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Titans 184 for 5 (Rudolph 46, Kemp 48) beat Eagles 94(Bosman 42, Thomas 3-20, Reddy 3-27) by 90 runs
ScorecardThe Titans demonstrated how much they had learned from their first match of the Standard Bank PRO20 series, as they compiled 184 for 5 second time around, against the Eagles at Bloemfontein. After winning the toss and batting first, Jacques Rudolph anchored the innings with 46 from 45 balls, allowing Justin Kemp to crack 48 from 24 deliveries, including three boundaries and four sixes. Gerald Dross then added 35 from 20 and right at the end of the innings Daryll Cullinan had a ball, belting 16 off only five balls.The Eagles stumbled at first, as they lost three wickets in four overs, all to Alfonso Thomas. Loots Bosman briefly looked as though he might repeat his efforts at the weekend, but he was running out of partners when he was bowled for 42. Brendon Reddy then wrapped up the tail, taking 3 for 27 in his four overs to help the Titans to the bonus point.

Western Province 217 and 62 for 1 lead KwaZulu-Natal 187 (H Amla 78*, Henderson 3-27) by 92 runs
Scorecard
Western Province reclaimed the initiative in the SuperSportSeries final at Newlands, as KwaZulu-Natal were bowled out for a mere 187 in their first innings. By the close of the second day, WP had extended their lead to 92, with nine wickets still standing.Natal had resumed on 33 for 1, and found the going just as hard as their opponents had on the first day. The two Amla brothers proved how difficult it was, scoring just 14 runs in a partnership that lasted for 14.1 overs.On a bowler-friendly pitch, Hashim Amla showed a lot of patience to held the innings together with an unbeaten 78, while Claude Henderson, in his last first-class match in South Africa, took 3 for 27 and was ably assisted by all the Province bowlers.Bad light once again caused an early finish, although with 21 wickets in two days, one wonders if this final will last the full five days.

Tasmania have paved the way for Andy Blignaut to return for Zimbabwe by releasing him from a two-year state contract. While Blignaut re-committed to his homeland on Monday, the Tasmania Cricket Association did not receive formal advice of his decision until today."The TCA has always been of the view that it would not stand in the way of any player’s aspirations to play international cricket," David Johnston, the TCA chief executive, said. "It appears that Andy’s impasse in Zimbabwe has been resolved and he can now work to regain his position in the national team."Tasmania stopped paying Blignaut when he flew to Zimbabwe before Christmas to resume negotiations with the country’s board after he had struggled to break into the first team because of injuries and poor form. Blignaut’s arrival in Australia at the start of the summer was delayed by visa troubles and things didn’t improve when he landed. He played only one Pura Cup match against Western Australia, bowling 12 overs for 79 and making 9 and 0.

Mickey Arthur, the newly appointed coach of South Africa, has asked his team to stick to their own gameplan on the tour to Australia in December 2005.”When we play against them at the end of the year I want the team to play our own game and not try and follow their play,” Arthur was quoted as saying in News24.com website. “When they bat at four runs per over I don’t want us to try and bat at four-and-a-half runs to the over. We should not worry about what they do, but rather play to our own strengths and as well as we possibly can.”The tour includes three Tests and a triangular series also involving Australia and Sri Lanka, and Arthur said that there was a possibility the team might leave a week early to fit in an extra warm-up game before the first Test, which starts on December 16. “We’d like to play such a game at the WACA where the Test is being played. The match against Western Australia can’t be played on that pitch because it will then be prepared for the Test.”Speaking about Australia’s below-average one-day show against England, Arthur said, “There seem to be a few cracks in the ODI team, but with the return of Shane Warne their Test side is still tops. What I do like, however, is that they are increasingly being put under pressure and they don’t seem to handle it very well. Their major problem is that the senior players are not performing as expected.”

Scorecard
How they were out

Australian concerns over leaving Glenn McGrath at home for the Chappell-Hadlee Series were dispelled as the back-up brigade stormed through New Zealand for an embarrassing 147-run victory in the opening match. Brett Lee stepped up in the absence of McGrath, who is resting in Sydney, with an amazing performance and he received such impressive support from Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clark that the home side imploded to 33 for 6 on the way to being dismissed for 105 in only 27.4 overs.Boosted by a tailwind, the speed of Lee was the main danger as he reached up to 156kph in a six-over opening spell that was also impressive for its accuracy and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. Making the batsmen jump around with shorter balls, Lee then restricted their feet movement when he pitched up and was rewarded with the wickets of the Marshall brothers and Craig McMillan as he gave up only five runs.New Zealand were in severe trouble after losing two batsmen in the first four overs and the situation deteriorated further when Scott Styris and James Marshall departed by the time the score reached 20. The opener Lou Vincent and Hamish Marshall both played on to their stumps, Bracken striking first before Lee reduced them to 16 for 2 with Marshall’s inside edge. Operating at around 20kph slower than Lee, Bracken swung the ball and generally kept a tight line, although when he aimed a wider ball Styris drove straight to point where Michael Clarke took a sharp overhead catch.James Marshall was rushed in as the Supersub at No. 5 in a bid to limit the damage and he appeared not to sight Lee’s delivery that caught him lbw for nought. The Australians were buzzing and the mood became even more upbeat when Craig McMillan nicked Lee to Michael Hussey at second slip and then Clark, who was playing only his second match, removed Nathan Astle in his first over (33 for 6).The miracle working was left to the powerful allrounders Jacob Oram and Chris Cairns, but Oram became Clark’s second wicket and Brendon McCullum his third as he claimed 3 for 19. Cairns, who had not been picked for the one-day tour of South African, was left stranded on 37 as Daniel Vettori’s opening match as an ODI captain ended in disaster following a satisfying fightback in the first innings.

Australia looked set for a total of around 300 due to a dashing start with half-centuries to Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich, but they were cleverly restricted by Vettori and his band of medium pacers through the middle overs. Vettori usually saves his best bowling for Australia and he was again their main tormentor with 2 for 27 from ten.The tourists were in charge after racing at almost a run a ball for the first 20 overs, but they lost 3 for 27 in eight around the mid-innings mark and needed desperate contributions from Symonds (44 from 59 balls), Clarke (31) and Hussey (19 from 17 deliveries) to prop up a respectable total. Parading a new away uniform with a mostly green shirt and gold trousers, the Australians looked like lolly shop workers, but Ponting shed any prospect of donations with a 46-ball half-century, which included three sixes, and a 117-run stand with Katich. He arrived in an aggressive mood and his crisp strokeplay was complemented by Katich as he applied a more patient approach and also benefited from two missed run-outs and a couple of tough chances to Cairns.Like Katich, Cairns was returning to the international scene and he was greeted by chants of “let’s go Cairnsy, let’s go”. The early experience was not positive and he leaked 28 from four overs before picking up Clarke and Lee in his closing second spell. Both Cairns and his team deserved to be proud of their initial recovery, but there was nothing to smile about as they were over-run by Australia’s keen and mean fast bowlers.How they were outAustralia
Adam Gilchrist c Astle b Franklin 3 (4 for 1)
Simon Katich c Vettori b Styris 54 (121 for 2)
Ricky Ponting lbw Vettori 63 (136 for 3)
Brad Hodge b Styris 13 (148 for 4)
Andrew Symonds b Vettori 44 (207 for 5)
Michael Clarke c Franklin b Cairns 31 (230 for 6)
Brett Lee b Cairns 0 (231 for 7)
Brad Hogg c Vettori b Mills 4 (249 for 8)
New Zealand
Lou Vincent b Bracken 4 (5 for 1)
Hamish Marshall b Lee 5 (16 for 2)
Scott Styris c Clarke b Bracken 1 (19 for 3)
Craig McMillan c Hussey b Lee 0 (28 for 5)
Nathan Astle c Clarke b Clark 14 (33 for 6)
Jacob Oram b Clark 23 (74 for 7)
Brendon McCullum c White b Clark 2 (82 for 8)
Daniel Vettori c Ponting b Symonds 8 (105 for 9)
James Franklin c Gilchrist b Symonds 0 (105 all out)

Scorecard
Live audio
Day 3
Bulletin – Harbhajan helps India clinch a thriller
Verdict – The side with nothing to lose
Australian View – A whale of a debut
Roving Reporter – Capturing the debut
Quotes ‘I couldn’t be prouder of the guys’ – Dravid
Day 2
Bulletin – Australia ahead on difficult track
Verdict – About mood and confidence
Australian View – Born to ride
Quotes ‘I bowled much better in Nagpur’ – Kartik
Roving Reporter – Dancing the day away
Day 1
Bulletin – Damp start to the Mumbai Test
Verdict – The not-so-great cover-up
Quotes – ‘Right decision about offering the light’ – Buchanan
Roving Reporter – The ABC of cricket
Preview package
Preview – Playing for pride
News – Warne out of Mumbai Test
Stats spot – Three times trouble
Quotes – ‘We’re not going to rest any players’ – Ponting
Roving Reporter – The day before
News – Ponting fit for Mumbai Test
News – Ganguly out of Mumbai Test
News – Four new players in Indian squad
Selection analysis – The need for nurture

He may be just one good game away from trumping Pakistan on their hometurf but Rahul Dravid continues to stress on the strategies, plans andprocesses, rather than results. Returning to the ground where he led Indiato their first Test win in Pakistan, on that memorable March morning in2004, Dravid spoke about Pakistan’s ability to bounce back and hoped thathis side could continue to excel in all three departments of the game.”We need one more day of good cricket to win the series and we’reconfident we can do it here [Multan],” he said while speaking ahead of the fourthODI. “We’ve shown in the last two games that we can do well in all threedepartments of the game and we need to continue to implement ourstrategies. It’s heartening to see our plans working well. If it helps uswin, then very good.”In the last year, though Pakistan have shown a tremendous ability tofight back and Dravid will remember the home series last year when Indiafrittered away a 2-0 advantage. “Pakistan are a very good team,” hecontinued and brushed aside suggestions that they were weakened byinjuries to a couple of key players. “They are a fine side even withoutShahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar and we can’t sit back and relax. We arealso missing Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag, two players who havebeen critical parts of our success, but it all comes down to the team thatplays better cricket on the day.”India have got on a hot chasing streak ever since Dravid took over asone-day captain, successfully overhauling targets in their last nineattempts, but he said there was no preference to bat second. “It all comesdown to playing good cricket,” he continued, “and we’re confident ofbatting first or chasing. We have a good record chasing but we have plansand strategies for any eventuality.”Flexibility has been the key to India’s triumphs while chasing and Dravidadmitted that having a player like Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a big advantage.”There’s been no rigid stand with his batting position. At Peshawar hebatted at No.4 and did well; at Rawalpindi, we kept him back. The idea isto give batsmen a chance to bat in all positions and challenge themselvesin tough situations.”India have been hampered by Harbhajan’s injury, and didn’t pick aspecialist spinner in their playing XI at both Rawalpindi and Lahore, butDravid looked at it as an opportunity for the part-time spinners to provetheir worth. “[Sachin] Tendulkar has bowled well in the last two games,”he said, “and we’re trying to develop him, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singhand Suresh Raina as the fifth bowling option. The only way of developingthem is by giving them a chance in important situations. We’ve usuallypicked a bowler as a Supersub but we will have more options if theseplayers bowl well.”

On his recent performances
After being out with injury during the Australia tour I had a point to prove to show that I can be a good allrounder. So I have been working hard on my fitness and every aspect of my game with Tom (Moody), who has helped me a lot. I’m happy with the way I have been approaching my cricket and on the field, I have just been playing my natural game. I have been keeping things simple and things are going well at the moment.On how his game has developed
Tom has helped me with my technique and also mentally as well. We have recently changed some of my bowling methods, opening up my action slightly and making sure my front arm was pulling down straight. I feel there has been a big improvement since making those changes. I just have to make sure that I am always asking the batsman questions as to whether to play or not.On his batting
Batting-wise, I have just been trying to adapt to the situation. When I went in on Monday I was just thinking about getting through what was a tough period. They were bowling a good line and length. We knew it would ease-up after lunch and just wanted to survive the first session. Dilshan played brilliantly for his 69 and I gave him company. I’m just disappointed to not get a half-century.On the progress of the match
After Pakistan started the innings well, we just tried to focus on the basics and that worked for us as we took three quick wickets. Inzamam and Farhat batted well. This morning I was just concentrating on bowling in the right areas rather than looking for seam or swing. That paid off and from the other end, we also kept it tight. Murali took wickets and Malinga (Lasith) chipped in. Then Upul (Tharanga), Sanga (Sangakkara) and Mahela (Jayawardene) batted brilliantly – it was a good day for us.On the present match situation
We are in the box seat at the moment with a lead of 250-odd with eight wickets in hand. But you never know in cricket and we just want to get a score where we feel we are safe and can win the match. I think around 350 to 400 would be a good target on this pitch.On the condition of the pitch
The pitch has eased a lot compared to the first day and now it is playing very well. The spinners are getting some bite and jump. It’s a good track but when we go out in the second innings to bowl, we’ll be looking to be positive and trying to make sure we are hitting the good areas as much as possible.

Guyana survived several tense moments and completed a three-wicket victory against Leeward Islands on the final day of their fourth round match at Albion.Beginning the day on 121 for 3, Guyana were well-placed to push for the win. They needed 116 runs and had seven wickets in hand with captain Ramnaresh Sarwan batting on 13. Adam Sanford struck an early blow for Leeward by dismissing Azeemul Haniff for 21. Sarwan was joined by Narsingh Deonarine and they added 35 for the fifth wicket before Sarwan was caught for 40.Guyana lost their sixth wicket for 190 and still needed 47 to win with only the tail left. However, Deonarine, 36, and Mahendra Nagamootoo thwarted Leeward’s chances of a come-from-behind victory. Deonarine was dismissed with the score on 218 but Nagamootoo remained unbeaten on 24 and took Guyana home. Sanford was Leeward’s best bowler finishing with 4 for 56.

Still annoyed with ICC selectors for overlooking him from the Super Series World XI squad against Australia, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain, today said he will not travel to Australia next month for the Captains’ Conference and the second ICC Annual Awards.Inzamam told PTI, “I have not yet made up my mind if I would play in the Super Series if given a late ticket, but I have definitely decided not to travel to Australia for Captains’ Conference and ICC Annual Awards. I have conveyed my decision to the concerned authorities.”Inzamam’s decision came a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board said it would back the captain if he decides to skip the Australian tour. Inzamam’s decision has also strengthened apprehensions that he might turn down a late invitation from the ICC to represent the World XI in place of an injured Sachin Tendulkar or Herschelle Gibbs.”I don’t think it would be a wise decision to take a long flight to and from Sydney for the Captains’ Conference when the same time can be better utilised to prepare for the home series against England. That is far more important than anything at the moment.”Michael Vaughan’s side, fresh from their Ashes success against Australia, arrive in Pakistan on October 26 for a three-Test and five-ODI series. When England last toured Pakistan in 2000, they won the three-Test series 1-0 while Pakistan clinched the ODI seriesInzamam added, “Instead of undergoing flight hazards, I have decided to pencil down my suggestions, opinions and recommendations and hand them over to the PCB so that they can forward them to the ICC.”Inzamam said it was a great honour for him to be nominated for three ICC awards. “I don’t think that I will win any award for the simple reason that if I get any award, it would be embarrassing for the selectors and I don’t think the ICC would put its selectors in a situation where they are left with no hiding place. Don’t you agree that it would be a bad publicity for the ICC or its selectors if winner of any of the three awards is originally overlooked from its World XI?”Inzamam, who averages over 50 in ODIs and 94.67 in Tests this year, has been nominated for Player of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.