New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has appointed former New Zealand player and first-class coach Dipak Patel as New Zealand Under-19 coach. The position is until the end of the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February 2006.Announcing Patel’s appointment, Gary Stead, NZC High Performance Centre coach, said: “We are very pleased to be able to appoint Dipak to this position. He has had a distinguished career as a first-class and international player and more recently a successful coaching career across many levels including coaching the State Central Stags at first-class level”.The build up prior to the World Cup will see Patel being involved in junior academy and academy programmes, attendance at the national Under-19 tournament and a week’s intensive build up at High Performance Centre prior to attending the tournament in Sri Lanka.

On how he feels about his recent displays
I’ve worked pretty hard, and things have been very positive, starting in Zimbabwe. I try to take it one game at a time.On what’s changed for him
Not much really. I’ve worked a bit with Ian Frazer who pointed out a couple of things that needed tweaking in my action. Just technical things like my right hip not going through and the entire body momentum being behind the ball at the time of delivery. Sometimes, it’s the basic things that you miss.On how disheartening it was to be in and out of the side despite being India’s best ODI bowler since the 2003 World Cup.
That’s in the past now. Each time you’re not picked, you view it as a challenge and go back to try and do well in domestic cricket. We play so much cricket now that there are bound to be opportunities and you just have to make the most of what comes your way. You can only control what’s in your hands, and each time I go out, I give a 100% for the team.On criticism from former greats
I don’t read it. What can you do anyway? They can have their opinion, and I certainly can’t stop them talking. I just go out there and try my best, and play the game because I love it.On whether he has enjoyed the new-ball responsibility
Yes, I have. But I feel I can do a job both with the shiny hard ball first up, and the soft one at the end of an innings.

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

Just as they had done on the second day, with the light fading rapidly and Sri Lanka fighting gallantly, India’s bowlers, led by Anil Kumble, winkled out crucial wickets and comprehensively tilted the scales, requiring only five more wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.Marvan Atapattu, batting with grace under fire to produce his second successive half-century on a pitch that appeared to have lost its bite, played a knock which increased the possibility of a draw but Kumble’s twin breakthroughs in between crucial strikes from Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh all but sealed Sri Lanka’s fate. The groundwork had been laid earlier in the day as a cheerful cameo from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a confident half-century from Yuvraj Singh propelled India to an imposing lead and batted Sri Lanka out of the contest.To successfully chase 436 would have needed record-breaking heroics and Sri Lanka were jolted early when Avishka Gunawardene fell cheaply for the third time running. Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara, though, combined to lead a fine counterattack as drive after gorgeous drive pushed Sri Lanka along. Both didn’t hold back when the ball was there to be hit and raced along as if harbouring thoughts of an improbable win. Neither was troubled by the spinners and appeared to have the measure of the pitch. Atapattu, who was lucky to survive a confident lbw appeal against Kumble when on 49, was quick to rock back when the ball was pitched short and creamed a few splendid pulls against both the spinners.With about an hour left, both appeared to be pulling down the shutters but Sangakkara’s dismissal – nicking an away swinger from Agarkar – opened a tap. Atapattu once again fell when a century was in his sights, patting a well-flighted delivery back to Kumble, and Malinga Bandara, the nightwatchman, was undone by a fierce straighter one, though replays showed the ball to have brushed bat before hitting pad. Thilan Samaraweera’s attempted drive to a Harbhajan doosra landed straight in Rahul Dravid’s hands at first slip and Sri Lanka had lost four wickets for 14 and seen their hopes of saving the game rapidly fade away.Gloomy skies in the morning session meant that both Yuvraj and Sourav Ganguly, the overnight batsmen, needed to watch their guard. Just 15 runs came in the first 10 overs, with both batsmen having to contend with low bounce on a sluggish pitch. Muttiah Muralitharan’s doosra, always a dangerous weapon, hassled both the batsmen on a few occasions but the slowness of the pitch allowed both to adjust their strokes at the last moment. Murali managed to get through Ganguly’s defences but Yuvraj ensured he didn’t give it away, gradually getting on top of the bowling. A crisply swept four off Murali set the tone before a flashing drive off Dilhara Fernando, hit on the up and with brutal force, raced to the cover fence. Assured with his footwork, he handled Murali impressively and kept out a few deliveries that died after pitching.It was Dhoni, though, who injected some urgency into the innings with characteristic dash. He danced down the track to the second ball he faced from Murali, lofting it over mid-on, and shredded Bandara for a flurry of boundaries just before lunch. He shifted gears immediately after the break and rocketed to his half-century with a series of superb swipes off the spinners, and cashed in after Fernando let off a simple chance when he was on 28. Yuvraj, who had reached his fifty before lunch, provided valuable support as Sri Lanka were probably reminded of the flogging that they had endured in the one-day series.How they were outIndiaSourav Ganguly b Muralitharan 39 (271 for 6)
Sri LankaAvishka Gunawardene lbw b Pathan 9 (30 for 1)
Kumar Sangakkara c Dhoni b Agarkar 33 (109 for 2)
Marvan Atapattu c and b Kumble 67 (119 for 3)
Malinga Bandara lbw b Kumble 0 (119 for 4)
Thilan Samaraweera c Dravid b Harbhajan 0 (123 for 5)

Anil Kumble, India’s leading Test wicket-taker, will soon face a rare milestone – his 100th Test. He is set to don the Indian cap for the 99th time when the second Test against Sri Lanka begins at Delhi on Saturday.A smile, a rare expression of happiness, broke through the usually stony facade of Kumble at the mention of the milestone. “It is a great feeling. To think back, I started in 1990 and to have got this far,” he said. “It definitely helps your confidence. It shows your sustained kind of performance at international level. It acts as a motivational factor.”Of current Indian cricketers, only Sachin Tendulkar with 124 Tests has played more matches than Kumble. Tendulkar himself will be equalling Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 125 matches. Kapil Dev, the former allrounder, has the most matches for an Indian, 131.When he steps on to the Feroze Shah Kotla ground this weekend, Kumble will be on par with Mohammad Azharuddin, his former captain, who played in 99 Tests. “The team knows what I am capable of,” he added during a team practice at the Palam ground on Thursday. “I have the respect of the team and the opponents as well, and the adulation I have received has been tremendous. So I have no qualms.”Kumble typically played down any suggestion of disappointment at having remained backstage throughout his long career. “I think it has got to do with the media. As a cricketer I have to perform, I have a job to do,” said Kumble, 35. “I look at it as a profession and try to do best what I can. People writing and speaking about it is not in my control.”Kumble will have happy memories of this ground. The Kotla is the venue where he became only the second bowler in the history of the game to claim all 10 wickets in an innings, against Pakistan in 1999. However, Kumble politely dismissed any talk about attempting a repeat of the feat over the next five days. “It is the people who have been talking about the 10 wickets. Not myself or the team. As a cricketer we know it happens once in a lifetime,” he said. “I don’t think I have gone with that in my mind into any match. It is a good feeling, I don’t deny that. And I know that the expectations are high and hopefully I will live upto that.”Kumble also said that a combination of factors have made things difficult for the slow bowler in modern cricket. “No matter what you do, there is lot of pressure at the international level. Even before you bowl the first ball, a debutant knows what you are going to do. He has studied your leg spinner, top spinner, what angle you are going to bowl. There is so much one gets to know from the media. The challenge is to adapt.”He added that it was not correct to say the present lot were better than those of the past merely because they have pushed the benchmark higher. “I don’t think you can judge different eras. There have been better performers before. What you have to look at is the standards in that scenario, we have to judge them on the standards of that era.” Kumble felt that whatever change that Indian cricket has gone through in recent times was for the good.”You need different ideas and different people if you need to change. Change has been good. Having been there for 15 years, whatever happens, I have learnt to take it positively and focus on improving my game and better my performance.”Commenting on the rain-marred first Test at Chennai that lasted less than a day and a half, Kumble said Sri Lanka deserved credit for the way they played on the last day. He did add, however, that it was not a true indicator of the strengths of the two teams. “You should not read too much into what happened in Chennai. The groundsmen did a great job to get the match started. The whole city was under water, and to have a match in that situation takes a lot of hard work.”

Pakistan’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has tipped India as favourites in the forthcoming Test series, claiming home advantage and Pakistan’s recent series win over England would count for little. India arrive on January 5 and start the tour with a three-day match against Pakistan A on January 7.”We will need to work extra hard. For me, India will be favourites in the series,” Inzamam said. “The win against England is a thing of the past now, and since there is not much difference in pitches and other things in India and Pakistan, there will be no home advantage. India has a strong batting line up and with Sourav Ganguly’s return it has further strengthened. Although Rahul Dravid does not have experience as a captain he is a wise batsman and will mature as captain,” he said.”We are not weak in the spin department because we have Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi so we can match India who have Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.”I am thankful to Wasim Akram for advising us to prepare hard pitches keeping in view the good form of our bowlers in the series against England,” said Inzamam, who will meet groundsmen on Monday to devise a strategy.He disagreed that Pakistan rely heavily on him in batting – he scored 431 runs against England in three Tests this winter – and Shoaib Akhtar in bowling. “Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal have batted well in recent matches, so has Afridi and in bowling we also have Naved, Kaneria and others who have done well.”

Former Essex batsman Gordon Barker has died at the age of 74 after a long illness.Barker scored 21,895 first-class runs for the county in a career which stretched from 1954 to 1971. He passed 1000 runs 16 times, with a best of 1742 in 1960.He was born near Leeds and was playing in the Bradford League when he was spotted by Doug Insole, the Essex captain, in an army game. Insole persuaded Essex to sign him, and he went on to become the sixth-highest run-scorer in the county’s history.”Gordon was a wonderfully gritty opening batsman who in his early days formed a highly entertaining and slightly bizarre partnership with Dickie Dodds,” insole, now the county’s president, told the Essex website. “He went on to become one of county cricket’s best opening batsmen and one of its most engaging characters.”After retiring, Barker became cricket coach at Felsted where he produced players such as Nick Knight, Derek Pringle and John Stephenson.

Jamie Cox, the Tasmania and Somerset opening batsman, has retired after 264 first-class matches in a 19-year career. Fading in his last couple of seasons, Cox, 36, managed only 60 runs in three Pura Cup games this summer and was more prominent in the commentary box and on the television show than on the field.Nobody has played more Pura Cup-Sheffield Shield games than Cox’s 161, and he finishes in second position behind Darren Lehmann for the most runs after bowing out with 10,821. It is a record that shows his longevity and also his inability to crack the national team. A solid opener, he was in contention for the 1997 and 2001 Ashes tours but was overpowered by Michael Slater, Mark Taylor, Matthew Elliott, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.Making his debut in 1987-88, Cox was Tasmania’s first inductee into the Cricket Academy and had his best season in 1996-97 when he struck 1,349 runs. In 2000-01 he was named the Pura Cup Player of the Season and was also making his mark at Somerset, where he captained the county for three northern summers. Somerset won the C&G Trophy under Cox in 2001 and his overall first-class record for the two teams was 18,614 runs at 42.69.”He retires as one of the best players never to have represented Australia at senior level, but his contribution to Tasmanian cricket is immense,” Brent Palfreyman, the Tasmania Cricket Association chairman, said. Cox is a player career development coordinator with the TCA and Palfreyman said he was keen for him to remain involved with the organisation.

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

In the end, the scorebooks will record that on April 13, 2006 Australia beat Bangladesh by three wickets at Fatullah. But that does little to showcase a thrilling match in which Bangladesh were the dominant side for the better part. On a frenetic fifth afternoon – a day this match was not even supposed to go into – Ricky Ponting’s awesome 118 not out sealed a great win but the battle was much, much harder than it seemed.Those who have followed this match knew that another classic twist was always around the corner as Ponting marched into the nineties. Brett Lee was dimissed for a vital 29 by Mashrafe Mortaza – rewarding his captain’s decision to take the new ball – and then Ponting was given a slice of luck that had Bangladesh going into lunch shaking their heads. Shahadat Hossain banged one short, Ponting swiveled into his favourite shot, the ball spiralled high to deep backward square leg where Mortaza dived and dropped a swirling chance. A push through covers for four off Mortaza brought Ponting his sensational hundred and the bowler walked back to his mark knowing that he had dropped the match.A flurry of boundaries after the interval took Australia to within three runs of victory and all but sealed the affair, but still Bangladesh refused to cave in. Shahadat sent down three bouncers in a row to Ponting, one of which struck him square in the helmet. Bowler stared down batsman, words were exchanged, and in the end the match concluded in the same in-your-face aggression that had played out for four days.Ponting’s effort must go down as another classic. Australia, who haven’t lost a Test since surrendering the Ashes, were in danger of falling prey to one of the biggest upsets in Test history if not for Ponting’s most meaningful hundred this year. As Mohammad Rafique struck gold with the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne first thing in the morning, Ponting looked on, memories of Old Trafford fresh in his head. When push comes to shove Ponting has always been the aggressor, and today was no exception.The battle of the morning was always going to be him versus Rafique, and Ponting won it hands down. Rafique tossed it up but Ponting was right there, feet and bat firmly in defiance. When he used the quicker one, Ponting was back and across. When he erred in line and dropped it short, Ponting pulled him for four or cut past point. He had his moments – Rafique got one to spit and rip past his forward prod and a leave to Enamul Haque came agonisingly close to off – but otherwise Ponting was supreme in his assessment of the situation. Most importantly, he did not let the situation get on top of him. Singles were stolen wide of cover and short of square leg and his overall rotation of the strike with a confident Lee was worthy of a battle-hardened veteran.

Ponting was quick to acknowledge the scare Bangladesh had given them. “They’ve played very, very well. For them to score 355 on the first day was a terrific effort,” he said at the end of the match. “They certainly have come a long way. A few of us had to put our hand up in the second innings and make sure the job was done. lt was just nice to be there at the end of the day.” Adam Gilchrist’s brilliant 144 earned him the Man-of-the-Match award and it was this effort that allowed Australia to crawl their way back into the match.Bangladesh have only ever won one Test match in their six years as a Test nation and that was against a depleted Zimbabwe side, and things almost changed here. Habibul Bashar and his band of would-be giant-killers didn’t scale Mount Improbable, but the view from base camp must have looked very promising. Bangladesh can take some positives from this match – Shahriar Nafees’s hundred, Bashar’s own hand with the bat, and Rafique’s superior effort with ball. In both Australian innings Rafique was the key, taunting the mighty with his loop and turn and getting them to dance to his tune. Today, as Australia attempted their bid for another win, he put the lethal faster one to use, dismissing Gilchrist and Warne, he checked Lee numerous times and forced him to hustle onto the back foot.Bangladesh also have problems to address – the fielding, the running between wickets, and an appalling second-innings record – but now they will believe that they can compete with the best in the business. Mohammad Ashraful played but a little role in this Test but can lay claim to having sown its seeds. For it was a balmy summer’s afternoon last year at Sophia Gardens when he defied Australia and allowed all of Bangladesh to dream. With a little more of the brilliance they showed in bursts here, they wont have to dream anymore.How they were outAustralia
Adam Gilchrist b Rafique 12 (225 for 5)
Shane Warne lbw b Rafique 5 (231 for 6)
Brett Lee c Mashud b Mortaza 29 (277 for 7)

Australia’s push for suitable national-team back-up has forced Trevor Hohns’s selection panel to choose this year’s Academy squad for the first time. Brett Dorey, a 28-year-old who made his one-day debut in the VB Series, heads the list of 14 first-class players chosen in the outfit to signal a policy shift from the Centre of Excellence’s traditional focus.The Pura Cup fast bowlers Ben Hilfenhaus, Ben Edmondson, 27, and Doug Bollinger, were included for the 18-week program alongside the spinners Cullen Bailey and Beau Casson, while the Western Australia batsmen Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges, 26, were also called up. Hohns’s panel was keen to include Dan Cullen, Shaun Tait and Mark Cosgrove, but they have already agreed to English county contracts.”With the change in selection process this year, we have chosen 15 players based on a squad-type situation which will become particularly important when the scholars embark on the international tour later in the year,” Hohns said. “We have tried to select a balanced squad of players to cover all facets of the game, and within that we have selected a blend of young players, along with others who have played some first-class cricket.” Aaron Finch, the Australia Under-19 vice-captain, is the only member without a domestic four-day game on his resume.A Cricket Australia spokeswoman said the focus had switched to service the short, medium and long-term needs of the national sides. The size of the intake has been cut from 26 and the program, which starts on April 18, will be extended by five weeks. The coaching at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane is led by Tim Nielsen with the assistants Jamie Siddons, Dene Hills, Brian McFadyen and Troy Cooley, the former England bowling mentor.Academy squad Doug Bollinger (NSW), Daniel Doran (Qld), Cullen Bailey (SA), Callum Ferguson (SA), George Bailey (Tas), Ben Hilfenhaus (Tas), Tim Paine (Tas), Adam Crosthwaite (Vic), Aaron Finch (Vic), Peter Siddle (Vic), Beau Casson (WA), Brett Dorey (WA), Ben Edmondson (WA), Shaun Marsh (WA), Adam Voges (WA).

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Although they comfortably lost by five wickets, Zimbabwe’s young team will take great heart from their performance against the West Indies in the first of seven one-dayers at Antigua. On a two-paced pitch, chasing just 152, the West Indies made hard work of their task and rarely looked in complete control of proceedings.That they were made to struggle was down to Zimbabwe’s young bowlers’ control, and the energetic performance of their fielders. As early as the sixth ball of their innings, the West Indies lost their opener, Runako Morton, who carelessly drove one from Ed Rainsford straight to second slip. It was just the start they needed.Rainsford bowled intelligently. Using his height to good effect, he generated bounce – on what was a difficult pitch to bat all day – causing Chris Gayle several anxious moments. However, his and his team-mates’ inexperience told. The left-hand right-hand combination of Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan upset their lines, prompting Sarwan to punish Rainsford for several fours.After putting on 37 with a subdued Gayle, from 10 turgid overs, Sarwan was caught inches short going for a quick single; the running was lazy, if a little complacent, and handed Zimbabwe a fortunate wicket. Gayle batted with curious restraint and only briefly did he threaten to open his broad shoulders.He looked to be regaining his touch and power when he planted Prosper Utseya, the off-spinner, straight on top of the Richie Richardson stand at long-on – a remarkable one-handed shot of immense power. It appeared he and Denesh Ramdin, promoted ahead of his captain Brian Lara, were easing West Indies to victory until Gayle attempted to hit Utseya beyond the same stand and into the sea. Utseya, not afraid to toss it up, cleverly beat him in the air and had him caught at square leg.Worse was to come. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was relieved of the captaincy last week, continued his poor run of form when he tried to cut Utseya. Soon after, the same bowler should have had Lara caught at deep midwicket when, inexplicably, he tried to pull one wide of the off-stump. The three fielders converged in a potentially disastrous triangle, but the ball somehow evaded each of them. That blemish aside, Lara batted with his customary brilliance to late-cut the spinners and nudge singles with ease.At the other end, Ramdin – a compact, neat and correct batsman – grew in confidence until, with just 31 runs needed to win, he decided to late-cut a half-volley and was bowled by Utseya. It was a dreadful, lackadaisical shot.If their batting was lacklustre, the West Indies’ bowling performance was similarly uninspiring. Whereas Zimbabwe looked sharp in the field, the hosts lacked intent and spark. After removing Piet Rinke in the second over, the opening bowlers – Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor – lost their ferocity and didn’t look like a side determined to take 10 wickets.Terry Duffin, the Zimbabwe captain, then batted diligently for his 26, and put on a vital 64 runs with Justice Chibhabha, who made a very impressive 55. Though the pair batted well, rarely did they break into a trot which said more of their inexperience than anything else.Their wickets marked a dramatic collapse in which Zimbabwe lost 7 for 30 as the West Indies bowlers, Gayle and Dwayne Bravo in particular, found their lengths. But it was the batsmen’s inexperience that told. Panic set in during the final ten overs, and though they reached the milestone of 150, it was never likely to trouble the West Indies.Lara, clearly fed up with the injudicious strokeplay of his team-mates, clobbered a couple of late boundaries, including a huge six to win the game. It was a disappointing effort from the home side, and an encouraging one from Zimbabwe who can take heart not only for batting out fifty overs, but for making the West Indies work hard to reach what was a paltry total.

How they were out

West IndiesRunako Morton c Higgins b Rainsford 0 (1 for 1)
Ramnaresh Sarwan run-out (Mahwire) 14 (38 for 2)
Chris Gayle b Utseya (71 for 3)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Taylor b Utseya (77 for 4)
Denesh Ramdin b Utseya 37 (121 for 5)
ZimbabwePiet Rinke c Smith b Taylor 1 (5 for 1)
Terry Duffin c Ramdin b Smith 26 (69 for 2)
Justice Chibhabha c Edwards b Smith 55 (105 for 3)
Elton Chigumbura run out (Chanderpaul) 8 (121 for 4)
Brendan Taylor c Bradshaw b Bravo 25 (126 for 5)
Keith Dabengwa c Chanderpaul b Bravo 5 (135 for 6)
Greg Strydom c Bravo b Gayle 8 (142 for 7)
Ryan Higgins c Bravo b Gayle 0 (142 for 8)
Blessing Mahwire c Sarwan b Taylor 6 (150 for 9