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Ramnaresh Sarwan has praised Chris Gayle for the way he handled the leadership of the West Indies team in the recent series of limited-overs matches in England and Ireland. Gayle was appointed to lead the West Indies side after Sarwan injured his shoulder in a fall during the second Test against England and had to return home.”I think he was really outstanding, and you have to commend Chris for the way he handled the team during the ODI series,” Sarwan said at the launch of the Digicel youth coaching clinics at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies. “Obviously, he was under a little bit of pressure from the West Indies Cricket Board, and the way he came out showed his maturity, and I thought everyone supported him well which is really good to see.”Though the selection committee had picked Gayle to captain the limited-overs side, the executive committee of the WICB ignored his nomination, and instead chose Daren Ganga, who had led the Test side in the absence of Sarwan. An emergency meeting of all the directors of the WICB then overturned the decision of the executive committee, and Gayle responded by leading the side to a 2-1 series win over England and to the top of the table in a quadrangular series in Ireland.Sarwan noted that Gayle’s “super cool” demeanour more often than not belied the ability and qualities that his team-mate possesses. “When you look at Chris the individual, lots of people have a lot to say about him and his body language on and off the field,” Sarwan said. “But it just goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover. I think he has shown his commitment to West Indies cricket and the public should not really judge an individual who has wholeheartedly supported West Indies cricket.”Sarwan joins Gayle and Denesh Ramdin in Barbados for the first in the series of Digicel coaching clinics that will take place throughout the region over the next three-and-a-half weeks.

Despite that traumatic defeat in the second Test at Adelaide last week, England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, believes his team are capable of making history when the crucial third Test gets underway at the WACA tomorrow.”This Perth Test is huge,” Flintoff told reporters on the eve of the match. “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved as a team in the last three or four years and we want to carry on creating history as a team. We are very much aware that we would be creating history if we did come back into the series and it’s something we desperately want to do.”No English side has ever come back from 2-0 down in an Ashes series, and it has only been done once in the history of the contest – by Don Bradman’s Australians in 1936-37. Even so, Flintoff called on his side to harness the same resolve they had shown in recent seasons, which – when the dust has settled – are sure to be remembered as some of the finest performances by any England teams in history.There was the Ashes triumph in 2005, of course, which needs no further mention here – least of all because the “A-word” has been banned in the Australian dressing-room. But since Flintoff became the heartbeat of England’s team in the winter of 2003-04, they have won in the Caribbean for the first time in 36 years, in South Africa for the first time in 40, and until their defeat in Pakistan last winter, had won six series in a row, including all seven Tests of the 2004 summer.A turnaround on this tour, however, would top the lot. “I don’t think we need any more motivation,” said Flintoff. “We’re in Australia playing an Ashes series and for all of us now it’s probably the biggest Test of our careers. Everyone is up for it in the dressing-room, because to come back into this series now would be the ultimate.”It’s a very proud team and we want to give a good account of ourselves,” he added. “We came close in Adelaide but in this game we’ve got to go one further. This Perth Test is huge. Ideally we need a win and, if not, a draw and then the last two [Tests] will look after themselves. This game we have to look at almost in isolation and hit them hard.””We’ve had to get Adelaide out of our system,” said Flintoff. “We were probably in shock at Adelaide and then two days later it sunk in. A lot of good things came out of the Test but for two hours we lost our way and lost the Test. It just shows you can’t do that playing against Australia.”

Flintoff singled out four performers at Adelaide for special praise – Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Matthew Hoggard – but it is his own performance as captain, batsman and strike bowler that will be the most pivotal to England’s fortunes. To that end, there has been much concern about the state of his injured ankle, but Flintoff insisted that he was fit and ready to bowl flat out.”My ankle is fine,” he said. “I bowled in the nets yesterday, but I haven’t bowled today. After my surgery I probably naively thought everything would be fine and I’d get no pain ever again in my life. But playing back-to-back Test matches is tough. I’ve not done it for a while and I did get some discomfort.”I had it checked out and I’ve bowled since – in the last innings of the last Test and in the nets here – so it’s not something I’m concerned about. We’ve tried to limit the overs I bowl in a day for a period of time now, but that’s dictated by the situation in the game. I’ve always been a willing bowler and I’ll carry on doing that.”After a few days off to recover from the shock of Adelaide, Flintoff was adamant that his team was ready for their big challenge. “After the loss it was a little bit flat, but the team has been great throughout,” he said. “There is still that confidence and the calmness which we’ve had all along on this trip. It’s a side full of character and that’s going to have to come out in this Test.”Apart from the defeats I’ve enjoyed the trip,” he added. “I think all the lads have. When you lose Test matches you will get criticism and that’s something I’m prepared to take. I’ve had it before and I’m sure I’ll have it again. I’m happy in what I’m doing and I’ve given the job everything I’ve got and I can rest easy in that.”

With the national team ranked seventh in the one-day table and 12 ODIs against Sri Lanka and South Africa at home on the near horizon, the Challenger Trophy, which gets underway at Mohali on October 10, provides an ideal dress rehearsal for the Indian side to rediscover their winning ways. As always the tournament will also offer a chance for lesser known players to make a name for themselves in a domestic tournament that probably commands the most national interest. This will be the first time that Powerplays and Supersubs will be used in India and there are even match cameras in place for referring lbw decisions to the third umpire, a system that needs the board’s final clearance before its implementation.Clash of the unequals
Unlike the previous three editions, when the three teams picked had a balanced look about them, this year will see an uneven battle, on paper at least. With two important series coming up, the selectors felt that the senior side needed to gel as a unit and settle upon the right winning formula. Also, a strong senior side means that lesser-known players in India A and India B will get a chance to test themselves against the best talent in the country, barring Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, who are currently taking part in the Super Series, and Sourav Ganguly, who was ruled out owing to a tennis elbow.Players to watch out for
The tournament has already generated tremendous interest owing to the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and his every move, after a six month lay-off, will be eagerly scrutinised. Venugopal Rao and Suresh Raina, who are yet to score a half-century in ODIs, will get another opportunity to showcase their talent while Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman, omitted from the tri-series in Zimbabwe, have a chance to show that they aren’t finished as one-day players.The Challengers has also been the tournament when names, familiar only through media reports, make their first appearance on television. After reading reams and reams about his composure and class, it was delightful to watch a young Rahul Dravid counter Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble in the 1995-96 edition of the tournament. Nobody who saw the ’94-’95 final will forget Sairaj Bahutule’s outrageous legbreak to bowl Vinod Kambli. Will we be talking about Piyush Chawla, the legspinner from UP, or Manoj Tiwari, the allrounder from Bengal, at the end of this series?Lights, cameras, action
The previous edition of the Challenger Trophy, at Mumbai in March this year, wasn’t televised and received a lukewarm response. Going by the events in the build-up to the tournament, this one promises to have a much bigger appeal. Tendulkar’s presence always adds zing to any event but worldwide coverage from Zee Sports and positive ticket sales have added an additional buzz to this event. The Punjab Cricket Association have prepared for his tournament like the way they would for an international game and media facilities and security have been spruced up.Pitch view
When the Challenger Trophy was held in Mohali in 1996-97, the team batting second won all four games with no team managing more than 250. But those were the days when this stadium held the reputation of being the bounciest track in the country and assisted the faster bowlers throughout. Ever since it has produced some high-scoring encounters and, despite the greenish tinge to the pitch on the eve of the game, promises to turn into a belter. That at least some of the batsmen take this opportunity by the scruff of the neck, though, remains to be seen.Teams:India Senior:Sachin Tendulkar, Satyajit Parab, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif (capt), Y Venugopal Rao, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, JP Yadav, Vidyut SivaramakrishnanIndia A:Gautam Gambhir, Dheeraj Jadhav, VVS Laxman (capt), Suresh Raina, Hemang Badani, Niraj Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Laxmipathy Balaji, VRV Singh, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manoj TiwariIndia B:Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Utthappa, Dinesh Mongia (capt), Sridharan Sriram, Sunny Singh, Parthiv Patel (wk), S Sree Santh, Ranadeb Bose, Amit Bhandari, Ravikant Shukla, Piyush Chawla, Sreekumar Nair

Shane Warne has announced his retirement from first-class cricket while ending his eight-year association with the county side Hampshire. Warne, 38, had been a regular with Hampshire since 2000 and led them from 2004. Dimitri Mascarenhas will succeed Warne as captain.Both sides reached a mutual agreement after prolonged discussions between Warne and Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman. Warne’s diverse business interests, his participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – where he is captain-coach of the Rajasthan Royals – and his need to spend time with his children in Australia meant he would not be able to commit time to Hampshire over the coming seasons.”This was not an easy decision to make,” Warne said. “But due to some exciting business opportunities I had to make this call. My eight years with Hampshire have been a wonderful experience, memories that will last with me forever, and likewise the friendships that have been formed at the club.”Unfortunately I am retiring from all first-class cricket but will participate in the IPL with the Jaipur franchise as captain and coach. Good luck to all involved at the Rose Bowl. I wish you all the best.” Warne will be joined in the Rajasthan Royals by the Hampshire players Mascarenhas, one of his best friends, and Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder.”I know this will be a major disappointment to many fans of both Hampshire and Shane but, after much discussion and soul-searching, it has become clear to both of us that Shane can no longer make the commitment required to continue to lead Hampshire,” Bransgrove said. “After the commitment and loyalty he has shown to this club over the past few years, I can only wish him all the success and happiness he deserves.”Hampshire Cricket has been hugely privileged to have enjoyed the unstinting loyalty of this living legend since 2000. The most effective and entertaining bowler of all time, Shane was also a brilliant leader and strategist. As our captain, his influence was instrumental in the development of Hampshire into one of the country’s top sides and he enriched the game wherever he played.”Warne took 276 first-class wickets at an average of 25.59 for the county and scored 2040 runs. He retired as Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker after the Ashes early last year, but Muttiah Muralitharan surpassed the mark of 708. Warne is undoubtedly one of the game’s greats and in 2000 was named among the five Cricketers of the Century

Drama unfolded at Dharamshala as the Plate Group match between Himachal Pradesh and Tripura was called off after officials of two groups, claiming to be actual representatives of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HCA), traded charges minutes before the match.It was a bizarre situation in on the morning of the game after the team announced by the HCA, headed by Anurag Thakur, entered the stadium along with the visiting Tripura team and locked all the entry points, preventing the entry of the other HCA side, headed by Rajender Zar, into the stadium. The Supreme Court-appointed election observer had named Zar the authorised representative from the state to take part in the BCCI elections on November 29.Zar is also a BCCI member and a supporter of the Sharad Pawar group, who triumphed in the recently-concluded elections, while Thakur has the backing of the Jagmohan Dalmiya group. Narendra Menon, the match referee, after consultations with the BCCI secretary, asked the district authorities to allow the entry the Himachal team announced by the Zar group to entry the stadium so that the match could start.However, Menon called off the match after vice-president of the Zar group, Vikas Thakur, alleged that the officials of the old HCA had sprinkled water on the pitch, which had been damaged. Menon also added that it was up to the BCCI to decide whether the match should be awarded to Himachal or Tripura.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, is looking forward to a disciplined performance from his bowlers in the remaining qualifying matches of the Champions Trophy after making a winning start.Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 37 runs in the opening qualifier under lights here on Saturday, but their bowling left a lot to be desired. They conceded 36 extras, the second-highest contributor in Bangladesh’s total of 265 for 9, after posting a challenging 302 for 8. Their bowlers sent down 13 wides and six no-balls.”We did not play our A-class game and there are certain areas where we have to improve and we will do that in remaining games,” said Jayawardene. Sri Lanka play Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad on October 10 and defending champions West Indies on October 14 at Mumbai in their last two qualifying matches. The top two sides will advance to the main draw that features world champions Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan.Jayawardene said his team did not perform up to the mark in the opening game because they had not played much international cricket in recent months. They played their last full one-day international three months ago. “We didn’t play a smart game, especially in the second half of their innings but we have not played many one-dayers recently and that was one of the reasons why we were not able to perform to our potential.”He didn’t blame the dew for his bowlers’ below-par performance when they fielded under lights at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium. “The dew came on only around 8.30pm and by that time the spinners had nearly bowled their overs,” he said. “We have to expect such things in day-night matches. I think it is good that we fielded in the evening. It will give us an idea what to expect in remaining matches.”Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, defended his decision to field first after winning the toss, saying his bowlers failed to make the most of conditions in early stages. “It was a good toss to win,” he said. “There was grass on the wicket, but we didn’t put the ball in the right areas in the opening 10 overs.”Seamers Mashrafe Mortaza, Syed Rasel and Farhad Reza failed to get early wickets and went on to concede 188 runs in 28 overs. “In the end, the target proved too high for us,” said Bashar, whose team still managed to post their highest-ever total against Sri Lanka in 18 one-day internationals.Jayawardene, however, said he would have batted first had he won the toss. “It was a good wicket to bat on. I think it is always better to set a target when you play against teams like Bangladesh.”Bangladesh will now meet the West Indies on October 11 and Zimbabwe on October 13 at Jaipur.

An Aussie and a Kiwi adding 163 in an international match at Belfast? It may not sound right but it happened today as Canada’s antipodeans, John Davison and Ian Billcliff, flayed Namibia’s bowlers at the Woodvale Cricket Club.Tucked underneath Black Mountain in West Belfast, Woodvale is no classical cricket ground, from its square shape, brick walls and short boundaries to the fact that it is invisible to passers by, being surrounded by housing. Twice I went round the block in search of the sound of leather on willow, questioning my ability to read a map and, indeed, my sanity. Perhaps the drive up the famous Shankill Road, with its sea of Union Flags, proved too much of a distraction.I stepped through the gate just in time to see both the first of Davison’s four sixes travel into a neighbouring property and the gentleman who was painting that house showed no interest in getting down from his ladder to retrieve the ball. Davison, Canada’s Australian captain, soon passed 50 but offered a chance on 58 which was grassed by his opposite number Deon Kotze.At the other end, Billcliff offered some much-needed support having joined Davison at 26 for 2. Just as Davison lives in Sydney, Billcliff conceded that preparing for the ICC Trophy back home in Auckland was a little weird. Dropping Billcliff at third man before he had scored turned out to be a 90-run blunder for Namibia. Add to that the 67 further runs Davison benefited by after life and you have an entirely different proposition to the eventual victory target of 285.The words “catches win matches, eh” uttered by Namibia’s 12th man Mattheaus Van Zyl could not have been more pertinent. Like many of his team-mates, Van Zyl lives and plays cricket in South Africa which goes some way to explaining how a country with just five senior clubs can make it to the World Cup as Namibia did in 2003. Of interest, too, is the fact that – unlike most of the rest of their competitors in this tournament -Namibia’s players are all born in Namibia.Everything is just a little more relaxed away from the highest level. The players sit as club players do, on the edge of the ground, not worrying where their gear is strewn; officials as high-ranking as the President of the Canadian Cricket Association sit on park benches, and the media (in this case limited to yours truly) eat lunch with highly-rated umpires (Billy Doctrove).Even the ground announcer wandered around soaking up the action, until he came across a name in the Canada team that required a moment to compose himself before attempting to pronounce. “I was hoping he didn’t have to bat,” announced the announcer as Pubudu Dassanayke went to the crease.Dassanayke did not prosper with the bat but was sharp behind the stumps – and he needed to be when he caught Danie Keulder for 83 down the legside off George Codrington’s offspin. Keulder had been in full flight despite losing his opening partner JB Burger – Namibia’s star batsman at the World Cup – for just 8. With Keulder gone too, Namibia started to lose direction and wickets.They did however have few problems hitting sixes. Kola Burger and Louis Burger enjoyed a mid-afternoon feast that ensured their team would go close and Canada would go through a number of new balls. One enormous Kola Burger strike was still tracking up when it sailed over a three-story house.There was no shortage of encouragement right to the end when Namibia needed 19 off the last two overs. Caribbean and Asian voices rung around the Canadians in the field while the locals cheered catches and boundaries alike. But when Namibia’s No.9 Stephan Swanepoel reduced the target to three with a four and two sixes, the locals’ chants changed to “easy, easy”.And although Namibia had just one wicket in hand with one over left, it probably should have been. The moment got the better of Swanepoel though and Codrington’s excellent catch inside boundary saw Canada indulge in a baseball-style victory pile-up and left Namibia’s nearly hero knelt-down, distraught on the pitch. All this, and it’s just the first round.

ScorecardSurrey’s spinners kept their team in the chase for an automatic promotion place as Worcestershire threw away a winning position and with it left their own promotion hopes up in the air. Ben Smith and Vikram Solanki put the home side on course, but Chris Schofield and Nayan Doshi shared five wickets and Worcestershire fell 13 runs short.Solanki and Smith were knocking the runs off with ease as Worcestershire reached 179 for 3 but Mark Butcher, the Surrey captain, held his nerve. He knew the spinners would be hard to score off on a worn and glued pitch and so it proved.Doshi bowled Solanki for an elegant 47-ball 54, but the vital blows came from Schofield, who is fighting for a new county contract. He had Graeme Hick caught at long on then next ball had Smith taken at deep square-leg off a top-edged sweep.Schofield then claimed his third scalp, thanks to a reflex catch by Tim Murtagh at short extra-cover, and the equation was out of reach for Worcestershire.Surrey’s total was built around a captain’s innings from Mark Butcher who’d battled through tough early conditions when the seamers were on top. Quick-fire contributions from Rikki Clarke and Azhar Mahmood built on the foundation. They turned out to be vital innings, although Worcestershire will feel they threw the match away.

India Under-19 were dismissed shortly before stumps on the third day for378 off 83.2 overs in the first ‘Test’ at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.The tourists were three for no loss in the second innings, needing afurther 348 runs for victory.England Under-19 had been dismissed for 285 in 109.3 overs in themorning session. The visitors added only four more runs before they were bowledout, taking a slender 28-run lead into the second innnings. VidyuthSivaramakrishnan took the wicket, that of Monty Panesar. Justin Bishop remained unbeaten.Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Vinayak Mane came good in the secondinnings. Both hammered the medium pacers, piling on 58 runs in 13 overs.Gambhir displayed his explosive strokes in a brief stint at thecrease. He could not carry on to convert it into a big knock when he wasdismissed off the last ball of the 13th over. Kyle Hogg trapped him legbefore for 29.Mane was lucky as he was dropped three times. Monty Panesar failed to latch on to a mistimed pull shot at mid-on, with Mane on 24, and in the 29th over, Bell dropped Mane in the slips off Pattison. He was finally dismissed for 93 when Hogg held on to a catch off Pattison. He had hit 13 fours and a six in his 99-ball innings.The first session of the day produced 127 runs for the loss of one wicketin 32 overs. Ishan Ganda and Mane added 70 runs for the second wicket in 19overs. Ganda was lucky as he was dropped in the 29th over at backward pointby Nikki Peng off the medium pace of Pattison. Soon after lunch, Pattison enticed Ganda with a similar delivery and the batsman obliged with a similar stroke but this time Peng held on to the catch. Ganda was dismissed for 19 off 66 balls with one boundary.Gnaneshwar Rao, a century-maker in his last match, was soon out, trying to drive but succeeding only in returning a catch to Pattison to fall for tworuns. The top scorer of the first innings, Alind Naidu came out to bat and unleashed a barrage of wristy strokes. He raced on to 30 off 42 balls with four boundaries. He played two consecutive late cuts despite Bell being in the slips. But he holed out to Bell trying the same stroke on the third occasion.The visitors enjoyed the tea break as they had both the explosive Naidu andMane back in the pavilion. The Indian score was 243 for five wickets.Little did they know that the Indians had other plans. In the post-teasession, skipper Ajay Ratra and Kashinath Khadkikar turned the tide infavour of the hosts with a 141-run partnership off 24.5 overs for the sixthwicket. Ratra dominated as he raced to 94 from 92 balls. The partnership was broken when Khadkikar mistimed a drive to give Robert Ferley a return catch. Khadkikar walked back with 65 runs off 98 balls and seven boundaries to his name.Ratra became the second batsman to just miss his century when he chased an outswinger from McGarry and Mark Wallace behind the stumps latched on to the catch. Ratra had hit 13 boundaries. The Indian tail wagged as Dharmichand scored 26 runs off 32 balls including two fours. The hosts ended their innings when Siddarth Trivedi was taken by Pattison off Ferley.Pattison was the most economical bowler, bagging three for 32. Ferley picked up three for 93 with his spinners. McGarry and Kyle Hogg chipped in with two wickets each.The visitors faced one over from Vidyut and finished on three without loss.The England fielding had been poor. They dropped as many as six catchesduring the day. Panesar was guilty of not guarding the fenceeffectively. In fact, Panesar had a long and hard day in the field as hestruggled to gather the ball. The batsmen took on his throwing arm as theycollected extra singles off his throws from the boundary.

Scorecard

Karu Jain and Jhulan Goswami, India’s stand-in captain, stitched together a 53-run fifth-wicket stand to help their side overcome Bangladesh in Dambulla and record a fourth-successive win in the Women’s Asia Cup.Chasing 161, India collapsed to 58 for 3, with Anagha Deshpande, Asha Rawat and Thirush Kamini falling on 18. Deshpande was bowled by Panna Ghosh while the other two were run-out. Priyanka Roy and Rumeli Dhar briefly steadied the innings by adding 30, before Roy became the third run-out victim. Dhar, however, could not build on her 39-ball 31 when she was caught by Ghosh off Shathira Jhatir. Jain and Goswami then stood firm to take India to safety, with Jain being the main aggressor, striking five boundaries.Earlier, Salma Khatun, the 17-year old Bangladesh captain, played a lone hand of 90 before her team folded for 160. Khatun’s knock, which took 140 balls and featured 20 fours, took her to third-spot in the run-getter’s list. Her decision to bat first, though, went awry as Bangladesh collapsed to 14 for 3, with legspinner Kamini claiming two of those wickets. Khatun then partnered Ghosh in a 64-run stand to get their innings back on track, but a Roy double-strike hampered their progress. Khatun kept up the fight and made the most of the little support she got before falling in the 48th over.
Scorecard
A fine all-round performance by Eshani Kaushalya, who top-scored with 44 before taking 3 for 25, took Sri Lanka to a 45-run win over Pakistan in Karunegala.Pakistan lost their openers early chasing 195, but captain Urooj Mumtaz, who scored a 106-ball 57, added runs with Sajjida Shah (27) to keep them in the hunt. They fell in quick succession – Shah was run-out while Mumtaz was dismissed by Kaushalya – and Pakistan then lost their last six wickets for 40, with Chamari Polgampola taking career-best figures of 4 for 26.Sri Lanka fell to 57 for 3 after being put in to bat, before captain Shashikala Siriwardene scored an attacking 34, which included seven fours, to keep them afloat. But Pakistan’s bowlers maintained a tight lease on the game, forcing Sri Lanka to 118 for 6. Kaushalya then changed the course of the innings with 44, and when she was eventually run-out in the 42nd over, Sri Lanka had progressed to 161. Mumtaz was the best bowler on view from Pakistan, taking four wickets with her legspin.