2009 Champions Trophy date finalised

The ICC will hold the postponed Champions Trophy between September 24 and October 5, 2009, it was decided during the second day of its board meeting in Dubai. The announcement ends months of uncertainty about the event which was originally scheduled for September this year in Pakistan but was postponed after several participating countries refused to travel over security fears in the country.

The new dates were formalised after detailed discussions between Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and officials of various national boards, many of whom will have now have to adjust their international programme to accommodate the event. The ICC, too, has had to make an adjustment of its own to accommodate the event, shortening its duration from the original 17 days to 12, including a reserve day for the final.

The ICC also said the event will be held in one city, possibly to ensure foolproof security arrangements, though Pakistan's fate as host will be decided only after a review following India's tour of the country in early 2009. Lahore and Karachi were the original venues. David Morgan, the ICC president, welcomed the decision to find a place for the tournament despite an increasingly packed Future Tours Program (FTP) and Lorgat thanked the participating countries for their cooperation. "I'm hugely encouraged by the spirit of togetherness and teamwork shown by our members in ensuring we have found a place for the Champions Trophy in next year's calendar," Lorgat said.

The ICC board's decision means the BCCI, which had originally refused to adjust its international programme to allow the postponed event, will have to reschedule the second edition of the Twenty20 Champions League, which had originally been slotted for September 25-October 10. India has also tentatively scheduled a seven-ODI home series against Australia to start from October 13 next year.

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, said that "there will be no clash of dates". "The new programme takes into account a provision for the Champions League also," Srinivasan told Cricinfo.

According to Lorgat, for whom the result of today's decision is an achievement of sorts considering the initial opposition to the new window, the tournament needed to be held as it is "vitally important for the world game".

The Champions Trophy is expected to rake in around USD 40 million, most of which will be redeployed for the development of the game. "The tournament, with its new format of the top eight teams playing in a short, sharp event, is vitally important for the world game because it allows those members, as well as the developing cricket world, to grow the sport," Lorgat said.

BCCI president to meet ICL representatives

The Indian board has agreed to meet officials of the unsanctioned ICL, the first time the two sides will have met since the league was set up in April 2007. This was one of the two major decisions taken on the first day of the ICC board meeting in Dubai, the other being the selection of four Test series where the umpire review trials will continue.

ICL officials have welcomed the proposed meeting with Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, and said they hoped for an "early resolution" to their quest for official recognition. However, a senior BCCI official said that nothing much should be read into the ICC board's decision, "because it does not in any way indicate a result".

The ICL has sought official sanction under Rule 32 of the ICC operations manual which pertains to authorised unofficial cricket. But siginificantly, Manohar and Lalit Modi, a BCCI vice-president, are on a five-member ICC sub-committee that has worked on "new regulations governing official and unofficial cricket" that were discussed at the board meeting today. ICL officials, however, indicated that they expected Manohar to meet Subhash Chandra, the chairman of Essel group that owns ICL, "very soon". "We will be in dialogue with BCCI and we hope the outcome suits all," Chandra said. "The ICL has always worked towards promoting the game and players," Himanshu Mody, the ICL's business head, told Cricinfo. "We hope the outcome of discussions between the BCCI and ICL will benefit players at large. We look forward to an early resolution."

The BCCI, apparently, views the situation differently. "The only resolution that can be looked at is one where the ICL agrees to operate within the BCCI's parameters," the official said. "Till then, the announcement of the meeting is just a statement of fact, and nothing more. It's not as significant as it is being made out to be." Manohar will provide a written report of his discussions with the ICL to the ICC board.

Since its inception, the ICL has been vehemently opposed by the Indian board, which has banned players associated with the league from all forms of official cricket and barred them from using any of its facilities. The ICL has, meanwhile, been pressing the ICC unsuccessfully for official recognition of their unsanctioned venture for several months. Subsequently they requested the ICC for a meeting, and Chandra met David Morgan, the ICC president, in London last week to present the Twenty20 league's case for recognition. The ICL is hoping for a status similar to the one that has been granted to the Stanford venture in the West Indies, but the crucial difference is that the Caribbean tournament has been endorsed by its home board, the WICB.

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India's attack best in a long time

Did the speedometer slip the quality checks? Sounds a little bitter but that was the joke during the India-Australia One-Day series. Many eyes turned beady when Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth clocked the high 140s constantly, the former nudging the pace meter up to 148 kph.

It has had Aaqib Javed, India's nemesis at Sharjah in the '91 finals, gushing over in praise.

"Of all the Indian attacks I have seen in the past, the present lot comes across as supremely skilled. I would go to the extent of saying that this attack is the best they have had in a long time," beams one of Pakistan's greatest exponents of swing bowling.

Not too long ago, he had suggested that India's new-ball bowlers would be better off eating meat. For now, Singh and Sreesanth seem to have altered his views.

What is more, he expects India to prepare seaming tracks for the razor-toothed series against Pakistan. We remind that Pakistan's bowling arsenal too looks piping hot, not to forget that Shoaib Akhtar is likely to be drafted in.

In this regard he says, "Both the teams have strong batting line-ups. From the look of it, India seem to be a better bowling unit this time. Sreesanth can mix high-velocity with movement, while RP and Khan (Zaheer) are different bowlers. Then you have variety in spin bowling in the shape of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. This should be one heck of a series."

He holds that it is the system that breeds fast bowlers and India, finally, seems to be embracing a different culture.

"India always had a flat-wicket mindset to minister to their spinners. It was quite evident in the country's domestic cricket. Somewhere down the line it had to change."

Furthermore he says, "Fast bowling is not only about pace. I remember Javagal Srinath was express. When in full rhythm, he too could hit the 145-150 mark. However, like RP Singh and S Sreesanth, he wasn't aggressive mentally."

Fast bowlers, he believes, should be nurtured at an impressionable age. He insists that Pakistan never invest on peace brokers who just turn up and roll their arm over. "It is not in our style," Aaqib says, "we goad our boys to run in hard, bowl with passion. Umar Gul and Sohail Tanveer are products of such a culture."

Aaqib finds it refreshing that the Indian cricket is drawing from a fresh pool of talent; he feels they are ready to take the country's cricket forward once the old guards stow away their kits.

Finally, how would he assess the captains (MS Dhoni and Shoaib Malik) from their brief stints in the job?

After a long pause he remarks, "Although both Dhoni and Malik have displayed commendable temperament, I have noticed that Dhoni has handled the high-pressure situations extremely well. It is not for nothing that India are the Twenty20 World Champions."

Taylor century grabs series

Bangladesh had a bright start to the 100th ODI in the country, but hopes of a possible series win dimmed once two of New Zealand's emerging talents, Ross Taylor and Jamie How, stepped up to the challenge, and Bangladesh's top order capitulated. Although they failed to pull off their first series victory over a major Test-playing nation, Bangladesh, who'd lost several regulars to the ICL, gained in confidence during the contest.

That confidence showed as their new-ball bowlers - Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel - accounted for both openers, reducing New Zealand to 13 for 2. The New Zealand top order had collapsed in the first two one-dayers but How and Taylor averted a repeat by putting on a century stand.

Taylor scored his third ODI century while How provided the early momentum during his 73 to help New Zealand reach 249, their highest total of the series. How sparked off the recovery, scoring quickly to put the pressure back on the bowlers. Mortaza's first four overs went for just five runs, but How opened up with two fours in each of the next two overs.

Taylor took time to get his eye in, but neither batsmen let Abdur Razzak, the left-arm spinner, settle. In his third over, Razzak was hit over long-on by Taylor; How followed up with a four through the same region. Nor were the other spinners allowed to bowl too many tight overs.

How was lbw to offspinner Naeem Islam after putting on 125 for the third wicket and Taylor then took charge to ensure the scoring-rate was kept above six. Two quick wickets, however, hampered their chances of pushing the run-rate in the third Powerplay (overs 35-40). Taylor fell in the 47th over to Mortaza soon after reaching his hundred; only 44 of his runs coming in boundaries. Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills maintained the momentum, adding 30 in the last three overs.

Chasing 250, Tamim Iqbal, the local boy, raised Bangladesh's expectations with a brisk 35. His partner Junaid Siddique fell early to Mills, but Tamim and debutant Imrul Kayes built the innings patiently. Bangladesh had moved to 49 after 11.5 overs when the innings fell apart. Oram, who failed with the bat, struck in his first over, having Kayes caught behind for 12. Bangladesh lost Tamim on the same score when he nicked Jeetan Patel to McCullum. An ambitious shot from Ashraful led to his downfall, and a slog-sweep from Shakib Al Hasan reduced Bangladesh to 59 for 5.

Naeem, who's played a vital part with his offbreaks in his debut series, saw off more deliveries (106) than the top five combined and remained unbeaten on 46 to delay New Zealand's celebrations till the 50th over. The lower order gave him good support, but a professional New Zealand side ended Bangladesh's hopes of pulling off another upset win.

Clark battles injury ahead of Test

Stuart Clark's elbow injury continues to be a concern for Australia ahead of the second Test, which starts in Mohali on Friday. Clark will not bowl at Wednesday's training session and Australia will make a decision on his fitness for the Test only after seeing him in action on Thursday.

The inflamed right elbow joint troubled Clark during the first Test in Bangalore, where he regularly under-armed the ball in from the boundary and was restricted to 17 overs in the first innings. Although he did bowl during the second innings, the problem was still niggling Clark and Australia are keen to give him time to recover.

"He's not going to bowl at training tomorrow, just so we can maximise his recovery and give him the best chance to be able to play on Friday," Alex Kountouris, the team physio, told the Age on Tuesday. "We will see how he pulls up and if he feels okay we will play him."

The loss of Clark would be a major setback on the Mohali pitch, which has assisted seamers in the past. Should Clark be unavailable Australia would likely hand a debut to Peter Siddle, the inexperienced Victoria fast bowler who has impressed the squad on his first tour, or Doug Bollinger, the left-arm fast man.

Zimbabwe thrash lowly Canada

Canada may lack the might and skill of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but Zimbabwe don't often have the opportunity to rout opposition. That's exactly what they achieved today, however, thrashing Canada by 109 runs and, in doing so, winning the third-place playoff in the T20 Canada. It was an important win for Zimbabwe, not least because their opponents today forced a bowl-out in their last game.

No need for such footballesque antics this time, however. Hamilton Masakadza again propped up the batting with a brutal 79, and he was well supported by useful contributions from Chamu Chibhabha (40), Elton Chigumbura (25) and Keith Dabengwa, lifting Zimbabwe to the lofty heights of 184 for 5. It was by 31 runs the tournament's highest score, and comfortably Zimbabwe's best in this format - all the more impressive given the juicy, overcast and bowler-friendly conditions.

After the early loss of Cephas Zhuwawo, Chibhabha and Masakadza put on 89 for the second wicket at a rollicking rate. Much as he did yesterday in his entertaining but futile 53, he was savage on anything too short - of which, from Canada, there was plenty. Four crunching boundaries off the usually economical Harvir Baidwan propelled Zimbabwe before he took Abdool Samad for two huge sixes over the bowler's head. Samad removed him after the second crashing blow, stumped by Ashif Mulla, but the damage had been done.

Impressively, Zimbabwe didn't let their foot off the gas, with Chigumbura launching Samad for six, four, four in a blistering 25 from just 10 balls. Likewise, Dabengwa iced the cake with three more boundaries in the final over, taking advantage of Canada's obvious lack of experience.

A target of 185 would challenge better sides than Canada, and they were immediately put on the back foot with the early wickets of Mulla and Rizwan Cheema, whose thrilling strokeplay yesterday made Sri Lanka sweat. When Sandeep Jyoti was stumped off Ray Price, Canada had fallen to 10 for 3; at the halfway point, they had crawled to 27 for 4, still needing 158 to win. They avoided the ignominy of the lowest Twenty20 total (Kenya's 67 against Ireland in August), but only by a whisker. Prosper Utseya, with 3 for 26, was the pick of the bowlers, ably supported by Price's remarkably economical return of 2 for 6, as Canada sunk without trace.

Tendulkar and Laxman save the day

In time, the innings played by Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman today will be forgotten among their more glamorous conquests. It shouldn't be so; their contributions, though humble in purely numerical terms, are immense when seen in context - they helped India save the Test - and will rank among their more significant.

Tendulkar is the elephant in the fourth-innings room. His repeated failures in the final leg of a Test have forced admirers to look towards Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag for a saviour. He averages 33.60 in the final innings with three half-centuries. His hundreds are so rare that they are easily recalled: Old Trafford 1990, Chennai 1999.

Tendulkar had started the tour of Sri Lanka needing 172 runs to break Brian Lara's record but after six innings he was still 77 short. He wasn't clueless against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, like some of his team-mates, for he often began confidently only to get out in unorthodox ways or to soft shots. It was the same in the first innings in Bangalore, when a spooned drive to short cover off a slower ball brought about his dismissal.

The situation when he walked out this morning hinted at India's bugbear: a calamitous final-day collapse. Sehwag and Dravid had been dismissed and 74.3 overs remained. Tendulkar received his routine rousing welcome from the crowd but the half-empty ground, on a day when he needed only 64 runs to become Test cricket's leading run-scorer, was perhaps a sign of the times. If this was 1998, the Chinnaswamy Stadium would have been packed, irrespective of it being a Monday.

Tendulkar did not face Stuart Clark in the first innings. When he did in the second, Clark had Haddin stand up to the stumps, a tactic he used successfully in Sydney. Tendulkar was immediately bowled on that occasion while coming forward but today he negotiated Clark primarily from his crease, using his wrists to open the face and steer the ball through point for his first boundary.

Mitchell Johnson operated with the first-innings trap in place: a slip, two men at short cover and a point waiting for the lofted drive or the outside edge. Tendulkar was able to slip right through it, square-driving his first ball from Johnson through point for four. He then fended a couple of short balls awkwardly towards leg gully but, when Ponting moved himself into that position, Tendulkar found other ways to counter that line of attack.

Apart from one ambitious appeal from Michael Clarke, the bowlers barely had a chance against him. His three-hour vigil spanned the decisive passage of play - the post-lunch session - and included partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Laxman that virtually ensured India's safety.

The Australians don't sledge Tendulkar because they think it fires him up. Watson, though, had a go at Laxman after bowling several short balls. Laxman didn't respond but Tendulkar walked towards Watson and had a word. He was in a mood for battle.

Tendulkar's well-knit innings began to fray as the light deteriorated during the final session. He played out 11 balls on 48 and talked with umpires, presumably about the conditions. His concentration lapsed moments later and a lofted drive to cover gave the debutant Cameron White his first wicket. His contribution was immense but he had left the job of saving the Test, and the quest for the world record, incomplete.

Until then Laxman had batted in Tendulkar's shadow but now he was critical to India's chances. He had found scoring opportunities difficult against a strong leg-side field in the first innings. They remained hard to come by in the second for Ponting had two men at short midwicket, a leg gully, a silly mid-on, a conventional mid-on, and a square leg at various times but patience underlined Laxman's approach.

He wore down the fast bowlers with terrific defence and, once the fading light ensured only the spinners could operate, Laxman was at ease. Four men hovered around the bat - leg slip, first slip, silly point and short leg - for Clarke and White but Laxman's supple wrists and swift footwork nullified the threat.

Between them, Tendulkar and Laxman scored only 91 runs but they blunted Australia's attack for 268 balls and spent nearly six hours at the crease. Their gritty, unfashionably restrained efforts are the reason why the series is still level.