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ScorecardTom Abell gave a further illustration of his rich promise•Getty Images

Warwickshire are on the brink of LV=County Championship victory over Somerset after a third day on which young batsmen Sam Hain and Tom Abell showed their rich promise.Twenty-year-old Hain completed an unbeaten 103 (169 balls, 12 fours) – his sixth century in only his 18th first-class match – to lift Warwickshire to 365 all out and a first innings lead of 100 at Edgbaston.As Somerset then folded all out for 170 in their second innings, the exception to some tatty batting was 21-year-old Abell. The Taunton-born opener, in his 15th first-class match, batted through the innings for a skilful 88 (142 balls, 13 fours).It was the second time in five weeks that he had carried his bat, having achieved the feat against Nottinghamshire at Taunton in June, and he was only denied a deserved career-best (which remains 95) and maiden century by the ineptitude of his colleagues.While Abell resisted, the rest failed to deal with the aggressive seam-bowling of Rikki Clarke (four for 43) and the astute spin of Jeetan Patel (four for 47). Their supine efforts left Warwickshire a victory target of 70 and they reached six without loss before rain lopped of the last 15 overs.After Warwickshire resumed in the morning on 319 for eight, Hain and Patel took their partnership to 83 before Patel (41, 47 balls) was bowled by Overton who then removed Oliver Hannon-Dalby first ball to finish with a career-best six for 74.If a lead of 100 looked useful, it soon appeared mountainous after Somerset, having advanced with relative comfort to 32 without loss, lost three wickets in 14 balls without adding a run.Marcus Trescothick fell lbw, sweeping at Patel, and Clarke delivered fast, straight balls too good for Michael Bates, lbw, and James Hildreth, bowled.Abell dig in admirably but nobody else passed 21. Tom Cooper was trapped in front by Hannon-Dalby and Jim Allenby edged Chris Woakes to second slip before Clarke and Patel hoovered up the rest.Clarke ousted Peter Trego lbw and Overton who thumped two fours then sent up a skier in search of a third. Patel removed Abdur Rehman, who played an appalling shot, and had Alfonso Thomas and Tim Groenewald caught behind off successive balls to finish with match-figures of nine for 136.Twenty overs remained in the day when Warwickshire set off in pursuit of 70 but drizzle forced the players off after 26 balls.

ScorecardThe new-ball pair of Sumit Narwal and Parvinder Awana took no time to dismiss the Maharashtra tail in the morning. Captain Gautam Gambhir then ground it for nearly six hours to end the day unbeaten on 93. Yet, the star of Delhi’s dominant performance on the second day of their Group B clash against Maharashtra was Virender Sehwag.Batting at his favoured No 4 position, Sehwag made 66 in just over two hours in trademark fashion, entertaining easily the biggest crowd for a non-IPL game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association ground on the outskirts of Pune.When Sehwag came into bat 16 minutes before tea, Delhi were precariously placed at 41 for 2. Though Gambhir was looking solid, any other new batsman would have preferred to see the session out. Not Sehwag.The first ball he faced from Domnic Joseph, who was extracting bounce from the surface, Sehwag timed through covers to get going in style. Maharashtra then placed a sweeper cover for the entire duration of Sehwag’s innings.Samad Fallah, the leader of Maharashtra’s pace attack, is one of the most vocal bowlers on the domestic circuit. Sehwag not only got involved in banter with the left-arm bowler but also dismayed him by standing more than a foot outside the crease in the last over before the break.As the crowd swelled during lunch, all those who had made the effort to make it to the stadium – not the easiest in terms of accessibility – were treated to a Sehwag and Gambhir show. While the captain laid the anchor, Sehwag went after anything short. Until Sehwag was adjudged lbw off Chirag Khurana nine minutes before tea, Maharashtra preferred an in-and-out field for him – with at least three fielders on the boundary.The field made it easier for Sehwag to find gaps. Though his innings contained only seven boundaries, there were plenty of twos. The only false stroke he played was when a cut shot against Fallah flew wide of a lunging Kedar Jadhav at first slip.Just as Sehwag looked set for a century, he was given lbw when offspinner Khurana got one to hold its line. While Sehwag was stunned to see the finger raised, the crowd turned into silent for a moment, before giving the batsman a rousing farewell.Nine minutes later, Fallah got Mithun Manhas with the ball of the day, one that pitched outside off and came in sharply to thud into off-stump after Manhas had shouldered arms. Gambhir and Rajat Bhatia then played sensibly for an unbroken 91-run partnership for the fifth wicket.There were hardly any cheers for all these achievements, though. Most of the spectators had disappeared following Sehwag’s dismissal. At the end of the first day’s play, the MCA officials had needed a couple of their strongest members of the dog squad – a unique security feature in Indian sport – to disperse the crowd. On the second day, there was no such need.

The ICC Event Technical Committee has approved legspinning-allrounder Seekkuge Prasanna as a replacement for injured batsman Dimuth Karunaratne. Prasanna was already in Australia as cover for Rangana Herath, who is himself carrying a finger injury. Prasanna now stands a chance of playing against Australia on Sunday, less than 48 hours after he was admitted to the squad.Karunaratne’s World Cup ended when he sustained a jarring blow on his right hand during fielding practice on Thursday, which displaced and fractured bones in that hand. On Friday, Karunaratne underwent surgery, which included the insertion of a metal plate into that hand. His expected recovery time is three to five weeks.Prasanna had played in Sri Lanka’s World T20 campaign last year, and was on the cusp of being selected for the original World Cup squad, but was pipped by Jeevan Mendis, who was seen to offer more with the bat. The drafting in of a bowling allrounder in place of a batsman reflects the nature of Sri Lanka’s campaign, which has seen impressive batting performances, but mediocre returns from the attack. Sri Lanka have used Prasanna as a pinch-hitter in the past, and his inclusion suggests they view him as a player who can bolster the bowling, without compromising substantially on the batting front.Prasanna is the third official replacement to the original Sri Lanka squad. Dushmantha Chameera was named in place of Dhammika Prasad during the tournament, and Upul Tharanga replaced the injured Jeevan Mendis last week. Sri Lanka will also fly opener Kusal Perera in to Australia, as cover for their batting stock, which has now thinned to seven men.Herath’s chances of playing the next match remain slim, however. The cut to Herath’s spinning finger appears to be healing well, but the stitches he received there will not be removed until early next week.

Scorecard

Barely 12 overs into the game, India A had lost half their side and hopes of a place in the final seemed a distant dream. New Zealand A may have even entertained thoughts of an early finish but, as it turned out, the entertainment was at their expense. Yusuf Pathan, walking in at No.7, repaired a broken innings with an assault that included nine sixes and propelled the Indians to 305 for 8. New Zealand fell short by 81 runs and conceded a bonus point which means they need a sizeable victory against Australia on Monday.The surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium favoured batting but New Zealand’s sharp fielding and poor communication between India’s batsmen resulted in three run-outs, leaving the hosts 66 for 5. It was in this disarray that Yusuf began his innings, and though he recieved valuable support from Rohit Sharma and brother Irfan, it was his 148 off 127 balls that proved to be the difference between the two sides.Yusuf’s innings was filled with positive intent. He looked aggressively for singles early on, played the ball into gaps, improvised when necessary, and pounded nearly every loose ball that came his way. The frontline bowlers had succeeded in checking the top-order but the spinners and back-up seamers failed to contain Yusuf and Rohit.New Zealand’s captain Peter Fulton tried to stem the flow of singles by bringing Brent Arnel back into the attack but Yusuf greeted the new-ball bowler with a straight drive for four. Offspinners Nathan McCullum and Jeetan Patel tried bowling a yorker length but Yusuf merely paddled those away. The shorter deliveries were dispatched square of the wicket on both sides and the fuller ones were hit straight.Rohit fell after a workman-like 36, caught behind by Reece Young diving to his right. Irfan joined Yusuf and they didn’t let the initiative slip, adding 59 at a run-a-ball. The spinners offered too many freebies: full tosses were clubbed for sixes, one full-blooded pull by Yusuf off Patel landed on the roof.Fulton brought back Grant Elliott towards the end but the move proved costly. Yusuf began the over on 95 and, taking cue from Luke Ronchi, moved to 101 with a straight six. The next ball was driven past the bowler for four, and the pressure began to tell on the fielders when a skier was spilled at deep midwicket and rolled towards the boundary. He made room and scooped the next ball to extra cover before carting him into the stands at deep midwicket, making it 25 for the over.Mark Gillespie was punished in the final overs, and his no-balls didn’t do his team any favours. Neil Broom dismissed Yusuf off the final ball of the match as he miscued a loft to McCullum at long-on.Though the New Zealand top order didn’t suffer the Indians’ fate, their batsmen failed to convert their starts. Aaron Redmond and BJ Watling began steadily but both fell trying to carve the ball over the packed off side. Fulton found Dhawal Kulkarni’s gentle pace to his liking and hit him for a couple of boundaries during a breezy 42 off 39 balls before he was stumped down the leg side off Piyush Chawla.James Marshall pushed the singles initially before taking the attack to the spinners. He slogged Chawla for a massive six over midwicket, and improvised against Yusuf’s fast offbreaks, playing the reverse-sweep and the conventional sweep. His 71-run partnership with Neil Broom was the only passage of play in which New Zealand challenged the home side. That was to be the only substantial partnership in the chase as Suresh Raina ran through the lower order with four wickets. With the run-rate climbing, India had the match wrapped up well before Patel top-edged Chawla to Raina at mid-on in the 46th over.With the bonus point, India move to the top of the table with nine points.

Scorecard

South Zone, led by captain Urooj Mumtaz’s unbeaten 39, beat Central Zone Blues by five wickets at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday to clinch the inaugural women’s National Twenty20 Quadrangular Championship.Central began well after being sent in, with Bismah Maroof and Marina Iqbal putting on 48 for the first wicket. However, they squandered the initiative by losing three wickets for 13 runs. Iqbal was the first to go, caught behind by Batool Fatima off Sana Mir for 19. Kanwal Naz then accounted for Maroof, who made 27, and Sabeen Samad, both stumped by Fatima. Nida Dar and Almas Akram repaired some of the damage with a fourth-wicket stand worth 54 runs. Almas made 27 while Nida hit a massive six in the final over before being run out by Mumtaz for 47 as Central finished with 132 for 6.South lost their openers cheaply with 19 runs on the board but recovered when Mumtaz combined with Nain Abidi to add 48 runs. Their stand was ended in controversial circumstances, Abidi being adjudged caught at leg slip for 28 off what should have been a no-ball as only three fielders were in the inner ring. Play was held up for a few minutes when Mumtaz and South’s coach, Farrukh Bari, remonstrated with umpire Humaira Farah, but to no avail. Mumtaz recovered her concentration soon enough and focused on the chase. Pushing for singles and twos, she brought South to within three runs of victory in the final over, finishing the contest by striking the fourth ball for a boundary.Mumtaz was named Player of the Match and shared the Player-of-the-Series award with Maroof, her Pakistan team-mate.

Match facts

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

With the fourth-placed Mumbai Indians having a game in hand, the Delhi Daredevils [equal with Mumbai on 12 points] aren’t quite on the inside track for a place in the semi-finals. And their task is made more arduous by the fact that a threat of rain hangs over their home game against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Their other concern remains the over-reliance on their top three – a top-order failure has invariably resulted in a Delhi loss.One factor to their advantage is that the Kolkata camp is demoralised after three consecutive defeats, virtually extinguishing their semi-final hopes and have had to deal with the distraction created by rumours of a rift between captain Sourav Ganguly and team owner Shah Rukh Khan. Also, Delhi’s impressive bowling should relish taking on a Kolkata batting line-up that has failed in four successive matches. However, Delhi should guard against complacency – the last time the two sides met, an incisive Shoaib Akhtar spell sent them crashing to defeat.

Tournament position

Delhi Daredevils: P12, W6, L6, NRR +0.350
Kolkata Knight Riders: P12, W5, L7, NRR -0.167

Form (last five matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WLWLL
Kolkata Knight Riders: LLLWW

Watch out for …

After making the Ranji Trophy semi-finals for the second year in a row, Saurashtra have set their sights on winning the tournament for the first time.Two of their youngsters, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, have been among the stand-out performers of the season and Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra drew confidence from the amount of talent in the side. “I can’t guarantee that we will win,” he told . “What I can say is we have the talent to do so, but everything depends on who performs better on a particular day.”Pujara, Jadeja, [Jaydev] Shah, [Sandeep] Jobanputra are all good players and if they keep on performing, they will surely play Test cricket and we will also win our first Ranji Trophy title.”Their next opponents are an in-form Mumbai, but they can take heart from their strong showing against Mumbai earlier in the season. “Saurashtra are the only team to have taken first-innings lead against Mumbai in the group league,” former India and Saurashtra medium-pacer Karsan Ghavri, said. “So, if the batsmen manage to put up a score of around 450, Mumbai will be under pressure in semis.”They have already shown the ability to handle pressure this season; first by beating Hyderabad in the final league game to make the quarter-finals ahead of defending champions Delhi (who were one-point behind when the last round of matches started), and with a stirring fightback against Karnataka to make the semi-finals (after falling behind by 116 runs in the first innings).Pujara starred in the quarter-final victory with a patient, unbeaten 112 on the final day. “My 189 against Punjab came off 182 balls and the 176 against Mumbai off 173,” he told the Kolkata-based . “But Monday (against Karnataka), my task was to stay at the crease for 90 overs.”His solid technique had prompted comparisons with Rahul Dravid, a batsman Pujara had wanted to seek tips from during the quarter-final. Dravid was impressed with Pujara’s performances and asked him to continue batting the way he was.

India’s one-day captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has won the ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai.Dhoni beat off tough competition from his India team-mate, Sachin Tendulkar, Australia’s fast bowler Nathan Bracken and Pakistan stalwart, Mohammad Yousuf, to take the award.During the voting period, Dhoni played 39 ODIs and scored 1,298 runs at an average of 49.92 and at a rate of 82.46 runs per 100 balls faced. In that time he hit a century and nine fifties, making sure he led his team from the front.Also in that time, in his capacity as a wicketkeeper, Dhoni claimed 62 dismissals (46 catches and 16 stumpings), which is almost twice as many as the next best, albeit having played more matches than any other keeper.He is currently ranked No. 1 in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.Dhoni said: “I would like to thank the voting academy for considering me to be deserving of this award. I am really happy to get this – it’s a great privilege.”Also, it feels great to know that I am the first Indian player to get this particular award and it’s very special because now I am in the company of a lot of other good cricketers. Some fantastic players have won this award in the past and to be mentioned in their company is truly a humbling experience for me.”I would like to thank the ICC, my home cricket board, my family, my team-mates and friends.”The ODI Player of the Year Award was one of eight individual prizes given at this year’s ICC Awards. Dhoni also featured on the ICC ODI Team of the Year as picked by the ICC selection panel. The award was announced by Australia captain and two-time ICC Cricketer of the Year, Ricky Ponting.The panel was chaired by the former West Indies captain, Clive Lloyd, and included the former Australia captain, Greg Chappell, the recently retired South Africa allrounder Shaun Pollock, the former Sri Lanka opener Sidath Wettimuny and the former Bangladesh batsman, Athar Ali Khan.

International news agency Reuters has resumed coverage of Australia’s tour of India after the BCCI dropped contentious accreditation terms.Reuters suspended coverage on Thursday, the first day of the opening Test at Bangalore, because of “unacceptable” conditions imposed by the Indian board. They wanted the BCCI to remove the terms regarding distribution of pictures to cricket websites.The BCCI said on Friday it was amending the terms and conditions, and removing the section on website picture distribution and Reuters immediately resumed coverage for the second day of the Test.”We are grateful to the BCCI for taking such a fair and reasonable approach in this matter and are delighted to be able to resume coverage of the current series in India,” Christoph Pleitgen, global head of news agency for Thomson Reuters, said.”We look forward to our continued coverage of cricket in India on terms which respect the freedom of the press and protect the news interests and coverage rights of the media.”

Match facts

Tuesday July 1, 2008
Start time 10.45 (local), 9.45 (BST)

Big Picture

New Zealand can’t quite begin their long journey home yet, and with the taste of victory champagne still fresh following the series victory at Lord’s on Saturday they now have two ODIs in Aberdeen, the first of which is against Ireland. It is a chance to give a few of the players who have watched from the sidelines recently a run, although New Zealand will be guarding against any embarrassing slip-ups. For Ireland it’s the start of a busy summer, which also includes important Twenty20 qualifiers plus a host of ODIs. Since their magical World Cup campaign they have struggled to reach those heights again as amateur players are torn between cricket and their jobs, while those good enough for professional careers are snapped up by counties. Ireland are missing three key personnel – Niall O’Brien, William Porterfield and Eoin Morgan – for that reason, while Jeremy Bray, David Langford-Smith, Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin are also unavailable. But this a chance for some others to make a name for themselves.

Form guide

(Last 5 completed ODIs; most recent first)
Ireland LLLWN
New Zealand WWWNL

Watch out for

Ross Taylor He struggled against England, often found out by seam and swing and sometimes by his own impetuosity. He is still the most talented of New Zealand’s young top order and the lesser attack of Ireland could be right up his street.Kyle McCallan Now leading Ireland in the absence of Trent Johnston, McCallan is a hardworking offspinner who isn’t afraid to give the ball a tweak. He enjoyed some fine moments during the World Cup. In 25 ODIs his economy rate is 4.25 so he can’t be underestimated.

Team news

New Zealand have named a 12-man squad and will make at least three changes from the final ODI against England. Jamie How, who has played for much of tour with a cracked finger, is rested so James Marshall gets another chance at the top of the order, while Scott Styris – who was Man of the Match at The Oval and Lord’s – also sits out. Kyle Mills gets a match off so Michael Mason is in the squad as is offspinner Jeetan Patel, who hasn’t featured in any internationals to date on the trip.New Zealand (from) Brendon McCullum, James Marshall, Ross Taylor, Daniel Flynn, Jacob Oram, Grant Elliott, Gareth Hopkins, Daniel Vettori (capt), Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel, Mark Gillespie, Michael MasonWithout the three county-based players, Ireland have had to draft in reinforcements but Gary Wilson, the wicketkeeper, is on Surrey’s books while Alex Cusack won a Man-of-the-Match award on his debut against South Africa last year.Ireland (from) Kyle McCallan (capt), Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusask, Phil Eaglestone, Thinus Fourie, Gary Kidd, Chris Doughtery, Andrew Poynter, Paul Stirling, Reinhardt Strydom, Andrew White, Gary Wilson (wk)

Stats and trivia

Quotes

“It’s been a long tour. But there’s no way we want to leave Scotland being beaten. It’ll be a hard couple of games, but there’s no way we’ll treat them as any less important as any other one-day international.”
Jamie How confirms New Zealand won’t be taking the next couple of matches lightly