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ScorecardA sterling effort from Devendra Bundela, the middle-order batsman, took his side to 207 for 6 on the second day at Indore, 112 runs adrift of Jharkhand’s total. Bundela’s fine innings steadied the ship after Vijay Bharadwaj’s offbreaks and a good spell from Mihir Diwakar, the opening bowler, had disturbed Kerala’s batting lineup. For MP, the success story of the first session was Anand Rajan, the fast bowler, who bagged five wickets on first-class debut.ScorecardSwapnil Asnodkar’s unbeaten 64 took Goa to 121 for 3 after two early strikes before tea from Vineet Jain, Tripura’s opening bowler, had rocked the home side’s top order on the second day at Margoa. Tripura’s total of 309 was due in large part to Timir Chanda, the middle-order batsman, who batted 363 minutes for a dogged 89, and a breezy 41 down the order from Jain. Avinash Aware, the Goan fast bowler, had figures of 5 for 71. Asnodkar had added 64 with Saahil Dhuri at stumps and will look to ensure the first-innings lead.
ScorecardAn unbeaten 59 from Sadagoppan Ramesh, the former India opener, helped Kerala to 121 for 2 at stumps, after Kerala’s bolwers had dismissed Rajasthan for 332 earlier in the day. For the home side, Ajay Jadeja’s vital 67 was the standout innings of the second day, as Kerala’s part-time bowlers combined to rout the tail. Mohammad Aslam, the left-arm spinner, took two wickets before stumps to stem Kerala’s reply, but in Ramesh they had a batsman capable of a big innings.
ScorecardFaiz Fazal and Amit Deshpande put on 86 unbeaten runs to lead Vidarbha’s reply to Orissa’s first innings 382 on the second day’s play at Nagpur. For the tourists, P Patel and Subit Biswal were in good form, stroking fifties to take their side to a very good total, while Pritam Gandhe, the Vidarbha captain, sent down 51 overs of offspin to grab four key wickets. Fazal and Deshpande, who passed his fifty on the stroke of stumps, will need to continue their solid start if Vidarbha seek to press for a result.
ScorecardJagtar Singh’s four-wicket haul left Assam in arrears after Jammu & Kashmir posted 252 on day two at Guwahati, with only J Arunkumar’s unbeaten 40 standing tall amid the rubble. Kavaljit Singh, J&K’s middle-order batsman, top-scored with 76 as the tourists struggled against the Assam spin duo of Anand Katti and A Konwar, who bagged seven wickets between them.
Play to be rescheduled following political problems within the Himachal Pradesh camp.

Lancashire 96 for 4 v Essex
ScorecardNews that Tom Smith’s back operation promised to be a success lifted a grey Manchester day•Getty Images

As the clans gathered at Cardiff and Yorkshire ran through Warwickshire quicker than stomach trouble on a campsite, one did not have to be a cricketing paranoid to think that the main action was taking place many miles away from Emirates Old Trafford this damp Monday.The only optimistic note of the grey afternoon was struck when it was reported that Tom Smith ‘s back operation had been a success. Smith was appointed Lancashire captain in February but has been able to lead his team in just one championship game this season.Yet the 25.4 overs that were possible on the first day of Lancashire’s Division Two match against Essex were important to players in both teams. By common agreement Lancashire produced their worst championship cricket of the season in last week’s grimy draw against Northamptonshire. Glamorgan, third, may trail by 50 points but they have a couple of games in hand and still have to play Lancashire twice. Ashley Giles will be on the lookout for the least speck of complacency among his players.And as Glamorgan fought their own battle against the weather in the urban pastoral of Queen’s Park, Chesterfield, they may have been heartened to hear of Lancashire’s struggle to a very moderate 96 for 4 against Essex on a day when James Porter added Paul Horton and Karl Brown to the 15 opening batsmen he had already sent packing this season.Porter bowls with a commendably high action and he is not scared to pitch the ball up. Those qualities may have led to him being milked for a few boundaries as the openers added 48 in 8.2 overs on the first morning but they also helped him achieve his successes.The first of these came when Horton pushed forward at a ball which moved enough off the seam to catch the outside edge and fly to the safe hands of Jesse Ryder at first slip; the second arrived just two balls later as Porter’s bounce surprised Karl Brown with the resulting nick being safely cupped by second slip Liam Dawson.If that catch helped Dawson feel that he belonged in the first game of his one-month loan from Hampshire, what happened over the next 15 overs may have turned him into an adopted son of Southend. Summoned into the attack by James Foster in the 16th over of Lancashire’s innings, the slow left-armer’s third ball had Alviro Petersen leg before for 14 when he played back to a delivery to which he might have gone forward.Having lunched on a moderate 92 for 3, the home side’s innings trespassed into outright mediocrity when Ashwell Prince tried to pull the first ball of the afternoon session to the boundary but only bottom-edged it onto his stumps. That gave Dawson his second wicket of a day which was soon to be cut short by the weather. A typically pugnacious clout over mid-on by the new batsman, Alex Davies, was the last scoring shot before a shower sent the players back to the pavilion just before two o’clock.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has delayed its probe into allrounder Marlon Samuels’ alleged bookie connection, which was raised by the police on West Indies’ tour of India in February 2007. Julian Hunte, the WICB president, has said that they cannot investigate the matter until they know the nature of the charge against Samuels.The ICC had asked the WICB to investigate Samuels after receiving a report from its anti-corruption and security unit. The ICC said the report contained allegations that Samuels indulged in “inappropriate activity” and behaved in a manner that was “prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket”, and asked the WICB to submit the results of the investigation by January 31, 2008.”What the WICB has done is to write to the ICC, asking them for a copy of the report, so that we will know what Samuels has been charged with,” Hunte told the . “The WICB will await receipt of the report to enable it to determine how it proceeds to carry out an investigation, if any, in terms of the Samuels affair.”Hunte refused to comment on whether the investigation would hinder Samuels’ chances of selection for the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa later this year.”I honestly do not know … and this is the honest, possible truth. A lot depends on the selectors, a lot depends on when the investigation is started, and they are so many imponderables that it would be wrong for me to speculate,” Hunte said. “What I can promise, whatever we put in place will be fair and transparent, and Samuels should have no fear.”On February 7, the Nagpur police had charged Samuels with sending team information to Mukesh Kochar, an alleged bookie, on the eve of the first one-dayer in Nagpur on January 21. At the time, Samuels defended himself and said he had known the man for many years and he was a family friend. The ICC allowed Samuels to take part in the World Cup and beyond, pending a final assessment.

Division One

Phil Jaques and Stephen Moore combined for an opening stand of 234, and Vikram Solanki also hit a hundred, as Surrey’s woes continued on a tough first day against Worcestershire at New Road. Jaques was in typically belligerent form, bringing up his ton off 126 balls, and his innings eventually included 17 fours and two sixes when he was caught behind off Matthew Nicholson. But Surrey’s bowlers continued to toil with Moore crossing to a hundred for the first time this season before being stumped off Ian Salisbury. Although Salisbury provided the breakthrough it was an unproductive day for the spinners with he and Chris Schofield going for 165 off 44 overs. With the openers having done their job, Solanki reached three figures shortly before the close and Surrey had another day to forget.Mark Chilton struck his first century of the season as Lancashire fought back from a poor start during a closely contested encounter with Durham at Chester-le-Street. Chilton’s 115 was vital for Lancashire after they’d slipped to 63 for 3 – with Brad Hodge out for 1 – following their decision to bat first. The recovery began slowly, but Chilton’s fourth-wicket stand of 140 alongside Stuart Law built during the afternoon until, with Law – dropped on 5 by Will Smith – appearing set for another large score, he fell to Ottis Gibson for 60. Chilton, though, went to his hundred from 185 balls before being stumped off the last ball before tea. Luke Sutton and Glen Chapple pushed their side closer to 300 during the evening session, while former New Zealand offspinner Paul Wiseman collected his second wicket. Bad light ended player 14 overs early.Centuries from Joe Sayers and Anthony McGrath made it a tough day for Kent as Yorkshire built a strong first-innings position at Tunbridge Wells. The pair added 204 for the second wicket with Sayers hitting his third Championship ton of a fruitful campaign and McGrath his first to follow his fine one-day form. McGrath was marginally faster to three figures, 220 balls to Sayers’ 233, but was trapped by Andrew Hall three balls after reaching the landmark. Sayers remained unbeaten through to the close and, despite a failure for Younis Khan, Yorkshire are ideally placed to push onto a monstrous total.Sussex failed to make the most of a solid start against Hampshire at Arundel although Mushtaq Ahmed’s late fifty redressed the balance somewhat. Chris Nash and Richard Montgomerie laid a foundation of 105, but Shane Warne and Chris Tremlett shared the top four wickets as Sussex slipped to 130 for 4. Chris Adams (52) and Andrew Hodd (28) added 77 then another four wickets fell for 26 after Shaun Udal removed Adams. However, Mushtaq brought out the long handle and swung a 43-ball 54, adding 69 with Luke Wright, to edge Sussex over 300. He fell to the final ball of the day, bowled by Stuart Clark for his first scalp, while the bowling honours went to Warne and Tremlett.

Division Two

2nd daySeventeen-year-old James Harris has already produced the goods with the ball this season, now he as shown his ability with the bat becoming the youngest Glamorgan player to score a Championship half-century. His unbeaten 87, alongside a stand of 185 with Robert Croft, who made 115, meant Glamorgan reached the heights of 429 after being 193 for 8 on the first day against Nottinghamshire at Swansea. Croft’s hundred, his seventh in 341 first-class matches, took 158 balls but it wouldn’t have been possible without Harris’s support. He faced 224 balls and was not all defense, either, striking 11 boundaries before Dean Cosker fell for 30 to leave him 13 short of a memorable century. Nottinghamshire were strongly placed in reply at 143 for 1, but Cosker nipped out Jason Gallian (78) and, crucially, Stephen Fleming for eight via a brilliant catch at slip. However, the final say went to Harris as he trapped Mark Wagh lbw and removed Chris Read with the last ball of the day.Derbyshire continued to control their clash against Gloucestershire at Derby after declaring on 500 for 9 and taking five wickets. Ant Botha built on Steve Stubbings’ opening-day century, adding 93 with Greg Smith and 85 with James Pipe, but was run out two short of his ton. When Simon Katich eventually ended the innings, after 157 overs, his bowlers set about making full use of the total under their belts. From 83 for 1 Gloucestershire slumped to 120 for 5 as Tom Lungley took three wickets, including Chris Taylor for a third-ball duck.1st dayRonnie Irani’s runs will be sorely missed by Essex, but in Ravi Bopara they have a run-machine of the present and future, or at least until England take him away. He hit his second consecutive Championship ton to give Essex the honours against Northamptonshire at Chelmsford on the day Irani announced his retirement. Bopara was dropped twice, on 0 and 90, before reaching his hundred, with a powerful cut, off 182 balls. His knock included a six over long on and he ended the day four short of his career-best. He added 116 for the second wicket with Varun Chopra, a stand broken by a sharp catch from Stephen Peters, a former Essex player, at slip off Jason Brown. Grant Flower then provided solid support, in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 182, as the home side accumulated steadily.Somerset overwhelmed Leicestershire on the opening day at Taunton, racing into a lead of 189 after skittling the visitors for 168. Steffan Jones grabbed 6 for 61, ripping through Leicestershire’s middle order. The paltry effort was put into stark perspective when Marcus Trescothick and Neil Edwards sped past the total shortly after tea and both went onto post centuries. Edwards’ came first, off 114 balls, followed by Trescothick’s second of the season and he had time to pass 150 before the close. Somerset screamed along at nearly six-an-over and Stuart Broad, who conceded 84 off 12 overs, will be wondering if he timed his return from injury correctly.

International matches will be played at the Gabba next summer after XXXX, Queensland Cricket’s long-term sponsor, agreed to remove signs to their beach cricket series. Cricket Australia, who is backed by a rival brewer, wanted each state to sign a sponsorship agreement to avoid ambush marketing at the stadiums or they would be ineligible to host games.Queensland Cricket reached an agreement this afternoon following an emergency meeting with the beer company, which has sponsored the state association since 1993. “XXXX put the interests of the cricket-loving public ahead of their commercial interest,” Graham Dixon, the Queensland Cricket chief executive, said. “We had been working towards this for a number of months with a view to meeting next week’s deadline imposed by Cricket Australia and were disappointed that this final stage was played out in the media.”Queensland Cricket will be required to “partially compensate” XXXX for the loss of the rights. “All the states can focus on whether the broader policy that we are being asked to sign is in the best interests of state cricket or whether it will undermine our ability to attract sponsorship revenue and ultimately affect grassroots cricket,” Dixon said.Dixon denied claims the issue revolved around ambush marketing by XXXX against one of Cricket Australia’s main sponsors. “It is difficult to imagine how a company which has backed cricket in this state to the tune of $10 million over a period of more than 13 years and has iron-clad legal entitlements to display signage at the home of the game in Queensland could be accused of ambush marketing,” he said.”XXXX Gold Beach Cricket is clearly differentiated from any Cricket Australia competition and therefore cannot possibly be ambush marketing.” The series features retired players from Australia – the Cricket Australia director Allan Border is the captain – England and West Indies in a modified game on the sand and is telecast by Channel Ten.

Scorecard

Last-placed South Australia are on the verge of taking first-innings points against the competition leaders Tasmania despite a seven-wicket haul from Ben Hilfenhaus. The Tigers lost three batsmen in the last four overs of the day to finish at 7 for 196 in reply to South Australia’s 349.Tasmania’s chase started poorly when Shaun Tait (3 for 41) and Jason Gillespie made two breakthroughs each to leave the home side at 4 for 79. A 112-run partnership between Travis Birt and Daniel Marsh (57 not out) gave the Tigers hope but Dan Cullen trapped Birt lbw for 71 late in the day, sparking a mini-collapse.Cullen had Sean Clingeleffer caught by Daniel Harris for 1 before Tait finished on a high, claiming Brett Geeves lbw for 1 with the last ball of the day.The Redbacks resumed at 5 for 288 and Darren Lehmann (57) quickly brought up his half-century before he became Hilfenhaus’s first victim of the day. Hilfenhaus, who had claimed three wickets on day one, finished with 7 for 79 – the best figures by any bowler in the Pura Cup this season. He and the in-form Andy Bichel now lead the competition with 19 dismissals each.

The Barmy Army is considering cancelling its tour of Australia after members were “treated like schoolchildren” by security staff at the Gabba. The group’s founder Paul Burnham said if things continued in the same vein the tour could be abandoned.”Absolutely. We are waiting to see how it develops before giving advice to people coming over [from England] for the Sydney and Melbourne Tests,” Burnham told . He said he was infuriated that the Barmy Army’s official trumpet player Billy Cooper was escorted from the ground on Thursday, given that Cooper had been given permission to play.”I flew over to Melbourne in May and talked to Cricket Australia about the trumpet,” Burnham said. “We were told he would be able to play at the ground and he was quite good for stopping the Mexican wave. We were getting some pretty positive vibes back and then all of a sudden he’s been ejected.”He played his trumpet in the morning and it was fine. We got our third wicket [in the second session] and suddenly he was asked to leave the ground. Everyone was having a really good time, there was a great atmosphere in the ground, we sat next to the Boony Army guys and there was some great banter. Now the whole thing is ruined.”

Burnham said it was also disappointing that seat allocations meant thousands of England supporters were scattered all around the Gabba, which made them feel “not very welcome at all”. He said “an awful lot” of Barmy Army members had not bothered to attend the second day, instead watching the match from their hotel.Burnham, who came up with the idea of the Barmy Army during the 1994-95 Ashes tour, said Cricket Australia were ruining the spirit of the game. “They believe the Barmy Army will help England win so it just seems everything is geared to try and make sure there is no fun in the game,” he said. “We just want to come over and have a good time … not to be treated like schoolchildren.”We’ve come back to the country where the Barmy Army started 12 years ago. We are a group that has supported the sport over the last three tours, spent millions of pounds and we are treated like this.”

A top Indian board (BCCI) official today refuted allegations that the Asian bloc had entered into an understanding with the West Indies to bag the rights to host the 2011 World Cup at a recent ICC meeting.The West Indies voted for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but in return the BCCI agreed to play a triangular series at a neutral venue to help raise funds for the Caribbean islands in the lead up to the 2007 World Cup, media reports had said.IS Bindra, a BCCI Marketing Committee member and a former president, rebutted the charges. “We playing the West Indies in North America or the Caribbean had nothing to do with the World Cup bid,” Bindra said. “It was part of the ongoing scheme of playing 25 matches against top teams at neutral venues over a period of five years. Playing in North America would benefit the Caribbean because there is a considerable expatriate population there [North America].”There was no quid pro quo for their support. They voted for us because they thought it was in the best interest of world cricket, and it was morally right, that the 2011 World Cup be held in the subcontinent. We had jointly fought in 1987 when we got the World Cup moved out of England.”Bindra also denied former ICC president Malcolm Gray’s allegation that the subcontinent won the bid by flexing its money muscle. “It was they who had the veto, from 1909 when the ICC was formed to 1993,” Bindra said. “We have always acted like equal partners.”Bindra said he was questioned by the ICC members at the executive board meeting in Dubai earlier this week “for half an hour” when he told them the 2011 World Cup, if held in the subcontinent, would generate USD 400 million more. “I told them that the ICC makes USD two million from a match day whereas we make USD 8.77 million, which is more than four times. The ICC sold the television rights [of 2003 WC] to India for USD 250 million and for seven-eight million USD to Australia.”Asia won the bid to host the 2011 World Cup overcoming a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand by ten votes to three.

Elections to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), due on September 8, could see changes at the top with Vijay Mallya, the Bangalore-based industrialist, offering his support to a campaign against the ruling faction. The campaign, headed by Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, seeks to remove the bloc led by Brijesh Patel.Mallya, whose businesses include Kingfisher Airlines and United Breweries, takes the first step towards his direct involvement with cricket by being made president of the Select Cricket Club, of which AV Jayaprakash, the former international umpire, is secretary. Mallya has used his financial clout in other sports, including horse racing and football.At the moment it is unclear if Mallya can hold office but, should he wish to make an entry into cricket, his home state of Karnataka – and the Select club – would be an obvious starting ground.Mallya’s declaration of support for Wadiyar has been welcomed by former cricketers Erapalli Prasanna and Syed Kirmani, who have been pushing for a change of guard saying the present administration lacked transparency. Wadiyar, in a statement where he also referred to having received Mallya’s backing, promised to better the administration of the association in all aspects and spoke about delinking team selection from private cricket academies or coaching camps.Patel, KSCA secretary and a former Indian Test batsman, has been part of the board’s ruling bloc for nine years. He refused to comment on Mallya’s stand.

The Asian Cricket Council looks set to take control of organising an international match to raise money for victims of the Asian earthquake.Although the plans are in the embryo stage, Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said: “During a recent conversation with Jagmohan Dalmiya [ACC president], an ACC-sponsored relief match was considered. We agreed to examine possible dates for an international match in the next few days.”The ICC had considered organising a relief match for the Super Series in Sydney, but players from South Africa and New Zealand were unavailable and there wasn’t enough time to organise sponsorship and TV rights.The PCB and the England & Wales Cricket Board recently agreed to dedicate the entire gate receipts of the first ODI between the two countries at Lahore on December 10 to the relief fund.