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ScorecardFile photo – Adam Voges prepared for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand with a patient 149•AFP

Ed Cowan retired hurt and will take no further part in the match after being struck on the helmet by a Joel Paris bouncer as New South Wales started out in their effort to reel in a first innings deficit against Western Australia on day three of the Sheffield Shield match in Christchurch.Only four more deliveries were bowled after Cowan’s blow before the umpires decided to end the day early due to bad light. Momentarily stunned and distressed, Cowan was able to make his own way off the field after speaking with the NSW team doctor – and Cricket Australia chief medical officer – John Orchard.Under CA’s concussion and head trauma policy, overseen by Orchard, any symptoms of possible concussion require full off-field assessment and a conservative recovery plan. It states in part:”The full assessment is critical in determining medical management decisions for the participant. Serious head injury cannot be ruled out by a 30 second assessment due to the variability of the presentation of symptoms, delay in evolution of presentation of symptoms, difficulty in making a timely diagnosis and the specificity and sensitivity of sideline assessment tools.”The bulk of the day saw WA’s batsmen dominate, with the Test No. 5 Adam Voges making a patient 149 as the backbone of the innings. He was aided by a fluent 93 from the wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman, while Nathan Rimmington enjoyed himself in making 48 down the order.Doug Bollinger, Trent Copeland and the Test spinner Nathan Lyon claimed three wickets apiece, though all were taken for more than 100 runs each as the Warriors settled in on a friendly batting pitch at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.Left with a handful of overs before the close, Paris struck quickly by bowling Daniel Hughes, before the blow to Cowan had Lyon coming out to bat as nightwatchman. The Blues still need another 78 runs on the final morning to get back into credit.

Chris Harris hopes he can still play domestic matches for Canterbury this season despite signing with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Harris joined his former New Zealand team-mates Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Hamish Marshall in joining the ICL, which does not have official backing.Harris turned down a new deal with Canterbury for 2007-08 as New Zealand Cricket said none of its nationally or provincially contracted players would be released to play in the ICL. But Harris expects his ICL commitments to finish in late December and he would like Canterbury to consider picking him after that.”I’d like to think I could play for Canterbury again but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge yet,” Harris told the . “It was hard turning down the Canterbury contract but I wanted to keep my options open. I’d still love to play for Canterbury, if they wanted me in the future.”Although he turns 38 next month, it appears Harris still has plenty to offer at first-class level. Last season he made 428 runs at 42.80 in the State Championship, and collected 13 wickets at 41.38. He was Canterbury’s leading one-day run-scorer with 362 at 60.33 and has just returned from a stint in the Lancashire league, where he topped the competition’s wicket tally with 83 victims.He said reports that he could be paid up to NZ$500,000 for signing with the ICL were not true but the deal was still worth his while. “The numbers are nothing like what have been quoted in the media but are still significant,” he said.Harris was confident the ICL would draw a strong following from the Indian public with big names like Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq already committed to play. “Given how the world Twenty20 event took off and that India won it I’m sure it will be well received over there,” Harris said. “It should be great for the game.”

The BCCI put on a show to match (and in some ways outdo) the ICC awards last night, when they handed out the CK Nayudu awards for lifetime achievement in Indian cricketand felicitated former chiefs of the board and captains of the Test team.Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag were the glamour boys,but it was an evening where the achievements of several greats, the spinquartet in particular, were fondly remembered.A red carpet stretching from the Vinoo Mankad Gate well inside theWankhede Stadium led to an impressive podium set up in front of the SachinTendulkar stand, and on it Ravi Shastri, a former Indian captain himself,acted as the master of ceremonies reading out a roll call of names thatwould impress any cricket fans. And Shastri, unlike some of the Bollywoodbeauties who chattered on and on during the ICC awards, did notmispronounce any cricketers’ names. This was a function for thecricketers, by the cricketers, crisp and to the point, and in that sensefar more enjoyable than the one the ICC had put up at a considerably greater expense.The CK Nayudu Awards for Lifetime achievement were conferred by the famousspin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna andS Venkataraghavan as well as Nawab Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Chandu Borde, former captains of India, and BB Nimbalkar, whose record score of 443 is stillthe highest by an Indian in first-class cricket. The Nayudu Award comeswith a citation and Rs 5,00,000 in cash, an increase from the Rs 2,00,000the previous awardees used to received.The BCCI also used the day to formally inaugurate their headquarters, abuilding housed in the Wankhede Stadium that has been constructed inrecord time. Interestingly, the presence of Mohammad Azharuddin – which initially raised eyebrows among the ICC – did not cause a negative stir. Instead, he was one of the star attractions among the media and the officials of the cricket board.Three former captains – Polly Umrigar, who is ailing, Sourav Ganguly, whois playing in the Duleep Trophy, and Kapil Dev – were not present. Amongformer board presidents BN Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya – no real surprise there- and AC Muthiah, did not turn up. That apart, the function was anunqualified success and, just in case you thought Bollywood was notrepresented, Saif Ali Khan, the son of Tiger Pataudi, was very much aroundwith his two children in tow, as was Sangeeta Bijlani, wife of Azharuddin.And they certainly beat anyone the ICC could throw up – barring PreityZinta, who endorses Hyundai, the sponsors of the ICC awards – in starvalue.List of CK Nayudu awardees: BB Nimbalkar, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan.Past presidents felicitated: PM Rungta, NKP Salve, BN Dutt (absent), ISBindra, Raj Singh Dungarpur, AC Muthiah, Jagmohan Dalmiya (both absent),Ranbir Singh Mahendra.Past captains felicitated: Nari Contractor, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Polly Umrigar, Ajit Wadekar, S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi, GR Visvanath,Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, KrishnamachariSrikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, RahulDravid, Virender Sehwag.

October 27 marks 500 days until the opening ceremony for the 2007 World Cup on Sunday March 11, 2007, and it’s a landmark that event officials and stakeholders should be keenly aware of, explained Donald Lockerbie, the venue development director.Currently in the midst of preparing for a venue summit happening next week in Barbados, he noted: “500 days is a significant milestone. The next 365 days are really most important because the end of October 2006 is the time all host venues have contracted to have the permanent sections of their stadiums completed.” The remainder of the time will be spent outfitting each tournament venue – to ICC specifications – to host the biggest and most spectacular matches in international cricket.”That leaves us with 135 days to get stadiums event-ready. These 500 days will therefore be the busiest as far as venue development is concerned. It will be very exciting for the region,” added Lockerbie, who is also chief operating officer at the tournament.Staff at the World Cup offices in Kingston, Jamaica, celebrated the occasion with photographs at their headquarters on St. Lucia Avenue and in CWC Park – a green space adopted by ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. – on the opposite side of the road. Flags of all nine host venue nations, the 16 participating teams in the 2007 tournament and the ICC were recently raised outside the premises. The tournament logo and a mascot, Mello, have also been erected on the exterior of the building.

Sachin Tendulkar may not be fit in time for the first Test against Australia, which starts in Bangalore on October 6. Andrew Leipus, the team’s physiotherapist, said that it was the worst injury of Tendulkar’s career, and also revealed that the tennis elbow had been aggravated when he was hit by an Ajit Agarkar delivery in Holland.The reported Leipus as saying: “Initially, he responded well in the nets in Holland for the first two days and batted well against the spinners. But then he faced the first ball from Ajit Agarkar which he went back to play down – it kind of complicated his recovery process completely.”The target for Tendulkar, according to Leipus, would be to bat 300 balls a day without experiencing any pain and he added, “We’re looking for him to grab a bat again in another ten days’ time.”Regarding talk that Tendulkar would turn out for the Board President’s XI against Australia in their tour game, Leipus had his doubts. “Usually he doesn’t bother to play in side games, but since he has been out of practice, he might have thought about giving himself a try in that game and made himself available. But I wouldn’t think he would be playing that game.”Tendulkar has been dogged by a number of injuries in the past, but Leipus felt that this was the worst of the lot. “He has had injuries in the past – I wasn’t there when he injured his back – but compared to his toe and finger injury, this could be the worst of his career. Just the fact he wasn’t able to lift the bat has been extremely frustrating to him.”The first Test, in what has been billed as the series of the year, could set the tone for the rest of the four-match contest, and Australia are well aware that they haven’t managed to win a series in India since Bill Lawry’s team triumphed in 1969-70.

Shane Warne has been given permission to play in charity and testimonial matches during his ongoing 12-month drug ban. Cricket Australia (CA), while suspending Warne for his use of diuretics just before the World Cup this year, had included charity and testimonial games in the ban. The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), the body that represents the players, had challenged CA’s authority on this matter. The independent arbitrator who took up the case has now ruled in favour of Warne.Peter O’Callaghan, the barrister arbitrating this case, agreed with the ACA that the memorandum of understanding between the ACA and CA did not give CA the right to prevent players from playing in matches that were not under its aegis. O’Callaghan is expected to give detailed reasons for his decision by the end of this week, with neither party allowed to comment on it until then. Both sides, however, have agreed to abide by the decision.The issue arose when Warne was earlier approached by Lashings, the English charity side, but was not allowed to accept the offer by CA. Warne, who is allowed to train with state and national sides and take part in coaching and promotional clinics, protested, and the matter duly reached arbitration.

The Kwekwe first team had a home game against Harare Sports Club..Kwekwe batted first and started off on a very quiet note, and then thanks to some very good batting by Terry Duffin and Dave Houghton the innings ended on 281 for six. Incidentally Duffin retired hurt during the fifth over after being hit on the head by a bouncer from Brighton Watambwa, but returned in the seventeenth over and played some fantastic shots which included a six and 10 fours. Houghton showed his vast skill and experience by also playing superbly and using all the shots in the book by hitting a six and seven fours.The Kwekwe score card was as follows: Top batsmen being Duffin with 104 not out and Houghton with 65. The middle order also contributed well to the final score, Brendan Vaughan-Davies scoring 29, John Vaughan-Davies 22 and Colin Delport 23. There were two partnerships of note between Duffin and Delport (56 runs off 61 balls in 37 minutes) and Duffin and Houghton (98 runs off 76 balls in 52 minutes). The best bowlers for Harare Sports Club were Bryan Strang with two for 21 off six overs and N. Bala two for 31 off eight overs.Harare Sports Club then batted after lunch and with some very impressive batting from Eddo Brandes, Don Campbell, J. Cornford and Brendan Taylor finished with 286 for seven after 49 overs.Harare Sports Club score was as follows, the top batsman being the old stalwart Brandes with 86 not out consisting of 4 sixes and 6 fours. Campbell scored 40 comprising 1 six and 4 fours, while J. Cornford and B. Taylor scored 33 and 32 respectively. Best bowlers for Kwekwe were C. Macmillan with two for 45 and Dave Houghton two for 57, each from their allotted 10 overs.As you can see by the scores, it was a very close game that could have gone either way. A crowd of faithful supporters gathered at the Sports Club once again and did their utmost to ensure a Sports Club Victory as they cheered every run that was scored and also every boundary that was hit. Harare Sports Club came out on top of this very close and entertaining encounter winners by three wickets.The Kwekwe second team should have travelled to Bulawayo the same day to play against the B.A.C. second team but the match was unfortunately postponed on Friday due to a waterlogged outfield.Kwekwe Queens Sports Club travelled to Shamva and won a very good match, T. Mukadam being the best batsman and J. Moosa the best bowler.Once again I have nothing to report from Gweru.Next week-end will be free as far as Castle Lager Games go in Kwekwe, but a fun day has been organised for Saturday 17 November 2001 with the ZCU Administrators taking on the ZCU Sponsors. It should be a very entertaining day’s cricket no matter what happens. I will give you a full report next week.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has, in a letter to the BCCI, sought clarity on the mooted bilateral series this December, pointing out that it was part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last year by the two boards. The letter, written on Tuesday by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, comes in the wake of a growing sentiment in India – and echoed by the BCCI – that bilateral cricket ties should be suspended given the current political tensions between the two countries.The MOU, for a total of six series between 2015 and 2023, had been agreed to during the ICC meeting last year and was the basis of Pakistan’s conditional support – after initial opposition – to the ICC’s organisational revamp.However political events in the recent past have cast doubts over the revival of the India-Pakistan series as planned. Thakur himself scotched the possibility of cricket resuming till political equations had stabilised. In his letter today, Shaharyar called Thakur’s statement a “negative shadow” on the PCB-BCCI relationship.”I am much hopeful that the Indian government will give its go-ahead to our series regardless of any routine border tension,” Shaharyar wrote. He said the series would help both countries reduce the tension, referring to the series in 1999 when Pakistan toured India despite issues caused by fringe political activists, as well as the return tour by India to Pakistan in 2003-04 despite security concerns.The letter also addressed the issues surrounding Ten Sports’ deal with the PCB. The PCB had recently signed a five-year deal with the broadcaster, but its ties to the Essel Group, which has threatened to form a breakaway international league, had caused issues.ESPNcricinfo understands that some cricket boards had been reluctant to play any series in which Ten Sports is the host broadcaster, leading to a delay in firming up the plans for a series between England and Pakistan.Shaharyar said in the letter that the issues had been resolved and ICC and Ten Sports had agreed on an MOU in which the broadcaster stated that it has no intention of being part of any rival league. Shaharyar met Subhash Chandra (the owner of Ten Sports) in London last month to clear any doubts on the matter. The MOU between the ICC and Ten Sports is, however, reportedly yet to be reviewed by the BCCI.India have not played a bilateral Test series against Pakistan since 2007, though they did host them for two T20Is and three ODIs between December 2012 and January 2013.

Tournament favourites Afghanistan, Nepal and USA recorded comfortable victories on the opening day of the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey.Afghanistan survived a middle-order collapse to beat Japan by 93 runs, Nepal defeated Germany by seven wickets and USA beat Mozambique by nine wickets. Jersey also enjoyed success on a bright and sunny day when they beat Singapore by 93 runs while Norway beat Vanuatu by 183 runs and Botswana saw off the Bahamas by 70 runs.At the Victoria College, Afghanistan suffered a sensational middle-order collapse against Japan when they were bowled out for 179 in 35.4 overs after being 137 for 3. Takuro Hagihara was the pick of Japan bowlers with 5 for 25 while for Afghanistan opener Karim Khan Sedeq top scored with 47. In turn, Japan were bowled out for 80 in 40.2 overs with Hasti Gul Abed bagging 3 for 22.Taj Malik, Afghanistan’s coach, was pleased with his side’s performance and said he never thought his team was in trouble despite posting a small total. “We discussed with the players during the innings break that the pitch was assisting the fast bowlers and if Japan could get us for 180 runs then we should be able to bowl them out for less than 100 runs.”Nepal had few problems against Germany. Set a modest target of 70 runs at the Les Quennevais 1, Nepal raced to victory in 20.2 overs with opener Mahesh Chhetri stroking an unbeaten 23. Earlier, 25-year-old spinner Basant Regmi took 3 for 4 and Mahaboob Alam 3 for 24 as Germany were bowled out in 39.4 overs. “I am happy for my team because it was important for us to get a good start in this tournament which we did,” Binod Kumar Das, Nepal’s captain, said. “We did well with the ball initially and though I think we could have batted better, a win is a win and I am happy it came so comfortably.”At the Farmers Field, USA crushed Mozambique. The feature of the match was a superb knock of 70 not out by Sushil Nadkarni as USA passed the 149-run target in 21.4 overs. Steve Messiah, USA’s captain, was pleased with his team’s performance in their first match in almost two years. “It’s the start we were looking for. We have been out of international cricket for a couple of years and we are now looking forward to moving from strength to strength. Every game will be a big game for us if we are going to qualify for the World … and this is where it all begins for us.”Opener Jersey’s Peter Gough picked up the Man-of-the-Match award for his 69, which included seven boundaries, in his team’s win over Singapore.Norway captain Shahid Ahmed was the only centurion of the day with a brilliant 133 not out to guide his team to 360 for 3 in 50 overs against Vanuatu. Ahmed then completed a fine all-round performance when he claimed 3 for 11 as Vanuatu, who needs wins against two Associate members in Jersey if their application for Associate membership is to be successful, were dismissed for 177.

ScorecardFile photo – Varun Aaron rocked Delhi’s top order and finished with figures of 3 for 27•Getty Images

An unbeaten half-century from Nitish Rana helped Delhi overcome a poor start and pull off a five-wicket win over Jharkhand at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Rana walked in with Delhi 14 for 3 chasing 135, and remained unbeaten on 60 off 44 balls (9×4, 1×6) after seeing them through with two overs to spare. He added 64 for the fourth wicket with Dhruv Shorey (30) and an unbroken 40 for the sixth wicket with Pawan Negi (24 not out). Varun Aaron, who struck twice in the third over of Delhi’s innings, finished with figures of 3 for 27 from his four overs.Sent in to bat, Jharkhand lost wickets at regular intervals, with Virat Singh (45) and Ishank Jaggi (42 off 29, 6×4) putting on the only significant stand of their innings, 62 for the fourth wicket. The highest score either side of that was Kumar Deobrat’s 13, as Delhi’s bowlers, led by Parvinder Awana’s 3 for 28, kept them down to a score of 134 for 7.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh coasted to their second successive win with a seven-wicket win against Gujarat in Mumbai. Chasing 166, Samarth Singh struck an unbeaten 65 – his first fifty – to help Uttar Pradesh romp to the target with an over to spare.Uttar Pradesh lost Prashant Gupta early before Suresh Raina (21 off 12) and Samarth combined for a brisk 31-run stand. Umang Sharma (38) and Samarth then put on 63 to help Uttar Pradesh into the ascendancy. Rush Kalaria picked up two wickets.Earlier, Gujarat rode on a 40-ball 54 from Manpreet Juneja after losing their openers early. However, it was Chirag Gandhi who provided the required impetus to the innings with a quick 41 to help Gujarat to a total of 165 for 6. Praveen Kumar claimed two scalps but it was Piyush Chawla who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1 for 16.
ScorecardShreyas Iyer smashed a 51-ball 86 to lift Mumbai to a comfortable five-wicket win against Vidarbha at the Wankhede Stadium. Mumbai lost Akhil Herwadkar early in the chase of 182, but Iyer and Tare (41) got them back in the contest with a 71-run second-wicket stand. Iyer lost partners regularly but his innings, which featured four fours and six sixes, ensured the damage had been done as Mumbai reached the target with seven balls to spare.After being insterted to bat, Vidarbha posted 181 for 4 on the back of a fifty from Jitesh Sharma (56 off 30) and brisk contributions from Apoorv Wankhade (36) and Urvesh Patel (31). Sagar Trivedi picked up two wickets, but conceded 44 off his four overs.