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Promising leg-spinner Danish Kaneria bowled himselfnearer to a Test cap with a career-best haul of seven for 39 asGujranwala were bundled out for just 92 against Karachi Whites on thesecond day of the four-day Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-ICricket Championship clash at the KCCA Stadium here on Sunday.It was an unexpected turnaround for Karachi Whites who had made asmall total of 169 on Saturday. But by close of play, the home sidehad put themselves in an impregnable position by extending theirsubstantial first innings lead of 77 to 216.They were 139 for three in their second knock with Hasan Raza (37) andskipper Asif Mujtaba (19) at the crease in an unfinished partnershipof 49 runs.Opener Khalid Latif, who turned 15 on Saturday, made a compact 40 off101 balls in 135 minutes with five fours while Zeeshan Pervezcontributed a stylish 35 off 72 balls in 76 minutes with threeboundaries.Gujranwala’s hopes of restricting Karachi Whites to a reasonable scorein the second innings were severely jolted by an injury to young leftarm spinner Abdul Rehman, who needed three stitches to his bowlinghand after taking a nasty blow in a failed attempt to hold a hotreturn chance offered by Khalid Latif.But the day belonged to Danish Prabha Shankar Kaneria, the 19-year-oldcousin of former Test wicket-keeper Anil Dalpat. Already touted as asecret weapon by the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board for theforthcoming Test series against England, Kaneria enhanced his growingreputation by eclipsing his previous best innings analysis of sevenfor 101 – achieved for Pakistan Reserves against KRL at the KRLStadium in Rawalpindi last season.At the start of the day, everything pointed in Gujranwala’s favourwhen they resumed at 29 for two. But exactly 100 minutes later, theremaining eight wickets crashed for an addition of 53 runs in 27.3overs, including the last seven for 37 runs in 18.2 overs.Bowling in tandem with young off-spinner Tahir Khan, Kaneria capturedsix for 31 in 57 deliveries, bamboozling the hapless batsmen with hismixture of leg-breaks, googlies, top-spinners and flippers.None of the batsmen was able to master Kaneria’s wily bowling on apitch that is giving spinners marginal assistance.Atiq-ur-Rehman top-scored for the visitors with 42 off 119 balls untilhe failed to read a flipper and was comprehensively bowled. His 112-minute stay included four boundaries.Former Test star Zahid Fazal struck Tahir for a six. But havingreached 17, he was caught behind by Atiq-uz-Zaman, who excelled withfour catches.Tahir proved an ideal foil to Kaneria with figures of two for 34 in 17overs.

The BCCI has decided to invite bids for two new IPL franchises to replace the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in the next two seasons. The owners of Super Kings and Royals had been suspended for two seasons by the Lodha panel, which had looked into corruption in the IPL.The board’s decision to invite bids for the next two years only, while Super Kings and Royals remain suspended, means that it is not looking to increase the number of franchises from eight. IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said as much when asked if the IPL will become a ten-team tournament in two years’ time, though he did not commit to it. “No, [it will be] just eight teams. That’s why the tenders will be given for only two years,” Shukla said. “Whichever bidder is interested in buying a team for two years will get it. Then we’ll see what to do, whether we should make it a 10-team tournament or what… [For now] the two bids will be invited for two years only for the two vacant slots.”The IPL title sponsorship, meanwhile, was given to Vivo Mobiles, a Chinese phone manufacturer. PepsiCo, the previous sponsor, had ended its deal with the league two years ahead of schedule. It is understood that PepsiCo held the right to transfer its five-year agreement, so the beverage giant brought in Vivo. The terms of the agreement remain the same, so the BCCI will earn Rs 78.2 crore (US$12 million approx) for each of the next two IPL editions from the new title sponsors.Among other decisions taken at Sunday’s working committee meeting in Mumbai, the BCCI also decided to hold its Annual General Meeting on November 9, and extend Nike’s deal as apparel sponsors of the Indian team. It also decided to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers to look into how the funds distributed by the board to its member state associations were being utilised. Auditing giant M/S Deloitte was hired for “Project Transformation”, the board’s initiative aimed at improving governance, and operational and financial processes – according to a statement explaining the project on the BCCI’s website.This was the first meeting chaired by the new BCCI president Shashank Manohar.The working committee also rubber-stamped the board’s decision to move the treasury office from Chennai to Mumbai, and hire M/S Gokhale & Sathe, a Mumbai-based firm, as internal auditor.The board’s statement following the meeting said it had also decided to “look at the lands offered” by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board for the further development of the National Cricket Academy, which is currently hosted within the Chinnaswamy Stadium premises in Bangalore. National Cricket Academy chairman MP Pandove, IPL chairman Shukla, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and BCCI joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary will inspect the lands, and take a decision on the same “within one month”.

ScorecardPat Cummins more than doubled his tally of first-class runs to avert embarrassment for the Australians•Getty Images

It’s just as well for Australia that day one of this fixture was completely curtailed by rain. Had Northamptonshire been permitted a full allotment of time, they may well have been able to force a quite ludicrous victory over a baggy green XI performing listlessly against a second-string team from the lower tier of the County Championship.There is every chance that Chris Rogers will play his final Test match at The Oval next week. If so, events at Wantage Road gave some indication of exactly how much he will be missed by the remainder of the batting order. The display put on by the top order conveyed a near total lack of confidence about how to cope with even a mediocre bowling attack using the Dukes ball serviceably in overcast conditions.On the same strip that Steven Crook had occupied to clatter their bowlers for a brazen 142 from 96 balls the day before, Australia’s batsmen failed comprehensively to function as a unit. It took a lower-order stand by Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon to ward off the momentary threat of an outright defeat in the two available days, and the last pair of Cummins and Fawad Ahmed to avoid the follow-on.Cummins played well for his undefeated 82, but it spoke volumes for the shambles further up the order that he was required to more than double his tally of first-class runs to see out the day.This has been a most unsatisfactory week for the tourists as they try to regather themselves for the Oval Test. Internal troubles, articulated as the loss of trust in the coach Darren Lehmann after the Brad Haddin affair in at least one report, appeared to be thrashed out in a terse meeting between players and selectors on the outfield before the game, while further discontent with selection was voiced by Nathan Lyon after his latest ODI team omission.Meanwhile, the retiring captain Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson and Chris Rogers all spent time away from the team in London, leaving the new captain and deputy, Steven Smith and David Warner, to commence their time as a leadership duo in the most inauspicious surroundings. Whatever is said about the unity of this group, the performances at Edgbaston, Trent Bridge and now Wantage Road have been anything but cohesive.The trouble had started early, when Smith failed to cover a fraction of new ball movement for Maurice Chambers and edged behind for a duck. Shaun Marsh, who had looked momentarily solid, was then unable to ride some extra bounce extracted by Richard Gleeson and parried an edge to third slip. The Marsh brothers appear likely to again be trading places in the team for The Oval, while Cummins may find himself included for Josh Hazlewood.A few overs later and Crook was introduced to the attack. Afflicted by all manner of injuries over the years, he was road-testing his bustling fast-medium for other late-season assignments, and was greeted most generously by Adam Voges, who offered a vague waft at Crook’s first ball and was taken in the slips. The innings entered the realm of parody when Shane Watson planted his front foot and fell lbw to the economical Ben Sanderson for 20 – all that was missing from the usual script was an unsuccessful referral.From there Mitchell Marsh and Peter Nevill recovered some ground with a stand of 69 that featured as many runs snicked as stroked, but they were to be separated when Crook returned to pluck out the wicketkeeper’s off stump. Marsh and Peter Siddle were out within the next eight overs, and at 180 for 8 just past the day’s midpoint an uncomfortable number of overs still remained.Cummins and Lyon proceeded to show rather more application than some of those who had preceded them, and saw the innings beyond tea in the absence of Crook, who left the field soon after pouching his third wicket and did not reappear. Northamptonshire will hope he is fit for their Royal London Cup match against Gloucestershire at this ground on Monday.Their last chance of getting any further in this match was spurned when George Munsey dropped the most straightforward of chances at backward point when Lyon sliced Chambers square of the wicket. Chambers kicked at the turf in dismay, but it was really the Australians who had more reason to be angry with themselves.

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan vice-captain, is a doubtful starter for the first Test against Australia in Brisbane after scans revealed a grade one tear in his left hamstring. The injury was sustained on Saturday during the team’s first warm-up match in Adelaide.Sangakkara told Cricinfo that he remained optimistic of his chances ofmaking the Test, which begins in Brisbane on November 8, although hewill miss the second and final warm-up match against Queensland on Friday.”I would say it’s definitely a grade one tear,” he said in Adelaide on Tuesday prior to flying to Queensland. “But we will have to see when the MRIs are assessed. Realistically, I’m just trying to make sure I do everything right with my treatment and make sure I get ready for the Test.” His coach Trevor Bayliss added that he was “not hopeful” that he would make the first Test.Sangakkara had only made one run in the first innings against the Chairman’s XI before sustaining the injury. He had wanted to bat on with a runner, but the physiotherapist Tommy Simsek called him off the pitch. “He was quite right in taking me off as I could have made the injury bigger had I stayed on,” Sangakkara said. He was rested as a precaution at first, but the pain began to worsen.A grade one is the least serious type of tear, but he still needs daily treatment from the physio. He has since been testing his leg out in the gym and on the bike and says that he is already feeling better. “I’m not in any major pain, it’s just discomfort.”The absence of Sri Lanka’s vice-captain would be a big blow to the tourists who are aiming for their first Test win on Australian soil during the two-Test series.Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, said: “He’s been a vital component obviously but if he’s not fit the other guys have to step up to the plate. We would love to have Kumar there but if he’s not going to be there the other guys have to step up to the responsibility.”Prasanna Jayawardene will take the gloves in the second tour match. He deputised well for Sangakkara during the first warm-up in Adelaide this week, with a host of catches, but has not yet batted on tour. He has impressed before, when Sangakkara played as a specialist batsman in the three-Test series against Bangladesh in July, and he scored his first maiden Test century, too.Chanaka Welegedara was injured in the same match, straining his rightquadriceps, while Sanath Jayasuriya picked up a cold. Sujeewa deSilva is expected to fly in to cover for Welegedara, his fellow fastbowler, and could be launched straight into the side on Friday. He hasbeen playing for the A side in Zimbabwe.

Home games in Ranji Trophy 2014-15 season

Group A
Karnataka 4; Bengal 5; Mumbai 3; Railways 5; Uttar Pradesh 4; Baroda 4; Tamil Nadu 5; Jammu & Kashmir 0; Madhya Pradesh 5.
Group B
Maharashtra 5; Punjab 3; Gujarat 5; Saurashtra 4; Rajasthan 3; Delhi 4; Vidarbha 3; Haryana 5; Orissa 4.
Group C
Goa 3; Himachal Pradesh 4; Kerala 4; Hyderabad 4; Andhra 5; Assam 5; Tripura 3; Jharkhand 4; Services 4.

Jammu & Kashmir will play all their Ranji Trophy league stage games away from home. The decision was taken since the infrastructure in the state is damaged due to the major floods in September and will not be repaired in time before the Ranji season concludes.”We have informed the BCCI that none of our regular grounds will be in condition to host any of our home games this season, so we will have to play all our matches away from home this season,” Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association secretary ML Nehru told ESPNcricinfo. “It will make things a little difficult for the team, but we just cannot help it since the natural calamity was so severe.”J&K finished second in Group C last season to earn promotion for the 2014-15 season, and have been placed in Group A. Jammu & Kashmir were allotted three home games this season, against Tamil Nadu (December 14-17), Railways (January 21-24) and Madhya Pradesh (January 29-February 1). A BCCI insider confirmed that all three matches will now be played at the home venues of their respective opponents.The decision is contrary to secretary Sanjay Patel’s statement in September. Patel had said that J&K will play all their home games in Mohali, the home of Punjab Cricket Association. However, it is understood that the plan was changed since the BCCI was not willing to tinker with the “home and away” nature of the Ranji Trophy league stage.Meanwhile, the BCCI has also drifted from its system of allocating four home and four away games to every team in the Ranji league stage. Since moving to a three-tier system of nine teams each in 2012-13, the BCCI used to ensured that each team gets equal home and away games in the league stage.However, this season, the number of home games for every team – barring J & K – vary from three to five. According to an insider who was involved in devising the fixtures, the need for tinkering with the last two years’ norm to avoid the same teams facing each other at the same venue for two consecutive years. “With the revisions of groups, if we had to maintain four games’ system, we would have had no choice but to make the same teams play at the same venue in successive seasons. Instead, it was decided to vary the number of matches.”Before 2012-13, there had been occasions when a team would have played all their league games either at home or away. For instance, Rajasthan played all their league games at home on their way to a maiden Ranji triumph in 2010-11. The BCCI had then devised a fresh home-and-away system from 2012-13 when the structure of the tournament was changed.

Saleem Altaf, the PCB official who was sacked two weeks ago, has been reinstatedto his position on the basis of an order from the Lahore High Court. The ruling, however, is a temporary one pending a final resolution to the writ Altaf’s lawyers have filed.”Saleem Altaf’s petition was heard today and in an interim order he has been reinstated. He has now reverted back to his position as of June 12, 2008,” Altaf’s lawyer Aftab Gul told Cricinfo. Gul, a former Test cricketer himself, said that Altaf was now free to go back to his offices from tomorrow. “It is up to Altaf whether he chooses to go back from then.”Altaf, director special projects at the time, was reportedly sacked for allegedly leaking sensitive information to the press, a charge he has strenuously denied. The board had allegedly recorded a number of conversations he had with journalists during his time as director special projects, which were played back to him before his services were terminated.Altaf filed a writ petition in the High Court for malafide dismissal. The matter was heard in court today and in the afternoon, the judge decided to suspend the order of termination until the petition has been heard out.The Pakistan board publicly refused to talk about the matter though in last Saturday’s governing board meeting, where members decided to back the decision to relieve Altaf of his duties. The date for the next hearing has not been decided yet.

Ricky Ponting believes Andrew Symonds has taken some major steps towards returning to the Australia team by admitting his behaviour over the past year has been sub-standard. Symonds was at Queensland training on Tuesday, where he signalled his intentions to work his way back to international cricket, and Ponting was pleased with the development.”I actually think there were some really positive signs over the last couple of days with Andrew,” Ponting told . “He’s actually fronted the media and admitted that there’s some room for improvement in certain parts of his life.”Ponting was not in Darwin when the team leadership group ejected Symonds from the recent ODI series but he was involved in the decision by phone. Ponting will be leading a Test squad in India next month without Symonds, who was not considered for selection as he continues his Cricket Australia-organised programme to get him back on track.”He’s a terrific player and his Test record and one-day record over the last couple of years for Australia has been outstanding,” Ponting said. “Hopefully for him as a person, if he can get those things sorted out, then we’ll have him back in the team.”The next opportunity for Symonds to come back to international cricket would be during the home Tests against New Zealand in late November. Ponting said he would love to have Symonds in the squad “sooner rather than later”.

Middlesex 116 for 3 (Morgan 47) beat Essex 115 for 9 (Dexter 46, Murtagh 3-24) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Just now, Middlesex, who have done little but struggle in recent seasons, are finding cricket a rather easy game. After beating Hampshire on Wednesday, they cruised to a seven-wicket win over Essex at Lord’s with 19 balls to spare, a result which takes them to the giddy heights of the top of the South Division.Buoyed by three straight wins, Middlesex were tight in the field, capped by a string of good steepling catches, and batted with sense in a well-paced chase. Essex, however, will take nothing from a game where their batsmen perished to a series of swings and cross-batted swipes, and their fielding verged on the woeful.Essex’s innings never got out of first gear, and bar a slog-swept six from Neil Dexter, the only batsman to show any inkling of how to bat in this format, there was little to inspire a crowd of around 18,000. Ed Smith, the Middlesex captain, rotated his quick bowlers – there were five bowling changes in the first ten overs and 11 in all – and used his spinners to choke the life out of the middle overs.Tim Murtagh, Dirk Nannes and Tyron Henderson all mixed yorkers with deliveries just short of a length and the batsmen, who almost all opted not to use their feet to any purpose, showed little inclination to try to break the stranglehold. This allowed Smith to maintain attacking fields – as late as the tenth over there were two slips in place – and Shaun Udal and Murali Kartik added to the pressure with tight wicket-to-wicket bowling.Dexter played an excellent anchor innings but found nobody remotely likely to stay with him. Middlesex held all but one chance that came their way, the best being a running, diving catch at third man by the evergreen Udal, and fielded like a side who knew there was a multi-million pot at the end of the rainbow.Defending such a low total, Essex’s only hope was to take early wickets. As it was, they spilt five catches, four in the slips and even their ground fielding grew shabbier by the over.Andrew Strauss, who on Tuesday had joked he doubted he was high on any IPL wish-list, met his own expectations with a scratchy 11, dragging a drive into his stumps, but it was a success the bowlers failed to capitalise onEoin Morgan made a mockery of Essex’s earlier efforts, cracking a 36-ball 47 with some lovely strokeplay. He unleashed two textbook cuts that fizzed to the boundary and then lofted a six over extra cover. He deserved a fifty but was deprived by a misunderstanding with David Malan when the result was done and dusted.Smith was dropped three times, twice off routine catches at first slip by James Middlebrook, and did not seem hampered by a injury sustained when he slipped turning for a second run early in his innings. If anything, he batted better when hobbling with Strauss running for him.This was far from a Twenty20 classic – it was too one-sided for that. In all there were only 19 fours and two sixes. The crowd were subdued – the chilly evening did not help – and it was a far cry from the razzmatazz of the IPL.A fortnight ago disgruntled Middlesex members called for a special meeting to discuss the club’s plight. Since then the side has reeled off a series of wins and at this rate that evening could turn out to be more of a party. For now, at least, it’s happy days at Lord’s.

Adam Gilchrist, the former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman, has been appointed captain of the Deccan Chargers, replacing VVS Laxman, who led the team during the inaugural season of the IPL. Darren Lehmann, the former Australia batsman, takes charge as coach, replacing former India player Robin Singh.Gilchrist said it was a “tremendous thrill and honour” and looked forward to working hard and making the team successful. Gilchrist was Deccan’s leading run-getter in the league’s first edition, scoring 436 runs at 33.53. He led the team in eight of their 14 matches, after Laxman suffered a wrist injury.”Adam Gilchrist commands respect within the team and right around the cricket world. He has redefined the role of wicketkeeper-batsman in modern cricket,” Tim Wright, the Deccan Chargers chief executive, said. “I am confident Gilchrist will unite Deccan Chargers’ outstanding talent. Four members of our squad were on the India tour of Sri Lanka, more than any other IPL team, and the quality of our overseas players is well known. These players will play for Gilchrist.”We are delighted to be giving Darren Lehmann his first post as coach and have no doubt he will be a great success,” Wright said. “He has already brought considerable energy into the group and has a no-nonsense approach to winning cricket matches. Lehmann is in India this week to run player trials in Hyderabad. We are looking to build a solid talent base for the future.”Robin, meanwhile, has said he will discuss his future with the franchise. “I was aware of the discussions which had been going on for a while about some new appointments,” he told Cricinfo. “Definitely I will be featuring in some capacity in a role that is suitable and in line with what I would like to do. We will have to sit and have a mutual agreement on that.” Robin , who also holds the role of a fielding coach with the Indian team, expressed disappointment over Laxman being replaced. “It’s a bit sad about VVS, but it is for him to talk.”Deccan finished last in the inaugural edition of the league, winning only two of their 14 matches. The team’s poor performance was surprising given a star-studded batting line-up, with Andrew Symonds, Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs joining Gilchrist, Scott Styris, Laxman and Rohit Sharma. While Symonds was only available for four games, Afridi and Gibbs both averaged below 20.

Sri Lanka’s domestic season is facing chaos after 18 clubs threatened to pull out of the Premier League unless Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee enforces the rules and relegates Badureliya SC to the league’s Tier B.The dispute came about after a decision was made that Badureliya, who finished bottom in last season’s competition, would not be demoted to the second division. The clubs have delayed the agreement of fixtures for the domestic season, and the league, which is due to start on October 22, is now facing postponement.The clubs have expressed fears that any move by the interim committee to ignore their protest could lead to first-class cricket coming to a complete standstill making national selection also an issue.Two weeks ago Ajith Jayasekera, the tournament committee chairman, and MahindaHalangoda, another member, resigned from their posts over the interim committee’s failure to relegate Badureliya SC.As a result, the five-member tournament committee is unable to function as it has been reduced to just three members.