Tamil Nadu and Kerala settled for a draw after an interesting finalday’s play in the KSCA Coca Cola Under-25 Tournament at the MaharajaJayachamarajendra Wodayar Sports Complex in Bangalore on Saturday.Resuming their first innings at 169 for 3 on the final day in reply toTamil Nadu’s 446, Kerala lost centurion C Sanju (120) in the fifthover of the day. Three overs later wicketkeeper VG Nair (2) departedwhen he offered a catch to P Raju off Dhandapani. Then S Ramakrishnan(25), CM Shyam (10), S Mathen (34) tried to hold the fort. But withRamakrishnan retiring hurt and PV Rajesh being absent hurt, the Keralainnings folded up at 223.Tamil Nadu enforced the follow on but the Kerala batsmen stood theirground well the second time around. Opening batsmen CM Deepak (36) andC Sanju (29) put on a sedate 34 runs in 17.2 overs. Sanju was the onlybatsman to be dismissed when he offered a return catch to Velmurugan.skipper KPK Nambiar then joined CM Deepak and added a further 86 runsto play out the rest of the overs. Rain stopped play at 16.15 hoursand the match was declared a draw with Kerala 120 for one.Tamil Nadu, on the basis of their 223-run first innings lead, pickedup five points while Kerala picked up three. Tamil Nadu next take onHyderabad in their last match from October 5 to 7.

Jammu and Kashmir scored a facile 145-run victory over HimachalPradesh on the third and final day of their North Zone Under-14tournament match at the Kathua Sports Club in Kathua on Thursday. Withthis win, J&K took home eight points.J&K who won the toss on the opening day put up a fighting 243 runs onthe board. R Bhatt (46) top scored in an innings that witnessed thetop order making the bulk of the scoring. In reply, HP were bundledout for just 105 with S Bhalwal accounting for six dismissals. Onlythree of the HP batsmen, skipper Aditya Choudhary (20), M Soni (12)and A Chauhan (10) managed to reach double figures. The J&K secondinnings was a fair disaster. They were shot out in just 33.3 overs foronly 70 runs. Set to score 208 for a win, HP fared worse scoring just63. The innings folded up in 49.1 overs with the spoils being sharedall around.

Hampshire head Division Two of the CricInfo Championship after completing a nine-wicket win at Derby, in which Shaun Udal returned his best figures since 1992.The off-spinner took 7-74 in 38 overs and although half centuries from Michael Di Venuto and Richard Illingworth saved Derbyshire from an innings defeat,Hampshire were left to score just 49 to win in 35 overs.They got there at 4.30pm for the loss of Derek Kenway, who was well caught at first slip by Luke Sutton to give seamer Tom Lungley his first championship wicket.Lungley also showed resolve with the bat to help Illingworth add 48 for the ninth wicket, which banished the threat of an innings defeat.That was the only source of consolation for Derbyshire who performed poorly, particularly with the bat on a flat pitch.Hampshire thoroughly deserved maximum points and Udal bowled splendidly, intelligently varying his flight and pace to pose problems for the batsmen.He also obtained some bounce and only Di Venuto played him with anything approaching authority.The Australian left hander made 52 and was unlucky to fall to a brilliant diving catch by Robin Smith at short extra cover shortly after lunch.That sealed Derbyshire’s fate and although Illingworth supervised some resistance from the tail, it was too little too late.

Cardiff: Inzamam-ul-Haq holds the key to stablising Pakistan and giving them a base to derail the supposedly all-conquering Aussies. Inzi’s useful knack of scoring much needed runs, at the hour of need, served Pakistan well at Old Trafford and thereafter at Edgbaston. That he may do so again at Cardiff against the Australians is not only a probability but also a very strong possibility for he has shown consistency. Yet one swallow does not a summer make, and if Pakistan has to prevail upon the Aussies, others like flamboyant Shahid Afridi, sedate but struggling Yousuf Youhana and the now timing Saeed Anwar will have to add something to Pakistan’s total.Fortunately, Pakistan’s bowling has shown both penetration and pace, with Wasim Akram bowling as good as ever and Waqar Younis able to revive the 1992-year of swing. Saqlain has his confidence restored through spells of magic at Old Trafford and Edgbaston and with a 100% fit Azhar Mahmood bowling at his best, Aussies beware.Razzaq has shown a tendency to bowl fast, if he keeps line and length in mind, he can improve upon his strike rate. Rashid Latif certainly is a bonus for Pakistan and if the need be, Shahid Afridi can tease the Aussies with his wristy spin and faster balls.The Astralians have a problem on their hands, except for McGrath, others have been outright ragged and their defeat by Middlesex was an eye opener for Steve Waugh. Add to this, the tied match with Northampton and one feels Australia take the field with a defeat on their minds. Certainly a demoralising factor. Yes, their batsmen have been scoring runs very freely, but runs on board can only come handy when one has bowlers to stall the run to the opponent’s winning post.Pakistan, on the other hand, takes the field with two very impressive wins behind them, and with very high morale. All they need is temper themselves, and even though the first five overs at Edgbaston were good, needed most was continuity for ten more overs. It should not be left to Inzamam alone to carry the innings, others should be up to the task. If they play with the same passion and commitment displayed at Old Trafford, Pakistan can win. If they so do, another win at Lord’s will more or less ensure a place in the final against Australia and a chance to avenge that 1999 World Cup loss.

Kent beat Cumberland by nine wickets in the third round of the C&G Trophy at Barrow-in-Furness.The start of play was delayed for 15 minutes due to heavy morning rain. Kent acting captain Mark Ealham, deputising for the injured Matthew Fleming, won the toss and put Cumberland into bat.It proved a prudent decision because the Kent opening pace bowlers Martin Saggers and Ben Trott got appreciable movement with the new ball in the heavy cloud conditions.Trott, recruited from Devon and playing in his first season with Kent, got a vital breakthrough in the second over when he had Steven Knox lbw for one. This left Cumberland reeling at 1-1.The Cumberland batting was somewhat brittle as epitomised by their losing three wickets on 26 including Andy Williams who had made 19.Apart from the seventh-wicket partnership of 28 between Cumberland captain Martin Lewis and Jonathan Fielding there was little achievement from the Cumbrians. They lost their last four wickets for only eight runs.Trott returned the superb figures for 5-18 from his ten overs, while Saggers supported him with 3-14.The Kent openers David Fulton and James Hockley laid the foundation for Kent’s easy victory by putting on 43 for the first wicket before Fulton was caught behind by David Pennett off Marcus Sharp for ten.Hockley and Robert Key saw Kent through to victory ater only 10.2 overs. The aggressive Hockley hit 10 fours and a six in his unbeaten 48, while Key was 12 not out at the finish.The man-of-the-match award was awarded to Trott who recorded his best bowling figures of the season.

Sir Paul Condon’s Anti-Corruption Unit will call for Alec Stewart to be dropped from the England team unless he meets the ACU, it has been claimed today.It is alleged that Stewart received £5,000 from an Indian bookmaker MukeshGupta for supplying information during England’s 1993 tour of India.Condon interviewed Stewart briefly in January but the pair have not met since and Sir Paul is becoming increasingly frustrated that he has not been able to question Stewart at length.In a statement, Sir Paul said: “Negotiations have been conducted primarily through Mr Stewart’s lawyer, and the ACU is becoming increasingly frustrated by the inability of Mr Stewart and his advisers to agree a convenient date.”The ACU remain determined to meet Mr Stewart in the near future.”The BBC says it understand that unless Stewart meets the anti-corruption unit, the unit will urge the England cricket authorities to drop him from the national side.ECB chairman Lord McLaurin has backed Stewart since he was first named in anofficial Indian corruption report last November and he is playing down the seriousness of the situation.He told the BBC: “I think this is a big mountain being made out of quite a small mole hill.”Alec has said all along he is very happy to talk to Sir Paul and his unit.”This is really a matter for them both. But I would expect in the next couple of days for Alec to sit down with Sir Paul.”He added: “When these allegations first came out last year, we conducted our inquiry with Alec, we passed on to Sir Paul and if he needs any help from us he knows where we are – it is between Alec and the ACU now.”MacLaurin, though continued to maintain his tough stance. “We’ve said all along that if any player refuses to co-operate they will be suspended until they do,” added MacLaurin.Stewart claims he may have met Gupta socially on tour but strenuously denies accepting money from him.

Richard Montgomerie’s first hundred in the one-day league set up a comfortable 27-run win for Sussex over Essex in the Norwich Union League at Hove.Montgomerie made 108 in a first wicket stand of 176 with Murray Goodwin as Sussex made 241-3 from their 45 overs in the day-night second division contest.Half-centuries from Paul Grayson and James Foster helped Essex recover from a poor start, but they finished well short on 214-7.Montgomerie and Goodwin had earlier compiled a record first wicket stand in the one-day league’s various guises for Sussex, beating the 162 by David Smith and Franklyn Stephenson against Surrey eight years ago.Goodwin converted his third half-century of the season into a competition best 87 before he was caught at short mid-wicket, but Montgomerie went on to a century off 121 balls with eight fours before he was run out in the penultimate over after adding 55 with Chris Adams (25) for the second wicket.Essex struggled to make much impression early on. Stephen Peters was run out by Will House’s direct hit in the third over, Graham Napier edged Jason Lewry to the wicketkeeper and then Ronnie Irani and Darren Robinson fell off successive balls to leave Essex 44-4 after 14 overs.They were revived by a fifth wicket stand of 85 in 18 overs between Grayson and Foster which was ended when James Kirtley returned to the attack to bowl Grayson for 52.Foster went on to finish unbeaten on 56, but with the asking rate climbing to above ten an over his composed innings was never going to be enough.Essex remain rooted to the bottom of the table while a third win keeps Sussex in seventh place.

Two letters written by the late Sir Donald Bradman to former Australian Test captain Greg Chappell have been sold for £6,700. They were auctioned at Christie’s of Melbourne as part of the Greg Chappell collection, which sold for a total of £64,300 and included two baggy caps which fetched £6,700 each.The two letters, expected to fetch between £1,800 and £3,600, were bought by a local buyer. They were the most controversial of the letters between the two men, being written shortly after Chappell joined Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977 and revealing a wide rift between the two. Three other letters between them were sold together for £2,500.Chappell’s decision to sell the letters had been opposed by the Bradman Foundation. Bradman’s son, John, claimed that his famous father would have been unhappy that private letters were being sold in public for profit.

Defeats for Cove and Lymington have established Portsmouth as firm favourites to win the Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 championship.Overnight leaders Cove were shot out for 72 and beaten by five wickets by Trojans at Stoneham Lane, while Lymington plunged to 81 all out and a promotion-ending fourth successive defeat against Old Tauntonians & Romsey.The results swept Portsmouth – easy ten-wicket winners over Sparsholt – into a commanding top place with three matches to go.Jamie Donaldson (3-27) and Pat Douglas (4-7 in 11 overs) routed Cove for a dismal 72 on a typical Stoneham wet top.But the Thames Valley League bound visitors took five wickets before Nigel le Bas (24) guided Trojans to the brink of victory.Left-hander Neil Stotart (59) and Charles Forward (42) provided the platform from which Max Smith’s undefeated 71 swept Old Tauntonians & Romsey to a powerful 246-8 (Glyn Treagus 3-37).Lymington, rocked by an initial burst by Mukesh Morjaria (4-31), sank to 81 all out, with clean shaven Geoff Stotart taking 4-22.New leaders Portsmouth made short work of Sparsholt, who were shot out for 108 (Bill Gunyon 33).Hampshire’s Lawrie Prittipaul took 3-19 before cracking a quick-fire 79 not out.Steve Green produced a stunning all-round performance, hitting 77 before returning figures of 6-30 in Easton & Martyr Worthy’s 58-run win over Hambledon.Easton rattled up 226-5 (Ian Butcher 41, Andy Birch 31) before Green’s left-arm spin reduced Hambledon from 53-0 to 168 all out (Mark le Clerq 38).Relegated Old Basing were skittled for 61 and beaten by nine wickets by United Services.

If it were a boxing contest it would be correct to say that The LodgeSchool dominated the early rounds.It would, however, be just as accurate to say that a few soft jabsdealt them their most telling blows.Lodge ended the opening day of the Cable and Wireless Under-15 againstQueen’s College on 207 for six. But the St John school will quicklywant to forget the manner in which some of their batsmen gifted theirwickets against their St James opponents in the East-West duel at theCable & Wireless BET Sports Complex.Slow full-tosses, supposedly the easiest ball to despatch in the gameof cricket, claimed the wickets of four Lodge boys, including NicholasSquires, their captain, leading batsman and Barbados Under-15representative, along with semifinal hero Andre Gill.Lodge, in spite of the succession of soft dismissals, can feelcontented with their effort after they were sent in on a slowishsurface that gained criticism from some spectators.I am very satisfied, seeing the nature of the pitch. It wasn’t toogood for strokeplay, but the guys applied themselves well, Lodge coachClifton Phillips said.Everybody is really focused and chipping in here and there. I amhappy. The left-handed Squires started the pattern that was mirroredby some of his teammates immediately after the first drinks break whenhe helped leg-spinner Selwyn Atherley’s fourth ball down the throat ofdeep mid-wicket.The pint-sized Atherley won the hearts of many because he was neverafraid to flight the ball and collected a further two wickets, albeitagain with the help of full-tosses.This is something I cannot explain, especially some of the keybatsmen, Phillips said. These things happen in the game, but I thoughtthat the other guys rallied.Gill, who made a face-saving century in the semifinal when Lodge werereeling on 28 for eight against Alexandra, announced his entry bypulling National Sports Council Under-13 medium-pacer ChristopherJordan for six over square-leg and onto the ABC Highway.But when Atherley served him up with a full-pitch in the first ball ofa new spell, he could do no better than hit it back to the bowler.Atherley also removed big Mark Trotman with another full-toss that wasstruck to mid-wicket. Trotman made 39, the same score Pierre Atwellwill resume on this morning.The one key batsman who did not succumb to an air-ball was the giftedShamarh Brooks. He looked a class act in making 23 before off-spinnerNiaz Dokrat deceived him and induced him into providing a returncatch.Following the wicket of Trotman, Nicholas Hughes gave a return catchfrom yet another full-toss to bring Queen’s College back on even keelat 158 for six.They could have applied more pressure had Atherley not missed a returncatch when Atwell was 11. As it turned out, Atwell and opener RioBrathwaite stayed around to feature in an unbroken seventh-wicketpartnership of 49, the highest of the innings.Brathwaite, unbeaten on 26, batted through the first session before about of cramp forced him to retire hurt just after lunch when he was19.The chance Atwell gave was one of three Queen’s College put down.We were set back by a couple of missed chances early in the game. Thatmade the difference, said Queen’s College games master Mike Gaskin.However, I believe the team played well. The bowlers stuck to thetask. They are not accustomed to playing in the field for a whole day.Tomorrow we need to come into the game more positive than we were atthe end of this day.Once we get them out, it is just a matter of first innings lead. Idon’t think that it is going to be a win situation. If they bat forone and a half days, I don’t see why we can’t bat for the remainder ofthe game.