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Close Australia 400 for 5 (Ponting 176*, Katich 75, Langer 58) v India
Scorecard

Ponting was Australia’s hero on the first day at Adelaide © Getty Images

A scintillating unbeaten 176 by Ricky Ponting was the outstanding performance of the day as Australia made full use of winning the toss at the Adelaide Oval. At close of play on the opening day, they had raced to 400 for 5 – the highest total in a day at this venue, beating Australia’s 387 on the second day against West Indies in 1968-69 – with useful contributions from Justin Langer (58) and Simon Katich (75).Apart from Matthew Hayden, all the Australian batsmen got starts, but Ponting capitalised on it, racing to his hundred off just 117 balls. He slowed down noticeably after reaching 150, despite which Australia finished the day with a run-rate of nearly four-and-a-half an over. All the Indian bowlers toiled – rather unsuccessfully – to beat the daunting combination of a flat pitch, a fast outfield with short square boundaries, and an awesome opposition batting line-up.Coming in at the fall of an early wicket, Ponting started off with an all-run four down the ground, before peppering the square boundaries on the off side with some sumptuous drives off either foot. He had a couple of reprieves early in his innings: on 12, a close lbw shout off Ajit Agarkar was turned down, while Virender Sehwag dropped a head-high chance at third slip off Irfan Pathan when Ponting had added just six. Once past those early jitters, though, Ponting didn’t give the Indians much respite.The tone for the day was set early when both the Australian openers drove through the line of the ball, trusting the even bounce and the lack of movement off the pitch. Sourav Ganguly packed the off side, and his bowlers largely stuck to an off-stump line, but the batsmen still threaded the gaps – in fact, every single one of the 16 fours Ponting struck in his first 100 runs were on the off side. Ganguly didn’t help the Indian cause by keeping the third-man region vacant for most of the day.These were ideal conditions for Hayden’s plonk-the-front-foot-and-drive-through-the-line style of batting, but Pathan – making his debut after Zaheer Khan missed out due to a strained hamstring – nailed him with one in the corridor which shaped away and kissed the edge of the bat (22 for 1).The dream start for Pathan and India soon went sour as Ponting and Langer went about their merry ways, cashing in on all the bad balls and sometimes putting away the good ones as well. Anil Kumble was soon pressed into service, but that only inspired Langer to go into overdrive – in one over he smote Kumble for two sixes and two fours. Kumble struck back in his next over, though, when Langer miscued a sweep to Sehwag at midwicket (135 for 2).That dismissal, which came at the stroke of lunch, was some respite for the Indians, but it only meant that one effective run-scorer was replaced by another, more graceful one. Martyn was in fantastic touch from ball one, stroking some gorgeous drives through the covers off Agarkar and Pathan, who, after an impressive first spell, fell away, struggling to find the movement he had obtained with the new ball. A big score was there for the taking, when Martyn (30) threw it away, steering a wide one from Nehra – the first ball of a new spell – to VVS Laxman at second slip (200 for 3).Steve Waugh smote a few through the off side in his 30, but was sorted out by a clever piece of bowling by Nehra. Bowling from round the wicket, he dug a few in short, then slipped in a full-length ball on middle. Waugh, weight on the back foot and probably expecting another short one, played all over the ball as it crashed into his stumps (252 for 4).A feature of this innings was the partnerships that the Australians put together for every wicket, and Simon Katich now joined Ponting to add the biggest one for the day. Katich first dug in, then showed that he could play a few strokes too, the most emphatic of them being a pulled six off Nehra, who came in armed with the second new ball. Galvanised by that shot, Katich raced along, even as Ponting quietened down and seemed to set his sights on his double-century.The 138-run partnership was finally broken off the penultimate over of the day, when Katich top-edged a pull and was caught spectacularly by Sehwag, diving full length and coming up with the ball in both hands (390 for 5). In walked Adam Gilchrist, and promptly dispatched the second ball he faced to the cover fence, and then pulled Kumble for another boundary before bringing up the 400 with the last ball of the day. In four Tests at the Adelaide Oval, Gilchrist has scored a mere 145 runs at 24.16. Time to set the record straight?

Australia qualified for the ICC Under-19 World Cup final against South Africa on Saturday but the West Indies with a little more patience might have pushed them a lot closer than the final 93-run margin of victory in today’s semi-final.By confining the Australians to 252/8 when they batted first in cool overcast conditions on the reserve day at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, the West Indies gave themselves a chance.They had pulled the Australian scoring rate back from a possible 280-plus and, while the job remained in front of them, they got into a good position at 102/2 in the 22nd over.But just as the West Indians had utilised spin to peg back the Australians, so the Australians did in even more masterly fashion when, between the 20th and 40th overs, the West Indies were only able to score 61 runs.The innings’ of the two sides were similar in construction, based largely around high third-wicket partnerships. In Australia’s case theirs, between captain Cameron White and opener Craig Simmons was worth 84 runs but, having come on the top of 84 runs scored by the first two wickets, it had a much more solid base.Simmons, who was named man of the match for his 84 off 110 balls, played a fine innings, hitting eight fours and a six, while White kept the score moving through the middle of the innings, playing some deft late cuts during the early part of his innings and then working the ball around the ground more later. He was finally out caught from Alcindo Holder’s off-spin for 64.The West Indies stand of 82 runs was more by necessity after the two openers, including the big-hitting Donovan Pagon, were out with only 20 on the board. Tonito Willett and captain Narsingh Deonarine combined well to not only get settled but to get the scoring rate moving at an acceptable level.It was then that White made his decisive move. The introduction of left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty for the 20th over, followed a few overs later by the arrival of left-arm chinaman bowler Beau Casson had the desired effect.Deonarine was first to go for 40 and then Willett tried to hold the innings together but eventually departed the eighth man our for a lovely 83 off 123 balls.Whereas earlier, the Australian lower order had a chance to hit out to build on the earlier work, the West Indian middle and lower-order had not only to survive but also keep the scoring rate moving.With such superbly tight bowling, they had no show. Doherty bowled his 10 overs through to finish with two for 26, Casson took two for 28 off nine and Jarrad Burke came into quickly polish off the end of the innings with final figures of two for 17.Ten overs remained after the last eight West Indies wickets had fallen for 57 runs.White said afterwards while it was disappointing not to get more runs if someone had said before the game they would get 250 he would have been happy with that.He was disappointed to get out when he did. He was a little concerned once the West Indies got to the position of 102/2 but was delighted with the way his bowlers responded.Despite the fact the side had to wait an extra day and would have only tomorrow to prepare for the final, they were still feeling fresh and were “ready and well prepared.”Australian coach Wayne Phillips said he had been delighted with the way the team had gone throughout the tournament and they were justifiably going into the final feeling confident.”There has always been tremendous rivalry between Australia and the West Indies and today was no exception,” he said.West Indies coach Gus Logie said they were happy to be in the semi-finals, and while they hadn’t made the final they had done well, especially when the side’s batting had rarely clicked during the tournament.They had hoped to put up a good fight against the Australians and while beaten he felt there were some significant lessons learned because the tournament had been good preparation for the future by the players.He said that while the West Indies don’t have the quality of fast bowlers of their recent history, the wickets in the West Indies were more conducive to spin bowling nowadays and it was not unknown for teams at youth level to have good spinners, a feature reflected in the side’s bowling in Christchurch.He believed the Australians would win the tournament.”They have been quite consistent and have set a standard for us all to follow.”Logie also thanked New Zealand Cricket and the ICC for staging the tournament.”The grounds and facilities have been tremendous. We will have very fond memories of this tournament. Having everyone staying at the one venue here made it a nice little community and it was a good thing for players to experience this sort of thing,” he said.

It was a long day for scribes and spectators alike at the Nehru Stadiumin Indore. The visiting Zimbabweans did not think it necessary to make asporting declaration and thereby a match of this game. A complete farceensued, one in which the Zimbabwe batsmen carried out net practicein the middle. Earlier in the day, National Cricket Academy skipperReetinder Sodhi was hopeful of an early declaration by the Zimbabweans. He said the NCA team would go after the target, even if the asking rate was around six runs per over. As it turned out, all that was unnecessary.India also have an irritating habit of bringing batsmen out of a leanpatch. Trevor Madondo certainly benefited from this brand ofhospitality. After playing a shaky knock in the first innings, Madondogot his eye in well in his second essay. Stroking the ball around thepark, Madondo had a good look at a subcontinent wicket. He made 65before playing all over a straight ball from Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan.Having lost out in the first innings, Andy Flower came in next and hedisplayed what a class player he is. Never in any trouble, Flower workedthe ball into the gaps with ease. After making 119 runs, (180balls, 14 fours) he decided that he had had enough of the Indore heat.Retiring ill, he returned to the comfort of the pavilion and wasreplaced by acting skipper Guy Whittall.Stuart Carlisle (39) and Guy Whittall (36 not out) gained a bit ofexperience batting in Indian conditions. Just when it looked likeZimbabwe would quietly play out the day, they surprised everyone bydeclaring their innings closed at 320/5. This left NCA with a hugelyimprobable, and almost statistically impossible, target of 320 off 11overs. Sridharan Sriram was obviously quite content with his knock inthe first innings. In his place, stumper Ajay Ratra opened the inningswith Nikhil Doru.Although Ratra was trapped leg before by Henry Olonga it was really ofno consequence. Gautam Gambhir worked the bowling around for an elegant22 runs while Doru managed 12 not out. NCA had 42/1 and the match endedin a dull draw.After the NCA lads had declared their innings having secured a lead ofjust 1 run, one expected Zimbabwe to think on similar lines. Althoughthat would have made for maximum viewing pleasure, one really cannotfault the Zimbabweans for their tactics. They are not here to give theNCA boys a shot at victory against an international side. They are herefor the far more serious business of winning a Test series againstIndia. They did all they could to prepare themselves for the same.Speaking to scribes after the game, acting skipper Guy Whittall said,”We batted almost the whole day because we wanted to shift from theOne-Day mode to the Test mode. The Test matches here are the highestpriority for us and we wanted to prepare as well as we could for that.”When asked why he declared when he did, leaving the NCA boys elevenovers to face, he added, “Henry Olonga didn’t get much of a bowl in thefirst innings. We just wanted to give him another go.” That wrapped up amatch that left the NCA boys emptyhanded, the Zimbabweans moreexperienced in Indian conditions and a majority of spectators just plainbored.

Crystal Palace will host the Premier League Champions at Selhurst Park this evening, and Patrick Vieira will be hoping that his team can take all three points for the second time this season with the advantage of being at home.

The Eagles have won twice and drawn once in their last three games, and have registered more wins at home than away this season, so the side are in prime form to snatch another win in their pursuit for a top-half finish, and can leapfrog Southampton into tenth with a victory.

Vieira’s team selection will need to be able to cope with the pressure that Manchester City have imposed on all of their opponents, and making sure he picks players who can offer flawless defensive qualities against Pep Guardiola’s fierce attack should be a priority.

One player who should make the starting XI tonight at Selhurst Park is Will Hughes, to replace Cheikhou Kouyate in the midfield alongside Jeffrey Schlupp.

The £5.4m-rated gem was dubbed “technical” by HLTCO podcaster Dan Cook, who sung the praises of the player and highlighted his impact and effectiveness following his first start for Palace in December against Everton:

“Being able to retain possession and have a ball-playing, good, technical footballer in Will Hughes.

“I think if you look at Will Hughes’ close control, you look at his ability to advance the play, his reading of situations, it was quite clear from the off yesterday that we really did benefit from having his technical nous in the middle of the park.”

Praise hasn’t stopped there for the former Watford man, however, with Vieira labelling him “unbelievable” earlier this term.

According to SofaScore, Hughes has a pass accuracy of 86% this season, is successful in the majority of his ground and aerial duels (52%) and makes 1.9 tackles on average per game, proving that he can offer the key defensive attributes that Crystal Palace will need against a strong Manchester City side.

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The Eagles boss has a number of options from his in form squad to select from and will surely look at the team that comfortably defeated Pep’s side at the Etihad Stadium last October to inject a similar winning formula into the clash tonight.

Taking all three points would be some achievement and put Vieira’s side in the top half of the table.

In other news: Crystal Palace targeting swoop for Morgan Gibbs-White

Banned from competing for the ICC Under-19 World Cup even after a 2007 season which earned them top honours in every international match they played, USA’s junior cricketers are looking forward to making history with a tour of India. They will be the first representative US team to tour a major Test-playing nation in the history of North American cricket.The US senior team, led by Steve Massiah and featuring some of the best young players, nearly managed to qualify for the World Cup before falling victim to bad luck and the weather. Now there is little hope that they will be able to play until the USA Cricket Association (USACA) is able to convince its own stakeholders as well as the ICC that it deserves another chance to do things right – and until that happens, USA’s senior cricketers can only watch disconsolately from the sidelines.Not so the USA juniors who are determined to forge ahead under their own steam in 2008 and beyond. They are going ahead with an ambitious agenda and have every intention of doing better than in 2007.However, it doesn’t come cheap. A four to six-week international tour could cost $100,000 for a fifteen-player squad in addition to the coach, manager and physio. A fully-fledged program of five or more tours each year could easily cost half a million dollars or more. The question is, who will pick up the tab?For the upcoming India tour, the juniors have the support of a major sponsor: the Key Point Credit Union. It is located in the heart of Silicon Valley with branches throughout California. “Key Point’s premier sponsorship of [our] tour, singling us out for [this kind of] major support, allows our players the opportunity to represent their native county in a game they love”, said Hemant Buch, founder of the California Cricket Academy (CCA).Buch said the success achieved by USA’s juniors in 2007 did not come out of thin air. It was built on an annual program including world-class coaching, a very successful national tournament, and inter-club tournaments featuring the different formats to expose the youngsters to all the styles they might expect to encounter in international junior cricket. Such intensive junior set-ups exist in very few countries, although more and more are taking them up as interest in junior cricket grows worldwide.The USA tour of India, it has been agreed, will be conducted at the Under-15 level. The USA U-15 squad is set to play their counterparts in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Mumbai. The Indians are laying out the welcome mat for their guests, and their choice of venues reflects the high profile that is being attached to the tour. The matches at Ahmedabad and Baroda will be against select U-15 and U-17 teams, most of which are expected to be 40-over games which seem to be the norm in U-17 junior cricket. The USA team has also been invited to play at the Vengsarkar and Chandrakant Pandit academies, home to the emerging national junior development programs in India, for some local fast-action games of 25 overs in Mumbai.As is typical with the programs run by the Cricket Academy, the touring squad was carefully selected after a thorough review of individual performances in 2006 and 2007. It comprises players from all over the USA including New Jersey, Florida, and California. Satish Deo, an active volunteer at CCA, will be the team manager.The tour itinerary is every bit as challenging as originally anticipated. The team leaves San Francisco on December 22 for two warm-up matches – the first on Christmas Day at Motera International stadium where several team members had already played during the summer. The second is on Boxing Day at the Anand stadium.After that, the tour starts in earnest, with a regular game on December 27 at the Gandhinagar cricket academy with a taxing itinerary which takes them through to January 5 when they fly home.There had been talk of a stopover in Sharjah to play the England and Scotland U-19 teams who are on their way to the Under-19 World Cup in India, or a few warm-up matches with the early arrivals at the U-19 World Cup, but these were ruled out by the USA team management because of their already taxing schedule. Instead, the USA juniors will have to sit out this year’s U-19 World Cup and hope they will play when the next one comes around in 2011. As one US junior cricketer slyly pointed out, almost all of this year’s touring squad will be available for selection in four years time, and ready to take on the world.

The government-backed Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) is set to read the riot act to Zimbabwe Cricket after the board was found guilty by Harare magistrates of breaching the country’s strict foreign exchange regulations. ZC was fined around US$50,000 after pleasing guilty to breaking the law with regard to payments totaling more than US$1.3 million in 2005.Local media quoted a source at the SRC as saying that by breaching the country’s exchange regulations, ZC had also breached SRC laws. “The SRC is serious these days about how sporting associations are being run. We want to call up Peter Chingoka and his board to come and explain what exactly was happening which involved foreign currency.”We all know that ZC earns a lot of money in foreign currency and there is need for us as custodians of all associations to closely monitor how the funds are being handled,” the source continued. “While the court found them guilty, we also feel there is more to it than what came out in court.”It is not the first time that ZC has been in hot water over forex breaches. Chingoka, the ZC chairman, and Ozias Bvute the managing director, were questioned last year in connection with investigations into the externalisation of huge amounts of foreign currency. Charges against the pair were, however, dropped after what the local media reported as intervention by senior government officials.

Collins Obuya © Getty Images

Two of Kenya’s leading lights from the last World Cup, Collins Obuya and Kennedy Otieno, have already begun their build-up to the next tournament by working with a pair of Australian coaching legends in Adelaide.Legspinner Obuya, one of the stars of the 2003 tournament when Kenya reached the semi-finals, has just completed five weeks under the watchful eyes of Shane Warne’s mentor, Terry Jenner. Meanwhile Obuya’s brother, Otieno, currently playing club cricket in Victoria, has spent the past week working with former Australia `keeping great Rodney Marsh, who previously headed up Australia and England’s academies.Obuya’s work with Jenner was arranged by ICC High Performance Manager (HPM) Richard Done and was an attempt to help him rediscover form and confidence. That confidence was sky-high in 2003 when his 13 World Cup wickets made him the talk of the cricketing world and earned him a contract with English county Warwickshire. Since then, however, it has been shattered by knee and appendix problems and a resultant lack of rhythm, something Jenner could see straight away when he began work with Obuya.”When he arrived it was hard to believe he had ever bowled a legbreak because he had replaced it with pace and he was bowling much quicker than he had in 2003,” said Jenner. “I even nicknamed him Courtney because he was all arms and legs, just like Courtney Walsh used to be, and he was also bowling at a similar pace.”Obuya confirmed: “I was really struggling with my legspin and was having difficulty bowling it so we broke it down and started from the very beginning. We spent the first two weeks learning about leg-spin and the basics of the art. We dealt with how to cock the wrist, how to deliver the ball, which fingers to use and when, and use of the left arm, all of which I did not really know.”The acid question is, of course, whether the intensive one-to-one coaching has helped the player. Jenner is sure it has. “We can’t make him a world-beater in five weeks but what we have done is to show him what works and how it works,” he said. “There’s no doubt he has made good progress although we are on a hiding to nothing because people will remember the success he had two or three years ago and base what they see now on that. He is a good lad and I get the sense he is on the right track again.”

Kennedy Otieno © Getty Images

Otieno’s work with Marsh came about after he headed to Australia to play club cricket with Frankston, located outside Melbourne – like Obuya’s spell in Adelaide, something that was organised by Done.”I was keen to play in Australia as I was looking for a challenge – I wanted that,” said Otieno, Kenya’s regular opening batsman in addition to his skills behind the stumps. “Like everyone else I wanted to find out why it is that Australia is so successful and the chance to play some competitive cricket was the perfect opportunity for me to do just that. Richard [Done] and [Kenya Cricket Association Chairman] Samir Inamdar suggested I did some work with Rodney Marsh for a week and it was too good a chance to miss.”Marsh, currently working as a consultant for the South Australia Cricket Association ahead of starting a role in charge of the ICC’s Global Cricket Academy in 2006, takes up the story. “I was approached by Richard and agreed to do some work with Kennedy, running him through sets of drills as I would with any other `keeper,” he said. “I got the feeling from talking to him that he has never had anyone really sit down and talk to him about `keeping. He has just put the gloves on and got on with it.”What we did was go right back to basics, looking at footwork, glovework and keeping the head still. Once he understands that then he can coach himself. We have worked on him giving with the ball, moving his hands, his feet and his hips and he has done pretty well. He has got natural ability to keep wicket and to strike the ball and it is up to us to help make sure he gets the most out of himself.”And do the players feel they have benefited from their experiences?”I have learnt so much that will help towards my future,” said Obuya. “Now I know so many aspects of my game and I only wish I had met TJ two years ago as he could have helped ensure I did not have my recent problems. My goal now is to continue with the good habits I have learnt here and to train hard.”Otieno added: “It has definitely been a good experience, well worth a try and I have got much more out of it than I expected. Playing here in a competitive environment on different pitches than I am used and also being coached by Rodney Marsh has left me feeling I have made big progress and this has given my World Cup preparations a kick-start.”Done explained why the work done by Otieno and Obuya should prove massively beneficial to their development as cricketers. “Good quality coaches with a Test background like TJ and Rod are not readily available in Kenya or any of the ICC High Performance Program countries,” he said. “They can offer players like Collins and Kennedy additional insights and assist them in what is required to do well at the highest level and hopefully that is what has happened in this instance.”Part of the funding for Collins Obuya’s trip to Australia and the coaching he received came from sponsorship by Petroleum and Industrial Services Ltd (PIS), Kenya’s leading firm in the supply, installation and maintenance of petroleum equipment.

Zimbabweans 206 and 193 for 8 (Williams 53*, Morkel 5-47) lead Combined Easterns/Northerns XI 275 by 124 runs
ScorecardOnly a combination of poor weather and dogged batting from Sean Williams took this match into a fourth day as the Zimbabweans ended the third day of their tour match against the Easterns/Northerns XI at Willowmoore Park in Benoni facing probable defeat.Play did not start until midway through the afternoon session, and even then only 21.1 overs were bowled before bad light came to the Zimbabweans rescue. In that time they took their total from an overnight 138 for 6 to 193 for 8, a lead of 124, thanks to Williams’s unbeaten 53.Much depended on Tatenda Taibu, but he had added just two to his overnight 21 in almost an hour when he became Morne Morkel’s fifth victim of the innings. Prosper Utseya hung around to give Williams support, but in the over before the premature finish he fell to slow left-armer Paul Harris for 9.

The Cricket Reform Group (CRG), the self-appointed body headed by Michael Atherton and Bob Willis, last night published its manifesto for the future of the game in England. Entitled Making English Cricket Great – For Everyone, the document is a detailed top-to-bottom shake-up of the club and county structure.Many of the CRG’s proposals have been aired in public in recent months. In essence the document calls for a reduction in the amount of first-class cricket, a cull in the number of professional players from 450 to 276, a strengthening of links between clubs and counties, and an increase in the number of centrally contracted players from 12 to 24.One of the most controversial ideas doing the rounds – the scrapping of several existing first-class counties – was notable by its absence. The CRG would achieve the reduction in the number of players by limiting each county to a squad of 14, and the reduction in the amount of first-class games would enable most players to turn out for club sides on six or seven weekends.The County Championship would also be radically changed, with a six-team premier division underpinned by two regional divisions. The Twenty20 Cup would continue, but limited-overs devotees would be offered two midweek competitions – a knockout and a league.The CRG also recommends ending the influence of the First Class Forum on the ECB’s management board. “We passionately believe that a more streamlined management board must be given full control of the running of the game,” the document says. “The financial monopoly of the first-class counties must be challenged in order that the England team and the grassroots of the game, especially, receive greater financial support.”A delegation from the CRG met David Morgan, the ECB chairman, his deputy Mike Soper and John Carr, the board’s director of cricket operations, last week, and the ECB will consider the group’s suggestions before making any formal reply.County chairmen were sent a copy of the report last night.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is to discuss India’s withdrawal fromthe Asian Test Championship when it meets in Sharjah next month.The ACC meeting slated for Feb 13 will discuss imposing penalties onthe pattern of the International Cricket Council, but their immediateimplementation appears unlikely.India had refused to play Pakistan in Lahore for a match of thechampionship last year and later withdrew from the event. Theirdecision led to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suffering heavyfinancial losses.The meeting, to be chaired by ACC president, Lt. Gen Tauqir Zia, whoalso heads the PCB, will also decide on setting up a permanentsecretariat. The UAE, Malaysia and Nepal are the three venues inconsideration.The development programme from April 2002 to March 2003 will also beconsidered for approval.The ACC moot will be preceded by a meeting of the Asian CricketFoundation (ACF) on Feb 12. The agenda of the meeting which is to bechaired by Jagmohan Dalmiya has not been circulated yet.Besides the four chief executives of the cricket boards of Pakistan,India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Abdul Rehman Bukhatir of theCricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) will also be in attendance.