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“I am an astrologer, but I am not predicting,” was SrinivasVenkataraghavan’s guarded comment on the eve of the Indian tour of theWest Indies in 1989. The former Indian captain was now the manager ofthe squad, and he had been asked for his views on the team’s chances.

Actually it did not need an astrologer – amateur or professional – topredict the result of the four-match Test series and five one-dayinternationals. The disparity between the two teams was so wide thatalmost anyone could have predicted a rout for the tourists. And thatis exactly how the tour ended, with the West Indies winning the Testseries 3-0, in addition to making a clean sweep of the limited-oversmatches.Looking back on the tour 13 years later, it is difficult to believethat any other result was possible. The West Indies, despite theretirement over the last few years of stars like Clive Lloyd, AndyRoberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Larry Gomes, were still theleading team in the world. Players like Richie Richardson, CarlHooper, Gus Logie, Keith Arthurton, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop andCourtney Walsh had stepped in to effectively breach the gap created bythe exit of the stalwarts. Besides, experienced superstars like VivianRichards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and JeffDujon were still very much around.With their abysmal record abroad, the Indians became the proverbiallambs to the slaughter. Little went right for them. Both the battingand bowling presented problems, and teamwork and the fighting spiritwere missing. Dilip Vengsarkar lacked the leadership qualities toinspire the side, compounding the unhappy scenario by his uncharitablecomments against his teammates in a magazine interview towards the endof the tour.What was left to savour, then, were a few individual performances, butthese were hardly enough to test the home team, who romped home bymargins of eight wickets, 217 runs and seven wickets after the rainaffected first Test at Georgetown ended in a draw. Indeed, there wasplay only on the first two days of the game, making it the worstaffected by weather in the Caribbean side’s history.Over the next three Tests, the Indians encountered the full weight ofthe West Indian supremacy. The home batsmen scored runs handsomely,while the bowlers gave the Indians a torrid time. Players of thecalibre and experience of Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, Arun Lal andVengsarkar were sitting ducks for the pace attack of Marshall, Bishop,Walsh and Ambrose. On the faster and bouncier tracks, they wereshocking failures, lacking both the guts and technique required tocounter the fiery pace of the quartet.The three exceptions were Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sanjay Manjrekar andRavi Shastri. To an extent, the trio displayed courage and the righttemperament, and each was rewarded with a Test hundred which, giventhe strong opposition, was a commendable feat. In addition, Sidhu, bygetting 286 against Jamaica, registered the highest first-class scoreby an Indian outside India, surpassing Polly Umrigar’s 252 not outcompiled against Cambridge University in 1959.If the batting lacked fight, the bowling, woefully inadequate, wasunable to withstand the might of the West Indian batting. Kapilploughed a lonely furrow, as his figures of 18 wickets at 21.50 apiecewill testify. Arshad Ayub, in his own restrictive way, was fairlyeffective. The Hyderabad off-spinner was rewarded for his toil withtwo five-wicket hauls.Chetan Sharma and Ravi Shastri, however, could make no impression,while Narendra Hirwani was the biggest disappointment of the tour. Thebespectacled leg-spinner had come to the Caribbean with a highreputation. Not only had he set a world record by taking 16 for 136 onhis Test debut against the same opponents at Madras a little over ayear earlier, he also had a total haul of 36 wickets in his first fourTests.But in the three Tests he played, Hirwani was simply blasted out ofshape, illustrated by his figures of six wickets at 57.50 apiece.Richards had promised revenge after the humiliation the West Indieshad suffered at the hands of Hirwani on an under-prepared Chepaukpitch, saying, “I have a long memory, maan.” At the end of the series,there was little doubt that he had exacted it in style.To some extent, the Indians were handicapped when vice captainKrishnamachari Srikkanth was hit on the right hand by a ball fromBishop in the final one-day international, played just before thefirst Test. The sickening blow resulted in a broken bone,necessitating the withdrawal of the swashbuckling opening batsman fromthe rest of the tour. Given his capacity to counter-attack the fastbowling threat in his own inimitable buccaneering manner, Srikkanthhaving to miss the Test series was a major blow for the Indians.However, the reasoning that he would have made a marked difference tothe final result must be open to doubt.

In an unprecedented move in Indian domestic cricket, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has appointed Intikhab Alam, the former Pakistan captain and coach, as coach-cum-manager of its Ranji Trophy team for the coming season. Intikhab, 62, will replace Bhupinder Singh senior, the former Indian medium-pacer, who was in charge of the side for more than six years.Intikhab will become the first foreigner to coach any Indian domestic team. He had a very successful time coaching Pakistan, with the World Cup victory in 1992 the glittering highlight.Intikhab has been appointed for a one-year term, beginning in September. The PCA confirmed that they have put in a request to the Indian board about the appointment. The reported that Intikhab was extremely pleased about the appointment, and quoted him as saying: “IS Bindra [the PCA president] approached me during the India-Pakistan series. I thought about it for three weeks before realising this was a challenge I couldn’t pass up.”Intikhab felt that the Indian domestic structure was better than its Pakistan counterpart, as “You don’t have institutions or banks involved.”Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, did not foresee any problems with this appointment. “We have no problem with it. In fact, Punjab cricketers would benefit from Alam’s experience since he speaks Punjabi so well and was also born in Indian Punjab.”And Intikhab also didn’t think there would be any problems communicating with the players, and added, “I don’t think there will be any cultural or language problems because I was born in Hoshiarpur, I speak the language.”

Dominic Thornely has been named to captain New South Wales for Wednesday’s opening fixture of the Australian domestic season. The summer kicks off with an FR Cup match between the Blues and Western Australia in Perth.The New South Wales squad will start the season without several key players including the regular captain Simon Katich and Doug Bollinger, who are on tour with Australia in India. Thornely filled in as the leader on occasions last summer and he is set to guide the Blues for at least a month in Katich’s absence.The 12-man squad for the season opener features a strong emphasis on spin, with Nathan Hauritz joined by the left-arm orthodox spinner Steve O’Keefe and the legspinner Steven Smith. However, there was no place for Beau Casson, who is in contention for a late call-up for the India tour but struggled to win selection in the Blues’ one-day side last season.Nathan Bracken provides some much needed experience in the young New South Wales group. The Blues were last summer’s Pura Cup champions but they battled for impact in the one-day competition, where they finished on the bottom of the table.Western Australia have named a 14-man squad that includes the uncapped left-arm fast bowler Arron Crawford, who was given his first full state deal for 2008-09. The Warriors finished second last on the FR Cup table last summer.Western Australia squad Shaun Marsh, Luke Ronchi (wk), Liam Davis, Marcus North (capt), Adam Voges, Luke Pomersbach, Theo Doropoulos, David Bandy, Matt Johnston, Aaron Heal, Brett Dorey, Steve Magoffin, Ben Edmondson, Arron Crawford.New South Wales squad Phillip Hughes, Grant Lambert, Peter Forrest, Dominic Thornely (capt), David Warner, Steven Smith, Daniel Smith (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Bracken, Aaron Bird, Mark Cameron.

Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president and ICC vice-president, can continue as the Indian board’s president till his term ends in September as it has emerged that an ICC rule barring dual roles does not apply to a president-elect. Pawar was expected to quit his BCCI job soon after assuming the additional role of president-elect early next month, but officials from both organisations have told Cricinfo the ICC rules do permit him to stay on.Under an arrangement reached last year, Pawar was to have quit his BCCI post after David Morgan officially became president at the ICC’s annual conference in Dubai,. The BCCI was expected to function under an interim arrangement from June to September, when Shashank Manohar – the president-elect and a lawyer from Nagpur – would officially taken over as president.However, the ICC has clarified that the freeze on holding dual posts currently applies only to the post of president, and does not include the vice-president or president-elect. Sources in the BCCI said they have been informed by officials close to Pawar that he will stay on with the Indian board to “smoothen the transition process”, especially with senior officials jostling to secure vantage positions during an expected BCCI reshuffle in September, when the key posts of secretary and treasurer may be re-allotted.An ICC spokesperson said there is “nothing in the ICC constitution that can prevent Pawar from holding both posts at this stage”. IS Bindra, the ICC’s principal advisor, said the dual-role rule applies only to the job of president. “I see no bar in Pawar taking his time to hand over charge of BCCI,” Bindra told Cricinfo. “The ICC constitution says the dual-role rule applies to the job of president and not the vice-president or president-elect.”Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI’s chief administrative officer, said “as far as the BCCI is concerned, Pawar’s term ends in September, and there is no other technicality involved.”The ICC had stated in a press release issued on June 27 last year that “(David) Morgan will now be expected to relinquish his role within the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in keeping with the existing policy that the president and the person chosen to succeed him should not represent a member at the same time as holding those offices. Mr Pawar will do likewise with his role within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 12 months’ time.”It’s clear now the rule does not apply to Pawar as president-elect. “As you will remember, David Morgan did not step down as chairman of the ECB immediately after being appointed as ICC’s president-elect,” an ICC spokesperson said. “He was elected as president-elect at ICC annual conference in June but Giles Clark only took over as ECB chairman in September.”However, the spokesperson said the issue may be revisited next month during the annual conference which will discuss a recommendation from the governance review committee that “a short clause be inserted into the articles (of the constitution) to specify formally the role of the vice-president and provide that he should not be permitted to hold any office under, or perform any executive duties for, any cricket authority”. Even then, Pawar is unlikely to be affected as the first ICC board meeting he would attend as president-elect is slated for November, nearly two months after his BCCI term ends.

Jagmohan Dalmiya has been elected president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), a position from which he was unseated in December 2006 following charges of embezzlement. Dalmiya, a former president of both the ICC and the BCCI, defeated the incumbent, Prasun Mukherjee, to secure a seat on the Indian board.Dalmiya won by 71 votes to 47, an overwhelming margin for someone virtually out of cricket for the past 18 months. His supporters also swept the polls for the other positions, including those of secretary and treasurer.”Cricket in the state needs me, that’s why I’m back,” Dalmiya told the , a Kolkata-based daily. “I’ll require a couple of days to sit down with colleagues and then chalk out plans. Initially, I wanted to make a comeback so that I could emerge without a blemish, but that changed once Bengal got relegated to the Plate Division in the Ranji Trophy. Nothing personal is a priority. Today, there’s much work to do.”The election has created interest far beyond Kolkata, because of Dalmiya’s bitter and long-running rivalry with the current BCCI administration. The charges of embezzlement – relating to the 1996 World Cup, and for which he was arrested before being released on bail – were levelled by the BCCI after Sharad Pawar took over as president. Dalmiya had used his casting vote to help his nominee, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, defeat Pawar in the BCCI presidential election in 2004. On Tuesday night, Pawar said Dalmiya’s win was an “internal matter”.Mukherjee – Dalmiya’s opponent in this election – had been part of Pawar’s camp within the board. The last time the two fought each other in an election, in 2006, Mukherjee had the backing of Pawar and the state’s chief minister but lost to Dalmiya by one vote. The embezzlement charge led to Dalmiya being expelled from the BCCI and forced to resign from the CAB post, which then fell to Mukherjee.Dalmiya challenged the expulsion in the Kolkata High Court and, in July 2007, the court stayed the decision and allowed him to contest elections. The stay came too late for last year’s CAB elections but his return to the fray this year was always on the cards.Dalmiya’s campaign was helped by a general decline in Bengal cricket, of which the lowest point was the Ranji team’s relegation from the Elite group. The Mukherjee administration had also seen several glitches, the most glaring and embarrassing being during the first IPL match at Eden Gardens, when the floodlights failed. Mukherjee had suffered a personal embarrassment too several months ago when he was forced to step down as the city’s police chief following a controversial murder case.Mukherjee, however, said the result was unexpected. “The members wanted Dalmiya back and this mandate is overwhelmingly in his favour,” Mukherjee said. “I have nothing to say and I congratulate Dalmiya and wish him all the best.”But this result is unexpected for me and I have not really understood why this happened. I don’t want to go into the reasons.”Since his ouster from the CAB in 2006, Dalmiya spent time fighting various legal battles relating to cricket; apart from the embezzlement case, being heard in a Mumbai metropolitan court, he has filed perjury charges against Pawar, his successor Shashank Manohar and BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah. He has also been the subject of investigations by the state government over irregularities in his tannery business.The Dalmiya panel: Jagmohan Dalmiya (president), Biswarup Dey, Arun Mitra (joint-secretaries), Samar Kar, Shib Kumar Kalyani, Shibaji Dutta (vice-presidents), Bablu Ganguly (treasurer).

The England fast bowler Andrew Caddick today underwent an MRI scan on hisinjured back in Adelaide.England physiotherapist , Kirk Russell, said afterwards: “The scan hasrevealed long-standing wear and tear consistent with a fast bowler ofAndrew’s age which is continuing to cause him pain. He will have a steroidinjection into his back in Perth tomorrow and his fitness will bere-assessed at nets on Wednesday. At this stage, he has not been ruled outof the 3rd Test.”

The annual tri-series has been cancelled but the calendar will still be filled with limited-overs matches in January and February after Cricket Australia released its 2008-09 schedule. Five head-to-head ODI contests will be played by Australia against each of South Africa and New Zealand as well as three Twenty20 matches, an increase of one on last season.After the major reshuffle forced by India’s late arrival in December 2007, the Test format swaps to a more traditional structure, although the dates for the SCG game have changed to allow the players an extra break between the Boxing Day and New Year’s affairs. Australia’s clash with South Africa will start on January 3, 24 hours later than usual.The first Test of the summer will be against New Zealand at the Gabba from November 24 before the second match starts in Adelaide the following week to conclude the two-game series. New Zealand then go home and return for five Chappell-Hadlee Series ODIs and a Twenty20 in February.South Africa will have a three-day warm-up in Perth before the opening of the three-Test series at the WACA from December 12, and another practice match is planned for Hobart in the lead-up to Boxing Day. There is no major fixture for Hobart, which hosted the second Australia-Sri Lanka Test in 2007-08.The Proteas will then face Australia in two Twenty20 fixtures before the start of the five-match one-day series between the world’s two top-ranked teams. “A new-look ODI format now features Australia in every match,” James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said. Tickets will go on sale in August.New Zealand itinerary
Tour game v New South Wales, November 13-16, Sydney
1st Test, November 20-24, Brisbane
2nd Test, November 28-December 2, Adelaide
1st ODI, February 1, Perth
2nd ODI, February 6, Melbourne
3rd ODI, February 8, Sydney
4th ODI, February 10, Adelaide
5th ODI, February 13, Brisbane
Twenty20, February 15, Sydney
South Africa itinerary
Tour match v Western Australia, December 6-8, Perth
1st Test, December 12-16, Perth
Tour match v Tasmania, December 20-22, Hobart
2nd Test, December 26-30, Melbourne
3rd Test, January 3-7, Sydney
1st Twenty20, January 11, Melbourne
2nd Twenty20, January 13, Brisbane
1st ODI, January 16, Melbourne
2nd ODI, January 18, Hobart
3rd ODI, January 23, Sydney
4th ODI, January 26, Adelaide
5th ODI, January 30, Perth

Hampshire’s Charlie van der Gucht is back playing cricket – just 13 months after suffering horrific injuries in a road accident last summer.And he even celebrated with a wicket as he helped the Hampshire Academy take another step towards the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 championship with a 32-run win over Old Tauntonians & Romsey.Van der Gucht, 22, broke both his legs and was on a life support machine after being hit by a taxi in Twickenham last July.But, little more than a year after his accident and after courageously battling his way back – and landing a 2.1 history degree at Durham University in the process – the left-arm spinner took his first positive step towards a comeback in the professional game.Van der Gucht bowled a full 12-overs and finished with satisfying figures of 1-34.”I was really pleased with the way things went, but it was obviously very tiring, particularly the fielding aspect,” he confessed.”It was the first time I had stood around for three hours and I came off from fielding totally drained – but nonetheless pleased.”Playing again was an important physiological barrier to overcome, but I’ve done it and now I’m looking forward to next week’s match (against United Services) with the Academy team.”The Hampshire youngsters certainly had their work cut out beating a tenacious OTs side.Although three of the top order failed, Irfan Shah (55) gave the innings momentum before becoming Max Smith’s third victim at 94-4.Martin Bushell (60) shared key middle-order partnerships with David Wheeler (31) and Tom Burrows (34) as the Academy advanced to 233 all out, Nick Wood (3-56) and Jeremy Ord (3-59) sharing the spoils.There was even an opportunity for Van der Gucht to bat, but he was run out for four.”Batting really was weird. It was the first time I’d held a bat for some time and I got myself run out when I fell over after my spikes got caught in the pitch,” he laughed.Charles Forward (60) fired OTs’ response and with Smith (49) his partner, took the reply to 104-3 before Wheeler’s direct-hit throw ran the latter out.Van der Gucht bowled his 12 overs in mid-innings, having Keith Trodd caught by Luke Merry.”The first eight overs were fine, but the last four were a physical drain.”But it was something I had to get through,” he said.The Academy gradually chipped their way through the batting after that, the Romsey club finishing with a creditable 201-8, and van der Gucht returning home knowing that he had taken his first positive step on the comeback trail.

Manicaland posted their second consecutive victory when they handed Matabeleland their second defeat in a row after beating them by three wickets on the fourth day of their Logan Cup match at Queens Sports Club on Monday.In a close finish, Manicaland lost seven wickets in their way to scoring 134 in 35 overs, with one over to spare. This was after Matabeleland in their follow-on had taken the lead after scoring 350 in 104.5 overs, with Barney Rogers recording his maiden first-class century.Matabeleland resumed on 152 for three on the last day with Rogers and Hoffman the two men at the crease. Rogers raeched his 50 off 76 balls, smashing ten fours. Their partnership was not to last, for Hoffman departed for 21 when he was dismissed by Gary Brent in the fourth over of the day, caught behind by wicketkeeper Neil Ferreira.Medium-pacer Blessing Mahwire took his first wicket when he dismissed Nkala for 19 with Ferreira taking another catch behind. Matabeleland had hopes of salvaging the game when Gavin Ewing, who put up a brilliant show with the bat in the first innings, joined Rogers. This was the partnership that could carry the day for Matabeleland. The two put up 33 for the sixth wicket before Ewing was trapped leg before wicket by spinner Richard Sims for 23.The home side went for lunch on 268 for six off 71 overs with Rogers on 98 while Wisdom Siziba was on five runs. Rogers reached his century after four hours at the crease, facing 181 deliveries and smashing 19 fours. He failed to add a run to his ton when he was dismissed by Paul Strang, caught at silly point by Stuart Matsikenyeri.Siziba and Piet Rinke shared an eighth-wicket stand of 59 before Siziba was clean bowled by young spinner Tinashe Ruswa for 34 runs. Rinke was to follow suit after offering a return catch to Strang off his own bowling to depart for 25.Matabeleland were finally finished when Jordane Nicolle, who had put up some resistance down the order, was caught at silly mid-on by Matsikenyeri off a Strang delivery for 13 runs. Mpumelelo Mbangwa, who was batting with the aid of a runner owing to a hamstring injury, was left unbeaten with one run to his name.Brent and Strang were the pick of the Manicaland bowlers with three wickets each. Brent gave away 60 runs in his 20-over spell and bowled four maidens, while Strang on the other hand conceded 37 runs from 16.5 overs with four maidens. Ruswa was close behind with two wickets while Mahwire and Sims took one wicket each.Chasing 134 runs to win with 36 overs to make that score, Manicaland saw their record-breaking pair of Neil Ferreira and Sims failing to live up to expectations, putting on 22 runs before Ferreira was caught and bowled by Mluleki Nkala for nine runs.Nkala rattled through the Manicaland top three when he dismissed Sims for 35 and Guy Whittall for 13. The situation got tense with Manicaland losing wickets cheaply and they were on the brink of giving it away.Matabeleland brought on Nkala for the 35th over, and in dramatic fashion, he clean bowled Mahwire with the first ball of the over for three runs.Nkala however failed to remove Gary Brent and Strang, with Strang hitting the last four runs to seal the match. Matabeleland used only three bowlers, Nkala, Ewing and Gavin Rennie, and they all proved effective.Nkala was the pick of the home bowlers with a haul of four wickets from 12 overs, giving away 53 runs and bowling one maiden. Rennie took two wickets from nine overs with one maiden and giving away 19 runs, whileEwing took one wicket.

Matt Swarbrick blazed a magnificent 143 as Bournemouth kept leading ECB Southern Electric Premier League duo BAT Sports and Havant within their sights with a nine-wicket mauling of South Wilts at Bemerton.Swarbrick simply savaged South Wilts’ depleted attack, dominating Bournemouth’s first double-century opening partnership for 15 years as the Sports Club maintained third place in Division 1.Ironically, he was bowled by Dorset team-mate Tim Lamb – so depleted was the South Wilts attack that the Dorset wicket keeper had to bowl 7.3 overs – one short of Luke Ronchi’s season’s best 144 for Bashley against Calmore Sports the previous week.But, by the time he was dismissed, Bournemouth were 217-1 and well on course to pass South Wilts’ 229 all out.His opening stand with teenager Tom Webley, who carried his bat for a patient 70, was Bournemouth’s Southern League highest since Richard Scott hit 164 in a 231-run partnership with David Nesbitt in 1987 …. ironically, also against South Wilts !Bournemouth scored two immediate blows after Swarbrick had won the toss on a strip that provided assistance to the bowlers during the morning session.Left-armer Mark Mixer (3-55) had Jamie Glasson caught behind and then Tom Caines, a Dorset occasional several seasons ago, was run out at 13-2.Paul Draper (65) battled away and, after support from Jon Nash (23), Rob Wade (30) and Lamb, was fifth out at 138-5.By then, Jo Wilson’s on-the-spot bowling had begun to take effect – the balding Liverpudlian finishing with 5-66, including the scalps of Lamb (48) and Russell Rowe (23) as South Wilts slowly sank to 229 all out.When South African left-armer Shaun Adam suffered a back injury, South Wilts were left high and dry with barely any penetrative bowling.And how Bournemouth – and Swarbrick in particular – cashed in.The Dorset opener peppered the Bemerton boundaries on the way to a SL best 143 – his previous highest was 138 against Winchester in 1996 – as Bournemouth romped home in 42 overs.Somerset hopeful Webley, anxious to spend time in the middle, was happy to hit a circumspect 70.South African Christof Bothma returned a season’s best 5-33 as Calmore Sports crushed Andover, the early season pace-setters, by 139 runs at Loperwood Park.Bothma, who spent last summer at the South African Academy near Johannesburg, ripped out Andover’s entire top order to have the visitors reeling at 20-4.There was no way back for Andover, who had earlier dismissed Calmore for 225.James Hibberd maintained the pressure for Calmore, who eventually bowled the visitors out for a disappointing 86.Calmore’s 225 was based around a second-wicket partnership between Mark Boston (35) and skipper Tom Pegler (79), who was able to play after missing his flight to a cousins wedding in Denmark.Pegler was eventually seventh out at 201.Although Gareth Tate (5-41) worked his way through the lower order, Calmore’s 225 was always too many.Bashley (Rydal) had to settle for a draw at Liphook & Ripsley, where the relegation strugglers finished at 197-7, 23 runs behind the visitors’ 220-9.The saturated Ripsley Park strip was hardly conducive to quick scoring and Bashley’s total owed much to second-wicket pair Neil Thurgood (89) and Graham Pardey (33), who added 113 in 37 overs.Luke Ronchi, with 45 off 36 balls, enlivened proceedings, but Bashley’s later batsmen perished in the pursuit of quick runs – Alan Crawford finishing with 5-61 and Tim Wheatley 4-62 before the visitors closed at 220-9.Hampshire YCs all-rounder Chris Wright (50) gave Liphook hope, but his dismissal at 94-2 effectively ended any prospect of a positive result.South African Alistair Gray didn’t appear to appreciate the need to hasten the pace and went on to bat the best part of the Liphook innings for an unbeaten 82.Spin duo Dale Middleton (3-74) and Andy Sexton, who earlier hit 21, bowled in tandem for long periods before Liphook’s reply ground to a halt at 197-7.Former Hampshire left-arm spinner Raj Maru was the inspiration behind Portsmouth’s 59-run win over relegation-threatened Burridge, who are back in bottom place.Maru hit a league best 74 and later took 4-47 as Portsmouth moved into a highest-ever fourth spot on the log.Maru and Geoff Pike (52) shared a century opening partnership as Portsmouth, with subsequent support from Lee Savident (28), Michael Barnes (25), Warren Swan (21) and Steve Mitchell (21), moved on to 241 all out.Simon Creal toiled away for Burridge, finishing with a career-best 8-81 off a marathon 20 overs.Burridge were seldom in the hunt, Jo Dixon (56) top scoring in an all-out total of 182 (Ben Thane 31) – Maru completing a fine match with 4-47 and Savident taking 3-21.