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South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald has played down a confrontation with one of his West Indian counterparts Cameron Cuffy during the fourth one-day international in Grenada on Sunday.The incident took place after Donald had had Cuffy caught at the wicket by Mark Boucher to end the West Indies innings. As the players left the field Cuffy exchanged words with Boucher before Donald joined in with some force, appearing to tell the West Indian to leave the field.Speaking to Radio 702, a Johannesburg station on Monday, Donald said that at the end of the innings, after he had retrieved his cap from the umpire, he saw Cuffy "go directly to Mark Boucher and say something to him."Donald said that all the South Africans "stick up for each other on the field" and "we told him to get his stuff and gently get off the field".According to Donald the exchange had "something to do with the umpires". He also said that the apparent ill-feeling between Cuffy and the South Africans "goes back to the fifth Test in Jamaica".Donald, however, denied that there was bad blood between the South African and West Indian teams. This was in response to suggestions that the South Africans had been upset at various times during the tour by the West Indies’ refusal to shake hands with their opponents."It’s understandable that the West Indies are very upset with their performances," said Donald.At the same time, however, Donald said that it was to be regretted that the practice of teams having a drink and a chat with their opponents seemed to be a thing of the past. "You don’t go to opposition dressing rooms to have a beer," he said. "Only Brian Lara has come to our dressing room and had a chat."South Africa won the five-match Test series 2-1 and are leading the one-day series 3-1 after four of the seven games.

We are on the verge of a new season, and all the achievements of the past year are behind us.Thank you for all your support and interest last season, but like the players we must now put that behind us even though I realise that your hopes and aspirations have been raised to unprecedented heights as a result of our success.We have a lot to be proud of at Somerset, our team is now very competitive and our ground is in very good shape.We are worried about the future but that must not detract from the immediate task in hand which is to provide competitive cricket for you all to watch and enjoy.I need your help though. You will be aware that in recent times there has been vociferous criticism of both the county game and the county championship. As you know on behalf of the club I publicly defend the standards of cricket and the rights of county clubs to exist and conduct their affairs in an ambitious manner.If you hear any unwarranted criticism on the airwaves or read about it in any publications please respond in a vigorous manner, either verbally or in written form.The battle cry is defend your county and defend county cricket!The truth of the matter is if that there wasn’t county cricket there would be no England side, and if there were no county clubs there would be no counties for cricket’s aspiring young to aspire to. This is as true for the Minor County teams as it is for the first-class counties.There is no doubt in my mind that under the excellent management team and backroom staff of Kevin Shine, Mark Garaway, Darren Veness and Andy Hurry our players are well prepared for the task in hand.All credit to the players as well for what they have been asked to do, which needs total commitment and all their physical energy.It makes me extremely weary just to watch them!

Alastair Cook provided the strongest hint yet that Kevin Pietersen is close to a return to the England side, stating that the time had come to “draw a line in the sand for the sake of English cricket.”Pietersen has not played for England since the second Test of the series against South Africa. After it emerged that he had exchanged “provocative” messages with members of the South Africa touring party, he was omitted from the side for the third Test and then left out of the squad that tried in vain to defend the World Twenty20 and the squad for the Test tour of India.Pietersen’s chances of being added to that tour squad seem to be increasing by the day. He met Cook in Oxford on Tuesday during a flying visit from South Africa and, while all involved are guarded to the point of paranoia about the details – at one stage Cook declined to answer whether he and Pietersen had met for coffee or a meal – it does seem that the “reintegration” process that the ECB claimed that Pietersen had embarked upon with his England colleagues is progressing.”The process is well on the way,” Cook said. “Clearly it has to be behind closed doors, but the meetings are going on and hopefully the best result will come from them.”We do need to draw a line in the sand at some stage for the sake of English cricket. We need to move forward as a team. We’ve got an amazing 18 months ahead of us and we need to move together.”Cook admitted that time was running out ahead of the England team’s departure for a pre-tour training camp in Dubai – they leave on October 25 – but reiterated the view that the process could not be hurried.”It is more than a rubber-stamping exercise,” he said. “It’s a very important decision that we’ve got to get right for the sake of the England side moving forward. And it’s got to be thorough so we can move on in the right way. It’s important we don’t rush this process so we can get the best result. We want all our world-class players playing for England. You need your world-class players to win games of cricket. You want to be able to pick from the best players you can.”Cook was talking at the launch of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 which will be held in June next year at The Oval, Cardiff and Edgbaston. Whatever England’s travails in other forms of the game, their ODI form in 2012 has been good and Cook knows that Pietersen’s return will give his side a decent opportunity to win a global ODI trophy for the first time. Playing at home, in English conditions and with recent changes to ODI playing regulations – such as the use of two new balls – should all be to England’s advantage.While Cook, who as a relative newcomer to England’s limited-overs team has never played in a senior global event, is the first to accept that England’s position at the top of the ODI rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt, he feels their recent form shows strong evidence of improvement.England are unbeaten in their last eight ODI series in England and have won seven of them. They also achieved their best ever sequence of ODI results in 2012 with 10 victories in a row extending from the series against Pakistan in the UAE and incorporating victories against West Indies and Australia.”The ranking for us as an ODI side are not that important,” Cook said. “We don’t feel like we’re the No.1 side. We’ve a huge amount of work to do. The consistency in our play has to improve. What’s important is that we keep trying to improve.”I think we won 10 games in a row. That’s showed we’re heading in the right direction, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do as a side. We’ve guys who have played 10 or 15 ODIs and when you compare that to teams who have played 200 games, it shows the inexperience we have. We need to keep developing as players and as a squad.”But we’ve got a fantastic home record. In these conditions, we’ve a good chance and the Champions Trophy will give us a really good indication of how we perform in a tournament. We want to win. When we play the Champions Trophy we won’t be looking at the World Cup. We won’t be picking players for 2015. We’ll be picking players to win the Champions Trophy.”The 2013 version will be the last staging of the Champions Trophy. The ICC, reasoning that only one global trophy was required for each format of the game, will instead introduce a World Test Championship from 2017 alongside the World Cup and the World T20.To help the 2013 event maintain momentum and intensity, it will last only 18 days and comprise just the top eight ODI teams. Tickets prices have been sensibly capped – the top price for the final at Edgbaston is a relatively modest £60 – to reflect the difficult economic climate and the fact that the Ashes later in the English summer may well remain the priority of UK spectators.However, the ICC and ECB expressed optimism that the ethnic diversity of the UK population should help ensure full houses for the majority of the matches. The ECB will also host the inaugural World Test Championship and the Women’s World Cup in 2017 and the World Cup in 2019.See the best eight teams in one-day international cricket take part in the ICC Champions Trophy in June 2013 – tickets for The Oval, Cardiff and Edgbaston are on sale on 5 November at icc-cricket.com (pre-registration open now)

With the batsmen ruling the roost, the West Zone league Under-22 matchfeaturing Gujarat and Saurashtra at the Municipal Corporation CricketGround at Rajkot meandered to a draw on Friday as Gujarat took homefive points due to a slender eleven run first innings lead.Opting to bat, Gujarat posted a huge 345 runs on the board with theinnings going well into the second day. The innings witnessed somegood knocks from NK Patel (83) and skipper K Damani (71). They wereably supported by opener Sunil Bhatt (54), H Joshipura (42) and latein the order by MN Kadri (32). The wickets were shared all around withUS Karavadra retaining the best figures of 4 for 103.Saurashtra made a strong reply of 334, falling short by a whisker. Themainstay of the innings was MJ Mehta who made a patient unbeaten 104.The other batsman to take the fight to the opposition camp wasSaurashtra opener and skipper PS Joshi with a fine 95. Having pocketedthe match on the basis of the first innings lead, Gujarat played outthe remaining overs on the final day to score 49 for the loss of twowickets.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli paced his innings well to score his fifth Test fifty in a critical situation•Associated Press

Virat Kohli, the architect of so many ODI run-chases, scripted another one, this time in a Test, to hold together India’s nervy batting line-up and lead the team to a 2-0 series victory. On another tense day of what has been a wonderful Test match, on a wonderful Test pitch, New Zealand fought hard all the way, and came up on top against some of the heavy weights of India’s top order. Kohli, however, held firm, and with MS Dhoni offering sensible support, India finally chased down the target of 261 late in the evening, under lights, on another overcast day in Bangalore, with Dhoni ending the contest with a four and a six off successive balls. The end was emphatic, but for much of the day, the chase wasn’t.India’s top four batsmen, all topped 25, but none got to 50, as New Zealand scraped and forced errors. Kohli walked in to bat at 152 for 3, after Sachin Tendulkar was bowled through the gate for the third time in the series, and soon saw India slide to 166 for 5, with only Dhoni and the tail for company. With the ball bouncing and seaming around a bit, and with Jeetan Patel getting some turn and bounce, India, and Kohli, had much to do.As is his habit, Kohli started slowly, offering the bowlers plenty of respect. His first scoring stroke, though, was an emphatic one – a fluent cover-drive off a Trent Boult half-volley – and when he followed that with an off-drive in the same over, he was on his way. Between the gorgeous drives, though, was plenty of circumspect batting, as he defended solidly, and left deliveries outside off. After scoring no runs in his first 15 balls, Kohli scored 17 off his next 34. Only after having faced around 50 balls did he show more extravagance, exquisitely whipping one from Patel through wide mid-on, and then creaming three fours off a Southee over – a whip through midwicket, a cover-drive, and a straight-drive. His last 34 came off 33 balls, in what was the definition of a well-paced innings.Dhoni, on the other hand, was frenetic at the start, scoring 19 off his first 16 balls, including a slog-swept six off Patel. That eased the pressure somewhat, with Ross Taylor perhaps missing a trick by keeping Patel on instead of attacking Dhoni with pace from both ends. As Kohli upped the tempo, Dhoni eased off, taking singles, rotating the strike, and not striking another boundary till victory was well within reach. The partnership between the two was worth 96, and it was a match-winning one.The sixth-wicket pair finally won it for India, but for most of the day New Zealand put in a terrific performance in the field: the fast bowlers mixed up their lengths on a responsive pitch, testing all the Indian batsmen with the short stuff, while Patel flighted it, bowled at a slower pace, and flummoxed more than one batsman in a line-up which usually plays spin well. The only passage when they seemed lost for ideas was when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were spanking it to all parts during a first-wicket partnership of 77 in less than 12 overs.

Smart stats

• With his 14th Test win, MS Dhoni becomes the most successful India captain in home Tests. He went past the previous record of Mohammad Azharuddin (13 wins).

• The target of 261 is the highest achieved in Bangalore. India’s total is also the highest ever made in the fourth innings in Tests in Bangalore.

• The 96-run stand between Virat Kohli and Dhoni is the third-highest sixth-wicket stand in the fourth innings for India. The highest remains 136 between Sachin Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia in Chennai in 1999.

• Virat Kohli became the sixth India batsman to score a century and fifty in the same game against New Zealand. Rahul Dravid is the only Indian batsman to score a century in both innings against New Zealand.

• The 77-run stand between Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag is the first fifty-plus opening partnership for India since the 67-run stand against West Indies in Mumbai in 2011.

• Tendulkar was dismissed bowled for the third time in three innings. The last time he was out bowled in three consecutive innings was in 2002 in England. Only Rahul Dravid (55) and Allan Border (53) have more bowled dismissals, than Tendulkar (51).

• For the fourth time since 2010 and the second time this year, India’s top four batsmen failed to score a half-century in the match. The aggregate of 218 runs (top-four batsmen) without a half-century is, however, the highest ever for India.

• R Ashwin ended the series with a tally of 18 wickets. His tally is joint-second on the list of most wickets picked up by an Indian bowler in a two-Test series.

However, once they broke through, with Sehwag charging down the pitch and getting deceived by the flight, they fought all the way. Gambhir lost his way after a fluent start, scoring one off his last 20 balls after making 33 off 38 in Sehwag’s company. Cheteshwar Pujara, who had starred with 72 in India’s win over Australia at the same ground on his debut, had a mixed time here, mixing some pleasant drives with some nervy moments against both spin and pace: his hooking didn’t always inspire confidence, while Patel repeatedly had him playing and missing at straight deliveries. He finally dismissed Pujara off a bat-pad catch for 48 with the score on 158, but would have dismissed him 24 runs earlier, with Pujara on 37, had Brendon McCullum, keeping wicket instead of the injured Kruger van Wyk, not muffed up a simple stumping chance.India seemed to have taken a stranglehold on the game when Pujara and Tendulkar were involved in a 69-run stand, but New Zealand continued to press hard. The pair had to fight off a tense period before lunch as New Zealand recovered after the opening onslaught: only 17 runs came off the 12 overs after Sehwag’s dismissal. However, both Pujara and Tendulkar were getting into groove, with the batsmen managing forcing shots through the off side to ease the pressure, when a 40-minute rain delay, which forced an early tea, stopped India’s momentum.Soon after resumption, India slumped from 147 for 2 to 166 for 5. Tendulkar was bowled for the third time in three innings, playing across the line to a full one from Southee that moved in a bit, while Suresh Raina had a brain freeze: not yet off the mark after facing nine balls, he charged wildly at his tenth, tried to blast it over midwicket, missed, and found his middle stump knocked back. It’s a stroke that should give him nightmares, especially if he doesn’t get another opportunity at Test cricket in the near future. In five home Tests against New Zealand, Raina has scored 84 in seven innings at an average of 12.At that stage there was plenty to do for India, but then Kohli and Dhoni ensured there’d be no further hiccups.

CSA president, Chris Nenzani (left), has written an open letter to the ICC’s Full Members•Getty Images

Cricket South Africa has become the first national board to call for the ICC to withdraw the draft proposal that would put power in international cricket in the hands of India, England and Australia.South Africa have been identified as the big losers in the potential changes, which, if adopted, could be viewed as a power grab by the three nations that bring most revenue into the international game. Calling the plans “in breach of the ICC constitution”, CSA has now made its opposition clear.The “position paper”, drawn up by a working group of the ICC’s Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee, is due to be put to the ICC Executive Board at its quarterly meeting in Dubai on January 28-29. The proposals would need seven votes out of ten to pass.Despite South Africa’s position as the No. 1-ranked Test side in the world, if the proposals were adopted, their projected share of future revenues at every stage would fall below than even that of the Pakistan board.South Africa’s relationship with India has declined markedly since they appointed Haroon Lorgat as chief executive of their own board. It was Lorgat, as ICC chief executive, who championed the Woolf report, which proposed placing the ICC in the hands of independent directors. Lorgat’s subsequent feud saw him ousted at the ICC and cold-shouldered by the BCCI, which refused to deal with him as India undertook a much-reduced tour of South Africa last year.CSA has now become the first board to publicly state its opposition to the ambush proposals, calling for a more consultative and “constitutionally ordained” process to take place.The meeting on January 9, where Full Member boards were presented with the paper, was unscheduled and “came out of nowhere”, according to the head of one board. Nazmul Hassan, president of the BCB, said that Bangladesh “can’t doing anything on our own”, while NZC director Martin Snedden suggested the BCCI-ECB-CA plans were not necessarily a bad thing for world cricket.CSA responded in a statement, saying: “Without addressing the merits of the proposal insofar as it concerns constitutional amendments and changes to ICC competitions, these proposals should first be referred to the relevant ICC committees or sub‐committees for proper consideration and to make recommendations to the ICC Board.”The open letter, copied to ICC Full Members and media outlets, was written not by Lorgat, but by Chris Nenzani, CSA’s president and board chairman, directed to ICC president Alan Isaac.”Although there is nothing to prevent a review of the ICC funding model or finances, the proposal self-evidently is inextricably tied up with a fundamental restructuring of the ICC, which has far‐reaching constitutional implications,” Nenzani said.”The draft proposal is, therefore, fundamentally flawed as regards the process and, therefore, in breach of the ICC constitution.”In the circumstances we propose that the draft proposal be withdrawn immediately, given that the proper procedures have not been followed.”In our respectful opinion, a more considered, inclusive/consultative, and properly constitutionally ordained approach is required.”Isaac, a former chairman of the New Zealand board, whose business career involved 35 years with the global accounting firm KPMG, is now facing the most problematic task of a low-key term as ICC president. It is questionable whether he will welcome the attention. The presidential role will officially become a ceremonial role once he steps down in 2014 and he has already done much to hasten that transition.Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, had previously defined the document as, “concerning,” saying it will have “significant implication for cricket, particularly for smaller countries of which South Africa is one – revenue wise.”

Ian Bell could hardly hide his frustration after seeing his England team-mates deliver another batting performance of striking incompetence.Bell was one of only three England players to reach double-figures as they were brushed aside for 172 in their first innings in Adelaide and afterwards admitted the performance was “just not good enough”.Bell finished unbeaten on 72, but could do little to stop England conceding a first-innings deficit of 398 runs. By the end of the day, Australia had extended their lead to 530 and have an excellent chance over the final two days of extending their series lead to 2-0 with three to play. England, whose top score in the series so far is 179, will probably have to bat for five sessions to save the game.”We can’t afford to be bowled out for under 200,” Bell said. “You’re not going to win anything like that. There are no excuses; it’s just not good enough. It’s another disappointing performance. There’s no getting away from it, we haven’t played very well. We’ve got to improve and improve fast.”While Bell played Mitchell Johnson with something approaching ease, his colleagues struggled. The fast bowler finished with figures of 7 for 40 with several England batsmen, especially in the lower order, looking far from comfortable when confronted with his hostility.Ian Bell kept his head – and his wicket – while all about him others were losing theirs•PA Photos

“When you’re playing pace, you have to have serious courage,” Bell said. “We have to make sure that’s the first thing we have. When someone bowls at 150kph, you have to be switched on every ball. Am I scared? No, not at all scared. I can’t speak for everyone, but no.”Despite the poor start to the series, Bell remained confident that the team were capable of saving the game and clawing their way back into the series. Earlier this year, England resisted for 143 overs in Auckland to save a Test against New Zealand and a year ago, they came from 1-0 down to defeat India in India.”You’ve seen what this team has done in the past,” he said. “These games are saveable but someone is going to have to play an incredible innings. If you want to bat for a day, this is the ground to do it.”But what we’ve done in the last three innings isn’t going to get us close. So someone – or probably two or three guys – have to step up. It’s a challenge but that leads to opportunity and we have to take it.”

Veteran batsman David Hussey has been dropped from Victoria’s Sheffield Shield side to take on Tasmania this week, with Glenn Maxwell preferred for a middle-order batting and offspin role. Hussey, 36, was considered an outside chance for Test selection last summer, when he was part of the ODI team, but he now appears to be fighting for his state career following a slow start to the season.Although he averages 51.71 from 180 first-class appearances, Hussey began this summer by averaging 28.83 in the Ryobi Cup and then started the Shield campaign with scores of 44, 7 and 13. Andrew Lynch, the Victoria chairman of selectors, said it was a difficult choice to leave Hussey out.”Huss is a bit unlucky in that all the other batters are in good form,” Lynch said.The return of Maxwell and Jon Holland from playing for Australia A last week has led to some changes in the side, while Clint McKay has also been included after returning from the ODI tour of India. Instead of playing for Victoria, Aaron Finch will be part of the Cricket Australia Invitational XI to take on England in Sydney, while Peter Siddle has been rested in preparation for the first Ashes Test.Victoria squad Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, Peter Handscomb, Cameron White, Daniel Christian, Matthew Wade (capt, wk), Glenn Maxwell, John Hastings, Clint McKay, Jon Holland, Scott Boland, Fawad Ahmed.

Alastair Cook has put the onus on England’s top order to lay the foundations for another Ashes success, well aware they are unlikely to be able to afford the same stuttering batting displays which characterised the home series.England did not reach 400 once during the previous series with their highest total being the 377 they made at The Oval. Australia, by comparison, went comfortably past that mark twice but the counter to that is they suffered more match-defining collapses. However, while it may appear quibbling after a 3-0 scoreline, Australia is not a place so forgiving of underweighted batting displays.In 2010-11, England began with a disappointing 260 at the Gabba and were under immense pressure when Australia replied with 481, but then went on a run-scoring surge which was only interrupted by the Mitchell Johnson-inspired reversal at the WACA. A world record 517 for 1 to save the Brisbane Test was followed by first-innings totals of 620 for 5, 513 and 644 in the three matches England won by an innings to take the series 3-1.”Clearly top-order runs out in Australia are vitally important,” Cook said at Heathrow airport ahead of the team’s departure. “Last time we saw that big runs make a massive difference and set the game up. Sometimes in England 240-250 can be a good score with the overhead conditions, but the majority of the time in Australia 400 is the bare minimum. That’s the job of the top order to make sure we do that.”

Pietersen given compassionate leave

Kevin Pietersen will not travel to Australia with his team-mates having been given compassionate leave.

It is understood to be related to the death of a friend and he will now arrive in Perth on October 27, still four days ahead of the first warm-up match.

Tim Bresnan, meanwhile, is “improving” after the stress fracture of the back he suffered but England will take a cautious approach. “You don’t know exactly how any stress fracture will pull up until he starts bowling,” Cook said.

Cook was central to England’s run glut three years ago with a monumental 766 in the series followed by 544 from Jonathan Trott at No. 3. In the recent home series the pair managed 570 runs between them without a century; Cook’s reduced output could be partly put down to the strains of captaining in an Ashes series, but Trott had his technique unpicked by Australia’s quicks and his response to that will be one of the early themes of the return contest.”You’d love to score runs every time you bat. I could have done better, a lot better,” Cook said. “As captain you want to lead from the front. I did quite a lot of the hard work and if you don’t go onto make big scores as an opener there’s always a few low ones around the corner against the new ball.””I had a good time last time in Australia. It would be great to repeat some of those feats. I enjoy batting in those conditions, the ball can be flying past your ears quite a lot, it is a real test of the skill you need to play fast bowling. We are going to get plenty of that over the next two months. The first 15-20 overs with the Kookaburra ball can swing more than the Dukes, but get through that stage, in the afternoon sessions, it’s fantastic to bat.”Despite the concerns about the top three – Joe Root, despite his 180 at Lord’s, also found life tough (which is not a sin) in his first stint as a Test opener – England depart for Perth as favourites to make it consecutive away Ashes victories and four in a row, the latter not achieved since the 1890s. England have not always been at their best when billed as frontrunners but Cook believes his side, who spent last weekend in the Midlands for a team bonding trip that he termed “interesting”, are comfortable with the tag.”When you win the last three series, and the last series was just two months ago, that’s a fair description,” he said. “Last summer was the first time we’d gone into an Ashes series as favourites and I thought we coped with that pretty well, the outcome suggested we did.”If you look how many sides go to Australia, winning there is no mean feat. Speaking to the lads over the last weekend, everyone is excited by the opportunity we have. As an Englishmen you know it will be like. It will be quite hostile at times.”

Scorecard
File photo: Kaushal Silva last played for Sri Lanka in December 2011•WICB Media

Wicketkeeper batsman Kaushal Silva strengthened his case for a Test recall on day one of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A, hitting an unbeaten 150 in Dambulla. Kaushal had already made a ton in the previous match, in addition to having been the highest run-scorer in Sri Lanka’s first-class competition earlier in the year. He last played for Sri Lanka in December 2011, but after this ton – his 26th in first-class matches – Sri Lanka’s selectors will be forced to consider him for the Test series against Pakistan in December.Having been dismissed cheaply in the first four-day match, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal both made half-centuries. They scored markedly quicker than Kaushal, with Karunaratne hitting 13 fours in his 84, which came from 120 balls, while Chandimal struck 10 fours and two sixes in his 102-ball 80. Kaushal had century stands with both, adding 152 for the second wicket with Karunaratne, before embarking on a 146-run association with Chandimal.New Zealand A’s bowlers largely endured a day of toil, from which only right-arm seamers Matt Henry and Andrew Ellis emerged with economy rates less than four an over. Doug Bracewell had struck third ball to remove Kusal Perera, but was unsuccessful for 16 overs after that, while Ish Sodhi and Todd Astle sent down 33 overs of leg spin for the combined figures of 0 for 152. If it was not for Anton Devcich’s part-time left-arm spin accounting for Chandimal in the third session, the day’s tally may have read even worse for the visitors.Kithuruwan Vithanage was not out alongside Kaushal at stumps, having progressed to 32 from 33 balls – employing the same aggression that had earned him a second-innings 70 in the previous match.