“Better than imagination”, screamed the , the Dhaka-based daily, after Bangladesh’s best-ever opening day in Test cricket, when they amassed 355 for 5 against the mighty Australians. The man responsible for Bangladesh’s dream day out, Shariar Nafees, revealed that his inspiration was “playing against the world’s best attack”.”When you come out with a hundred against them [Australia], it’s simply a great, great feeling,” an excited Nafees told the reporters. “And when players like Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting congratulated me saying that it was a well-paced hundred, joy knew no bound for me.” Nafees played the perfect team man, stating that the opening-day effort was the proof that “Bangladesh cricket is going upward. Scoring 350 runs in day against a team like Australia is not a joke.”Nafees, who was promoted to open the batting in this Test, said he was not worried about his batting position and only wanted to do well for the team. “It’s great that I made my hundred as an opener,” he said. “I am looking forward to serving my team as best as possible. I was not nervous at any stage even when I received a nasty bouncer off Brett Lee on my helmet.”Yet he admitted to nerves as his maiden first-class century approached. “But honestly speaking I was little bit tense when I reached 99.”The 20-year-old Nafees displayed a mature head and talked about learning from his previous mistakes, notably against Sri Lanka. “I was wrong in choosing the ball for the sweep shot against Murali,” said Nafees. “But I think I learnt from my mistake which reflected in the day against Warne. My main intention was to play according to merit of the delivery.”Nafees found praise from his captain Habibul Bashar. “It was one of the best innings from any Bangladeshi batsman. He played according to merit and never allowed the bowlers to get on top.”But it was never on our mind that we would score 350 runs on a day against a team like Australia. I want to say that it is a clear message that we are improving. If you consider the previous record, definitely it is the best day in our history and the most significant thing is not many teams in the world score 350 runs on a single day.”However, he had his feet firmly on the ground, conceding that Australia could fight back strongly. “There are still four days to go and you all know that Australia can bounce back from any stage. That’s why our first target would be to bat at least two more sessions tomorrow and then we can think about saving the match. There is no scope to be over excited. It would have been satisfactory had we finished the day losing one less wicket,” said Bashar, who himself was guilty of throwing his wicket away, something he regretted doing. “A century would have been good not only for me but also for the benefit of the team. Making a century against Australia is always special for any batsman.”John Buchanan, Australia’s coach, also praised the Bangladeshi batsmen for their pluck and skill. “Bangladesh played spin and quick bowlers very well,” Buchanan said. “There will be more opportunities for us tomorrow morning.” And he picked out Nafees’s contribution, who made the most of being dropped at fly-slip by Shane Warne on 66. “Nafees played very sensibly. We dropped a few catches and that opened up an opportunity for them.”

Division One

Points tableThis was a poor weekend for any office workers looking to spend a relaxing Saturday at the cricket. Only three games limped into a fourth day, and two of those ended before or immediately after lunchtime. Only at Cardiff did a match reach tea.David Alleyne’s defiant 109 not out was not enough to prevent defending champions Nottinghamshire slipping to a 60-run defeat by Warwickshire at Trent Bridge. Notts had seemed down last night when they slid to 77 for 5 chasing 377, but Alleyne and Mark Ealham added 113 by the close. They only put on another 10 this morning when Ealham fell for 56, but Alleyne found support from Graeme Swann (30) and Ryan Sidebottom (26) before running out of partners. Alleyne, who made his first-class debut back in 200, had never made a half-century before his first-innings 57 in this match.Sussex resumed at Hove needing 55 to beat Yorkshire with five wickets in hand, and they cruised home without any alarms thanks to Matt Prior, who scored 43 off those to finish on an unbeaten 55. Robin Martin-Jenkins (17*) was content to play second fiddle as Yorkshire slid to their second defeat of the season.

Division Two

Points tableAn early burst from a Welshman, Steffan Jones, appeared to have put the skids under Glamorgan as they fell to 69 for 7 chasing 213 to beat Derbyshire at Cardiff. Jones took the first five wickets to fall, finishing with 6 for 25. Nicky Peng and Robert Croft then swung the balance of the game again with an eighth-wicket stand of 91 before Ian Hunter removed Peng for 56. Croft kept Glamorgan creeping towards their target, but Jones returned to dismiss Andrew Davies, and Croft was left high and dry when Huw Walters fell to Hunter to give Derbyshire a 38-run win.

Spectators in New York will get a chance to see Twenty20 cricket in the flesh when two teams of former West Indies greats go head to head as part of the city’s Caribbean Week.The match takes place on Saturday, June 10 at Idlewild Park on 223rd St. and 148th Ave. in Queens, New York, a popular venue that accommodates 2,000.Some of the players who have agreed to take part include Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Irving Shillingford, Rawle Lewis, Omari Banks and Cameron Cuffy.

Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan captain, has rejected claims made by Allan Border, the former Australian captain and current national selector, that Mushtaq offered him $1million to lose in fifth Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 1993.Last week Mushtaq released a new book titled in which he wrote that he approached Border before the Test to get autographs for his two sons. “I respected him a great deal as a player and the way he played his cricket, and he was a hero to my sons.”That was the reason I approached him for the autographs in the first place. But I have lost respect for him as a man because he damaged my reputation and integrity.”If I wanted to do anything like that, which I never would have, I would have done it in my playing days when I might have had more influence. I retired in 1979 and I am supposed to have tried to fix a game in 1993, after 14 years? It’s laughable.”Mushtaq, however, does admit to having asked Border what he would do if some one offered him money to lose a match. “As we all know now, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh had a bet against their own side [Headingley Test, 1981] with ridiculously high odds and made a lot of money from what was a pretty miserable result for them.”So I said, with Marsh and Lillee in mind, ‘What would you do if someone offered you big money to lose this Test match?’ He just laughed it off and said he had never played his cricket like that and had always played hard and honest, which I already knew.”That was it; tongue in cheek conversation you could call it. I never had any intention of inviting him to fix the match and he didn’t take it that way.” Border declined to make any comments on the book’s claims.Mushtaq has also written about his experience as the coach during Pakistan’s unexpected defeat against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. “I didn’t want to say anything at the time and I kept quiet. If I had said something to the team or asked if it was fixed I would have rocked the boat and wrecked our whole tournament. I figured it was only one game and we had still qualified for the Super Sixes, although I had a very unpleasant feeling inside me.”I could have exploded, but I decided for the good of the team to stay tight-lipped. It was the flurry of wickets we lost and the manner of the dismissals that made me believe something wasn’t right. They were just such talented players and I couldn’t comprehend that these boys could get out in the way they did.”I was sick and it was very, very difficult for me to digest. I kept asking myself, `How could we not chase 223 against this lot? Was this pre-planned?'” Pakistan were bowled out for 161, with no batsman scoring more than 30.He also referred to the Melbourne Test in 1978-79, when Sarfaraz Nawaz took 9 for 86 and Pakistan won by 71 runs. Mushtaq, who was the captain for the series, says that though Sarfaraz bowled an exceptional spell, the entire team “worked on the ball” and gave the seam a lift. The victory is one of four out of 29 Tests that Pakistan have played in Australia.Mushtaq, 62, played 57 Tests and scored 343 runs at an average of 39. He was also a handy legspin bowler, and took 79 wickets at 29. He held the record of being the youngest centurion in Test cricket before Mohammad Ashraful broke it. Mushtaq now lives in Birmingham, where he settled down after retirement.

Canada have announced squads for their forthcoming ICC Intercontinental match, their first of the competition, against Kenya which gets underway on July 29 in Toronto.The selectors named a 14-man squad for the match against Kenya, the nucleus of which will also play against Bermuda in August; it was confirmed that Pubudu Dassanayaka will be replaced by Ian Billcliff, however.Kenya, whose team is a blend of youth and experience, recently recalled Kennedy Otieno and, after drawing against the Netherlands in their opening encounter in April, need to beat Canada to maintain their hopes in the competition.Canada recently signed a two-year sponsorship deal with the cricket manufacturers Slazenger who will provide their senior team with clothing, as well as supplying seven players’ equipment each season.Canada squad to face Kenya1 John Davison, 2 Qaiser Ali, 3 Ashish Bagai, 4 Geoff Barnett, 5 Umar Bhatti, 6 Ian Billcliff, 7 Pubudu Dassanayaka, 8 Sunil Dhaniram, 9 Haninder Dhillon, 10 Stewart Heaney, 11 Don Maxwell, 12 Henry Osinde, 13 Naresh Patel, 14 Puvendran Ravishankar

John Buchanan’s desire for innovation will result in the Australian players preparing for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes with a challenging three-day camp in the Queensland bush. According to the exercise is designed by the coach, whose contract expires after the World Cup in April, as a back-to-basics experience and it is expected to be approved by Cricket Australia’s Board on Friday.”Buchanan wants to keep it all a bit close to his chest because he wants it all to be a bit of a surprise for them and a challenge when it happens,” the paper quoted an unidentified Cricket Australia director as saying. After the outback camp the Australians are expected to reconvene on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for more pre-Ashes training.Throughout his seven-year tenure Buchanan has pushed the players to think outside the game and his experiments have included trips to French and Turkish battlefields, writing poetry, introducing the players to by Sun Tzu and hiring a baseball coach. The Champions Trophy in October begins a hectic summer for the team, which also has the five-Test series against England, the VB and Chappell-Hadlee series and the World Cup in the West Indies.

Following England’s eight-wicket win at Trent Bridge the final match of a long international summer has plenty riding on it at Edgbaston. A shared series for England would represent a fine comeback, while being an equal disappointment for Pakistan.For one England player the match will have added significance, as Paul Collingwood’s international career comes full circle with his 100th ODI cap on the ground where he debuted, against Australia, in 2001.”I really don’t think I’ll really appreciate what it’s all about until I finish my career and look back at it all,” Collingwood said on the eve of the match. “You don’t realise what sort of company you’re in until you look at it properly. When you mention names like Gooch, Gower and Botham it makes you very proud to be in that sort of company.”It was a far from easy start for Collingwood as his four appearances in the 2001 Natwest series resulted in 20 runs and 7.1 overs costing 49. In subsequent years Steve Waugh, who was then captain of Australia, said he’d seen some qualities he liked in Collingwood, but the player himself admits he had major doubts.”It took me a hell of a long time to get used to international cricket. It was a shock to the system and I’ll always remember it. At the end of that first series I had a realisation that I probably wasn’t good enough and it was a massive dent of confidence to believe that.”It was a very hard series to go into against Pakistan and Australia, but I still wondered whether I was good enough – to do well after that meant a lot to me because I’m sure there were a few doubters about my ability.”However, since then he has established himself as a key member of England’s often changing one-day outfit. His highlights include hitting an unbeaten 112 and taking 6 for 31 against Bangladesh, at Trent Bridge, last year – the first player to score a century and take five wickets in an ODI since Viv Richards in 1987.Even though England have broken their one-day duck for the summer, they may still tweak with their side for the final match. Abdul Razzaq laid into the closing overs with devastating effect at Trent Bridge and Graham Onions could win his first ODI cap at the expense of Sajid Mahmood.Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, is backing his team to finish the tour on a high despite signs in the last couple of matches that they have lost their edge.”I would be very disappointed if they didn’t have the energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “When you lose you tend to learn more than when you win and after what has happened here we would like to win.”This [the defeat at Trent Bridge] might be a way of reminding them: we bowled badly, both sides of the wicket, either too full or too short and we didn’t bat as well as we should have done.”Woolmer also played down the controversial incident from Friday night when Andrew Strauss stood his ground following a low edge to slip. Inzamam-ul-Haq believed he’d caught the ball, but Strauss gained the benefit after TV replays.”Inzamam thought he caught it and Strauss thought it bounced and there’s always going to be an impasse in that situation. Someone has to make a decision and that is why the umpire is there.”If they are not sure they have to ask and the benefit goes to the batsman. I think Strauss, if he thought it hit the ground, had every right to stay there, quite frankly.”England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Ed Joyce, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Jamie Dalrymple, 7 Michael Yardy, 8 Chris Read (wk), 9 Jon Lewis, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Graham OnionsPakistan (probable) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Shahid Afridi, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Shoaib Akhtar, 11 Mohammad Asif

Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe captain, has made his debut for Namibia in the SAA Provincial Cup match against Limpopo in Windhoek.In recent weeks there has been speculation about Taibu’s playing future after an attempt to forge a career in South Africa hit problems. Discussions with Namibia have been ongoing for a couple of weeks and a few days ago the final parts of the agreement were confirmed.Francoise Erasmus, a spokesman for the team, told Cricinfo: “He will be with our squad for the remainder of the season. It is something we have been discussing for a while and Tatenda seems very excited by the situation.”His wife is moving over the join him next week and we are keen to make it a long term arrangement. It would be terrific to have someone of his quality.”However, any thoughts of an international return will still have to wait. Erasmus confirmed there are a number of ways Taibu could try and qualify, but it would take five years of living in Namibia for him to qualify to play international tournaments.Namibia are part of the SAA provincial Cup as an invitational side so the same qualification rules don’t apply meaning Taibu is eligible to slot straight into the team, a situation that has been agreed by Cricket South Africa. Taibu started with 21, batting at No.3, as Namibia eased to a 168-run win.

Having to name one “great” batsman from among three contemporary favourites is a tricky task at any time. Yet a high-profile panel of former greats stuck its collective neck out and picked Brian Lara over Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar for his ability to dominate attacks consistently and over a period of time.The panel – John Wright, Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Ravi Shastri – had gathered for Cricinfo’s fortnightly discussion The Round Table, hosted by Sanjay Manjrekar. Saturday’s discussion, part of the new audio service, Cricinfo Talk, was debating the question, How good is the modern batsman?The issue was discussed under the canvas of four trends: One, the fact that the 2006 Champions Trophy has served up only one score in excess of 300; two, that perhaps this was the golden age of batting pitches; three, that techniques were not being tested enough; and four, that averages belied sheer batting talent.All four panelists immediately identified the change in the nature ofIndian pitches during the Champions Trophy. While the prolonged monsoonyielded an under-prepared pitch in the earlier games at Mumbai’s BrabourneStadium, the last few matches at the other venues had ball dominate batfor an altogether un-Indian reason – bounce and carry.Wright, the former New Zealand opener and India coach, noted howpitches today were marketed differently, and how curators were attemptingto suit various conditions. Chappell and Shastri singled out Daljit Singh,the curator of the PCA Stadium in Mohali, for praise for his effective work on apitch that “produced an even contest, and good matches” and was “the best”in India.Shastri highlighted how the Mohali pitch had exposed India’s batsmen – withbounce and carry, and some lateral movement – against Australia and how, as a result of a lack of sixes, India were forced to push for the ones and twos but failedto do so in the manner that Australia did.Another factor raised was that of the one bouncer per over rule, whichShastri favoured. “It’s a good rule, because it gives the bowler a chanceto dictate terms and leave that doubt in the batsman’s mind,” he said.Noted Wright, “The front-foot play was diminished considerably. Batsmenneeded to rely more on technical expertise, such as balance and shotcontrol. Survival on flatter pitches is easier, but we saw with the bounceand movement than many batsmen struggled. It was quite unlike Indianconditions.”

Greig summed it up – “It’s simple: the pitches play up, thebatsmen struggle” – while commenting on how batsmen weaned on flat pitcheswere suddenly finding unpredictable surfaces tough to handle. All fourexperts agreed that the Champions Trophy had exposed certain modern daybatsmen.In 2006, there have been 12 batsmen who averaged over 50, around three times the number of even a decade ago. So how does this square with the notion of declining quality? The consensus was that batsmen in the contemporary era were up againstweaker bowling as against batsmen till the mid-1990s. Chappell was quick to point out that he would have includedMark Taylor and Michael Slater as the opening pair in an all-time Australian XI over Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, for their ability to dominate quality bowling attacks.He gave the example of Hayden, whose average soon after he debuted at the international level was in the 20s and who couldn’tprogress beyond a certain level. On his phenomenal return, notably in theseries against India in 2001, Hayden averaged in the 60s and Chappell notedhow this could have been because of the difference in bowling quality.”Teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have diluted the bowling,” saidChappell. “If you look back at the ’90s, you had a more formidable bowlingattack going up against batsmen. You had Wasim Akram and Waqar Younisoperating in tandem, Allan Donald was there, Australia, as they’ve almostalways done, had a formidable attack, and even West Indies had CurtleyAmbrose and Courtney Walsh. Today, that’s not the case, as the pace justisn’t there.”Pace brought up the issue of helmets. It was argued that today’sbatsmen relied too much on safety precautions. Wright, having playedjust a small amount of his cricket without a helmet, pointed tosuccessful batsman like Gary Sobers, Greg Chappell and Viv Richards, whonot only scored runs against very fast bowlers while batting without helmets, but alsodominated attacks.

Chappell was emphatic: “I didn’t ever honestly thinkthat a bowler was going to bowl to hit me. We backed our instincts and ourskills. The only way I ever thought I’d get hit on the head was by my ownmistake, if I’d top-edge a hook back onto my skull.” Greig stressed on how the batsman’s courage was not being tested enough,and that certain aspects of batting had gone astray.So how does one identify greatness? It’s a feel that one gets from watching a batsman, was the consensus, and the statistics usually back it up. Shastri pointed out that while technique and ability were definite criteria, what mattered most was consistency.The panelists were asked to name their greats, and the common names from the past included the two Richards, Garry Sobers, Graeme Pollock, for their ability to score consistently throughout their careers.And so to Tendulkar, Lara and Ponting. The panel’s choice was clear, Lara over Ponting. Sunday’s face-off just got more interesting.The entire Round Table will be webcast live on November 14.

It’s okay when the touring side’s lead fast bowler criticises the pitch for being too flat and offering no assistance. That is often the way, especially on the subcontinent (where Dennis Lillee was once disheartened enough to famously call Faisalabad a graveyard for fast bowlers). Increasingly it is also becoming the case around the world, where pitches are good if they produce runs and substandard if they don’t.But when the home side’s leading batsman, fresh from his 20th century, sixth of the calendar year, and seventh in his last ten Tests, echoes that very sentiment, almost downplaying his effort, you start to wonder.Before the start of this series, sceptics sensed that the Pakistani batsmen would score comfortably only because pitches would be as unlike the ones they faced in Mohali and Old Trafford this year and Perth two years ago, as is possible. Accordingly, having been humiliated for 89 in their last international outing, they moved serenely to 265 for 4 here, a position of considerable strength.Mohammad Hafeez compiled a neat third fifty, a willing student performing quietly what is expected of him in a high-pressure role. His test, no one should kid themselves, will come on South African pitches. Shoaib Malik joined him, following up a Test century as opener last time with a fifty from number six. Soon, he may well become the only batsman to score a Test fifty from every position. Yousuf’s hundred was blessed with fortune, but also with the usual beauty and new-found common sense he has combined so effectively this year.But what can you really gauge from performances on this surface when even Yousuf criticises it for being too flat? “Yes it is flat but we’ve been playing cricket around the world on such pitches for the last 10-12 years. Even in South Africa, that 434 ODI match, there are pitches like this everywhere,” he said later, as agitated as a mild nature allows him to be.”I don’t support this at all. Wickets should be tougher, there should be enough in them for everyone. Batsmen are too dominant. The ideal pitch should have bounce at least, like there is in Brisbane which is one the best pitches.” Mohali, he argued, was different altogether. “No batsmen can play well on pitches with too much grass, like there was at Mohali. Even Jacques Kallis said he hadn’t seen a pitch like that before.”But it hadn’t played so flat yesterday, or this morning, when heavy clouds, moisture in the pitch and fine bowling combined to take 11 wickets. True, as the sun peeped out this afternoon, inertia crept into the surface but both Inzamam and Lara reckon it will deteriorate gradually. That suggests the surface may yet turn out to be a sporting one, thus casting a different light on Pakistan’s efforts today.Maybe there should just be relief that Pakistan applied themselves studiously enough, turning a slippery 140 for four into a sturdy advantage. They were up against committed bowling too as Yousuf pointed out, before adding, crucially, the proviso, “but on these pitches…” They are now in a position to win this Test. If surfaces are similar, you would back them to take the series as well.But one good day doesn’t erase memories of a few very bad ones in recent time. It doesn’t answer the questions that have been asked of Pakistan’s batting. And few will forget that a tour to South Africa beckons soon after, a destination like Australia, where their batting has rarely looked safe let alone thrived. Relief, but tinged with some caution.