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Australian cricket administrators met the formal announcement of a truncated Test series against South Africa by saying they would have preferred to play three matches rather than two. The slim provision for five-day matches has been explained as the by-product of a distended schedule, which is swollen still further by the presence of the Twenty20 Champions League. Also of note is the series’ status as a return favour for South Africa’s presence in Australia for the prime Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney over several tours, which kept them overseas at peak time in their own country.”We would prefer to play three Tests and the discussion we’re having with South Africa is around playing four the next time we go there,” A Cricket Australia spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “Bear in mind this is two bonus Test matches – this particular visit to South Africa is over and above what the FTP originally contemplated, and it is part of negotiation we had with them about them playing the Boxing Day Test here in Australia the last two times they played.”We, as part of the negotiation, agreed to play cricket in South Africa so they could have the Australian team as a draw-card for their home market.”The Champions League will once again sit uneasily in between Australia’s international commitments, this time in Sri Lanka and South Africa, but CA remains bullish about the need for international players to be capable of adapting. The spectre of Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger, and their horrendous preparation for last year’s series in India, still hangs over the team.”Michael Hussey and us agreed to disagree about that particular timing last summer, but if you talk to cricketers around Australia, none of them have a sense that their preparation is or has been compromised by say our approach to the Ashes last summer,” the spokesman said. “It is a fact of life the world has got three formats and is very different from when all Australia did was play five Test matches every summer, and modern professional cricketers are used to that.”The FTP is not quite resolved yet, and long term there is a view that as we get further into the future it might be possible to play less international cricket, for the time being what we’ve got is what we’ve got.”The series does provide the Australian team with the most comprehensive of lead-ins to the home summer, affording the chance to play on wickets similar to those found in Brisbane and Hobart for two home Tests against New Zealand, which will be followed by four against India in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.”From our point of view what it does is it gives us a four-day match, two Test matches as the immediate preparation before we play Test cricket in Australia next summer,” the spokesman said. “So it is convenient preparation as we go into the New Zealand series and then our Indian summer.”Australia’s return home in late November will mean a later than usual start to the New Zealand Tests, but that may prove useful as anticipation grows for a series that would otherwise be a modest seller.

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Persistent rain in Bangalore didn’t allow any play in the game between the two struggling sides, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. They have now both played five games each, and after the shared points Rajasthan have five and Bangalore three, leaving both of them a lot of catching up to do.

Paul Valthaty has done his reputation no harm in the IPL, but he has more to do before he can get a call-up to the Mumbai Ranji team, Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer has said.”This performance [in the IPL] will help him. He has made those runs against quality bowling and I’m sure the selectors will keep that in mind,” Jaffer told the . “However, you can’t judge someone for first-class cricket based on performance in Twenty20 games.”It’s a different format. He has to do well in tournaments like the Times Shield [in which Valthaty plays for Air India] and prove himself.”Labelling Valthaty ‘talented’, Jaffer said the injury he suffered below his eye during the Under-19 World Cup in 2002 and inconsistency have set him back. “He was a good cricketer at the U-19 level. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury and then had a few lean years, when he was in and out of Mumbai teams.”He has always played the odd remarkable innings in the Times Shield, but then would have a lean run. He was very inconsistent. However, with age people do mature and he has become better.”Valthaty grabbed the national spotlight by powering Kings XI Punjab home in a big chase against Chennai Super Kings with a blistering century on April 13. Since then, he has been trading places at the top of the IPL’s leading run-scorers’ table. However, he hasn’t played first-class cricket and has represnted Mumbai in one List A game.Jaffer – who played his last international match in April 2008 and has had a good run in the 2010-2011 Ranji Trophy averaging 80.88 – also said he is “hopeful” of breaking into India’s Test team, should the seniors choose to take a break during the tour of West Indies this summer.

The two World Cup semi-finals and the final have a reserve day each, which will be used if both teams haven’t batted at least 20 overs, but in the case of a tied game, the one-over-per-side eliminator (officially-named OOPSE, for short), will come into play to separate the teams.Broadly, it involves each team batting for an over, with a team getting bowled out if it loses two wickets. One can imagine headline writers having a field day if the OOPSE goes wrong, but the ICC has put in place several levels of elimination – however contrived – to ensure one team does emerge the winner at the end. Here are some of the salient features of the method:

• 1. The captains from each team will nominate three batsmen and a bowler for the eliminator. These names will be submitted to the match referee, and will be disclosed after both teams have made their nominations.
• 2. Both teams will have to bowl from the same end, which will be chosen by the umpires. The umpires will stand at the ends at which they finished the match.
• 3. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the eliminator. The over will be played with the field restrictions that apply to a non-Powerplay over, i.e. five fielders allowed outside the inner circle. The ball in use will be the same one with which the last over of each team’s innings was played.
• 4. If a team loses two wickets in the over, the innings is terminated.

If the teams are equal on scores after the over, there are three further criteria to decide the winner.

• 1. The team which has struck more boundaries (fours and sixes) in both innings together – the 50 overs and the one-over eliminator – will be declared the winner. Rather curiously, though, instead of looking at the runs scored in boundaries, the ICC has decided that the number of boundary hits will decide the winner. Thus, a four will count for the same as a six. So, a team which hits four sixes will, according to this method of calculation, fall short of the team that has struck five fours.
• 2. If the boundary count in the two innings combined is the same, the boundaries scored in the main match only – excluding the one-over eliminator – will be used to separate the two teams.
• 3. If all of the above can’t decide the winner, the countback is the final hope. This is how it works:
  the runs scored in each ball, starting with the last one, will be checked, and the team with the higher scoring delivery is the winner. If, for instance, both teams struck fours off the last ball, but team B scored two off the fifth compared to team A’s single, then team B will be declared the winner. The runs scored off any ball is defined as all the runs added since the completion of the previous legitimate delivery.

If all these elaborate methods still don’t produce a winner, the last fall-back option for the semi-finals is considerably less complicated – the positions of the teams in their respective groups. In that case, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the advantage, having finished higher than New Zealand and India.If nothing separates the two teams in the final, though, both sides will be declared joint winners.

Mid West Rhinos put in a dominating performance to beat Mashonaland Eagles by an innings and 70 runs at the Harare Sports Club. It was a complete performance by Rhinos. Their seamers skittled Eagles out for 97 on the first day, their top order came good giving them a 268-run first-innings lead and the spinners came into play on the third day, ensuring an early finish.Ian Nicolson and Neville Madziva did the damage on the first morning, finishing with four and three wickets respectively as Eagles crashed to a low score. Opener Gary Balance led the reply with a century. He was supported by Malcolm Waller who scored 91. Rhinos lost their last seven wickets for 65 runs but they were still in complete control of the game. Eagles started their second innings as poorly as they did their first, slumping to 31 for 4 with Nicolson again among the wickets. The middle order was then tormented by the offspin of Simon Mugava and they were soon 104 for 8. No. 10 Douglas Hondo smashed an unbeaten 60 off 41 balls, but it was not enough to make Rhinos bat again. The win takes Rhinos to second place in the table while Eagles are still languishing in fourth.

Matabeleland Tuskers lost the second spot to Rhinos after only getting a point from their match against bottom-placed Southern Rocks at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. A century by Adam Wheater gave Tuskers a 104-run first-innings lead, but opener Roy Kaia replied with a century of his own for Rocks to ensure the game ended in a draw.Kaia had failed in Rocks’ first innings, but a shaky start was rescued by Chamu Chibhabha whose 105 was the main reason Rocks got to 261. Tuskers’ innings started with an 85-run opening stand, and Gavin Ewing kicked on to get 80. His knock and Wheater’s 126 put Tuskers in a strong position but the lower order collapsed and their last six wickets fell for 43 runs. That left them with a lead of 104 with around 120 overs left to play. Kaia ensured it was not enough for Tuskers to get a victory as his 112 off 269 balls took Rocks to 292 for 4.

England’s coach, Andy Flower, has praised the ruthlessness of his Ashes-winning cricketers, but warned that their 3-1 series win must not be seen as an end in itself, as the squad prepares to embark on a tough ODI campaign against Australia that will test their readiness for the World Cup in the subcontinent later this year.Speaking on the morning after England’s innings-and-83-run victory in Sydney, Flower said that, while the successful defence of the Ashes in Australia was a special achievement, it would be disrespectful to the challenge posed by other countries to single it out as a crowning glory.”Our celebrations were good, and well deserved by the players,” said Flower. “We had a good time and I think the guys are reflecting on a job well done and a job that they are very proud of. But our ultimate goal is to be No. 1 in the world, and in no way would I demean the Ashes series in saying that. Any series against any international nation is important in its own right, and any Test win is a very proud moment for me and our players. I think it would be disrespectful to view it any differently.”England’s itinerary has left them little time to sit on their laurels. Much as was the case in 2009, when the team departed for Belfast shortly after wrapping up victory at The Oval, the squad set off for Canberra on Saturday to prepare for the two Twenty20 internationals that precede the seven-match ODI series. “There’s not much rest time,” said Flower. “The guys won’t be able to bask long in the sunshine. They have to get their training boots on, and get back to work soon.”One man who will not be joining them on that trip, however, is Alastair Cook. England’s Test vice-captain is not a member of the one-day set-up, and so he is set to fly back to England on Saturday evening, to reflect on his phenomenal achievement in racking up 766 runs in the five Tests, a tally that has only ever been exceeded by one Englishman in Australia – Wally Hammond, who made 905 runs in 1928-29.”Cook had a particularly outstanding series,” said Flower. “He’s a very strong young man, he’s displayed that strength in a number of ways through his career, and he’s overcome most challenges that have been put in front of him, which is testament to that strength of character. Our players are picked to play international cricket because we believe they are good enough, and crucially they believe they are good enough.”Cook’s turnaround in form has been stunning, after he struggled to 100 runs in the first four Tests of the English season before saving his short-term place in the side with a gutsy second-innings century against Pakistan at The Oval.”Considering that people were calling for his head not so long ago, it is an outstanding riposte,” said Flower. “Although that’s not why he did it. It was because of the pride he has in his own performance and because he is very proud to play for England. I am very happy for him personally, and we’re all thankful that he made those contributions to the team for us.”The team ethic was the defining feature of England’s Test campaign, and of their rise and rise in the past 12 months, in which they have not lost a single series or tournament in any form of the game for 15 series and counting. The knock-on effect of such confidence is that the less-experienced members of the team, such as Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett, have been able to slot into the set-up without missing a beat.”Bresnan and Tremlett stepped into the breach very skillfully I thought, and held themselves well under pressure,” said Flower. “It’s not easy to do when you don’t play a lot of cricket at the start of the series, and you’re asked to take over because of injury or form, but they did it very well. It’s down to a combination of things. It’s a testament to their character and the way they handle pressure, but also a testament to the unity in the side, and the fact that they felt comfortable coming in and didn’t feel like outsiders.”The fact that England have forged a squad of international-standard players, rather than just a first eleven as was the case in 2005, augurs well for the challenges that lie ahead, with Flower hinting that changes of position and personnel may come into play when the team reaches the subcontinent in February for the World Cup. But all the while, that aim of No. 1 remains the ultimate focus.”It’s realistic, it’s achievable,” said Flower. “I don’t know if we’ll get there or not, but it’s certainly what we are aiming for. This result will give the players a lot of confidence, and some of the results they are achieving are building that confidence all the time. Winning the Twenty20 World Cup, playing well in South Africa, and winning two of the last Ashes series are all things that will build the confidence of the side.”

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Baroda entered the Ranji Trophy final for the first time since 2001-02 after crushing fancied Karnataka by seven wickets at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. In a frenetic match that lasted less than five sessions on a sharp turner, Karnataka were rolled over for a tiny total for the second day in a row – making only 88 today, after having folded for 107 on the first day.Karnataka’s second innings began in much steadier fashion than their first, and they erased the first-innings deficit of 46 with seven wickets remaining. KB Pawan and Uthappa played the ball late, and also left many in the channel outside the off stump. Pinal Shah, the Baroda captain, opened with Bhatt but the new ball was not doing as much, and the openers had eased to 27 before Pawan missed the line of one from Swapnil to be bowled. Uthappa did have three chances though, but two of them were difficult caught-and -bowled opportunities off full-blooded drives. However, Amit Verma and Sunil Raju continued their horror match, and the shuffling in the batting order made no difference to their fortunes; Verma drove airily straight to short midwicket, and Raju was trapped in front after going back to one that straightened.Still, at 66 for 3 and with two of their best batsmen, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, in the middle, Karnataka were about 100 runs away from setting Baroda a challenging target on a dry surface that was making survival difficult against left-arm spinners in particular. Unfortuantely for Karnataka, Baroda had one on from either end, and they triggered a collapse that saw seven wickets go down for 22 runs. Bhargav Bhatt and Swapnil Singh split ten wickets between them to herald a victory that Baroda wouldn’t have thought possible even in their wildest dreams, given the strength of the Karnataka side.The downward spiral for Karnataka began with Uthappa’s dismissal. He had looked pretty assured during his 35, but was given out caught at slip off Swapnil, a decision that did not impress him. In the very next over, Pandey edged one straight to slip off Bhatt, and Karnataka were now effectively 22 for 5. Suddenly, the prospect of an exit was staring them in the face, and this time the recovery firm of CM Gautam and Stuart Binny shut up shop. They had been bailing Karnataka out of tight spots throughout the season, but Nos 6 and 7 can only do that for so long.Gautam caved in to the pressure, trying to sweep a full delivery from Swapnil to be trapped leg-before. Sunil Joshi decided he was going to go down playing his shots and swung Bhatt high in the gap between deep midwicket and deep square leg, but Ajitesh Argal running in from the latter position put in a full-length dive to pull off a blinder. The players had barely settled in after lunch, and the remaining batsmen had to hurriedly pad up. The procession continued as Vinay Kumar went back to a vicious turner that caught him in front, and Mithun tried to hit his way out of trouble, only to find backward point. Binny tried to score a few quick runs, but was rapped on the pads as he swung across the line of a full delivery, and Karnataka had lasted less than two-and-a-half-hours.Baroda added 20 in the morning to stretch their lead to 46, before Pinal tried one sweep too many to be caught at square leg for a priceless 83, which proved to be the difference between the two teams. Joshi picked both the wickets to fall, ending with 6 for 58.Whatever slim chance Karnataka thought they had was snuffed by Connor Williams and Jaykishan Kolsawala. The pair put on 32 in the chase of 43, which was also the highest opening stand of the game. They were positive with their footwork against the spinners, and repeatedly stepped out of the crease to blunt the turn, something the Karnataka batsmen were loath to try. Though a few wickets fell towards the end, there was only going to be one winner after last year’s finalists had managed 195 runs in the game.

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has said it would be “very hard to bet against India” going into the 2011 World Cup. Despite the absence of several first-choice players, India have dominated New Zealand to run up a 4-0 lead in the ongoing five-match series, prompting Taylor to make his prediction ahead of the last game in Chennai.”The team is young but has experienced players,” Taylor said. “They go in as favourites for the World Cup, not only because of the home conditions but also on account of their experience. They are a very talented bunch of players. Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar are still inexperienced but they have been very successful in their international careers.”New Zealand were completely outplayed in the first three matches of the series before their batting clicked in Bangalore. That could not stop India from winning, thanks to a blinder from Yusuf Pathan, but Taylor hoped his side would draw from the batting gains and get a consolation win to round off the tour.”We take confidence from our last match when for the first time we really played well,” he said. “We back ourselves to restrict India with the ball as well here. In the last match, we really stood up with a batting performance by posting 315, but we didn’t field as well.”Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum are the only guys who have played in India before. For the rest of the side, it is a learning experience. Hopefully it would help our players in the World Cup.”Apart from inexperience, New Zealand’s chances have also been hampered by the inability of their top order to convert its starts, while India have had centuries in each of the four games. Taylor said he hoped to make amends and push on to make a big score in the final game.

Group B

Manish Pandey’s 144 and his stand with CM Gautam has given Karnataka an excellent chance of batting Orissa out and forcing an innings win•Sportz Solutions

Karnataka and Orissa appeared to be heading towards a closely-fought contest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore but the pair of Manish Pandey and CM Gautam ensured it was one-way traffic at stumps. The Orissa seamers, led by Alok Sahoo who picked up three wickets, had rattled the hosts, reducing them to 54 for 5 at one stage. Karnataka were replying to a score of 191 and seemed to be struggling to even manage a first-innings lead. But Pandey and Gautam smashed centuries, ensuring the pressure was off early by scoring runs quickly. Pandey’s unbeaten 144 was laced with 12 fours and five sixes while Gautam, who took even less time, made as many runs with 21 fours and a six. The stand is worth 294 and looks good for more as Karnataka now target an innings win.There was no play on the second day of the contest between Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, due to rain.A combined batting effort from Baroda propelled them to 416 on the second day at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara against Punjab. Keen to recover from the shocking collapse that proved their undoing against Uttar Pradesh in their previous Ranji Trophy game, Baroda’s top and middle-order batsmen stepped up, with four of them scoring half-centuries. Opener Connor Williams scored a patient 73, Kedar Devdhar supported him in a 126-run stand for the second wicket, Ambati Rayudu top scored with 79 and wicketkeeper-captain Pinal Shah chipped in with 63. Legspinner Sarabjit Ladda bagged a five-for, while Karan Goel complement that effort with offspin that fetched four wickets. In reply, Punjab lost opener Ravi Inder Singh early and finished on 10 for 1 at stumps.

Group A

S Badrinath and Abhinav Mukund have had an excellent Ranji Trophy thus far and they made sure their enjoyment continued, scoring hundreds for Tamil Nadu against Railways at the Indian Institute of Technology Chemplast Ground in Chennai. Mukund followed up his double-ton in the previous game with an unbeaten 108, while Badrinath scored his third century of the tournament, the pair adding an unbeaten 208 for the third wicket. Both approached the game steadily to help their team recover from 36 for 2 and end the day on 244 for 2.On another rain-affected day at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Gujarat steered themselves to 162 for 3 against Bengal. Opener Priyank Panchal helped the hosts recover from the loss of an early wicket by top scoring with 63, and Niraj Patel backed him up in a 94-run stand for the second wicket. Seamer Ranadeb Bose was the pick of the bowlers, taking all three wickets. Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel was unbeaten on 23 at stumps.Rain continued to mar the contest between Mumbai and Assam at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. However, there was another disappointment for Mumbai fans as well. Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain now playing for Assam, was dismissed for just 1 on his return to his former home. Assam were on 81 for 3 at stumps.Saurashtra and Delhi were left with no choice but to confine themselves to the dressing room as play was washed out for the second consecutive day at the Khandheri Cricket Stadium in Rajkot.

Leicestershire’s board of directors has agreed to step down en masse at the next annual general meeting, to be held in mid-Feb 2011, as a compromise between the board and a group of members who had petitioned for special meeting in November. The board of directors would have faced a vote of no-confidence at that meeting which won’t be required now as a result of their decision.In a statement on the club’s website, the petitioners said that “in view of the Board’s willingness to compromise, the cancellation of the special general meeting is in the best interests of the club, and will allow the club to move forward.”Last month county members Anna Stead and Stewart Walker submitted a petition with 165 signatures, over 10% of the county’s membership of about 1,400, calling for a special general meeting (five per cent of the total membership is needed to call such a meeting) at which they proposed three actions, according to .The first was to hear evidence from former chief executive David Smith about his departure in June. The second was to have a vote of no-confidence in then chairman Neil Davidson and the board. The third, which would have been necessary if the no-confidence vote was upheld, was to elect an interim board to manage the club until the next annual meeting.The petitioners have urged all interested members to submit their nominations by November 30. They have also pledged to support whomsoever is elected at the annual general meeting next year but will continue to press for changes to the club’s constitution, which they say does not appear to protect the interests of its members. The directors can choose to stand for re-election at the annual meeting.The truce between the board and petitioners is the culmination of a tumultuous few months for Leicestershire. The club lose its chief executive (Smith), chairman of cricket (Neil Davidson) and senior coach (Tim Boon). Paul Haywood has been appointed the new chairman of cricket, while Mike Siddall, who has been acting chief executive since Smith’s departure, had his position made official.The trouble began when Smith and Davidson fell out over selection issues, and Smith resigned. Leicestershire captain, Matthew Hoggard, and Boon, then demanded the immediate removal Davidson in a letter, which had the support of all Leicestershire players, the ground staff and most of the club’s administrative staff.Hoggard and Boon alleged that Davidson had interfered in cricket matters at the club and intimidated staff and made the club unattractive to new players. Davidson stood firm at first, but was eventually forced to go when Hoggard refused to withdraw the letter against him.