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An Australian under-19 side picked with the Youth World Cup in mind will play five one-day matches against India under-19 in September. Brian McFadyen, the coach, said the tour would give the 13-man squad valuable experience of the subcontinent’s conditions.McFadyen, the former Tasmania coach, said the trip would also offer the selectors a chance to look at the players for the World Cup. “The squad will certainly provide an insight into some of Australia’s most promising juniors,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to the tour and have selected a squad that we think is well balanced and capable of success.”Australia will begin with a three-day training camp at the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence in Brisbane before travelling to India for matches at Faridabad, Mohali, Dharamshala and Delhi between September 18 and 28.Australia under-19 squad
Jackson Bird (NSW), Patrick Darwen (NSW), Aaron Finch (Vic), Ben Gledhill (Qld), Moises Henriques (NSW), Shannon Hurn (SA), Usman Khawaja (NSW), Jack McNamara (Vic), Graeme Skennar (Qld), Tom Stray (Vic), Chris Thompson (WA), David Warner (NSW), Philip Wells (NSW).

Martin Snedden, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, has insisted that the board will conduct a rational analysis of the team’s performance in England, rather than jump to hasty conclusions.According to a report in The Press, a New Zealand daily, Snedden said: “We must look at this rationally and methodically rather than reacting too quickly. The thoughts you get from the heat of the battle are often different to those you get a few weeks later with some time for things to sink in.”Because it is an England tour people seem more intensely interested in it than perhaps going to the subcontinent. I can understand people reacting emotionally to the losses and that’s good because they have a passion for the game.” New Zealand were thrashed three-nil in the recently concluded Test series, and have lost five of their last eight Tests.The media in New Zealand have been especially critical of the decision to send only a 14-man squad for the Test series. Two of the bowlers in that line-up, Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, weren’t completely fit when they left for England, prompting critics to suggest that back-ups for them should have been ready. However, Snedden dismissed that factor being one of the reasons for the defeat. “People have latched onto the squad number and the injury issue but no-one has been able to establish a plausible link between them costing the team those matches.”What also irked many experts was the decision to send six support staff with the line-up, but Snedden explained that he was satisfied by the explanation provided by John Bracewell, the coach, for the composition of the squad. “He [Bracewell] believed there was enough cover and depth in most areas except perhaps the spin bowling,” Snedden said. “But he reasoned that conditions early season in England do not favour spinners. While several players were over in England, like James Franklin and Mathew Sinclair, it was arguable whether Wiseman was required.”Even with the 14 players Kyle Mills had little match play because there was only three first-class games before the first Test, so what would the 15th have been doing?”The situation with Shane Bond was that we believed it would be better to have him on the tour than staying at home in winter. We hoped in a best-case scenario he might play the second and third Tests and were moving in that direction until he sustained the setback in the last county game before the first Test. Then we just ran out of time.”Bracewell subsequently blamed the pitches for the debacle, but Snedden had a more straightforward explanation. “As hard as it is for us to accept, sometimes our players don’t perform to their best and the opposition plays better.”

James Hibberd is keeping his fingers firmly crossed that a match winning performance for Calmore Sports against Hampshire’s newly promoted Academy side will boost his prospects of further trials with Kent.The 21-year old all-rounder took three wickets and struck a decisive half-century as Calmore sent the Young Hawks spinning to a seven-wicket ECB Southern Electric Premier League, Division 1 debut defeat at Loperwood Park.But since producing an impressive two-wicket display with the ball in Kent’s Second XI Trophy final success against Hampshire II at the Rose Bowl last September, the Canterbury trail appears to have gone cold for Hibberd."I packed up my full-time job in order to try and make it in the pro game," Hibberd said."But I’ve heard nothing from Kent since going down to Canterbury for practice in late March and don’t really know where I stand at the moment."I’d like to give it a crack and play some more Second XI games down there (Kent) and I’m just waiting, hopefully, on the end of the phone."Hibberd, who carried off the Premier League’s prestigious Young Cricketer award last summer, certainly looked a class act as Calmore got the better of the weather to see off the young Hampshire hopefuls.He struck two early blows after Academy captain Tony Middleton had surprisingly chosen to bat under threatening, rain-leaden skies.He darted the first ball of the match back to pin Martin Bushell leg before and then snapped up a return catch to remove Kevin Latouf.But promising King Edward VI School batsman Alex Richardson (32) and Peter Hammond wrested the initiative away from Calmore, easing the Academy to 52-2 after 11.1 overs when heavy rain forced a near 90 minute delay.Umpires Mike Izzard and Dave Kirk were within five minutes or so of calling the match off due to the wet and greasy conditions.Many captains would have called it a day but, to his credit Middleton, wanted to his youngsters to play saying: "They won’t learn a lot from sitting on their backsides in the dressing room. "This is all about development and I wanted them back out on the pitch."Richardson (32) and Hammond promptly took 24 runs off two overs immediately after the resumption – only for the KES youngster to have his stumps flattened by Paul Cass, who made steady inroads into the heart of the Academy middle-order.The Bramshaw-based all-rounder quickly whipped out Tom Burrows, and was on a hat-trick after removing Mitchel Stokes (16) and leg before victim Ian Hilsum in consecutive deliveries.His spell of 4-40 left the Young Hawks in some disarray at 117-7, but Hammond, albeit restrained, kept the score ticking along, bringing up a well deserved fifty before being stumped by the quick hands of Stuart Bailey at 144-8.Left-hander David Griffiths (24 not out) assumed Hammond’s mantle, playing some crisp shots in a late partnership with Loperwood favourite Matt Metcalfe (16) as the Academy moved on to 190-9.But the loss of 23 overs playing time carved into the Hampshire innings, leaving Calmore with a relatively straight-forward ask of 103 off 27 overs.Initially, it proved anything but academic – Griffiths, the Shanklin-based teenager with a wealth of talent, quickly accounting for Cass and James Rose.But the loss of those two early wickets simply set the stage for Hibberd to play the role of match winner.He went for his shots, playing several sumptuous shots through the mid-on and mid-off `V’ as the Academy youngsters were pushed on to the back foot.Hibberd’s batting certainly impressed Middleton, who might even be tempted to give the Kent hopeful another crack in Hampshire’s colours in this week’s Second XI Rose Bowl friendlies.The Sholing all-rounder hit 53, totally dominating the 62-run third-wicket partnership with the unflappable Mark Boston, whose 26 not out steered Calmore to a crucial victory.Middleton, though disappointed with the result, drew a lot of satisfaction from the match. "I learned quite a lot about my players on Saturday," he said."The challenges Premier One cricket will bring is going to be a big test for these young cricketers."They are going to be playing against some very good club cricketers – and a few class ones from overseas – and it’s going to be an interesting season for them."Calmore, meanwhile, were delighted.A homely club, they have not replaced some of the top players (like Martin Kellaway) they have lost in recent seasons.They are expected to struggle this season, but a win against the Academy has given the Loperwood Park club a timely fillip before daunting tests against South Wilts and Havant in the next fortnight.

Government says it will not rest until Barbados’ cricket has beenrestored to the pinnacle of West Indies cricket.And in an effort to speed up the process, Prime Minister Owen Arthurhas accepted a Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) development plan,which sets out a programme designed to make Barbados’ cricket strongagain.A task force of Government and BCA officials has been constituted sothat a plan of action can be implemented at the earliest opportunity.The disclosure was made by Arthur in an address during a celebrationdinner to honour former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler, CharlieGriffith, at the Sherbourne Conference Centre on Saturday night.It [the plan] has nothing to do with the development of the stands atKensington Oval although that is important too but it has to do with aprogramme to put back Barbados’ cricket at the pinnacle of West Indiescricket, where it properly belongs, Arthur said.The psyche of every Barbadian has been badly bruised by every horribledescent of our cricket. As a nation we have been reduced and we shallnot rest until the fortunes of our cricket have been restored.The plan, which was presented to Government last week by BCA presidentStephen Alleyne, identified nine development priorities which wouldfacilitate the articulation of specific, measurable, achievable,relevant and time-specific goals against which the implementation ofthe plan can be evaluated and controlled.

Amassing 525 in their first innings and then taking two Madhya Pradeshwickets for only 10 runs by stumps, Railways were in a commandingposition on the second day of their Central Zone Ranji Trophy leaguematch at the Karnail Singh stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.Resuming at 267 for two, Railways lost Amit Pagnis (143) and skipperAbhay Sharma (76) early. But there was a lot of substance in themiddle order. Raja Ali got 40, Yere Goud scored 56, Prahlad Rawat hit67 and Santosh Sahu at No 8, slammed an unbeaten 45. Raja Ali and YereGoud added 99 runs for the fifth wicket and Rawat and Sahu added 86runs for the seventh wicket.When MP batted, left arm spinner Kartik Murali and medium pacerHarvinder Singh opened the bowling. Murali struck in his first over,Harvinder in his second and MP were gasping for breath when play endedfor the day.

Foot in mouth:
The decision after winning the toss on a flat pitch during a Twenty20 match should be a no-brainer: bat first and put the opposition under pressure during the chase. Even a cheerleader said she would bat first when Robin Jackman asked her the question moments before the toss. However, Harbhajan Singh decided to field, his rationale being that his team preferred to chase given that they fell narrowly short of the target against the Chennai Super Kings. As it turned out, the Mumbai Indians were restricted to 116 for 9 in 20 overs, the 66-run margin being the second largest of the tournament in terms of runs.Smack, smack:
Watching the Kings XI Punjab opener Karan Goel and Kumar Sangakkara batting together presented a sharp contrast: Sangakkara was reeling powerful drives off his bat while Goel struggled to find his timing. He even got hit flush on the helmet by a shirt ball from Dwayne Bravo that was far too quick for him and discovered that he had a bleeding lip. When he was ready to bat again, Bravo ran in and dished out another bouncer but this time Goel was ready. He used the width outside off stump to get under the ball and upper cut it high and far over the third-man boundary, drawing applause from Sangakkara at the other end.Pure intensity:
Time was running out for Brett Lee to make a lasting impact in this season’s IPL for he, along with the other Australians in the Test squad, will head home soon for a training camp ahead of their tour of West Indies. His first delivery to Sanath Jayasuriya – a searing yorker at close to 150 kmh – signaled the start of something special. Sure enough, he exhibited sublime reflexes when he slid low to his left to take a sharp caught and bowled catch off Jayasuriya and then showed off his fitness by swooping on the ball, and diving during the release to hit the stumps direct to run out Luke Ronchi at the striker’s end.Chawla turns the corner:
The first two matches in the IPL were a torrid examination for Piyush Chawla. He went for 19 off one over against Chennai Super Kings and 27 off two overs against Rajasthan Royals. He came on to bowl against Mumbai Indians when Bravo and Robin Uthappa were in the middle of a brisk partnership. He immediately caused problems, mixing up googlies with orthodox legbreaks and also varied his pace. The pressure built up to a crescendo when he bowled three consecutive dot balls to Bravo in the ninth over. With the required run-rate escalating, Bravo tried a rash hoick across the line to the fourth ball and lost middle stump. Chawla finished with fantastic figures of 2 for 16 off four overs.

Rubies and Emeralds, the top two sides, brushed aside the rain to storm to victory and maintain their status in the Super 4s table. Rubies are still undefeated in the tournament.The Emeralds, playing bottom-placed Sapphires, won by 27 runs at Loughborough. . Danielle Wyatt took for 5 for 23 to roll Sapphires for 120, who were chasing just 148 for victory.Beth Morgan made an impressive 65 to lift Emeralds, while Laura Spragg took 3 for 18 and Rochelle Petty took 3 for 29. For the Sapphires, only Laura Spragg (40) and Helen Wardlow (23*) put up any resistance.At Taunton, Rubies once again showed their all-round talent by beating a Diamonds side still missing England captain Charlotte Edwards. The Rubies were put in on an overcast day and made 98 for 6 from 35 overs, before rain delayed the match by two hours.Upon the resumption, the Diamonds were set a revised target of 96 from 27 overs. They fell to 84 for 9 as England spinner Holly Colvin took another five-wicket haul, with 5 for 27. Jenny Gunn top-scored with 22 for the Diamonds.

Bangladesh A 208 for 6 (Tushar Imran 96*) beat Zimbabwe A 204 (Mawoyo 61, Masakadza 60, Saqibul Hasan 4-30) by four wickets runs
ScorecardTushar Imran scored a defiant 96 not out to guide Bangladesh to a four-wicket win in the second one-day match played at Queens Sports Club to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Imran batted for 211 minutes, faced 125 balls and stroked nine fours as the visitors scored208 to win the match with four overs to spare. This was after Zimbabwe A had posted 204 in 41.1 overs having won the toss and elected to bat with half centuries from openerTinotenda Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza.Zimbabwe A made two changes to the side that lost the first match at the same venue by 26 runs on Thursday, taking out their two opening bowlers Christopher Mpofu and Trevor Garwe, bringing in offspinner turned pace bowler Bradley Staddon and legspinner Ryan Higgins. For the visitors, seamer Hasibul Hossain made way for left-arm spinner Enamul Haque(jnr)Chibhabha and Mawoyo, opening for Zimbabwe A put on 37 for the first wicket before Chibhabha fell to Farhad Reza, caught at mid off by Saqibul Hassan for 9. Mawoyo was joined by Masakadza and the two shared in a second-wicket stand of 84 which was he broken when Mawoyo was deceived by the flight of Hassan for 61 off 63 balls.Masakadza reached his half century after facing 43 deliveries and struck a further two fours to move to 60 runs before he was bowled by Reza with a beauty of a yorkerthat uprooted the batsman’s off stump. The only other meaningful contribution came from Friday Kasteni who scored 26 runs.Bangladesh did not get off to such a fine start with their partnership only yielding 14 runs. Nazmus Sadat, failed to reproduce the form that he found in the first match after Sean Williams produced some brilliant fielding to run him out with a direct hit from backward point.Imran stood tall and built his innings and even though the visitors lost a further three wickets, he was there to score the winning runs, clipping a four through the leg sideto guide them to victory.Many will question the wisdom of the selectors in dropping Mpofu and Garwe, the two most experienced bowlers in the team which, meant that Manyumwa and Staddon, who issurprisingly now bowling pace after spending most of his career as an offspinner. Some of his former team-mates at Christian Brothers College and Bulawayo Athletic Clubwatching in the stands were surprised to a see him taking the new ball.Staddon is the son of Zimbabwe Cricket interim board member Stanley Staddon and the father’s influence is the subject of intense speculation be doubted as his son is based in South Africa and does not play in a professional league in that country.Mpofu and Garwe struggled in the first match but dropping both of them after just one match was a recipe for a loss and the selectors should do the most sensible thing andbring at least one of them back into the starting line-up on Sunday.The two teams meet in the third match at the same venue before the series moves to Kwekwe where the last two matches are set for Kwekwe Sports Club.

New Zealand’s foreign minister has asked cricket’s world governing body to ban Zimbabwe from international tours because of what he called human-rights abuses by Robert Mugabe’s government.The New Zealand team is currently scheduled to tour Zimbabwe from next month and cannotcancel the tour without incurring a fine of at least US$2 million. “New Zealand Cricket may therefore be forced into a situation of having to tour Zimbabwe even if its members have moral objections to having to play cricket while, just kilometres from the grounds, people are having their homes destroyed and their basic human rights abused,” Phil Goff, the foreign minister, said in a letter to the International Cricket Council.In the letter released today, Goff asked the ICC to exclude Zimbabwe because of its demolition ofthousands of shacks and other homes that has left at least 200,000 people homeless. “The appalling human-rights abuses taking place in Zimbabwe cannot be ignored,” Goff said. “We are gravely concerned for the well-being of the people of Zimbabwe, and believe that it isextremely difficult to justify sporting tours going ahead in such circumstances.”He also asked the ICC to change its rules to allow any country to cancel a tour if gross human-rights abuses were occurring in the other country involved. The request had the overwhelming support of New Zealand parliamentarians and of the Australian government, he added.At its annual meeting last week, the ICC indicated it did not intend to change its rules toallow the New Zealand tour to Zimbabwe to be cancelled.

Middlesex 216 for 4 (Shah 105*) beat Scotland 89 by 127 runs
ScorecardMiddlesex moved clear at the top of the National League second division, as Scotland continued to flounder in the basement, after a match which encapsulated perfectly the differences between the teams. Led by an unbeaten century from their former captain, Owais Shah, Middlesex romped to victory by 127 runs, after bowling Scotland out for a meagre 89.Shah, who clubbed nine fours and two sixes in his 119-ball 105, made light of tricky conditions at the Old Deer Park in Richmond, in a match where no other batsman exceeded Nick Compton’s 33. After the early loss of Ben Hutton, Paul Weekes dropped anchor with 20 from 50 balls, and when he fell, Jamie Dalrymple followed suit to keep Shah company. Compton added some late impetus to lift the total to 216 for 4.That proved to be more than enough. Only two of Scotland’s batsmen reached double figures as Middlesex’s bowlers ran amok. The only batsman to hang around for any length of time was their Indian opener, Sridharan Sriram, but by the time he retired hurt for 19 from 52 balls, the match was already in the bag.