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Plate Group Points Table

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Pinninti Jayachandra’s fighting 130 was the only silver lining for Orissa as they crashed to a heavy defeat against Himachal Pradesh at Dharmasala. Orissa were playing catch up and a mauling was always on the cards after they had collapsed for just 80 in the first innings. But Rashmi Ranjan Parida and Jayachandra delayed the inevitable with a 106-run stand for the third wicket. However Vishal Bhatia and Ashok Thakur snapped up four wickets apiece as the Orissa lower order came apart in quick time. Himachal picked up the bonus point by virtue of winning by an innings and took a comfortable lead at the top of the table.
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Amit Mishra and Joginder Sharma picked up seven wickets between them and helped Haryana wrap up a comfortable victory, which earned them a bonus point as well, in Delhi. Services, who had been bowled out for 185 in the first innings, put up a better show while following on with their top four batsmen using up valuable time. But Mishra, the legspinner, and Sharma, who was recently picked in the Indian one-day squad, ripped through the middle order and the last seven batsmen didn’t even manage to reach double figures.
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Vidarbha lasted just 38.2 overs in their second innings and went down by 165 runs against Goa at Margao. Chasing 283 on the final day, Vidarbha were on their way to earning a draw when they were 103 for 4. But the last six wickets fell for just 14 as Avinash Aware and Sher Yadav, the left-arm spinner, broke through. Despite the defeat, Vidarbha share top spot along with Haryana in Group B of the Plate division.
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Kerala gained two points from their game at Jamshedpur as the game meandered to a dull draw on the final day. Having gained a slender six-run lead, Kerala ground their way to 161, with Sreekumar Nair making a dogged 57, and assured themselves the first-innings points. Jharkhand were 16 without loss when play was called off.

England will almost certainly have to tour Zimbabwe following the ICC’s decision to clear the Zimbabwe board (ZCU) of all allegations of racism.A delegation from the England & Wales Cricket Board arrives in Harare today to assess the security arrangements for the tour. It was over concerns with player safety that England refused to play in Zimbabwe during the 2003 World Cup.John Carr, the ECB’s director of operations, and Richard Bevan, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, will meet with ZCU officials, as well as representatives of the Movement for Democratic Change, the main opposition. The pair will report their findings to the ECB next week.The ICC’s decision to allow Zimbabwe to resume Test cricket will almost certainly mean that England again come under international pressure to play them. Whereas the ECB seems to have just about got away with the one-day series, the potential problems associated with a full tour would be significantly increased. The honeymoon period for David Collier, the ECB’s new chief executive, might be brief.

ScorecardScotland clinched their first victory over a Test-playing country with a thrilling last-ball triumph over Bangladesh at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh. Chasing Bangladesh’s total of 259 for 6, Scotland were indebted to Cedric English, who spanked a four off the last ball of the match.Ryan Watson, with a composed 83, and Fraser Watts, with 50, had set up the victory with a 109-run partnership for the third wicket, but there were late jitters that left the Scots needing 28 from the final three overs. But English, who finished on 49 not out, and Craig Wright, the captain, ensured that Bangladesh couldn’t quite escape to victory.Bangladesh’s total had been built around another fine innings from Aftab Ahmed, who eased to 80 before being stumped by Colin Smith off Gordon Goudie. For Goudie, it was a first international scalp.Scotland’s reply started poorly, with Dougie Lockhart being bowled by Nazmul Hossain, but Watson and Gregor Maiden wrested back the initiative with some punishing strokes before Maiden was castled by Mohammad Rafique. Watson and Watts then combined to set the game up for Scotland, before leaving it to English to apply the finishing touches.

Waqar Younis has hit out at allegations that Pakistan had deliberately underperformed in one-day tournaments in Morocco and Kenya in 2002. Responding to a letter by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) to the Pakistan board which raised the issue, Waqar, who led the team in both competitions, emphasised that there was no truth to the allegations.”We just did not play well and we lost quite a few close matches. Luck did not favour us. But I know everyone tried hard to win,” he said, according to a Press Trust of India report. Waqar added that these stories were floating around only because Pakistan had lost the one-day series to New Zealand and had an important series against India coming up. “Whenever the team loses a few matches on a trot or an important series is coming up, you hear and read about such allegations about match-fixing. So this is nothing new for me.”I can only say if the ACU has any evidence and is convinced any player is involved in corrupt practices, he should be exposed and punished. But simply making allegations or raising suspicions without proof is not fair on the players also. Pakistani people are very emotional and it is now customary to hear and read about allegations of match-fixing if the team does not perform to expectations.”Waqar may feel that Pakistan lost a few close games in those tournaments, but a look at the records suggest otherwise. In Kenya, Pakistan suffered humiliating defeats against Australia – by 224 runs and nine wickets – while in Morocco, they lost to South Africa by 54 runs and to Sri Lanka by 39. Pakistan’s only narrow loss was by 8 runs to South Africa, a match they needed to win to qualify for the final.Meanwhile, the report also stated that Waqar had confirmed his participation in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s domestic tournament, in a bid to win a place in the Test squad for the series against India. “I have not given up hope of playing for Pakistan again, that is for sure.”

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has said that Inzamam-ul-Haq and his team are prepared to accept a punishment for bringing the game into disrepute, but warned that the forthcoming one-day series against England could be scrapped if he is found guilty of ball-tampering.”My feeling is that the ICC have already closed ranks and will penalise Inzamam heavily,” Woolmer told . Inzamam will face an ICC hearing on Friday after being charged with two Code of Conduct offences resulting from the Oval Test, and he faces a possible four Test or eight ODI ban. If the team does pull out, the Pakistan Cricket Board would risk a fine of $2m (approx £1.1m) and a possible suspension by the ICC.”The ball-tampering charge is the sticking-point,” Woolmer told ITV News. “There’s probably room for reason here. We have no truck at all with the England cricket board and players, but we have been accused of cheating [by the umpires], and that is the worst thing you can do to this Pakistan cricket team.”If Inzamam is penalised and penalised heavily, which he could well be, then I cannot guarantee that my side will definitely play. I would think the one-day series may well be in serious jeopardy. It would be difficult for the players to play on if we are labelled cheats.”Woolmer’s comments come after Shaharyar Khan, the PCB board chairman, told reporters that the series was not in doubt. His stance appeared to be backed by Inzamam himself when he told London’s Daily Express: “We will wait for the decision and then make up our minds but it would be difficult for the players to play on if we are labelled cheats.”Inzamam also called on the ICC to declare the Test as null and void after the incidents. Writing in his column for , a Pakistan-based daily, he also stated that this was the biggest disappointment in his career. “If anything we want the ICC to declare the Oval test result as null and void,” he wrote. “The Pakistan Board is already trying to convince the ICC to do this. I am hugely disappointed and hurt by the slur cast on our team by Hair. I never thought my last test in England would end this way.”Inzamam has been charged with two offences, one relating to the condition of the ball and the other – the more serious one – which accuses him of bringing the game into disrepute. The first carries a maximum fine of 100% of his match fee and/or a one Test/ODI ban. The second carries a maximum penalty of a four Test/eight ODI ban.If he is found guilty then he has 24 hours to appeal and he would be free to play until that appeal is heard. Usually, that would mean that the appeal would be heard while the one-day series is still taking place. However, the authorities might opt to avoid a showdown by not scheduling the appeal hearing until after the end of the one-day series.

In February and March next year, Bangladesh plays host to the ICC Under-19 World Cup. In any ordinary circumstances, such an undertaking would be routine, maybe even a nuisance. But for Bangladesh it is the latest, and to date the greatest, step in their accelerated development towards becoming a fully fledged Test nation. Last night, as yet another dispiriting home series prepared to dribble to a conclusion, it was time to look to the future, as the tournament was officially launched at Dhaka’s Sheraton Hotel.The 2004 Under-19 World Cup will feature 16 teams (two more than appeared in last year’s senior event) and 54 matches, all crammed into a schedule of three weeks. By the time the competition reaches its conclusion on March 5, four new venues will have been inaugurated all across the country, with a new headquarters in Dhaka to follow. With any luck, Bangladesh will have demonstrated to the world (but, more importantly, to their long-suffering supporters) that their cricket has a future worthy of their status.By a strangely coincidental quirk of fate, last night’s launch took place exactly three years to the day since Bangladesh’s most uplifting moment in their short Test history. On November 11, 2000, and in front of an exultant crowd of 40,000, Aminul Islam scored a century on his Test debut as Bangladesh posted a total of exactly 400 in the first innings of their inaugural Test match, against India. Two days later, however, they had crumbled to 91 in their second innings, and defeat. It hardly needs pointing out that things have never been quite so rosy since.Many lessons have been learned in the intervening years, most of them painful, and not all of them limited to the Bangladeshis. Even the ICC themselves are a chastened band of men. Yesterday their chief executive Malcolm Speed came as close as any official to admitting they had jumped the gun with Bangladesh’s Test status. “If they win a Test or a one-day series over the next two years,” he said, “we’ll be fairly satisfied.”By the same token, however, all present were eager to emphasise Bangladesh’s massive potential, and it was not just empty rhetoric. The fans may have been subdued during the Test series against England, but their goodwill towards the game is far from exhausted – as demonstrated by some wildly enthusiastic support during Monday’s hammering at Dhaka. On occasions the scenes threatened to get a little out of hand, but Michael Vaughan was right to laugh off any dangers to England’s players. A few good-natured food-fights and the odd bonfire on a concrete terrace are hardly the stuff of international censure.On the flip side, however, the fans’ intense dissatisfaction with their captain, Khaled Mahmud, is a clear warning that mediocrity will not be tolerated forever. The BCB should take heed. It would be a tragedy if Bangladesh’s own opinion of their game was allowed to plumb the same depths that it has occasionally reached abroad.After today’s match, Bangladesh take a three-month break from international commitments, and the emphasis will shift squarely onto the final preparations for next year’s tournament. At last night’s launch, an attractive sterling-silver trophy was unveiled, along with a swooshing World Cup logo that apparently denoted “youth and movement” and “pace and energy”. But every bit as intriguing as the unveilings themselves were the veiled threats that accompanied them.”This is a tremendous opportunity for Bangladesh,” said the ICC’s president, Ehsan Mani – a statement which might have been loosely translated as “Don’t screw it up.” There is no direct financial reward for hosting the event, but in terms of infrastructure and global exposure, Bangladesh can expect to reap what it sows. For such a young country, it is not far removed from being awarded the Olympics.But, much as Athens is dawdling ahead of next year’s games, so Bangladesh is also cutting its preparations somewhat fine. The Divisional Stadium in Chittagong is a case in point. Situated about half-an-hour outside the city centre, it is one of the five purpose-built cricket grounds currently under development. It hosts its first match on February 16, and expects to be fully up and running for India’s Test tour in April.The stadium itself is an unremarkable concrete bowl, whose stands are currently used by the local farmers to thresh grain, and whose perimeter is patrolled by a large herd of cows. The pavilion is the only built-up section of the ground, but at present it is a fog of construction work, with the top three floors remaining at their most skeletal stage, without even the merest hint of plumbing, plastering, or electricity.The constraints of Ramadan are hardly conducive to intensive construction work, but the tournament organisers are optimistic that everything will fall into place at the last minute, especially with so much cheap labour that can be called upon in a crisis. Of greater concern is the state of the new pitches. The ICC’s second threat was a reduction in Bangladesh’s overseas tours – an understandable move, but one that runs counter to the development requirements of the team. The onus may soon fall on Bangladesh to equip themselves with the type of pitch that will accelerate their progress – even if it dents their short-term prospects of that long-awaited victory.To that end, Andy Atkinson, the former head groundsman at Edgbaston and Newlands, has been drafted in to oversee the pitch preparations. With luck he will be able to coax more life out of the new pitches than was displayed during England’s tour (with the notable exception of the Chittagong Test strip). This will, in turn, oblige the Bangladeshis to develop their techniques against the short ball. There is no point, as Dav Whatmore put it, of being “tigers at home, and pussycats abroad”.Last, but by no means least, the team themselves have a duty to perform – they have played in every tournament since it became a biennial event in 1998, and as England discovered in their two first-class warm-up matches, there is no shortage of young talent in Bangladesh. In both games, England faced eight of the current U19 squad, and on both occasions they were held to draws, albeit rain-affected ones. In the second match, the current U19 captain, Nafis Iqbal, scored a fine century, after which he had the temerity to denounce England’s spinners as “ordinary”.That is a charge that has rarely been levelled at Bangladeshi cricket, because their performances have rarely been anything but substandard. Three years ago this week, they tried to run before they were ready. But in the next few months, they must walk, and walk tall.

New Zealand’s lack of consistency in recent years in its one-day cricket has been behind its mid-table placing on the world rankings, but increasingly there are signs of a change for the better.Apart from anything else, Sunday’s record victory over Pakistan in Sri Lanka ended the rot of seven losses in a row to Pakistan.Pakistan’s dismissal for 116, its lowest against New Zealand and 19 runs worse than their 135 scored at Napier in 2000/01, was the fifth time New Zealand has bowled out a side for less than 125 in the last five months, and in little over two years, New Zealand has 10 times dismissed sides for 135 or less.Nine of these scores have been lodged by subcontinental sides, India suffering on six occasions – four in the recent series in New Zealand. All four instances not to take place on New Zealand soil occurred in Sri Lanka.The list is:

77 Bangladesh Colombo (SSC) 2002/0389 England Wellington (WS) 2001/02108 India Auckland 2002/03108 India Christchurch 2002/03116 Pakistan Dambulla 2003122 India Queenstown 2002/03122 India Hamilton 2002/03127 India Colombo (RPS) 2001133 India Colombo (RPS) 2001135 Pakistan Napier 2000/01

Pakistan’s total was the eighth equal lowest score against New Zealand by any side.Top 10 lowest scores v New Zealand:

70 Australia Adelaide 1985/8677 Bangladesh Colombo (SSC) 2002/0389 England Wellington (WS) 2001/02108 India Auckland 2002/03108 India Christchurch 2002/03113 India Perth 1985/86115 Sri Lanka Colombo (PSS) 1983/84116 Bangladesh Chelmsford 1999116 Pakistan Dambulla 2003118/9 Sri Lanka Dunedin 1982/83

New Zealand’s latest position on the ICC One-Day International Championship is sixth, an improvement of two places since its inception in October. It has moved ahead of the West Indies and now sits behind Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.Their climb up the ladder is the best by any side in the first six months of the Championship, rising nine points and two places.The Championship standings as at the end of New Zealand’s first match in the Bank Alfalah Cup in Dambulla are:

Team Matches Points Rating Change1 Australia 46 6269 136 +8 (n/c)2 South Africa 57 6972 122 +2 (n/c)3 Pakistan 51 5675 111 -4 (up 1)4 Sri Lanka 61 6413 105 -12 (down 1)5 India 58 6047 104 -2 (n/c)6 New Zealand 46 4594 100 +9 (up 2)7 West Indies 35 3463 99 +5 (n/c)8 England 34 3337 98 +2 (down 2)9 Zimbabwe 44 2844 65 -2 (n/c)10 Kenya 25 704 28 +6 (n/c)11 Bangladesh 23 101 4 -7 (n/c)

When the New Zealanders had Pakistan reeling at 17 for five wickets, it was the fifth equal worst start by any side in an ODI (for five wickets down). New Zealand’s previous best effort with the ball was having Bangladesh 19 for five in the ICC Champions Trophy last year.The record of teams having fewer than 20 runs and being 5 wickets down:

start total12/5 71 Pakistan v West Indies Brisbane 1992/9312/5 36 Canada v Sri Lanka Paarl 2002/0314/5 81 Pakistan v West Indies Sydney 1992/9314/5 43 Pakistan v West Indies Cape Town 1992/9317/5 266/8 India v Zimbabwe Tunbridge Wells 198317/5 84 Kenya v Australia Nairobi (Gym) 2002/0317/5 84 Namibia v Pakistan Kimberley 2002/0317/5 116 Pakistan v New Zealand Dambulla 200318/5 153 Pakistan v South Africa Colombo (SSC) 2000/0118/5 115/9 New Zealand v Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 200119/5 167 Scotland v Pakistan Chester-le-Street 199919/5 77 Bangladesh v New Zealand Colombo (SSC) 2002/03

Note: India v Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells was a 60-over match and New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Colombo (SSC) was reduced to 36 overs per side.Five of them have occurred in the last eight months while three have been at the same ground, the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Pakistan have proven particularly vulnerable to the spectacular collapse, having been involved in five of the nine worst collapses – three of which took place in the space of 16 matches and 71 days during the 1992/93 season.The game also resulted in Daryl Tuffey’s latest instance of a wicket in his first over, the 17th time he has achieved the feat in internationals, and the 10th time in an ODI.His record now reads:

Tests: Inn Over BallMarcus Trescothick 1 1 2 v England at Auckland, 1 Apr 2002 (W)Mark Butcher 1 1 5 v England at Auckland, 1 Apr 2002 (W)Shahid Afridi 1 1 3 v Pakistan at Lahore, 1 May 2002 (L)Virender Sehwag 1 2 6 v India at Wellington, 12 Dec 2002 (W)Sanjay Bangar 1 2 3 v India at Hamilton, 20 Dec 2002 (W)Parthiv Patel 2 2 6 v India at Hamilton, 21 Dec 2002 (W)Marvan Atapattu 1 1 4 v Sri Lanka at Colombo, 26 Apr 2003 (D)ODIs: Inn Over BallSaeed Anwar 1 1 1 v Pakistan at Napier, 20 Feb 2001 (W)Saeed Anwar 2 1 6 v Pakistan at Christchurch, 25 Feb 2001 (W)Marvan Atapattu 1 1 2 v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, 10 Apr 2001 (L)Kumar Sangakkara 1 1 3 v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, 10 Apr 2001 (L)Marcus Trescothick 1 1 3 v England at Auckland, 23 Feb 2002 (L)Sanath Jayasuriya 1 1 3 v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, 14 Apr 2002 (L)Imran Nazir 2 1 1 v Pakistan at Rawalpindi, 24 Apr 2002 (L)Sourav Ganguly 2 1 3 v India at Napier, 29 Dec 2002 (W)Sourav Ganguly 2 1 1 v India at Wellington, 8 Jan 2003 (L)Mohammad Hafeez 1 1 4 v Pakistan at Dambulla, 11 May 2003 (W)

Note: Inn = innings of opposition for Test list, innings of the match for ODI list; Over = over of the inningsAnd while Shane Bond may be out of the tournament due to a suspected stress fracture in his back, he did have time to claim his 50th wicket in his 27th ODI, the fastest first 50 wickets taken by a New Zealander and seventh equal on the world list.New Zealand:

Mat Wkts BB AveShane Bond 27 51 6/23 19.00 2001/02 to 2003Geoff Allott 28 50 4/35 21.34 1996/97 to 2000/01Chris Pringle 33 52 4/35 22.88 1990 to 1993/94Ewen Chatfield 36 50 5/34 24.10 1979 to 1983Danny Morrison 36 50 4/33 29.98 1987/88 to 1990/91Martin Snedden 41 50 3/25 30.38 1980/81 to 1984/85Lance Cairns 43 50 5/28 31.18 1973/74 to 1982/83Daryl Tuffey 43 50 4/24 29.16 2000/01 to 2002/03Richard Hadlee 46 52 5/26 26.61 1972/73 to 1982/83Willie Watson 47 50 3/15 33.70 1985/86 to 1991/92Chris Harris 48 50 3/15 30.10 1990/91 to 1994/95Scott Styris 51 51 6/25 34.01 1999/00 to 2002/03Chris Cairns 52 51 4/55 32.84 1990/91 to 1996/97Daniel Vettori 55 51 4/24 35.17 1996/97 to 2000/01Gavin Larsen 66 50 4/24 43.78 1989/90 to 1995/96Dion Nash 66 50 4/38 44.48 1992/93 to 1999Nathan Astle 74 50 4/43 33.34 1994/95 to 1998/99Jeremy Coney 84 50 4/46 38.26 1979 to 1986

All time:

Team Mat Wkts BB AveAjit Agarkar India 23 50 4/35 21.34 1997/98 to 1998/99Dennis Lillee Australia 24 50 5/34 17.30 1972 to 1980/81Shane Warne Australia 25 51 4/19 16.43 1992/93 to 1994/95Len Pascoe Australia 26 50 5/30 19.57 1977 to 1981/82Patrick Patterson West Indies 26 51 6/29 19.45 1985/86 to 1987/88Curtly Ambrose West Indies 26 51 5/17 17.03 1987/88 to 1989/90Waqar Younis Pakistan 27 53 6/26 14.96 1989/90 to 1990/91Shane Bond New Zealand 27 51 6/23 19.00 2001/02 to 2003

Note: The figures given are those at the end of the match concerned(Statistics compiled by Duane Pettet)

The former Nottinghamshire offspinner, Richard Bates, has been named as the new coach of the England Women’s team. He takes over from the Australian, John Harmer, who is returning home at the end of the month to take up a new post as a biomechanics specialist at the Australian Cricket Academy.Bates retired from first-class cricket in 1999, and has since worked for the England and Wales Cricket Board at both regional and national level. He honed his coaching skills during a three-month stint in Australia over the winter, and has recently been working with the Super Strikers, one of the four teams in the elite women’s Super Fours competition.”After benefiting from two years of John Harmer’s innovative coaching methods we know we are heading in the right direction," said England’s captain, Clare Connor. "We must build on our recent successes and Richard Bates is the man to take the mantle from John. The girls have always responded very positively to Richard and we are all excited about the opportunity to work with him on a full-time basis.”England have two Tests and three one-day internationals against South Africa scheduled for August, and the team is confident after a positive showing against Australia in the Women’s Ashes this winter, although they lost the series 1-0. “The England women’s team has made significant progress over the past couple of years with John,” said Bates. "I’ll look to build on the solid foundations which he has laid."

Fast bowlers have never been known to queue up for service in India, and expressions like “graveyard” and “nightmare” enter the fast men’s lexicon and tend to sum up the reputation the pitches enjoy in India. Shane Bond, despite the success that elevated him to international status in India two years ago, will probably be more than happy at home getting ready for the Christmas series against Pakistan.

His absence has cost New Zealand their most valuable strike weapon, but it has provided an opportunity for others to stake their claim for what is one of the busiest nine months in New Zealand cricket history. Home series against Pakistan and South Africa and a tour to England are all in the offing once the India-Pakistan tour is completed at the end of November.That’s where Daryl Tuffey and Ian Butler step in for consideration as the new-ball attack, with Jacob Oram as first change and spinners Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman. The Northern Districts pace pair have bowled together at club, first-class and Test level, and are the frontrunners to do it again in India. There is the prospect of competition for the job from Michael Mason, untried at Test level, but a steady performer on the New Zealand domestic scene.Tuffey, 25, and Butler, 21, do have Test experience. Tuffey goes into the tour on 47 Test wickets at 26.85, while Butler, who last played in New Zealand’s Test series-winning victory in the West Indies midway through last year, has 14 wickets at 32.50. Both are under no illusions about what lies ahead. For Butler, it is a chance to get back into selectorial favour after missing out during the last home season, while Tuffey knows there will be some Indian batsmen gunning for him after the last series in New Zealand.”There will be a bit of vengeance on their minds,” said Tuffey, “as both sides bowled well on those tracks last summer – we just made the most of it. I’m looking forward to getting over there in their conditions. We’ll be much more of a potential match for them than perhaps they expect. We won’t be a walkover, that’s for certain. We’ll be looking to take matches into the fifth day and putting some pressure on there.”Butler, the relative tyro of the pair, had no qualms about the expected conditions. “Everyone has got to bowl on them. If you want to be a good bowler you have to be able to bowl in all conditions,” he said.Having suffered the disappointment of non-selection last summer, Butler had to go back to domestic cricket, but said it had been beneficial to his approach, especially in one-day cricket. “I knew my one-day record wasn’t good, but I managed to put in some good spells for Northern Districts, and it was good to win the State Shield with the side. We always enjoy it when our international players come back to the side, like Daryl or Daniel Vettori, and I wanted to help the side when I came back.”It was during the domestic one-day competition that Butler re-affirmed the potential that saw Sir Richard Hadlee and his fellow selectors pluck him from nowhere to be Bond’s replacement for the England series in the summer of 2001-02. While not as fast as Bond, yet, Butler has shown the capacity to learn and spent time this year at Gloucestershire where he came under the eye of incoming New Zealand coach John Bracewell.”It is disappointing that Shane won’t be in India, but I’m rapt that I’ve got a chance. With the amount of cricket we have to play in the near future, I want to make sure I put my hand up for consideration,” he said.Tuffey knows there has been a perception – real or imagined – that he has been a slow starter in seasons past, but given the build-up the New Zealanders had in Christchurch and then over eight days in Brisbane, he is sure he can hit the ground running in India. “It has been great to get back into the groove, and our build-up has been structured really well by Ashley Ross. We spent a lot of time in the nets, and so did the batters. We’ve been working to different work loads but the weather was great, the wickets were flat and they were similar conditions to what we will face in India, although probably not as hot as it will be.”Part of the intention of the workload development was to have the bowlers perform as well in their third stint of the day as in their first, and Tuffey felt that had been achieved. Equally, the pressure is on to bowl well in partnership with others in the attack, and Tuffey and Butler enjoy a natural association through their provincial ties.”I think we complement each other nicely, with him bowling his outswinger and me bowling them in,” Butler said. “In fact, it is not only Daryl and I, but you have to work with all the bowlers. You have to look at your over and not ease pressure achieved at the other end by bowling a loose ball that gets hit for four. Daryl helped me when I was in the Counties-Manukau squad at age 17. I looked up to him and what impressed me about him was that he was so consistent and he made the utmost of what he had.”He’s looking very good at the moment and is hitting the crease hard which helps his action,” Butler added. Both have been working on their strength during a winter at home this year, and Butler said it had allowed him to make the most of the time in Brisbane.”It was superb and getting outside gives you some confidence you can do the job. There is nothing like bowling on an outdoors length. The indoor length is completely different,” he said.Tuffey rates highly the developing maturity of Butler, who he says is “a bit like Shane. One of his weapons is pace, and that is a good foil for me. Accuracy is my biggest thing, and by doing that I can let them fire them down at the other end. I’ve got to know him pretty well, and he’s maturing into a fine cricketer, he’s learning all the time and is pretty receptive to advice. He’s been out of the team for a year and the hunger is there and with everyone looking to be involved for the whole season, he wants to be one of the first to put his hand up.”The New Zealanders fly out on Sunday for two months of tough cricket. But they are relishing the challenge against an Indian team preparing well for the big event, and their own big season.

I don’t think we need any post-mortems to tell us what went wrong in the Cape Town Test match and indeed in the entire tour of South Africa. It would be better to push the erase-button so that no trace is left of an ill-fated tour where nothing went right, not even the weather and rain never threatened. It all happened in bright sunshine.The kindest construction that can be put on the tour is that the two teams were unfairly matched, a heavyweight against a lightweight. One team totally committed, the other simply going through the motions like a sparring partner.Were there any positives? Only Taufiq Omar. He showed strength of character and a high price on his wicket and didn’t give it away. He looked mentally tired after he made his hundred but was soon back in the fray as Pakistan followed-on but he battled on.If I was the team’s coach, I would gather the team and get them to see the videos of the Sydney Test match. First I would point to the innings of Steve Waugh, a captain under siege and let them, see what application and defiance means.Then I would show them the effort of the England team, thrashed and fighting to save the ignominy of a whitewash, the batting, bowling and the fielding of a team for whom pride means much, brilliant cricket that had the mighty Australia on its knees.Time and again, the commentators kept saying that the Pakistan team lacked motivation. Clearly national pride is not enough. Nor is the handsome money it gets. What else is needed to get motivation? I am stumped for an answer.The Pakistan team arrived in Cape Town two days before the start of the Test match. Yet, it chose not to have any nets, no doubt exhausted by their exertions in the Durban Test match which it lost by ten wickets with the best part of two days to spare.The body-language of the team on the first day of the Cape Town Test suggested that the end-of-tour fatigue had arrived early. As if to show that it was determined not to learn from its mistakes, Pakistan went in with four bowlers again.Once again Shahid Afridi was not in the frame and worse, Abdul Razzaq was supposedly injured and not in the team, the bowling was weakened, so too was the batting, Pakistan should have made a greater effort to try and level the series. It did not do so. It caved in without a semblance of fight, a tame surrender. Pakistan is much better team than the one that played in South Africa.The pity is that Pakistan had a great chance to get familiar with conditions in South Africa ahead of the World Cup and appears to have squandered the opportunity. We have been promised that the team will be re-group.What is needed is an agonising reappraisal of our whole approach. What has been missing is the spark of inspiration, the ability to seize the opportunity or play with determination when things have gone badly.In brief, what has been missing is team work, of playing like an unit. No one doubts the abilities of the players. It is simply that they can’t get their act together. There have been injuries but which team in the world has been without injuries? It is not possible to play non-stop cricket and come out unscathed. This goes with the territory.There isn’t much time between now and the start of the World Cup. The team has already been announced. The selectors have done a fine job and chosen the best available team.Generally, there is a hue and cry when a team is selected. Everyone has his own idea of what the team should be. But there has been no criticism of this World Cup squad. No one has been left out and it is a balance team.Saeed Anwar returns to the team and one sincerely hopes that he will be able to find his magic touch. He has been out of international cricket for a long time but he has the experience to get into the groove.Wasim Akram will be a key bowler. He has had the rest that he wanted and should be raring to go. It may well be his last appearance for Pakistan. If it is, he would want to go out on a high, a last hurrah.Shoaib Akhtar too can play a significant role if he can come to terms with himself. So far, he has played very much by his own rules. I think he needs to knuckle down. He is a great showman and likes the spotlight on himself. No one grudges him that.But I hope that he will accept the responsibility of being one of Pakistan’s strike bowlers. The game of cricket has a long history and so far no player has been able to prove that he is bigger than the game, not even Don Bradman or Gary Sobers.The World Cup should be seen as a new beginning and the South African tour should be forgotten but the mistakes should be identified and the team should make sure that these mistakes are not repeated. The cricket public has been very patient. It still believes in the Pakistan team has not lost its motivation!