It was a much-improved performance against Bermuda, but Canada are still the favourites to qualify from our group, after they beat us earlier in the year. In many people’s eyes, USA v Canada is the world’s oldest cricket international, and so we were all well aware of the historical significance of the match. The PA system announced details, and there were books and pamphlets available to the crowd.And it was a good crowd too, perhaps some 2000 people turned out for the second day’s play. Until John Davison’s intervention [he took 17 wickets in the match], it had been an evenly balanced contest, but on the third day the game finished early, so we held a 25-over match to keep the spectators happy.Cricket is slowly catching on in USA, ever since our success in the competition in Sharjah, there has been an increased publicity, and the folks back home are getting interested. Of course, it’s the one-day format that has more chance of success over here, and in Florida especially, there is a tremendous potential. New York and California have high levels of competitors as well, but unfortunately there aren’t many more centres where cricket has caught on.There’s not a huge amount of homegrown talent just yet either. Currently there are two American-born Caucasians in the squad, with the rest of Asian or Caribbean heritage, but the local politicians are very, very keen on developing the game further. In that respect, it was a huge blow that we missed out on hosting a match in the 2007 World Cup. We had all been anticipating a fixture, and though we’re disappointed, it won’t halt the process.And so our preparations have taken us to a training camp in Bermuda, and onto the Americas Cup, where we did pretty well, although unfortunately we lost to Canada again, which is becoming a bit of a habit! But all this is standing us in good stead ahead of the Champions’ Trophy in England in September. Victory is improbable over there, but our aim is simply to expose the level of cricket that we are capable of attaining. It’s not just another fixture for us – we have to be positive, and take away good memories of the tournament.Our Canadian nemesis, Davison, has played first-class cricket in Australia, so he is a bit of a taste of what we can expect against Australia and New Zealand in that tournament! We simply have to learn from his example – his professionalism was apparent in every facet of his game, especially when he won the match for them in Bermuda, despite suffering from a nasty stomach virus.The Pro Cricket 20-over competition has apparently begun reasonably successfully. It’s been decided that USA players cannot take part, which is a shame, but let’s hope the competition gets ICC and USACA recognition, and we can all take it on from there.

ScorecardSuperSport Park in Centurion once again lived up to its reputation as yet another game ended in excitement – the Eagles prevailed in a close fight with the Titans by a margin of three wickets with two balls to go.Set a target of 265, the Eagles got off to a flier with Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus putting on 82 in the first 12 overs. When Beukus was out for 31, Benjamin Hector came to the crease. Though wickets fell around him regularly, he raced away to score 98 not out off 89 balls to secure the win for the Eagles.A maiden hundred from Alviro Petersen (115 not out) and a 50 from Justin Kemp, along with a 53-run partnership in the final five overs from Albie Morkel and Petersen gave the Titans the impetus to post a competitive total of 264 for 4.
ScorecardAt Newlands in Cape Town an undefeated 101 from Andrew Puttick could not save Western Province Boland as the Dolphins ran away to a 33-run win.A 92 from Dale Benkenstein averted the Dolphins’s embarrassment as they limped to 225 for 5. Imraan Khan, Doug Watson and Jon Kent could not convert good starts, and it was left to Benkenstein and Lance Klusener (24 not out) to pick up the pieces. They did that adequately, putting on 59 in the last seven overs.On a pitch where 226 was achievable, WPB struggled. The innings never got off the ground as wickets fell around Puttick. Applying himself, he played with ease but could not find a willing partner. Henry Davids, the next best on 24, tried hard but in the end a lack of application cost WPB dearly.

Points TableDelhi 251 and 222 for 2 (Gambhir 126, Chopra 62*) beat Bengal 240 and 232 (Dasgupta 56, Shukla 51, Bhandari 5-61, Kunal 4-72) by 8 wickets
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Amit Bhandari and Gautam Gambhir combined to power Delhi to a superb win against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Bhandari took 5 for 61 as Bengal, resuming at a comfortable 190 for 3, were shot out for 232, losing seven wickets in just 11.3 overs this morning. Delhi then raced to their target of 222 in less than 50 overs, with Gambhir, coming in at No. 3, blasting 126 off just 111 balls with 20 fours and a six. Aakash Chopra played the sheet-anchor’s role to perfection, scoring an unbeaten 62 and adding 170 for the second wicket with Gambhir. With this win, Delhi moved to second in Group A and significantly increased their chances of making it to the last four, while Bengal slumped to last place and were in danger of relegation.Mumbai 292 and 264 for 8 dec beat Karnataka 166 and 185 (Joshi 45*, Powar 5-84) by 205 runs
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Mumbai further consolidated their position at the top of Group A, beating Karnataka by a convincing 205-run margin at the Wankhede Stadium to register their fourth win in six games. Requiring an improbable 391 for victory after Mumbai declared at their overnight total of 264 for 8, Karnataka lost wickets at regular intervals and never had a chance. Sunil Joshi, Karnataka’s most successful bowler with nine wickets in the match, made a defiant unbeaten 45, but the rest of the batsmen crumbled against Mumbai’s spin duo of Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni. Powar took five for 84 to add to the four wickets he took in the first innings, while Kulkarni’s three wickets gave him a match haul of eight.Uttar Pradesh 282 and 234 for 5 (Shamshad 78, Yadav 50) beat Maharashtra 394 and 119 by 5 wickets
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Rizwan Shamshad and Jyoti Prakash Yadav led Uttar Pradesh as they completed a superb come-from-behind win at Karad. Trailing by 112 runs in the first innings, UP bundled Maharashtra out for 119 in the second innings, and then confidently achieved the victory target of 232, losing only five wickets. Shamshad made 78 and Yadav struck 50, but the crucial partnership came between Shamshad and Anurag Shukla. The two added 114 for the fourth wicket, taking UP from a wobbly 92 for 3 to a safe 206 for 4. From there, it was a canter.Railways 263 and 270 for 4 dec (Pagnis 145, Bangar 51) beat Andhra Pradesh 202 and 198 (Varma 50, Jai P Yadav 4-38) by 133 runs
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Railways won their first Ranji game of the season, beating Andhra Pradesh by 133 runs at Anantapur. Amit Pagnis powered Railways’ second innings with a 175-ball 145, which allowed them to declare on 270 for 4 and give their bowlers enough time to take ten wickets. They managed that, thanks to Jai P Yadav, who took 4 for 38 as AP were bowled out for just 198. The win lifted Railways to fourth in Group A, while AP slid to sixth spot.Gujarat 353 and 124 for 1 (Joshipura 68*) drew with Madhya Pradesh 280 (Tomar 55*, Makda 5-69)
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Gujarat took the first-innings points after their match against Madhya Pradesh ended in a tame draw at Ahmedabad. Resuming at their overnight total of 242 for 7, MP were bowled out for 280, 73 short of Gujarat’s first-innings total. A Makda and Hitesh Majumdar shared nine wickets, with Makda taking a five-for. For MP, B Tomar battled bravely to score an unbeaten 55. With nothing at stake once the first-innings lead had been obtained, Gujarat eased to 124 for 1 in their second innings.
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Baroda completed a stunning fightback and enhanced their prospects of reaching the semi-final stage after a four-wicket win against Tamil Nadu at Vadodara. Having completed all their league games, Tamil Nadu will now await the results of the last league round. Chasing 272 for victory, Baroda were in a deep hole at 113 for 5 but Kiran Powar and Yusuf Pathan added 159 in an unbeaten seventh-wicket stand and sealed the win. Powar stroked 11 fours in his steady 90 while Yusuf, Irfan’s brother, cracked 81 in 124 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. For the second successive game Baroda came back from a low first-innings score to triumph in a thrilling chase. They take on Uttar Pradesh in the final league game, beginning on December 31, and need to win with a bonus point to ensure a place in the last four.
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Hyderabad’s 60-run win in a low-scoring scrap gave them a great chance of entering the semi-finals. Chasing 278 for victory, Punjab couldn’t manage sizeable partnerships as Gaurav Gupta, who made a solid 87, lost partners at regular intervals. Gupta was stranded on 87 when the last wicket fell. Narender Pal Singh, the medium pacer, snapped up four wickets while Inder Shekar Reddy, the left-arm spinner, picked up three. Earlier VRV Singh, Punjab’s 20-year-old fast bowler, completed a great match with six wickets in the second innings, and finished with 13 for 115 for the game. The Punjab batsmen, though, faltered in both innings and though they were still favourites to make it to the semi-finals, big wins for Baroda and Hyderabad in the final league game would snuff out their chances.

World Vision (Australia) have pledged $500,000 to Sri Lanka Cricket’s fundraising appeal called Cricket-Aid, which will provide emergency relief to 1000 tsunami victims in the short term and also house 200 families in four `Cricket Villages’ in the long term.World Vision, the ICC’s official charity for their tsunami appeal, was approached by Sri Lanka Cricket and agreed in principle to the donation pending the receipt of a full proposal. The funds are being raised from television rights, gate receipts and memorabilia sales.Cricket-Aid, supported by Sri Lanka’s cricketers, was launched on Wednesday by the cricket board with a $25,000 donation from the Emirates Cricket Board. The aim is to raise $2 million over the coming weeks.Relief camps are being set-up in Dambulla, Matara and Badulla to provide shelter to those displaced by the disaster. Plans are also underway for the development of four `Cricket Villages’ in Killinochi and Ampara in the east, Matara in the south and Kalutara in the west.But Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya have appealed for even more donations to help rebuild their devastated country. Muralitharan, who will make his comeback from shoulder surgery in the fundraising match at the MCG, told reporters on Sunday: “There are millions of people homeless. [Their homes] need rebuilding – that’s the most important thing. If they don’t have houses, they can’t live.”Jayasuriya lost his family home in Matara – one of the designated Cricket Villages – which is 60 miles south of Colombo. “People who were there at the market: most of them died,” he said. “The house, the walls have gone, inside things have gone. We will have to rebuild again. People have lost their houses, lost their loved ones. It’s a very sad thing for our country. We need help from the international community coming and giving choppers and getting the food to the people.”

Zimbabwe A 266 for 8 (Ervine 69*, Dabengwa 52, al Hasan 3-53) v Bangladesh A
ScorecardZimbabwe A recovered from an indifferent start in the third and final Test against Bangladesh at the Kwekwe Sports Club, and had reached 266 for 8 by the end of the first day. Bangladesh A lead the three-match series 2-0.Deon Ebrahim won the toss and decided to bat, but at 88 for 5 – and later 141 for 6 – his decision wasn’t looking inspired. Ebrahim himself made a dogged 33, from 130 balls, but Winston Siziba and Vusi Sibanda both fell to Saqibul Hasan, the 15-year-old left-arm medium-pacer, who finished up with 3 for 53 from 32 overs.Much interest centred on the return to the Zimbabwe fold of the former “rebel” Andy Blignaut, but he gave a return catch to Sanwar Hossain after scoring only 10.Zimbabwe A were rescued by a rearguard led by Sean Ervine’s younger brother Craig, who hit 69 not out and shared a seventh-wicket partnership of 77 with Keith Dabengwa, whose 52 included eight fours. Blessing Mahwire then contributed a forthright 28, from 30 balls with five fours, and the final score was an improvement for the Zimbabweans.

Injuries sustained during the VB Series have rendered several West Indian players unavailable for the ongoing Carib Beer Series, the premier domestic competition in the West Indies.Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Mervyn Dillon and Ian Bradshaw are among the affected. Lara requires at least three weeks’ rest for a blow received to the wrist in his first game of the VB Series. Dillon will see no action for two weeks due to a troubled knee, Bradshaw will rest his injured heel for a fortnight, while Gayle be out of action for three weeks so that his damaged shoulder recovers.Only Bravo, who shone for West Indies in Australia will participate in games, but will not bowl nor throw, which limits the considerable influence he exerts on the field.

The Gauteng women’s cricket team were crowned UCBSA champions after they romped to a 64-run victory against Border at East London on Sunday.Gauteng reached 200 for 7 after being sent in to bat: South Africa’s international Daleen Terblanche topscored with 45 from 81 balls. She shared an opening stand of 92 with Kerry Laing, and then their captain, Tamara Reeves,lifted the side with 41. Kirsten Blair added 28 late on in the innings.Genevieve Fritz was Border’s most successful bowler. She removed the opening pair and Liechen Reid. The offspinner Elodi Pienaar also bowled well, conceding just 26 runs from ten overs.Border were pegged back by Gauteng’s opening bowlers, they had crawled to 27 for 1 by the 18th over. But Kuselwa Soka (33) and the captain Leisel Jordaan (27) posted 60 between them to give the hosts a fighting chance. However, both fell on 98 and thereafter the innings collapsed.