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ScorecardAuckland completed an amazing win against Otago in their State Shield match. After being out of the match at 161 for 7 in their second innings after a disastrous first-innings 101, they stormed back into the match, reaching 278 through Keeley Todd (84). This gave them a lead of 111 runs, which proved to be just enough as Otago slumped to 108 all out. Aaron Barnes was the most successful bowler with 4 for 41.
ScorecardCentral Districts crushed Canterbury by an innings and 192 runs at the Pukekura Park. Canterbury mustered only 235 after being asked to follow on, slumping from their overnight 158 for 4 to 235 all out. Peter Fulton, who scored 91, was the only batsman to offer serious resistance. The wickets were shared around for Central Districts, with Glen Sulzberger returning the best figures – 3 for 33.
ScorecardWellington held their nerve against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve to win their State Shield match by 37 runs. Northern Districts, who began the final day on 4 for no loss, needed 264 to win, but fell short, being dismissed for 226. None of the batsmen got going, and only Brad Wilson with 48 approached the half-century mark.

Steve Waugh walks out to bat in his last Test at the Gabba © Getty Images

John Buchanan, more motivator and team psychologist than traditional coach, once perceptively suggested that to be at his best, Steve Waugh needed a siege. If it wasn’t there, he would create it. It would be outrageous to suggest that he plotted the mix-up which led to Damien Martyn’s run-out and a national debate on the propriety of it, but, India beware, it has invested Waugh’s farewell series with even greater purpose. He has been stung by what he considers an attack on his integrity by the media, and he is determined to reply in the only way he knows: by scoring runs.He came out to speak to the media at the Adelaide Oval today, even though he wasn’t scheduled to. Here’s an excerpt from the press conference:There was a feeling that your bowlers didn’t bounce Sourav Ganguly at the Gabba as much as expected – there weren’t enough balls aimed at his body …
We never said it was part of our strategy. On that particular day, we didn’t feel that was the right way to bowl. Your strategy revolves around the bowlers you’ve got. We had no Brett Lee, no Brad Williams – the bowlers who could generate a bit of pace. We had swing bowlers, the bowlers who bowl good line and length, bowl in the corridor, and the conditions were good for swing bowling. Another day, in other conditions, we might see us bowling differently.So did you miss Brad Williams’s aggression?
It’s a possibility. It’s hard to say, really. We picked the right bowlers for the conditions at Brisbane. But it will be a different pitch here, and different conditions. So that’s something for the selectors to consider. I will have my input, of course.Were you surprised by the way the Indians adapted to the conditions?
No. I have always said that India are a very good side. They have got world-class batsmen, as good as any batting side in the world. And they have got three bowlers who can swing the ball, and they have got two quality spinners. We expected them to do well. But we had the toughest conditions in the first couple of days. When India batted, the conditions had settled down.Are you surprised to be under so much scrutiny in this series?
The scrutiny was always going to be there. I knew from the beginning that it was my last series. I knew I had made the right decision. I am going to be positive about the rest of the series. This series is about Australia and India, it’s not about me.But are you feeling more pressure than usual?
I’d say preparations for the Brisbane game weren’t ideal. Not only for me, but for the whole team. There were too many commitments in the last couple of days before that match – that always happens before the first Test of a series, but maybe it was a bit more this time. I didn’t really get time to settle down and think about the match.There have been suggestions that it might not have been such a good idea to announce your retirement at the beginning of a long series …
I think it was the right thing to do. The situation is pretty clear now. We know where we are going. Even if I hadn’t announced it, it would have been quite clear that it was going to be my last series in Australia. I am 100% happy and confident that I made the right decision for the right reasons, so I am going to be positive and enjoy every match. There was always going to be some conjecture, not that I had to agree with it. I am convinced the decision was made at the right time. There has been a lot of conjecture about when I was going to retire, whether my form was good enough. From that point of view it was right that I made the decision and announced it.Will your preparation for the next Test be any different?
I will be a bit more relaxed. I am focussed and I am going to go out and do what I always do. There were a couple of times when we lost our intensity at Brisbane. From the team point of view, that’s important. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and do better.When you are batting now, is there any awareness that this is your last Test match at this ground?
In the first innings things were obviously a bit tense. But the hardest part is actually waiting and then walking out to bat. Once you take strike, it’s the same. It’s another Test innings and every Test innings is tough. I like to be aggressive and positive, and that’s how I will play in the rest of the series. I know I have three matches to go and I am going to enjoy the experience. It’s always hard when you fail in the first innings. The pressure then builds up. I got some runs in the second innings, and that makes you feel good. I could have been out when I was on 8, and that would have built up the pressure. That’s Test-match cricket. I am sure Sachin Tendulkar will feel the pressure in the second Test, as will Adam Gilchrist. No matter how many matches you have played, no matter who you are or how good you are, you always feel the pressure if you haven’t made runs in your last Test.Now that there will be no cricket for you, how will you channel your competitiveness?
I have three kids at home. They are a lot of challenges out there. After the series is over, I will just sit back for a couple of weeks and relax. And then I might get bored and look for something to do. I enjoy writing, so I will do a bit of that. Commentating is an option. Coaching, I don’t know. I would like to stay in touch with cricket. There are teams like Kenya, who need help … who knows?A few months ago you said that you would like one last shot at winning a series in India. Was that a consideration while making up your mind?
I didn’t actually say that. I had said that winning a series in India remains a challenge. And the team going out there in September has a good chance of achieving a victory, and possibly I would be part of that team. But it didn’t work out that way. It was a good time for me to go now. I have always thought that it’s great to play your first Test abroad and the last at home. I will be going out at my home ground. It couldn’t have been better.

Fresh from their whitewash of the truncated Test rubber, Pakistan take on the much-harried West Indies in the first of a series of three one-dayers here today. Regardless of the misery in which their opponents find themselves, Pakistan are unlikely to show mercy.To make matters worse for the West Indies, Wasim Akram is making a comeback after a lay-off to recover from a hamstring strain to add to the firepower, depth and variety of Pakistan’s vaunted bowling attack. So does young off-spinner Shoaib Malik, the duo replacing Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria, both of whom have returned home.For his part, Akram looks lean and hungry, at the venue which found him rejuvenated enough last October to convince all doubters that he could last up to the 2003 World Cup. To further egg him on, he is tantalizingly close to the 450-wicket mark in one-day internationals. Already ahead of the competition by a distance, he needs only four wickets to go past that milestone."I’ve missed quite a bit of cricket, and I am eager to make up for that by taking a few wickets here", said Akram, who was welcomed by the team the other evening as everybody huddled together for a meeting at the stadium before going for practice. They repeated the proceedure on the eve of the match, doing fielding exercises under the lights as well.That Pakistan are unlikely to let up in their resolve of a total whitewash of this series goes without saying. Coach Mudassar Nazar’s statement echoed similar sentiments: “The one-dayers are going to be a different ball game altogether. Since the Windies would be aiming to redeem themselves, we might have a fight at our hands. We at the same time have no intention of resting on our laurels. We intend to improve further – there are so many areas in which I still want the team to do better.”He mentioned fielding as one area where he wants a more disciplined performance by his charges.Fielding is also giving nightmares to Carl Hooper, whose side floored a mind-boggling 17 opportunities in the field – lapses which cost them dear as the Pakistani batsmen capitalized. If the West Indies can’t put up a better show in the field, the Pakistanis will not really be extended in this most happy of hunting grounds for them.The West Indies, badly missing Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and now Marlon Samuels, who last week underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured left knee, have made only one change in the team which was beaten by 170 and then 244 runs in the two Test matches. All-rounder Runako Martin, a three-dimensional player who bats right handed, bowls at a brisk pace and is a good fielder, replaces Samuels in the squad.Though both sides are level in overs-limited cricket here, winning an equal number of games out of 16, the Pakistanis are the form team and keen to improve this record in their favour. But regardless of their woes in the longer version of the game, the West Indies too are reckoned to be a better one-day outfit. After their recent drubbing at the hands of Sri Lanka, they recovered enough to feature in the three-nation final there, and, as Hooper reminded everyone in a briefing here on Wednesday, the match was a proper contest even though they lost."They would be doing us a favour if they [the Pakistanis] underestimate us," said Hooper. While sounding confident of prevailing over his rivals, Waqar too conceded that the Caribbean strokemakers can be a different proposition in the shorter version of the game.But the Pakistanis are not willing to release their stranglehold on the opposition, and if the West Indies succeed in upsetting their best-laid plans, it would indeed be a surprise.

New Zealand completed its preparation for the CricInfo Women’s World Cup, starting next week, in Timaru today with its second convincing win of three in its clean sweep over England.The eight wicket margin fairly demonstrated the difference between the two sides on the day.England, who batted first, should have made more of the good start they made to their innings. But just when they needed batsmen to build on the positive start, the middle and lower order faltered in the face of some quality New Zealand bowling.It was as if a tourniquet had been applied to stop the flow of runs. As the runs dried up the panic level in the England batting increased and it was dismissed in the 41st over for only 109, its lowest total of the series.Katrina Keenan polished off the lower order to finish with 3-15 as the last seven England wickets fell for 29 runs.Earlier, Rachel Pullar took 2-21 from seven overs while most encouragingly for New Zealand, given her return to the side after nearly two years out of the game, Clare Nicholson bowled eight overs and took 1-12.Catherine Campbell continued her quest for the world record for most wickets in ODIs. She took two wickets in the series to finish on 71 wickets, two behind Australian slow left-armer Lynette Fullston.Chasing her for the honour however, are Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick and Charmaine Mason with 61, England’s Clare Taylor 59, New Zealand’s Keenan 58 and Zoe Goss of Australia on 57.New Zealand made a superb start to its chase and was quickly in front of what had been a lively England assault.Rebecca Rolls was belligerent at the start and while out for 13, it was in the third over. Anna O’Leary took the chance to play a longer innings than in the first game in Oamaru when she scored eight.She chanced her arm and got reward as the ball flew at good speed over fieldsmen in the gully area and her six from Laura Harper’s bowling was a sweetly-timed shot, the only six of the series.While offering a chance on 29, she went on to score 40 in an 80-run partnership with skipper Emily Drumm.Drumm, after the disappointment of her dismissal for 10 on Tuesday, was unbeaten on 43 at the end and had the satisfaction of scoring the winning runs.”There was no way today they were going to get me,” she said. “My downfall is often because I don’t value my wicket enough.”But she was in full control and was delighted with the series win.”Today’s game was the best chase out of the eight games we have played against England this year. And we have played better against England in this series than we did earlier in the year,” she said.England captain Clare Connor said that as a stand alone series the 3-0 series loss to New Zealand was very disappointing but as preparation for a big tournament it had been useful.”There have been several positive things to come out of it. Some of our bowlers are bowling better than they ever have before. It is disappointing the way we are approaching our batting.”We showed aggressive intent early on.”It is a case of everyone believing in what we have been practising all year,” she said.She was delighted with the side’s effort in the second game when defending 134.”It was fantastic and showed fantastic spirit and we showed some heart and soul. It took a big commitment and it is that which will pull us through the tournament and into the semi-finals,” she said.Both teams have a few days off now. The New Zealanders are going to their respective homes until reassembling on Sunday while England will be doing some sightseeing.

Everton were dumped out of the FA Cup this afternoon after a 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in what was another dismal performance from Frank Lampard’s men.

Marc Guehi, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Wilfried Zaha and Will Hughes all got themselves on the scoresheet as the Toffees simply could not find a way to keep the home side out.

There were some truly worrying displays from a few of the Everton players, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the visitors on the day:

Mason Holgate (6.1)

With a 6.1 overall rating given, Holgate ranked as Everton’s third-worst player.

The defender lost out on three of his duels and only made one tackle, while his mere 63% pass accuracy was one of the worst recorded out of his team-mates.

Holgate also gave possession away on 19 separate occasions, the joint-second most out of any Toffees player.

Michael Keane (6.0)

Keane ranked as their second-worst performer with a 6.0 rating.

The former Burnley man was unsuccessful in five of his duels and failed to make any tackles or blocks, while he was guilty of losing the ball 13 times.

Jordan Pickford (5.9)

Pickford was given a lowly 5.9 rating, and with four goals conceded, the ‘keeper unsurprisingly ranked as his team’s worst performer.

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While he was helpless for some of the goals, the third from Zaha was pretty strange as the England number one just seemed to watch the ball loop onto his post without any reaction.

Pickford was unsuccessful with nine of his long balls in total, the most out of any Blues player, while he also lost possession nine times and only made two saves in the entire match.

In other news, find out what ‘blatant’ VAR error was made before Mateta’s goal

Kandurata, led by Sri Lanka’s vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, qualified for a place in Sunday’s final when they recorded their third straight win in the competition, defeating Hirdaramani Ruhuna by 43 runs under the Duckworth- Lewis method in a night match played at the R Premadasa Stadium.Winning the toss and choosing to bat, Kandurata made their third total in excess of 250 through half-centuries from Thilan Samaraweera (71 off 96 balls) and Chamara Kapugedera (63 off 65 balls). The innings was given a late boost by Thilan Thushara who slammed a breezy 47 off 27 balls with four sixes and a four.Ruhuna could not sustain an adjusted target of 282 from 47 overs despite fifties from Upul Tharanga and Indika de Saram and were dismissed for 238 in the 44th over, with Thushara once again being the stumbling block taking 3 for 29.Basnahira South, captained by Tillakaratne Dilshan, registered their first win by beating Basnahira North by six wickets, again under the Duckworth-Lewis method, at the SSC grounds. Put into bat, Basnahira North could manage only 207 for 9 in 50 overs, their batsmen being restricted by young left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardene who took 6 for 40 off 10 overs.Basnahira South’s run chase was curtailed by rain and their revised target saw them set 175 for victory off 36 overs. Ian Daniel with 74 off 75 balls (5 fours, 2 sixes) led the way to victory which was achieved with eight overs to spare.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Kandurata	3	3	0	0	0	13	+1.685	851/145.2	613/147.0
Wayamba	3	2	1	0	0	10	+0.541	594/122.0	528/122.0
Basnahira North	4	2	2	0	0	10	-0.194	680/164.2	771/178.0
Basnahira South	3	1	2	0	0	5	-0.750	572/128.0	701/134.2
Ruhuna	3	0	3	0	0	0	-1.694	444/119.0	528/97.2

England A’s coach, Peter Moores, gets to grips with the local conditions © Tigercricket.com

The England A squad arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday with the twin aims of braving the local conditions and playing some quality cricket. With the World Cup getting underway next month and England’s senior team unsettled by one or two nagging injuries, the A-squad members who have been undergoing practice sessions at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur know full well that an impressive showing on this trip could lead to higher honours before the English season gets underway in April.Nevertheless, Michael Yardy, England A’s captain, was adamant that the sole focus for his team-mates was the current engagements. “Obviously I wanted to play in the World Cup,” said Yardy during a media conference in Mirpur. “But here I am in Bangladesh with the England A side, and I see this as an opportunity to play in a different country and different condition. I am quite happy with it”It’s true that in case of an injury someone can be called up from here to join the World Cup squad,” he added. “But remember this is not just about the World Cup. These players are eager to play in Tests and one-day internationals for England in future. So this tour is a learning experience for all of us. Hopefully when we will visit the subcontinent with the national team we will utilise this experience. First of all we came here to play some good cricket. Beside that we want to experience the condition, enjoy the country on and off the pitch.”Yardy is a familiar foe of the Bangladesh players, having cracked a massive 257 for Sussex at Hove, during a warm-up for the Test tour in 2005 at Hove. “Obviously I remember that innings,” he recalled. “That is my highest first-class score. That was my day. I have the experience of playing against Bangladesh while they were touring England a few seasons ago. That was a very talented squad which had some promising batsmen and quality spinners. I am sure that this time we are going to face another talented side.”Having already appeared for the England one-day side last year, Yardy is determined to win his way back to the main side. “On this tour I want to lead the team well and set an example by playing good cricket. Besides that I want to get back in the national squad as early as possible. For that I have to score some big runs on this tour.”The coach, Peter Moores, was confident that his side had the ingredients to do well. “We came here with a big and balanced squad. We have a very talented legspinner [Adil Rashid] and also have some players who have the experience of playing at the highest level like Matt Prior, Yardy and Stuart Broad. So we have got a nice mixed group. These boys are quite ready to show that they are capable of stepping into the next level and that is to play for the national team.”

Will Jefferson launches one out of the Mirpur nets © Getty Images

Moores also defended the presence of only one specialist spinner in the squad. “We also have two part timers in Yardy [left-arm spin] and Alex Loudon [offspinner] who can also bat. So we’ve got quite a few options. We have the chance to field three spinners in a match. Besides that we have a good seam attack. Broad has just got back from Australia with the triumphant CB series team. Another pacer Graham Onions can bowl with some pace. We want to have a good time and hopefully identify some future England players and win some matches, obviously.”Moores added that his side would have their work cut out on a tricky tour. “We know about your passion for the game,” he told the local Bangladeshi journalists, “and we are very aware that this will not be an easy tour for us because it is very difficult to beat Bangladesh in their backyard. The conditions are obviously different from ours. The first part of any tour for the touring side is to get used to the conditions.”The team’s manager, Guy Jackson, who had toured Bangladesh last month to inspect the facilities, said they couldn’t have asked for more. “The facility is absolutely superb,” he said of the Mirpur stadium. “You have fantastic international stadiums and the indoor facilities are equally good. In terms of potential and facilities I think Bangladesh are a sleeping giant. Now we are looking forward to the challenge of playing good competitive cricket here.”England A kick off their tour with a three-day practice game against the BCB National Cricket Academy side at the Bangladesh Institute of Sports (BKSP), starting on Saturday. They return to Mirpur for the first of two four-day matches against Bangladesh A (Feb 22-25) and then travel to Bogra for the second four-dayer (Mar 1-4), followed by the first of three one-day matches (Mar. 7). They wrap up their tour with the remaining one-dayers against Bangladesh A at Mirpur on March 9 and 11.

The Indian women’s cricket side, led by Mithali Raj, left Chennai on Friday for their one-month tour of Australia and New Zealand. They will play one Test and three one-dayers in Australia and five one-dayers in New Zealand.The 14-strong team has spent the last nine days in Chennai at the MRF Pace Foundation, and Raj said that they were as ready as they could be. “Batting and bowling are our strengths and the team is in good nick,” she said, adding that the pitches at the MRF Foundation were “almost similar to that in Australia.”Indian squad Mithali Raj (capt), Nooshin Al Khadeer, Anjum Chopra, Neetu David, Rumeli Dhar, Jhulan Goswami, Karuna Jain, , Reema Malhotra, Sulakshana Naik, Devika Palshiker, Sunetra Paranjpe, Amita Sharma, Jaya Sharma and Monica Sumra.

Tony Greig says Packer’s finger is always “on the pulse”© Getty Images

Kerry Packer, the man who started World Series Cricket, has launched an investigation into Twenty20, cricket’s newest contender for a revolution, the Courier-Mail reported. The newspaper said Packer, the owner of Nine, which broadcasts international cricket in Australia, called Shane Warne for his opinion as he tried to assess whether the game was a fad or phenomenon.Tony Greig, who helped Packer set up World Series Cricket in the 70s, was unsure whether Packer had begun an investigation, but said he was always looking at where the game was heading. “He has always got his fingers on the pulse,” Greig told the newspaper. “Last year, all the Nine commentators were asked by Kerry what we thought could be done to improve the limited-over game.”Crowds have packed stadiums when Twenty20 has been offered this summer while the VB Series, the tournament that grew from WSC, has looked tired and matches between Pakistan and West Indies were scheduled for day timeslots. Cricket Australia, which announced an interstate Twenty20 tournament this week, is reviewing all its sponsorship and television rights in April.

Kapil Dev: best bowling figures at Adelaide © Getty Images

Australia have played 61 Tests at Adelaide, and have won 30, lost 15, and drawn 16. After six consecutive draws from 1985-86 to 1990-91, the last 12 years have shown a changing trend – nine victories, two losses, and a solitary draw (against South Africa in 1997-98). Among those two defeats was a one-run loss against West Indies, when a bouncer by Courtney Walsh brushed Craig McDermott’s glove to end a 40-run last-wicket partnership. Curtly Ambrose picked up ten wickets in the game.

On winning the toss, captains are inclined to bat first, and the figures reveal why. Since 1995-96, wickets on the first day are worth 51.7 runs each, in stark contrast to 30.51 on the third day, and 19.46 on the fifth. And it’s no surprise that the fewest number of wickets fall on the first day. In fact, Australia have a poor fourth-innings average of 171, 11 fewer than their opponents’ average when batting last.

In seven Tests between Australia and India (India have lost five and drawn two), 21 centuries have been scored, the highest being Kim Hughes’s 213 in 1980-81. Sandeep Patel made the highest individual score by an Indian, 174 off 240 balls, in the same game, to help India escape with a draw.

The Adelaide pitch has provided equal assistance to all types of bowlers. An average of 32.3 is complemented by a strike rate of 66.2 for the seamers, while the corresponding figures for spinners are 32.7 and 68.4. Of the ten five-wicket hauls in seven matches between Australia and India, five are by each side, with Kapil Dev’s 8 for 106 in 1985-86, the best bowling figures. His record at the ground is impressive: 19 wickets in three Tests at 23.1.

The closest India have come to a victory at the Adelaide Oval was in 1991-92, when Mohammad Azharuddin scored a fourth-innings century to take them to 333 – but India still fell 38 runs short of the target.

India scored their highest total of 520 in 1985-86, when Sunil Gavaskar carried his bat for 166. At the other end of the scale is the 110 India managed in 1999-2000, when VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly scored a paltry 246 runs between them in eight innings, while Anil Kumble’s figures were 3 for 174. Ajit Agarkar impressed with the ball, taking 5 for 129. He also managed to score 19 in the first innings, before starting his famous sequence of ducks. In the same game, Tendulkar was dismissed in bizarre fashion when he ducked into a short ball from Glenn McGrath, was struck on the shoulder, and was given out lbw.