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Cricinfo.com, the world’s largest single sport website, is venturing into print with the launch of . The monthly title will hit the newsstands in the first week of January.Though the magazine will be primarily aimed at an Indian readership – both in India and overseas – it will have a strong international flavour and will feature some of the world’s finest cricket writers. It will be be published by Infomedia India, an established publisher of special-interest magazines and business directories, under a license agreement with the Wisden Group.The first issue will comprise 124-pages, with a 32-page preview supplement on the eagerly-anticipated India-Pakistan series. In the cover features, Rahul Dravid, the India captain, shares his vision for Indian cricket, while Greg Chappell, the national coach, talks about his innovative coaching methods.Other key features include an in-depth look at fast bowling down the years, an examination of Pakistan’s growth as a team, interviews with Ian Healy and Chaminda Vaas, and Virender Sehwag’s flashback to one of his classic innings.The new magazine will be edited by Sambit Bal and compiled by the same experienced editorial team that produced . While retaining the core values of its acclaimed predecessor, will contain more pages and additional features. Regular contributors will include Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar and the first issue also features articles by Peter Roebuck, Mukul Kesavan and Gideon Haigh.Tom Gleeson, the CEO of the Wisden Group, said the magazine was a logical extension of the Cricinfo brand. “Cricinfo.com is the world’s largest publisher of cricket news, scores and analysis on the Internet. It makes perfect sense for us, in partnership with Infomedia, to bring the brand to the magazine stand.” will share the values that have made the website so successful, but it will also enable us to showcase the finest cricket writing and photography in the best possible format.”Prakash Iyer, the CEO of Infomedia India, said: “Cricket is India’s number one passion, and given that there is no specialist magazine of real quality in India catering for cricket lovers, we are looking to fill the void with .”The world’s largest and most passionate cricket audience deserves a truly world-class magazine. We will ensure that becomes the Indian fan’s can’t-put-down-companion.”The new title will be available on annual subscription to fans of the Indian game around the world. Full details of global subscription rates will be available on Cricinfo.com from the beginning of January.

ScorecardAt 13 for 2, Baroda were in deep trouble as the second day came to a close at Vadodara. They had been bowled out for 69 – their overnight score – in the morning, and then Tamil Nadu bettered their own first innings total by putting on 183. With a target of 272 facing them, and two days to get there, Baroda’s batsmen attempted to stay at the crease for a long period. While Connor Williams survived to reach nine, two others played out 41 minutes between them and added only 3 runs before being dismissed. Tomorrow, they will require 259 more on a pitch where only one batsman out of 32 dismissed has managed to score a fifty.
ScorecardAfter Mumbai reached 292 at Wankhede, Nilesh Kulkarni went to work on Karnataka’s batsmen, and prised out 5 for 39. Karnataka were dismissed for 166, losing all ten wickets for the addition 84 runs after Robin Uthappa (39) and Barrington Rowland (43) put on 82. Romesh Powar also had a hand in Karnataka’s capitulation with 4 for 70. But before the day was out, Karnataka had their own back, dismissing Wasim Jaffer in the first over. Mumbai ended on 2 for 1, with an overall lead of 128.
ScorecardKirat Damani led Gujarat to 353 with his marathon innings of 142, before becoming the second of Sunil Dholpure’s five victims. After Damani’s departure, S Yadav shepherded the tail past 350. Madhya Pradesh then found the going hard, and were reduced to 62 for 3, with the top three gone. The sole performer for the team was Dholpure, who ended with figures of 5 for 70.
ScorecardDelhi were on the verge of overtaking Bengal’s total of 240 at Kolkata by the end of the second day. At 184 for 3, they were only 56 runs behind, with the two batsmen, Mithun Manhas and Vijay Dahiya, well-set at the crease. Manhas was on 79 and Dahiya on 68. They came together after Delhi tottered at 51 for 3, and slowly turned the tide their way. In the morning, Amit Bhandari added three more wickets to his overnight tally of two to finish with 5 for 55.
ScorecardAt Anatapur, Andhra found themselves with a big task ahead. They were 120 for 6, still 143 runs behind Railways, who had made 263. While no batsman scored a fifty for Railways, small partnerships ensured they reached a total that would cause Andhra trouble. Venugopal Rao took four wickets for 34 – including three yesterday – to end Railways’ innings.
ScorecardHyderabad took what could very well be a decisive lead after bowling out Punjab for 105 on the second day at The Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Hyderabad’s bowlers shared the wickets, dismissing everyone but Ankur Kakkar (48) cheaply. Punjab’s bowlers then struck back, reducing their opponents to 54 for 4. But VVS Laxman once again kept things together, and was still at the crease with 59 off only 78 balls.
ScorecardAt Karad, the day was all Ranjit Khirid’s. After scoring 80, he picked up 5 for 45 to have Uttar Pradesh in deep trouble. UP could only manage 229 for 8 in reply to Maharashtra’s total of 394. Suresh Raina, who hit three half-centuries for India earlier this year in the under-19 World Cup, struck 67 off 101 balls and was involved in a 125-run stand with R Shamshad, who scored 60. But UP were on course to conceding the first-innings lead and the points that went with it.

Hampshire Under-16 opener Jack Lovett is set for his senior St Cross Symondians debut at Lymington tomorrow (1pm) as the Winchester club seeks to retrieve lost ground at the top of Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2.Lovett has been in sparkling form for St Cross 2nd XI, who are pressing hard for Hampshire League promotion.He gets his big chance as St Cross bid to claw back the three-point lead Old Tauntonians & Romsey gained at the top last weekend.Dan Peacock (broken finger) could return to bolster a Lymington side that has lost six of its last seven matches and dropped into the bottom half of the table.OT’s, meanwhile, travel to enigmatic Hursley Park, who are capable of beating the best on their day.Knocked out of the National Village Championship at Findon last weekend, Easton & Martyr Worthy must beat lowly Gosport Borough if they are to keep their championship prospects alive.But they have a substantial 19-point gap to make up on St Cross, whom they beat by five wickets last week.On-song Burridge bid to make it five wins out of six at Purbrook, who broke their duck at the ninth attempt last week but remain bottom.Sparsholt have slipped back on to the lip of the relegation zone, but a win over United Services at Burnaby Road will ease their worries.

The Pakistan Cricket Board authorities heaved a sigh ofrelief as the West Indies have given them a green signal oftouring Pakistan from Jan 25 to March 7 for three Tests andas many One-Day matches.A PCB spokesman announced the itinerary on Thursday. It willbe the first tour of any foreign senior team to Pakistansince a year. India refused to tour Pakistan in Jan-Feb dueto political reasons. Later, New Zealand cancelled theirtour to Pakistan at the eleventh hour after the Sept 11 airattacks on US and took back their team in midway fromSingapore after listening to the news of attacks there.The West Indies tour was also in doldrums due to securityreasons in the wake of the US retaliation attacks onAfghanistan, however International Cricket Council (ICC)saved the PCB from further losses by taking a decision thatunder such circumstances a series could be shifted to aneutral venue.The West Indies tour, as second option, could also beshifted to a neutral venue, most probably Kenya. The WestIndies team will arrive at Islamabad on Jan 25 to start itstour with a three-day side game at the KRL ground,Rawalpindi from Jan 28 to 30.The first Test will be held at Rawalpindi from Feb 2to7 withone day rest on Feb 5 due to Kashmir Day.The second Test is allotted to Peshawar and is scheduled tobe held from Feb 11 to 15.The third Test is scheduled to be held at Faisalabad fromFeb 19 to 23.The three-match One-Day series will begin with the opener atLahore on Feb 28. The second and third One-Dayer will beheld at Multan on March 3 and Karachi on March 6,respectively.Itinerary of the tour:Jan 25 (Friday): Arrival at Islamabad from Karachi.Jan 26 (Saturday): Travel/Rest/Nets.Jan 27 (Sunday): Nets.Jan 28 to 30 (Mon-Wed.): Three-Day Game at KRLground, Rawalpindi.Jan 31 and Feb 1: Rest and Nets.Feb 2 to 7 (Sat-Thurs): First Test at Rawalpindi (Feb 5 Rest- Day due to Kashmir Day).Feb 8 to 10: Travel and Nets.Feb 11 to 15 (Mon-Thurs): Second Test at Peshawar.Feb 16 to 18: Travel/Rest/Nets.Feb 19 to 23 (Tue-Sat): Third Test at Faisalabad.Feb 24 to 27: Travel/ Rest/Nets.Feb 28 (Thurs): First One-Day at Lahore.March 1-2: Travel/Rest/Nets.March 3 (Sunday): Second One-Day at Multan.March 4-5: Travel/Rest/Nets.March 6 (Wed): Third One-Day at Karachi.March 7: Departure.

The maiden over
Maiden as in first. Definitely not as in free of runs. Debutant Hardik Pandya was waiting for his first over, and then he was waiting for his first over to end. The eighth of India’s innings and the first of Pandya’s career began with three consecutive wides down leg side as Steven Smith walked inside the line, and two more followed later in the over. It meant the over lasted 11 deliveries, and given that a six and a four came off two of the legal balls, he finished with figures of 1-0-19-0 and five wides.The comeback, part one
Nearly five years after he last played for Australia, Shaun Tait took the new ball once again. His first ball was 150kph, a quick reminder of his capabilities. But a four and a six followed later in the over – Tait was unlucky the six was not a wicket, more on that shortly – and by the end of his four overs he had leaked 45 runs. It left Tait with the worst economy rate of his 20-game T20 international career.The comeback, part two
Okay, Shane Watson played Australia’s most recent T20 international, so this was not technically a comeback. But he has retired from Tests and was overlooked for the recent ODI series against India, so this was his first outing for his country this summer and thus felt like a comeback. He could hardly have made a stronger start. His first over brought two wickets – Rohit Sharma caught at mid-on off an offcutter and Shikhar Dhawan caught behind from a slower bouncer – and only one run. Watson’s return of 4-0-24-2 was a reminder that he could be a highly valuable member of Australia’s World T20 side.The fielding woes
Kane Richardson’s four overs leaked 41 runs without a wicket but just as costly was his work in the field. The fourth ball of Tait’s opening over of the game was top-edged by Rohit Sharma and Richardson at long leg misjudged the flight, running in before realising he had to be back on the boundary, and spilled over the rope what could have been a regulation take had he stayed there in the first place. Another poor piece of judgment came in the 19th over when Cameron Boyce’s throw from long-on found the bowler Richardson in front of the stumps instead of behind, which almost certainly cost Australia the chance at a run-out.The pull-out
On 14, Suresh Raina was all set to face James Faulkner, but then he wasn’t. As Faulkner let go of the ball Raina backed away and pulled out, indicating that he was not ready. The ball crashed into his stumps, but the umpire Simon Fry had no hesitation in calling a dead ball. Faulkner looked unimpressed, but then again, he often does.

Ricky Ponting says Phil Jaques will not be under significant pressure in the first Test against Sri Lanka as he is the only one of Australia’s potential new openers in form. Jaques will play his third Test when the series starts at the Gabba on Thursday and Ponting advised the newest member of his top order to “relax”.”[Chris] Rogers, [Brad] Hodge, [Shane] Watson and himself were the four mentioned, and he is the only one that has done anything at the start of this season, so he thoroughly deserves his opportunity,” Ponting told the . “If you look at things at the moment he’s the only one who has grabbed that opportunity.”Rogers might have had the edge over Jaques at the end of last summer having topped the Pura Cup run tally with 1202 at 70.70. However, he made 9 and 17 in Western Australia’s opening game this season and was then struck down with appendicitis.Another hamstring injury ruled Watson out of the race, while Hodge was in poor form in the ODI series in India. Hodge tried opening in Victoria’s Pura Cup match last week – he made 2 and 0 – and although he managed 162 on Saturday for his Melbourne club side Jaques already had the Test position sewn up.After a strong Australia A tour of Pakistan, Jaques opened his Pura Cup season with 167 for New South Wales in the same match in which Rogers failed. “I don’t think there is any pressure on him now,” Ponting said.”The pressure was on him in the first couple of games of the season, and now that he has been picked he can relax into things and hopefully get some runs in the first couple of Tests. He deserves his chance and he’s a guy that loves batting and usually when he gets in he makes big scores, so hopefully he can do that for Australia.”

VVS Laxman, the Indian middle-order batsman, has responded to his recall to the ODI side by citing his experience of playing on juicy South African pitches. Laxman, who was recalled after Rahul Dravid fractured his finger, remained diplomatic over whether he would be on trial during the remaining two matches of the best-of-five series.”It is a great feeling to be included in the one-day series and I would try to give my best,” he told reporters in Hyderabad. “It is sad that Rahul should be injured so badly in the series and miss out the rest of the one-day matches.”I would only work on the opportunities that come my way. I do not want to think of things that are beyond my control,” he added. “I do not think too much about the future and use each opportunity to give my best and play to my potential. I have played Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy matches and I am fully fit to take up the assignment.”Laxman, scheduled to represent Hyderabad in a Ranji Trophy match in Jaipur later this week, said he was willing to bat anywhere in the line-up, but preferred the middle order.India, down 2-0 with two to play, take on South Africa in Port Elizabeth tomorrow, but as Laxman put it, “My travel plans are not yet confirmed, the Board will inform whenever things fall in place”.

Michael Vaughan has highlighted the need for his team to acclimatise quickly to the testing conditions of the subcontinent. England’s tour of Pakistan begins with a warm-up match on October 31, and one further practice game before the first Test gets underway on November 12 at Multan.”We’ve got players who haven’t played in the subcontinent and it does take a while to get used to the surreal conditions out there,” Vaughan told the BBC. “It’s a different type of cricket and we’re going to have to be at our best to get used to the conditions quickly.”Following this week’s news that the Pakistani team will lend hands-on support to areas devastated by last week’s earthquake, Vaughan is acutely aware of the trauma engulfing the region. “Going to Pakistan now for me is just a chance to hopefully put a few smiles on some of their faces,” he added. “We’ve played some great cricket and we know how passionate they are about their cricket. It’s going to be difficult but hopefully we’ll get the chance to do a bit of fundraising while we’re there, play some good cricket and bring some joy to some of them.”Any doubts about England suffering an Ashes hangover in Pakistan were quashed by the captain. While obviously delighted with his team’s performance against Australia, he conceded that Pakistan remain formidable opponents on their home territory: “It was great to play in [the Ashes] and win but we have to move on now and try and play well in Pakistan. Pakistan are a very talented team, Bob Woolmer has done a good job with them, got them playing well as a team, so it’s going to be a tough challenge.”Vaughan also said he was happy to continue as the England captain for as long as the ECB wanted him to. “I’m sure there will come a stage where the players would like to hear a different voice and like to have a different direction,” he added. “When that is I’m not too sure but it is up to the players and the ECB to decide how long they want me to carry on. I would love to carry on for a while but it is not my decision. I’ll stay for as long as they want me.”

Cricket Australia has defended Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba curator, after John Bracewell questioned his decision to switch pitches for the final match of the Chappell-Hadlee Series because of heavy rain.Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, said yesterday they were unsure what the wicket would do because it had “been changed two or three times depending on the results of the last two games”. Bracewell also said a pitch switch could negate Daniel Vettori’s impact.James Sutherland, Cricket Australia chief executive, said a “month’s worth of rain in two days” forced Mitchell to abandon his original choice of pitch because of insufficient preparation time. Mitchell instead decided to re-use the one from Queensland’s ING Cup victory over Tasmania last Saturday.”Australian curators are among the best in the world, and Kevin Mitchell junior is right up there at the top,” Sutherland said. “We have utmost faith that his decision is the right one, and is made in the best interests of cricket.”Sutherland, who complained to the ICC this week about the condition of the Test pitch at Mumbai last month, said Cricket Australia did not give orders to curators and they worked on the principle of preparing the best possible wickets.

Cricket Australia (CA) will review its codes and policies for anti-doping breaches after a decision by an independent arbitrator according to James Sutherland, chief executive of CA. The arbitrator found that CA’s current policy did not specifically allow players suspended for anti-doping breaches to be banned from all cricket.The arbitrator also ruled that Shane Warne should be allowed to play incharity and testimonial matches during his 12-month drug ban. CA and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) had disagreed over a provision of the agreement between the two parties which allowed the former to prevent suspended players from playing in charity or testimonial matches.Both the CA and ACA sought a ruling, and in the opinion of independent arbiter and barrister Peter O’Callaghan the provision did not give CA the right to suspend players from all cricket.Sutherland said CA believed it was inconsistent and detrimental to the spirit of the game for suspended players to not be suspended from all cricket. “We had believed we had this right under our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ACA but accept the umpire’s ruling that this is not the case. We now need to review our codes to determine whether it is appropriate to make changes to reflect what we believe the spirit of cricket demands.”The review is likely to take place over the next few months.