An unbeaten 110 by Simon Katich helped Randwick Petersham overcome last season’s minor premier Manly-Warringah. In a rare Grade appearance, Michael Bevan scored just 5 as Manly-Warringah was restricted to 7-232. The Seasiders were ruing a missed opportunity after letting Katich off before scoring, before the talented Speedblitz Blues star easily blunted Manly’s impressive bowling attack. The Randy Petes passed the Seasider’s score only two wickets down, with six overs to spare.At Bankstown Oval, a youthful Western Suburbs overcame a star-studded Bankstown, which included Test greats Steve and Mark Waugh. The Magpies were brilliant in the field restricting the Bulldogs to just 167 with Mark Waugh (10) and brother Steve (8) disappointing the large local crowd. After Mark Waugh dismissed Michael Clarke for 13, Stephen Phillips (48) steadied the Magpies as they crept past Bankstown’s total with five wickets to spare.At Rawson Oval, Brett Lee claimed 2-30 to help Mosman restrict Gordon to 197. Former Western Warriors and Australian Test bowler Matthew Nicholson was welcomed back to home club Gordon claiming 3-33, but was unable to halt Mosman surpassing his team’s total only five wickets down.Last season’s finalists, Sydney University and Penrith, suffered first-round defeats at the hands of UTS-Balmain and Eastern Suburbs. NSW Speedblitz Blues batsman Matthew Phelps failed to score a run for his new club Sydney University and watched his team post 5-237 against a Tigers bowling line-up spear-headed by Nathan Bracken. UTS-Balmain passed the total seven wickets down as Bracken brought up the winning runs with two balls to spare. Speedblitz Blues opener Greg Mail (110) top-scored for the Tigers.A strengthened Eastern Suburbs side boasting NSW keeper Brad Haddin and the return of ex-NSW leg-spinner Adrian Tucker humbled Penrith. Tucker (3-15) bamboozled the Panthers batsman with deceptive deliveries that earmarked a possible return to First Class Cricket for the ageless 34 year old. The Panthers could muster only 179 on a flat Howell Oval and were easily overcome by the Dolphins with five wickets to spare.Two-time O’Reilly Medallist Grant Lambert proved he is the competition’s most devastating all-rounder blasting 139 and taking 2-28 as Fairfield-Liverpool (8-256) easily overcame Northern Districts (194), in which NSW all-rounder Dominic Thornely managed 91 and 3-48 for Districts.In other matches- Hawkesbury 7-169 def North Sydney 168 at Owen Earle; Campbelltown-Camden 5-180 def Blacktown 179 at Raby; Sutherland 3-116 def St George 114 at Hurstville; and Parramatta 8-219 def University of NSW 160 at Village Green

Everything in cricket revolves around the pitch – but not according to Chandu Borde. Borde, who has now moved on from chief selector of the Indian team to the curator in charge of the Jawaharal Nehru Stadium in Pune, is puzzled by all the fuss being made about pitches these days.”I don’t know why the cricketers these days are so hell-bent on having pitches made to their liking. With all the protective gear a player is decorated with these days, why should he bother about the pitch?” He then elucidates his point, his hands thumping his elbow, grabbing his head, and clutching his chest, as he talks about the elaborate equipment that players wear these days. “We never had these in our time,” he says. “They [the modern cricketers] have got these things to protect them – a beautiful abdomen guard, a chest guard, then the helmet. And they’re worried about a little grass on the pitch?”Wearing a skyblue trackpant, a half-sleeve blue-and-white T-shirt and a floppy white hat, Borde is every bit as enthusiastic as a young player eager to do well in a match. His brief is to prepare a pitch that will lead to a good game of cricket, and he refuses to be bogged down by orders from the mandarins of the state and national boards – though he says he has never got any such orders.But how did Chandu Borde, a dashing middle-order batsman and an MCC-certified coach, become a curator? It all started in the 1960s when he was playing in the Lancashire League. During those 15 years he did much more than just play cricket. “Every season I used to assist the groundsmen and I picked up the fundamentals of making a wicket from there.”Borde was a never a cricket-only man. His life has been always colourful. Off the field, you can spot him letting his hair down, sipping a few drinks at the Poona Club. On the field too, he was a modest allrounder praised by many of his contemporaries. “I have been an allrounder on and off the field. Many people don’t even know that I have done a course in coaching from the MCC. So this hunger for learning various things has always helped me in doing many interesting things. And preparing pitches is one of them.”Having made a few pitches in the Lancashire League, Borde prepared his first wicket in India in his hometown Pune, for the ODI between India and England in 1984-85. “I remember that wicket gave assistance to both the seamers and the batsmen equally.”The pitch for Monday’s match between Australia and New Zealand will behave similarly, he asserts. The first one hour will help the bowler, and after that the ball will come on to the bat and the batsmen will be able to play shots on the rise. Borde’s statement seems to be borne out by the pitch itself, which has a fair amount of grass on it, but also seems to be hard and true.Pitch experts have become a niche thing over the years, and now, with artificial turfs becoming more and more common, a curator needs to do more than have a native knowledge of the ground and the soil. “Yes, it is important for me to keep myself updated on the latest in pitch technology.” Borde says he picked up quite a few points at the BCCI seminar for curators and pitch experts in Kolkata recently. “Things like how much fertiliser content should be used, when we should roll the wicket, when the grass should be cut, how much water and rolling should go into make a good wicket, how to get rid of the weeds and the nut grass … I learnt a lot.”So what is the ideal wicket? “A wicket which has the ball coming on to the bat, where there’s a big score, and the opposition bowlers try to restrict the batsmen. So there is a challenge for both the batsman and a bowler.” Fair point. But has he got the freedom to go ahead and prepare that kind of pitch. “The new Maharashtra Cricket Association committee has given me a free hand and I have the full authority to do what I want.”But curators have always been under pressure from the home side to prepare pitches which would aid the host’s chances of winning. “Fortunately I have never encountered anything of that sort, but yes, there is pressure which I think is unnecessary. I have seen bizarre things like grass being cut by the hairdresser’s scissors at one of the ground in India.”Borde feels that one of the problems faced in India is the identity of the soil: down south it is red, in the north and east it is white while in the west it is grey and sandy. So it would be ideal if the task of preparation of the wicket is given to the local curator who has had enough experience. “I accept that the local groundsman may not have the scientific knowledge but his experience will overcome that handicap.”Coming back to the Nehru Stadium, Borde feels satisfied that his hard work is finally paying dividends. “The ground was in a terrible state till the end of last season. The amount of matches, preparation camps and club cricket didn’t leave enough time for the local groundsman to heal the wicket. So he used to just water it and roll it, water it and roll it.”Meanwhile, at the stadium, the groundsmen are giving the finishing touches, the roller is on, the teams are practising in the background. And Chandu Borde’s 69-year-old body is restless like a father who can’t stay away from his kid. He is expecting the baby to deliver. Within 24 hours we will know the result.

Otago’s batsmen were given a thorough working out by the New Zealand Academy Selection at Lincoln Green yesterday, before the match ended as a draw with Otago 159 runs behind the Academy Selection with only two wickets in hand.The day had been affected by heavy rain just after noon and nearly three hours of play were lost. Otago were 63 for 2 when the rain began, Craig Cumming and Robert Lawson attempting to rebuild momentum after opener Mohammad Wasim and Chris Gaffeney were dismissed when there were only 28 runs on the board.The Academy Selection’s bowling options were disrupted when Richard Sherlock, bowling first change, suffered a twisted ankle when bowling the first ball of his second over. Lawson, after showing some of his attacking skills, was bowled by Michael Mason for 36.Cumming proved the key batsman for Otago, as he was last summer, and he had a fine contest with Shane Bond, the New Zealand fast bowler who is using the series as a build-up for his return to international play. Cumming showed his patience, taking 134 balls over his half-century and was on 59 when he was dismissed, caught behind by Griggs from Neil Broom’s bowling.It then became a battle of survival for the Otago side and they eventually made it home on what was a chilly day. Mark Richardson added to the dramatics of the day by claiming a wicket, trapping Warren McSkimming leg before wicket, an appeal that umpire Doug Cowie was unable to deny.New Zealand Academy Selection 349-9 dec (J Ryder 97, M Richardson 75, R Taylor 52, P Fulton 43, B Scott 3-67, W McSkimming 3-85) met Otago 190-8 (C Cumming 59, R Lawson 36, G Hopkins 34, N Broom 2-29, M Mason 2-52).

Harbhajan Singh will undergo surgery on his injured right index finger on Friday (Dec 19). Harbhajan, along with the Indian team physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, flew to Melbourne to see Dr Greg Hoy, a finger specialist, who advised an immediate operation.Harbhajan sustained the injury during the one-day in Dhaka earlier this year. He had opted to avoid an operation and continue playing with the injury. Since then he has not had a great time with the ball, and had to drop out of the Adelaide Test.The team management hope that he will be ready to play again during the tour of Pakistan in late February next year – but that will depend entirely on his recovery and rehabilitation after the operation.

East Zone 227 for 9 (Kiran Powar 56) beat West Zone 226 for 8(Kanitkar 57, Paul 4-36) by 1 wicket with 1 ball to spare
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The last-wicket pair added 10 crucial runs as East Zone squeaked home from the penultimate ball of their opening encounter against West Zone at Siliguri. Shib Sankar Paul and Saurasish Lahiri were the men who held their nerve in the final over, which was bowled by Ranjit Khirid, as the game peaked to a tense climax. Kiran Powar, who composed a 58-ball 56 and shared a valuable 50-run stand with Laxmi Ratan Shukla (28), had laid the platform. Munaf Patel was the most successful of the Mumbai bowlers with 3 for 34, including the vital wicket of Powar. Paul was instrumental in restricting the powerful West Zone batting line-up to only 226. Vinayak Mane consumed 56 balls for his 29, and it was left to Hrishikesh Kanitkar to hold the innings together with a sedate 57. Utpal Chatterjee bowled a tidy spell and West didn’t get the late-innings impetus that they could have done with.South Zone 217 (Ramesh 97, Venugopal 54, Abbas 6-25) beat Central Zone 155 by 62 runs
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Sadagoppan Ramesh stroked a priceless 97 as South Zone recorded an easy 62-run win in a low-scoring game at Silchar. Ramesh’s innings was studded with nine fours, and his 111-run stand with Venugopal Rao should have been the ideal launching pad. But Ramesh fell in the 39th over, and then Syed Abbas Ali, the offspinner, began his torment of the batsmen. He finished with excellent figures of 6 for 25 as the lower order floundered against his wiles. But 217 proved to be more than enough, ash Central Zone, lost wickets at regular intervals. At 107 for 8 they were in dire straits, but Anup Dave, from Rajasthan, hit a gritty 36 and reduced the margin of defeat considerably. Tinu Yohannan snapped up 3 for 41 while Sreekumar Nair, his Kerala team-mate, bettered that with 3 for 12.

Don Cleverley, the oldest living Test player, has died in Australia at the age of 94. The mantle of the oldest player now passes to Eric Tindill, another New Zealander, who is aged 93 years and 60 days.Cleverley, a right-arm fast-medium bowler who was able to extract surprisingly lift, played two Tests for New Zealand, the first in 1931-32 against South Africa, and the second 14 years later in the one-off match against Australia at Wellington in 1945-46. He had no real success in either match.Cleverley represented Auckland for 21 seasons from 1930-31, ending his career with one season at Central Districts by which time he was 43. He was also a national amateur boxing champion.

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James Tredwell led England A’s fightback in their Duleep Trophy match at Amritsar. He took five wickets as East Zone were bowled out for 283, having been 97 for 1 at lunch on the opening day.Shiv Sunder Das, the former Test opener, held things together for East Zone, carrying his bat to end on 124 not out. He put on 93 for the first wicket with Mahi Dhoni, in what was a tough opening session for the bowlers.Steve Kirby provided the only success when he had Mahindra Dhoni caught by Ed Smith for 52. Kirby, however, proved expensive in his first appearance on the tour since replacing Simon Jones, going for 30 from six overs before lunch, but England’s fortunes changed immediately after the lunch break.Graham Napier started the comeback with two quick wickets, both lbw, the second of which was Deep Dasgupta, the former Test player, for a duck. Tredwell then chipped in with a further two scalps, removing Devang Ghandi and Kiran Powar as East Zone lost five wickets for 79 runs. Tredwell worked his way steadily through the rest of the middle and lower order, although Das and Chatterjee held England up with a stand of 45.Tredwell finished with 5 for 101 from 24 overs, and Napier 3 for 54, in a total which went some way to justifying Tredwell’s decision to bowl first.

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to say today:There are a number of quotes stories by Indian players, talking about the tour. Rahul Dravid, India’s vice-captain, told the Press Trust of India that he wasn’t worried about the security in Pakistan. “I don’t think there is any amount of fear,” he said. “We have to just go out and do our best like we did elsewhere. We tried our best in Australia and we will try our best in Pakistan. It’s no different.”Virender Sehwag, who recently got engaged to a girl from Delhi, was equally unworried. Speaking to journalists in Mumbai, he said, “I have received no threats so I am not worried. We will play good cricket. Even the terrorists are humans, so even they would enjoy the game. I am sure about it.”Like Dravid, Sehwag said that he was focussed on the cricket. “There will be no personal battles,” he said. “They have some good bowlers like Shoaib [Akhtar], [and Mohammad] Sami. I will continue to play the same way as I have been doing before.”Irfan Pathan echoed his seniors when he said, speaking to The Asian Age, that “I am not thinking about the tour or of the rivals as of now. To me, Pakistan is just another team like Australia, and I have to perform. I have not planned any weapon against them, but I have definitely chalked out a plan for improving my bowling.”* * *Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, has asked his players to show discipline and sportsmanship during the series. According to Dawn, Inzamam spoke to his players at the training camp in Lahore and said: “I don’t want any misconduct or verbal exchanges as we need to play in the true spirit of the game. After all this is just a game of cricket and nothing more, the same appeal is to fans also and they must take it as cricket. Billions of people will be watching us on television and I think it is a great opportunity for us to prove to the world that we are a sporting nation and play the game in its true spirit.”* * *The last man to captain an Indian Test side to Pakistan, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, backed India to win the upcoming series. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Srikkanth said: “We are definitely the favourites to win both the series [Tests and one-day internationals]. We have the wherewithal to do so as both batsmen and bowlers are at a higher confidence-level, having proved themselves very well on the Australian tour.”For those worried about the security, Srikkanth related a tale about his encounter with a Pakistan supporter during his tour there in 1989. “A fanatic, Ziauddin, who was provoking Indian players into retaliation, got into the ground and pulled the buttons off my shirt. I had never seen Kapil Dev running backwards so fast and Manoj Prabhakar backing off a challenge as they were forced to by Ziauddin. He went berserk before being taken away by security personnel.”* * *Tickets for the India-Pakistan series are now being sold online. Click here to book yourself a ringside seat.

Claude Henderson is turning his back on South Africa and throwing in his lot with English cricket. His appearance for Western Province in this weekend’s SuperSport Series final at Newlands will be his last in South Africa.”I have decided on this course of action because it is clear to me that I have no future role to play at national level when one considers the selections of the national panel,” he told reporters. “I will miss South African cricket, but life is about the future.”I don’t see the next step in my cricket future being in South Africa,” said Henderson. “I have had a wonderful career here, thanks to Boland and Western Province. I have been very honoured to play for my country and I will never forget it. We [his family] are very excited about this move. It is the next step for us, it is a new challenge. There are a lot of opportunities over there. It is sad to go, but it is exciting as well.”Under European Union employment regulations, Henderson, 31, will be classified as a UK-registered player as long as he doesn’t play in or for South Africa. So. by severing all ties with domestic sides there, he made himself a prime target for a number of county sides in England as he would not count as one of their two overseas-registered players. Henderson, who played seven Tests for South Africa, signed a two-year deal with Leicestershire last week.Arthur Turner, Western Province’s chief executive officer, paid tribute to Henderson for the contribution he had made over the last six seasons. He said although he was disappointed that Henderson would no longer be available, he appreciated his feelings of frustration on being continually overlooked in spite of his outstanding performances. Turner added that the public would judge the selection panel on the loss of one of South Africa’s cricketing assets in an area where the cupboard was bare.

Slowly but surely, county cricket’s two-divisional system is separating the wheat from the chaff. But the chaff is not going without a fight. The focus may be on the top flight, but this season promises a promotion battle royal between several big teams with even bigger points to prove.Without question, the second division’s biggest drawcard will be found down at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl, where Shane Warne is making his fashionably late return to county cricket, and as captain as well. His appointment is further weighty evidence of Hampshire’s ambition, although it will take all of Warne’s nous to galvanise a weak squad. He will at least be assisted in his endeavours by two fellow Aussies, Michael Clarke and Shane Watson, whose youthful talents ought to mix well with the rest of the dressing-room.Talking of Aussies, Ricky Ponting’s arrival at Somerset is quite a coup, and even though his availability will be strictly rationed, his mere presence ought to lift a side that, last summer, was threatened with the collective sack by their chief executive, Peter Anderson. On another positive note, Andrew Caddick may be around rather more often than has been the case in recent years. He still expects to walk back into the Test team when he recovers from his back injury, but England’s successes in the Caribbean mean he’ll have a point or ten to prove in the Championship first.There’s only one man on the county circuit who can match Warne and Ponting in the box-office stakes. Darren Gough’s much-publicised move to Essex is undoubtedly a risk, given that only one of his knees still functions, but with the fiery Scott Brant and Danish Kaneria’s wiles to complement the bowling attack, Gough should be spared too much donkey-work. Furthermore, he will be reunited with his kindred spirit Ronnie Irani, and his former Test captain, Nasser Hussain, so there should at least be a bubbly atmosphere down at Chelmsford.Like Essex, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire are two other sides whose pedigree alone suggests they ought to be in the top flight. But dressing-room harmony was in short supply for either team last year. Notts have at least buried the hatchet with the prolific Kevin Pietersen – which could be the single most important achievement of the winter – but they have made some wise signings in the off-season as well, after their instant relegation in 2003.Mark Ealham is one of the more prominent new faces at Trent Bridge, where his canny medium-pace and lusty lower-order hitting are sure to fit in nicely. Other changes include Ryan Sidebottom, who has moved south from Headingley, while David Hussey – the younger brother of the prolific Mike – is an astute overseas acquisition who is unlikely to be called up by Australia … just yet.Yorkshire have signalled the start of yet another era, by calling David Byas back into the fold as coach, and passing the captaincy to the unassuming and diplomatic figure of Craig White. Darren Lehmann’s return is sure to make a huge impact, international appearances permitting, but their biggest coup was the poaching of Ian Harvey from Gloucestershire. Harvey, one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, achieved just about as much as he humanly could while at Gloucestershire, but the challenge of carrying Yorkshire back to Division One could bring out the very best of his mercurial talents.Leicestershire are another side whose underachievements have been underpinned by internal strife, but unlike Yorkshire and Notts, they have very little to work with after a winter spent scouring the bargain basement. The former Test cricketers, Claude Henderson and Ottis Gibson, are two intriguing signings, especially given that they are not classified as overseas players, although the Essex pair of Darren Robinson and Jon Dakin are not names to set the world alight.With a settled squad and two familiar overseas players in Matthew Elliott and Mike Kasprowicz, Glamorgan should be among the favourites for promotion this season. Although Steve James was forced to admit defeat last year and bowed out of the game with a persistent knee injury, Glamorgan’s new captain, Robert Croft, will be available throughout the season after retiring (again) from Test cricket. Matthew Maynard, meanwhile, is a hugely influential sidekick.Like Glamorgan, Durham are another unfashionable club with big prospects this season. In Shoaib Akhtar and Herschelle Gibbs, they have signed two of the most explosive performers in world cricket, and a timely performance from either of them could propel Durham to victory on any given day. And, every once in a while, they will also be able to call on Steve Harmison to share the new ball with Shoaib – a particularly mouthwatering prospect.Gavin Hamilton’s arrival from Yorkshire is intriguing – a change of scenery could be just what he needs after his game was devastated by a dose of the yips two years ago – but as yet Durham are not quite the finished article. They have made significant strides under Martyn Moxon, but promotion might just be out of reach this season.Which leaves us with Derbyshire, county cricket’s perennial whipping boys, who haven’t even got Dominic Cork in their ranks to whip a young and put-upon squad into shape. Another serious blow was dealt to Derbyshire’s hopes when Michael Di Venuto pulled out with a long-term injury. As a former captain and coach of Zimbabwe, Dave Houghton is used to getting the best out of embattled teams, but he is sure to have his hands full this season.