After a predictably disappointing batting collapse in the first innings, Victoria regained the momentum through great bowling and solid batting on the second day of its Pura Cup match against South Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.Having claimed first innings points earlier in the day, the Bushrangers are now well in contention for an outright victory that will see them escape the bottom of the domestic ladder.Jason Arnberger (56) and Matthew Mott (71*) did exactly what their team needed them to do in the final session, building up a century stand from 159 balls in just over four hours. After the early loss of Shawn Craig (5 off seventeen balls) with the score on 12, the pair steadied the side, adding 109 runs before Arnberger was dismissed.Arnberger, who struck four boundaries and lasted 143 deliveries, will be disappointed with the way he was dismissed, cutting Ben Johnson straight to point. He did have room for a six in his patient knock however, hooking Brett Swain approximately twelve rows back into bottom of the Great Southern Stand.Mott also attacked the bowling at every opportunity, striking seven fours in his first Pura Cup fifty of the season. Having worked at a few starts this summer only to be dismissed before really establishing a good score (he has 12, 22, 31, 19 and 18 in firstclass innings), Mott must have been happy with his unbeaten seventy-one. The fact that Victoria did not need to score quickly today suited Mott’s style and he will be looking to continue the fine work tomorrow.After being worn down by the home team’s resolve today, the South Australian bowlers will be desperate for an early breakthrough in the morning. Captain Darren Lehmann tried eight bowlers in the final session, but only one wicket fell. The Redbacks will be hoping Paul Wilson (0/28), who claimed four Victorian batsmen in the first innings, will be fit to start tomorrow, after having to come off the field in the second last over of the day because of a leg injury.With first innings’ century maker Brad Hodge (3*) at the crease, and their lead already up to 273 runs with eight wickets in hand, Victoria will be keen to score quickly in the first couple of sessions tomorrow before allowing themselves just over a day to bowl out the Redbacks.Dismissing the Victorians will only be the start of the hard work for the visitors, who were routed for just 96 in their first innings earlier today. The total was South Australia’s lowest against Victoria since scoring 84 in the 1996-97 season, and a mere twenty-eight runs greater than their all-time Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup low, achieved in the summer of 1931-32.Twenty-two year old Mathew Inness was the star of the Bushrangers’ attack, returning career-best figures of 6/26 for the second time in five days. Inness, who surprised the West Indies with his burst on Sunday, snared the key wickets of Greg Blewett (1) and Lehmann (0) with his first two balls.He was aided in his efforts by captain Paul Reiffel (1/28) and Colin Miller (1/13), while Damien Fleming (0/27) went wicketless.

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.

Mark Lathwell, with an innings that fell just one run short of what would have been his first century of the season and an invaluable innings of 73 by Peter Bowler, saw Somerset placed more comfortably on 260 for six at stumps after struggling on 74 for three.Their partnership, that began shortly before lunch and ended 15 minutes after tea, added 140 for the fourth-wicket on a fine batting track with none of the six bowlers that Surrey used being a serious threat to either batsman.Lathwell, who was, however, dropped on 20 and later on 64 from a difficult low chance offered to mid-on off Ian Salisbury, played his shots freely while Bowler was more cautious. They were, at one stage, neck and neck in their rate of scoring but soon Lathwell forged ahead and reached his half-century off 79 balls with two consecutive boundaries off Salisbury, the first at extra cover and the next to mid-wicket.Bowler needed 133 balls for his 50 but, on 61, he had almost caught up with Lathwell who was 65 and Somerset had recovered to 199 for three at tea.The three Somerset wickets that fell in the last session of the day all went to the left-arm spinner Rupesh Amin who ended with an impressive three for 39 from 24 overs. He had accounted for Bowler, bowling him around his legs and then dismissed Robert Turner in the same manner with the total on 254.Five runs later, in the penultimate over of the day, Amin ended Lathwell’s 224-ball innings, which contained nine boundaries, having him caught at slip as he attempted a cut. It had been an accurate spell of bowling by Amin in his second first-class match of the season. He had made up for his poor performance in the first when he conceded 124 runs without taking a wicket against Northamptonshire.Earlier, in the first session of play, Somerset, having decided to bat first at the Oval, were shaping well with 46 without loss when Surrey removed both opening batsmen in a space of three balls.Piran Holloway, who has been in fine form in the CricInfo championship with an aggregate of 436 runs which includes four half-centuries in four matches, opened his account with a square-cut for four and followed it with another boundary to backward square-leg in the same over. He then faced 26 balls before his next run.Surrey’s first bowling change produced a wicket, when in his first over, leg-spinner Salisbury had Holloway caught at first slip from a forward prod. In the next over, with the total still on 46, Martin Bicknell’s outswinger, dismissed Jamie Cox for 26 which included five boundaries. Again, the catch was taken at first slip, this time by Mark Butcher.After a ten-minute stoppage for rain, Somerset’s third wicket fell on 74. Nadeem Shahid, at mid-on took a fine catch from a mistimed pull by Michael Burns on 20. It was Adam Hollioake’s first over.

The Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s (BCCSL) interim committee took the decision onThursday to remove the controversial Rangiri Dambulla International Stadiumfrom its list of venues for next month’s one-day triangular series.Interim committee sources said the decision to take the matches away fromDambulla was arrived at on the advice of their lawyers and with theconsultation of the Sports Minister.They said legal implications on the ownership of the land was the mainissue regarding the change of venue.The interim committee was looking for an alternative venue to play thethree matches involving Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand. The matches aredue to be played between July 25-28.Galle International Stadium and the Saravanamuttu Stadium are the onesthat are looked at as alternative venues.The Dambulla stadium, built in 175 days at an initially estimated cost of Rs. 300 million, hosted the first One-Day International between Sri Lanka and England on March 23.Since then a legal dispute over the ownership of the land and the allegedmismanagement of finances which is currently under investigation haveraised a question mark against the staging of international matches at this venue.The first four-day unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A iscurrently being played there.

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.

* Indian company wins contract from ECBA London-based Indian company along with a British advertising agencyhas won a prized contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) to popularise cricket among children in the 6-12 age group inthe country. Under the contract, Raymedia Limited, founded andoperated by veteran journalist Ashis Ray with British advertisingagency Interfocus, will produce children-friendly cartoon filmsentitled ‘The Pride Side’ which will generate interest among childrenin the game of cricket.The programme which was launched at the Lord’s cricket ground onWednesday in the presence of ECB representatives, English captainNasser Hussain and 30 children is envisaged to run for five years.Ray told PTI that this is the first venture of its kind anywhere inthe world. He hoped to create a TV series and comic strip as part ofthe programme. Ray, formerly of BBC and CNN said “It is a proud momentfor any cricket lover when merit is found in a proposal in what isstill the home and a major laboratory of the game.” Asked about thefunding for the project, he said it would mainly come fromsponsorship.Asked why he had not taken such a proposal to the Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI), Ray said “Raymedia will be delighted to tryand solve any problem the BCCI may have. We are always at the serviceof India.”* Kumble to return to full fledged competitive cricketAfter an injury lay-off for several months, leg-spinner Anil Kumblereturns to full-fledged competitive cricket later this month testinghis fitness at a high level of the game.Kumble, out of cricketing action after his shoulder injury sustainedin Sharjah in October last year, has been named captain of theKarnataka State Cricket Association XI in the KSCA Diamond Jubilee AllIndia Invitation tournament. The tournament which is scheduled to beplayed in Bangalore from August 1 to 15, is expected to give a clearpicture on the status of his fitness. He may also take part in the AllIndia Buchi Babu invitation tournament to be held in Chennaiimmediately afterwards.Earlier this month, Kumble appeared for a match representing his almamater club Young Cricketers in the KSCA-Coca Cola third divisionleague match against Dooravani Cricketers. At that time, he had comeup with the figures of three for 49 as his team won by two runs in athrilling encounter.* Kumble to lead KSCA XIAce Indian spinner Anil Kumble, starting on the comeback trail aftersurgery on an injured shoulder, will lead the KSCA XI in theforthcoming KSCA Diamond Jubilee All India Invitation tournament forthe Coromandel Cement Trophy to be played in Bangalore from August 1.According to a Karnataka State Cricket Association pressrelease, theother members of the team are: Mithun Beerala, Rowland Barrington,Vijay Bharadwaj, VS Thilak Naidu, Rajashekar Shanbal, Deepak Chowgle,Sunil Joshi, BKVenkatesh Prasad, G Chaitra, Santosh Vadeyaraj, DavidJohnson, Vinay Kumar and Senthil Kumar.

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.

Ireland won the European Cup for women on Sunday, inflicting the firstdefeat on an England side in the twelve-year history of the tournament.Ireland secured victory when they sensationally defeated the England Under-19 team by 59 runs on Sunday, dismissing them for just 60. Saibh Young wasthe star for Ireland taking a hat-trick.England Under-19 finished asrunners-up in the three-day tournament, held at Bradfield College, Reading,with the Netherlands finishing in third place.Scotland, making their firstappearance in an international tournament, started shakily when dismissedfor 24 by the English on Friday, but improved as the series progressed eventhough they failed to win a game.

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.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday said it would like the NewZealand Cricket (NZC) to confirm inside 10 days if they were ready tocome for an shortened tour.A spokesman of the PCB clarified that it was not a deadline but only atime frame which could allow the host board to finalize thearrangements.”NZC is requested to monitor and review the situation quickly to helpput the tour back on track. Naturally, the abbreviated tour has toconclude before Oct 25 as Pakistan is committed to play in Sharjah onOct 27,” the spokesman said.The tri-nation series in Sharjah begins Oct 27 with Zimbabwe and SriLanka as the other participating nations. The Black Caps are scheduledto arrive in Australia on Nov 1 where the first Test begins Nov 8.Although the spokesman refused to reveal details of the abbreviatedtour, insiders said if conditions remained normal and NZC decided tosend its team, a two-Test and three-match one-day series would beplayed.”The Peshawar Test and Rawalpindi three-dayer will be scrapped whileFaisalabad Test will be shifted to Lahore. In the revamped schedule,there will be 16 playing days (including a threedayer). This impliesthat the tour can be completed in three weeks if the rest days areadded,” the sources said.In practical purposes, the tour can still conclude on Oct 24 even ifit begins Oct 1. This means New Zealand have more than two weeks toassess the situation arising from Tuesday’s tragic events inWashington and New York.According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) ruling, a two-Test series will be eligible for distribution of points for the WorldTest Championship. Similarly, the one-dayers are equally important asthe rankings of the 2003 World Cup will be based on team’s worldstandings in the matches played till Oct 1.”It is the first day of the crisis following New Zealand’s temporarilypostponement of the tour. We will certainly consider various optionsthat will be available,” the spokesman said.Continuing with the training camp or releasing the players to appearin domestic first-class competition starting Sept 21 or requesting theAsian Cricket Council (ACC) to wrap up the Test championship beforePakistan proceeds to the desert city are the options underconsideration.”NZC chief executive was reassured that the situation in Pakistan withrespect to security and playing the game are safe,” PCB director BrigMunawar Rana said in a statement.The statement added: “The PCB regrets the situation which is wellbeyond its own control and held out an assurance to all the organizersof the series that their interests are as safe as can be reasonablyexpected.”Rana, when contacted by Dawn in Lahore, said he has informed theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) that there were no securityconcerns in Pakistan. The executive board of the ICC is scheduled tomeet at Lahore between Oct 14 and 19 which will be followed up by atwo-day ACC meeting on Oct 20 and 21.”I called Mal Speed today and confirmed him that next month’s meetingwas on as far as Pakistan was concerned,” he said.Ironically, Pakistan had volunteered to host the meeting after SriLanka had refused to host in the backdrop of security concerns. Itwould be interesting to see if NZC chief executive and former Testpacer Martin Snedden attends the summit.It is for the second time in 11 years that an international team hasbeen forced to cancel or postpone its tour to Pakistan because ofsecurity fears. In 1990-91, England A returned without playing a matchwhen Gulf War broke. In 1984-85, India returned mid-way on tour whenprime minister Indra Gandhi was assassinated.