The Cricket Victoria Board of Directors today endorsed the state selector’s decision to appoint Cameron White captain of the Bushrangers Pura Cup team to play the Bulls at the GABBA starting Sunday.White replaces the injured Darren Berry who broke a finger in a practice match against South Australia on Tuesday.Victoria’s youngest ever captain was delivered the news at a team meeting this afternoon as the Bushrangers prepare for tomorrow’s day/night ING Cup match. "It is a huge challenge for the guys, Victoria has not beaten Queensland in the four-day game up here since 1983," he said.He added "we will miss Darren’s leadership however I am confident that we have the team to beat Queensland".

Elite Championship Fifth RoundBengal 388 beat Hyderabad 252 and 135 by an innings and 1 run
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Hyderabad were shot out for 135, and Bengal tasted success for the first time this season with an innings victory at Kolkota. They were undone by the spin duo of Saurasish Lahiri (4-26) and Utpal Chatterjee (3-46). Chatterjee had stung them in the first innings too as he gobbled up eight batsmen and restricted Hyderabad to 252. Arindam Das (91) led the Bengal reply and got admirable support from the lower order, to give his side a 136-run lead. In the end it proved just enough to give them a bonus point with Andhra falling short of the mark by one run.Tamil Nadu 310 and 277 for 6 dec beat Assam 134 and 187 (Saravanan 62, Kumaran 5-57) by 269 runs
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It took just 10.2 overs for Tamil Nadu to clean up the Assam tail at Chennai, and to record their third victory of the season. Tamil Kumaran, the medium-pacer, finished with five wickets, including that of Vasanth Saravanan, whose 62 was the highest score by an Assam batsman in the match. Assam had fared even worse in the first innings as Ramakrishnan Ramkumar continued his great season with four wickets. Tamil Nadu had no such batting worries as five of their batsmen passed fifty in the match, with S Badrinath’s quickfire 115 being the twinkling diamond among the pearls.Delhi 510 for 7 dec drew with Baroda 223 and 286 for 3 (SS Parab 126, Martin 69*, Solanki 65)
Satyajit Parab’s fine hundred, coupled with half-centuries from Jacob Martin and Rakesh Solanki, enabled Baroda hang on for a draw against Delhi at Vadodara. Following on after a brittle batting display yesterday, Baroda began shakily as Connor Williams fell for just 5. But Parab’s 353-minute resistance, which included 12 fours and three sixes, was provided with good support, first from Solanki and then from Martin, as the Delhi bowlers were kept at bay. Martin had already scored 92 in the first innings as all fell around him, with Amit Bhandari (4-57) and Sarandeep Singh (3-45) sharing most of the spoils. All this came after a leather-hunt on the first two days, Ajay Jadeja (206*) starring in a run-riot, when Delhi built a huge total. But Delhi’s bowlers couldn’t force the issue, and they are still to taste victory this season.Railways 390 and 114 for 4 (Pagnis 51*) drew with Punjab 472 (Kakkar 124*, Yadav 5-82)
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Punjab’s Ankur Kakkar completed a fighting hundred in the morning of the final day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi and helped by Navdeep Singh (35) he ensured a draw. Railways replied with 114 for 4, with Amit Pagnis cashing in with a half-century, but the match petered out to a draw with Punjab gaining first-innings honours. That was something they would have hardly imagined after the first day, when Tejinder Pal Singh clobbered 168. Gagandeep Singh got them back in contention, with an inspired spell on the second morning and Yuvraj Singh’s blitz (80 off 81 balls) strengthened their position. But it was Kakkar who helped Punjab nudge past the Railways total as Jai Prakash Yadav threatened to run through the middle order on the third evening.Uttar Pradesh 267 and 223 (Raina 79, Sahabuddin 5-72) drew with Andhra 237 and 129 for 6
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UP collected two points, by virtue of their first-innings lead, as they drew with Andhra at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Reaching 253 in 30 overs was never on the cards, and Andhra lost six wickets before play was called off. Earlier, Suresh Raina hit 13 fours in his 79 and he was the only batsman to pass 30 in UP’s second innings. Raina (106) starred in the first innings too, and along with Gyanendra Pandey (97) proved to be the two stars in an otherwise sorry batting exhibition. Andhra too had their heroes, Gnaseswara Rao hitting 111 in the first innings and Syeb Sahabuddin finishing with a match haul of 10 for 139.Gujarat 196 (Mathur 6-52) and 176 for 4 (Niraj Patel 77*) beat Rajasthan 259 and 110 by 6 wickets
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Niraj Patel helped Gujarat knock off the 79 runs that they required for victory at Jaipur, and register their second win of the season. He shared an unbeaten 66-run stand with Mukund Parmar (41*) as Rajasthan stumbled to their third defeat in as many matches. This reverse must surely be attributed to their batting collapse on the third day, when they fell for a paltry 110 in the face of disciplined bowling from Lalit Patel (3-25) and Siddharth Trivedi (3-33). S Mathur had helped them garner a crucial first-innings lead of 63 with a six-wicket haul. Rajasthan also batted responsibly first time round, with Vineet Saxena and Rahul Kanwat helping them to reach 259.
Mumbai 350 (Kambli 102, Chandran 7-71) beatKerala 165 and 94 by an innings and 91 runsScorecard
Kerala suffered an ignominious defeat at the Wankhede Stadium, and this historic first encounter with Mumbai turned out to be a forgettable experience. Mumbai added 50 in the morning, with Vinod Kambli completing a fine century. Kambli added 114 with Amol Mazumdar on the second day as Mumbai gained a 185-run lead. Prasanth Chandran’s 7 for 71 was the only highlight of the match for Kerala. Then came the 50 overs when Munaf Patel (3-34) and Ramesh Powar – with exceptional figures of 4 for 16 in six overs – spat forth some venom and gained Mumbai a bonus point for their innings win.Plate Championship Third RoundTripura 235 and 266 for 8 dec (Mahesh 65, Kapoor 59, Jagtar 5-71) drew with Jammu and Kashmir 210 and 96 for 4
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Tripura collected first-innings points as their match against J&K meandered to a tame draw at Jammu. J&K were set a near-impossible 292 runs in 41 overs and lost four wickets before play was called off. Tripura declared shortly after the fall of Ashish Kapoor, who hit eight fours and a six in his rapid 59. Sadagoppan Mahesh, formerly from Tamil Nadu, also contributed with a steady 65. Jagtar Singh was the pick of the J&K bowlers with five wickets.Maharashtra 500 for 2 and 4 for 0 beat Goa 326 and 175 (Phadke 56, Khadkikar 5-51) by 10 wickets
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Kashinath Khadkikar’s five-wicket burst helped Maharashtra romp home to an emphatic 10-wicket win over Goa at Pune. After Maharashtra declared at their overnight total, Goa found themselves reduced to 80 for 6, before Mandar Phadke added an ounce of respectability. Khadkikar then got stuck into the lower order, and Maharashtra were left to score only two runs to wrap up the match. The hard work was done on the second day when Kaushik Aphale (215) and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (123) bludgeoned the Goa bowlers all around the park. Dheeraj Jadhav – who had made a double-century in the previous match – fell 11 short of another century and Maharashtra finished on a round 500.Services 216 and 107 for 4 drew with Saurashtra 214 and 201 for 9 dec 216 (Dhruv 51)
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Services came away with two points as their match against Saurashtra at Delhi finished in a draw. Set a target of 200 in 46 overs, the Services batsmen were content to settle for first-innings honours and batted out 46 overs for the loss of four wickets. Saurashtra had earlier declared their innings after the fall of nine wickets with Rakesh Dhruv top-scoring with 51. Prakash Bhatt’s 91 on the first day was the other notable performance of the match.
Bihar 337 (Rajiv Kumar 124) and 55 for 3 beat Vidharbha 244 and 146 by 7 wickets
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Shankar Rao finished with ten wickets in the match as Vidharbha plummeted to 146 in their second innings at Nagpur. Only Alind Naidu and AV Deshpande passed 20 in the second innings, and Vidharbha will take a few lessons from the Bihar batting display which was propped up by Rajiv Kumar’s fine 124 and Mahendra Dhoni’s 68. Chasing only 54 for victory Chandrashekar Atram threatened a minor miracle when he reduced Bihar to 15 for 3, before the two Kumars, Rajiv and Ratan, knocked off the 55 needed for victory with a day to spare.

It is amazing how one good performance can transform attitudes and breed belief. While it is not lost on them that they will be faced with even greater resolve from their formidable opponents at the Adelaide Oval, there is a quiet confidence about Sourav Ganguly’s Indians. Having savoured Brisbane, they are not getting carried away by the moment, but “competing with the Australians” is no longer a mere platitude to be mouthed at press conferences. The Indians now believe that they can indeed compete. It is a sign of that belief that the team management is now contemplating playing two spinners in the second Test.The plans may still change if the weather gets heavy on Friday, but there are strong indications that the Indian strategy is veering around towards bringing Anil Kumble into the playing XI and retaining Harbhajan Singh despite his tepid performance at Brisbane. The man most likely to miss out would be Ashish Nehra, who was flat if inexpensive in the first Test.It is a plan fraught with grave risks. For the gamble to pay off, India will need to win the toss and bat first on what is considered to be the best batting pitch in Australia. It sported a tinge of green on Wednesday, but below it is a true surface, baked dry by the sun. It isn’t expected to break up, but if the weather holds good, it will dry further and the spinners could come into play on the last day if India bat well enough to take the match the distance. Ganguly admitted: “We need to score at least 400, preferably more, to give ourselves a chance of winning here.”Talk has centred on Harbhajan’s indifferent showing in the first Test, and Ganguly readily conceded that he was less than enamoured. But he is not ready to write off a bowler who he has turned to, by his own admission, every time he has needed a wicket over the years. “He’s been my matchwinning bowler. I know, and he knows, he has to bowl better than he did at Brisbane. But this is a test of his mettle. I have faith in him.”Kumble’s record in Australia is not inspiring, but he was at pains to point out yesterday that India must pick their four best bowlers in the XI, and he has a right to reckon he is one of them. The logic can be argued with, but not discarded outright. The Australians will come hard at the Indian bowlers at Adelaide, and if Kumble can stick to his line and length – no mean task against batsmen who back their intent to upset the rhythm of opposition bowlers with exceptional strokemaking abilities – he can expect to pick up a few wickets.Of course, the plan could backfire horribly if India have to bowl first and find themselves a pace bowler short even before lunch on the first day, or worse, Ajit Agarkar, who came back from a horrible start to bowl well at Brisbane, decides to have an off session. Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar can send down their little seamers, but for them to share 20 overs in a day is an unrealistic demand.But India’s thoughts have now moved from mere protection of dignity to sneaking in an upset, and if they believe their best chance lies in spin, they must take it.

Stats Guru: Croft’s Test career
Stats Guru: Croft’s ODI career
England offspinner Robert Croft has announced his retirement from international cricket.”I’ve come to the conclusion that I will no longer offer myself for selection for any future England Test or one-day side,” he said. “In making this decision I was conscious that I’ve had a challenging and full career with England both at Test and one-day level of which I am extremely proud.””It’s been a great honour and privilege to represent England as much as I have and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I would also like to thank my fellow players for all their help and huge contribution to my career over the years.”Croft made his debut for England against Pakistan in 1996, but struggled to hold down a regular place in the England side. In 21 Tests he took 49 wickets at 37.24, but no great turner of the ball, he was more effective overseas. In nine Tests abroad he took 35 wickets at 24.65, compared with 14 at 68.71 at home.His best performances for England were in Sri Lanka three years ago when his nine wickets and useful contributions with the bat helped England come back from behind to win the series 2-1. But after what turned out to be his final Test appearance, against Australia in 2001, he refused to tour India in 2001-02 because of security concerns and he was always on the periphery thereafter. He was picked for the Sri Lanka tour this winter, but he remained on the sidelines for all three Tests as England persevered with Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty.In one-day cricket, Croft was a useful utility player, taking 45 wickets in 50 matches, the last against Australia in 2001.Croft, 33, now intends to concentrate on Glamorgan, and said that he has “another four or five seasons” in him. “As captain of Glamorgan I intend to concentrate my efforts to further develop our success and to be consistently competitive in the four-day championship and one-day competitions.”Those efforts will involve not only actions on the field but also the further nurturing of our young Academy players and the development of many exciting plans for the future of Glamorgan.”

Close of 2nd day Central Zone 532 for 7 (Khoda 156, Yadav 80, Prakash 73, Bundela 72, Saxena 69*) v West Zone
ScorecardWest Zone spent another day on the field, while Central Zone batted them out of the game. A run rate of 2.74 fetched the batting side 255 runs for the day, and at close of play, the score read 532 for 7. The 108-run stand between Gagan Khoda and Devendra Bundela was ended when Rakesh Patel bowled Khoda for 156. Shortly after, Bundela fell for 72, but Saxena and Jai P Yadav accumulated more runs, adding 68 for the sixth wicket. Two sixes and seven fours laced Yadav’s innings of 80, and when he was finally dismissed by Sairaj Bahutule, it was left to Saxena to take his team to a more formidable total. Assisting him with the task was Harvinder Singh, on 24, and they shared an unbeaten partnership worth 53 runs.Close of 2nd day South Zone 93 for 3 (Ramesh 57, Rao 12*, Prasad 2*) trail East Zone 388 (Das 120, Shukla 84, Arindam 55, Singh 4-66) by 295 runs
ScorecardA rescue act by East Zone’s lower order kept South Zone at bay, and took the team to 388. By the end of the day, South Zone were in a shifty position at 93 for 3, still 295 runs away from taking the first-innings lead.The overnight batsmen, Shiv Sunder Das and Rajiv Kumar, fell to Narender Singh early on the second day, and when Sunil Joshi removed Saurasish Lahiri for a blob, the end was quite close. But the last three wickets put up 105 runs between them, and Laxmi Ratan Shukla led the way with 84. He was helped by Utpal Chatterjee (25) and Debasish Mohanty (26), who played out valuable overs, and kept the runs coming.South Zone got off to a start, but two wickets in quick succession set them back. Barrington Rowland was dismissed after contributing 15 in a 52-run stand with Sadagoppan Ramesh, who blazed away to 57 off 91 with nine boundaries before getting out. And in the middle of all this, Shukla ran out Sridharan Sriram. At the end of the day, Venugopal Rao was at the crease at 12, with Mannava Prasad for company on 2.

West End Redbacks batsman Chris Davies today announced his retirement from first-class cricket.25-year-old Davies recently underwent surgery for the fourth time on his left shoulder which has led to his decision to retire.Davies, who plays Grade cricket for the Adelaide Cricket Club, made his first-class debut in 1997-98 and has played 25 first-class games since that time. He was recently awarded the 2003 Tanya Denver Award, for sportsmanship and endeavour, at the Channel 7-The Advertiser Sports Star of the Year Awards.Chris says that it was an enormously difficult decision to make."Since undergoing surgery two weeks ago, it became apparent that my shoulder was not going to recover to the level required to play first-class cricket.""This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. I will miss the camaraderie with the boys – some of whom have become life-long friends.""I would like thank both the SACA and the Australian Cricketer’s Association for their continued support," he said.Redbacks coach Wayne Phillips says that Chris will be sorely missed from the SACA."Chris embodies all that we want from Redbacks cricketers – enthusiasm, desire, their ethic on and off the field. He does it in such an uncomplaining way.""He will be sorely missed from a playing point of view but we hope to be able to retain him in some capacity at the SACA," he said."

Mohammad Kaif has declared himself fit to tour Pakistan. Kaif, who was been out of action since damaging a thumb playing for India A in the Kenstar Tournament in December, has said “I started batting in the nets two days ago. There are no problems and I feel no discomfort.”Kaif’s return to fitness is especially relevant as India’s tour of Pakistan begins with a five one-day series. The Indian team to tour Pakistan will be selected on March 3. Although Kaif made his India debut in a Test match he has since become a regular in the one-day side. He has played only three Test matches after the first one against South Africa in 2000 while appearing in 59 ODIs.Kaif’s return to fitness cannot be good news for the likes of Hemang Badani and Rohan Gavaskar, who had only reasonable success in the recently completed VB Series in Australia.

Australia 401 and 375 beat Sri Lanka 407 and 248 (Jayasuriya 51, Samaraweera 53, Warne 4-92) by 121 runs, and won series 3-0
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Sri Lanka stopped Shane Warne from overhauling Courtney Walsh’s 519-wicket world record – but could not prevent Australia from inflicting their first series whitewash on home soil with a 121-run victory at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Warne played his part, snapping up four wickets in the final session, as Sri Lanka came within eight balls of saving the game before they were finally bowled out for 248.During the afternoon, the band played, Warne toiled, and the threat of SriLanka’s first home whitewash seemed to be fading as Thilan Samaraweera and Mahela Jayawardene battened down the hatches after lunch, and added 64 in 160 balls for the third wicket.Warne had failed to make any headway despite the dusty dry pitch, and Australia’s seamers were also beginning to show signs of tiredness after an exhausting tour, although Michael Kasprowicz was still gunbarrel-straight and Jason Gillespie occasionally conjured up some real devil from the placid surface.But as tea approached, Darren Lehmann – the Man of the Match after 153 in the first innings and five wickets in the game – reclaimed the initiative for Australia with the wickets of Samaraweera and Jayawardene. At 186 for 4, the Sri Lankans sipped their tea nervously.Samaraweera, pushed up to No. 3, had bedded down on his favourite home pitch (he has scored all three of his Test tons here) and looked set for a long stay as he passed 50 again. But then he was drawn down the pitch and stumped (156 for 3). Then Jayawardene, who had batted so well and watchfully for his 97-ball 37, was given out caught behind off Lehmann, although the TV replays showed the ball had only brushed his pad (181 for 4).After tea, Warne finally claimed his first wicket of the innings as KumarSangakkara – who was shifted down toNo. 5 after Samaraweera’s promotion – patted a legbreak defensively which then spun between his legs onto the stumps. He made 27 (191 for 5).

Hashan Tillakaratne and Tillakaratne Dilshan held Australia’s bowlers at bay for nearly an hour. Tillakaratne blocked each delivery, while Dilshan played his natural free-spirited game, hitting five fours and speeding to 31 from 44 balls. But Dilshan’s aggressive approach eventually proved his downfall, as he miscued an attempted inside-out drive over cover and was caught at mid-off (232 for 6). The breakthrough opened up Sri Lanka’s lower order – and, crucially, the new ball was just moments away.Tillakaratne’s last innings as captain ended shortly after the start of thefinal hour when he was trapped in front by Jason Gillespie, who was hunting for his 200th wicket with a shiny new ball. Warne returned to the attack to snare Nuwan Zoysa four overs later.Chaminda Vaas resisted for 74 minutes for his 9, eschewing thedaring approach that had cost Sri Lanka dearly in the second Test at Kandy, but was finally trapped lbw by Warne in the 13th over of the final hour. Next over, the penultimate of the series, Kasprowicz pinned Rangana Herath leg-before for a duck, to seal Australia’s victory.Sri Lanka’s morning had started brightly, with Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu extending their opening partnership to 45. Jayasuriya cut a couple of early boundaries and Atapattu drove crisply straight down the ground. Kasprowicz was denied Jayasuriya’s wicket on 28 when Adam Gilchrist floored a difficult one-handed chance.But Kasprowicz was not to be deprived for long, as Atapattu’s off stump was sent cartwheeling by an offcutter, a carbon copy of his first-innings dismissal. He made 14 (45 for 1). It was the sixth time in 11 innings during this tour that Atapattu’s stumps had been rattled, a worrying statistic for an opening batsman.Jayasuriya’s 131 at Kandy was an electric innings, a knock that carried SriLanka to the brink of a famous win, but today’s was more sedate. There was the odd signature rifle-cracking boundary through the off side, an area the Australians protected with a deep point, but he stopped short of an all-out assault.Nevertheless, Sri Lanka were scoring at a good rate, and local dreamers might have started to ponder a remarkable victory. But an umpiring blunder quashed those hopes when Jayasuriya was given out caught at backward short leg off Lehmann’s first delivery of the morning. Like Jayawardene’s dismissal later on, the ball appeared only to brush the pad.It was that sort of day for Sri Lanka. And the news didn’t get any better after the match, when it was revealed that Chris Broad, the match referee, was reporting Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action to the ICC. Broad, it seems, has reservations about Murali’s newish doosra delivery.

Michael Bevan is eager to make a rapid return to county cricket, after his unexpected axing from Cricket Australia’s list of contracted players for the 2004-05 season.Bevan, 34 next month, has enjoyed successful stints with Yorkshire in 1995 and 1996, Sussex between 1998 and 2000, and Leicestershire in 2002. He will be meeting up with his manager Robert Joske on Thursday to discuss the options available to him.The timing of Cricket Australia’s announcement is particularly galling for Bevan, because most counties have not only signed up their two overseas players for the season, but have also nominated replacements in the event of an international call-up. “At this late stage, beggars can’t be choosers," Joske admitted to AAP, "but we were already looking at a short-term stint for him on the basis that he would be playing for Australia."I’m keen now to continue looking at that and also to find out if there is any opportunity for a full-term stint," added Joske. "We’re not going to play all our cards too early. We will meet tomorrow and discuss the various options available for him, and what he wants for his career and his family.”

Lancashire and Glamorgan maintained their 100 per cent records with straightforward wins over Hampshire and Essex, but Surrey are still waiting for their first win in any competition after going down to Gloucestershire, despite a fighting 73 from Mark Ramprakash. In the second division, Durham completed a good week with a rousing 94-run drubbing of Worcestershire, thanks to hundreds from Marcus North and Paul Collingwood, but Leicestershire surrendered their unbeaten record with defeat by Nottinghamshire. At Edinburgh, a battling 88 from Sridharan Sriram was not enough to spare Scotland from a nine-wicket defeat by Middlesex, who were guided home thanks to an unbeaten 107 from Andrew Strauss.

National League Division One

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Wharf steers Glamorgan to safe harbour The Guardian
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National League Division Two

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Collingwood in smashing form The Daily Telegraph
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