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Somerset’s first innings ended 25 minutes before lunch on the second day when they were bowled out for 488. Top scorer Keith Parsons remained undefeated on 193, an innings which contained 22 boundaries and one 6.Resuming from their overnight 390-6 Somerset’s not out batsmen Parsons and Jason Kerr looked to seize the initiative early and elevate their side to a potentially match-winning first innings total.During the West Indies last tour of the UK in 1995 Kerr scored 80 against them at taunton. Sadly his batting has stagnated somewhat and he yet to better that score. He began confidently on the second morning though, driving Nixon McLean straight for four and then slashing high over the slips for another boundary.Those two shots helped lift the county side beyond 400, the first side to do so this summer and the first time ever that Somerset have done it against the West Indies. With Reon King off the fielding – nursing a bruised instep – and Corey Collymore also mysteriously absent, Roger Harper, the West Indies’ coach, reminded us of a bygone era with some athletic stops and fine throwing from the deep.The tourists had perhaps expected to swiftly wrap up the Somerset innings on the second day but Parsons and Kerr had other ideas as they stretched their stand past 70.Nine years ago South African Jimmy Cook hit 162, the highest individual score by a Somerset batsmen against the West Indies, and he was expunged from the record books as Parsons went past him with a clip to midwicket.With the score on 422 Nixon McLean, in his 23rd over, at last picked up his first wicket. Kerr, having made an accomplished 32, steered a sharply-lifting delivery into the bucket-like hands of Lara at first slip.Adrian Pierson hung around for 20 balls (during which he only made a single) before he nicked one to ‘keeper Phillip, again off McLean. That brought 20 year old Joe Tucker in for his debut innings, which began with a McLean ‘throat ball’. A clumsily-conceded bye enabled him to escape to the relative sanctuary of Nagamootoo’s end, allowing Parsons to smash the quickie down the ground for 4.It was from the bowling of McLean that Tucker eventually got his first run, dabbing him on the on-side for a single. His next scoring shot almost brought his downfall – a dash for the line just beating Adrian Griffith’s direct hit from midwicket. Visibly growing in confidence he then pulled McLean square to bring up the 450.After bowling 12 consecutive from the River End Nixon McLean gave way to Wavell Hinds and the switch brought instant success as Tucker feathered hi first ball to Phillip for an encouraging 14.Last man Jamie Grove hung around to add 17 valuable runs but with Parsons in sight of a double-ton he lost his middle stump to Hinds, who finished with 3-32.

The Netherlands may only have one player at the ICC’s Winter Training Camp (WTC) but top order batsman Tom de Grooth has no complaints about being lonely. On the contrary, the 26 year-old has thoroughly enjoyed meeting players he has only previously seen as members of opposing teams and, more importantly, believes he has taken his game forward.”It’s not been difficult at all for me,” said de Grooth. “Within the first couple of days I was mixing in with the other players, I’ve made some good friends and had a good time. It has definitely helped my game too. I’m playing in different conditions, working with players and coaches from different countries and just the act of talking cricket every day makes you think more about what you are doing.”The fact the Netherlands are so sparsely represented at the WTC is down to a combination of factors. By the time the camp was confirmed, in September, several players in the frame for inclusion had made other commitments. Those commitments included playing overseas – one player is in New Zealand and another is in Cape Town, South Africa – permanent jobs and studies. But although de Grooth was committed to starting studies himself, he was still able to attend.”I’ve just begun a four-year course in Commercial Sports Economics in Amsterdam,” he said.”I have had to do some work for the course while I have been here but the good thing about it is that it is designed for sports people so they allow you to fit your sporting commitments around the studies.”So, how has the 11-week residential camp helped de Grooth improve? “Overall I think that I now know my game a lot better and I am clearer about my gameplans against certain types of bowlers,” he said. “There are one or two little technical things that I have tried to bring into my game like standing more upright in my stance so I am more balanced. We have had sessions with sports psychologists and I have talked a lot about cricket with (WTC head coach) Andy Moles, (bowling coach) Bob Cottam and (spin bowling coach) John Davison.”I’m sure the fitness work I have done has also been of benefit and I am keen to keep it up. It has become easier to concentrate for long periods and keep going when I bat and when I am in the field. The things I am doing are all relatively small but put together hopefully they will help make me a better player.”Part of de Grooth’s work in Pretoria has also involved sessions with Davison trying to improve his offspin, something that he has neglected for several seasons ahead of the camp. “I had not really done much bowling for the past three or four years because of shoulder surgery,” he said.”It’s definitely the area I can improve most because the ideal is to make myself into another bowling option in a match, a sixth or seventh bowler in a one-day game. My bowling is not where it should be yet but hopefully the work I have put in here will mean that I will only improve with more bowling in game situations.”Those game situations may come as early as next March with the Dutch planning a tour of South Africa ahead of likely ICC Intercontinental Cup and possible ODI commitments in Kenya. And even though de Grooth has his studies to think about he said he still intends to be part of that touring squad, if selected.”Cricket is number one for me until the World Cup,” he said. “I want to make as much time for it as I can and I would love to be on that tour.”His Dutch team mates, who have been training indoors for the past month, start their World Cup build-up in earnest this weekend with a meeting to map out their preparations. And after what he has seen at the WTC, de Grooth has a clear message for that meeting.”We are going to have to put in a lot of hard work from hereon,” he said. “I have seen lots of commitment here from players and we have to match that. We have to put in extra work where we can, breaking into small groups if necessary, but the other countries with players here are all pushing forward and we must match that in order to keep up.”Realistically the Dutch will struggle to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the 2007 event given their group also includes World Champions Australia and South Africa, currently in first and second places in the LG ICC ODI Championship table respectively. But also in their group is fellow Associate country Scotland and that is the game the Dutch are already targeting.WTC head coach Moles offered his assessment of the progress made by the Dutch batsman in Pretoria:Tom’s probably the most experienced player here and is older than most others at the WTC. As a senior player we have used him to captain one of our sides when we have played games. He has done a good job. In those matches he has made one good score but has also found ways of getting out, which is frustrating. He’s got experience and ability and we have emphasised it is now time for him to come to the party and get big scores on a regular basis. Tom’s biggest challenge is to make sure he is not happy with mediocrity. He has got the game and his attitude is excellent but now he must go on and make the most of the talent he has.

Chandu Sarwate, a former Indian Test player and national selector, has died in Indore following a protracted illness. Sarwate, 83, represented India in nine Tests, scoring 208 runs and taking three wickets.His international record was modest, but Sarwate’s first-class record was superb: over a career spanning 32 years and 171 matches – most of them for Holkar – he took 494 wickets with his mix of offspin and legspin bowling at an average of 23, while scoring 7430 runs at a shade under 33.Sarwate’s best moments came when the Indians toured England in 1946. Playing a match against Surrey at The Oval, Sarwate, who normally batted in the middle order, came in at No. 10 and added 249 for the last wicket with Shute Banerjee, the No. 11. Both batsmen hit centuries – the only instance in first-class cricket when the No. 10 and No. 11 scored hundreds – as India recovered from 205 for 9 to 454. Not satisfied with that effort, Sarwate went on to take 5 for 54 in Surrey’s second innings as the Indians wrapped up a nine-wicket win.A fingerprint expert by profession, Sarwate was also a national selector for three seasons, from 1980-81 to 1982-83.

Mohammad Yousuf’s lawyer, Tafuzzal Rizvi, has moved an application against the Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying his client had returned the money paid to him before backing out of a contract and signing with the officially-sanctioned Indian Premier League (IPL).In the application, Rizvi, who represented Yousuf at an arbitration hearing in Mumbai on January 24, insisted that there was “no contract” with the ICL as the money was “received back by the ICL without any objection”.Based on the application, the arbitrator has issued notices to the ICL, asking their legal team to appear before him on February 20 to provide their response.Meanwhile, a PCB media release, while elaborating on the details of this case, says Yousuf’s name will be included in the IPL bidding process on February 8, which is open to its eight city-based franchises.

The ICC has named Javagal Srinath, the former Indian fast bowler, in a five-member Bowling Review Group (BRG) that will assess the appeal against the one-year ban on Shabbir Ahmed, the Pakistan seamer. The hearing will take place in Dubai on January 21.According to an ICC Media release, the group will be headed by Sir Oliver Popplewell and will also include Roshan Mahanama, an ICC match referee, Dick French, a former international umpire and Dr Marc Portus, human resource expert, besides Srinath. Saleem Altaf, PCB director, and Prof Bruce Elliott will also attend the BRG meeting. Altaf will represent Shabbir while Elliott will make a presentation on his independent assessment of the bowler.Shabbir is the first player to be banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after being reported for the second time in two days during the first Test against England at Multan last year.The decision of the BRG will be communicated to Shabbir through the PCB within 48 hours of the hearing being adjourned. The decision of the BRG will be final and binding. The BRG will consider video evidence from the Multan match, the match officials’ report from the Test and an independent assessment of the player’s action.

The Indian team suffered another setback as Laksmipathy Balaji was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy with an abdominal injury. He will return to India shortly. Amit Bhandari, the medium pacer from Delhi, has been chosen to replace him.Balaji has become the second Indian to drop out, after Sachin Tendulkar’s tennis elbow did not recover in time. Speaking to reporters at the indoor nets at the Rose Bowl, Sourav Ganguly said: “There’s a problem with Balaji and we’ve asked for a replacement. He had a problem with his abdomen [muscle] this morning and we’ve asked for a replacement.”Balaji’s problem cropped up in London during the NatWest Challenge. He experienced some muscle pain in the abdomen, and was treated for it. “He had an injection in London on the 7th,” said Ganguly, “and we hoped he would recover, but the injury has not responded since then.”The Indian selectors picked Bhandari to replace Balaji. Bhandari has played two one-day internationas for India, and has picked up five wickets. His last match for India was against Zimbabwe in the VB Series earlier this year, in which he took 3 for 31 in 7.4 overs.

For the majority of his tenure at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Roger Brathwaite always appeared to be batting on a sticky wicket.During the four years he spent at the most visible sporting organisation in the region, the outgoing chief executive officer attracted a host of balls that jumped off a good length. In essence, the problems weren’t often of his doing. It was a turbulent environment and sooner or later, it was inevitable he would be a casualty. He leaves office at the end of the month with some measure of respect even if his resignation was clearly a case of jumping before he was pushed. It was no secret that he had been asked to step down, perhaps a surprise that he wasn’t requested to do so earlier.To his credit, Brathwaite brought to the very demanding job a sound knowledge of the business of cricket, and tireless commitment, qualities recognised by Ken Gordon, the WICB president. Brathwaite was professional, articulate, and astute, but let’s not make any bones about it; he had a difficult time at the WICB. He was still acting chief executive when there was the first ever players’ strike in regional cricket during the 2003 semi-finals of the Carib Beer International Challenge.At the very same time he was confirmed in the post, there was the embarrassment of the WICB announcing the appointment of Bennett King as coach subject to completion of contractual negotiations, only for the Australian to later indicate he wouldn’t be accepting the job. Over the latter half of his tenure, Brathwaite couldn’t escape the public microscope. As the WICB’s relationship with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) deteriorated, fingers were often pointed in his direction.The circumstances that led to the Digicel contract was another issue in which his name surfaced, but the WICB was quick to come to his defence, strongly “deploring the imputations against the integrity of some of its officials, in particular its immediate past president, the chairman of the marketing committee and the chief executive officer”.In recent weeks, whispers emerged that the top brass of the WICB wasn’t fully satisfied that Brathwaite had done enough to cut down on high levels of expenditure. While Brathwaite batted on a sticky wicket for most of the tenure, he appeared to have the skills to cope with the surface when he first sat at his desk on May 17, 2002. He assumed the position of chief marketing officer with all the necessary credentials, bringing a wealth of experience in senior management and global marketing, having worked successfully with the multi-national oil company Shell for 20 years. His last 14 years were spent in the capacity as external affairs manager, a position in which he played a significant role in the development of the Shell Cricket Academy of St George’s University in Grenada. He held responsibility for Shell’s reputation management in 14 Caribbean territories and also had overseas postings with the company in Switzerland, St Maarten and South Africa.Against that background and together with his involvement in West Indies cricket at the time, it might not have come as a surprise that he was made head of marketing at the WICB. In less than five months, he had created such a favourable impression that when the WICB fired its then chief executive officer Gregory Shillingford, Brathwaite was asked to act in the position until a successor was appointed.In the six months that followed, Brathwaite so impressed the board that it appointed him to the post without even advertising the job. With the benefit of hindsight, it might appear it wasn’t the best decision. Chetram Singh, a long-standing WICB director, was one who believed Brathwaite’s strength was in marketing, a view many others might share based on his background. As the debate continues over Brathwaite’s resignation, it might be easy to miss a trend that is developing at the WICB.For whatever reasons, there have been a host of departures among senior management at the WICB’s secretariat in recent years. Throughout that period, presidents have come and gone and directors have changed. In all of it, it is difficult to identify a single denominator. Brathwaite’s departure perhaps just reflects the chaos and controversy that have highlighted the administration of West Indies cricket in the past decade.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, heaped praise on his bowlers for decimating Pakistan and setting up a ten-wicket win at Cape Town. “It’s one of the best bowling performances I’ve seen from this team,” he told reporters. “The bowling unit took a bit of flak after Durban [where Pakistan scored 351 for 4 to win by 141 runs] but they’ve been superb for the past few years and today they were fantastic.”Put into bat, Pakistan were bundled out for 107 in the 46th over before Smith and AB de Villiers knocked off the target in just 14 overs. “Every bowler hit fantastic lengths,” added Smith. “I don’t think the wicket did that much after eight overs, but the pressure we built on them and the way we fielded was an incredible effort.”Shaun Pollock, who bowled brilliantly for his 2 for 13 off ten overs, said a responsive pitch helped South Africa, and singled out a classy fielding unit. “It definitely did a bit for us this morning, but once the heavy roller came on it flattened things out. Every bowler kept the pressure on and gave them nothing for free, and the fielders were also superb.”Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, said he hoped his team would prove more competitive in the final match on Wednesday: “Credit goes to the South African bowlers, but we definitely played poor cricket. I would have said 230 or 240 would have been a good total on this track, then we could have put some pressure on the South Africans.But we’re confident that we can play hard cricket in Johannesburg to level the series.”South Africa have an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series ahead of the final match.

Scorecard

New South Wales’ top order all chipped in with useful contributions, helping them pip South Australia by three wickets with just one ball to spare in an ING Cup match at the Bankstown Oval in Sydney. Needing 246 for victory, no-one scored more than Michael Clarke’s 55, but all the batsmen made handy additions to the score, ensuring that New South Wales walked away with four points.Simon Katich, the NSW captain, won the toss and chose to field, and his decision immediately paid off when Matthew Elliott was dismissed by Brett Lee for a fourth-ball duck. Graham Manou, though, held firm, scoring a useful 52, while Darren Lehmann propped up the innings with an enterprising 75, scored from just 83 balls. Lee finished up with 2 for 61, and also struck Jason Gillespie on the ribs, forcing him to go for a precautionary e-ray, while Glenn McGrath was at his stingy best, conceding just 30 from ten overs.New South Wales’ run chase got off to a fine start, with Phil Jacques and Simon Katich adding 80 for the opening wicket in less than 15 overs. Both were dismissed in quick succession, but Clarke kept the chase going with his half-century, while the rest of the batsmen all added vital contributions. Clarke hit six fours in his knock, but got two lucky reprieves – on 17 he was put down by Gary Putland at long-on, while Manou, the wicketkeeper, dropped him on 49. Things got uncomfortable for NSW when Jason Gillespie bowled a superb 49th over, conceding just two runs and taking the wicket of Lee. That left the team needing seven for victory off the final over, and after the first four balls produced five, Nathan Bracken finished it off with an edged four off Mark Cleary.After the game, Clarke expressed his delight at his innings, but expressed his disappointment at the manner of his dismissal, a hoick down to long-off. “I definitely enjoyed yesterday and I enjoyed today, but I was disappointed with the way I got out today,” Clarke said. “I would have liked a few more today, but I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well. I’m working as hard as I can.”Lehmann, the South Australian captain, put the defeat down to poor fielding. “They played very well [but] we missed a couple of chances, and dropped Clarke. If we had held our chances and fielded a bit better we would have won the game quite comfortably.”The win was the second one for NSW in as many games, and took their points tally up to ten.

Ashley Mallett, the former Australia offspinner, has been hired as a consultant spin coach for Sri Lanka. Mallet is the third foreign expert to be hired by Sri Lanka following the appointments of the Australian Tom Moody as coach and the Zimbabwean Trevor Penney as assistant coach.In fact it was Moody, a fellow Australian, who recommended the appointment.Mallett, 60, has signed a three-year contract that will commit him to four two-week visits each year, with the first stint scheduled to start next week at the Max Cricket Academy in Colombo. His duties include coaching spinners from all levels in Sri Lanka and training other coaches, Sri Lanka Cricket explained.In 38 Tests for Australia, Mallett picked up 132 wickets at 29.84 and in a 183-match first-class career he claimed 693 wickets at 26.27.