Category Uncategorized

LONDON – A mooted one-day cricket series between Australia and India inSeptember has been scrapped.Australian Cricket Board chief executive James Sutherland made theannouncement with regret at Lord’s today.”India has withdrawn from the Super Challenge series,” he said.”From an ACB point of view we are quite disappointed, given thatpreviously we had undertakings from the board in India that it would goahead and we had put plans in place for it to go ahead.”It was a great opportunity for Australian fans to see the great Indianplayers that we saw in the series just gone.”Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president AC Muttiahinformed the ACB by fax that his players were unavailable because of analready congested schedule.The three-game series would have been held in Brisbane and Melbourne,indoors at Colonial Stadium.A replacement for India will not be sought.Australian captain Steve Waugh had previously questioned theavailability of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and himself because theirwives are due to give birth in September.”They were all available to play and they were all going to play subjectto nature taking its course,” said Sutherland.”It was a full strength Australian side but if someone went into labourat a time that clashed, we were going to be as understanding aspossible.”Sutherland also said playing Test and limited overs matches in winter intropical areas like Darwin, Cairns and Alice Springs was “a goodoption.””One of the great things about the country we live in is that we canplay cricket all year round if we find the right place,” he said.”I wouldn’t like to put time frame on it, wouldn’t like to be definitivebut we’ve certainly looked closely at it.”

BCCI president Shashank Manohar has sought a report from the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) over the crowd disturbance incident that marred the second Twenty20 between India and South Africa. Manohar sought an explanation after match referee Chris Broad’s report was made available to the BCCI, and received a reply from the OCA on the same day – as it had done with ESPNcricinfo earlier, the association cited the harsh weather conditions for allowing plastic water bottles to be taken into the stands.*The T20 was disrupted twice due to a section of crowd pelting water bottles onto the field on three occasions following India’s batting collapse. Allowing water bottles into the stands is not the norm in Indian stadiums.”The board had given us two days to reply but we have sent our reply in just two hours,” OCA secretary Asirbad Behara told ESPNcricinfo. “We have written to the board that considering the comfort of the spectators who were sitting in sultry heat for the match, we decided to allow water bottles to be carried in the stands.”Since a handful of spectators turned nasty and caused disturbance to the match, we have regretted the decision and have assured the BCCI that we will never repeat such an act.”It will be interesting to see if the BCCI acts against one of its full members based on this report.The ICC has no role to play in the matter and has no powers to take any action against the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The onus instead is on the host board, the BCCI, to conduct its own investigation and determine if the venue should be penalised. With respect to the safety and security of the teams in a bilateral series, it is agreed that it will be the responsibility of the host board.Although the ICC has its own guidelines as to what can be permitted inside the ground for fans, they only apply to ICC tournaments. During bilateral series, the host board has its own sets of rules and regulations that the venues need to adhere to, so it is for the BCCI to determine whether there was any violation on part of the OCA for allowing the spectators to carry plastic bottles into the ground. However, the ICC match officials – referee and umpires – are always encouraged to make sure the match is completed.In the event of an incident like the crowd trouble witnessed during the Cuttack T20, the protocol demands that the match referee include a blow-by-blow account of the same in his report. It is then passed on to the ICC, which then forwards it to the BCCI. The BCCI will then submit a report based on its findings and the action it took along with the learnings from the incident to the ICC. This report will then be discussed at the chief executives’ meeting. Considering the next CEC meeting is scheduled to be held later this week in Dubai, the Cuttack incident would come up for discussion only at the next round of meetings.Sachin Tendulkar has already expressed disappointment over the incident, calling for “more responsible behaviour”. “What happened during the game is definitely not good for the game. It has happened earlier also,” Tendulkar told . “We need learn from these mistakes.”We are all passionate about the game. We all love the game so we get disappointed and frustrated at times. There are ways to express that but what happened in Cuttack is certainly not the to way show your emotions. I would request all the fans to think about it [the incident], show some maturity.”*16.00GMT, October 7: This article was updated after the OCA replied to the BCCI.

Bangladesh looked like continuing their discouraging streak of failures since their inception into Test cricket in the second Test against Pakistan at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. The hosts found themselves blown away for 148 just before the tea break and, by stumps, Pakistan had steadily advanced to 99 for just the loss opener Shadab Kabir.Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who bowled little and unsuccessfully in the first Test at Dhaka, was the chief architect of the Bangladeshi collapse, luring five Bangladeshi batsmen to their doom and conceding only 35 runs in the process. At the other end, continuing his strategy of torment against Bangladesh, was Danish Kaneria, who claimed 4-62.Bangladesh were most comfortable in the day only between Khaled Masud winning the toss and the openers taking strike against Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. First strike on a flat, dry batting surface that promised to aid spin later in the match was an advantage that Bangladesh badly needed. It was also an advantage that was to be squandered.Javed Belim, the right-handed opener playing in place of Mohammad Ashraful, opened with an injured Al-Sahariar. The pair added 21 runs for the first wicketbefore Waqar induced a nick from Al-Sahariar and sent him back for 13, caught behind by Rashid Latif.Mehrab Hossain and Belim then proceeded to give their supporters a rare moment of cheer. Batting patiently and steadily, they saw off the opening pace salvo and then looked comfortable when spin was introduced into the attack. Just before lunch, however, Belim, then on 17, misread the bounce from a Saqlain delivery, offering a catch to silly point Shadab Kabir.One of Bangladesh’s more dependable bats disappointed on the day. Habibul Bashar’s dismissal mirrored Belim’s, with Shadab Kabir taking yet another catch at silly point off the bowling of Saqlain. Their best batsman gone for just 2, the remaining members of the batting line-up crumbled in the face of fine spin bowling from Saqlain and Kaneria.Aminul Islam and skipper Khaled Masud did offer some resistance further down the order, adding 27 runs for the seventh wicket. Aminul ground out 27 runs, while Masud top-scored in the innings with 28.Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis was in particularly attacking vein on the day, setting suffocating close-in fields to entice the batsmen into playing big shots. The plan worked brilliantly, with almost all the batsmen fell into that very trap. The home side’s innings lasted only 56.4 overs.Mohammad Sharif brought slight cheer with his early success, removing Shadab Kabir caught behind in the sixth over. Shadab appeared suspect outside the off-stump from the very start, prodding at deliveries that were meant to be left alone. His mode of dismissal, thus, came as little surprise.That was to be Bangladesh’s last success of the day. Younis Khan and Taufeeq Umar consolidated their side’s position to run up 99 runs by the close of the play. Both were unbeaten on 47, taking eight boundaries each off a Bangladeshi attack that appeared unlikely to set things up for a series-squaring win by bowling Pakistan out twice.

At the end of day two, Sourav Ganguly had said that South Africa’s collapse in the first innings, during which they lost nine wickets for 113 runs, boosted India’s confidence in the second. Perhaps he knew the bowlers had got the measure of the Green Park pitch, something Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captaining in his first Test, reiterated today after the dramatic win.”In the second innings, everybody knew what lengths to bowl, and from what spots they would get variable bounce,” Dhoni said, “The fast bowlers especially deserve a lot of credit in the second innings.”A major change from the first innings was that India opened with Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma, neither of whom gave anything away. They made sure there were no free runs on offer to let off the pressure that a 60-run deficit would have put on the South Africans. India applied what Dhoni termed as ‘mindgames’ with that lead in their bags, and delayed its erasing as much as possible, knowing the wickets would just be a matter of time if they could push South Africa into a shell. The approach was rewarded fully, as South Africa had lost four of their best batsmen by the time they were only 12 ahead. “Although this was the third day of the match, this was not a third-day pitch,” Dhoni said. “The way Harbhajan and Viru [Virender Sehwag] bowled, we knew it was going to be just a matter of time. There were no easy singles on offer, so we put a lot of pressure on them. We made sure they didn’t take a single and go off strike.”This is where the efforts of Ganguly and VVS Laxman provide a stark contrast to the South African batsmen, and also proved crucial in the final equation, as they controlled the innings, consciously looking to score more often than they usually would. “To play positively on this wicket is very important,” Dhoni said. “You can get out irrespective of whether you are playing your shots or not, the way it happened to Rahul Dravid. So you have to keep scoring on such tracks. It was very crucial the way Sourav batted on this track, and the 60-odd lead was very crucial, because it changes the whole mindset of the team that is batting next.”Almost all the bowling changes he made seemed to work. In the first innings, Piyush Chawla got wickets in his first over on two occasions. In the second, Sehwag got a wicket with his first ball and Ishant got two in the first over of his second spell. But Dhoni said it was easier to captain on this pitch, especially with the way the bowlers bowled.”Viru is much more than a part-timer on this kind of wicket. He continuously kept bowling the right areas, in the rough. It was a deliberate move, and we knew that with him and Yuvraj in the team we would not need an extra spinner.”He had a pretty difficult job of replacing Anil Kumble as captain, and also playing without Sachin Tendulkar and Kumble for the first time since the latter’s debut. “It’s pretty hard to replace a man like Kumble, and especially on such a wicket,” he said. “Had he been playing, I don’t think this would have lasted three days.”Well we did well, but it doesn’t mean we are better off without Sachin or Anil. Who is there to replace Sachin? Who is there to replace Kumble? It is better to have them in the side than not, but the credit goes to the boys who stood up in their absence.”It was also an extremely difficult match for Dhoni the keeper, and to his credit he did himself no shame during the last three days. “The wicket was turning square, and most of our spinners were bowling in the rough,” he said. “So you find yourself keeping to some balls that would spin and some that wouldn’t. I was quite happy with the way I kept, because some balls were kicking and some were keeping really low. The way our fast bowlers were bowling, it could hurt your fingers pretty badly. It was good fun though.”This series was part two of a potential rivalry that India had started in South Africa last year. India needed a tailor-made track to come back on level terms on a series that they were expected to win easily. Dhoni, though, agreed with the South African coach Mickey Arthur that there was nothing wrong in playing to your strengths. “If we go to Australia, we get bouncy tracks; when we go to England, we get swinging tracks. When you come to India, you expect turning and bouncing tracks, and that’s what this one was. It’s better to stick to the specialties of certain places.”India fighting South Africa on a greentop at Kingsmead should make for an equally gripping a battle, if India can fight as hard as South Africa did at Green Park.

Kenya Select 147 and 14 for 0 trail Zimbabwe A 234 (Dabengwa 92, Varaiya 3-43) by 73 runs
ScorecardKenya Select turned in a more impressive second-day performance at Harare Sports Club, restricting Zimbabwe A to a first-innings lead of 87.Zimbabwe were bailed out by Keith Dabengwa. He has been the star of the Logan Cup with the ball, the leading wicket-taker by some way, but this time he shone with the bat. His 92 ensured that Zimbabwe, who at one stage were wobbling on 85 for 5, gained what could be a match-winning first-innings lead.Nehemiah Odhiambo and Alfred Luseno bowled really well in the morning session to get rid of the two overnight batsmen. Eric Chauluka added nine to his overnight 18 before being bowled by Odhiambo. Hamilton Masakadza was dismissed fishing outside off stump to Luseno, nicking to wicketkeeper David Obuya for 20.Regis Chakabva never settled, getting off the mark with an edge off Luseno. He scored three more boundaries in his 20 before he fell first ball after lunch, getting a faint edge off Jimmy Kamande.Dabengwa freed his shoulders and smacked a pulled six and a couple of fours as he switched into attacking mode. He put on 63 for the eighth wicket with Blessing Mahwire but with a second first-class ton in sight, he perished to a sloppy slog-sweep off Hiren Varaiya, skying the ball to Elijah Otieno at deep midwicket.Varaiya, who finished with 3 for 43, removed Blessing Mahwire next over and Collins Obuya brought himself into the attack for the first time in the match and trapped Trevor Garwe with his second ball to end the innings.In their second innings, Kenya safely batted out four overs before bad light ended play with three overs remaining.

Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAPakistan cricket has always revolved around stars, says Osman Samiuddin, Cricinfo’s Pakistan editor, but are now learning to play without them. He tells Ranjit Shinde that Shoaib Akhtar’s absence won’t be a big blow for Pakistan, who have the bench strength to win without him. Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA

Once upon a time the first round of matches in the County Championship was an eagerly anticipated rite of passage – the clocks may have come forward and the daffodils may have bloomed, but spring could not officially be declared open until the pavilion gates had closed behind the players and umpires.It’s all a bit different these days. An exhaustive glut of international matches has drowned out those first cuckoos, and more is in prospect, with England’s Test and ODI calendar rammed to the gunwales from May to September. As a result, many of the country’s top players will once again be forbidden by their contracts from turning out for their teams. If the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack served up a damning appraisal of the county game last year, this time around it has delivered an even more brutal snub – it hasn’t even reached the nation’s bookshelves in time for the start of the 2003 season, because publication was delayed so that the World Cup could be included.The season – in case you blinked, or have been locked in a darkened room since the first Test at Brisbane last November – actually began last week, with four of the most untrumpeted first-class matches on record, between counties and university teams. But tomorrow at 11am, the real thing begins, and on the hottest April weekend in memory to boot. It is appropriate weather for a sport that no longer believes in an off-season.That off-season does still exist, of course, although the behind-the-scenes machinations have been almost as exhausting as the winter’s international treadmill. Leicestershire have undergone a coup de shire, with eight players, including the captain Vince Wells, driven from the ground amid mutterings about lawsuits. Graeme Hick has been sacked as captain of Worcestershire, Shane Warne was appointed – and hastily replaced by John Crawley – at Hampshire. And Phil Tufnell has chosen to face his demons Down Under, on the reality gameshow I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, rather than commence a 17th season at Middlesex.But it is the structural changes to the county game that will cause the most upheaval in the coming months. Out goes the Benson & Hedges Cup, in comes the Twenty20 Cup, a mid-season, early-evening slogathon designed to attract a “new breed” of spectator, presumably the type with a short attention span. In the absence of any rest, a change will have to do, and it can only be hoped that the experiment is a success.Another change, largely to offset the loss of so many international players, is the reintroduction of two overseas signings. Not since the heyday of county cricket in the early 1980s has such a move been permitted, but much of the lustre has since been removed. When international cricket was the exception, not the rule, the likes of Joel Garner and Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall would light up the county stage. These have now been replaced, for the most part, by journeymen and greenhorns although, as in all walks of life, there are several honourable exceptions.Inevitably, money matters have dominated the winter agenda. The announcement of funding cuts by the ECB – in the wake of the Zimbabwe affair – have prompted renewed speculation about the future of the county game. Glamorgan, who say they couldn’t afford to hire a second overseas player, have mooted the possibility of a cross-border merger in the not-so-distant future. The two-division Championship format, meanwhile, is entering its fourth year, and by the end of 2002, the disparity between the haves and have-nots of the county game was becoming ever more evident.The 2002 Championship was won at a canter – for the third time in four seasons – by county cricket’s millionaires, Surrey, and it is difficult to look beyond them for yet another triumph. “We’ve been favourites for every game we’ve been in for the past four or five years,” said Adam Hollioake, their hugely respected captain. “We just turn up and play.” Turn up and play, and win, of course.For Hollioake, 2002 was a year that began in desperately tragic circumstances, with the death of his brother Ben in a car crash in Perth. He took his time to return to the game, but then channelled his grief into some of the most spectacular form of his career. Surrey is a team moulded in his fervent image, and an outfit chock-full of international players can only be strengthened by Alec Stewart’s likely retirement from England’s one-day side, especially if Rikki Clarke and a rejuvenated Graham Thorpe – and possibly Hollioake himself, maybe even as captain – find themselves winging in the other direction.At the opposite end of the spectrum lie Yorkshire, beaten and broke and riven with internal policking. The very year after claiming their first Championship for three decades, they were relegated to the second division, and an immediate return to the top is imperative for their new captain, Anthony McGrath, who took over after (but not, apparently, because of) Darren Lehmann’s much-publicised PR failure against Sri Lanka.Two fixtures stand out on the opening day: Essex v Middlesex at Chelmsford, where Ronnie Irani returns to the day job and Andy Flower begins life after that protest; and Surrey v Lancashire at The Oval, which already has the look of a potential Championship decider, even with Andrew Flintoff forced to sit out the match and Harbhajan Singh threatening to miss the entire season with a finger injury. In the second division, Jonty Rhodes and Jack Russell are threatening to form the quirkiest fielding and middle-order batting partnership since Derek Randall and mountain-climbing Bruce French left Notts, and their livewire personalities could spark Gloucestershire to more than just one-day trophies.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo in London.

Rahul Dravid has been in fine form all series. Shutting out one end or pushing for runs, Dravid has shown the ability to change gear and control the tempo of the game. On the eve of the final match, he was relaxed and composed, and looked forward to yet another thriller. Yousuf Youhana and both coaches also faced the press:

Rahul Dravid
On losing in tournament finals
The fact is that we lost to Australia in these encounters. They are the best in the world, but we are proud that we made it to finals so many times. We are trying to improve – in the last match here on Sunday, we bowled well and I am confident that we will improve further.On the fact that the last match is a virtual final
We want to win, though I will not call it a final. It is a last match of the five-match series, and because we are level at 2-2 it becomes important.On whether the Indians were focussing on Pakistan’s strengths or weaknesses
Well, we are not focusing on what they are doing. We are focussing on our weak and strong points. Our bowlers bowled well in the first 15 overs in the last match, but we gave away too many runs in the last ten overs. This is the area of concern and we are trying to improve upon it.On the importance of the toss
If we don’t win the toss, it is not going to make much difference. I did not notice much dew when we were batting second on Sunday. Dew here is less than what we have seen and played under in places like Chandigarh and Cuttack. In Cuttack the ball had turned into soap, that is not the case here.On Tendulkar’s non-performance in finals
It is not a question of one individual. We all have not done well [at times]. We play so much one-day cricket nowadays that not getting runs in two or three matches is not surprising. Sachin, being a high-profile player, gets more attention – but others also fail.On Pakistan’s bowlers
They come hard at us but we are not complaining. They have conceded a large number of extras. More extras help us, and I hope they will continue giving them to us!On whether India missed Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh
We do miss bowlers of the experience of Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan and to some extent Srinath [retired]. Their absence pushes us back, but that is no excuse. In international cricket you have to take such things in your stride.On why Zaheer Khan was being used as first-change
Zaheer is a good bowler and has done well as a third bowler, but why we are using him as third bowler is a matter of tactics and strategy, which I cannot explain. This may not be a satisfactory answer, but it is like that.On whether India are overwhelming favourites
Definitely not. We never thought we were favourites, leave aside overwhelming favourites. We have no illusions about ourselves. We know our strengths and weaknesses.On the wider importance of this game and this series
From the players’ point of view it is only the game. We go to play and win. This is our objective and we are focussed. We are not carrying any baggage. We will try to win the series.Pakistan’s vice-captain Yousuf Youhana
On whether there would be a change in the bowling attack
I don’t think we will make any change. They [the seamers] have done their job well, though wides and no-balls remain the area of concern. I am sure they will get over this problem. We are not missing Saqlain [Mushtaq], in the sense that Shoaib Malik is bowling well and besides that is also a good fielder and a useful batsman. I see no point in making a change for the sake of change.On whether there was extra pressure because Shahid Afridi had not delivered
I don’t think so, because in Rawalpindi he [Afridi] made things easy for the team and me. He is a batsman who can change the complexion of the game in few overs.On Shoaib Akhtar’s fitness
He is fit. There is no problem with him. He is a matchwinner and I am confident he will deliver tomorrow.Pakistan’s coach Javed Miandad
On Sunil Gavaskar’s comment that the Indians were chokers
I hope they continue that way [laughs]. We never underestimate the opposition. Let us see what happens tomorrow.On the Pakistan batting
I never expected my team to do so well in batting. India have been playing well and put up a commendable show in Australia recently.On the series
I have played long enough and seen matches all over the world, but I can say with authority that never before has such a series been played. So far it has been good and positive cricket, but tomorrow is a crucial game and I am sure the boys know the importance of the game. Everybody is looking forward to this match.On the fact that Pakistan’s bowlers have gone for runs in this series
The Pakistani fast bowlers are the best in the world. The series is not over yet and we have a long way to go. So it is too early to predict about the series or comment on the bowlers.On the big scores in this series
This is now the trend all over. The wickets tend to help batsmen. The Indians played on different wickets in New Zealand, which were criticised all over, and even New Zealand admitted that those pitches were not up to standard. There are no such tracks here. The runs have been scored and chased. It has been a thrilling and entertaining cricket, though I admit that bowlers have suffered.India’s coach John Wright
On the importance of this series
Winning a series in Pakistan will be a big achievement for India, because India has never won a series in Pakistan.On the extra pressure of playing against Pakistan
It is not an ordinary series, and also playing in Pakistan puts a lot of pressure on the players, but so far they have withstood the pressure well.On India’s fast bowlers
Of course, there are various opinions that India has a tradition of producing world-class spinners, but no-one can say the same about fast bowlers. I think that this impression has to change, and the young fast bowlers have to change this thought-process. I am sure the Board of Control for Cricket in India will take a note of this.On what he expected from his team
I can tolerate lack of performance but I will not tolerate lack of effort. I have no time for people who fail to prepare for an innings, and also do not have the energy to sustain a fightback. I have great difficulty with short-cuts and cannot compromise on effort.On what he was thinking when India were 95 for 4 in the last match
It is irrelevant what I was thinking. The players spoke to each other and discussed the great wins they had in the recent past. There was a self-belief in the camp that they would actually make it in the end.On the efforts of Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif
I am always in favour of taking people with big hearts and courage in the team. I am also glad that some of the players have the elements to do well consistently. If you are working with the team, you know who can work under pressure and who can come out successfully. The greatest frustration is when the selection panels do not listen to these views and sometimes ignore them.On India being a side in transition
We are only halfway through the process of making a world-champion side. We still need to improve a lot. The good news is that the boys are extremely hungry for success. They share a very cordial relationship among themselves. The senior players, the captain and the other members in the side are always together, and make an effort to extend helping hands to each other. In other words, we keep it very simple.

South Africa, Kenya, the West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will all be praying the rain gods spare their remaining matches in Pool B because if any of them suffer uncompleted games their chances of making the Super Six will be gone, unless the rains affect more than one match.As it stands at the moment, the West Indies needed to beat Sri Lankaafter their rain affected match against Bangladesh. The West Indies last match is against Kenya and they should be too strong for them, despite all that has happened in this tournament – and what happened when these two sides met in 1996. If they beat Kenya it would leave the West Indies on 14 points.Should Sri Lanka win against South Africa they would end on 20 points and finish at the top of the group. That would mean South Africa would be left on 12 points. If Sri Lanka lose to South Africa they would finish on 16 points.The best New Zealand could do is finish on 16 points – whether that isenough depends on Sri Lanka’s fortunes, and whether Kenya can beatBangladesh.South Africa, quite simply need to beat Sri Lanka to keep their chancesalive. But South Africa would have to hope that Bangladesh had beaten Kenya, because if South Africa, Kenya and New Zealand ended on 16 points, and Sri Lanka, having beaten the West Indies to also be on 16, South Africa would go through, and it would be left to Kenya, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to contest the final two positions.The competition rules state: “When more than two teams have equal points and equal wins, the team which was the winner of most number of matches played between those teams will be placed in the higher position.If still equal, the team with the higher net run rate in the group matches will be placed in the higher position.If still equal, the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the group matches in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position.”So, in effect, a mini-league would come into operation with results between the relevant teams the deciding factor. Then, should teams still be equal, it would come down to run rate, followed by wicket-taking rate. If teams cannot be separated in any other way, the ICC has made an allowance for lots to be drawn.And then there is the damage that rain could do.Pool A is a little more straightforward, but not by much.Australia are guaranteed a place in the Super Six by virtue of having 20 points already. However, India could also finish on 20 points if they beat Pakistan in their final group match.India have 16 points at the moment, while England could also reach 16 points if they beat Australia. The interesting thing from England’s point of view, however, is that England could beat Australia and still go out of the tournament, or lose and make progress to the Super Six. Their fate is in the hands of others.England, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe all retain an interest in those two places alongside Australia, for all can get to the 16-point mark.Remember, if just two teams finish level on points, the number of wins is the first deciding factor, then the result between the two teams concerned. It is only when more than two teams finish level on points and they have all beaten one another that run rate comes into play.Even run rate is not a simple calculation. It is not a case of merely dividing the runs scored by the overs taken to accumulate them. It is the average number of runs per over scored, less the average number of runs per over conceded that produces a net run rate.And then there is the added complication that if a side is bowled out inside its full allocation of overs, the run rate for the batting side’s innings is calculated as if all the overs had been bowled. On the other hand, the bowling side takes only the actual number of overs bowled when calculating the run rate conceded.To get back to the possible permutations, if Zimbabwe beat Pakistan, they move to 16 points. If Pakistan beat Zimbabwe and India, they move to 16 points. If England find themselves level on points with either India or Zimbabwe for the last qualifying place, England go out on the basis that they lost to both in the group matches. If level on points with Pakistan, having both had the same number of wins, England go through having won the match between the two sides.The form line for the remaining matches suggests that Australia will beat England and India will beat Pakistan. However, this is a match that involves far more than just the allocation of points and it would be difficult to make a conclusive comparison on form alone, but it would make the Zimbabwe v Pakistan fixture extremely interesting.If this form has prevailed right through to the very last of the group matches, Zimbabwe would go into the game with 12 points and Pakistan with eight. England would have 12,India 20 and Australia 24. A Pakistan win would move them onto 12 alongside England and Zimbabwe with all sides having the same number of wins and having beaten each other. The run rate comes into effect.And, as we said about Pool B, it would only take a little bit of rain to throw the whole equation into confusion. Or perhaps that should read “even more confusion.”

Mark Ramprakash is in line to return to the England squad after he was forced to withdraw from the First Test side because of a hamstring strain.With England badly needing to bolster their middle order for the Lord’s Test, the Surrey right-hander is almost certain to be named in the squad to be announced on Sunday.He hit a half-century against Yorkshire in the C&G Trophy this week and is poised to play in the Benson and Hedges Cup final tomorrow against Gloucestershire.”I was very happy to get through the game on Wednesday,” said Ramprakash.”I still have trouble with the leg, I’m still aware of it and I’m looking afterit, but if I’m picked for next Thursday I should be all right.”Things have gone well with the injury since I came back and I’m just lookingforward to playing as much cricket as possible at the moment.”It was very disappointing to miss out on the last Test but if I make it backin the squad this time, that would be a fantastic consolation.”Ramprakash, who averaged more than 40 on the last Ashes tour, would add much needed experience to a middle order that folded badly at Edgbaston where Usman Afzaal was making his debut and Ian Ward was playing in only his third Test.His main rival for a place would probably be his former Middlesex team-mate Owais Shah, though he was overlooked for the First Test in favour of Afzaal.And coach Duncan Fletcher is reluctant to throw in too many inexperienced players at the same time – particularly against the might of the Australians.England could also be boosted by the return of Graham Thorpe who resumed training yesterday after a five-week lay-off because of a calf injury.Though he would go into the game desperately short of match practice, the selectors might feel his experience and form before his injury would compensate for that.With skipper Nasser Hussain and batsman Michael Vaughan both out until at least the Third Test, England suffered another setback this week with the loss of Matthew Hoggard through a stress fracture in the foot.It is possible that his Yorkshire colleague Chris Silverwood could be brought in as cover for the pace attack. And Robert Croft may be added to the squad as cover for Ashley Giles who has been suffering for some time with a sore Achilles heel.Squad (possible): Atherton (capt), Trescothick, Butcher, Thorpe, Afzaal, Ward, Ramprakash, Stewart, Giles, White, Gough, Caddick, Croft, Silverwood.