The Indian squad’s two-day conditioning camp in Kolkata from November 2 in preparation for the home series against Pakistan, has been shifted to the Eden Gardens from the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (CCFC). The Indian board has agreed to postpone the Ranji Trophy Super League match between Bengal and Hyderabad to November 4 to accommodate the camp.”Eden [Gardens] has superb world-class facilities including floodlights and indoor practice arrangements which were not there at the CCFC. We were earlier forced to opt for the CCFC as Eden was not available,” Prasun Mukherjee, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, told PTI. “But I managed to convince the BCCI that the camp should be held at the Eden [Gardens] so as to give the Indian players the very best of infrastructural support before such an important series.”Another reason given by Mukherjee for shifting the camp was that the Eden Gardens had floodlights, which would help the Indian team as three of the five ODIs against Pakistan were day-night matches.Mukherjee said the BCCI had decided to shift the camp to the Eden Gardens after speaking to officials from the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad squad are likely to have their nets at Sourav Ganguly’s academy in Salt Lake.

Bob Woolmer was a “little depressed” following his team’s exit from the World Cup and he was looking forward to going home, according to an email that may have been his final words before his death in Kingston, Jamaica last March.The email, which was sent to his wife, Gill, was read to jurors at the inquest into Woolmer’s death. “Hi, darling, feeling a little depressed currently as you might imagine,” the message started. “I am not sure which is worse, being knocked out in the semi-final at Edgbaston or now in the first round. Our batting performance was abysmal and my worse fears were realised … I could tell the players were for some reason not able to fire themselves up.”He went on to say that he was glad not to have to travel to Guyana and was looking forward to seeing his family again. “I hope your day was better but I doubt it as you were probably watching … not much more to add I am afraid but I still love you lots.”Mark Shields, Jamaica’s deputy police commissioner who was at the heart of the investigation, read the email to jurors. He is among the final witnesses in the inquest which is expected to finish this week.The fifth week of the inquest got off to a bizarre start when a subpoenaed witness failed to turn up. David Wong Ken, a local DJ who claimed to have evidence about Woolmer’s death, failed to appear under instruction from his lawyer. “I take full responsibility for him not being here,” his representative said. “It would be an exercise in futility, and a side-show that should not be allowed.”

ScorecardFifteen wickets fell on a bowler-dominated day at Nagpur. Vidharbha hit back after being bowled out for 163, reducing Services to 38 for 5. Vidarbha collapsed after the opening partnership of 56 – incidentally the highest of the day – to a combination of seam and spin. Rakesh Sharma and Narender Kumar shared five wickets while the spinners Ashish Mohanty and Arun Sharma grabbed four wickets as the wickets fell in a heap. For Vidarbha, the seamers did the trick: Mohammad Hashim and Sandeep Singh bowled 17 overs and took all the five Services wickets to fall.J&K 133 for 8 (Bandekar 4-46) v Goa
ScorecardCharged by a four-wicket haul by Saurabh Bandekar, Goa restricted Jammu & Kashmir to 133 for 8 on a truncated opening day’s play at Jammu. J&K had reached a comfortable 82 for 1 when Robin D’Souza effected a twin-strike to push them to 83 for 3. Bandekar prised out three more quick wickets and Shadab Jakati struck twice in succession to leave the hosts reeling at 118 for 8. The ninth-wicket pair of Manzoor Dar and Pranav Mahajan kept the Goa bowlers at bay for seven more overs before play was called off after only 53 overs.Tripura 285 for 4 (Shetty 164*) v Assam
ScorecardNishit Shetty smashed a career-best 164 not out to propel Tripura to a healthy 285 for 4 against Assam at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Tripura were in touch of bother at 32 for 3 before Shetty added 106 runs with Rajib Saha, who made his highest first-class score of 66, and a further 147 with Timir Chanda (36). Shetty struck 26 boundaries in his 232-ball knock as Tripura headed towards a big first-innings total.

Two wickets in quick succession at three critical periods of the opening day of the second Test here yesterday undermined stout West Indies resistance to the anticipated South African response to their shock defeat in the first in Port Elizabeth last week.A total of 240 for eight at the close was obviously not the target set after Chris Gayle won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch with a reputation as a batsman’s friend but it did not represent the whole story.Its value was appreciably diminished by an outfield so heavily grassed as to be unsuitable for the game at this level, especially on a day when the celebrated, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu rededicated the Newlands ground before play to mark the 200th anniversary of the first cricket match played there.Shots that headed for certain boundaries repeatedly pulled up short like a speeding motorist braking at a red light. While the opening day of the first Test produced 43 fours from 84 overs, there were only 21 off 89 overs yesterday.A fungus reportedly attacked the grass last year and the ground clearly hasn’t recovered, as is evident from the ugly bare patches that cover wide areas. South Africa will also have to cope with such a handicap but it did deny a crowd of 11,600 full value for their money.The contest was intense rather than exciting throughout, the balance shifting one way and then the next until South Africa secured the advantage with six wickets for 57 in the last hour and 50 minutes. The fluctuations began with the fall of Runako Morton and Chris Gayle within six runs and 4.2 overs of each other just before lunch that ended a burgeoning second- wicket partnership of 59.It continued through a third-wicket stand of 106 between Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who compiled his eighth half-century in nine Test innings to be 64 at stumps, and the born-again batsman, Marlon Samuels, who followed his 94 and 40 in Port Elizabeth with another disciplined performance for 51.Just when they appeared to have gained the upper hand, the dismissals of Samuels and the struggling Dwayne Bravo in successive overs from Makaya Ntini checked their advance.The most critical strikes were made by Dale Steyn with the second new ball. He dispatched Denesh Ramdin, after a promising 21, and the returning Rawl Lewis with successive deliveries in the third over and completed a satisfying day for the home team with a lobbed catch off his bowling that accounted for Jerome Taylor.Daren Ganga, Gayle, Samuels and Bravo were all caught from edged strokes, evidence of movement off the seam on a surface not quite as benign as usual.Once the West Indies fast bowlers find the right lines and lengths, and given the condition of the outfield, runs should be no easier for South Africa’s batsmen to come by. It is unlikely that any of them will waste their hand as Morton did. Entering in the fifth over after Steyn found Ganga’s searching edge, Morton was offering comforting support to his captain. He accumulated 23 runs in just over an hour, mainly with his trademark drive down the ground, and watched Gayle hoist Ntini for a straight six and pull him over square-leg for another. Then, for no good reason, he drove Jacques Kallis’ fifth ball into Ntini’s lap at mid-off. It was the stroke of a coach offering pre-play catching practice.There were alarms over Gayle’s hamstring when he hobbled through his 24th run and, although he had physiotherapy during the drinks break, he did not seem unduly bothered as he continued.He was four short of 50 when Andre Nel made one leave him on pitching and Neil McKenzie celebrated his first Test in four years with a sharp catch to his right at gully.Chanderpaul, as a matter of course, and Samuels set things right again with their carefully constructed stand that occupied three hours, five minutes and 40.2 overs. Chanderpaul was laid flat on his backside four times by bouncers, an indignity that would have brought the mandatory eight count in boxing. But the dogged left-hander was unfazed and, with Samuels once more displaying the “stickability” demanded by Clive Lloyd, they batted through the second session with few alarms.They were so careful, the first hour after lunch brought only 27 runs off 14 overs until they changed a gear to add 50 off the remaining hour to tea.It took a new spell from Ntini to shift the balance once more. He found the outside edge of tentative bats to account for Samuels and Bravo in his first and second over back, intensifying the pressure on Chanderpaul to shepherd the remainder of the innings.First Samuels fell to a keeper’s catch for 51, his stay of three hours, 24 minutes and 144 balls confirming the changed attitude evident in his equally diligent 94 and 40 in the first Test.Bravo, clearly and woefully short of confidence at the moment, diverted his fourth ball low to Kallis at second slip without scoring.Steyn then landed the three final blows over the last half-hour. Once again basically unthreatening until then, he was energised by the hard, shiny cherry. Delivering a fast, full length, he ended Denesh Ramdin’s promising stay of just over an hour for 21 with an lbw decision and then conjured up an outswinging yorker that was too much for Rawl Lewis.Chosen instead of his Windward Islands’ colleague, Darren Sammy, presumably after a look at a straw-coloured pitch, it was an embarrassing return for the legspinning allrounder, appearing in his fifth Test in his fifth series.Steyn secured his fourth victim six minutes to the end, Taylor popping back a return catch.Through it all, Chanderpaul remained unflappable but, with only Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards to come, even he is unlikely to build the total by much. In what is already shaping as a low scoring contest, anything would be welcome.

The British government appears to have ended speculation that it will step in to prevent Zimbabwe from touring England in 2009 and has reiterated its policy of leaving the final decision to the ECB.It had been believed that a harder line towards Zimbabwe under Gordon Brown could lead to the government refusing to grant visas to the Zimbabwe team for the bilateral Test and one-day series. But speaking in a debate in the House of Lords, Lord Malloch-Brown made it clear that no such action would be taken.”The Foreign Secretary and others in this government have made it clear that we do not encourage the ECB to allow Zimbabwe to tour England in 2009 or England to tour Zimbabwe in 2012 if the situation in the country is as it is now,” he said. “We continue to speak to the ECB about these issues but it remains a decision for the board. We have decided that the government can make their position clear, but that it is not for us to intervene directly in this matter.”Lord Morris of Harmsworth, the former TUC leader Bill Morris, was unimpressed. “I was proud that our Prime Minister declined to attend the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon because he did not wish to be in the same room as Mugabe. That was a good start. But if the Prime Minister does not want to be in the same room as Mugabe, is it right to expect our sportsmen and women to be on the same field of play as representatives of that regime? John Howard, as Prime Minister of Australia, gave a clear lead. He said that Australian cricketers would not play against Zimbabwe. If that is good enough for Australia, it should be good enough for the United Kingdom.”Kate Hoey, the former sports minister and chair of the parliamentary all-party committee on Zimbabwe, told Cricinfo that she was surprised at Lord Malloch-Brown’s statement. “It does not seem to reflect the views of Downing Street earlier this year,” she said. “It would be a travesty if we gave visas to any Zimbabwean cricket team to tour and I want to see the prime minister clarify the situation.”I think it would be a good idea if we asked to meet Giles Clarke [the ECB chairman] so that we can exchange views on sporting links with Zimbabwe.”If the government maintains the line suggested by Malloch-Brown then it makes it likely the tour will proceed. It forms part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, and were the ECB not to honour its commitment then it would face multi-million pound fines from the ICC. However, were the series to be scrapped because of government intervention, as happened in Australia and New Zealand, then there would be no such fine.

The Wellington allrounder, Grant Elliott, has been named in New Zealand’s 13-man squad for the first Test against England at Hamilton, which starts on Wednesday.Elliott, 28, was born in Johannesburg but has completed his national qualification, and impressed the selectors with 2 for 12 from eight overs and a composed innings of 28 during England’s tour match at Dunedin. He is one of seven players in that match to have been included in the squad, including the seamer Iain O’Brien, who beat his new-ball partner Mark Gillespie to the final place.New Zealand’s selector, Dion Nash, said that Elliott is a solid middle-order batsman and a good bowling option with his ability to swing the ball. He enjoyed a productive season for Wellington in 2006-07, with 361 runs in seven matches at 45.12, including two of his three career centuries. He has been less prolific this year, although he provides the selectors with a handy back-up for their established allrounder, Jacob Oram.””I came for a lifestyle change and also for my cricket, but as soon as I arrived in New Zealand and made it my home, I had aspirations of playing international cricket for New Zealand,” said Elliott after his call-up. “It’s a really tough move to make, because you always grow up thinking you’re going to be a Springbok or a Protea and then you make that change to another country.”Elliott’s allegiance was cemented last winter when he was selected to play for New Zealand A. “When I opened the bag and saw the silver fern that was a real indication that New Zealand’s my home – and I’ll give everything for New Zealand,” he said. “I’m a permanent resident now, I think I can push for my citizenship soon, which I’m quite keen to do. Moving here has been great; New Zealand Cricket have been wonderful, and I consider myself a Kiwi now.”Another notable inclusion in the Test squad is Jamie How, who excelled during New Zealand’s recent one-day series victory with 201 runs at 50.25, including an 86-ball century at Napier. His innings of 65 in the Dunedin warm-up was enough to confirm his place alongside Matthew Bell at the expense of Craig Cumming, with Ross Taylor and Mathew Sinclair also included from the Select XI top-order. The out-of-form Peter Fulton misses out. He has suffered a reoccurrence of a right-knee injury, and will be reassessed prior to the second Test.New Zealand squad 1 Matthew Bell, 2 Jamie How, 3 Stephen Fleming, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Mathew Sinclair, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Iain O’Brien, 11 Chris Martin, 12 Grant Elliott, 13 Jeetan Patel.

Bangladesh have omitted wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim from the 14-member squad for the three-ODI series against South Africa. The selectors have named four uncapped players in the squad, including Rahim’s replacement Dhiman Ghosh, middle-order batsmen Raqibul Hasan and Nazimuddin, and left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain.Since his unbeaten match-winning half-century against India in the World Cup last year, Rahim has struggled with the bat, scoring just four runs in his last five one-dayers. That lean trot includes three consecutive ducks, prompting the selectors to give Ghosh an opportunity. Syed Rasel, the left-arm medium-pace bowler who had missed most of the Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour due to a dislocated left collar bone, has also been recalled.”Rahim is out of form so we decided to give him a break,” said Rafiqul Alam, the chairman of selectors. “Dhiman is an aggressive batsman who is in good form. He has been playing for the A Team and Academy Team regularly and his wicketkeeping has also improved. We think he can be quite destructive as a batsman in the one-day form of the game.”Aftab Ahmed, the middle-order batsman, has also been ruled out after sustaining a head injury during the second Test in Chittagong. Aftab was forced to retire hurt after a miscued hook off Jacques Kallis struck him flush on the helmet. He was kept under observation and was unable to come out to bat in the second innings.”It will take Ahmed another four to five days to recover from the injury,” Alam said. “Nazimuddin’s style of batting is similar to Ahmed. He is also an attacking batsman so we decided to give him a chance.”We also considered Mahmudullah Riyad as an allrounder but Mosharraf Hossain got in through the sheer weight of his performance in the domestic, A Team and Academy matches.”The first ODI is on Sunday, while the next two will be played in Mirpur on March 12 and 14.Squad: Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Nazim Uddin, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Mosharraf Hossain, Syed Rasel, Farhad Reza, Raqibul Hasan.

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

In one of the most gripping Tests in recent memory, little could separate India and South Africa as the crumbling pitch at Kanpur produced another enthralling day. Punch followed counter-punch in a match that had all the makings of a classic, and it took a masterful innings from Sourav Ganguly to give India a slender 23-run advantage.A fizzer of a pitch made way for a gripping encounter, one where nobody could afford to miss even a ball. Just when the bowling side appeared to have sized up the situation, a partnership would thwart them; just when the batsmen appeared to be well set, a snorter of a delivery would upset plans. South Africa’s lethal fast bowlers jousted with India’s tenacious batting line-up but none could get past Ganguly, who chose the right moment to produce an unforgettable innings.He walked in a few moments after Morne Morkel had unleashed a most venomous jaffa, one that injured Rahul Dravid before dismissing him. A couple of overs later he watched Morkel nip out Laxman with one that swung in and straightened. This was an uphill task against a potent bowling attack on a spiteful pitch. So composed was Ganguly’s response, so assured his shot selection, that it was difficult to believe that he was batting on the same surface.He cover-drove with assurance and handled – or manhandled – Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, with a bit of contempt. Harris tried to keep the runs down in between bowling grenades but Ganguly’s 39 deliveries against him saw a scoring rate of a run-a-ball. Makhaya Ntini’s reverse-swing briefly troubled him but the rapacious pull that he uncorked, towards the end of the day, had the bowler looking on in disbelief.The nine fours and a six drew the gasps but it was his scampered singles that frustrated the fielders more. There were cheeky moments too – a glide that bisected the slips and a shovel off Harris that soared over midwicket – which left Graeme Smith huffing and puffing. He seemed to have won a mini battle too: a constant look out for the single led to South Africa muffing simple stops in the field.He shared two vital partnerships. Yuvraj Singh’s in-your-face approach put off the bowlers for a while – Dale Steyn was riled up enough to enter into a verbal duel – before Mahendra Singh Dhoni filled the breach. Both sized up the match situation early, hurrying singles and putting away the boundary-balls, but both were responsible for their dismissals – Yuvraj sweeping in the air and Dhoni rushing down the track as if in a last over of an ODI.

The nature of the surface and the quality of attack made life difficult for the batsmen. Not only did they need to draw on their technical expertise but also show the temperament to forget about what happened before. Virender Sehwag was rooted to the crease to one that came in but it won’t be out of place to say that the jaffa that beat him two balls earlier – after hitting a big crack – played on his mind.Dravid’s ability to play late came in handy – a couple of full deliveries were squirted to the third man region for four – and he often took his bottom hand off the bat-handle to prevent a meaty edge. But his 106-ball resistance ended with a lethal ball – one that took off from a good length, clattered the glove and ballooned to gully.Laxman was more fluent. He struck the fast bowlers crisply – the highlight being the three consecutive fours off Morne Morkel in the 15th over. He had a life on 43, when an edge off Harris eluded Jacques Kallis’ grasp at first slip, but he fell after bringing up his half-century when a ripper from Morkel swung in and straightened, knocking back off stump.India needed a few more lucky breaks – Yuvraj looked plumb when part-time offspinner Hashim Amla trapped him in front, and Ganguly saw Neil McKenzie put down a hard chance when on 40 – but that is exactly the kind of openings a team would look for in such conditions. It’s been a game of fractions, and it may well come down to which team blinks first.

First Division

Marcus Trescothick inspired a far more resilient batting performance from Somerset on the second day against Hampshire at Taunton, the hosts moving to 159 for 1 at stumps to reduce their deficit to 74. Hampshire were dismissed for 359 with John Crawley moving from his overnight 78 to 104, while Michael Lumb made 76. Ben Phillips finally made the breakthrough to dismiss Crawley, who had barely offered a chance, forcing a thick edge low to Trescothick at second slip. Lumb and Nic Pothas then put on 48 before Pothas – who injured his calf earlier in the day – fell to the first ball after lunch. His replacement, Michael Brown, was also injured, forcing Hampshire to call on Tom Burrows, a Second XI wicketkeeper. Somerset, who limped to a hopeless 126 in the first innings, fought resiliently at their second chance with Trescothick and Neil Edwards putting on 83 for the first wicket. Edwards fell to a full-toss from Greg Lamb for an even fifty from 69 balls but Trescothick was still standing on 62 at stumps, which included six fours and a six into the River Tone.Fifties from Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat handed Kent the most unlikely of first innings leads over Nottinghamshire on the second day at Trent Bridge, but the home side raced to 106 for 2 at stumps to regain the lead by 70 runs. After their disastrous top-order capitulation yesterday, in which they were reduced to 5 for 4, Kent found resistance in their lower-order with McLaren cracking a vital 57, sharing in an eighth-wicket stand of 67 with Arafat as the visitors defied Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad. Sidebottom remained predictably accurate – picking up 1 for 11 in eight overs in the morning – but McLaren was strong on the drive, particularly off Broad, while Arafat tucked into Samit Patel in his 70-ball fifty. Sidebottom continued to probe and picked up his fifth wicket when Robbie Joseph edged to slip, but Kent had gained an invaluable 68-run cushion. However, after the early loss of Will Jefferson, Matthew Wood regained the momentum for Nottinghamshire with an 89-ball fifty and the hosts lead by 70 with two days to go.Click here for John Ward’s report from Old Trafford where Andrew Flintoff bagged a pair for Lancashire, before nipping out three quick Durham wickets.

Second Division

Andre Nel blitzed Middlesex’s top-order with 3 for 8 in six deliveries to lift Essex’s spirits on the second day in Chelmsford. Bowling with genuine pace and bounce, he removed Andrew Strauss for 12, Shaun Udal – the nightwatchman – first ball for 0, before condemning Ed Smith to a miserable pair. At stumps, Middlesex led by 114 – a disappointing lead considering the performance of Danny Evans earlier in the day. Evans, the 20-year-old medium-pacer, picked up his maiden five-wicket haul as Essex lost 6 for 27. Only Jason Gallian (56) and Tom Westley, whose grinding 60 spanned nearly three hours, offered much resistance in a stand of 72 before Gallian became Evans’ first victim, caught behind. Westley impressed on the drive but edged the probing Vernon Philander (3 for 45) to slip – and then Evans dominated, taking 4 for 7 in 7.5 overs to pick up 6 for 35. The match, however, remains in the balance.Jonathan Trott hit his first hundred for two years for Warwickshire who gained a slender – but potentially telling – 40-run lead over Derbyshire on the second day at Derby. After losing Ian Westwood early, the big three of Darren Maddy (57), Ian Bell (48) and Trott set about rebuilding Warwickshire’s reply to Derbyshire’s 270. Bell fell in the forties for the third time this season, though he did become the fastest Warwickshire batsmen to reach 5000 first-class runs. Bell’s England colleague Tim Ambrose cricked his neck during a warm-up routine, preventing him batting at No.6, though he did come in later to help Trott to his hundred. Derbyshire’s Tom Lungley took 4 for 8 in 21 balls – James Anyon surviving the hat-trick – to levy the balance, but Warwickshire’s lower-order fell away quickly to leave the match intriguingly poised.

The Indian board (BCCI) has decided to “infuse new, young blood” in its team of umpires to improve the standard of umpiring in the country – which has come under the scanner in the current IPL tournament – and has asked state associations to nominate four candidates each, including at least two former first class players, to appear for an examination that will be held in July.”We have decided to revive the examination that, I believe, has not been held for a while. The idea is to infuse new, young blood and improve the standard of umpiring here,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI, secretary, told Cricinfo.”The umpires who have done poorly or have been found below average may not be posted in important matches,” MP Pandove, the BCCI joint secretary, said in a press release. The decision to conduct the examination in Mumbai was among the few taken during a meeting of the BCCI’s umpires committee on Monday.S Venkataraghavan, the former India captain and BCCI’s director of umpires, will redraw the list of 30 “best umpires” to be on the board’s Elite panel, based on their performance last season that was assessed through video analysis during matches. The BCCI will also monitor the performance of its Elite panel over the next season to identity and promote potential candidates for the ICC’s panel, Pandove said.Apart from Venkatraghavan, Shah and Pandove, the BCCI’s umpires committee comprises representatives of the five zones and Stanley Saldhana, the game development manager.India have not been represented on the ICC’s Elite panel of umpires since Venkatraghavan retired in 2004. The standard of Indian umpiring has been tested during the current season of the IPL, with the cricket of a much higher profile than in a regular domestic tournament. The shortcomings were shown up by the incident involving Sourav Ganguly and umpire G A Prathapkumar, in which the umpire referred a catch to the third umpire after Ganguly, given out, had complained.