Working his way back to form and fitness, Anil Kumble, the legspinner with the tally of 465wickets, is upbeat about touching the magical 500-wicket mark this season starting with the three-Test series against Sri Lanka next month.Kumble, who was left out of the one-day squad for the home series against Sri Lanka and South Africa on fitness grounds, is now fit and raring to make a comeback to competitive cricket. “I had a slight niggle in the back but I am fine now,” said Kumble. ” I have been practising with the Karnataka team. In fact I am looking forward to Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Railways so that I can test myself in a match situation.”Kumble’s decision to play in the Ranji match, starting on November 23 in Delhi, may have something to do with the Indian Board’s directive that injured players must prove their fitness in a domestic game before making themselves available for selection to the national team. Kumble, 35 wickets short of joining the elite 500 club, said the series against Sri lanka would provide him an opportunity to get closer. “Thirty five wickets from three Tests is a little tight, but yes, 500 is a realistic target. I am looking forward to that feat and starting my season on a good note.”Kumble said the 6-1 one-day series victory over Sri Lanka would help India go in to the Test series with confidence. “The series victory over them will give us the confidence as we play the Tests which nevertheless would be a different ball game altogether,” he added. “Our track record in Tests has been good, so we hope to have a good game against them.”He did not think that public interest in the Test series would be on the wane given that the two teams had played a one-day series earlier. “I do not think the interest level will come down. Test cricket has its own charm, the match against England and Pakistan which ended yesterday was a close game. It was as thrilling as it gets.”Kumble said he was very happy to see the recent resurgence of the Indian team and the performance of the youngsters. “It [the performance of the team] has been really good. It is a healthy sign indeed but we have to continue the good show, this is what is most important.”Asked about the team management’s various experiments with the batting order and going into matches with as many as five bowlers, he said, “…as far as experimentations are concerned, the results are there for everyone to see, results do matter and if the results are good, the process must be good as well. It is good to see youngsters coming through. It is still early days but obviously the talent is there. It is important that we continue to do well.”Kumble said he had not seen much of upcoming spinner Piyush Chawla who is being spoken highly of by cricket pundits, especially ever since he scalped Sachin Tendulkar in the Challenger Series in Mohali. He was all praise for Greg Chappell, the coach, although he admitted he has not had too much interaction with him. “It is certainly a big help to have someone with so much experience around.”

VVS LaxmanOn his ninth Test centuryI am extremely pleased with this knock. There was a lot of pressure out in the middle, and the situation demanded that I play a long innings. It was an anchoring kind of innings, something that I have always wanted to do. I have wanted to deliver when the pressure is on, and I am delighted I did that today.On whether he preferred to bat at No.3As far as slots are concerned, I don’t mind batting anywhere in the middle-order. I have always maintained that I am ready to bat in any position in the middle-order that the team wants me to. No.3 has been very good for me, I have always batted there from my school days. Luckily, I got a hundred at a crucial stage. Numbers don’t really matter at this moment.On how the pitch playedThis morning was much better. Yesterday, there was a lot of moisture on the surface, the ball was gripping and turning. Today, the management decided on the heavy roller which brings the moisture out and dries up the surface. The ball was coming on nicely, but once the effect of the roller wore off, the ball started to grip and bounce like on the first day.On the Sri Lankan bowlingParticularly after lunch yesterday, it was a difficult batting phase. They bowled well as well, and the track was assisting them. It was important to hang in there, it was not easy to play your strokes straightaway. From now on, it is very important for us that as a team, we don’t relax. We want to clean up the tail quickly and put pressure on Sri Lanka.On Irfan PathanIrfan batted really well. He is stroking the ball well. I have seen him grow as an international cricketer, I have seen how much hard work he has put in. If you can have guys coming in at number eight and contributing, it can put pressure on the opposition. Irfan has to be congratulated for the hard work he has put in.On Pathan’s feats this seasonI think the turning point was when Pakistan toured here. Till then, things were going smoothly for him, then he picked up an injury and had to fight his way back. That toughened him mentally. Since then, he has become more mature. He is working a lot on his game and is concentrating on becoming a much better cricketer, which he is becoming now.On Dhoni and the tailDhoni’s was a very important knock as well. It was essential that he come out and play positively because we needed some runs on the board at that point. I have always enjoyed batting with the lower order. I have confidence in their ability and potential, and I tend to give them the confidence as well. I don’t hog the strike because I know they are capable batsmen, and they can deliver for the country.Irfan PathanOn the 82 to follow up the 93 in DelhiI enjoyed both the knocks, though they came in different situations. Both situations were pretty difficult. In Delhi, we had lost the first wicket cheaply, and I had to play my shots. Here, we were 180-odd for six, and the situation demanded that I get more runs and be a bit more positive too. I realised there was no point in just hanging in there and then getting out cheaply. Having said that, I enjoyed this innings a little more because we were under a lot of pressure.It would have been great if I had got a hundred, but that’s how it is. I got a really good ball here, while I played a poor shot in the Delhi game. Importantly, though, both my knocks were very good from the team’s point of view, and that’s what I am most happy with. It is true that I am performing regularly and scoring more than usual. Importantly, I batted well when the bowling was good. I won’t say I batted like a batsman here today, but my batting has improved a lot, and that is pretty satisfying.On the hype about him being Indian cricket’s futureI tend not to listen to all that. I know that I need to keep my feet on the ground. The most important thing is not to worry about the results, but to keep focusing on what you do, and that is helping me a great deal.

Sourav Ganguly says that being stripped of the Indian captaincy will not diminish his motivation to do well for his country in the three-Test series against Pakistan beginning at Lahore on Friday.Ganguly downplayed the fact that he was no longer the captain saying that playing for the country was the bigger motivating factor and leadership was only a bonus.”It doesn’t matter that I am not the captain on this visit. It’s the same bunch of boys who are here,” Ganguly said. “Whether you are the captain or not, playing for the country is the biggest motivation. Captaincy is only a bonus.”Ganguly, whose controversial omission from the last Test played by India at Ahmedabad had created an unprecedented uproar, said it was important for the team to play with the same intensity they showed last time around in 2004. “I think we need to play with the same intensity like last time to win the series,” he said. “When I came here last time, I wanted to perform well and my aim is the same this time around too.”

Despite the on-going dispute between the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Umpires and Scorers Council (T&TCUSC) and the Association of Cricket Umpires of Trinidad and Tobago (ACUTT), the Carib Sunday and Super leagues are scheduled to come off this weekend, with the TTCUSC promising to field enough umpires to officiate the entire season.However, the ACUTT, who say they have the support of 70 % of the umpires in the country and are lobbying to replace the TTCUSC as the representative body for umpires to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), are claiming that percentage is incorrect and that the TTCUSC do not have sufficient qualified personnel to carry out the job.Last week, as part of a process to arrive at a resolution to the impasse, representatives of both entities met with Ronald Ramcharan, Chamber of Commerce mediator.However, the Daily Express understands that the TTCB are awaiting the report of that mediation effort. But Parasram Ramsubar, a TTCUSC representative, said yesterday that no matter what the outcome of the mediation, there will be officials to ensure the smooth sailing of the 2006 Carib sponsored competitions. “We have already appointed the umpires that have said they will be available,” Ramsubar stated. “We have more than 20 qualified umpires and that will be sufficient to run the (Carib Sunday) League.” Ramsubar added that those figures were based on the responses to a request from the TTCUSC seeking the availability of umpires from the five zones last December.And while there were no replies from the North and North East Zones, acceptances were forthcoming from umpires in the Central, South and South East Zones Ramsubar indicated that they would need a minimum of 16 umpires to officiate the league competently.However, Harry Mahabal, the ACUTT chairman, suggested that cannot be the case. “Let’s put it this way,” he emphasised, “when the season starts you will see what will happen with the clubs. But according to our record, I don’t think they can have as many as 20 qualified. We also understand they have recalled several umpires who have stopped umpiring for the last 15 years back to the fold. Most of these people have not even seen the cover of a new rule book.”Regarding the mediation, Mahabal stated that Ramcharan was now seeking a legal opinion after the ACUTT presented two legal opinions of their own. Forbes Persaud, TTCB general secretary, said the local governing body would recognise the TTCUSC as the official body of the umpires as they had done so for the last 49 years. But Mahabal stated that the TTCB would determine the representative body at a meeting later this month.

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

Shoaib Akhtar provided the initial incision with the prized wicket of Rahul Dravid, and Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq then produced sterling displays of seam bowling as Pakistan romped to a 341-run victory at the National Stadium. The triumph was every bit as emphatic as the marginsuggested, with India left to look back ruefully at the opening morning when Kamran Akmal’s century for the ages lifted Pakistan from the depths of 39 for 6. Set a mammoth 607 to win, or more realistically 164 overs to survive, India lasted just 58.4 overs, with Yuvraj Singh’s magnificent 122 the only spot of balm on a gaping wound.India’s stumble towards their second-heaviest defeat – Australia had routed them by 342 runs at Nagpur in October 2004 – started in the very first over when Shoaib’s fearsome pace induced the thinnest of edges from Dravid’s bat. That set the stage for Asif, the 23-year-old whose accuracy and use of the seam at lively pace evoked the incomparable Glenn McGrath.He got prodigious movement back to flummox the leaden-footed Virender Sehwag and leave India down for the count. Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps playing his final Test innings against Pakistan, then walked to the middle and appeared determined to go down swinging, playing two superb back-foot punches through the off side and a pull for four off Shoaib bowling at near-maximum pace. He and Laxman drove and nudged their way to lunch, swaying out of the way of some nasty bouncers, but soon after the interval, it all went pear-shaped. Again, it was Asif’s brilliant use of the seam that did the damage, with Laxman undone by subtle movement into him and Tendulkar floored – literally – by one that kept slightly low to cannon into the middle of off stump.

Sourav Ganguly started with a couple of sublimely timed off-drives and with Yuvraj also driving and pulling like a dream, the runs came at a frenetic clip. Asif kept probing away, beating the bat regularly, while Shoaib came back for a fiery second spell where an edge from Yuvraj felljust short of Imran Farhat at second slip. With the match almost certainly lost, both batsmen played with great freedom as Pakistan set attacking fields. Yuvraj took just 45 balls for his half-century, and both he and Ganguly saw off the threat of Danish Kaneria with only the odd alarm.Any hope of great escapes and miracles was however extinguished as soon as the players came back after tea, with Razzaq shaping one back onto Ganguly’s pad. Having already taken three wickets in the first innings and made 135 runs, Razzaq made an even greater impression with his spell in the final session. Faisal Iqbal dropped a sitter at square leg with Yuvraj on 77, but Razzaq didn’t let his shoulders droop, getting Mahendra Dhoni on the drive with some extra bounce and then having Irfan Pathan fend off a bouncer to gully.Kaneria, who finally got a bowl in the 24th over of the second innings, then winkled out Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan, before Razzaq capped a splendid allround display by having Yuvraj caught behind. By then, Yuvraj had let his stamp on proceedings with a second Test century, an innings of the highest class in a patently hopeless situation. He drove beautifully and pulled with power when the ball was pitched short, finishing with 19 fours and a six in an innings that stood out among the ruins of a famed batting line-up.Before doing untold damage with the ball, Pakistan had exacerbated India’s pain with the bat, piling up 88 runs from just 13.1 overs in the morning before the declaration came. Razzaq thumped his way to 90 before lofting Kumble down to Yuvraj at long-on, soon after Iqbal had departed, having stroked a wonderful 139 from just 220 balls.Razzaq started the morning’s carnage by slapping a Rudra Pratap Singh delivery past point, and then took 14 from an Pathan over that included a big six over long-on. Iqbal joined in the fun, pulling and flicking Rudra Pratap in another 14-run over. That prompted Dravid to turn to spin, butRazzaq’s response was to smash Kumble over long-on for six. Tendulkar’s introduction provoked a similarly violent reaction from Iqbal, who smacked him down to the sightscreen and over cover, before an effortless loft cleared the rope behind the bowler’s head.By the time he and Razzaq tried one biff too many, the damage had been done, leaving India with a Himalayan target to scale. With the exception of Yuvraj, no one even left base camp, and they can now reflect on a match where Pakistan finally produced the promised green-top and then pulverised them.

PakistanFaisal Iqbal c Tendulkar b Zaheer 139 (598 for 6)
Abdul Razzaq c Yuvraj b Kumble 90 (599 for 7)
IndiaRahul Dravid c Akmal b Shoaib 2 (8 for 1)
Virender Sehwag b Asif 4 (8 for 2)
VVS Laxman b Asif 21 (63 for 3) Sachin Tendulkar b Asif 26 (74 for 4) Sourav Ganguly lbw Razzaq 37 (177 for 5) Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Farhat b Razzaq 18 (208 for 6) Irfan Pathan c Iqbal b Razzaq 4 (216 for 7) Anil Kumble c Farhat b Kaneria 5 (231 for 8) Zaheer Khan b Kaneria 10 (251 for 9) Yuvraj Singh c Akmal b Razzaq 122 (265 all out)

Scorecard
Points table

Western Australia were in control at the end of the third day at St Kilda and have a chance of sealing a berth in the Pura Cup final. However, Victoria, set a stiff target of 361, began their chase confidently, ending on 0 for 43.Building on their slender first-innings lead of 21, the Warriors were well placed through the day thanks to half-centuries by Chris Rogers and Marcus North. Rogers played positively for his 66, hitting eight boundaries before edging to Nathan Pillon, the wicketkeeper, off Shane Harwood. His dismissal ended a 110-run partnership with Shaun Marsh (37) and North and Adam Voges followed by adding 91 for the fourth wicket. North made up for his first-innings duck with a fluent 63 that gave Western Australia the advantage.After North’s dismissal, with the score on 5 for 232, a spirited display by the lower order took the initiative further away from the Bushrangers. Brett Dorey, following his six-wicket haul in the first innings, scored 36, as the last three batsmen added 65 and pushed the lead past 350. Harwood, who was recently recommended by his team-mate Shane Warne for a place in the national side, was the pick of the Victoria bowlers, taking 3 for 45.Lloyd Mash and Jason Arnberger, the Victoria openers, played out 15 overs without losing a wicket, and they need a further 318 on the final day if they are to qualify for the final against Queensland.

Following the riots and anger from supporters at Guwahati, the England batsman Andrew Strauss has sympathised with the fans’ frustration after the match was called off.Although it appeared from the stands that the outfield had dried sufficiently – aided by a helicopter to blow-dry the rain away – the bowlers’ run-ups were sodden and the pitch was unsuitable to play on. With the sun shining, the fans couldn’t understand why the umpires – Rudi Koertzen and AV Jayaprakash – didn’t allow the match to start, and an outbreak of anger ensued. Strauss, though sympathetic to their concerns, did not condone the violence.”No-one likes to see things get out of hand like that,” he told . “It was obvious even as we left there were portions of the crowd who were pretty frustrated that there wasn’t any cricket being played.”You can understand [the frustration] because they had been there for a long time and it wasn’t raining,” he added. From the outside it looked like the conditions were right for cricket.”It’s a real shame for the spectators but obviously the players have got to take their own safety into account,” he said. “The bowlers’ run ups were very wet with the potential for bowlers to do themselves damage. It only takes one slip and you can damage yourself pretty badly.”It just wasn’t fit enough to play a one-day international which was a shame. It robbed everyone of a good game of cricket.”The sixth one-dayer gets underway at Jamshedpur on April 12.

Scotland 95 for 3 (Watson 62*) trail Namibia 168 (S Burger 69, Lyons 4-10) by 73 runs
Scorecard

Scotland ended the first day of their Intercontinental Cup clash against Namibia at Aberdeen just about ahead after a good post-lunch performance with the ball and an uncompromising unbeaten 62 from Ryan Watson. At the close, Scotland were 95 for 3 in reply to Namibia’s 168.The first two sessions were fairly low on entertainment for a crowd which never exceeded a couple of hundred. Namibia batted after winning the toss, but Paul Hoffmann and Dewald Nel bowled well to keep them under the cosh, and at lunch they had struggled to 68 for 3.Sarel Burger and Gerrie Snyman then launched an effective counter-attack, adding 70 for the fifth wicket. The reintroduction of left-arm spinner Ross Lyons turned the game again. He dismissed Snyman with his second ball and the following over removed Burger for 62. From 143 for 4 the innings fell apart, the last six wickets adding only 25 and Lyons finishing with 4 for 10 off 12.4 overs.Scotland started poorly, with Dougie Lockhart treading on his own stumps off the fifth ball. But Watson was in no mood to hang around, and he set about the bowling, not easing up even when Ian Stranger was dismissed for 12.Scotland’s day was slightly spoiled when Fraser Watts was run-out in the final over attempting am unnecessarily tight single.Tomorrow could present problems of a different kind as heavy rain is forecast for the east coast of Scotland.

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, says he will speak to Shahid Afridi about his surprising decision to skip Tests until after the World Cup in 2007. Afridi announced last week his intention to temporarily `retire’ from Test match cricket due primarily to an increasingly heavy playing schedule.Woolmer, in Abu Dhabi already for a coaching course, will talk to Afridi over the course of the two ODIs between India and Pakistan later this week. He told Cricinfo, “I would like to speak to Afridi in Abu Dhabi to discuss his decision. Naturally it is not for me to make comment regarding his announcement until I have had a chance to discuss this with him.”Though Afridi has constantly dismissed suggestions that his dropping from the second Test at Kandy had anything to do with his decision, speculation remains that there was more to the move than appeared immediately apparent. But Woolmer seemingly confirmed Afridi’s assertion, saying, “I believe he has shown categorically that he can handle Test cricket and he has been an important member of our side. He gives the team an added dimension.” Afridi had complained that too much cricket had taken its toll on him and that he wanted to spend some time with his family and concentrate solely on the World Cup.Afridi had not spoken to the PCB about his plans, only informing Inzamam-ul-Haq of his decision. Inzamam has been non-committal, saying only that he would not like to create undue pressure on Afridi to do something he does not want to do at this stage.Chatter from within the PCB suggests that officials plan to speak to Afridi in Abu Dhabi in an effort to, if not immediately reconsider, then at least think about it a little longer before making the decision final. “We will speak to him to see what his thinking is. It is a surprise to us but ultimately if he has made up his mind, then we cannot do much. You can drag a horse to water but you cannot make him drink it,” said one.Another official revealed that Afridi had been reluctant to go on the tour of Sri Lanka in the first place and had even requested that he be dropped from the Kandy Test. “This has come as quite a surprise although he intimated that he was not up for the Sri Lankan tour saying that he had played too much cricket. He actually asked to be left out of the Test side at Kandy.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has threatened its contracted players with disciplinary action if they take part in the National Twenty20 competition currently being held in the country. Dismissed by Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, as a “tennis ball cricket tournament”, the championship was rumoured to have a number of Ranji Trophy cricketers set to take part.Neither the BCCI nor the International Cricket Council (ICC) has chosen to recognise the national championship, which began on Monday. The BCCI have never hidden their scepticism over the 20-over format of the game and only reluctantly agreed to send the national team to the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa next year.”All first-class cricketers have a contract with the BCCI which has a clause that states to take part in any tournament or matches that are not recognised by the BCCI, they will need to have the board’s permission,” MP Pandove, joint honorary secretary of the BCCI and Punjab Cricket Association, told the . “District level players and umpires also too need prior permission from their respective associations. Anyone can organise a cricket tournament these days, but who cares for such events. This tournament is not recognised by the BCCI or ICC, and they cannot claim it to be a national event.”However, Piyush Rana, the Twenty20 Cricket Federation secretary general, insisted that the tournament was very much a valid one. He clarified that there was no ill-motive involved in the event: “We have also registered our trademark, logo, copyrights, intellectual property rights in accordance with international patent law and hence we are the real body to conduct the tournaments.”