New Zealand 190 (McCullum 45, Oram 35) beat India 180 for 9 (Gambhir 51, Sehwag 40, Vettori 4-20) by 10 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A masterclass of left-arm bowling from Daniel Vettori allowed New Zealand to soak up the pressure of a flying start by India to the run chase and script a fine 10-run win at the Wanderers. When Vettori brought himself into the attack in the seventh over, India were 76 for the loss of just Virender Sehwag and the game was theirs for the taking. Vettori varied his flight and pace cleverly to choke the run-flow, increase the pressure and eventually lure the batsmen to their demise.A breezy 45 from Brendon McCullum had earlier laid the foundation for New Zealand before Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram effected some violent late-order hitting to take the total to a healthy 190 but it almost proved inadequate against the rampaging Indian openers.It was akin to the Cricinfo Slogout game at its see-sawing best. The bat transformed into a joystick as Sehwag and Gambhir slashed with abandon, scythed through the line and lofted merrily.After a quiet first over, Sehwag surged off the blocks in the second – from Mark Gillespie – with a lashing cover drive and an audacious six over long-on before flipping one past square leg. Gambhir joined in the fun with a swipe over deep midwicket, a slash over slips and a couple of crunchy cover drives as Bond went for 18 runs in the third over. Jeetan Patel was brought on as early as the fifth over but was ripped apart by Sehwag who carted four boundaries, with a six over cover being the highlight. The chase was truly on.

But a four later, Sehwag was back in the hutch, swatting a Oram full toss to mid-on and when Robin Uthappa was beaten by the dip from Vettori, New Zealand were back in the game. Vettori continued to vary his pace and soon deceived Gambhir into top-edging a sweep with a clever slow loopy delivery to push New Zealand ahead.Then Yuvraj Singh fell, top-edging a sweep off Patel to leave India tottering at 116 for 4. Twelve runs later, an awful mix-up between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik found Dhoni short of the crease and the cat was squarely among the pigeons.Vettori prised two wickets in the 17th over to effectively seal the game. He had troubled Irfan Pathan with a series of arm-balls before finally getting through his defense. Four balls and a dropped catch later, he lured Karthik to hole out to deep square leg and New Zealand were almost home. There was to be no miracle from the tail and New Zealand ran away to a satisfying victory.It was a cat-and-mouse game during the first half of the New Zealand innings. The momentum kept swinging from one side to the other with the batsmen counterattacking after a couple of good overs before the spinners started to apply the squeeze. Harbhajan Singh was the top performer for India, punctuating his offspinners with doosras and quicker ones and bamboozling the batsmen into suicidal strokes. But the batsmen had the last laugh, with Oram and McMillan wielding the long handle effectively.Earlier, McCullum counterattacked after the fall of Lou Vincent’s wicket, targeting Sreesanth with three gorgeous drives before square-driving and pulling RP Singh to the boundary. Dhoni responded by drafting in Ajit Agarkar and Irfan Pathan and the run-rate dipped a touch.The introduction of Harbhajan Singh paid greater dividends as he tied up Peter Fulton with his offspinners before a front-of-hand faster one trapped him in front. McCullum, who was starved of the strike, perished off the second ball he faced from Harbhajan, slog-sweeping a floater to long-on. When Ross Taylor failed to connect with his favourite slog-sweep and Scott Styris was found short by a direct hit from Yuvraj, things looked bleak for New Zealand but they got out of the hole in style with another furious counterattack. This time, India had no answers.In the 16th over Jacob Oram swung two towering sixes over long-on while Craig McMillan pinged the straight boundary and the long-leg boundary as Yuvraj was looted for 25 runs.Three more sixes in the 18th over, off Sreesanth, saw New Zealand gallop away to a strong total. McMillan scythed one over long-off, swat-pulled the other over long-on before Oram sliced one over deep point. The carnage was truly on as Vettori pinched three more fours and McMillan slugged a six in the 19th over off Agarkar to push them to what proved a match-winning total.

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.”

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.”

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan captain, has slammed the national selectors for persisting with older players while ignoring new talent, which he felt led to the ODI series loss against South Africa.”The selectors have repeatedly been trying the same players who have failed to fulfil the nation’s expectations,” Miandad told a private TV channel. “Inconsistent selection policies led to Pakistan’s defeat against South Africa. The selectors’ poor selection is bringing cricket at par with hockey [in Pakistan].”According to Miandad, the selection committee should be held responsible for the series loss against South Africa even after all the credit it received for selecting a team that reached the final of the ICC World Twenty20.He also expressed his disappointment over the manner in which Pakistan’s batsmen were dismissed in the final match, ending up on the losing side after being well-placed for a series win. “It was one of the most pathetic [batting] displays I have ever seen as six wickets tumbled for just 20 runs. It was a golden opportunity for Pakistan to win the series but they ended as 2-3 losers.”Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq all played poor strokes, sealing their fate. Pakistan could have easily won the game without any fireworks but they played indiscreet shots to turn their victory into defeat.”Pakistan now head to India for a five-match ODI and three-Test series starting on November 5.

New South Wales 5 for 360 (Forrest 177, Haddin 55*, Hughes 51, Katich 51) v Tasmania
Scorecard

Peter Forrest made his first Pura Cup century as New South Wales batted themselves into a strong position on the first day against Tasmania. Forrest fell late in the day for 177 and at the close the Blues had reached 5 for 360 with Brad Haddin on 55 and Grant Lambert yet to score.The early signs for New South Wales were excellent as Forrest, in his fifth first-class game, combined with the debutant opener Phillip Hughes for a 112-run second-wicket stand. Hughes, 18, is the Blues’ youngest first-class player since Michael Clarke burst on the scene and he immediately displayed the skills that earned him his place, striking 51.Forrest then had strong support from Simon Katich (51) and Haddin, as Tasmania’s attack struggled to string together two wickets in close proximity. His century came from 174 balls but he was not content to leave it there and finished with 21 fours and two sixes.His lengthy stay finally ended when Brendan Drew trapped him lbw with only 15 minutes left in the day. Ben Hilfenhaus was the only Tasmania bowler to claim more than one wicket, ending the day with 2 for 90.

Andy Bichel will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his troublesome right shoulder, but he intends to play on for Queensland next summer. Bichel hurt his shoulder throwing a ball while fielding during a club match at the start of the season and he has been limited to two Pura Cup matches with little impact.”It got to a point that while I could bowl, I couldn’t bowl to the level I was happy with and I was going to be hampered with my throwing for the rest of the season, and probably my career, if I decided to push on without the operation,” Bichel said. “I realise that some people might wonder whether this will be it for me but I’m firmly committed to playing again for Queensland.”Bichel, 37, had surgery in Brisbane on Friday under the same orthopaedic surgeon who performed similar operations on Adam Dale and Michael Kasprowicz. He said: “Kasper always used to joke that his shoulder operation was the equivalent of a 50,000-delivery service, so I guess this is my 100,000-ball service.”Although his output has been hampered this summer Bichel was the second leading wicket-taker in the Pura Cup last season with 45 at 24.66. He also had a productive county campaign with Essex this year, taking 41 wickets at 20.53 and scoring two centuries.

The MCC are busy installing a new scoreboard and replay screen system at Lord’s during the close season.Three new permanent, state-of-the-art colour LED replay screens, which will be ready for the start of the 2008 season, will be situated in the Compton, Edrich and Allen Stands. These Lighthouse screens are each made of 88 modules that have been specially imported from Hong Kong. The screens will not only offer enhanced scoring display opportunities but also enable live and recorded video footage and colour images to be shown during both international and domestic matches.The new screens are also more environmentally friendly, using less energy to power them – the three combined need one third of the energy of one of the old bulb-based boards to run them.

“Installing the new scoreboards fulfilled several aims for MCC,” John Stephenson, the MCC’s head of cricket, explained. “To improve the visibility and visual quality of scoreboard information for spectators – the new screens will have five times more screen resolution than the existing scoreboards. To provide the action replay and associated visual information expected at major cricket venues in 16:9 widescreen. Finally, to reduce significantly on-going energy consumption, materials replacement and maintenance costs associated with old technology.”The scoreboards are part of an ongoing investment in Lord’s by the MCC. The next major improvement should be the erection of permanent floodlights.

Shane Bond’s international career is in all likelihood finished after weeks of speculation because of his association with the Indian Cricket League, leaving a huge dent in New Zealand’s side. The ICL is not recognised by the ICC and the national boards and any players who sign for it effectively rule themselves out of international selection under a gentlemen’s agreement.However, Bond had hoped for an agreement with New Zealand Cricket allowing him to represent his country, and at the very least for the England series. According to the Sunday Star-Times, extensive negotiations between NZC and the New Zealand Players’ Association reached a deadlock and Bond has now been released from his international obligations and is free to play in the Indian competition.The newspaper suggested that the players’ association argued that an email from NZC gave Bond the belief he was eligible for both the ICL and his country through an exemption. NZC said the email could not be so construed in the context of all the other emails he received.A spokesman for NZC told Cricinfo the situation would be clarified later this week after the selectors had met on Monday. “The squad should be announced this week so we will know more then,” he said.It was hardly a surprise that Bond accepted the ICL offer, even at the sake of his international career, because under the terms of the deal he will be paid huge sums regardless of whether he is physically hurt. For such an injury-prone player – he has managed only 17 Tests in a stop-start career – the clause is attractive enough to warrant sacrificing any further international appearances. He is now the seventh New Zealand player who is effectively ineligible for country duties.NZC’s chief executive, Justin Vaughan, had been so keen to keep Bond he had even offered to help him financially to be released from the ICL contract. However, with the deal thought to be worth three times what he could earn with New Zealand – plus, of course, the tempting injury arrangement – he chose to take the Indian money.

The USA Cricket Association elections are on hold, although this does not appear to have been conveyed to those involved in the process.Chris Dehring, the independent third party appointed by the ICC to try to find a resolution to the ongoing struggle for control of the USACA, managed to get a new constitution approved but the elections that were meant to follow within 30 days have already become embroiled in controversy.It is believed that Dehring will appoint an external independent auditor to oversee the elections and this means that they not take place until March at the earliest.Since the announcement of the yes vote for the new constitution, the USACA has yet again not uttered a word in public. Some regions have held their elections while others appear to be uncertain how to proceed.New York Region and Central West have already announced their regional board and their representatives to USACA.

Australia’s tour of Pakistan may have hit another roadblock with word that Darren Lehmann, the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) president, will not send a delegate on a pre-tour security inspection of Pakistan due to safety concerns.Australia’s scheduled tour has already been shortened and, if it goes ahead, will begin later this month, but further bombings in Pakistan over the weekend have heightened safety fears.ACA chief executive Paul Marsh had been scheduled to join Cricket Australia representatives in Pakistan this month to decide if its players can visit safely, but Lehmann has said that would not happen. “We’re not sending Paul Marsh on the pre-tour visit and that’s basically because we as a board don’t feel comfortable sending one of our employees there at the moment,” Lehmann said.”At the moment our advice is not to, and I don’t feel comfortable sending anybody to be perfectly honest, and the [players’] board doesn’t.”There’s been a lot of things going on in Pakistan. Hopefully it settles down, but only time will tell.”Lehmann believed CA would go ahead with plans for the tour unless it is made clear the trip cannot proceed, and said the players would require plenty of assurances to change their minds. “On Wednesday we’ll meet with the government departments and see what is really out there,” he said. “We’ll get our advice from them, security issues, any other problems we have with Pakistan. I think they’d need a lot of assurances along the way.”CA will meet with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra on Wednesday to receive advice on the current security situation in Pakistan.CA’s spokesman Peter Young said it was too early to tell if the latest bombings would affect the tour. “We will sit down with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and take a formal briefing from them on the situation in Pakistan and the likely situation in the coming weeks,” Young said. “We’ll continue to move through that formal process. We’re not going to pre-empt the outcome of that process until we have gone through the whole thing.”