The touring Kenyan team scored the first victory of their fortnightlong tour of India when they defeated Mumbai CA XI by seven wickets atthe Brabourne stadium on Monday. The visitors had earlier lost to TataSC in a one day match at Mumbai and then drew with Maharashtra CA XIin a two day game at Pune.Put in to bat, the Mumbai side were dismissed for 153 in 47.1overs. They never really recovered after opening bowlers Suji andOdoyo got rid of the first four batsman – A Rane, skipper Amit Pagnis,Sushant Manjrekar and Kiran Powar – with only 46 runs on theboard. The middle order boosted the score a bit with A Dani at No 7getting 32 and Mussavir Khote at No 8 scoring 26. The two put on 39runs for the seventh wicket from 13 overs after six wickets had gonefor 93 – the highest stand of the innings. Odoyo, Suji, Tikolo andOdumbe all took two wickets each.It was far from smooth sailing for Kenya as they commenced theirreply. Openers KO Otieno and RD Shah were out midway through the fifthover with only nine runs on the board. However HS Modi (19) and SteveTikolo weathered the early storm by adding 50 runs for the thirdwicket off 13.4 overs. It was then left to the experienced duo ofTikolo and skipper Maurice Odumbe to apply the finishing touches withan unbeaten fourth wicket partnership of 97 runs off 16 overs. Tikolohit 84 off 89 balls with nine fours and two sixes while Odumbe’s 34was compiled off 48 balls and included two hits to the ropes.

Fine bowling by off spinner H Vatekar and an unbeaten century by opening batsman Krishna Mohan highlighted the final day’s play in the Coca Cola Trophy South Zone (under-25) tournament between Andhra and Karnataka at the Chinnaswamy stadium at Bangalore on Wednesday. Andhra, which who came out better in the drawn game, took five points while Karnataka finished with three.When play resumed in the morning, the stage seemed set for a keen tussle for the first innings lead. But Karnataka, who were 116 for two in reply to Andhra’s 385 were dismissed for 269. The early dismissal of Prajwal Raj who added only one run to his overnight score before he was run out for 42 set them on the backfoot. The other not out batsman Sushanth and SP Shinde (42) however added 43 runs for the fourth wicket in 12.4 overs before the former was also run out for 68. Sushanth faced 106 balls and hit six of them to the ropes. There was a sixth wicket partnership of 56 runs between Shinde and skipper T Aditya (32) which raised hopes of Karnataka challenging strongly for the lead. But with the tail offering little resistance in the face of some inspired bowling by Vatekar, Karnataka slid from 228 for five to 269 all out. Vatekar finished with four for 59.Andhra, with a lead of 116 runs, got some good batting practice in the second innings. Openers LNP Reddy (52) and Krishna Mohan hit 109 runs off 19.5 overs. Reddy faced 55 balls and hit four fours and a six. Krishna Mohan remained unbeaten with 105 after facing only 102 balls and hitting 15 fours and a six as Andhra were 179 for two when the match was called off after nine mandatory overs.Andhra now meet Kerala from April 21 to 23.

Western Province vice-captain Alan Dawson again underlined what a canny competitor he is with the ball as he took all four Natal wickets on a day which ended with the home side holding the upper hand.After eventually being dismissed shortly after lunch for 352, Province had reduced a moribund Natal batting line-up to 118 for four when bad light stopped play nine overs early on the second day at Newlands.Dawson took his wickets in two short but effective bursts, ending the day with figures of 4-32. The openers were his first victims, first Mark Bruyns edging to captain HD Ackerman in the slips with the total on 35, and then Doug Watson tickling one through to Thami Tsolokile behind the stumps a run later.The two dismissals put a halt to the momentum the Natal innings had briefly generated and Ashraf Mall and Andrew Hudson were forced to dig in, offering little more than resolute defence for the next hour or so.With the occasional flurry of attacking strokes, the pair had put on 72 before Dawson came back for another brace. This time he trapped Mall leg before on the front foot and then induced a faint edge from Hudson which brought a fine catch from Tsolokile.Natal’s 118 runs had came at a miserly rate, the scoring rate barely creeping above two per over.Earlier Jacques Kallis had looked a certainty to score what would have been his nineteenth first-class hundred but instead edged a catch to Shaun Pollock at slip just a run short of the milestone. It was the fifth time he has been out in the nineties.Although the departure of Kallis was a setback for Province, Ackerman will have been delighted with the way the tail set about adding further runs.And no one was more impressive than Paul Adams, his undefeated 42 a personal best in the first-class game. But Roger Telemachus and Charl Willoughby also played their part as the last two wickets added 86 runs. They could prove to be vital.

Gujarat played host to Baroda at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad in the Under-16Vijay Merchant Trophy West Zone League. Baroda completed a 115 run victory onThursday thanks to the brilliance of Aditya Bochare who went home with the matchfigures of 13/107.Bochare destroyed Gujarat’s second innings on Thursday picking up 15-4-28-7bowling them out for 102 in 33 overs. On Tuesday winning the toss Baroda electedto bat and made 306 in their first innings. YK Pathan (64) and captain JDNaikwade (54) did well with the bat for Baroda as R Bhatt returned the best ofthe bowling taking 5/72. Gujarat got off to a great start thanks to Partiv Patelwho has been in prolific form this season. Patel added 133 for the first wicketwith AS Rupani who made 50 including 8 boundaries. Patel went on to complete hiscentury and was dismissed by Bochare for 101 which was studded with 13 hits pastthe ropes. Bochare went on to scalp five more victims as he finished with 6/79.Gujarat were bowled out for 283 conceding a 23 run lead to Baroda.Baroda did not do well in their second innings as they were bowled out for 194in 50.5 overs. AP Darji did well to pick 6/72 and Baroda was helped by a halfcentury by Miten Shah who made 53 which included ten strikes to the boundary.218 was the target that Gujarat had to chase for an outright win. Patel onceagain top-scored for Gujarat with 27 as Bochare turned destructive. Baroda tookhome eight points as Gujarat were left with none.

Somerset will be travelling to March on Wednesday June 27th to take on Cambridgeshire of the Minor Counties in the third round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy, which was formerly the Nat West Trophy.If Somerset are successful at March they will play the winners of the match between Glamorgan and Derbyshire at The County Ground on Wednesday July 11th.Details regarding tickets for the Cambridgeshire match can be obtained from The County Ground.

Somerset held on for a 15-run victory over Yorkshire in the Norwich UnionLeague game at Bath, despite some thumping lows from Darren Lehmann in theclosing stages.After Peter Bowler’s 97 and Ian Blackwell’s 76 had steered Somerset to259-7, Yorkshire found themselves at 145-2 with ten overs left.But Lehmann got cracking and his unbeaten, 67-ball innings of 75, whichincluded four fours and three sixes, kept hopes alive until the final over.He and Yorkshire captain David Byas put on 103 for the third wicket, butByas’s anchor role 81 from 118 balls was a touch slow initially.Steffan Jones was the pick of Somerset’s bowlers with 4-40 while Jamie Groveand Keith Dutch took spectacular catches in the deep to remove Byas and GaryFellows.After being put into bat, Somerset lost makeshift opener Jason Kerr, PiranHollway and pinch-hitter Richard Johnson to Paul Hutchison’s left-arm seamto leave them on 53-3 inside 12 overs.But Mark Lathwell helped Bowler put on 57 for the next wicket, before beingstumped off Ian Fisher, and then Blackwell joined Somerset’s former captainfor their match-winning stand.Bowler, who missed the Championship game with Yorkshire because he wassitting law exams in Nottingham, struck ten fours and a six in his 129-ballinnings before being denied his sixth limited overs century by a MatthewHoggard catch at short fine leg off Gavin Hamilton.Blackwell lived up to his big-hitting reputation by cracking five fours andfour sixes in his 54-ball innings, which ended with a skied slog that gaveCraig White a return catch.Rob Turner and Mike Burns maintained the tempo with an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 24 from the last three overs.But it was a bowling display to forget for England international Hoggard,who bowled four no-balls in his nine-over spell of 1-72.

Warwickshire’s run chase against Gloucestershire at Bristol came to a soggy end when heavy rain wiped out play after 4.45pm.The visitors, set 239 to win in a minimum of 42 overs, were 113-2 in the 22nd over when they came off and in a reasonable position to claim their fourth CricInfo Championship Division Two success of the season.Discarded England opener Nick Knight was well set on 47 not out, while David Hemp was unbeaten on five.Michael Powell fell for 16 when he was well caught by Jeremy Snape, running back from cover, off strike bowler Ben Gannon.Mark Wagh, playing with the confidence which brought him 89 in the first innings, had scored a brisk 37 when he was caught at midwicket by Mark Alleyne from the bowling of spinner Martyn Ball.Earlier, Jack Russell and Jeremy Snape had been largely responsible for extending Gloucestershire’s second innings to 297 and into early afternoon.The pair shared a sixth wicket stand of 136 before Snape was caught and bowled by Neil Smith for 89.Russell, in a typically obdurate innings, occupied the crease for 275 minutes and 240 balls for his 91 not out.Smith finished as Warwickshire’s most successful bowler with 3-57 from 24 overs.Gloucestershire, meanwhile, have confirmed that their England A pace bowler Jon Lewis, out of action for the past month, will miss Saturday’s Benson & Hedges Cup final with Surrey at Lord’s amid fears that he has a stress fracture of the back.The county learned on Friday that vice-captain and opening batsman TimHancock would be sidelined for the final after he broke a bone in his right hand during fielding practice.

After seeing his side enjoy by far the best of the first day’s play against Glamorgan at Taunton today Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me “We put up a good performance out there today, and we looked a very good side.The pitch was very quick, which suited our attack, and all of our bowlers used the conditions well. All credit to Phil Frost and his team.”When I asked him what he was hoping for tomorrow he said, “We will be looking to build a big score and then to bowl them out again.”

The selection of the Indian team for the Asian Test Championship (ATC)to be played in Pakistan next month, will take place after thegovernment’s permission is obtained, BCCI secretary JY Lele said inBaroda on Saturday.The BCCI president AC Muthiah met the Union Sports Minister Uma Bhartiin New Delhi on Friday and discussed this matter among other things,Lele told reporters. Bharti said it was for the External AffairsMinistry to take a decision on the Indian team’s participation in theATC, Lele added.

Good form developed by Mark Richardson and Matthew Bell in New Zealand’s Test series against Pakistan last summer has seen them ensconced as the preferred combination for the return series next month.That means there is no room in the team announced today by selection chairman Sir Richard Hadlee for Matthew Horne.Horne batted with a broken hand while scoring a century in last summer’s first Test, a victory over Zimbabwe, then played the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe. He contracted a virus that forced him out of cricket before the start of the Pakistan series.Instead of Horne’s experience, the selection panel of Hadlee, Ross Dykes, Brian McKechnie and Denis Aberhart have decided the form shown on the New Zealand A tour of India by Lou Vincent is worth rewarding.The side is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Matthew Bell, James Franklin, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Shayne O’Connor, Jacob Oram, Adam Parore, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Glen Sulzberger, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.Hadlee said that as the incumbents, Richardson and Bell, had performed so well with three partnerships in excess of 50 last summer, including a stand of 181 in the 407/4 declared in the third Test innings victory over Pakistan, they would continue but Horne was “still very much in the frame.”He too had some good form on the Indian tour with NZ A but it was a case of easing him back into international play and he would be considered when the time was right.”Lou Vincent has been in magnificent form in India and his selection has been well advanced and the natural progression for him is to continue in the Test side,” he said.Hadlee pointed to the century Vincent scored in the Buchi Babu tournament against Indian Railways which secured the chance for victory and a place in the final. His 102 not out off 102 balls was backed up by a century in the final.”The team needed something special to win in that semi-final and he did it,” he said.Just where Vincent would fit into the batting line-up was not the selectors’ consideration. He was versatile enough to fit in from three to five but when his selection for a Test match became an issue it would be decided by the on-tour selectors.The selection of Vincent is clearly a rare chance for the selectors to put the pressure on middle-order incumbents, who have been largely unchallenged for their places in recent seasons.Jacob Oram is another whose international status has blossomed. The specially managed return of all-rounder Dion Nash to international play has allowed Oram the chance to build on his experiences and he is seen as a genuine contender for the No 3 bowling role in the side.”He has advanced from a No 4 bowler to a No 3 and has intimidated Indian batsmen in their conditions with the A side,” he said.Shayne O’Connor’s return to the side was no surprise. He is the most senior of the pace merchants available for selection, and his role of leadership in Africa last year in the absence of Chris Cairns, the now retired Geoff Allott and Nash was acknowledged today by Hadlee.”Shayne O’Connor did exceptionally well in Africa last year and was resilient,” he said.The continued advancement of Daryl Tuffey, with Chris Martin and James Franklin as supporting bowlers, meant the pace attack was experienced as it could be, Hadlee said.The selectors had been very impressed with Shane Bond’s work on the NZ A tour in India and he was considered very closely for the tour. Hadlee said he could well be a prospect for the next New Zealand tour, to Australia in November.Bond is the only paceman named among the six standby players also announced today. They are: Paul Wiseman, Brooke Walker, Bond, Chris Nevin, Hamish Marshall and Matthew Horne.Glen Sulzberger won the place as the back-up spinner to Daniel Vettori as the result of his successes on the NZ A tour where he has proven the best of the spinners.Hadlee said Vettori, who has been on a managed return to the bowling crease after a stress fracture in his back was diagnosed last year, was bowling 25 overs a day at the moment, and backing that up the next day.The side has been in camp in Christchurch as preparation for the tour and Hadlee had addressed those players in New Zealand on the selectors’ thinking for the season ahead.”This Test series [Pakistan] is the start of a long hot summer ahead where we play eight consecutive Test matches before the New Year including three against the best team in world cricket – Australia.”We will also play a further three Tests against England at home in March.”Pakistan is an excellent place to start the campaign. The environment is conducive to developing team unity and culture, agreeing a playing style, and setting goals for the summer ahead,” he said.The New Zealand-based players for the One-Day International series leave from Christchurch tomorrow.