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Dive for the prize
Behind-the-wicket catching has been a severe problem for Australia over the past month, but there was no issue in the micro-seconds it took Matthew Hayden to leap high to his left and stun Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The batsman had driven hard at Brett Lee and Hayden, standing at second slip, latched on to it like he had a bucket on his hand. It was the Australians’ catch of the series.Another not out
“Now for the hat-trick, Billy,” a spectator in the Bradman Stand shouted after Sourav Ganguly was finally ruled caught from his scoop to Michael Hussey at cover. Mitchell Johnson’s previous delivery to Ganguly looked plumb to viewers behind the wicket, but Billy Bowden, who has spent much of the Test shaking his head to appeals, was not swayed. The hypothetical hat-trick ball was easily covered by VVS Laxman.Foot fault
Sachin Tendulkar arrived in a hurry, driving his first ball hard into the foot and shin of Phil Jaques at bat-pad before it ricocheted to Andrew Symonds at cover. The Australians were confident they had achieved a miracle dismissal, but the replays raised doubt over whether it bounced short of Jaques’ foot and Tendulkar was rightfully reprieved.Jekyll and Hyde
Tendulkar’s 13 continued his trend of under-performing in the second innings against Australia. He managed only 52 runs for the entire series at the second attempts, but he more than made up for it with 440 at 146.67 in the first ones during an unforgettable collection of a couple of hundreds and another two half-centuries. Australians will remember his time here fondly.Gilly’s last dismissal
Adam Gilchrist bid farewell to Tests by making sure Mark Boucher would have just that little bit extra to do when he inevitably regains the world record for dismissals. Gilchrist took a leg-side catch off Brett Lee to dismiss Laxman and in his final session held on to Virender Sehwag’s edge and celebrated wildly. In between the two catches, his last effort in Tests was nearly decided for him when, standing up, Stuart Clark boomed in a bouncer. Agile to the last, he managed to put his gloves in front of his face just in time.Bruised and broken
Brett Lee’s bouncers have been hostile this series and he made Rahul Dravid retire hurt after one got big on the batsman and hit his right middle finger. That was on Dravid’s 15th dot ball of the day, and although he played out one more over he couldn’t grip the bat properly and left the field for an x-ray. It showed a break.The Billy and Asad show
The Test may have been petering out to a draw, but the umpires decided they could still have some fun. As they waited for the teams to arrive back on the pitch for the final session, Bowden and Asad Rauf took the match ball and started practising their slip catching in the middle. They may well have inspired Hayden.

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

Younis Khan lodged himself firmly between India and a series triumph on the final day of the second Test at Eden Gardens, leading his side to an unlikely, morale-boosting draw. Younis, standing in as captain for the injured Shoaib Malik, hit his 15th Test hundred and fifth against India, accepting help from a familiar face as he kept Pakistan alive to fight another day. A 136-run partnership with Mohammad Yousuf dragged them from peril to safety, both captains calling it a day at 214 for 4 with half an hour of play left.India were disappointingly lethargic, except for brief periods in the afternoon or when Anil Kumble was involved. Kumble had brought the game alive in the afternoon, with two wickets. But as the two Y’s came together with another century partnership – their ninth – even Kumble’s tenacity wasn’t to be enough.Younis especially was determined: as captain, his side had to be rescued and following low scores against his favourite opponent, here was the perfect opportunity to rectify that. He was also familiar with the situation, having faced similar ones against South Africa recently. So familiar in fact that he graced the occasion with a third hundred in four Tests, each of them in the fourth innings of a Test.It says much about his character and his batting that you can’t call the innings a dogged, dour rearguard. There was much studious defence, but he never dawdled. What runs were on offer, were gladly taken. Having arrived in the first over after lunch, he brought up his fifty in the last over before tea.After it, he seemed to speed up, pulling Zaheer Khan to bring up the fifty stand and continued in much the same manner through the session. Only Kumble posed a serious challenge, troubling him with googlies and trapping him plumb when in the 90s (Rudi Koertzen disagreed) but even he was driven and cut for pleasing boundaries. No shot better captured the innings than the reverse-sweep which brought up his hundred: defiant, unbowed and positive.Yousuf meanwhile helped himself back into some form. He was unusually quiet to begin with, recognition of the pressure of the Test and his own lack of runs. But a fluid punch through point off Munaf Patel eased him gently into the role of Younis’s second fiddle, one in which he didn’t falter. By tea, he was set and after it was rarely hassled, choosing occasionally to stroke a cover drive, but opting generally to pat balls back.

India helped them with a surprisingly inert display after tea. The inactivity was captured best by the inside edge on to Yousuf’s pad, which looped up in the air, barely a foot from two close-in fielders. Bizarrely, neither made even an attempt. Harbhajan Singh, the bowler, complained rightly, but perhaps not too much for he was flat through much of the day, mirroring Danish Kaneria’s disappointing last-day performance at Delhi. He searched constantly, for the right angle, the right line, the right length, but fruitlessly.Only Kumble it was who pushed and it was because of him India had a sniff at all. They had declared almost an hour into the morning, setting Pakistan 345 runs or 81 overs to survive. Zaheer got rid of Yasir Hameed before Kumble took over.Second ball after lunch, Kamran Akmal was bowled by a rare, fair-spinning leg-break. The situation thereafter was made for Kumble: no real chance of the opposition chasing, a fifth-day surface and nervy batsmen naturally keen to push on, trying instead to defend. The appearance of threat was there in every ball, even if the actuality of it wasn’t. Fielders encircled batsmen as a lynch mob might an unfortunate, dust flew up off the pitch, and Kumble was the centre of all focus.Even though nothing happened for nearly an hour after that breakthrough – Harbhajan as much as a cussed Salman Butt to blame – Kumble was not to be denied. Coming round the wicket, he soon trapped Butt. He then replaced Harbhajan with Munaf Patel just after mid-day drinks, who produced in his first over what seemed then to be a pivotal moment. It was touched by genius as well, a slow off-break that nevertheless turned sharply enough to go through the defences of Misbah-ul-Haq, leaving Pakistan rocking at 78 for 4.Both Patel and Kumble sniffed away, but it wasn’t to last and as tea approached Younis and Yousuf dug themselves in. There they would stay after it, despite Kumble’s best efforts.

Kamran Akmal, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, is preparing for the tour to India by training in simulated situations and on surfaces he expects to encounter in the Tests and ODIs series. Akmal, who has been under fire for his wicketkeeping skills in recent months, said that he realised the importance of the Indian tour for his career.”I went there [India] in 2005 and I have a fair idea of the sort of surfaces that could be used in the Tests in particular. I have started training by concentrating on my keeping and takes off the spinners,” he said.He admitted it was tough to keep on the slow Indian pitches and is therefore preparing himself for the challenge both mentally and physically. When Pakistan toured in 2005, the Test series was drawn and they won the ODI contest 4-2, but Akmal expected India to give a tougher fight this time.”They have some good young players and they have more bowling options which has made them a more consistent side,” Akmal, whose hundred in the first Test in Mohali saved the match, said, adding that he did not take the pressure of criticism about his ‘keeping skills. “It has been hard for me to ignore calls to replace me. It adds to the pressure but I am learning to accept these things. Watching the way Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist perform consistenly over the years is in itself a big motivation for me.”I look at Boucher and Gilchrist and I know I can take the pressure and also play for a long time,” Akmal said. “I convince myself that if they can last for so long having battled through bad form or fitness issues, I know I can also do the same.”For Akmal, in these times of non-stop cricket, fitness was the focus. “Unless you are 100 per cent fit, I don’t think you can survive for long in international cricket. It has also helped me be mentally stronger and perform in pressure situations,” he said. “Cricket has changed. A wicketkeeper has to be able to bat like a proper batsman to keep his place in the team. The two [Boucher and Gilchrist] are prime examples. Our new trainer has helped me a lot. I am confident despite what people say that I can have a long career.”Pakistan play three Tests and five ODIs in India starting November 5.

A squad of 14 Kenya players are lending their support to Uganda to play two friendlies at the Lugogo Oval this weekend, to help them prepare for the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia later this month.Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, along with Thomas Odoyo and other senior players are all participating, but Kenya have given Maurice Ouma the captaincy. They also called up a couple of younger faces, Ken Migai and Moses Otieno to gain experience.Uganda will fight it out with United Arab Emirates – who today beat Bermuda in the Intercontinental Cup – Argentina, Denmark, Oman and Namibia for the four slots reserved for the group in the 2009 World Cup qualifier.

Opening batsman TS Prasad hit 111 and shared a century partnershipwith Arjun Kumar for the fifth wicket as Andhra ended the second day’splay in the KSCA Coca Cola Trophy (under-25) match against Goa inBangalore on Monday with a score of 285 for five wickets.Overnight rain prevented a prompt start and play got underway only at2.10 pm. Resuming at 101 for two, Andhra lost Balaji Krishna (15) withthe score on 108. Raj Kiran (25) helped Prasad add 48 runs for thefourth wicket. Then Prasad and Arjun Kumar came together and added 126runs off 30 overs. Prasad, who had batted patiently was finally out inthe 80th over with the total on 282. He batted 316 minutes, faced 233balls and hit ten of them to the ropes. Arjun Kumar however camethrough unbeaten with 70 at stumps. He faced 99 balls and hit sixfours and a six.

Adaptability has become a byword for New Zealand teams over the last 10 years, and it will be required again of the side captain Stephen Fleming leads into the first Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.For a country, headed only by Zimbabwe as the least-resourced in terms of player numbers in the cricket world, New Zealand have had to demonstrate their quick-fix, or in the local vernacular, their No 8 wire mentality where doing things on the cheap has become an art form, time and again.Injuries hit a country like New Zealand hard. When they involve key players, they are a double loss – not only for their own value for their contribution of skill and experience but also because their replacements tend to be still finding their feet while attempting to learn their craft at international level.The absence of key players has been probably the one constant in Fleming’s 49-Test career as captain.He’s learned how to cope and even if he doesn’t enjoy not having his first choice firepower to call on, he at least understands the problems his newer charges are having.So it is again, as New Zealand go into a match, in the tough conditions expected in Sri Lanka at this time of year, without Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan – only the latter missing on matters of form rather than injury.For all that, the use of stand-ins over the years has given New Zealand a wider pool of players to have at least experienced more than a few Tests, and it is drawing on this resource to get results that will determine the fate of Fleming’s men in this series.In all respects, runs are the greatest requirement, and they have been the most inconsistent aspect of New Zealand’s play throughout their Test history.Nothing has changed. Fleming needs to continue on the scoring spate that has marked his play of the past summer. Mark Richardson needs to maintain his Test average of 47.17, if not improve on it. Matt Horne needs to regain the touch of a few years ago when at least one century a Test series was not too much to ask. Mathew Sinclair needs to remind his side’s supporters why he has scored two double centuries in Tests.To do that in Sri Lanka means coming to grips with spin challenge that will be mounted by the home team with Muttiah Muralitharan leading the way. In recent times, New Zealand have done better against spin bowling than might earlier have been the case in its history. Doing it again will be a key again this time around.The bowling attack is possibly stronger than has been fielded in Sri Lanka since the days of Richard Hadlee and his supporting metronome in Ewen Chatfield.Shane Bond gives Fleming an artillery barrage considerably more powerful than in recent times. Whether Ian Butler gets the chance to support him, and to build on his still developing international stature, will be determined on the choice of bowling attack for the match.It is certain that Daryl Tuffey will open with Bond, and probably fit more into the support-type role for the fast man that was so successful for Hadlee and Chatfield.Daniel Vettori has already shown his appetite for the action that will make his tour and he should offer New Zealand the chance to at least gain some semblance of parity in the spin-bowling stakes.Paul Wiseman may partner him with his off-spin if Butler is not chosen. Should Wiseman get his chance, it may well be a career-defining opportunity for him.The New Zealanders know they are unfashionable on the world Test front, and they know their status as third-ranked side on the International Cricket Council Test Championship table is under-rated by many.Fleming is especially conscious of this. But at the same time, he knows New Zealand have gained results worthy of that standing. They have been unbeaten in a Test series in Australia, they have beaten the West Indies away, they have beaten England and Zimbawe away. They have beaten India and the West Indies at home and they have shared series with England and Pakistan at home.If they can win the first Test of this series, they will have enhanced their position on the Test ladder.Most countries would be fearing the worst with players like Cairns, Astle and McMillan missing, but New Zealand go into the first Test far from an already beaten unit.

Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who missed the mandatory fitness tests prior to their inclusion for the first two Tests against South Africa, will undergo the procedure at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore on March 21.Both Harbhajan and Dhoni were included by the selectors in the 14-member squad, and were asked to report to the NCA for fitness tests on March 21. Harbhajan was a doubtful starter for the series since he had been suffering from a hamstring injury, while Dhoni had sprained his finger during the second final against Australia in the CB Series.If Dhoni doesn’t clear the test, Dinesh Karthik will take up the wicketkeeping duties, while Harbhajan’s absence may pave the way for Piyush Chawla to take over the second spinner’s role behind captain Anil Kumble. Fast bowler Ishant Sharma has already been ruled out of the first Test, and his selection for the second is subject to fitness.Sachin Tendulkar is another member of the 14-man squad who has not taken the test. According to new BCCI norms, players who have been out of action for a month need to prove their fitness at the NCA ahead of any series. Although Tendulkar had taken part in the CB Series earlier this month, he had been advised two weeks’ rest by John Gloster, the outgoing team physio. However, Tendulkar later said he was fit to take part in the series.

Imraan Khan, an allrounder of Indian origin who plays for KwaZulu-Natal, will captain South Africa’s under-19 team on their tour of England next month.Imraan, who is yet to play a first-class fixture, averages 19 with the bat in four limited-overs matches for his province. His record as an offbreak bowler is equally sketchy, with only one wicket to his name.”It’s going be a tough tour, but with the solid preparations we have had I think when we get there our guys will be ready for the battle.”Imraan, currently a student of media studies at the University of South Africa, was a member of the under-19 squad during the World Cup in New Zealand last year. South Africa lost to Australia in the final, and Imraan collected 10 runs from three innings and four wickets from five matches.

Much as Bangladesh would prefer it otherwise, the attention of the cricket world is going to be focussed on their performance against Australia for all the wrong reasons, when the first Test begins at Darwin tomorrow.Questions like “How quickly can Australia win?” and “What records will they break?” are generating the only interest in this out-of-season fixture in Australia’s far north. The world’s newest Test venue – cricket’s 89th, and only the 11th to acquire first-class status with a Test – is going to be the scene for the most searching study yet of Bangladesh’s membership into the game’s elite club.It would hence be of little comfort that the pitch for the game will be different in nature to the one on which Bangladesh beat the region’s Chief Minister’s XI last weekend. That was a low and slow pitch of sandy nature, but the portable pitch that has been dropped into the middle of the Marrara Oval has a concrete base and is made of local clay.The only possible impediment – and a remote one at that – to a dominating Australian performance will be the fact that the home players have not had the benefit of recent play in their preparation for the match. But it was only six weeks ago that they were in the West Indies, so technique and confidence should not have evaporated in that time, especially in an outfit as competitive as Australia have consistently shown themselves to be.The match is just reward for the long-serving administrators of the Northern Territory, who would never have dreamed that they would be hosting a Test match, let alone the agreed four in the next five years. NT chief executive Jim Ford said that Bangladesh’s participation in Darwin’s first Test had not precluded keen interest in the game. The locals will get a chance to be part of history by attending the match and seeing their own team in the flesh.Ford confidently expects that the audience numbers on Friday or Saturday will give the ground capacity of 13,000 a nudge. “Our administrators started out wanting to foster this part of the world as a winter haven for cricket. We have hosted pre-season camps and have had New Zealand’s team and the Academy side here, and that has helped promote awareness of us and what we have to offer. The ground is looking an absolute treat and there will be quite a carnival atmosphere,” he said.It’s the last week of school holidays, and local schoolchildren and cricket fans have been making good use of the Australian team being in town at a variety of functions that have been taking place.Having already admitted that they might struggle to focus to perform against Bangladesh, it is not hard to imagine the effort that has been going into preparation by coach John Buchanan and captain Steve Waugh. For those players who need a focus, there are some individual milestones worth keeping in mind.Adam Gilchrist is sitting on 2897 runs, at 59.12, and 183 dismissals. Matthew Hayden is set to crack the 3500 mark on 3475. Ricky Ponting, on 4787, has a chance to go past 5000 in the series, while Waugh’s accumulation of runs beyond his 10,265 will give him a shot at getting his average back over 50 and his total nearer Allan Border’s world record mark of 11,174. If he reaches three figures, Waugh will also have scored a century against every Test-playing nation.Apart from the vast reserves of experience the Australians can call on, the Bangladesh’s biggest problem will be that which has dogged their tenure in international cricket – a lack of application. With a background of poor exposure to first-class cricket, the tourists struggle to withstand the pressures of international play for long periods. It would surprise no-one if they struggle even more in Australia, playing as they will be under the shadow of being the weaker team in what is being called the biggest mismatch in Test cricket history.Teams:Australia (from): 1 Steve Waugh (capt), 2 Ricky Ponting, 3 Andy Bichel, 4 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 5 Jason Gillespie, 6 Matthew Hayden, 7 Brad Hogg, 8 Justin Langer, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Darren Lehmann, 11 Martin Love, 12 Stuart MacGill, 13 Glenn McGrathBangladesh (from): Khaled Mahmud (capt), Javed Omar, Khaled Mashud, Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Rafique, Hannan Sarker, Mohammad Ashraful, Al-Sahariar, Manjural Islam, Alok Kapali, Sanwar Hossain, Tareq Aziz, Tapash Baisya, Anwar Hossain Monir, Mashrafe MortazaUmpires: Rudi Koertzen, David Shepherd, Simon Taufel (3rd), Steve Davis (4th)Match referee: Mike Procter

Pakistan’s cricket board has announced a list of probables for the Pakistan A tour of Kenya. A camp will be held from July 12. Wasim Bari, the chairman of selectors, said that a few senior players who did not make the grade for the Asia Cup would instead be considered for the tour to Kenya.Pakistan A kick off their tour with a four-day game against Kenya on August 8, before participating in a tri-series with the hosts, as well as India A.Camp probables
Taufeeq Umar, Babar Naeem, Asif Zakir, Naved Latif, Nomanullah, Shahid Yousuf, Usman Tariq, Naveed Qureshi, Shadab Kabir, Shoaib Khan, Afaq Rahim, Naseem Khan, Faisal Ather, Qaiser Abbas, Salman Qadir, Junaid Zia, Bilal Asad, Mansoor Amjad, Azam Husain, Zulqarnain, Nasir Khan, Irshad Mohammad, Mohammad Khalil.Itinerary
August 5-8 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 11 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 12 Kenya v India A
August 13 Pakistan A v India A
August 14 Kenya v India A
August 15 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 16 Pakistan A v India A
August 17 Kenya v India A
August 19 Pakistan A v India A
August 20 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 21 Final
August 22 Reserve day