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ScorecardPunjab took control of their match with a commanding display on the second day. Two more batsmen scored centuries, to add to Adnan Raza’s open-day ton, as they piled up 526 before two early wickets increased the pressure on Baluchistan.Azhar Ali, who slept nervously on 99, moved to his century early in the morning session but couldn’t build much further as he fell for 104. But Kamran Hussain’s breakthrough was a false dawn for Baluchistan as Mohammad Ayub and Khurram Shehzad increased the pain with a stand of 163.Ayub moved along at a brisk pace, striking 17 fours and a six, and although Baluchistan made some inroads into the lower order the damage was already done. Shehzad was closing in on becoming the fourth century-maker of the innings, but Mohammad Hafeez declared so his attack could have a dart at the visitors’ top order.For an hour the openers progressed comfortably, however the introduction of spin changed the picture. Hafeez and Abdur Rehman both struck before the close as Baluchistan ended with a huge task ahead of them.
ScorecardNorth West extended their advantage to an imposing 188 on another shortened day at Peshawar. The main contributions came from Rafatullah Mohmand and Shoaib Khan jr as the home side set themselves up for a dart at Sind’s second innings on the third day.Mohmand and Khan carried their fourth-wicket stand to 113 before Sohail Khan made the breakthrough by removing Shoaib for 56. However, Aftab Alam offered further solid support to Rafatullah in a partnership worth 66.Azim Hussain’s left-arm spin made two breakthroughs, including shifting Mohmand seven short of his century, although Zulfiqar Jan added to Sind’s problems before the early close.

The Woodworm Cricket Company today announced the signing of Andrew Flintoffand Muttiah Muralitharan. The signing of two such high-profile playersfollows a successful launch of the company in May 2002. In a sport renownedfor conservatism and tradition, the revolutionary new Woodworm Wand hasalready made a significant breakthrough and is now known by mostinternational cricketers.The Woodworm Cricket Company has removed what it calls a “vulnerable” partof the blade and has re-distributed the wood into a larger and heavierhitting zone. “Batsmen never intend to hit the ball off the area where wehave removed the wood – any such contact is inadvertent. The wood is muchbetter off in the right place,” says Woodworm’s founder and ManagingDirector, Joe Sillett. “The first thing everyone says about the WoodwormWand is how cool the bat looks.” “The second thing they say is how light thepick-up is.” “The third thing they say is does it work?” Sillett argues thatthe case is irrefutable. “Russel Arnold averages over 40 with the WoodwormWand and has enjoyed a terrific run of form recently in the VB series inAustralia. The Wisden UK School’s all-rounder of the year, Andries Kruger ofChrist’s Hospital School, scored 835 runs with the Woodworm Wand. It seemsto have received universal approval from all quarters.””I get emails from all over the world saying how impressed people are withthe new design.” “In our online survey, 85% of people said that cricket wascrying out for a new idea,” he added.In signing Flintoff, who is on track to be fit for the 2003 World Cup,Woodworm has signalled its intent to introduce a fresh buzz of excitementinto the game of cricket. Woodworm saw off the competition who all wanted tocapture Flintoff’s signature. “Freddie is the perfect embodiment of theWoodworm brand. He’s ebullient, competitive and has a big future,” saidSillett. Chubby Chandler, Flintoff’s agent of International SportsManagement agrees, “We manage a number of international cricketers who use arange of manufacturers’ products. When looking at the character of Freddieand the charisma of Woodworm, it was clear that it was the right brand forthe right player.”The signing of the Sri Lankan spin-king, Muttiah Muralitharan is also amarker for Woodworm’s global intentions. Sillett added, “Murali is a globalicon, recognised by cricket lovers everywhere. His enthusiasm is infectiousand we are thrilled to have him on board. He will be modelling a range ofWoodworm equipment, in particular the new Woodworm footwear which we arecurrently developing.”The Woodworm Cricket Company sells its patented Wand cricket bats inaddition to a complete range of cricket equipment. For more informationabout The Woodworm Cricket Company, please visitwww.woodworm.tv

Over the next five days Australia face their toughest assignment in three years and the way they play will assist in determining whether an era of dominance is over. Usually a 1-0 result means Ricky Ponting’s men are looking to seal the series, but in Delhi from Wednesday they will be trying to keep it alive.Not since England in 2005 has Australia faced this scenario and since the players returned from a three-day break following the 320-run Mohali defeat they have been mixing detailed team meetings with training. Strategies have been devised to cope with everything from India’s powerful batting line-up and probing reverse-swing to the visitors’ spin options and ability to deal with the smog.Special guests have appeared in the nets over the past couple of days, including Bishen Bedi, Steve Waugh and mates of the selector Merv Hughes. Advice has come from all directions but on the eve of the game Ponting said it was time to end the chatter.”As I made clear to the guys, it’s one thing to talk about these things, it’s another thing to go out and do them under pressure in a Test,” Ponting said. “If we get the chance to bat first we have to start the innings better than we have in the first two games. If we bowl first we have to start our bowling innings a lot better too.”The first session will be crucial and could determine the path for the rest of the game, which may be interrupted by leftover smoke from and bad light towards the end of the day. Australia’s first goal is to limit the gains India made in Mohali.”They got the momentum early last week and put us under pressure right from the start, and we were unable to claw our way back,” Ponting said. “It’s a lot about how you start here [in India], and it’s how we’ve practised the last few days.”Stuart Clark has performed strongly in training and should return to the side, but Ponting is also weighing up whether to play one slow bowler or two. The look of the pitch on Wednesday morning will determine if the offspinner Jason Krejza makes his debut, playing as a sole spinner or in tandem with Cameron White, or is left out.”He’s definitely in the reckoning, the wicket is a little bit loose on the surface,” Ponting said. “That would indicate late in the game it will probably loosen up more, so spin is a definite option for us.”

Whatever combination Australia choose, Ponting is certain his players are ready to overcome India. “We can’t do any more than we’ve done,” he said. “Our training the past two days has been the best I’ve seen it for a long time. Steve Waugh was at training yesterday [Monday] and he said he’d never seen a team train as well as we did.”Now Australia must turn the practice into match performance and the side will look to its senior players for leadership. Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee have been below par while Ponting, Clark, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke also know this is the time to perform.”I’ve got to stand up as much as the next bloke,” Ponting said. “It’s been three innings since I had an impact on the game with the bat.” Ponting opened the series with his first century in India but followed with 17, 5 and 2.”I’ve tried to completely dismiss last week,” he said. “It was one of those games where we were totally out-played and what you’ve got to do is look at reasons why. You learn your lessons and push on.”Since Lee, who has only four wickets in two games, finished the Mohali match he has been hitting the streets for runs and going to the gym for extra fitness, along with working on his run-up and action. Ponting was hopeful the extra effort would turn into greater impact.”A lot of the things we’ve spoken to him about, and a lot of things he said he’d do, he’s done,” Ponting said. “His preparation this week has been spot on, hopefully that equates to results this week.”The bowlers have been focussing on reverse swing in an effort to keep up with the brutal tricks of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. “It goes against everything we do at home,” Ponting said of the new methods. “In Australia you want to keep the ball as new as you can, and hit the seam as often as you can. Here it’s the exact opposite. You’ve got to rough it up as much as you can and then bring one side up again to get it reversing.”In their first innings in Mohali, Ishant bowled about four balls in his first over across the seam and banged it into the wicket. We’re going to have to look at that, and be doing that at different times.”

Azeem Rafiq, the 17-year-old offspinner who was at the centre of a registration mix-up during the season, has signed a three-year deal with Yorkshire.Rafiq caused controversy in June when he was found to be ineligible for Yorkshire, having been handed his first-team debut for the Twenty20 Cup group match against Nottinghamshire, at Trent Bridge.Yorkshire, who qualified for the quarter-finals, were subsequently thrown out of the competition after their match against Durham was called off half-an-hour before the start.Gary Ballance, the former Zimbabwe Under-19 allrounder, has also signed a three-year contract after impressing for the second XI.

ScorecardZimbabwe Board XI delayed the inevitable for a while before the Pakistan Academy sealed a 202-run win with 30 minutes to go before tea on the final day.Resuming on 34 for 2 in their second innings with a deficit of 362 runs, none of the Zimbabwe batsmen were able to mount meaningful resistance to a potent Pakistan spin attack. Tafadzwa Kamungozi stood his ground with a defiant 37 at No.9 before he was bowled by the left-arm spinner, Ahmed Shehzad.The chief destroyer was the Yasir Shah, the legspinner, who varied his flight to the discomfort of the Zimbabwean batsmen. He claimed the wickets of Bonaparte Mujuru (14), Erick Chauluka (22), Timycen Maruma (18), Sam Mwakayeni (18), and Regis Chakabva (19).Junaid Khan picked up two of the eight wickets, drawing a reflex catch from wicketkeeper Naeem Anjum to remove Patient Charumbira for 22, and bowling last man Prosper Tsvanhu for one. Trevor Garwe, the No.10, was left stranded on 28.Pakistan dominated this match in all departments, and it is now expected that the Zimbabwe selectors will infuse the team with some national first-teamers for the second four-day match which begins on Friday.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, blamed the batsmen for his side’s defeat in Galle. Sri Lanka, who conceded a lead of 37 on the first innings after restricting India to 329, managed to last only 47.3 overs in their second as they were bundled out for 136. Speaking after the 170-run loss, which levelled the three-Test series 1-1, Jayawardene suggested his team might consider “a quick bowler” like Ishant Sharma for the series-decider.”I didn’t think the match would have been over today. I thought we could give India a better fight,” Jayawardene said. “We fought every time we were down. We fought very well to come back into this Test match. To get six wickets this morning in quick time and restricting India to 269 was a brilliant effort. That gave us a good opportunity to chase these runs down.”Although stating that “batting first would be ideal” on subcontinent pitches, Jayawardene felt his batsmen should have chased down the target. “It’s important we get a good start in any run chase,” Jayawardene said. “We didn’t get it and [being down] 10 for 3 wasn’t ideal.”The bowling unit fought really well throughout the Test and created opportunities for us and kept the Indians under control,” he said. Like on Saturday, Jayawardene said the failure to gain the advantage in the first innings had cost his team dearly. “The disappointment was in the first innings where we should have capitalised and put more pressure on the Indians,” he said. “We should have got a few more runs on the board. We played really good cricket for two to three days and we just lost it in the last two sessions of the fourth day.”Jayawardene hinted his team was missing a genuine quick bowler. The fast bowlers hadn’t made much of an impact in the series so far, but Ishant extracted pace and bounce to surprise Sri Lanka’s batsmen on Sunday. “A quick bowler like Ishant is something for us to discuss. Ishant is an exceptional bowler,” Jayawardene said. “He creates a bit of bounce on these kinds of wickets. That’s something which India has.”The ineffectiveness of Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara in Colombo had prompted the selectors to call up Dammika Prasad, who took 4 for 58 in the tour game against the Indians prior to the Tests. However, Sri Lanka stuck to the same new-ball pairing in Galle. Vaas took two vital wickets in both innings of this Test after going wicketless in Colombo, but the pressure will be on Kulasekara, who has taken only one wicket in 33 overs in the series. With Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga out due to injury, Prasad could get the nod for the final Test. “We just need to make a smart choice,” Jayawardene said. “We’ll have a chat with the selectors. We have a few options in our squad and see what we can come up with.”Even in subcontinental conditions, Jayawardene said the batsmen needed to be wary of the new ball, although it’s the spinners who will do the bulk of the damage. “Going into the fourth day or fifth day of a Test match, you always know that when you have [to face] two top-class spinners the mindset would be there. But we always knew that the new ball is always going to be a factor on these kinds of wickets,” he said. “That’s where you probably can pick up a couple of wickets. Thilan [Samaraweera] showed a lot of character to hang around there and batted well but it was a bit too much for him in the end.”One positive for Sri Lanka was the progress of Ajantha Mendis, who took the first ten-wicket haul of his career, in just his second Test, and Jayawardene praised Sri Lanka’s young spin sensation. “I am very happy for Ajantha, in his second Test match, to pick up ten wickets. He bowled brilliantly and supported the other bowlers as well.”Jayawardene, though, brushed off suggestions of any changes in the batting line-up. “The last game was brilliant, we got 600 runs. One game you have a bad run you just can’t point fingers and say this is bad,” he said. “It is just that we need to figure out a way of controlling situations a bit better especially under pressure and see how we can come out of it.”While India’s openers had stands of 167 and 90, Sri Lanka’s duo of Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura managed just 4 in both innings. However, Jayawardene is not pressing for any changes. “Michael has been one of the consistent bats in the last six months. In Australia he batted really well. Malinda is coming into his own. It is just that we need both of them to hang in there for a while.”

Mark Orchard, the allrounder, has been omitted from Northern Districts’ list of contracted players for the 2008-09 domestic season. Orchard had informed the state association of his plans to pursue his career outside cricket, though he may still play as a non-contracted player.”Mark’s working for ANZ in a marketing role and wants to pursue some things other than cricket,” David Cooper, the Northern Districts chief executive, told the .Besides Orchard, batsmen Nick Horsley and Brad Wilson are the other omissions from the list. Andrew Strauss, the England opening batsman who represented the state side last season, however will not be in action this time.Notable inclusions include the Under-19 captain Kane Williamson, seamers Simon Andrews, Trent Boult and Bradley Scott, and Sydney-based batsman Cameron Merchant. Boult is currently with New Zealand’s Emerging Players squad in Australia for a four-nation tournament.Batsman Michael Parlane returns to Northern Districts after spending five seasons with Wellington.”Michael approached us to see if he would be part of our thinking and we were keen to accommodate him,” Cooper said. “We have a young, highly talented batting line-up. Andrew Strauss last year gave us the experience we might otherwise have lacked and Michael can do that this season, especially if James Marshall is involved with the Black Caps (New Zealand).”The top-ranked player will earn a NZ $36,500 retainer between October 1 and April 15 and the 12th-ranked set to earn $19,500 in addition to match fees.

British sports fans are used to stadium developments running way over budget – the virtual farces surrounding Wembley and the Olympic venues are the worst examples – but the MCC has readjusted the cost of its planned rebuild at Lord’s from £200 million to more than £250 million … within months of the original announcement.A report in The Times says that a rejig of the requirements of stands at the Nursery End will mean an increase in the eventual capacity to 40,000 but that will come at a cost.Plans include new stands opposite the pavilion the same height as the Grandstand and six retractable floodlights. The Times also speculated that the new media centre, which attracts mixed views from both public and the press, may be replaced, although the MCC are believed to be opposed to such a move.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke had to be physically separated from the Independent on Sunday cricket correspondent Stephen Brenkley at a dinner during the Nottingham Test, according to the Daily Mail.Brenkley, along with a few Test Match Special journalists, had been invited to dinner by Clarke. During the meal the conversation turned to Zimbabwe and the possibility that the UK government would refuse to allow them to tour England in 2009. At that point, the article stated, things grew increasingly heated until Clarke grabbed Brenkley by the collar. The pair had to be split up by Test Match Special administrator Shilpa Patel.”It was a thoroughly pleasant evening with some robust conversation on a number of matters,” Brenkley told the newspaper. “I know I have the ability to get people’s pin. No apology was asked for or received and we parted company great friends.”

Three one-day internationals gone, three more defeats for Zimbabwe. Our batsmen have done heroically at times, but our poor bowling has guaranteed that in every match they will need to score more than 300 – and that against one of the strongest bowling attacks in cricket. At least they have ensured that we lost with some honour each time.CONTENTS

Pakistan in Zimbabwe
• First ODI, in Bulawayo, Saturday 23 November: Scorecard | Report
• Second ODI, in Bulawayo, Sunday 24 November: Scorecard |Report
• Third ODI, in Harare, Wednesday 27 November: Scorecard | Report
• Waddington Mwayenga Biography
• 10-Year Celebrations: The players remember the first official one-day international to be played on Zimbabwean soil: Zimbabwe v India, in October 1992 More
• Letters

Either we need new personnel in the bowling department, or else we need those in it to improve their games markedly. In the third one-day international we did have new personnel, and at least our bowling was more accurate, with Douglas Hondo and Gary Brent back in the side. They did not unduly bother Pakistan with fear of dismissal; Pakistan still hammered them, but at least we could say it was due to superb Pakistani batting rather than wayward Zimbabwean bowling. If we do not have the quality of bowlers to put fear of dismissal into the opposing batsmen, we should at least have bowlers who can bowl accurately and force their opponents to take risks to score runs – instead of the buffet, ‘help-yourself’ bowling that we served up in the Bulawayo matches.There is still no sign yet that Pommie Mbangwa is being considered by the selectors at all. He showed on recent tours that he has developed the skills needed for reasonable success in limited-over cricket, but after doing reasonably well in Sharjah he has been unaccountably overlooked. He now inhabits the television commentary box, watching others spray the ball all over the pitch.One promising bowler was Waddington Mwayenga, 18-year-old pace bowler from St John’s College in Harare and member of the national Under-19 side. He has been watched very carefully by the selectors for a year now and made his debut in the second match in Bulawayo. Many thought he was yet another raw player thrust into international cricket by the selectors before he was ready for it, only to be dropped – and so perhaps he was. But the impressive thing about him is that he pitches the ball well up and he bowls on the wicket. He can bowl line and length, and was our most accurate seamer in the match. He had a difficult time of it as Yousuf Youhana and Shahid Afridi got after him in a big way, but still he did not fall apart. With the right handling, he could be our next bowler of genuine Test-match quality. We include a biography in this issue.The ICC delegation is currently in Zimbabwe to report on whether it is safe to hold World Cup matches in the country, and those of us who live here have no doubt that their report will be positive. They state that their decision will not be based on politics; the unfortunate thing is that they are still likely to come under political pressure, especially after the Zimbabwean government has denied two British reporters visas. This political interference is likely to be matched by more from the British side, and probably elsewhere as well, and the ICC will be sorely tested as to their resolve not to allow politics to interfere with their decisions.After seeing the country for themselves and watching Zimbabwe play Pakistan, two decisions should be quite clear to the ICC delegation. Firstly, Zimbabwe is still one of the safest countries in the world for all connected with cricket to visit. Secondly, and more specifically, Zimbabwe is an even safer place for batsmen from other countries to visit.