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David Hussey is ‘batting beautifully’ and is in a ‘different class’ to his Victoria team-mates according to Cameron White, his state captain.Hussey stroked 104 and 74 not out to lead Victoria’s 270-run win over South Australia yesterday. In their second innings, South Australia folded for just 77.”David, he’s in a different class to the rest of us I think, batting beautifully,” White told the . “One of the things we want at Victoria is to produce Australian players so hopefully he gets an opportunity.”Everyone knows that he’s good enough and he’s in really good form – if you’ve been watching this game you’ll see he’s been on a different level to anyone really.”White attributes Hussey’s success to county cricket in which he has represented Nottinghamshire for the past four seasons. He has been in prolific form, compiling 7259 runs at 48.39 with a bristling strike-rate.”I’ve no doubt county cricket has definitely helped his game,” White said. “Over the last four winters he’s been [playing county cricket] he’s probably facing a couple of thousand balls out in the middle while everyone else who’s not playing cricket is hitting indoor bowling machine balls.”There’s no doubt I think that makes you a better player over there, batting all that time.”

It may have been for all intents and purposes a picnic game to open the Australian tour, but England were probably looking for a more decisive victory than the one they scored yesterday. England defeated the ACB Chairman’s XI by one run on the final ball of a match watched at the Lilac Hill ground in outer Perth by a capacity crowd of about 11000.Simon Katich, captain of the Chairman’s XI, which included retired Test players Dennis Lillee, Bruce Reid and Graeme Wood alongside Victorian batsman Matthew Elliott and eight Western Australian players, won the toss and sent England into bat. Mike Atherton showed that does still have some value as a limited-over batsman, scoring 88 before falling to a brilliant diving catch by an airborne Katich at extra cover. Alec Stewart made 74 on a ground where he played club cricket for Midland-Guildford in the eighties. Another ex-Midland-Guildford batsman, John Crawley scored 64 from 50 balls. England’s innings ended at 296 for 5.Forty-nine year-old Dennis Lillee conceded 0/22 from his six overs. Bruce Reid, carrying more weight than in his playing days, dismissed Mark Butcher to take 1/19 from his seven overs.Ryan Campbell (74) and Mike Hussey (32), both fringe players for Australian selection, got the Chairman’s XI off to a brisk start. Campbell’s runs came from just 60 balls including eight fours and three sixes. While the run rate remained high throughout the Chairman’s XI innings, wickets fell regularly. With one ball of the 50th over remaining, the ACB side needed two runs for victory, tailender Jo Angel facing Darren Gough. Angel was short of his ground attempting a quick single as Gough removed the bails at the bowlers end and England had won the game.Gough was best of England’s bowlers, taking 2/40 from his ten overs. Alex Tudor, playing his first game for a senior England side, took 3/62 from his ten.England have named a Test-strength team for the opening first-class match of the tour, against Western Australia beginning on Saturday.The team is:Alec Stewart (capt), Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Michael Atherton, Graham Thorpe, Mark Ramprakash, John Crawley, Dominic Cork, Robert Croft, Darren Gough, Angus Fraser, Alan Mullally

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Dwayne Smith and Corey Collymore were the heroes for Barbados as they beat Leeward Islands by 17 runs to register their third win in four matches in the KFC Cup.Smith, who has been included in the West Indian squad for the tour to Australia, made 75, easily the highest score for their side, to help Barbados to 229 at the Police Sports Cub Ground. Collymore then stole the show with a superb bowling performance, taking 5 for 27 from ten over to endure that Leeward Islands fell short despite two fine batting performances from Sylvester Joseph, who made 73, and Omari Banks, who remained undefeated on 55.Smith spanked eight fours and four sixes in his knock, which came off just 65 balls, an was involved in an excellent 99-run stand for the third wicket with Floyd Reifer, who made 25. However, Barbados lost their way momentarily after the pair was separated and slid to 143 to 6, before Alcindo Holder (31), Courtney Browne (25) and Ian Bradshaw (19 not out) chipped in with handy contributions towards the end of the innings.Leewards struggled at the start of their run-chase, collapsing to 27 for 4 before Joseph and Tonito Willett put the innings back on track with an 88-run stand for the fifth wicket. Once that partnership was broken, the innings crumbled again, and at 139 for 8, Leewards were staring at a huge defeat. However, Banks revived their hopes, adding 47 for the ninth wicket with Gavin Tonge, but it wasn’t enough to stave off defeat.The loss was the first one for Leewards in the competition, but at 11 points, they are third in the table, and are almost certain to make it to the semi-finals.

Bangladesh have brought back Mashrafe Mortaza and Talha Jubair into their 13-man squad for the forthcoming two-Test series against India. Habibul Bashar has been retained as captain but Alok Kapali has been dropped after some weak performances against New Zealand.Mortaza last played a Test in November 2003, when he took 4 for 83 against England, before being ruled out by a knee injury. He has since recovered completely, and has been impressive in domestic games this season. Jubair’s inclusion was more surprising as he hasn’t made much of an impact since returning from a back injury. However, Faruque Ahmed, Bangladesh’s chief selector, indicated the reasoning behind the move: “We have considered our opponents’ strengths and the condition of the pitch. We thought pacers could be more effective than the spinners against the Indian batting line-up,” he told the , a Bangladesh newspaper. “We have also asked for a hard and bouncy track which also influenced our decision to keep three quick bowlers. Talha is a good Test bowler and we believe he can be effective in this series.”Faruque cautioned, though, that the team management was anxious to avoid more injuries to those two bowlers: “We don’t want to see another prolonged injury absence of these two. We are very careful about them.” If Bangladesh decide to play only two seamers, Mortaza and Tapash Baisya, then Mohammad Rafique and Manjural Islam Rana, the left-arm spinners, will both get an opportunity.The selectors also decided to name Khaled Mashud as Bashar’s deputy. Mashud, the wicketkeeper, had been removed from captaincy after Bangladesh’s disastrous 2003 World Cup, but has won back the selectors’ favour after impressive displays of late. Talking about the decision, Reazuddin Al Mamun, the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s media committee, said: “The board had removed him as captain after the World Cup and he had some disciplinary problems at that time. But we are not rigid. We have observed Mashud and he seems to have overcome his negative traits. We also considered his bright performances in recent time.”There was also a rap on the knuckles for Rajin Saleh, the previous vice-captain. “We had high expectations regarding Rajin’s leadership quality but unfortunately he failed to deliver,” Faruque explained. Saleh retains his place in the squad, though.The first Test starts at Dhaka on Thursday.Squad Nafis Iqbal, Javed Omar, Habibul Bashar (capt), Mohammad Ashraful, Rajin Saleh, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahman, Khaled Mashud (wk), Mohammad Rafique, Tapash Baisya, Mashrafe Mortaza, Talha Jubair, Manjural Islam Rana.

Day 1 Close India A 275 for 3 (Das 125) v DurhamIndia A ended the first day of their four-day match against Durham at Chester-le-Street on 275 for 3, thanks to a century from Shiv Sunder Das and some substandard bowling from Durham’s depleted attack.The crowd was barely sufficient to constitute a quorum, and the closest they got to seeing a big-name player was when Durham’s new signing Shoaib Akhtar was introduced to them at tea-time. Durham chose to rest several front-line players, and it was decision they were left to rue as India A made largely untroubled progress.Das was in superb form, driving and cutting with ease, and with Wasim Jaffer (43) put on 122 for the first wicket. Das then added 80 for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir, the only batsman in the top five without Test experience. Gambhir played some exquisite leg-side strokes in making 35.Das’s confidence only wobbled briefly when he survived a good shout for leg-before from Mark Davies on 96. Durham’s hopes of pressurising Das while he was in the nervous nineties were dashed when they gifted him his hundred with a careless overthrow.Das chanced his arm after passing three figures, eventually falling for 125 to a slip catch from Vince Wells off Ian Hunter (212 for 3), but Hemang Badhani (43*) and Parthiv Patel (21*) put on an unbroken of 63 in almost two hours to ensure that India A ended the day in a commanding position.

It was more of anti-climax at the Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad onSunday in the finals of the Moin-ud_Dowlah Gold Cup Invitationtournament. India Cements overpowered MRF XI by seven wickets andregistered and emphatic victory. Chasing a modest target of 209 runsfor a win, India Cements knocked off the runs with 16.3 overs tospare. The highlight of the day was the brilliant all round perfomanceby the India international player Virender Shewag.Earlier in the day Sridharan Sriram won the toss for MRF XI and didnot hesitate to have a bat first. With just nine runs on the board MRFXI lost their opening batsman Aashish Kapoor (5) in the fourth over.India discards Vikram Rathour and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (22) took thescore to 55 in the fifteenth over. Kanitkar was caught by Sunil Oasisoff the bowling of skipper S Suresh.Rajat Batia (19) was caught behind by Padmanabhan Raju off the bowlingof Gokulakrishnan and MRF XI slipped to 86/3 in the 22nd over. VikramRathour and Hemang Badani steadied the innings and put together adecent partnership of 51 runs off 11.3 overs. Rathour made the onlyhalf century of the MRF XI innings, scoring 55 runs off 84 balls withthe help of half a dozen boundaries.It was Verender Shewag who claimed the valuable wicket of Rathour,trapping the batsman in front of the wicket. Shewag tasted moresuccess when he had Badani (27) stumped by wicket-keeper Raju. TanveerJabbar (19) and Sriram (19) were the other batsmen to get to doublefigures. The MRF XI innings wound up at 208 all out in 48.2 overs.Shewag with his off spin was the pick of the bowlers, finishing withthe figures of 10-0-38-3. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Suresh claimedtwo wickets apiece.India Cements lost the skipper Suresh early in their run chase, caughtby Kapoor off the bowling of Kumaran in the fifth over after makingjust six runs. Shewag who opened with Suresh was in brilliant form,knocking the ball all around the park. Vidyut was promoted up thebatting order and cracked 22 runs off 23 balls, before being caught byMahesh off the bowling of Gautam in the 12th over.Rahul Dravid walked in and along with Shewag smashed the MRF XIbowlers for runs. They added 106 runs for the third wicket off just15.2 overs, taking the score to 158 in the 27th over. Shewagbludgeoned 92 runs off 91 balls before being bowled by Kumaran. Hisinnings was decorated with two majestic blows over the ropes and 11glorious boundaries.Sridharan Sharath came out to bat and did not waste any time, strikingsix boundaries to make an unbeaten 26 off 28 balls to take the IndiaCements past the target. Rahul Dravid remained unbeaten on 51 off 56balls with the help of four boundaries. MRF XI bowlers were completelydominated by the India Cements batsmen, only exception being Kumaran(10-1-35-2). Hemang Badani injured his back while fielding and laterwas found out that he a stress fracture. India Cements were the worthychampions and took home the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup.

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam has been given a break from training for one week after he was diagnosed with jaundice. Medical reports confirmed the ailment on Monday after he complained of weakness during the ongoing conditioning camp in Mirpur.”We have asked him to stay back in his hometown Natore during this break,” Bangladesh physio Bayjedul Islam Khan told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “He will do another bilirubin level test there and let us know and if it is higher than the accepted level (0.3 -1 mg/dl), we will tell him what to do next. Right now he needs to rest properly.”Taijul was hopeful that the level would remain normal and he could return to training soon.”I was told that the level is not severe and hopefully proper rest will cure the disease soon. I will be spending few days with family in Natore,” Taijul told .

LAHORE – In a repeat of the Asian Test Championship final two years ago at Dhaka, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are to commence the fight for continental supremacy here at the Gaddafi Stadium. In this second version of the ATC, the Lankans, tamed in 1999 by a whopping innings and 175 runs, are keen to make amends this time round and inscribe their name on the trophy. But the Pakistanis are equally resolute in not letting the Asian title out of their grasp.Despite watertight security, which both Waqar Younis and Sanath Jayasuriya said they weren’t really concerned about, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are arguably the two form teams of the sub-continent. And that reflects in the demeanour of Waqar and Jayasuriya. They sounded coolly confident of having resources to outgun the other. Both had reasons to be upbeat, their confidence stemming from the string of victories each of the sides had notched.After an unsteady spell, the Lankans are going through a purple patch, They have won eight back to back Tests, and by heavy margins to boot. At home, they’ve not just beaten their opponents, they’ve indeed humiliated them, none able to negotiate with Muttiah Muralitharan with any measure of confidence. And when rarely Murali didn’t get amongst the wickets in a big way, it was Chaminda Vaas or Dilhara Fernando who did the opposition in.It’s not just Murali’s bowling that has alone spelt doom on the opponents. It is the Lankan stroke makers who have made 500 or more in the first innings of almost every encounter in this remarkable winning sequence. And the Lankan stroke makers haven’t just been piling up runs, they made them at a brisk rate too and then to let loose their bowlers on the opposition with plenty of time at their disposal.

However, venturing out, this is going to be a real Test for the Lankans. And the Pakistanis aren’t making things easier for them. To ‘defang’ Muralitharan, the chief architect of many a Lankan win (and also as part of an effort to make wickets at home which afford seam, pace and bounce), the wicket here is green and is certain to assist Pakistan’s pace attack, which despite Akram’s absence remains potent enough.Pakistan is thus likely to go into the match with a pace battery of four, in skipper Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq, the all-rounder who is in equally fine fettle with the bat these days. In the circumstances, off-spinning ace Saqlain Mushtaq may be left out, with his understudy Shoaib Malik edging his way in. Somehow the Pakistani think tank is enthused with the idea that Malik can bolster the upper order, where there is a vacancy with Anwar still nursing his injured right wrist.So in all probability, Malik would accompany Taufeeq Umar to open the innings with Shahid Afridi batting down the order.Despite Saqlain not playing, Pakistan’s bowling attack is really good enough to probe the Lankans with pace and venom, with Malik and Afridi providing variety in spin.Actually it is not the Pakistan bowling which remains a cause for concern to the team management. It is the batting, which has a tendency to be brittle. Yet, while the bowlers deserve all credit for the revival in their fortunes, the batting too has tried to pull its weight by contributing well over 400 runs in each of the first innings of the last six Tests, all of which were won by Pakistan, five of them quite convincingly.Pakistan would be looking up to their mainstay in batting, vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to rediscover his touch. Not having fired for a couple of series, he indeed is overdue for runs.Even otherwise, Pakistan’s batting doesn’t lack much in terms of talent and class; it is the application that has been a gray area.All said and done, with both sides fiercely determined to maintain their respective winning sprees, and both having enough resources at their disposal to follow their dream, this Asian final is likely to be a highly absorbing contest.Teams (from):
Pakistan TeamSri Lanka Team

Sachin Tendulkar endured a prickly moment on the eve of his 400th one-day international when a television journalist asked him if his career had more lows than highs. “Go and check up the records,” he shot back. “I think you are watching a different game.” And Tendulkar, of course, is right.His has been a career of consistent overachievement, from the age of 16. In fact, if anything, it’s hard to keep track of the records set and broken, and the milestones reached. Tendulkar is the second cricketer, after Sanath Jayasuriya, to play 400 ODIs.”For Sachin every day is a big day,” said Murali Kartik in the lead-up to the fifth ODI at Vadodara. “We’re all playing for India so each day is a big one. He’s achieved so many milestones that playing the 400th one-dayer is a small dot in his list of achievements.”Tendulkar, for his part, chose to play down the milestone. “I am feeling good that it’s my 400th one-dayer but for me it’s just going to be another match; that’s how I look at it. My approach will be the same as for any other normal one-day match.”The team is likely to have a small, private celebration to mark the milestone, but the first thought is on winning the forthcoming match and keeping the series alive. “Always the effort will be to score runs and contribute in the team’s win. It won’t be any different this time and any batsman who walks into bat will be thinking on the same lines,” said Tendulkar. “Yes, I have scored runs on this ground and it’s been good to me. So I am hoping to do well again and contribute to the team’s success.”Scanning the list of 399 ODIs that he has played till now, Tendulkar picked out a few moments that stuck in his memory. “There have been lots of one-dayers that have been quite memorable. Like the Hero Cup semi-final against South Africa in 1993 when I bowled the last over. That’s very strong in my memory. Then there were matches in Sharjah and the World Cup (2003) match against Pakistan. There have been quite a few like this and it’s been a wonderful experience.”When asked if it was particularly memorable that the 400th game came against Australia, the world champions, Tendulkar again chose not to dwell on the issue too much. “400 just happens to be a number and just coincidence that it happens to be against Australia. It could have been against any other country. I treat all the games in the same way and my preparations are the same. For me it’s just another match. It will be a competitive series and we have prepared well for it and just hope to well execute whatever our plans are tomorrow.”

It’s a myth that’s been doing the rounds for while. It’s one that’s built on a notion that New Zealand raise their game against Australia, that they develop an extra cladding of steel when faced with their rivals from across the Tasman Sea. For a few weeks, at the end of 2001 and start of 2002, there seemed to be some truth in it, when Stephen Fleming and his men ousted Australia from their own VB Series finals. But in the four years hence, there was just one team upping their intensity in these contests, and it wasn’t New Zealand.If you’re a numbers man, you might just be tempted to laugh at the thought of a contest. In the last 17 games, starting with the final match of the aforementioned VB Series, Australia have pocketed 15. Barring the firstgame of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in 2004, when New Zealand’slower-order sneaked a tight chase, and the latestclash in December last year, when they sensationally hunted down 332,it’s been aflogging. Australia have romped home by a margin of 40 runs or more onseven occasions. Enough said.Things began looking up again late last year, though, when two of three games in the Chappell-Hadlee series went right down to the wire. New Zealand, as always, start as underdogs but they possess a spearhead who’s troubled Australia in the past, a lower-order that’s often thwarted them, and a captain who’s out-thought them on a few occasions. Shane Bond’s fitness, which is set to be assessed later today, will be crucial. In the six games against Australia, he’s knocked over 22 wickets. He averages a stunning 10.45 and has been part of a winning side in three of the six clashes.Ricky Ponting, who’s almost his bunny after falling six times in six games, knew the enormity of the threat but wasn’t concentrating on Bond alone. “He does the role that Brett Lee does for us,” he said, “and he’s got an unbelievable strike-rate in one-day cricket. He’s also got a very good record against Australia. But having said that Kyle Mills has had a good time in the Champions Trophy – think he’s taking 6 for 80 in this series – and the conditions were suit that style of bowling. We’ve spoken about those two to get our plans in tact.”The pitch set to be used for the game is the same one where Makhaya Ntini enacted his war-dance against Pakistan. Both captains didn’t think it would be as lively but both admitted that fast bowlers could be the key. Ponting spoke about Brad Hogg, the chinaman bowler, being in the mix but the nature of the surface could just mean that they go ahead with an unchanged side. New Zealand will be wary of Brett Lee – who’s managed 36 wickets against them at 19.77 – and a batting line-up that’s beginning tolook ominous.Barring Fleming and the injured Scott Styris, New Zealand have worries at the top. Their lower order, though, has often turned into their strength and Ponting admitted that they needed a plan against a bunch who plundered 99 off the last ten overs against Pakistan. “We have to have to look at those guys – McCullum, Oram, Vettori,” he continued, “who’re dangerous hitters at the end. We did come unstuck in the last Chappell-Hadlee game we played after they got 332. We need to come up with the right strategy, rightfield placements to restrict those guys at the end.”But did his side have any weaknesses that New Zealand could exploit? Patcame the classic Aussie reply: “None”.Teams (likely)Australia 1 Shane Watson, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting(capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 MichaelHussey, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 GlennMcGrath.New Zealand 1 Lou Vincent, 2 Stephen Fleming (capt), 3 NathanAstle, 4 Peter Fulton, 5 Hamish Marshall, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum(wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 James Franklin, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Kyle Mills.