Assam handed a demoralising innings and 193 run defeat to Tripura intheir East Zone Under-14 tournament match at the Gymkhana ground inJorhat on Thursday. Assam with this win earned eight points.Resuming on the final day at 34 for 4, Tripura’s first inningscollapsed for just 51 runs. S Banik (16) was the only Tripura batsmanwho got past double figures. SI Choudhury (5 for 12) along with UMedhi (3 for 11) were the wreckers-in-chief for Assam.Following on, Tripura were again fishing in troubled waters. Thoughthe second innings lasted 39.5 overs Tripura managed only 19 runs thistime around. S Purkayastha (3 for 0 in his 4.5 overs) and Ibrahim Ali(3 for 2) shared the bowling honours for Assam.Earlier opting to bat, Assam in their first innings scored 263 runs.The chief architects being A Sengupta (57) and skipper SI Choudhury(52). The two were involved in a 70 run fourth wicket stand in 8.2overs. Opener P Aziz (38), S Purkayastha (25) and R Gupta (29) alsochipped in with some useful contributions.

The batsmen enabled Delhi to comfortably enter the quarterfinals of the VijayMerchant Trophy Under-16 tournament by virtue of the massive first innings leadof 199 runs over Orissa at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Ground in Calcuttaon Wednesday. Delhi now take on Mumbai in the quarterfinal to be played fromJanuary 5 to 7.Resuming at 287 for 6, Delhi were all out for 430 in 137.2 overs. Carrying onfrom were they left off, Abishek Nag (76) and A Bali (69) forged a 118-runseventh wicket stand. A Bali was the first to be dismissed in the afternoon,caught by G Sahoo off SK Jahangir. New batsman H Khullar departed seven ballslater, falling leg before to B Mohanty. Then Nag took the score to 430 when hewas bowled by R Mohanty. During his 228-minute stay, Nag faced 185 balls and hit13 fours.In the remaining 2-1/2 hours, Orissa in their second innings scored 137 whilelosing the wicket of P Pradhan (19). The other opener Priyadarshi Debasish (50)and Rakesh Mohanty (62) took the team to stumps without further hiccups.Priyadarshi faced 147 balls and hit six of them to the ropes while Mohanty faced90 balls and found the signboards eleven times.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. And while the selectors haveto keep the classy players in mind, they should not ignore form too.Besides, they have to watch out for a cricketer’s attitude, asalso whether he is injury prone, whether he fits into the scheme ofthings (the horses for courses policy for example). Oh yes, aselector’s job is not easy. The quintet are going to get damned ifthey pick this player or that and are really in a no win situation.In any Indian squad, the majority of the players pick themselves. Butit is the choice of those two or three fringe cricketers that causesthe troubles, heartaches and controversy. If a player on form isselected, the critics point to another cricketer, classy enough to bepicked. If on the other hand, the selectors go for the cricketerwho has class written all over him, they are hauled over the coals forneglecting the form player. The selectors really are always skating onthin ice.Should performances on the national circuit count? One assumes theyshould. For otherwise, the affected players, besides cricket `experts’all over the country, could well argue what is the point in doing wellif the selectors are going to turn a blind eye. On the other hand,there are classy players who are already regulars in the side and whocannot take part in much of the domestic circuit because of the tightinternational calendar. Should the selectors opt for them or go forbatsmen who score 1000 plus runs or bowlers who pick up 50 wicketsand more in the Ranji Trophy?Players like Yere Goud, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Satyajit Parab, ConnorWilliams, Dodda Ganesh, Gagandeep Singh, Valmik Buch and Rakesh Patelmay well ask what more they have to do to even be considered seriouslyfor the national team. Goud was the highest run getter in the RanjiTrophy last season – 901 runs at an average of 75.08 with two hundredsand four fifties – while playing a stellar role in Railways comingtantalisingly close to winning the country’s premier nationalcompetition. He wasn’t even among the 26 probables called for the tourof Zimbabwe. Orissa entered the semifinals for the first time, thanksin the main to the form shown by Parida who scored 885 runs on his wayto notching up the season’s highest average of 110.62 with twohundreds and six fifties. He too was not among the probables. Barodawho won the Ranji Trophy after 43 years, were indebted to theiropeners Parab and Williams who scored 809 and 728 runs respectively.Neither of them were in the list of probables.But honestly can any one of them seriously consider himself unluckynot to be considered for higher honours. The middle order door isclosed tightly. Hemang Badani, talented and in form, cannot find aplace in the Test squad. The openers, if not in the same class as themiddle order or possessing the same degree of permanency, have stillnot done badly enough to warrant a replacement. So there is really noscope for any batsman to get into the side – unless he runs into aBradmanesque run.An interesting point however revolves around the bowling. It is wellchronicled that the Indian bowling is the weak link in the team andthere is scope for a bowler, capable of taking wickets consistently,particularly on the featherbed wickets at home, to squeeze into thesquad. The season’s highest wicket taker with 37 wickets, Dodda Ganeshwas overlooked but the second and third highest wicket takers AshishNehra (36) and Debasish Mohanty (35) got the nod, first into theprobables list and then into the touring squad. And while Harbhajan isnow in the category of certainty when it comes to the Indian team, itis interesting to note that he took 28 wickets at 13.96 apiece. RakeshPatel, who with 34 wickets was one of the stars of Baroda’s triumph,was summoned to the camp for the probables.So players who do well around the domestic circuit need not despair.Obviously the selectors make a note of their performances and besidesthe classy cricketers, they do not totally ignore the form players too.

One of the more difficult tasks a cricket writer embarks on is thewriting of an obituary. It is with a touch of sadness that one recordsthe passing of Trevor Nyasha Madondo, aged just 24 years. A talentedZimbabwean middle order batsman, Madondo was one of the most promisingblack cricketers in Zimbabwe when he succumbed to malaria at theParirenyatwa Hospital in Harare on June 11.When Zimbabwe came to India in late 2000, they arrived with high hopesfor Madondo. In the first warm up game that was played against theNational Cricket Academy at Indore, Madondo came good with the bat. Abatsman who favoured the classical approach to the game, Madondonotched up a quick 28 (34 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) in the first inningsbatting at number six. Tackling the spinners well, Madondo showed thathe was capable of adapting to Indian conditions and using his feetwell. In the second innings of the same game, skipper Guy Whittallthought it fit to promote Madondo, sending him in at number three.With two wickets falling in a hurry, Madondo was forced toconsolidate. Settling in well, driving through the offside withaplomb, Madondo compiled 65 (138 minutes, 7 fours) and put on 122 withAndy Flower.But that was Madondo’s best effort on tour. The second tour matchyielded scores of 26 and 17. The tour match however, showed anotherside of Madondo. In the second innings, Andy Flower took a breakbehind the stumps and Madondo donned the gloves. Tidy behind thestumps, Madondo made his contribution to a Zimbabwean victory.Not picked to play either of the two Tests, Madondo had to be contentwatching from the sidelines.In the one-day series however, Madondo was picked to play both thefourth and fifth matches. The big moment for the youngster came whenhe top scored in the final one-dayer at Rajkot. Making a 70-ball 71(10 fours) at the top of the order, Madondo gave Zimbabwe a fightingchance of chasing a mammoth Indian total of 302.In 13 limited overs games, Madondo’s top score was 71. In all, Madondoplayed only three Tests, and made a highest score of 74 not outagainst New Zealand at Wellington in December last year. Sadly, thatwas the last Test innings Madondo played.The cricket world is shocked by the passing of a talented cricketer soyoung. Perhaps a death of someone so young causes more grief than thedeath of someone in advanced years. In conversation, Madondo cameacross as an enthusiastic, cheerful young cricketer.A memorial service was held in Harare on Monday and he was buried thenext day.

England coach Duncan Fletcher and his fellow selectors will meet ECB officials tomorrow to discuss what went wrong in the NatWest Series and see what lessons can be learned.England lost all their six games – four of them comprehensively – in the triangular competition involving Australia and Pakistan. They have now lost 11 One-Day Internationals in a row.Selectors David Graveney and Geoff Miller will join Fletcher in the meeting at Lord’s and can expect some tough questioning although the meeting is intended to be constructive.”To lose all six matches is not good enough,” said ECB chief executive Tim Lamb. “We need to review where our performance has gone wrong in this series and also to talk to the selectors about their strategy for the future, particularly in regard to one-day cricket.”They met for three hours on Wednesday to talk about that and we’ve calledthe selectors in to have a review. It’s not a witch-hunt, it’s a constructivediscussion because we’re all responsible.”We think it’s a responsible thing to do as a senior management team, toconduct a little bit of an inquiry into what has gone wrong over the past fewweeks and hopefully to satisfy ourselves that the selectors have a robust planin place.”I think England supporters would want us to look at this situation because6-0 is not good enough. The wheels have come off during this tournament and itis our duty to hear what the selectors have to say although there is nosuggestion that heads are going to roll.”In fact, Lamb offered a vote of confidence to the selectors ahead of tomorrow’s meeting.”We have total confidence in Duncan Fletcher, we have total confidence in theselectors and they are all contracted to the end of the 2003 season,” hestressed.”This is a sensible review. It’s not usual we lose six matches out of six ina one-day series and it’s the right thing to do under the circumstances.”It’s not a panic measure; we just think as senior managers of the game, weowe it to the many English supporters who are very disappointed about theperformances, to conduct a review into what went wrong.”Graveney welcomed the meeting as a chance for both the selectors and the ECB hierarchy to air their views.”A meeting like this had to happen and it’s better sooner rather thanlater,” said Graveney. “We’ve learned a lot from this tournament and likewiseI’m sure the young players have learned a lot.”We’ve played two of the top one-day sides in the world and I’d defy any teamwith the possible exception of Australia to be able to cope with losing four orfive key players through injury like we’ve had to do.”The Board want to know what we’re doing to put thing right and that’s fairenough – I don’t see it as a blood-letting exercise.”

New Zealand cricket fans could be in for a bonanza of viewing this year as SKY Television lines up its busiest year yet.New Zealand’s games in Sri Lanka’s Coca-Cola Cup starting next Wednesday will be screened live here while the three-Test series and three One-Day Internationals against Pakistan in September and October will also be screened live.The series of three Tests and the Australia-South Africa-New Zealand tri-series will be screened, as usual, in November, December and January.But the big bonus for cricket coverage is that nine rounds of the domestic one day competition, previously the Shell Cup, could be screened throughout January.The Bangladesh and England tours will be screened in fully while women’s cricket will also have a slice of the cake.Last year’s CricInfo Women’s World Cup final when New Zealand beat Australia in the last over was the highest ranking sports event for a December that SKY has had.In order to maintain a connection with the women’s game, the three-match series of One-Day Internationals between Australia and New Zealand will be screened in March next year.The games are to be played at Lincoln University, the venue for the World Cup, and there is a chance that one match, possibly the third, will be played at Jade Stadium under lights.There is also the chance that live coverage will be provided of New Zealand’s end of season tour to the West Indies. Negotiations are continuing on achieving that.SKY Sport’s channel manager Jeremy Hill said: “We are investigating coverage from the West Indies, we would love to have that.”He confirmed that negotiations were continuing with a free-to-air partner for cricket coverage this year.TV3 had free-to-air access last summer but its deal was for only one year with SKY.

Somerset Seconds had by for the best of the first day of their Championship match against Sussex at Hastings.After winning the toss Somerset skipper Matthew Wood batted first, and together with Piran Holloway shared a first wicket partnership of 169.The in form Wood was eventually out after scoring 82, with Holloway, who has strugged to make runs in the first team making 73.Jason Kerr also made 73, and put on 116 with Arul Suppiah who contributed 18.At the close of play Somerset were in a strong position having scored 341 for 5 off the 105 overs, with Graham Rose not out on 41 and Matt Bulbeck unbeaten on 13.

Needing 321 to win Worcs ended the third day on 9-0 from four overs. Notts’ batsmen had totally dominated the day putting behind them their awful collapse on the opening afternoon. A century by Greg Blewett, plus fifties for three of the middle order, renewed home hopes of a first Championship victory of the season at Trent BridgeBeginning the day on 39-1 Notts were indebted to their second-wicket pairing of skipper Darren Bicknell and Australian Greg Blewett. Their stand of exactly 100 had taken the home side into an overall lead but was ended when Chris Liptrot trapped Bicknell lbw for 38.The same bowler also accounted for Blewett but not before he had completed his fourth Championship ton of the season, getting there with a lofted six straight back over bowler Matt Rawnsley.Usman Afzaal made 53 and Paul Johnson 18 as the middle order continued to build upon the earlier fine work. By tea the lead was already more than 200 and shortly afterwards Kevin Pietersen advanced to his own fifty (80 mins 66 balls 10x4s) then lifted Rawnsley high over mid-wicket for six.Chris Read, on his 23rd birthday, had also hit a maximum during the afternoon session and he lifted Rawnsley for another as he helped Pietersen post the second century stand of the innings.Pietersen held his bat aloft on reaching 76, acknowledging those who were aware that, after Blewett, he had become the second Notts player to reach 1,000 first-class runs for the season. In his first season of county cricket the 21-year-old could, quite rightly, be proud of the achievement.A first ton at Trent Bridge looked a certainty but on 86 he was run out by a brilliant piece of fielding from Rawnsley, swooping at extra cover to return Read’s shot sharply to Steve Rhodes. Three balls later Richard Logan went without scoring, not playing a shot at David Leatherdale.Worcestershire took the new ball as soon as it became due and a Bichel half volley enabled Read to clatter it through the covers for the boundary needed to reach his 50 (124 mins 99 balls 5x4s 2x6s).A J Harris then tried to leave alone a delivery from Bichel but only succeeded in gloving it to Rhodes and without further addition to the total Read edged Sheriyar to Vikram Solanki at first slip. Nadeem Malik scored his first senior runs with a sliced boundary over the slips but then, with the total on 423, he was held in the gully by Weston.

It’s been delayed by almost a month. But it has made no difference tothe approach and enthusiasm of the two teams in the annual Cable &Wireless Under-15 cricket final starting today.And one thing’s for certain the name which is etched onto the trophywill be one that has never been engraved there before.The Lodge School in St John and Queen’s College in St James arecontesting the final for the first time in the history of thetournament which was first sponsored by the telecommunications company15 years ago.The match, originally set for August 7-9 was initially put back by aweek. But it was further delayed to allow both teams to be at fullstrength. Had it been played from August 14-16 both schools would havebeen affected by the absence of players on tour in England with theNational Sports Council’s (NSC) Under-13 team.Those players have returned to the island and the stage is set forwhat is anticipated to be a competitive three-day final.We expect to win, even though we would have been better off playingstraight after the semifinal, said Rory Sidaway, the man in charge ofQueen’s College. We had just thrashed St Leonard’s and we were feelinggood. We’ve been practising hard. We have maintained the momentum asbest we can and we are ready to beat Lodge.Sidaway’s counterpart Clifton Phillips was just as upbeat. Our chancesare pretty good. We’ve worked hard throughout the season and the guyshave really responded well. This is what it all comes down to, so oncewe execute, we can come out on top.The Lodge appear to be the team which might have been most affectedhad the match gone ahead when the NSC squad was on tour.Queen’s College are welcoming back their leading wicket-takerChristopher Jordan, while Lodge had three boys in England ShamarhBrooks, Chad Linton and Dawayne Sealy.I don’t see it (the delay) as being either positive or negative,Phillips said.We are taking it in stride. Fortunately a number of our players areinvolved in the second division and we’ve had some good practices inbetween.Queen’s College have not been known to be powerhouses in schools’cricket but they have reached this far on the strength of hard work,regular practice and playing to their potential.They have been playing to their ability, Sidaway said. We bat welldown the order. We have a good bowling attack and we’re veryconfident.Among their leading players in the prelimina-ries were captain KerwinElias (243 runs), Nicholai Parris (199) and Nicholas Stanford (187).Apart from Jordan, the bowling revolved around off-spinning allrounder Niaz Dokrat (21 wickets) and medium-pacer Mario Gill (18).The Lodge’s top run-scorer was captain, wicket-keeper, opening batsmanand Barbados Under-15 selectee Nicholas Squires. He made 327 runsincluding a highest score of 130 to go with 17 dismissals behind thestumps.Brooks, one of the island’s gifted young talents, made 118 runs andtook 35 wickets with his leg-breaks, while all-rounder Andre Gillweighed in with 142 runs and 15 wickets.It has been a team effort really. We don’t have one really outstandingplayer at this stage, Phillips said.Quite a few people have gotten wickets at different stages and almostall the batsmen have had score of significance.

Star Indian batsman VVS Laxman has withdrawn from the Balmain side that was due to play Mosman in a Sydney grade fixture this weekend.The right hander from Hyderabad was originally included among a squad of 12 players chosen to represent the club in the match at the Drummoyne Oval. But he has been forced to pull out of the commitment today, after apparently discovering that he is due to fly home to India on the scheduled second day of the game.Balmain officials confirmed late this evening that their budding star import will not participate in the match.Laxman, who underwent knee surgery in Sydney in August, had been attempting to prove his return to full fitness ahead of India’s three-Test tour of South Africa which begins next month.In the wake of his withdrawal, though, doubts are likely to persist over the extent to which he has recovered from that surgery.