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Group A

Vidarbha completed a three-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharmasala. Chasing 254, Vidarbha were in some trouble at 110 for 6, but veterans Hemang Badani and Sairaj Bahutule came good to carry them home. The pair put on 132 for the seventh wicket. Bahutule fell for 61 with victory in sight, but Badani stayed till the job was fully done, finishing unbeaten on 83. Himachal’s pacers did all the damage, Mohinderraj Sharma being the pick, but it was just not enough to thwart Vidarbha. The win puts Vidarbha at the top of Group A, just above Himachal.A 146-run stand between Venugopal Rao and Bodapati Sumanth put Andhra Pradesh in comfortable position against Tripura at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Vijayawada. The pair took Andhra from a wobbly overnight score of 47 for 3 to 161 before Sumanth was bowled for 62. Not long after Venugopal hit one back to the bowler, offspinner Udit Patel, on 96. A half-century stand between AG Pradeep and Syed Sahabuddin followed, to take the lead past 300. Andhra declared on 271 for 6, setting Tripura 333. The hosts’ new-bowlers – Atchuti Rao, in particular – then put them firmly in charge, knocking over five top-order batsmen for single-digit scores, as Tripura slipped to 24 for 5 at stumps.Services secured a slim first-innings lead against Kerala, at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Kerala began the day on 121 for 4, after Services had made 253 on Friday, and most of their batsmen got into double figures but could not push on. Sony Cheruvathur showed some late resistance and almost pushed his side past Services first-innings total, but was run out as they finished with 249 – five runs shy of taking the lead. However, Kerala ended the day with a chance to win outright, picking up five wickets in 37 overs to reduce Services to 89 for 5 by stumps.

Group B

Only 2.1 overs of play were possible in Guwahati between Assam and Goa, during which Goa went from 277 for 8 to 282 without losing a wicket.No play was possible between Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand in Srinagar for the second day running, due to a wet outfield.

David Hussey, the Australia batsman, hopes to use the Twenty20 series against South Africa to challenge for a spot in the ODI team. Hussey was left out of Australia’s ODI squad for the three matches that will follow the T20s, after a lean tour of Sri Lanka, but is determined to get his place back.”I am really looking forward to pressing my case and showing the selectors that I can play at a higher level,” Hussey told reporters in Cape Town. Hussey had a fairly barren time on the island, scoring just 8 runs in Australia’s two T20s against Sri Lanka and 54 runs in the three ODIs in which he batted. His last ODI half-century was in February against England but he has averaged 38 with the bat since making his comeback at the start of the year, after being absent from the ODI squad for 16 months.While his focus is on wresting back that spot, Hussey said he will also be mindful to enjoy his time in the T20s because “it gives me the opportunity to play international cricket.” He said that although some people are of the opinion that the shortest format of the game should be reserved for domestic teams only, he feels the “right mix” of international T20s is being played.Those who are still disappointed that Australia and South Africa will only play two Tests in this series may disagree with that, but Hussey believes even the shortened tour between the two old enemies will provide a gripping contest. “Every time Australia play South Africa, whether it’s rugby or whether it’s cricket, both teams get the best out of each other,” he said. “Thursday will be no different. Both teams desperately want to win.”Australia and South Africa have both gone through regime change since they last met and Australia’s is not yet complete, with no long-term replacement for Tim Nielsen being announced yet, but Hussey does not see that as a disruption. Troy Cooley is standing in as interim coach on the tour of South Africa. “With a new coaching staff, there are new ideas,” Hussey said. “The advantage of the Australian team is that we adapt very quickly and the interim coach, Troy Cooley, has been around the squad for five years now. He is implementing his own thoughts and skills.”Australia are also using the two-match T20 series, to introduce some new faces, like young fast bowlers Patrick Cummins and James Pattinson, and, although forced into the side because of an injury to Tim Paine, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. Hussey believes the rookies will provide them with a trump card. “The advantage of having some young players is that the South Africans don’t really know too much about them. Hopefully they can hit the ground running.”

Ryan Harris, the Australia fast bowler, is in considerable doubt for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo after scans revealed a minor hamstring strain sustained on the final day of the second Test in Pallekele. Having taken six wickets for the match, Harris, 31, complained of hamstring stiffness and left the field towards the end of play on the fifth day, with subsequent examinations confirming some damage had been sustained.”It showed there was a minor strain in one of the muscles in my hammy,” Harris said. “It’s probably not the news we’re after but I’m getting constant treatment. We’ll see what happens in the next day or two. There’s got to be some doubt because something showed up.”I’m obviously pretty keen to play but going in I am a risk. If Michael [Clarke] is happy to take me in with a slight risk then I’ll give it 100%. It’s a pretty big game so if not I’ll sit out and do as I’m told.”Harris said he felt pain in his hamstring on the fourth day of the Pallekele Test itself but continued bowling with it as it wasn’t acute. “I’m a fast bowler so I bowl with stiffness every day. Walking around I don’t feel it, it’s not there at all. I felt it probably in the first or second step of my delivery stride; there was a bit of a twinge but it wasn’t enough to make me grab it or have to stop.”I guess the fear is pushing it too hard; I could potentially rip it further and it would become a two-month thing rather than, as it as at the moment, something that requires a week or two of recovery time.”Harris’ absence would be a serious blow to Australia’s chances of securing a series victory in Sri Lanka, as he has taken 11 wickets for the series at the startling average of 14.54 and a strike rate of 36, consistently troubling the hosts with the new ball and also posing plenty of problems by reverse-swinging the old one.Should Harris be ruled out, his place would likely be taken by one of the Victorian duo of Peter Siddle or James Pattinson. Siddle is the more experienced quick but Pattinson has also impressed many on the tour with his speed and swing. Harris said either man could do the job.”I know the guys who haven’t been playing have been in the nets every day; they’re ready to go if they’re needed. As a bowling group, we’ve put Sri Lanka under pressure and tied down their runs. In those periods we’ve taken wickets to keep the pressure on them so I’m pretty confident we can continue that.”The scheduling of three back-to-back Tests was always going to be difficult for Harris on his return to Test cricket after he missed the first third of 2011 with an ankle fracture sustained in the Melbourne Ashes Test. Harris must also manage degenerative right knee trouble, an ailment that has caused him to question his longevity in the game more than once. So attuned has Harris become to the task of managing his knee, and preparing himself mentally for the day when it can’t support his bowling action any longer, that it is currently troubling him less than other instances of wear and tear.”I didn’t expect it to be anything but my knee. With my knee, the more I do the better it seems to get. Even having two days off now it gets sore not doing anything. It’s disappointing because I’ve done a fair bit of work to be nice and strong again and something minor like this [the hamstring strain] has upset it. I’ve had a good pre-season in the gym, I’ve got my legs probably strong as I’ve ever had them, and the rest of me felt good; I dropped some weight too.”Harris confronts cricket mortality with the same frankness and honesty that is serving him so well at the bowling crease. He said he wants to play international cricket for another three years, and that he would like to play as many matches as the team required him to in that period.Ryan Harris has gained from pitching the ball fuller in Sri Lanka•AFP

“I don’t want the selectors to feel that I’m a Test-by-Test proposition. I came over here to play three Test matches. They probably had it in the back of their minds that maybe three back-to-back Tests were going to be tough for me. But every tour I go on, if it’s a three or five-match tour, I’m aiming to play all the games.”Last summer, going into the Ashes, I did at the back of mind consider that I may have to retire by the end of the series. But the more I did, the better my knee got. I don’t want to be looked upon as getting special treatment and picking the Test matches I play.”Special treatment has, however, become more necessary the better Harris has bowled for Australia. Despite the results he has got in Sri Lanka, Harris thinks he can improve.”This is going to sound silly, but I still don’t feel 100% when I’m bowling. The good thing is I’m still putting the ball in a good spot and getting wickets. I’ve probably been down on getting consistent pace, but bowling fast is not always a great thing on these wickets in Sri Lanka. It’s putting it in the right spot and letting the ball move around.Harris has proven himself capable of the versatility of the best bowlers, using a fuller length than normal in Sri Lanka to stunning effect. He has occasionally checked himself, wondering if he is bowling half-volleys, but the advice of captains and team-mates has kept him pitching it up in search of swing and seam.”Something I worked on before I got over here, and talked about when I first got here, was bowling a bit fuller on these wickets. It is something that Tim Nielsen [the Australia coach] and Craig [McDermott, Australia’s bowling coach] have really drilled into me. Bowling short of a length over here it sort of sits up a bit more.”Should Harris keep his body together, his next assignment will be in South Africa on wickets that will be more than suitable to his skills. It is a prospect he relishes.”I’ve watched plenty of Test cricket over there and the ball goes through a bit quicker with the altitude. It will be exciting to play international cricket in a place I haven’t before. I’ve played the IPL over there but it’ll be nice to get over there and play against another quality international side.”

Match facts
August 14, Harare
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT 1300 IST)Brian Vitori has enjoyed a dream run so far – can he and Zimbabwe sustain their success story?•Associated Press

The Big Picture

Zimbabwe’s star is rising with every move they make in this series and they will not want to do anything to disrupt its path. Near-flawless performances with the ball, and equally accomplished showings with the bat – in the one-off Test and the first ODI against Bangladesh – have helped them sell their story of success.If there is a fault, it’s that they have lost wickets in clusters, both in the Test match and with Rubel Hossain’s late strikes in the first ODI. Their middle order has sometimes struggled to string partnerships together. It hasn’t had any impact on their results yet, but there is always a danger that it could, and they will want to ensure they can form partnerships in that area as they do at the top.The bowling has asked questions of the opposition on almost every occasion, with the seamers outshining the spinners. Ray Price and Prosper Utseya may want to challenge their quicks with a wicket-taking performance of their own, especially after they, together with Elton Chigumbura, were guilty of allowing runs to flow freely in the first match.Bangladesh have failed to adjust to conditions and some of the players have even blamed the environment for their poor showing. Their batsmen have lacked application, allowed themselves to be bullied by the bowlers and, at times, displayed a range of shots that would not be out of place in a club match. The openers – Tamim Iqbal in particular – are due a solid stint at the crease.There is an over reliance on Shakib Al Hasan to be the major contributor, with bat and ball, and while he has done a fine job, he cannot be expected to do it alone. Mushfiqur Rahim offered him support in the first one-dayer but the rest of the batting line-up have to start contributing.Consistency is also required from their bowlers, who have managed to get some good deliveries in but have not done so with regularity. Hossain showed promising signs in his second spell in the first one-dayer and Bangladesh will have to learn to not just depend on their left-arm spinners for breakthroughs but trust some of the other bowlers to do the job as well.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe WWLLL
Bangladesh LLLLL

In the spotlight

He is the man with the Midas touch and all eyes will be on Brian Vitori to see if he will ever put a foot wrong. After a five-wicket haul on ODI debut, to go with the five wickets he claimed in the one-off Test, Vitori is enjoying a magical introduction to international cricket. He has managed to achieve swing, even on a pitch that looks like it has nothing in it for bowlers, and has bowled a tricky length, using the short ball well. In the first ODI, he didn’t give the Bangladesh batsmen any width, and tight lines meant he was well rewarded.As an experienced player in Bangladesh’s middle order Mahmudullah will need to step up and show his worth after a quiet outing in the Test and the first ODI. There are expectations from him, when he comes in to bat, especially if he is partnering Shakib or Mohammad Ashraful but he has not managed to go past 13 so far. He is not to blame for his under-utilisation with the ball, and has looked competent every time it has been handed to him, but in order to start playing his part, he will have to do a little more in the rest of the series.

Team news

There’s no need for Zimbabwe to change anything after their commanding performance in the first ODI and they are likely to go in with the same XI. Chigumbura is the one man who may be nervous of keeping his place, in case the selectors decide to give allrounder Keegan Meth a chance.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor (capt), 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Forster Mutizwa, 7 Elton Chigumbura/Keegan Meth, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Ray Price, 10 Brian Vitori, 11 Chris Mpofu.Bangladesh need to find an alternative to left-arm spin and Abdur Razzak may pay the price for an indifferent performance, giving 19-year-old offspinner Nasir Hossain a chance to make his international debut. Although their batting remains the major concern, it’s unlikely that Tamim will get the axe, with Stuart Law reckoning a big knock is just around the corner for him. Junaid Siddique could come in for Imrul Kayes.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes/Junaid Siddique, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mohammad Ashraful, 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Mushfiqur Rahim, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 9 Nasir Hossain, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain. Pitch and conditions
Harare can be expected to provide consistent conditions throughout the series, which are traditionally good for batting. With temperatures rising as spring approaches, the sun bakes and flattens the pitch. There will be something in it for the bowlers, but only if they are willing to work hard and hit the deck. Spinners will get some assistance and there is also a hint of reverse-swing but the ground remains true to its reputation of favouring the chasing team.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh are almost twice as likely to beat Zimbabwe as they are to record a victory over any other team, according to their historical win/loss ratio. They have won 53.8% of games against Zimbabwe, while managing 27% against the other teams.
• Rubel Hossain has taken three four-wicket hauls in his 29-match career. Two of them have been at home in Dhaka and the third was in the first ODI in Harare.
• Hamilton Masakadza has played against Bangladesh 35 times in ten years and has a lower average against them, of 22.47, than his overall average of 27.21. His bowling average is substantially better at 27.08, compared to 33.18 overall.

Quotes

We have some things to work on in our training session. We want to face a lot more spin in the nets and get the ball to reverse a little.
We should have applied ourselves better in the first match. Now our top-order batsmen have to put on a show in the next one.

As part of the Argus review into Australia’s team performance, the Cricket Australia board has announced a number of short-term and long-term steps as they aim to push the side back to No. 1 in the world rankings. The decisions include:

• The immediate creation of a new senior management position, the general manager team performance, who will be responsible for the team, coaching, selection, Centre of Excellence and will work with state cricket performance and talent managers.
• The general manager operations, Michael Brown, will continue to be responsible for scheduling, memorandum of understanding negotiations, security and anti-corruption, state and other competitions, umpires and coaches.
• The introduction of a five-man selection panel, including a full-time chairman, two part-time selectors monitoring state cricket, and the Australian team captain and coach. The national talent manager will not be a selector.
• The head selector will be responsible for performance management, including communication of selection policy and strategy, evaluation of and communication with individual players, including outside the national squad, co-ordination of player development plans, and succession planning.
• A new coaching structure will be introduced, with a head coach who is also a selector. The coach will have an expanded role with greater authority and accountability, and will work with the Centre of Excellence and state associations to direct Australian cricket’s overall coaching strategy.

The Argus review also recommended a number of other moves, which the board has not ratified but will consider in the near future. They include:

• Retaining a ten-round Sheffield Shield competition with multiple Shield rounds before the first Test each year.
• Reviewing the Futures League and recognising grade cricket as a vital part of the pathway, reviewing the composition and structure of under-age competitions and placing more focus on Australia A and using it as a genuine second XI.
• Reviewing Australian cricket’s first-class pitch strategy, with each pitch to offer a balance between bat and ball, and each pitch to be unique to local conditions, offering Test-equivalent conditions.
• Improving injury management
• Improving national coaching systems.
• Aligning cricket’s incentive systems, including the MOU, to give greater emphasis to linking reward with performance and to ensure player payment incentives for Test cricket reflect its position as cricket’s premium format.
• Reviewing the number of CA contracts.
• Carefully assessing Big Bash League private ownership implications to ensure private ownership does not incentivise BBL expansion in a way that could compromise Australia’s goal to be the No.1-ranked Test nation.
  

ScorecardSpinners Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari bagged a wicket apiece as Surreyclinched a tense 21-run win over Kent in a nerve-racking finish to their Championship Division Two match at The Oval.The home victory left visiting skipper Rob Key crestfallen after the formerEngland batsman almost single-handedly steered his side to the brink of successwith a captain’s innings of 162, only to miss out on the plaudits when his sidefinally went down 55 minutes into the final day.Resuming on their overnight position of 270 for 8 and in pursuit of the 52runs required for a third win of the campaign, Kent made the best of starts asninth-wicket partners Key and Robbie Joseph clipped 10 runs off their targetwithin two overs.Farming the strike intelligently from the first ball of the final day, Keyscampered two leg byes and a single in Tim Linley’s opening over then, afteranother tight two off Chris Tremlett, profited with four overthrows after a wildreturn from Tom Maynard evaded keeper Steve Davies and flew to the ropes.The bonus boundary also raised Key’s 150 after 329 minutes at the crease.taking 251 balls with 16 fours. Joseph, who took an hour to get off the mark, also played his part by bravely getting into line against England paceman Tremlett and was forced to duck undera bouncer from Linley that swung past Davies for four byes.With Kent still 29 runs shy, off-spinner Batty replaced Tremlett at thePavilion End, but again Key milked three from the over to claim the strike oncemore.Home skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown opted for spin at both ends by introducingleft-armed debutant Ansari who, after sending down a full-toss and leg-sidewide, struck with his seventh ball.As he looked to sweep from the leg-stump rough and steal the strike yet again,Key was bowled around his legs to go for an epic 162. A total of 25 runs were still needed when last-man Ashley Shaw joined Joseph, who enjoyed a let off when he pushed a sharp chance to Hamilton-Brown at silly point off Ansari before finally getting under way with a quick single.Kent posted their 300 after 50 minutes’ play but, from the very next ball, Shawaimed a pre-meditated reverse sweep at Batty only to glove a simple chance toJason Roy at short leg to fall without scoring and give Surrey their third winof the summer and, with it, 23 championship points.

The Sindh High Court has deferred till June 16 further hearings on the petition filed by former captain Shahid Afridi against the PCB’s decision to suspend his central contract and revoke No-Objection certificates (NOC).The court allowed the NOC to remain in place until the next hearing, which means Afridi will continue to be unavailable for Hampshire with whom he had signed a contract for a Twenty20 stint this summer. The question of whether the PCB was within its rights in revoking the NOC will become the focus of the legal battle from next week.The case was adjourned after a brief five-minute hearing, essentially because the PCB had not filed a detailed reply to the original petition; they have been asked to do so by the next date. There may be more legal wrangling and delay yet, as the PCB believes the case should be heard in the Lahore High Court.”We have objection to the assumption of jurisdiction by Sindh High Court,” Taffazul Rizvi, the board’s legal advisor, said outside the courtroom. “The PCB head office is in Lahore. We have been asked to file a detailed reply to his petition.”But the focus now seems set to fall on the central contracts itself. Rizvi and the PCB claim that Afridi was punished in accordance with the clauses of the central contract. “Punishment, rewards, they are all there in the central contracts,” Rizvi said.Afridi’s lawyers, however, claimed there was no such allowance in the contracts. “If the PCB worked according to the central contract, we wouldn’t be here right now,” Syed Ali Zafar said. “Where does it say in the central contract that the NOC can be revoked? It doesn’t say it at all. Article 18 of the Constitution [of Pakistan] says you can’t stop someone’s livelihood. NOC is a livelihood. There is no such clause in the contracts.”Zafar and associate Mahmood Mandviwalla asked the judges to reinstate the NOC on the basis that it was preventing Afridi from his right to earn a livelihood. There was talk in the courtroom and outside of compensation for monetary losses but that may not be the concern of this hearing. “The most important thing was to stop the disciplinary proceedings as a first step,” Zafar said.Afridi didn’t appear for the hearing, but despite that a generous crowd had gathered outside the courts to show their support, asking for his reinstatement and for the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to be sacked.Earlier this week, the court had stayed the committee’s proceedings against Afridi, after his petition challenging the validity of the sanctions imposed on him by the PCB.The PCB suspended Afridi’s central contract and withdrew the NOCs after his decision to “retire”, which he had announced on a TV channel, as well as his subsequent criticism of the board officials.Afridi’s lawyers then sent a letter to the PCB in a bid to resolve the dispute between the two parties, stressing that they were asking only for a due process to be followed and that the act of suspension of the central contract and NOC withdrawal were punishments before the player had been heard.

The decision to play is a player’s call and no player is forced to represent his club or country, particularly when it’s a case of injury, the IPL chief Sundar Raman has said. “I think it has always been up to the player to decide,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Firstly, he has to see whether he is fit or not. And the BCCI physio will take a look at the player and subject to a satisfactory report, he plays.”The player knows his body better than anyone else does and I don’t think I want to sit in judgement on that. If the physio believes that the player is not fit to play a game, he would report that and the player would not play the game.”Nobody is forced to play. Nobody is forced to play for the country. Nobody is forced to play for their club.”Concerns over players playing despite injuries have come to the fore following Gautam Gambhir’s shoulder injury sustained during the World Cup and aggravated during the IPL. Gambhir, who captains Kolkata Knight Riders, played in his team’s eliminator play-off on Wednesday hours after the team physio Andrew Leipus wrote to the BCCI that Gambhir needed four to six weeks’ rest to recover. Gambhir, however, claimed he had not been aware of the seriousness of the injury and had not discussed the matter with Leipus prior to the game.Raman refused to comment on the Gambhir issue. “I am honestly not in a position to comment on the Gambhir situation because the Indian physio has to see Gambhir, submit his report, take a view on whether he was fit not fit so it is too premature for me to say right now.”However, he added: “I don’t think any player would want to carry or feign an injury and continue to go and play. A player knows his body. I believe they are professionals and if the player is injured, if there are any practices or processes that have not been put in place, that is for the administrative part of it to ensure that all of that is taken care of.”The player takes the view of somebody who is an expert in that field and I think that’s the way it is. I am looking at it as what would I have done? I would have listened to my body.”