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Just when the sponsorship dispute between the West Indies cricket board and the players association appeared to be nearing resolution, the saga has taken another twist. Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players’ Association, has claimed that Brian Lara and six other dropped players have received death threats owing to the sponsorship dispute with the board.”[They] face overwhelming pressure including death threats, and threats from the WICB never to play again,” claimed Ramnarine. “Threats and intimidation from sponsors, and pressure from the highest political levels within the length and breadth of the Caribbean community.”Ramnarine lashed out at the board, further saying that the dispute – in which seven players were dropped from the squad for the first Test against South Africa in Guyana – had made the board “tyrannical and despotic”. The board “has suspended its discretion, jettisoned all reasoning, and is hell-bent at all costs to do the bidding of its sponsor. In fact, the board was prepared to sacrifice West Indies cricket and the development of a successful team on the altar of commercial expediency.”The board, however, has declined to comment on the allegations made by WIPA. A statement on the windiescricket.com website quotes the WICB as saying: “The WICB is concerned about the tone and content of this highly emotional and totally inaccurate statement, which is most unbecoming and unworthy of an organisation representing professional sportsmen. The WICB, therefore, is of the view that this irresponsible statement is unworthy of any further response.”

Kent pace bowler Amjad Khan has been ruled out of the 2007 season following surgery on his cruciate ligament. He picked up the knee injury less than two weeks ago at a fast bowling camp in Chennai and flew home at the start of England A’s tour of Bangladesh.Khan, born in Denmark, is expected to be out of action for around nine months, meaning he will miss the first season where he was qualified to play for England. Khan has been highly talked about on the county scene and was being watched closely by various coaches.Kent chief executive, Paul Millman, said: “It is cruel timing for Amjad. Losing [him] for the 2007 season is a significant blow for the county but with the assistance of the ECB medical team we must now focus our attention on working hard with Amjad on his rehabilitation so that he can return to full form and fitness as soon as possible.”Simon Timson, the ECB Science and Medicine Manager, added that there is a strong team helping Khan’s recovery. “ECB and Kent medical personnel have been working closely together to ensure that Amjad receives the best medical care and will continue to do so to ensure that he receives the best possible support through his rehabilitation.”Nimmo Reid, Kent’s physiotherapist, will lead Amjad’s rehabilitation and will work closely with the ECB medical panel. The excellent rehabilitation resources at the National Cricket Centre at Loughborough University will be available to Amjad through his rehabilitation.”Last season Khan claimed 34 wickets at 30 in nine first-class matches and was named in England’s preliminary 30-man World Cup squad before finding a place on the A tour.

A spicy, green-tinged MCG pitch came under significant scrutiny after a 20-wicket Boxing Day blockbuster in which both Australia and England were bowled out cheaply.Matt Page, the MCG curator, said ahead of the fourth Ashes Test that he hoped to replicate the pitch he had prepared for last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy fixture, which Australia won in the final session of day five. But this Test looks highly unlikely to last into a fourth day, let alone a fifth, after ball dominated bat in front of a record crowd.Page left 10mm of grass on the surface, 3mm more than he had last year, and fast bowlers on both sides found substantial seam movement throughout the day. England have not picked a frontline spinner all series, but Australia’s decision to play an all-seam attack was a reflection of conditions and both captains wanted to bowl first at the toss in unseasonably cool weather.Related

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Ex-players from both sides blamed the pitch – more so than the attacking approach or technical shortcoming of both sets of batters – for the fact that 20 wickets fell on the opening day, with Stuart Broad and Glenn McGrath leading the criticism.”The pitch is doing too much, if I’m brutally honest. Test match bowlers don’t need this amount of movement to look threatening,” Broad said, commentating on SEN Radio. “Great Test matches pitches, generally, they bounce, but they don’t jag all over the place.”Glenn McGrath told the BBC: “This pitch has got far too much grass on it… That pitch has got too much life in it for Test cricket… The Australians bowled well [but] it’s hard to apply yourself on a pitch that’s doing plenty because if you’re looking to defend, one’s got your name on it. You’ve got to find that balance between somehow keeping balls out while still looking to score.”MCG pitches have been far more sporting in recent years after the batter-friendly surface was heavily criticised during the 2017-18 Ashes Test, which saw 24 wickets fall across five days. Alastair Cook, who scored 244 not out in that match, said that the balance had tipped too far the other way.”The bowlers didn’t have to work hard for their wickets,” Cook said on TNT Sports. “It was an unfair contest. I don’t know how you hit it [the ball]. If this flattens out tomorrow then fine, it’s an even contest over three or four days. But I don’t think this is particularly even.”Brett Lee, another former fast bowler, joked on Fox Cricket that Pat Cummins “was almost going to go back to the hotel to pick up his spikes” after seeing the pitch, having ruled himself out of the rest of the series as he continues his rehabilitation from a back injury.Scott Boland claimed the big wicket of Harry Brook•AFP/Getty Images

“I think there’s a bit too much in it,” Lee said. “I wouldn’t be complaining at the end of the day if I was a [current] fast bowler. It’s a different surface: it’s that furry feeling. I rubbed my hand on the side of the wicket this morning, and you can feel the grass lift up.”This is the second time in the series that all 22 players have batted on the opening day of a Test match, after 19 wickets fell in Perth on a pitch that was ultimately rated “very good” by the ICC – though was described as a “piece of s***” by Australia’s Usman Khawaja.The ball appeared to deviate more off the seam at the MCG than in Perth, with several balls moving sharply after pitching – including Josh Tongue’s delivery to clean up Steven Smith, and Scott Boland’s nip-backers to Harry Brook (pinned lbw) and Jamie Smith (bowled through the gate).Michael Neser was Australia’s outstanding performer on the opening day, top-scoring with a counter-attacking 35 from No. 8 before taking 4 for 45 to help bowl England out inside 30 overs. He suggested that the pitch might yet flatten out, and defended the attacking approach that both sets of batters took.”The ball definitely nipped around a bit there with the new rock, so it was just a matter of trying to find ways to put pressure back on their bowlers – and knowing that, when we bowled, we had to just be patient and let the wicket do the work,” Neser said.”Going into it, you knew it was going to nip around with the amount of grass there, but traditionally it can flatten out here, so we’ll see how it pans out… I don’t want to go into tomorrow with the preconception of ‘the wicket’s going to be doing a lot’ because it can flatten, and we’ve just got to stick to our processes.”I think you have to change the way you approach it because bowlers are so good at just holding their length nowadays, so you have to actually put pressure back on them as a batter. I know it can look streaky at times, but at times that’s the only way to score: be brave and come at them.”

Scorecard
Railways extended their overnight lead of 113 to 211 before their bowlers ran through Jammu & Kashmir in just under 46 overs, completing a comprehensive win on day three in Delhi. J&K could only muster 123 in their second innings as Sanjay Bangar picked up the last four wickets in 8.5 overs.Resuming on 307 for 7, Railways reached 405 with No. 7 Karan Sharma, unbeaten overnight on 68, going on to score a century on first-class debut. Sharma was involved in a 103-run stand for the eighth wicket with Harvinder Singh (38). Sharma was the last to fall, but the 211-run deficit was too much for J&K, handing Railways a well-earned victory and six points.
ScorecardAfter having conceded a first-innings lead to Goa, Haryana were left with a chance for victory, needing another 241 runs with nine wickets in hand.Starting the third day 67 runs behind Goa’s first-innings 271, Haryana were bowled out for 246, Shadab Jakati finishing with 6 for 52 from 29.2 overs. Goa got off to a shaky start, losing three wickets with only 30 on the board as Joginder Sharma struck twice.Opener Sagun Kamat made 60, but it was a fighting 86 by Ajay Ratra, the former Indian wicketkeeper, that enabled the home team to reach 221. Ratra was involved in a 32-run last-wicket partnership with Harshad Gadekar as Amit Mishra, Haryana’s strike bowler, took 6 for 75. Haryana, set a target of 247 – one more than their first-innings total, lost a wicket before stumps, Jakati making the breakthrough.
ScorecardGujarat looked well-placed for a win in Ahmedabad, having reduced Assam to 15 to 2 after having set them a target 407.Nilesh Modi and Niraj Patel amassed 215 runs for the third wicket as Gujarat more than consolidated on the 39-run lead they had gained after bowling out Assam for 189. Niraj hit 15 boundaries in his 192-ball stint for his 124, while Modi was more circumspect, his unbeaten 152 coming at less than a run every two balls. Niraj fell with the score on 333, and his side declared once the lead was extended beyond 400. The hosts had the added bonus of two wickets in the 15 overs they bowled, with Siddharth Trivedi and Nehal Raval bagging one apiece.
ScorecardMadhya Pradesh skittled out Jharkhand for 139, gaining a first-innings lead of 84, and then scored 165 for the loss of five wickets at stumps on the third day in Jamshedpur.Jharkhand, resuming at 83 for 5, managed a further 56 as the last five wickets fell within the first 24 overs of the day. Anand Rajan bagged 4 for 51, adding two scalps to the couple he picked up on Sunday. MP lost wickets at regular intervals as they looked to build on their lead, but ended on 165 for 5, with a more than handy advantage of 249. Shankar Rao was the pick of the bowlers for Jharkhand, with three wickets in his 16 overs.
ScorecardServices, who conceded the first-innings lead against Tripura, looked poised to set the home team a challenging target on the final day of the match in Agartala. Yashpal Sharma scored an unbeaten 94 as Services, overnight on 112 for 2, reached 308 for 7, an overall lead of 222 runs. For Tripura, Vineet Jain took 3 for 66.

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

After India had stodged and struggled on the first day, West Indies’ batsmen showed that run-scoring wasn’t so difficult on this Antigua pitch after all, rattling up 318 for 6 by close of play on the second day. Chris Gayle led the show upfront with a thunderous 72, while Dwayne Bravo continued to play the role of India’s tormentor with aplomb, scoring a sparkling 68. With Ramnaresh Sarwan chipping in with a classy half-century as well, West Indies finished the day 77 in front.If the batting performances of the two sides was a contrast, then so was the bowling displays. While West Indies’ fast bowlers mostly bowled in the channel outside off and forced the batsmen into indiscretion, the Indian seamers – especially Sreesanth and VRV Singh – sprayed it liberally on both sides of the wicket, offering plenty of scoring opportunities, which Gayle and co. grabbed eagerly.The run-deluge started early, after Daren Ganga was harshly adjudged lbw to Munaf. Gayle, who had survived a far closer shout when on 1, took on the fast bowlers with typically audacious strokes, and India’s total of 241 suddenly looked even smaller. Footwork has never been his forte, and here again, Gayle backed his hand-eye coordination, going hard after the ball when offered the width. The upper-cuts came into play early as Gayle hoisted the ball well clear of the slips. That forced the bowlers to pitch it up further, and Gayle was ready with some brutally powerful shots down the ground, especially memorable being one hit off the hapless Sreesanth which cleared the long-off fence.The early onslaught forced Rahul Dravid on the defensive – the slip cordon reduced to two, a third man was brought in – but the runs continued to flow. VRV Singh came on to bowl in the tenth over of the innings, and his initiation wasn’t a memorable one: the first ball was cut away for four by Sarwan – who played an ideal second foil to Gayle in the 119-run second wicket stand – while there were two more boundaries in an over which leaked 13.It needed Anil Kumble’s guile to winkle out Gayle, but by then West Indies had already gained the initiative. India recovered somewhat when they quickly got rid of Brian Lara – who sparkled briefly for his 18, but then perished thanks to his extravagance – and Sarwan, but that was the cue for Bravo to get his act going.Throughout this series, be it with bat or with ball, Bravo has stamped his authority on the game, and he did it here again. When he came in to bat, West Indies were 182 for 4, still 59 in the arrears. That number whittled away in quick time, as Bravo launched himself at the Indian attack. Precise in footwork, high on confidence, flawless in shot-selection, Bravo pushed India back on the defensive in a trice. His trademark shot was the flick through and over midwicket when the bowlers drifted on leg, and sometimes even when they didn’t. It was effective, and it was glorious to watch – front leg going across, bat going up in a high backlift and ending with a flourish for a follow-through. Even Kumble wasn’t spared as Bravo stroked him cleanly through the leg side, and played a couple of outstanding back-foot punches through cover when the length was marginally short.The bowler who suffered most through the day, though, was Sreesanth. He was clobbered first by Gayle (29 off 27 balls), and then by Bravo (22 off 17), who once crashed him for three fours in an over – a slashed edge, a flick, and a straight-drive as Sreesanth lost all control of direction and served up a juicy full-toss. Eighty-two runs in 13 overs indicates just how much West Indies relished his offerings.For Dravid, it was a tough day in the field. He chose to go with four bowlers, three of whom had little Test match experience, and two of whom inspired little confidence. The situation was dire enough for him to abandon his usual position in the slips and come over to mid-off to talk to his bowlers. That helped little in the case of Sreesanth and Singh – who was far too erratic to be effective – and while Munaf bowled a couple of effective spells, by the final session he was a spent force, bowling at around 120 kmph.India’s plight would have been even worse had it not been for Virender Sehwag, who got the ball to turn, bounce, and was rewarded with two wickets. The ball with which he got Bravo was a beauty – it pitched outside off, turned, bounced, and went between bat and pad as Bravo attempted a drive. Dhoni effected a superb stumping to give the Indians something to cheer about, but with a substantial lead already, and with Denesh Ramdin batting sensibly, West Indies will feel quite satisfied with the way the day panned out.

Munaf Patel b Edwards 0 (241 all out)
West IndiesDaren Ganga lbw b Munaf 9 (18 for 1)
Chris Gayle c Dravid b Kumble 72 (137 for 2)
Brian Lara c Yuvraj b Munaf 18 (159 for 3)
Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw b Kumble 58 (182 for 4)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Dhoni b Sehwag 24 (255 for 5)
Dwayne Bravo st Dhoni b Sehwag 68 (282 for 6)
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