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CS Nayudu, the great cricketer of the Holkar era and younger brother of India’s first Test captain CK Nayudu, passed away at a hospital in Indore early Friday morning. The 88-year-old Nayudu was ailing for some time. He leaves behind two sons and two daughters.Born on April 18, 1914 at Nagpur, Cottari Subbanna Nayudu or ‘CS’ as he was known, made his Test debut at the relatively young age of 19 years and 262 days againt England at Calcutta. He went on play 11 Tests in all (four against Australia and seven against England) scoring 147 runs at 9.18 while also claiming two wickets at 179.5. He was, though, a much better players than his record suggests.In Ranji Trophy, he played for Central India, Baroda, Holkar, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in 56 matches, scoring 2575 runs at 30.29 and claiming 295 wickets at 23.47 by bowling his right-arm leg breaks and googlies. In 1944-45, he bowled 156.5 six-ball overs for Holkar against Mumbai which remains a record for the highest number of overs in a first-class match to date.His cremation will take place in the evening. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association officials and the cricketing fraternity of Madhya Pradesh have condoled his death.

Hampshire’s Academy side have taken a significant step towards achieving "gold" status in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League’s Division 1 next season.They ended Lymington’s six-match winning spurt by nicking a two-wicket win over the New Forest club on the Rose Bowl Nursery ground to enhance their position as Division 2 leaders.It was largely due to an undefeated 64 by Chris Benham, who complimented an earlier all-round bowling performance of some promise, that the Young Hawks achieved their goal.Three-wicket medium-pace duo James Manning and David Wheeler, both members of Hampshire’s Under-17 side, and leg spinner Ian Hilsum caught the eye as Lymington were restricted to 178-9 in 50 overs.But it was Benham, who has produced a series of sound batting performances after coming down from Loughborough UCCE, who lifted Hampshire from a worrying 56-4 and through a late order collapse to seal victory with seven balls of the match to spare.Over 200 regular first team Hampshire supporters, disenchanted with their side’s performance against Lancashire, at least had something to cheer as they lined the grassy Nursery ground banks to watch Tony Middleton’s youngsters in the field."The great thing about our bowling was the way the young guys, Manning and Wheeler performed."It was a good wicket which gripped a bit. If you hit the seam, it always had a chance of doing something," Middleton said.The Academy’s accurate bowling – which wasn’t worthy of the 20 wides conceded – certainly kept the normally free-flowing Lymington batsmen in their shells.By the 25-over halfway drinks point, Lymington had reached 89-3, with Aaron Heal (23) following Glyn Treagus and Danny Peacock back into the pavilion.Hilsum (2-31), whose direct-throw ran out Peacock, proved particularly difficult to get away after the new-ball pair had finished their initial stints.Having got Heal with his second delivery, the former Ventnor leggie tied down both Ben Craft (46) and Matt Molloy (28), who took Lymington on to 113 before the youngster was `yorked’ by the returning Wheeler, who finished with 3-24 off 11 overs.Once Craft hoisted a high return catch to Manning (3-41), Lymington’s innings lost any kind of thrust – the final ten overs yielding a mere 32 runs for the loss of four more wickets.When Iain Brunnschweiler (24) and Martin Bushell eased the Young Hawks to 42-0, it appeared Lymington’s 178-9 might be overhauled with some comfort.But Lymington came fighting back, with the Academy losing three wickets for just two runs at one point – two of them to balding seamer Trevor Phillips (2-26), who at one stage bowled 24 consecutive deliveries without conceding a run."We came back very well, showing a lot of character," praised captain Peacock, who provided Dave Coles with one of three victims by luring Bushell out of his crease.From 56-4 Benham, with a series of crisp cover and straight drives, and Wheeler reasserted Hampshire’s grip on proceedings with the 75-run partnership which was to decide the match.Wheeler, the hugely promising teenage New Milton all-rounder, twice flicked sixes off his legs over the fence and way on to the golf course fairway.It appeared as the duo might carry the Hawks home, but when the Australian Heal trapped Wheeler leg before, the county hopefuls wobbled alarmingly.Three wickets went down for 15 runs as the Academy slipped to 146-7.But Lymington were unable to shift Benham, whose growing maturity and support from Hilsum proved essential – and an eventual Hampshire match winner."The good thing is that we’ve been winning a few close games lately," said Middleton, after an anxious finale to the game."Chris batted really well, as he has done all season. I’m very pleased with him."The Young Hawks’ win sets up an intriguing tussle at second-placed Easton & Martyr Worthy next week.Easton effectively ended United Services title prospects with a thumping 118-run victory at Burnaby Road.

For the second time running, Australia fashioned an emphatic 9-wicket victory with 30 overs to spare to leave Pakistan wondering how far they have to improve not just to win (that thought must have been farthest from their minds) but to make a fist of it.The only thing that went right for Waqar Younis, the much-beleaguered Pakistan skipper these days, in this dress rehearsal of the final on Saturday was the toss. When he elected to bat first this time round, he must have expected that his batsmen would redeem themselves after a most pathetic display the other day. They capitulated as badly, putting together just 117 before bowing out. What is worse, they seemed to have learnt nothing from their impulsive and indiscreet batting in the previous game against the Aussies.Pakistan was below strength, and their combinations and balance rather lopsided, and Australia were as clinically efficient as they normally are. But it really was Pakistan’s lack of application which made the Aussies look really formidable. That they were the best team in the world was never in dispute; that the second-best with pretensions of upstaging them would be exposed so thoroughly again was shocking.Adam Gilchrist (15, 14 balls, 3 fours) and Mathew Hayden (unbeaten 59, 49 balls, 9 fours) started off in a typical aggressive fashion. The intention obviously was to further rub in Pakistan’s inadequacy by finishing the match as quickly as possible. Having taken fours off three fours of Younis, Gilchrist failed to read a slower one and played him on. That was the only success to come Pakistan’s way. Ricky Ponting immediately pulled Younis to square-leg boundary and then Abdul Razzaq (pressed into service early as Shoaib Akhtar walked off the field with a pulled hip muscle in his second over) to the point fence for four and then a majestic six at mid-wicket.In glorious form, Hayden at the other end kept taking fours from Waqar, Razzaq and Azhar to march to the quickest 50 of the tournament, of just 41 deliveries while Ponting didn’t return after the lunch break, opting to rest himself after he found some discomfort in one leg. But there was nothing to worry. Damien Martyn made 20, with the help of 4 fours, the last of these off Azhar Mahmood in the covers sealing the win.Pakistan for its part had been bowled out of the game with the three frontline Aussie pacemen between them getting nine wickets. While Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath made early inroads, a four-wicket burst from Brett Lee, later adjudged Man of the Match, made even a semblance of a fightback impossible. Though Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis made a last ditch effort, which took the Pakistan total into three figures, but the resistance was eventually sniffed out, the innings folding for 117, in 32.3 overs.But more than the lethalness of the Aussie pace trio, it was the laden-footed, reckless Pakistani batting which brought doom on itself. With the two best partnerships of the innings coming from the eighth and ninth wicket, lack of responsibility and commitment of the upper order was so conspicuous.Imran Nazir (7, off 23 balls), inducted in place of Wasim Akram opting out with a niggling leg injury, was caught low in the covers by Martyn off Gillespie. Then McGrath dealt a double blow in the 11th over, and it started the procession. Driving him on the back foot away from his body, Shoaib Malik gave Ponting the first of three catches at second slip. In good form of late, Younis Khan tried to essay a forcing stroke too early, his cut ending in Gilchrist’s gloves. Three for 24 was soon four for 33 as Lee got Saeed Anwar (22, 39 balls, 3 fours) in his first over. Anwar had only just started finding the gaps and hit McGrath, Gillespie and Lee for three exquisite fours. Lee bounced back next ball with a rising delivery, inducing the top edge which Warne grabbed with joy.That was the start of a purple patch for Lee, as he got a wicket in each of his first three overs. Azhar Mahmood hit him for a four through mid-wicket, but over-confidence did him in as he drove one straight into Ponting’s hands. Razzaq came in at Azhar’s fall, but was clean bowled before scoring, playing an apalling shot off Warne. A squared-up Afridi too was dismissed, Ponting taking his third catch. At seven for 48 in the 18th over, Pakistan were down and out.Rashid Latif and Misbah tried to put a partnership together, with the latter clouting two sixes to Warne at long-on. Rashid swept well for a four off Warne and got another boundary by guiding Lee over the top of slips. But Lee prevailed as Rashid drove one uppishly and Martyn brought off another good catch in the covers.Misbah (39, off 49 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) continued to play well, adding 44 in 60 balls for the ninth wicket with Younis. This retrieved the situation somewhat, but it was never going to be enough. Misbah, having gloriously driven Lee and Gillespie for fours in the covers, perished while trying to guide the latter for four a second time through the slips. That gave Gilchrist the world record for most catches in ODIs, 195 to Ian Healy’s previous-best, 194. Younis (24 off 36 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) having clouted Warne for six over mid-wicket and driving and pulling Lee for fours at covers and mid-wicket was bowled by McGrath to bring the innings to a close.

Manicaland made Matabeleland toil for two sessions at Mutare Sports Clubyesterday afternoon after winning the toss and batting in favourableconditions. Having hit 269 for three it’s impossible to envisage a way theycan lose the game, but coming in on four successive first-class defeats itwould still take courage to put meaningful money on them. Matabeleland hasyet to win a game themselves this season so this result will decide the footof the table.The first session was lost because overnight rain caused a wet patch on oneof the bowlers’ delivery creases. Despite the recent acquisition ofTest-size covers, ground staff tipped water onto the playing area whilstremoving them before start of play. To speed things up a burning barbecuehalf-drum was positioned above the patch and left to smolder for two hours.Manicaland owe their strong position to a splendid unbeaten 137 from captainNeil Ferreira. It was his highest first-class score to date, his third ofthe season and the sixth of his career. Offering only one chance on 88, hiscontrol was total — being particularly severe off the back foot through thecovers. Even before the innings he was talking of a possible move nextseason to Harare to further his prospects. His record and commitmentcontinue to be ignored by the selectors– even at A team level. As withcricket all over the world, to get noticed you need to play in the capitalcity. It’s ironic that senior players like Alistair Campbell, Andy Flowerand Paul Strang have moved away from Harare this season to rediscoverteam-values and spirit in Manicaland.After an opening stand of 126 with 16-year-old schoolboy Tino Mawoyo (37),Ferreira was joined by Leon Soma who blitzed a smoking 52-ball 75. His styleof controlled mayhem is a psychological crusher from number three. `Pommie’Mbangwa – recently back from Zimbabwe’s tour of India — was launched forconsecutive overs of 18 and 15.Missing Heath Streak — required on the family farm during the biggestcrisis to face the Zimbabwe farming community — the Matabeleland attacklacked the firepower to overcome a benign pitch. Opening bowler MattTownshend – son of team-manager and ex national off-spinner `Dobbo’ – wasthe best – mixing up in-swingers and slow balls — but even he could notovercome the conditions. With half-an-hour being added to the second dayManicaland will look to score quickly and declare by tea to give themselvesa chance of bowling the opposition out twice.

After the tightest finish imaginable to the Benson and Hedges Cup semi-final at Old Trafford, emotions were running high. In the Warwickshire camp, with the prospect of a Lord’s final on June 22nd against Essex, there was jubilation. The home dressing room was an altogether more sombre place.Warwickshire’s Neil Smith, who played a vital role with bat and ball, might be coming up to his 35th birthday, but he had all the enthusiasm of a teenager as he reflected on an epic contest, won when Neil Carter swept the last ball for four.”What a game, really exciting. It swung both ways throughout – but we just did it in the end," said Smith. “We got the early wickets, but then they got a stand together. Then it was the same story through our innings as well. They bowled well, and we kept losing wickets at the wrong time.”But we bat right down. Neil opened on Sunday, and there he is batting number 11 here. But he proved he was up to it. We knew if we could get it down to 30 or so to win with five or six overs left we would be pretty close. In the end we were right, and Neil finished it off for us.”On the other side, Lancashire’s cricket manager, Mike Watkinson, had to accept different emotions. “It was one of those days where you think you have a good fighting chance, but a wicket here or a partnership on the other side keeps making one team and then the other the favourite.”You can’t start saying we lost it off the last ball any more than we lost it off the first. There was no difference between the teams really. It was neck and neck all the way.”They need three runs to win off the last ball. There is a very fine line in this game between success and failure. If he had bottom-edged it on to his boot we would have been jumping up and down. But he gets it down to fine leg for four, and for us it is the opposite emotion.”Watkinson would have liked his team to have had the opportunity to show their worth at Lord’s. “It would have been nice to have gone one stage further – but it is not to be. You cannot knock the character and fighting spirit of this team, and today was no exception.”There are some extremely disappointed people in that dressing room, but they will come back and play some good cricket in the games ahead,” he added.

Mark Lavine, the 28-year-old Barbadian-born North West all-rounder, died suddenly after suffering a heart attack while playing Birmingham League cricket on Saturday.A cousin of Gordon Greenidge, Lavine made his first-class debut for Barbados in 1992/93 and later that season toured South Africa with Barbados. He was offered a three-month club contract at the end of the tour and eventually settled in South Africa, marrying Patricia in Johannesburg last year.He became a South African citizen and hoped eventually to be selected for his adopted country.According to Vasbert Drakes, another Bajan who has made an impact on South African cricket with Border, Lavine had achieved the consistency of performance which could have brought him success at international level.In nine SuperSport Series matches last summer Lavine scored 477 runs at 29.81, including a first-class highest score of 113 against Border, and took 30 wickets. Including three five-wicket returns, at 33.61.”We were extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Mark Lavine,who was one of the real stars of South African provincial cricket,” saidUnited Cricket Board president Percy Sonn on Sunday.

Captain Ricky Ponting said not even matchwinner Michael Bevan was an automatic selection in the Australian one-day team tomorrow as selectors face the toughest choice of the South African tour.They must drop one of the in-form batsmen for the day-night clash in Durban if Bevan recovers from the hamstring strain which has sidelined him for the last three matches.The left-hander has batted in the nets, suggesting he is ready to return to a batting line-up which has driven Australia to a 3-0 lead with three matches to play.In-form Queenslander Jimmy Maher shapes as the most likely casualty if Bevan returns, but Ponting was reluctant to discuss the possibilities as he awaited a phone call from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.”It will be a hard decision now but we haven’t spoken about it yet,” Ponting said.”I don’t think anyone is an automatic selection but who do you leave out if you put Bevo in? That’s the hard thing.”Jimmy has performed well and most of the batters have done a good job in all of the games. It’s going to be very hard to slot him back in.”Despite Ponting’s caution, Bevan would be a certain inclusion because of his excellent record in one-day internationals, boasting the best batting average of anyone to have played more than five matches.He dragged Australia to a desperate victory over New Zealand earlier this season with a century at the MCG, confirming his reputation as the most reliable batsman in the game.If Bevan, Ponting and Adam Gilchrist are rated definite starters, selectors must drop one out of Maher, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn or Darren Lehmann incricket’s version of musical chairs.Each of those four players has performed during the series especially Maher, who received the man-of-the-match award in the second and third games when calledin for Bevan.He followed that with a valuable 14 not out from 12 balls in Australia’s 37-run victory in the fourth match in Bloemfontein last Saturday.Lehmann has been excellent in the series, helping Ponting in his first matches as captain, while Hayden has been promised an extended run as opener, scoring 79 in the tied match in Potchefstroom last week.Martyn has regained speed at No.4 after a scratchy run with scores of 42, 35 and 24, not making the job any easier for selectors.But that could change if Australia wraps up the series tomorrow, with Ponting indicating selectors could try different combinations in the final matches in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.”I want to win every game we play and if we put our best team on the park then it’s going to make the job a bit easier,” Ponting said.”We have to win the series first but we might try a different combination for the last couple of games if we win this one.”South African selectors face their own problems as they try to work fast bowler Nantie Hayward back into the team.Captain Shaun Pollock has already admitted Hayward’s recovery from an ankle injury left a question mark over the best combination for the Proteas, who have used Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Roger Telemachus in three of the four matches.

The National Cricket Academy was launched in Bangalore on May 1. Butvery soon Chennai laid a claim to hosting the NCA, thanks to an offerof ground to be made available by the Tamil Nadu government in thesuburbs. However with the Karnataka government making a similar offer,it was always on the cards that Bangalore would stay as the home ofthe NCA, given the built in advantages of better weather and readyinfrastructure.But Chennai was always the favourite as the venue to host the Zonalbranch of the NCA. And now things are getting into place for thesouthern metropolis hosting the zonal academy at the MA Chidambaramstadium.In fact, Ashok Kumbhat, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, isconfident that the zonal academy will start functioning in April.Talking to CricInfo on Friday, he said that the two-member committeeof former Indian cricketers, Polly Umrigar and Brijesh Patel, who areconsultant and coordinator of the NCA inspected the existingfacilities at the stadium on Wednesday.”They were more than happy with the facilities available. What islacking among the list of items required for the academy is a swimmingPool,” he said.While the swimming pool could be got ready only after obtaining thesanction of the TNCA executive committee, a gymnasium and rooms toaccommodate 25 trainees drawn from the six southern state units of theBCCI would be built soon, Kumbhat said.Umrigar and Patel also insisted on visiting the accommodation wherethe boys are likely to be housed. They also inspected a warehouse tostore academy property, according to Kumbhat. Where the practicepitches are concerned, the TNCA is more than well equipped. While onlyfour practice pitches are needed for the academy, the TNCA has eightsuch wickets.Meanwhile, G Kasturirangan and Dhiraj Parsana, members of the pitchcommittee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India visited theChidambaram stadium on Friday in connection with the conduct of thethird Test match between India and Australia to be played from March18 to 22. According to Kumbhat, they expressed satisfaction with thepitch and the facilities at the ground.

The East Zone wing of the National Cricket Academy run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started functioning in Kolkata. The camp is being conducted by the former Test opener Arun Lal. Assisting him are Barun Burman from Bengal, Randhir Singh of Bihar and Jimut Mohanty of Orissa. However, the highlight of the Academy is the participation of Dr. Vece Paes, who incidentally is the father of India’s tennis star Leander Paes.The Cricket Association of Bengal initially had objected to the appointment of Dr Paes in the Academy. He is performing the role of a physical trainer. Initially, the CAB had planned to appoint some former cricketer of the state to perform the role. It was at Arun Lal’s insistence that the CAB was forced to accept Dr. Paes. Giving the reasons for his choice, Lal said on Wednesday, “To me he is the best man in the country as far as Sports Medicine is concerned. He can really work wonders with young kids.Being a former Olympian himself, he can understand the psychology of a sports person better than anyone else. That is why, I have brought him to the Academy.” Lal said that the camp will continue for two months and the emphasis will be on fitness. “I want to increase the physical ability, endurance and fitness of the cricketers in the Academy to the highest level.” The cricketers are going through their practice drills in two sessions. The morning session consists of physical exercise, swimming and fielding drills. The afternoon session is restricted to only fielding and batting.” The former Test opener who had earlier coached the senior Bengal team felt that it was easier to coach youngsters. “They listen to your advice. The seniors come as a much more hardened lot. They are not willing to change.”The Academy is being run in the same manner that Rodney Marsh runs theCommonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Adelaide. Bowlers have been askedto bowl a maximum of 40 deliveries per day. The cricketers have alsobeen given a file where they have been asked to write a daily reporton their performance.

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has said that he feared for his career while New Zealand Cricket was investigating his latest incident of misconduct – “intoxicated and rowdy” behaviour at a hotel during an indoor cricket tournament in the first week of July. NZC fined Ryder but warned that another incident, in addition to several in the past, would have more serious consequences.”It went on for quite a while as New Zealand Cricket was investigating what actually happened,” Ryder told . “I was actually thinking that this could have been it for me. But luckily they’ve given me one last chance.”Now I know that I have to keep my head down, keep training hard and force my way back in the side. This is pretty much a wakeup call for me. I just have to stay home now and try and stay away from all the off-field distractions so I don’t get in trouble out in public. I’m pretty desperate to stay on the right track and be a Black Cap [New Zealand player].”Ryder said he had apologised to the hotel for his behaviour after a noise complaint was lodged with the board but Geoff Allott, NZC’s general manger of cricket, said the matter was viewed “very seriously”.”The simple answer is that if the same thing happened again in the same circumstances, then yes [his contract would be in danger],” Allott said. “Circumstances, I would say, have to be considered but if something similar happened again, Jesse knows the consequences. He has got some extra parameters outside the other 19 contracted players and he’s accepted that. There’s some clarity now around instances, particularly involving alcohol and that’s important.”Heath Mills, the head of the New Zealand players’ association, said NZC was doing what it could to back Ryder. “They are remaining relatively firm but aren’t going to support any further instance of alcohol-related misconduct. If that happens again, their support will not be what it has been. The one person who suffers the most here is Jesse. It means fewer opportunities for him to score runs, take wickets or earn income.”The shame of it is Jesse has been making some genuine gains, training hard and getting fitter. He just has to be responsible for his actions. The trouble is those who hang out with him also need to take some responsibility and reflect on their roles in his life.”The most serious of Ryder’s indiscretions came in 2008 when he put his right hand through a glass window during a late-night session at a Christchurch bar. Early last year he gave up alcohol after another incident. Ryder is presently out of the New Zealand side because of fitness reasons and will miss the tri-series in Sri Lanka, though he is expected to be fit for the tour of Bangladesh that follows.