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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Marcus North has provided Australia with one answer to their selection problems before the first Test in Johannesburg, which starts on Thursday. A career-best 6 for 69 and a pair of half-centuries was the perfect combination as he competed with Andrew McDonald for the No. 6 spot.North’s success with both bat and ball, and the lack of penetration from the legspinner Bryce McGain on the first day, has increased the chances of Australia taking four fast bowlers into the Wanderers Test. A handy three wickets from Doug Bollinger and a fluent Phillip Hugheshalf-century added to the positive signs for Australia as their tour match in Potchefstroom petered out to a draw.Hughes and North opened in the second innings and both men moved comfortably to half-centuries before retiring to allow McDonald and Brad Haddin some time at the crease. McDonald finished unbeaten on 29 when the captains agreed to call off the match 25 minutes early.Australia were nominally chasing 226 for victory after North and Bollinger helped knock over the South African Board President’s XI for 182. North’s success only added to the disappointment for McGain, who took 2 for 126 in the first innings and then was unable to improve in the second as he failed to take the field due to a food-related bout of gastroenteritis that also sidelined Peter Siddle.A specialist batsman who had never taken a first-class five-wicket haul, North enjoyed the chance to be the front line spinner. His handy offbreaks were one of the major reasons he was picked in the squad and he justified the decision in front of the touring selector David Boon. He tossed the ball up and drew several false strokes and did enough to suggest that he would not be belted out of the attack in a Test, although he still felt he was no certainty to play.”It was nice to be here and part of my first tour away with the Australian team,” North said. “To contribute in the three days was pleasing for myself. If you are part of the 14, I think every player will be looking to push for a place in the first Test. Certainly I’m no guarantee of playing.”He had top-scorer Heino Kuhn caught at deep midwicket for 47, shortly after Imran Tahir had also holed out to Michael Hussey in the same position. David Wiese mistimed his drive to mid-off and was caught for 18 before Roelof van der Merwe lofted a catch to mid-on. North had earlier made two important top-order breakthroughs.Alviro Petersen left a gap between bat and pad and was bowled for 36 and Gulam Bodi (29) drove outside off stump, edging behind to Haddin. North’s strong performance, including his second-innings 50, made it difficult to see how he could be left out of the first Test. The Wanderers is a venue where spin has not been a major weapon in recent years and the good bowling from Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus meant the selectors would face a tough call if they went for three fast bowlers.Hilfenhaus bowled well without success in the second innings but Bollinger picked up 3 for 29. Two of his wickets came when he rattled the stumps with perfect yorkers and he also removed opener Blake Snijman, who couldn’t get on top of a short ball and pulled straight to mid-on.Australia’s strong effort in the field was all the more impressive as they were so short-staffed that strength and conditioning coach Stuart Karppinen, a former first-class cricketer, was employed as a substitute fielder. Besides McGain and Siddle, several other players also had gastro concerns and Michael Clarke was still unable to field due to his back injury.

South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur feels sorry for the pressure placed on David Warner and says the hype for the opener is “way over the top”. Warner will play his second ODI, and his first at his home ground, on Friday during the third match of the series at the SCG.Since breaking through with 89 on his Twenty20 debut against South Africa, Warner has had more attention than the rest of his team-mates. “Actually, I feel quite sorry for the lad,” Arthur said in the Australian. “He’s played one fantastic innings and suddenly he’s been hailed as the next Messiah almost.”I think it’s been way over the top, to be honest. Yes, he’s a good player. He looks very talented, but he’s played a handful of games. He hasn’t played a first-class game of cricket yet.”Despite Arthur’s sympathy, he wants to add to Warner’s problems after he posted 7 and 5 in his previous two innings. “The expectations on his shoulders are huge and I think those expectations get heavier and heavier with every failure,” Arthur said. “Hopefully, we can still keep him under that sort of pressure. But to be fair to the guys, he’s very dangerous.”Ricky Ponting is still getting to know Warner and said he had “just let Dave go”. “There’s been enough pressure on him and speculation for me just to let him go and get about his cricket and work out for himself what he needs to do,” he said.”He seems that sort of player to me who’s a free-spirited young bloke who goes out and sees the ball and hits the ball, a bit like Gilly [Adam Gilchrist]. Quite often, the more you have to say to those blokes the more confused and complicated they make things and the harder the game becomes.” The series is level at 1-1 with matches in Adelaide and Perth remaining after the contest in Sydney.

Wasim Jaffer, the Mumbai captain, has said he has seen no sign of talent to challenge the current state players despite Mumbai’s success in age-group tournaments and the Ranji Trophy this season.”We won the Under-19 and were the finalists in the Under-22. We reached the semifinals in the Under-16 tourney too. But I didn’t see or hear about any big batting talent emerging from there,” Jaffer told the . “In fact, in the finals of the Under-22 tournament against Punjab, we were bowled out for 80 odd which is a worrying sign. We need youngsters to challenge the Ranji Trophy players for their places.”Jaffer was also concerned about the lack of back-up spinners in case either Ramesh Powar or Sairaj Bahutule got injured. “We just don’t have anyone of quality as back-up. The search has to begin quickly.” Six players in Mumbai’s squad are over 30, with wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant being the oldest at 36.Jaffer said he was a captain who needed his players to respect, not fear, him. “I am a quiet man and I don’t like to scream, shout or wave hands frantically. I think I can understand different personalities well. I know what to speak to whom, and how. One can’t speak to [Ajit] Agarkar the same way as one does to Dhawal [Kulkarni].” As the captain his next focus was to win the Irani Cup which Mumbai haven’t won since 1997-98.

Tamil Nadu 296 for 2 (Mukund 100, Vijay 69, Badri 59*, Karthik 58*) v Uttar Pradesh
Scorecard

The punishment Abhinav Mukund and M Vijay handed out to the Uttar Pradesh bowlers on the first day of the semi-final in Nagpur raised once again the importance – underlined through this Ranji season – of separating them early in their partnership.Mukund scored a stroke-filled century, his fourth of the season, Vijay fell short of what would have been his second, and the two put on 167 to give Tamil Nadu charge on a flat featherbed. S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik, scoring fluently, recorded their fourth fifty-plus scores of the season as Tamil Nadu scored at a rate quick enough to hurt UP.UP’s bowlers lacked inspiration and the persistence to toil. They will need to find both for what looks like a long haul. It’s not a situation they are familiar with; in the last three years, they have bowled more than 150 overs in an innings on only two occasions – both occasions in this season, against Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.After Tamil Nadu won the toss, Mukund and Vijay found the pitch to their liking and initially threatened a repeat of their 462-run stand against Maharashtra in the first match of the season. They are aggressive and quick in scoring and running between the wickets. That made it difficult for the bowlers to pin down one batsman and dry up the runs. Mukund began hurting them with incisive drives, through the covers and straight down the ground. Vijay was solid on the drives, too, and he late-cut to good effect.The only hurdle was in negotiating Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar; they not only did but also scored fast against them. They brought up the 50-run stand in the 14th over by which time Mohammad Kaif had to resort to medium-pacer Imtiyaz Ahmed. Praveen and Bhuvneshwar are not express and Imtiyaz slower than the two. As the runs started coming easily, spin was introduced. But Piyush Chawla was too inconsistent, and Praveen Gupta too innocuous.Mukund was the first to reach his half-century, off 79 balls with 10 boundaries. By lunch UP had even used a part-time bowler, Parvinder Singh, while Mukund reached 65 and Vijay 59. Post lunch, the accumulation continued as before; the two batsmen added 150 in 46.1 overs. Vijay, perhaps looking to up the rate further, fell to Parvinder, going for a wide delivery and top-edging it to Praveen at mid-off. He scored 69. With the new batsman, Badrinath, in, Mukund took more responsibility and strike but didn’t let the scoring slip even as Badrinath made a slow start. Mukund offered his only chance in his 90s, edging Parvinder to just in front of Kaif at first slip. He reached his hundred with a flick off Bhuvneshwar, an important innings in a big match. Ten balls later, he edged Bhuvneshwar to Amir Khan, who was standing up to the stumps.By that time day, though, Badrinath was entrenched and ready to go on the onslaught. Bhuvneshwar and Praveen were pulled mercilessly when they tried the shorter ones. Any error in overpitching was punished severely too. Just before tea Kaif brought Chawla back for a second spell only to regret the move. Two straight drives from Badrinath were followed by two savage pulls either side of the break. Badrinath stepped out to loft Gupta for the first six of the match just after tea. Karthik, the new man, loosened up as well, and pulled Chawla for another boundary. His six-over spell cost Chawla 31 runs, and he looked far from creating a chance.By the time new ball was taken in the 82nd over, Badrinath had reached his half-century, off 80 balls, that included 10 boundaries. Karthik followed him to the mark with a late-cut in the fourth over with the new ball, and also brought up 100 runs for the partnership. The only positive aspect for UP was their over-rate, bowling 91 overs in the allotted six hours, a rarity in domestic cricket. Tamil Nadu, who will need time to force a result on this unresponsive pitch, will not mind the extra overs at all.

Eagles regained top spot with an eight-run win over Lions in a rain-curtailed 32-over match in Johannesburg. They were nearly undone by a spectacular assault from Vaughn van Jaarsveld, whose 79-ball 97 reinvigorated Lions after they were stuttering at 67 for 4 after 15 overs chasing 225. Werner Coetsee chipped in with a 10-ball 23 and the pair piled on 55 runs in 4.4 overs before van Jaarsveld was caught behind in the final over to dent Lions’ chances. Earlier, measured half-centuries from Morne van Wyk and tournament top-scorer Rilee Rossouw helped Eagles capitalise on the absence of Lions’ fast bowlers Andre Nel and Garnett Kruger to set a challenging target.In the other match of the day, a cautious half-century from captain Justin Ontong and a more cavalier one from Ryan Canning set up Cape Cobras‘ 24-run victory over Warriors in East London. The pair’s efforts lifted Cape Cobras to 220 after their top order had failed to fire. Robin Peterson gave Warriors a cracking start with a 52-ball 55 taking them to 81 for 1 in the 12th over. However, former international Claude Henderson and Ontong took two quick wickets apiece to reduce Warriors to 96 for 5. Johan Botha and Justin Kreusch resisted with a 52-run partnership but another rash of wickets saw them bowled out for 196.Player of the week – Justin Ontong
Despite several opportunities with the South African national side over the past seven years, Justin Ontong hasn’t quite managed to showcase his skills on the international stage, perhaps being most famous for being handed a debut ahead of Jacques Rudolph in 2001 because of the quota system. On the domestic circuit, he piled on the runs last season to earn another South Africa recall. After moving from the Lions to take over as Cape Cobras captain this season, he has led them to two wins in their three games in the MTN championship so far. His patient half-century this week shored up his team’s total and he also gave a reminder of his under-used offspinning ability by removing the rampaging Robin Peterson at a crucial juncture.

Scorecard

Five-wicket hauls from Ramesh Powar and debutant Dhawal Kulkarni helped Mumbai gain a sizeable first-innings lead at the Brabourne Stadium, placing their team in a position from where they can now aim for an outright victory. Although Rajasthan did well to earn two wickets in Mumbai’s second innings late in the day, the hosts finished 133 ahead at stumps.Rajasthan got off to a positive start in the morning after Mumbai, resuming on 293 for 8, folded for 307. In reply, Rajasthan suffered a jolt when Kulkarni bagged two wickets in two overs when he had Shubhanshu Vijay and Nikhil Doru caught in the slips by Sahil Kukreja in identical fashion. Kulkarni maintained an off-stump line, trying to make best use of the new ball, and both batsmen fell to reckless shots.After Kulkarni’s double-strike, Venugopal Rao and Vineet Saxena progressed calmly. However, Powar’s introduction at the Churchgate End worked in Mumbai’s favour. Rao, who was connecting with ease against the fast bowlers, seemed flustered against Powar’s offspin and the bounce he got off the pitch.In a careless moment, Rao went for the slog-sweep, and was caught well by Agarkar at long leg. His fell a few overs before lunch, and Powar struck twice in an over after the break. Ashok Menaria’s unconvincing prod resulted in only an edge that was caught easily by keeper Vinayak Samant. Five balls later, Robin Bist, the last specialist batsman, played all over a simple offbreak and Ajinkya Rahane picked an easy bat-pad offering at silly point.Powar bowled an unchanged spell of 20-3-44-5, his best figures in the past year. His previous five-for came in an away game against Tamil Nadu last season. At the other end Kulkarni bowled with purpose – pitching it fuller and trying to move the ball in. He smartly mixed it up with the shorter ones that would lift suddenly. His best dismissal was that of Gagan Khoda, Rajasthan’s senior-most batsman. Khoda had hit two fluent cover drives for four off Kulkarni in the third over after the lunch. But Kulkarni, who impressed for Mumbai Indians during the IPL, sensed his opponent’s aggressive approach; he pitched one on length and moved it slightly away and Khoda, who had already committed to the stroke, could only nick one to Wasim Jaffer at first slip.Mumbai were frustrated by the final-wicket pair of Saxena and Gajendra Singh, who added 52. Saxena used his feet well especially against spin and cleared the infield frequently to pick some easy runs. He was the solitary batsman to play his shots and didn’t allow the bowlers to get on top. Jaffer had to go to Kulkarni to deliver the breakthrough. The bowler, in his fourth spell, ended Saxena’s resistance, becoming only the seventh Mumbai bowler to bag a five-for on debut. Hormasji Vajifdar, Eknath Solkar, Suru Nayak, Balwinder Sandhu, Amit Dani and Manish Patel had achieved the feat in the past.

Creagh O’Connor has bowed out as Cricket Australia chairman by saying the last Australian summer – with discontent in the national team over the board’s handling of issues, including the Harbhajan Singh racism row – was “the most difficult time” in his career. He has also called for administrators to maintain an excellent rapport with the players given the changing nature of the game.”Our players make a significant contribution to the health of the game and it is important that we, as administrators, keep them close as we make the difficult decisions needed to manage cricket in its fast changing and often complex times,” he said in his farewell address. “The last Australian summer was the most difficult time in my long career in cricket and the male players ended the year feeling at a distance from the managers of the Australian game.A few Australian players, including Andrew Symonds and Ricky Ponting had criticised the board earlier this year during its conflict with the IPL over protecting its sponsors. This came in the aftermath of the Australia-India Tests, where Harbhajan Singh was accused of making a racist remark to Symonds, a charge that was upheld by the match referee but subsequently overturned on appeal. Symonds’ team-mates Ponting, Michael Clarke, and Matthew Hayden were also present at the hearings, which didn’t go in their favour – critics said the Australian board backed down to appease the BCCI.O’Connor said: “I am pleased we have since come together to review how we each managed the summer’s difficult issues and have agreed where we might mutually have done better and how we might mutually do better in future.” O’Connor, who will be replaced by Jack Clarke, said the board will need to focus on cricket at the grassroots.”The big question for us nationally, and within the states and territories, continues to be about striking the right balance between what we invest in the development of the game at a community level and what we invest in our elite success,” he said. “I am not convinced we have got the balance right, and that balance varies across Australia.”Investment in development of the game seems to be the first place for cuts whenever the belt is tightened, but we need to recognise that our future is totally dependent on the next generation of Australians being as passionate about cricket as are we.””And that will not happen without active investment in the recruitment of the next generation of players, a few of whom will become stars but most of whom will become lifelong fans.”

The Oval is to overhaul their drainage and irrigation system over the next three months at a cost of £750,000.The project will aim to drain 30mm of rain per hour – a guideline set by the ECB – in order to ensure as much cricket is played as possible, and to avoid delays in play. The developments will bring The Oval in line with other grounds, such as Lord’s, whose drainage is among the quickest in the world.”We’re extremely conscious in providing world-class facilities here at The Oval for all spectators, cricketers and all other important stakeholders to enjoy,” said operations director, Clive Stephens.”Therefore this project is paramount in helping us achieve this. The work will ensure that the paying public’s opportunity to watch cricket is maximised, with rain delays being kept to an absolute minimum.”We’re also pleased to say that in addition to an already superb cricket wicket that is continually produced by Bill Gordon and his team, they’ll also get the added benefit of a flatter and greener looking outfield which will be easier to maintain thanks to our new state-of-the-art irrigation system.”The system is expected to be completed by Christmas.

Bengal have bagged the services of Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan offspinner, for the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy. Murali, the leading wicket-taker in Tests, will play about four matches in the tournament’s second division – the Plate League, his manager confirmed to Cricinfo.”The arrangement is very clear that Murali will be available to play only if there is no clash with his international commitments,” his manager, Kushil Gunasekera, said. “Bengal have been relegated this season and they wanted his services to help them stage a comeback. Murali has signed a contract and the arrangement is for about four games, but subject of course to the condition that Sri Lanka Cricket’s obligations come first.”The CAB have also got clearances from the Sri Lankan board and the BCCI, but haven’t confirmed which matches Murali will play for the team. “The Lankan board chief [executive], Duleep Mendis, has sent across a fax to us, mentioning that Muralitharan will be available for Bengal in the upcoming first-class engagements,” Jagmohan Dalmiya, the CAB president, said. “He is now available to play for Bengal and with his experience of 756 Tests and 479 ODI wickets, Bengal cricket will benefit heavily.”Sri Lanka have no other tours as of now that clash with the Ranji Trophy, but Gunasekera said Murali will play for his IPL team, Chennai Super Kings, in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League from December 3-10. The group phase of the Ranji Trophy Plate League is scheduled from November 3 to December 4 with Bengal playing five games before the knock-out stages.Bengal were relegated last season after a few of their players, including captain Deep Dasgupta and Rohan Gavaskar, joined the ICL. The CAB’s new administration under Dalmiya, the former ICC president, had earlier appointed former captain Utpal Chatterjee as coach, with Mohinder Amarnath, the former India allrounder, taking up a consulting role.Under the new BCCI rules, each state association can sign four outstation players, including one from overseas, in their squads. However, one stipulation was that the overseas player should have played at least ten Tests or 20 ODIs. Baroda have been eyeing Murali’s team-mate, Dilhara Fernando, as their overseas option.

When South Africa last toured England in 2003, left-hand batsman Jacques Rudolph played all five Tests. Five years later, Rudolph is not with the visiting South African side, but in the middle of a Kolpak contract with Yorkshire, which will keep him at the county till 2011.Rudolph signed an initial three-year deal with Yorkshire in January 2007, effectively cutting short his international career with South Africa at the age of 25. Rudolph’s first-class average with Yorkshire is 58.38 – in contrast to his 36.21 in 35 Tests – and he is not unhappy with his decision to leave.”I’ve got no regrets,” Rudolph told the . “There are no hard feelings.” Although he had made his way to the South African squad in the 2001 home series against India, Rudolph made his Test debut over 15 months later in Bangladesh. The proposed third Test in Centurion against India was deemed unofficial after the Mike Denness episode, and later in Sydney, he was controversially omitted in favour of Justin Ontong, a Cape Coloured, after Cricket South Africa president Percy Sonn vetoed his selection on grounds of racial discrimination.Rudolph, though, started his Test career with an unbeaten 222 against Bangladesh in April 2003. However, he wasn’t able to firm a place and was dropped from the XI during the home series against India in December 2006. “At that stage of my career, I felt I needed stability and security,” Rudolph said. “I was in and out of the South Africa side and it was creating a lot of stress for me and my family.” Rudolph played his last Test, against Sri Lanka, in that year.”For that reason, I signed for Yorkshire. It was a great opportunity and I think I’m in a much better position at the moment.”Rudolph didn’t rule out returning to South Africa. “Will I play for South Africa again? There’s a possibility,” he said. “I’ve got three more seasons on my Yorkshire contract after this one and after that, I could qualify for England. I’ll make a decision on that if and when I get there. At the moment, I’m just enjoying my Yorkshire career.” Rudolph could also qualify to play for England under residency rules by 2012.Rudolph was not surprised by the manner in which South Africa’s batsmen saved the Lord’s Test after following on. “You can’t take anything away from South Africa’s batting,” he said. “I still take an interest in this series, of course I do. I’m friendly with some of the younger guys in the team.”Left-arm spinner Paul Harris, in his diary on Cricinfo, had mentioned he would speak to Rudolph about the conditions at Headingley, home to Yorkshire. “A little bit of me wants South Africa to win,” Rudolph said. “I played for them for so many years, and you don’t just change overnight.”Rudolph expects South Africa to come back strongly after the Lord’s performance. “England will take a lot out of the first Test – a lot of people expected South Africa to roll them over. This will be a wake-up call for South Africa and I think they will hit the ground better at Headingley.”They are renowned for their character and their ability to fight back, and they showed that at Lord’s in the second innings.”We haven’t seen the best of the South African attack. Dale Steyn has had an unbelievable couple of years. I think Headingley will suit them better than Lord’s, and Morne Morkel should be able to give them some insight from his time at Yorkshire.”