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ScorecardIt promised so much, but the opening day of England’s inaugural Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka ended up as a damp squib, with only 15 overs and approximately an hour’s play possible. It all started to go according to plan, but a thunderous downpour 20 minutes into the match effectively put paid to a day in which Bangladesh eventually crawled to 24 for 2, with Steve Harmison taking both wickets to fall.After the heavens opened, the ground was littered with puddles within minutes, and the umpires had four inspections during the afternoon. They eventually decreed that play could resume at 4.15pm (1115 GMT) and, after some persuasion, England returned to the soggy outfield in the evening floodlit sunshine for what should have been 19 overs, although in the event only 11 more were possible before the light closed in.And Harmison began to make up for lost time by taking the wicket of Javed Omar for 3. Harmison and Matthew Hoggard kept things tight with probing lines outside off stump with a hint of awayswing, but it was the old-fashioned short ball which did for Omar. Harmison banged one in and Omar could only fend it straight to Rikki Clarke in the gully (12 for 1).Harmison then had a good lbw shout against the new batsman Habibul Bashar turned down by Asoka de Silva, but Bashar was soon on his way when he edged Harmison to Marcus Trescothick at first slip. Harmison again got some bounce and movement, and Bashar played an ugly angled drive which flew to Trescothick at head height (24 for 2).

Hannan Sarkar, meanwhile, impressed in the short time he was at the crease, scoring the first four of the innings with an edge through the slips off Hoggard, much to the delight of the sparse crowd. He would have had two more boundaries if the outfield hadn’t been so slow when he clipped Harmison through the on side and drove Hoggard through the covers, both shots bringing three runs. But even though the floodlights were on, Sarkar and Rajin Saleh readily accepted the offer of bad light at 5.05pm, to bring a forgettable first day of the series to an end.England were boosted by Mark Butcher passing a late fitness test following his throat infection, and as expected they included two uncapped players, Rikki Clarke and Gareth Batty. They fielded only two out-and-out seamers – Hoggard and Harmison – with Clarke the third seamer, and Batty and Ashley Giles to provide the spin. Bangladesh, on the other hand, gave a debut to Enamul Haque junior, but the batting looks a bit light with Khaled Masud pencilled in at No. 6.

The Sydney Grade competition’s Round 4 concludes this Saturday. With all matches interrupted by rain last week, teams will be pushing hard to secure early wickets or plunder quick runs. Manly-Warringah’s Mark `Scud’ Cameron and North Sydney’s Waqar Younis will be two such bowlers hoping to finish off opposition tails before their sides take to the batting crease.At Owen Earle Oval, Hawkesbury resumes at 8/215 against a potent Manly-Warringah attack. The Seasiders’ line-up includes young NSW speedstar Mark Cameron, and former Blues paceman Jamie Heath. Cameron is nicknamed `Scud’ by team-mates for his resemblance in looks to Australian tennis star Mark Philipoussis. However, opposition batsman would be mistaken for thinking his nickname derives from the deadly speed of his destructive missiles. Touted as a future Australian representative by former Tasmanian and current Manly-Warringah captain Mark Atkinson, the Seasiders will be hoping that Cameron can account for the Hawks’ resilient tail. Cameron has already claimed three of the Seasiders’ eight wickets, and will be pushing his claim for a permanent spot in the NSW Speedblitz Blues side.North Sydney was well served last week by Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis (3-49), against Sutherland at Caringbah Oval. Younis ripped through the Sharks’ first three batsmen, who included in-form Blues batsman Phil Jaques. The Bears will return to the field with the Sharks resuming at 8/250.At University No 1 Oval, Ed Cowan (114) halted Bankstown’s early-season success, helping his side to 5/247. Sydney University will be hoping Cowan can continue to amass quick runs, in the knowledge that Mark Waugh will turn out for the Bulldogs. Bankstown will look to last-round centurions Waugh and Corey Richards to overcome a challenging Students’ total.In other matches; Penrith 4/120 v Gordon at Howell; University of NSW 4/167 v Northern District at Waitara; Mosman 5/155 v Eastern Suburbs at Waverley; Fairfield-Liverpool 7/210 v Parramatta at Old Kings; Campbelltown-Camden 157 v UTS-Balmain at Raby 1; Western Suburbs 8/240 v Blacktown at Pratten; and Randwick Petersham 8/216 v St George at Petersham.

David Sheppard, the former England captain who went on to become the Bishop of Liverpool, has revealed that he has been battling cancer for more than two years.He broke the news during a debate in the House of Lords, praising the care he had received from the National Health Service. “I feel really well,” he said. “My recent CT scan showed that the cancer had been held back, and the oncologist doesn’t want to see me for three months.”Sheppard, 74, was one of England’s most successful batsmen of the 1950s and early 1960s, making 1172 runs at an average of 37.80 in his 22 Test appearances. But his availability was hampered by his ecclesiastical commitments after he was ordained into the church in 1955.

Steve Bucknor has rejected criticism of his umpiring during the first Test between Australia and India at Brisbane, especially his controversial leg-before decision against Sachin Tendulkar in India’s first innings.And Bucknor, long regarded as one of the best umpires in the world, dismissed suggestions that his form was on the wane. “Just recently I was umpiring the World Cup final so I don’t understand what is happening, but at the moment I am pretty comfortable with my form,” he told the Australian Associated Press. “The criticism doesn’t bother me. Mistakes are going to be made. I know that. Everyone makes mistakes including myself.”The plethora of television replays indicated the ball which trapped Tendulkar would have sailed over the top of the stumps. But Bucknor delivered his verdict – described by the media in terms such as “a disgrace” and “an insult” – after his customary long deliberation.”I give myself enough time to think about my decision, to replay just about everything about that delivery, and by so doing I should in the end be able to make that [correct] decision,” he explained. While refusing to discuss the Tendulkar decision itself, he added, “Sometimes it doesn’t go that way … it’s not because my brain is working slowly. Once the hit is made I have a fair idea of what my decision is, it’s a matter of seeing whether something else could have happened.”Although the Tendulkar dismissal was the one which grabbed the headlines, Bucknor was also criticised for other decisions during the match. He gave Australia’s batsmen the benefit of the doubt on three well-justified appeals, and also appeared to mistakenly reprieve Akash Chopra for what looked like a good bat-pad catch shortly after Tendulkar’s wicket.

In less than four months’ time Australia are due to visit Zimbabwe to play two Tests and three ODIs. The likelihood is that the tour will be cancelled, but Heath Streak, Zimbabwe’s captain, is doing his best to argue the case for the trip going ahead.”I’d like to think the security side of things is not a major issue and I’m sure our cricket board will make a huge effort,” Streak told Melbourne’s The Age. “The West Indies have just been out, and obviously they [the Zimbabwe Cricket Union] will step that up even further for Australia, so really it’s more the political side of things that could affect it. If anything major happens between now and that tour, that would change, but on the current situation, Australia should be able to come out and I’m sure the security will be fine.”It’s not that simple though. Relations between the Australian and Zimbabwean governments are at an all-time low following the recent Commonwealth summit in Nigeria, and Zimbabwe’s decision to quit the Commonwealth – arguing that the organisation had been hijacked by racists – will have further deepened the divide.John Howard, Australia’s prime minister, was one of the leading proponents of the extension to Zimbabwe’s suspension from the organisation which led to Mugabe’s decision. “[It’s] because of the criminal ancestry he derives from,” Mugabe said, adding “Criminals were banished to Australia and New Zealand by the British”.Cricket Australia is planning to send a delegation to Zimbabwe in March, and it is liaising closely with the department for foreign affairs. The murder of a Perth accountant in Zimbabwe shortly before Christmas will not have gone unnoticed.”It’s very important for the game in Zimbabwe, for the development. To have Australia out is a huge thing,” Streak said. “Cricket supporters and spectators in Zimbabwe really cherish and love having the world champs out. People they only see on TV, now they can see in the flesh.”

Ricky Ponting has urged his team to adopt a full-throttle attitude – the same approach that has paid rich dividends on home soil – as they embark on a testing tour of Sri Lanka. “I want the team to be able to win more away from home,” he said. “I want us to play the same brand of cricket overseas as we do here in Australia. That’s the challenge that lies ahead of us now.”Australia’s record in the sub-continent has been the one blot on their reputation in recent times. They lost 1-0 in Sri Lanka on their last tour in 1999 – a series remembered primarily for the sickening on-field collision between Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie – and haven’t won a series in India since 1969-70. It’s a failing that Ponting is very much aware of. “I think it’s a huge challenge for us — anywhere in the sub-continent has always been a huge challenge for Australia,” he said.”There are conditions over there that looking back through the records, probably Australian teams haven’t performed that well in. But saying that, a lot of the guys in the side now have played a lot of cricket in those conditions.”Australia play a three-Test series which starts on March 8, but the first challenge will be five one-day internationals, the first of which will be played at Dambulla on February 20. “We’re playing really good one-day cricket at the moment, so we’re pretty excited about our prospects over there,” said Ponting.Ponting has led the one-day team since Steve Waugh was sacked in January 2002, and he was confident that he could also maintain Australia’s position as the world’s best Test team ahead of his first series as five-day captain.”I’ve got a better understanding now of how the team best operates. It’s worked out extremely well that I’ve had the chance to captain the one-day side before the Test team,” he said.The main threat to Australia will undoubtedly be Muttiah Muralitharan, the offspinner who has raced to 485 wickets from just 85 Tests. “I don’t think you will ever hit him out of the attack, but you can certainly put him under a bit more pressure,” said Ponting. “He’s had work wherever you play him and he’s going to be even harder in Sri Lanka.”As for Australia’s own spin wizard, Ponting refused to take Shane Warne’s inclusion in the Test squad for granted. “It’s just going to depend on what happens in the coming days, I think,” he said. “He’s got a game against Tasmania coming up in the next couple of days. I’m sure the selectors would be keeping a pretty close eye on him. You can’t take anything like that for granted.”Warne has 491 wickets in Test cricket, and his tussle with Murali – to see who becomes the second man, after Courtney Walsh, to break the 500 barrier – is likely to be one of the highlights of an engrossing series.

North Zone 249 and 118 for 5 (Chopra 43) beat Central Zone 154 and 211 by 5 wickets
Scorecard
After a solid start, North Zone hiccupped before reaching the target of 117 and won by five wickets in Gurgaon. Aakash Chopra’s 43 turned out to be a vital contribution and he fell just before the end. Chopra and Gautam Gambhir got North off to a solid start as they put on 51 in quick time. Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner, got one to sneak through Gambhir’s defence and Narender Hirwani gave Central Zone a remote chance of victory when he snapped up three quick wickets. Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Mithun Manhas were all cleaned up by Hirwani. But Ajay Ratra and Joginder Sharma ensured against a collapse and added 20 crucial runs in the end. Central were on the back foot on the first day itself, when Amit Bhandari and Joginder picked up three wickets each and dismissed them for only 154. Manhas’s dogged 68 was instrumental in giving North the first-innings lead, before Central batsmen faltered again. A target of 117 was never going to be formidable and North enhanced their chances of making the final next month.

Brian Lara believes that West Indies can claim the Wisden Trophy this summer by beating England at home. But to do that, he says, the team has to be mentally strong.”We lost 3-1 in England in 2000 so we know it’s going to be tough. But I still think the West Indies team, this West Indies team, can beat England. We just have to be mentally strong and keep working hard.” According to the Reuters report, Lara looked to the past for inspiration, and stated that the mental and physical make-up of a team was crucial.”When we lose a match, we seem to be in a bit of disarray. We need to change that,” Lara said, adding that winning overseas was “something that West Indies teams in the 1970s and 1980s were able to do, and we have to find that same thing, whether it be physical or mental.”He laid the blame for the poor performances on his batsmen, and admitted the bowlers were not given enough runs to bowl to. However, he was hopeful that the batsmen would make up for their lack of runs during the rest of the year.Though England thumped West Indies in three of the four Tests, Lara said that the improved performance in the limited-overs series could raise their Test showings. “What is good is that most of the guys in the one-day squad play in the Test team, so maybe we can take some confidence from that. Maybe that will carry over into the Test series against Bangladesh and England.”

The rise of Ricky Ponting and the decline of Glenn McGrath have receivedofficial confirmation, with Ponting supplanting McGrath as Australia’stop-ranked and highest-paid player.Australia’s selectors have for the first time rated Ponting at No. 1 amongthe country’s 25 contracted cricketers, News Ltd has revealed.McGrath had held the position for at least the previous three years but haslittle cause for complaint. Hobbled by lingering ankle ailments, he lookedflat in two Tests against Bangladesh last winter and hasn’t been sightedsince under the baggy green.Ponting, meanwhile, has racked up 1232 runs at 72.47 in Tests over the past12 months and 1159 runs at 44.57 in one-dayers. He has also, temporarily atleast, eradicated the Australian dead-rubber syndrome, leading the team to anunprecedented 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in his first foray as Test captain.The full list is kept secret, with the players told only of their ownindividual ranking, so it is unclear how far McGrath has slipped down thepecking order. But steady at No. 2 is Adam Gilchrist, ensuring – along withhis $2m lifetime deal with Puma announced last week – that he won’t be shortof a quid anytime soon.The surprise mover is Michael Kasprowicz, who after starting last summerwithout a contract has reportedly leapfrogged to No. 8 with a bullet. After 14 summers of domestic anonymity interrupted by sporadic Test cameos, Kasprowicz bowled with plenty of guile and considerable grunt throughout the entire series in Sri Lanka. He took a wicket every time he bowled, finishing with 12 at 25.17.Ponting will earn a $400,000-plus base fee and is expected to pocket a totalsalary of more than $1m from Cricket Australia, News Ltd reported. The selectors compile individual player ratings for Test and one-day matches, with extra weighting given for Tests, in assembling the top 25.

Scans on Matthew Hoggard’s injured knee have revealed no cartilage damage, and he will play in a warm-up game next week as preparation for the Test series against West Indies, which starts at Lord’s on July 22.Hoggard injured his right knee in Yorkshire’s National League game against Middlesex on Sunday, and limped out of the attack after bowling just three balls.At the time there were fears that Hoggard had damaged the cartilage in his knee, but today Dr Peter Gregory, the ECB’s chief medical officer, announced that: “The scan revealed no damage to Matthew’s cartilage and he will continue to undergo treatment from the Yorkshire physiotherapist over the next few days. This is the same knee that Matthew injured last year and we decided to scan him as a precautionary measure.”Subject to fitness, Hoggard and Simon Jones, who suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, will now play for MCC against West Indies in a three-day match at Arundel, starting on July 13. Graham Thorpe and Mark Butcher will also play in that game for MCC, who will be captained by John Stephenson, the former Essex allrounder who recently started work at Lord’s as MCC’s new head of cricket.MCC team to play West Indians (Arundel, July 13-15)
1 Alastair Cook (Essex), 2 Sven Koenig (Middx), 3 Mark Butcher (Surrey), 4 Graham Thorpe (Surrey), 5 Dale Benkenstein (South Africa), 6 John Stephenson (Essex, capt), 7 Riki Wessels (Northants, wk), 8 Min Patel (Kent), 9 Simon Jones (Glamorgan), 10 Charl Willoughby (South Africa), 11 Matthew Hoggard (Yorks).