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Santiago gleaned a measure of compensation from a disappointing MetropolitanCricket Cup campaign with a clinical 7-wicket dispatching of a depletedPrince of Wales Country Club (PWCC) line-up at the Craighouse fields onSaturday. The defeat left PWCC in bottom (fourth) place in the2002/3 Chilean cricket season.PWCC openers Clinton Porteous and Dean Ilott started well enough. They puton 51, on an unpredictable pitch and against some genuinely fast bowling.Even Ilott (17), who normally bats like he’s on Valium, got into the actwith some positive shots and sound defense.Porteous was at his dashing best, using his feet well and not afraid to hitover the top. He contributed 31 before he became Santiago skipper JayAnglin’s first victim when he gave mid-off some catching practice.But that was as good as it got for PWCC. Porteous’ dismissal triggered a sadprocession of batsmen to and from the pavilion. Anglin and off-spinner PeteSmith ripped through a sorry middle and lower order that seemed to lack boththe gumption and skill to make a fight of it. Hardly troubling the scorer,the remaining batsmen capitulated from 51/0 to 66 for the loss of 8 wickets(all out). Destroyer-in-chief Anglin’s incisive inswing and looping bouncebagged five wickets, while Smith, playing in his last game in Chile beforeheading home to Australia, took three with his skidding off-spin.The pitch dried during the day, making batting an easier proposition lateron. PWCC’s Ian Scott and Ilott sent back three Santiago batsmen early on torestore some respectability to the scoreline. But Simon Shaulders wasn’tgoing anywhere, and he found a willing ally in Edwin Huysing. The pair sawoff the opening bowlers, and the pie-throwers who followed, knocking off thewinning runs with more than 20 of their allotted 35 overs to spare.But 3rd spot must be cold comfort for Santiago, who must have expected tohave at least made the Metropolitan Cup final. They will be askingthemselves why they saved their best performance for last after losing allthree of their fixtures.For PWCC, it was a poor way to go out after such a strong showing early on.Their unsung bowling attack proved to be a match for the other teams, andtheir fielding was solid, but their glass-jaw middle order just wasn’t goodenough.The day ended with a quick double-wicket beer match, which was played ingood spirits. But I suspect Santiago’s Blair Douglas was drinking shandies.

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India AC Muthiahon Thursday dismissed reports that he had reprimanded captain SouravGanguly for “indisciplined” behaviour on the field during the recentlyconcluded triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka.”I have not spoken to Sourav Ganguly at all. Wrong impressions arebeing created in the media that I have spoken to Ganguly on the issueof his on-field behaviour or the match referee’s action on the Indiancaptain,” Muthiah told PTI in Chennai.Ganguly was handed a one-match suspension by match referee CammieSmith for showing dissent to the umpire after being adjudged legbefore wicket in a league match against New Zealand. The captain wasthen fined 75 per cent of his match fees for his verbal outburstagainst Sri Lankan batsman Russel Arnold in India’s penultimate leaguematch on August 1.Media reports on Thursday said that apart from Muthiah, nationalselectors had also expressed concern over Ganguly’s “whimsicalbehaviour”.

Lancashire handed the National League title they have won for the last two years to Gloucestershire by beating Somerset in a thrilling day-night match at Old Trafford.Somerset were the only team who could overhaul Gloucestershire but they fell 10 runs short of Lancashire’s 236 for four despite a brilliant century from their Australian captain Jamie Cox – with Gloucestershire’s players watching nervously in a Brighton hotel.Lancashire are still virtually certain to be relegated but at least they salvaged some pride despite the absence of four England players – Mike Atherton, Andy Flintoff and the injured John Crawley and Peter Martin.Sourav Ganguly was their hero, scoring his third one-day century of the season after stand-in skipper Warren Hegg had won the toss and chosen to bat.Ganguly, who has failed to score a century in the Championship, made 102 from 137 balls with eight boundaries, sharing stands of 82 with Mark Chilton and 115 in 19 overs with Neil Fairbrother.It took the Indian left-hander’s tally in 11 National League games to 532 runs at an average of almost 60, in addition to 262 runs from four NatWest Trophy innings.Fairbrother also played a key role with another one-day masterclass, scoring 62 from 56 balls with six fours and a pair of sixes over long on.Mark Lathwell gave Somerset’s reply the perfect start with 53 from 83 balls including six stylish boundaries.He was bowled by Gary Keedy but as long as Cox was in, Somerset’s title hopes were very much alive.The Tasmanian cruised to three figures in only 98 balls despite only hitting five boundaries, including a straight six off Chris Schofield.But Schofield played a vital part in Lancashire’s victory, claiming the wickets of Michael Burns and Ian Blackwell and also running out Keith Parsons with a direct hit from backward point.But as so often for Lancashire, it was Ian Austin who applied the finishing touches.Somerset needed 23 from three overs when Austin returned to the attack and he put Somerset under so much pressure that Cox was run out by Glen Chapple.Austin then polished off two wickets in the last over as Lancashire enjoyed only their fifth win of the season.But they will hardly have enjoyed handing the title to Gloucestershire, who virtually condemned them to relegation at Bristol on Monday after beating them at the semi final stage of both the NatWest Trophy and Benson and Hedges Cup earlier this season.

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England’s pace bowlers enjoyed a productive workout as they blew away a strong New Zealand Invitational XI batting line-up on the second day in Dunedin. The match ended in a draw, but that was almost irrelevant as this was never more than an early-tour loosener for the tourists.The home side’s top order contained four players likely to feature in the first Test next week, but replying to England’s overnight 369, they were skittled for 146. Even that represented a recovery as they had been 26 for 5 midway through the morning session. James Anderson and Matthew Hoggard shared six wickets while Steve Harmison grabbed two in a performance which improved after a wayward start.Rather than another two hours batting practice, Michael Vaughan enforced the follow-on and Monty Panesar took two wickets as the NZ Invitational XI closed on 102 for 3.”It’s always nice to knock a few of the batsmen you’re going to play against maybe next week over cheaply,” Vaughan said. “Steve gets better and better the longer he bowls, he was one of the reasons we went out and bowled again.”We’ve learnt a little bit about the conditions and the ball is swinging, which is good for us and hopefully that will continue. Before the game started we came up with a plan that we were going to bat a day and they were going to bat a day, but we bowled them out.”I thought there was an opportunity to get some more wickets and also to get some more overs in our legs as fielders and a bowling unit, which is important because we’ve only got the three-day game to go before the Test. We could have taken the option to bat on for a little bit, but I thought overs in the legs and in the field would be just as important.”The one downer for England was that Ryan Sidebottom was unable to bowl because of a hamstring strain he picked up in the last ODI on Saturday. He will sit out the three-day warm-up match at the same venue starting on Thursday.”We’re not concerned about him for the Test match at this stage and it’s a little bit of a precaution that he’ll miss the three-day game, but he has got a slight problem so there has to be some concern,” Vaughan said. “Hopefully over the next few days he’ll heal fast and he’ll be able to start bowling towards the end of the three-day game or when we arrive in Hamilton (for the first Test).”

PJ Mir, Pakistan’s media manager during the World Cup, has blamed the influence of religion in the dressing room for Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the Caribbean.Speaking to reporters after his appearance at the performance evaluation committee looking into Pakistan’s shambolic display, Mir said, “I could not disclose this fact before, but today I inform the media that most of the members had no focus on cricket. Their fixation was on preaching, affecting the team’s preparations.”Mir complained that the players devoted more time to praying and preaching than to the game itself. “The boys were up against the most challenging task of proving their skills in the prestigious tournament, but I am sorry to say they had no drive for the game and were much more active in preaching and praying.”Mir argued that the religious influence had gone “beyond limits. I told the committee that Pakistani players, rather than pray privately, tried to make it a public spectacle.”Mir added that he told the committee of incidents to highlight his point, highlighting instances where some players, led by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, even made it a point to pray in the galley of aircrafts on flights rather than privately in their seats. He said that there is video evidence to prove his point and is offering to pass it onto the PCB to assess the situation further.Since the England tour last summer, criticism over what is perceived as the team’s overt religiosity has steadily grown. In one of his first public statements after taking over as chairman of the board, Nasim Ashraf called on the team to dampen down ‘public displays of religiosity’ in a TV interview. The remark led to a sharp retort from Inzamam, since when the issue has simmered away under the public radar, a number of PCB officials privately echoing Ashraf’s stance.In a tense press conference last week, Inzamam dismissed speculation of religion taking priority within the team but Mir’s comments have dragged the issue out into the open once again.The evaluation committee began its work last week and has interviewed a number of players and officials, including Inzamam and Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s assistant coach. They are due to meet former chairmen Tauqir Zia and Shaharyar Khan as well and are expected to hand in their report on Pakistan’s debacle within a month.

Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka’s champion offspinner, says he hopes make his mark on what could turn out to be his last Test series in England.”It could be the last tour for me – we may not be back until 2009 or 2010,” he said. “How long my career will last I don’t know, so I have to make it a memorable tour. I hope I can play for another three years – there is still a long way to go. I’ll see after the World Cup how things go.”With 611 Test wickets to his name, Muralitharan, 34, refused to comment on how much further he could take that haul. “It’s very hard to get 1,000 wickets – it could happen or it could not,” he said. “If I play another five years then definitely I suppose I could take another 300 wickets. But I’d be 39 years old by then.”On his performance against Derbyshire yesterday – he took three wicket as the hosts were bowled out for 219 – Muralitharan said he was pleased and hoped it put him in good shape for next month’s first Test at Lords’s. “It’s a big challenge – three Tests I hope to take a few wickets in and go away with happy memories,” he said. “I’m very happy. I bowled well – it was a very slow wicket. I thought it was slow when I played before here, but this was the slowest. I bowled about 28 overs and I’m happy with how I’ve done. I’m just trying to make use of it for practice for the Lord’s Test.”Muralitharan, one of the most controversial cricketers of the modern age, said he was comfortably satisfied with the tests taken on his action. “I’ve done all the tests you can do, and everything has come back fine – so there is nothing to prove any more,” he said. “It doesn’t affect me any more.”Sri Lanka play three Tests and five one-day internationals against England.

The apppointment of Mickey Arthur as South African coach has impressed Graeme Smith, the captain. Smith, who had a short stint with Arthur in the South African A side, said he was an admirer of Arthur’s coaching style and his work ethic.”He gets the best out of his players, and he’s definitely not a soft touch,” said Smith, quoted in The Star. “I was impressed with his work ethic. He’s a disciplined man. His man-management is a key component of his make-up as a coach.”Ray Jennings, who was replaced by Arthur, was often questioned about his unconventional coaching style. When asked about his relationship with Jennings, Smith said, “Jet [Jennings] and I didn’t see eye to eye on certain things, and we had the odd run-in now and then, but that’s a natural part of the captain-coach relationship. It’s good to have those challenges.”We always knew that Jet might not stay. But we’ve had more stability in the team, and the result is that more players have responded well,” he said. “The team is comfortable with the process that has been followed to pick the new coach. Now we have a definite plan going forward.”However, it is said that several players were sad to see Jennings leave and had considered a campaign to retain him as the coach. However, Smith ruled out the possibility of any turmoil within the team due to the new appointment. “When I appealed for stability [after the first Test against England at Port Elizabeth in December], I was talking more about the need for stability within the team.”The team is playing very well at the moment. Our aim is to be No. 1 in the world in both forms of the game, and once we’ve played Australia, we’ll have a better idea of what we need to do to get there.”

Scotland’s miserable start to the season continued as they went down to a 45-run defeat by Essex in the opening round of the C&G Trophy. The result follows back-to-back losses in the National League at the weekend.”I was disappointed and frustrated in losing another game because we had got into a position of strength only to make mistakes," Craig Wright, Scotland’s captain, told the Evening News. “The mistakes we have to eliminate … are getting into a winning position and then losing a couple of wickets as happened, once more, against Essex. Having improved in each of our three games so far I believe we can find a further edge."

Mike Worrell’s choice as Man-Of-The-Match surprised some of the few spectators at Kensington Oval yesterday, including the award winner himself.Worrell, a former Barbados and West Indies "B" wicket-keeper, chose Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best, who took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings, that set up Barbados’ ten-wicket win against bottom-of-the-table West Indies "B"."I was surprised. For the last couple of games, the batsmen have been getting it, and Sherwin [Campbell] made a brilliant 135. I just thought he would have got it," Best said."Carlton Baugh made a fighting hundred as well. That was impressive."Best, one of the fastest and most exciting fast bowlers in the Caribbean this season, is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 35 scalps.With the return of Vasbert Drakes, Pedro Collins and Corey Collymore from West Indies duties, however, his place in the team for the semifinals of the International Challenge is not guaranteed."They are Test players. I would like to do well around them," Best said."I am not thinking about being dropped. I am thinking about Barbados’ cricket in general. If we put out the best team out there and I’m not in it, bad luck for me."In this match, Best was relegated to first-change, with captain Courtney Browne opting to share the new ball with Collymore and Ian Bradshaw."We have a semifinal and a final coming up and we need to give everybody some bowling," Browne said."Tino has not been doing well up front with the new ball. He has been getting most of his wickets with the old ball. Corey Collymore is just back and I thought that he came in and held his own very well."Best echoed Browne’s view about his performance with the new ball."In my first spell, I don’t think I bowl that quick. I try to get my length," he said."It is when I come back for a second spell, it is when I put down everything."

* Prabhakar’s bail plea rejectedA court in Naini Tal on Tuesday rejected a bail petition filed byformer Indian Test cricketer Manoj Prabhakar in a chit fund case,according to police. After hearing the arguments of the prosecutionand defence lawyers, the Naini Tal district judge SC Tiwari rejectedthe bail plea of Prabhakar, who had been remanded to judicial custodytill July 21 according to the Kumaun DIG Vijay Raghav Pant.Prabhakar was arrested by Uttaranchal police from his south Delhioffice earlier this month following a non-bailable arrest warrantissued by the Haldwani Judicial Magistrate in connection with a chitfund company APACE Investment Ltd case on May 11. Police had allegedthat Prabhakar, as director of the company, had defrauded and cheatedpeople while accepting deposits from them.* MSK Prasad to lead Andhra in KSCA tournamentFormer Indian wicketkeeper MSK Prasad would lead Andhra team in theKSCA Diamond Jubilee tournament for the Coromandel Trophy to be playedat Bangalore from August 1. Prasad is making a comeback after aseason’s layoff due to a back injury. Andhra will clash with KSCA XIfrom Aug 1 to 3, Andhra Cricket Association secretary N Venkata Raosaid in a release in Vijayawada on Tuesday.The following is the team: MSK Prasad (captain-wicket keeper), NMadhukar (vice-captain), Amit Pathak, Y Venugopala Rao, YS Ranganath,H Watekar, LN Prasad Reddy, KS Shabuddin, GN Srinivasa Rao, RV CHPrasad, I Srinivas, KA Fayaz Ahmed, Y Gnaneswara Rao and PAVN Raju.Reserves: TS Prasad, ASK Varma, Md Faiq and G Sankara Rao. Coach: KSBhaskara Ramamurthy.