Cricket Australia has admitted that it is powerless to prevent scalpers from selling Ashes tickets on eBay, attacking the online auction site for refusing to take action off its own back.James Sutherland, the board’s under-fire CEO, lambasted people selling tickets, accusing them of “exploiting the public’s passion for the game,” and adding that he was “disgusted”. He said that while eBay had been asked to help, “their response has been, ‘It’s not our problem'”.But while Cricket Australia was powerless to act, it seems that punters have taken matters into their own hands, deliberately sabotaging auctions for tickets. A quick check of the site showed that many of the sales had receiving grossly inflated bids from newly-registered members, a surefire sign that people were bidding with no intention other than to scupper genuine bidders.A spokesman of eBay defended the company’s position, saying: “We don’t actually sell the tickets. We provide a marketplace where the buyers and sellers can transact.”Sutherland called for all sports to consider uniting to press for national anti-scalping legislation.But while Cricket Australia has been slammed for the way it handled the ticket sales, it is laughing all the way to the bank. On the first day of sales, more than $13.5 million was handed over by supporters, and CA will take about 30% of that, with the balance going to the individual states.

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

Division One

2nd dayChris Adams struck a belligerent 156 for Sussex who finally declared on an impressive 531 for 6 against Durham at Hove. The visitors then capitulated in their reply – Mushtaq Ahmed picked up 6 for 64, and Jason Lewry 4 for 55 – as Sussex dismissed them for just 150. Phil Mustard top-scored with 58 but there was scant little from his team-mates. Their day didn’t improve when they followed on, either, with Yasir Arafat and Mushtaq picking up two wickets as Durham stare down the barrel, still trailing by 339 runs.Simon Cook made the most of his role as nightwatchman with 71 as Kent and Yorkshire battled out a tight day, reduced by rain, at Headingley. Cook and Robert Key added 80 for the second wicket and then when Cook fell, Martin van Jaarsveld stroked an unbeaten 59. Yorkshire hit back as Deon Kruis took two wickets and Adil Rashid impressed again with two wickets in two balls, which included trapping Dwayne Bravo lbw for a duck.On a stop-start second day at Southampton,Hampshire struggled against Warwickshire who were finally bowled out for 401. In reply Hampshire were indebted to James Adams at the top of the order who batted very patiently while Paul Harris, the South Africa slow-left-armer, took two wickets to stymie Hampshire’s progress. The home side finished some 275 runs behind with seven wickets remaining.1st dayOwais Shah followed up his century in the Pro40 with an unbeaten 73 as Middlesex made a decent start on a slow, and truncated, opening day against Lancashire at Old Trafford. Ed Smith was removed early, trapped lbw by Kyle Hogg, and Middlesex’s progress was turgid on a slow and low surface. Nick Compton took 87 balls to reach double figures before eventually falling just after lunch to Hogg. Shah and Ed Joyce upped the tempo with a third-wicket stand of 58 before Joyce fell to Glen Chapple. Shah was progressing comfortably when rain forced an early tea and didn’t allow any more play.

Division Two

3rd day
No play was possible between Somerset and Glamorgan at Taunton as heavy rain moved through the South West of England.2nd dayA magnificent third-wicket partnership of 170 between Mark Pettini and Ravinder Bopara gave Essex a first innings lead over Surrey on the second day at Colchester.Resuming on 32 for 2 the pair steadied Essex with Bopara the more aggressive of the two, smashing 12 fours and a six – but they both fell in the nineties to give Surrey some hope. James Foster continued their fine efforts, though, in a cautious half-century and received excellent support from James Middlebrook. Essex lead by 69 runs with four wickets remaining.Rain prevented much play at Leicester between Leicestershire and Worcestershire. Gareth Batty fell two short of a fine hundred as the visitors declared on an imposing 456 for 8. In reply, the home side moved to 40 without loss.1st dayJust 30.4 overs were possible on the opening day between Derbyshire and Gloucestershire at Derby. The home side made a fine start, reducing Gloucestershire to 5 for 2 and they claimed their first bowling point when Steffan Jones shifted Phil Weston moments before the rain arrived. Jon Lewis made his way the ground after being omitted at The Oval but his services have not been needed yet.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, has issued a terse warning to Inzamam-ul-Haq over making public comments about incidents at The Oval pending the ICC’s Code of Conduct hearing.”I have been very disappointed by some of the public comments that have been made by members of the PCB, team management and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq following the Oval Test,” Speed said in a media release. “Over the course of the last two weeks there has been a stream of unnecessary and inappropriate public comment from the PCB, much of which could be seen as prejudicial to the pending Code of Conduct hearing.”We have in place a fair and independent process for dealing with the matters that arose out of the Oval Test and all concerned parties will have an opportunity to present their evidence during the hearing later in September.”Ahead of this hearing it is wholly inappropriate for officials or players to comment on the issues that will be addressed, particularly as the ICC Code of Conduct includes a specific offence of ‘public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on, a match-related incident or match official’.”This raises the rather surreal situation in which Inzamam could find himself facing Code of Conduct charges for commenting on a Code of Conduct hearing that might turn out to have been directly caused by incidents for which he might be cleared.But there was no doubting that Speed had had enough. “The acute international diplomatic and political sensitivity of this issue has persuaded me not to lay a charge to date but despite the exceptional circumstances I will not hesitate to lay a charge should further inappropriate public comments be made ahead of the hearing.”He added that this issue had been raised twice in the last ten days with Shaharyar Khan, the PCB’s president, and that Mike Procter, the ICC match referee, had been asked to speak to the Pakistan team and management.”There will be plenty of opportunity for Pakistan to put its side of the story in the fair environment of the Code of Conduct hearing,” Speed concluded. “That is the appropriate forum for its views on these matters.”

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.”

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.

Scorecard
A fine maiden first-class hundred from Tim Paine and half-centuries to Michael Bevan and Travis Birt put Tasmania firmly in command over a butter-fingered Western Australia on day one at the WACA. On the same ground on which Western Australia posted a mammoth 3 for 608 a week ago, Paine and Bevan, who added 132 for the second wicket, cashed in on dropped catches – both were reprieved in one over from Ben Edmondson – to take toll of the bowling.Justin Langer, the Western Australia captain, won the toss, inserted Tasmania under overcast skies, and Sean Ervine, the former Zimbabwe allrounder, quickly removed Michael Di Venuto (14). But if Langer thought the early wicket would start a slide, Paine and Bevan had other plans. Paine, 21, was playing only his fifth match for his state and easily beat his previous best of 36 in an unbeaten 119 that included 13 boundaries.Bevan got his first impressive Pura Cup score of the season, an 87-ball 83, and hit Edmondson for consecutive sixes over fine leg shortly after lunch. He eventually fell to a catch behind off Ervine, the most successful bowler with 2 for 35 from 16 overs. Bevan’s dismissal ushered in Birt, who progressed to 71 before he edged Aaron Heal’s left-arm spin to Luke Ronchi eight overs before bad light ended play.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – West Indies

Needing to take eight wickets in a day, Pakistan’s bowlers put in a sustained bowling performance to finally end West Indies’ resistance and seal the series 2-0. Shivnarine Chanderpaul battled hard with a spirited 69, but West Indies, hampered by the fact that several batsmen failed to carry on after getting starts, folded to 244 for 9, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan not being fit to bat after taking a blow to the foot, the match finished more than an hour before the scheduled close.West Indies seemed to have done enough to save when they progressed to 226 for 5 at tea. The injury to Sarwan – he was hit on the toe by a vicious inswinging yorker and has been ruled out of the ODI series with a hairline fracture – meant that West Indies were, for all practical purposes, six down, but Chanderpaul was playing flawlessly. Moreover, the light was getting murky too – the last 20 minutes before tea was played under floodlights – which suggested play would be called off significantly before the scheduled close.The second over after tea changed that equation completely. Danish Kaneria, who bowled with unflagging enthusiasm on a slow pitch, slipped in a quicker one which straightened and trapped Chanderpaul in front. Next ball, Daren Powell prodded one straight to silly point, and suddenly West Indies had slumped to 227 for 7. It would have been even better for Pakistan had Kamran Akmal snaffled an outside edge from Ramdin in the previous over – the ball just evaded his outstretched right hand, and Ramdin lived on. Abdul Razzaq, the unlucky bowler, soon got some reward for a superb spell of reverse-swing bowling when he trapped Jerome Taylor in front, and with the light improving, there was little chance of the rest of the West Indian batsmen lasting the distance.In the end, a pitch which had been castigated all around produced a match which went into the final session, and the credit for stretching the game that far on the final day was largely due to Chanderpaul. His ability to play late was especially beneficial, and he waited for the swing and seldom committed to a stroke. Against Kaneria, he used his pad to good effect, stretching forward to negate the rough, and frustrating Kaneria into either overpitching or dropping it short. Either way, it allowed Chanderpaul to ease him away for runs. Till he was finally done in by a superb quicker one by Kaneria, Chanderpaul showed exceptional nous in tackling both pace and spin in testing conditions.Ultimately Pakistan won with some time to spare, but that didn’t look likely through the first hour in the morning, when Brian Lara and Sarwan started proceedings. In St Lucia earlier this year Lara had saved the Test against India with a last-day century, and he threatened to repeat the feat, batting with utmost assurance whether in defence or attack. With the pitch still encouraging low bounce, Lara batted well outside the crease against the seamers, defending solidly to keep the good balls at bay, but also punishing the loose ones. Nazir swung the ball and beat his outside edge a couple of times, but he also felt the heat of Lara’s strokes, being clipped off his legs and square-driven for two glorious fours. Lara was just one short of another fifty, when, clearly distracted by a five-minute delay due to sightscreen problems, he drove too early off the back foot and spooned a catch to cover.Till that breakthrough, West Indies were moving along smoothly, with Sarwan getting into his stride as well. He was too eager to attack at the start, mistiming a couple of drives early in the day, but gradually settled in with some excellent strokes of his own – a cover-drive off Gul was a classic, but Gul got his own back soon after. Buoyed after Lara’s dismissal, he bowled a scorching yorker, similar to the one that had comprehensively bowled Sarwan in the first innings. Sarwan got his foot in the way this time, but that only meant a painful blow which required him to be helped off the field, and eventually ruled him out of the rest of the tour.Those two blows swung the game Pakistan’s way, and it got even better for them when Runako Morton gifted his wicket away after a brief blitz. He creamed Kaneria for 16 in an over, including two lofted shots down the ground which fetched a four and a six, and a square-cut for four. However, in the first ball of Kaneria’s next over Morton threw it away, slapping one off the back foot straight back to the bowler.West Indies struggled to 144 for 4 at lunch, and though Dwayne Bravo and Chanderpaul added a promising 57 for the fifth wicket, Nazir put the game back in Pakistan’s favour when Bravo guided one to slip. That opened the door somewhat, and when Kaneria struck twice immediately after tea, there was no coming back for West Indies.

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.

Scorecard

Brad Hodge’s bold declaration 117 runs behind ensured a thrilling final day at Melbourne as Jason Borgas helped South Australia extend their lead to 288. Hodge, who made 124 not out, conceded first-innings points in an effort to set up a fourth-innings chase but Borgas made sure Victoria’s task would remain a difficult one, steering the visitors to 5 for 171 at stumps.Borgas made 68 and showed South Australia’s trust in their new top order might be well-placed and Ben Cameron also displayed signs of his talent, reaching 32 not out at the close. But Bryce McGain and Andrew McDonald hampered the rest of the batsmen in their attempts to bat out of their collective slump. McGain’s 3 for 58 included Borgas, who was bowled, and the dangerous Mark Cosgrove for 19.Hodge and Hussey resumed at 2 for 191 and Hodge brought up his second Pura Cup century of the season. The pair’s 241-run partnership ended when Hussey was out for 131 but no other batsman reached double-figures and Hodge gambled on Victoria copying their successful fourth-innings chase against New South Wales.They overhauled the target of 360 at Sydney in a low-scoring match last week and should they pull off a similar victory against the Redbacks it could rocket them to the top of the Pura Cup table.