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This was how it was supposed to end at the Sydney Cricket Ground last January, with India batting spiritedly to save the game after achallenging Australian declaration had left them with just over twosessions to tilt at windmills. Sadly, what happened on the field onJanuary 6 was largely obscured in the aftermath of several controversies,and jibes back and forth about the misunderstood spirit of cricket.India were bowled out in 70.5 overs that day and even allowing for anordinary decision or two, that was simply inexcusable. They weren’t facedwith Laker or Warne either. Instead, it was Michael Clarke’s left-arm spinthat pushed them over the precipice as the shadows lengthened over one ofthe game’s most famous venues.VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were two of the prime culprits on thatoccasion, both succumbing to a superb mid-afternoon spell from StuartClark. They faced just 50 balls between them, and it was left to AnilKumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to try and lead India to safety, a taskthey almost accomplished before those five deliveries from Clarke undidall the hard work.When Tendulkar arrived at the wicket on Monday morning, India still neededto bat nearly 75 overs to survive. And when Laxman joined him after aclever slower ball from Mitchell Johnson had dismissed Gautam Gambhir,there were still 56.2 overs to be bowled. Had one of them fallen then, itcould conceivably have been curtains. Apart from a weather-aided escape at Lord’s last year, India’s record at saving games on the final day ispretty undistinguished, with the cataclysmic collapse the rule rather thanthe exception.The declaration from Ponting was perfectly timed. In Sydney, Australia hadbatted on for 24 overs and taken the lead to 332 before sending India in.At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with 299 required from 83 overs, an Indian winwasn’t completely implausible, though Virender Sehwag’s early exit made ita statistical possibility rather than a realistic one.One of the recurring criticisms of Tendulkar down the years has been hisfourth-innings record. Of the 39 centuries, only two [Old Trafford, 1990 and Chennai, 1999] have come in the last innings of a game. There have only been three half-centuries [49 in total] and the average [33.60] is way below his overall figure. Though the news crews and reporters were gearing up to herald Brian Lara being eclipsed as Test cricket’s leading scorer, it was infinitely more important that he stay at the crease longenough to make the game safe.With Gambhir and then Laxman providing the support, he just about managedto do that. It wasn’t always pretty. It never is when men that love to play their strokes are reduced to survival mode. There were anxious moments too. The odd ball would go through at shoestring height, while Cameron White got one to take off past the outside edge of Tendulkar’s bat in a manner reminiscent of the old Kumble.By the time White picked up the most prized wicket a debutant could hopefor, 52.2 overs had elapsed and the light was fading rapidly. Tendulkarhad made 49 from 126 balls, seldom moving out of second gear. Perhapsmindful of one final-day collapse too many, there had never been anysuggestion that he would go for the runs.Laxman ended up facing 142 deliveries, and he and Sourav Ganguly, whosedismissal was one of the flashpoints for the war of words in Sydney, sawit through to the murky end without undue alarms. Despite being off thefield for 39 minutes soon after tea, there were no further lapses inconcentration in the 15 overs that followed.Australia gave it everything, and you wondered how much of a differenceAndrew Symonds, another of the Sydney protagonists, might have made.Clarke won the plaudits that day, but Symonds too took three wickets,including Dhoni. White bowled tidily enough, but there was no dramaticturn or variation to trouble a batsman of Laxman’s class.There was no let-up in intensity from either side, and though a few wordswere exchanged, there was an absence of the malice that so soured relations in Sydney. When the players walked off soon after tea once the umpires decided that the light was poor, Matthew Hayden and Ganguly chatted amiably enough, while Clark and Brad Haddin exchanged pleasantries with Laxman. Clark, who has family in Bangalore, even tried out Laxman’s bat, though Ponting will hope that his skills with the willow aren’t unduly tested as the series progresses.So, a day that started with Kumble dropping a return catch – will wicketNo. 617 ever come? – ended with his team ceding no ground at a venue wherethey have so often been outclassed during the past decade. They had batted73 overs, 13 balls more than they managed at the SCG, and lost just fourwickets. It wasn’t a victory and it didn’t feel like one either, but onceagain, Australia knew that they were in for a proper contest. How oftencan you say that in today’s unipolar cricket world?

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Himachal Pradesh continued to roll, winning their third straight to stay at the top of Group A. Simply put, Himachal overwhelmed Jammu & Kashmir in Dharamsala. Hundreds from their top three formed a second-innings total of 449 for 1, following which the bowlers dismissed J&K for just 144, giving the home side a whopping 480-run win on day three.From an overnight 191 for 0, openers Sangram Singh and Bhavin Thakkar extended their stand to 254. Thakkkar, who made 122 in the first innings, was first out for 104 but there was no respite for J&K. Sangram batted on to an unbeaten 215 from 277 balls, hitting 28 fours and five sixes, and added 195 with Vinit Indulkar. Indulkar helped himself to an unbeaten 109, his third first-class century, off 88 balls.Set 625 to win, Services were never even in the game. Having made 120 in their first innings, they again faltered from the start. By the time the score was 80, six batsmen were back inside. Sarandeep Singh, the former India offspinner, made it eight for the match with a second-innings haul of 4 for 49. Himachal have won three straight and, with 16 points, stand ten ahead of Goa.
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Bengal beat Services by an innings and 226 runs inside three days at Eden Gardens, thereby netting six vital points, including a bonus. Having declared at 442 for 6, Bengal’s win came swiftly as Ashok Dinda (4 for 28) and Ranadeb Bose (3 for 34) skittled Services for 109. Bose removed Sumit Tomar, Services’ captain, for 1 in the first over of the day, Jasvir Singh in the third, and Yashpal Singh in the fifth, both for ducks.Dinda was soon into his stride, removing Tahir Khan (15) and Soomik Chatarjee (6) to leave Services 31 for 5. There was little resistance and Services folded in the 53rd over. Bengal, who will face Tripura from November 29, now have seven points from two games.
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Rahul Dewan rallied Haryana’s march towards victory over Kerala, hitting an unbeaten 254 in just his third first-class match. Haryana racked up a massive 581 for 4, with centuries from Dewan, Sunny Singh and Sumeet Sharma, and Kerala were up against it going into the final day in Palakkad. Dewan and Sunny continued their run of form in this match, adding 256 for the second wicket. Sunny made 124, his sixth century, and Sumeet Sharma weighed in with a breezy 114 from 132 balls, putting on 234. Dewan batted 557 minutes and 416 balls for his effort, which included 28 fours and a pair of sixes. Ten bowlers were used by Kerala, but only two – Tinu Yohannan and Preambhastn Prem – managed wickets. In reply, Kerala’s openers batted ten overs to reach 36 for no loss at stumps.
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Goa moved in position to notch their second win of the season, reducing Jharkand to 53 for 4 in Margao by stumps on day three. Goa had extended their lead to 299 by making 256 in their second innings – Advait Katkar made a career-best 76 and Shadab Jakati an unbeaten 49 from 61 balls – before Saurabh Bandekar nipped out three Jharkhand wickets. For the visitors, right-arm medium-pacer Sujit Roy (4 for 75) returned the best figures in a disciplined bowling effort. However, Jharkhand will rue a poor first-innings 147 and a bad start to a 300-run chase. Plenty rests on the shoulders of 18-year-old Saurabh Tiwary, batting on 11 from 55 balls.
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Tripura came back well on the third day in Agartala, keeping Vidarbha to 203 and knocking off 46 of the 278 needed to win. Vidharbha had taken a 101-run lead by stumps on day two, but Jayanta Debnath and Tushar Saha bowled well to limit the damage. Saha, a slow left-arm spinner, got stuck in early and finished with 4 for 65, taking his match tally to 10 for 116. Medium-pacer Debnath took 4 for 54 and ran through the lower order. There was only one half-century in the innings, a round 50 from Ranjit Paradkar – his second in the game – and Shalabh Shrivastava scored 49. Tripura’s openers, Sourav Dubey and Biswajit Dey, overcame first-innings ducks to provide their side a steady start.

Lou Reed’s A Perfect Day could have been playing in the background as Yuvraj Singh faced the cameras. “My dream has come true,” he said with the expression of a man who’s come home and found Audrey Hepburn sitting on his couch. “I have won a Test for India with Tendulkar.” His Test credentials may have been queried by some down the years, but the role he played in this once-in-a-lifetime victory should never be underestimated. More than a generation ago, Mohinder Amarnath batted 440 minutes for his 85 as India pulled off a 403-run heist at Port of Spain. Yuvraj spent less than half that time at the crease, but his unbeaten 85 will be cherished just as much in the years to come.By the end, it was obvious he would leave the winning runs to Tendulkar. “This is something I wanted to do,” Tendulkar said afterwards, a broad smile lighting up his face. “I’ve scored a hundred in the second innings, but to actually win a match, play the winning shot, that was something I wanted to do. This makes it really really special.” Inevitably, many of the questions he fielded were about Mumbai, his home city, the scene of terrorist attacks that have caused so much anguish and rage in India over the past few weeks. In the aftermath of that, Tendulkar appeared in a commercial which had the line: “I play for India, now more than ever”. It was a point he stressed again once the euphoria of victory had faded a little.”From my point of view, I look at it as an attack on India, and it should hurt every Indian, not only people from Mumbai,” he said. “I would like to dedicate this hundred to all those people who have gone through such terrible times.”In no way am I trying to say that this will make everyone forget what happened in Mumbai. But I’d like to thank England for coming back to play Test cricket. We’ve witnessed a wonderful match. People are again enjoying cricket the way it’s meant to be.”What happened in Mumbai was extremely unfortunate and I don’t think by India winning or my scoring hundreds, people who have lost their dear and loved ones would feel better. It’s a terrible loss and our hearts are with them. All I can say is that in whatever way we can contribute to make them feel better, we’ll make that effort.”He said that he had never contemplated not playing, though such an incident so close to home had obviously left its mark on the psyche. “From my daughter’s school, there were a couple of parents who lost their lives unfortunately. Otherwise, no one that I knew.

“I was confident that our security would make us feel secure,” he said. “They’ve done a fantastic job and because of that, people have been able to witness such a match.”There were a couple of personal demons to slay too. A little less than a decade ago, he couldn’t take the final step as Pakistan prevailed in the tensest of finishes. Later, he admitted that the events of that afternoon had been on his mind as India edged ever closer. “I told Yuvi when he played a shot off Monty [Panesar] that landed between short midwicket and long-on: ‘Wait till the last run is scored. We need to make sure that both of us complete the runs’. On a track like this, when you lose a wicket, it can become hard for the new batsman. The odd ball will keep a bit low or kick up and you can lose two or three quick wickets. Better to finish the job ourselves.”The disappointments are there and they will be there. What you can make sure is that you don’t repeat the same thing in the future. I feel extremely happy and proud that I have been able to achieve something very special.”The partnership with Yuvraj was worth 163 at a shade under four an over, and there were still a staggering 20.3 overs left in the day when victory was clinched. No praise was too high for Yuvraj though, after all his naturally flamboyant approach, tinged with the needed circumspection, allowed Tendulkar to work the ball around at his own pace. “To Yuvraj, I said: ‘Don’t be tense’. People have been talking about whether Yuvraj is a Test player or not and I think that is just a loose statement. He is a terrific player who has got important runs and three Test hundreds.”Anyone can have a bad phase but that doesn’t mean he is not capable of scoring runs at Test level. I’m glad that he came up with such an innings, where people are made to rethink their opinions.”As magnificent as the decisive partnership was, Tendulkar was in no doubt as to the identity of the fire-starter. “We are quite used to that,” he said with a grin, when asked about Virender Sehwag’s dazzling 83. “You kind of expect something which is not expected. When Viru is batting, it’s always entertaining and full of surprises.

“He set it up brilliantly. How many players in the world can do that? Without any doubt, it was Viru’s contribution that mattered. Very few people in the world can do what he does and we’re extremely happy that he plays for India.”This was the first time since December 2005 that India have won back-to-back Tests, and Tendulkar was certain that confidence would be even higher when the team got to Mohali, scene of a 320-run thrashing of Australia in October.”It’s extremely important to continue with this momentum,” he said. “From the start of the Australian series, all the boys have played some fantastic cricket and it’s important to continue. At no stage did we feel that this was beyond our reach. We always felt that if we played to our potential we would be able to overhaul this target.”Now that we have done it, we will have hope in the dressing room even if we are faced with a big target in the future. That hope is very important in cricket.”There were words of comfort too for Rahul Dravid, who has persevered by his side for more than a decade. “The bad patch that Rahul is going through happens to everybody,” he said. “It’s nothing to worry about. He is not just a good player, he’s a great player. These cycles happen in a career. I don’t think Rahul’s form or what people are saying is a worry for all of us. He will definitely score runs.””You’ve made me think again,” he said with a laugh when asked what his thought process had been after he walked to the middle. “I don’t know exactly what I think about. I was just telling myself that I was going to watch the ball as closely as possible and keep my mind free. If your mind is free, then the rest will happen.”If your mind is preoccupied, the bat flow is not going to happen. I just kept my mind free and reacted to whatever was coming at me.”So, where does this 103 with an asterisk on top figure in the Tendulkar pantheon? “I would rate this hundred as one of the best for sure,” he said. “The win makes it even more special. I would put this one right up there given the circumstances and the surface, the weather and the target. We were able to overcome all the obstacles. I would rate it as one of the top ones.””I just think Sachin played a super super knock today,” said Pietersen. “Just like the man he is.” Millions of Indians, who have taken KP and his team to their hearts in the past week certainly won’t quibble with that assessment.

Darren Lehmann, the former Australia batsman, has ruled himself out of contention for the job of England coach and has opted to stay with Deccan Chargers, the IPL team. Lehmann had been linked to the England job after a public endorsement from Shane Warne last week and was quoted as saying that he was interested in the role.Lehmann, however, said in a statement today that he would coach Deccan for the second IPL season that starts on April 10. “The time is not right for me to coach England,” Lehmann said. “I am flattered Shane Warne has mentioned my name but my sole focus right now is with Deccan Chargers.”Tim Wright, the franchise’s chief executive, confirmed to Cricinfo that Lehmann, who was appointed as Deccan coach after they finished at the bottom last year, would continue with the Hyderabad-based team.Lehmann said that his priority now is to work on building Deccan along with Adam Gilchrist who replaced VVS Laxman as captain last year. Deccan have already signed up Ryan Harris, the Australia allrounder, through an IPL rule that allows teams to recruit uncapped players directly. Harris has since been named in the Australia Twenty20 side against South Africa.”Darren identified Ryan Harris back in June long before Harris’ selection for Australia’s T20 squad and he has identified some good new Indian talent,” Wright said. “I speak with Lehmann most days so I know how determined he is to help make Deccan Chargers successful.”Lehmann is not the first Australian whose name has been brought up for discussion for the England job, with Tom Moody also being linked to the position. South Africa’s Graham Ford, the Kent director of cricket, has expressed an interest in filling the post.Lehmann, 38, played 27 Tests and 117 ODIs for Australia and also captained Yorkshire during his stint as an overseas player from 1997 to 2006.England will not appoint a new head coach for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. Andrew Strauss, who replaced Kevin Pietersen as captain, will be supported in the Caribbean by Andy Flower, England’s assistant coach, Phil Neale, the team operations manager, and other specialist coaches and support staff.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have jointly won the Allan Border Medal, the first time in the award’s ten-year history that it has been shared. At the end of a period of decline for Australia, it was notable that it was their captain and vice-captain who stood at the top with 41 votes each.The other man who has led the side in the past, Michael Hussey, was third with 38, while Mitchell Johnson, who had been the favourite in the lead-up to the ceremony, came in fourth with 30 votes. It was the fourth win for Ponting, who also collected the medal in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and the second for Clarke, who won the prize in 2005.Clarke said it was especially pleasing to share the prize with Ponting, who had been a mentor over the past few years. That has been especially so over the past 12 months after Clarke took over the vice-captaincy from Adam Gilchrist, a role he has clearly relished.”As soon as I’ve walked into the Australian team I’ve tried to learn as much as possible from Ricky Ponting,” Clarke said. “Nothing has really changed to be honest. Being vice-captain has just brought me a lot closer.”During the voting period, which began on February 26 last year, Clarke was second to Simon Katich on Australia’s Test run tally with 1019 at 56.61, including one century in each of Australia’s four Test series. In the one-day format, Clarke took the reins as skipper on several occasions but his own form was below-par, with 209 runs at 16.07.Ponting had a similarly lopsided season, and one that was by his lofty standards relatively quiet. But in a side that has struggled to maintain its No. 1 position, Ponting’s 974 Test runs at 44.27 have been invaluable. He scored three centuries during the voting period but his efforts didn’t always equate to Australian victories, as at the MCG in December, when he scored 101 and 99 in the loss to South Africa.In one-day internationals, Ponting’s form was less impressive and he made 309 runs at 25.75 with a highest score of 69. Ponting was visibly surprised when he was announced as one of the winners and he said he had expected Clarke or Johnson to take out the honour.

“This is an amazing shock to me,” Ponting said. “I was sitting back at the table tonight and waiting for Pup or Mitch to get up here tonight and accept the award. As we all know it’s been an up-and-down year for the team. Everybody at the moment is writing us off but I know deep down in my heart that we’re not very far away at all.”It’s been an amazing time with some of our greats leaving the team, some obviously very young and exciting players coming into the team. It’s an amazing challenge for me and certainly for Michael to keep leading this team in the right direction, hopefully showing some direction and passing on some experience to the younger guys.”Clarke was also named the Test Player of the Year for the first time, while Nathan Bracken was rewarded for his outstanding limited-overs bowling form with his first One-Day International Player of the Year title. In the Test category, Clarke won with 12 votes from Ponting and Simon Katich, who were in joint second with 10.Bracken picked up his one-day award thanks to a one-vote buffer from the second-placed Hussey, who himself was one vote clear of Shaun Marsh in third. Bracken played 16 of Australia’s 17 ODIs during the voting period and he collected 22 wickets at 24.50, with an economy rate of 4.09. He was the Player of the Series in last year’s CB Series against Sri Lanka and India.He began the voting period with his best bowling for the year, when he collected 4 for 29 against Sri Lanka at the MCG. Bracken’s season stayed strong after that and he had a particularly productive tour of the West Indies, where he picked up eight wickets at 19.75 and helped the side complete a 5-0 whitewash.Bracken has developed a formidable reputation as a death bowler and he said it was a role he enjoyed. “It’s good fun, it’s something that I really enjoy doing,” Bracken said upon receiving his trophy. “I guess it’s good being in control at the end.”

Stuart Clark and Phil Jaques will both have an opportunity to impress the national selectors ahead of the tour of South Africa when they return to the New South Wales Sheffield Shield side on Friday. The pair is part of the Blues’ 12-man squad for the match against Tasmania in Newcastle, where Nathan Hauritz will also turn out having been released from the ODI team.Clark made his comeback to club cricket on the weekend and collected 4 for 29 from 14 overs having been out of action for six weeks following elbow surgery. Should he make an unhindered return for New South Wales he will be a certainty for the trip to South Africa in late February.That tour is also the goal for Jaques, who last played for Australia in the West Indies in June. Jaques was included in the squad for the Test series in India in October but was forced home due to an ongoing back problem which required surgery.He also returned via Sydney’s grade competition on the weekend, although with a less successful result after he was lbw to the 49-year-old former Test spinner Greg Matthews for 5. Jaques said the game had been “smooth sailing” physically but he felt he would need a strong performance for the Blues in order to win back his spot in the Test squad.”I’ll be in the frame if I score some runs, and then my fate will be up to the selectors,” Jaques told the . “I don’t think anything is a given in Australian cricket, I think there’s a lot of good cricketers running around.”Jaques could be competing for a Test opening slot with his New South Wales top-order partner Phillip Hughes. The incumbent in the Australia line-up, Simon Katich, is also in the New South Wales side for his first Sheffield Shield match of the summer.The four-day game will be the final opportunity for the men to find form before the squad for South Africa is picked. Hauritz will also be keen for wickets as the Victoria legspinner Bryce McGain, who was originally the first-choice slow bowler for the India tour, is back in action and will use the next round of state matches to push his claims for a Test debut.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich (capt), Dominic Thornely, Peter Forrest, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith (wk), Beau Casson, Nathan Hauritz, Stuart Clark, Mark Cameron, Doug Bollinger.

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South Australia eased to an eight-wicket win over Western Australia to move from the bottom third of the table after the hosts suffered a horrible collapse during the morning. The Warriors were wondering why they bothered travelling south to Bunbury – it was the state’s first game away from the WACA – as they started the match by falling to 6 for 38 in the 16th over.Mitchell Marsh, at 17 years and 111 days, became the youngest debutant in Australian domestic cricket and the No. 5 was needed in the sixth over. He was out for 10 to follow the miserable start created by the bowling of Jake Haberfield, Mark Cleary and Daniel Christian. Haberfield led the attack with 3 for 30 off ten overs while Cleary and Christian gathered two victims each.Aaron Heal’s 50, which included five fours and three sixes, was essential to inflating the total, but the Warriors were 9 for 106 when he left. However, the final pair of Brad Knowles (23) and Ben Edmondson (16 not out) extended the total to 148 after 40 overs. It was not enough and South Australia reached the target with 80 balls remaining, gaining a bonus point.The Redbacks suffered a blow when Daniel Harris was forced to retire hurt with a broken nose after being struck by Knowles. Michael Klinger slipped on 29 to Heal and Mark Cosgrove went for 41, but Cameron Borgas steered them home with 49 not out. Western Australia are last on 12 points, six behind the Redbacks, who jumped over New South Wales into fourth spot. All three sides have a game to play.

The condition of Ahsan Raza, the Pakistani umpire who was severely wounded during Tuesday’s terror attack, is improving. Raza underwent surgery at the Services Hospital in Lahore on Tuesday to repair a collapsed right lung and damaged liver, and a hospital spokesman described the procedure as successful.The 34-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition, and hospital officials told Cricinfo he could be released from the intensive care ward in the next three-to-four days. Raza was travelling in a mini-bus with umpires Simon Taufel, Steve Davis and Nadeem Ghouri, and match referee Chris Broad, when terrorists opened fire in front of the gates to the Gaddafi stadium. He was shot in the back, but medical staff said the damage to his liver had only been “superficial”.Raza, 34, hails from Lahore and played 21 first-class fixtures as a wicketkeeper before turning to umpiring. According to Ghouri, Broad threw himself on Raza after realising he had been shot. “It was very brave,” Ghouri told Reuters.Davis added: “[Broad] actually was lying on the floor next to Ahsan and when Ahsan got hit and blood was gushing out of him. Chris tried to apply some pressure to the wound and tried to stem the flow of blood from him while we were all lying on the floor. It seemed like ages and then suddenly the door opened and a policeman came into the van and then he lay across the top of Chris and Ahsan and I think he was more trying to protect himself.”Broad said they felt like “sitting ducks” and “every time you heard a crack you just thought ‘this bullet’s for me'”. “The terrorists had also killed our driver so we were stranded,” he told from Dubai. “Clearly the terrorists targeted the drivers to try and get the bus stationary.” He said the liaison officer Abdul Sami was also hit during the shooting.”It is very difficult to put it into words,” Broad said. “There were five of us in the back of the van all lying on floor just listening to the crack of bullets going on around us and hitting the van.”Davis, an Australian umpire, was left shaken by the incident. “I really thought that was the end of it. I thought that was our moment,” Davis told ABC Radio. “We heard what sounded like fire crackers and popping off and we realised it was something a bit more serious so we all hit the floor of our van. We had come to a halt behind the Sri Lankan bus.”It seemed like ages but we were pelted with bullets and the windows started smashing in. Our driver was shot dead. Our liaison officer was sitting next to the driver. He was wounded in the shoulder and he got to the floor.”Broad said nothing had seemed out of the ordinary before the attacks. “The roads were blocked off as normal and there were lots of police around,” he said. “When we got to a roundabout about half a mile from the ground, things changed. Initially there was what I would describe as a popping sound. It didn’t seem to me that there was rifle fire.”The local umpire [Ahsan Raza] said to me ‘get on the floor, get on the floor’. So we all dived on the floor and that is where we stayed for seven to 10 minutes while everything went on around us. It was just a very surreal situation for all of us.” All the match officials, with the exception of Raza, were relocated to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening.

The Oman offspinner Amir Ali has been reported for a suspect bowling action. Marais Erasmus and Niels Bagh, the umpires for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers game between Oman and Scotland in Johannesburg on April 4, said they had concerns over Ali and hence requested the ICC to review his action.In a report submitted to the ICC and the Oman Cricket Board (OCB), the on-field umpires and third umpire Kumar Dharmasena said: “We are of the opinion that during this match some deliveries were bowled with a suspect action. Therefore we felt that Amir Ali should be tested.”Pending the result of the ICC’s assessment, Ali can continue to play and bowl in international cricket. The ICC has requsted the OCB to make arrangements for the assessment of Ali’s bowling action as soon as possible. As soon as the assessment has been completed, the OCB must formally report back to the ICC as to what the results of the tests were and what action has been taken.

Nottinghamshire 55 for 3 trail Somerset 138 (de Bruyn 64, Fletcher 4-38) by 83 runs
ScorecardUnusually for a modern Championship match – though not necessarily so for Trent Bridge – the bowlers dominated the first day – thirteen wickets fell as Somerset were dismissed for 138 and Nottinghamshire closed on 55 for 3.Ever since the high-rise stands were erected at the ground, bowlers have been able to swing the ball in most conditions, and a bit of seam movement as well meant that few batsmen were able to exhibit their talents. Pitch inspector David Hughes exonerated the surface, and the low scoring so far adds weight to the view that many of today’s most prolific batsmen tend to be ‘flat-track bullies’ who lack the technique to cope when conditions favour the bowlers.Somerset won the toss on an overcast day and decided to bat, a decision they were soon to regret. Perhaps they were encouraged by the absence, through minor injuries, of Nottinghamshire’s 2009 spearhead, Charlie Shreck and Darren Pattinson. But Ryan Sidebottom, who scarcely played for the team last season, and Luke Fletcher took the new ball and Somerset were in trouble almost from the start.Sidebottom immediately moved the ball away from the left-handed Marcus Trescothick, his first five deliveries all passing through to the keeper, and this was to be the characteristic of his bowling today: he was not easy to score from, but too often he failed to force the batsman to play. Fletcher, on the other hand, was on the spot right from the start.Aril Suppiah was the first to go, poking just outside the off stump and falling to a catch at the wicket. Trescothick put Sidebottom through the covers for a handsome four and was beginning to open up when he drove at Fletcher and was superbly caught by Andre Adams at third slip for 13, reducing Somerset to 13 for 2.Runs were at a premium, and Justin Langer took almost 30 minutes to get off the mark, and after an hour at the crease had only 3. He lost James Hildreth, beaten and bowled by Fletcher for 2, and 20 runs did not appear on the board until the 15th over. Fletcher was rested after a fine opening spell of 8-4-13-3. Langer finally fell to Adams, who made a ball fly from the shoulder of the Australian’s bat to backward point, having scored 11 off 58 balls.The one batsman to succeed in this situation was Zander de Bruyn, although even he struggled at the start. Soon after lunch Somerset were 61 for 6, but then Omari Banks proved a worthy partner for the South African. Early in their partnership came the loudest cheer of the day, at the announcement over the loudspeaker that Kevin Pietersen had been dismissed first ball in the Test; he is obviously remembered well at Trent Bridge, if not necessarily warmly.The pair more than doubled the score, with the conditions easing slightly, and de Bruyn reached a very creditable fifty with a well-placed on-drive for four off Mark Ealham, who was the least effective of the four seamers.Banks chose his shots well, but suffered a nasty body blow at the hands of Sidebottom, and dragged the next ball on to his stumps, departing for 28. De Bruyn went on to 64 before, on the stroke of tea, he played an indeterminate stroke and was caught at the wicket. Sidebottom had taken three wickets, but he was unable to produce the straight ball necessary to dismiss Charl Willoughby, one of the most hapless of No. 11s, despite having a full over to do so.The innings closed when Adams took his second fine slip catch of the day to dismiss David Stiff for 9. Sidebottom and Adams took three wickets each, but the best of them all was Fletcher, who seized the initiative for his team right from the start and thoroughly deserved his four wickets.Somerset do not really have the bowlers at present to take full advantage of helpful conditions. Willoughby was the best of the three seamers tried, but even he tended to bowl too short and off line at times; neither Ben Phillips nor Stiff came to terms with the conditions at all.Still, they did manage to take three wickets before bad light brought an early close, with Alex Hales trapped lbw by Willoughby, unwisely padding up without offering a shot to his first ball. Mark Wagh was dropped on 1 by Trescothick, who has been fallible in the slips of late, but was out for 10, while Samit Patel was not happy to be given out lbw for 11. Bilal Shafayat battled his way through to finish unbeaten with 19, and Notts can claim a slight advantage at the close – as long as their batsmen can score enough runs against bowling much less capable than their own.