Eric Simons is not about to step down as South African cricket coach, despite the pressure mounting on him as South Africa arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday for a whistle-stop tour of their homes before dashing off to England for the Champions Trophy, which starts next Friday.Tying the record for South Africa’s longest losing streak in one-dayinternationals (10) is bound to put any coach under pressure, and Simons ishoping better days are around the corner.”We obviously didn’t play to our potential in Sri Lanka and I realise I’mresponsible and accountable for the results. But reports of me resigning arenot correct; I merely told the players that the demands of the UnitedCricket Board were such that if things did not improve at the ChampionsTrophy, then obviously there would be changes in playing staff and/ormanagement.”He said the “very good” Sri Lankan side deserved all the credit forwinning the Test series 1-0 and the one-dayers 5-0, adding thatthe reasons for the South Africans’ failure were “a lack of confidence andthe poor early-season form”.Simons insisted his team’s morale was still high, despite the terriblepounding they had taken in the last month. “It was a really tough tour, but the team have stayed together as a unit and are not playing the blame-game. Contrary to reports, there have been no problems at all with a lack of support for Smith and myself or any rifts between players.”After the first Test heroics in Galle, the South Africans fell apart, losingtheir next six matches, which was scant reward for all the “hard work,training and preparation” that Graeme Smith said they had put in.”It just went downhill from the first Test. We demand high standards ofourselves and we expect to perform better. But we were not ruthless enoughand then basics like dropped catches and missing run outs went wrong. The results have hurt our confidence and we are under pressure, but we haveto handle it.”Simons said the fact South Africa had come out of a three-month winterbreak and had little chance to prepare in Sri Lanka could not be used asan excuse for their thrashing because “our best performance was in the firstTest in Galle and things turned sour after that.”Simons promised some new strategies and more changes to the batting order inEngland, while defending the tactics and selection in Sri Lanka. “We had the right squad for the trip, and after New Zealand we had to redesign our strategy. Conditions in England will be very different though, and we’ll need to make some other changes.”

After the success of online ticketing for the recent Indian tour of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board has again launched an online service for fans in and outside Pakistan for purchasing tickets for the Paktel Cup and the Test series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.Tickets are available for online ordering: purchasers will be able to pick up their tickets at booths located near the venues.The Paktel Cup is a seven-match triangular series featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, starting with a match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at Multan on September 30. The final, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, is on October 16.Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka begins at Faisalabad on October 20.The initiative, in partnership with Wisden Cricinfo, produced sales on the very first night, as fans gear up to follow their teams.The Pakistan Cricket Board has allocated a substantial number of ticketsto online buyers, and their online service is open to all-comers.Click here to order your tickets online

The ICC has lifted the two-match ban on Sourav Ganguly, allowing him to lead the Indian team for the second Test against South Africa at Kolkata on November 28. Ganguly had earlier been penalised for India’s slow over-rate in the Platinum Jubilee one-day match against Pakistan on November 13, but he had appealed against the verdict to the ICC. The decision to lift the ban follows a teleconference on Thursday [November 25] in which Tim Castle, the ICC Appeals Commissioner, and Clive Lloyd, the match referee for that game, participated.In his judgement, Castle explained: “On any analysis, the delay of nearly an hour to the finish of a 50 over ODI game beyond its scheduled finish time, is out of an acceptable range. I am of the opinion that the circumstances were particularly unusual in this game and a large number of them conspired to cause the delays which occurred.” In his appeal, Ganguly had brought attention to frequent changing of the ball, the heavy dew and injuries to Rahul Dravid, the wicketkeeper, and Salman Butt, all of which would slow the over-rate.Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, expressed pleasure at the way the appeal has been handled. “The decision today demonstrates the independence of the ICC’s appeals process,” he said. “His judgement highlights the exceptional circumstances that prevailed during this particular match while also emphasising the general importance of maintaining the required over-rates during international matches.”Reacting to the verdict, Ganguly expressed his elation and looked forward to playing in his home ground against the South Africans. “I thank God, the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya, Siddhartha Shankar Ray [former West Bengal chief minister, who was provided legal counsel to Ganguly] and others,” he told reporters. “I am grateful for the the way they stood by me in the hour of crisis and gave me moral support.”Ganguly was also full of praise for Castle. “He gave me a very patient hearing. He heard all our arguments. I am happy that I was able to convince him. Now I can concentrate on the match [Kolkata Test].”

Another day, and another mini-crisis in the world of cricket broadcasting in India. After the Kerala High Court had issued an order asking ESPN to share its feed of the Bangladesh-India one-day matches with Doordarshan, the national broadcaster, ESPN have filed a petition in the Supreme Court to block the move. Its counsel stated that such a move violated the channel’s exclusive commercial right. However, the apex court’s decision to post the case for early January means that Doordarshan can telecast the final two matches, to be played on December 26 and 27.Chief Justice B Subashan Reddy and Justice Kurian Joseph of the Kerala High Court had issued an order on Wednesday, asking that ESPN allow Doordarshan to beam the pictures, with revenue shared on an 80:20 basis. ESPN have an exclusive arrangement with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and it contended that sharing the feed would be tantamount to infringement of its rights.The channel has gone off air in many parts of India, with cable operators refusing to meet its financial demands. According to ESPN, the current dispute should have been solved by the intervention of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal.

The rebellion against Zimbabwe Cricket was snuffed out before it ever really began, with the Mashonaland Cricket Association backing down in the face of allegations of financial and constitutional irregularities.Speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent, Cyprian Mandenge, the MCA chairman, said: "We’ve realised it’s cricket that will suffer, so we are negotiating so that our concerns are addressed. All we want is a democratic constitution."Less than a week ago the MCA had seemed set on a collision course with ZC, and there was a possibility that other provincial associations might join the opposition. But stories began to emerge that that a payout from ZC intended to help seven Mashonaland clubs all went to Takashinga Sports Club, and at the end of the week the MCA’s stance was further weakened when all but two of its club sides elected to honour their national league fixtures.Behind the scenes, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the former MCA chairman who was ousted in December, is thought to be consulting lawyers to try to get the decision overturned as being unconstitutional. Mukuhlani met with Peter Chingoka, ZC’s chairman, last week and it is believed that Chingoka made it quite clear that he expected Mukuhlani to get a grip on the province and reassert control.The Independent said that other provinces had backed off or condemned the rebellion, quoting Macsood Ebrahim, the Masvingo Cricket Association, as saying that he told the rebels to "go to hell and made it clear to them that we would not entertain individuals agitating for a coup." Given that Ebrahim is a close associate of Ozias Bvute, ZC’s general manager and is a key figure inside ZC,that is hardly a surprising response.Ahmed Essat, the chairman of the Matabeleland Cricket Association, said that his province had not supported the coup but, nevertheless, still had serious concerns about the way that ZC had undertaken an expensive rebranding exercise without any consultation."The Matabeleland province wants to understand who is responsible for the re-branding," said Essat. "But we can’t say because of that the whole ZC board has to go. Like in any other business, all we want is for people to be accountable."Hemant Patel , chairman of the Midlands Cricket Association, explained that his province had withdrawn support for Mashonaland after "constitutional flaws and irregularities in the special general meeting held in Mashonaland" emerged.Some sources claim that ZC brought pressure to bear on other provinces, but it seems that Mashonaland failed to get its own house in order before taking on ZC.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

Australia are lucky that Glenn McGrath never tires of hauling them from danger. McGrath pushed New Zealand back at the start of their innings, and knocked them off in the second-last over of a thrilling first one-day international at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.While his team-mates felt the pressure and spilled no-balls and overthrows, McGrath grabbed the ball for his final act and wrapped up Hamish Marshall, who was a No. 1 haircut away from a Michael Bevan-esque escape, and Daryl Tuffey to end a pulsating match. They should have lost, but won by 10 runs thanks to experience.Marshall’s bird’s-nest hair became an iconic symbol of Twenty20 on Thursday, and he proved he was more than a hirsute gimmick with a cool 76 from 69 balls on a tricky pitch that glued up most batsmen’s strokeplay. His only mistake was to challenge convention by an extra half-metre, as he pushed across to McGrath and leg-glanced on to his stumps (224 for 9).The giggles of Twenty20 were shaved away like the New Zealanders’ facial hair, and teams that had bonded over a novelty were again onfield enemies in the fight between the world’s top two one-day sides. Both outfits recovered from batting mistakes that appeared deadly at the time to fulfil expectations for a roaring start to the series.New Zealand were crushed by McGrath and Brett Lee as they took 22 runs and lost two wickets in the first ten overs. Drifting aimlessly at 113 for 5 in the 34th over, Marshall strengthened his position with the big-hitting Craig McMillan after losing Chris Cairns to a horrible run-out and Nathan Astle, whose 65 stabilised the innings when it wanted to flat-line.McMillan lifted the pace – and Andrew Symonds over the grandstand – with a massive slog that lost the ball. The run carried along Marshall, happier to place his shots and scurry between the wickets, and when McMillan fell to Adam Gilchrist’s fabulous stumping off McGrath – he was standing up to him – the momentum was maintained. Gilchrist walked up to take McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz in a brave display, and the ball which picked up McMillan was timed at 136kph.

The target of 77 from the final 10 overs was cut to 32 from four and 13 from two. Australia were flustered, and held more conferences than a five-star hotel. Lee walked up for his second over of the spell and took care of Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori, before McGrath closed the show with 4 for 16. He did show that he wasn’t perfect, though, by dropping a catch.Batting against the medium-pacers had been a struggle for Australia; it was even harder against the quicker men. McGrath’s opening was unrelenting, giving away only seven runs in as many overs. The accuracy did for Mathew Sinclair, who pushed forward and away from his body, for Gilchrist to take an easy catch (16 for 2). By then Stephen Fleming had fallen to a questionable Aleem Dar lbw decision as Lee came around the wicket (13 for 1). Lee was fast, but Fleming was closer to furious.Fleming’s mood was much better when his side bowled, despite a closing half-century from Symonds that boosted Australia’s competitiveness. At the toss Fleming asked his bowlers to take the pace off the ball, and Styris followed the orders with a stunning display.Australia lost a dreadful 5 for 20 – they faced similar setbacks in the two Chappell-Hadlee Series games in December – to fall from the comfort of 140 for 1 to severe trauma after Styris became involved. He had already cheered the important wickets of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, who both made half-centuries, before he burst in with the scalps of Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke in his eighth over (158 for 5). Medium-pace at best, Styris ran his fingers over the seam in a way that would have impressed the absent Chris Harris, and collected 4 for 40.Playing himself in as wickets fell, Symonds was repaid for his patience with 53 from 44 balls, and lifted Australia in a necessary late spree, adding 69 with the help of Brad Hogg (25 not out). Australia will point fingers at the middle order for blowing a large total after they failed to adapt once Hayden and Ponting combined for 133.Reinstated at the top of the order after being dropped for the VB Series finals, Hayden scored 71 from 109 balls in a scratchy but confidence-boosting display that included favourable lbw and caught-behind decisions from Billy Bowden. Ponting was also below his most fluent as he played his side’s finest innings. He deserved to be disappointed with his batsmen, and in awe of his bowling leader.

The executive of the Barbados Cricket Association survived a no-confidence vote brought by more than 100 members on Wednesday.The motion called for the resignations of Stephen Alleyne, the president, David Holford and Owen Estwick, both vice-presidents, Orson Simpson, the treasurer, and Philip Nicholls, the secretary. It followed a heated meeting last July when the financial standing of some of the officials was questioned. It was defeated by 95 votes to 51 with 13 absentions.”The membership have affirmed there was no impropriety in the behaviour of the officers as was alleged by the requisition,” Nichols told the Barbados-based Nation newspaper. “Those who attended the meeting would know that no evidence was led to suggest impropriety. Instead, there was a lot of mud-slinging.”There was also, Nichols claimed, a dispute over the motion itself, and he claimed that some people who had allegedly demanded the meeting had said that they had been misled. “It was found for what it was, namely a scurrilous attempt at besmirching the good name of the officers of the association.”

Worcestershire have received assurances from the PCB that Shoaib Akhtar will be available for the entire second half of the season. But, given the PCB’s current relationship with their mercurial fast bowler, what this really means is anybody’s guess.Shoaib is due to arrive at New Road on July 1 to begin life with his second English county, after a previous stint with Durham where he enjoyed limited success. If any one-day tournaments spring up during the second part of the English summer, Shoaib is committed to Worcestershire’s cause – and Tom Moody, their former captain, coach and now director of cricket, is earmarking him for the role of finishing teams off.”He is keen to prove a point in county cricket and I think playing in a better side, with more experienced bowling and batting, will help him and he will be used purely as an impact bowler,” Moody told the . “That is what we need, someone who can knock over wickets early on and finish teams off, something that Nantie Hayward did for us a couple of years ago. We tend not to have trouble knocking over the first four or five wickets but someone who can also knock over numbers nine, 10 and 11 is also so beneficial.”Shoaib has had something of a controversial winter with questions raised over his commitment to the Pakistan cause and his fitness an ongoing topic of debate. He has been ruled out of the Test series against India with a hamstring injury, but hopes to be fit for the one-day internationals. Given his recent record Worcestershire may believe it when they see it as far as Shoaib on a cricket field is concerned.

The many chimneys of the steel plant in Jamshedpur, spewing forth fumes of various hues, provide a fine backdrop for the cricket. From some of those outlets come white, snowy emissions, which look like a fluff of clouds; others look altogether more venomous, dark and angry; all of them are the result of the steel-making process, the reason for the existence of the township of Jamshedpur.Set-up in 1908 by the Tatas, a huge corporate entity, the steel plant gradually attracted people from all over the country, many of whom stayed back over generations to create a quite unique cosmopolitan community. The Tatas pride themselves on putting corporate ethics and people over everything else – the entire upkeep of the township is their responsibility, roads, hospitals, electricity, parks and gardens; plus, they invest plenty in the upliftment of the tribals around the region – but this spirit of generosity hasn’t always rubbed off on the people of Jamshedpur, at least not when they come to see a cricket match. More than once, they have earned notoriety for their boorish behaviour against the visiting teams – England, West Indies and Pakistan have all borne the brunt of their ill humour earlier.Today, though, they were in a much better mood. The boundaries hit by Pakistan’s batsmen got reasonable applause, while there was generous hand-clapping in anticipation of Salman Butt’s century. When he reached the landmark, the cheers were, again, fairly generous.Obviously, the Indians got a much bigger round of applause for everything they did on the field, but among all the superstars in the Indian line-up, there was little doubt about who the fans wanted to see the most .Sample this conversation between two gents in the crowd: “First slip mein kaun hai?” (Who’s at first slip?) “Dravid.” “Aur second mein?” “Sehwag.” “Aur keeper?” “Arre woh to andhaa bhi bataa dega.” (Even a blind man can answer that one.) It matters not that Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag have together played 359 one-day internationals; Mahendra Singh Dhoni is only in his sixth. For the doting fans on his home ground, Dhoni the superstar towers above everyone else – when Dhoni gets into the act, the cheers, the whistles, the bugles, all seem infused with more energy.Dhoni didn’t get too much opportunity to show his skills with the gloves, though: he effected a regulation stumping, but not much else. Then the moment the entire Keenan Stadium has been waiting for – Virender Sehwag’s dimissal is never a happy occurence for Indian fans, but here it is laced with more than a silver lining. And soon the crowd is chanting “Dhoni, Dhoni” as the local hero launched into some vicious drives and cuts. After one particularly rasping upper-cut off Mohammad Sami, a young boy of about ten revealed the secret of Dhoni’s power: “Yeh sab chaar litre doodh ka kamaal hai.” (It’s all the effect of four litres of milk.) Dhoni’s dietary habits are soon becoming stuff of lore – here is a celebrity waiting to be picked up by an Amul or a Nestle to endorse their dairy products.It was all too good to last, sadly. Dhoni went for one adventurous stroke too many, the crowd was first hushed, then reacted with a more ugly piece of behaviour, which threatened to undo all the good work they’d done earlier. Indian hopes were going up in smoke, and suddenly the backdrop looked not only scenic, but also entirely appropriate.

Scorecard
Newly promoted Hampshire pulled off a 48-run victory against Gloucestershire early on the fourth morning to get their first season back in the top flight since 2002 off to a flyer. It was a win that had seemed unlikely yesterday, as Gloucestershire were coasting at 129 for 0 at the Rose Bowl, chasing 252 for victory. But after five wickets fell for 26 runs in the final hour last evening, Hampshire were very much in the hunt. They seemed to let the impetus slip, though, when play resumed on Saturday, as Stephen Adshead and Alex Gidman set about taking Gloucestershire in sight of victory. But when Chris Tremlett broke their sixth-wicket stand of 33, the visitors were back in trouble (181 for 6). Shane Warne struck next, taking his innings tally to 3 for 56, before Billy Taylor extracted bounce and movement to remove the last three wickets on a bowler-firendly wicket to end with a six-wicket haul.
Scorecard
The defending champions Warwickshire sealed victory against Glamorgan by an innings and 43 runs on the final morning at Edgbaston. Ashley Giles mopped up the tail with 3 for 85, as Glamorgan lost their last six wickets for 110 runs on a decent batting track. Resuming their second innings 153 runs behind Warwickshire’s towering total of 564 was always going to be a tall order for the visitors to overhaul, and Giles and Heath Streak took early wickets to reduce them to 217 for 6. But the No. 8 Darren Thomas struck a breezy 46 from 65 balls to lift them to 295 for 7, and neither was David Harrison going down without a fight – he added 23 from 37 balls from No. 9. But Glamorgan couldn’t avoid the inevitable and eventually rolled over just before lunch.
Scorecard
Mark Ramprakash struck an impressive 151 as Surrey and Sussex played out a predictable draw at The Oval. Jeremy Batty, Graham Thorpe and Ally Brown all struck half-centuries as the rain-affected match petered out to an inevitable conclusion. Ramprakash (151) and Thorpe (59) had steered Surrey through to lunch without any more upsets after they lost Richard Clinton on the fourth morning. Brown battered his way to an unbeaten 74 from 72 balls, with three sixes, before Surrey declared on 402 for 5.