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With a bowler, you can ask how many wickets, with a batsman, how many runs. With a coach you can ponder the win-loss record. But, how do you judge a physio? Injuries come and go, striking even fittest of cricketers in the freakiest circumstances. It’s never easy to judge how well a physio is doing his job. Yet, if the players he trains, and the coach he works with, have a decent comfort level, that’s always a good sign. With Andrew Leipus, who is leaving the Indian team at the end of the Bangladesh tour after five years on the job, there’s no doubt how the team feels.”Andrew [Leipus] has been outstanding,” says John Wright, fulsome in his praise. “He is a thorough professional but I think the biggest thing about him is his work ethic. He is going to be very hard to replace; you don’t find too many Andrews around. You try and put good people around you and he is definitely one of those people.”Leipus, though pleased to hear Wright’s comments, is modest. “I’m flattered he says that, we have grown to become a bit of a family. Obviously you spend so much time with people that you develop relationships and get good understanding of how each of us operate. We know the little quirks, when to back off and when to approach each other. It will be tough when someone else takes over, but it’s life, no one is irreplaceable, ultimately.”When Leipus first began, in late 1999, he was able to quickly adjust to India and her people because he had already visited the country before, as a backpacker, with his girlfriend. “I think it really helped me to be honest; I knew the culture, I knew the country and I knew what to expect. It wasn’t a huge culture shock; it’s not like I got out of the plane and then have a central shock,” he says. “I had seen India from the trains, buses, tuk-tuks and stayed in guest lodges so I experienced it from the ground level. Obviously at the other end of the spectrum I am standing with heroes and superstars of Indian society so I have seen probably both ends of the spectrum.”But what was harder to get used to was the media attention his job received. Every injury fuelled speculations and rumours. “I never expected that much attention when I first got here,” he reflects. “Nowhere else in the world does the physio get that much attention from the media. You get periods when you get a bit of injury or something happens and you rest a player then the media sort of jumps on the story; it’s a story and I know you are doing your job.”We are trying to keep the injury sort of quiet for whatever reason from the gamesmanship point of view that becomes a bit of problem. I get a bit of annoyed when there is too much going behind the scenes. Those are tough times; obviously when you are under the pump and there are a few injuries and the media is jumping on, asking ‘is Leipus doing his job?’ that’s tough but generally, I have had a decent relationship with the media. I respect you guys for your job; it’s a very tough job to do. You’ve a harder job than me, I think.”But if doing the job as Indian physio was hard, deciding to give it up was harder. “It wasn’t easy, it was probably a tough decision to make; chuck the best job in the world and try and do something different,” he says. “From that point of view, it’s probably been the hardest decision in my life. But it wasn’t an over and out thing, it was growing for a while.”Looking back at his tenure, Leipus could not pin-point one moment as an obvious high. “There are so many of them, really. Every tour you have your highs and disappointments. The World Cup was great, beating Australia (in India in 2001) was great; beating Australia in Adelaide was great.” That was a special match for him, Liepus emphasises, because Adelaide is his hometown.Then he singles out the personal milestones that the players achieved during his tenure, Tendulkar’s 34th Test hundred, Sehwag’s 309 and Laxman’s innings in Kolkata, “They are all personal milestones that you feel proud of. It’s a pity that I won’t be around for Sachin’s 35th hundred. It would have been nice to been a part of that. I am a bit disappointed about it.”But not half as disappointed as the team, who would have lost a good man.

Ian Ward dominated the Glamorgan bowling with an aggressive 63 from just 65 balls when Surrey were finally able to begin their reply to Glamorgan’s 258 all out at a rainy and windswept Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.Play did not start until 3.30 when 40 overs were scheduled but two interruptions for rain reduced that still further before Surrey closed the second day on 140-1 from the 39 overs Glamorgan commendably sent down in exactly two hours’ playing time.Ward and Michael Carberry began confidently against Glamorgan’s opening attack of Steve Watkin and Darren Thomas although it was Ward who did most of the scoring and displayed an attractive range of strokes, especially on the offside.He reached his half-century out of the 68 runs on the board with his ninth bounadry, a classical straight drive off Adrian Dale, from only 48 balls and added two more fours before Watkin got one to move back into him and rattle his stumps.Mark Butcher and Carberry then took up the cause, Carberry striking boundaries off both Watkin and Robert Croft while Butcher effortlesly drove Dean Cosker through extra cover for four to maintain the tempo.At the close, Surrey trailed by 118 runs but, more importantly, they were just 60 short of the one point they still need to be mathematically certain of avoiding relegation.

Indian Railways executed a ridiculously easy nine wicket victory overNorth Zone in the CricInfo Rani Jhansi Trophy at the SRMC ground inChennai today. After winning the toss and electing to bat, North werebundled out for the lowest score of the tournament so far, mustering amere 49 runs that left their opponents with the modest requirement ofscoring 50 runs in 50 overs to win the match. Rupanjali Shastri hadthe most miserly figures amongst the three Railways spinners of 10-5-6-1 but Neetu David left a greater trail of destruction, taking 3/8 inseven overs. Railways proceeded to polish off the match in the 14thover to take home their fourth successive triumph. Rupanjali andRajini Sharma delivered the final touches by adding an unbroken 49 forthe second wicket.North openers Rakhi Mehra and Gulshan Sharma provided the brightestmoment of the innings with a stand of 24 in just under 12 overs, withGulshan even having the temerity to score a boundary to third man. Butafter she gave the simplest of return catches to the left arm mediumpacer, Umesh Chaudhary, a procession began to and from the crease evenas injured North captain, Richa Dubey, still undergoing treatment fora knee problem, watched resignedly from the sidelines.Reema Malhotra had hardly got her eye in before trying to pull Umeshaway into the nether regions of the on side. She missed and astraightforward leg before decision was handed out. RupanjaliShastri’s loping off breaks were introduced in the 15th over and shefrustrated the batsmen with a skilled line. But the next two wicketswere to fall unassisted by the bowlers. On both occasions Gurdeep Kaurplayed the ball into the covers and called but while she made herground safely, her partners, Rakhi Mehra and Rajni Bhalla did not. Thefielder involved in both runouts was Poornima Chaudhary.Anjuman Bassi came and went for a duck, with a simple top edge beingsnaffled by the bowler, left arm spinner, Neetu David. Two balls laterGurdeep was gone as well, after scratching around for 37 balls to make5, when Neetu induced a leading edge that was well taken over her headby Rupanjali at first slip. The scoreboard was not a pretty sight at38/6 and it ceased to be prettier still when, one run later, Asha Jaingifted her wicket by lobbing Rupanjali straight to Hemlata Kala at midoff for another duck.Seema Wadhwa and Vandna Gupta put on a gallant nine runs for theeighth wicket during which the former was dropped by Rupanjali atfirst slip, off Neetu. Railways captain, Deepa Kulkarni, finallydecided to play a more active role in the destruction, and finishedoff the innings in the 35th over, taking two of the last three wicketsto fall. Reema’s 14 was the highest score, with all but the twoopeners failing to reach double figures.North’s batswomen had lasted just over two hours and twenty minutesand Railways began their innings before the luncheon interval. Theysuffered an early hiccup, in the second over, when Poornima Chaudhuryfailed to clear Anjuman at midwicket as Asha tempted her into pullinga short of length delivery. Rajini Sharma joined Rupanjali and, afteran initial period of guardedness, the floodgates gradually opened withRupanjali cutting Vandna to the square third man fence in the seventhover. The batswomen had to be content with threes on several occasionsas the ball slowed down in the neighbourhood of the boundary line. At1.00 p.m., both captains consented to postpone their lunch in thepursuit of a result. Sure enough, the mockery of a contest came to amerciful halt with the clock reading twelve minutes past one afterboth Rajni and Rupanjali ravished Anjuman with a boundary apiece inthe 14th and last over of the innings.

Sussex eased through to the fourth round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy after a 33-run win over Cornwall at Truro.Honour was satisfied on both sides. Sussex never looked in danger of missing a fourth round appointment at Old Trafford while the minor county’s defeat was the smallest they have suffered in five matches in the competition.Skipper Chris Adams underpinned Sussex’s 253-6 with an undefeated 89 from 103 balls which earned him the man-of-the-match award from former England seamer Chris Old.A slow pitch inhibited the stroke-players on both sides, but good running between the wickets kept the scoreboard ticking over, particularly when Adams was putting on 96 for the second wicket with in-form Zimbabwean Murray Goodwin who made 66 after twice being dropped at slip in the first four overs off the luckless Justin Stephens.There were useful contributions all the way down the Cornwall order, but no one was able to anchor their innings in the way Adams had.South African all rounder Steve Pope, who had earlier taken 2-44, made 29 before he was bowled by Mark Robinson and hopes of an upset were briefly raised by Tom Sharp and Jon Kent in a fifth wicket stand of 62 in 11 overs with both batsmen making 30.But after they were parted Cornwall settled on respectability in front of a crowd of over 1,000 at picturesque Boscawen Park. Youngster James Hands had earlier made 33 while Jason Lewry was the pick of Sussex’s attack with 3-43.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to participate in thethree-Test series in Sri Lanka as the pain in his right toe stillpersists, according to Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) sources here today.”The hairline fracture to his right toe is healing very slowly andwith the second bone scan scheduled on August ten it is unlikely thathe will take part in the Test series starting on August 14″, thesources said.”However, we will get a clear picture only after the bone scan is doneand if he is ruled out of the series then he might attend the BCCI’sWorking Committee meeting at Baroda on August 11″, the source added.Sports medicine expert Dr Anant Joshi, who is treating Tendulkar, saidit was difficult for him to say anything now and added that he wouldlike to comment about the progress shown only after the second bonescan.Tendulkar had sustained the injury during the triangular series inZimbabwe in the last league match against the West Indies on July fourand missed the recently concluded Triangular series in Sri Lanka.

Uttar Pradesh won their Ranji Trophy one-day match against Vidarbhy bythree wickets at Udaipur on Saturday.Opting to bat first, Vidarbha put 230 runs on the board. The runs weremade largely by Ulhas Gandhe and Harshal Shitoot, two batsmen who havedisplayed remarkable consistency lower down the order for Vidarbha.Gandhe made 46 off 71, with one four and one six, while Shitoot scored57 off 47, with seven fours.Needing 231 to win, Uttar Pradesh were never pressed for run-rate,with Mohammad Kaif hitting 65 off 61 balls and a number of otherbatsmen made quick runs. Kaif fell at 183/6, however, giving Vidarbhaa sniff at victory. The seventh wicket fell at 207, but ParvinderSingh (27 off 38) steered his side to a win by three wickets.

Otago had their foot firmly on the Auckland neck by the halfway mark oftheir Shell Trophy match at Eden Park today, and the home side willstruggle tosurvive the third day tomorrow.After another day of tight-fisted cricket Otago completed their firstinningsat 274, a first innings lead of 117, and ripped out both Aucklandopeners for 14 runsas the home side were pinned down for 13 overs before stumps.Otago will thus enter the third day tomorrow still 103 runs in credit,andmust hope that the pitch retains its life — and the Auckland suncontinues to shine –as they chase victory over the remainder of the match.Otago’s slow, solid innings was built round the valiant batsmanship ofChrisGaffaney, tragically out at 99 when pursuing his fifth first classcentury, and thenthe cool head of Paul Wiseman who scored 75 and put together aninvaluable 56-runstand for the last wicket with James McMillan, batting like a veteran inonly hissecond big match.It was another day of deliberate, often unconfident cricket — thepitch stillcould play tricks — and after 234 runs on the first day today producedonly 211runs.But the tense struggle and the character of the batting by Gaffaney,Wiseman and McMillan, cousin of the New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan,andthe dogged work of the Auckland bowlers and field made for a day ofabsorbingcricket.Gaffaney deserved the highest praise. By nature he is something of abattingcavalier, full of rich and sometimes rash strokes.In his 227-minute innings Gaffaney occasionally allowed himself theluxury ofthe cover-drives and square cuts which are his favourite strokes. Butmostly hededicated himself to keeping out the balls which threatened his stumps,andworking in partnership with his team-mates at the other end.He did allow himself the luxury of hitting 14 boundaries, mostly withthesuperb cover-drives and square cuts which are his trademarks. But therewere justas many bread-and-butter strokes, aimed to disarming the bowler-friendlypitchand at increasing the Aucklanders’ frustration.Gafaney was sixth out at 160, and Auckland at that stage could havehopedfor more quick success among the Otago tail, and the conceding of only asmall firstinnings deficit.Wiseman, with his 30-year-old experience and ability to work the ballintogaps, was the perfect man for Otago at that tricky stage of the game.Auckland didnot help themselves by dropping Karl O’Dowda when he was one and thetotal 187for seven.Wiseman and O’Dowda stuck together until the total was 218 for eight,andOtago were almost out of the woods.There was more trouble when David Sewell managed a five-ball duck, butthen along came McMillan to help Wiseman for the next 63 minutes as theydraggedthe initiative away from Auckland.Auckland are not yet out of the game, but they must bat the next threesessions tomorrow and the first session on Saturday if they want achance of gaininga victory, or denying Otago theirs.At the moment, the odds are heavily in favour of Otago.

So often the most polarising cricketer in Sri Lanka, this time Lasith Malinga was himself split on the value of his contribution to the T20 series. On one hand, he appeared almost distraught at the decline of his bowling. He not only suggested again that he lost Sri Lanka the match, but also conceded his career may end if he doesn’t improve soon.On the other hand, Malinga responded tersely to criticism of his influence over team selection. Six cricketers with two T20 caps or fewer played in the Sri Lanka team on Saturday, and Malinga believed he had done Sri Lankan cricket a service by showcasing them at the top level.”The people who watched the match would have been able to see how talented the new players are and how useful they can be,” Malinga said. “Personally, I’m disappointed about my own form, but I happily take criticism as captain. I believe that even if I was criticised by one or two people, I was personally able to unearth two or three future national players. That’s what a captain should do.”Malinga was Sri Lanka’s most expensive bowler for the second T20 running, and his figures of 1 for 40 from four overs played a role in the loss. Malinga’s international form has been indifferent since the middle of 2014, when a long-term ankle injury began to deteriorate further. He had surgery in September and was in recovery for 18 weeks before the World Cup.”I played for a year and a half before the World Cup with an injury,” Malinga said. “I was using injections then. After that I had surgery. I didn’t have time to recover – the World Cup started. I went there and I wasn’t able to get my rhythm back. I’m playing cricket continuously and I think I might have a chance to get back into rhythm. If not, I expect better bowlers than me will develop in Sri Lanka. I came to the national team to fill someone else’s shoes. I think a good player will come and be suitable to take my place, in time.”Malinga led Sri Lanka to the 2014 World T20 victory in Bangladesh and was reappointed T20 captain by the new selection committee this year. However, there have been reservations about his leadership, particularly about his man-management ability. These concerns have been inflamed by his recent dip in form.”I don’t think I should step down as captain,” Malinga said. “What I hope is that I can work on my fitness. The selectors have the opportunity to give the captaincy to someone else. Whether I’m captain or not, I think I’ll have a chance to get back into form. If not, a better captain and a better bowler will replace me, and take Sri Lanka’s cricket forward.”Questions have also been raised about the omission of Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal, which Malinga is said to have influenced. Malinga, however, said he had done right by Sri Lanka, given the limited number of T20 internationals scheduled before next year’s World T20.”In past World Cups, I’ve heard and seen people say, ‘We should have brought that player’, or, ‘This other cricketer would have been better in these conditions.'” Malinga said. “But whether I’m the captain or someone else is, I thought that I would save the captain that fate. I wanted to choose a young group of players early and present them. There’s no need to guess at how good the players are.”Though Sri Lanka’s senior players have been underwhelming throughout the Pakistan tour, which the hosts have finished without a trophy, Malinga believed results would begin to improve soon.”I don’t think Sri Lankan cricket will stagnate for long,” he said. “The new players we’ve introduced are already showing they are suitable for international cricket, and showing they have ability. Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva have all done that. They’ve all shown they have a long cricket journey.”When seniors retire, it’s not the runs and the wickets we miss. The knowledge and their ability to manipulate matches – a skill they’ve gained over 14 or 15 years – is what is missed. It takes a while to build up that kind of knowledge. But in terms of producing good cricketers, I don’t think Sri Lanka will have much trouble.”

ScorecardNick Browne’s career best took Essex to victory•Getty Images

An outstanding unbeaten career-best 151 from opener Nick Browne, during which he passed 1,000 championship runs for the season, helped Essex to victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road.Asked to score 307 to win from a minimum of 65 overs, the visitors knocked off the runs needed with five wickets and three overs in hand. The key partnership was that of 157 for the third wicket between Browne and Ravi Bopara, compiled off just 29.5 overs. Bopara’s 69 was his highest championship score of the season.The morning session had seen three declarations, setting up a potentially exciting finish to a match which had lost its first two days to the weather.Leicestershire picked up the wickets of Dan Lawrence, caught at first slip edging an attempted drive at Ben Raine for 28, and then Tom Westley, who failed to keep a square drive down and was caught at point, for just one.Browne, however, was soon timing the ball nicely, and Bopara, after being dropped off consecutive balls by Angus Robson at first slip and then by the bowler himself, Rob Sayer, when on just 17, began to belie his previous poor form.His dismissal, caught behind off a delivery from Ben Raine that lifted more than had previously been the case on a flat Grace Road track, brought in Ryan tenDoeschate, whose 28 from 19 balls added further momentum to the innings.Leicestershire were without Charlie Shreck, who pulled up injured, and with Clint McKay having returned to Australia and Ben Raine suffering from cramp, the attack looked threadbare. Bad light nearly came to their rescue though, but just three over were lost, and though Jesse Ryder went caught behind off Rob Taylor on the resumption, Browne and Mark Pettini saw Essex home.

Graeme Swann struck two important blows as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire shaded the first-session honours against second-placed Sussex at Wantage Road.The 21-year-old off-spinner, who snapped up 5-55 to wrap up his side’s innings victory over Worcestershire earlier this week, turned one sharply to bowl opener Toby Peirce (21) in his first over of the match.And he struck again just before lunch, sending back Sussex skipper Chris Adams for 11 as the visitors reached 99-3 from 37 overs at the break.Adams had little hesitation in choosing to bat first on winning the toss, but he saw Richard Montgomerie depart in the fifth over with only 12 on the board, trapped leg-before by Darren Cousins.Wasim Khan, making his first Championship appearance of the summer, dug in for an unbeaten 43 while Tony Cottey opened his account with two boundaries off successive balls from Swann.