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IS Bindra, the former president of the Indian board, has criticised the BCCI’s decision to award a production contract to TWI for US$1.5million when an alternate offer worth US$1.29million by Nimbus, another production company, was available.In a letter to the BCCI, Bindra said he did not understand “how and when the decision was taken to accept the production offer of Trans World International (TWI) and at what rate,” acording to a report on Indiantelevision.com. Bindra said that the decision to award the contract was not unanimous, as the board had earlier claimed. He said that the board president, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, had only been authorised to negotiate with production companies and ensure that the board’s revenue was maximised and the production costs minimised.A while later, Mahendra responded to questions by media over Bindra’s letter by saying that there were no discrepancies in the contract and that Nimbus’s allegation that a board member had misled a BCCI decision-making team were false. He also wondered why Bindra had not spoken to him directly as both were on a flight to Chandigarh.This new conflict is the latest in a series of hard questions being asked of the BCCI by board members. Embarrassing letters have been leaked to media, making public disagreements within the board. The most recent of these was a letter by Niranjan Shah, a former secretary of the board, asking how much the BCCI had lost on television rights during the Australian and South African tours of India.

Confusion surrounds the sudden resignation of Clive Howard, the chairman of the Hong Kong Cricket Association (HKCA).Howard quit with immediate effect in the middle of the week, but the brief statement from the board cited “family and work commitments”. However, a report in the South China Morning Press stated that he owed the HKCA around HK$210,000 (US$27,000)”During his time as chairman, cricket developed significantly, with the introduction of the “Challenge League” for players not able to find places in teams competing in the regular Saturday and Sunday League competitions run by the HKCA and the setting up of a women’s league competition,” Terry Smith, the board president, said. “He also played a significant part in developing the International Cricket Sixes into an event of true international stature.”Given the scale of the activities now being undertaken by the Association, we are now considering the appointment of a CEO to support the chairman and executive committee and implement all aspects of association policy.”

County cricketers could represent two teams in a season under a new loan system that has been agreed between the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) and the ECB, in an attempt to curb the influx of foreign players into the county game.The initial loan period will be four weeks but the players’ original county will be able to recall the player if he is guaranteed a first-team place. This new system is similar to the loan system in football, which is used extensively by the larger clubs who loan out their younger players so they can be involved in first-team matches.Richard Bevan, the PCA’s chief executive said told : “We believe that making it easier for counties to sign loan players is one of the steps towards getting the right balance of England qualified players in county cricket.”Nottinghamshire could be one of the first counties to take advantage of this new system. They are searching for a replacement to cover the injured Charlie Shreck, who has been ruled out of action until July with a stress fracture of the back. Off all the 18 first-class counties, Glamorgan are the only one not to have followed the popular method of signing a foreign player with a European passport or under the Kolpak ruling.The new loan system was agreed at the PCA’s AGM at Edgbaston, on Thursday, which was attended by over 200 cricketers. The current system of a three-up and three-down county championship was debated, with 90% saying they would like to see this reduced to a movement of two counties from each division. But the ECB’s central contracts system was given another vote of confidence, 88% said they had had a positive impact on the game.

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

An extraordinary day, which began with Glenn McGrath being stretchered off the field during the pre-match warm-up, ended with England bowled out for 407, scored at over five an over amid a blaze of boundaries. To add to the frenzied atmosphere, each time England threatened to run (or sprint) away with the match Australia surged back in typical fashion.Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss set the tone by adding 112 before lunch but it was Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen who combined for the most electric passage of play, adding 103 in thrilling fashion as counterattack was followed by counterattack. All summer the thought of these two powerhouse strokemakers combining had whetted the appetite of the public and finally they had a chance to revel in it as Australia missed the controlling and calming effect of McGrath.Pietersen was more assured at the outset of the partnership, showing all the good judgment and technique that he had displayed at Lord’s. One shot, a whip past mid-on from a ball a foot wide of off-stump would have left Sachin Tendulkar drooling. Flintoff has been overshadowed by Pietersen so far this summer but stepped back into the limelight with a stunning array of shots – some well-executed, others full of luck. He hit two sixes over cow corner off Shane Warne but the contest to savour was with Brett Lee.Lee steamed in and sent down a barrage of bouncers to Flintoff, who opted to play them rather than duck. He cleared deep square-leg three times – once without even looking at the ball – and when Lee decided to pitch the ball up he punched them through the covers with superb timing.The fireworks were ended in the first over after tea as Jason Gillespie, who showed his best rhythm of the tour, enticed Flintoff to play a flat-footed waft at a wide ball and edge a catch through to Adam Gilchrist for his 250th Test wicket. Geraint Jones couldn’t produce any fireworks of his own has he received one of the few balls that rose sharply off the surface and Gilchrist snaffled another of his four catches for the innings.At 293 for 6, Australia would have fancied their chances of rolling England over for less than 350 given the way the tail folded in the second innings at Lord’s – when none of the last four batsmen managed a run. Here, admittedly on an easier surface, they exhibited much more backbone. Ashley Giles took on Lee’s short ball – adding 49 with Pietersen – before he swept once too often at Warne.Once Giles fell, Pietersen opted to open his shoulders but perhaps too early given that England had two batsmen still to come. After another six over midwicket off Lee that defied the laws of physics he picked out Simon Katich attempting a repeat but, as at Lord’s, his innings had oozed class.

Even Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison and Simon Jones unfurled their shots as the sky-high boundary count rocketed to 55 fours and 10 sixes. Warne ended with 4 for 116, as all the Australian bowlers received fierce punishment, especially Lee who conceded his runs at six-and-a-half an over.The bat-wielding was not just left in the hands of England’s middle-order though and they were grateful to at last have had some sort of platform to build from. Lee and Gillespie struggled to maintain the ‘McGrath line’ and Trescothick located his cover-drive from the outset. Strauss was less convincing but slowly began to find his feet – and his footwork – and the introduction of Warne into the attack freed him up.Strauss biffed him back over his head, then slog-swept to the midwicket boundary. Trescothick joined the fray and straight-drove a maximum. But as is so often the case Warne produced a bit of magic as a ripping leg-break beat Strauss’s attempted cut shot just before lunch.However, that didn’t slow the scoring as Trescothick and Vaughan brought up their fifty partnership in only 5.3 overs. But then wickets began to fall at a pace to match the runs with Australia grabbing three in 27 balls.Kasprowicz, the pick of the pacemen on his last-minute return to the Test team, induced Trescothick to fish outside the off stump, 10 short of his first century against Australia and then, three balls later, removed Bell with a perfect outswinger. Bell cut a forlorn figure as he trudged back to the dressing-room on his home ground, after completing his third single-figure score of the series.Vaughan joined the post-lunch procession as, with consolidation required, he sent a spiralling top-edge to Brett Lee at fine leg, giving Gillespie his first wicket of the series. England were 193 for 4 and the half-way point of the opening day had not been reached but that was nothing compared to the spine-tingling assault by Flintoff and Pietersen – in an afternoon session that brought 157 runs in 27 overs. England couldn’t bat that well in the one-day series.Ricky Ponting will be scratching his head in the pavilion – as most of his bowlers were on the pitch – as to what to make of bowling England out in under a day for 407, but the pitch does not contain any demons and Australia will be aiming to pile on the runs. As first days go this will take some beating, but that was said about the last Test. It’s certainly been a case of anything Lord’s can do, Edgbaston can do better.

EnglandAndrew Strauss b Warne 48 (112 for 1)
Marcus Trescothick c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 90 (164 for 2)
Ian Bell c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 6 (170 for 3)
Michael Vaughan c Lee b Gillespie 24 (187 for 4)
Andrew Flintoff c Gilchrist b Gillespie 68 (290 for 5)
Geraint Jones c Gilchrist b Kasprowicz 1 (293 for 6)
Edged one that lifted and seamed awayAshley Giles lbw b Warne 23 (342 for 7)
Missed a sweep, hit on the bootKevin Pietersen c Katich b Lee 71 (348 for 8)
Hoisted to cow corner, looking for another maximumSteve Harmison b Warne 17 (375 for 9)
Bamboozled by sliderMatthew Hoggard lbw b Warne 16 (407 all out)
Missed an attempted sweep

As Australia closed in on a crushing victory in the first Test at Bangalore, a contented Australian coach, John Buchanan, faced the media at the close of the fourth day:

On the way the match has panned out
Well, first things first, it isn’t over yet. We need four wickets, they need 360-odd runs, and they’ve got 90 overs to get them. Who knows what can happen. But in terms of the script, I’m happy with the way things have unfolded. There are areas that we can improve on, in particular our top-order batting, and we hope to get those in place for the next match. But our middle order gave us opportunity to bowl well.On Australia’s strategy
Win the toss – that was the strategy that worked. OK, so maybe that’s a bit flippant, but it’s always important at the start of a series to establish a bridgehead. Day One saw us reach 316 for 5, and then an outstanding partnership between Clarke and Gilchrist carried us to 450 and gave a good start to the series. But tomorrow those four wickets are the priority.On the sight of Harbhajan Singh taking yet more wickets
It’s not a concern really. The Indian attack is based around spin, ours is based around pace, so you’d expect a higher percentage of wickets to fall to each. In this particular match, Harbhajan took 11 wickets, and Kumble just six or seven, so on balance he’s been the outstanding bowler. But all in all, we’re pleased with how we are playing.On the weaknesses in India’s batting line-up
It’s a very strong batting line-up. OK, so Yuvraj replaced Tendulkar for this match, and on runs alone maybe he didn’t fill his shoes, but I don’t think he can shoulder full responsibility. I think that right down the Indian order, each player will readily accept a measure of responsibility. A combination of things went against them. We bowled well and created chances, and we put runs on the board. And then maybe they didn’t get going in the first innings, and were always playing catch-up.On the absences of Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar
It’s a tough call. Ponting is our captain and No. 3 bat, and Tendulkar is one of the world’s greats. It’s difficult to play them off each other, but then if you look at the replacements – Simon Katich and Yuvraj – then you can say we came off better.On the performance of the bowlers
I’m very pleased, and it isn’t over yet. All our bowlers have done a really good job, which is shown by the way the wickets are spread, in the first and second innings. And Shane [Warne], in his own words, is really enjoying the way he’s bowling at the moment.On the impact that Glenn McGrath has made
Those were a pretty important couple of overs to take two wickets [in the first innings], but if we’d been bowled out for 250, then all our bowlers and fieldsmen, and the Indian batting line-up, would have had a different approach. It’s been outstanding bowling, and it’s continued all through the innings. But the foundations were laid by our batting.

As if the prospect of taking on one of the finest batting line-ups in the world was not incentive enough, a lucky United Arab Emirates bowler is on course for a $US1000 cash bonus, if one of them can dismiss Sachin Tendulkar in Friday’s Asia Cup opener against India at Dambulla.The UAE are one of the leading non-Test nations. In 1996, they took part in their first – and to date, only – World Cup, but have since won the Asian Cricket Council Trophy for three years in a row. Even so, they and their fellow qualifiers, Hong Kong, are hardly expected to put up much of a fight over the next fortnight, when they take on the Test nations of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”Of course I am overawed at the prospect of playing against the likes of Tendulkar,” UAE’s captain, Khurram Khan, told AFP. “But I don’t think anyone would want to take that wicket for money considerations alone. It would be a prize wicket like no other.”The cash offer was made by a UAE official prior to the team’s departure from Dubai, who added that the team should take heart from Greece’s unexpected success at the Euro 2004 football championships earlier this month.”I don’t know how the match will go,” added Khurram. “I just hope I can enjoy the moment.”

Final points table

Holders Leicestershire booked their place in the quarter-finals with a straightforward seven-wicket win over Yorkshire at Grace Road. Ian Harvey’s 77 was the foundation in Yorkshire’s 177 for 5, but egged on by a partisan crowd, Darren Maddy smacked an unbeaten 72 to guide Leicestershire home with nine balls to spare.Derbyshire’s nine-wicket win over Nottinghamshire at Derby, inspired by Michael Di Venuto’s 77 not out, secured them a last-eight spot as one of the best third-placed finishers. Nottinghamshire never got on top of some tight bowling, and their 139 for 5 never looked likely to challenge Derbyshire. Di Venuto hammered 77 off 52 balls, adding 92 for the second wicket with Jon Moss (34), as the home side won with more than three overs to spare.Lancashire, already assured of the division title, had their match against Durham washed out.

South Africa 427 for 5 (Amla 149, Prince 70*, Boucher 26*) trail New Zealand 593 for 8 dec by 166 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Hashim Amla pushed his maiden Test century up to 149 as South Africa worked their way past the follow-on at Cape Town, virtually assuring them of safety. Jacques Kallis aided him during the morning session and Ashwell Prince ensured that two quick wickets before tea were nothing other than a blip on another bat-dominated day. The New Zealand attack plugged away manfully, but it was hard work for little reward.The match only threatened to come alive when Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel struck in quick succession, leaving South Africa 33 short of the follow-on with five wickets in hand, just about keeping New Zealand’s interest in squaring the series alive. Vettori trapped Amla with an arm ball – although there was the thinnest of inside edges – and Patel’s strike to remove AB de Villiers on the stroke of tea had opened a small window for the Kiwis. But it was slammed, or rather eased shut, by Prince and Mark Boucher. At no stage did the conditions hint at a clatter of wickets and that was the only way New Zealand were going to be able to force a result.For the majority of the morning it was one-way traffic as Amla and Kallis bedded in on a surface that offered precious little encouragement to the bowlers. There was a hint of turn, but the pitch has not broken up as had been expected.Vettori was disappointing, dropping too short and allowing the batsmen to pick him off for ones and twos. Kallis creamed a series of delightful drives which left the fielders motionless, and led to a change of tact from Stephen Fleming. As soon as the new ball was available it was taken and James Franklin found a hint of movement and maintained a probing line.

But there was nothing to frighten the batsmen and Kallis clicked over to another fifty – off 142 balls – and also nudged his way beyond 8000 Test runs. Amla was quick onto any wayward deliveries and the nineties did not cause him any undue nerves. A sweet drive carried him to 99 before he forced a brace through the covers off Vettori to reach three figures, off 242 balls, a fine return to the team especially in the tough No. 3 slot.By this point Kallis had departed in a somewhat tame manner, scooping an attempted pull to mid-on after the ball held up off the surface. However, Amla pressed on with the knowledge that it was not about how quickly South Africa scored – it was all about occupation of the crease. He continued to knock away the loose deliveries with Patel showing the first signs of tiring as he approached 40 overs on his debut. But when Vettori got the benefit of Amla’s decision, and Patel was rewarded for preservence, South Africa would have had a twitchy tea interval.However, as with Kallis, it was a situation made for Prince and he went about making the most of chance of a sizeable score. New Zealand needed a quick strike in the final session, but Boucher was quickly into his effective counterattacking style, sweeping and nudging the spinners to distraction. Once the pair took the deficit below 200 a collective weight was removed from South African shoulders.The zip clearly vanished from the Kiwis allowing Prince and Boucher to ease along in what has become a quest for personal milestones. The daily dose of bad light arrived on cue to allow some aching bodies to head for the dressing room. Prince will know a fourth century is there for the taking tomorrow and, after a season of battling away on tough pitches, the South Africans will want to eke every last run from this surface. It will be one for the purists.

How they were outSouth AfricaGraeme Smith c and b Patel 25 (36 for 1)
Boeta Dippenaar b Patel 47 (108 for 2)
Jacques Kallis c Martin b Oram 71 (252 for 3)
Hashim Amla lbw b Vettori 149 (344 for 4)
AB de Villiers c Papps b Patel 13 (361 for 5)

Ricky Ponting doesn’t like playing Twenty20 matches and believes Australia should contest only one game of the popular format each season. Ponting will captain Australia against England on Tuesday in a warm-up for the tri-series and the SCG is expected to be sold-out.Ponting, who has 131 runs in four Twenty20 affairs, said his problem with the concept was treating a game between two countries as “just being fun”. “I don’t really like playing Twenty20 international cricket,” he said in the . “I know it is cracking entertainment for the fans. I can see it would be good fun, and how it might attract new spectators.”He said if the games were limited to one fixture a season and a four-yearly tournament it “might be all right”. “Maybe with the odd international game and by having state teams playing a short competition in the way Twenty20 cricket is played in England, I think it has value,” he said. “My problem is that I can’t play a game in which I’m wearing my national team’s colours, and my opponents are wearing theirs, and treat it as just being fun.”However, Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said the format should be played seriously ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September. “The reality is there’s not going to be much difference from one-day cricket, and that Twenty20 is likely to grow and grow,” he told .Australia Twenty20 squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus.

Sourav Ganguly should be fit enough to play for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy match against North Zone from October 20. Ganguly has been suffering from early symptoms of tennis elbow, but a doctor attending to him said his condition is getting better.”He is improving,” said Kalyan Mukherjee, an orthopaedic surgeon. “If this trend continues, and he responds to the treatment, then I see no reason why he can’t play the Duleep [Trophy] match at Rajkot.”The final decision on this matter will be taken by Dr Ananth Joshi, the sports-medicine expert, when he examines Ganguly on October 18. John Gloster, the team physiotherapist, is also expected to be present during the examination.The elbow problem for Ganguly first cropped up during the Indian team’s tour to Zimbabwe, and also kept him out of the Challenger Series in Mohali. Ganguly was also left out of the Indian squad for the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka later this month, with the selectors indicating that he would have to prove his fitness first.