The Board of Control for Cricket in India concluded its controversial annual general meeting yesterday, following which the new elected representatives took office. However, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the new president, was absent, campaigning in Haryana for the upcoming assembly elections. reported that the meeting lasted all of 30 seconds.The AGM was held after a gap of four months, after the BCCI was taken to court in September by cricket clubs which opposed the elected representatives as well as Jagmohan Dalmiya’s new designation as patron-in-chief. While the stay order on Dalmiya remained, the Supreme Court recently declared that the remaining office-bearers could begin their duties.Dalmiya had also sought to represent India at the ICC – another move which was challenged in court. But before this could come up for discussion at the meeting, Dalmiya declared it over, in effect leaving India without a representative at the ICC.The decision provoked angry reactions, one of which came from IS Bindra, a former president of the board. “Just because one man does not want it, the BCCI should not go unrepresented at ICC meetings. We would support the move if both Ranbir Singh Mahendra and SK Nair go as that would be in keeping with the convention.”Dalmiya faced more opposition from Raj Singh Dungarpur. “I was the board president,” he said to . “So was IS Bindra, and we represented the BCCI. The same thing should be done by Ranbir Singh Mahendra. Why is he [Dalmiya] not allowing others to go?” Before the meeting began, he called for Dalmiya to retire, and said that if he stayed on, it would hurt the BCCI’s image.

The UCB Provincial Shield one-day competition heads towards a season-ending climax with Free State, Northerns, Boland and North West qualifying for the semi-finals.Free State, who ended top of Pool A, will have home advantage against North West, who finished second in Pool B. In the other match, Northerns will have to travel to Paarl where they will meet Boland, who topped Pool B.Both semi-finals will be played on Saturday, February 19, with a reserve day set for the Sunday.

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.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan fast-medium swing bowler, has signed with Sussex for the 2005 season. He will join Mushtaq Ahmed at Hove, but will not arrive until June because of Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies. Matthew Nicholson, the New South Wales fast bowler, is a possible short-term replacement.Naved, 27, told “I have always aspired to play in England. This chance with Sussex will provide me with a great opportunity to learn and improve. I heard from greats like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis that a bowler improves by playing in England. I would love to polish my talent there.”Naved has played in three Tests, but has made more of an impact in the one-day arena, where his 22 ODIs have brought him 33 wickets at 30 apiece. He has proved an effective performer with the new ball, and was one of the few positives to come out of Pakistan’s tour to Australia during December and January.Recently, he has taken on added responsibility within the Pakistan attack because of the injuries to Shoaib Akhtar and poor form of Mohammed Sami. He is an ideal type of bowler for a county side, with the stamina to run in all day and exploit any hint of movement. As with many Pakistan seamers, he is a good exponent of reverse swing.

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.

Steve Harmison has hinted he may end his career early because of homesickness. Harmison, 26, told the , a London newspaper, that he could not see himself playing much one-day cricket beyond the World Cup in 2007. Despite a successful summer last year at home against West Indies and New Zealand, where he emerged as the world’s leading bowler, Harmison took only nine wickets over the winter in South Africa, each of which cost 73 runs.”I will never overcome [homesickness] because I never really want to be away,” Harmison said. “It would be brilliant if I could sort it out, but I know this is never going to be the case. I cannot see myself playing for England when I am in my mid-thirties. I have a family. My international career will finish when my family needs me to be around a bit more.”Even now I cannot see myself playing a lot of one-day cricket after the 2007 World Cup It is something I desperately want to play in but, even forgetting the homesickness, the workload will eventually become too much and I just cannot see my body coping with it.”

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.

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.

Queensland 2 for 116 (Symonds 71*) & 209 trail NSW 245 (Phelps 84, Haddin 64, Bichel 7-77) & 203 by 124 runs
ScorecardQueensland are well poised to claim outright points in the Pura Cup match against New South Wales at the Gabba after the third day finished early due to rain.The weather seemed the only way to halt Queensland’s charge as Andrew Symonds powered them toward the target of 240. Symonds blazed 71 off 61 balls, including 34 off the last 12 deliveries he faced, and shared a century partnership – the first of the match – with Clinton Perren, who was unbeaten on 39.New South Wales were in control midway through the day at 4 for 219 in their second innings, but Andy Bichel sparked a collapse of 6 for 26. Bichel took a career-best 7 for 77 for the Bulls and finished with 10 wickets for the match.

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