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Scorecard
Australia, on the basis of a superior average net run-rate through the tournament, have progressed to the final of the fifth place play-off in the Under-19 World Cup, after their match against Bangladesh at the Bayuemas Oval was abandoned due to rain.Chasing 116, Australia’s openers, Kirk Pascoe and Marcus Stoinis, had put on 18 runs in six overs before the players were forced off the field as the skies opened up. Earlier, the Australian bowlers combined well to send Bangladesh crashing from 51 for 1 to 115 all out. Clive Rose, the left-arm spinner, and right-arm seamer David King were the pick of the bowlers, taking two important middle-order wickets apiece. Rose accounted for Bangladesh’s top scorer, Amit Majumder, who made a 79-ball 43, while King bowled their captain, Suhrawadi Shuvo, for 1.

Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the Test series in Sri Lanka and is unlikely to be available for the tour of New Zealand early next year after undergoing further keyhole ankle surgery in Holland.Flintoff returned home after the World Twenty20, where he played in all England’s matches but continually showed the strain on his ankle. The decision to carry out further surgery in Holland was taken following extensive consultation with leading international specialists including those from the UK, Australia and the United States.”The operation involved the removal of extra bone, including fragments, from the front and back of the ankle which were causing bony impingement and compression of a tendon in the back of the ankle,” said the ECB. “The nature of these bone changes was such that there were additional difficulties in the normal functioning and stability of the ankle. The operation was carried out by one of the world’s leading authorities on arthroscopic ankle surgery.”The statement added that the surgeon was confident this latest operation would solve the underlying problem in Flintoff’s ankle which has required three previous surgeries. The first came after the South Africa tour in 2004-05, followed by another during the 2006 season and a third in June this year.In all, Flintoff has missed out on 11 of England’s last 16 Tests, including the whole of the 2007 home programme against West Indies and India, as well as 21 of their last 48 ODIs, including the current series in Sri Lanka. He returned to England action in the one-day series against India, but had to be carefully managed and only played four of the seven matches.Last week, a source close to Flintoff said: “We are looking anywhere on the planet for help. There might be a surgeon in America, for example, who has encountered something like the problems Freddie is suffering … maybe a baseball player or basketball player … anything, to be honest.”It is expected that Flintoff will return to training in the New Year with a view to a playing comeback for England’s 2008 international programme, which begins in May with a Test series against New Zealand.”We would love to have him in the squad but we won’t risk Andrew in the Test matches,” said England’s coach, Peter Moores, after Flintoff was reported by the Daily Mail to be “frustrated and worried” by his constant struggle for fitness.

Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder, is hopeful that a new training routine will help put an end to the spate of injuries he has suffered in recent times and help establish his place in the Test team.”It’s been a pretty up and down couple of years with injuries,” Watson told . “I will be sitting down over the next month or so with our fitness trainer and also our physio to tinker with a few little things at training. We want to do everything we can possibly do to have a good run over the next couple of years. It would be amazing to be able to do that.”Watson, who’s played only three Tests since his debut in 2005, was sidelined during the World Cup with a calf strain. He returned for the Super Eights match against New Zealand and scored an unbeaten 65 and took 1 for 20.Although he’s taken only two Test wickets at 61.50 apiece and hasn’t made his mark as a bowler in one-day internationals, Watson was confident of improving his bowling.”I am confident I would be able to hold a spot down as a batter and a bowler as well. I have been lucky enough in the last eight months to be able to get to know Glenn [McGrath] well and rack his brain.”I have been lucky to be associated with him and get some of the knowledge that he has got out of him before he retired – it will continue to improve my cricket. That’s my goal, to be able to be a big part of the future of Australian cricket. It’s sad to see Glenn go but hopefully I can continue on his knowledge.”

Dropped for the ongoing CB Series in Australia, Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly has revealed that he had planned to continue playing one-dayers for another seven to eight months before taking a call on his future. He also considered the fact that he didn’t see himself realistically continuing till the 2011 World Cup.”They (the selectors) just asked me whether I wanted to continue one-day cricket,” Ganguly told Times Now, an Indian news channel. “I said, ‘yes definitely, at least for the next 7-8 months.'”So I wanted to play till September, then probably take a call because at some stage you would not have gone on to play the 2011 World Cup.”There is not much of one-day cricket this year. There is the Australia series, then India go to Sri Lanka for Tests and one-dayers. So there are five one-dayers there and then the Champions Trophy in September and rest of the year is full of Test cricket.Ganguly and another former captain Rahul Dravid were omitted for the one-dayers in Australia after the national selectors opted for the core of India’s ICC World Twenty20 winning squad, with several players lacking in experience at the international level.Since his return to the one-day squad in early 2007, Ganguly has scored 1240 runs in 32 matches at an average of 44.28, and he celebrated his return with the Man-of-the-Series prize in the one-day series against Sri Lanka before the World Cup. However, his performances in the last ten matches saw the average dipping to 25.66. The team management in Australia had reasoned that Ganguly was overlooked for the sake of blooding youth, with the added emphasis on fielding abilities.”I was a bit surprised because I didn’t expect it,” he said. “But, all I can say for sure is that it is not on the basis of form.”

At a time other cricket boards are announcing pay cuts and freezes, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed that it is awarding its players pay rises of up to 25%.The players will now earn around Rs50,000 (approx US$875) per month compared to Rs28,000 previously, while senior players like skipper Rashid Latif could pocket up to Rs200,000 as opposed to Rs158,000 previously.Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, chairman of the PCB, revealed that a proposal from Rashid Latif that all players should receive the same, regardless of seniority, was considered unjustified. The previous slab system would continue with senior players who have played more matches being paid more while the juniors would be compensated according to appearances in Tests and ODIs.Apart from the pay hike, another 25% bonus would be paid to all playersfollowing a win in a Test. Zia went on to say that the PCB wanted to give players their due rights rather than deprive them monetarily.In an earlier briefing on May 1, Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the PCB, had said: “We are very close to finalizing the central contracts that will be awarded to a select number of players. Minor modifications are to be made in the contracts before they are awarded.”

Division One

Nottinghamshire became the first side to notch a win in 2008’s Championship with a comprehensive rout of Kent, who were beaten by 10 wickets at Canterbury. Nottinghamshire only needed 22 runs to complete the victory with Will Jefferson (5) and Matthew Wood (17) guiding them home.Hampshire’s match against the champions Sussex ended in a predictable draw, with rain preventing any play on the fourth day at The Rose Bowl.Persistent drizzle in London also called a halt to the game at The Oval, with Surrey drawing their match against Lancashire.

Division Two

Essex eased to their first win of the season, beating Northamptonshire by nine wickets on the final day at Chelmsford. After their poor day yesterday, when they slipped to 38 for 4, Northants’ batsmen fared much better with Lance Klusener cracking 92. But he became David Masters’ fourth victim, Essex dismissing Northants for 237 to leave the home side needing a mere 15 to win. Jason Gallian fell for 1 but Varun Chopra saw them home in the third over.Nadeem Malik took 5 for 51 to spark a mini Middlesex collapse in which they lost their last five wickets for 141 as Leicestershire romped to a six-wicket win at Grace Road. Owais Shah notched his fifty, adding to the fine 116 he made in the first innings, and Shaun Udal also cracked his maiden half-century for his new county, but Middlesex fell away to be dismissed for 258, leaving Leicestershire 166 to win. Chris Silverwood nipped out two early wickets to give Middlesex hope, but Matthew Boyce’s 66 and an unbeaten 69 from Jim Allenby urged Leicestershire to their target.Tony Frost, Ant Botha and drizzly conditions in Birmingham all conspired against Worcestershire, who were denied an opening victory against Warwickshire on the final day at Edgbaston. Resuming on 26 for 3, Warwickshire’s resilience began with the nightwatchman, Lee Daggett, frustrating for nearly an hour before he was bowled by Gareth Batty. Navdeep Poonia followed almost immediately, and when Luke Parker edged to gully, the hosts were 109 for 7. Enter Frost (46*) and Botha (18*) who ground Worcestershire down for an hour-and-a-half, and inclement weather prevented any further action after tea.No play was possible between Gloucestershire and Derbyshire at Bristol, the match dribbling to a damp draw.

Northamptonshire escaped any penalty for the state of their Wantage Road pitch after Matthew Hayden staged a batting masterclass to leave his Northamptonshire side in charge against Essex.The tall Australian cracked a six and 17 fours in his magnificent 164 off 260 balls as Northants closed on 337 for seven, a lead of 104 with two days remaining.And Hayden’s men were able to celebrate their promotion into Division One, albeit 24 hours late, following the ECB pitch panel’s decision not to order a deduction of points.Phil Sharpe, the Board’s Pitch Liason Officer, said: “During the cricket on the first day the ball turned sufficiently to warrant a further inspection, and I asked for a second opinion.””Having seen the cricket on the second day, along with Alan Smith, we came to the conclusion that this was not a substandard pitch and did not warrant a rating of poor.”Hayden and David Sales (61) posted 122 in 34 overs for the third wicket after off-spinner Tim Mason had removed Adrian Rollins and Jeff Cook cheaply.Sales struck nine boundaries in his 109-ball knock before edging Peter Such to slip, but Hayden powered on and gave a superb demonstration of footwork and concentration, securing three batting bonus points.”It has been a stressful day for us. Now we can celebrate a bit,” commented Northants’ relieved Director of Cricket Bob Carter when the panel’s findings were eventually announced shortly after tea.

The final day’s play between the Andhra and Tamil Nadu teams at the Municipal Corporation Stadium, Vishakpatnam was called off after just an over had been bowled on Friday. The home team claimed five points after securing the all-important 65-run innings lead on Thursday. Tamil Nadu, decidedly the stronger side, received three points from the encounter.Andhra had earlier made 355 in reply to Tamil Nadu’s 290. The strong Andhra reply was based on a 99 from No. 6 RVC Prasad. KS Shahabudeen, who made 53, and Fayaz Ahmed (48) also made significant contributions. For Tamil Nadu, S Sriram, three for 16, and MR Shrinivas, three for 72, shared the bowling honours.

Ken Edwards, the chief executive of the Telstra Stadium, expects international cricket matches at the Olympic venue to be sellouts and thinks that the state-of-the-art arena will appeal to more than two million fans from Western Sydney.The Telstra Stadium has been chasing the rights to stage Test and one-dayers from next year, sparking outrage from traditionalists who have said that cricket should never leave the SCG.Edwards said that rugby league, rugby union and Australian Rules had all benefited immensely from playing marquee matches at the 80,000-capacity stadium, which has almost twice as many people as the SCG. “There is a very real opportunity to grow the game in Australia’s largest city – one that hasn’t been recognised, let alone seized on, by the SCG Trust.”We estimate there are over two million Sydneysiders, living west of Sydney Olympic Park who do not go to cricket at the SCG – it’s too far away and too hard to get to.”According to Edwards, the ARU, NRL and AFL relocated games to a better venue since they had identified the potential for growth with such a move. “Their faith has been borne out by the outstanding results they have achieved at Telstra Stadium in the last five years, with record crowds being set. The ARU and NRL have both set world record crowds for their games. The Swans have set a record crowd for AFL outside Victoria and last year had the highest attendance at a regular season game across the entire AFL competition.”In a report that Edwards presented, he also mentioned that an average crowd of more than 80,000 had attended the 18 rugby Tests held at Telstra since 1999. He said 700,000 more fans had seen live rugby Tests than otherwise would have been the case.

“Who cares about the rest of the games. We have already won the real World Cup,” claimed one face-painted, blue-clad youth, obviously more fond of his drink than cricket, in the glare of the television cameras.At distant Marina Beach in Madras, meanwhile, fire-crackers were set off not because India has made it to the Super Sixes but because Pakistan had been beaten. “Fifty years ago Pakistan were separated from India, now India have separated Pakistan from the World Cup,” said a delirious youth, obviously oblivious to the facts as they really are.

Naturally, celebrations are in order. India won a spectacular game of cricket thanks to one of the best innings you’ll ever see. Bring out the bubbly, give in to your most base desires and yell your guts out. But please, please show some taste in the manner in which you do so.Reporters with their ears to the ground in South Africa, filed their dispatches before the start of the India-Pakistan clash. Win, or else… That was the mood in both camps. With political tensions simmering at unacceptably high levels the encounter took on more ramifications than a cricket match ever should.Sure, the atmosphere of these games is terrific with fans from both sides being among the most boisterous. There’s drum beating, flag waving, slogan chanting and even desperate praying. But then there is also the tear gas and lathi charges.At least one person was killed in police fire in Ahmedabad as tensions boiled over after India’s six-wicket win over Pakistan. The police have confirmed that 49 tear-gas shells were lobbed and three rounds fired in the communally sensitive areas of Shahpur, Rakhial and Gomtipur in Ahmedabad.In the city of Baroda, three cars and a restaurant were torched by mobs after the win and the police had to patrol the streets till the wee hours.Elsewhere, groups of youths took to terraces of buildings and pelted revelers with stones, causing more violence to break out.In bizarre incidents down South in Karnataka, one person in a dairy was killed as a boiler exploded. Anxious to watch the match, the worker apparently cranked up the heating to dangerously high levels in order to speed up production.In a Bangalore suburb, two people were killed and at least five injured as enthusiasts piloting an auto-rickshaw drove recklessly through the streets, crashing into a lorry.

In Kolkata, probably the most fanatic of all Indian cities, groups of youths burnt midnight bonfires on the streets and amazingly enough, raised the slogan “Ganguly should be immediately dropped from the team!” and “Ganguly Down! Down!” Sure, Ganguly got out for a first-ball duck, but then again he also led India to one of its most significant victories in recent times.If these are the reactions in India, one can only imagine the mood in Pakistan. And that’s a sobering thought.A quick look at the points table tells you that Pakistan, despite the defeat, are still very much capable of qualifying for the Super Sixes. This means that an India-Pakistan semi-final is very much on the cards. What happens then to these revelers if India loses in that game and gets knocked out of the World Cup? Will they burn more buses, break the windows of cricketers’ cars, like they did at the Dravid residence in Bangalore? Will they tar players’ houses, as they did to Mohammad Kaif’s home in Allahabad? Will they burn effigies of Sourav Ganguly?You can be sure they will. And that’s the tragedy of it all.Before the start of the India-Pakistan match, dubbed `the mother of all matches’, Indian vice-captain Dravid spoke to the press, assuring fans that the game was just another one: that the cricketers were all professionals and tried their best against every team, not just Pakistan. Soon after, the captain echoed these thoughts and for good measure the Pakistan camp too agreed.Not because this was necessarily the whole truth, but because this is only a game. And cricketers learn to accept victories with losses, bouquets with brickbats, and the more philosophical, joy with sorrow. It’s high time the average Indian fan did the same.