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Glamorgan announce 2011 loss

Glamorgan have announced a deficit of £1.7m for 2011, with additional costs and interest bringing the club’s retained losses for the year to £3m. The results were significantly hit by the rain-affected England v Sri Lanka Test, hosted at the county’s Cardiff ground last season, which resulted in a loss of £1.2m.”Our 2011 results put into perspective the financial challenges the club has faced over the past few years,” chief executive Alan Hamer said. “The challenging economic environment and the burden of servicing the debts were compounded by the losses incurred in staging last year’s England v Sri Lanka Test match and further one-off charges. If you exclude these, the underlying performance of the business was comparable to the previous year.””Whilst last year’s financial results were extremely disappointing, the club’s financial future looks much improved and our accounts have been given a clean bill of health by our auditors.”Earlier this month, Glamorgan reorganised their loan repayments, as well as secured £1.3m in funding from a group of private investors. Despite being deprived of hosting a Test on West Indies’ tour this summer, Cardiff was awarded an Ashes Test for 2015. Glamorgan will stage 17 days of international cricket over the next five years, starting with an England ODI against South Africa in August.Chairman Barry O’Brien added: “Over the past 12 months, the club has had to deal with some significant challenges. Action has now been taken to address these and the other factors contributing to the losses incurred in 2011. The recent announcement confirming that the club had successfully restructured its finances will have a material beneficial impact on the club’s future financial performance. We can look forward to 2012 and beyond with renewed confidence.”

West Indies draw series with 14-run win


Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dwayne Smith top scored for West Indies with 63•AFP

Fidel Edwards and Marlon Samuels bowled West Indies to a 14-run victory to draw the Twenty20 series 1-1 in Barbados. Dwayne Smith and Johnson Charles started the day with a strong, aggressive opening partnership and despite Australia’s bowlers fighting back to dismiss West Indies for 160, it proved to be sufficient for the hosts as Australia’s batsmen stalled in the chase after David Warner’s quick opening.Too much was left for the final few overs for Australia, who needed 50 from the last five overs and then 19 from the last six balls, bowled by Dwayne Bravo. David Hussey was the only specialist batsmen left at the crease but he couldn’t launch the boundaries required off Bravo, who picked up two wickets in that final over as Australia fell well short of their target.Hussey was caught at deep midwicket for 19 trying to clear the boundary and Clint McKay was bowled next ball by Bravo, who finished with 2 for 27 from his four overs and changed the course of the match by running out Warner with a direct hit from side-on. Warner was hurrying back for a second run when Bravo, who had run in from the midwicket boundary, threw down the stumps at the striker’s end and it was the pivotal moment in the chase.Warner was on 58 from 43 balls and had threatened to steer Australia home, but after he departed Australia lost momentum. Hussey and Matthew Wade managed a couple of sixes but they were barely treading water with the required run-rate at ten an over, and things became even harder when Wade pushed a Samuels full toss straight back to the bowler for 17.Edwards picked up two wickets in the next over, Daniel Christian caught at cover and Brett Lee bowled for a golden duck, and West Indies had become firm favourites with 25 needed from the last 10 balls. It was quite a change from the early stages when Warner was steering Australia towards a strong position, although his opening partner Shane Watson was caught at slip in the first over off Edwards.Warner gradually found his rhythm and pulled Garey Mathurin for six, before lifting Sunil Narine over long-on for another six. George Bailey promoted himself to first drop and showed that he can clear the boundary, with a powerful slog over cow corner off Mathurin. Bailey top-edged a catch to fine leg off Samuels for 24 and Charles, who had dropped a sitter at fine leg before Bailey had scored, breathed a sigh of relief.Michael Hussey pushed a return catch to Samuels for 14 and although Warner kept the runs flowing and even forced the umpires to find a new ball when he pulled Mathurin out of the ground, West Indies kept themselves in the match. Warner’s half-century came from 39 balls but his run-out was a blow from which Australia could not recover, and they were disappointed not to chase down 161 on a fine batting pitch.The Australian bowlers had done well to peg West Indies back after the Charles-Smith opening stand, which took West Indies to 72 for 0 in the seventh over. Charles scored 37 from 21 balls and Smith made 63 from 34 deliveries, his first half-century in a Twenty20 international, but there were few other contributors and Bravo (23 from 24 balls) was the only other man who reached double figures.Charles raced out of the blocks with four, six and four from his first three balls, the six a slashing cut that cleared the point boundary off Lee. Charles was also very strong through the leg side but he was the first man to fall, when he couldn’t quite force Watson over the boundary and was caught at long-off.Kieron Pollard, promoted to No.3, edged behind off Lee for 1 and it was a major blow after his success in the previous game. But Smith, who had already been strong on both sides of the wicket, kept the runs flowing and 20 runs came off a James Pattinson over as Smith deposited him in the stands three times in the over.He started with a monstrous smash over cow corner that landed in the top tier of the Hall and Griffith Stand and followed it with a six that bounced into the windows of the Garfield Sobers Pavilion over long-on. Next ball came the most pure stroke of them all, a lofted drive hit through the line that landed over long-on and brought up his half-century from 30 deliveries.Another six off Xavier Doherty followed in the next over before Smith fell to the left-arm spinner, caught at long-on trying to maintain his tempo. That wicket was the end of West Indies’ blitz, as Bravo moved along at a run a ball and didn’t strike a boundary. McKay’s changes of pace troubled the middle order and the medium-pacers Watson and Christian were disciplined and accurate.Lee picked up two late wickets to finish with 3 for 23 as West Indies were bowled out with two balls to spare, having scored 50 for the loss of seven wickets in ten overs after Smith’s departure. It was quite a collapse, but Smith and Charles had done enough to set up victory, and just like the ODI portion of the tour, the T20s could not produce a winner. Perhaps the Tests can split these two sides.

Smith returns to Twenty20 squad against Australia

West Indies squad for first T20

Darren Sammy (capt), Dwayne Bravo (vice-capt), Carlton Baugh (wk), Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Garey Mathurin, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Andrew Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Dwayne Smith

Dwayne Smith has had an impressive time in Twenty20 cricket with the bat of late•BPL T20

Dwayne Smith, the allrounder, has returned to the West Indies squad for the first Twenty20 international against Australia on March 27. Smith last played for West Indies in September 2011, in a T20I against England. West Indies have also called up fast bowler Fidel Edwards, left-arm medium-pacer Krishmar Santokie, left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin and allrounder Nkrumah Bonner.Smith has had an impressive time in Twenty20 cricket with the bat of late. He was the third-highest run-getter in the Caribbean T20 competition, scoring 165 runs at a strike-rate of 136.36. He then represented Khulna Royal Bengals in the Bangladesh Premier League, making 346 runs at 137.30.Santokie was the leading wicket-taker in the Caribbean T20, with 14 wickets for Jamaica, including a hat-trick, in six matches at an economy-rate of 6.12. Bonner was the second-highest run-getter in the competition, with 172 runs for Jamaica at a strike-rate of 96.08. Mathurin has had a good start to the domestic first-class season, with 18 wickets in five matches for Windward Islands at an average of 18.83.Edwards had been playing for the Dolphins franchise in the South African MiWay T20 Challenge. He made a comeback for West Indies in May last year after being out for almost two years due to a back injury, and was given a Grade B contract by the West Indies Cricket Board in October.”We have named a squad with a mixture of experience and youth and we believe they have the quality to defeat the Australians,” the West Indies chairman of selectors Clyde Butts said. “We also use these matches as part of our continued preparations for the ICC World T20 Championship in Sri Lanka in September. That tournament is not far away and we want to make sure we get ready for that event as well.”The West Indies players from the ongoing ODI series against Australia who’ve not been picked for the T20 are Adrian Barath, Tino Best, Kemar Roach and Devendra Bishoo. The teams will play two Twenty20 internationals.

Bell relieved with return to form

ScorecardIan Bell was the only batsman to master the conditions at Edgbaston•Getty Images

Another piece in the jigsaw that makes up the England team fell into place with the return to form of Ian Bell. Bell overcame challenging conditions and a demanding pace attack to register his first first-class century since his double hundred against India at The Oval last August; 20 innings ago. On a pitch where no other batsman has managed to move beyond the 30s, that represents a fine effort.While Bell was never in serious danger of losing his England place ahead of the series against West Indies, he needed this innings. After a chastening tour of the UAE, where he averaged just 8.50 in the Test series, he had managed just 34 runs in his first three Championship innings of the season. In 16 of his last 20 first-class innings, he has failed to reach 20 and this may well prove his final first-class knock ahead of the first Test at Lord’s. His confidence, understandably, had diminished.He was not, perhaps, at his most fluent for the first half of this innings. He was dropped twice – on 51 and 59 – and survived a very confident leg-before appeal from Mitchell Claydon when he had 61. As the ball softened and his confidence grew, however, he began to settle and produced some high-quality strokes. One hook off Graham Onions bore the hallmark of class, as did a perfect cover drive off the same bowler. And, while there may be some doubt about his ability to deal with top-class spin after his travails against Saeed Ajmal, his treatment of Ian Blackwell, a perfectly respectable left-arm spinner who was once deemed good enough for Test cricket, bordered on the dismissive. Bell brought up his century – the 39th of his first-class career – by cutting a Blackwell delivery to the boundary, having earlier skipped down the wicket and driven the same bowler for six over long-off.”That was a bit of a relief,” Bell said afterwards. “That kind of innings will certainly help me. It counts for nothing going into the Test series, but it will give me some comfort to have spent some time at the crease. I haven’t had enough of it over the winter. I’d be out within the first few minutes.”It was a tough winter. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, but every run I got seemed to be hard work. In the summer before when everything was going nicely runs seemed to be easy to come across and those balls that I was nicking were going into gaps. Hopefully I’ve turned a corner now.”That’s what we can expect against the West Indies. It doesn’t look as if the weather will improve, so we’ll be facing a good seam attack on green pitches. Durham have one of the better seam attacks, so it’s nice to do well against them in these conditions. It gives you a lot of confidence.”Technique isn’t something I have to worry about too much. I wouldn’t say I’ve lost confidence – the last three years, going back to Cape Town, has given me lots of good stuff to draw upon – but I want to get better at playing in the subcontinent and I know there are areas – such as playing against spin – where I want to get better. I feel I’m a good player of spin in England and most places, but batting at five in the subcontinent is hard work. I’ve learned some tough lessons.”I just haven’t have enough time at the crease. I’m netted out, to be honest. I’ve had enough time in the net. It’s scoring runs that helps your confidence and your form. I feel I’ve just been scratching around. It started in the UAE, but even here, in the last two games, I just didn’t feel the rhythm was there. Even the 50 I made in Sri Lanka, on a really good batting wicket, felt like hard work.”In the last six months I haven’t been finding the gaps or timing the ball nicely. I did that today as the ball got a little softer and a little wetter. I was going forward and back nicely, too, whereas in the winter I was getting stuck in the crease a bit.”Bell’s work ethic cannot be faulted. Whereas Mark Ramprakash has complained that the early season conditions have made batting “a lottery”, Bell asked the England management to allow him to play an extra Championship game – he was originally scheduled to play just two – and feels that time spent batting in such conditions will serve him well. He will also forgo his time off next week to come and face his team-mate Chris Woakes, who is just about fit to resume bowling, in the middle at Edgbaston.”Batting is going to be hard, but you can’t sit here and complain about it,” he said. “There’s no point moaning. You can get a lot out of batting in these conditions. You’re not always going to play on flat wickets, so it’s good to play on challenging surfaces where things are in the bowlers’ favour. You can’t always live in the comfort zone.”Bell’s century helped Warwickshire build a dominant position in this game. Only 22 overs were possible on another rain-reduced day but Tim Ambrose, cutting as enthusiastically as ever, helped Bell extend their overnight partnership to 87 before Blackwell, carrying a shoulder injury that may well require surgery, struck twice in two balls. Ambrose, at least, could count himself unfortunate: his cut shot thumped into the thigh of Ben Stokes at silly-point and deflected to slip, before Rikki Clarke, back instead of forward, simply missed one. To have earned a first innings lead having been, at one stage, for 14 for 4 underlined once again the depth of Warwickshire’s batting. It is, however, the depth of the puddles at Edgbaston that may thwart them.

Sombre atmosphere as England hunt series

Match Facts

June 18, 2012
Start time 10.45 (0945GMT)England will look to build on the opening victory that was set up by Ian Bell•PA Photos

The Big Picture

The one-day series continues at The Oval, overshadowed by the death of Tom Maynard, the Surrey batsman, on Monday. Maynard had been tipped to appear at full England level and many of the current squad expressed their dismay at the news. Jade Dernbach, the Surrey pace bowler, has been given compassionate leave from the squad with Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes added as cover.England, though, are unlikely to feel the need to make any changes after a comprehensive 114-run victory to start the series. Ian Bell’s comeback century was the headline performance of the match, while the tactic of picking five specialist bowlers paid dividends as they removed West Indies for 172 after the visitors made a promising start to their chase.After being built up as favourites for the series it was a hugely disappointing performance from West Indies, which steadily went downhill following the early success of removing Alastair Cook for a duck. The bowling attack did not trouble England and, apart from Dwayne Smith, the power-packed batting order failed to live up to its billing. Fingers will be crossed that Chris Gayle is fit to return.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
England WWWWW
West Indies LLWTW

Watch out for…

Eoin Morgan‘s first innings for England since the Twenty20 series against Pakistan in February suggested that he is getting his form back on track. He scooted along at a run-a-ball during a brisk partnership with Bell and appeared to have worked on reducing his pronounced dip in his stance. He is the key to England’s middle order, both in his ability to clear the ropes and his skill at pacing a run chase.Marlon Samuels remains the man in form for West Indies and eased to 30 with a strike-rate of 100 in the first match of the series until falling to his good friend James Anderson. Given how he is playing it was strange that he was not promoted after Darren Bravo’s injury; West Indies need to make best use of his form. He was useful with the ball, too, taking a couple of wickets to hold England in the middle of the innings.

Team news

It is likely that only a late injury will lead to England tinkering with their team, although there may be a temptation to fit Samit Patel in the team on a surface that can help the spinners.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnWest Indies were awaiting the results of scans on both Gayle and Andre Russell, with the former desperately needed now Darren Bravo has left the tour with a groin injury. The bowling attack needs a shake up so Russell could be dropped even if fit to allow Tino Best or Fidel Edwards a game.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Dwayne Smith, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieran Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Tino Best, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Sunil Narine

Pitch and conditions

The forecast is dry for the match which, given the English summer so far, is a significant event. Batsmen generally prosper on good one-day pitches at The Oval although for domestic matches Surrey often like them to turn.

Stats and trivia

  • The two teams have only played three previous ODIs at The Oval, the last being the 2004 Champions Trophy final when West Indies won by two wickets
  • If Gayle plays he will be one of two survivors from that match along with Dwayne Bravo
  • An England opening batsman has scored a hundred in their last five ODIs; Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen twice followed by Ian Bell

Quotes

“Probably in the past, I’ve tried to hit the ball too hard sometimes and lose my shape – whereas I did exactly as I’d play a Test match, sticking to the shots I know well.”

South Africa duo lift Durham

Durham 142 for 5 (Myburgh 46, Gibbs 38) beat Derbyshire 141 for 6 (Khawaja 36) by 5 wickets
ScorecardSouth African duo Herschelle Gibbs and Johann Myburgh steered Durham to a five-wicket win over Derbyshire in a tight Friends Life t20 North Division game at Derby.Gibbs made 38 and Myburgh added 46 from 40 balls to win with seven balls to spare when a full toss from the former Durham pace bowler Mark Turner went for four byes.Derbyshire began badly after electing to bat first, Wes Durston caught at slip in the first over without scoring and Ross Whiteley falling to a steepling top edge after hitting four boundaries in his 19.Derbyshire’s cause was boosted by a spate of wides and Australian Usman Khawaja top scored with 36. He was starting to time the ball well when he tried to cut a ball from Borthwick that bounced more than he expected and was caught behind.Derbyshire had to be on top of their game to have any chance of denying Durham. They had Phil Mustard caught behind off Turner and then Ben Stokes fell to a tumbling catch by Poynton when he tried to run Tim Groenewald off the face of the bat.Gibbs should have been stumped on 13 and that threatened to prove decisive when he launched Groenewald out of the ground, but David Wainwright found some turn to bowl him for 38.Myburgh revived Durham by driving Chesney Hughes for a six and a four in an over which cost 16 but the game was back in the balance when he sliced Turner to point.Durham needed 22 off the last three overs but the contest was settled when Gordan Muchall and Gareth Breese took 16 from Rana and the game ended on a note of anti-climax when Turner’s full toss sped to the ropes.

Warwickshire explore loan solution to cover Patel

ScorecardWarwickshire will miss Jeetan Patel after his Test recall and are trying to fill the gap•PA Photos

Warwickshire are exploring the loan market in an attempt to secure their first Championship title since 2004. The current leaders require a replacement for their spinner, New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel, who is about to depart on Test duty and are looking at several options – including Durham’s Ian Blackwell and Lancashire’s Gary Keedy – as short-term solutions.While Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, expects Patel back for the final game of the season (against the second-placed team Nottinghamshire) and maintain outside hopes of welcoming him back for the game before that, against Worcestershire, they are reluctant to go into their matches against Middlesex and Nottinghamshire without an experienced spin bowler.Chris Metters, their left-arm spinner, is out for the season though injury while spin-bowling allrounder Paul Best, with just nine first-class games behind him, is deemed too green for such a demanding task. The overseas market has now become so bureaucratic that it takes a minimum of three weeks to bring in a new player.There are several loan possibilities. The most intriguing is the former England allrounder Blackwell who cannot currently squeeze into the Durham squad. Blackwell is not really Giles’ type of player – Blackwell’s dislike for training and fitness are something of a throwback to a different age – but, aged 34, he remains a fine cricketer who took career-best bowling figures of 7 for 52 in his last first-class game, against Australia A. He has also scored over 11,000 first-class runs at an average only a fraction under 40.The Lancashire pair of Keedy and Stephen Parry are also of interest. Giles has long been a fan of Keedy – Warwickshire offered him a three-year contract at the end of last year – but he might well be required by Lancashire. It is possible, however, that in seeking to help Warwickshire defeat Lancashire’s relegation rivals, Lancashire’s cause might be well-served by allowing Keedy to go for a spell at Edgbaston. Parry has played only three first-class games and none since 2009 and is a less likely option.While Warwickshire worry about replacing Patel, they also missed Chris Woakes against Worcestershire. Woakes’ lower-order excellence with the bat has papered over cracks in the top-order batting at the club for some time, just as Neil Carter did in the past. Yet, like several counties, they have seen their team weakened by England Lions call-ups just as the Championship should be reaching a peak. While the ECB consult about the future of county cricket, they might also reflect how it would prosper if given half a chance.Still, in a game of numerous twists and turns, the decisive blow may have been struck by Warwickshire in the evening session. Set 260 to win, the opening batsmen rode their luck and benefitted from a somewhat jaded performance in the field from Worcestershire in reducing their target to a more manageable 181. On a day on which 17 wickets fell, their unbroken stand of 79 was the largest by a distance.They enjoyed some fortune. Ian Westwood, in particular, endured the most uncertain of starts and came within an ace of playing on when four. Varun Chopra, meanwhile, escaped an edge off Moeen Ali that flew between wicketkeeper and slip when he had scored 27 and another to short-leg off Brett D’Oliveria when he had 39.The pitch, also used for Tuesday night’s CB40 game, is offering ever more assistance to spin, however, and some uneven bounce to seamers, so all is not yet lost for Worcestershire.If Worcestershire do lose they will rue their lower-order batting collapses in both innings. Just as on the opening day where they lost their last five wickets for the addition of just seven runs, on the second they lost their last six for the addition of only 37. It meant they squandered a position from which they were 222 ahead with six wickets in hand to one in which they set a target of only 260.It is not an unfamiliar tale for Worcestershire. They have shown throughout the last couple of seasons that they can compete with the best for a couple of days, only for one poor session to undermine their good work.Perhaps, when we come to reflect on this game, we may conclude that the turning point came with the early wicket of Phil Hughes in Worcestershire’s second innings. Leading by 114 on first innings, Worcestershire had an excellent opportunity to bat Warwickshire out of the match but Hughes, unsettled by Keith Barker’s incisive swing, left a straight one, before Daryl Mitchell and Moeen Ali were drawn into pokes at deliveries on off stump that resulted in slip catches.But Vikram Solanki was even more culpable. For the second time in the match he made batting appear easy only to once again squander his wicket. This time a thick edged force squirted to point and, while Matthew Pardoe fought hard, the lower-order never hinted at permanence against Patel’s off-breaks.In many ways this has been a bewildering game. There is little wrong with the pitch. But the bowlers of both sides have performed admirably and the batsmen of both sides have shown a lack of application and technique. Still, Chris Russell, the 23-year-old Worcestershire debutant, showed excellent stamina and consistency to deliver a 12-over spell of pace and swing bowling in the morning session that picked up three wickets.The only Warwickshire man who looked at all comfortable was Rikki Clarke, who batted beautifully in registering his fifth score above 50 in the campaign. Clarke is an admirable cricket and a passionate competitor but may concede, in time, that he soured another fine innings by displaying obvious disappointment when he was adjudged by umpire Neil Bainton to have been caught at short-leg.It matters not whether the umpire was right or wrong, such obvious signs of dissent have no place in the game. Later the umpires were also obliged to speak to Chopra, captain in place of the unwell Jim Troughton, after Clarke’s continued disappointment manifested itself in the field. The umpires spoke to Warwickshire’s team management at the close and Clarke may consider himself fortunate if he escapes further censure.

Didn't execute game plan well – Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has said he was “disappointed” with his team’s performance in the one-off Twenty20 game against India, that Sri Lanka lost by 39 runs. Sri Lanka’s bowlers managed to restrict India’s batsmen in the death overs to keep the target to a gettable 156, but their batsmen failed to capitalise.”It was very disappointing, the way we lost today,” Jayawardene said. “At the halfway mark, we had a chat. The plan was to consolidate in the middle overs and keep wickets in hand till the 15th or 16th overs. From there on, eight an over was not going to be tough on a good surface on which the ball came on to the bat nicely, so we could have accelerated had we had wickets in hand. But we didn’t execute our game plan well at all.”This loss capped off a poor limited-overs series against India: Sri Lanka lost the ODI series that preceded the Twenty20 game 1-4. However, Jayawardene said the scoreline did not reflect how the team had performed in the one-dayers. “I don’t think we were outplayed in the ODI series, I thought we played some good cricket,” he said. “We had our opportunities but unfortunately, we didn’t take them. Today, yes, we didn’t play to our potential and were well beaten, but while the scoreline will show 4-1 in the ODI series, I think the series was a lot closer than that.”Sri Lanka’s next assignment is the Sri Lanka Premier League that starts later this week. India play New Zealand before they return to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20 in September and Jayawardene said there were no clear favourites for the tournament. “In Twenty20 cricket, anything can happen,” Jayawardene said. “It all depends on how you perform on the day. In the past, we have seen Ireland and Zimbabwe beat big teams in the World Cup. As far as I am concerned, all 12 teams are in a good position to win the tournament. It all depends on how well you start the tournament, and how well you can maintain the momentum.”The World Twenty20 begins on September 18, with Sri Lanka taking on Zimbabwe in Hambantota.

Panesar shines but Pujara defies England

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Monty Panesar returned in style, taking four wickets•BCCI

As Monty Panesar made a triumphant Test match return something nagged away at England’s sense of well-being. That something was Cheteshwar Pujara and by the close of an absorbing first day in Mumbai even Panesar had to play second best to India’s new batting sensation.Pujara has now batted for more than 15 hours without England discovering how to dismiss him, following his unbeaten double century in Ahmedabad with another hundred – and the promise of more to come – at Wankhede Stadium as he countered a turning pitch with another innings of poise and certainty.The first new ball unveiled a story of Pujara’s watchfulness as Panesar made a jubilant return with four wickets and half India’s side were dismissed for 119. But the second new ball suggested that the batsman had emerged the stronger when to chants of Pu-ja-ra, Pu-ja-ra, he moved off 99 by pulling James Anderson’s second delivery resoundingly through square leg. It is only the second Test of a four-Test series but there is a sense in Indian cricket of a changing order.Pujara’s tranquil progress has echoed throughout the early stages of this series. There was some bounce to excite England’s pace bowlers and predictably he was tested with the short ball, but he emerged comfortably enough to suggest he will be an India batsman who can also prosper overseas. An unbroken stand of 97 with R Ashwin, whose unbeaten 60 took only 84 balls, completed India’s escape.Anderson was inches away from having Pujara caught at point by Nick Compton, plunging forward, on 17, and he also survived a hard chance to Anderson at gully when 60, this time off Panesar. His most prolonged discomfort came on 94 when England appealed, legitimately enough, for a catch off Alastair Cook’s toe at short leg but the umpires called for TV evidence which showed that the ball had also struck the ground.MS Dhoni unashamedly wants Indian Test pitches to turn from the outset and the captain got just what he wanted – an old Wankhede pitch, used only three weeks ago, ragging and bouncing. It was to Indian cricket what a blatantly green seamer at Trent Bridge might be in England, a deliberate attempt to take the opposition out of their comfort zone.”If it does not turn, I can come and criticise again,” Dhoni had chirped prior to the game as he warned that he did not expect the sort of slog faced by India’s spinners in Ahmedabad. There will be no angry exchanges with the groundsman, no disappointed email to the BCCI.But if Dhoni would have found this dry, threadbare surface, with the ball going through the top on the first afternoon, much to his liking, England’s spinners were uplifted by the surface, with Panesar, who, after being controversially omitted from England’s Test side in Ahmedabad, ending the day with 4 for 91 in 34 overs. It was quite a collection, with Virender Sehwag, in his 100th Test, and Sachin Tendulkar bowled in successive overs.

Smart stats

  • Cheteshwar Pujara becomes the 11th Indian batsman to score two centuries in a series against England. The last batsman to do so was Rahul Dravid in the series in England last year.

  • Sachin Tendulkar has been out bowled in four of his last five innings. Overall, he has been out bowled 52 times. Only Dravid (55) and Allan Border (53) have been bowled more often.

  • Monty Panesar’s 4 for 91 is his best bowling performance in India surpassing his previous best of 3 for 65 in Chennai in 2008. In 2012, Panesar has picked up 20 wickets at 24.70

  • The 97-run stand between Pujara and R Ashwin is the joint second-highest seventh-wicket partnership in Tests in Mumbai. The highest is 235 between Syed Kirmani and Ravi Shastri in 1984.

  • Ashwin’s half-century is his second fifty-plus score in Tests. His only century (against West Indies) also came in Mumbai last year. He has been dismissed below 20 in only three out of 14 innings.

It is rare to see Panesar and Graeme Swann in tandem and the contrast was an engrossing one: Panesar, bowling his left-arm spin with a deliberative air, as if any lapse in accuracy would startle him; Swann, forever jack the lad behind the dark glasses, his own concentration never quite overcoming the suspicion that he had just emerged from a crafty cigarette behind the bike sheds.Swann played his part, bowling Yuvraj Singh for a second-ball duck by coming wide of the crease and straightening one, but it was Panesar’s return that captured the attention. He began nervously, conceding two boundaries in his first over and initially overpitched, but soon found a pace and control that allowed him to settle.If the removal of Sehwag was commonplace, a full delivery which bowled him off his pads as he flicked lazily to leg, his dismissal of Tendulkar was a gem, turn and bounce to strike his off stump, ensuring that there would be no rush into Churchgate Station on the Mumbai trains as the day progressed. Pujara’s legside steers have yet to bring the worshippers flocking.Sehwag had been in contented mood before the start, fielding congratulations on reaching his milestone, but his innings – 30 from 43 balls – never convinced. Twice in one over, Anderson almost defeated two uncertain half-bat pushes, Sehwag first inside-edging past leg stump and then beating second slip off the outside edge. Panesar removed him at the start of his fifth over, moving his short leg to gully and perhaps benefiting as Sehwag sensed the ball fired in at his pads represented easy pickings on the legside.Panesar’s third wicket was that of Virat Kohli. By mid-afternoon, the pitch was already turning, and with reasonable pace. A puff of dust as the ball broke through the surface was a forewarning for Kohli that his drive to short extra cover was about to end in disaster. Anderson’s inswing had removed Gautam Gambhir second ball of the day. Anderson had a half-decent day; Stuart Broad did nothing to allay doubts about his worth on Indian pitches.After their nine-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad, England had at least indicated that another lost toss would not automatically heap more misery upon them. They have never lost more than eight Tests in a calendar year, but in 2012 they have already lost seven and their shortcomings in Asia have been largely responsible.For a side which began the year ranked as the No. 1 Test side in the world, it is a rapid reversal. With three Tests remaining in the series, their reputation is on the line. At least by selecting Panesar the balance of their side possessed some logic rather than the Englishman Abroad stereotype they had relied on in Motera, but the last hour did not go well for them. They need to find a way to break Pujara’s tread.

Sammy aiming for a whitewash

Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, is eyeing a whitewash in the forthcoming five-match ODI series against Bangladesh which will help the team improve its one-day rankings. But like he had repeatedly said during the recently concluded Test series, beating the home side won’t be easy.”5-0 gives us five ranking points. 4-1 gives us one and 3-2 might lose us ranking points,” Sammy said. “I will let the guys know of this but first we will look to win the series. If we play to our potential, it [5-0] is possible. We will take one thing at a time now, tomorrow is the first game of the five-match series.”After the Dhaka Test, Sammy had said that they were able to push for a win because they took the Bangladesh challenge seriously. The situation got a little out of control in the second Test when Bangladesh put up a decent first innings total, thanks to No. 10 Abul Hasan’s debut hundred, and the 184-run tenth wicket partnership shared with Mahmudullah. West Indies rode out that challenge again, and dominated the rest of the game to win the series 2-0.”Bangladesh keep coming back when you think they’re down. In the last Test, the No. 8 and No. 10 put on a partnership in the first innings,” he said. “We are not taking them for granted. But once we play to our full potential, we could be a very destructive force.”West Indies switched into the one-day mode with a massive win in the warm-up game against BCB XI on Wednesday. The highlight of that game, which could also be a forewarning for Bangladesh, was West Indies’ total of 361 under the new fielding restrictions. Chris Gayle, who didn’t play in that game, was the only batsman without a big score in the Tests but Sammy believes it is a matter of time before he fires with the bat.”Our batsmen took responsibility to score the bulk of the runs in the Test series. We have at least six guys coming in for the ODI series. They all had a go, and they scored a lot of runs in the practice match, so it is tough to select the team with such bench strength.”Chris [Gayle] turns up anytime. He is the best batsman in limited-overs cricket right now. He’s the most dangerous in any format. I am not worried about him. He has his routine, and has scored all over the world. Good for us if he’s due some runs, not for Bangladesh.”Sammy’s captaincy and patience will be tested under the new rules of having just the four fielders outside the 30-yard circle for 35 overs during the match. He said that the umpires have assured of helping out the captains during this series if an extra man is stationed outside the circle by mistake, though he has already devised a plan to remember the new rule.”I will just remember to keep mid-off or mid-on up. I have studied it quite well and I think I have trained my brain to keep monitoring. We have enough senior players in the team to help me along, and the umpires said they’ll look out for the odd fielder outside.”Sammy said that the new rule is going to put pressure on the fielding teams, especially on the spinners. However, he said that it also presents an opportunity to cut the singles down.”Teams were scoring 300-plus with five guys outside the circle. Now it is only four. I feel sorry for the spinners, they have to find an extra way to bowl and be economical. We have to find one person in the ring which could put more pressure on the batsmen, and no easy singles to get.”The first match of the series is to be played in Khulna tomorrow.