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Scorecard
Durham’s left-handed batting prodigy Ben Stokes crashed 26 in an over to ease the reigning County Champions to their second victory of the season with more than two sessions to spare against winless Kent.Fresh from scoring a career-best unbeaten 161 in the first innings at Canterbury, the New Zealand-born teenager marched in to clatter an unbeaten 42 from 22 balls to secure the visitors a six-wicket win by 12.17pm on the final day of a fluctuating game.Chasing 169 for victory and having resumed on their overnight score of 67 for 3, Durham eased to within 52 of their target courtesy of a steady and sensible fourth-wicket stand of 80 between Dale Benkenstein and Ian Blackwell.Benkenstein was only one short of a half-century when he became Durham’s only casualty 11 overs into the final session. Advancing down the pitch when aiming a lofted shot over extra cover, the right-hander edged an overhead catch to Martin van Jaarsveld at slip to give Rob Ferley his only wicket in a costly eight-over spell of one for 54.Blackwell pulled his left calf muscle running a single to take his score to 46 and was joined by runner Scott Borthwick in order to post his 60-ball half-century, with five fours and a six. Otherwise, Durham suffered no further alarms.It was left to Stokes to win it in style with a six and five fours in the only over of the day from Kent’s part-time leg-spinner Joe Denly. Stokes, only 18, took his match aggregate to an unbeaten 203 in the process and left Kent still without a win after 11 starts in all forms of cricket.

Gautam Gambhir, the Delhi Daredevils captain, has put down his team’s exit from the IPL to its inconsistency. Delhi fell short by 11 runs against Deccan Chargers in what was effectively a quarter-final. Both teams, playing their final league game, needed a win to fill up the fourth semi-final slot, but Delhi, despite restricting Deccan to a gettable 145, faltered in their chase.”Whenever we have chased, we’ve lost early wickets. It’s been up and down for us, we just haven’t played as a team,” Gambhir said after the game. “We needed to win two out of five and we lost four out of five, we can’t afford to be that inconsistent. Hopefully next year will be a different story.”On the other hand, Deccan, who had been languishing at the bottom of the table with Kings XI Punjab after losing five games in a row, bounced back to win five in five to seal a place in the final four. Adam Gilchrist, their captain, called the fightback a “great team effort”.”We looked these last five games as a mini-tournament in itself, and we have belief in ourselves. It’s been a great team effort,” Gilchrist said. “Some guys like Symonds and Rohit have been very consistent. Everyone has chipped in their own way. We’ve managed to finish second, that’s a wonderful credit to everyone.”Gilchrist lauded the performance of his bowlers, who kept chipping away at Delhi and defended what seemed like a below-par score with relative ease. “Outstanding game. It’s been like this the whole tournament, great courage from out bowlers and they showed great character,” he said.Andrew Symonds was named Man of the Match for his 30-ball 54, which included five sixes. Symonds was dismissed in the 15th over, and the batsmen who followed had struggled to push on but the total they posted proved adequate. “I was pretty disappointed with the way I got out, and I felt responsible for our score,” Symonds, who had holed out to long-off, said. “But I am really pleased with the way the boys have picked themselves up. We may not be the most skilful team in the competition but we have a goal.”At times we may be a little ugly, but we are effective.”

The IPL has come under the scanner of India’s income-tax department with officials visiting the league’s office in Mumbai and also the office and residence of its commissioner, Lalit Modi. The activity, which is being described as an “inquiry” of a preliminary nature, comes a day after the Central Board of Direct Taxes said it had ordered an investigation of the Kochi franchise sale issue but is expected to be wider in scope.”There is an inquiry, it is not a raid,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, told . “The I-T officials are possibly looking for the details of the tender (for the Kochi team). We will extend them all possible cooperation.”The I-T department’s intervention follows several days of allegations and counter-allegations involving Rendezvous Sports World, the holding company of the Kochi franchise, the composition of its ownership and its shareholding pattern. The shareholders were named by Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, over the weekend, an action that sparked off the subsequent furore.There was some good news for Modi in a public vote of confidence from Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president and the ICC’s president-elect. Pawar told on Wednesday, Tharoor said there was no question of him resigning. Tharoor denied that his party had left him out in the cold, and added that “resigning would mean I’ve given up.”

Mumbai’s bowlers held their nerve to clinch a thriller against Punjab at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad, to book their place in the quarter-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy. The tone for a low-scoring thriller was set after Punjab won the toss and reduced Mumbai to 21 for 3 in the sixth over as Sushant Marathe, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma fell by the wayside. Wasim Jaffer tried to steady things in the company of Parag Khanapurkar, before he became the first of three Rahul Sharma scalps in the 20th over.With their best batsmen out of the equation, Mumbai needed a hero to save the day and they found one in the unheralded Khanapurkar. Despite paltry contributions from the tail, he kept the scoreboard ticking with a mixture of good running and aggressive hits. Abhishek Raut hung around long enough to help him raise 53, as Mumbai stuttered past the 200-run mark. Khanapurkar was the last man out, for a maginificent 123 off 118 balls, an innings that suggested that he was batting on a different wicket. Bipul Sharma picked three wickets and Love Ablish finished with two, as Punjab chased 228.With a modest target to defend, the Mumbai attack rose to the occasion in characteristic fashion. Dhawal Kulkarni accounted for Ravi Inder Singh early, before Rohit sent back Uday Kaul, the Punjab captain, in the 12th over to trigger some anxiety. Mandeep Singh, the India Under-19 star, took charge of the chase, and calmed the nerves with significant, if not substantial stands for the next three wickets. But Mumbai kept fighting, striking each time a partnership threatened to settle the issue.When Mandeep fell at 193 for 7 in the 45th over, the game was there for the taking, and Bipul looked intent on settling it in Punjab’s favour with a 25-ball blitz worth 33. But his fall, with 15 needed off 16 balls gave Mumbai the inch they needed to roar back into the game. It was fitting that Khanapurkar got the penultimate wicket, of Rahul who had struck a six, before Jaskaran Singh was run out off the first ball of the final over, with Punjab still four runs short.Saurashtra upstaged Uttar Pradesh comfortably by seven wickets to seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sagar Jogiyani, the Saurashtra wicketkeeper, starred with his maiden List-A century, laced with 10 fours and three sixes, to steer his side past UP’s 204 with almost ten overs to spare.A combined bowling effort had helped Saurashtra, who opted to field, to restrict the opposition. Left-am medium-pacer Jaidev Unadkat grabbed three for 44, and was supported by Jayesh Odedra, who picked up two wickets, as they made inroads into the top order to dent UP early into their innings. There were important contributions from Ali Murtaza (67) and Piyush Chawla (48), but a total of 204 proved inadequate in the wake of Jogiyani’s dominating response.It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Saurashtra, however. UP had nipped out three wickets for 63, including Cheteshwar Pujara, but Jogiyani was well backed up by Shitanshu Kotak, who made 69 in an unbeaten stand of 142 to seal victory.Saurashtra will take on Bengal in their quarter-final in Vadodara on February 25, while Mumbai heads to Rajkot to face Tamil Nadu on the same day.

Derbyshire have announced that tickets for their two-day game against Australia starting July 8 have gone on sale.Australia are touring England for a five-match ODI series in June and July and will play warm-up games against a number of county sides that are crucial revenue generators for county clubs. Keith Loring, Derbyshire’s chief executive, said the fixtures are already generating excitement.”The forthcoming visit of Australia is already creating a buzz around the county,” he said. “Derbyshire supporters – and those who simply want to catch a glimpse of Australia’s all star team – can ensure their place at the match by booking tickets now.”This is without doubt the earliest we have ever gone on sale for a game and the early signs already suggest the decision is proving to be more than justified.”As well as encouraging early ticket sales, over 200 corporate sales have already been sold for this match – a figure that is climbing with each passing day. The Australia match is one component in what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable summer of cricket which includes more Twenty20 matches than ever before in the new Friends Provident t20 competition.”Tickets can be purchased online at derbyshireccc.com, by calling the ticket hotline on 01332 388 101 or in person at the club’s main reception, Grandstand Road, Derby, DE21 6AF.

Scorecard
Mark Jonkman picked up two wickets in his second over as Afghanistan were held to 128 for 9 against Netherlands•International Cricket Council

Afghanistan’s dream of a place at the World Twenty20 was placed on standby after their defeat to Netherlands at Dubai International stadium. Put in to bat in an electric atmosphere with a crowd of well over 2,500, Afghanistan were restricted to 128 for 9, with several batsmen making starts but none able to push on for a big score. Alexei Kervezee and Eric Szwarczynski got the chase off to a flier, and Netherlands weathered a late fightback from Mohammad Nabi and Hamid Hassan to register a tense four-wicket win.Afghanistan had to be on top of their game in the field after posting such a modest total, but they let themselves down with several fielding and bowling lapses to allow Netherlands to take control. Mohammad Shahzad, the wicketkeeper, put down a chance in the first over of Netherlands’ chase, and the 18 extras given away did nothing to help Afghanistan’s attempts to restrict the scoring. In the tense closing moments of the game, Shapoor Zadran’s casual attempt at a catch let Ryan ten Doeschate, the last recognised batsman at the crease, off the hook and he lofted Hassan over mid on three balls later to seal the win.Zadran’s economical opening spells have been one of the vital ingredients in Afghanistan’s success in this tournament so far. He leaked runs against Ireland, but gave away just 21 runs in eight overs against Scotland and USA. Admittedly, he would have been frustrated by the missed chance off his third ball today, but he was unforgivably wayward thereafter, giving away four boundaries in his opening spell.Kervezee provided most of the momentum as Netherlands raced to 64 in under nine overs, but when he was bowled around his legs sweeping at Nabi, Afghanistan sniffed a chance for an unlikely comeback. Nabi held on to a stinging return catch to get rid of Szwarczynski in his next over, and when Bas Zuiderent was trapped in front by Samiullah Shenwari for two, Netherlands had slipped to 74 for 3. Daan van Bunge eased the pressure with a towering six over long off, but when he was dismissed attempting to repeat the shot, the nerves set in.Hassan has been a talisman for Afghanistan bowling at the death in this format, but without the weight of runs to put pressure on the opposition’s batsmen, his effectiveness was limited in this game. As a proven wicket-taker he was also introduced a little too late, when only 39 runs were required off 48 balls. After Peter Borren’s senseless run out, Hassan rattled Atse Buurman’s stumps with a searing yorker second ball, but ten Doeschate drew on his experience – and took advantage of a dropped catch – to guide Netherlands home with seven balls to spare.ten Doeschate was named Man of the Match for his efforts, which included Nabi’s wicket when Afghanistan batted. That dismissal was the third of the innings, after a double strike by Mark Jonkman, as Afghanistan slipped from 30 without loss to 32 for 3. Jonkman has built up a reputation as one of the quickest bowlers outside the Test arena, but he also exhibited a well-disguised slower ball to bowl Nowroz Mangal for 10.Confused calling then led to Mohammad Shahzad’s run out to reduce Afghanistan to 51 for 4. Raees Ahmadzai collected two fours in his 23 – the highest score of the innings – but after his dismissal wickets fell at regular intervals as Afghanistan slipped to 92 for 7. Ashraf aimed two massive strikes over long on to lift the score in the closing overs, but it was probably 20 runs short of the total Afghanistan needed.Netherlands will be buoyed by this result, which gives them two valuable points ahead of their second encounter against Ireland tomorrow. Afghanistan carried two points into this round courtesy of their win over Ireland in the group stage, so after today’s loss have a winner-takes-all game against UAE, who lost to Ireland.

The pitch was tough but Michael Hussey felt Australia under-performed in falling to a disappointing 127 on the opening day at the SCG. After winning the toss, the hosts tumbled to 7 for 62 and had to rely on 38 from Mitchell Johnson and Hussey’s 28 to push them to three figures.”We knew we were going to have to tough it out in the first couple of hours and we weren’t able to do that,” Hussey said. “They did bowl well, we must give them credit, but for myself, I was a bit disappointed with the way I got out after doing some hard work.”Hussey had played the most sensibly of the specialist batsmen before pulling at Asif and being caught off the top edge at first slip. It was an unnecessary mistake but Hussey wasn’t the only one who messed up, with Ricky Ponting, Phillip Hughes and Brad Haddin also responsible for their exits.”At the end of the day we are disappointed to be bowled out for 127,” Hussey said. “Come tomorrow with a positive attitude, if we bowl patiently and with real discipline, we’ll create enough chances to hopefully have the game on an even keel tomorrow night and then the toss is irrelevant.”Green tops have become rare in the modern game and the bowlers deserve to enjoy their days with assistance in the air and off the pitch. However, Hussey said the days could still be fun for batsmen.”I really enjoyed the challenge,” he said. “In some respects the pressure goes off the batsmen a little bit, the pressure is more on the bowlers, who are expected to get you out cheaply. It’s really rewarding if you can get through the period on a tough pitch, it doesn’t get any tougher than that as a batsman.”A major problem for the run-makers is they don’t run into seaming surfaces very often and have to play from the memory of their club or county days. “We’re generally well treated everywhere around the world with excellent batting conditions,” Hussey said. “Sometimes in net practice in places around Australia and the world, you do get some spicy conditions, so you do practice a little bit. For me, growing up in Wanneroo [in Perth], plenty of our net sessions were like that. It takes you back to your youth a little bit.”

Scorecard
A tight spell from offspinner Arlen Konwar restricted Andhra to 212 for 9 at stumps against Assam at Guwahati. The visitors’ decision to bat first was initially vindicated by the top-order batsmen. Prasad Reddy and Avadhanam Rakesh combined forces in a second-wicket stand that yielded 72 before legspinner Sairaj Bahutule trapped Reddy in front after a stroke-filled fifty. Venugopal Rao then helped the resolute Rakesh add a further 59 after which Andhra suffered a middle-order collapse. Dhiraj Goswami’s dismissal of Rao was the cue for Konwar to take centre-stage as he nipped out three important wickets without conceding too many runs. Andhra captain Bodapati Sumanth resisted briefly before Konwar sent him back after Andhra had passed 200. Assam will look to pick the last wicket quickly and drive home the early advantage on day two. Andhra on the other hand will want to capitalize on the sharp turn on offer, that is set to gradually increase as the match progresses.Scorecard
Honours were even at stumps on the first day between Haryana and Tripura at Rohtak. Haryana opener Nitin Saini anchored the start of the innings through steady partnerships of 32 and 57 for the first two wickets. His 59 was punctuated by six hits to the fence and one over it before he became first-change bowler Timir Chanda’s second wicket. Manav Sharma then took over the role of holding one end up with a knock of 42 that came at a languid strike-rate of 24 before Chanda dismissed him with stumps in sight. Haryana will hope that Sachin Rana and the tail can ensure that the hard work done on the first day bears fruit on the second.

The Chris Gayle shuffle
Proof that Chris Gayle is cooler than Mawson’s Hut was evident in his celebration of his maiden Test century against Australia. Triumphant waves of the bat bookended a short dance sequence that featured the kind of rhythmic sashaying that would have proven a hit in the nightclubs of Kingston. Gayle looked decidedly less graceful several overs later when he was struck by cramp. Gayle’s nickname among team-mates is “crampy”, a Jamaican expression for slow movement, and his seizing muscles served to decelerate his scoring rate for a time, but he picked it up at the end of the day.Brother, can you spare a wicket?
Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets proved a curse in recent losing campaigns against India, South Africa and England, and the lack of an enforcer returned to haunt them on Monday. Without the services of the incapacitated Peter Siddle, who has a hamstring problem, for much of the day, Australia struggled for impact against a resolute West Indies batting unit on a benign Adelaide surface. Nathan Hauritz could not replicate the bounce or bite of Sulieman Benn the previous day, while Mitchell Johnson lit up the start and the end, but not in the middle. It was a tough time at the office.Tall tales of Big Benn
Sulieman Benn said it wasn’t until he was about 14 that he began getting taller than most of his friends, but at 28 it seems he’s still enjoying a growth spurt. The story of his success on the third day in Adelaide turned into a tall tale – but just how tall depended on whose story you read. His profile page on Cricinfo lists him as 6ft 7in, which equates to 200cm, but in the he had grown to 204cm and in the he had shot up to 207cm.Save the umps
The Gould League is an Australian organisation that, among other things, aims to protect the environment. Umpire Ian Gould might just need his own group if he keeps getting in the way of Gayle drives. Gayle crunched a straight one that clipped the fingers of the bowler Marcus North, but that didn’t take much of the pace off the ball. It promptly ricocheted into Gould’s ankle, sending the umpire hobbling in pain and denying Gayle a boundary.

Mark Benson is planning to retire from umpiring with immediate effect following his sudden withdrawal from the Adelaide Test. The Sunday Times has reported Benson was upset over several incidents involving the Umpire Decision Review System on day one of the second Test between Australia and West Indies, one of which led to his original decision being overturned.Benson twice ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul not-out to caught-behind appeals on Friday, both of which were challenged by the Australians. The third umpire, Asad Rauf, upheld Benson’s first ruling, prompting an angry response from the bowler, Doug Bollinger, and the Australian captain, Ricky Ponting. But it is the second video review, which resulted in Chanderpaul being ruled out for 62, that is understood to have most upset the English official. Hot Spot replays showed no evidence of the ball striking the outside edge of Chanderpaul’s bat, however other camera angles provided Rauf with enough evidence to reverse Benson’s original ruling.Cricinfo has been told an irate Benson “ranted” to colleagues in the umpire’s room after the first day’s play about his dissatisfaction with the UDRS. He is believed to have said at the time that the new system “just makes (umpiring) harder”, however ICC officials were remaining tight-lipped on the matter on Sunday.David Morgan, the ICC president, told Cricinfo Benson was “poorly” and referred other questions to David Richardson, the ICC’s general manager, and Vintcent van der Bijl, the umpire’s manager. Chris Broad, the match referee who is presiding over the Adelaide Test, denied Benson’s swift departure from Adelaide was the result of unhappiness over the UDRS. “There is absolutely no truth in that at all,” Broad said. “The review system is new to everyone and you’ve got to get used to it. He was an advocate of the review system to help umpires out.”We spoke on the second morning and he said that he was feeling unwell. I was in India with him as well where he was unwell. We thought this might well be another situation like that we were in in India. We chatted about it and he said he didn’t feel as though he could go on the field again. We decided to leave him back in the hotel. I phoned Dubai and they decided that if it was a recurrence of high blood pressure or stomach problems he had in India he needed to get it sorted out. That was the reason that I was aware he went home.”ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat also denied Benson’s return to England was related to the UDRS. “This is completely untrue. Benson has been a strong supporter of the system and his return home has nothing to do with it,” he told . “”He is not well and that’s why he is returning home. I’m sure once he reached England, he would issue a clarification.”ICC sources have told Cricinfo, however, that report is indeed accurate, and an announcement from Benson is expected after his arrival into Britain. Precisely why Benson opted to leave Adelaide before the conclusion of the second Test remains unknown.Benson stood down from two one-day internationals involving Australia and India this year due to migraines, and previously experienced heart palpitations during a Test between South Africa and India in Durban. It is understood he did not visit a hospital in Adelaide before his departure on Saturday, despite “ill health” being cited by the ICC as the cause for his departure.Controversy has always followed umpires, but scrutiny has escalated of late. Darrell Hair resorted to legal avenues after he was sidelined by the ICC for his role in the forfeited Test at The Oval between England and Pakistan two years ago, while Steve Bucknor was benched for the latter stages of the Australia-India Test series two summers ago after the BCCI complained of errors.”There’s probably less pressure on the umpires now with a review system than there was beforehand,” Broad said. “Umpires would stand out there in the morning and captains and fielders would strut around not really knowing the result of it. With the review system they know the result straight away.”