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Poignant moment of the day
The Australians were going to cap their 402nd Test cricketer today and the choice was between Cameron White and Jason Krejza. Before the start of their warm-up session the players gathered in a circle, along with the coaching staff and chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch, and White was presented with the baggy green. The baggy green is a really big deal so White, who was visibly thrilled, wore his new head gear through the warm-up session while the others had their VB caps on.Setback of the day
Matthew Hayden is Australia’s best batsmen in Indian conditions and his preparation for this series has been intense. He’s batted in the nets longer than others and went through his routine of shadow-practicing and meditating on the pitch at the Chinnaswamy stadium on the eve of the match. However, when the Test began, he was dismissed the first time he hit the ball. Or did he? After letting two deliveries from Zaheer go past his off stump, he pushed forward at the third as the ball moved away from him. The ball was close to the outside edge. The bat was close to the pad. Asad Rauf took a while but eventually ended Hayden’s all too brief stint.Anticipated battle of the day
Harbhajan v Ponting. Harbhajan had bowled 2.3 overs before Ponting faced him for the first time. Anticipation built up in the crowd, Anil Kumble added a silly point to the existing close-in catchers – short leg and first slip, and kites hovered overhead. The big screen even flashed a timely message: “Ponting has been dismissed by Harbhajan eight times in Test cricket.” Harbhajan skipped in and delivered but his first challenge was weak: a flat ball on leg stump. Ponting moved back and nudged the ball off his pads towards the fine-leg boundary.Shot of the day
There was no time that Ponting looked more like the batsman who has dominated attacks everywhere in the world but India than when he brought up his half-century with a superb cover drive. Things went relatively smoothly for him as he changed gears regularly during his knock, but the effortless way he reached only his second half-century in India was outstanding. Zaheer Khan pitched up and Ponting swung through the line as the ball cracked twice – first off the bat, then off an advertising board.Direct hit of the day
One of Australia’s strategies was to pressurise the Indian fielders with quick running between the wickets. So when Simon Katich glanced Kumble towards long leg, they immediately decided on taking two. Sehwag was the fielder and he surprised many, perhaps even Katich who was forced into a full length dive, with a direct hit from the boundary. Rauf called for the third umpire but Katich was so confident he had made his ground that he even picked up the uprooted stump and put it back in its place, ready to continue hurrying the Indian fielders.Acceleration of the day
Katich had scored only 3 off the first 34 balls he faced from Harbhajan, content with blocking and thwarting India’s plans. However, Harbhjan offered him two freebies when Katich was in his forties. The first was short and wide and Katich cut it wide of slip for four and moved on to 49. A ball later he drove a half-volley firmly through cover to bring up his half-century and emphasise that Australia had made the right choice by picking him as opener.Record of the day
Ponting celebrated his first century in India while completing his third run before flourishing his bat like a warrior would with a sword. Not only had he kept his vow of improving his average in India, but he had also broken a record. The century was Ponting’s 16th as captain, he was previously tied with Steve Waugh and Allan Border on 15.

Channa Gunasekera, who died aged 77 on Saturday, was a versatile sportsman who took his cricketing genes from his father, Churchill, the first Sri Lankan player to represent an English county. Four of Channa’s cousins also played first-class cricket in Sri Lanka, making them one of the foremost cricketing families in the country.Channa was born on June 23, 1931, exactly 15 years after Len Hutton, who became his role model. His batting, particularly the stroke through the covers, bore Hutton’s stamp. A technically-correct right-hand batsman, Channa followed his father by captaining his alma mater Royal College and Sinhalese Sports Club.He became an automatic choice as an opening batsman for Sri Lanka in the 1950s. He played for his country at the age of 19 and during his career toured India thrice, scoring five centuries in seven matches. He then captained Colombo CC in the division III tournament before coaching both Royal College and Nalanda College. In 1983 he became a national selector.Channa also excelled in athletics and tennis. He held the Public Schools record for the 120 yards hurdles and on one noteworthy weekend he ran the 4×110 yards relay for his tea firm Brooke Bond in the Mercantile championships, scored 73 not out for SSC in a tournament match against University the next day, and the day after he won a gruelling two-hour Mercantile championship tennis match before rushing back to the University grounds to continue his innings and complete an undefeated century (125) for SSC – an innings which saw him picked for the national side against the touring MCC.A keen student of the game, Channa also wrote regularly in newspapers on various topics apart from commentating on radio and television. Channa and his father provided the first instance of a father and son duo from Sri Lanka becoming members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Jason Gillespie has backed Brett Lee to come out firing in the remainderof the India-Australia Test series. He also said that the media has made too much of the “spat” between Lee and Ricky Ponting.Lee hasn’t been at his best so far on the tour, his four wickets in the first two Tests costing nearly 60 runs apiece. “Lee has been a fantastic bowler for Australia for many years. Even technically, I don’t see him doing much wrong,” Gillespie said. “The ball is coming out of his hand all right. You don’t lose your skills overnight. He has been bowling well without luck.”Lee reportedly had an angry exchange with Ponting on field when he was notgiven the ball in the first session of the final day. Ponting laterclarified that Lee wasn’t given a bowl because of low over rates and because hefelt there was a need to take the pace off the ball.Gillespie suffered a similar situation when Ponting gave him only fourovers in the second innings of the Manchester Test in 2005. However,Gillespie believes the situation was very different from the presentscenario. “Look, I wasn’t bowling well then. I was going for runs and notpicking wickets (Gillespie had figures of 1 for 114 from 19 overs in thefirst innings]. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that Rickydid the right thing.”Here, Lee is not bowling badly. He is just a competitive guy and wants tocontribute to the team. And it was sorted out after Ricky explained hisreasons. The media has overblown it unnecessarily.”Gillespie said there was too much criticism of the Australian team after just one defeat. “When the Australians lose, the talk that era is over and stuff like that comes out.It’s just one loss. We lost here in 2001 too. Of course the teams aredifferent. Many big names have retired.”Gillespie felt that the onus lies on the Australian batsmen to combat thereverse-swing and put up a good score for their bowlers to defend. “TheIndian bowlers have executed their skills incredibly well. It’s up to theAustralian batsman to combat that. The Australian bowlers are gettingreverse-swing but of course a lot later than India. But I see somepositives. Peter Siddle was very good; he gave a good account of himselfin his first Test. Lee has got reverse in the past; he is getting ithere and I am confident he will have more success in the tour. MitchellJohnson has been getting good reverse. It is up to the batsmen to do thejob.”

India’s batsmen once again made run-scoring look a simple business in the second ODI against England in Indore, as Yuvraj Singh racked up his second hundred in consecutive games and Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan chipped in with brisk half-centuries. But after the match, Virender Sehwag – who opened the batting and was bowled fourth ball for 1 by Stuart Broad – said that their eventual total of 292 was more than 50 runs above par.Sehwag fell in the second over of the match, but later he sent a message out to the middle telling his opening partner, Gambhir, that 230 to 240 would be a competitive total. “The pitch was not easy to bat on, the ball was stopping before coming on to the bat,” Sehwag said. “But thanks to Gautam, Yuvraj and of course Yusuf, we crossed the 290-mark.”Sehwag and Yuvraj also shared seven wickets as England were bowled out for 238 and Sehwag said having part-time bowlers in the line-up gave India a lot of options. “If you have batting allrounders, who can roll their arms over, and especially on this kind of wicket, it really helps you.”Pathan, whose 29-ball 50 was instrumental in taking India past 250, said he was willing to bat anywhere in line-up and was not keen on being pigeon-holed as a Twenty20 specialist. Pathan opened for India in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 and was part of the Rajasthan Royals’ successful campaign in the inaugural IPL earlier this year.Pathan said his half-century had given him a lot of confidence for the future matches, but added: “I have played more three-, four- and one-day matches in domestic cricket and not as many Twenty20 games. I think the perception that I’m only a Twenty20 player is wrong.”India didn’t have it all their own way in the course of the match, and at 29 for 3 in the eighth over, England had their best opportunity to dictate terms. But their ascendancy didn’t last, and India will now carry a 2-0 lead into the third of seven ODIs in Kanpur on Thursday.”Unlike at Rajkot the opening partnerships did not get off to a good beginning,” said Pathan. “But it cannot happen every day and the others too need to contribute and did so today. We knew it was not an easy wicket to bat on and anything could happen later and I wanted to score as many runs as possible to give our team a good total in the end.”

Billy Bowden, the New Zealand umpire, will replace Asad Rauf for the first Test between India and England scheduled to begin in Chennai on Thursday. The official announcement from the ICC comes after Rauf, one of the two Pakistani representatives on the Elite Panel of umpires, failed to obtain the correct visa to travel Chennai.Pakistani and Indian nationals require city-specific visas to travel to either country and Rauf had a valid visa for Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore – the first two for the India-England Test series and the third for a Champions League game.But following the terror attacks in Mumbai last week, the Test venues were changed to Chennai and Mohali, cities for which Rauf had to get visas again. But due to the weekend, followed by Eid holidays, there has been a delay in the issuance which has meant him stepping down for the first match.However, the ICC hoped that Rauf would be able to stand in the second match of the series in Mohali, starting December 19.Bowden, 45, has officiated in 127 ODIs and five Twenty20 internationals and will be standing in his 51st Test. He last stood in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia in Nagpur last month.The other ICC appointments for the series – the other on-field umpire, Daryl Harper of Australia and match referee Jeff Crowe of New Zealand – remain unchanged.

Match facts

December 28, 2008
Start time 5pm (0400 GMT)

Big Picture

The results so far – two drawn Tests and a tied Twenty20 international – suggest an evenly-matched battle, but one man, Chris Gayle, could prove to be the difference between the two sides come Sunday. Twenty-five runs in the Super Over secured a lead in the two-match Twenty20 series for West Indies, but more importantly captain Gayle’s mauling of Daniel Vettori, his opposition counterpart, would be at the back of New Zealand’s minds when they take the field at Seddon Park in Hamilton.The hosts will hope they can nab the in-form Gayle early on Sunday. He followed up his vital 197 in the second innings of the second Test by top-scoring with 67 in the Twenty20. A further blow to New Zealand is the absence of allrounder Scott Styris, who fractured his thumb and is expected to be out of action for six weeks.It is not just Gayle’s batting exploits. He took two wickets for 16 runs off his three overs in Auckland. The other spinners played a key role in the game as well. Left-armers Sulieman Benn and Vettori were the most economical, and hence were entrusted with the task of bowling the Super Over. Vettori leaked 25 runs in it to dull the sheen from an exceptional performance during the match, with figures of 4-0-16-3.New Zealand will also aim to break their eight-match winless streak in Twenty20s, and with potentially only two more matches remaining before the World Twenty20 in England, Vettori said his team was aware that the time had come to start planning for the big tournament.

Twenty20 form guide (last five games, most recent first)

West Indies: TWLWL
New Zealand: TLLLL

Watch out for

Ross Taylor is a clean striker of the ball, showing his prowess with four fours and four sixes in his 63 on Friday. Although not as breathtaking as Gayle’s knock, it was Taylor’s innings that helped New Zealand to 155. With Styris not around, New Zealand will expect Taylor to come up with the goods especially if the explosive opening pair of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder fail to get going.Xavier Marshall did not have a great run during the Test series, with 44 runs in three innings, but he made a useful 24-ball 27 during West Indies’ chase on Friday. Marshall, who scored a 15-ball 36 to power West Indies to victory over Australia in a 11-over contest earlier this year, can turn the game around with his big hitting.Daniel Vettori was not too pleased with two extra overs deciding a 20-over contest, and New Zealand will hope that the loss does not rankle too much since he is a formidable force with the ball in Twenty20 internationals. He has bowled his full quota of four overs in each of his ten games in the format, with 16 wickets at an average of 13.68, an economy-rate of 5.47.

Team news

With Styris out, New Zealand have to play either Mark Gillespie or the uncapped Ewen Thompson. In the last game James Franklin managed only 2 at No. 6, batting ahead of Daniel Flynn and Vettori. Coach Andy Moles said Flynn would move up in Styris’ absence.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Jesse Ryder, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Daniel Flynn, 5 Jacob Oram, 6 James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Tim Southee, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Mark Gillespie, 11 Jeetan Patel.Like Vettori, Gayle’s concerns too were over the team’s batting, but it is unlikely West Indies will tinker with a winning XI. Shivnarine Chanderpaul could move down the order to shore up the middle order. It remains to be seen whether Denesh Ramdin, the team’s vice-captain, will get a look-in after Carlton Baugh was picked ahead of him for the first Twenty20.West Indies: (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul , 3 Xavier Marshall, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Shawn Findlay, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Lionel Baker.

Stats and Trivia

• Seddon Park will hosts it first-ever Twenty20 international on Sunday.
• Gayle’s strike-rate of 164.55 is among the top five for batsmen who have faced at least 30 deliveries in Twenty20 internationals.
• Vettori needs four wickets to join Umar Gul as the leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 internationals.

Quotes

“We just need to deliver the full package, and that’s something we’re very keen to address in Hamilton.”
“I think it affects Dan [Vettori] a wee bit more because he was the guy who bowled the over [to Gayle]. For me, the proof of the pudding was the joy the crowd got out of it.”
“I’m happy with the one over. It gives a bit more entertainment for the fans because they get to see one over with everyone going for it.”

Giles Clarke faces a serious challenge when he seeks re-election as chairman of the ECB, according to a report in the Sunday Times, which claims that as many as three candidates are set to take him on. Of the trio, Lord Marland, a former treasurer of the Conservative party, has emerged as the likely challenger at this week’s election.Ken Clarke, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Chris Gent, a former chief executive of Vodafone, are also considering throwing their hats into the ring, reported the .Marland said he would stand because he had become frustrated at Clarke’s governance, and cited the Stanford Series as evidence that the ECB had lost its way. He also said Clarke had not defended English interests internationally, notably the up and down relations with India, and that he would raise the issue of terrestrial television coverage of Test matches as well. The Moores-Pietersen crisis, plans regarding a franchise-based EPL, and questions over the financial future of the ECB, are also key issues that Marland would look to corner Clarke with.It had been expected that Clarke would not face any serious opposition despite some serious discontent at his handling of a number of issues, not least the controversial deal with Allen Stanford.”Everything is in place for a challenge to Clarke. He might have thought he would be unopposed but we are delighted an impressive candidate has come forward to offer a credible alternative,” an unnamed source told the Mail on Sunday.Clarke remains the favourite, but that there is support for those willing to oppose him may mean that even if he wins, he has to adopt a more conciliatory approach than in his first term.Marland, who was a key figure in the successful candidature of Boris Johnson in last year’s London mayoral elections, is reported to have secured the support of as many as seven counties. If so, that would leave him needing to persuade three more to join his camp to win.He agreed to contest the election after conversations with counties led by Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove, an implacable opponent of Clarke’s, and his nomination is understood to have been seconded by Surrey and Lancashire as well.Clarke will point to the lucrative renegotiation of the ECB’s television deal as the crown jewel of his first term, but Stanford, the shambles of the coach-captain mess and the uncertainty surrounding the EPL may count against him.To win the chairmanship a candidate needs a clear majority of the 18 counties and the MCC, of which Marland is also a member.

The BCCI has asked SG, the ball manufacturers, for a clarification regarding the quality of balls supplied during the Ranji Trophy. It has been a trend, and a major concern, throughout the domestic competitions that the ball loses its shape regularly, and has to be changed often – sometimes as many as four to five times during the first session of a match.The BCCI wants to know what the reasons behind the decline in the quality of balls are, and has given SG time to tell its side of the story. The ball is at its most vulnerable when it is fairly new, going out of shape – most often – upon hitting the concrete outside the boundaries.Puneet Anand, managing director, SG, confirmed that they have received such communication from the BCCI. But he said he was confident BCCI was not looking at ending the association. “It has been 13-14 years since we started supplying balls. Feedback and improvement is a part of the process,” Anand told .One of the reasons behind the frequent losing of shape could be underprepared balls because of a massive demand during the season. Unlike Kookaburra, SG balls are hand-made, and need time for drying. Another possible reason could be duplication, which players and officials don’t rule out when speaking off the record. “Associations might have fallen short of supply as many balls might have been used for nets,” Anand said. “They might have then gone to local markets to buy some more for stocking and duplication can creep in from there.”The SG balls are not being used in the on-going Duleep Trophy, the motive being helping players acclimatise to different balls – Kookaburra in this case.

Match facts

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Start time 19.00 local (06.00 GMT)

The Big Picture

One of the most eagerly-awaited bouts in New Zealand over the last few seasons gets underway tomorrow with the first of two Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand Cricket has branded the famed Indian cricketers as “Rockstars” and for good reason, given the hefty monetary benefits the board stands to gain out of every match day. The Indians also bring with them the tag of Twenty20 world champions, which sets up this two-match leg as an exciting start to what promises to be a fulfilling summer.Though India are fortunate enough to be playing in the second half of the summer – which is generally warmer and relatively free of rain – acclimatising to the windy conditions will be a challenge early on. The bowlers have been practising running in against the wind since setting foot in the country. New Zealand are coming off a satisfactory tour of Australia in which they pushed the home team hard in the one-dayers. However, India are coming off a close victory in the Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, while New Zealand buckled under pressure to the Australians in Sydney.

Twenty20 form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
India – WLWWW
New Zealand – LWTLL

Team news

Both teams decided not to name their XII on the eve of the game. New Zealand understandably couldn’t because they’re waiting on the fitness of two key players, Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram. Taylor, who suffered a hamstring injury during the Chappell-Hadlee Series, showed positive signs of a recovery at the nets and his captain Daniel Vettori was pleased with what he saw. He said a final decision will be taken tomorrow. Oram is set to make his long-awaited comeback, but only as a batsman.New Zealand (probable) 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor/Neil Broom, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Ian Butler, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Iain O’Brien.India don’t have any such injury concerns but Mahendra Singh Dhoni preferred to keep the team a surprise. “I’m the sort of guy who doesn’t really believe in announcing the XII,” he said. “People say if you announce the XII you’ll have 12 guys who are really focussed, but I have no problem having 14 guys who are really focussed.”India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Yusuf Pathan, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ishant Sharma

Watch out for …

Yusuf Pathan: The older of the Pathan brothers made audiences sit up during the IPL with his big hitting, but his transition into the Indian team hasn’t been smooth. However, on the tour of Sri Lanka he began to find his feet as a useful batting allrounder. In the Twenty20 in Colombo, his solid blows against the spinners turned the match in India’s favour after Sri Lanka, at one stage, looked to take the game away. The smaller grounds in New Zealand could be a huge advantage for him.New Zealand’s gen next: The side has more unknowns compared to the one in 2002-03, but it doesn’t make them less exciting. Leading the pack is Martin Guptill, one-day cricket’s latest debut centurion. Guptill has a strong pull shot and was impressive in Australia, hitting an unbeaten 64 in one of the games. The middle order has exciting strokeplayers, and the swift Iain O’Brien may be in his 30s, but he has settled in well to the limited-overs set-up after being labelled a Test specialist.

Pitch & conditions

The forecast is for morning showers but it’s expected to remain cloudy through the day. Dhoni said the weather has been fairly chilly, and it will be interesting to see how quickly India adjust.

Stats and trivia

• This is India’s first Twenty20 in New Zealand.
• New Zealand won the only Twenty20 encounter between these two, in Johannesburg at the ICC World Twenty20.
• Brendon McCullum is the leading run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals, with 457 in 19 games at an average of 26.88 and a strike rate of 126.94. He is the only player with more than 400 runs. The leader for India is Gautam Gambhir, with 312 runs at 34.66 and a strike rate of 130.54.
• India have a 7-2 win-loss record in Twenty20 internationals, but they’ve only played two games in the last 15 months.

Quotes

“There are a lot of guys who have played under ten games but a lot of those were won, so when you have that feeling within the team coupled with some experienced players, it makes for confidence about their performances. We’re hoping to continue on that, the likes of the Mark Guptills and Neil Brooms being fantastic in the short time they’ve been there and we’re hoping they can capitalise on what they’ve done in a short period of time.”
“John will know the psychology of each and every Indian player. That psychological part of the input given by John will help them.”

The ICC board has endorsed a recommendation by its Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) to hold this year’s Champions Trophy in South Africa. The ICC said that the event, which runs from September 24-October 5, would be held in Johannesburg and Centurion.However, the ICC admitted that Cricket South Africa (CSA) has been sought as the alternative host, with the Wanderers and SuperSport Park as the venues, provided an agreement on the financial arrangements can be reached. CSA will now have to confirm whether it accepts the event’s revenue model.The ICC president David Morgan described the move as a “sensible decision” and thanked the boards of Sri Lanka and South Africa for their commitment. “I think the board has made a sensible decision that will give the event every chance of success,” he said. “We now have clarity on the subject and we can make firm plans for what is going to be a great spectacle of ODI cricket.”I would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket for its commitment to offer an alternative to Pakistan. And also, I want to acknowledge its willingness to step aside in this matter. I’d also like to thank CSA for putting its hand up and offering to host this event.”With Wanderers and Centurion, CSA can provide two world-class venues in what is effectively one location and as we know from the ICC World Twenty20 2007, weather conditions in the area around Johannesburg in September and October are stable and ideal for cricket,” said Morgan.The hosting rights will remain with Pakistan, ensuring a significant windfall for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “The decision of giving the Champions Trophy to South Africa hasn’t changed the picture,” the PCB’s chief operating officer Salim Altaf told reporters in Lahore. “If the ICC gives South Africa financial assistance, it would still have no impact on the PCB’s share, which is $2.75 million.”The CEC had expressed concern over the tournament being held in Sri Lanka and strongly suggested it be held in South Africa following concerns over weather conditions in the island nation during that period.The teleconference also unanimously agreed that the dates for next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies would be between April 30-May 16.