Tasmania 8 for 234 (Dawson 55, Bichel 5-64) v Queensland
Scorecard

Andy Bichel grabbed five wickets as Queensland enjoyed the better of a gloomy opening day of their Pura Cup match against Tasmania at The Gabba.Bichel finished with 5 for 64 after Tasmania were put in, but the visitors’ batsmen dug deep in difficult conditions and closed on 8 for 234, a commendable achievement given the circumstances.On a green pitch and with low cloud cover, it was always going to be a day which favoured the bowlers, and so dull was it that the floodlights were on for most of the afternoon and evening sessions.Tasmania, without the injured Michael Bevan and Dan Marsh, lost two wickets inside the first 35 minutes before David Dawson (55) and Travis Birt (48) combined to add 87 for the third wicket. It was a disappointing day for Jamie Cox, who was playing a record-equalling 159th Pura Cup appearance, as he nibbled Bichel to Chris Hartley, the wicketkeeper, for 6 to become Bichel’s 600th first-class wicket. It could have been worse for Tasmania, but Dawson was dropped three times in the slips.After Dawson became Hartley’s second victim – off the bowling of Andrew Symonds – Tasmania slipped to 6 for 140, but a gutsy, unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 56 between Xavier Doherty (37 not out) and Adam Griffith (22 not out) defied Queensland again. Doherty nearly came to blows with Mitchell Johnson, Queensland’s erratic fast bowler, when he narrowly avoided a beamer, but the pair survived to the close.”It was very disappointing,” said Queensland coach Terry Oliver. “I’m not that happy but Tasmania gutsed it out and full credit to them.”

Discounting the occasional one-off charity matches which have grown in quantity of late, and which often are not that representative of genuine world sides, games involving Rest of the World teams have taken place surprisingly rarely. Until the 1960s, transport was the major obstacle to assembling the top players in the same place at the same time, but the expansion of accessible air travel, allied to television providing the financial muscle to support such ventures, meant that dreams became reality.Nevertheless, the earliest recorded first-class match featuring a side promoted as a World XI took place at Melbourne in March, 1862, when, rather bizarrely, they took on Surrey. And it was hardly a global side. All but one of the World XI were born in England – John Conway being the exception – and most played regularly in England. It was the only appearance that Thomas Hearne, the captain, ever made outside England.The first genuinely representative matches took place in September 1965 when an England XI took on a Rest of the World XI in three-day games at Scarborough and Lord’s. The Rest of the World side was selected by readers of the BBC’s listing magazine, Radio Times, and 40,000 took part in the poll. There was controversy from the off as Australia’s Norman O’Neill withdrew as a protest against the selection of West Indian Charlie Griffith whose action he considered unfair. Given the lateness in the season, it was unsurprising when rain spoiled an interesting finish in the first game and then prevented any play until the second afternoon at Lord’s. It was then agreed to play a 70-overs-a-side match, which the World won by nine wickets with Garry Sobers taking 5 for 22.The following year, the World Cricket Cup, sponsored by Rothmans, was launched. The format was simple. Three sides – England, the touring West Indies, and an impressive Rest of the World XI – playing each other once in 50-over matches at Lord’s. The public response was good (13,036 paid over the three days), the weather remained fine, and England beat West Indies in the final. This end-of-season festival was repeated in 1967 when Rest of the World beat Pakistan in the final.In the spring of that year, a Rest of the World side played Barbados at Bridgetown in a five-day match which was to mark the island’s independence. The game was something of a disappointment as Barbados were bowled out for 84 and lost by 262 runs with a day to spare.In 1968, Rothmans amended the format of their sponsored event. Instead of a triangular one-day tournament, a Rest of the World side played four first-class matches, against Hampshire, Kent, the Australians at Lord’s, the final match of their long tour which they won by eight wickets, and then an England XI at Scarborough. The tour was beset by problems from the moment Colin Bland arrived only to be immediately deported, and was not considered a great success.

In 1969 a World XI by another name – they were actually called an International Cavaliers XI – took on New Zealand at Scarborough and won by 11 runs. But the advent of the John Player County League, the first domestic one-day league, meant that the end-of-season Rest of the World games were considered one-day overkill and the concept was dropped. But the interlude was brief.The cancellation of the South Africa tour to England in 1970 led to the English authorities quickly arranging a five-match series against a Rest of the World side captained by Sobers. The team played only one other match, at the end of the summer, most returning to county commitments in between games. Marketed as Tests, with caps awarded to the England side, only later were they ruled by the authorities not to be. Rest of the World won the series 4-1.Again it was the scrapping of a South Africa tour – this time to Australia in 1971-72 – which led to the biggest campaign by a world side, undertaking, at short notice, a full tour. Again led by Sobers, Rest of the World fulfilled the commitments which any touring side would have, with five unofficial ‘Tests’ and seven other first-class matches. After an uncertain start – somewhat unsurprising given that the squad was assembled at little more than a month’s notice – the crowds caught on and World XI came from behind to win 2-1. The highlights of the summer were Sobers’s brilliant 254 at Melbourne and the emergence of Dennis Lillee as a world-class fast bowler.In the early to mid 1970s, the International Cavaliers, a quasi- Rest of the World side, regularly toured Rhodesia and South Africa before international sanctions began to bite. In 1973-74, a side billed as Rest of the World, but in essence made up of largely second-string English and West Indian players, played two matches in Pakistan.The REST OF THE WORLD concept returned with the advent of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977. There were enough Australians and West Indians to cobble together two teams, and a third side – the WSC World XI – was fielded from the remnants, although in the first year there were insufficient of those so a few West Indians had to double up. In the second season, the WSC World XI had a far more global feel although it was still made up from England, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies.

In 1987, MCC celebrated its bicentenary with a five-day match between it and a Rest of the World side which was probably the strongest – and certainly the most representative – up to that point. In front of capacity crowds, bat dominated ball for four days, and a thrilling finale was only scuppered by rain which washed out the final day. The Rest of the World had warmed up with two three-day games at Gloucester and Old Trafford, but the Lancashire match was abandoned without a ball being bowled.That was the last first-class match involving a genuine Rest of the World side, although there have been an increasing number of one-day matches, almost all for charity, since then. Between 1988 and 1995 various sides labelled as Rest of the World did appear in festival matches in England, but they were rarely representative nor did they feature anything like the best players, more the best who happened not to be doing anything else at the time and were in the country.The most high-profile matches between 1987 and the advent of the ICC Super Series have been the ones for the Diana Memorial in 1998 and the various Tsunami relief matches in 2005.

Matters, not of bat or ball, have made headlines from Kolkata. It does become a result foretold if the coin does not land up your side. Everything else is taken care of by uneven conditions in two halves of the day. Dew is the king and you do his majesty’s bidding.Toss is a matter of luck and not skills and we all know which ingredient should be deciding a game. I remember a final in Mumbai in the ’90s when just a look at the wicket and we knew without winning the toss we were doomed. It was not dew as much but the sheer state of the pitch which forewarned the perils of batting second on a crumbling pitch. It was a sight to see Venkatesh Prasad resort to bowling leg spin and slower ones which were rearing and sailing over batsmen’s heads! It brings to question the very issue of day-night games. Such matches have a social value in Australia or in South Africa where families can hop on to their bandwagons and head for cricket stadiums for their evenings out, especially on weekends. That in essence has been the spirit of day-night games. We too are inconvenienced at times like in South Africa in March-April, especially in up country, where winter sets in early. It gets dark there early and if you are playing Australia, in March-April, it knots you up in the guts.But possibly there is no need to package one-day games in the subcontinent. Hundred thousand in any way are going to turn up at the turnstiles. The only concern should be that they get a good game, an equal game. Hold a day game, start it early in case you still want a day-nighter or make it 25-overs each for two sides in two innings so they get equal conditions. But I guess authorities have been busy dressing up the one-day games in Powerplays and Supersubs of late to worry about such inconveniences.Then it was the wicket. It was a very un-Indian kind of strip and I was very, very surprised. Indians do not play their cricket on such kind of pitches, they prefer the flatter types where spinners come into business and even fast bowlers are conditioned to bowl in a certain style. But this one was right up South Africa’s alley. Shaun Pollock must have been licking his lips and offering words of gratitude to the groundsman.If indeed it was Kolkata’s way of showing their anger at the omission of their most beloved son from the squad, it was strange and sad. A region or a country should not lose purpose or the bigger goal and must plan accordingly. It was also uncharacteristic to see so full-throated support to the South Africans on an Indian ground. Feelings do run deep in this part of the world.The footnote of cricket still must be recorded. The Indians needed to adjust to play in conditions which did not suit them. It should have been a slow start upfront where you do not try to do too much but they preferred to walk up to the trouble straight up. Guys like Sachin Tendulkar should have chosen to adjust. Graeme Smith’s century also cannot be glossed over. It was one of his finest and he was unbelievably clinical. He is an exceptional batsman and I have little doubt he would end up as one of the top three batsmen ever we have produced. He is certainly heading that way. He played positively and put the fast bowlers under some early pressure.Indian fast bowlers also did not bowl particularly well and Ajit Agarkar could not get his line right. Rahul Dravid was expecting his seamers to get them in early but Smith settled it in the first 20 minutes. Charl Langeveldt too is making a good pitch for himself in our one-day plans. He had a good tour to the West Indies this year and has continued to work his way up. He is a good seam and swing bowler who is prepared to pitch fuller and run the risk of being hit for fours. His speed is in the 130s which is just enough on any surface and certainly a handful on a deck like the one at Eden Gardens.It is a moment to savour if you walk away with a 10-wicket win in front of 80,000 fans away from home. They cannot lose the series and Mumbai could give them a historic triumph. That is if the matter of toss is negotiated well there too.

ScorecardJust like the full England side, the under-19s are finding life on the subcontinent tough this winter. After being whitewashed in the five-match series against a BCB High Perfomance Side, their poor start to the triangular tournament got poorer with a second defeat, this time to Sri Lanka.Angelo Mathews was the star for Sri Lanka, smashing 70 not out from 74 balls to boost their total to 225 after Dimuth Karunaratne and Sameera de Zoysa put on 54 for the first wicket to set a solid platform.Rory Hamilton-Brown fared the best for England’s bowlers, taking 3 for 44 and playing a part in causing a mid-innings wobble and give Sri Lanka the jitters at 156 for 8. But Mathews stood firm to help lift the score with two fruitful stands with Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Rajeeva Weerasinghe which yielded 69 runs.England lost early wickets which set them on the backfoot from the off. Varun Chopra stood firm to add a quick 34 from as many balls, but when he fell to Hans Fernando and Woodman went for 40, the momentum fell away from the innings (83 for 3). There was no way back for England and when they lost three quick wickets for six runs late on – Weerasinghe struck twice and there was a run out – the writing was on the wall (180 for 8).They folded not long after, with Ben Wright left stranded on 40 not out, as Sri Lanka recorded victory by 13 runs.

Scorecard
Plate Group Points TableSaurashtra have qualified for the Plate Group semi-finals following a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh on the third day’s play at Rajkot. After Rahul Panta’s 5 for 78 bowled out Saurashtra for 246 yesterday, Himachal had resumed the day on 97 for 3 – a lead of just 13 – but continued to lose their way in the face of a fine spell from Kanaiya Vaghela, who picked up his maiden five-wicket haul, and were dismissed for 157. Set just 74 to win, Saurashtra proceeded to secure a semi-final birth by knocking off the runs in less than 15 overs.Earlier, Panta was assisted by Anju Thakur who, on his HP debut, picked up 4 for 65 with his legspinners. While no Saurashtra batsman crossed fifty in their first innings, decent contributions from Jaydev Shah, the captain, and Shitanshu Kotak saw their side to an 84-run lead on the second day.

It’s a delicious irony that it was India’s bowling attack, cast aside as the weaker of the two line-ups before the series, that set up the series-clinching win and Rahul Dravid readily recognised this critical aspect. Further, India didn’t play specialist spinner in all three games that they won and Dravid spoke about the mix of youth and experience that had done the trick.”We are working on a few things behind the scenes and we have worked very hard after the Test series,” he said at the post-match press conference. “We have set good fields to certain players. But all credit to our bowlers for bowling as well as they have on these flat wickets. This win has been set up by the bowlers.”The emergence of Rudra Pratap Singh, Dravid admitted, was one of the big positives on this tour and he continued his rise by snapping up his third Man-of-the-Match award in just ten games. “He did well in Faisalabad and now here he has done it again,” Dravid continued. “He is developing well, learning very quickly, works very hard and he is a good young bowler. We have also had the experience of Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan and that combination of our attack has been very good.”There wasn’t so much confusion about the toss this time. We were confident in our abilities to chase a total and our thinking was we could chase today. Our bowlers bowled a very good line and length and we took good catches. It was a good wicket for batting so to get them out that low is special. The wicket didn’t play such a big role. There was a little help in the morning but like I said our bowlers bowled a very good line and length.”Dravid also hinted that there might be a few changes to the team for the dead rubber at Karachi, adding that it was another step in their constant journey. “We want to win at Karachi because that is part of our development as a team,” he continued. “Karachi is an opportunity to continue that process of development. We’ve had positive results over the last 15 games and the win should give us some breathing space. We’ll see in Karachi about changes to the team. A lot of our guys have played a lot of cricket recently and we will assess the situation accordingly when we get there.”

Simon Jones has welcomed his return to fitness and, after spending the past week at Dennis Lillee’s bowling academy in India, can’t wait to return to bowling for his country.Jones suffered an ankle injury during the summer, forcing him to miss the final Ashes Test against Australia and England’s subsequent tour to Pakistan. For the past week, he has been honing his skills at Dennis Lillee’s MRF Pace Foundation at Chennai.”If I can achieve half as much as Dennis did, I’ll be well chuffed,” he told the . “He still talks to me as an equal, he doesn’t talk down to you.”We’ve just worked on a few technical aspects, like the alignment of my front arm and front leg in delivery stride, and his advice is top-drawer,” he said. “He keeps things simple and realistic and he doesn’t try to over-complicate your action. Yet every time I’ve come away from a session with Dennis I’ve felt as if I’ve learned something new.”He told me that, around 40 years ago, he jumped over a fence at the WACA stadium in Perth to watch my dad bowl for England and he reckons I’m a real chip off the old block.”England fly to India on February 12 for three Tests and seven one-dayers, and will want to drastically improve upon their performance in Pakistan in November. Jones, whose absence arguably affected England greater than they anticipated, says his expertise of reverse-swing could be a deciding factor in the series.”It’s been ideal preparation for the tour – it’s nice to get outside and bowl again because you can go stir-crazy when you’re stuck indoors all winter,” he said. “I’ve also had a sneak preview of the conditions, and although we will be using a different type of ball to the ones we used during the Ashes, there is a bit of reverse swing over here.”A couple of years ago I took five wickets in an innings twice for the A team, so I know my style of bowling can be effective on Indian pitches. They say you always become a better player when you are not in the England side, and a lot of people have been saying they missed me in Pakistan before Christmas.”I wouldn’t know about that, but I’m looking forward to linking up with the boys again and trying to start us off on another winning run – and I know the last week out here in Madras has put me in good stead for the tour.”

In a move clearly designed to embarrass Peter Chingoka, the ZImbabwe Cricket chairman, on the eve of the ICC executive meeting in Dubai – and to send a blunt message to Malcolm Speed and Ehsan Mani – clubs in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe’s second biggest province, voted to boycott all club games this weekend in protest against his leadership.All the matches in the Matabeleland Cricket Association First League set for Sunday have been called off, and a stakeholders meeting has been called at Queens Sports Club where a decision is set to be made on whether Matabeleland continues to associate itself with Zimbabwe Cricket.”All clubs in Matabeleland are boycotting cricket starting this weekend pending a stakeholders meeting to be held on Thursday,” a spokesman said. “We are doing this to send a clear message to the ICC that Peter Chingoka does not have the mandate of anyone in Zimbabwe. So who is he representing in that meeting?”With Matabeleland turning against Chingoka, he appears to have almost no support among any of the country’s major clubs. Although Mashonaland backs him at provincial level, the six major clubs – Takashinga, Old Georgians, Alexandra Sports Club, Harare Sports Club, Old Hararians and Universals – have all split from the official provincial league in protest against the leadership of Cyprian Mandenge, a close ally of Chingoka and ZC managing director Ozias Bvute. A result of that dispute was evident in Mashonaland’s substandard side during the Faithwear Provincial One-Day tournament.

The timing of the announcement coincides with a move by senior administrators to advise the ICC of continuing deterioration in the state of cricket inside Zimbabwe. One source told Cricinfo that since January when the Sports and Recreation Commision appointed an interim executive – led by Chingoka – to run the affairs of ZC, the situation has deteriorated. He claimed that there was no evidence that the independent forensic audit into serious allegations of financial irregularities had made any progress, and added that the board had continued to be politically cleansed of anyone opposing the existing regime.”If the ICC still chooses to believe that Chingoka is in control and has the support of the stakeholders, then we might as well all give up,” he told Cricinfo. “The situation continues to get worse and the ICC has effectively endorsed all that has been done. They know the reality, and yet they have done nothing to help. The meeting next week represents the last chance for them to act”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Powered by a disciplined bowling performance, that enabled them to bowl out Bangladesh for a disappointing 124, Australia sealed a thumping win in the third one-dayer at Fatullah. Australia completed the whitewash without too much of a fuss, with Simon Katich and Mark Cosgrove steering the chase in splendid fashion.It was as convincing as the scoreline suggests and it marked the end of a grueling season – one that included ten body-breaking months on the road with 17 Tests and 35 ODIs. The real damage was done first up when Bangladesh surrendered without too much of a fight to their inexperienced bowling attack. Having lost the series already, Bangladesh had the ideal opportunity to just get out there and do their thing but instead, succumbed meekly. Habibul Bashar, who chose to bat, walked into a semi-crisis for the third time in a row but couldn’t stage a recovery this time around.There were no magic balls or unplayable deliveries, just good old line and length stuff but that proved adequate. The specialists stuck to the basics: Mitchell Johnson got some swing, the tall Brett Dorey found some seam movement, and James Hopes varied his pace cleverly to keep the chokehold on. Gilchrist, who took over the reins from a resting Ricky Ponting, used as many as eight bowlers and rotated them around cannily.One of the part-timers, Michael Hussey, did the job that Andrew Symonds usually does: hit the right areas, varied the pace, and strangled the batsmen. With the batsmen going into their shell, Mark Cosgrove, the rotund left-hand batsman from South Australia who made his debut today, also rolled his arm over.It was Johnson, with a little help from Ian Howell, the umpire, who drew first blood, gaining a verdict against Shahriar Nafees, despite the ball ricocheting off the inside edge before thudding into the pads. However, Aftab Ahmed had nobody but himself to blame for his exit, flashing lamely outside off and Bangladesh were bleeding at 8 for 2. Ashraful never looked in and left after eking out a scratchy 13. Bashar, in midst of a good run with the bat, refused to play the big strokes and along with Rajin Saleh, an adhesive crease-occupier, offered some resistance. A nudge here, a push there enabled the duo to crawl along but some poor running between the wickets cost them a few valuable runs.

Just before the 25 over mark, Saleh stirred to unleash a couple of boundaries but fell trying to up the tempo. The next man in Alok Kapali, spontaneously combusted at the crease, holing out to deep midwicket and Bashar – who showed his frustration by carting a Clarke floater to cover – fell almost immediately, stumped off Brad Hogg. The tail folded up without a fight leaving Australia a small total to contend with.There were to be no hiccups as Australia rattled away towards the target. The scorching morning sun had hid itself behind the clouds and the Australian opening batsmen prospered under the cloudy skies. Cosgrove, nicknamed ‘Baby Boof ‘for his size and batting resemblance to former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann, used his wrists and slashed his way to a impressive fifty. A flicked two to square leg got him off the mark and soon he began to flow. He walked across to the spinners and with a bottom-handed twirl of the bat, reminiscent of Lehmann, found the gaps on the field. Ever eager to come down the track to the spinners, he unfurled a few lofted shots. One such stroke – a six straight down the ground – off Rajin Saleh brought up his fifty and he celebrated by repeating the stroke. The spinners bled 49 runs in 40 balls as Cosgrove drove them to distraction before falling at the end.Simon Katich was his usual self: nudging and pushing his way around, and when the opportunity for a boundary presented itself, he indulged. Australia, on the road for ten body-breaking months, will now enjoy a well-deserved break.How they were out Shariar Nafees lbw b Johnson 0 (0 for 1)
Aftab Ahmed c Gilchrist b Dorey 1 (8 for 2)
Mohammad Ashraful c Cullen b Hopes 13 (41 for 3)
Rajin Saleh b Clarke 37 (80 for 4)
Alok Kapali c Katich b Hogg 5 (92 for 5)
Habibul Bashar st Gilchrist b Hogg 33 (107 for 6)
Mohammad Rafique b Johnson 0 (117 for 7)
Khaled Mashud st Gilchrist b Cullen 11
Abdur Razzak c Symonds b Hogg 1 (122 for 9)
AustraliaMark Cosgrove b Abdur Razzak 74 (123 for 1)

Andrew Miller on the England team
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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMASince England’s win over Australia in that famous Test at Trent Bridge, they have played eight Tests, with three losses and just one win. They looked so good in the Ashes last year, but it all dissipated so fast. Cricinfo’s UK editor, Andrew Miller, speaks to Amit Varma and explains that things are not as bad as they look, and the injuries that have afflicted England have given them a chance to test their depth, and their young players have come good.Andrew also reflects on England’s fielding, as well as the emergent popular hero, Monty Panesar.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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