John Wright was quick to stress on Thursday that the conditioning camp for the 36 probables would be no picnic. He was talking to the media after having briefed the players on the objectives and methods of the preparatory camp.”We want to make it challenging, hard-working and also fun,” he said. “We will take the opportunity to spell out plans and goals to achieve in the coming season.”After testing the probables’ fitness over the first two days, the 36 would be divided into four groups to promote a healthy spirit of competition. Wright said that he would be working in co-ordination with Andrew Leipus, the physio, and Gregory King, the newly appointed trainer from South Africa, to ensure that all the boys were up to speed by the end of the fortnight.

Old Tauntonians & Romsey have one hand on the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 championship trophy after beating St Cross Symondians by 20 runs in their top of the table clash at Romsey.The victory means OT’s are within six points of the title, which they ought to wrap up at Gosport – who are still in deep relegation trouble – on Saturday.OT’s recovered from the shock of losing Charles Forward, their prolific left-hand opener, to Stuart Charman’s first ball and went on to post 222-7.Raj Niak (86), who scored eight boundaries and a plethora of one’s and two’s, shared a significant second-wicket partnership with Jodey Brown (49), and added useful runs with Max Smith (20) and Ian Tulk, who hit a quick-fire 18.Will Mariner (4-36) bowled St Cross back into the frame – only for a top-order batting failure to cost the visitors dear.The combination of Jeremy Ord (5-28 and wicketkeeper Keith Trodd, who snapped up four victims, had St Cross rocking at 23-3, and later 99-7.But Marc Rees (48) and Stu Charman (51) almost turned the match on its head, adding 73 for the eighth wicket as OT’s were forced on to the back foot.But the return of Ord, who celebrated his first SPL five-wicket haul, reduced St Cross from a threatening 172-7 to 185 all out.Sparsholt threw themselves a lifeline in the danger zone with a 30-run win at now-relegated Purbrook – but they still need to beat Burridge on Saturday to make sure of safety.The win lifted Sparsholt above Gosport Borough and United Services, who were both beaten.Sparsholt’s positive 53-0 became an uncertain 62-3 after a miserly 3-19 new ball spell by Wayne Musselwhite.Nick Boxall (50) did much to boost Sparsholt’s prospects and received useful lower-order support from Jez Lawson, Ollie Kelly and Andy Lang (20 not out) before the visitors were dismissed for 192.Lang, who finished with 4-33, made his mark with a couple of early blows – Purbrook slipping to 47-4 before Mike Hennessy (51 not out) gave the innings some substance.But last year’s Premier 3 champions continued to lose wickets regularly and were dismissed for 162, Lawson finishing with 3-45.Lymngton’s 54-run win at United Services – created by a superb individual performance by Glyn Treagus – certainly helped Sparsholt’s cause.Treagus, who hit 152 for Dorset against Wiltshire the previous weekend, hit 100 and took 3-32 for Lymington.He shared a 151-run second-wicket stand with Danny Peacock (84) before Ben Craft’s unbeaten 61 helped Lymington post a formidable 288-6.Pete Andrew, playing his first match of the season after returning from Royal Navy duties in the Gulf, held US together with a battling 76, scored out of 114-6.Only Paul Barsby (67) made much of a fight of it thereafter as US closed at 234-9.Neil Cunningham hit an unbeaten 113 and enjoyed a 162-run second-wicket romp with Dave Jackson (70) as Burridge piled up 268-4 (Paul Friedrich 44) against Gosport Borough.Only Andrew Watkins (69) and Stewart Magee (45) responded as Friedrich (3-36) and Andy Ford (3-66) kept Gosport to 217-8.Easton & Martyr Worthy’s top three ran amok at The Quarters, where Hursley Park finished 16 runs short chasing a formidable 266-9.Shaun Green (70), Francis Gill (64) and Ashley Spencer (51) had 215-2 on the board before Hursley’s bowlers started making any inroads.Spinner Sandip Halder (3-60) did his bit before helping Adrian Aymes (84) put Hursley in a decent position at 171-3.The Park needed 110 off the last 20 overs and appeared on course until Halder (51) was run out at 229-8.Ross Cambray hit out before Hursley were dismissed for 250 with ten balls still remaining.

How do you fancy controlling the Southern Electric Premier League purse strings and being League Treasurer? It’s an important, enjoyable and rewarding role, but far from time consuming and onerous.What’s involved :-
1) controlling the actual League and Development Fund bank accounts (along with other signatories).
2) accounting for receipts and payments.
3) preparation of Annual Budget for assessment of charges to clubs and arranging them.
4) settlement of League expenses and collection of monies due.
5) preparation of annual accounts for both the League and the Development Fund and submission for audit.
6) presentation of accounts to Annual Meetings and reporting to the monthly Management meetings.
It’s a role that would probably be ideal for a cricketer, or club member, embarking on a career in the banking or accountancy world and who would relish the opportunity of practical experience in treasurership.A responsible approach to handling third party funds is required, but the volume of book-keeping is not onerous.If you are interested, then have a word with our retiring treasurer Brian Funnell (01264 889793) who will be pleased to provide more information.

Australia 235 for 5 (Martyn 61, Clarke 44*) beat India 198 (Dravid 49; Harvey 4-21) by 37 runs
ScorecardA superb allround display from Michael Clarke, and a devastating exhibition of late-overs bowling from Ian Harvey inspired Australia to a 37-run victory in the final of the TVS Cup. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Hemang Badani had given the raucous capacity crowd more than a few glimpses of hope, but India simply had no answers to the Clarke-Harvey show.At 159 for 4, with Badani timing the ball superbly and Dravid rotating the strike cleverly, India were on course for a famous victory. Then, Badani went to sweep a Clarke delivery, which flew off the top edge to Andrew Symonds at square leg. It was a massive blow, given how fluently Badani had eased the ball through the covers each time Andy Bichel or Clarke erred in line and length.Minutes later, Dravid too was back in the pavilion, having played on to Clarke. His 49 was another fine effort, but the manner of the dismissal was enough to rouse his own ire.That set the stage for Harvey, who had been smacked around in his first spell by Tendulkar and Dravid. In the first over of his second spell, he bowled Murali Kartik and then yorked Zaheer Khan the next ball (186 for 8).And after Ajit Agarkar had briefly excited a flagging crowd with a wonderful straight six off Clarke, Harvey came back to tie up the game. Harbhajan Singh spooned a slower ball to cover, where Symonds took a magnificent catch diving forward, and then Aavishkar Salvi was knocked over to leave India 37 short.India’s reply had started slowly, with Sehwag giving Nathan Bracken a return catch via the pad (8 for 1). VVS Laxman then tested Brad Williams’s patience with two edged fours, before producing three authentic shots to the rope. An infuriated Williams responded with a delivery that hit the seam, kept low, and knocked out the off stump (36 for 2).Tendulkar, who took over half an hour to strike his first four, opened up against Bichel and Harvey, and India were coasting when Bichel produced a superb off cutter to send back Tendulkar for 45 (99 for 3). Yuvraj Singh followed soon after, caught by Hayden at slip off Symonds, and India were tottering. Badani and Dravid gave it a good shot, but ultimately it wasn’t quite enough.

Earlier, the Australians put 235 on the board despite a wretched start. Adam Gilchrist made just 7 before being bowled off the pads by Agarkar (16 for 1), and Hayden – who was gifted two chances by a butter-fingered Laxman – following soon after, thumping a Zaheer delivery to the same man at short cover (32 for 2).Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting played some superb strokes to up the run rate, but all that impetus was lost once Kartik and Harbhajan came on. Kartik bowled quite beautifully, flighting the ball and turning it sharply on a surface that was beginning to take appreciable turn.Ponting (36), who had twice been reprieved by the hapless Laxman, edged one that turned sharply across the bat to first slip, where Laxman dived low to make some amends (112 for 3).Symonds made just 10 before smashing Harbhajan straight to Badani at midwicket (129 for 4), and Martyn’s tremendous anchoring effort ended at 61 when he flicked a Sehwag delivery to Yuvraj at midwicket (170 for 5).India were in control at that stage, but Clarke’s frenetic 28-ball 44 titled the scales, aided by a gritty 40 from Michael Bevan, who batted with a pulled hamstring. In the final analysis, justice was done, as an outstanding side who won six of their seven matches – and held most of the catches that came their way – beat one that lost four games, and fluffed too many lines in the field. Remember this day, and remember the name Michael Clarke, already on his way to becoming the next Australian legend.Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

India may have had the better of the exchanges in the first Test, but Matthew Hayden showed just what might be in store for the Indians in the remaining Tests. His 99 was remarkable for the utter disdain with which he treated even the good balls. Of the 98 balls he faced, 51 of them pitched on a good length, which were dispatched for 52 runs. When the Indians pitched slightly short, though, Hayden was far less destructive: 30 balls just short of a length fetched just 12 runs.

Ajit Agarkar was the only bowler who managed to curb the Hayden charge. As the table below shows, against the rest of the bowlers, Hayden scored at more than a run a ball.

Meanwhile, two wickets in the Indian second innings might have saved Nathan Bracken from being dropped for the second Test. One of those wickets was, inevitably, Virender Sehwag’s, whom Bracken has now dismissed five times in the last five innings, stretching back to the first match of the TVS Cup tournament in India. Sehwag did manage 17 runs off Bracken in the first innings, but most of those were after he was dropped in the slips off Bracken early in the piece.

A new twist has been added to the Indian Test campaign in Australia, with the team management summoning Murali Kartik, the 27-year-old left-arm spinner, to join the squad in Australia on the eve of the second Test which starts at the Adelaide Oval on December 12.Sourav Ganguly confirmed the news, and said that “All three spinners will be be in contention for the Adelaide Test.”Kartik, who has been the most impressive spinner on the domestic circuit this season, left India late last night and is expected to arrive in Australia at around 10pm local time.However, the addition of Kartik, who was considered unlucky to have missed out from the original tour party, further reinforces the belief that the Indian team management are considering spin as a serious option for the remaining Tests.

Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden went on a roaring rampage of revenge. And Murali Kartik came in for some very special attention. By the time Anil Kumble dismissed both openers, Kartik had given away 64 runs in eight overs.In the end it came unstuck, but Australia had a plan for the spinners. It involved using the sweep, and if the ball was flighted, using their feet to get to the ball. Both tactics were used to good effect. Kartik was not allowed to settle down, with 39 deliveries to the openers resulting in 57 runs. Fifty-four of those runs came in 24 balls, as the batsmen swept and used their feet to drive the spinners. Even Kumble, who later dried up the runs, had a hard time containing the openers.

Stopping the flow of runsWhile Kartik went for runs, Kumble kept his end under some semblance of control, picking up both openers, and then getting rid of Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. By dismissing the top two, Kumble stopped the torrent of runs that threatened India’s aspirations for victory.Australia’s openers scored 184 runs between them to lead the assault. It wasn’t the volume as much as the manner in which they collected the runs that pushed India back for a while. Runs came at a strike rate of 77.3, that’s nearly five an over. Almost 70% of these runs came in boundaries.However, after Hayden and Langer were dismissed, the next six batsmen scored 129 runs between them in 261 deliveries, at 2.9 runs an over, with the help of 16 hits to the fence. And Irfan Pathan’s late strikes, which gave the Indians access to Australia’s tail, pushed the run rate down even further.

Scorecard

Jimmy Maher belted himself, and Queensland, into the record books in their crushing ING Cup win against Western Australia at the Gabba. Maher struck 187 off only 129 balls to help his side charge to a whopping 4 for 405 from their 50 overs, and then storm to a 207-run victory.Maher’s breathtaking knock broke the record for the highest individual score in domestic one-dayers, while Queensland’s total was the biggest team innings in the 35 years of the competition. Western Australia, meanwhile, were consigned to the blackest Friday of all.Queensland smashed records and set countless milestones on the way to becoming the first team in the ING Cup to score two victory bonus points by doubling their opponents’ total.When Chris Simpson scampered a quick single off the last ball of the 49th over Queensland became the first team to pass the 400 barrier in Australia. The previous best total was New South Wales’s 4 for 397 against Tasmania at the small Bankstown Oval two seasons ago.Queensland’s astonishing score, the fifth-highest in any 50-over match at first-class level, was built on the back of discarded Australian one-day batsman Maher.In a day when everything he touched turned to gold, Maher blazed 26 boundaries and three sixes in oppressive heat before taking three key catches.Maher passed the previous-best individual domestic one-day innings, Murray Goodwin’s 167 against NSW in Perth at 2000-01, in fine style when he belted successive sixes off Michael Hussey. But Goodwin only had himself to blame for his mark being eclipsed after dropping the simplest of catches at cover off Paul Wilson when Maher was on 105.The only Australian to have scored more runs in a one-day match was Darren Lehmann, who blazed 191 for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire in Scarborough, England in 2001.Queensland’s run glut was also a perfect one-day send-off for Stuart Law, who launched proceedings with 95 from 69 balls. Law belted 13 fours and three sixes in his knock and threatened to break his own record for the fastest domestic one-day century (69 balls, set this season against Tasmania) before cutting Aaron Heal to backward point.He brought up his half-century in only 37 balls and produced a swashbuckling opening with Maher to reap 138 runs from the first 15 overs, including 79 runs from 30 balls between the ninth and 14th overs.WA didn’t help their cause, with some loose bowling and poor fielding assisting Queensland. Things went from bad to worse for them when Andy Bichel had Justin Langer caught by Maher at second slip in the first over. Only Hussey had the better of the bowlers and when he fell at 6 for 170, the Warriors were only batting to deny the double bonus point.

Roshan Mahanama and Jeff Crowe are among the four new inductees in ICC’s Elite Panel of Referees, while Wasim Raja’s contract has not being renewed. The panel of four match referees has been expanded to eight, with Chris Broad and Alan Hurst being the other new inductees. Ranjan Madugalle retains his position as the chief of the panel, and Gundappa Viswanath, Clive Lloyd and Mike Procter get an extension.Malcolm Speed, ICC’s chief executive, explained why the expansion was necessary. "The ICC Match Referee plays a critical role in ensuring that international cricket is played both within the rules and within the spirit of the game," he said. "Expanding the Panel to eight gives us a deeper pool of former international players with a strong feel for the game who will be able to apply their knowledge when making judgments about on-field events. Moving to eight referees also provides the ICC with the flexibility needed to meet the international schedule over the coming 12 months."Speed said that there were many applicants for the new posts. "”It was very pleasing to speak to a number of very well qualified applicants for these positions from around the cricketing world. In the end we had many more applicants than positions available and for the ICC this is a strong position to be in. Unfortunately, for some people the strength of the field meant that they missed out on contracts on this occasion. Despite the individual disappointment, it means that the ICC has been able to pick the best available candidates to take on this critical role for international cricket."

Muttiah Muralitharan will be sent to the University of Western Australia forassessment by Bruce Elliott, an ICC-approved human-movement specialist, Sri Lanka’s cricket board confirmed on Tuesday. Elliott will film and analyse Muralitharan’s doosra after it was reported as suspect by Chris Broad, the match referee during the recent Test series against Australia.Elliott tested Muralitharan in 1996, after he was no-balled for throwingduring the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in December 1995 by Darrell Hair. Elliott cleared his action then, but has since voiced concerns in the media over the legality of Muralitharan’s doosra, arguing that it should also now be tested.Elliott said in a report for the Sydney Morning Herald: “Having seen him bowl on television, it looks like an area of concern. There does seem to be some extending of his action as he releases the ball. You are allowed a ten-degree extension of the arm during delivery.”