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Scorecard

The State Championship final between Canterbury and Northern Districts was intriguingly poised at the end of the fourth day at Hamilton with all four results still possible on the final day. Michael Papps struck 96 to lead Canterbury to 249 for 6 in the second innings before a declaration left Northern Districts with a target of 374. At stumps, they were 65 for 1, another 309 runs away from victory.Canterbury began the day on 19 for 2 with an overall lead of 143. Papps and Brandon Hiini added 96 for the third wcket before Hiini was caught off Bruce Martin for 30. Papps fell just four short of scoring hundreds in each innings when Martin breached his defences with the score on 166. Chris Harris rallied with an aggressive 54 off 64 balls to boost Canterbury to 249 for 6 before the declaration came.Northern began their chase of 374 cautiously. Bradley-John Watling played 26 balls for four runs before Hiini trapped him leg before. Brad Wilson and Alun Evans remained unbeaten on 22 and 24 to see Northern Districts through to stumps.

Scorecard

Liam Davis outshone his more-fancied top-order colleagues with a century in his second match but Doug Bollinger’s five wickets helped New South Wales fight back late on the first day in Sydney. Davis, a late addition to the side, posted 116 and at the close Western Australia had 6 for 312, with Marcus North unbeaten on 13 and Aaron Heal (2) falling on the final delivery.The Warriors were well on top at 2 for 278 when a late rally from Bollinger with the new ball changed the situation significantly. Bollinger collected three wickets in five overs, the first of which was Davis lbw, ending a five-hour innings that would never have happened but for Shaun Marsh’s late withdrawal with a hamstring injury.Bollinger then grabbed a return catch to send back Adam Voges, who had made 84 and combined with Davis in a 153-run stand, and added Luke Pomersbach (10) to his collection. His 5 for 69 catapulted him to the top of this season’s Pura Cup wicket tally and he now has 39 at 14.35 from only six matches.But not even Bollinger could stop Davis, 23, from registering his maiden first-class century, which came up with a six over square leg off the medium-pacer Greg Mail. He opened with Australia’s latest Test recruit, Chris Rogers, whose return to state duties ended when was caught behind off Bollinger for 16.Another former Test opener, Justin Langer, then joined Davis and the pair added 94 for the second wicket. Langer (54) was Bollinger’s second victim but Davis kept the runs coming and ensured that even allowing for Bollinger’s heroics, the Warriors would have a healthy total to defend.

Derek Underwood, the former England left-arm spinner, has urged the selectors to persist with Monty Panesar this summer, saying that England have in their ranks an attacking spinner capable of bowling sides out twice.Panesar made his Test debut during the tour of India as a replacement for Ashley Giles, England’s premier left-arm spinner, who has been out of action with a hip injury and whose future remains uncertain due to it.After a promising debut in India, Panesar was an automatic choice for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. But Andrew Flintoff, the England captain, was criticised for underbowling him, especially in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Panesar didn’t get a bowl in the first innings but struck with two important wickets in his 27 overs in the second, though he was largely confined to watching the fast bowlers toil, with the captain himself sending down over 50 overs.”The thing I like about Panesar is that he always runs in with the purpose of getting wickets,” Underwood told . “He tries to get the better of opponents, not contain them. He looks capable of bowling out a side on a turning wicket and England haven’t had a spinner like that since Phil Tufnell.”He was quick to point out, however, that Giles was still in the reckoning, highlighting his utility to the side. “Ashley has done a great job with bat and ball,” Underwood said, “but in India Panesar learnt to vary the pace of his bowling.”Underwood was speaking at the launch of a junior section of the Primary Club, a charitable organisation of which he is patron. Andrew Strauss, the England opener and president of the club, was also present.

James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, has said that he will call Ricky Ponting to hear his perspective of the incident that resulted in him being fined 25% of his match fee during the second Test against Bangladesh at Chittagong.Ponting was found guilty of dissent after the Bangladesh team management complained about his behaviour during the appeal made against Aftab ahmed in the first innings.”I wasn’t there so I haven’t got any context out of what I have seen on TV and read in the newspapers and I want to get Ricky’s perspective on that,” Sutherland told the . ” I am also concerned that an incident like this has occurred. He has been reported, albeit the report has been made by the Bangladesh team, but the ICC match referee has heard the case and found him guilty. I do know that Ricky is absolutely committed to the spirit of cricket and I do know that, generally speaking, the Australian team does get it right.”Responding to criticism over Australia’s demanding playing schedule contributing to their below-par performance in the first Test at Fatullah, Sutherland felt that the right amount of matches were being played. He said that the programme was worked out with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), the players’ representative body.”The reality is, in consultation with team management and the ACA, it was decided the appropriate course of action was to go from South Africa to Bangladesh without a tour match in between or any sort of a break. They wanted to get straight into it. They felt that they were in Test match mode and the appropriate course of action was to go straight there and get home sooner rather than later so they could enjoy a break – or go to county cricket.”

Michael Kasprowicz will today make his comeback from a back injury that has kept him out of the game for eight months. Kasprowicz will line up for University in Brisbane club cricket as he works his way towards full fitness.He has not played a first-class match since early April, when he and Brett Lee carried Australia to victory in the third Test against South Africa at Johannesburg. But a disc problem that he picked up in that game, combined with a groin strain he sustained during Australia’s boot camp in August, has hampered his chances of playing a role in the Ashes series.Kasprowicz said he would strictly limit himself to ten overs in his comeback match. “Even if I’m on a hat-trick on the first ball of my 11th over I’ll say ‘no’. I want to get it right,” he told . “It’s the biggest setback of my career, for 18 years of first-class cricket.”But he will increase his workload next weekend with two days of grade cricket and he hopes to be available for Queensland’s Pura Cup game against South Australia in two weeks. Kasprowicz said he had not given up hope of again playing for Australia. “Nothing will change,” he said. “I’ve always concentrated on doing well for Queensland and when I enjoy doing that other things happen.”

Recalled to the Indian one-day side for the first time since April 2005, Dinesh Mongia, the left-hand batsman, says he will not make the same mistakes that cost him his place in the side. With the tri-series in Malaysia, also featuring Australia and West Indies, due to start in early September, Mongia admitted he would curb his aggression and convert good starts into big scores if given the opportunity.”I was getting good starts. I should have made use of those opportunities and should have converted those 30s and 40s into bigger scores,” he told . “Now, I have worked on it. Being a professional cricketer I should always think positively. Once I start thinking negatively, the negativity will creep into my game. Life is not fair always.”Mongia, 29, enjoyed a successful county stint with Leicestershire, making runs and taking wickets. His selection, as the selectors admitted last month, was also based on his ability to bowl a few tidy overs of left-arm spin. By Mongia’s own admission, it is this feature which could mark him out as a key allrounder. “It was in 2002 that I thought of taking up bowling seriously,” he said. “In the Australian team that played the World Cup in 2003 everyone were allrounders. I knew that the future belonged to allrounders.”Mongia was also quick to point out that there were aspects of his game that needed sorting out. “I am not ashamed to accept that I was lacking fitness when I made my debut in 2001,” he said. “I would like to improve my fitness. We did not have the National Cricket Academy those days [when he made his first-class debut in 1995-96]. I built my confidence after three or four first-class seasons. I am a firm believer that the more you play the better you get.”

Gayle out?
Chris Gayle has been ruled out of the first edition of the Indian Premier League after failing to recover from a groin injury that he sustained during the recent series against Sri Lanka, the Kolkata based reported. However, he will be in Kolkata in the first week of May to spend some time with the team. The franchise are yet to name a replacement.However a spokesman for the franchise said a final decision was yet to be made. “He’s injured but he’s still not out of the tournament,” he said. “No decision has been made yet.”Gearing up on a centre-pitch
Both the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings were allowed centre-wicket practice on the eve of the match, it was reported. Mumbai, who practised second, were initially asked to use the adjoining net facilities but the moment they realised that their opponents had used the one of the centre strips, they demanded similar facilities too. “The match won’t be played on the pitch on which the teams are practising. It will take place on the pitch adjacent to it,” one of the TNCA officials was quoted as saying in the .Burdett turns down SOS
The Kolkata franchise sent out an SOS to South Australia’s 57-year-old chief curator Les Burdett but he is unlikely to oblige, the reported. Burdett, who is vacationing with his family in the outback, said: “I can’t come to India now for few days at least. I am enjoying my holiday and I have recently returned from your country where I inspected the pitches (at Mohali and other centres). For a few more days I can’t leave Australia again.”The bad blood ain’t over
Though they may share the same dressing room for the Kolkata KnightRiders, Ishant Sharma has emphasised there will be no comradeship withRicky Ponting when the two face-off against each other while playing fortheir countries. “It is a privilege to share dressing room with a greatplayer like Ponting,” Ishant said. “We discussed cricket and joked at eachother at the dressing room, we are just like friends now. But it is notthat I won’t show aggression at him while playing for India againstAustralia.”The spell that Ishant bowled to Ponting at the WACA was one of thehighlights of India’s tour to Australia. “No colour comes before you whenyou are donning your national colours. I will give back if I am provokedand the same thing had happened in the Australia series.”Empty stands greet Hyderabad’s opening game
The first game in Hyderabad was preceded by a gala opening but there was hardly anyone watching. One of the reasons offered include the distance one needs to travel outside the city to reach the stadium. There is also a view that the people have been saturated with the Indian Cricket League, which recently staged seven matches in the city.

Craig Kieswetter, Somerset’s wicketkeeper-bataman has pledged his future to England despite appearing for his native South Africa Under-19 at the World Cup last year. Kieswetter, whose mother is Scottish, holds a British passport and will qualify for England through living there for four years.The talented player, who made his senior debut this summer, is on part of the National Academy skills set, which he will attend this winter.Kieswetter started the 2007 season playing for Somerset 2nd XI, but after some impressive early form, soon forced his way into the senior side and helped them to promotion to the Championship top flight.”I want to make it in first class cricket and eventually go on and play for England,” he told the . “I have to say that I was a bit surprised to get invited [to the Academy] after just one season in the game over here.”I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity and thrilled to think I have been noticed.”

The powerful Asian bloc is set to nominate Sharad Pawar, the Indian board’ chief, for the ICC presidency, a top BCCI official said on Wednesday. At its annual meeting in July next year, the ICC will vote on a successor to Percy Sonn of South Africa for a two-year period from 2008 .”It has been decided that Sharad Pawar will be our candidate,” Niranjan Shah, the Indian board secretary, said. “Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are in favour of Pawar and we hope to elicit the support of the West Indies too.” Nominations for the elections will close on January 1, 2007 at the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai.David Morgan, the English Cricket Board chairman, is also reportedly in contention following backing from Australia and New Zealand.Pawar, 66, is a powerful politician who is also the federal agriculture minister. The decision to support Pawar was taken at a meeting of officials from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in New Delhi last week to finalise plans for the 2011 World Cup, which the four countries will be co-hosting.

The weekend brought another swathe of reports claiming new developments in the investigation into the death of Bob Woolmer, and in their aftermath the Jamaican police have again had to issue denials of much of what was written.Karl Angell, the Jamaican police’s (JCF) director of communications, said that the matter was still being handled as a murder investigation. “That will remain our position until such time as the results of the investigation are known; including the forensic and pathology analysis.”The speculation made in Sunday’s newspapers is part of a series of unhelpful reports that have appeared in the media throughout the duration of this investigation. The JCF is conducting an extensive and thoroughly professional investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Bob Woolmer. This has included a request to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolitan Police Service in London to conduct a review of the investigation.”The JCF would again urge the media to refrain from speculation because of the additional distress it places upon the Woolmer family and the fact that it can hinder the progress of the investigation.”In London, Scotland Yard, who the Jamaica Gleaner claimed had ruled out murder, declined to comment and said it would not discuss an analysis of toxicology tests conducted on behalf of Jamaican authorities. “This is an inquiry being conducted by the Jamaican authorities,” said a spokesman. “It’s down to them to comment on developments.”