Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will give a wealthy fan the opportunity of a lifetime with one-on-one tips during next Tuesday’s tsunami appeal match between MCC and an International XI at Lord’s. During the lunch break the highest on-line auction bidder for the prize will receive 15 minutes of coaching from Tendulkar before walking out to the middle to face an over from Warne, the world’s leading Test wicket-taker.Tom Graveney, the MCC president and former England batsman, said it was an incredible chance for a supporter to live the dream of batting against Warne at Lord’s in front of a large crowd and worldwide television audience. “We hope that this amazing opportunity, which has been made possible by the generosity and co-operation of Shane and Sachin, will raise a significant additional sum for the tsunami appeal.”The auction begins at 1400GMT on Wednesday, June 8 and closes at 1400GMT on Saturday, June 11. Bids can be placed at www.cricketrelief.org and the winner also receives two tickets to the match.

A South African judge, Justice Albie Sachs, has been appointed to hear a dispute over a six-match ban that was imposed by the International Cricket Council on India’s captain, Sourav Ganguly.Justice Sachs will be the sole member of an ICC disputes resolution committee, which has been instigated as a result of the ban imposed on Ganguly by the match referee, Chris Broad, during the one-day series against Pakistan in April.Ganguly was penalised for persistently slow over-rates, a decision that was upheld by the ICC’s appeals commissioner, Michael Beloff. But the Indian board has asked the ICC for arbitration, citing flaws in the process by which the charge and the appeal were heard.Ganguly, who sat out the last two games of that Pakistan series, will have to miss four matches of a tri-series against West Indies and Sri Lanka starting on July 30, if the ban is not overturned.He incurred the ban after his team took 30 extra minutes to bowl the stipulated 50 overs in two successive games. In November last year, Ganguly was banned for two Tests for a similar offence, but his appeal against match referee Clive Lloyd’s decision was upheld by another ICC commissioner, Tim Castle.Justice Sachs would decide on the format and timeframe for the hearing and, according to the ICC statement, his decision would be final.

The saving grace of defeat is that it invariably brings lessons. India haven’t merely lost a Test inBangalore; they have been crushed by opponents whohave been a few steps ahead of them. Australians havebatted smarter, bowled smarter and set smarter fields.There is little use in finding comfort from the memoryof a similar defeat in Mumbai in 2001 – badly beatenin the first Test, India went on to win the series 2-1- because miracles wouldn’t be miracles if theyrepeated themselves.India must remember Kolkata and Chennai to givethemselves hope, but it will be futile andself-defeating to hope for an extraordinary event toconjure itself up and turn the series around. Australiahave paid India a huge compliment by changing theirgame for this series and India have been caughtnapping.The difference beween Mumbai 2001 and Bangalore 2004is stark: Australia won in Mumbai by playing their traditionalgame; they swept, they set aggressive fields and theywere 99 for five in the first innings before AdamGilchrist chanced his arm around to bail them out. Anda chance dismissal – Sachin Tendulkar’s full bloodedpull against Shane Warne ricocheted of Justin Langerat forward short leg and Ricky Ponting brought off amagical catch, sprinting nearly 25 yards and divingfull-length to pluck the ball inches off the ground -gave Australia the decisive advantage when Indiabatted second. John Buchanan later admitted that histeam’s biggest failure in 2001 was not seeing thewarning signals in Mumbai.This time Australia have left nothing to chance. Theywill not call for champagne and cigar before sealingoff a win. Buchanan was quick to remind journalists atlast evening’s press conference that Australia stillhad four wickets to take. India must know now thatthis is not an Australian side that will not defeatitself. Unlike in the past, this is not a team that istoo proud to defend, either with bat or in the field.India have only three days to come up with a revisedgameplan.With a hundred more runs in the first innings, theresult of this game could have been different. TheAustralian wickets in the second innings did not fallin the pursuit of quick runs. Apart from that ofMichael Kasprowicz, each of them was claimed byguileful bowling on a wicket that had begun to wear.Harbhajan Singh bowled poorly in the first innings,but throughout the second innings, he was masterful.He tied down Simon Katich and Michael Clarke andreduced Damien Maryn to strokelessness. India can’t bank onwinning the toss, but they must have noticed thatGlenn McGrath is a much lesser menace after his firstfour overs; somehow, they need to play him out.Sourav Ganguly has been a wonderful captain for theyoung players. But he has done poor Aakash Chopra nofavours. It is no secret that Gangly prefers attackingplayers, but what could have happened without Chopra’sstonewalling in Australia is evident now. India have awonderful middle order, but it needs protection.Indian batting has come unhinged in two out oftheir last three Tests, and on each occasion, themiddle order has failed to survive the loss of earlywickets. Chopra lost his place to Yuvraj Singh in thelast Test of India’s tour to Pakistan, and ever since,Ganguly has let no opportunity pass to let the worldknow that Yuvraj was his first choice to partnerVirender Sehwag. India were spared a selectionconundrum with Sachin Tendulkar missing this Test, butChopra must feel like a man with a time bomb aroundhis neck and he has batted like one. Chopra has toknow where he stands.

Top-order Test batsmen don’t stick their bat outsidethe off stump like tailenders, and on the evidenceof his performance in this Test, Yuvraj Singh has someway to go. The Indian team could become a closedsociety if the team management refuses to look beyondthe chosen few. Sridharan Sriram has had a wonderfulcouple of seasons, he scored a wonderful hundredagainst a full Indian bowling attack in apractice match, and he should be seen as an option.Apart from Harbhajan’s bowling, the most hearteningfeature for India from this match was Irfan Pathan’sbatting. He looks more impressive with every match and inthe post-match media conference, Gilchrist describedPathan as mature beyond his years, and Ganguly said that heconsidered him an allrounder. Apart from the strokesthat he can play, the most striking feature of hisbatting is the way he gets behind the line of the balland the way he leaves them outside his off stump. Thismorning he batted out 38 ballswithout scoring a run when Dravid was protecting himfrom Shane Warne, and after Dravid departed, he wasquick to use his feet against Warne to clout him for acouple of fours and six. If you add up both innings, he battedthe longest for India in this match and scored the mostruns.The other good news for India is that Warne, despitegetting VVS Laxman in both innings, seldom lookedthreatening. So if India can keep apace with Australiafor the first two days in Chennai, the series might still beopen.Wisden Asia Cricket

South Australia 254 and 6 for 289 dec beat Victoria 223 and 202 (Moss 50, Tait 4-34) by 118 runs
Scorecard

A young South Australian side has upstaged the champions Victoria by grabbing an outright victory in the Pura Cup match at Adelaide. The emerging paceman Shaun Tait led South Australia, who included four debutants, with match figures of 9 for 73 as Victoria fell well short of their target of 321.Tait’s returns of 5 for 39 and 4 for 34 were more reminders to the national selectors, and earned him the Man of the Match award. “Whenever you throw the ball to him in times of need he delivers and that’s what you want from a premier fast bowler,” said SA’s captain Graham Manou.Victoria resumed at 1 for 7, but a spirited run-chase never looked likely – they were soon in deep trouble at 3 for 17. Some resistance in the middle order, helped by a swag of dropped catches, gave Victoria a chance before their captain Jonathan Moss (50) went after lunch.Paul Rofe picked up three wickets for the Redbacks while the debutant Dan Cullen collected two with his offspin. The win earned South Australia the David Hookes Memorial Trophy, which was established earlier this year as a tribute to the state’s former captain and Victoria’s coach.

Gary Gilmour, the Australian swing bowler who famously took 6 for 14 against England in the 1975 World Cup semi-final, is fighting for his life and is in desperate need of a liver transplant.Gilmour, who is 54, needs an operation urgently and fund-raising efforts are being spearheaded by Ian Chappell, his former Australian captain. “His condition has deteriorated to the point where he is on three hours’ standby for surgery that will, hopefully, give him a new lease of life,” Chappell said. “It is vital that funds be raised to cover his medical costs and his family’s ongoing needs.”Chappell has organised a dinner in Sydney on September 23, and a number of past and present players have donated items for auction. “One of the guests may possibly end up being 13th man during the Australia-Rest of the World Test in Sydney in October,” Chappell said. “And that means being in the Australian dressing-room and carrying the drinks.”Gilmour, a burly allrounder, burst onto the scene at Headingley in June 1975 when, in ideal conditions, he destroyed England in a display rated by Wisden as the greatest one-day bowling performance ever. Then, set just 94 to win, Australia were in tatters on 38 for 6 when he hit a run-a-ball 28 not out to see them through to the final. Although Australia lost that game to West Indies, Gilmour was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 48 off his 12 overs.Despite that remarkable start, Gilmour played only 15 Tests and three more ODIs. “A debilitating foot injury was a handicap,” noted Gideon Haigh. “So was a light-hearted attitude to training and fitness that owed more to the 1950s than to the increasingly professional era of which he was part.””I couldn’t play under today’s conditions, what with the travelling and training and scientific aspects,” Gilmour once said. “It’s not a sport any more, it’s like going to work. You know how some mornings you get up and don’t want to go to work – that’s how I’d feel playing cricket these days. I’d clock on for a sickie.”

ScorecardA stunning unbeaten 158 by Adam Bacher at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom was instrumental in the Lions successfully chasing down a steep target of 305 set by the Warriors. It was Bacher’s highest score in the competition, as well as the Standard Bank Cup’s second-highest score, and the result was that the Lions cantered home with eight wickets to spare in 43.4 overs. In the last ten overs of their innings, 105 runs were scored.The Warriors had come out blazing after choosing to bat first on a batsman’s dream pitch. When the Lions removed Dumisa Makalima early, Arno Jacobs came out and ravaged the bowlers with 102 runs off 105 balls. Tyron Henderson struck seven boundaries and two sixes in his 69 while Mark Boucher added a quick 42 in what appeared to be a winning total of 304 for 7. Derek Crookes, although expensive in his eight overs, took 3 for 72.In reply, the Lions started briskly, but could not keep up with the required run-rate. Bacher stood firm, while Hylton Ackerman attempted to raise the scoring-rate. His 75 in 62 helped but they still needed nearly 10 an over in the final 10 overs. Bacher had taken 115 balls to reach his hundred and then decided to go into overdrive. In another 27 balls, he had 158 and the Lions had won a game in which 612 runs had been scored.
ScorecardAt Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein, Western Province Boland beat the Eaglesin a game that could have gone either way to the very end. The Eagles began in a determined fashion after losing the toss and being asked to bat. Morne van Wyk and Jonathan Beukus put on 131 runs before van Wyk was stumped while trying to up the tempo. Van Wyk’s 65 had opened the door for Benjamin Hector to score a quick 35 off 31. Beukus, playing the anchor role, scored a patient 77. In trying to score quickly, Nicky Boje and Johannes van der Wath fell within two balls of each other as the Eagles finished on 229 for 5.A second-wicket partnership of 184 between Andrew Puttick and Ashwell Prince followed the early wicket of Herschelle Gibbs. The wickets of Prince for 77, Puttick for an excellent 109 and Jean-Paul Duminy for eight swung the game, leaving it on a knife’s edge. In the end, Neil Johnson swung the game in Province’s favour, scoring 21 off 13 balls to see them to 233 for 4 with only two balls to spare.
ScorecardAfter winning the toss and batting first in Durban, the Dolphins were in trouble, but were rescued by Imraan Khan and Dale Benkenstein. Even then, they could only muster 216 for seven in the 45 overs allocated.When rain interrupted after 20 overs, the Titans had struggled to 90 for 4, and were behind the Dolphins on Duckworth-Lewis. But on resumption, Albie Morkel took matters into his own hands and smeared the ball around the ground. Having an able partner in Justin Kemp, he saw the Titans regain control, but fell for 44 (31 balls) to a good boundary catch. Once again the game was in the balance but Kemp, with 79 not out, and an unbeaten 31 from Geoffrey Toyana saw the Titans home by 5 wickets.

Forty-two years after making his debut as a television commentator in England, Richie Benaud bowed out today at The Oval.His final words were simple and typically Benaud. “Thank you for having me,” he said. “It’s been absolutely marvelous. I’ve loved every moment of it.’A little while before his last stint, the crowd at The Oval had been informed over the PA that Benaud was about to embrak on his final spell, and they reacted with spontaneous applause. The players also stopped and clapped.”He knows his subject inside out and has a sense of timing and a wit that few people can match,” Channel 4’s Mark Nicholas, a former captain of Hampshire, said in an interview. Benaud, 74, insisted that he remained in love with the game, and was delighted to end with such a dramatic series. “It’s my view, and people may disagree with it, that this series shades that tour,” he explained. “And that’s saying something.”He will continue to be heard regularly in Australia where he recently signed a new three-year deal with Channel Nine. And Michael Slater, a co-commentator at Channel 4, hinted that Benaud would be looking for another extension at the end of that deal.Benaud ended with some words of encouragement for the beaten Australians. “There are plenty of good young players around in Australia,” he said. “They’ll fight back very quickly.”

Zimbabwe have named six of the 14 members who will comprise the Test squad for the series against India, beginning at Bulawayo on September 13.Tatenda Taibu, the captain, Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Blessing Mahwire, Christopher Mpofu and Prosper Utseya are the six who have been named while the remaining eight will be selected from the Zimbabwe Board XI who will play a three-day warm-up match against India at Mutare, beginning on September 8.Zimbabwe Board XI
Hamilton Mazakadsa (capt), Keith Dabengwa, Chaminorwa Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Terrance Duffin, Dion Ebrahim, Anthony Ireland, Allan Mwayenga, Wellington Mwayenga, Vusimusi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor, Williams

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

A typically clinical bowling performance overcame a less distinguished fielding effort as Australia dismantled a star-studded World XI, winning the first of the three Super Series matches by 93 runs under lights, and a roof, at the Telstra Dome while it rained on the rest of Melbourne. Ricky Ponting’s men chose to bat, put 255 on the board, and then made it seem more like 355 with canny bowling.Kumar Sangakkara must have wondered if he was back in Colombo batting for Nondescripts Cricket Club as he ploughed a lone furrow, stitching together a stylish, yet occasionally streaky, half-century while all around him faltered and fell. The target of 256 appeared on the lower side, even accounting for a sluggish outfield, but Glenn McGrath showed why he is still the most lethal thing with a new ball in hand.Virender Sehwag found that you cannot pull McGrath off a length and get away with it, hitting straight to Michael Hussey at midwicket. Jacques Kallis was audacious enough to come down the pitch and hit McGrath over cover, but was soon trapped in front by one that swung in late. Then Brian Lara – a big draw in this team – drove Nathan Bracken straight to short cover. Rahul Dravid battled to steady the ship, but 50 for 3 became 75 for 4 when he mis-hit a pull off Brett Lee, who bowled with pace and bounce in his second spell.Kevin Pietersen, who tormented the Australians all through the Ashes summer, came upon a bowler who he had not taken apart, and was trapped in front by one that Shane Watson got to jag back in. Soon after Watson should also have had Andrew Flintoff, who pulled straight to Lee at deep backward square-leg, but the catch was floored. Watson barely had time to bemoan his luck before inducing another false shot – this time from Sangakkara who cut towards point – only to see Ponting, juggle, fumble and somehow manage to hold on to the ball.If the road ahead looked difficult at 101 for 6, it became next to impossible when Shahid Afridi, the Supersub, was trapped in front for 2 by a flat, quick offbreak from Andrew Symonds. Watson then capped off an excellent display on the field by swooping in from deep backward square-leg, picking the ball up one-handed and throwing the stumps down from outside the thirty-yard circle to find Shaun Pollock short of his crease.Flintoff, like Sangakkara had earlier on, battled on, but without support there was never any real chance of launching an assault on 256 from 118 for 8. Sangakkara’s 65 included some fine strokes as he uninhibitedly took the aerial route whenever offered width outside off, and flicked and drove wristily through the on-side when the ball was full and straight. But it was nowhere near enough. Flintoff kept the crowd interested with 38, but when he holed out to long-on with the score on 150, giving Watson his third wicket, the game was over.Australia’s batting could well have gone the World XI way, with wickets falling at regular intervals after a fine start. Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich, opening the batting, put on 80, thanks mainly to Gilchrist, who went after the bowling while Katich was content biding his time. Gilchristhad rattled up 45 off just 48 balls before being cleaned up by a full one from Kallis that came in just a touch. Ponting said hello to Flintoff with a cracking pulled six, but played one shot too many and perished on 23, trying to come down the pitch and loft Pollock out of the ground.

Then Muttiah Muralitharan applied the famous Kandy choke. Big spinning offbreaks garnished with the odd fizzing doosra proved too much to digest for Damien Martyn, who tamely chipped to mid-on, and Katich (68) who closed the face of the bat early and popped back a return catch. What Murali began Daniel Vettori ended. The hallmark of quality finger spin is accuracy, and Vettori held the ball virtually on a string, varying his pace, trajectory and angle of delivery like an old master.Vettori accounted for Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey and Watson, but not before Symonds and Hussey had compiled invaluable 30s. When the Australian innings ended on 255, thanks to a late flurry from Lee, Vettori would have believed his 4 for 31 had put the World XI on track to victory. Then again, this is Australia, and dominating half the game is often not enough to ensure victory.

AustraliaAdam Gilchrist b Kallis 45 (80 for 1)
Ricky Ponting c Lara b Pollock 23 (128 for 2)
Damien Martyn c Lara b Muralitharan 0 (128 for 3)
Simon Katich c & b Muralitharan 58 (142 for 4)
Michael Clarke c & b Vettori 6 (154 for 5)
Andrew Symonds c Flintoff b Vettori 36 (206 for 6)
Shane Watson c Lara b Vettori 8 (223 for 7)
Michael Hussey c Pietersen b Vettori 33 (231 for 8)
World XI
Virender Sehwag c Hussey b McGrath 6 (18 for 1)
Jacques Kallis lbw b McGrath 8 (45 for 2)
Brian Lara c Symonds b Bracken 0 (50 for 3)
Rahul Dravid c Ponting b Lee 4 (75 for 4)
Kevin Pietersen lbw b Watson 2 (82 for 5)
Kumar Sangakkara c Ponting b Watson 65 (101 for 6)
Shahid Afridi lbw b Symonds 2 (104 for 7)
Shaun Pollock run out (Watson) 5 (118 for 8)
Andrew Flintoff c McGrath b Watson 38 (150 for 9)
Daniel Vettori c Ponting b Lee 15 (162 for 10)

The PCB have made the match referee, Roshan Mahanama, aware of their concerns over Inzamam-ul-Haq’s controversial run out on the second day at Faisalabad.In a statement they say Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, has written to Mahanama while the PCB Chairman, Shahryar Khan, held a phone conversation with the ICC President shortly after the incident. The statement makes it clear the PCB’s feeling about the run out when Steve Harmison shied at the stumps in his followthrough. “It is evident that Inzamam took evasive action to avoid injury and according to the laws should not have been given out.”The ICC have yet to give a reply but confirmed to Cricinfo that it was within the remit of the third umpire to give Inzamam not out if he thought he was taking evasive action.Meanwhile, the PCB will also hold an internal investigation into Shahid Afridi’s scuffing of the Faisalabad pitch, which has resulted in him being banned for one Test and two ODIs.