And the battle lines have been redrawn. After the aborted Annual General Meeting of September 23, the warring factions have once again come head to head. The venue is the same – Kolkata, and the opposing chiefs no different. Ranbir Singh Mahendra, heavily backed by Jagmohan Dalmiya is doing his best to hold on to the post of president, but all indications point to Sharad Pawar, the president of the Mumbai Cricket Association and former defence minister, taking the job.Goutam Dasgupta is the Dalmiya group’s nominee for secretary while Niranjan Shah is contesting the same post from the Pawar group. N Srinivasan (Pawar group) and Jyoti Bajpai fight it out for the post of treasurer, while the joint secretary’s post sees a match up between MP Pandove (Pawar group) and Brijesh Patel. All these nominations have been put forward to TS Krishna Murthy, the observer, and he will scrutinise and accept or reject them before the actual election takes place.While it is next to impossible to predict which way the voters will swing in the last moment, as hectic parleys are likely to take place till the very moment the election begins on Tuesday 11.30am, one can safely say that the going will not be easy for the Dalmiya group. If various interested and suddenly talkative sources are to be believed, Pawar has already been promised at least 20 of the 30 votes, and that there’s a strong chance of more defections once a clear leader emerges.The one twist that happened in the day was unconfirmed reports filtering in that the Pondicherry Cricket Association had approached the Supreme Court and successfully won the right to vote in the elections. This then meant that the vote of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association would be made in a sealed envelope and only revealed on December 12.What has caused the Dalmiya faction to rally around is the ruling that some members that traditionally vote in favour of Dalmiya – Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and District Cricket Association and National Cricket Club for example – were allowed to vote, while there was a strong chance that they would be restrained from doing so. Yet, this should not be construed as a major victory for the Dalmiya camp, as they have a stiff battle ahead of them to make up the numbers.With 31 votes including the chairman’s vote, the Pawar camp needs 16 votes to guarantee them victory. If Pawar’s opponent was anyone but Dalmiya, punters would safely put their money against the ruling faction. But Dalmiya is not a man to take lightly when elections come around. He knows every loophole in the constitution of the board, and is unafraid to exploit them when push comes to shove. And the opposition camp knows this. Despite some strong proclamations that they already have the numbers they need, work has not ceased. They have set up base camp at the Oberoi Grand hotel, staying far away from the Taj Bengal where the observer is stationed. There will not be any let off, and Pawar’s arrival by a private jet at 8pm will only mean increased activity. Till the verdict is signed and delivered, this lot won’t rest.How they could votePawar 1 Andhra, 2 Assam, 3 Association of Indian Universities, 4 Baroda, 5 Mumbai, 6 Cricket Club of India, 7 Goa, 8 Himachal Pradesh, 9 Hyderabad, 10 Jammu and Kashmir, 11 Madhya Pradesh, 12 Maharashtra, 13 Punjab, 14 Railways, 15 Rajasthan, 16 Saurashtra, 17 Services, 18 Tamil Nadu, 19 Tripura, 20 Vidarbha.Mahendra 1 Bengal, 2 Delhi and District Cricket Association, 3 Haryana, 4 Karnataka, 5 Kerala, 6 National Cricket Club.Those that could swing either way 1 Jharkhand, 2 Gujarat, 3 Orissa, 4 Uttar Pradesh.

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s young allrounder, has had surgery on his heels in order to be fit and available for next month’s home series against India. Malik, a regular member of Pakistan’s Test and one-day teams against England in the recent home series, underwent the operation after complaining of acute pain due to corns.”Doctors advised him to go for the surgery as he would not have been able to carry on against India in the same condition,” said a Pakistan Cricket Board official, speaking to Reuters. “He will now be fit before the first Test against India from January 13.”Malik said: “I was facing a lot of pain batting and bowling because I had to put weight on my heels. Doctors say I can now resume playing after a week’s rest. The series against India is very important for me and after a satisfactory series win against England I am looking forward to cementing my place in the side.”The 23-year-old was cleared earlier this month of a suspect bowling action after undergoing tests at the University of Western Australia in Perth. Malik, who opened the batting in the 2-0 Test series win over England, has played in 12 Tests and 107 one-day internationals. Pakistan won the one-day series 3-2. The Indian team is scheduled to reach Pakistan on January 6 to play three Tests and five one-dayers.

Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opening batsman left out of the South Africa touring squad, has been told by Trevor Hohns, the chairman of selectors, to improve his fielding. Since making 94 on one-day debut at Melbourne, Jaques has been pushing to replace Simon Katich, who sealed his spot with a maiden century on Tuesday, at the top of the order.Jaques usually stands in the slips or at short-leg for the Blues and Hohns said his fielding was definitely an issue. “He is aware of it and we’re all aware of, and the coach [John Buchanan] is aware of,” Hohns said in the . “We’re obviously hoping he’ll do something about it and we’ll be there to help him wherever we can. If that means getting him some specialist attention, that’s what we’ll do.”Brad Haddin, the New South Wales captain, told the paper he was surprised by Hohns’s concerns, but said Jaques had worked hard on improving his skills since his Test debut in December. “It’s something that can be blown a bit out of proportion,” he said. “His fielding for us has been very good.”Hohns said the team had been picked before Katich’s century on Tuesday night and he was happy with his partnership with Adam Gilchrist. “I think we’ve shown a bit of faith in him all through the VB Series,” Hohns said in the . “There has been a lot of talk about his position in the side, and for him to make that breakthrough and get that hundred you could see he had a little bit more emotion that he didn’t let out.”Hohns said it was “nice” to have Jaques putting pressure on the top side. “Phil Jaques is probably doing exactly what Matthew Hayden did a few years ago when he wasn’t playing for Australia – he just keeps scoring runs,” he said. Australia start the South Africa series with a Twenty20 International on February 24 before the five-match one-day competition.

India 209 for 6 (Sharma 78) beat Sri Lanka 207 (Mathews 52) by four wickets
Scorecard

Dropped catches, an aspect of their game that Sri Lanka thought was a thing of the past, came back to haunt them in their Under-19 World Cup Group clash with India, as they dropped four … and lost by as many wickets at the R. Premadasa Stadium.Sri Lanka were made to pay dearly for their lapses after India had been reduced to 28 for 3 in the sixth over. They recovered through their fourth-wicket pair of Rohit Sharma and Mayank Tehlan, who added 132 from 188 balls to turn the match in their favour.If Sri Lanka were to defend their moderate total of 207, they needed to capitalise on their opportunities. But Sharma was dropped three times en route to a Man-of-the-Match-winning 78 from 105 balls (six fours, two sixes), and together with Tehlan who made 64 off 114 balls (three fours) they rescued India from their early losses. Tehlan was also let off on 8.By virtue of losing to India, Sri Lanka finished as runners-up in their group and will come up against the Group B winners, Australia, in their Super League quarter-final game today at the SSC. India meanwhile take on West Indies, who overcame the South Africans by seven wickets.After winning the toss, Sri Lanka began well despite losing Sameera de Zoysa for a duck in the first over to reach 71 for 1 in the first 15 overs. But the run-out of Sachithra Serasinghe when he was going well for 38 was followed by two quick wickets with the total on 117, and the Sri Lankan innings lost momentum. The captain, Angelo Mathews, hit out boldly to make a top score of 52 off 69 balls, but the Sri Lankan innings failed to last the distance and they were bowled out in the 49th over.Sri Lanka’s coach, Sumithra Warnakulasuriya, admitted afterwards that his team might have suffered a psychological disadvantage in this game as India had beaten them twice in the Afro-Asia tournament in India in November.”But I still thought we played well today,” he added. “We should have got about 230-240. Even with this total of 207 we could have still won when we got the first three wickets for 28 runs, but we dropped a few catches.”Upto this game they fielded well but today suddenly it went back to what it was. It is difficult to drop these sort of catches and win a game. That probably was the turning point.”India’s coach, Venkatesh Prasad, said yesterday’s game was a fantastic test for his players in terms of character and the playing standards they had set for themselves. “It was the test we needed to know where we stood because the first two games we played were pretty one-sided against Scotland and Namibia. I am pretty happy the way we bowled, and our fielding and catching was really good.”

Over the next five days, India could either completely knock down a groggy England, or we could witness a stirring fightback from a proud side whose mantra over the last couple of years has been team spirit and kinship. Most of the evidence points towards the former, but only afoolishly complacent team – and Rahul Dravid’s team surely isn’t one – will assume the contest is over before it has even begun.Riding the momentum
There is little doubt about who the force is with at the moment. The tide turned when a match which looked headed for a dull draw at Mohali ended up going India’s way quite emphatically. Even more hearteningly, the architects of the triumph weren’t only the spinners; Munaf Patel, with his vicious reverse-swing and more-than-brisk pace, left England doubting their ability to play fast bowling as well. England’s fastest bowler has since been ruled out too, with a final decision on Steve Harmison’s further participation on this tour to be taken over the next week. Theoutlook doesn’t look rosy for the England supporter.The pitch factor
After the debacle of November 2004, when 40 wickets cascaded in a little over two days, it is unlikely that the strip at the Wankhede will again be such a minefield. Then, India had already lost two matches, and needed something to salvage a horrible series. Here, they’re already one-up, and need nothing more than a draw. A minefield could backfire badly against the home team.Sudhir Naik, the curator, has promised a firm strip, with pace and bounce early on and then assistance for the spinners. That’s what most curators say about most pitches before most Tests, but this one might live up to that promise – on the eve of the match, there is still a sprinkling of grass, and the high red-clay content here ensures reasonable bounce too.A question of composition
Four bowlers or five? That’s the question Dravid and the think-tank will have to find an answer to later this evening. Piyush Chawla seems certain to be omitted; the choice for his replacement is a toss-up between Sreesanth and VVS Laxman. Both had impressive spells in the nets this morning – Sreesanth worked up sharp pace, as he had yesterday, and troubled both Yuvraj Singh and Dravid, while Laxman had a long hit and looked largely untroubled. The temptation is to play safe and include an extra batsman, but the heat in Mumbai and the pitch will also play a huge role in the final decision. Dravid, as usual, gave nothing away in the press conference: “We will do whatever we feel is needed to take 20 wickets . [Playing] four bowlers shouldn’t be interpreted as a defensive move, while five bowlers doesn’t indicate an over-aggressive move.”England’s biggest headache is finding a replacement who will be at least half as penetrative as Harmison. Should it be Liam Plunkett, who played at Mohali and did nothing to worry the Indians, or Ian Blackwell, classified as a left-arm spinner but for whom left-arm innocuous might be more apt, or James Anderson, a swing bowler who hasn’t proved his mettle in subcontinental conditions, or Shaun Udal, the third spin option? Two out of those four will certainly play, for Duncan Fletcher categorically stated that the final XI will include five bowlers, but regardless of who makes the cut, the Indians will be licking their lips in anticipation of easy runs.The Milestone Men
It’s Test No.100 for Rahul Dravid, but quite typically, he was quick to deflect the attention from his achievement, choosing phrases like “just another game”, “I’m preparing for it no differently than I would for any other match”, “we still have to do the basics well and focus on winning”. Throughout his career, Dravid’s single-minded focus and determination have been his hallmark, and you can be certain whatever be the occasion, he’ll bring all of that to the crease when the first Indian wicket falls.There’s another landmark too, for a cricketer Dravid described as an iconfor Indian cricket. Sachin Tendulkar goes past Kapil Dev’s record of 131matches to become the most capped Indian Test cricketer. Expect thedecibel levels to reach frightening proportions when he walks out to batfor his eighth Test at his homeground.India (likely) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid(capt), 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Mahendra SinghDhoni (wk), 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Anil Kumble, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 MunafPatel.England (likely) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Ian Bell, 4Paul Collingwood, 5 Kevin Pietersen, 6 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 7 GeraintJones (wk), 8 Shaun Udal, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Matthew Hoggard, 11 MontyPanesar.

Fresh from a maiden Test century at Cape Town, Hashim Amla told reporters before the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Wanderers that his team will be doing everything it can to win the match and secure the series.South Africa already lead the series 1-0 but Amla said: “Our first objective is to win. If you go out just looking for a draw, you can very easily land yourself in hot water. So we will be playing positive cricket, which has been the team’s motto, and we are hoping to come away with a two-nil series win.”The Test will be Amla’s first at the magnificent Wanderers ground and he is excited by the prospect of playing there. “It’s a fantastic thought,” he said. “It’s known as the Bullring, and there’s a fantastic atmosphere. The outfield is always ‘blitz-vinnig’ and it’s great for batting if you can get in, and I’m really looking forward to it.”Concern has been expressed at the conditions at this time of the year in South Africa, well beyond when its regular cricket season generally ends. Time was lost in the second Test due to fog and Johannesburg has greeted both teams with chilly weather. Amla, though, thought the cold might suit the visitors more. “I think their guys might be a bit more used to it than we are. I went to New Zealand a couple of years ago, and it was exactly like this. But you play in whatever conditions you get.”Amla wasn’t the only one in a positive frame of mind; James Franklin, who also scored a maiden century last week, reiterated the obvious that New Zealand would also be playing to win the last Test. New Zealand’s situation, unlike South Africa’s, is borne of necessity as they need to win to level the series.”We’re very confident that we can win this one. Obviously the pitch in Cape Town didn’t do quite what we expected it to, but we believe the two teams are very close,” said Franklin. However, he dismissed talk that conditions would suit his side better. “It’s pretty cold here at the moment. There’ve been a few jibes that these are New Zealand conditions, but it does get warm there sometimes.”We’ll just have to see what the conditions are like and take it from there. Any international cricketer has to adjust to conditions and play the game from there. But we are hoping it will warm up a bit – it’s pretty nippy, and all cricketers like playing in warm weather.”How the conditions are likely to affect the pitch nobody is sure just yet though both sides will hope that a more even contest between bat and ball awaits them. Bowlers dominated the first Test and batsmen the second so halfway between the two will suit everyone. reported that Chris Scott, the local curator, has spent 10 days – twice as long as usual – to prepare a suitable wicket.Because of the chilly weather and lack of sunlight, Scott has been forced to use gas heaters to dry out the pitch, which is already enclosed in a tent, in a bid to artificially replicate a warmer climate. Scott, who has prepared the Wanderers for 32 years, said “In a nutshell, I’m trying to prepare a wicket in between Centurion and Newlands. I don’t want a flat pitch or one that does too much but the weather hasn’t made it easy. Pace and bounce is important at the Wanderers but the conditions at this time of year aren’t conducive to hard wickets. You can do as much rolling as you want but you still need the sun to bake down on the pitch (to make it firm).” The wicket, he said, was 90% ready.Though it is not the strip on which South Africa chased Australia’s 434 with their own record-breaking effort in March, it has a recent history of run-making. The strip was last used in January for two domestic one-day games that produced an aggregate of over a thousand runs. Chris Martin, after inspecting the pitch, told the newspaper there was some reason to be optimistic as a fast bowler. “There’s going to be a little bit of moisture so it should be good (bowling) for the first day or so.”

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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAIndia need to make changes to their side for the St Lucia Test, says Sambit Bal, Cricinfo’s editor, and Ramesh Powar would be a better inclusion than Harbhajan Singh. Listen to him explaining why to Amit Varma.Bal also says that both teams are not just equally matched, but they’re equally mediocre. Barring Anil Kumble, their bowling attacks are equivalent to those of first-class sides, and their batting is equally good, though Mahendra Singh Dhoni at No. 7 gives India the edge. Bal also explains why Irfan Pathan will never be another Wasim Akram, and should be groomed as a No. 6 batsman and a fifth bowler.<bDownload MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of England’s one-day squad after being advised to rest for four weeks while he recovers from an ankle injury. Andrew Strauss has been handed the captaincy for the matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka and will lead a squad full of new faces.Glen Chapple is one of several surprise inclusions and is one of four untested allrounders in the squad alongside Tim Bresnan, Jamie Dalrymple and Alex Loudon. Rikki Clarke, the Surrey allrounder, who was tipped to earn a recall to cover for Flintoff has been overlooked despite decent form for his county.Ed Joyce joins his Middlesex teammate Dalrymple in the squad and has been enjoying a consistent county season. He has the chance of facing his former countrymen when England head to Stormont on Tuesday.The selectors have opted not to risk Michael Vaughan, although he was in action for Yorkshire at Southgate today and had been tipped for a comeback. David Graveney, the chairman of selectors said: “Michael Vaughan is making good progress with his recovery and we will continue to monitor his situation closely. We do not want to take any unnecessary risks with Michael and will wait until he is fully match fit before considering him for selection.”Chapple, 32, has never made it into the one-day squad before, although he was included in the Test squad against South Africa for the Trent Bridge match and he has been a regular on A tours since the 1990s. But finally, after years of consistent county performances for Lancashire, Chapple’s patience – and a fine start to this season – has been rewarded.Meanwhile, Clarke, who has averaged over 50 with the bat this season and took 4 for 45 in the latest round of Championship matches said he though his form might have been enough. He told the Surrey website: “It’s obviously disappointing that I’ve missed out as my form has been pretty good. But I’ll continue to work hard and put in the performances with Surrey and hopefully my turn is just around the corner.”Of late, England have not shied away from giving experienced cricketers their chance at international level. Shaun Udal debuted in Pakistan at 37 during the winter, and Jon Lewis was the oldest player in the England team at Trent Bridge last week when he made his first foray into Test cricket.Squad Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ed Joyce, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (wk), Alex Loudon, Jamie Dalrymple, Sajid Mahmood, Glen Chapple, Tim Bresnan, Steve Harmison, Liam Plunkett.

Pakistanis 97 for 3 (Younis Khan 50*) trail Northants 269 for 3 dec (Peters 142, Afzaal 71*) by 172 runs
ScorecardPakistan’s preparations for the second Test went far from smoothly as they struggled with both bat and ball on the first day against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. At the close, the Pakistanis were 97 for 3 in reply to Northants’s 269 for 3.Of most worry to the tourists will be that their openers once again failed, as they had done at Lord’s in the first Test. Salman Butt and Imran Farhat both fell for 4, Butt failing to survive the first over for the second innings in succession as he nicked Charl Pietersen to Riki Wessels, the wicketkeeper. Farhat lasted longer but perished when he drove at Ben Phillips and was well taken by Stephen Peters at backward square leg.The Pakistanis soon found themselves on 50 for 3 when Taufeeq Umar snicked David Wigley to give Wessels his second catch. But with Younis Khan completing an unbeaten fifty, they reached stumps with no more alarms.Peters had earlier laid into the Pakistanis’ second-string bowling attack, cracking an impressive 142 as Northants scored with ease. Peters and Usman Afzaal shared a third-wicket stand of 170 after coming together shortly before lunch. Although Northants could have batted on, they declared as soon as Peters had holed out to long leg not long after tea.

Division One

Points TableDay four
Mal Loye ensured Lancashire remained in charge of their own destiny in the Championship race as they defied Sussex with nine wickets down at Hove. Loye’s unbeaten 148 was a masterclass of concentration after he arrived following the early loss of Iain Sutcliffe. But the other hero was Dominic Cork who, batting with his damaged finger from the first day, kept Loye company for most of the final hour. Cork fell with eight balls remaining but Gary Keedy didn’t let his side down and survived two balls. Sussex will be rueing another victory that got away, but were handicapped by Mushtaq Ahmed’s injury which meant he wasn’t at his most effective. However, he managed 35 overs and looked to have put Sussex on course with the wickets of Glen Chapple and Tom Smith. Loye, though, had the final say. Sussex sneak ahead of Lancashire by one point in the table, but now have a week off from Championship action.Kent and Hampshire played out an inevitable draw at Canterbury. John Crawley just missed out on a double century, he made 189, and Dmitri Mascarenhas made a century of his own to lift Hampshire to 554 for 7 declared in their first innings, 169 runs ahead. Kent were never in danger of subsiding, with their openers Rob Key and David Fulton each making undefeated centuries on their way to a stand of 281. As the result was pretty much guaranteed, the batsmen just helped themselves to some batting practice; Key making 136 not out, and Fulton was on 134 by the close.

Division Two

Points TableDay four
Anil Kumble took eight wickets in Northamptonshire‘s second innings to spin Surrey to success at The Oval. Northamptonshire started the day with a big ask to hold on for the draw and Usman Afzaal set about aiming for that with 142. Surrey appeared on course to complete the win comfortably before Matthew Nicholson and David Wigley added 78 for the ninth wicket. However, with time running out Kumble claimed the final two wickets and Northants were finally chipped out for 386, leaving Surrey to chase 65. This they did for the loss of three wickets, and with two overs to spare. Kumble finished with match figures of 11 for 183Essex completed an impressive 211-run win over Somerset at Garon’s Park. despite Cameron White’s 111. Already four down overnight, Somerset suffered an early blow when Carl Gazzard fell to Alex Tudor. White and Wesley Duston added 59 for the sixth wicket but White’s century was then ended before Mervyn Westfield, an 18-year-old seamer, struck twice to take his tally to four wickets. Tim Phillips wrapped up the victory and handed Essex 19 points for their efforts.Glamorgan didn’t provide much resistance on the final day against Worcestershire at Colwyn Bay as they subsided to a 311-run defeat. The top order crashed to 96 for 5 and Matt Mason did most of the damage with four wickets. Robert Croft provided some late defiance with an unbeaten 44 but Roger Sillence wrapped up the match three wickets in three overs as Worcestershire pocketed 22 points to boost their promotion hopes.At this rate Stuart Broad will be bursting through ceilings. His rise and rise just continues and today he helped Leicestershire to a four-wicket win against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. Broad took five wickets in the second innings, including the vital wickets of the centurions Hamish Marshall and Alex Gidman, to make it nine wickets this match. Gloucestershire were eventually dismissed for a fighting 439 and had Leicestershire 187 for 6 at one stage, chasing 240. But the venerable Paul Nixon steered his side to victory with 68 not out, after Claude Henderson had set them up with 48. But the plaudits belonged to Broad and there will be more excited whispers in the England camp tonight.