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After a seesaw first day at Lord’s, Steve Harmison reflected on England’s fluctuating fortunes. The team received a rousing ovation from the MCC members when they went back through the Long Room at lunch, with Australia 97 for 5, and it was almost as if the Ashes were coming home already: “At lunchtime I thought we’d won, and I’d forgotten to pinch a stump.”Reality set in later, however. “I don’t think the pitch is as bad as 17 wickets describes,” said Harmison. “The team’s pretty disappointed with the way the second half of the day went.”But he was delighted with the way his own bowling went. “My plans worked – from early on the ball bounced a bit, so the idea was to get the batsmen on the back foot, then drag them forward a bit.”Plan A worked perfectly for Ricky Ponting, possibly helped by a smack on the cheek not long before. “That was ideal – I pushed him onto the back foot then pitched one up and he nicked it to slip. I was more pleased getting him out than hitting him on the head, though.”England’s master plan started to unravel when it came to their turn to bat. Glenn McGrath bowled superbly, helped by a bit of uneven bounce, and Harmison admitted ruefully: “If Vaughany and Fred had had eight-foot-wide bats I think they would still have got bowled. But McGrath’s 500 wickets – that’s a phenomenal achievement, He doesn’t have to prove any points, 110 Tests and 500 wickets says it all.”McGrath himself was only faintly embarrassed by the 500-wicket ballyhoo, which included the 12th man sprinting out with a special pair of “500” boots. “Yes, my sponsor made them up, and I was going to change into them later. But Kasper [Michael Kasprowicz] and some of the boys ran them out to me. I’m not much of a show-pony, but today I thought I deserved it!”McGrath could hardly have chosen a more appropriate stage than Lord’s for his 500th victim. “I couldn’t have scripted it any better,” he admitted. “I thought about it for the first time at breakfast this morning, which is a bit surprising I suppose, and there were a few butterflies first thing.”The big moment was made even more special as his family were all at Lord’s. “My wife Jane, James and Holly [children], and my mother and father are here. Everyone’s here for me.”He was just as pleased with Australia’s overall position: “In the end 190 was a good effort, as it’s an ordinary pitch batting-wise. There was probably a bit too much inconsistency for the first day of a Test. But getting them 7 for 92 at the end of play, you couldn’t ask for much better than that. Next innings hopefully our blokes will knuckle down and get a big score.”Like Harmison, McGrath stuck to a plan and found that it worked. “When we batted it was the guys that hit the deck hard – Harmison, Flintoff and Jones – that got a bit out of it. I found that I needed to bowl a slightly fuller length, and then the ball tended to come down the slope more than I’ve usually found here – all five wickets came like that really.”The on-field atmosphere was pleasant, too: “Yes, I even had a couple of friendly chats with the non-striker, when I wasn’t bowling! I think the series will be like that – hard on the field, but pretty friendly off it.”Someone asked whether McGrath had seen all the pre-match hype about how the Australian fast bowlers were over the hill and ready for a pasting. He smiled. “Yeah, I had a bit of a laugh when I read it.”And overall there were more Aussies than Poms laughing after the first day.

Geoffrey Boycott, the former England opener and current television commentator, is to spend a couple of days offering batting tips to the Indian team, reports the Press Trust of India. Jahmohan Dalmiya, the Indian board president, has said that Boycott will spend time with the national team and at the National Cricket Academy as part of the board’s initiative to bring specialist coaches in to the system.Boycott will spend two days with the senior team in Chennai on July 4 and 5 during their training camp ahead of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. After India leave for Sri Lanka, Boycott moves to Bangalore where he will help train young hopefuls at the academy.”It has been our endeavour to bring in more and more specialists for the benefit of youngsters,” said Dalmiya in a statement. Recently Jonty Rhodes, the former South African batsman and fielding sensation, visited the NCA, while Sandy Gordon, widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading sports psychologists, has also conducted sessions at various levels.Boycott has already interacted with many Indian cricketers during the course of his media responsibilities. His thick Yorkshire accent and forthright views, coupled with his fulsome praise for Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, have long made him a favourite with the fans in India. His battle against cancer was well-documented in the Indian media and you can be sure that fans will be happy to see Boycs back in action in India.

XXXX Queensland Bulls Lee Carseldine will have further scans today onhis injured back as part of his bid to be fit for this week’s Pura CupFinal against NSW at the Gabba.Carseldine, who was troubled by the injury during the week Bulls loss toNSW last week, will visit the Radiology Department at St Andrew’sHospital in North Street, Spring Hill.He will also have a light batting session in the turf nets at AllanBorder Field at Albion today as part of his assessment.The Bulls squad will assemble tomorrow for their first training sessionof Final week. The team for the Final is expected to be named latertomorrow once the selectors and coaching staff have assessed theavailability of the injured trio of Stuart Law (wrist), Joe Dawes (back)and Carseldine.NSW will announce their team today and their arrival time on Wednesday.Tickets for the Final will be on sale on match days, with gates openingat 9am and playing commencing at 10am. Adult tickets are $10 andchildren U-16 and full pensioners are $2.

Of 278 test matches played by Pakistan till now, 125 were home games while 153 have been played away. The 125 home tests were contested at 12 test centres, including Dacca (now Dhaka), which remained Pakistan’s regular test venue from 1955 to 1971. In fact, Dacca has the unique distinction of staging the country’s inaugural test match at home in 1955. The 153 away-tests have been played at 43 test centres, again including Dhaka, the neutral ground in Bangladesh where Pakistan won the final of the Asian Test Championship 1998-99 against Sri Lanka. Of the remaining 42 test centres where Pakistan have played test matches, 11 are in India, 6 each in England, Australia and New Zealand, 5 in West Indies, 3 each in Sri Lanka and South Africa and 2 in Zimbabwe. The most number of test matches at home have been played at Karachi (35). Lord’s is the test centre outside Pakistan, where they have played the most number of matches (11). Colombo (Sri Lanka), Mumbai and Chennai in India and Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi at home have staged test matches on more than one ground. Presented below is the complete break-up of Pakistan’s performance at each test centre:

Performance outside Pakistan

India

England

New Zealand

Australia

West Indies

Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe

South Africa

BANGLADESH

Note: Pakistan played one test match at neutral ground (Dhaka) – the final of Asian Test Championship against Sri Lanka in 1998-99.

Summary of results of away test matches

Pakistan Test Centres

Performance at home

Summary of results of matches at home

ScorecardFile photo: Shahbaz Nadeem collected 7 for 64•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jharkhand’s left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem finished with career-best figures of 7 for 64, helping his team open their Ranji account with a 133-run victory against Kerala in Malappuram. Kerala, who came into the final day still needing 246 runs for a win, were dealt an early blow when Rohan Prem was trapped lbw off the fourth ball of the day. Akshay Kodoth (72) and Sachin Baby led a min-recovery, stringing together a 52-run partnership, but Baby’s wicket sparked a collapse that led to Kerala losing their last eight wickets for just 56 runs. Nadeem ran through the lower middle order on his way to collecting 7 for 64, as Kerala were bowled out for 183 inside 64 overs. 707 for 8 declared (Bist 220*, Bains 161, Dhawan 114) drew with Hyderabad 434 (Agarwal 118, Vihari 101, More 4-84) and 2 for 0
ScorecardRobin Bist’s unbeaten 220 and Rishi Dhawan’s 114 helped Himachal Pradesh amass a huge first-innings total of 707 for 8, as they took away three points from their drawn game against Hyderabad.HP resumed from an overnight score of 402 for 5 and added 305 runs in the 72 overs that they batted on the day, as Bist and Dhawan shared a 175-run partnership. Hyderabad’s captain Hanuma Vihari used as many as 10 bowlers in search of breakthroughs, three of whom conceded well over 100 runs. With HP batting out most of the day and only a few overs left, the two captains shook hands after the visitors batted for 13 overs, making just two runs in that period. For his unbeaten double-ton that featured 23 fours and one six, HP’s Bist was adjudged the Man of the Match.

A wicket from the last ball of the day for Matthew Nicholson has given Western Australia the edge at stumps on day two of their Pura Cup clash against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.The Warrior paceman ripped out Jeff Vaughan’s off stump with a delivery that stayed down after the batsman had let it go. That wicket, the third that South Australia surrendered in the space of just over three overs at the end of the day, left the hosts reeling at 5/133.After captain Darren Lehmann’s unfortunate run out, the Redbacks lost a further two wickets for the addition of just five runs. Nicholson was the main destroyer, snaring the last two wickets in the final over of the day.The lanky right arm bowler was close to the best of the Western Australian attack today, with 2/42 off his 14.5 overs. Conceding 40 runs off his 17 overs for one wicket, chinaman bowler Brad Hogg was also in top form. And Jo Angel, who conceded just 14 runs from his seven overs, was typically economical.The Warriors will be looking for early wickets tomorrow to finish off the South Australian lower order and possibly enforce the follow on. South Australia’s hopes, meanwhile, will rest principally with 27-year-old batsman Ben Johnson, who is averaging 34 in domestic first class cricket. The hosts trail by 347 runs with only five wickets in hand.Earlier in the day, the Redbacks had been provided with a solid start by opener Shane Deitz. The 25-year-old played a typically patient and watchful innings today, bringing up his third half century in what is only his fifth first class match. Deitz’s fifty, which came from 128 balls, included four boundaries.Darren Lehmann, at the other end, scored at a quicker rate, posting 38 off 52 deliveries. Together with Deitz, he recorded a 50-run partnership, the highest of the Redback innings, from 101 balls.But just when those two looked settled, Deitz set off for a suicidal single off Warrior captain Tom Moody’s first ball. The throw from Ryan Campbell at mid wicket was an accurate one and, by the time that Lehmann reached his crease, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist had already dislodged the bails. The Redback captain’s innings contained four boundaires.Next in, Jason Gillespie quickly signalled his intentions with a boundary to get off the mark. But the Redbacks ran into even more trouble soon after, when Deitz was trapped lbw by Nicholson for 60.Earlier in the final session, Australian Test hopeful Greg Blewett had failed to catch the selectors’ eyes, scoring just two runs off 21 deliveries. Blewett, who lingered before walking to the pavilion, was clearly unhappy about the caught and bowled decision that brought about his demise. Left armer Hogg, however, was delighted at having held the low catch off the Redback’s bat.Blewett’s counterpart and occasional Australian teammate Damien Martyn (122) enjoyed a better day. A philosophical Martyn, who averaged 60 in Australia’s last Test series against New Zealand, says he knows Ricky Ponting’s recovery from injury will leave him out of the national team for the start of this summer’s Test series against the West Indies.”I haven’t been really worrying about that. I’ve just started my season and am going about my job,” he said. “I’d like to play Test cricket again. I got to play Test cricket in New Zealand and it was a lucky break and if I just keep making runs, you never know, anything could happen. If I’m not there in the first Test, I won’t be too unhappy about it.”Martyn’s ton was good, but Gilchrist’s early in the day was just superb. The Australian vice-captain, who had come to the crease when Martyn was at 58, even found his way to his century before his partner. Along the way, he belted 12 fours and two sixes to finish with 102 off 99 deliveries.He punished all the Redback bowlers, striking boundaries off even the accurate and economical Gillespie. He eventually fell to Peter McIntyre, missing a drive and watching the ball dislodge his off-stump instead. Martyn later described Gilchrist’s sparkling innings as a real bonus for his team.

Bengal batsman Writam Porel was hospitalised on Friday after being hit behind his left ear while fielding at a close-in position in a club match between East Bengal and Bhowanipore.Porel, 26, was fielding at forward short leg in the final of the AN Ghosh Trophy, a three-day league tournament organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal, when he turned to protect himself against a pull shot played by Bhowanipore batsman Prinan Datta. Porel said he was hit under the left ear despite wearing a helmet.The incident brought back memories of the death of former Bengal Under-19 captain Ankit Keshri, who coincidentally suffered the fatal accident while playing for East Bengal against the same opponents, Bhowanipore, in April. Keshri collided with a team-mate while fielding as a substitute and later suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital a few days later. Porel, incidentally, was fielding at point when Keshri collided with the bowler, Sourav Mondal.”It was paining but I was conscious,” Porel told ESPNcricinfo. “Fortunately we were playing at the Eden Gardens so there was an ambulance.” Porel was taken to the nearby Nightingale Hospital where Keshri had passed away. According to Porel, there is swelling and stiffness behind his left ear and the doctors have told him the results of the MRI scan would be revealed by Saturday afternoon.Porel, who has played 10 first-class matches for Bengal between 2010 and 2012, admitted the Keshri incident immediately crossed his mind after he was hit on Friday. “I was scared because Ankit was my team-mate, but it is all right. I’m fine. The doctors have told me there might be a partial tear but nothing about any injury to my brain,” he said.

ScorecardSouth Africa A eased to an eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe Select at the Harare Sports Club, taking a little over an hour to score the 88 runs they needed to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.Zimbabwe’s only hope was to make early breakthroughs, and those did not come as Morne van Wyk and Paul Harris extended their second-innings stand to 82 before Harris holed out in the deep off Stuart Matsikenyeri. But van Wyk and Hashim Amla knocked off the remaining 14 needed with no alarms.Zimbabwe will take heart from this performance in which they held their own in the first innings, but they are still struggling in terms of technique with their batting and consistency in their bowling. It should also be noted that despite the team’s name, this is almost a full Zimbabwe XI and almost all of the side will face a full-strength South Africa in three ODIs later this month.Brendan Taylor should return from his self-imposed exile for the second match with starts at Bulawayo on Monday, and Terry Duffin may also get his chance after yet another failure at the top of the order by Tino Mawoyo.

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.

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.