullum, Shoruban Pasupati, Richard Quirk, Darryl Reddington, Neil Rushton, Jordan Sheed, Scott Waide, Anthony Wilkinson.

South Africa’s batsmen had a decent Test preparation on the final day of the drawn cricket tour match against Western Australia here.All the Test regulars – with the exception of the injured Herschelle Gibbs – got among the runs with Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie making centuries.Gary Kirsten and Lance Klusener added half-centuries as South Africa finished on 5-390 in its second innings before the match ended early.It was just the batting fillip the tourists needed ahead of the first Test against Australia – especially after being in the field for 10 hours over the weekend as WA made 8-600 in its first innings.Kallis was out on the stroke tea for 120 while McKenzie notched his 10th first-class ton – and probably his easiest – shortly after the break.Kallis arrived in Australia after scoring 590 runs at an average 295 in South Africa’s four home Tests this summer.He showed every sign of retaining that form with an effortless ton.His century took 199 minutes but 60 of the runs came in boundaries – 13 fours and three sixes – as he batted patiently and waited for the bad balls.He was eventually caught behind off Brad Hogg, the ball hitting his pad and bouncing off his glove as Ryan Campbell took a good reactive catch.McKenzie’s batting was delightful, full of deft wrist work and sweet timing.His century came off 141 balls and featured 10 fours and two sixes.He fell for 114 when Murray Goodwin took a spectacular diving catch at mid-off to the bowling of Stuart Karppinen.In favourable conditions, Kallis and McKenzie smashed 157 runs in the middle session, as they added 161 for the third wicket.Klusener hit a huge six off Hogg to bring up his 50 – which took 57 balls and featured 10 fours and a six.He was out off the next ball, trapped lbw by Hogg and the match ended.Earlier, Kirsten blew a chance to gain some valuable practice on the last day, getting out for 59 six minutes before lunch when he spooned a return catch to the left arm wrist spin of Hogg.Kirsten’s fellow Test opener Gibbs, after making only two in the first innings, was unable to bat because of a groin strain.Jacques Rudolph, bidding for a Test spot at No.3, was the only real failure – caught behind off Gavin Swan without adding to his overnight score of 12.But he made 59 in the first innings when batting was more difficult.The South Africans had indicated they wanted to declare late in the day to give Test spearhead Allan Donald a handful of overs after he missed a day’s bowling on Sunday with a foot injury.But in the end, they opted to bat out the day and take an early finish.South Africa’s cause was helped by the WA attack missing pace spearhead Matthew Nicholson, who made his maiden first-class century yesterday after taking fivewickets in South Africa’s first innings.He was unable to bowl because he was struck a painful blow on the toe while batting.

Y Venugopal Rao hit a patient century to take Andhra Pradesh to a position of strength at the end of the first day’s play in their Ranji Trophy league match against Hyderabad at Secunderabad.Winning the toss, Andhra Pradesh skipper MSK Prasad had no hesitation in opting to bat first. He and his opening partner, however, were dismissed, along with number three batsman GN Srinivas, with only 21 runs on the board. Further down the line, at 50/4, Andhra Pradesh looked in serious danger of being bowled out in a hurry.Venugopal Rao and IG Srinivas then put on an unbeaten 182 runs for the fifth wicket. Batting with caution and eschewing unnecessary risk, the pair constructed a steady partnership. At stumps, Venugopal Rao was on 106 off 269 balls, with 15 fours, while IG Srinivas hit 12 fours in his 203-ball knock of 91. Andhra Pradesh, then, found themselves at 232/4, a good position considering their disastrous start.Truncated first day for Tamil Nadu-Kerala Ranji tieBad outfield and pitch conditions delayed the start of play until 3:45 p.m. in the Ranji Trophy league match between Tamil Nadu and Kerala at Chennai.With a total of 255 minutes of play lost in the day, Tamil Nadu finally got a crack at the visitors after four inspections at 10:30 a.m., noon, 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Winning the toss, Tamil Nadu had opted to bowl first, hoping that their seamers would be able to take advantage of the cloudy conditions and dicey pitch.Kerala made it through to the close of play for the loss of only one wicket. Opener MP Sorab was dismissed after having made a brisk 21, but V Girilal and C Sanju took Kerala to 44/1 before play ended.Goa devastated on Day OneKarnataka rocked Goa to bring a hurried end to their first innings on the first day of their Ranji Trophy league match at Bangalore on Tuesday.Winning the toss, Karnataka skipper J Arunkumar opted to field first, hoping that his seamers could take advantage of helpful conditions to bundle out a weak Goan batting line-up early. The bowlers did not disappoint. Venkatesh Prasad, Dodda Ganesh, and NSC Aiyappa took three wickets each, between them bowling Goa out for a miserable 80.Karnataka then rubbed salt into the wound, racking up 146/1 by the close of play on Day One. Skipper Arunkumar was unbeaten on 77 off 116 balls, striking 15 fours in his innings. Barrington Rowland gave him good support, making 36 off 73.

Bangladesh Test player Mohammad Ashraful came good today at the ICC Under-19 World Cup when producing his best innings in his side’s Plate Championship win over Kenya.Bangladesh took only 37.4 overs to knock off the 176 runs required for victory and the little Ashraful scored an unbeaten 76 off 108 balls at Melville Park in Auckland with six fours and three sixes in his innings.Nafees Iqbal scored 41 not out off 83 with the only wicket to fall being that of Gazi Salauddin for 29 scored from 35 balls.Kenya relied largely on Rajesh Premji who scored 47 off 84 balls with best support coming from Maurice Ouma who scored 30 off 62 balls.Shafaq Al Zabir took three for 28 from his 10 overs and Ashiqur Rahman two for 26 off nine overs.

Saturday’s series-equalling win proved a big day out for Yorkshire’s Michael Vaughan but it ended with him suffering a shoulder injury that could deny him a place in Tuesday’s all-important series decider with New Zealand at Carisbrook in Dunedin.Vaughan won his place in the side with a net display so convincing on Friday that neither coach Duncan Fletcher nor skipper Nasser Hussain could consider leaving him out of the team.He repaid their faith with a fine innings of 59 off 57 balls, two catches at the top of the New Zealand order and some much-needed solidity in the field.But he also provided two classic examples of the qualities that have seen him labelled as an unlucky cricketer, something he acknowledges himself.His run out when dropping the bat over the line as the stumps were broken to end his innings and falling badly on his shoulder in the field were disappointing for him.”I hit the ground and it went out of the socket and straight back in. It was a weird feeling. Once I knew it had gone back in I felt very confident it wasn’t bad. It is very stiff today and the scan tomorrow will give indications when I can play,” he said.A similar injury had occurred during a four-day game for Yorkshire three years ago but he couldn’t remember if it was to the same shoulder.”I’m sure it’s not going to be long term,” he said, and added that if he did miss out on Tuesday’s game which the England camp are regarding as a final, he would be very disappointed.He was very happy with his innings because when getting going against New Zealand they responded by increasing the pressure. They brought the slips back in but that also gave more chances to hit boundaries which he did to get the momentum going in his innings.Vaughan also clarified the circumstances surrounding his dismissal which saw him walking from the field before the final adjudication had been made, by way of lights, from the third umpire.Vaughan had tried to get back into his ground as New Zealand slow left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori fired a sharp return at the stumps. As the bails were broken, Vaughan dropped his bat and the third umpire was called for.As he and Graham Thorpe waited, Thorpe moved across to the umpires and Vaughan called out “Am I out?””The indication I got was that I was so that’s why I walked off,” he said.He assumed the radio contact between the umpires and the third umpires had conveyed the message before the lights were activated.After getting past his half century, Vaughan entertained ideas of a three-figure score, but as it turned out the rain would have put paid to that.He had wondered if he would get a chance at all in the series, especially after Owais Shah made the side.But once he got the call on Saturday morning that he would play, he wanted to put into practice the work he had been doing over the last six to 12 months with the coach. This involved trying to dominate the bowling by getting a good base to an innings and then dominating.During the Indian leg of the tour he felt he had been playing a reckless shot a little early in his innings.”It’s all about learning, especially batting at five, six or seven in the order,” he said.Yesterday had been a day when his feet were moving well and he was seeing the ball well out of the bowler’s hand.”It’s days like that, that you want to try and cash in,” he said.That’s why he wants to be playing on Tuesday in order to try and play a bigger innings in a tougher environment, a final, which would be a much more important innings than in Auckland.For England to beat New Zealand after being down in the series, against a side with many more one-day caps than England, and after New Zealand’s play in Australia would be a great feat for the side.New Zealand and India had been similar sides but the New Zealand use of body language and greater chirping in the middle was obvious. Both sides had world-class players.”They both have players who can change a game in half an hour. Who knows what Chris Cairns could have done batting for another half hour last night?”And [Sachin] Tendulkar and [Sourav] Ganguly are the same for India.”They are two teams to be very wary of, but they are also very beatable,” he said.Vaughan enjoys both forms of the game and while less experienced in international one-day play he hoped he was learning quickly.”It’s every players’ dream to play in the World Cup. The competition for places is going to be very high,” he said.Vaughan knows how he wants to claim his place – by modelling himself on the way Thorpe, his partner during yesterday’s 89-run stand, plays.”You look at the way Thorpey plays in the middle of the innings and that is the kind of player I’d like to be. He keeps his cool, he knocks it around in the gaps and if the ball’s there to hit he hits the fours but he also keeps a very cool head.”Playing with him, practising with him, we’re all trying to learn from him and batting with him yesterday definitely helped me,” he said.Vaughan was also keen to put into practice a new style of catching, one more in tune with the Australian style of reverse cupping the ball.The England side had been working very hard to develop their catching and fielding.Clearly, Vaughan has a role to play in the England one-day side of the future and it would be no surprise were New Zealand to be relieved if he was unable to play in the final match, so commanding was his performance in Auckland.