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A fine unbeaten 142 by Amit Pagnis and his unfinished third wicket partnership of 147 runs off 57.4 overs with skipper Abhay Sharma (61) helped Railways score 267 for 2 wickets in 90 overs at the end of the first day’s play in the Central Zone Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi today.Abhay Sharma won the toss and decided to bat. Pagnis, who joined Railwaysfrom Mumbai this year, opened the innings with Sanjay Bangar. The two put on 91 runs before Bangar was caught by debudent wicket keeper Gurucharan Singh off the bowling of JP Yadav. Bangar scored 41 off 64 balls with the help of 4 fours and a six. Murli Kartik was out for 8 off JP Yadav.Pagnis completed his century in 4-1/2 hours off 218 balls with the help of 15 fours and 2 sixes. By close he had batted six hours, faced 308 balls and hit 20 fours and two sixes. Sharma had faced 162 balls, hitting six of them to the ropes. Not even the new ball taken at 260 for two after 84.5 overs, made any impression on the two batsmen.For MP, medium pacer JP Yadav took both the wickets conceding 65 runs off25 overs.

Bangladesh A 287 for 7 (Al Sahariar 62, Faisal 61*) beat Zimbabwe A 227 (Rinke 49, Gripper 49, Razzaq 7-17) by 60 runs
ScorecardA devastating spell of bowling from Abdur Razzaq, a left-arm spinner from Khulna, took Bangladesh A to a comprehensive victory in their third one-dayer against Zimbabwe A at Dhaka. Razzaq took 7 for 17 in eight overs as Zimbabwe A collapsed, after an opening stand of 99, to 227. They fell short of Bangladesh A’s 287 by 60 runs.The run-chase had begun superbly, with Piet Rinke and Trevor Gripper hitting a flurry of boundaries off Tareq Aziz and Alamgir Kabir, as the score progressed to 99 in just 14.4 overs. But Razzaq’s introduction into the attack changed everything, as he got both Rinke and Gripper out for 49 – both batsmen were decieved into giving return catches.The Zimbabweans went steadily downhill from there, as Razzaq, mixing loopy flighted deliveries with quicker flat ones, tied the batsmen up in knots. Stuart Matsikenyeri smashed 48 off 50 balls in a rear-guard action, but he found no support from his fellow batsmen. Razzaq, who had taken 3 for 14 in the six overs of his first spell, returned to the attack to pick up four more wickets for just three runs. Matsikenyeri was one of his victims, brilliantly caught at gully by Jamaluddin Babu. That wicket, the sixth to fall, in the 44th over, with the score on 216, sealed the issue.Earlier, Mohammad Al Sahariar had anchored the Bangladesh innings with a sedate 92-ball innings of 62, to set Bangladesh A on their way towards a big score. Faisal Hossain, one of the rising stars of Bangladesh cricket, hit a sparkling 61 not out, off 67 balls, to ensure that their early momentum was not lost. The Bangladeshis finished on 287 for 7, and although the target seemed eminently gettable when Rinke and Gripper were flaying the bowling, Razzaq bowled to a script all his own.Bangladesh went up 2-1 in the five match series with this win. The last two games are due to be played at Khulna in April 5 and 6.

Mohammad Rafique, the veteran left-arm spinner, has informed the Bangladesh selectors that the upcoming home series against South Africa will be the final leg of his 13-year stint with the national squad.”Rafique is our most experienced spinner. We have recalled him [after he missed out of the New Zealand series] because our chances of winning the series depend on him,” Bangladesh chief selector Rafiqul Alam told AFP, adding that Rafique told him about the his decision to retire.Rafique, who is Bangladesh’s highest wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs with 94 and 119 wickets respectively, is aiming to sign off by becoming the first bowler from his country to take 100 Test wickets.He made his ODI debut against India in Sharjah in April 1995, and played in Bangladesh’s inaugural Test in November 2000, also against India, and was their most economical bowler with figures of 3 for 117 in 51 overs. Rafique played starring roles in Bangladesh’s first ODI and Test wins: against Kenya in 1999 he followed three wickets with 77 as opener and, against Zimbabwe in early 2005, he claimed figures of 5 for 65.An aggressive lower-order batsman, Rafique has scored 1035 at 19.52 in his 31 Tests, his only century coming while batting at No. 9 against West Indies in St. Lucia, when he helped Bangladesh claim a vital first-innings lead.In the one-day format, Rafique has scored 1191 runs at 13.38, and is the first Bangladesh player to achieve the 1000 runs and 100 wickets double in ODIs.

The struggling Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) today received a $5 million conditional state government grant to help it wipe out crippling debt repayments. The WACA will use the money to meet loan payments on the $13 million ground redevelopment it undertook two years ago to retain international Test status.Western Australian sports minister Bob Kucera said that the WACA would receive an immediate $2 million cash injection, plus annual funds of up to $600,000 over five years, provided it achieved certain milestones.Kucera said the government loan would convert to a grant after five years provided that the WACA secured one Test cricket match a year, met its financial arrangements and continued negotiating with the East Perth Redevelopment Authority (EPRA) over the sale of some of its valuable land assets.”It is absolutely important to keep the WACA viable,” Kucera told reporters. “(But) at the end of the day the sport still has to pay for itself and we now have a WACA board in place that is taking a very financially responsible position in partnership with the government. This is not a handout.”Dennis Lillee, former fast-bowling great and newly-installed WACA president, described the funding as “a great start” for the revamped WACA board. “We’re confident we can meet the milestones – we know we’re on the right track.”Lillee said that with the WACA ground used for only three months of the year, the association was looking at other initiatives for use. They included selling some of its land to the EPRA, opening the facility to the public in winter and hosting state league football matches.Kucera said that although Perth recently had won the new Australian Super 14 rugby union franchise, it hosted very few international sporting events. He went on to add: “It’s important to make sure the WACA is given time to work through some of its current problems.”

A one-day tournament so soon after the ICC Champions Trophy probably won’t excite many, but all three teams will have a point to prove when the Paktel Cup starts in Multan tomorrow, when Pakistan take on Zimbabwe. The peculiar tournament schedule means that the third team in the fray, Sri Lanka, don’t play a game until next Wednesday (October 6), but then will probably end up playing five matches in a row over 11 days.Going into the competition, Pakistan are probably the favourites. Since Bob Woolmer took over, there has been a noticeable change in attitude, and it has shown in the results as well – they reached the finals of the tri-nation tournament in Holland, eventually losing narrowly to Australia, and then beat India in the Champions Trophy. They’re still a work-in-progress side – the spineless collapse against West Indies in the Champions Trophy semi-final was a throwback to their old, erratic ways – but there have been enough positives of late to suggest that this might be a side which could realise its potential.There’s much at stake for Pakistan here. As the home team, there will be immense pressure on Inzamam-ul-Haq and the rest of the team, and any result other than a win in the final will be taken as a failure. Especially after the fiasco at the toss at the Rose Bowl against West Indies, a decision which still hasn’t been explained satisfactorily by the captain or the coach.Pakistan’s only realistic threat in the tournament comes from Sri Lanka, who have won 16 of their last 18 one-day internationals. That is a slightly misleading stat, though – five of those wins came against a second-string Zimbabwe – but their annihilation of South Africa in the five-match series was impressive, all the more so because Muttiah Muralitharan didn’t figure in any of those games.Murali will no doubt be missed – by both the Sri Lankan team and the spectators – but if the series against South Africa was anything to go by, the team is gradually learning to win without him. This series should be a good opportunity to give an extended run to Dilhara Fernando, who has finally regained full fitness after a string of back injuries. And in conditions that should be excellent for batting, expect the likes of Jayasuriya, Atapattu, Sangakkara and Jayawardene to come into their own.What of the Zimbabweans? No-one expects them to pull off a win, or even come close. Tatenda Taibu and his band have been game tryers, but it’s hard to see them being anything other than target practice for the big boys. Zimbabwe do get four games, though, in which to show the world that they can compete at the highest level. The tournament hasn’t yet begun, but come October 16 it’s easy to imagine Inzamam and Atapattu walking out for the toss in the final. Anything else will require a major miracle … or two.Squads
PakistanYasir Hameed, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Bazid Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan (wk), Shahid Afridi, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Iftikhar Anjum.Sri Lanka Marvan Atapattu (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Saman Jayantha, Avishka Gunawardene, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Upul Chandana, Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando, Thilina Kandamby, Rangana Herath, Kaushal Lokuarachchi.Zimbabwe Brendan Taylor, Vusi Sibanda, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Mark Vermeulen, Dion Ebrahim, Tatenda Taibu (capt & wk), Elton Chigumbura, Douglas Hondo, Alester Maregwede, Tawanda Mupariwa, Mluleki Nkala, Tinashe Panyangara, Edward Rainsford, Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer.

Greg Blewett’s first-class future is hazy after he was dropped by South Australia for their crucial Pura Cup clash against Western Australia in Perth from Friday. The Redbacks, who experienced a nerve-wracking one-wicket ING Cup loss yesterday, need strong performances in their final two games to move from equal third into a finals position, and they will make their attempt without their second-most experienced batsman.Blewett, who played 46 Tests, has struggled this season with a thigh injury and has scored only 270 runs at 24.54 in seven games. He joins Ben Cameron and Cullen Bailey, the legspinner who was not expected to have impact at the WACA, on the casualty list.”I am obviously disappointed not to be selected, but understand the reasons why I was omitted,” Blewett said. “I am looking forward to getting back to club cricket and getting plenty of runs for Kensington.”Daniel Harris and Shane Deitz have been recalled after impressive grade performances and the selectors also had their 165-run partnership in last year’s corresponding fixture in mind when they made their choices. Western Australia, who selected an unchanged squad after their success against New South Wales, are level with South Australia and New South Wales on 20 points, four behind Victoria and eight adrift of Queensland.The Bulls have named the same squad for their top-of-the-table match with the Bushrangers in Melbourne starting on Thursday. An outright victory would almost certainly seal Queensland hosting rights for next month’s final after they defeated South Australia in Brisbane last week. Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne will play their final games of the domestic season before joining the Test squad in South Africa for the three-match series.Victoria have made three changes, including handing a state debut to the former New South Wales wicketkeeper Nathan Pilon. Brad Hodge and Jason Arnberger return from illness after missing the 120-run loss to Tasmania and they step in for Michael Klinger and Andrew McDonald.Pilon’s selection ahead of Adam Crosthwaite was the biggest surprise, but he was pleased with his elevation after two successful seasons with the Carlton club. “I’m thrilled with this opportunity and am really looking forward to Thursday’s game,” Pilon, who scored 111 and 33 in last week’s 2nd XI match against New South Wales, said. “My form’s been pretty solid, and will hopefully continue.”South Australia Shane Deitz, Cameron Borgas, Mark Cosgrove, Daniel Harris, Darren Lehmann (capt), Callum Ferguson, Graham Manou (wk), Mark Cleary, Jason Gillespie, Dan Cullen, Paul Rofe, Shaun Tait.Western Australia Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, David Bandy, Luke Ronchi (wk), Beau Casson, Brett Dorey, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson, Shawn Gillies.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, James Hopes, Brendan Nash, Lachlan Stevens, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Daniel Doran, Michael Kasprowicz.Victoria Jason Arnberger, Lloyd Mash, Brad Hodge, Nick Jewell, David Hussey, Jon Moss, Cameron White (capt), Nathan Pilon (wk), Shane Warne, Allan Wise, Gerard Denton, Shane Harwood.

Australia will fulfill their commitment to tour Pakistan by going there twice in two years, a joint statement from both boards said. The two legs will straddle the return series hosted by Australia in late 2009.As expected, the five one-dayers and a Twenty20 will be played on the first trip starting next April, which will follow Australia’s visit to South Africa. Australia will then return to Pakistan in August 2010 to play three Tests, with the final dates and venues to be agreed depending on each nation’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) obligations.The schedule means those currently involved in the IPL may be forced to miss the competition. “Playing [in Pakistan] probably inhibits players playing in the IPL [next year],” Cricket Australia’s operations manager Michael Brown told the . “Under their contracts players have to make themselves available to play for Australia and so far we have not had any problems.”Australia, who haven’t toured Pakistan since 1998-99, were due to go in March, but postponed the trip due to security concerns. “Although disappointed that the tour couldn’t be completed as originally scheduled, the PCB is very pleased that the Australian team will come to play in Pakistan twice,” the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf said. “Our discussions with Cricket Australia showed both countries’ strong desire to ensure the postponed matches were played in Pakistan.” The PCB has also confirmed its tour to Australia at the end of 2009 for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20.

Sir Paul Getty’s XI 195 for 6 (Northeast 62*, Dennington 34; Muralitharan 2-16) beat Sri Lankans 179 (Jayawardena 33, Kulasekera 30*, Muralitharan 30, Magoffin 4-14, Gidman 3-30)The Sri Lankans lost their lowest-profile warm-up game, against Sir Paul Getty’s XI, by 16 runs. Amid such beautiful surroundings – even on a cold and grey May day – the cricket, for the last time on the tour, was almost of secondary importance.The headlines belonged to the youngest player in the match, 16-year-old Sam Northeast, a Harrow schoolboy who top scored for Getty’s XI with an unbeaten 62. Northeast has been getting a fair amount of attention – he scored 96 on his debut for Kent 2nd XI against Durham last summer – and on the evidence of this innings, it is not hard to see why. It was fitting that he played here as he was in the Harrow side that was on tour in Galle when the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in December 2004.The Wormsley pitch is usually one to break the hearts of any bowler, but so early in the season it was the batsmen who found the going harder. Northeast batted throughout the Getty innings, facing 143 balls in all, and keeping his head as other more familiar names – Graeme Hick (8) and Tatenda Taibu (16) – came and went in an innings of 195 for 6 from 50 overs.The Sri Lankans batting has failed to ignite so far, and once again they struggled, with Western Australia’s Steve Magoffin putting the skids under them with 4 for 14 and then William Gidman cashing in with three late wickets.

The weather in these parts initially threatened to ruin parts of the Test match, the first ever at Warner Park; then came the ultimatum from the West Indies Players Association that threatened to ruin the Test match completely. Either rain or a strike may prevent the game from starting tomorrow. The latter looks highly unlikely; about the former, nobody can tell.As far as Brian Lara was concerned, “a Test match was carded for June 22 and we’re preparing ourselves for it”. He refused to divulge too many details but pretty much said that the match was on. Was there a sense of uneasiness among the players? “Not really, I think it’s been done at the office level,” he stated. “I feel the guys are very buoyant and they’re looking forward to the Test match. I don’t sense anyone agitated by the situation. I’m sure that the board has great respect for their players and show that at some point of time in the near future.”With that out of the way, Lara had to worry about the nature of his squad, one where no specialist spinner featured. Then there was a pitch that might not have much in it for the faster bowlers. Then again, there was a worry over Dwayne Bravo, who missed the practice session today because of viral fever. Suffice to say, he has enough on his plate.India must be feeling very much at home. The break has refreshed them and all injury concerns, including ones of freakish nature, are out of the way. The transformation of the pitch from a light-green carpet to a brownish mat may tempt them to play two spinners. Harbhajan Singh admitted that his “hands were itching for a bowl” in the final stages of the first two Tests; they might need treatment if he misses out here.India will do well to heed Lara’s thoughts on Harbhajan. “If he’d played in Antigua, on the last day, or even St Lucia, he would definitely have been a handful compared to Sehwag. It’s fortunate for us that it didn’t happen … We expected Harbhajan to be playing in the first Test so it will not be a surprise if he comes in tomorrow. We won’t be panicking, we’ve played against him in the past. If he’s included we might see a more potent Indian attack, but again it’s left to them.”The nature of the track, likely to take turn later on, may prompt West Indies to include Marlon Samuels to complement Chris Gayle in the spin department. The rest may depend on the Bravo situation, one that could have a large bearing on the result of the game. “We seem to be putting ourselves under pressure when India get big totals,” said Lara. “But we were able to hold out. You can expect the guys to perform better in this game. Our backs are against the wall and I wouldn’t say we got away. I thought we showed a lot of character and if the tables can turn in our favour, things can get beneficial for us.”TeamsIndia (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid (capt), 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mohammad Kaif, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Sreesanth, 11 Munaf Patel.West Indies (probable) 1 Daren Ganga, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Ian Bradshaw, 10 Corey Collymore, 11 Pedro Collins.