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A comment from Suresh Raina explained West Indies’ batting effort on the second day. “There were 15 balls in between where I didn’t score,” Raina had said at the end of the first day, after he played an innings that rescued India. “I told myself just hang in there. Be patient.” He did that and played a fine hand, West Indies didn’t and slipped.For batsmen from the previous decade, 15 scoreless deliveries wouldn’t have triggered much self-motivating talk. It wouldn’t have invoked words like “hang in there”. It’s a new world these days. Patience is thin and concentration levels can sag too quickly. West Indies are a perfect example of that problem.Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, nailed it when he said, “Batting has been our real problem. We play six batsmen and they are preparing hard for the game but it’s about going out there and having the mindset to bat for a long period of time.” They haven’t done it for a while now. “We managed to get 20 wickets to win a Test match against Pakistan but we haven’t been able to put [up] big scores.”For West Indies, another factor has been the lack of match practice for cricketers. Batsmen like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendon Nash hadn’t played many practice games before this Test. Nash had three practice sessions and went straight into this Test. Gibson said it’s the system at fault. “It’s very challenging. We are not like England who have long county season. They play cricket five months. We are not that fortunate. You make a good point about Shiv and the amount of cricket. We have the High Performance Centre and stuff like that. People are playing club cricket. We are just trying to give people a lot more opportunities to keep their game in shape.”Batting for long periods is something West Indies have struggled to do in the recent past•AFP

Adrian Barath hit a fighting fifty on his comeback but no one else coped with the pitch and the attack. “The surface was disappointing,” Gibson said. “It seems to be that the surface continues to favour the opposition more than us.”Yet, when India were 85 for 6, West Indies had a great chance to pull down the blinds on the visitors. Perhaps they missed the firepower of Kemar Roach. “In the recent past Kemar has been keeping out Fidel who was our best bowler in the last 4-5 years. Selectors decided that we want to be aggressive against Indian players; they believe Fidel showed more aggression than Kemar and they went for it. And he justified that selection by bowling well and hostile.”Edwards has done that. Today offered more proof. The final over of the day made for a fascinating viewing experience. Edwards bounced, Virat Kohli hopped. Edwards bounced again. Kohli hopped again. One ball flew off the shoulder of the bat, another screamed over his head, and yet another reared over the shoulder. Rahul Dravid repeatedly walked down the track to have a chat with Kohli. Edwards stared. There was aggression in the air.That aggression was missing on the afternoon of the first day when Raina and Harbhajan Singh got away. The concern for many, though, is not the presence of Edwards, but that of captain Darren Sammy, in the Test line-up. Gibson didn’t hide his irritation when that question came up again. “It’s becoming a little annoying that people talk about Sammy all the time. He keeps taking wickets; he is not getting runs. I would like him to make runs but he certainly does a great job for the team with the ball. Hopefully, people will start focussing about something else apart from Sammy not bowling at 100 mph.”

Eoin Morgan has been named as vice-captain of England’s Twenty20 side, and could be in line to lead the team in Saturday’s one-off international against Sri Lanka at Bristol, if Stuart Broad fails to recover from the bruised heel he sustained on the final day of the drawn Test at the Rose Bowl.An ECB spokesman confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the appointment had been made, but added that Broad’s injury was not expected to prevent him from captaining England for the first time in his international career. Broad is also Alastair Cook’s official deputy in 50-overs cricket, with his first match as full-time captain taking place at The Oval on Tuesday.Morgan’s promotion underlines the esteem in which he is held in limited-overs cricket, and also reinforces the sense that Paul Collingwood, England’s victorious captain in last year’s World Twenty20, has reached the end of the line after playing in an England record 197 ODIs, and all but one of the team’s previous 36 T20Is.At the age of 24, Morgan represents the future of England’s limited-overs team, and as England embark on a new four-year cycle, culminating with the 2015 World Cup, the management have demonstrated a desire to tap into his knowhow. According to the Daily Express he was interviewed for the job via Skype last month, while on duty with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Since coming into the England set-up after transferring his allegiance from his native Ireland, Morgan’s influence in the team has been immense. His innovative strokeplay in 50-over cricket helped secure series wins over South Africa, Australia and Pakistan last year, while he was one of the main contributors to England’s World Twenty20 triumph in the Caribbean last May, where he scored 183 runs in seven innings at a strike-rate of more than 128.Nevertheless, naming an official vice-captain in Twenty20 cricket is a new departure for England, which raises the possibility that Broad’s fitness is not entirely clear-cut. The Test captain, Andrew Strauss, had been coy on the subject after the Rose Bowl Test, when asked if a deputy for Broad was being considered.”There are a number of contenders, and we will deal with that if and when it happens,” he said. “His injury is a niggle rather than anything serious. He will have to rest up over the next few days, but I don’t think there’s any real reason to doubt that he won’t be fit.”Morgan risked the displeasure of the England selectors last month by announcing he would return to fulfil his contract with Kolkata Knight Riders if he wasn’t chosen for the first Test squad at Cardiff. In the event, his 193 in his solitary first-class outing for England A against the Sri Lankans at Derby ensured he was chosen ahead of Ravi Bopara.As far as England’s defence of their World Twenty20 crown is concerned, Morgan’s appointment could yet prove significant. The next event takes place in Sri Lanka in September 2012, and as one of England’s few representatives at the IPL, his input could prove invaluable in planning the team’s strategy. Last time around, Collingwood’s recognition of the threat posed by left-arm seamers led to Ryan Sidebottom’s key inclusion ahead of James Anderson.

ScorecardDurham took only 56 minutes at New Road to mop up the four Worcestershire wickets which were needed to sign off their third win of the season in the County Championship. With Adrian Shankar not batting as he awaits a scan to determine the extent of a knee injury, the bottom-of-the-table home side were dismissed for 345 and duly slumped to a sixth consecutive defeat.Scott Borthwick snapped up the first two wickets in successive deliveries as Worcestershire went down by an innings and 25 runs.Still 99 behind when resuming at 271 for 5, they threatened to hold up Durham as Gareth Andrew took on Borthwick and pulled a short ball into the members’ car park in the second over of the final morning. The allrounder then went down the pitch to the young legspinner, driving hiseighth four over mid-on, but having completed his second half-century of the championship season he hoisted the next ball straight to Ben Stokes at deep midwicket.Borthwick then held a straightforward return catch from Damien Wright but Richard Jones safely blocked the hat-trick delivery. This was the only ball that Jones faced before he was run out by Stokes when Ben Scott refused a second run.Scott’s batting has been one of the few bright spots in two heavy defeats since joining Worcestershire on a month’s loan. The Middlesex wicketkeeper, who had a successful spell at New Road in the first half of last summer, shared in a stand of 74 in 21 overs with Andrew and went on to reach 50 after hitting seven fours in 78 balls.A nimble-footed batsman with a sound technique, he has scored at least 30 in each of his four Championship innings so far and his 73 here lifted his aggregate to 171 with only two dismissals. Steve Harmison’s reputation counted for nothing as last man Alan Richardsonsupported Scott in a stand of 54.The former England fast bowler may have needed a few overs to loosen up after his exertions in his first county match in over a month. In all he conceded 35 runs and was in his sixth over of the day when he secured his seventh wicket of the match. Scott was caught at third slip by Stokes,leaving Richardson unbeaten on 12 after pulling Callum Thorp for six.Worcestershire clearly face a difficult season but Durham are already in a position to launch a challenge for the title they won in 2008 and 2009.

ScorecardAn impressive all-round performance by West Indies Under-19s resulted in them beating Australia Under-19s convincingly at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai, to level the three-match Youth ODI series 1-1. Australia won the toss, but surprisingly chose to field despite having won batting first in the opening match.West Indies took advantage, putting up a score of 267, which proved 102 runs too much for Australia to chase. It was a team effort from West Indies with the bat. Each of their top seven batsmen went past 20, and though only Kavem Hodge went on to get a half-century, the string of contributions ensured a big total. Australia’s bowlers found the going tough; seamer Jeremy Allison was the most successful in terms of wicket with 4 for 52, while legspinner Ashton Agar was the most economical going for just 27 runs in his 10 overs.Australia’s reply got off to a dreadful start as they slipped to 13 for 3. Opener James Peirson and captain Sebastian Gotch then built a 77-run partnership, but once Peirson fell for 45, the rest of the batting did not put up much resistance and Australia were bowled out for 165 in 39.1 overs. Seamer Jerome Jones finished with three wickets, and there were four run-outs in Australia’s innings.The teams play the third ODI on April 21.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSikandar Raza scored a steady 44 in Southern Rocks’ successful chase•Zimbabwe Cricket

A dominant Southern Rocks cruised to the Pro40 Championship title, beating Mid West Rhinos by eight wickets with 31 ball remaining, in Harare. Rhinos had only themselves to blame for the loss. After being put in to bat, their top order collapsed on a pitch that was slow, but wasn’t doing anything extraordinary. A determined 68 by Malcolm Waller got them to 151, but that total that never posed a challenge for the strong Rocks batting.Most of Rhinos’ batsmen were out to poor shots: Brendan Taylor chipped one to mid-on off the bowling of seamer Blessing Mahwire, Vusi Sibanda was caught at midwicket, and Riki Wessels attempted a reverse-sweep despite the fact his team were 54 for 3 and could only top edge it to the wicketkeeper. Legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi was the bowler who benefitted from Wessels’ lapse, and he went on to take two more wickets and finish with 3 for 35.The early wickets had left Rhinos 54 for 5, but Waller and Graeme Cremer led a recovery. The two managed to keep the runs ticking over at six an over without taking too many risks and looked to have rescued the situation with their 75-run stand.There was another collapse in store, though. Waller went first, clipping Michael Chinouya to midwicket. Cremer was out, again to an attempted reverse-sweep. The tail didn’t hang around long, and Rhinos committed the cardinal sin of not batting out their 40 overs, bowled out in the 37th.Rocks kept their nerve in the chase; the only real threat to their victory was the possibility of a storm. The rain never came though, and Rocks’ batsmen were clinical in taking their team home with plenty of time to spare. Sikandar Raza scored a steady 44 at the top of the order, and then Craig Ervine and Elton Chigumbura guided the team to the victory.It was the perfect way for Rocks to finish their season, and an important revival in their fortunes after they had a torrid Logan Cup in which they finished bottom of the table with no wins.

The BCCI has objected to ICC general manager Dave Richardson’s comments about MS Dhoni after the India captain questioned the Decision Review System (DRS) in the wake of India’s tied game against England in Bangalore. It has also reiterated its concerns over the use of the system in the ongoing World Cup and says the DRS’s “inadequacy has been exposed” during the tournament.In a letter to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, and released to the media, N Srinivasan, the board secretary and president-elect, said that “for ICC’s representative to criticise a player for his post-match press conference while the World Cup is being played [is] tantamount to pressuring the player. Mr. Richardson has no right to do so. BCCI has strong reservations about the statement made by Mr. Richardson. He should be instructed not to react in this fashion.”Richardson made the comments after Dhoni had called the system an “adulteration” of technology with human judgement in the aftermath of a reprieve for Ian Bell. Dhoni had asked for a review of a not-out decision, and television replays appeared to show the ball hitting a forward-stretching Ian Bell low on the pad with the ball in line with middle stump. Bell even began to walk off the field, but umpire Billy Bowden did not declare him out because the distance between the point of impact and the stumps was shown to be 2.5m.Richardsontold the Indian news channel, , that Dhoni should be aware of the rules before passing judgement. “There are a set of rules along with the Hawk-Eye to assist in making the decision when UDRS is implemented … Most of the time, a player is not fully aware of all the rules. If MS Dhoni is made aware of the specifications of these rules, then I am sure that he will accept the decision that was made.”Lorgat also defended the system, telling ESPNcricinfo that Dhoni’s characterisation of it wasn’t exactly accurate.The ICC’s DRS rule pertaining to the Process of Consultation, No. 3.3 (i), states that if a ‘not out’ decision is being reviewed on the ‘point of impact’ issue, the third umpire must tell the on-field umpire whether the ball is past 2.5m or not and then pass on the following information: the distance from the wickets of the point of impact with the batsman, the approximate distance from the point of pitching to the point of impact, and whether the ball is predicted to the hit the stumps. According to the explanation given on the ICC’s website, along with the 2.5m rule, should the distance between point of pitching and point of impact with the pad be less than 40cm, “the umpires are not obliged to follow the normal rules for using Hawkeye to determine whether the batsman is out or not and shall have a discretion in determining whether or not to overturn their original not out decision.”The letter also said that the BCCI had been consistently opposed to the use of the review system, and that its inadequacy had been exposed at the World Cup, specifically citing the need of the 2.5m rule as proof of its failing. “ICC in consultation with Hawk-Eye formed playing conditions which specifies when the umpire can rely on Hawk-Eye and when he cannot. This itself is an admission on the question of the reliability of the system, including ball tracking technology.”

In his first statement after the spot-fixing verdict was announced on Saturday, Mohammmad Asif has said that he is contemplating a response after being banned for seven years by the ICC three-man tribunal. “Mohammad Asif has co-operated fully with the ICC investigation, and is very disappointed and upset by the decision it reached,” said a statement issued by his London-based lawyers, Addleshaw Goddard.”Together with his legal representatives, he is now considering his response, and will not be commenting further due to the ongoing criminal proceedings.”The tribunal had also banned Salman Butt for ten years and Mohammad Amir for five years after a hearing in Doha on charges of being involved in the bowling of deliberate no-balls during the fourth Test against England last year. While Amir has said that he will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the tribunal’s decision, Butt will be taking the advice of his barrister Yasin Patel to decide whether he will appeal or not. That decision will be made in the next few days. The players have 21 days to appeal against the ICC sanctions at the CAS based in Lausanne, Switzerland.The situation is likely to further develop after the trio receive the full written judgments tomorrow, giving the reasoning behind the verdict – and also the evidence, put together by the ICC’s legal team, that it was based on.Separately, the three players have also been charged by the UK Crown Prosecution Service with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat, and have been summoned to appear in a London court on March 17.

Mumbai Indians have sought an explanation from the IPL regarding a last-minute change in the auction procedure, which they feel compromised the “level-playing field” for all franchises.In a two-page letter (a copy of which is available with ESPNcricinfo), Mumbai referred specifically to the clause in the ‘Player Auction Briefing’ dated December 17, 2010, which stated that the auction of player sets would occur in random order. But on the eve of the auction (held on January 8 and 9), two hours before the final auction briefing, the franchises were sent an email containing an amendment which stated that the random order would be replaced by pre-decided ‘order of the auction list’.

Vijay Mallya seconds Mumbai

“Mumbai has made some valid points,” the owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “I was surprised by the order in which some of the players were auctioned. Players were selected randomly within categories, but the order of those categories was something I think in retrospect could have been managed better.”
When asked whether Bangalore would also file an official letter, he said, “I don’t think there’s a need for everyone to follow what Mumbai’s done. I agree with the points Mumbai have raised so let’s wait to see what the response is.”

The clause was in paragraph 18 of the original Player Auction Briefing, which read: “Players in the auction would be divided into ‘sets’. The initial sets would comprise marquee players. Subsequent sets would each comprise players with the same specialism (batsmen, bowlers, allrounders, wicketkeepers). The order of these subsequent sets would be determined by random draw that will take place in the auction room.”According to Nikhil Meswani of Indiawin Sports Private Ltd (parent company of Mumbai), who signed the letter, there was a sudden and unexplained change made to the above clause the day before the auction. “The final sentence of paragraph 18 is to be deleted. The sets will be presented to the auction in the order of the auction list.” Meswani noted that this was a “fundamental change” to the auction process.”The primary purpose of deciding the order of the auction (whether of subsequent sets or the players within the sets) through random draw in the auction room in presence of the bidders is to ensure transparency and a level playing field to all the franchisees so that all the franchisees are not only privy to the process but are treated in the same manner and no particular team receives preferred treatment,” Meswani said.According to him any such change warranted strong and justifiable reasons, which he felt were not there or explained. To clarify the matter, Mumbai have asked the IPL governing council for ten bits of information including documents.

The USA Cricket Association (USACA) has announced an historic deal in partnership with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) that is designed to grow the game exponentially in one of the ICC’s target markets. The partnership establishes a newly formed entity, Cricket Holdings America LLC, which will hold a majority of the commercial rights to cricket in the United States. This includes potentially valuable Twenty20 rights and the ability to stage a franchise-based Twenty20 league.New Zealand will play an agreed number of matches in the United States as well as make its players available to participate in any future Twenty20 leagues, as part of the partnership. There is no word yet on when New Zealand will play its next series in the USA or who the opponent will be. NZC will also contribute management, development and coaching resources.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in November, USACA treasurer John Thickett stated that the association was closing in on an eight-figure deal involving NZC and Saturday’s announcement confirms that. “This is a historic day for the development of cricket in the USA,” Thickett said. “This partnership has the potential to bring both funds and know-how to US cricket and provides a robust long term development plan for the world’s second-most popular sport in a major market. I am absolutely thrilled at the opportunities it will provide USACA’s stakeholders.””This partnership will provide cricket in the US two very clear benefits,” USACA President Gladstone Dainty said. “Importantly, it will provide a sustainable revenue stream for the development of the game and secondly, we shall be supported by the knowledge and expertise that comes from a Full Member country like New Zealand. These two compelling benefits will assist us to give cricket a strong foothold in the United States.”The other members of the partnership are Australian-based marketing company Insite, cornerstone investor Top Bloom and Podar Holding International, part of the Podar Enterprises group based in India, with has interests from mining and manufacturing to sports education, and operates the Cricket India Academy in Mumbai.Neil Maxwell, the executive director of Insite, claimed that Cricket Holdings America should have a “capitalized value in the ballpark of between $80-100 million”. Maxwell and his company were eager to get involved in the US market and he is being credited with brokering the deal. He was a visible presence at a USACA board meeting in Florida last March and also appeared at the Twenty20 series in May between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Lauderhill.”With a population of four million, New Zealand is a limited market place,” NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan, said. “We have historically punched above our weight through leadership and innovation. Cricket Holdings America LLC is a significant step in diversifying our long-term revenue base and in the process, growing a new market.”

Group B

Opener Robin Uthappa’s half-century took Karnataka to 257 against Baroda in Mysore•Sivaraman Kitta/K Sivaraman

Eight Haryana bowlers could not prevent Punjab from amassing 322 for 2 on the first day at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak. Sarul Kanwar and Ravi Inder Singh began Punjab’s dominance by putting on 115 upfront. Kanwar continued his fine debut season – he already has has two hundreds from four games – hitting ten fours and three sixes in his 88. Both the batsmen were removed by allrounder Joginder Sharma, before Mandeep Singh (88 not out) and Uday Kaul (75 not out) added an unbroken 180 runs. This is a crucial game for Haryana who are fourth in Group B with one more match remaining after this one.Baroda‘s bowlers led by left-arm seamer Sankalp Vohra skittled Group B leaders Karnataka for 257 in Mysore. That total was possible due to half-centuries from Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam on either side of a middle-order collapse in which Karnataka lost six wickets for 55 runs. Uthappa had made an aggressive 53 in a 73-run opening stand with KB Pawan before he fell leg before to left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt, and the middle order caved in after that. Gautam (57) and former India player Sunil Joshi (43) lifted Karnataka from 149 for 7 with a 72-run partnership, before Baroda finished off the innings. Vohra took 4 for 65 while Bhatt had 3 for 45.Persistent rain ensured that no play was possible at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on the opening day between Orissa and Himachal Pradesh. Both teams are languishing in the lower half of Group B.

Group A

Railways made five changes to the side that played against Saurashtra last week, but that didn’t revive their stuttering season on the opening day against Delhi. On a Roshanara Club wicket that favoured the bowlers, they were dismissed for 259 despite Shreyas Khanolkar’s 102. Delhi’s openers built on the advantage, motoring to 48 in eight overs.All of Delhi’s five bowlers were among the wickets, and had Railways struggling on 124 for 5 at one stage, including the big wicket of Sanjay Bangar for 8. But the lower order stuck around with Khanolkar, a former ICL player who was playing a first-class game after almost four years. Murali Kartik and Dhiran Salvi made thirties and Khanolkar was eighth out after making his third first-class century. Vikas Mishra, the 17-year old left-arm spinner, finished with 3 for 45. Shikhar Dhawan led Delhi in the absence of regular captain Mithun Manhas – who missed out due to a strain – but the return of allrounder Rajat Bhatia bolstered their side.Gujarat put themselves in line for a big score against Assam, reaching 233 for 3 at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. After losing Priyank Panchal who was caught behind off the last ball of the first over, captain Niraj Patel and Rikin Chauhan added 125 runs. However, both could not convert their starts into substantial scores; Niraj was bowled by Tarjinder Singh for 76 while Chauhan was caught and bowled by Arlen Konwar for 46. Bhavik Thaker and Sunny Patel took Gujarat to stumps without further damage with a 72-run stand.Saurashtra reached 254 for 6 against Bengal in a stop-start innings at the Khandheri Cricket Stadium in Rajkot. An opening burst from seamer Sourav Sarkar sent back Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan to leave Saurashtra at 43 for 2. Opener Sagar Jogiyani and Shitanshu Kotak steadied things with a 63-run stand before Jogiyani was caught by Anustup Majumdar for 52. Three deliveries later, captain Jaydev Shah fell for a duck, Majumdar taking another catch. Rahul Dave then joined Kotak in a 60-run partnership before Ashok Dinda dismissed Kotak for 71. Two runs later, Dinda removed Pruthvipal Solanki, who lasted seven deliveries on his debut. At 169 for 6, Saurashtra were in deep trouble but Dave, also making his debut, and Kamlesh Makvana resisted for almost 37 overs to add 85 runs. Dave was unbeaten on 66 at stumps.The Chennai monsoon continued to wreak havoc on Tamil Nadu‘s home games for the third match in succession. After the matches against Railways and Bengal were hampered due to rain, the entire first day against Mumbai was also washed out at the India Cements Limited Ground. Tamil Nadu are third in the Group A points table, just one point ahead of Gujarat who themselves have a solitary point’s lead over Bengal.