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ScorecardFile photo – Pant hit nine fours and two sixes•PTI

Opener Rishabh Pant stroked his second successive fifty while Washington Sundar followed up his two wickets with a fifty of his own to help India Under-19s secure a berth in the Tri-nation tournament final, after three wins in a row.Chasing 223, India had a rapid start with Pant and Ishan Kishan adding 67 in 5.4 overs. The partnership, however, ended when Kishan was run out by Nazmul Hossain Shanto. Pant was dismissed 14 balls later, as Bangladesh Under-19s put the skids on the chase. Captain Virat Singh and Amandeep Khare managed only 32 in 13 overs before Virat and Sarfraz Khan were out in a space of three balls. Sundar then anchored the chase with 50 off 75 balls, including six fours. Though Sundar gave a return catch to Nazmul, Mahipal Lomror and Mayank Dagar guided India home with four wickets and eight balls to spare.Mehedi Hasan Miraz took two wickets after making a 90-ball 87 with the bat but his all-round effort only offered scant consolation for Bangladesh. Having opted to bat, the visitors were reduced to 81 for 4 in 30.1 overs. Miraz then launched a counterattack, aided by contributions from Mohammad Saifuddin and Saeed Sarkar, pushing his side past 200, but Bangladesh eventually slid to their second loss in three matches.

Zimbabwe Select are set to recall former national captain Terrence Duffin for the second match against India A which gets underway at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday (July 30).Duffin missed the first game, which India A won by nine wickets, because he was suffering from a cold but he is likely to replace Tinotenda Mawoyo who has failed to rekindle the same form that he produced during the Logan Cup. Duffin took part in a net session on Sunday.Duffin should open the batting with Hamilton Masakadza, with Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu, who hit a hundred on his comeback, in a strong middle order. Taibu’s successful return only adds to the likelihood that the short-term international career of wicketkeeper-batsman Brendan Taylor, named in the squad but still believed to be in Europe, is over.Zimbabwe’s bowling was less impressive and while the pace bowlers are likely to be retained, there is doubt if the selectors will play two spinners. If they opt not to, then legspinner Graeme Cremer will be the one to miss out as Prosper Utseya made useful runs.The Zimbabwe squad arrived in Bulawayo by road from Harare on Saturday evening and had a net session without Kevin Curran, the coach. He had decided to travel in his sponsored car, a move which did not go down well with some of the his technical team.India A flew into Bulawayo on Sunday morning and had a practice session at Queen’s in the afternoon.

Division One

4th dayWarwickshire squeezed over the line by two wickets against Hampshire as they chased down 121 in 25 overs and won off the last ball The Rose Bowl. Dimitri Mascarenhas almost pulled off an amazing win for Hampshire with five wickets as Warwickshire collapsed from 77 for 1 to 101 for 8. However, Neil Carter hit a four and a six as the visitors nicked it. Earlier, Hampshire resisted manfully as Heath Streak took six wickets. Chris Benham hit a career-best 95, adding 159 with Dominic Thornely, but the Warwickshire attack then got to work. Shaun Udal clubbed some late runs and, despite seeming just a consolation, they almost proved to be match-winning. As it is, Hampshire slip further adrift in the Championship race.There was just the one over of play at Headingley between Yorkshire and Kent leaving the game in a dull stalemate.3rd dayLancashire‘s Championship hopes were dealt a further blow with only two overs possible on the third day at Old Trafford. Middlesex, who batted first, have still not completed their first innings and for what it’s worth they’re on 262 for 6.

Division Two

4th day
Leicestershire pulled off a last-gasp victory against Worcestershire, inching home with eight balls to spare after both teams decided to fashion out a match at Grace Road. Worcestershire forfeited their second innings to leave Leicestershire a sporting chase of 356 off 88 overs after they had made 101 for 2 declared in their first innings.Worcestershire’s high point of the day came when they had Leicestershire 88 for 3. But John Sadler and Darren Maddy each made scores in the eighties to reverse the momentum firmly in Leicestershire’s favour, putting on 160 for the fourth wicket. From then on it became a race against time – could Worcestershire’s bowlers hold on for the draw? They couldn’t, and Stuart Broad hit the winning runs off Ray Price with a crunching four.3rd dayIt was a day for overseas players as Derbyshire managed to dodge the rain against Leicestershire and build a useful lead of 131 at Derby. Michael di Venuto hit 104 and half-centuries from Greg Smith and Ant Botha built the advantage. di Venuto’s ton, his third of the season, came off 162 balls and he added 124 for third wicket with fellow Australian, Travis Birt. Smith and Botha, both South Africans, then put on 131 for the fifth wicket to push Derbyshire well ahead. This is just Smith’s second Championship match of the summer and his 86 is a career-best.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, the former vice-captain of West Indies, has refused to accept vice-captaincy of the Guyana squad for the ongoing Carib Beer regional competition, with a view of giving younger players a chance to lead the side and gain valuable experience.Speaking to before the start of the round 6 four-day match against Trinidad and Tobago, Sarwan said, “I won’t be around for long due to international commitments. It won’t be right on my part to take up the position and leave half-way. It would be a good opportunity for a younger player to take up the vice-captaincy and [he] can be groomed in the team.”In place of Sarwan, the Guyana board appointed the 23-year-old Damodar Daesrath as the vice-captain and Shivnarine Chanderpaul as the captain. Daesrath had led the side in the absence of Chanderpaul with mixed results: one win, one loss, two draws and a no-result in the away matches.Sarwan was also replaced by Chanderpaul as the vice-captain of the West Indies side in the recently-concluded VB Series. Sarwan, who was identified as the future captain, was appointed as Brian Lara’s deputy in 2003, during Lara’s second stint as captain. Sarwan enjoyed his best year in Test cricket in 2004, when he crossed 1000 runs with an average above 50. Though the selectors did not offer any explanations for replacing Sarwan, it is reliably known that they wanted him to concentrate on his batting.

It can’t be fun being a selector. You only get written about when someone is being critical of you, and you get written about a lot. Not only can you not please everyone, often, you can’t please anyone. That’s what the journalists at Wisden Cricinfo – our staff and some regular contributors – discovered when we put on our selectorial hats, and picked Rest of the World teams for the Super Series contest against Australia next year.What a squishy mess we walked right into. As many as 22 people cast their votes, picking a Test XI and an ODI XI, and no two teams, out of all these, were exactly the same. We collated all the votes and came up with composite teams, and those sides did not match any of the 22 submitted in each category either. That confirms the suspicion that some of us are too hard on selectors sometimes; they will rarely pick the same team that any writer or fan may pick, and as long as the differences are reasonable, one should just let those poor souls be.Feel free to pick on us, though. If you don’t agree with our teams, given below, write to us and let us know, and give us your Rest of the World XIs for Tests and one-dayers.Rest of the World Test team (in batting order)1 Michael Vaughan (13 votes, capt)
2 Virender Sehwag (14)
3 Rahul Dravid (20)
4 Brian Lara (20)
5 Sachin Tendulkar (19)
6 Jacques Kallis (14)
7 Mark Boucher (16, wk)
8 Shaun Pollock (10)
9 Shoaib Akhtar (17)
10 Steve Harmison (19)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (22)The closest battle in the selection of this squad was between Jacques Kallis and VVS Laxman, who found himself the 12th man with nine votes. The argument in favour of Laxman was his outstanding record against Australia, with an average of 63.52, and three centuries – two in the recent four-Test series, to add to his classic 281 in 2001. But Kallis’s allround skills won him the slot: the differential between his batting average and his bowling average is 11.3, which compares well with anyone in the history of the game.The most popular opener, surprisingly, was Virender Sehwag, who wasn’t even taken seriously as a Test opener until recently – he himself speaks of going back to the middle order one day. His 309 against Pakistan at Multan, and the 195 against Australia at Melbourne that came two Tests before that, underscored his destructive potential at the top of the order, where he can snatch the momentum away in a session, and the match in another.

He’ll have good company in Michael Vaughan, whose uncertain form of late is balanced by his fine run against Australia in the last Ashes series, where he made three hundreds. He made the team comfortably with 13 votes, more than the openers nearest to him, Graeme Smith (7) and Herschelle Gibbs (5), combined.Unsurprisingly, every single person picked Muttiah Muralitharan, disregarding the controversies that have dogged him since his career began. The pace of Shoaib Akhtar and Steve Harmison was supplemented by the experience and guile of Shaun Pollock, while Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan and Chaminda Vaas, all with five votes, missed out by a long distance. Kumar Sangakkara, with four votes, was the reserve wicketkeeper.Some of our writers made interesting punts on the future, given that the matches are a year away. One picked Yuvraj Singh to open with Sehwag, implying that not only will Yuvraj open for India in the coming season, as is being speculated, he’ll do well enough to be considered one of the world’s best. Another backed Geraint Jones for the wicketkeeper’s slot – Andy Flower also got a vote for that place. No-one bet on Kevin Pietersen, though, or young Parthiv Patel.Michael Vaughan won the right to captain the side, ahead of the only other current captain, Brian Lara.Rest of the World ODI team (in batting order)1 Sachin Tendulkar (21 votes)
2 Virender Sehwag (15)
3 Jacques Kallis (15)
4 Brian Lara (18)
5 Rahul Dravid (12, capt, wk)
6 Yuvraj Singh (7)
7 Andrew Flintoff (18)
8 Shaun Pollock (16)
9 Shoaib Akhtar/Chaminda Vaas (7 each)
10 Steve Harmison (8)
11 Muttiah Muralitharan (21)Many more players were in contention for the one-day side than the Test side – a total of 39 players had their names mentioned by our 22 selectors. While the cut-off mark for the Test side was 10 votes, here, it was seven, with three players tied on that position, in a battle for two places. Yuvraj Singh, who has constructed some impeccable finishes for India in recent times, took up the batting slot at No. 6, while Shoaib and Vaas were left struggling for one bowling spot.Pathan, Sourav Ganguly and Herschelle Gibbs just missed the cut with six points each. Boucher also lost out with six points; of the 12 people who picked Rahul Dravid, 11 wanted him to keep wicket. Remarkably, given that he isn’t India’s captain yet, he was also chosen to captain the side. Far-sighted or foolhardy? We’ll know in hindsight.Two men named Chris, Gayle and Cairns, got five votes each. Tendulkar and Murali were the most popular picks, both with 21 votes. (And no, the names and email IDs of the people who left out Tendulkar from either side will not be posted here.) As many as ten of the people who voted for Tendulkar wanted him to bat in the middle order, but at the end, only one other opener made it among the batsmen, so that wasn’t necessary. Andrew Flintoff, who lends such weight to the England team with his stirring allround talent, and Brian Lara were also popular choices, with 18 votes each.Shite, wasn’t it? And to think we call ourselves cricket writers. Disgraceful. You can certainly do better, so please do, and write in to us with your teams. We’ll try to collate readers’ XIs, and we’ll also put up some of your feedback.Amit Varma is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo in India. None of the teams picked here corresponds exactly with his, so in case you know where he lives, please don’t do anything harsh.

No-one will ever under-estimate Peter Fulton when he next strides to the wicket with bat in hand for Canterbury, or for whoever he is playing.Fulton, 24, in only his 11th first-class match achieved the feat of scoring a triple century in a State Championship match against Auckland at Hagley Oval.It was the definitive statement of his ability although is not without precedent when coming so early in a career.Most recently Ken Rutherford scored his triple century when 21 years of age while Bill Carson, whose 290 was the record Fulton surpassed as the highest score for a maiden century, was 20 when he achieved his great score. He had his career cut short by the Second World War in which he died of wounds.Fulton didn’t feel too tired after his innings, it was broken with a night off when he was 188 not out, and said when the declaration came around lunchtime on day two, he felt a tiredness normally associated with having been on a long run.By the end of the four days he was back to normal.The innings came as some reward for opting for cricket over the rugby he had been playing as a 196cm tall fullback. The choice, one which faces so many young New Zealand sportsmen, was forced on him when he had the chance to play league cricket in England. He had two years with Lytham in the Liverpool League. Some knee problems also contributed.”Both sports are similar in terms of team spirit involved in them. But I think in cricket you have a little bit more control over your own game and you are not so reliant on other people,” he said.Fulton made his debut in the last game of the summer of 2000/01, when the competition was well and truly gone from Canterbury’s grasp. It was enough to leave him wanting more but not sufficient for him to get a true idea of what was involved.”It was five or six games before I realised what was all about,” he said.Winning acceptance as a prospective player had not been easy because he played his club cricket in North Canterbury and it was unfashionable for country players to be pulled into the representative side.Making his task easier was the fact that Michael Sharpe had become Canterbury coach after a period as Canterbury Country coach where he had seen Fulton develop.That country cricket involved playing in New Zealand’s second-class competition for the Hawke Cup, a competition notorious for producing some hard nuts who have been exposed to one-innings matches of a nature as tough, if not tougher on occasions, as first-class cricket.”It’s the highest level that a lot of those who are playing will ever reach, and they make it tough. There is a lot riding on it and there is more talk on the field than in first-class play.”The biggest difference in Hawke Cup cricket is having to bat for such a long time and it makes you realise what is required when you step up,” he said.It was certainly a key asset in his own triple century innings.Canterbury had not been going well although Fulton had been having some reasonable, if not earth-shattering, scores.”In the Auckland game there was a lot of pressure on the whole team. The batsmen had not been performinng.”I felt good when I got in. I was so determined to make the most of it.”Before I got to the century, that was all I was focusing on. It is a big hurdle until you get one. Once I got there I was just enjoying it.”Then I really wanted to get through to the end of the day and start again the next day. I knew if I could do that I could get a really big score.”He went to stumps on 188 not out.The innings produced its own type of euphoria the further he went. Batting wasn’t difficult.”I didn’t feel like I had to force myself to concentrate. I was not worried about dot balls or maidens.”As his innings mounted, team-mates began to take an interest in the milestones as they passed: Chris Harris’ Canterbury record of 251 not out; the highest score by a New Zealander for his maiden century held by W N ‘Bill’ Carson with 290 runs, and then the seventh instance of a New Zealander scoring a triple century – the first by anyone who didn’t have an Otago connection.”It was strange to see myself on that [triple centuries] list. Now the season has finished I can think about it a little more.”The reaction after the match had been “amazing”. He has been getting letters and calls of congratulations from people who he thought wouldn’t have taken an interest in cricket and that had been most satisfying.Fulton, who has an Arts degree majoring in education and sociology, said he didn’t think the triple century would create any pressure for him in the future. The opposite was the case.”I’ve done it. It gives me some confidence for my place in the side.”The immediate benefit has been a place in the New Zealand Cricket Academy this year. He had been disappointed to miss out last year.It will be the first time he has had some specific coaching. He hasn’t had a lot of technical coaching before, more the benefit of an enthusiastic headmaster Peter Prosser at Waihi School and Sharpe later on in his career.”I couldn’t really play a forward defensive shot. I was more of a bowler until just after the third form.”Winning a place in the Canterbury team, he never played age-group cricket for Canterbury, although he was once included in the Under-19 side when another player was injured, had exposed him to international players and their methods of preparation and performance.”The biggest thing about playing for Canterbury is being in the nets with the New Zealand players when they are back. Batting with them and watching them, and asking them questions has been great because they have been happy to pass on their knowledge.”I had a different route to the side. I have had to work every year and I took the view that I had to improve five per cent each year so my improvement has been quite gradual.”When he was chosen for Canterbury he was the first Christ’s College player for several years, which in Christchurch’s, and Christ’s College’s, proud association with cricket was a long time.The school teams had suffered from the problem afflicting the game in New Zealand, the drop-out rate of players when their schooling is completed. But that just made Fulton’s success all the more satisfying for him.He gives the impression that there is still much more he wants to do, and that has to be healthy for Canterbury in the short term and who knows where it might all end for him?

Waqar Younis will continue as captain of Pakistan for the home series against New Zealand and the Asian Test championship.Waqar led Pakistan to a drawn series against England and the final of the NatWest Series involving England, Pakistan and Australia.”The Pakistan Cricket Board is satisfied with Younis’s overall showing as captain and he has set a good example with his leadership,” Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman told the BBC.

Add another name to the emerging crop of young fast bowlers in New Zealand, Ian Butler from Northern Districts.The New Zealand Under-19 representative from last summer allowed his side to gain a significant advantage over Central Districts in their State Championship match at Blenheim’s Horton Park today.Times were when Marlborough’s own fast bowlers Gary Bartlett and Michael Wilson were in their prime the Horton Park pitch was one of the fastest in the country.It still remains one of the bouncier pitches, and while not as fast as in its heyday, it created enough problems for bowlers of both teams to exploit.But at the moment it is Northern Districts who are in charge, although just how much they are able to cash in depends on the batsmen, and three of them are gone.By stumps, CD had been dismissed for 181 and in reply ND were 84/3.However, this was not a pitch that should have so favoured the bowlers. Rather it demanded greater application and graft by batsmen prepared to bide their time.CD has been a batsman short in games to date, and with that in mind it tried promoting Campbell Furlong to No 3 to try and arrest some of the batting decline that cost it a chance against Auckland.His 23 under normal circumstances would have suggested the ploy hadn’t worked, however, given the nature of the CD batting, it positively shone out of the scoreboard.It is likely to have caused Furlong only small comfort, because he had done all the hard work to build a more substantial innings when he chipped an easy return back to bowler Joseph Yovich to be caught and bowled.Yovich had earlier claimed a key wicket when removing David Kelly, a century maker in his last game, for 11.But it was Butler who added sting to the ND attack to give it an even more effective look than last season.He had Richard Scragg out in his first spell downwind this morning, and then had Richard King leg before wicket for 31 in the middle of a fiery, fast spell.Captain Robbie Hart kept manoeuvring his attack, especially when he had Scott Styris bowling impressively to keep the scoring down, to good effect.While wicket-keeper Bevan Griggs offered some hope of a lower-order recovery, he was only able to find suitable support from Michael Mason. They added 28 runs, hardly earth-shattering but timely in the context of CD’s innings before Butler ended Griggs’ 109 minutes of defiance with a catch to Robbie Hart. Griggs scored 31 and then Butler shattered Lance Hamilton’s stumps to finish with four for 44, an impressive return and one that offers ND great hope if it can keep its attack together.ND then found itself under pressure, as CD’s bowlers responded. Mason cleaned up James Marshall for seven with the score on 16.Matt Hart and Mark Bailey were just starting to look comfortable but CD had just the right man to sort them out in Andrew Schwass. And sort them out he did in his first over.Off the first ball Hart, who had been milking space wide of slips for boundaries, didn’t get his measurement quite right and found Furlong waiting to take a low catch, then four balls later Bailey tried to tickle a ball down the leg side, but he failed to get enough bat on it and it flew to Griggs to leave ND 58/3.Schwass ended on two for 11 from his five overs while Mason had one for 15 from 10.It was left to Styris and Hamish Marshall to take ND to 84/3, but to make CD pay for a disappointing batting effort, they must assume control tomorrow morning.However, such has been the lack of batting commitment on the first day, there is no way that CD can be considered out of this match yet.

The headlines when New Zealand landed for their tour of England were more about the players who hadn’t arrived than those who had. Five of their key players are in India taking part in the IPL, raising questions about how focused the tourists will be. However, two of them who spoke to Cricinfo, Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor, were firm in dismissing the notion of being distracted and added they are happy to be the underdogs.Oram recalled the scene back in New Zealand, just before the first IPL auction. “We had a big team meeting, everyone was there. We had a lengthy discussion about the whole situation,” he said. “Not only from a playing point of view but even off the ground. Whether someone would feel left out, about the emotions and about going to England a little late. Everything was in the open and in the end everyone was okay and decided we would support whoever gets selected.”Taylor added: “Jac [Oram], Dan [Daniel Vettori] and Brendon [McCullum] were picked up and since we had already discussed everything before we were all happy for them. Later, [Kyle] Mills and I got selected.”Both players stressed that being part of the IPL has been a beneficial experience and, in a way, better preparation than if they were in New Zealand. “I am playing on the grass while the players in New Zealand will have had to do with practising indoors,” said Taylor.”We should still be there in England for two first-class games and I have 17 days of build-up before the Test match [at Lord’s] and if that’s not enough then nothing will be,” Oram said. “We are not on a holiday here. We are playing competitive games. There is no distraction.”Moving onto the series itself, both readily admitted that England are the favourites. “We are always the underdogs, we tend to play our best cricket like that,” said Oram. “They beat us in New Zealand and this will be the first [Stephen] Fleming-less team in years. The bowling looks pretty okay though it’s obviously a blow that Shane Bond can’t play and James Franklin would have been handy with his left-arm swing bowling.”For Oram, the key to New Zealand doing well will be the performance of numbers one to four in the batting. “One of the issues in the recent times has been the top-order batting. If we can nail two or three guys who can score big runs we can go a long way,” he said. “With Fleming gone and recent retirements of Nathan Astle and Scott Styris we are pretty light on experience.”Jamie How has played nine Test games and Ross Taylor only five but they will be vital. It’s amazing how Taylor has become one of the senior batsmen. But I guess this needs to be looked at as opportunity. He had a great home series against England and he has to carry on his form here.”For his part, Taylor is looking forward to playing on the history-laden grounds around England. “You talk to any cricketer, he would love to play a Test match at Lord’s and to get their name on the honours board. The top-order batting has been our Achilles heel; in the last decade we have gone through lots of openers. Hopefully the arrangement of How and me will do the job. If we can see off the new ball, we will have given us a good chance of making a big total, which will the crucial.”

Taylor has been speaking to his Bangalore team-mates like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis on the experience of playing in England conditions. “The ball will swing traditionally early in the summer but its going to be same for both sides,” Taylor said. “It is something to be wary off but not get too caught up in it. Chanderpaul talked about the basics: playing close to the body and late. The others shared with me some good tips.”Taylor believes while the top order is the “unknown” the middle-order is strong. “We have got Oram, Brendon and Dan coming in. Hopefully the top order can score runs and support them.”Some experts have felt that the likes of Vettori and Oram should bat higher up the order, but Oram believes in maintaining the status quo. “It’s difficult. I know Dan has batted well in the lower order but we know that the guys batting higher up have a much harder job than the guys further down. It is our strength – the lower-middle order – and I am not sure we should rock the boat there but should look to improve our top order.”Oram is also happy with Vettori’s captaincy and compared him with the style of Fleming. “He captained for so many years and was obviously an outstanding captain. But Vettori is doing a great job. Being a bowler himself he probably understands the bowlers’ psyche better. Not that Flem wasn’t clued on.”The New Zealand media have been critical of coach John Bracewell but Oram believes he is still the right man for the job. “I have read and heard those criticisms but I really like playing under John. I think he has done great things. I know you can look at records and say he has not, but if you ask most of the players they enjoy playing under him.”On a personal level, all Oram is hoping for is that he remains fit for the entire tour and he has not set any targets. “I don’t set goals at all. There is already enough pressure in playing at this level, adding individual goals adds unnecessary pressure.”

ScorecardNetherlands proved no match for a confident West Indies side as they went down by 10 wickets in the opening match of the quadrangular series at Clontarf in Dublin. Dwayne Smith’s medium pace claimed four wickets as Netherlands collapsed for 80, then Chris Gayle’s 41-ball half-century ensured West Indies sped home before the approaching clouds caused any problems.West Indies needed less than 15 overs to knock off the runs as Gayle slammed six fours a six. Devon Smith provided solid support in what was nothing more than an extended net and completed the victory with a flick to fine leg.Netherlands’ batsmen had no such luxury as only three managed to reach double figures. Their problems started early when Ravi Rampaul trapped Tim de Grooth lbw in the fourth over and Bas Zuiderent, formerly of Sussex, fell in similar fashion. Alex Kervezee, who is on Worcestershire’s books, managed five boundaries in his 22 before being caught behind off Powell and the innings continued in a rapid downward spiral.Denesh Ramdin was kept busy behind the stumps, collecting five catches, as West Indies’ seamers caused plenty of problems. Fidel Edwards proved too quick for Peter Borren then Smith’s swing did the bulk of the remaining damage. Darren Sammy, who missed out on the one-day series against England, claimed two cheap wickets as the innings folded inside 32 overs.There was no sign of West Indies relaxing following the series win against England with Gayle determined not to slip up against the Associates. Netherlands, though, were clearly not up to the battle and are a few rungs down from the likes of Ireland, who make up the tournament alongside Scotland. Netherlands have a chance to put up a better showing when they take on the hosts, at Stormont, on Wednesday.