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Darren Gough has declared himself fit to play for England against Sri Lanka at Headingley in the fourth match of the NatWest triangular series. The Yorkshire fast bowler has been included in the England squad for the game after defying gloomy predictions about his fitness as recently as last week.”I’ve done all the stuff I’ve been asked to do, I’ve played, I’ve fielded andI’ve been bowling now every day for the last two weeks apart from a littlesetback I had on Monday when I decided to pull myself out of a game,” Gough said.”I’m going to have a little bit of discomfort for the next month to six weeks- when you come back from any surgery you’re going to get that – but Englandhave asked me if I’m fit and I told them I was so now it’s up to them whether Iplay or not.”Gough sustained the injury to his right knee in the final one-day internationalagainst New Zealand in Dunedin last February. Since then he has had two operations, and he admitted to worries about whether he would ever make an England return.”I think everyone worries they won’t get back when they have injuries,” he said.”I had plenty of time to get fit for the start of the season and I workedreally hard, but I probably tried to get back a little too quickly first time.”This time I’ve been held back a lot. They’ve sent me away to Lanzarote so Iwouldn’t be rushed and I trained there three times a day, and that’s brought meforward a couple of weeks in my recovery.”He also believes he is leaner than he has been at times in the past. “I’m lighter now than I was in the winter and lighter than I was last season.Aerobically I’m fit and I’m a lot stronger than I’ve been before because ofthe weight programmes I’ve been doing on my upper body.”People have seen me running around Old Trafford and think I’ve put on weightbut I had several sweaters on and I’m stronger and fitter because all my testswith England have proved that – if there was a problem I think England wouldhave been the first to tell me, and I’ve heard nothing from them.Gough is not too worried about making his comeback against world-class opposition. “People who know me and the way I bowl will know that I’m not one of those mechanical bowlers who have about 10 different trigger points – I just run up and bowl as fast as I can,” he said.”It’s going to be a bit different playing a one-day international againstworld-class players and you can go around the park against players like that,but I’m totally confident of not spraying down both sides of the wicket if Iplay.”I’ve only played one second team game, but they must have faith in meotherwise they wouldn’t have selected me in the squad.”

New Zealand domestic cricket lost one of its longest-serving players of the modern generation today when Northern Districts stalwart Grant Bradburn decided to retire.His announcement completed 16 years of first-class cricket for Northern Districts.In the summer of 2000/01, Bradburn had reward for his unstinting service to his province when regaining his international status after a 10-year absence.The tall, off-spinning batsman played 127 first-class matches and scored 4978 runs at 27.81 while taking 250 wickets at 32.69. He scored 2289 runs in limited overs matches and took 101 wickets with a career economy rate of 3.73.He played seven Test matches and 11 One-Day Internationals and ended his career as the player with most matches for ND with 115 matches, 4614 runs at an average of 27.96.Bradburn remarked: “My love of the game is still very much alive and I will certainly miss the enjoyable moments that playing the game brings, however, with a wife and two young boys to share time with and a sports retail store to run, it is time to close the book on my playing days.”ND chief executive John Turkington said today: “Grant’s record stands for itself. He has been a loyal servant of Northern Districts cricket since 1985 and in that time his dedication to the Association has been exemplary. We know that Grant will maintain an interest in Northern Districts cricket and wish him all the best for the future.”

India might have won the Test series 2-0 but it was never a walkover.At the start of the series, no one would have even thought this bunchof players from Zimbabwe as being capable of giving the Indian team ascare. Their coach Geoff Marsh has done a wonderful job and mostimportantly made these youngsters believe in themselves, a qualitythat will keep them in good stead.

Look at someone like Raymond Price; he epitomises what every spinnershould be. I am very much impressed by this youngster’s talent andmost importantly his temperament. He has showed the world that all ittakes is to have the heart to succeed. Here is a youngster who was notdaunted by the task of bowling at even someone like Sachin Tendulkar.If Ashley Giles used a defensive line to stifle the little master,Price actually had the premier batsman on the run in Delhi with someaggressive spin bowling. It is a testimony to the spinner’s superiorskills that on the final morning, Tendulkar tried to avoid playingPrice for almost an hour. It was only in the process that the littlemaster scored 42 valuable runs, without which India would have notmade it past the meagre victory target of 122 runs.If you were to ask me, Price was the find of the series. A left-armspinner in full flight is such a joy to watch and there was nonebetter than my good friend Bishen Singh Bedi. Price definitely has itin him to make it to the top.It is quite a surprising thing that India wins when the spinners bowlwell. Even though Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh bowled well, itshould not be forgotten that after having Zimbabwe on the mat at 65/3,we allowed them to make 329 in the first innings. Had Zimbabwe beenbowled out cheaply in the first innings, the puffing and panting onthe last day could have been very well avoided.This Test series has also brought the falling umpiring standards tothe fore. The real test for the umpires is when they have to makedecisions under pressure. There was a lot of pressure in this Testseries and any viewer would have realised the importance of the lbwdecision that went in favour of Harbhajan Singh while he was battingon the final day. It was not an isolated case, there were mistakesaplenty, which takes the charm away from this wonderful game.Even though they lost the Test, Zimbabwe can take heart from the factthat they were definitely the better team in Delhi.Sourav Ganguly, for his part, has finally got the monkey off his backwith a Test hundred. It should count as a redeeming knock albeit onelacking in conviction. Looking back at his batting, Ganguly wouldrealise that the he owns the responsibility for not scoring a firstclass hundred in 28 months. His failure in the second innings at Delhiis a reminder that he still has a lot of work to do.

It was also good to see Virender Sehwag score runs in his explosivefashion, taking the pressure off Ganguly. This youngster adds a newdimension to India’s middle-order batting and must count as India’strump card for the 2003 World Cup.India, though, never seems to learn the lessons. On a pitch that hadcracks all over it on the first day, leaving out Sarandeep Singh was avery bad mistake. Planning sadly has never been Indian cricket’sforte. Anil Kumble is being asked to bowl more than what he should be,at this rate he will be completely worn out by the time we return fromEngland.Deep Dasgupta’s continued mediocre show behind the stumps has to endnow. Wicketkeeping is a specialist job that has a direct bearing onthe bowlers’ confidence. Test cricket is not the arena to hone suchspecialised skills. The need of the hour is for a wicketkeeper who canlive up to the pressure behind the stumps. Ajay Ratra has his chancesto prove that he is up to the task in the upcoming one-day series.The Indian ground fielding, meanwhile, has been very poor throughoutthe Test series. The superiority of the Zimbabweans, in this area,will come to the fore in the one-day series.Without Tendulkar and the injured Sehwag, India’s batting suddenlylooks thin. I should also question the selector’s wisdom of pickingShiv Sundar Das for the onedayers. Even ignoring the fact that weare missing two explosive batsmen in the side, someone like YuvrajSingh must be a definite starter in the one-day line up. No matterwhat, it promises to be a very interesting one-day series.

Michael Slater’s much-touted return from the wilderness gave way to Tasmania’s much-touted tilt at a finals berth as the Tigers assumed early command of the Pura Cup match against New South Wales here in Hobart today.Slater inspired the visitors into producing a strong opening session, but things unravelled badly in the following two as paceman Shane Jurgensen (5/38) and rival captain Jamie Cox (58*) swung into action.By stumps, the Tasmanians – seeking an outright win that would all but guarantee them a finals berth – were powerfully placed at 1/126 in reply to their opponents’ 164.On a sunny day at the Bellerive Oval, the in-form home team was forced to wait longer than expected for its turn in the limelight as the bravado of Slater (50) and the rigour of opener Matthew Phelps (53) posed considerable annoyance.Slater’s first ball on his return, after axings from both his national and his state team, was helped to the fine leg boundary and his third was smeared to the rope at square leg. He had earlier shown a commendable sense of adventure in deciding that New South Wales would bat first upon winning the toss; now he constructed the innings of a player who looked at ease with the world.He played and missed at times, survived a big lbw appeal as he padded up at 13, and looped another ball over the head of gully from the shoulder of his bat. Yet his cover driving was as powerful as ever and he was never afraid to launch himself into extravagant strokes.Significantly, it was almost as soon as a quintessential Slater mixture of cracking attacking strokes and occasionally cracking miscues reached its end nine minutes after lunch that the game tilted dramatically Tasmania’s way.To the accompaniment of the strains of the jackhammers, drills and rivet guns helping to complete the last stages of their home ground’s redevelopment, the Tasmanians concluded Slater’s comeback innings with a crucial lbw decision. They then unglued the remainder of the New South Wales order with equally violent effect.Slater wasn’t pleased with the decision that terminated his 81-minute stay, backing a pace or two away to the leg side, crossing his legs and placing a hand defiantly on his hip as he stared back in the direction of umpire Gus Jones.Upon his downfall, his charges looked equally unhappy.Michael Clarke (7) promptly ballooned a catch into the leg side as he miscued a hook at Gerard Denton (2/41); Phil Jaques (0) was trapped in front of his stumps as David Saker (2/56) cut one back to beat a late-moving defensive stab; and debutant Vaughan Williams (4) edged a Jurgensen delivery to wicketkeeper Sean Clingeleffer as the remains of the Blues’ middle order were swept away.Nine wickets fell as only 67 runs were added in all in a dramatic collapse.To a ground still categorised by some as the home of run feasts, the Tasmanians had returned with an illustration of what has served as the bread and butter of their recent resurgence.Jurgensen claimed 4/14 in a defining six-over spell, snaring his first-ever five wicket haul in a first-class innings in the process. Denton was also impressive, working up consistent pace in his comeback to first-class cricket after 16 months out of the arena with a back injury. Saker and Damien Wright (1/22) also chipped in with important wickets, though the latter bowled within himself because of the lingering effects of a thigh injury.Cox later professed that it was far from the side’s best bowling performance of the season, especially on a pitch that offered variable bounce at each end all day.But, in contextual terms, it looked more than good enough as Tasmania began its reply. New ball bowlers Stuart Clark (1/38) and Don Nash (0/36) were unable to make an early break for the Blues and one of the Tigers’ few sizeable opening stands of the season ensued.Patient defence complemented strong cover driving and cutting from Cox himself in the midst of an invaluable unbeaten half-century.Though opening partner Scott Mason (41) endured an early struggle and played and missed on more than a fleeting basis at the Blues’ pace attack, his career-best score was a tribute to determination.It was a metaphor for Tasmania’s day.

Catches win matches, the old adage says. And, insofar as it is ever possible to prove that theory, then West Indies’ seventy-sevenrun victory (under the Duckworth/Lewis method) over Zimbabwe went a long way toward doing so at the Adelaide Oval tonight.Chasing a difficult target of 253 from a maximum forty-seven overs, Zimbabwe was mounting a significant attack upon it whenspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo, sideways and hard to his left, thrust out an outstretched hand to haul in a breathtaking catch andremove star batsman Andy Flower (50) in the midst of the evening session.

And later, captain Jimmy Adams produced another remarkable catch, even to the point of nearly knocking himself out as he crashedto the ground with the ball, running back from mid wicket to intercept a lofted stroke played toward mid on by Dirk Viljoen (7).They were two wonderful efforts that underlined a crucial difference in the Carlton Series encounter between the sides today.Together with his brother Grant (41), Flower had conceived a steadying partnership of ninety for the fourth wicket that had lookedto be easing Zimbabwe back into the match. Following the early departures of Guy Whittall (17), Alistair Campbell (20) and StuartCarlisle (4) to disappointing strokes, the pair serially cut, nudged and drove a steady attack to distraction. At least, that was, untilNagamootoo’s intervention.Coming as it did in the thirty-fifth over and with the Zimbabweans at the respectable scoreline of 3/137, the leg spinner’s freakishcaught and bowled certainly loomed large among the defining points of the match. It was the first of his four wickets and triggered adramatic decline during which seven tumbled in total for the addition of a paltry thirty-eight runs. Accordingly, it might also carrycrucial implications for the tight battle for second place behind Australia that continues in this three-cornered series.But no mention of Nagamootoo’s effort would be complete without acknowledgment of Adams’ endeavours nor of three bad misses,by contrast, from the Zimbabweans earlier in the day.Continuing their dismal run in the field in this series – a run which stands in stark contrast to the reputation that they possess forbeing a good fielding team – the Zimbabweans committed the sin of granting two lives to Brian Lara (70) and another to MarlonSamuels (68) that were critical in the final analysis.Diving forward at mid wicket, Gavin Rennie failed to clutch a mistimed pull when the brilliant left hander’s score was on ten. Then,with Lara at twenty-two, slip fieldsman Campbell seemed to barely even lay so much as a fingernail on a thick outside edged shot ashe pressed forward at leg spinner Brian Murphy. Later – with Samuels at forty-seven, to be precise – another catch went downwhen Carlisle misjudged the flight of a lofted on drive at Viljoen, charging forward from his position on the rope to try and interceptthe stroke but somehow finding himself too far in from the boundary and having to desperately throw out an outstretched right hand.For a side whose bowlers looked increasingly unthreatening on a benign pitch, luxuries such as dropped catches did not need to befrittered away so recklessly.With the temperature hovering in the high thirties on the Celsius scale, Lara and Samuels slowly wore down an attack that struggledto produce a great deal in the way of menacing deliveries. Both started a touch hesitantly – Lara played well away from his bodyinitially and Samuels was somewhat uncertain outside the line of off stump – but gradually assumed control. At the venue where hescored a sparkling 182 in a Test match earlier in the summer, Lara was arguably the more impressive of the two batsmen, sprinklingattacking strokes all around the ground. But Samuels also played well, especially forward of the wicket on the off side.In a whirlwind flurry before a cool change and driving rain replaced the scorching heat, Ricardo Powell (33) and Nagamootoo (22*)then continued the West Indian charge. The break in the weather curtailed the innings at the forty-seven over mark but not beforethe score had reached a more than respectable 6/235. Under Duckworth/Lewis calculations, this total was revised upward to leavetheir opponents requiring an extra eighteen runs off the same number of overs for victory.In the end, though, far greater generosity on the part of officials and the West Indian fieldsmen would have been required for thetarget to be successfully pursued.

For the first time in India an intriguing contest between left andright-handers gets underway in the Timex Challenge at the WankhedeStadium on Sunday. The teams appear to be closely matched but theleft-handers are a trifle top-heavy with batsmen. With just threebowlers and no specialist keeper there are definite chinks in theirarmour. One wonders why Delhi tearaway Ashish Nehra wasn’t invited toshare the new ball with Zaheer Khan. But then again one-day cricket,and especially a festival game of this nature, is unabashedly abatsman’s game.Left-handers are a hopeless minority, albeit a rather distinguishedone, in the game but in recent years their numbers have been creepingup steadily. There is something to be said for the grace and eleganceof left-handers, especially when they play the drive, and JackFingleton once floated the theory that many left-handers are actuallystronger in their right hand which is the top or guiding hand, andhence the rudder, when it comes to the drive. The classing of lefthanders is a difficult proposition since many of them do only certainskills with their left hand and others with the right. In Indiancricket left-handed bowlers are fairly common (both spinners and to alesser extent medium pacers) but left-handed batsmen have been at apremium. It is only lately that this historical imbalance is beingrighted.The first Indian lefthander was PE Palia who played in the country’sinaugural Test against England at Lord’s in 1932. Palia was primarilya middle order batsman who was also a left arm orthodox spinner, aftera fashion. But the honour of being India’s first specialist left armbowler went to Palia’s fellow Parsi, RJD Jamshedji at Bombay in1933/34. Indeed Jamshedji was India’s first specialist slow bowler,right or left. The bowlers poured forth steadily since, from VinooMankad downwards, but the batsmen dried up to a trickle. The longesthiatus was from 1978/79, when Surinder Amarnath played his last Testagainst Pakistan in Karachi, until 1987/88 when Woorkheri Ramandebuted against West Indies.If one could go back into time and pick an all time Indian eleven oflefthanders, what would it look like? It’s not easy to find eleven menwho both batted and bowled left handed, so the rules will be amendedto seek players who performed their core skill with the left hand.Here again, a difficulty arises about Vinoo Mankad who bowled lefthanded and batted right: which did he do better? Rather than debatethat ticklish point, the simpler option is to disqualify him.Saurav Ganguly who already lays claim, at 28 years of age, to beingIndia’s greatest lefthander ever, can be pencilled in right away atNo.1. Finding his partner is also not too complicated. Indeed,incredible as it may seem, just three lefthanders have opened thebatting for India in Test cricket: Nari Contractor, Woorkheri Ramanand Sadagopan Ramesh. Contractor made his debut at No.7 butleapfrogged to the opener’s spot in his very next game. An obduratebatsman who offered a reassuring presence upfront, he will lend acalming influence to the host of strokemakers to follow.Vinod Kambli follows at No.3. The dream start to his Test career (hebecame the fastest Indian to reach 1000 runs) soured as he wrestledwith the twin foibles of suspect technique and temperament. Droppedfor the England tour of 1996 on patently non-cricketing grounds,Kambli never seemed to recover from the resulting dent to hisconfidence. After several failed comebacks, he remains one of thebiggest enigmas in Indian cricket.Next in line is Ajit Wadekar. Leader of sides that won back-to-backseries in West Indies and England in 1971, his claim to being skipperis unrivalled. He had the frustrating inability to convert his fiftiesinto three figures, making just a solitary Test century in Wellington.Salim Durani, that ‘wayward genius’, is a cinch as the first allrounder in the team at No.5. As a crowd puller, he was perhapsunsurpassed and his uncanny knack of offering the spectators a six ondemand was legendary. His slow left arm stuff was perhaps underratedbut it was Durrani who delivered the crucial break for India in thePort of Spain Test of 1971 by dismissing Lloyd and Sobers in one over.Another surprising statistic is India’s inability to produce a singleleft-handed wicket keeper in its Test history. The shortage of such aspecies necessitates the selection of a nonspecialist keeper. GulMahomed who kept wickets in three tour games on the 1946 tour ofEngland deputising for DD Hindlekar is probably best suited to fit thebill. Besides being a pugnacious batsman – he had a half share in theworld partnership record of 577 with Vijay Hazare – Gul also displayedquicksilver reflexes in the field, which would doubtless serve in goodstead behind the wickets too.Following in his footsteps, I propose AG Ram Singh, perhaps the finestplayer never to don the flannels for India in an official Test. Itstill remains a mystery how he missed out on the 1936 tour of Englandafter a stellar role in the first two editions in the Ranji Trophy. Adangerous customer with both bat and ball, Ram Singh is succeeded by athird spinning all-rounder in Bapu Nadkarni. The meanest bowler of histime and perhaps of all time – Gary Sobers said he was the only bowlerhe ever saw who sprinted down the wicket to prevent a single after hisdelivery stride – Nadkarni was also good enough to strike one Testcentury.As for left arm seamers, India have had a fair share of them beginningwith Mumbai policeman Ghulam Mustafa Guard in 1958/59, down to ZaheerKhan. The two best were inarguably Rusi Surti and Karsan Ghavri, bothhandy batsmen to boot, the latter having the additional asset ofbowling left arm spin when required. With three left arm spinnersalready in the basket, the team is completed by a fourth, Bishen Bedithe only member of the XI to bat right handed; also the only playerwith minimal batting pretensions. The twelfth man could be EknathSolkar, one of the finest close-in catchers who played for India. Hisprehensile hands grabbed 53 catches in 27 Tests, averaging almost twoper match, one of the highest proportions in Test history.That then is the XI: Saurav Ganguly, Nari Contractor, Vinod Kambli,Ajit Wadekar (captain), Salim Durrani, Gul Mahomed (wicket keeper), AGRam Singh, Bapu Nadkarni, Rusi Surti, Karsan Ghavri and Bishen Bedi.12th man: Eknath Solkar.

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Manoj Tiwary’s occasional legbreaks got the crucial wicket of Parthiv Patel just before stumps•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bengal closed in on their first outright win of the season through a nine-over burst between their declaration and stumps to remove all three Patels. Both their opening bowlers struck once each, their captain Manoj Tiwary celebrated his 191 earlier in the day with the scalp of his opposite number, and Gujarat’s last six were left to erase the deficit of 248 runs to avoid an innings defeat.Tiwary began the day at 102 not out, and Bengal were 40 runs behind Gujarat’s 260. With Anustup Majumdar, Tiwary took Bengal into lead, and with Laxmi Shukla he piled on the misery for Gujarat. Shukla scored 113 off 117 to give Bengal a total they would feel safe with.Given nine overs to survive before stumps, Gujarat faltered. Priyank Panchal was run out in the second over, Niraj Patel fell to Ashok Dinda in the third, and Smit Patel was bowled by Sourav Sarkar in the fourth. Just before stumps, Tiwary accounted for the most important Patel, Parthiv, getting him to edge to Wriddhiman Saha.
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The highlight of a shortened day in Bhubaneswar was that Railways managed to get Uday Kaul out for the first time this season. Otherwise, Punjab, who had taken a lead on day two, couldn’t find a way through Railways’ batting a second time around, and the match headed towards a draw.Uday added four to his overnight 96 before he fell to Sanjay Bangar, but Punjab managed a lead of 109. Amit Paunikar responded with an unbeaten century, but that only took the match towards a draw. However, if Railways manage the draw, they will take away one point from the game.The concern for Punjab was that Manpreet Gony bowled only 3.5 overs.
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Saurashtra, who had taken a lead on day two, surprised observers by not asking Hyderabad to bat for what could have been a tricky period before stumps. Saurashtra already had a lead of 344, and Hyderabad, a fragile line-up, are missing VVS Laxman in this match.Their approach on the third day, though, was surprising. They batted out the whole 90 overs for just 270 runs. Sagar Jogiyani scored 69 off 195. While wanting to secure the match might have been behind their go-slow in the morning, it was hard to find reasons for not declaring, especially after Jaydev Shah’s 55 off 67 balls had provided them momentum.
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In another match headed towards a draw, Madhya Pradesh’s Naman Ojha struck a century after Ishwar Pandey finished his second five-for. However, Rajasthan all but ensured three points despite a solid second-innings response from MP.Rajasthan began the day at 306 for 6, and batted 26.4 overs for just 73 runs. When they were eventually bowled out for a lead of 123 runs, the only possibility of a result was if Rajasthan could bowl MP out. That didn’t happen, and the teams were headed towards a drab final day.

Match facts

Sunday, October 6, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)With Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar playing their last T20 game, it will be a perfect farewell for only one of them•Getty Images

Big Picture

A chance to see two legends play the T20 format for the last time was one of the things to look forward to at the start of this Champions League, but by some design and because of the quality of cricket played by Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, the two players have got an opportunity to finish in style. The 2013 Champions League began with the Dravid v Tendulkar show, and it is ending the same way.Despite being light-years away from their best form, they continue to inspire their respective teams – Rahul Dravid, in an active and visible role as the passionate leader and Tendulkar, as every Mumbai Indians player concedes, for being the guiding light.Dravid joined the franchise three years ago and has managed to successfully convert Warne’s Royals into Rahul’s Royals after a topsy-turvy year that brought exhilarating highs and crushing lows. He had said at the start of the tournament that the team was closer because of the spot-fixing crisis they faced and that has shown in their undefeated campaign in this tournament. Their non-flashy players excelled playing a similar non-flashy brand of cricket. Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson have collectively stood up to every batting challenge efficiently, but it’s their bowling that has surprised most, with inspirational performances from inexperienced players like Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla and Vikramjeet Malik.All that success, however, has come at home – Royals won only three matches outside Jaipur in the IPL this year. Add to that the absence of Hodge from the XI due to the injury he sustained in the semi-final and it appears the Royals have a tough task against a formidable opponent under a new set of conditions.Mumbai, on the other hand, have already had a chance to get used to the conditions in Delhi after playing their last two matches there. Rohit Sharma, their captain, had said after their semi-final win that it was to their advantage, because one needed time to adjust to the slower and lower pitches at the Kotla.In the two matches, Mumbai’s power-packed batting, apart from a stern test from Sunil Narine, excelled. A lot had to do with the team combination they hit upon midway during the IPL when Ricky Ponting, the then captain, dropped himself and was replaced by an imposing Dwayne Smith. Rohit was handed the captaincy and he relished the role, taking Mumbai to their first IPL title. He now has a chance to make it a double this year. They will be tested by a team that is now synonymous with resilience.

Team news

Royals have drafted Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera and Kerala batsman Sachin Baby into their squad as replacements for Hodge and Shaun Tait, who is also injured.There are no known injury concerns for Mumbai Indians.

In the spotlight

Pravin Tambe has already played more matches in the Champions League than he played in IPL 2013, and hasn’t he been a revelation? Apart from being the second-highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets – one behind Sunil Narine – he has also bowled his 15 overs at a miserly economy of 3.93. Although his best spell – 4 for 15 – was against Lions, Tambe had tremendous impact in the semi-final against Chennai Super Kings. He picked up 3 for 10 against a batting line-up not too dissimilar to Mumbai Indians’. Tambe’s form has made spin, which was considered a slight weakness for Royals at the start of the tournament, their trump card. He wasn’t a part of the XI that beat Mumbai Indians in the first match of the tournament, so he will pose a fresh challenge.Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have collectively scored 102 runs off 121 deliveries in nine innings – statistics that could be damning for any T20 opening batsmen – but given the intangible value they bring to their teams, there is no point analysing those numbers. The result of the match won’t matter for most of their fans, nor would their individual contributions, but as the crowds have shown throughout this tournament, they will come and watch their favourites sign off on a cricket field and not off it.

Quotes

“I am a little superstitious, so I don’t like speaking about my own team.”

“I haven’t talked to Hodge yet, but touch on wood he comes through because we only have four foreign players in the squad and if one gets injured we will be struggling.”
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‘This match is about a lot of money’

Andy Flower has declined to deny suggestions that he is considering stepping down from his day-to-day coaching position with the England Test team.Flower, responding to a story first published by ESPNcricinfo on August 22, insisted he was “not thinking about” the vacancy created by Hugh Morris’ decision to move on from his role as managing director of England cricket, but would not give any guarantees over his long-term future.Flower, who has a young family and has been in the England job since early 2009, scaled back his workload at the end of 2012 in a bid to improve his work-life balance. While he remains team director in all formats, the day-to-day coaching of the limited overs team passed to Ashley Giles. It is believed a similar arrangement is under consideration for the Test team, with Flower not currently committing himself beyond the end of the tour to Australia in January.”I’ve always said you can’t look too far ahead,” Flower said. “You never know what’s just round the corner.”Would I fancy Hugh’s job? I’m not even thinking about that.”England’s relentless schedule has increased the risk of burnout to players and coaches for some time. But while the next few months are as hectic as normal, the end of 2014 offers some respite. England play only one overseas Test next year, in Sydney at the start of January, with the focus later in the year moving to ODI cricket ahead of the World Cup in February and March 2015. Such factors could persuade Flower to remain in position for a while longer.”The reason [in stepping back] was to get a better work-life balance. Being away from home for 250 days a year didn’t allow that. And we were also looking at maximising the use of our resources, in this instance our coaching resources. The structure is still bedding down, but having two coaches dovetailing may well be the best use of the ECB’s resources.”I do take the responsibility that the ECB have given me very seriously,” Flower said. “I’m supposed to make a difference to English cricket in a positive way and I take that responsibility very seriously. I’ll continue to do that.”I don’t have a fixed term contract. I’m very happy with the balance and I’m still enjoying the job. Very much so.”More importantly this series has worked pretty well: we won 3-0. That’s the important thing.”Next year our only away Test is in Sydney. There will be a priority switch to the 2015 World Cup at some stage. It’s too far away to think if I will be there. I don’t think I’ll be under-employed. There’s always plenty to do. I’ve always said you can’t look too far ahead.”If Flower does apply for Morris’ job, it appears he will have the support of his predecessor. Morris, who suggested there will be “an open recruitment” process to fill his role, was effusive in his praise of Flower.”I think whatever role Andy wants to do in the future he will do outstandingly well,” Morris said. “He is somebody who I’ve always admired before he came into the ECB as a player as a person. He has done an outstanding job in his current role. Whatever he wants to put his mind to do in the future, he will do well.”But Morris was also full of praise for Andrew Strauss. While he only retired as a player 12-months ago, Strauss has spent part of this year shadowing Morris in his role and learning some of the skills required for a job in administration.”Similar to Andy, Strauss is an incredibly capable bloke,” Morris said. “He said to me a while ago that when he finished playing he wanted to dip his toe in the water, try different things, see what he enjoyed doing, and then make some decisions. So he is, again, an outstanding man, and whatever he wants to do he will do incredibly well.”I think there will be a lot of people who will fancy a crack at the job. And quite rightly. It is a fantastic job. I have been really lucky to have done it, and done it for as long as I have done. It is a really great department full of really good people. I think we have got some systems in place now for talented kids at the age of 16 all the way through to Cooky, so hopefully they will inherit something that is a very professional system with a lot of good people in it.”

ScorecardNed Eckersley closed in on a second century in the match•Getty Images

Ned Eckersley inspired Leicestershire’s fightback against Worcestershire in the Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road.With Thilan Samaraweera hitting a season’s best 144 not out, Worcestershire totalled 338 all out to claim a first-innings lead of 64. And when Leicestershire plunged to 120 for 6, the visitors looked in complete control with the chance of clinching victory inside three days.But Eckersley followed up his first-innings 106 with an unbeaten 91 off 159 balls and shared an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 70 with James Sykes that gave Leicestershire a lead of 126 runs going into the final day as they closed on 190 for 6.Samaraweera, resuming on 99 not out, cut Hoggard’s first ball for two runs to reach his century off 203 balls with 11 fours. It had been a chanceless innings and he remained immovable even as wickets fell at the other end.Hoggard trapped Michael Johnson lbw and then bowled Shaaiq Choudhry for a duck before left-arm spinner Sykes chipped in with two wickets in two balls. Jack Shantry was snapped up off a thin edge by wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien and Graeme Cessford had his stumps shattered by a quicker delivery.Ollie Freckingham brought the innings to a close by knocking back Alan Richardson’s leg stump, leaving Samaraweera unbeaten on 144 off 262 balls with 17 boundaries.Worcestershire’s lead was 64 and Leicestershire were four wickets down before they wiped off the arrears, with openers Greg Smith and O’Brien back in the pavilion with only 23 runs on the board. Cessford, wicketless in the first innings, accounted for both of them. O’Brien top-edged a catch off a miscued pull and Smith was bowled by a ball that nipped back.Leicestershire’s problems mounted with Shiv Thakor lbw to Jack Shantry and Tom Wells bowled, shouldering arms to the same bowler. Josh Cobb and the ever-reliable Eckersley, took Leicestershire into the lead with a stand of 34 before the former was caught at cover by Samaraweera off Cessford in the last over before tea.Ben Raine looked in good touch making 19 out of stand of 23 with Eckersley before being dismissed in bizarre fashion by Choudhry. He played a routine defensive shot only for the ball to somehow spin back and roll into the stumps dislodging the off bail to leave the hosts staring down the barrel.But Eckersley remained unflappable, reaching his half-century off 106 balls with six fours. He finally found some support as well in Sykes. The two of them put on 70 runs in 23 overs, Sykes making 22 not out off 87 balls and Eckersley 91 not out, leaving Leicestershire 126 runs ahead.