Having got their body clocks into some sort of rhythm, and having enjoyed a pleasant evening at the High Commission, the Indians finally began their first full training session of the tour in a pastoral setting on the outskirts of Kingston. A light open net session was the main highlight of a largely muted stint, with the pitch going from bouncy to dopey within two hours.Chedwin Park, home ground of the Catherine Cricket Club, is located 30 kilometres from the city. It is home to Jermaine Lawson, the West Indian fast bowler, and currently boasts six players in the Jamaica team. Part of the club was destroyed by the hurricanes in 2004, but recently required de-sanitisation of another kind. The International Cricket Council decreed that none of the grounds should be used for practice, keeping in mind the World Cup in 2007, and the authorities were required to specially de-sanitise a couple to enable India and West Indies to gear up for the series. When civil engineering terms are generously floated in cricketing discussions, you know something is cooking.The small size of the ground and the fact that it was a Sunday meant that the Indians had to pretty much fend for themselves. They used their own practice balls and didn’t get too much help from net bowlers (except near the end when two locals caused the batsmen some minor problems). Greg Chappell spent a considerable portion of the time retrieving balls that the batsmen were bludgeoning while Greg King tossed up a few deliveries for the batsmen to rehearse coming down the track.In a corner of the field, on a concrete practice pitch, Ian Frazer, the biomechanics expert, used differently shaped balls – square, hexagonal etc – and tested the batsmen with some rapid chucking. It’s a routine that helps batsmen watch the ball closely, from when it is delivered to when it reaches them, and Robin Uthappa and Mohammad Kaif were occasionally confounded by the bounce.The Indians are set to practice here again tomorrow before flying to Montego Bay for the game against the Jamaican side. No practice pitches at Sabina Park, which is under construction, means that they will go into the first one-dayer without any idea about the pitch, outfield and conditions. But nobody’s complaining, publicly at least. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, sporting a new shorter haircut, felt they had come to expect such circumstances, and preferred to use it as a challenge instead. “Travelling to different grounds means we spend more time with each other. It builds team spirit. We need to look at it as an advantage.” Away in Trinidad, West Indies had just completed their 5-0 blanking of Zimbabwe and chants of “We will murder you, maan” began to fill the air.

Scorecard

A five-wicket haul by West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor followed by a merciless assault by Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels helped Jamaica decimate Bermuda by nine wickets in their Stanford 20/20 match in Antigua. The West Indies trio proved too hot to handle for the World Cup qualifiers as Jamaica eased to their target of 75, getting there in only the sixth over.Taylor finished with fantastic figures of 5 for 10, which included a three-wicket burst in the space of four balls in his third over. Jermaine Lawson too kept the batsmen under check at the other end with some incisive seam bowling as Bermuda were tottering at 26 for 4. Oliver Pitcher and Delyone Borden made a recovery of sorts, adding 30 before another burst of wickets let them down. Pitcher top-scored with 19 as his side were bowled out for 74.Bermuda caused some early jitters, as George O’Brien bowled Xavier Marshall for a duck. Samuels earned a reprieve, skying his first delivery to extra cover, only to be dropped by Pitcher. From then on, it was Jamaica all the way with Gayle smashing four sixes in his unbeaten 40 off 22 balls. Samuels smacked five boundaries in his unbeaten 25, as Jamaica booked their place in the quarter finals.
ScorecardTravis Dowlin, the Guyana opener, hit an unbeaten half-century to guide his side to an easy eight-wicket win over Montserrat in their Stanford 20/20 match in Antigua. Dowlin and Narsingh Deonarine (31 not out) reached the target of 116 with 21 balls to spare in front of a capacity crowd which had a large Guyanese contingent.Choosing to bat first, Montserrat struggled to force the pace against the slow bowlers, led by former West Indies spinners Mahendra Nagamootoo and Neil McGarrell. Montserrat had an encouraging start, with their openers Nesta Piper and McPhearson Meade adding 46, picking runs of the seamers. The spinners then came into play, sharing five wickets between them to restrict Montserrat to 115 for 8. Guyana made a steady reply, with Dowlin opting to graft it out instead of going for the big shots.Guyana will now meet Jamaica in the quarter-finals next Friday.

Division Two

Chris Rogers struck a magnificent 319 as Northamptonshire piled up an imposing 628 against Gloucestershire Northampton. He already had 242 overnight and continued on his merry way until Chris Taylor finally prized him from the crease. Rogers left with his highest first-class score, beating the double-century he posted against Australia during last year’s Ashes series, and 50 fours and two sixes in his 417-ball stay. Still, Northants didn’t stop as the tail flung the bat. Lance Klusener and Steven Crook cracked rapid 40s before Steve Kirby wrapped up the innings with a hardworking five-wicket haul. Gloucestershire lost two early wickets in reply but Craig Spearman steadied their innings with a swashbuckling century.Surrey, and especially Mark Ramprakash, just can’t stop scoring runs. Following his triple-century last week, Ramprakash became the first batsman to pass 2000 runs for the season as Worcestershire were put to the sword at New Road. He became the first English batsman to pass the milestone since he did it back in 1995, before falling for 196 to the last ball of the day. Through Ramprakash’s effort, Jon Batty’s 104 – a second for the season – and a crunching, unbeaten 110 from Ally Brown, Surrey raced into the lead in familiar fashion. Only Mark Butcher missed out as he fell for a duck.Somerset capitulated on the second day against Derbyshire as they slumped to 151 all out at Derby. Steffan Jones took four wickets and Ian Hunter three as the batting showed precious little resistance. Only Neil Edwards, with 75, put up any fight until he was eighth out but Cameron White decided not to enforce the follow-on. Michael di Venuto then took the bowlers to the cleaners with a rapid century at more than a run-a-ball as Derbyshire sped into a huge lead. Simon Francis went for 32 off two overs.

Division One

Luke Sutton hit his first century for Lancashire as the Roses clash with Yorkshire at Old Trafford remained a tight battle. The home side lost early wickets in reply to Yorkshire, but they were settled by another fine century from Mal Loye, who followed his match-saving 148 against Sussex with an even hundred. However, Loye fell shortly after tea to Darren Lehmann with Lancashire nearly 100 adrift. Sutton had already passed fifty and took charge of the innings with some support from Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg as Lancashire edged into the lead. Deon Kruis was the pick of the Yorkshire attack but the young supporting cast struggled to make an impression.Michael Carberry led Hampshire‘s fightback against Middlesex at Lord’s with an unbeaten 103 after they had conceded 422. Paul Weekes and Ben Scott claimed full batting points for Middlesex and then Chris Silverwood picked up the early wicket of James Adams with the new ball. John Crawley, though, continued his fine form and added 134 for the second wicket with Carberry before Middlesex hit back with three wickets for 18 runs. Carberry remained firm and reached his second century of the season shortly before stumps.Alex Loudon claimed 5 for 49, his best figures of the season, to give Warwickshire complete command over Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston. Warwickshire extended their first innings to 381 and the visitors were decently placed on 131 for 2 when Loudon made his impact. David Alleyne and Stephen Fleming had both passed fifty before falling to Loudon’s offspin and David Hussey was run out first ball. In the end Nottinghamshire could only squeeze a single batting point but Warwickshire didn’t enforce the follow-on, conscious of not wanting to bat last. They wobbled slightly, losing three late wickets, but are still well placed with a lead of 229.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has accepted the invitation from the Indian board (BCCI) to participate in the tri-nation series in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in September and selected a squad of 14 players. However, the WICB bypassed the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and issued match/tour contracts directly to selected players.According to a WICB release yesterday, the decision was taken to directly invite players to the tour, after talks on Wednesday between board representative Deryck Murray and Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president, and subsequent discussions between Ramnarine and Ken Gordon, the WICB president, “broke down in spite of our best efforts.”The release continued: “It has now become imperative that we act if we are to participate in this series because of the tight timelines between now and the September tournament”.The release also disclosed that offers to the players for the series ranged from a minimum of US$25,000 to a maximum of US $59,000 per player, with the “prospect of each player earning an additional 50 per cent on these fees if West Indies qualifies for the final”.The WICB also stated that these fees were “unprecedented” at 488% of the normal match fees, and “25 % of the net revenue to be paid to the WICB for the series.” They said this was only made possible due to the “one-off nature of the series” and the board’s commitment to “enhance earnings of players whenever practicable”.The WICB also claimed the WIPA’s demands – ranging from US$40,000 to $US95,000 per player represented 40 per cent of the net revenue the WICB were due to receive, and almost double the premium on normal match fees. They said this was considered “unacceptable”. The disagreements over match fees and contractual conditions stem back to November 2004.The selected players have also been given until August 10 to accept the invitation, after which the WICB said that another team will be chosen to replace West Indies in the series, which also features India and Australia.A noteworthy inclusion in the squad is Carlton Baugh, the wicketkeeper, who replaces Denesh Ramdin, despite an impressive performance in the recent Jamaica Test against India. Brian Lara, who apologised to Gordon for his comments on team selection, will continue to lead the squad. Fast bowler Fidel Edwards returns to the squad after missing the last three Tests against India due to a hamstring injury.Squad Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh (wk), Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Jerome Taylor, Marlon Samuels, Wavell Hinds.

Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, has said that they would “jump at the chance” to play a one-day series against England if the current ball-tampering dispute puts Pakistan’s participation in the five-match series in doubt.”We would be delighted to go, we’d jump at the chance,” Arthur told the SuperCricket website, “although I must stress that I have heard absolutely nothing official and I think it’s nothing more than speculation at the moment.”We were very frustrated at what happened in Sri Lanka and we hope Pakistan and England are able to sort things out, but – although there would be a heck of a lot to organise – we’d love to fill the gap if it ever came to that.”Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, had said that he could not guarantee Pakistan’s participation in the one-day series scheduled to begin on August 30 if Inzamam-ul-Haq was penalised. Inzamam was charged with bringing the game into disrepute along with changing the condition of the ball and, if found guilty, faces a ban of up to eight ODIs or four Tests.South Africa’s preparations for the Champions Trophy in India in October were disrupted when they had to pull-out of the tri-series in Sri Lanka due to security concerns following a bomb blast in Colombo. As of now the only matches they have before the Champions Trophy are against the touring Zimbabweans, which includes a Twenty20 match on September 13, followed by three ODIs on September 15, 17 and 20.

Shane Bond, the New Zealand fast bowler, has been ruled out of his team’s opening match of the Champions Trophy, against South Africa, in Mumbai on Monday with a “stiffness and restriction” in the back. This is the latest setback in a long line of back trouble that Bond has suffered.”Shane Bond won’t be considered for tomorrow’s match,” said Linsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager, at a pre-match press conference. “Shane suffered some stiffness and restriction of movement in his back in the warm-up match against Baroda at MIG Club on Friday.”He was keen to bowl today in preparation for tomorrow but we’ve taken a long-term view with Shane and decided it’s best he doesn’t bowl today or tomorrow and begins preparations for the next match on Tuesday.”The news came as a blow to New Zealand ahead of their crucial match against South Africa, but Stephen Fleming, the captain, was as unruffled as ever, and took the news in his stride. “It’s disappointing. It’s not good news before a big game, but it’s news we’ve had in the pastand we’ve been able to deal with before,” said Fleming. “While the team is extremely disappointed for Shane, we still think that, given the nature of the pitch, we have opportunities with our bowlers to still be competitive.”Fleming underscored the need to take a long-term view in the case of recurring injuries with key players, and explained New Zealand’s stance on Bond. “When you have a player who has long-term back problems it is always a concern when that back problem gives restrictions. What we’ve tried to do with Shane is be conservative,” he said. “We’re not looking at just this tournament, we’re looking at ones after this, especially the World Cup. If we can get him through to that, that would be nice. That is the long-term aim which is part of the reason why we’re not playing him tomorrow.”With Scott Styris also not 100 % fit – he suffered a hamstring twinge during a warm-up match – New Zealand have not got off to the start they wanted off the field. However, Styris was still in contention for a place in the final eleven, and depending on how his fitness held up in practiceon the day before the match, he could still make the cut and play a part.

Shaun Tait wasted no time after being picked in a 13-man Test squad to outline his plans for the future – he is desperate to become Australia’s fastest bowler. While Brett Lee currently holds the place, Tait, who reached 153kph during the Prime Minister’s XI game last Friday, wants to continue to accelerate.”I’d like to be labelled the fastest bowler in the country at some point in my career,” Tait said in The Australian. “I’ve always wanted to be labelled as a fast, feared bowler, but as you get older you realise you’re never going to be a permanent member of the Australian team just by bowling fast. You have to bowl in the right areas and take wickets.”Tait is jostling with Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark for the third bowling spot in the first Test at the Gabba on Thursday and the other two bowlers were also celebrating their selection. Johnson said he would use Brett Lee, who became a father for the first time on Thursday, as a mentor during the week as he aimed to make his debut on his home ground.”Brett has been there for me, I’m learning about him and I’m learning about myself as well,” Johnson said in The Courier-Mail. “When we are in the nets I feel very comfortable going up to him if I’m finding it hard.”If he’s working on something it will make me work harder as well.” On a day of family announcements as well as team news, Johnson also showed off his new girlfriend, the Australian karate representative Jessica Bratich.In Sydney Stuart Clark, the line-and-length option compared to his two speed rivals, said he was not sure what was going to happen over the next week as the trio pushes to partner McGrath, Lee, Warne and Watson. “Someone is going to have to miss out and hopefully it’s not me,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald.”Maybe it is [a shoot-out], maybe it isn’t. I’m assuming they’ll look at the wicket and then they’ll look at what sort of attack they want to go with and maybe that will have something to do with it as well. I’m a chance to play but the other guys are as well.”Ricky Ponting said he was looking forward to facing the bowlers in the nets to see how they were going and he expected the final decision to be a close call. “We’ve got a reasonable amount of time in the lead-up so I and the rest of the batsmen will have a really good chance to get a look at those guys and see what they’ve got to offer,” he said. “I guess we can have a look at the conditions up there as well and see what they might have to offer. There might be something in that wicket that might suit one of the bowlers more than the others.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Shane Bond ripped through Sri Lanka during an extraordinary day’s cricket to leave New Zealand on the verge of victory in the opening Test. Sri Lanka made a promising start with the ball, dismissing New Zealand for 206 to restrict the lead to 52, but then collapsed to 125 for 8 at stumps.Bond’s demolition job started with the fortuitous run-out of Sanath Jayasuriya as he deflected a firm straight drive from Upul Tharanga onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Despite this cruel blow, Sri Lanka were very much in the game on 44 for 1 an hour after tea, just eight runs adrift of New Zealand.But just when Bond appeared to be nearing the end of his opening spell, Stephen Fleming pulled off a brilliant one-handed catch at first slip. Tharanga played a slashing drive, Fleming parried the ball up and deftly pouched it between his fingers on the turn. The catch turned the match emphatically towards New Zealand.Sri Lanka then folded with a succession of soft strokes. The bowling was good but the pitch was far from treacherous and Sri Lanka’s middle order will have to shoulder the blame for what should be – barring some heroic batting from Kumar Sangakkara, the last remaining specialist, tomorrow – a heavy defeat.Mahela Jayawardene erred with a wide drive, edging a James Franklin delivery to slip, Chamara Kapugedera failed to get behind a back-foot drive to be caught at point and Chamara Silva completed a pair on debut as he spooned a slower ball to mid-off. Sri Lanka had lost four wickets for two runs in the space of 24 balls.Sangakkara did provide some resistance with a gutsy 63 from 97 balls, an innings that grew more belligerent as Sri Lanka’s cause became more desperate. However, with the allrounders – Prasanna Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof – unable to give him substantial support, his efforts are likely to be unrewarded.The lead now stands at 73 with only Muttiah Muralitharan still to bat. If Lasith Malinga, who looked uncomfortable at the crease before the close, and Muralitharan can stay with Sangakkara to engineer a target of 150 plus then there could still be a remarkable twist to the game. Such a lead, however, seems fanciful.Sri Lanka will have been bitterly disappointed by their predicament after such a spirited display from their bowlers, especially the two senior pros, Muralitharan and Vaas, but also Malinga who bowled with aggression and discipline. Maharoof chipped in with the key wicket of Stephen Fleming, the breakthrough that prompted a late collapse.Like Sri Lanka later in the day, New Zealand sacrificed their wickets in a mad flurry. They stumbled from the relative comfort of 106 for 2 to a parlous 113 for 6. Muralitharan snared Craig Cumming and Nathan Astle in the same over and Vaas dismissed Jacob Oram and Brendon McCullum in similar fashion.Daniel Vettori helped steady the innings with a characteristically industrious 63, adding a crucial 75 with Fleming either side of lunch. While Fleming focused on survival, batting 158 balls for his gritty 48, Vettori frustrated the Sri Lankans as he survived several strong appeals early on and then ticked along at a steady rate.When the afternoon drinks break arrived, New Zealand were 188 for 6. Sri Lanka, though, clawed themselves back again, claiming the last four wickets for 20 runs to give them a chance of building a decent target for Muralitharan to defend – the main justification for Jayawardene’s gamble at the toss. Alas, for Sri Lanka, all the hard work was wasted with another flimsy batting display.

Glenn McGrath has emerged as an injury worry for Australia ahead of Friday’s second Test after he was excused from bowling during the team practice session at the Adelaide Oval.McGrath, 36, took seven wickets in Australia’s victory in the first Test at Brisbane, including 6 for 50 in the first innings. But he was absent for long periods in the latter stages of the game with a “hot spot” on his left heel – the foot that takes most of his weight in the course of his bowling action.McGrath did bat for a lengthy stint in Australia’s afternoon session, and took part in fielding drills as well. It is understood that the injury is in the form of a callous on the back of the heel rather than any damage on the underside.Matthew Hayden added that McGrath just needed a few days to recover from his efforts at Brisbane. “Glenn is in good spirits”, he said. “I’m confident he has a huge part to play in this Test.”

The Ashes have gone and the Melbourne Test went in three days, but the England coach Duncan Fletcher does not believe it was the worst performance of his coaching reign. Fletcher rated Michael Vaughan’s first Test in charge as a lower point than the innings-and-99-run defeat at the MCG on Thursday, which gave Australia a 4-0 advantage.England won the toss and batted but could cobble together only 159 and managed another 161 in the second innings. “I wouldn’t say that’s the worst we’ve played,” Fletcher said as his team should have been starting the fourth day. “We haven’t played as well as in previous Tests and series, but from our point of view we just didn’t make enough runs on that first day. It was crucial to put in a better performance.”England have been speaking about improving since the first Test and they have only one more opportunity to avoid being the second side to lose an Ashes series 5-0. Despite the predicament Fletcher had no problems saying he was happy with the team. “They are trying their hardest,” he said. “I’ve seen how disappointed they are.”Fletcher said England’s innings-and-92-run loss to South Africa when Vaughan replaced Nasser Hussain in 2003 was his worst result as coach. “We really felt down after that,” he said. “I can remember that very clearly.”