Sachin Tendulkar started the trend last year, and now it’s Sourav Ganguly’s turn. Ganguly is all set to turn TV host, presenting ESPN’s Cricket show, along with Harsha Bhogle, ESPN-Star Sports’ commentator and anchor.Starting September 26, the Cricket Show will be aired every Friday at 2130 IST. It will feature the week’s cricket from across the globe, with personalities like Tendulkar, Geoffrey Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar roped in to provide the expert analysis. The show will also leave Indian shores, and episodes are planned while the Indian team tours Australia later this year.RC Venkatesh, ESPN-Star’s Managing Director, said, “ESPN Star Sports, through ESPN Cricket Show, will present the game of cricket in its entirety to the viewer. An interactive analysis of the week’s cricket played the world over by the experts and the India captain will give the viewer a unique perspective. Besides cricket’s on-pitch excitement ESPN Cricket Show will entertain viewers with on-ground initiatives, talent-hunts, consumer contests and the new Super Selector.”As for Ganguly, he said, “I have enjoyed the challenging experience of writing a column for newspapers and websites. I believe that the ESPN Cricket Show will offer me the chance to share my philosophy of the game with an enlightened audience. I am looking forward to joining Harsha Bhogle in presenting the ESPN Cricket Show to the knowledgeable fans, some of whom I expect to be interacting with on the show as well.”

There was a stark contrast between the shot selection of Damien Martyn as opposed to Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. This can partly be attributed to the sea of difference between the bowling of the two sides – one woefully profligate and the other manfully disciplined. The slowness of the pitch as the match wore on was also one of the factors, but the contrast was definitely glaring.Damien Martyn scored 31% of his runs (31 off 100) in the V between long-on and long-off, while Tendulkar and Dravid hardly drove down the ground with the full face of the bat. Tendulkar scored only 14.7% of his runs (10 off 68) in this region while the corresponding figure for Dravid was 13.6% (8 off 59). The figures become even more baffling when one considers that the Australian seamers hardly pitched it short and stuck to a straight line throughout their spells. Tendulkar exhibited some artistic touch with some delectable glides and swipes, but this ultimately led to his dismissal.

Zaheer Khan’s early spell reminded one of the World Cup final, when he was dismantled by a rampaging unit. He bowled 45 balls out which of 15 drifted down leg side. On a pitch that demanded a stump-to-stump spell he should learn a few lessons from young Nathan Bracken, whose swing and control left most batsmen clueless. In a spell of 4 for 29 Bracken bowled only 3 balls on the middle and leg stump and of his 61 balls, 44 zeroed in outside the off stump. His length too was immaculate and 52 out of his 61 balls were pitched on a good length, 7 were pitched up and only 1 was short – a statistic that would have made Glenn Mcgrath proud.

Pakistan 184 for 3 (Farhat 82, Hameed 61) beat New Zealand 183 (Cairns 48, Akhtar 3-23) by 7 wickets with 8.4 overs to spare
Scorecard

Pakistan thumped New Zealand by seven wickets in a comprehensive all-round exhibition to take a 4-0 lead in the five-match series. New Zealand opted to bat, but made heavy weather of a flat pitch, struggling to 183 as Pakistan’s bowlers made run-scoring a torrid affair. Shoaib Akhtar took 3 for 23, as top-order batsmen and tailenders were equally uncomfortable against his controlled aggression.Imran Farhat (82) and Yasir Hameed (61) then hammered 134 for the first wicket – a partnership characterised by merciless batting that emphasised the difference between the teams – as Pakistan coasted past the target with more than eight overs to spare.Chris Cairns top-scored for a team that has been bruised, battered, and for the most part of this series, has resembled a tattered rag-doll. His innings of 48 stood out among others that promised much but were terminated by incisive bowling. A defiant six over midwicket to signal the end of Abdul Razzaq’s miserly spell confirmed his combative intentions, as did a string of boundaries in the middle of the New Zealand innings. But it was not to last, as he ran out of both partners and time, and fell to a false shot, to be bowled by Shoaib Malik (143 for 7).Earlier, Akhtar took all of five balls to deliver the first blow, ending Craig Cumming’s stay with an incutter that thudded into his pads (0 for 1). Mathew Sinclair then joined Richard Jones, and the pair scored runs on the rare occasions the bowlers erred. The budding partnership ended when Sinclair (7) played down the wrong line to a Razzaq inswinger and was adjudged lbw (23 for 2).New Zealand’s predisposition for self-destruction, much in evidence on this tour, then came to the fore again. Jones played a ball to square leg and took off for a non-existant second run, but Akhtar’s powerful throw to the wicketkeeper had him diving back in vain (31 for 3). With the top three dismissed, the bowlers had a stranglehold and did not gift Hamish Marshall and Chris Harris any favours. An Azhar Mahmood yorker splayed the stumps to end Marshall’s endeavors (49 for 4).Trying to buck the tightening screws, Harris and Cairns applied pressure on the fielders with well-placed singles and slowly built a partnership. At this point Inzamam-ul-Haq turned to Malik, a masterstroke that wrenched New Zealand’s final experienced pair apart. Harris stepped out and hit a ball high, but not long enough, and Saleem Elahi made a difficult catch look simple at long-off (82 for 5).Brendon McCullum’s brief stay at the middle was aborted by a throw that found him short of the crease, attempting a third run off a misfield (100 for 6). When Cairns was dismissed shortly after, Akhtar returned to bully the tail, picking up two wickets before an Umar Gul delivery disturbed Paul Hitchcock’s stumps and ended an innings of considerable woe.The New Zealand attack discovered the schizophrenic nature of the pitch, as it now held none of the imagined dangers of the first innings, when wickets tumbled and runs were in short supply. Daryl Tuffey’s first four overs went for 30 runs, while Michael Mason’s three cost 20. Hameed and Farhat simply drove through the line when the ball was pitched up, singeing the turf with thundering boundaries, and stepped back to cut anything short, often tantalisingly past slip, to the fence.By the halfway mark both openers had thrashed fifties, and just as Pakistan were headed for a ten-wicket victory, Hameed chipped a Tama Canning delivery to long-on, where Tuffey took a regulation catch (134 for 1). Moments later, they combined to dismiss Mahmood, as Tuffey dived full-length to grasp a catch inches from the grass at cover (153 for 2).Canning dismissed Farhat as well, this time with a direct throw from fine leg, as the batsman scampered for a second run (162 for 3). That was the last of the setbacks, as Saleem Elahi and Malik achieved the victory with a spell of boundaries to leave New Zealand with the unpleasant prospect of a 0-5 whitewash.

“What could be better, when the winter months are upon us, than to curl up by the fire and relive all the action from those long, hot summer days?” asks the book’s preface. There is the warm glow occasioned by memories of The Oval fightback and the lump-in-the-throat moment that accompanies a picture of Nasser’s tearful resignation. There is an appropriately sentimental tribute by Hussain to Alec Stewart, the inaugural winner of the C&G Man of the Year award. For those of a statistical bent there is even, for the first time, a scorecard from every Championship match.It is a comforting read, especially for those who like their tradition vacuum-packed from year to year. Apart from the change of sponsor from B&H to C&G, little about the book has changed in either format or content. Agnew’s regular radio chums – Jim Maxwell, Tony Cozier and Bryan Waddle – bring commentary from overseas. The review of the domestic season retains its stubbornly unique chronology of events, which is great if you want to recreate the ebb and flow of the summer, but pretty frustrating if you want to track down Worcestershire v Glamorgan (look for an index and you’ll be disappointed).The book’s only major drawback is that like an overprotective mother, it is so in love with the game that it smothers it. Jonathan Agnew looks back on 2003 as the year that “the future of county cricket was debated with a vigour that we have not seen in a while”. But as there is little or no two-sided discussion from Agnew or his fellow contributors the C&G sometimes comes across as First Class Forum propaganda. Having grudgingly admitted that the two-tier Championship has shown “evidence of improvement” Agnew nevertheless contends that “increased competition does not necessarily improve the ability of a batsman or a bowler”. Hardly a maxim that many sports administrators or coaches will be lining up to defend. Still, it’s a book to cheer many a fanatical heart this Christmas.

South Australia’s Chris Duval has not yet broken into the state first team, but he has been spotted by the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.Duval, 20, left Pat Kelly and Tony Harris, scouts for the Dodgers, impressed when his pitches were timed at 137 kph.”He would be in the top one per cent absolutely, in the top one per cent of his age and his size,” Duval told ABC Sport. “He’s young, he’s a very strong big durable guy and he’s got arm strength which is something you can’t teach. All those three things you really can’t teach you know, they’re just God given."

Close Pakistan 42 for 0 (Farhat 17*, Taufeeq 20*) trail India 675 for 5 dec (Sehwag 309, Tendulkar 194*) by 633
Scorecard

The second day of the Multan Test will be remembered as the one in which VirenderSehwag became the first Indian to hit a Test triple-century, and Sachin Tendulkarwas left 6 short of an impeccable double-century. However, it should also beremembered as the day when John Wright’s belief in putting the team ahead of the individual was clinically put into practice, as India declared on 675 for 5, giving themselves an hour of bowling against Pakistan’s openers.There is a jaunty air to Sehwag’s batting that belies the thinking and effort thatgoes into crafting innings like the one he played. You do not score 309 against aTest attack, even on the flattest track, by clattering away at every ball asthough it is the last you will face in your life. That he edges a deliverystraight to slip, sees the catch dropped, and plays a blistering square cut off thevery next one, as he did to go past VVS Laxman’s 281, does not mean thatpresenting slip fielders with catch practice does not bother Sehwag. That he waftsat deliveries outside the off stump when he could just as easily wait for theloose delivery does not mean that he is reckless – it means that he genuinelybelieved that the delivery deserved to be put away. It may not always be obvious, but there is a method to Sehwag’s madness.When the day began with India on 356 for 2 and Sehwag on 228, the method of choice was waiting and watching. Tendulkar, on 60, led the way, showing his moreimpetuous partner the virtue of leaving the ball alone, carefully choosing highpercentage scoring areas and targeting specific bowlers. Tendulkar preferred theacres of space available to him just backward of square on the leg side. He filledthat zone with ambled ones and jogged twos, slowly but surely pushing his scoreon.Only a fool or a brave man would tell Sehwag that he should show the same degreeof self-control as Tendulkar. After getting a significant chunk of the strike, andseeing off a probing spell of fast bowling from Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami andShabbir Ahmed, Sehwag opened his shoulders as the lunch break approached. Thegloves were off and Sehwag’s jackhammer slammed down on the ball with metronomic efficiency. If Tendulkar and Sehwag leaving the ball alone frustrated Shoaib, who bowled his heart out, this audacious attack drove him to despair.

Laxman’s mark of 281 fell and records tumbled. At the stroke of 1pm Sehwaglaunched Saqlain Mushtaq into the stands over midwicket to become the first Indianto reach 300. When he edged Sami to Taufeeq Umar at first slip (509 for 3),Sehwag’s blazing knock of 309 (375 balls, 531 minutes, 39 fours, 6 sixes) had cometo an end. It brought to a close the third-wicket partnership of 336, which beatthe previous best of 316 made in Chennai in the 1991-92 series against England.The eventual Indian total, 675 for 5 declared, was the highest ever againstPakistan, beating the 531 for 9 at Chennai in 1961.But, it was not milestones that the Indian think tank had in mind when theirbatsmen piled on the runs. Every run beyond the 600-mark piled on additionalpressure on Pakistan’s batsmen. Mountains often seem harder to climb when youcannot see the top. In this light, it was hardly relevant that VVS Laxman (29)scratched around before being run out (565 for 3) or that Yuvraj Singh (59) scoredhis maiden Test half-century. To a lesser extent it was not even relevant that theinnings was declared with Tendulkar within sniffing distance of a fourthdouble-century. That he made 194 of the most solid runs, spending eight hours and13 minutes at the crease, was vital. Tendulkar is too mature a cricketer to wonderwhere his next double-century is going to come from.Having put 675 runs on the board, India’s bowling attack had something to workwith. Whether you’re batting on a flat deck, like this one, or a bowler’sparadise, becomes less relevant, because the pressure comes from within. ImranFarhat and Taufeeq Umar, who had both dropped catches when India were batting, had a chance to make up by getting Pakistan’s first innings off to steady start. Theydid just that, seeing off 16 overs in the fading light. Pakistan were 42 for noloss and still in the long shadows of India’s 675, and Sehwag’s 309.Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo. He will be following the Indian team throughout this tour.

Chris Martin and Michael Papps are among 20 players who have been offered contracts for the next 12 months by New Zealand Cricket. Hamish Marshall is on the list as well, but Andre Adams, Robbie Hart and Matt Horne, who had all won contracts last year, have been omitted this time.The three new inclusions have all been rewarded for displaying superb form last season. Martin was easily the pick of the bowlers in the Test series against South Africa. Making a comeback into the side on the basis of strong performances in domestic matches, he ripped through the South Africans, taking 11 wickets at Auckland to fashion a memorable win, and then took seven more at Wellington. Papps had a disappointing Test series, but shone in the one-dayers, scoring two half-centuries in five games. Marshall made his ODI debut in Pakistan last year as part of an under-strength New Zealand team, and impressed with his consistency, notching up five fifties and a hundred in 16 matches.New Zealand’s next assignment is a tour to England, where they will play three Tests and a triangular one-day tournament, also involving West Indies.The contracted players
Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Chris Cairns, Stephen Fleming, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman.

Heath Streak, who was sacked as captain of Zimbabwe earlier this month, has urged England and all other Test-playing nations to boycott Zimbabwe until the current impasse over player selection is resolved. Streak’s dismissal triggered off the dispute which culminated in 15 rebel players being fired by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.England are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe in October, and Streak expressed the fear that a decision to play there would been seen as approval of Robert Mugabe’s regime. Talking to the BBC’s Test Match Special programme, he said, “If England come, it would suggest they agree with what is going on. I don’t think any country should be coming to play cricket in Zimbabwe until they have fixed the problem, whether it be England, Australia or Bangladesh.”The International Cricket Council is set to debate Zimbabwe’s Test future in June, after the two-Test series against Australia – scheduled to start last Saturday – was cancelled. The team that took on Sri Lanka recently was barely club standard, and two crushing defeats reinforced the fear that such unequal contests were making a mockery of the game.The rebel players have turned to the ICC to resolve the crisis, and it is currently making a legal assessment of whether it can intervene in what some, including Imran Khan, seen as a domestic dispute. As things stand though, it’s unlikely that England’s players will have to make that trip to southern Africa this autumn.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to revamp first-class cricket in Pakistan, and to generate more funds for their players. According to The News, Shaharyar Khan and Rameez Raja, the men in charge of the PCB, made a presentation before their advisory council in which they proposed an overhaul of the domestic game. They said that the new system would ensure that the top 50 players in the game would earn an annual salary in the region of Pakistani Rs 500,000 (approx. US$8500).In the context of what Pakistan’s players earn currently, this is a significant step. The highest-paid current Pakistan cricketer is reputed to be Yousuf Youhana, who makes around Rs 350,000 (approx. US$6000). Many of Pakistan’s international cricketers do not play domestic cricket purely because it is not lucrative enough, and Rameez said that he hoped to change that with the new system.Rameez also clarified that the banks and organisations that currently play in Pakistan’s first-class tournaments will not be affected. “Even the National Bank President,” he said, “who is on the Advisory Council, said [that] while he supports organisational cricket, the support of cricket teams and players in organisations and banks these days depended on individuals at the top and there is no clear-cut direction on maintaining cricket teams.”We are preparing an outstanding module on regional cricket and we are looking at signing on around 50 top players for the season to play regional cricket while those outside this list would get match fees. I can promise you that these players would make more [money] than they are making right now from organisations.”Rameez said that the PCB had already had talks with several broadcasters, including Pakistan Television (PTV) and a foreign network, on the subject of television rights, especially for the Twenty20 tournament.Rameez and Shaharyar will present a detailed version of their report to the council on June 16.

New Zealand are scheduled to play their first full series in Bangladesh in October, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed. The series will consist of two Tests and three one-dayers, with a practice match kicking off the tour.The Bangladesh board hopes to inaugurate a new venue in Chittagong during the series, but whether it will host a match will be decided after an ICC venue inspection team examines the facilities. The ICC team will then inspect three new cricket grounds to see if they are up to Test quality.The Tests will be played in Dhaka and Chittagong, and the three one-day internationals will be shared between the two cities.New Zealand tour itinerary
October 14-16: Three-day practise match
October 19-23: First Test, Dhaka
October 26-30: Second Test, Chittagong
November 2: First ODI, Chittagong
November 5: Second ODI, Dhaka (D-N)
November 7: Third ODI, Dhaka (D-N)