Complacency will be Pakistan’s biggest enemy when they take on minnowsBangladesh in the Asian Test Championship opener at the picturesqueMultan Cricket Stadium from Wednesday.The match itself will be the first-ever between the two countries. Itwill also be a unique incident when a Test centre will also be makingits first-class debut. This implies that the conditions to thedefending champions will be as alien as to the tourists who have lostall their previous three Tests since getting into the elite circlelast year.Irrespective of the unknown conditions, there is no reason to believethat Waqar Younis’ men will not come out comfortable winners becauseof the experience and prowess they have in their ranks and alsoconsidering that Bangladesh lack experience at this level.But while saying this, it should not be forgotten that Pakistan hadalso started as odds on favourites against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka andEngland in the last three years only to end up on the losing side.Their other home series defeat since 1998 was against Australia whiletheir last home series win dates back to 1997 when Wasim Akram’s menwhitewashed the troubled-hit West Indies.Hopefully, this season, which will also see New Zealand visit for athree-Test series, will begin on the right foot. And the key tosuccess in this season opener will be a combined team effort andthorough professional performance.The recent controversies triggered by the selectors when they playedmusical chairs with former captain Wasim Akram, or Waqar Younis’threat of quitting if not consulted over the composition of the team,or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia’sbaseless and flimsy allegations against the print media need to bekept aside.The business has started and all concentration should be on how theplayers will perform rather than blow the trumpets as to whateverhappened this month which, by all counts, conveyed negative signalsdomestically and internationally and surely left a black spot onPakistan cricket.Pakistan are likely to award Test caps to left-handed opener TaufiqUmer and off-spinner Shoaib Malik which means Faisal Iqbal might carrythe towels. Traditionally, Pakistan announce their playing XI shortlybefore the toss. But considering the pitch, in all likelihood, thereigning champions will go in with five frontline batsmen, threepacers (including Abdur Razzaq), two spinners with Rashid Latif behindthe stumps.The wicket although has a green top, but the scorching hot and humidconditions here is expected to dry the moisture underneath the surfaceand juice from the wicket as early as late first session ofWednesday’s play. It will be then when the spinners will be moreeffective than the fast bowlers.Bangladesh have decided to retain the same team that earned a draw inthe three-dayer against the PCB XI at the UBL Sports Complex inKarachi last week. Al Shariar will serve as the 12th man.While Saeed Anwar will be hoping to score the required 49 runs tobecome the sixth Pakistani to complete 4,000 Test runs behind JavedMiandad, Salim Malik, Zaheer Abbas, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mudassar Nazar,Inzamam will be looking forward to delight his home ground with aninnings which has made him the backbone of the team.Inzamam, who watched Vivian Richards blast Pakistan in the 1980-81Test here from the Qasim Bagh Stadium general enclosure, slammed acentury against Sri Lanka 11 years later in a One-day Internationaland then returned to blitz a half century against Australia in1994-95.”I still remember Richards’ innings. I would be hoping to play aninnings of that class before my home crowd” Inzamam said.Although the Asian Test Championship final is set between Pakistan andSri Lanka even before the first ball in the tournament has been bowledafter India pulled out, Bangladesh will be looking forward, to atleast, collect some bonus points which are in the offing in the first100 overs of the innings.While the team winning the match by an innings will get 16 points andan outright victory will fetch 12 points, bonus points will be awardedin batting and bowling. Scoring 250-299 runs will earn one point,300-349 will fetch two points, between 350-399 three points and above400 runs four points.In bowling, a side taking four to five wickets will get one point, sixto seven will earn two points, eight to nine three points and fourpoints for all 10 wickets.It would be gross injustice to the stadium if a couple of lines ofappreciation are not dedicated to the venue which is absolutelybreathtaking and can be easily compared with the Gaddafi Stadium. The30,000-capacity stadium is fully equipped with modern and highlyquality facilities for the spectators. The facilities for media andplayers are also excellent. But lack of proper hotels is the onlyhurdle in Multan becoming a regular Test venue.Teams (likely):Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Taufiq Umer, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Shoaib Malik, WasimAkram, Waqar Younis (captain), Danish Kaneria. 12th man: Faisal Iqbal.Reserves: Imran Nazir, Naved Latif, Irfan Fazil.Bangladesh: Naimur Rahman (captain), Akram Khan, Aminul Islam,Enamul Hoque, Habibul Bashar, Hasibul Hossain, Javed Omar, KhaledMashud, Manjural Islam, Mehrab Hossain, Mohammad Sharif. 12th man: AlShariar (12th man). Reserves: Ranjan Das, Mohammad Ashraful.Umpires: Darrell Hair (Australia) and Peter Manuel (Sri Lanka).Third Umpire: Riazuddin (Pakistan).Match Referee: John Reid (New Zealand).

It is something the world has known all these years. The Board ofControl for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its inimitable secretaryJaywant Lele though still feel that it needs to be tabled during theBoard’s 72nd Annual General Meeting in Chennai on September 29.We are talking about what we shall hence call the ‘Lele findings’ onSachin Tendulkar, resulting purely from the industrious researchundertaken by the man after whom the findings have been so named.”The sky is the limit for the 28-year-old master batsman who hasalready collected 25 Test centuries and 29 one-day internationalhundreds by June 30, 2001. He has been the most consistent run-getterin both forms of the game and is already a demi-god in the Indianpantheon,” the BCCI secretary observes.After noting that Tendulkar wrote his name “in golden letters inrecord books” by becoming the first batsman to cross the 10,000-runmark in one-dayers, Lele goes on to add, “Having taken his 100thwicket in one-dayers in the course of the series against Australia,Tendulkar gets into a select list of one-day batting all-rounders likeViv Richards.”Sachin was the only current player to be included in Don Bradman’sDream Team that was released after his death, a great honour indeed toan Indian cricketer.”The Press Trust of India which carried excerpts of the ‘findings’ adds that Lele “also praises captain Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Shiv SundarDas, Harbhajan Singh and a few others for their performances fromApril 2000 to March 2001.”What all these profound observations prove is that even with a stylusin hand, Lele can still be Lele. Here then is to certainties…

Withy King Solicitors will sponsor the 2002 Bath Cricket Festival. The great news for the festival was announced last night at the A.G.M. of the Bath and Wiltshire Area of Somerset County Cricket Club.Withy King sponsored this year’s festival and the Area Chairman, Robert Appleyard, said ‘We have been trying for some time to find a festival sponsor and were delighted this year when we signed Withy King. Their help financially was a boost to festival funds and their interest in the event and their help not only at the festival but also with all the fringe events showed their total commitment. To work with them again in 2002 is a tremendous boost and I am grateful for their support’.Martin Powell, Managing Partner of Withy King, said ‘We are delighted to again sponsor the festival and plan to build on what we learned this summer by running one or two events before the festival to open the doors for other companies to get behind the festival and make it stronger. Everybody said they enjoyed being part of the festival and it is an excellent way of repaying people we work with in business to thank them’.Peter Anderson, Chief Executive of Somerset County Cricket Club, said ‘The announcement of the sponsorship is a reward for the Bath Area Committee who have worked so hard over the years trying to get sponsorship for the festival. We are always looking for income to cover the costs of setting it up so having Withy King on board and the fact that they have brought other clients is great for the festival’Robert Appleyard also revealed that the festival this year made a £17,000 profit due to increased corporate hospitality, attractive opponents in Yorkshire, as well as the financial package from Withy King. This was the highest figure since the advent of four day cricket and the consequent shortening of the festival.The festival in 2002 will commence with a four day game against Hampshire starting on Wednesday 12th June and a National League game on Sunday 16th June against Leicestershire, who Somerset beat in the C & G final at Lords this year.

New South Wales will hope the weekend forecast of rain, hail and thunder allows at least an over of cricket at Punt Rd in its Pura Cup cricket match against Victoria.The Blues were 5-257 at stumps tonight, three runs short of first-innings points after the Bushrangers were all out for 259 before lunch.Michael Bevan, with a top score of 116, and Brad Haddin (15) were the not-out batsmen, while 20-year-old Michael Clarke again showed his potential atVictoria’s expense with a well-crafted 111.Blues captain Shane Lee, out in controversial circumstances late in the day, said he was happier to be five down tonight and two runs behind than have lost seven or eight wickets and have passed Victoria’s total.”It would have been nice – it’s forecast to rain for the next couple of days, but saying that it was forecast for showers today…we should be able to get on, in the next couple of days, it would be disappointing if we didn’t,” Lee said.”We’re happy with the way it ended up.”Lee was the last out in a mini-collapse that sent NSW from 2-187 to 5-206 and gave Victoria renewed hope of scoring its first points of the season in eitherfour-day or one-day games.He stood his ground and Bevan questioned umpire Bob Parry at the non-striker’s end when an edge from Lee off the bowling of Colin Miller popped up tosubstitute fielder Cameron White at silly mid-on.Lee and Bevan thought the ball hit the ground as White lunged forward, but the batsman was sent on his way after Parry consulted with Richard Patterson.”I thought the ball had touched the ground at some stage – I waited around for the umpire’s decision,” Lee said.”They said they thought it carried, you leave the field, it’s the way it goes.”Bevan then combined with Haddin for a 51-run stand that again put the Blues in control.Victoria resumed at 6-221 and only lasted another 13 overs, Ian Harvey top scoring with 74 and Nathan Bracken (4-76) and Stuart MacGill (4-71) the onlybowlers used today.The Bushrangers’ slow scoring and cautious attitude at the crease appeared vindicated when Test batsman Michael Slater was out for a duck on the fourth ball of the innings and fellow opener Greg Mail went two overs later for one, leaving NSW 2-1.It was not the best time for a 20-year-old to come to the crease, but Clarke combined with Bevan for a 186-run stand.Clarke offered only one chance, dropped by Brad Hodge at third slip off Michael Lewis.Lee said the former national under-19 captain, who suffered from a back injury a few weeks ago, was not scared to play his shots regardless of the circumstances.”Michael hasn’t had a chance this (season), all our Test boys have been playing, (but) to come out and get a hundred and steady the ship showed some realmaturity,” Lee said.It was Clarke’s highest first-class score, beating the 106 he made last season – also against Victoria.Clarke’s dismissal sparked the brief NSW scare, but Bevan also showed poise in recovering the innings.He took great delight in saluting a small, but vocal, anti-Bevan section of the crowd with his bat once he reached his ton.Victorian captain Matthew Elliott had to leave the ground after tea because of illness.

New Zealand’s top order batting frailties were exposed again by Australian Jason Gillespie on another rain-affected at the Gabba in Brisbane today.New Zealand batted for 222 minutes on the day before storms forced the abandonment just after the afternoon session drinks break with the visitors 5/186, still 101 runs from avoiding the follow on.But that should prove academic now with only one more day’s play left.New Zealand had hoped that the combination of Mark Richardson and Matthew Bell would provide some long sought solidity at the top of the order for this Test series.However, they hadn’t had the best of preparation in the lead up to the series, and while Richardson looked to offer some hope before being trapped leg before wicket by Gillespie for 26 runs, Bell was undone by a superb ball which flew from the edge of his bat to Ricky Ponting at third slip.Captain Stephen Fleming got an absolute first ball pearler from Gillespie. There was nothing he could do to avoid getting an edge to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist and departing for a duck.Since scoring 91 in his first Test in Australia in 1997/98, Fleming’s Test scores in Australia read 0, 10, 4, 0, 0, 0. He’s too good a batsman for that to continue but he must be wondering where his next run is coming from.It was Gillespie’s first exposure to the New Zealand batsmen and he made the most of it, bowling with good pace, great line and occasional sideways movement off the pitch which left no margin for error.It was an outstanding demonstration of why he is rated so highly and threatened to completely undo the New Zealanders.Sinclair battled for 61 minutes and 43 balls against Gillespie and Glenn McGrath but having seen them off he succumbed to the first ball bowled on the day by Brett Lee. The ball was wide outside off stump and Sinclair unleashed a huge drive and the ball looked to be flying to the boundary behind point. However, he gave the ball just enough air for a diving Ricky Ponting to fly to his left and snare the ball superbly to send Sinclair on his way for three.New Zealand were 4/55.The temptation to chase the new bowler was too much and Sinclair undid himself when a little more patience may have seen him win greater reward for his perserverance.It was left to Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan to withstand the hovering vultures in the Australian attack. And they did by virtue of sensible batting, taking the short singles when they were on offer, punishing loose balls and growing in confidence as their stand developed.They went to lunch at 4/115. They played themselves back in after the break and were starting to bat positively when a faster ball from Lee undid McMillan who edged to first slip where Shane Warne made no mistake.The pair added 92 runs with McMillan out for 45.Any thought that Chris Cairns might be forced to contain himself were dispelled from the first ball he faced which was hurled to long on for three runs. And in the short time until the rains came, he never let up.His 25 runs were scored off 25 balls, including some lovely cover drives.Throughout it all, Astle played a fine anchor role. Statistically it is his best Test innings in Australia. And at 51 not out, he needs another 11 for his best score in all Tests against Australia.His 50 was scored off 116 balls and took 175 minutes, but he handled all the short balls the Australians threw at him, and in many ways it was one of the more responsible innings he has played for New Zealand.Warne had reason to be disappointed in the weather. He was shaping as a formidable force in favourable conditions with the Australians going into the day knowing that if they could enforce the follow on they would have around 210 overs to bowl at the New Zealanders in the two days.He was gaining appreciable turn and bounce, although Cairns was embroiled in a fascinating battle with the leg-spinner when the rains came.There may not be much hanging on tomorrow’s play, especially if there is more rain around, but a lengthy resumption of the Cairns assault and Astle’s continued defiance will be huge bonuses for the Kiwis from the game.

West Indian morale was given a much-needed boost at a sun splashed SinhaleseSports Club on Thursday, as Brian Lara made full use of a flat pitch toscore his second century of the series.West Indies, two-nil down in the two match series and facing the humiliationof a series whitewash, dominated proceedings, finishing the first day of thefinal Test on 327 for three thanks to Lara’s brilliant unbeaten 178, his17th Test century.The 32-year-old left-hander rescued the innings after the early loss of bothopeners in a steamy first hour in a record 194-run partnership with Guyananright-hander Ramnaresh Sarwan (69).He then added 116 for the fourth wicket in the evening at nearly arun-a-ball with captain Carl Hooper (52*) as the Sri Lankan fielding becameincreasingly ragged.Lara’s innings followed scores of 178, 40, 74 and 45 in the first two Testsand brings his series tally to 514. Not bad for a player still sufferingfrom a long-standing hamstring injury, who had long since been accused oflosing his appetite for international cricket.Like the first two Tests, he was controlled and disciplined throughout,eschewing the frivolous flamboyance of old in favour of a selectivelyaggressive approach that had produced 20 fours and one six straight six bystumps.Crucially, he kept Muttiah Muralitharan at bay and took most of the strikeagainst the master off-spinner, who whirred away all day without success.Reading Muralitharan’s wrist and picking the straighter-ball he hardlyplayed a sweep all day and was able to drive confidently straight down theground.After tea, he became the 6th West Indian batsmen to score 7000 Test runs, amilestone he was mindful of and acknowledged with a wave to the dressingroom. With his enthusiasm for the game apparently revitalised and histechnique in good order, he has Vivian Richards’s all-time Caribbean recordof 8540 runs in his sights.It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Trinidadian though. He was dropped byKumar Sangakkara when on 85, as he flashed at an off-break from part-timebowler Russel Arnold, and then had a mighty tussle with Chaminda Vaas, whoonce again swung the old ball wickedly. On 99 he looked lucky to havesurvived an lbw appeal from Vaas.His greatest misjudgment was when he ran out Sarwan, who had battled so hardfor his 69 and was looking for his maiden Test century. Lara, anxious topinch the strike against Muralitharan in the next over, pushed into theoff-side and called for a quick run, but Sarwan was caught short after alazer-like throw from Mahela Jayawardene patrolling in the covers.The fall of Sarwan was followed by an increase in the tempo. As if trying toexercise his guilt, he pummeled Muralitharan’s next two deliveries over topand raced towards his 150.Hooper too played positively, more so than he had been in previous inningson tour, when he felt himself to be playing too watchfully. He cruised to aserene fifty off just 62 balls and was 52 not out at the close.Both Hooper and Lara stressed afterwards that the job was far from complete.At the end of the first day in Galle the West Indies had been in thesimilarly good position of 316 for three and then 423 for four beforecollapsing to 448 and losing the Test match.Earlier in the day, West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat first ona plum pitch, but were reduced to 17 for two as Vaas swung the new ballextravagantly in the opening overs.Left-handed Chris Gayle tried to withdraw his bat from a perfectly pitchedoutswinger at the last moment, but failed to do so and was well caught bySangakkara diving one-handed to his left.Daren Ganga and Sarwan battled on for the next six overs, but eventuallyVaas successfully honed an inswinger onto Ganga’s pads and the 22-year-oldright-hander was trapped lbw.West Indies made one change to the side that lost in Kandy, including fastbowler Marlon Black in place of Colin Stuart, whilst Sri Lanka named anunchanged side.

Former Somerset scorer David Oldam died in Taunton on New Years Day at the age of sixty six.David was the first eleven scorer for Somerset between 1983 and 1999, and during his sixteen years never missed a single match played by the county in any competition either at home or away.Before taking on the post of scorer he ran the main scoreboard at the County Ground for two years.After he retired at the end of the 1999 season David continued to be involved at the club and made all of the tannoy announcements at Somerset home matches up until the end of last season, apart from a short break when he was in hospital.His knowledge of Somerset cricket was considerable and on many occasions David was able to provide the answers to questions that were raised by members of the press box who were situated next door to where he scored.Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me earlier today, “It’s always a sad loss when you lose such a devoted member of the club. David was a man who didn’t suffer fools gladly , but he knew his cricket.”David Oldham will be cremated at Taunton Deane Crematorium on Thursday January 10th at 1.30pm.He will be sadly missed by all of those who got to know him over the years that he was involved with the club.

Hyderabad had a satisfying opening day against Himachal Pradesh at theGymkhana Ground, Secunderabad. The hosts dismissed the visitors for192 runs before reaching an impressive 69 for no loss in reply.In the morning, Himachal opted to bat. Opener Nischal Gaur, who made99, played a lone hand as the home team bowlers led by Narendra PalSingh ran through the remaining batsmen like knife through butter.Singh, who claimed five for 27, and Venkatapathy Raju, who claimed twowickets, were the pick of the home team bowlers.The Hyderabad openers, Daniel Manohar and A Nand Kishore, then,consolidated the home team’s position, batting soundly on their way to28 and 39 respectively from 61 balls each.

Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the first one-day international between India and England on Saturday. The series promises to be as enchanting as the atmosphere at the Eden Gardens. This venue has the highest crowd capacity in the country and the outfield is as good as the best one could find anywhere in the World.The Kolkata crowd being sports crazy, one can expect a full house what with the local lad Ganguly leading the national side. Even under normal circumstances, the Bengalis like to egg the home side on. One thing to bear in mind though is that they are not too tolerant when dealing with failures. With the Indian skipper hard up for runs, the crowd would be behind him and rooting for his success with the bat. The Bengalis are aware as much as Ganguly himself that it is about time he puts up runs on the board.

Ganguly is more of a demi-god in Kolkata for his achievements as a cricketer overshadow those of any other Bengali. A posse of security men guard his palatial home at Behela. It does not take much effort to get to his place. One has to only get to the neighbourhood and anyone would guide you to his residence readily enough. He gets the privileged treatment that a ranking politician gets when it comes to travelling within the city. The escort and pilot cars forewarn the traffic cops to clear the way. Ganguly out on the roads in Kolkata is more of a problem for his sentinels – the adulation he enjoys in his city renders it impossible for him to get out. As much as he enjoys the support of people he is aware that he will be cut down to size if he does not perform consistently.It was Geoffrey Boycott who dubbed Ganguly, the `Prince of Kolkata’, and indeed, the Prince will be under considerable pressure as he walks out to bat with Tendulkar. Any captain in international cricket is prone to anxiety on the eve of a game, but in the case of Ganguly it is all the more greater as this series is a big one and may well dictate his future. The shorter version of the game has proved to be his saviour and his success in the one-dayers has caused the selectors to overlook his failures in the Tests. Quite obviously, he is going through a very lean phase and the Eden Gardens is the ideal venue for him to reassure himself and the people who hold him in high esteem by notching up a ton.

Ganguly is realistic enough to know that his walk back to the pavilion would be a nightmare if he fails and as such would be doubly determined at the crease. He has had a break and at the moment, one gets the impression that his problems are related to the mental aspects rather than the technical ones. The other way of saying is that his movements are products of his hesitancy in thinking. He has been criticized in a couched language that he is susceptible to short stuff but as a matter of fact he has been getting out caught in the slips. Then, of course, the slip cordon will not be as strong as it is in the Tests but still he will be made to work hard by his opponents.The Eden Gardens revived Azharuddin’s career in 1993 when he was in the same situation as Ganguly is in today. It was again the same venue, which took Laxman to the pinnacle of his career. Ganguly has grown up batting at the Eden for most part of his career and the familiar atmosphere and the support would mean more to him now than before. The stage is set and there is hardly any time left for the all-important series to begin. One can only hope that he does not put the selectors in a delicate situation of having to sit and deliberate about him. The Prince of Kolkata is a pleasure to watch when on song and hopefully he will continue to entertain for a fair while to come.

On January 29, 2002 Australia defeated New Zealand by two wickets in the 10th match of the VB series at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Aussies had lost their 6th wicket at the score of 82, leaving Bevan and the tail-enders to get another 164 runs. The majestic left-hander saw his team to victory from the jaws of defeat by smashing an unconquered 102.Australia’s victory was thus only the 25th by any side after having lost their 4th wicket with still 150 or more runs required to win. It was also the fourth best performance in all-time list. The best still remains Zimbabwe’s when they won the match after being 224 runs in deficit, at the fall of their 4th wicket with the score just 50.For the record, Australia’s victory was also the very first instance when a team won after losing their 6th wicket with 150 runs still required.For the interest of the readers here under are the details.Sides winning after losing 4th wicket with 150 or more runs still required (25)

– All data updatedto 24-02-2002