Graham Thorpe, the former England middle-order batsman, is unlikely to play for New South Wales (NSW) in the 2005-06 season.Trevor Bayliss, the NSW coach, said that keeping in mind the objective of developing players for the national team, Thorpe would be considered for selection only after the fringe players were given opportunities to play. “We are hoping he doesn’t play as I have said before,” Bayliss was quoted as saying by AFP “and he is aware of that but we will have to see how the season pans out”.Brad Haddin, the NSW wicketkeeper-captain, added that the prospect of Thorpe playing was remote. “He is there if we need him but if the players are doing the job they are meant to do, I don’t think there will be any need to pick him,” Haddin said.Thorpe will play for UTS Balmain, a Sydney club, and Bayliss felt that his experience would be valuable for the team. “It is very difficult these days to get blokes like Mark and Steve Waugh, and Mark Taylor, who have played 100 Tests, it is very difficult to get guys like that around practice, other than one or two times a year. So to have someone there full-time after Christmas will be a benefit to our young guys.”Thorpe retired from international cricket after he was left out of the England squad for the Ashes series in July. Thorpe is said to be considering Australia as a permanent residence option.

Scorecard
Before this tour, England’s captain Charlotte Edwards said this would be her toughest challenge yet – playing India in India. But she shook off any concerns to hit a composed 68 as her team took an early lead in the five-match one-day series to beat India by 20 runs.Jenny Gunn blasted her way to her first international fifty, with 56, and the lower order chipped in to lift England to 188 for 7. England’s coach, Richard Bates, admitted afterwards that this was below their target of 200, but he had revised his expectations as the game got underway on a pitch that was slow, low and without much bounce. “We came up a bit short,” Bates told Cricinfo, “but soon realised that 188 was a decent score.”India’s batsmen made life difficult for England at Faridabad, Monica Sumra and Jaya Sharma putting on a very good opening partnership of 68. But England’s bowlers stuck to their task, showing character and discipline to apply the squeeze and take six wickets for 13 runs as India folded under the pressure.England’s ground fielding wasn’t up to their usual high standards, but there is room for improvement ahead of the second one-dayer at Lucknow. The teams haven’t seen much of each other in one-dayers – aside from one match in this year’s World Cup.”I’m very, very pleased with today’s performance,” Bates added. “They were a bit of an unknown before today’s match. Now we’ve seen the players we can look at how we can change our ways to restrict their bowlers. It was interesting to see how they fared under pressure – and we got a good look at their spinners. We hope to be firing on all cylinders for the next match.”

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) soared to the top of the Group B table as they defeated Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) by an emphatic margin of nine wickets on the final day of their Patron’s Trophy match at the Iqbal Stadium at Faisalabad.Having gained a first-innings lead of 120, PTCL downed ZTBL for 252 in their second innings after they had resumed yesterday morning at 104 for 2, still 16 runs adrift. PTCL were thus left with 133 to get, which they achieved in style by reaching 137 for 1. PTCL now have 15 points from their first two matches in the five-team pool. ZTBL have lost twice in as many appearances and have failed to collect any points so far.Riaz Afridi, Peshawar’s fast bowler who has played in a Test match for Pakistan, captured 4 for 34 in 18 overs for PTCL yesterday. He was ably assisted by Babar Naeem, the Rawalpindi left-arm spinner, with figures of 3 for 30 in 11 overs. Mohammad Khalil, another Pakistan player, picked up 2-70 with his left-arm pace to go with his first-innings 4 for 76. Faisal Naved top-scored for ZTBL with 49 off 124 balls that included five fours. During the 79-run seventh-wicket partnership, Zahoor Elahi, a former Pakistan batsman, and Adnan Akmal, the wicketkeeper, appeared to have tamed the PTCL bowling but this did not last very long.ZTBL, who have won the Patron’s Trophy title four times, were beaten by their 2003-04 runners-up Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in the first round. PTCL, however, took six points from their win over Service Industries in their opening game. PTCL will now play their third-round match against National Bank — who beat Service Industries with a day to spare on Sunday — at the Sheikhupura Stadium from Thursday. ZTBL have a period of rest until the fourth round.Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) claimed the three first-innings points after a draw in their Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match against Pakistan Customs at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1 at Karachi. Customs, however, remained in second position in the five-team group – after Habib Bank – with six points from two matches. SNGPL have so far made one only appearance in the tournament, but they are at No.3 in the table.Customs resumed their chase of SNGPL’s big first-innings score of 498 yesterday at 237 for 6, still needing another 111 to avert the follow-on. They did so with credit by reaching a total of 375, which however placed them 123 runs in deficit. With no result in sight, SNGPL preferred to gain some batting practice after they had been assured the three points from a draw. They were 100 for 2 in their second innings when the match was called off.Fawad Alam, the teenaged left-handed batsman, unbeaten at 45 overnight, managed to add only two more runs, his 47 coming off 150 balls in just short of three-and-a-quarter hours with five fours. Customs needed to get to a score of 348 to save themselves from following-on. The eighth-wicket stand of 68 served them well in this pursuit. Murtaza Hussain, the offspinner, stuck to his crease for a little over three hours while scoring 58. He found able partners until the end, with 31 runs made for the ninth wicket and another 32 for the last. Azam Hussain, Alam’s partner in the eighth-wicket stand, hit a career-best 49 at a run a ball that included seven fours. Imran Khalid, SNGPL’s slow left-arm bowler, took 4 for 96 runs in 43 overs.In their first-round match of the tournament, Customs had started by beating Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) although they collected only six points instead of the full nine as they had earlier surrendered the first-innings lead. SNGPL did not have a match to play in the previous round, and will now play their third-round four-day match against Group A table leaders Habib Bank at Karachi beginning December 22. Pakistan Customs will have a break until the fourth round.Habib Bank drew with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in their first-round fixture and then beat KRL on Sunday inside three days of their second-round game. They now have a total of 12 points to their credit. KRL’s next match is coming up against PIA, also from Thursday, at the National Stadium. KRL have been beaten in both the matches they have played upto now.

Matthew Hayden, the Australia opener, has backed his team-mate Andrew Symonds to replicate his terrific one-day form in the Test series against South Africa, beginning at Perth on December 16.Symonds, 30, was named in the squad for the Perth Test. He smashed a match-winning 156 to set up a thrilling two-run win over New Zealand in the second match of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy at Wellington two days ago. However, when it comes to the longer version of the game, Symonds averages a meager 10.50 from four Tests. His form in the recent Test series against the West Indies left much to be desired, and he struggled to nine from 51 balls in the final Test at Adelaide.Hayden, though, remained upbeat on Symond’s ability to perform. “I don’t think he has to do anything different in Test cricket,” Hayden told ABC Sport. “He has to lay a foundation, which we saw in Adelaide the other day. Unfortunately he just cut off at that point and we didn’t see the Andrew Symonds that we all love.”Meanwhile, Michael Clarke, who was not included in the squad for the Perth Test, has been backed by Shane Warne, Australia’s star legspinner. “Michael Clarke, whether he’s back in Perth or whenever that may be, he’ll be ready,” he said. “He’s another quality player who we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing. I think we all enjoy watching him play too.”I think his enthusiasm rubs off on all of us,” he added. “Look, Michael Clarke will be back, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just a matter of when.”

Sri Lanka are expected to arrive in Dhaka on February 17, ten days ahead of the original schedule, to play three one-day internationals and two Tests against Bangladesh.A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) source said that a fresh itinerary would be announced soon.SLC asked the BCB to bring forward Sri Lanka’s first tour to the country following the postponement of Asia Cup.

ScorecardLeon Johnson led West Indies to a victory in a last-over thriller over Pakistan in the second one-dayer at Karachi. Johnson anchored West Indies’ innings with an excellent hundred, before taking two crucial catches to deny the hosts by seven runs.Johnson came to the crease with his side struggling on 37 for 1, and quickly assumed the anchor role; only Kieron Pollard hung around with him for any length of time and the pair put on a vital partnership of 110 for the fifth wicket. Pollard’s departure, for 52, spelled the end of the innings: West Indies crumbled from 242 for 5 to 260 all out.With Mohammad Ibrahim making a steady fifty, and useful contributions from Ali Khan (39) and the captain Sarfraz Ahmed (34), Pakistan chipped away at the target and were still in the hunt for 261 until the final over. Jamshed Ahmed (20) and Imad Wasim (19*) put on 38 for the final wicket, before Ahmed was run out to give the visitors a seven-run win, squaring the series 1-1.

Rajshahi 106 for 5 (Jahurul Islam 58*) beat Sylhet 103 (Shafaq Al Zabir 3-19, Suhrawadi Shuvo 3-9) by five wickets
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Points tableRajshahi retained their National Cricket League one-day crown with two rounds remaining when they secured a five-wicket win against Sylhet at the Rajshahi Divisional Stadium.Shafaq Al Jabir and Mushfiqur Rahman’s opening burst reduced Sylhet to 42 for 5 and although they recovered slightly, their score of 103 was never enough. Rajshahi suffered early setbacks, but Jahurul Islam, the Man of the Match, played an anchor innings of 58 off 98 balls to guide his side home with 20 overs to spare.Rajshahi, with a 100 per cent record and 16 points, are clear of Chittagong, who caught up with Dhaka after a 29-run victory over them. Bottom placed Barisal moved up the table with an impressive six-wicket win over Khulna

Islamabad Leopards and Lahore Lions were declared joint-winners of the Silver League in the ABN-AMRO Cup, as overnight showers prevented the final scheduled to be played at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad on Sunday.Akbar Khan and Rasheed Bhatti, the umpires, and Khatib Rizwan, the match referee, inspected the pitch several times and waited till 2:00 pm before announcing that play was not possible. The ground staff did their best but the water had made the track a little spongy, and thus unplayable.Islamabad’s Ashar Zaidi and Lahore’s Taufeeq Umar received the trophy from the chief guest, Syed Anwar Mehmood. The best batsman award went to Adnan Raza of Lahore while the best bowler award went to Mohammad Hussain, also of Lahore Lions.Shakeel Shaikh, President of the Islamabad Cricket Association (ICA), gave away to Raja Kashif of Islamabad Leopards won the the best wicketkeeper award and the joint best fielder award went to Zaidi of Islamabad and Hameedullah Khan of Quetta Bears.Asad Ali, the paceman, snapped up four crucial wickets to bowl Faisalabad Wolves into the finals of the ABN-AMRO Cup Gold League, beating Sialkot Stallions by six wickets at Karachi.Faisalabad reached the modest target of 215 for the loss of four wickets in 46.2 overs with opener Mohammad Hafeez striking 10 boundaries in his 58. Faisalabad have thus maintained their top slot in the seven-team Gold League with 20 points with five straight victories.Sent in to bat, Sialkot were dismissed for 214 with Asad Ali returning with figures of 4 for 42 and Saeed Ajmal, the off-break bowler taking 3 for 30 in nine overs. The talented Shahid Yousuf, who made a superb hundred in the previous match, again emerged as Sialkot’s top scorer with 62. They made a great recovery after Asad Ali removed Atiq-ur-Rehman (1), Tahir Mughal (4) and Sarfraz Ahmed (4) in his opening burst.Peshawar Panthers beat Rawalpindi Rams by 17 runs in an ABN-AMRO Cup league match, at Karachi on Sunday.Peshawar scored 278 for 7 and later bowled out Rawalpindi for 261 in 49.2 overs. The latter lost six wickets with only 121 runs on the board after 23 overs before the lower-order batsmen started the recovery, but eventually, the target proved to be elusive. Sajid Mahmood top-scored with 62. Three Peshawar batsmen contributed half-centuries. Mohammad Fayyaz scored 53, newcomer Mahfooz Sabri hammered 66 off 64 balls and Taimur Khan took only 47 deliveries for his unbeaten 55 that included five fours.Lahore Eagles beat Multan Tigers by six wickets at Karachi on Sunday, and now have a chance of meeting Faisalabad Wolves in next Thursday’s Gold League final.They have their last match coming up in the seventh round against bottom-placed Karachi Zebras at the National Stadium on Tuesday. At the same time, they would be hoping that Sialkot Stallions are beaten by Multan Tigers on the same day. The Eagles and Stallions currently have a points tally of 12 each with one match in hand. Peshawar Panthers have completed all their six and ended up with the same total.Sent in to bat, Multan were bowled out for 179 to which the Eagles replied with 180 for 4 in a mere 35.3 overs. Multan had earlier crashed to 28 for 5 in 14 overs before being lifted by Kamran Hussain (82), and later by Mohammad Irshad, who hit 32 runs off 28 balls at number 10. Mohammad Khalil, the left-arm fast-medium bowler was responsible for Multan’s early debacle, as he took three of the first five wickets. He eventually finished with figures of 4 for 29 off 9.2 overs.Lahore too lost some early wickets. The fifth-wicket pair, however, put on 94 and took their team to a comfortable win. Aamer Sajjad hit 43 not out while Sohail Ahmed remained unbeaten with 46.

The question is inevitable, the concern real. The world of cricket, not just the West Indies, is hopeful that both are premature.The startling slump that has overcome Brian Lara in the first two Tests of the series here prompted conjecture in today’s New Zealand press, as no doubt elsewhere, over whether the condition is terminal for the most compelling batsman of his era and the owner of most of the game’s available batting records.”Lara: Prince now the pauper”, read the headline in the . “Special powers desert ageing Lara,” proclaimed the . The comments follow Lara’s scores of 5, 0, 1 and 1 in his four innings, a total of seven runs from the 23 balls he has received.He fell in the first Test in Auckland to the only two balls he faced from Shane Bond, the spearhead of New Zealand’s attack and a high-class fast bowler. His first ball dismissal in the second innings, bowled leg-stump, was only his third such indignity in his 122 Tests. But Bond has been missing from the second Test at the Basin Reserve, eliminated on the morning of the match by a debilitating virus.Instead, Lara has gone to lesser combatants, to the left-arm swinger James Franklin fourth ball in the first innings and to the mild medium-pace of Nathan Astle sixth ball in the second. Both were to uncertain edged drives that yielded catches to slip and backward point. The esteem in which he is universally held was evident in the prolonged and generous ovation from all around the ground that accompanied him to the middle, both in Auckland and here.The general sense of disappointment at his early demise yesterday was palpable as he walked off, briefly raising his helmet and gloves in acknowledgement that it would be his last appearance in Wellington. “I tell you, there was an audible groan all around the room when he was out,” said Brian Hastings, the former New Zealand batsman who was in the members’ dining room along with several ex-Test players, among them Alan Davidson, Neil Harvey and Ashley Mallett of Australia.It was as if Pavrotti had suddenly lost his voice yet again during a major concert tour. The reservation, as with Lara, would be whether he would be the same again. Lara is approaching 37, a factor noted by Richard Boock in the . “It happened to the best of them, starting right back in the days of WG Grace,” he wrote. “Wilfred Rhodes eventually succumbed, Colin Cowdrey and Ian Botham tried to beat the odds and lost, even Viv Richards saw the writing on the wall.”Now it appears fate is poised to come calling for Brian Charles Lara,” he added. “Old Father Time makes exceptions for no one, it seems; not even a player who has rewritten the records in just about every genuine batting list, and has scored more runs than anyone else in the history of the game.”What Boock did not note was that Lara has been through such run droughts before and has followed them with familiar plenty and that he was in his usual heavy-scoring mode less than a year ago. His sequence of figures in Australia in 1997-98 were equally meager – 2 and 1 in Sydney, 2 and 2 in Melbourne, 9 in Adelaide. The first four times he was undone by Glenn McGrath, his traditional nemesis. Yet he recovered his composure and his form to round off the series with scores of 78 and 132.A year later, in South Africa, overburdened by the fallout from the preceding players’ strike and by Allan Donald’s pace, he had five scores under 20 and a highest of 79 in the five Tests. A few weeks later, he was reeling off his matchwinning 213 at Sabina Park and unbeaten 153 at Kensington against Australia.He was then appreciably younger but if age is a factor, it was not obvious in his eight Tests last year in which he accumulated scores of 196 and 176 against South Africa and 130 and 153 against Pakistan in the Caribbean and 226 against Australia in Australia. Martin Crowe, the former New Zealand captain and premier batsman, puts Lara’s problems down to his lack of preparation coming into the Tests. “New Zealand’s one of the most difficult places for batsmen to get acclimatised to,” he explained. “Even the greatest players, like Sobers and Viv Richards, couldn’t come to terms with conditions.”He recalled that he himself built up to his outstanding home series against the West Indies in 1987 with eight first-class matches in New Zealand’s domestic competition. Sir Garry’s highest score in seven Tests on two tours, in 1956 and 1969, was 39 and his average 13.10. Richards played only three Tests here, in 1987, with a highest score of 38.”As I recall it, Sobers (in 1969) and Richards came straight from a tour of Australia,” Crowe noted. “It’s not far away but the pitches and the overall conditions are like chalk and cheese.” Lara’s only hundred in five previous Tests in New Zealand-two in 1995, three in 2000-01-was 147 in Wellington when the West Indies amassed 650 for five declared.”I think Brian would have benefited from the five one-dayers,” Crowe said. “He’s come into Test cricket in New Zealand straight from the Caribbean and, as I understand it, hadn’t played any cricket for something like six weeks. Even from him, that was taking a chance.”Two more innings remain for Lara to prove that Old Father Time hasn’t yet caught up with him. The world waits.

The Australians took another step in their preparation to regain the Ashes later this year when they appointed Mike Young, a former baseball coach from America, as a fielding consultant for the next year. Young will be a part-time consultant and will work with the Australian side over the next 12 months as they attempt to wrest back the Ashes at home and then win the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.”Mike will be working across a number of programs within Australian cricket with his area of expertise in fielding and throwing,” Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s cricket operations general manager, was quoted as saying by AAP. “However his coaching background in baseball also adds much value in terms of his general coaching knowledge.” Young will be based at CA’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.Australia’s poor catching was a huge factor in their losing the Ashes 2-1 in England last year. In all, they dropped 17 catches, the most significant being the let-off offered by Shane Warne to Kevin Pietersen in the last Test at The Oval. Pietersen, then on 15, went on to make 158 as England ended up saving the Test and sealing the series.Young, who had worked with the Australian one-day squads over the last six years, wasn’t around during the Ashes, but Cricket Australia denied that this move was atonement for past errors. “It’s not about looking back — we did that when we did the review of the Ashes program and made the changes we did,” Brown told The Age, an Australian daily – Australia appointed two assistant coaches and an IT analyst after the series. “It’s more about looking forward, how do we manage the requirements of our team given the uniqueness of the six or seven month period … You’ve got to remember during the Ashes we also had Jamie Siddons, who was probably one of the best fielders Australia has ever seen.”What we will do is use him [Young] a little bit more in the summer around the lead-in to the preparation for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes, and of course he’ll come back in for the VB Series and the World Cup.”