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Mayank Agarwal racked up his fifth century of the season and went past 1000 first-class runs in November alone after Karnataka took the first-innings lead against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi. Railways’ overnight pair of Arindam Ghosh and Mahesh Rawat saw off the first hour or so, but they fell apart quickly after the 201-run fifth-wicket stand was broken by legspinner Shreyas Gopal. Ghosh, resuming on 86, went on to bring up a century, while Rawat fell nine short of a ton of his own. Railways lost their last five wickets for 49 runs and conceded a first-innings lead of 101.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shreyas, who hasn’t been able to nail down a permanent place in the XI this season, finished with 4 for 102, while offspinner K Gowtham took three.Karnataka established dominance from the get-go in their second innings, with Agarwal and R Samarth putting on 117 for the opening stand. Samarth put behind his first-innings duck with 56 before falling lbw to the medium pacer Amit Mishra. Agarwal batted on to bring up his century and was unbeaten on 104 when stumps were drawn. Giving him company was D Nischal, who was batting on 41, as Karnataka finished the penultimate day 309 runs ahead with nine wickets intact.Akshath Reddy’s century helped Hyderabad wipe out a 210-run first-innings deficit after they were made to follow-on by Delhi in Uppal. Reddy stitched together stands of 98 for the first wicket with Tanmay Agarwal and 115 for the second with Rohit Rayudu, who is playing just his second first-class match. Hyderabad ended the day on 233 for 2 – ahead by 23 runs, with Rayudu unbeaten on 61.Hyderabad began the day on 194 for 8 in their first innings and folded shortly thereafter, for 205. Kulwant Khejroliya and Vikas Mishra took the final two wickets to finish with four scalps each. Despite having already sealed their knockouts berth, Delhi pushed for an outright win and enforced the follow-on, but had to watch their bowlers toil away.Maharashtra ended an otherwise disappointing season with a thumping seven-wicket win over Assam in Pune for a mid-table finish. Assam, who had picked up a narrow first-innings lead of 26, resumed on 101 for 3, but unraveled quickly to be bowled out for 189. Naushad Shaikh led Maharashtra’s successful chase of 216 with his fourth first-class century. He was complemented well by Ankit Bawne, the captain, who was unbeaten on 52.Maharashtra’s medium-pacers triggered Assam’s second-innings implosion. Nikit Dhumal took 4 for 48 to finish with a match haul of nine wickets, while Pradeep Dadhe picked up maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Barring their top three, none of Assam’s batsmen was allowed to settle in. The seven-wicket defeat ended a winless season that relegated Assam to the bottom of the table.

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.

Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has said that teams can consistently post over 200 in Twenty20 matches if they are prepared to bat out 20 overs. Speaking ahead of the Indian team’s departure for the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, Sehwag said that teams tend to get the strategy wrong by going for quick runs early, often getting bowled out before the allotted quota of overs.”The plan should be to play out the full 20 overs,” Sehwag told PTI. “A score of 200 is on the cards if a team plays out the full quota. I have seen this happen often in England where I have played this format.”Sehwag was ignored for the tour of England owing to a loss of form. He spoke about how he had been preparing himself for the tournament, simulating the conditions the Indians would expect in South Africa, in terms of the pace and bounce of the wickets.”I have been doing yoga,” he said. “I want to control my game and aggression during the match days and hopefully I will do well. I have been practicing with synthetic balls on cement courts to get used to the bounce. I have also practiced against yorker-length balls as bowlers tend to get thrashed to all parts of the park. Therefore they are bound to resort to bowling yorkers and bouncers.”Sehwag added that the spinners will have an important role to play, taking the pace off the ball to make the batsmen check their strokes. “Hitting slower balls would not be easy and spinners have been successful in this game. I would also like to contribute with my offbreaks.”Commenting on the team composition, Sehwag said India’s lack of experience at the Twenty20 level shouldn’t count against them as a few members of India’s young squad had been exposed to the format in England. He captained India in its only Twenty20 international, against South Africa in Johannesburg last December and won.”Only five or six of us have not been playing but at this level one should be able to play in the tournament straightaway,” he said. “It’s good that youngsters are getting chances which will stand them in good stead when they have to assume bigger responsibilities.”

ScorecardRight-arm pacer Mudassar Bukhari claimed career-best T20 figures of 4 for 7, as Netherlands routed UAE by 84 runs in Dubai. Bukhari’s burst and assistance from Michael Swart and Paul van Meekeren reduced UAE to 7 for 5 within four overs, the lowest five-down score in all T20Is.Mohammad Usman, the only UAE batsman to move into double figures, then launched a counterattack with an unbeaten 49 off 44 balls, including four fours and three sixes. However, it only offered scant consolation for UAE. Michael Rippon cleaned up the tail as they folded for 73 in 16.4 overs.The match, though, was set up by forties from Wesley Barresi and Peter Borren. The pair added 77 for the third wicket before they were dismissed in a space of three balls, in the 18th over. Earlier, opener Stephan Myburgh hit 35 off 26 balls to give Netherlands early impetus. They eventually finished with 157 for 5, which proved 84 too many for UAE.

Pakistan are concerned there will be long-term implications if, as expected, Australia pull out of their scheduled tour there due to security issues. It has become increasingly unlikely the series will go ahead in Pakistan but Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer, has continued to rule out playing the games outside the country.”Neutral venues are a dangerous option in terms of not benefiting the cricket of both the playing countries as there will not be a crowd from both the countries and such series are played for the sake of viewers of TV,” Naghmi said in the . “If we accept it [playing at neutral venues] then in future there will be no end to this practice and it can ruin cricket around the world.”A cricket series not only involves two playing teams but also millions of fans from both sides. There are always huge crowds to witness such encounters and cricket series are not just for the sake of cricket’s television viewers.”Naghmi was also confident that if the ICC was asked to assess safety in Pakistan it would find no reason teams should not tour. “All the countries have agreed to come here,” Naghmi told the . “If it comes to that it would be nine countries versus one in the sense that other countries have been happy to tour Pakistan. It is only Australia that hasn’t come here for many, many years now.”Cricket Australia was briefed by the Australian government this week following bomb blasts in Lahore on Tuesday. Australia’s players are reluctant to play in Pakistan and the Australian Cricketers’ Association will not send a representative with a pre-tour security delegation. Naghmi said Pakistan were ready for Australia to pull out, although they hoped that would not happen.”If they think they cannot tour we will think about the steps to follow at that stage,” he said. “We are bracing ourselves for all decisions. The worst is that they will not come. We will be disappointed, obviously.”

The bowling actions of six first-class Bangladesh bowlers have been declared illegal by the board’s Bowling Review Advisory group.Saifullah Khan, Kamrul Hasan, Imran Parvez, Wascoroni Ahmed, Sharifullah, Kamaluddin were banned from bowling in the 2006-07 season and asked to rectify their actions. But on re-assessing video footage of each of the bowlers, the review advisors have recommended to the board that their actions continue to be suspect.A list of bowlers with suspect actions was compiled by domestic umpires over the last two seasons and handed to the advisory group.Only Chittagong’s Rezaul Karim was cleared to bowl. Four others – Faisal Hossain, Farhad Hossain, Ashraful Khan, Yasin Arafat – are under further observation and will be allowed to bowl in the 2007-08 season. However, this decision is flexible and a bowler can be banned for life if his bowling action is reported again.

Wicket of the day
Steve Harmison’s leaping delivery to dismiss Jehan Mubarak. It wasanother classic Harmison splice-trembler that confirmed his importance- when on form – to England’s cause. It came in the ninth over of themorning and confirmed that the good pace and rhythm that Harmison hadshowed in his first foray of the innings was no illusion. If Galleprovides any assistance for England’s quicks, he’s seems to be in themood to exploit it.Spirit-raiser of the day
Stuart Broad’s debut wicket. Before the match, Peter Moores had raisedjustifiable concerns about young Stuart’s stickability. He’s onlybowled more than 25 overs on four occasions in first-class cricket,and England are in no hurry to break their most exciting youngfast-bowling talent before he’s reached full maturity. But Broad ismade of stronger stuff than his willowy frame suggests, and in the29th over he finally got his man, as Chaminda Vaas fluffed anattempted hook and Ian Bell claimed a simple chance above his head.Shot of the day
Mahela Jayawardene had a slightly different mindset when he resumedhis innings today. He was less content to faff around and went afterthe bowling with some intent, most notably when he went down on oneknee to Monty Panesar and smeared him over midwicket for four. It wasthe most aggression he’d shown all game, but it came back to haunt himone over later – he tried the same shot, and Paul Collingwood at slippouched a steepling top-edge.Quote of the day
“C’mon Westlife, give us a ballad!” That was how Matt Prior set aboutenlivening the afternoon session, as England’s heads threatened todrop. His words were picked up on the stump microphone, although itisn’t entirely clear who was the target of his quip. A quick poll offemale teenage cricket fans, however, reveals that Broad is thelikeliest boy-bander in the current England set-up.Bowling change of the day
After bowling more than 47 overs for his five wickets in the firstinnings, Muttiah Muralitharan appealed for someone – anyone – to helpshare the spin-bowling load. And so, with scores of 0, 9 and 9 underhis belt, and a new string urgently needed for his bow, up steppedJehan Mubarak in the ninth over of England’s second innings. SanathJayasuriya he ain’t. A first-ball long-hop and three full-tosseslater, he was sent to graze in the outfield, as Murali was coaxed intothe attack in his place.Cheer of the day
Cricket is a perverse sport – you pay good money to go and watch yourteam, and as often as not – if you’re an England supporter – you’rejust as happy to see no cricket at all. “It’s so dark, it’sunbelievable,” chanted the Barmy Army, as the light began to fade, andsure enough, one over later, Aleem Dar whipped the bails off. Thenoise from the stands was louder than for any of England’s wickets,and as for Aleem, his efforts earned the ultimate accolade: “Aleem’sin the Army,” chanted the Barmies.

Ricky Ponting says most of Australia’s players have concerns about touring Pakistan next month but he believes any individual who pulls out of the series will be in breach of their Cricket Australia contract. Andrew Symonds said on Wednesday he was unlikely to make the trip even if Cricket Australia deemed it safe, but Ponting said in that situation the players would be contractually obliged to tour.”The rest of us, we’ve all got our concerns,” Ponting said. “Cricket Australia have obviously got their concerns as well or we wouldn’t be here talking about it now. Some of the players have got some concerns and Andrew has been a bit more public with his.”It would actually be some sort of breach of a Cricket Australia contract, I would imagine. I think that’s how it is set out at the moment, that you are to make yourself available for any international games that are scheduled to be played. I think that’s how the Cricket Australia contract reads now. Whether it’s unfair or not, we’ve all signed off on it.”The tour might still be cancelled, if Cricket Australia’s security delegation decides the team’s safety cannot be guaranteed, however Ponting said it would not be up to individual players to make those decisions. He said it was a completely different situation to when Stuart MacGill boycotted the tour of Zimbabwe in 2004 due to moral concerns.”That’s where the grey area will come out of this. There will be lots of safety and security measures put in place and there’ll be all sorts of security checks done throughout Pakistan over the next few weeks to let us know as a player group whether it’s actually safe to tour or not. If it is seen to be safe and you don’t go, I think that’s where the breach of your contract would be.”Symonds has voiced his concerns over the situation in Pakistan since November and his latest comments left little room for doubt about his reluctance to visit the country. Just hours after he said he was unlikely to go, Symonds was sold to Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League auction for US$1.35 million, which was the highest price paid for an Australian player.Ponting said the timing of Symonds’ statement was regrettable, as it would lead to speculation he was angling for more money due to his potential availability while the rest of the Australians might be in Pakistan. “I don’t think it was planned for him to come out and make those statements yesterday,” Ponting said.”I just think it was a bit unfortunate that he was probably out doing a promotion appearance just before the events took place yesterday, otherwise we wouldn’t have heard of it until today or the next opportunity he had to front the media. It’s not the first time he’s said it, he said it earlier in the year as well. So I think we all understand his feelings on touring Pakistan.”

1993
Makes his first-class debut for Somerset aged 17.1994
Cracks his first fifty (81) against Hampshire and follows that up with his maiden first-class hundred against Surrey (121).1996, 1997
Denis Compton Award for “most promising young player”.1998
Duncan Fletcher, the Glamorgan coach and soon-to-be England’s,watches Trescothick smack 167 on a slippery Taunton pitch. The next highest score in the match was 50.July 8, 2000
Makes his ODI debut against Zimbabwe, stroking 79 in a losing cause.August 3, 2000
His Test debut against West Indies at Old Trafford. Like a duck to water, he scores 66 and an unbeaten 38.February 24, 2001
Hits his maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka in Galle, a fine innings of immense concentration in sapping heat, though England still lost.June 12, 2001
Launches 137 from just 142 balls against Pakistan in the NatWest Series, again in vain.May 2002
Hits 161 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. England win by an innings and 111 runs.June 20, 2003
Gained revenge against Pakistan, battering 86 from 55 to lead England to a win.2005
Spearheaded a no-holds-barred approach against Australia with 431 runs and a top score of 90, as he – and England – finally reclaim the Ashes.Later that year Trescothick scores 193 in a lost cause against Pakistan in Multan.February 2006
The beginning of the end. Word is out that Trescothick will fly home before England’s Test series against India for ‘personal’ reasons.April 2006
Makes himself available to play for Somerset throughout the first weeks of the season, as he seeks to put his winter problems behind him and regain his England place ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka in May. Marches into form with a breathtaking assault on Kent.May 2006
Signals his return to international cricket with a robust first-day century against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, his 14th in all.September 2006
England’s Champions Trophy preparations, already weakened by injuries, receive another blow with news that Trescothick will miss the tournament after receiving specialist medical advice.November 2006
A troubled Trescothick flies home from Australia with a reoccurrence of his “stress-related illness” and plays no part in the Ashes.March 2007
Already ruled out of the World Cup in the World Cup in the Caribbean, Trescothick undergoes a double hernia operation to be fit for the start of the domestic season with Somerset.July 2007
Despite an encouraging county season he declares himself unavailable for September’s ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa as well as England’s winter tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand.September 2007
Speaks out for the first time about the depressive illness which blighs his career and threatens to curtail it prematurely.March 2008
Announces his retirement from international cricket.

Where’s the anthem?
It’s all very well having pop stars beltingout hits at inaugural functions, but if the teams are serious aboutbuilding up a fanatical following along the lines of English football orAmerican football’s legendary Cheeseheads, a team anthem would go a longway. The PA system blaring out or Fields of Anfield Road can send shivers down thespine.Not made to measure
While Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid walk outfor the toss, Zaheer Khan assesses his run-up with the help of a tapemeasure. But after more than three months out of the game, thecalculations aren’t quite what they should be. Brendon McCullum takes himfor 18 in his first over, with three heaves over midwicket and an edgedsix over third man. Ashley Noffke replaces him right away, and concedes 23in his first over. Hmmm.George Lucas, where are you?
With their golden helmets, theKnight Riders look like they’ve just stepped off a Star Wars set.Just imagine R2D2 in black clothes, and you get the idea. Mind you, as anAustralian journalist watching from London said: “You’ve got to love thosegolden pads.” No worries with a team song for this lot. , whichwas a massive hit in the mid-90s for Babylon Zoo, whose lead singer, JasMann, has roots in the Punjab.New day, new team
Ishant Sharma’s status as the most expensive bowler in the IPL owed everything to that remarkable spell he bowled to Ricky Ponting at the WACA in January. Three months on, after an over when the batsmen couldn’t put bat to ball, Ponting ran up and patted Ishant, his Knight Riders team-mate, on the back. Old rivalries have been shelved for the moment.The Duck and the Rocket
He may never live down that nickname of Bombay Duck, but there’s much more to Ajit Agarkar than those seven noughts on the trot in Tests against Australia. A superb spell of 3 for 25 would have pleased anyone, but there was also a tremendous throw from deep square leg to send back Ashley Noffke.Lack of force
Next to the sightscreen at the BEML end, you couldsee a Force India Formula One car. The team that Vijay Mallya owns hasmade a poor start to the racing season, and tonight he saw his cricketteam lapped in a metaphorical sense. Some would say that they even forgotto turn on the ignition.