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Australia 254 for 7 (Ponting 101, Bevan 57) beat Bangladesh 142 (Kapali 49; Harvey 4-16) by 112 runs
Scorecard

Australia wrapped up the one-day series against Bangladesh 3-0, as expected, beating them by 112 runs at Darwin’s Marrara Oval. Bangladesh fought lustily to start with, though, reducing Australia to 114 for 4 after they had won the toss and opted to bat, picking up three middle-order wickets for two runs at one stage. Ricky Ponting came to the rescue with his fourth ODI century of the year, and his 127-run stand with Michael Bevan was instrumental in Australia reaching 254 for 7. Bangladesh’s batsmen then duly wilted, though Alok Kapali contributed a doughty 49.Bangladesh made a cautious start but stumbled every time they tried to accelerate the scoring. Both openers, Javed Omar (16) and Hannan Sarkar (1), were done in by lack of footwork, and were out leg-before. Jason Gillespie was magnificently parsimonious early on, giving away just two runs in his first seven overs. Bangladesh were crawling, and something had to give.Both Habibul Bashar (2) and Mohammad Ashraful (4) were out charging the bowlers in an attempt to up the run-rate, then Tushar Imran was run out for 1. A sixth-wicket partnership of 66 between Kapali and Sanwar Hossain (27) took Bangladesh past 100, but both were eventually out to Brad Hogg, deceived by his guile into giving simple return catches. The tailenders attempted valiantly to last the 50 overs, but failed.Earlier, Ponting had dominated the Australian innings, rescuing it from their only slippery moment of the series. Bevan and Ponting added 127 at a rate of over six an over, efficiently wiping out any chance Bangladesh might have had of restricting Australia to a gettable total.Mohammad Rafique, who picked up the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden for just 31 runs, bowled particularly well, as did Mashrafe Mortaza, who bowled at the business end of the innings to finish with 2 for 41. Bangladesh showed spirit; but in the end, they weren’t anywhere near good enough.

Playing with a gusto suggesting that their lives were on the line, India "A" staged a dramatic post-tea fightback against West Indies "B" at Kensington Oval yesterday to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of the Carib Beer International Challenge.After suffering a collapse in the first half of the day to concede a first innings lead of 92, India "A" sent the West Indies Under-23s tumbling to 115 for seven on a day in which they had to endure the disappointment of their senior side receiving a mauling in the World Cup final.At the close, the West Indies "B" led by 207 to set the stage for an exciting finish today, the final day, when there will be no admission charge to the ground.On a pitch with some low bounce, the enthusiastic Indians consistently bowled between wicket and wicket, repeatedly bellowed raucous appeals and were also helped by aggressive strokes from the West Indies "B" team’s three leading batsmen this season.Hometown boys Patrick Browne and Martin Nurse both went by the lbw route for 16 when they were pinned onto the back foot.The dismissal of Nurse to the accurate medium-pacer Jai Yadav left the West Indies "B" 65 for three at the refreshment break at 4 p.m. and triggered the drama that followed in the next 40 minutes.Five wickets fell for 24, among them the in-form trio of Narsingh Deonarine, Aneil Kanhai and Carlton Baugh, to strokes that might have earned them a harsh word from team management.Deonarine, the impressive century-maker of the first innings, attempted to lift leg-spinner Amit Mishra over mid-wicket, but Connor Williams made tremendous ground in running back to haul in the catch a few feet in front of the Eric Inniss Stand.Baugh, who has attracted attention this season with a century and five half-centuries, attacked the bowling from the time he came out. He smashed two fours, but then edged a big drive to the keeper off Mishra.Kanhai’s dismissal was simply atrocious. The big left-hander, one of nine batsman in the tournament with 500 runs, missed an inexcusable cross-batted shot against Yadav and was bowled.It was now 89 for seven, but Lorenzo Ingram and Jason Bennett survived the next 50 minutes to prevent a complete collapse.Earlier, Bennett achieved another five-wicket haul to help West Indies "B" dismiss India "A" for 296 after they resumed on 210 for three in response to 388.After eight minutes, the 20-year-old Barbadian fast bowler removed Gautam Ghambir, who added only one to his overnight 107, and bowled captain Ajay Ratra for 38.Fellow fast bowler Andrew Richardson grabbed three wickets and off-spinner Deonarine claimed two as India "A" laboured in adding only 41 runs in the first session.

Ex-Western Warrior Rob Baker smashed the innings of a life-time as Scarborough steamrolled Melville in the Don’t Drink and Drive Shield final.Baker struck a majestic 132 not out to take Scarborough to a comfortable seven wicket victory.Baker’s ton was all the more courageous as he has been struck down by chronic fatigue syndrome in recent times.He plays rarely for Scarborough as extended physical activity can bring on bouts of exhaustion.The day-night match was played at the WACA Ground before nearly 1000 loyal supporters.Melville captain Adam Voges won the toss and batted on a rock-hard wicket. Warrior’s one-day specialist Kade Harvey destroyed Melville’s top-order, taking 3-16 from his first six overs.Voges strode to the crease with the Storm at 3-59 in the 17th over and calmly set about saving the innings.The elegant right-hander showed why he is rated so highly by WACA selectors.Voges produced a sparkling 102 not out from 104 balls with 13 fours and a mammoth six off Kade Harvey.He shared a 65 run seventh-wicket stand with Shawn Gillies (21) that added respectability to Melville’s score.Scarborough got off to a disastrous start in their chase of 222.Paul Wilson removed the inform Clint Heron then produced the evenings biggest shock when he dismissed Test batsman Justin Langer for four.Wilson buttered up Langer with a series of wide balls before bowling a perfectly pitched delivery that saw Langer edge to keeper Andy Greig.When Harvey fell the Seagulls were 3-41 and the Storm were in with a chance.Scarborough’s keeper David Bandy had other ideas. He combined with Baker in a match-winning fourth-wicket partnership of 182.Baker carried his bat in his 138 ball innings with 19 sweetly timed boundaries.Bandy chimed in with a typically busy 73 from 102 balls.Baker was Man of the Match and thanked the Scarborough Cricket Club for supporting him through some tough times.In 27 Sheffield Shield-Pura Cup matches for WA Baker made 1168 runs at 28.49 and took 18 wickets at 42.89.In 27 domestic limited-overs matches Baker made 360 runs at 20.00 before his career was curtailed by illness.

A rare domestic one-day cricket hat-trick by paceman Nathan Bracken wasn’t enough to prevent NSW losing a helter-skelter ING Cup match against Victoria at the MCG today.Bracken’s dismissal of Cameron White, Darren Berry and Shane Harwood – all for ducks – from successive balls left Victoria reeling at 8-88 chasing the Blues’meagre total of 120 in sweltering conditions.But the steady Simon Dart (10no) and swashbuckling tailender Ian Hewett (29no) survived some anxious moments to get the Bushrangers home for a two-wicketwin and off the bottom of the ING Cup standings.NSW wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and first slip Mark Higgs were both unable to hold on to an edge from Hewett off Stuart Clark’s bowling with Victoria 11 runsshort of victory, while Michael Bevan was inches short of reaching a skied Hewett with three runs needed.”It was just one of those days,” said Hewett, who earlier conceded 12 wides in an erratic five-over spell with the new ball.”I got dropped and as soon as that happened I thought ‘this is our day’.”Hewett and Dart put on an unbeaten 33 for the ninth wicket – the third-highest partnership by either side on a day when the fast bowlers took full advantage of a bouncy MCG wicket.Early on, the Blues looked anything other than the team topping the ING Cup table as they capitulated to be all out for 120, with only Graeme Rummans (30)outscoring a sundries tally of 23 which included 19 runs conceded to wides.Shane Harwood worked up a good head of steam to finish with 3-22 and had two catches dropped off his bowling, while Ian Harvey and Damien Fleming chimedin with two scalps apiece as the Blues lost their last eight wickets for 63.The Blues gave themselves a chance of victory by running out both Victorian openers Rob Bartlett (1) and Matthew Elliott (18) – the latter to a brilliant throw from Bevan with only one stump to aim at.Then Bracken went to work.After dismissing highly rated duo Brad Hodge (18) and Harvey (17), he began the hat-trick by clean bowling White.He then had Berry controversially caught behind from the following ball, before skittling Harwood’s stumps.The left-armer finished with 5-38, although there were several eyebrows raised by skipper Bevan’s decision not to give him a 10th over with the game in the balance.”Really I don’t think we were ever in a position where we should have won,” said Bracken.”Even when we had them eight down there’s still two wickets to get and anything can happen.”The only other players to have taken hattricks in Australian domestic one-day cricket were Victorian paceman Alan Hurst in 1978-79 and WA’s Rob Baker twoyears ago.Bracken’s excellent limited-overs international form last year earned him a berth in the 2001 Ashes squad, but he has only been selected in the Australia A squad for the upcoming one-dayers.”I didn’t expect to be in the (Australian) one-day side, in my opinion I wasn’t bowling well enough,” he said.

BRISBANE, Jan 21 AAP – Makeshift opener Clinton Perren completed an eight-hour assault on South Australia today as Queensland surged towards its fifth consecutive victory of the Pura Cup season.Perren unleashed a career-high 224, filling the opening spot vacated by Australian one-day batsman Jimmy Maher, to fling the Redbacks on to death row heading into tomorrow’s final day at the Gabba.The visitors will resume at 2-46 in their second innings, chasing 409 for victory, with captain Greg Blewett (21 not out) the main hope as he chases his third century in as many first-class matches at the Gabba.The Redbacks must match the patience of Perren, who crashed the tenth highest score by a Queenslander in an interstate match, as the Bulls rushed to 8-487 declared in their second innings.He faced 367 deliveries, hitting 33 boundaries as Wade Seccombe (70), James Hopes (39) and Lee Carseldine (37) helped Queensland overturn its 79-run first-innings deficit.Perren had resumed on 104 not out and celebrated the greatest day of his career when he carved Blewett to the backward point boundary to record his double-century, fulfilling a challenge set by his club teammate Maher earlier in the day.”Jimmy sent me a text message this morning asking if I’d ever scored a double century before,” Perren said.”I really hadn’t thought about it before that because I was only thinking it was nice to turn up to a match going out to bat on 104.”I’ve got a few messages from him since and it was pretty exciting to get 200 because I’d only got one double before, back when I was about 16 or 17.”Perren was a reluctant opener, hardly jumping at the prospect of replacing Maher when selectors asked him last Saturday.But he has booked himself into the opening role for the rest of the season as Queensland makes an ominous move towards its fourth consecutive Pura Cup title, eyeing a six-point lead if it wins tomorrow.They may be without Michael Kasprowicz tomorrow after the pace spearhead left the field with a calf-muscle spasm after bowling just two overs in the Redbacks’ second innings.But Queensland still inflicted wounds on the Redbacks. Joe Dawes (1-19) claimed the wicket of Ben Johnson (seven) while Adam Dale dismissed David Fitzgerald for a 34-ball duck.It completed a miserable day for Fitzgerald, who grassed a tough chance from Perren on 117.The Bulls were reminded of the value of Blewett’s wicket when the former Test opener smacked four boundaries in the final overs to limit the damage for the Redbacks.Ben Higgins finished 13 not out, joining 18-year-old debutant Mark Cosgrove as the men who must help Blewett fend off the Bulls tomorrow.The Redbacks need an outright victory to boost their hopes of overhauling frontrunners Queensland and Victoria in the race for a final berth.

Pritam Gandhe, bowling his off-breaks with vicious effect, picked sixwickets as Uttar Pradesh collapsed in their first innings againstVidarbha on Day One of their Ranji Trophy league match at Kanpur.Aside from Uttar Pradesh skipper Gyanendra Pandey, who made 52, noneof the batsmen could make sizeable scores or put up match-winningpartnerships. Gandhe capitalised on this, returning innings figures of27.1-7-55-6.Replying to their rivals’ score of 210, Vidarbha lost opener VivekNaidu before reaching 14/1 by the close of play.

Set a total of 306 to win, Services opted for a safe draw and three points in their Ranji Trophy league match at Delhi on Monday.Jammu & Kashmir, 133/4 overnight, went on to score 242 in their second innings. The innings revolved largely around wicket-keeper Arshad Bhatt, who made a patient 98 off 177 balls. Bhatt came in at the fall of the fourth wicket and stayed till the end, becoming the tenth wicket to fall. He was also Arun Sharma’s fifth wicket; Sharma took five for 39.Services started steadily but lost openers K Chawda and PMS Reddy within the space of 29 runs. Thereafter, Jasvir Singh and Yashpal Singh played well. The former made 54 off just 55 balls, while Yashpal Singh made an unbeaten 51. At stumps, Services were 202 for the loss of four wickets.

Cricket fans are expected to flood the Trent Bridge switchboard with a barrage of calls on Monday when tickets for the Twenty20 Cup Finals Day are released on general sale.Nottingham’s world famous Test ground was last month confirmed as the venue for the final of cricket’s exciting new 20-overs-a-side competition.And when the event takes place on July 19 it will be the first time that a domestic cricket final has been moved away from headquarters at Lord’s.With both semi-finals and the floodlit final being played on the same day – not to mention interval entertainment from the UK’s top girl band, Atomic Kitten – tickets for ‘The People’s Final’ are expected to be snapped up.Trent Bridge Sales and Marketing Manager Lisa Pusehouse said: “It is a great coup and also an honour for Notts to land this showcase event and it has created a terrific buzz around the ground.”Ticket pricing for the finals day is very attractive, especially considering they allow people to see three great games of cricket and live music.”Twenty20 is all about getting new people into cricket grounds so where better to start than at the top by seeing a major national sporting event in a world famous venue amongst a sell-out crowd.”Judging by the massive response from our members, who were given the opportunity to reserve their seats in advance this week, we fully expect all tickets available for general sale to go very quickly.”Tickets for the Finals Day are priced at just £30 for adults for premium parts of the ground and £20 in other areas, while juniors under-16 who are accompanied by an adult pay a flat rate of £10.The Twenty20 Cup gets under way on Friday June 13 with all 18 first class counties competing in three regional groups of six teams who will play each other once.Group games will be played in the evening between 5.30pm and 8.15pm with the three group winners plus the best runner-up going through to Trent Bridge.Tickets for the Finals Day can be booked from Monday May 19 either on-line at www.trentbridge.co.uk or by calling the Trent Bridge Hotline on 0870 168 8888.

Captain Carl Hooper paid tribute to Sri Lanka after their three-nil drummingand hoped that his inexperienced side would learn from the humblingexperience.”Like I was after the first two Test matches, I am very disappointed,” hesaid. “At the end of the day we tried our best but didn’t achieve thedesired result.”I think they played well this series. They have got some class acts andsome good exciting players – just like we have – it’s just unfortunate thatwe weren’t able to put them under pressure, as I would liked to have seenhow they responded.””I have not seen a lot of Chaminda Vaas but after showing us a little bitof reverse swing in the first two Tests he really put his hand up here andbowled well. He’s obviously learnt over the years and even though thewickets are flat he can certainly swing it. We have a lot of respect for himand we can learn from him.”But West Indies problem was not just with the batting, but also with thebowling, which looked utterly impotent at times, as Sri Lanka piled upscores of 590 for nine in Galle and 627 for nine.”We were not as penetrative as we needed to be in the bowling department andI am concerned with the manner in which Sri Lanka were able to put up hugetotals fairly comfortably.”Brian Lara scored heavily and Ramnaresh Sarwan looked good but we neededsome of the other batters to chip in with three-figure scores.”Questioned as to the poor performance of the openers, he said: “The qualityof the opposition had something to do with it. I think Vaas worked out Chris(Gayle) early on and I think he should become a better player for it. Daren(Ganga), after getting a few starts, has struggled little bit. But I amoptimistic that they can come good for us.”But Hooper had nothing but praise of Brian Lara who scored 688 runs in theseries, including three centuries, and with some help from Ramnaresh Sarwanhad consistently resisted the Sri Lankan bowlers.”There has been a lot said in the Caribbean about Brian (Lara) being pasthis best but he is very important to this team and he was the differencebetween the Test matches lasting five days rather than three. We hope hisform continues and that some of the other batters can stick with him.

Stubborn batting by Steve Rhodes and Chris Liptrot denied Durham a championship double at Chester-le-Street.Worcestershire’s heroes came together on 63 for seven but were scarcely troubled as the accuracy of Durham’s young seamers deserted them and the eighth wicket pair survived for 28 overs.For most of his innings left-hander Liptrot faced the left-arm spin of Graeme Bridge, who had to bowl into the stiff wind.Liptrot took his only single when Steve Harmison briefly replaced Bridge, while Rhodes batted for 34 overs for 21 to take the total to 85 for seven at the close.Worcestershire’s top order crumbled after being set a victory target of 251 in 54 overs. Steep bounce from Harmison and Nicky Hatch accounted for both openers, then Graeme Hick followed his 200 not out yesterday by cutting and pulling successive balls from Harmison for four. But in going for another cut in the same over he found himself cramped for room and edged to wicketkeeper Andrew Pratt.David Leatherdale also went for a cut and edged to Pratt off Ian Hunter then Danny Law then gained lbw verdicts in successive overs. That made it 45 for six at tea, but despite the phalanx of slips Rhodes was able to leave a lot of short, wayward bowling, particularly from Harmison.Durham, resuming on 99 for two in the morning, added 96 in 32 overs to reach lunch on 195 for four with Paul Collingwood making an excellent 68 and Martin Love 62. It was Love’s 14th championship half-century, but he completed Durham’s campaign with only one hundred.When Durham went for the slog after lunch Matt Rawnsley picked up two of the three wickets to fall as 42 were added in eight overs before the declaration came on 237 for seven.