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ScorecardMichael Lumb’s fifty came in just 29 balls•Getty Images

Michael Lumb struck a composed fifty as Nottinghamshire began their FriendsLife t20 campaign with a comfortable win at Trent Bridge. Chasing 178, the home team eased to victory with 14 balls to spare, aided by potent early cameos from Alex Hales and Riki Wessels.David Hussey and James Taylor saw the home side over the line with an 84-runpartnership to the delight of a healthy crowd of 7,390. Hussey played fluentlythroughout for an unbeaten 49 with Taylor (37 not out) content with a supportingrole.Leicestershire had started strongly with openers Niall O’Brien and visitingcaptain Josh Cobb sharing a 40-run partnership. Cobb struck Nottinghamshire’s new New Zealander Ian Butler out of the park witha lofty off-drive but Butler made an instant reply with a lengthball that evaded Cobb’s swipe and removing middle stump to end theopening stand.A delayed toss under grey skies influenced Hussey’s decision to insertLeicestershire but the visitors found some favour from the damp ball early on. Hussey’s wild throw at the stumps with O’Brien short of his ground evaded theback up for four overthrows as the Outlaws were briefly troubled.Samit Patel drew Joe Burns to charge down and mistime an intended drive overextra cover to allow Chris Read a routine stumping before Leicestershire reached82 for 2 after 10 overs.In a frenetic 11th over, Shakib Al-Hasan hit Jake Ball for consecutiveboundaries before offering a chance to Hussey which evaded his grasp after afingertip deflection.Al-Hasan (31) continued to attack but Patel stayed cool under the high ball toaccept a return catch before Hussey bowled O’Brien (47) and had Matt Boycestumped in consecutive balls as momentum shifted in the 14th over.Butler had a short-pitched delivery gloved by Shiv Thakor (8) on his return andMichael Thornley (8) quickly followed. Ned Eckersley’s last ball six gave Leicestershire 177 runs to defend butexpensive spells from Nathan Buck, Rob Taylor and Thornley dashed their hopes.

ScorecardMichael Klinger, seen here last season for Worcestershire, made his third century of the season•Getty Images

Michael Klinger and Alex Gidman scored centuries for Gloucestershire on a rain-shortened third day against Glamorgan at Bristol. Klinger with 142, Gidman’s 113 and 82 from Dan Housego guided Gloucestershire into the lead.But the 21 overs lost in two rain breaks denied the hosts a chance to build up their lead and it is now hard to see the game finishing in anything but a draw on such a placid pitch.Michael Hogan, James Allenby and Dean Cosker each took a wicket for Glamorgan, whose bowling options were limited by the absence of John Glover due to a dislocated finger.Gloucestershire began the morning on 179 for 1 and remained cautious in their approach during a morning session which brought 94 runs from 31 overs. Home skipper Klinger brought up his 225-ball hundred, his third of the summer, with a single to long-on off Cosker.Glamorgan took the second new ball in the 83rd over, but Housego greeted its arrival with a flurry of boundaries. He took two fours off Mike Reed, to long-on and through the covers, and two off Hogan, one pulled to midwicket and the other cut behind square.But just when it looked as if Housego would advance to his second century of the summer, he hooked a ball from Hogan to Murray Goodwin, who ran in 10 yards from the square leg boundary to take the catch. His 197-ball innings contained 11 fours.Gloucestershire took lunch on 273 for 2 and Klinger and Gidman added a further 70 before the arrival of light rain shortly before 3pm prompted umpires Peter Hartley and Paul Baldwin to take the players from the field.The post-lunch scoring had been dominated by Gidman, who continued his good run of form with a 73-ball half-century, which included five fours and a six. Play resumed at 4.35pm and again it was Gidman who continued to produce most of the aggressive strokeplay.The county’s former captain was particularly severe on Reed, who he hooked for six over long leg in the 119th over before pulling the following delivery to the midwicket boundary.The third-wicket partnership between Klinger and Gidman had realised 132 runs in 33 overs when Klinger was caught behind off Allenby, having struck 14 fours and three sixes in a 345-ball innings which lasted seven-and-a-half hours.Gidman’s second century of the season arrived soon after when he flicked Hogan for a single to long leg. He required just 117 balls to reach three figures, finding 10 fours and two sixes. Gidman drove Cosker for the third maximum of his innings, but the left-arm spinner had his revenge next ball when he took a low return catch.Soon after, rain returned and chopped a further nine overs from the day’s play. When play resumed again, Hamish Marshall and Benny Howell guided Gloucestershire past Glamorgan’s total and quick runs will be needed in the morning if the hosts are to put the men from the Principality Welsh county under any pressure in their second innings.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShikhar Dhawan warmed up the cold morning•AFP

India’s new-look ODI team got off to a bumper start, negotiating short-pitched bowling to post 331 and then fielding superbly to pull South Africa back every time they threatened to break away. MS Dhoni squeezed the life out of South Africa’s chase with his shrewd employment of spinners – combined figures of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina read 25-1-114-2 – as if this was subcontinent.Overhead, at least, this was far from overhead. It was a cold morning in Wales, South Africa won the toss and asked India to bat first. Cue to bowl short then. Not like South Africa did, though. Apart from Morne Morkel, and in Dale Steyn’s absence, none of their bowlers had the sting to trouble the young Indian batsmen. Shikhar Dhawan became only the second left-hand batsman to score a century against South Africa in six years, the 127 that he added with Rohit Sharma was the first hundred opening stand against South Africa in more than two years, and they became only the second opening pair in four years to have both scored 50 or more against South Africa.South Africa weren’t helped by their fielding either. The ball lobbed over two fielders at the boundary, when Shikhar Dhawan was on 27 and 70. Then AB de Villiers missed a stumping when Dhawan was 102. There were more than a few misfields along the way. Morkel pulled up with a quad strain too, and bowled only 6.5 overs for just 27. Ryan McLaren gave South Africa a chance, though, with some clever slower short balls towards the end, but India’s slowing down wasn’t quite Nagpur 2011, the last time these two teams played, when India had gone from 267 for 1 in the 40th over to 296 all out.At the toss, when India were itching to have a bowl themselves, they would hardly have split hairs had they been offered more than 300. Morkel began the first over with testing short bowling, which Rohit did well to avoid. However, the others were gentle compared to Morkel, especially Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Rory Kleinveldt, who went for 164 in the 20 overs between them.And Dhawan and Rohit hardly hit a shot in anger. It was all timing and placement after the cautious start. When Rohit eased into a Tsotsobe length ball for four through cover, the signs were all there. However, Rohit is known to throw it away too often. Not today. He attacked in a calculated manner, and from the other end saw Dhawan batting as if continuing from his Test debut.Rohit remained fluent, Dhawan was crisp, and they took full toll of South Africa’s rigid bowling and cold fielding. If Tsotsobe drew little help from the pitch, Kleinveldt kept bowling too short and too slow. McLaren began with deliveries down the leg side with fine leg up. Without taking risks, the openers raced away. When Rohit finally fell for 65 off 81, pulling a ball that was not short enough, India had already reached 127 in the 22nd over, and Dhawan was 53 off 49.Suddenly Dhawan shifted to another gear, going after Tsotsobe, ramping him for four, and then charging him for a six over long-off. As expected, India took the Powerplay only at the latest possible moment, after Virat Kohli had picked out deep midwicket an over before the restrictions could be called upon. In the Powerplay, India scored 36 runs and lost two more wickets. When Dhoni fell in search of quick runs, the memories of Nagpur came back. However, Jadeja stayed cool, and capitalised on some short and length bowling towards the end to help India to 40 runs in the last 3.4 overs. He scored an unbeaten 47 off 29.In reply, South Africa responded to early wickets with counterattack. Robin Peterson, the surprise No. 3, and de Villiers batted with ease to add a run-a-ball 124 for the third wicket. Petersen didn’t bat like a pinch-hitter; he played proper shots, including a drive over extra cover off the bowling of Ishant Sharma. De Villiers began like a dream. Anything with the slightest hint of width was punched through covers.Around the 15th-over mark, though, Dhoni began to play the game on his own terms. There was a spell of three overs for nine runs immediately after the two spinners began bowling in tandem. South Africa seemed happy with knocking the ball around, and Dhoni was happy with the calm. Amid the calm, Jadeja produced brilliance with a full-length diving save at midwicket. He had the presence of mind to not instinctively throw at the non-striker’s end, where both the batsmen had ended up.The spin choke followed during which JP Duminy reunited with his demons against spin, de Villiers got out to a pressure shot and David Miller was run out for a diamond duck. Faf du Plessis and Ryan McLaren threatened a late heist with a 50-run stand in less than five overs, but this time Suresh Raina ran back to take a good catch at mid-off. The injured Morkel chose to bat with McLaren, and their 48-run stand limited the net run-rate damage.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Anderson became the fourth Englishman to take 300 Test wickets•AFP

Sustained pressure with the ball and a brave counter-attacking innings from Ross Taylor meant that New Zealand continued to hold a slight advantage at Lord’s, despite James Anderson’s best efforts to wrestle back control with a high-class bowling display during which he claimed his 300th Test wicket.After restricting England to 232 – scored at barely two-an-over throughout and with the last six wickets falling for 40 – New Zealand faced early problems themselves at 7 for 2 against a fired-up Anderson. By the close, which came early due to bad light, they had recovered to be 79 behind, although the loss of Dean Brownlie shortly before the end evened the scales a touch.Anderson had ended the series in New Zealand on 298 scalps and soon began closing in on his landmark when he had Hamish Rutherford well caught at first slip in the first over. Then, in his fourth over, he found the edge of Peter Fulton’s bat and the catch was held, low down, at second slip by his close friend Graeme Swann to become the fourth Englishman to the 300 mark. It was 20 years after the previous, Ian Botham in 1984, and almost 10 years to the day since his Test debut on this ground, against Zimbabwe, in 2003. Overall, he was the 26th bowler to reach the milestone in Test cricket; for England the others are Fred Trueman (307), Bob Willis (325) and Botham (383).Anderson, though, lacked support from his fellow quicks until Steven Finn, now back on his longer run, pitched the ball fuller to win an lbw against Brownlie but only after using the DRS to overturn Steve Davis’ initial not-out decision.Either side of tea, England were poor and New Zealand responded superbly to their early difficulties. In Taylor, they had the first batsman in the match to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers with a fifty that came off 49 balls. His innings would conclude with 13 boundaries: England hit 21 through their entire 112 overs.Any error in line or length – of which there were both from Finn and Stuart Broad – was punished, but Taylor also made some calculated judgements to attack deliveries that others may have played more cautiously. With Alastair Cook knowing that he did not have a mountain of runs on the board, and unable to keep Anderson going forever, the pressure was quickly reapplied to England.Although Graeme Swann gave Cook some control – and wicket-taking threat – it was no surprise that Anderson provided the lift England desperately needed. With the second ball of a new spell, this time from the Nursery End, he swung one back into Taylor’s pad for which the batsman almost walked before being given.That broke a stand of 93 in 25 overs and, though Taylor dominated, Kane Williamson more than played his part, showing his ability off the back foot. He was, though, given a life on 23 by Matt Prior – who had earlier bagged a first-ball duck to mark a tricky start to his season after being named England’s player of the year – when he went one-handed for an edge off Anderson where he may have been able to use both gloves. When collecting his award on Monday, Prior did note how “fickle” the game can be. Then, on 27, England did not review for a catch down the leg side that replays showed had grazed the bat.This match is shaping to go against the trend of relatively high-scoring encounters at Lord’s even in May. England’s batting continued to be wrapped in caution after they resumed on 160 for 4 and an innings that had crept along unravelled quickly either side of lunch as New Zealand’s diligence and discipline was rewarded.Tim Southee broke the deadlock with two wickets in two balls to spark a slide of 4 for 9 in 17 balls before the interval, and he also claimed the final wickets to finish with 4 for 48. For the second time in two series England had begun without an individual half-century.Joe Root had played very solidly, as much as any of the top order, on his first appearance at Lord’s until glancing Southee past his hip where BJ Watling, excellent behind the stumps, took the catch diving to his left. In New Zealand, and on the first day here, Southee bowled without the luck his efforts deserved so no one could begrudge him a change in fortune. But it was a tough way for Root to depart after he had played another mature innings. For the first time ever, for any team, four of the top five batsmen departed between 31 and 40.If the ball to claim Root was not the best Southee had bowled, the delivery to trap Prior was certainly up there; an off-cutter (or at least a scrambled seam) that gripped slightly on the surface to beat the inside edge in front of middle and leg. Prior opted for a review and while the decision was not plumb, ‘umpires’ call’ on hitting was enough for Southee and New Zealand.Broad survived the hat-trick ball as it slid wide of off stump, but not much longer. His part in the match-saving heroics at Auckland was all the more surprising because of the decline in his batting over the last months. On this occasion he was stone dead lbw to Wagner (so much so that even Broad knew he couldn’t ask for a review) as he was beaten by a full delivery that straightened but he did not give himself the best chance to survive by aiming towards square leg.Although Wagner sprayed the occasional ball outside off he found the most movement of the three quicks during a spell where he charged in from the Nursery End. He was quickly in the face of Swann – who was welcomed back to Test cricket with a couple of sharp bouncers having had the temerity to drive a boundary through point – but it was another full delivery that ended his brief stay and gave Watling his fourth catch.Bairstow watched from the non-striker’s end as he, too, reigned in a natural attacking instinct, but did produce a couple of strong straight drives that defied the slow outfield. He was left doing what he could with the tail for company and was just threatening to try a few more shots when he watched Southee cling onto a thumping drive.

Jacques Kallis is close to committing himself to South Africa’s Champions Trophy squad despite not playing an ODI in over a year. Kallis last played a fifty-over match in February 2012 and is no longer available for bilateral one-day series but could be back into contention for ICC tournaments, as he did for the World Twenty20 last September.After South Africa lost their January ODI series against New Zealand, Gary Kirsten revealed he was in discussions with Kallis as the team hoped to step up preparations for June’s Champions Trophy. On conclusion of the Pakistan series, Kirsten disclosed that talks are still ongoing and Kallis is being persuaded.”Negotiations are going well,” Kirsten said. “Jacques Kallis is not going to play one-day cricket anymore because we value him in Test matches too much but we reserve the right to call him up in certain tournaments. The Champions Trophy is the last major tournament before the World Cup and I am excited that he may make himself available for that.”Of the many achievements on Kallis’ CV, the one missing is a World Cup medal and he has previously said he would like to play until he can add one. But the next edition of that tournament is still two years away and a recent spate of injuries may make that too distant a goal. Even though the Champions Trophy is a watered down version of a World Cup, it may be Kallis’ last chance to obtain ICC silverware and although it will not replace the biggest event, two Champions’ Trophy medals (South Africa won the 1998 version) may be some consolation.Bringing Kallis in cold may sit uneasily with some, though. While Kirsten maintains that the 17 years Kallis has spent as an international cricketer is enough to justify slotting him into the starting XI immediately, he is also aware that it’s a move that could backfire.For that reason, Kirsten’s focus for the ODIs South Africa played this summer was on blooding those who could take over should the Kallis trump card not work. In the series against Pakistan, it seems South Africa coped better without Kallis than they have before and Kirsten was impressed with how they progressed.Colin Ingram was installed into his batting spot at No.3 while Ryan McLaren was handed rope and told he would get a sustained run as the first-choice allrounder. Both performed well, McLaren perhaps more so, and proved they can step up.More tellingly, the middle-order firmed up in the absence of a player like Kallis which has given South Africa an added boost ahead of the Champions Trophy. “This was a good stepping stone in terms of where we want to go. Guys like Farhaan Behardien and David Miller; people who have not done well for us in the past have been given a run and shown they are capable. It’s good that we have competition and we have created depth,” Kirsten said.Batting depth was South Africa’s obvious worry especially because it seemed as though they had endless supply of bowlers coming through, but creating options with ball was also important. Kallis’ two-in-one role meant that when he was taken out of the mix, it also left the team without an additional bowler.Kirsten believes they have now found a solution for that. “To have a sixth bowler in your team is crucial and we’re getting there. AB used Farhaan Berhardien in Benoni and he made an impact straight away. You need someone who can take pace off the ball and bowl wicket to wicket,” he said. De Villiers also tried Ingram, a move that backfired in that situation but one that he may look at again. JP Duminy, who is expected to recover in time for the Champions Trophy, is another option.Another gain made was in the leadership core, which Kallis was not overtly part of but would have been tacitly involved on the sheer weight of his experience. Without him, Johan Botha and Graeme Smith in the last match, to lean on, de Villiers was forced to do things his way.Not only did he manage, but he juggled it successfully with his wicketkeeping duties and took his batting to a new level as he became man of the series. “AB has made great strides in his captaincy,” Kirsten said. “This has been an important series for him in all components. He has had a great couple of games.”With all the development, it seems as though Kirsten is slowly transferring the successful culture of the Test team onto the ODI squad. But he will have to wait more than two months to see if the transition is complete.South Africa dispersed yesterday and will reconvene at the end of May to prepare for the Champions Trophy. They have a short stay in Holland, which Kirsten says will be similar to the trip they took in Switzerland before the Test series against England, before the actual competition.Almost all the players, including Kallis, will have match time under their belts either at the IPL or on the county circuit which Kirsten can only hope will be enough as he tries to break South Africa’s major tournament trophy drought.”When players are at the IPL, they are fully involved and fully contracted. It’s very difficult to have any control over your players during that time. Ideally, I’d love to get our squad together a month before Champions Trophy to prepare but that’s not the way cricket is,” Kirsten said.Kallis is one of the few who can remember a time when breaks were more frequent and will want to show that even without having played ODI cricket, he can still do it and win.

Pat Rousseau, the West Indies Cricket Board president, his wife Hester, and the Senior Sports Editor Tony Becca who were robbed at gun point in Soweto on Wednesday have been offered psychological help by a Soweto psychologist, G.J. Le R Roussouw.In a letter addressed to Dr Ali Bacher, managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, and handed to Rousseau and company today, Roussouw, a resident of Soweto, said he regretted what happened and would like to help the victims.The letter read in part: “We cannot change the past, but we can soften the effect and the influence of such events on our present and future quality of life. I would like to offer my services, free of charge, to the people who were involved in this incident, help them work through it, and to cope with the side effects. In my normal line of work, I frequently counsel people who were expose to trauma, example bank robberies and hi-jacks. I believe that I can and will make a difference to these peoples lives.”The regret of the South African people for the incident was conveyed to Rousseau by president Nelson Mandela on Wednesday night. In a telephone call to Rousseau, Mandela said he was deeply sorry for what happened and hoped that it would not spoil his visit or influence his impression of South Africa.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa have made winning starts to their campaign for the South Zone limited overs championship.Defending champions Karnataka, who squared up against Kerala in a match at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, inflicted a 157-run thrashing on the visitors. Karnataka skipper J Arun Kumar and his opening partner Barrington Rowland got their team off to a flyer after Kerala captain Sunil Oasis won the toss and opted to bowl.Arun Kumar was the first to fall after having made 58 of the 99 runs that were up on the board at the time of his dismissal. Though next man Vijay Bhardwaj (8) failed, Rowland found an able ally in stumper Thilak Naidu. Naidu, who is in a rich vein of form, and Rowland put on 141 runs for the third wicket in just 21 overs to put their team in a commanding position as the end overs approached.Naidu made 77 off 70 balls with nine fours and one six by the time he became spinner Sreekumar Nair’s second victim. Rowland, for his part, pushed on to notch his maiden one-day hundred, reaching 109 off 131 balls before being run out. With B Akhil (22) and Sunil Joshi (26) also coming to the party, Karnataka reached a daunting 345-5 in 50 overs. Kerala were never in the hunt from there on; Ajay Kudva’s 64 and Sreekumar Nair’s 60 only serving to reduce their margin of defeat. For Karnataka, veteran medium-pacer Venkatesh Prasad claimed 3-17 while Joshi ended up with 2-29.In another match at the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu registered an easy six-wicket win over Hyderabad.The Hyderabadi batsmen struggled after Tamil Nadu captain S Suresh put them in on winning the toss. By the 14th over, they were 49-3, teenage sensation Ambati Rayadu among the men dismissed. Opener Arjun Yadav (47) and D Vinay Kumar (54) then mounted a slow recovery but with the batsmen, who followed them failing to make substantial scores, Hyderabad were restricted to 205 all out in 49 overs. For Tamil Nadu, new-ball bowler G Vignesh claimed three wickets.When opener Sadagoppan Ramesh was dismissed for one in the first over, it seemed like the match might turn out to be more closely fought than expected. But the prolific S Sriram put paid to such thoughts, dominating the opposing bowling on his way to a masterful century. With another left-hander Hemang Badani making an unbeaten 35, Tamil Nadu, then, cantered to an easy win.In the third and final South Zone Ranji ODI at the Wheel and Axle Plant Ground, Bangalore, the Goan batsmen guided their team to an emphatic 119-run win over Andhra.After opting to bat, Goa were well-served by opener SM Asnodkar (73), A Amonkar (50) and MD Phadke (79). The contributions of the trio helped their team pile on a healthy 284/6 in their 50 overs. Spinner Shadab Jakati (3-25) and Saiyed Khalid (3-23), then, bowled brilliantly to skittle Andhra out for 165 in 41.4 overs. Goa, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, were rewarded with five points for their massive win.Maharashtra upset MumbaiTwo of the top teams in the country Mumbai and Baroda suffered narrow defeats at the hands of Maharashtra and Saurashtra in the two West Zone league matches played on Friday.Opener Niranjan Godbole, who made 93 after Maharashtra were asked to bat by Mumbai skipper Paras Mhambrey, and all-rounder Ranjit Khiris were the heroes of their team’s six-run win at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Pune. Godbole scored his runs off 116 deliveries while Khirid and Abhijit Kale chipped in with 48 and 38 respectively as Maharashtra reached 236-6 in their 50 overs.When Mumbai replied, Khirid snared both the openers by the ninth over to ensure that Maharashtra were in with a fighting chance. Nishit Shetty, who made 62 off 49 balls, though, ensured that Mumbai had their noses in front as long as he was around. But Shetty’s run out in the 25th over and some tight bowling from S Trigune (6-2-23-1) helped Maharasthra seal a memorable win by the slenderest of margins.Baroda, meanwhile, lost a low-scoring thriller at the Nehru Stadium, Pune despite a lion-hearted performance from medium-pacer Rakesh Patel. Patel claimed 6-33 in 10 probing overs, but the failure of the rest of the Baroda bowlers meant that Saurashtra sneaked past Baroda’s total of 208.Middle-order bat Tushar Arothe’s 56 and PN Gurubaxani’s 43 had provided the backbone of that innings. For Saurashtra, new-ball bowler Jolly Jobanputra snared three wickets for 36.When Saurashtra replied, they were in strife at 35-4 in the ninth over. But Feroz Bambhaniya (58 off 96) and Rakesh Dhurv (58 off 58) helped them weather Patel’s scorching spell and gain a two-wicket win. Saurashtra gained four points from the match, the same as Maharashtra had from their encounter against Mumbai.Punjab thrash ServicesWith skipper Dinesh Mongia leading from the front, Punjab went on to overpower Services in a North Zone one-dayer at Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon on Friday.Batting first, Services struggled to reach 133 in 38.1 overs. Middle-order bat Yashpal Singh (57) was the only batsman to put up a fight against a spirited Punjab bowling attack, led by Sandeep Sanwal (4-14 in 6.2 overs).Chasing a modest target, Punjab were soon on their way; Mongia (81 off 77 balls) ensuring that victory was sealed with plenty to spare. Punjab earned five points for the win.At the Maharaja Agarsingh Stadium, Rohtak, a buoyant Haryana dismissed Delhi’s challenge, sealing a comfortable seven-wicket win. With Haryana’s bowlers in rousing form, Delhi found the going tough after choosing to bat. Their prolific opening duo of Akash Chopra (21) and Gautam Gambhir (20) were cooling their heels in the hut in just the 13th over. It was all downhill for their team from then on with Sunil Vaid (50* off 69) forced to play a lone hand. Vaid’s efforts ensured that Delhi at least reached 171 all out in 48.2 overs. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who claimed 3-33, was the pick of the bowlers for Haryana.With opener Chetan Sharma (64) and No 3 Parender Sharama (38) putting on 98 for the third wicket, Haryana then coasted to a seven-wicket win. The hosts were rewarded with five points (one bonus) for their efforts.In the only other match in the North Zone league, Jammu and Kashmir beat Himachal Pradesh by 12 runs at the Nahar Singh Stadium, Faridabad. Captain Vijay Sharma, who made 32 and claimed three Himchal Pradesh wickets, was the man who gained his team four points from the encounter.Sharma’s effort along with a 36 from M Shafi helped Jammu and Kashmir post 159 all out after being put in. Medium-pacer Amit Thakur was the wrecker-in-chief for Himachal Pradesh.His splendid effort, though, was undermined by the Himachal batsmen, who went down like ninepins. But Aashish Kapoor (57) and Ajay Mannu (32*) put on 79 for the seventh wicket to ensure that their side got to within twelve runs of victory.

West Indies will have their chance of qualifying for their maiden World Cup final when they face Australia, who are unbeaten in the tournament, in the crucial Super Six tie at the MIG Ground in Mumbai. Offspinner Anisa Mohammed, was upbeat about her team’s positive showing tomorrow.”We are very confident of defeating Australia tomorrow,” she said. “We are one win away from a final, we have waited for years for this opportunity and we are set and ready to go into the finals.”West Indies are currently second in the points table with six points, two more than England and New Zealand. If they put a halt to Australia’s unbeaten run, they will qualify for the finals. A loss, on the other hand, will bring them at par with the winner of the other Super Six fixture in Mumbai, between England and New Zealand, and it will be down to their net run-rates.”If we stick to our basics and keep supporting each other, everything will fall into place. Last time we played Sri Lanka here we posted a big total batting first. We also played Australia at the same venue, in a warm-up match, so we have a feel of the ground and the pitch here. We are just going to go out there tomorrow and do our best.”West Indies have never beaten Australia in ODIs, having played only three times since their first match in the 1993 World Cup. Anisa said they would like to change that.”They are the only team we haven’t defeated in the world. But I can guarantee you that that is going to change tomorrow. They have beaten all the teams so far, but tomorrow it will be their day to lose.”Australia batsman Jess Cameron was equally positive about her team’s good showing against West Indies.”We want to go through undefeated in the whole tournament,” she said. “That would make the other teams look at us and have some sort of fear. We’ll be going out there, trying to win every match, and obviously try and win the finals too.”Australia, Cameron said, are aware of West Indies’ two dangerous batsmen – Deandra Dottin and Stafanie Taylor – who they will aim to dismiss cheaply. While Taylor is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament so far, with 304 runs at an average of 60.80, Dottin has scored 144 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 173.49, including a 22-ball 50 against Sri Lanka.”I think [Deandra] Dottin is their key wicket and Stafanie Taylor at the top of the order. If we can get those two cheaply then I think we’ll do well. We know that if we can get some of their players early, it will be detrimental to their batting.”We’ve got a batting line up that’s as strong as the West Indies’. We will have to work hard and our bowlers will have to do a good job just like our batsmen. If our batsmen and bowlers can put it together, I don’t think we can be beaten so we are looking to do that in the next two games.”While Australia have booked a place for their sixth World Cup final on Sunday, West Indies’ victory tomorrow will make the result of the England – New Zealand match inconsequential.

Diana Edulji: “The selectors get the maximum [money in Indian Women’s cricket], then come the match referees and then the players”•Andy Campbell/UTPMEDIA

What has actually changed on the ground after the BCCI has come into women’s cricket?
Initially everybody was happy with the merger in 2006, when we requested Mr Sharad Pawar, who was then the president of the board. Earlier the women’s association did not have funds, the players did not have good facilities. [After the merger], domestic players started getting more money, they travelled better, stayed in good hotels and got good grounds to play on. But I think that was just the beginning, and that was it. It was a dream, and then the bubble burst. I am not too happy with the situation at the moment.The BCCI is running women’s cricket because they have to run it, since the ICC is now running both men’s and women’s cricket.I would say it is an insult to women’s cricket to be treated this way. There is no cricket. Domestic cricket comprises only one T20 tournament and one 50-over tournament. There are no longer-format matches and no Test matches. I cannot understand why we cannot play one Test match at least during a bilateral series. If Australia and England can play the Ashes, why can’t India play Tests?When I was on the [women’s] committee, I had an argument with Mr [Shashank] Manohar and Mr Srinivasan. I asked them why we couldn’t play the longer version. When we went to England in 2006, we won a Test series.The T20 mindset, where you go and hit from the first ball, is not going to help. There is a little bit [of long-form cricket] at Under-19 level, nothing at the Under-16 level. So how is the game going to develop?The team can have one or two Tests. You don’t have to have seven ODIs or five T20s for the women. You bifurcate the full series, see how many days a team can play, and then work out a schedule. It is not necessary to play only 50-over or 20-over cricket.Compared to the times you grew up in, what incentive does a young girl have to play the game today in India?
When we started playing, we had nothing. We were paying from our pocket. When I went to the World Cup in 1982, each girl had to pay Rs 10,000 to go to New Zealand. We put it in the papers, and Mr Antulay, the Maharashtra chief minister, came to the rescue of the four Maharashtrian players: myself, Vrinda Bhagat, Anjali [Pendharkar] and Shubhangi [Kulkarni]. He signed a cheque and told us, “You all will go.”There was a tin shed here [at the Western Railways ground in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai] where there is now a hostel. The Indian team have slept there on tables. They have travelled unreserved in a train from Mumbai to Delhi. Compared to that, what these girls [] have got at the moment is absolutely five-star treatment.But where is the game? Where is the dedication? What we played was total, absolute enjoyment. Even my own team here are not enjoying the game. They are playing because they have got jobs [with Railways] and they are satisfied.I have been telling the girls that they must not be satisfied with the breadcrumbs thrown at them. Jhulan [Goswami], Mithali [Raj], nobody can throw them out of the team. They have got their backing with their performances. If they demand something, it has to be heard. But they are satisfied.The board has kept us away because it knows that they are not going to say anything. They threw Shanta [Rangaswamy] out, they threw me out, now Shubhangi is out because Mr Pawar is not there.All those who are pushing for women’s cricket have been put on the back burner, so there is nobody to present the players’ cases. The people who are in the committee at the moment are all “yes girls”. How many meetings does the BCCI women’s committee have? One in a year, just before the general body meeting. The next year, the committee changes.Players should be getting the maximum. In women’s cricket, it is the other way round. The selectors get the maximum, then come the match referees and then the players. So how are you going to get girls into cricket?And what is the domestic match fee? Rs 2500. Where are you going to eat if you stay in a four-star hotel? The fee for T20 is Rs 1250.When you have a World Cup shifted from a ground to accommodate a Ranji game, what does that say?
It is an absolute disgrace. And why are we having it [the World Cup] only in one centre? Promote it in the smaller areas. When we played in the late 1970s, in Patna, in Jamshedpur, we used to have 30,000 people watching. When we won the Test against West Indies, the scenes were unbelievable. Even at the Eden Gardens, in 1975, the pavilion side was packed with spectators. Maybe people came out of curiosity, but at least crowds came to see the match. Who is coming today?I am happy with the advertisements that ESPN is doing now on women’s cricket. Like: who is the first person to make an ODI double-hundred? It is a woman. Why is Sachin [Tendulkar] getting credit for the double-hundred? It has to be Belinda Clark [who made a double in 1997].Now that the BCCI is running cricket, it shouldn’t be that they should run only men’s cricket. They should be happy with the women’s cricket too.Where are the photos of the women’s team captains in the BCCI office? Why are there only photos of male cricketers? There was not a single ladies’ toilet in the old BCCI office till I went and fought for it.What about the one-time benefit? Srinivasan has just refused. What have we asked for? We are not asking to be paid at the same level as men’s cricket. All we have asked is that women cricketers who have played between one and ten Test matches should get Rs 10 lakh (approximately US$18,000); those who have played between ten and 20 Tests can get Rs 20 lakh ($36,000).But when Mr Srinivasan took over as president of the board, he said, “Why should we give you money? What have you all done?”Mithali has said that India women’s matches must be televised to create visibility. I may be boasting, but when I go to movies or restaurants, I am still recognised. But I am sure if Mithali is with me, she won’t be recognised. It is sad. I still feel nice when someone comes up to me and introduces me to their children. Why shouldn’t these girls get the recognition? Jhulan is a Padma Shri winner – she’s an Arjuna awardee, so is Mithali. Why can’t more articles be written about them?I guess the media also has to be blamed for failing to cover women’s cricket adequately?
Yes. I have been after Arnab [Goswami], Rajdeep [Sardesai], Barkha [Dutt], especially for this one-time benefit. Even the National Commission for Women took it up. What happened? Nothing.Look at the pension for women cricketers. We are getting Rs 15,000 as pension. Fair enough. But the pension is given only to cricketers who have played five Tests and more. Why? What about people who have played less than five Tests? Suddenly the ICC said some matches have been declared unofficial. Why? We played as India, we went abroad as India. The government gave a sanction for India. Just because the English or Australians said we sent an U-19 or an U-21 team? The International Women’s Cricket Council did not recognise it, so the ICC did not, too. But did you take us or our board into confidence, asking: have you played official series? [Edulji is referring to three series between 1975 and the mid-80s, which included a tour by an Australian women’s team to India in 1975 and a tour to England by the Indian women in 1981.] If a [male] domestic cricketer can get a pension, why not [a woman] who has played even one Test? They get Rs 5000. I cannot understand this logic at all.What do you think motivates people like you, Jhulan, Mithali and the others to keep going?
It is just the love of the game, even in these circumstances. I was driving and on Marine Drive I saw this whole bunch of red t-shirts coming. I realised it was the India women’s team. They were walking from the hotel to the Wankhede. I stopped my car, and the way they greeted me, I felt nice, but I also felt that this is the Indian national team, and they are walking on the street? And where are they playing? Police Gymkhana, Hindu Gymkhana, Bombay Gymkhana? Would any men cricketers play there?When I went as the manager for the England tour in 2009, it was cold and we had no warm clothing. I rang up Nike and also informed BCCI that we would need jumpers. I was told, “It is not in the budget.” I said, I don’t care. That is the first time they got jumpers. I am told that, at times, they are even given used kits, left over by men. The sizes don’t match, patches are put [to hide the names]. Is this the way you treat them? This mindset has to change.I think the media has to have the guts, otherwise women’s cricket will die in a few years. Tell me, where are the back-ups? Where are the U-19 players? I have asked for the Under-19 squad to be given at least one tour. Why will that player come on to the ground? She will pick up another sport, like hockey or squash.How does a woman make a living out of cricket in these times of inflation?
She can’t. Unless you really click, like Jhulan or Mithali. The only positive is the Railways. Players get a permanent job there. In spite of that, the board is anti-Railway. They won’t let players get an NOC.What is your match fee? How are you going to survive on it? At least in the Railways, players start with a minimum salary of Rs 15,000-Rs18,000, if they get a Group C job. They also get free medical care and free travel for life.The Indian Railways is the lifeline of Indian women’s cricket. Air India closed down once the BCCI came in, because they were not an affiliated unit. We were lucky we were affiliated, as we play Ranji. So Railways got an entry, while Air India did not. Services do not have a women’s team. So it is just one organisation.Sport is on the decline in the Railways too. Jobs are not easy to get.What about the grassroots level? The Ministry is talking about the core group – those who are shining at Asian or Commonwealth level – so is the Railways. But where did they come up from? You have to give them the support at the grassroots for them to come up.Belinda Clark, the first player in history to hit a double-century in ODIs, is now a part of Cricket Australia’s Centre for Excellence•Getty Images

Are there any decent players on the horizon? What after Jhulan and Mithali go?
No, because there’s hardly anything happening at the Under-19 and Under-16 levels. It just shows that they are not interested in letting it go further. Look at the set-up in Australia and England. It is so professional.The ECB have arranged jobs as coaches for their women players…
Yes. And Belinda [Clark] is at Cricket Australia’s Centre for Excellence. They are being respected, their achievements are being recognised.Do you think the women’s game can be made marketable?
Why not? Anything is marketable. During the IPL I was watching a game with Mr [Lalit] Modi and Mr Pawar and suggested that a five-over game for the women could be held, to promote women’s cricket; an international team could come over; you could mix the Indian players with the internationals and have one match during the semi-finals and one during the final. What is wrong in that? You can do anything if you want to. But if you don’t want to, then all sorts of excuses come forward.Why is the Indian women’s team not allowed to wear the Sahara logo? Why does the men’s team wear the logo? Sahara pays the BCCI, a share comes to the men. It doesn’t come down to the women. Sahara is the BCCI sponsor. It hasn’t said, “Don’t sponsor the women.” Think about it.

Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth, which starts on Friday, after suffering a recurrence of the hamstring injury that had him in doubt for the first Test. Rory Kleinveldt will replace him.Philander bowled 30 overs in the Cape Town Test and took seven wickets. His six overs in the first innings saw him claim his eighth Test five-for. He had to leave the field after his final five-over spell on the third day when he felt pain in his left hamstring.The same injury forced him to pull out of a first-class match two weeks ago and he required a two-week rest period but was ready for the first Test. With the second niggle coming so soon after the first, team management have decided not to risk Philander.”Vernon’s hamstring strain will require a seven to 10 day recovery period at the very least,” Mohammed Moosajee, South African team manager – who is also a medical doctor – said. “Although he is responding to treatment received over the past few days, we feel it’s unlikely that he’ll recover in time for this week’s Test match. With the Pakistan series less than a month away, it’s not worth the risk of aggravating the injury.”South Africa’s three Test series against Pakistan starts on February 2 and Philander will target that to make his return. He will have missed three of the 16 Tests since he made his debut in November 2011 through injury. He missed the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka in 2011 with a knee problem, the Adelaide Test against Australia because of back spasms and now this coming match with a hamstring problem.As a result, Kleinveldt will play his third Test for South Africa. Kleinveldt debuted in Brisbane where he was so nervous, he overstepped 12 times in the match and went wicketless. But he kept his place ahead of Philander in Adelaide and, despite another 11 no-balls in the match, redeemed himself by removing the Australian top three in one second-innings spell. He has only played two first-class matches at St George’s Park and this will be his first Test on home soil.