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Manoj Tiwary’s dream season continued as he stroked 89 to help East Zone scamper home by three runs against North Zone at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing 239 under lights, Pankaj Dharmani and Dinesh Mongia’s half centuries went in vain as North were restricted to 235 in their 50 overs.It was a counter-attacking innings by Tiwary, who walked in with the score at 16 for 2. VRV Singh and Ishant Sharma, the North Zone seamers, made early inroads to reduce the opposition to 27 for 4. Tiwary and captain Deep Dasgupta led the rescue act with a stand of exactly 150 for the fifth wicket. Tiwary, who survived a chance at second slip early in his innings, went on the attack, striking seven fours and two sixes. Dasgupta made a steady 63 off 80 balls and played the supporting role to Tiwary. Singh finished with figures of 4 for 44.Mongia, who top-scored with 71, led North’s chase and dominated the fourth-wicket stand with Paras Dogra. However, a double strike by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala pulled things back for East Zone. Tiwary played his part with his legbreaks as well, picking up a wicket in a tight 10-over spell, conceding just 35 runs. Dharmani and Bipul Sharma upped the tempo towards the end but it wasn’t enough to go the distance.

Simon Taufel, who is regarded as the world’s best umpire, believes Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove had to “follow the letter of the law” and abandon the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval. Taufel stood in the opening two games of the series and told the the problem was not just “a Darrell Hair issue”.”The umpires made the decision together,” he said in the paper. “The Darrell Hair I know calls the game the way he sees it without fear or favour. He knows the laws better than anyone.”Taufel said if the fielding side refused to go back on to the ground there was not much the umpires could do. “They can inform them that they should go on to the field, then if they still refuse, they can inform them that the match will be awarded to the opposing team,” he said. “Umpires have to follow the laws … as they are written, so it’s hard to fault the umpires in this case. The disappointing thing is that the spirit of cricket has taken a hit over this.”

The National Bank batsmen faltered in the second innings against Sialkot on the third day at the Multan Cricket Stadium, yet their team finished 241 runs ahead of the opponents with four wickets intact.After having gained a first-innings advantage of 102 runs, National Bank lost five wickets in the second outing for 72 runs. A sixth-wicket stand of 64 had them breathing again and they are back in the game hoping to achieve an outright win on the final day.Allrounder Mansoor Amjad, a legspinner from Sialkot having to play against his own regional outfit, came to National Bank’s rescue with an unbeaten innings of 30 as his team reached 139 for 6. Naved Latif, a former Pakistan batsman, quickly contributed 39 runs in his partnership with Mansoor, who had scored 122 in National Bank’s first innings. He also had figures of 4 for 102 in 27 overs as Sialkot were restricted 409 chasing National Bank’s first-innings effort of 511 runs.Sialkot resumed on 236 for 2 with opener Atiq-ur-Rehman unbeaten at 150. He managed to add only seven runs to his score, before falling to paceman Wasim Khan, who captured 4 for 90 in his 29 overs. Later, Abdul Rehman (49) and Kamran Younis (42) added 78 runs for the seventh wicket, but getting to 511 runs proved to be a difficult task. Mansoor’s fourth wicket was his 100th in his 33rd first-class appearance.A lead of 300 or thereabouts today would place National Bank in a good position to achieve an outright win. In any case, they will take the first-innings points if the match ends in a draw.

Ahead of this Test series, there are some things that don’t require special powers of prognosis: like Makhaya Ntini taking wickets – he has 176 from 35 home Tests at an average of 22.83 – and Rahul Dravid making runs. But you sense that the clinching factor could well be how some of the other big names go in head-to-head tussles. South Africa will start overwhelming favourites,but, as Dravid reiterated at the pre-match press conference, there’s enough quality in the Indian dressing room to hurt any team. Here, Cricinfo takes a look at some of the key contests that might well decide the fate of the three-match series.Graeme Smith v Zaheer KhanIf you went by numbers alone, you’d be inclined to scoff and ask: Whatcontest? Zaheer has just three wickets, all from one innings at Kolkatatwo seasons ago, in three Tests against South Africa, and the average isan unflattering 92.66. Since returning to the side at the start of theone-day series, though, he has bowled as well as he did before the hamstringinjury in Brisbane (2003) sent his career off the rails.Smith has 155 runs at 38.75 in two Tests against the Indians, including abrave 71 in a lost cause at the Eden Gardens, but he was as hapless as adrunk on ice when faced with Zaheer’s incoming deliveries in the one-dayseries. The opening hour or two of each innings could well set the tonefor the series, and a rejuvenated Zaheer currently has the upper hand.Smith: 2 4 0 155 71 47 37 38.75 0 1Zaheer: 3 97.4 278 3 3/64 3/86 92.66 2.84 195.3Sachin Tendulkar v Dale SteynThis is the ultimate clash – the weather-beaten old champion against theeager young pretender. Tendulkar has little left to achieve in the game,but his record against South Africa suggests in no uncertain terms thatthey have troubled him more than any other side. He did play two of thefinest knocks seen on South African soil, the breathtaking 169 at Newlands(1996-97) and the delightfully inventive 155 at Bloemfontein (2001-02),but in 16 Tests overall, he has just 1003 runs at 37.14.Steyn has just eight Test caps, but his unbridled pace makes him theperfect shock tactic. He can be wayward and erratic, but when he gets itright, no one likes it. He combined with Ntini to rout New Zealand atCenturion earlier this year, taking 5 for 47, and worried the Sri Lankansin Colombo, taking 5 for 82 in a 13-over spell that veered fromsensational to atrocious every so often. Tendulkar has been hit on thebody and helmet a few times this past season and, if the South Africansscent a frailty against genuine pace, it will be Steyn who they send infor the kill.Tendulkar: 16 29 2 1003 169 155 111 37.14 3 3Steyn: 8 271.5 1124 32 5/47 7/134 35.12 4.13 50.9Jacques Kallis v Anil KumbleKallis is South Africa’s answer to Dravid, a solid technician with theability to play strokes all around the wicket. Seldom found wanting in acrisis, he has frequently thwarted India, averaging 82.71 over six Tests.Even the small contributions, like the 36 not out in Mumbai (1999-2000),have been invaluable ones. While the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and AB deVilliers might look to give Kumble the charge, Kallis is likely to beentrusted with the task of wearing him down.Kumble himself is the master of the slow choke, applying pressurerelentlessly until the opponent submits. He has 66 wickets at 31.57 from16 matches against South Africa, and he first gave glimpses of his uncannyability here 14 years ago, taking 6 for 53 from 44 overs of non-stopprobing. With both men possessing the gift of patience in abundance, itwill be fascinating to see who blinks first.Kallis: 6 579 121 82.71 1 4 10 3/30 28.70Kumble: 16 906.2 2084 66 6/53 8/113 31.57 2.29 82.3Sourav Ganguly v Shaun PollockOn the face of it, considering Ganguly’s mediocre displays against SouthAfrica (522 runs at 27.47) and Pollock’s stellar performances againstIndia (39 wickets at 20.84), this should be a mismatch. But, as he showedin Potchefstroom in the tour game, Ganguly is a man with everything toprove, most of all to himself. The South Africans have been using thewounded tiger phrase glibly, but some are pretty wary of what this proudman might be able to achieve if his strength of will can overcomeperceived weaknesses against fast bowling.Down the years, no one has exploited those frailties as ruthlessly asPollock, who has dismissed Ganguly six times (in addition to scalpingDravid four times and VVS Laxman thrice). His 10 for 147 won South Africathe Bloemfontein Test in 2001, despite centuries from Tendulkar andVirender Sehwag, and if India cannot deal with deliveries that shape away andjag back from just short of a length, their litany of woe in the Cape willonly continue.Ganguly: 11 522 73 27.47 0 3 5 2/36 42.00Pollock: 9 349.5 813 39 6/56 10/147 20.84 2.32 53.8X-factor: SehwagThat seems to be a funny thing to say about a man who could barely put batto ball in the one-day games, but Sehwag the Test player is a differentcreature. Since his debut here five years ago, Sehwag has seldom had apoor series, and even this relatively lean year has seen stunningcenturies at Lahore and St. Lucia. When he bats with trademarkhigh-voltage intensity, he can eviscerate any attack. The problem now isto find the switch and flick it on.

Zaheer Khan, the Indian fast bowler, has quit Baroda and is all set to represent Mumbai this domestic season. He reportedly made this decision after Dilip Vengsarkar, the new Indian chairman of selectors, asked him to apply for a transfer.Zaheer has requested a No Objection Certificate from the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) and would have submit it to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) before the September 30 deadline for all players applying for transfers. A formal announcement is likely when the MCA managing committee meets on Friday.Rakesh Parikh, the secretary of the BCA, confirmed Zaheer’s request but stated that his departure would leave a void in the Baroda side, which won the Ranji Trophy in 2001. In the final against Railways, Zaheer picked up five wickets for just 16 runs on the final day to bowl Railways out and secure the title by a narrow margin.”He had played an important role in making the team Ranji Trophy champions five years ago when Baroda had defeated Railways,” Parikh told PTI. “In subsequent years, Baroda continued to do well in Ranji with Zaheer playing his role sincerely in all the matches.”Zaheer honed his cricketing skills in Mumbai in 1996-97 but later shifted to Baroda, after failing to find a place in the Mumbai line-up. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in 1999-2000 representing Baroda and was called to the national side in 2000. However, he has been out of the Indian team since the tour of Pakistan earlier this year and failed to make the cut when the Champions Trophy squad was announced, despite a memorable season with English county Worcestershire, during which he picked up 69 wickets in the County Championship.

Despite Brian Lara’s plea to include a fast bowler capable of dislodging the Indian lineup, the West Indies selectors included an extra batsman and retained the same bowling combination for the third Test in St Kitts, starting June 22. Marlon Samuels, the right-handed batsman, is the only change in the 13-man squad, replacing Dave Mohammed, the left-arm chinaman bowler.Lara, who is not a member of the selection panel, made a request to the selectors to include a fast bowler capable of bowling at 90 miles per hour or higher, after the injury to Fidel Edwards in the first Test at Antigua. Edwards, whose pace and bounce helped restrict India to a modest 241 in the first innings, suffered a hamstring pull early in the second.The Indians thereafter managed to rack up consecutive scores of over 500, prompting Lara to rethink his bowling combination. Mohammed, the left-arm chinaman bowler, was left out of the final eleven for the second Test at St Lucia, highlighting Lara’s insistence on pace as a strategy to get on top of India. Lara too made a plea to the authorities at the remaining venues to prepare faster tracks to suit his bowlers.Samuels, who played in the ODIs which preceded the Tests, failed with the bat but played his part with his offbreaks, restricting the Indians from scoring quickly.Squad Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vice-capt), Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was taken to hospital during the final session of the second day against Essex after injuring the index finger on his left hand while backing-up in the field. He required two stitches for a soft tissue injury and is almost certainly out of the final warm-up match against the England Lions next week, although should be fit for the first Test at Lord’s on May 15.He immediately ran off to the dressing room after backing up a wild throw from Brendon McCullum and was soon being driven to A&E for treatment. “There was a bit of blood, but we thought maybe he might have done some other damage – so we wanted to get it x-rayed to see maybe whether there was a problem with the tendon or bone,” said Lindsay Crocker, the New Zealand manager.”Daniel looked at it straight away and ran off the field straight away and feared the worst for a little while. But the worst would have been some injury to the bone, and that is not the case. It’s just a soft-tissue split – and he’s had two stitches,” Crocker added. “He should have the stitches out in about a week and should be fine, which will leave him short of a gallop before the Test. He wanted to play both these two games to get quite a few overs in. He’s not going to get that opportunity now but should be right to play in the first Test.”Vettori only arrived in the country two days ago after his stint in the IPL. He made 22 on the opening day then produced a tidy spell of bowling which included the wicket of Ryan ten Doeschate, caught at short leg. However, that 11-over spell is now likely to be his only first-class bowling before the Test series starts. Being his major spinning finger, Vettori won’t be allowed to wear any protection that touches the ball when he bowls.”They [the doctors] did a very thorough job on him. We explained very carefully the importance of Daniel to us – and particularly that left forefinger,” Crocker said. “They took that on board. The doctor went to great lengths, cleaned it out really well and did a microscopic job.”New Zealand do have spin-bowling cover on the tour with Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, part of the squad. He played two Tests during the recent series against England and impressed with his control and character.Vettori’s injury comes the day after Alastair Cook suffered a dislocated little finger, but he was able to open the batting as normal for Essex.

Bermuda batsman Lionel Cann has been sent home from the tour of Africa and the Middle East after the Bermuda Cricket Board chose to increase his suspension for showing dissent when he was given out lbw against Kenya on Saturday.Cann took his time leaving the crease after being given out for a golden duck then hit a trash can with his bat as he left the field. The ICC has already dealt with the offence – handing him a two-match suspension from one-day-internationals after finding him guilty of showing “serious dissent at an umpire’s decision”. That ruling had meant Cann would have been eligible for the two four-day Intercontinental Cup games against Kenya and the UAE.But the BCB announced that they had upped his suspension. In a short statement the executive voard announced its decision that Cann should play no further part in the tour and revealed it was making arrangements for him to fly home as soon as possible.BCB president, Reginald Pearman said: “I am particularly disappointed with Lionel’s reaction to his being given out as he is an experienced and senior player. Lionel has a vast amount of international experience, including the recent World Cup, and he understands exactly what is expected of a player at this level. This tour has already had some very positive performances from a number of our younger players as we continue our preparation for the World Cup Qualifier in Dubai in 2009. We expect that our senior players will lead by example, particularly in professionalism and behavioral matters.”The board considered reports from ICC relating to the two-match suspension imposed by match referee Mike Procter. It also reviewed reports obtained from tour management during their deliberations.Cann, who had been in good form so far on the tour and had targeted a century in one of the four-day games, said in his Bermuda Sun column this week – before the BCB ban was handed down – “I admit I was wrong, I went up for it, I got banned and now I have to put it behind me. Basically I got a bad decision and I exploded. As I was walking off the field I hit the trash can with my bat. It was just out of frustration. I hit my kit-bag, too, when I got back in the dressing room, but it was the trash can that got me in trouble because everybody could see.”My big fear was that I would be banned for the rest of the tour, but my ban is for ODIs so I am eligible to play in the four-day games. I have to put it behind me and try and do a good job against Kenya this weekend.”Now, it seems, he will not get the opportunity to do that. And with Stephen Outerbridge also winging his way back to England after suffering a knee injury Bermuda are down to the bare bones in the batting department.This article first appeared in the Bermuda Sun

And so begins Brendon McCullum Month. It is not officially marked on calendars in New Zealand, probably only because they were already printed when he announced his decision just before Christmas. But expect February to be a month of celebration of McCullum’s career, beginning with his final ODI series, continuing with his 100th Test in Wellington and ending with his Test finale in Christchurch. By the end of it, he hopes to hold the Chappell-Hadlee and Trans-Tasman Trophies.Not that his back would necessarily stand up to holding them at the same time. McCullum has missed the past month with a back injury and returned against Pakistan on Sunday, in New Zealand’s victory in the third and final ODI at Eden Park. It was hardly the perfect comeback for McCullum, who was caught hooking for a golden duck, and he said that while he felt the effects of nearly 50 overs in the field, he was confident he could stand up to another month of cricket.”I was a bit stiff and sore on that first game out, and it was incredibly heavy as well which a lot of guys commented on which has it demands anyway, let along if you’ve coming in with a bit of a sore back as well,” McCullum said on Tuesday. “But I’ve got three or four weeks left of international cricket and I want to get out there and compete and try and do as much as I can to make a contribution to the team.”The fact that you’re a bit stiff and sore, you try and play through and hopefully it will be fine. But also you don’t want to be to the detriment of your team, you’ve got to make sure you’re at a level where you think you’re able to operate as well and we’ll certainly make an honest assessment of that as we head into each game.”But you get the sense McCullum would have to be physically unable to walk to miss any of these matches against Australia, the one-day and Test series being “certainly the one that we’ve been waiting for,” in his words. The teams last met in one-day cricket in the World Cup final at the MCG but from that side Australia will be missing the retired Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, the injured Mitchell Starc and Aaron Finch, and the overlooked Shane Watson.”We had our opportunity in the World Cup and we ran second, but we’re really proud of how we played throughout that World Cup,” McCullum said. “But it’s a year down the track now and both teams have changed quite substantially. For us it’s a three-match series with the Chappell-Hadlee on the line and our chance to test our skills against the best.”Well, against most of the best, anyway. Arguably Australia’s most in-form batsman at present is Usman Khawaja, who since the start of the home Test series against New Zealand has averaged 123.28 across all formats at all levels. But Australia’s selectors are still unable to squeeze Khawaja into the ODI side, preferring Shaun Marsh to open with David Warner in Auckland.”I was a bit surprised to be honest,” McCullum said of Khawaja’s omission. “He’s been the in-form batsman of the Australian summer across all forms of the game. He’s in incredible touch … the guy replacing him Shaun Marsh is a very good player as well and we saw that in Adelaide. Australia have so much depth they can afford to have guys missing but they’ll be replaced by guys who are equally as strong.”Khawaja is a certain starter for the first Test in Wellington, though, and his presence in the ODI squad means that he now misses out on the chance for a red-ball warm-up: he would otherwise have been playing this week’s Sheffield Shield match for Queensland. Australia’s captain, Steven Smith, said he expected Khawaja to play at some point in the Chappell-Hadlee Series, with the Tests following so closely.”I think he will play one of the games, at least,” Smith said. “He does need a hit going into what is a big Test series for us, and he is batting extremely well, so he is unlucky to miss out. But Shaun is going to get the first opportunity as he played well in Australia and he is batting extremely well as well, so he’s getting the first opportunity.”Australia also decided against picking the legspinner Adam Zampa and instead opted for just the one spin option, allrounder Glenn Maxwell, despite the fact that New Zealand have included legspinner Ish Sodhi in their squad for this game. The spin extracted by Pakistan’s part-time legspinner Azhar Ali on the same pitch on Sunday showed New Zealand that Sodhi could be a good option, but Smith said Australia preferred to trust their pacemen.”We think that the wicket might swing around a bit, we saw that in the World Cup game we played here, the ball swung around for a good 30 odd overs or whatever we lasted with the bat and whatever New Zealand lasted with the bat chasing,” Smith said. “So, we suspect it will swing around a little bit and we’re going to make use of that. So no surprises they’ve brought in a legspinner, he can play and he’s got some good skills. If he gets an opportunity hopefully we can go after him a little bit.”

Australian allrounder Ian Moran has received an unexpected call-up to rejoin the Scotland side after South African Arno Jacobs was released to join Leicestershire.Moran, who is this year’s professional at Uddingston, played nine matches last season.Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, said: “Leicestershire wanted to sign Arno for the remainder of the season, and Cricket Scotland was delighted to help further his professional career by agreeing to the request. It is a shame to lose Arno after just three games, but I am sure he will be a great success for Leicestershire and we wish him well.”