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Both Pakistan and Bangladesh come into this match with their immediate future confirmed. While Pakistan savour their progress in the tournament, Bangladesh will be checking-in for a flight back to Dhaka on Friday. Beaten comprehensively by Australia and Sri Lanka in the Super Eights, Bangladesh’s joy of upsetting the West Indian wagon earlier was short-lived as rash strokes and poor temperament got the better of their inexperienced batsmen.Pakistan, however, should barely sweat after resounding wins over the World Cup finalists and few will bet against them not to beat lesser opposition with greater authority and conviction. But, given the extremes that Pakistan experience, a repeat of Bangladesh’s victory over its Asian rivals at the 1999 World Cup should not be forgotten no matter how unlikely it seems at the moment.Bat play: Bangladesh have the ability to score quickly but their batsmen have taken a queer aversion to prolonging their innings. They are missing a plan on how to pace their sojourn in the middle that often results in a lofted mis-hit after a flurry of strokes. Aftab Ahmed, with 147 runs in the tournament, has been their best batsman with Mohammad Ashraful, not his usual flowing self, providing some hope in the middle order.Pakistan’s only worry is their opening combination; Imran Nazir and Salman Butt havebeen huge disappointments and a promotion for Shahid Afridi is likely to give him some batting practice. Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq, the tournament’s joint top-scorer, will try and add to Bangladesh’s miseries.Wrecking ball: Spin will be the key to Bangladesh’s chances of stopping Pakistan from wreaking havoc. Shakib Al Hasan, the slow left-armer, has been their most successful bowler in the tournament but not the most economical. Their opening combination of Syed Rasel and Mashrafe Mortaza has yielded only three wickets and has failed to provide the initial breakthroughs.Pakistan’s bowling department, however, has no such concerns. Afridi already boasts a wicket-tally of ten and the offspinner Mohammad Hafeez did well to contain Australia. Sohail Tanvir, a late replacement for Shoaib Akhtar, has built up a reputation of picking up wickets in his first over while Mohammad Asif, with eight wickets so far, should be able to create panic among the Bangladesh batsmen with his annoying accuracy.Keep your eyes on: Misbah was deemed by many as too old and inept for this format of the game. He has not only rescued Pakistan several times in this tournament, but has also hit the longest six. He also has 18 fours and three more sixes to go with that.Shop talk: Pakistan’s victory celebrations after their win against Australia even got the country’s president involved. Pervez Musharraf not only lavished praise on the team but also awarded US$10,000 to each member. Bangladesh, however, are hoping for an upset at the end of a largely disappointing tournament.Pitching it right: The weather is expected to be dry and warm and with Bangladesh having already played at this venue twice, they might want to make use of a batting pitch where England scored 188 against Zimbabwe. With a hard surface and good bounce, Asif and Tanvir could prove to be a handful.TeamsBangladesh (probable) Tamim Iqbal, Nazimuddin, Aftab Ahmed,Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Nadif Chowdhury, Mahmudullah,Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel.Pakistan (probable) Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Salman Butt,Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik (capt), Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk),Misbah-ul-Haq, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif.

Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, believes the team are stronger in the wake of the fourth Test forfeiture which rocked international cricket.Pakistan have bounced back from the Oval controversy, where they were embroiled in a ball-tampering row, to win the Twenty20 international against England and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series.”After losing the Test series 3-0 we were very down and we saw the one-day series as a good chance for us to return to Pakistan with a victory,” Younis told bigstarcricket.com. “It’s never much fun going back to Pakistan having lost a Test series and a one-day series – so we are definitely not relaxing at the moment.”There is no shortage of motivation anyway for a team generally thought to be among the leading contenders to win the World Cup in the Caribbean next spring. But the ball-tampering furore – board chairman Shaharyar Khan described the ruling as a “slur” on team and country – has brought even more focus. “One thing that helped bring us even closer together was the controversy at The Oval,” said Younis.The Oval drama led to umpire Darrell Hair, who penalised Pakistan five runs in that ill-fated Test, offering to resign in exchange for 500,000 dollars. The whole thing got revealed after a bizarre exchange of e-mails between the Australian official and the ICC was made public by the latter.”Ultimately that kind of thing is not good for cricket, and we regret the fact the match was unable to be finished,” said Younis. “We were in a good position, and also the crowd wanted to see two good teams complete the match. The whole thing is no good for cricket, no good for Darrell Hair, no good for the Pakistan team, no good for Inzy (skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq) and no good to the England team. But it’s happened now – and nobody knows what will come next.”Younis has been struck, however, by the positive effect on Pakistan’s morale. “Inside the team, we became even closer after that incident,” he said. “Team spirit was good anyway, but the unity was there even more after that match. We are very united. After that we really backed our captain.”Younis now wants Pakistan to demonstrate their ability by sweeping the remainder of the three day one-dayers starting at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Tuesday. “We are keen to give our passionate fans something to cheer about,” he said.”That is our main goal – we must win it. We are in the world’s top three in both Test and one-day cricket, so we are in good shape. Another win in this series would see us getting closer to Australia.”

Australia 126 for 7 v England
Scorecard

England ripped through Australia after a delayed start to the second Test at Worcester, reducing the visitors to 126 for 7 by the close.Heavy rain prevented any play until 3pm, and with moisture in the pitch and low clouds, England gambled by putting Australia in. The decision soon paid dividends. Belinda Clark looked fairly comfortable, but Lisa Keightley’s run out triggered a collapse which saw them slip from 27 for 0 to 49 for 4.Lisa Sthalekar led a mini recovery with a spirited 34, but her dismissal brought more wickets and England ended in a good position – although they will not be too complacent. In the first Test at Hove, they had Australia 115 for 7 only for the last three wickets to add 230 runs. Julie Hayes and Shelley Nitschke, who did much of the damage them, are still at the crease .

The BCCI is planning to reduce match fees for international cricketers once a contract system is introduced. According to The Times of India, Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s joint secretary, has said that the pay cut for both, Tests and one-dayers, would be Rs 65,000.”There is a likelihood that the match fees for Tests and one-day internationals would be cut down by around Rs 65,000,” said Shetty. “But this is not final. The suggestion is that cricketers making the playing 11 would get Rs Two lakh for a Test, compared to Rs 2.68 lakh they are getting now. For one-dayers the amount works out to Rs 1.60 lakh as compared to the Rs 2.35 lakh they are getting now.” He added that the board would most likely implement the team’s suggestion about giving reserve players half of what the playing 11 received.* * *In the same paper, Sourav Ganguly reacted with disbelief when he was told that VVS Laxman, who has averaged 74.75 since January 2003, grumbled about being perpetually on trial. “VVS on trial? You’ve got to be joking,” said Ganguly. “His is one of the first names to be put down on paper by the selectors. I don’t see any question marks against his name.”He touched on the debate about the openers, saying, “Today Yuvraj [Singh] is ready for Tests and I see no reason why he should not get a shot at the top of the order. Just imagine both Viru [Virender Sehwag] and Yuvi firing together! Gee, it gives me goosebumps!”* * *Laxman again, and he talks of the record Test score in The Indian Express. “I’ve my sights on 400,” he says, “but only when the team needs it. It should come when the team requires it the most.” Laxman’s best score in Tests (281) was also India’s highest score for three years, until Sehwag’s 309 earlier this year.He spoke about his evolving game and experiences. “My shot selection has improved,” he said. “It’s not that I am playing lesser shots. Only, they are more risk-free. Also, I am able to judge the wickets better.”* * *Most of the Indian players were unable to follow the football too closely because of the training camp, but they all had their favourites, according to The Indian Express. Zaheer Khan likes Zidane and Henry, and in the event of the French faltering, he’s got van Nistelrooy and David Beckham as well. Laxman doesn’t follow the game much anymore, but France find favour with him too. Rahul Dravid likes Ronaldo, Rohan Gavaskar thinks Italy or the Czech Republic could win, Mohammad Kaif prefers Portugal, and Lakshmipathy Balaji prefers sleep. Yuvraj, though, has a way of watching the games. “Train, sleep, watch matches and again sleep.”But no one bends it like Badani. His favourites are France and he thinks Beckham is overrated by the English press. “I am not an idiot, though,” says Hemang Badani, presumably speaking about his understanding of football.

Duleep Mendis will be the coach for Sri Lanka’s forthcoming tour to the West Indies after the Lankan board (BCCSL) failed to find a suitable long-termreplacement for Dav Whatmore.Mendis, a former Sri Lankan captain, was appointed as an interim coach forthe recent New Zealand Test series and the Bank Alfalah Cup after Whatmorerequested early leave from his contract which expires at the end of May.The board had hoped to find a permanent replacement in time for the WestIndies tour but the leading candidates – Bob Woolmer, John Bracewell, SteveRixon and Graham Ford – all made themselves unavailable.”Duleep (Mendis) will continue for the West Indies tour,” confirmed AnuraTennekoon, the BCCSL chief executive. "When the new cricket board comes inwe will have to decide whether to advertise or to headhunt for a new coach.”Other contenders for the post include Greg Chappell, the former Australian captain and coach of South Australia, who has indicated that he would not beinterested in a full-time job, and John Dyson, the former Australian batsman.

Sussex appeared to have made promotion a formality by batting Warwickshire out of realistic contention on a low-key third day out at Edgbaston.Needing only a draw to confirm First Division status next year, the south coast county established an imposing lead of 397 thanks to centuries by Richard Montgomerie and Chris Adams.They lost only two wickets in six-and-a-half hours while adding 312 and they may yet make the game watertight by building on their total of 324 for 3 on the last morning.Warwickshire had one success in the first hour when nightwatchman James Kirtley was caught at first slip but began to look a dejected side after missing an opportunity to run out Montgomerie when he had made 40.The opener made his native county pay by taking his second hundred of the season off their bowling and when he was out for 121, he had completed eight centuries in his summer of nearly 1,700 first-class runs.He batted for nearly five-and-a-half hours, hitting 15 fours from 258 balls, and after so much care and application, it was a disappointing conclusion when he hoisted a short delivery from Vasbert Drakes to deep square leg.A third-wicket stand with Adams had yielded 199 and his partner was then on 99 after reaching 1,000 runs in a season for the fifth time in his career.The Sussex captain safely chalked up his third century of the year from 196 balls but remained intent on locking up promotion by cautiously advancing to 132 not as his young partner, Tim Ambrose, made an unbeaten 41 out of 78 in the 26 overs.

After a slow start to their campaign, Guernsey have notched up their second win in consecutive days by beating Botswana by 25 runs at The Padang. Having won the toss, Guernsey’s batsmen made it count and posted a competitive total of 241 for 6. Lee Savident gave his team a sound start with a top score of 65 off 102 balls while Jeremy Frith also contributed a half-century. Stuart Le Prevost, the Guernsey captain, scored a quick 36 and the lower order made useful contributions. Botswana were on course during their run-chase, reaching 108 for 1, before they lost direction. Frith caught and bowled Faisal Rana for 57 and dismissed Karan Kapoor to leave Botswana on 112 for 3. Gary Rich took two crucial middle-order wickets before Jamie Nussbaumer dismissed the last four batsmen. He finished with 4 for 42 as Botswana were dismissed for 216 in the final over.Bahrain put in a powerful all-round performance to crush Norway by 232 runs at the Indian Association Ground. Imran Sajjad and Adil Hanif set up Bahrain’s innings with scores of 68 and 65 respectively before Tahir Dar boosted the total to 304 for 7 by blitzing 54 off 24 balls. Bahrain’s new-ball bowlers, Yaser Sadeq and Halal Abbasi, cut through the Norway top-order, reducing them to 35 for 5, a position from which they never recovered. Not content with an aggressive half-century, Dar took 2 for 13 in six overs while Fahad Sadeq claimed 3 for 16. Norway were shot out for 72 as early as the 28th over. The win ensured Bahrain’s berth in World Cricket League Division 5 next year.”Today we just played our natural game against Norway. In Bahrain we play on matting so it’s taken some time to get used to the turf wicket but today things really came together for us and we just went for it,” Dar said. “We really wanted to create a big target for Norway and the only way for us to do that was to hit the 300 mark, which we did and they failed to make it thanks to our strong bowling.”As for tomorrow’s final against Singapore, we know it’s going to be tough, Singapore have not lost a match this tournament but we’re confident and hopefully we can bring our winning way to the finals.”Singapore maintained their 100% win record by beating Malaysia by four wickets to secure their fifth victory in World Cricket League Division Six at the Kallang Ground. The victory also secured their place in World Cricket League Division five next year. Singapore’s bowlers backed up the decision to send Malaysia in by dismissing them for 183 in 50 overs. Muthuraman Sockalingam top scored with 43 while Mulewa Dharmichand was Singapore’s best bowler, taking 3 for 37. The home side’s chase started poorly when Buddika Mendis was lbw for a duck but Narender Reddy steadied the innings with a patient 64 off 134 balls. He was supported by Monish Arora, who scored 37, as Singapore reached the target in the 47th over.

Former India allrounder WV Raman has been named the batting coach of the National Cricket Academy. The NCA governing board has also appointed TA Sekhar and Narendra Hirwani as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches respectively.NCA chairman Niranjan Shah told ESPNcricinfo their roles were “full time” and all three men would be stationed in Bangalore, where the NCA is currently located.It is also learnt that academies will be established in each of the five zones, and about 30 coaches will be appointed in January to look after under-16 and under-19 cricketers. “They will also work as Talent and Resources Development Wing (TRDW) officers,” Shah said. “Since the selectors can’t see every player, these coaches can identify talented players and report to the selectors.”The TRDW was set up by former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya in 2001 and was headed by Dilip Vengsakarkar, who is the current director of the NCA. Players like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla and RP Singh had been identified in this way.An NCA official indicated these five academies will be located in Dharamsala, Ranchi, Nagpur, Vadodara and Wayanad, but Shah said the venues haven’t yet been confirmed.Raman, who has been working on commentary assignments for the BCCI, and Sekhar, who is director at Delhi Daredevils may face some issues regarding conflict of interest. Shah said Raman and Sekar couldn’t continue those roles in accordance with the board’s conflict of interest guidelines. Hirwani had already been in the midst of such an issue, and had voluntarily resigned from his post as Madhya Pradesh selector given his son Mihir represented MP.The BCCI have been trying to reinvigorate the National Cricket Academy and though it has been run out of Bangalore so far, BCCI joint secretary and NCA convener Amitabh Chaudhary said they will look into finding a permanent centre in a month’s time.

Although Dale Benkenstein and Shane Warne were captains with very different emotions when play was abandoned in the Friends Provident final they agreed that third umpire referrals haven’t worked in this year’s tournament.During Durham’s innings there was an occasion where each side could have used the system with some justification. Phil Mustard, batting well on 49, was trapped lbw by James Bruce. However, replays showed the ball pitched a fraction outside leg stump but by the time Mustard asked for a referral it was based on footage from the dressing room.Then, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 17, Chris Tremlett had a good shout for lbw turned down and this time the replays looked in favour of the bowler. But Warne didn’t opt to use the third umpire, and said that he had discussed the issue with Benkenstein before the match.”Both of us spoke at the start and we think if there was something obvious that would be the only way we’d refer it otherwise that’s what the umpires are there to do,” before adding that he didn’t think the technology was up to standard. “When you get the technology 100% that’s when you can use referrals, until it’s three dimensional and you see it from every angle there’s no point using it.”Benkenstein was equally lukewarm in his appraisal of the system, which hasn’t seen a single decision overturned during the televised matches of the tournament. “It just doesn’t work,” he said. “Every time you refer something it doesn’t get overturned. I think they need to use all the technology and if they are going to do it, do it 100%.”And the umpires and players must buy into it. At the moment it’s being done half-heartedly. The third umpires just keeping backing the onfield umpires. The umpires have to agree it’s not a negative thing and don’t see it as guys belittling their decision.”

On the heels of a crushing victory over Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) national senior team cricketers enter the final of the US$28 million Stanford 20/20 Tournament on Sunday confident that they are ready to add the final touches to the “big picture”.Turning their back squarely on overconfidence and focusing single-mindedly on game-plan execution last Friday, T&T upset whatever Cinderella plans the Nevis were harbouring with an emphatic 74-run victory in the last semi-final match of the competition, at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua.And the incentive of a US $ 1 million and US $ 500,000 pay out for the champions and runners-up, respectively, is sure to inspire, like it has done in previous games, a scintillating match that should provide another opportunity for the sold-out crowd to observe what has become the standard fare of this competition – sharp and athletic fielding, inspired and probing bowling, with enterprising and daring batting.Those characteristics have certainly been present in the performances of Daren Ganga’s T&T side, whose manager Omar Khan has said his team is totally zoomed on the “big picture” of winning the tournament. And the T&T squad highlighted those traits during their outstanding triumph on Friday.Man-of-the-match and Play-of-the-match winner Kieron Pollard laid the platform for the win with a 38-ball 83 that propelled the local side to an intimidating 210 for 6 off their 20 overs.According to Khan, Pollard’s positioning at number three was a tactical move that reaped great dividends. He said, “We strategised that if we lost an early wicket, we would need someone to raise the momentum of the run rate and Kieron is a natural player, a gifted player with immense power and timing and he went in there and got the job done.”Pollard’s was the kind of effort that made Ganga’s unbeaten 62 off 39 balls pale in comparison. A solid batting output was compounded by the incisive bowling of Mervyn Dillon (3 for 30), while Samuel Badree and Pollard himself secured figures of 2 for 14 and 2 for 19, respectively.”I have always said and continue to maintain,” Khan reasoned, “that once we apply ourselves and play intelligent cricket, we are gonna come out on top.”Khan said that focus ensured that there was no complacency in their approach to Nevis, saying that his team had guarded against that at all times and adopted the mentality of taking it one game at a time. “There is no underestimation of our opponents because we know anybody can show up and play a good game and spoil your plans.”T&T had one last practice yesterday, ahead of today’s final with Guyana, led by Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies middle-order batsman. “We know of the quality of the Guyana side but we are not overawed by them”, Khan added. “We will just execute our plans and adapt and adjust to suit ’cause we are confident in our ability and preparation and know we can win the game.”