Scorecard
Bangladesh’s struggle on their tour of Sri Lanka continued as they were bowled out for a meagre 195 in a warm-up game against the Sri Lanka Cricket Development Squad XI in Colombo.Gayan Wijekoon, the seam bowler, and Gihan Rupasinghe, the legspinner, bagged three wickets each for the home side and it was mainly Javed Omar’s defiant 81 that saved the Bangladeshis from humiliation. Omar struck 11 fours off 109 deliveries while Tapash Baisya made a quick 54 off 76 balls with six fours and a six. Aftab Ahmed was the only other batsman to reach double-figures.The Sri Lankans were 109 for 2 in reply when bad light forced an early closure on the opening day. Shantha Kalavithigoda, who was recently included in the Test squad, got them off to a steady start – after a 67-run opening stand with Harsha Vithana – and was unbeaten on 54 at stumps.This is the only practice game ahead of a two-Test series that begins at the Premdasa Stadium on Monday. Bangladesh were whitewashed 3-0 by Sri Lanka in a preceding one-day series.

Today’s final of the KFC Cup West Indies limited-overs championship between hosts Guyana and Barbados at Bourda Oval is shaping up to be quite intriguing.Guyana’s strong batting line-up, headed by two of the West Indies’ leading batsmen, will have to confront Barbados’ feisty attack that can call on no less than four West Indies fast bowlers. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies captain, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, his deputy, have been at the very heart of Guyana’s batting throughout the competition in which their side has played unbeaten. Chanderpaul and Sarwan could have a first-hand look at Corey Collymore, Tino Best, and Fidel Edwards, three of the fast bowlers that will comprise the West Indies’ attack in their three-Test series against Australia next month Down Under.”I think we will have to respect Barbados’ bowling line-up, since they have an attack with players that have the experience of playing for the West Indies,” Albert Smith, the Guyanese coach told CMC CricketPlus.”Our strength definitely is our batting, since we have two of the top West Indies batsmen, so it is clear that it will be the ball against the bat in the Final. He added: “Our batsmen will be more comfortable playing against Barbados’ fast bowlers at Bourda. Of course, they will not get the same kind of pace and bounce from the pitch that they get in Barbados, and when it comes our time to bowl at them, their batsmen will have to adjust to the lower bounce of the pitch, so I think we will start with a bit of an advantage there.””Matches between Guyana and Barbados are always competitive,” Smith said. “For both teams, it will come down to our planning, and execution of those plans. We have two very experienced captains in this match, both teams are looking forward to winning, and the team that performs better under pressure will do this.”Guyana have appeared in the final of the regional limited-overs competition a dozen times and this will be their fourth appearance in the last five years.”It all has to do with our preparations, and the competitiveness in our county championship. We want to be consistently doing well in regional cricket, and we try to inculcate this into the younger players in our domestic competitions. It’s good that we have been consistent. It’s been a lot of hard work, and plenty of commitment. We won in 2001 and 2003, but we lost the final last year with some silly performances that we do not want to happen again this year.”For Barbados, they will be looking to get the monkey of losing to Guyana on a regular basis in the regional limited-overs competition off their backs.Speaking to the reporters, Courtney Browne, the Barbados captain, said: “It’s always a tough ask for us to beat Guyana because they always seem to play the type of cricket that places severe restrictions on our batting a lot. I think if we are to going to beat Guyana, we will have to bat well because I think we have the bowling attack that can limit them. Whether we are setting a target, or chasing runs, we always seem to fall down in our batting against Guyana, particularly against the spin bowlers.”Although Guyana and Barbados have made more appearances in the final of the regional limited-overs competition than the others, they have only met twice in the Championship decider, and on both occasions Guyana won.Squads:Guyana(from): Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Krishna Arjune, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Derwin Christian, Esaun Crandon, Lennox Cush, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Rayon Griffith, Reon King, Neil McGarrell, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Ryan Ramdass, Ramnaresh Sarwan.Barbados (from): Courtney Browne (capt), Tino Best, Ian Bradshaw, Shirley Clarke, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Alcindo Holder, Martin Nurse, Floyd Reifer, Dwayne Smith, Kurt Wilkinson; Dale Richards (injured)..

Ashley Giles, the England spinner, will miss the five-match one-day series against Pakistan, after it was confirmed that he would be flying home to undergo surgery on a long-standing hip-cartilage problem.Giles, who looked in some discomfort during an ineffective bowling performance in the second Test at Faisalabad, has not yet been ruled out of next week’s series-decider in Lahore, but England’s aim is to have him back to full fitness in time for the tour of India that gets underway next spring.His place in the one-day side will be taken by, Ian Blackwell, the Somerset allrounder, who has played in 23 previous ODIs, but none since the NatWest Series against New Zealand and West Indies in 2004.A fierce striker of the ball, and an increasingly effective left-arm spinner, Blackwell has struggled with a questionable attitude towards his fitness in the past, although at the age of 27, and now captain at Somerset, his time may finally have come.”Blackwell has had opportunities with the one-day squad before,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. “Since his appointment as Somerset captain he has had to take on extra responsibility, and we believe he is now better equipped to fulfil his undoubted potential at international level.”The selectors have already decided that Ian Bell will be on stand-by to join the one-day squad should Michael Vaughan miss the series due to injury. Marcus Trescothick will continue to deputise as captain if Vaughan is unavailable.

In relaxed yet sporty clothes, shy grin plastered across his face, under the glare of numerous television-camera spotlights, Sachin Tendulkar was calm and collected, but you could sense the excitement and sheer joy as he answered a volley of questions after reaching his 35th Test hundred. “Landmarks happen. You just go and bat because you want to bat well and get runs for your team. If you chase landmarks then it becomes a problem,” said Tendulkar. “The wait was more for the people than for me. After the Bangladesh hundred we have played only four Test matches. It was not that it was 25 Tests and everyone had run out of patience.”More emotional than most people have ever seen him on a cricket field, Tendulkar reacted with a long look up to the heavens when he reached hundred, and admitted it was different from what he had felt before. “That was for my father. I miss my father very much. I’m sure he would have enjoyed every moment of this if he were here. There have been very few moments in my life when I have got emotional. But this time I felt very different.”Soon after, though, Tendulkar raised his bat a second time. “It was for the team. This was a special occasion for me. They appreciated it so I acknowledged them. Everyone came downstairs [from the dressing-room] to congratulate me. I didn’t say anything, I was finding it difficult to talk. I was feeling shy.”From his first Test century in Manchester, way back in 1990, it has been a long journey. “The first century I made when we had to save a Test match. This one was played in a very different situation,” said Tendulkar. “It was a very emotional one for me. It is difficult to say whether the first one is important or the last one is important but if I didn’t get the ones in the middle I wouldn’t have got to this stage.” Some batsmen insist that picking a favourite out of centuries is like choosing between your children, but Tendulkar was able to put his finger on his best. “Every century is important. But the hundred against Australia at Perth in 1992 was probably my best.”This was a very important hundred for me, four-and-a-half months after elbow surgery. Mentally it [the break because of injury] was very tough on me but physically I could cope. I got frustrated and impatient, so getting out of it was not a singular effort – my family, physio, trainer … they all helped.”There was a time in the day when it seemed unlikely that Tendulkar would reach his century before stumps were drawn. But a sudden spurt of runs, spurred on by three consecutive boundaries off Muttiah Muralitharan, ensured that he got the monkey off his back. But getting it over with was never on his mind. “No I did not think of that. But when they changed the ball, the new one was harder,” he said. “I could hit it easier because it came onto the bat well.” Yet he did admit that he had, in his mind’s eye, lived out this moment already. “One visualises before every Test the moment of getting a hundred. Similarly I did last night. It is part of my pre-match preparation.”On the eve of the match there was plenty of advice for Tendulkar. What did the coach have to say to him? “All we were discussing was not thinking about No. 35 – that it was just another innings, just another century. Coincidentally I got the same advice from my wife. It’s to listen to words like these. It helps.”And even though he was the man of the moment, Tendulkar still had time to remember an approaching milestone for another giant in Indian cricket. “It [This ground] was always remembered for Anil Kumble’s ten wickets, now there are two reasons to remember it. We hope there will be similar reason to remember the Ahmedabad Test, where Anil is playing his 100th match.”With No. 35 out of the way, the question of where to next popped up, and Tendulkar’s reply was spontaneous. “Back to the hotel!” On a more serious note, when asked what could be expected of him, Tendulkar said, “I can’t say what heights I am going to achieve. But what you can expect from me, what is in my hands, is 100% commitment and sincerity and playing for the cause of the team.”In all the adulation, Tendulkar has somehow managed to remain remarkably humble. On the day when he broke Gavaskar’s 22-year-old record, he said, referring to the little man with the title Mr, “Heroes will always be heroes. Mr. Gavaskar will always be a hero of mine. I would say to him, `Thank you for the support you have given us. Not only me but other batsmen as well. It really helps to have senior cricketers who can speak to you about your game.’ I have often gone to him for advice and he has set such benchmarks and standards for us that you needed to have a disciplined and dedicated life to get to a landmark like this.”And in that moment there was a hint of how Tendulkar had managed to stay on the straight an narrow path through 20,000-plus international runs, virtually every batting record in the book, the adulation of millions, multi-crore sponsorship deals … Because at the end of it all, when he goes out to bat, Tendulkar is still just that curly-haired little boy who loves to bat.

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government has said it would try hard to ensure that the third Test between India and Sri Lanka is not shifted from Kanpur.RK Chaudhary, the state sports minister, said the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) will be responsible if the match was shifted from Kanpur. “We are ready to sort out the matter. It is sad that none of the UPCA officials have so far approached us. The UPCA will be responsible if the match is shifted from Kanpur.”The third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka was allotted to Kanpur (Dec 18-22) but UPCA officials said they could not host the match as the Green Park stadium had not been released to them by the state municipal corporation. The Indian board will decide on a new venue at a meeting in Mumbai on December 3.When asked about the notice served on UPCA for recovery of dues by the government, Chaudhary said the association should have come to them after receiving the notice, “but it is talking through the media. The onus of holding the match is on the Indian Board, we, on our part are ready to give them the stadium and maintain law and order during the match.”Rajiv Shukla, former vice-president of the Indian Board, who was also present, said time was running out and “if we do not get any firm assurance by tomorrow evening the venue will be shifted elsewhere.” He rubbished the claim of the government that it owed any payment to the UPCA, saying there was no talk of any dues in the last 57 years. He said he had taken up the matter with Chaudhary but he remained non-committal

Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner, is set to retire from first-class cricket after 23 years in the game.”I am retiring from first-class cricket. I am specially thankful to Sanjay Jagdale, the national selector, my parents, my wife and to the people of Indore for their support and encouragement, which I have received during my nearly 23 years of career in first-class, Tests and one-day international matches,” Hirwani told PTI in Indore.Hirwani, 37, burst onto the international scene with a record 16 wickets in his first match, against West Indies at Chennai in 1987-88, and after four Tests he had taken 36 wickets, the most by any bowler at this stage of their career. A string of overseas tours followed, but Hirwani was unable to repeat that success in unfamiliar conditions. With the success of a certain Anil Kumble, Hirwani found it hard to sustain a place in the Indian side.In 17 Tests for India – the last of which came against South Africa at Kolkata in 1996-97 – Hirwani picked up 66 wickets, while in the one-day format he took a modest 23 from 18 matches. However, in domestic games he was a stalwart, finishing with 723 wickets from 167 matches, over 400 of which came for his home state of Madhya Pradesh. In the 1996-97 season he played for Bengal, taking 29 wickets at 23.13.Hirwani said he plans to set up an academy in Indore exclusively for grooming legspinners, adding that he has urged the MP government to provide assistance.

The two-Test series against Bangladesh has been time for Muttiah Muralitharan to pile up one milestone after another. The first Test was his 100th, during which he also became the first bowler to take 1000 international wickets; then, on the third day of the second Test at Bogra, he became only the second bowler – after Shane Warne – to go past the 600-wicket barrier in Tests. While Warne needed 126 matches to get to the landmark, this is only Murali’s 101st Test, an indication of just how prolific he has been.As the table below indicates, Murali has been improving his stats incessantly since starting out more than 13 years ago. His first 100 wickets took him 27 matches; since then, none of the other 100-wicket milestones have required more than 16 matches. His last 100 wickets took him just 14 Tests, during which period he took eight five-fors.

Murali arrived on the scene as a big-spinning offbreak bowler, but since his early days he has added plenty of bows to his armoury, which have made him a far more potent bowler. In his first 50 matches, he got his wickets at less than five per Test; in his next 51, that has gone up to more than seven.

As his career summary shows, Murali has performed well against most sides. The only teams against whom he averages more than 30 are Australia and India, against whom he played most of the matches early in his career. He has also been at the forefront of most Sri Lankan wins, with 297 wickets at an incredible average of 15.48. If Sri Lanka win at Bogra – as they seem likely to do – then Murali will become only the third bowler, after Warne and Glenn McGrath – to take 300 wickets in victories. Currently Warne leads the way with 461 such wickets, while McGrath has 393.

Among bowlers with at least 150 wickets in wins, only Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan have a better average.

Matthew Sinclair, the New Zealand batsman, has disagreed with John Bracewell’s comments that he is best suited as “a middle-order player”. He is getting married in April and has said he would have to reconsider his position if not offered a national contract.”It’s his opinion against my opinion,” Sinclair told .”From my point of view I’ve been quite successful batting at No. 3. By middle order, does John mean No. 5, 6 or 7? I obviously opened for New Zealand when we played Australia, that didn’t go so well. I hear rumours I was trialled and failed. But out of the good of my heart I did that to get back in the team and to help the New Zealand team out.”Sinclair was not among the 20 contracted players announced by New Zealand Cricket in May 2005. Four contracts, ranging from $125,000 to $45,000, are now available after Chris Cairns retirement and uncertainty Daryl Tuffey, Craig Cumming and Chris Harris. Sinclair has been in excellent form of late, scoring 121, 103 not out, 101 and 53 in successive innings, and is in competition with Ross Taylor, Jamie How, Andre Adams and Peter Fulton for the 2007 World Cup.”If I don’t get a contract I will have to make some decisions. I’m getting married in April. I don’t know if I am being considered. All I know is that I have to get out there and score runs. That’s what I’ve done. I haven’t heard. I don’t know much. There hasn’t been much communication from the selectors saying how far away I am.”

ScorecardNamibia qualified for the next stage of the Intercontinental Cup after their play-off match against Nepal at Windhoek ended in a draw. Set an impossible target of 369 to win off 40 overs, Nepal ended on 70 for 3 and were left to rue the time lost to rain.With a first-innings lead of 129, Namibia were briefly in a little bother at 88 for 4 before Louis Burger and Gerrie Snyman put the game beyond Nepal with a fifth-wicket stand of 76. Snyman smacked 78 off 62 balls, including four sixes, and Burger 58, also with four sixes, with the legbreaks of Raj Pradhan coming in for some punishment.Nepal’s second innings was little more than going through the motions, but AJ Burger struck twice to remove Paresh Lohani and Sharad Vesawkar.

New South Wales have announced the launch of a new club – imaginatively called The Cricket Club – which will allow members to secure one of 1250 seats in the top deck of the Bradman Stand at the SCG for all matches over the next four years. The only catch is that the $6000 are only available to Australian citizens.NSW’s initiative is possible because of an agreement with the SCG Trust which means that the state board is allocated a section of seating for all cricket matches on the ground. Membership also entitles individuals to designated bar and reception facilities.NSW said that about 100 places had been reserved for former players. “For most of us, the SCG is a venue that holds many special memories,” said former NSW and Australian allrounder Shane Lee who is involved in selling the membership packages. “I think it is important that key players in the history of NSW cricket are acknowledged and have an opportunity to maintain their links with the game by attending matches at the SCG.”