Shaun Pollock
On the pitch
It wasn’t easy as there was not a lot on offer, but it was nice to have the sea breeze and get a little bit of movement in the air. In the subcontinent if you can get [the ball] to do something, to cut or swing, it obviously makes the batter think a bit. There was a little bit of that with the two new balls and it worked for us.On South Africa’s day
It was important we got off to a good start, and we got two early wickets and picked up more pretty regularly through the day. If you said 279 for 7 on that deck on the first day of a Test match we would have been more than happy. Those last two wickets were definitely the cherry on the top, and I’m sure that knocked them a little bit in the dressing-room. Our first innings is really important. If we can cash in and put a big score on the board and they have to catch up, then we are in control.On Jayawardene’s innings
He played really well and kept us out there. He was patient and applied himself on a pitch that was batsman-friendly.On whether the pitch will deteriorate
The ideal thing from our perspective is not to think there are gremlins. We have got to go out there looking to be positive. Even if there are balls that are turning big or going through the top, we are going to have to try and play every ball on its merits.Mahela Jayawardene
On Sri Lanka’s day
It was a very difficult day for us. We lost early wickets and every time we thought we could get on top of them we lost more wickets. I knew I had to bat as long as possible. We are disappointed that we lost two wickets towards the end. If we had been five down tomorrow it would have been a very good day. But I think we have a couple of decent guys inside who can hang around a bit. I think 350 would be a very good score on this wicket, because it is very slow and spinners will get a lot of turn on it. South Africa will have to bat last. Hopefully, we can do the job.On South Africa’s bowlers
South Africa bowled to a very good plan, especially the quicks. They knew that they didn’t have that much in the wicket so they bowled to a decent line and length. We had to be very patient to get our runs. When a couple of us played bad shots they put the pressure on. [Nicky] Boje bowled well, getting some turn, and the others just stuck to their task, bowling one side of the wicket trying to force us to make a mistake.On batting on the Galle pitch
I enjoy batting on this track, but it is usually a much better wicket than this. It was pretty hard as the ball was not coming onto the bat and I had to wait for the bad stuff. I could not force myself and try to dominate the bowlers. It will get worse, there is no doubt about that. Murali was talking a lot in the break after Boje got some turn. I never expected the pitch to give that much turn so early in the game, so I am sure that Murali and Upul [Chandana] will look forward to bowling on it.

Ray Price, the Zimbabwean left-arm spinner, is the latest player to sign for an English county as a non-overseas player under the “Kolpak” ruling. Price, 28, has agreed a two-year deal with Worcestershire, and is available to play as soon as possible.Before the so-called Zimbabwean rebel players had their dispute with the board, Price had been an integral part of the Zimbabwean Test attack, taking 69 wickets in 18 matches. He also played in 26 one-dayers.He will qualify as a local player because Zimbabwe has a trade agreement with the European Union. Maros Kolpak, a Slovakian handball player, went to the European Court in a bid to play in Germany without being classed as a foreigner because he came from a non-European Union country. His victory meant that workers from around 100 countries who have trade agreements with the EU are now protected by European employment laws.Price, nephew of the major-winning golfer, Nick Price, has now set his sights on a career in England with an eye to qualifying for the national side – watch out Ashley Giles. Price said: “I have always wanted to play county cricket and am really looking forward to the challenge.””In the short-term his experience and skill will help us finish our season in style,” Tom Moody, Worcestershire’s head coach, said: “His attitude and work ethic will give us a timely boost for the final five weeks of the season.”

38 overs England 198 for 5 (Collingwood 35*, Jones 25*) v Zimbabwe – Rain ended play at 5pm
Match scheduled to resume tomorrow at 10.15am
Scorecard

Vikram Solanki led from the front with a mellifluous 62 as England set about their Champions Trophy campaign against Zimbabwe with some variable batting – that was before the rains came, again. The wet weather had already pushed the start back to 2pm, and then ultimately curtailed proceedings as England stumbled to 198 for 5. The match will resume tomorrow, weather permitting.England were put in to bat by Tatenda Taibu, and started brightly enough – courtesy of seven zooming wides in the opening over from 18-year-old Tinashe Panyangara, who seemed overawed by the prospect of bowling against England. Marcus Trescothick struck two scintillating fours, before his innings ended abruptly on 10 as he edged Douglas Hondo’s loose-but-bouncy delivery to first slip, playing away from his body (21 for 1).Michael Vaughan made an enterprising and entertaining start, including two majestic hooks in consecutive balls from Hondo, which flew for six. The second one brought up England’s 50 in the eighth over. But Vaughan’s disappointing one-day season continued, as Edward Rainsford invited a drive which Vaughan thick-edged to second slip (54 for 2). Rainsford, the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers, deserved his first one-day international wicket, and he later struck again to remove Andrew Strauss.Strauss and Solanki had enjoyed a useful partnership – mustering 60 runs from 62 balls – before Strauss fell for 25, trying to steer a widish delivery to third man (114 for 3). Taibu, ever alert behind the stumps, dived full-stretch to his left and Strauss was gone – and in strode Andrew Flintoff, the man of the moment.

Flintoff was fortunate to survive a first-ball lbw shout from Rainsford, but two balls later he clubbed a typical four and the crowd settled back to enjoy the ride. But, unusually for Flintoff in this, his summer of plenty, it was only to be a quick trip out. A touch over-confident, he stepped up to toe-end a full-length drive off Panyangara to deep mid-off, where Hondo was waiting to typify Zimbabwe’s superb fielding. Hondo grabbed the ball – diving – to cut short Flintoff’s journey (123 for 4).Solanki, meanwhile, continued to hold the England innings together, and brought up his fifty in fine style, with a crashing slash through backward point.He played gracefully throughout his innings, comfortably despatching anything pitched up with a series of glorious drives and well-timed shots off his legs, before eventually being trapped lbw by the part-time medium-pace of Sibanda (159 for 5).Geraint Jones then stepped in to mount some sturdy resistance with Paul Collingwood. But then, just as they were hitting their straps – and the boundary boards – the game was washed out for the day.

Australia 9 for 564 (Clarke 141, Gilchrist 126, Martyn 70, McGrath 54*, Ponting 51, Gillespie 43*, Martin 4-141, Vettori 4-154) lead New Zealand 353 by 211 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

After two days where neither side took control of this match, Australia finally grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and by the close on the third day at Brisbane were in a commanding position. Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist, who both cracked excellent hundreds, revived the innings and then, improbable as it might seem, the batting of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie left New Zealand on the ropes. Australia closed on 9 for 564, a lead of 211 runsThe morning belonged to Clarke. He made a hundred on debut at Bangalore last month, and registered a glorious double on his home debut with a fierce pull off the final ball before lunch to bring up his century. His innings was on the whole sublime, with drives and pulls of precocious class – there were also the odd moments to forget, as when inside edge off a leaden-footed drive sneaked past his off stump. But they were rare, and he showed more than enough aggression to keep a small crowd entertained. To Stephen Fleming’s clear frustration, New Zealand’s bowlers fed his strengths time after time, and even the introduction of the new ball shortly before lunch just brought about a spate of boundaries.Gilchrist in contrast, struggled for a good hour, his initial attempts to assert dominance over Daniel Vettori failing dismally. Vettori recently picked up 20 wickets in two Tests in Bangladesh. Today he had to wait until the kettle had started to boil for tea before he got any reward, but bowled far better. Exploiting a cracked pitch, he used flight and turn to great effect but it just wasn’t to be. He had a supremely confident leg-before shout against Gilchrist turned down (the all intrusive replays showed the ball hitting middle and leg) and a pad-glove chance from Clarke, then on 74, evaded the grasp of Mark Richardson at silly point.Gilchrist, who limped to 9 off 39 balls, eventually found his touch, and after the break really cut loose with some thrilling strokeplay as New Zealand wilted. Their bowlers failed to find a consistent line and length, banging the ball in too short. More than once Fleming had cause to jog up to the offender and remind him of the value of pitching it up. Fleming’s face remained placid throughout, but inside he must have been fuming.

Clarke finally fell to the deserving Vettori for 141, giving him the charge and playing all round a straight one, and Gilchrist followed in the next over for 126, flaying Martin for three successive leg-side fours before he was well held by Scott Styris in the deep going for a fourth. Between them, Gilchrist and Clarke, who came together with Australia wobbling on 5 for 222, added 216 at more than a run-a-minute. Vettori got his fourth wicket soon after when Shane Warne fell leg-before for 10.New Zealand’s evaporating morale was almost totally extinguished by an unbeaten last-wicket stand of 93 between Gillespie and McGrath. Ricky Ponting allowed his rabbits their moment with bat in the knowledge that the fading light meant they wouldn’t be allowed a chance with the ball.McGrath had a field day, his grin as broad when he pull-swept a six off Vettori as it was when he was dropped twice in four balls – down the leg by a tumbling Brendan McCullum and off a skyer by a flailing Richardson – off a furious Jacob Oram. At the time those let-offs didn’t seem too important. Some 70 minutes later McGrath had taken his career batting average over the magical seven mark, and New Zealand were a shambles. By the end, men were even posted in the deep for the McGrath hook, and the cheers when he brought up his fifty were every bit as loud as they had been for Clarke five hours earlier.

The McGrath-Gillespie cameo came long after Damien Martyn’s early dismissal had seemingly left Australia facing a first-innings deficit. His demise for 70 came out of the blue at a time he looked set for his hundred. He aimed to cut a wide delivery from Chris Martin, found the top edge, and Craig McMillan, two yards in on the wide third-man boundary, didn’t have to move. By the time the next wicket fell, the whole complex of the match had been turned on its head.Martin Williamson is managing editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

The Indian selectors have decided to go in with a full-strength squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh later this month. There was speculation that some players from the A team would get a look-in, but the 15-man squad included only one newcomer – Gagandeep Singh, a 23-year-old seamer from Punjab. Shib Sankar Paul, who was in the Indian squad for the Mumbai Test against Australia last month, was also included. Ajit Agarkar was left out, while Ashish Nehra wasn’t picked because of a side strain.Gagandeep made his first-class debut in 1999-2000, and has an impressive domestic record – 154 wickets in 34 matches at the superb average of 19.72. However, with Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan in the line-up, it is unlikely that Gagandeep will win a place in the Tests in Bangladesh.The first Test will be played at Dhaka from December 9, while Chittagong will play host to the second match, from December 16. The Tests will be followed by three one-day internationals. SK Nair, the secretary of the Indian board, added that the Indian squad for the one-dayers would be announced on Thursday.Indian squad for Bangladesh Tests
Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly (capt), Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik, Shib Sankar Paul, Gangandeep Singh.

The Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh has been reported to the ICC after the officials at the Chittagong Test decided that there were doubts over his doosra, a delivery which turns away from the right-hand batsman. Unofficial sources suggested that the degree of elbow-flexion involved was 22 degrees, well beyond the ICC’s previous tolerance levels.The report was made by Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, the on-field umpires, Mahbubur Rahman, the TV umpire, and Chris Broad, the match referee, at the end of the second Test against Bangladesh.Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, explained that Broad had informed both the ICC and the India team management of the report. “Having closely reviewed the action Harbhajan Singh employs during this delivery, the match officials decided to report the bowler to the ICC and, in line with the protocol, notified the India team management of this course of action.”This issue now comes under the ICC’s bowling-review regulations which stipulate that over the next six weeks an expert biomechanist from the ICC’s Approved List should be appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to work with the bowler to clearly identify and address any flaws that may occur during the delivery action.”Harbhajan was reported in November 1998, and underwent corrective coaching in England afterwards. He is the sixth player to be reported since the ICC revised its process for dealing with suspect actions in 2004.”All bowlers’ actions are scrutinised and the match officials are empowered to make a report where they have concerns,” Speed explained. “Every bowler is treated in the same way by the ICC, and this report is no different from the five others that have been received in the past 12 months. Harbhajan Singh will now work with an expert team over the next six weeks to address these concerns. He can continue to play international cricket and cannot be reported again during this period. At the end of that time the ICC will be provided with a specialist report on the remedial action, if any is required, that has taken place. This report will be circulated to the elite panel of umpires and referees for their information.”

ScorecardLou Vincent played one of his best innings in recent times, scoring an unbeaten 146 to lift Auckland to 345 for 8 at close of play on the second day at the Outer Oval. They now needed just six runs to take the first-innings points.Vincent was in superb form, batting for 246 minutes and facing 214 balls. Auckland had earlier lost their way after a solid 113-run stand for the second wicket between Matt Horne and Rob Nicol. Horne scored 76 before he was dismissed while Nicol made a patient 35.While the other Auckland batsmen had trouble handling Lance Hamilton’s bowling, Vincent did a fine job, and was within 13 runs of equalling his highest first-class score at stumps. Hamilton, who has proven one of the most durable of Central Districts’ battery of medium-fast bowlers, ended the day with 5 for 64.
ScorecardA collapse which saw the last six Canterbury wickets fall for 39 runs allowed Otago a 110-run lead on the first innings of their State Championship match at the University Oval. By close of play on the third day, Otago had extended that lead to 255, and still had five second-innings wickets in hand.Jordan Sheed held Otago’s batting together with an unbeaten 77, his highest first-class score. At close of play he was batting with first-innings century-maker Greg Todd.There was a period during the Canterbury innings when it seemed the experience of Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan could prove sufficient to get them out of trouble. Astle scored 53 off 92 balls and McMillan 51 off 76, but they both fell to smart catches – Astle to Sheed at gully and McMillan to Chris Gaffaney at point.Jeff Wilson claimed Astle’s wicket, but the majority of the subsequent damage was done by Brad Scott who took 4 for 47 as Canterbury were all out for 198. Wilson took two for 41.

Bangladesh A 311 and 277 beat Zimbabwe A 201 and 197 by 190 runs
ScorecardBangladesh A completed a convincing victory in the second Test beating Zimbabwe A by 190 runs on the final day at Bulawayo. Zimbabwe A resumed on their overnight score of 36 for 2, chasing an unlikely 388 for victory. Saqibul Hasan took five wickets with his left-arm medium pace to put paid to their hopes of saving the match, as they slumped to a heavy defeat.Victory for Bangladesh was a matter of when, not if, and they took wickets at regular intervals throughout the day. Craig McMillan was the first to fall, sending Hasan to Raqibul Hasan on 29 (70 for 3). Dion Ebrahim also struck 29 but his was a slower innings – 113 balls – borne of the necessity to defend. But he eventually fell, also to Hasan, as Bangladesh continued to turn the screw (107 for 4). Wickets tumbled steadily from then on – although Donald Samunderu and Justice Chibhara each posted 32 – and Bangladesh went on to coast to a deserved victory as they removed Zimbabwe for 197.

Richie Richardson, the former West Indian captain, has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board for failing to resolve the ongoing sponsorship dispute, and said it was time for business-minded individuals to take over the administration of West Indies cricket.Referring to the board’s decision to sack seven senior players, including Brian Lara, Richardson told , “I am not totally surprised, but I am really disappointed. It’s really sad. For some of our best players to be fit and not be represented on the West Indies team, is very disappointing and very disturbing.”Teddy Griffith, the board’s president, announced last week that sevenplayers, including Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, would not be considered for selection for the forthcoming series against South Africa and Pakistan, owing to their individual sponsorship deals with Cable & Wireless, a rival of the board’s current sponsor Digicel.Richardson said that the board should have settled the issues a long time ago.”For these things to happen, I think it is really poor. We should be focussing on trying to make sure that West Indies cricket is returned to what it was some time ago and not to be making silly mistakes and having fights between the board and players. It’s just going to make things even worse.”This issue first cropped up in December last year, and has not been properly resolved since. “We’ve had a number of problems over the years, and the game has advanced and we have remained stagnant, if not retrogressed,” Richardson continued. “I believe the best thing for West Indies cricket right now is to give somebody who has serious money and who is a serious businessman and who is willing to invest in West Indies cricket and restore it. The biggest downfall in West Indies cricket is the administration.”I was frustrated with a lot of things as West Indies captain,” added Richardson, who led them in 24 Tests. “I just thought when are we going to start realising that everybody is changing and we have got to move with the times?” He also said that the board never respected the players, even dating back to the era of Clive Lloyd, and that “We got the impression then that all that we could do was to play cricket.”Richardson stressed that the game was bigger than everybody, and all that were involved in the current dispute needed to “come together and resolve this”.

Ranga Reddy, the vice president of the Indian boart (BCCI), has invited a select team from the USA’s Central-East Zone (Chicago and Midwest region) on a tour of Hyderabad, where they will play a series of matches against state and district teams. The side will arrive in India on March 6 and will stay until March 15.There are six matches on the schedule. One of them will be a day/night game, and a two-day fixture is also in the cards. Three of the matches will be played in the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium (the regular Test and ODI venue in Hyderabad), and the remaining three games will be played in the newly-built stadium at Uppal, also in Hyderabad. The new Uppal stadium is supposed to be among the top five in the world and the US team will be the first overseas team to play there.The US side has not been named but it is likely to include top players from other regions than the US Midwest as well. Among the names mentioned are allrounder Duane Nathaniel of Florida, an U-19 Allstar at the US Nationals in 2004; opening batsman Amer Afzaluddin, former U-19 All-Americas captain in 2002 who played for USA in 2003 and 2004, and Amjad Khan from New York, former first-class cricketer who is the only person to have scored a triple century in an official limited-overs league match anywhere in the world. Other players who may make the trip are Nasir Javed and Roy Weekes from Florida, Rashid Afzal from New York, Jignesh Desai and Hitesh Patel of New Jersey, and Dawood Ahmed and Zaheer Chano from Maryland.This may not be the strongest team that could be selected to represent the USA, but it has an interesting blend of youth and experience. Amer and Nathaniel are youngsters who have shown promise in recent years, and veterans Amjad Khan and Nasir Javed (who had the best bowling performance for Team USA in the Champions Trophy) lend needed experience to the squad. Conspicuously missing are many senior players who have played for the USA in recent years, and who earned the "geriatric" label that has haunted Team USA since the Champions Trophy.Now it remains to be seen whether this younger and less experienced team from the USA will at least be able to exorcise that image by how they perform in India. That, more than how many matches they win or lose, will be the acid test of their temperament.