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Two contrasting cricketers made similar centuries as Delhi inched towardstaking the all-important first-innings lead in their Ranji Trophy matchagainst Tamil Nadu. Shikhar Dhawan with 106 and Rajat Bhatia, unbeaten on101, helped generously by Vijay Dahiya, who chipped in with a breezyunbeaten half-century, pushed Delhi to 309 for 5 at the end of the thirdday, leaving themselves only 39 more to capture the first innings lead inthis match.Dhawan is tall, upright at the crease, and bats left-handed, while Bhatiais stocky, compact in his approach and right-handed. Dhawan looked to hitthe boundaries, mostly square of the wicket on the off side, with weightfirmly on the back foot, capitalising on any width on offer. Bhatia,certainly no mug with the bat but by no means outrageously gifted,understood his role perfectly and looked to stay on the front foot as muchas possible on a wicket that continued to show signs of variable bounce.When the day began with Delhi on 54 for 2, it appeared that Tamil Nadu hadthings under control. After only five runs were added to the overnightscore Vijaykumar Yomahesh trapped Mithun Manhas in front of the stumps.Then, Virat Kohli, making his debut, became Yomahesh’s third victim as heedged one to the keeper. At 75 for 4, Tamil Nadu had Delhi just where theywanted them.Then, slowly but surely, the game began to slip out of their grasp.Surprisingly S Badrinath, the captain, showed little faith in his debutantleft-arm spinner, C Suresh, and barely employed him all day, using him foronly four overs, even as the mediumpacers toiled hard with little reward.With no results coming through, and a couple of close shouts for lbw beingturned down, the spirit of the mediumpacers flagged, and with it went theaccuracy. Dhawan was given too much width outside the off, and he tookfull toll, cutting and driving through point as left-hand batsmen tend todo with ease.Bhatia, known for his commonsense in cricketing circles, just bedded down andrefused to be dismissed. He attempted no extravagant shots, although acouple of punches straight back down the ground would have done anybatsman proud. He showed the full face of the bat to the ball, and refusedto be tempted into playing a horizontal bat shot even when the ball wassent through wide.From 75 for 4, Bhatia and Dhawan nursed the score along to 208, adding 133for the fifth wicket, before the second new ball gave Yomahesh his fourthwicket as Dhawan hit one uppishly to Hemang Badani. Dhawan’s 106 had comeon the back of a rather ordinary previous season, and proved to becritical in the context of the game.Wicketkeepers tend to be annoyingly cheeky batsmen, and Dahiya is noexception. While it seems like he’s always giving you a chance by playingwith an open face, he’s merely playing to his strengths, and Tamil Naducertainly missed a trick on the day by not putting out a fielder atthird-man early on. Dahiya slashed three boundaries down to the vacantthird-man region and then followed it up with two crisp cover-drives, andall of a sudden the runs began to come easily.Bhatia had played the grafter’s hand all along, but the infusion ofDahiya, and the momentum that came with the manner in which he rattled offboundaries, gave Delhi a big boost as they neared Tamil Nadu’s score.Bhatia brought up his fifth first-class century – his fourth for Delhi,and second against Tamil Nadu – and his former team-mates could onlygrudgingly applaud.Meanwhile Dahiya was celebrating a milestone of his own, having reachedhis half-century, and was unbeaten on 51 from only 78 balls, with 9 fours.No-one else who had made 50 or more in the game had scored at a strikerate of even 50 runs per 100 balls. The manner in which the ball sped awayto the fence made you wonder if somehow the outfield had suddenlyquickened overnight, but that could not possibly have happened without thegrass being cut, and that’s not something that’s done in the middle of agame.Tamil Nadu will make one final push on the fourth morning, with theirmediumpacers, to defend 347, but unless Delhi’s batsmen commit suicide,it’s hard to see five wickets falling for 39 runs on this pitch.

Division One

Points TableNottinghamshire beat Kent by 214 runs to become the County Champions of 2005. Full report here.Hampshire have put themselves in an excellent position with which to force a victory over Glamorgan, but their title hopes were ruined by Nottinghamshire earlier in the day. Hampshire lead the hosts by 271 runs with seven second-innings wickets remaining.

Division Two

Points Table

Durham have won promotion to Division One for 2006 thanks to drawing their game against Northamptonshire. Northamptonshire declared on 101 for 7, seeking a win and had Durham in trouble at 38 for 2. But bad light caused the match to be abandoned, much to the joy of the Durham players and fans. Speaking to , coach Martyn Moxon said:”It is fantastic for this club that we have achieved promotion and it is what we have worked hard for all year. Every player deserves praise for the hard work they have put in and every one of them has put their hand up at some point during the season.”Anthony McGrath’s 158 for Yorkshire has given his side hope of joining Durham in Division One next season. Yorkshire ended the day on an imposing 520 against Derbyshire, and Ian Harvey also struck a century to go with his five wickets in Derbyshire’s first innings.

Zimbabwe officials might be breathing a sigh of relief that England’s tour passed without incident, but there are few signs that the internal conflict which had dogged the country all year is likely to ease off.At the weekend, the opposition Independent newspaper carried a report that Takashinga, a leading club and one accused by critics of being highly politicised, was demanding that 10% of all money earned and bonuses won by its players must go to it for "development". According to the paper, the club confirmed this and said they considered it fair – which the players didn’t.Last month, Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s captain, left Takashinga. At a press conference at the weekend he denied that his decision to sever links with a club he had been involved with since he was 10 had anything to do with this ongoing dispute. It is believed that Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri paid last season’s levy out of their World Cup bonuses, but were unable to see any signs of where the money had been spent. When they pressed the point they were politely advised not to delve any further. Taibu left the club shortly afterwards. The Independent added that insiders had claimed one player was "threatened with death for challenging the alleged extortion."Another player told the paper that they had been warned "that [Stephen] Mangongo [the club’s chairman and a national selector] would "penalise" them when it comes to selection." Mangongo defended the levy, explaining that "Takashinga is a self-sustaining club like all others and we’re glad we came up with an idea to fund the club."In the London Sunday Times yesterday, Simon Wilde reported that there was also unrest inside the Mashonaland Cricket Association — the strongest provincial organisation in the country – where officials are said to have raised questions over selection of national Under-16 and Under-19 squads. Wilde wrote that he had seen minutes which said action was needed as "a number of deserving kids were left out and some of them were not even called for trials". The minutes also flagged concerns at how appointments were being made within Zimbabwe cricket. "All keep seeing new faces every day at (ZC)," the minutes stated. "Other members wanted to know whether the people who are being employed had a cricketing background".A further blow to Zimbabwe Cricket came with the news that Kish Gokal, general manager of its national academy, had stepped down. The academy’s administrator, Anthea Reeler, resigned at the same time. The word on the street, which remains unconfirmed, is that Gokal had tired of political interference.And Zimbabwe Cricket has one other worry. It is reported that a number of its current side are deeply unhappy with their pay, claiming that they earn as little as 25% of what they feel is a fair rate. It is said that they approached FICA, the international players’ association, in a bid to escalate their grievances. One source close to Zimbabwe Cricket told Cricinfo that this was blamed for the team’s "below-par performances against England".The pro-government Daily Herald carried a report on Friday that Zimbabwe Cricket officials were considering penalising players for poor displays, adding that some of the squad had been seen in nightclubs. “We all appreciate the fact the players are still young but there are signs that they are no longer spending much of their time on their cricket,” a senior ZC member told the Herald. “Instead they are busy seeking pleasure. The best way to handle the situation is to limit the players’ access to pleasure by taking away their cars.”

Bashley-Rydal’s bid to launch an early season ECB Southern Electric Premier League leadership challenge floundered in the rain at title holders Havant.They lost by 15 runs to the reigning champions in a match reduced to 28 overs per side.It was Havant’s second consecutive win – they edged a two-wicket victory at Andover last week – and underlines the strong belief that they are again going to be the side to beat this season.When rain swept across Salisbury Plain, Bournemouth must have felt they were about to be dogged by the weather for a second week running.Thwarted by a waterlogged Chapel Gate surface last week, they were frustrated for almost an hour at Bemerton, but when the weather relented they saw off South Wilts and won a rain affected affair by eight wickets.Bournemouth’s stars were five-wicket left-armer Dave Kidner and young Australian Adam Voges, who hit a half-century on his Premier League debut.Bashley, who won their corresponding 50-over visit to Havant last season, were on the back foot directly Andy Perry (19) creamed Ben Nolan-Stone’s opening over for 13 runs.Kevin Nash restored parity when he bowled Dominic Carson (1), but Havant were going well at 50-2 off just nine overs, with Nolan-Stone avenging his initial rough treatment from Perry.Despite some effective bowling from Chris Sketchley and Andy Neal, Richard Hindley (32) and Luke Sears (48) consolidated Havant’s position.Bashley had to wait until the score reached 90 before a third breakthrough was achieved.As Havant pressed for quick runs late in their truncated innings, Matt King (2-29) got two more wickets to restrict the champions to 139-6 off 28 overs."I honestly thought we needed a score of 150, but despite spilling half a dozen catches, we bowled and ground fielded well," said Havant skipper Paul Gover.Neil Thurgood (25) and Andy Sexton (24) gave Bashley a comfortable start, but Havant bowled tightly enough to prevent the visitors getting into a position of strength.With Sketchley (39) striking some useful blows, Bashley eased to 81-2, but never able to dominate.It was Hindley’s five-over spell which won it for Havant – the all-rounder ripping out Bashley’s entire middle-order, finishing with figures of 5-13 – which included a straight Sketchley six !Hindley’s bowling left Bashley 15 runs adrift at 124-8.Dave Kidner marked his return to fitness – he was sidelined with a back injury for much of last season – with a spell of 5-42 which set up Bournemouth’s eight-wicket win at South Wilts.Kidner got amongst the South Wilts middle-order after Paul Draper (84), Jason Laney (34) and Rob Wade (22) had steered the Salisbury club into a strong position at 159-2.Coming on after a tidy new ball spell by Jo Wilson (1-26), Kilner took five of the next six wickets to fall, including that of Draper, the mainstay of the South Wilts innings.The early rain delays meant that South Wilts’ total of 207-9 was reduced to a target of 120 off 29 overs, which Bournemouth greedily polished off.Victorian Jimmy Seeary took the early punishment, conceding 33 runs off four overs, as Richard Scott and then Voges scored quickly.Teenager Nick Park (31 not out) played a perfect supporting role as Voges hit 57 to steer Bournemouth towards a handy first win.Roger Miller cracked a century as Andover beat Liphook & Ripsley by 83 runs in the only Premier One match to go the distance.Miller hit 104, sharing a 130-run third wicket partnership with Indian newcomer Asurigt Singh (35) as Andover piled up 228-8.A three-wicket haul by Dean Woodhouse (3-23) ensured that Liphook were never in the hunt – the East Hampshire side being bowled out for 145 (Jez Bulled 30).

Sachin Tendulkar had his first jog this week in almost two months. It happened in Johannesburg that the world’s top batsman ran for only six minutes – but it was enough to lift his spirits on a tough road to recovery that he hopes will lead to greater success on South African fields.In seeking to find relief for a nagging foot injury that has laid him low since early in July, India’s “Little Master” – the only current cricketer considered good enough to be included in the late Sir Donald Bradman’s alltime best XI – came to South Africa where he has spent the past four days in the care of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mark Ferguson at the Rosebank Centre for Sports Medicine in Johannesburg.Within a couple of days of his arrival, special orthotics were designed by Johannesburg podiatrist Frank Dubowitz and fitted into Tendulkar’s shoes to provide the correct support and cushioning. The critical area is the ball of his right foot which has not mended properly from a hairline fracture suffered while scoring a great match-winning century in a one-day international against West Indies in Harare.Unfortunately an X-ray taken at the time revealed no problem and Tendulkar was given the go-ahead to play in the final of the triangular tournament a few days later. As it turned out, this proved to be both the undoing of both the Indian team and their star player.Before returning home to Mumbai, Tendulkar – who currently averages 57.18 in Test cricket – spoke of his great desire to be fit in time for India’s tour of South Africa which starts in October.In an interview with Rodney Hartman, communications director of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Tendulkar, scorer of 25 centuries in his 84 test matches, said: “I tried out the orthotics during a six-minute jog. The medical opinion is that I should get back into training very gradually and we are hoping for the best. Once I’m back home I will start with three or four-minute runs and then begin some net practices. I haven’t picked up a bat for the past seven weeks.”Tendulkar said his spirits had been raised with his visit to Johannesburg. “I know that injury is part and parcel of the game but it has been a bit disheartening knowing that the injury has not healed properly. I was very relieved to hear that I do not need surgery. I am now keeping my fingers crossed that I will be fit for the South African tour and I promise that I will be trying very hard to be ready.”South Africa is a lovely place to tour. The cricket played here is very tough.”India do not have a good record against South Africa but Tendulkar, their former captain, believes that a very promising young side will visit this country for three Tests and a series of limited overs internationals in October-November. “The average age of our team is 24 and all they need is the opportunity of playing more together and gaining more experience.”Tendulkar said South Africans should enjoy the batting of 22 year old Virender Shewag who, while opening the Indian innings in the absence of the injured superstar during this month’s triangular limted overs tournament in Sri Lanka, hit a whirlwind 100 in just 69 balls against New Zealand.Looking ahead a further 17 months, Tendulkar said his big goal was to play at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. “It is a very, very big event and all the world’s players are looking forward to it and will be striving hard to be there. It is also the first World Cup of the century which makes it quite significant. South Africa has excellent facilities to host a World Cup. The atmosphere in your country will be very different and very special. I very much want to be a part of it.”

Darren Wates, the Western Australia allrounder who played 15 first-class games, has stepped down to concentrate on his job as a lawyer. Wates, 30, was a swing bowler and lower-order batsman who was a member of the state’s squad since making his debut in 1999-2000.”After several seasons of being in and out of the team I felt that the time was right for me to move on to the next part of my life and devote my full attention to my professional career,” Wates said. “I’ve been fortunate to have lined up alongside some of the best players to have ever played the game during my time with the Warriors and I have made many lifelong friendships.”Wates won a Best New Talent award in his first year on the domestic one-day scene and appeared in 50 matches. In the domestic first-class competition he had a high of 99 against South Australia and earned 35 wickets at 39.94.”Darren has played an important role on and off the field as a leader, and he has had a major impact on the Warriors’ success over the past decade,” the coach Tom Moody said. “He will be sorely missed by his team-mates and the coaching and support staff because of his cricketing qualities and the wisdom he offers to the entire playing group.”

Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, has said that India could regret the decision to drop Rahul Dravid for the first two ODIs because senior members performed the vital role of easing pressure on the youngsters in tense situations.”We don’t have too many seniors in the Pakistani team. [Mohammad] Yousuf and I are perhaps the only oldies,” Younis told . “You always need seniors because, when put under pressure, the youngsters may lose it. So when you have players like Sachin [Tendulkar], [Rahul] Dravid and [Sourav] Ganguly in the side, who have handled pressure several times, it only helps the youngsters.”If you drop a player like Sachin then you need to have somebody who can achieve at least 75% of what he has done. Take the Australians for instance; they don’t drop somebody before they have a replacement ready.”India and Pakistan have played each other in 22 one-day internationals since 2004 and know each other well. Younis said that his team was not targeting specific individuals since India had a cluster of match-winners in Tendulkar, Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Robin Uthappa.Younis has plundered the Indian bowling in Tests and averages 106 in 11 innings with four hundreds and three fifties. In ODIs, however, Younis’s record against India isn’t so flash. He averages just below 30 in 22 matches and his average in India is only 16 in five ODIs. Younis, however, was confident of making significant contributions to his team.”I have always performed well against India,” Younis said. “Even when I’m not in form, I strike form. I am sure I will do well this time around as well.”One Pakistan batsman who desperately needs runs is the man Younis replaced as the team’s vice-captain. Salman Butt was dropped from the team for all the ODIs against South Africa and was stripped of the vice-captaincy for the tour of India.”I would not say that it [vice-captiancy] was putting pressure on me but I think somebody who has been in the team for a long time is better for the job. In the meantime, I can just focus on getting good results with the bat and improve myself. The seniors can make plans and strategies and we would just follow them.”Butt warmed up for the one-day series by scoring 83 against Delhi and his excellent ODI record against India – all three of his one-day centuries have come against them – could count in his favour when Pakistan decide on their XI for the first ODI in Guwhati on November 5.

Abdur Rehman, Habib Bank Limited’s (HBL) left-arm spinner withdrawn from the Test squad for the series against West Indies, and Sajid Shah, the right-arm fast bowler, shared eight wickets between them to dismiss Pakistan Customs for a modest 194 on the first day of their final round of the Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex Stadium.Rehman, 26, got 5 for 54 in 26 overs while Sajid took 3 for 35 runs in 17 overs as Habib Bank put Customs in to bat. Usman Arshad batted for four hours and scored a defiant 60 that included six fours and tail-ender Rizwan Akbar got 38 off 87 balls in with three fours and a six.By close of play on the first day Habib Bank were 30 for no loss, Taufeeq Umar on 19 and Rafatullah Mohmand on 9.Habib Bank have already qualified for the Quadrangular Stage of the tournament, that starts on December 5, after collecting the full 27 points from their first three matches. Customs with only three points to their credit are not in contention.Attock Group scraped a rather poor score of 79 for 3 on a rain-shortened first day of their Patron’s Trophy match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi.Manzoor Ali Qureshi, making his debut with Attock Group, did well opening with an unbeaten 55 in his maiden first-class innings.ZTBL need to at least gain the first innings lead points from this match, if they intend to join Habib Bank from Pool A in the tournament’s Quadrangular Stage, starting December 5.If they lose to Attock Group, placed at the bottom of the table, they’ll be tied on 18 points with defending champions National Bank, but will lose out on the qualification as they have a lower net run-rate.

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Half-centuries by Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed helped the Bangladeshis salvage a draw against a Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in a three-day practice match at the Colombo Colts grounds. This was Bangladesh’s only warm-up game before the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts at the Premadasa Stadium on September 12.Dismissed for a disappointing 195 in their first innings, the Bangladeshis scored 273 for6 in their second innings before the match was called off after two mandatory overs. The Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI made 412 in their first innings.However, at one stage of the morning session a draw looked quite unlikely when Bangladesh slumped from their overnight total of 31 for 1 to 92 for 4. But Ashraful andAhmed took up the challenge and on a pitch which turned out to be a perfectbatting strip, helped restore Bangladesh’s pride. The pair came together 14 minutes before the lunch break and were not parted until 21 minutes before tea when Ashraful, in sight of a century, lost his cool and was stumped attempting to hit part time bowler Kandamby over the top. Ashraful showed great reserves of concentration, batting for two minutes under three hours for a well-compiled 87 off 150 balls. He hit a six and 11 fours.With the 19-year-old Ahmed, who made a well-struck 67, Ashraful added 123 for thefifth wicket in 108 minutes. Ahmed, who reached his half-century in grand style witha pulled six over midwicket, also hit seven fours in his 123-ball knock. Thilan Samaraweera, the SLC Development XI captain, tried as many as eight bowlers to try and dislodge the pair, and although Ahmed was dismissed soon after tea, Tushar Imran and Khaled Mashud, theformer captain and wicket-keeper, batted out time, occupying the crease for 52 minutesto frustrate the local team’s effort of pulling off a victory.Ashraful said after the match that he was pleased to get runs after a lean trot in the one-day series. “Even though we were 92 for 4 I was confident that as long as I was at the wicket wecould still draw the match. Although I don’t put pressure on myself when I go out tobat, I know that the team expects a lot from me. I thought to myself if I can get runs in England, why not here. After all I scored my maiden Test century in Sri Lanka.” It was at the SSC grounds four years ago that Ashraful, then only 17, had scored a century on Test debut, in the process becoming the youngest to achieve the feat in the history of the game.Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, said it was encouraging that his side scored runs in tough conditions. “It was good to see the guys respond very well and bat under pressure especially when things got tough. We need some runs from the top order. What I want from themis not 30s, 40s and 50s but big centuries.”

After a first-day washout, Usman Afzaal made up for lost time with an unbeaten 83, as Northampton reached the close on 257 for 5 against Lancashire in the first division of the Frizzell County Championship. Elsewhere, rain had a major say in a full programme of National League matches, as Messrs Duckworth and Lewis brought out their abaci in six of the seven matches – the seventh, Scotland’s match against Nottinghamshire, was beyond salvation.Glamorgan did more than enough in the time available to extend their lead at the top of the first division, as Surrey were plunged deeper into trouble with a nine-wicket defeat at Cardiff – they have now lost five of their seven matches, with one no-result. In the second division, there were wins for the top-of-the-table Yorkshire and Middlesex, while Durham kept up their promotion challenge with an emphatic victory at Taunton.

Frizzell County Championship Division One

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Day 1: No play due to rain
Day 2 report: Lancashire frustrated by dour Afzaal The Daily Telegraph

National League Division One

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Whirlwind Croft makes Surrey heads spin – The GuardianKent 140 for 2 (Smith 81) beat Warwickshire 233 for 9 (Wagh 83) by 10 runs at Beckenham (D/L method)
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Smith makes full use of Kent’s Key absence – The Times

National League Division Two

Derbyshire 215 for 8 (Moss 104) beat Worcestershire 159 for 9 by 18 runs at Derby (D/L method)
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Moss century gives Scorpions overseas aid – The TimesMiddlesex 187 for 4 (Weekes 90) beat Leicestershire 205 (Cook 6-37) by six wickets at Leicester (D/L method)
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Cook serves up six of the best – The TimesNottinghamshire 205 for 8 (Pietersen 51) v Scotland at Edinburgh – match abandoned
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Saltires left frustrated – The Daily TelegraphDurham 278 for 4 (Pratt 67) beat Somerset 210 for 9 (Francis 75) by 16 runs at Taunton (D/L method)
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Dynamos have power in reserve – The TimesYorkshire 119 for 2 (Gale 46) beat Sussex 118 by eight wickets at Arundel
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Yorkshire get winning buzz – The Daily Telegraph