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Scorecard
Reigning County Champions Durham need another 102 runs with seven wickets in hand to wrap up their second win of the campaign after a fluctuating third day against fellow strugglers Kent that saw 17 wickets fall.On a Canterbury pitch showing signs of uneven bounce, Durham lost their last four first-innings wickets for 77 before dismissing Kent for 162 inside 50 overs to leave themselves 18 overs plus the entire final day to score 169 for victory.In the 90 minutes before close Durham reached 67 for three after 18 overs as Kent did their best to make amends for a dismal second-innings batting performance. Kyle Coetzer fell for one to a Makhaya Ntini off-cutter that moved through the gate to hit middle stump, while Michael di Venuto (10) needlessly pulled an Azhar Mahmood bumper into the hands of Amjad Khan at deep mid-wicket.Young left-hander Scott Borthwick (14) dragged an attempted pull against Amjad Khan onto his off stump, but experienced duo Ian Blackwell (18) and Dale Benkenstein (24) survived without further alarm to strengthen Durham’s hopes of knocking off the required runs.Kent lost their way in the match by losing six wickets for 114 in the mid-session, having worked hard to muster a first-innings lead of six. Skipper Rob Key (14) drove on the up to short extra-cover to make it 34 for one and, without addition, Joe Denly (20) was unfortunate to be given lbw when pushing outside the line of off stump.Geraint Jones (17) bottom-edged an attempted cover drive onto the base of off stump against Chris Rushworth, before Sam Northeast was dismissed by a Ian Blackwell arm-ball which hit off stump low down.Top-scorer Martin van Jaarsveld (44) drove two feet outside off to edge a full ball from Steve Harmison to second slip and, to the last ball before tea, Azhar Mahmood played outside the line of another Blackwell arm ball to go lbw.Kent’s slide gathered momentum when, six balls after the break, Rob Ferley (one) played across the line of a Scott Borthwick leg-spinner to drag onto off stump and Alex Blake (seven) was bowled through the gate by left-arm spinner Blackwell after one turned out of the foot-holds.Teenager Borthwick picked up a second when he had Simon Cook (five) caught at slip from a ball that grazed the outside edge of the bat and Phil Mustard’s right glove before going to first slip before last man Ntini was caught behind off Steve Harmison.At the start of the day South African Makhaya Ntini had bagged 5 for 84 – his first five-for return for Kent – as Durham were dismissed for 418. Ben Stokes reached a career-best 161 not out but Ntini, bowling down the slope from the Nackington Road End, proved too much of a handful for the Durham tail-enders as Ben Harmison and Mitchell Claydon both edged drives to second slip.Stokes should have gone to a catch at deep mid-wicket on 131 but Joe Denly was unable to hold on, but was left high and dry when Chris Rush sliced to point and Azhar Mahmood had last man Steve Harmison caught behind.

The BCCI has announced that it will not send a cricket team from India, in both men and women categories, for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The board said the teams will not be available for the global event between November 12 and 27 because of the international schedule.”We would not be able to send our team, both men and women, for the Asian Games in China because of international commitments,” the BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said in Mumbai. “We have communicated the same to the Indian Olympic Association.”Twenty20 cricket was formally approved for the Asian Games at the Olympic Council of Asia’s General Assembly in Kuwait recently. India will be busy hosting New Zealand for a Test and ODI series in November. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are expected to send teams for the Asian games.The contentious ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had also threatened to affect India’s participation in major events like the Asian Games. The Indian players are yet to fall in line with the code because the BCCI sees the clause as an infringement on privacy. When asked if India’s participation in the Asian Games was in jeopardy, David Howman, the WADA director general, said it would be up to the Olympic Council of Asia to take a call.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSuresh Raina scored the only fifty of the final•Indian Premier League

MS Dhoni has added another feather to his captaincy hat. It was he who started the turnaround against a formidable Mumbai Indians attack, his deputy Suresh Raina capitalised on two dropped catches to score a crucial fifty, and Chennai Super Kings defended with aggression, smartness and flair to win the third IPL. Chennai were struggling at 68 for 3 after 12 overs when Dhoni got into the act: 100 runs were added in the last eight, and Raina scored 44 at a strike-rate of 200 after the first drop. The win concluded a fourth consecutive one-sided knockout in the tournament.Ever since R Ashwin started the defence with a maiden over, Mumbai never really threatened Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar, playing with a split webbing, played his least fluent innings of the tournament, scoring a laboured 48 off 45. Mumbai tried some strange moves: promotions for Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh bombed, and even at the fall of the fifth wicket, with 69 required off 31, Kieron Pollard was not the man making his way out of the dugout.There were no problems with tactics for Chennai: they went with the old-fashioned approach of keeping wickets in hand, never mind the slow start, and with M Vijay breaking free, had reached a perfectly acceptable 40 for no loss at the end of Powerplay. Dilhara Fernando brought Mumbai back, removing Vijay with his split-finger slower ball in the eighth over. Pollard ended Matthew Hayden’s 31-ball 17-run misery, and S Badrinath holed out in the 12th over.Dhoni left alone the first ball he faced, was beaten by a legcutter after that, was almost bowled the next ball, and worked a single to end that testing Fernando over. Mumbai can file for lack of sufficient warning for what was to come next. The first ball Dhoni faced from Pollard he charged down and hit him into the second tier – with one hand. The next ball Pollard ran in and didn’t let go, stares were exchanged, and Tendulkar rushed in to apologise to the batsman: it was the second time Pollard had done this in his 2.1 overs. Dhoni’s bat spoke emphatically, though, with a punch for four to end the over.Tendulkar was warned sufficiently by now: he had to bring Lasith Malinga, whose yorkers have been near perfect, back before he would have ideally liked to. Dhoni charged at him, converted one into a low full toss, and hit a boundary to extra cover.Zaheer Khan was brought back in the next over. He produced a top edge that neither Fernando (running in from third man) nor Abhishek Nayar (running back from point) claimed. Salt was in ready supply for Zaheer’s wound: out of nowhere Raina produced timing and a four and a six to take Chennai to 108 after 15 overs. In the over that followed, Pollard eked out a skier from Raina, which Zaheer dropped. The next ball Raina made room and lofted over extra cover for six. The ball after was hit to Tendulkar, and cannily they exposed his injured hand by stealing a second. And the next was slogged over midwicket for six. Mumbai needed a time-out to figure out what had hit them.Fernando, three overs for 12 until then, bowled a poor last over to nearly double the tally. Malinga started the last over superbly: bat couldn’t meet ball for the first four deliveries, and Albie Morkel was run out in panic. Then it came apart: five wides, followed by a length ball driven over extra cover, and some manic running, and they were chasing the biggest total in an IPL final.A maiden over was not the best way to start for Mumbai, but losing Shikhar Dhawan in the second was even worse. The next 10 overs featured smart spin bowling, hustling fielders, run-out opportunities created, signs of desperation of Tendulkar, and eventually the wickets of Nayar and Harbhajan in the 12th over. With the required rate going past 12 an over, Tendulkar holed out to long-off, and Raina pulled off a blinder, running in from deep midwicket, to send back Saurabh Tiwary. To everybody’s surprise, JP Duminy walked out, and by the time he walked back, he had left Mumbai 55 to get in three overs.Pollard made a match out of this too: taking 22 runs off Bollinger’s 18th over. Morkel bowled a tight 19th over, with a long-off, and a mid-off up in the circle and so straight it was almost behind him. Pollard hit a catch to him: it just highlighted which captain had got it right on the night.

Waqar Younis, the new Pakistan coach, has hailed the appointment of allrounder Shahid Afridi as captain for the World Twenty20 starting next month in the West Indies. The PCB installed Afridi at the helm earlier this week, after initially announcing the squad for the tournament without naming a captain.”Afridi is an allrounder with a positive frame of mind who had been bowling excellently in last two years,” Waqar told . “His mere presence in the field generates a fighting spirit among the players.”Waqar takes charge during a particularly tumultuous period for Pakistan cricket – several senior players were banned two weeks ago, and there have been persistent murmurs of match-fixing and dressing-room spats. However, he remained confident of a good show in the Caribbean. “Pakistan is capable of defending its title in the presence of Afridi, Razzaq and Akmal brothers.”Pakistan have had four coaches in three years, and with this being Waqar’s first official role as head coach at any level, he acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead for him. “The history of Pakistan cricket tells us that the coaching of the national team is no an easy task,” he said. “But someone had to do the job and I dared to accept it and I assured the nation and the Pakistan Cricket Board that I would not disappoint them.”He tried to temper the expectations of the country’s passionate fans, and said things couldn’t be changed overnight. “I understand that the people of Pakistan are mad for cricket and their sentiments are badly injured when the national team loses but I would ask them that they should curb their emotions and try to understand the circumstances before reacting.”The depth of Pakistan’s talent pool excited Waqar, who set his sights on next year’s World Cup in the subcontinent. “World Cup 2011 is the real target. I have seen immense talent in Pakistan A and Under-19 teams which needs to be groomed and I am sure that in next few months the things would start moving in the right direction.”

Group BNaved-ul-Hasan, batting at No.3, smashed 95 off 57 balls and grabbed a wicket in Sialkot Stallions‘ 17-run win in a high-scoring encounter against Rawalpindi Rams at the National Stadium. Naved struck 10 fours and three sixes in his fierce knock and was supported by Shahid Yousuf (31), Shoaib Malik (33 not out) and Abdul Razzaq (25 not out) as Sialkot piled up 197. Rawalpindi lost Babar Naeem early in their reply but Naved Malik and Tahir Mughal (34 off 19) put together 51 in quick time. At 106 for 3 in the 11th over, Rawalpindi were in the hunt but Sarfraz Ahmed grabbed two quick wickets to peg them back and ensure Sialkot didn’t lose the advantage. Hammad Azam fought hard with an unbeaten 36 but the effort proved inadequate.Group AA four-wicket haul from allrounder Waqas Ahmed helped Lahore Lions steal a two-run victory, their third straight win in the tournament, against Multan Tigers at the National Stadium. In chase of 167, Kashif Naved shone with a 42-ball 58, which included five fours and two sixes. He was supported by Rameez Alam’s 33 but Waqas picked up wickets regularly after the pair were dismissed to turn the game in Lahore’s favour. Lahore had slipped to 41 for 3 in their innings but were revived by the Akmal brothers, Umar and Kamran, who added 54 for the fourth wicket. Umar went on to score 64 while Waqas dealt some lusty blows at the death to lift Lahore to a score that proved just about adequate.

Brett Lee has conceded that he might never bowl again, although he has not completely given up hope of returning to international cricket. Lee is recovering from elbow surgery that he described as the most painful he had ever encountered and he remains uncertain of when or if he will be able to resume bowling.The operation in early December ruled Lee out of Australia’s entire home summer of Tests and ODIs and he has not played at any level since mid-November. Lee, 33, last walked out in a Test team in December 2008 and while he remains an important one-day player when fit, he knows his future depends on how he recovers from his latest injury.”As far as my cricket goes, anything is possible,” Lee told the . “I may play one-dayers, or no cricket at all. I may never bowl another ball and if that’s the case, I’m so satisfied with my career and my longevity. I’m not saying it’s definitely over, but I’m not sure what I want to be just yet.”To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what I still want to do in my cricketing life. I need to get to the stage where, if I want to, I can do what I need to do on the field. If it’s the case that I don’t play again, well, that’s the case. There is a part of me that would like to play some sort of cricket again.”Lee has endured plenty of injuries over his decade-long international career but has still found time to take 310 Test wickets at 30.81 and 324 ODI wickets at 23.01. However, he said the elbow problem was proving especially tough to get over.”This has been the hardest surgery I’ve been through,” he said. “It’s certainly been the most painful. There’s no miracle treatment for me. It’s taking time. I still don’t know when I’ll be able to bowl again. I can’t even give you an exact time. I will see how the arm pulls up because I can’t achieve any aspirations in cricket unless my body is functional.”With Lee and his fellow senior fast man Stuart Clark both enduring long periods on the sidelines, Australia’s fast-bowling depth has been tested this summer and the results have been promising. Lee said he would consider talking to Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting when deciding whether to retire or attempt to regain his place in the team.

The participation of Australian players in the third edition of the IPL has taken a step forward with their players union, the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA), saying it is close to receiving the security report from the IPL authorities. That will be followed by an assessment by a security firm, after which the players will be advised.The precautions come after a warning issued by the Shiv Sena, a Mumbai-based regional political party, that Australians would be barred from playing matches in Mumbai in response to the ongoing attacks on Indian students in Australia.The ACA took the warning seriously and said it would take all necessary precautions before sending its players to India for the Twenty20 tournament starting March 10. The IPL chairman Lalit Modi said he would pass on the security plans only to the national boards and not the player unions.”I fully expect it [receiving the security plans] will happen and I’ve advised the players that we expect it will happen, it’s just we’re at the point where we’re just waiting on getting the plans,” ACA chief executive Paul Marsh told AAP. “We are getting close, there’s a few details we’re trying to get through, there’s a commitment there to give it to us provided we meet certain restrictions and obligations. Hopefully we’ll get there.”Marsh said there was still some work left to do before they release their players for the tournament.”Once we get these IPL plans we’ve got an independent security company to help put together a report for us that’ll outline the situation in India in general and also get a view of plans in place,” Marsh said. “They’ll provide a recommendation that we’ll be passing on to the players as to whether or not they think it’s safe to tour.”We’ve had briefings with the government already and the government has given us briefings around Shiv Sena and the players. Once this report’s put together, will get the relevant information on that. You can confuse people by giving people little bits of information along the way.”Marsh added that though they didn’t regard it as a terrorist threat, they were taking the issue very seriously.”You’ve got to take the threats legitimately, there’s been two threats made to the Australian players,” he said. “The advice we’re getting is they’re an extremist political party, they’re not a terrorist group. They’ve got a history of making pretty outrageous comments for the purpose of seeking attention. You can’t rule out that there may be some action taken here.”

The head of Pakistan’s parliamentary committee on sports has called for the sacking of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, calling him “physically unfit” and questioning his handling of the aftermath of the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team’s bus last March.Jamshed Dasti urged Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari to dismiss the 71-year-old Butt. “He (Butt) has gone too old,” Dasti said. “Mr Butt is physically unfit, he can’t even walk properly, he can’t even see properly.” Zardari, who is also patron of the PCB, had appointed Butt in October 2008 in place of Nasim Ashraf.”Mr. Butt has also done nothing to help in finding what went wrong when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore last year,” Dasti said. Several Sri Lanka players were injured and six policemen were killed when gunmen opened fire at the visitors’ team bus and security convoy last March.In October, Dasti had also levelled match-fixing allegations and called for changes in the PCB after Pakistan crashed out of the Champions Trophy. He had called then-captain Younis Khan for a meeting seeking an explanation about the team’s loss to Australia in a close league match; Younis resigned after the meeting but was later reinstated.Pakistan’s Test series loss in Australia is also a cause of concern for Dasti. He said the team manager Abdul Raqueeb, coach Intikhab Alam, PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari and Butt will be summoned in the near future to discuss the national team’s performance.”I hope by the time next meeting is convened Mr Butt will be replaced by some other responsible man as the chairman of the PCB,” Dasti said.The PCB responded by calling Dasti’s remarks “unworthy for a member of parliament and not befitting to his stature.” In a statement, the board said: “Such personal remarks cannot and will not do anything good for the game of cricket in Pakistan as we have already witnessed the impact of such remarks that put the career of a very refined cricketer Younis Khan in turmoil.”Butt is currently in Bangladesh for the launching ceremony of the 2011 World Cup.