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ScorecardEngland ended the second day of this Test holding the edge, but only after another shocking collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for 13 runs from 80 balls to be bowled out for 326. Mashrafe Mortaza took a Test-best 4 for 50 and the clatter of wickets again surrendered a strong position and threw away a good start to the day, this time by Nasser Hussain and Chris Read. Rikki Clarke did put England back on track with two quick wickets, but Bangladesh held out to close on a battling 93 for 4.England’s morning progress was solid rather than spectacular, with 74 runs coming in the first two hours for the loss of only Clarke’s wicket for 55. Read and Hussain carried on untroubled until lunch, with Hussain happy to play second fiddle. Read was the main aggressor, playing positively from the start, hitting six boundaries and taking the attack to the bowlers.However, just like yesterday, England suffered a sever bout of the post-lunch blues as the bowlers turned up the heat and the lower-order melted. Read’s dismissal started the slide when he was caught by Rajin Saleh at short-leg off Enamul Haque jnr for a bright 37 (313 for 6). One over later and Hussain followed, snicking Mortaza to Khaled Mashud, the wicketkeeper, who took a good catch low to his right for 76 (313 for 7). That left the tail horribly exposed, and it offered precious little resistance as Mortaza cashed in on some cheap wickets. The last three batsmen fell for a miserly 13 runs to complete a wretched hour for England.On the flat Chittagong pitch, the new ball was vital, and Richard Johnson and Matthew Hoggard both made early breakthroughs. Johnson continued his healthy knack of taking early wickets when he picked up Javed Omar in his second over. Trying to turn a straight ball through midwicket, Omar instead got a leading edge straight to Michael Vaughan at mid-off (6 for 1). Hoggard then tempted Habibul Bashar into a loose drive with a classic awayswinger which he edged head-high to Mark Butcher at gully (44 for 2).Hannan Sarkar, meanwhile, took the fight to the bowlers and was keen to get forward and drive anything full. For a while, Bangladesh’s scoring rate was more sprightly than it had been all series as Sarkar mixed the odd boundary with quick singles on both sides of the wicket. Hoggard, in particular, banged in the short balls to unsettle the batsmen, but it was the improving Clarke who turned the tide England’s way.Clarke replaced Johnson ahead of Martin Saggers, the debutant, and he was rewarded for another tight spell with two wickets in as many balls. His first victim was the big one of Sarkar for 28, with a bit of help from Asoka de Silva, who did his already dwindling popularity in these parts no favours. Sarkar went right back to a full delivery and was hit on the back pad. The ball was arguably missing leg stump, but de Silva quickly made up his mind and sent Sarkar on his way (61 for 3).

And with the first ball of his next over, Clarke dismissed Alok Kapali for a golden duck. Kapali tentatively defended a short ball which kicked up and hit the handle of the bat for Butcher to take his second catch at gully (63 for 4). Clarke was on a hat-trick and Bangladesh were threatening to take a leaf out of England’s well-read book on The Art of Collapsing.But no-one can do it quite like they can, as Rajin Saleh and Mushfiqur Rahman defiantly held out for the last 15 overs. But only just. After Rahman creamed a square-drive for four off Saggers and spanked a Clarke slower-ball to the fence, he was dropped on 14 by Marcus Trescothick at first slip off Hoggard. It was hard chance low to Trescothick’s left, but not only did he spill it, he also injured his thumb and had to leave the field immediately to have an X-ray.Ashley Giles wasn’t brought on until the 36th over when the light was fading fast, but he bowled as well as could be expected given his current lack of confidence and was starting to find a rhythm just as the umpires offered the light to the batsmen with four overs of a mixed day for England remaining.

In our new series, My Australia tour, Indian cricketers of the past describe their experiences while touring Australia. In our second instalment, Venkatapathy Raju speaks to Siddhartha Vaidyanathan about the 1991-92 tour.

My first visit to Australia was in 1986-87 when I was part of the under-19 squad for the youth World Cup. So when I went with the Indian team in 1991-92 I had a pretty good idea of the country.The tour was a lengthy one since it involved the Test matches, the one-day tri-series and continued through to the World Cup. There was hardly any rest in between and the travelling took a lot out of us. The grounds in Australia are much bigger than you can imagine and it demands a very high level of physical fitness to play there. We came very close to winning the tri-series final and that was the highpoint of the summer. The Australians were too good for us in the Test matches and the World Cup was also a disappointing affair.It is very difficult to bowl against such an aggressive team. They have a fixed plan to score at a very fast rate and have the ability to convert good balls into boundaries. The Kookaburra ball that is used there does not have as prominent a seam as the SG ball that we use in India. The SG ball has a bigger and harder seam and it is tough to get used to the Kookaburra.Apart from the intense cricket on the field there were several other factors that worked against us on that tour. The media were particularly intent on putting us down. I remember an instance when Azhar got a hundred in a tour game but the newspapers showed a picture of him getting bowled. They never wrote about a good bowling performance from our side. The present Indian side will do well to ignore the media completely and just get on with their game.Sledging and mind games are part of the Australian team’s gameplan. It is very common in their domestic cricket and it carries on into the higher level also. You have to completely isolate yourself from the verbal games.Having studied in a boarding school I have always loved to mingle with people from different cultures. Geoff Marsh and Merv Hughes were very good friends of mine and I remember the delicious barbecue that we had in Marsh’s house in Western Australia. I also remember taking long walks on the streets of Melbourne with Javagal Srinath. It is a very beautiful country for a tourist but due to our hectic schedule there was very little time to go around.I remember batting in Melbourne when Hughes was pitching it short and I got hit on the helmet a couple of times. He was constantly growling at me when I reached the non-striker’s end. After the game we met on the flight and I told him, “Big fellow, I don’t like your moustache” and gave it a hard pull. The entire Australian team was in complete splits to see a tiny guy like me pulling Big Merv’s moustache. That is one moment I will treasure always.

The experienced allrounder Neil McGarrell has been appointed as captain of Guyana for the first three matches of the 2004 Carib Beer Series. The selectors have also named a predictable 13-man squad for the three matches, that will all be played away from home.McGarrell also led Guyana last year in the absence of Carl Hooper, who was leading West Indies in the World Cup in southern Africa at the time.Shivnarine Chanderpaul captained Guyana in the Red Stripe Bowl last October, but both he and Ramnaresh Sarwan, the current West Indies vice-captain, are unavailable for Guyana’s early matches as they are with the Test team in South Africa.McGarrell, a left-arm spinner and solid lower-order batsman, has represented the West Indies in four Tests and 17 one-dayers. The legspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo, another player with international experience, is McGarrell’s vice-captain.Guyana’s first match is at Bridgetown from January 9 to 12. They then play Jamaica at Kingston (Jan 16-19), and the Windward Islands at Roseau (Jan 23-26).Guyana squad Neil McGarrell (capt), Sewnarine Chattergoon, Azeemul Haniff, Krishna Arjune, Lennox Cush, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine, Vishal Nagamootoo, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Rayon Griffith, Rayon Thomas, Esaun Crandon, Andre Percival.

New South Wales 6 for 125 (M Waugh 18*, Nicholson 7*) trail Queensland 5 for 431 dec (Maher 116, Law 146*) by 306 runs
ScorecardNew South Wales’s hopes of defending their Pura Cup title disappeared down the Gabba plughole, as rain and bad light ruined the third day of their vital clash with Queensland. In that time, however, they still managed to lose two more wickets, including Steve Waugh for 8. When Aaron O’Brien followed for a fourth-ball duck, NSW were still 320 runs drift, and staring into the abyss.With NSW needing six outright points to stay alive in the competition, they will have to rely on some enterprising captaincy on the final day. It is possible that they might declare overnight in the hope Queensland will not enforce the follow-on and set up a last-day run-chase.

Australia 233 (Ponting 67, Symonds 53) beat Sri Lanka 193 (Sangakkara 101, Kasprowicz 5-45) by 40 runs, and lead series 3-1
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On a day of spectacular batting collapses, Australia clinched the five-match series with a 40-run victory. Sri Lanka, set 234, were well set for a famous win, as Kumar Sangakkara scored a magnificent century. However, they suffered a late-innings meltdown, losing their last eight wickets for only 50 runs as Michael Kasprowicz grabbed a career-best five wicket haul.After Sri Lanka had bowled Australia out for 233, they made the worst possible start as Sanath Jayasuriya prodded tentatively for the second consecutive innings at a rising delivery from Kasprowicz (0 for 1). But Marvan Atapattu – fortunate to have not been dismissed earlier when the ball trickled back onto his stumps – and Sangakkara consolidated against some tight bowling from both Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie.The run rate started to climb before Sangakkara cut loose with a thrilling assault against Kasprowicz and Ian Harvey. Both bowlers were flayed for three boundaries in an over, and Sangakkara, particularly strong through the off side, sped to his 11th one-day half-century from just 45 balls.Ricky Ponting was forced to call up his slow bowlers, Andrew Symonds and Brad Hogg. Atapattu, stuck on 18 for seven overs as Sangakkara hogged the strike, tried to break free with a lofted straight-drive, but miscued and was caught by Michael Bevan at long-on (78 for 2).But the loss of his captain did not deter Sangakkara from his thrillingly aggressive approach, and he continued to attack the slow bowlers. Mahela Jayawardene settled quickly and the pair ticked along at a run a ball, slowly pushing the required rate down and creating another headache for Ponting.After 30 overs, Sri Lanka were well placed at 135 for 2, and Ponting turned back to Gillespie, his senior paceman, in search of a breakthrough – and it did the trick. In Gillespie’s second over back, Jayawardene tried to run a short one through the slips, but only edged it to Adam Gilchrist (143 for 3).Sangakkara brought up his third century from 106 balls – without doubt his finest one-day innings – but the celebrations were short-lived, as he chased a wide one from Kasprowicz and was caught behind (148 for 4).Sri Lanka went into freefall: Saman Jayantha, making his debut, followed Sangakkara four balls later as Gilchrist took his fourth catch of the innings, off Harvey. Tillakaratne Dilshan then called for a suicidal run to Ponting at midwicket and was run out by a distance (158 for 6).Upul Chandana and Kaushal Lokuarachchi briefly raised local hopes, adding 31 in 38 balls, but Kasprowicz moved in for the kill to earn Australia their first one-day series victory in Sri Lanka.Gilchrist, meanwhile, put a dreadful week with the bat behind him as he claimed six catches in the innings, equalling the world record that he shares with Ridley Jacobs and Alec Stewart.

It was a remarkable turnaround from the Australians, who looked to be dead and buried once Sangakkara was in full flow, and after they had been bowled out for a modest 233.Ponting paid tribute to his players afterwards: “It was fantastic win. We were behind the eight-ball in the the field but I told my players before we went out that the team that hung in there the longest would win. Chasing a reasonable score, no matter how well you are going, you only need to lose one wicket.”Earlier, the Sri Lankan bowlers immediately gained the ascendancy after a brisk Australian start, taking the wickets of Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn to leave Australia precariously placed at 62 for 3 in the 13th over.But Ponting was once again in sizzling form, swivel-pulling two magnificent sixes off Vaas early on, and racing to his fourth consecutive fifty of the series. He and Symonds repaired the early damage, milking the spinners for 74 in 90 deliveries. But just when it looked as if Muttiah Muralitharan would go wicketless for the third game running, Ponting went back to a fizzing offbreak and was pinned in front (136 for 4).Symonds, passing fifty for the first time in this series after a series of undefeated cameos, pressed on with Bevan, and they added 41 in 52 balls before Murali returned for a second spell. Symonds immediately slog-swept him straight into the hands of Jayantha at midwicket (177 for 5).Australia, though, were still in a good position as Bevan added 24 in 25 balls with Clarke. But when Bevan (14) chipped a return catch to Murali off a leading edge, the innings declined rapidly, as four wickets tumbled for five runs. Harvey was run out by Atapattu at point, Hogg was trapped lbw first ball, and Kasprowicz edged behind for a duck (206 for 9).Clarke, with 36 from 32 balls, and Gillespie stemmed the tide, adding 27 for the last wicket. It was a job well done by Sri Lanka – but they couldn’t finish the job.

Sourav Ganguly is facing possible censure from the International Cricket Council after describing the rules covering slow over-rates as “ridiculous” in the aftermath of India’s five-run win in the opening one-day international against Pakistan.Both Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, were fined because their sides bowled their overs too slowly. “The old rule was OK where a team with a slow over-rate was docked overs when they batted,” Ganguly fumed. “At the break, when I went to the match referee to ask how many overs Pakistan had to get the target in, he said there would be no overs docked. I find that ridiculous. When you are in a tight situation, and when winning and not losing is so important, players don’t mind forgoing money.”What angered Ganguly was that Pakistan’s dilatory over-rate – not helped by a 20 no-balls and 10 wides – meant that they went 20 minutes over time.Ganguly claimed that he was not told of this before the start of the match, but embarrassingly for him, the rules relating to fines replacing a reduced allocation of overs were changed 11 months ago, and so Pakistan received their full 50 overs in return. In any case, Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, was not obliged to repeat the rules to the captains.It is now up to Madugalle to decide whether Ganguly should be reported for a Level Two offence under the Code of Conduct – “Public criticism of or inapropriate comment on a match-related incident or a match official.” The maximum penalty is 50 percent of the match fee and/or one Test or two ODI ban.Ganguly admitted that was a surprise to him. “I didn’t know about this rule. It was only when I went up to the match referee that I came to know that this new rule has been applied.”

The West Indian selectors have named a 14-man squad for the forthcoming seven-match one-day series against England, only half of whom are currently playing in the Antigua Test.Of the four fast bowlers playing at the Recreation Ground, only one, the economical Corey Collymore, has been retained – Fidel Edwards, Tino Best and Pedro Collins have all been rested. In their places come Merv Dillon for another recall, as well as the Under-19 World Cup finalist, Ravi Rampaul, and the Barbados paceman, Ian Bradshaw.After being dropped from the Test squad, Shivnarine Chanderpaul returns to prop up the batting, although Sylvester Joseph, who took Chanderpaul’s place in the squad, is also retained. Meanwhile, the Trinidadian allrounder, Dwayne Bravo, is set for his international debut.West Indies squad Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, Ridley Jacobs, Dwayne Bravo, Ian Bradshaw, Mervyn Dillon, Ravi Rampaul, Corey Collymore.

The bat Don Bradman used during one of his final first-class centuries on Australian soil has been bought for $18,000.The bat was sold to a British collector bidding by phone at an auction in Sydney over the weekend. It had been expected to fetch $20,000.Bradman used the bat for an Australian XI against Western Australia at the Waca in March 1948. The match was staged before his 1948 Invincibles side boarded the boat to England and Bradman made 115.It was not, however, his last hundred in Australia. That came nine months later, for Bradman’s XI against Hassett’s XI, when he came out of retirement to hit 123 at the MCG.

Creagh O’Connor has been appointed as the deputy Chairman of Cricket Australia. The board had not had this position since 2001, but has recreated it to spread the strategic policy leadership load.O’Connor has held several important posts in the past, including that of director of Cricket Australia for seven years. Outside cricket, he is a director of a number of public and private companies.Speaking about the appointment, Bob Merriman, the chairman of the Australian board, said, “The directors felt it important to broaden our own team’s strategic issues leadership experience and Creagh O’Conner’s cricket administration and commercial experience stands him in good stead for this new role.”

Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI 364 for 7 (Langer 151, Bowden 75) v Sri Lankans
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Justin Langer showed no ill effects from his foot injury, smashing 151 to guide the Northern Territory Chief Minister’s XI to 364 for 7 at the close of play on the first day of the tour match against the Sri Lankans at the Marrara Oval in Darwin.Langer bruised his left foot during training yesterday, but that hardly hindered his movement around the crease, as he and Rhett Bowden (75) revived the innings by piling on 181 for the third wicket. Lasith Malinga had earlier given the Sri Lankans some early success, nailing Ian Redpath and Simon Katich for ducks as the Minister’s XI slumped to 4 for 2. Malinga took two more wickets later in the day to finish with 4 for 75.Langer, who offered one chance when he had 90, was finally the sixth wicket to fall, bowled by Farveez Maharoof (274 for 6). Martin Brown and Darren Treumer then added 90 more for the seventh wicket before Brown was out for 45 just before the close.This is Sri Lanka’s only match before the Test series, which starts at Darwin next Thursday (July 1).