Southee in doubt for second Test
New Zealand's teenaged fast bowler, Tim Southee, is a doubt for the second Test against England at Old Trafford, after succumbing to a bout of vomiting and diarrhoea following his team's arrival in Manchester.
Southee made his debut for New Zealand in the third Test in Napier in March, where he burst into the limelight with 5 for 55 in the first innings and boundary-laden 77 from 40 balls from No. 10 on the final morning of the match. He had a quieter time during last week's Lord's Test, but his absence would still be a major blow to a side that took several positives from a comfortably drawn match.
According to reports on New Zealand radio, Southee sat out practice at Old Trafford on Tuesday afternoon, but is starting to take food again and hopes to rebuild his energy levels sufficiently over the next two days. The match starts at 11am local time on Friday.
John Bracewell, New Zealand's coach, was quoted as saying that Southee was "going at both ends" and had been laid low by the bug for 48 hours. Should he fail to recover, Iain O'Brien and Michael Mason will contest the final bowling slot, assuming the Old Trafford groundstaff produce their familiar fast, bouncy wicket.
(c) Cricinfo
England pair help Lancs roar back
England duo James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff took four wickets apiece as Lancashire roared back against Durham.
An amazing day in which 20 wickets fell began with Mark Davies taking a career-best 7-33 as Lancs crumbled for 143.
Flintoff fell first ball, to continue his poor run with the bat, with Davies claiming four wickets in seven balls.
But apart from Mitch Claydon (40), who made the day's top score, the visitors were even worse, finishing 29 short as Flintoff and Anderson tore them apart.
Earlier, Davies' efforts totally overshadowed his more illustrious colleagues Steve Harmison (1-49), and England one-day skipper Paul Collingwood (2-14).
After removing top-scorer Mal Loye (39), Flintoff, Luke Sutton and Kyle Hogg, Davies then dismissed skipper Stuart Law to make it five in 17 balls.
He had earlier snapped up Mark Chilton and Pakistan Test batsman Mohammad Yousuf.
Flintoff, who has only scored 68 runs in six competitive innings for his county this season, was out fending outside off-stump.
Lancashire were 100-8 at one stage but Sajid Mahmood added a valuable late 31 and his fellow England bowlers then took over.
Anderson removed Mark Stoneman, stand-in skipper Michael Di Venuto, Collingwood and Phil Mustard.
Flintoff had Kyle Coetzer fending a short ball to Loye in the slips, bowled Ben Harmison, had Steve caught behind and bowled Claydon.
BBC (c) MMVIII
City witnesses betting high, thanks to IPL
kolkata, April 24 With the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and its growing popularity, the number of illegal betting rackets in the city Kolkata has gone up. Late on Wednesday night, police arrested seven more people for running an illegal betting racket.
This follows the April 22 busting of an inter-state betting racket in which five persons were arrested. Police had also recovered Rs 1.6 lakh in cash, a computer, mobile phones, score-sheets, and a landline phone for teleconferencing purpose.
The police, however, ruled out any connection between the two arrests and said that both rackets were involved in betting during matches.
The Wednesday's arrests were made after police, acting on a tip-off, raided a house on Iqbalpur Road and arrested six persons---Abdul Karim, Afzal Hussain, Abdul Kalim, Mohammad Jamal, Riazuddin and Sheikh Faizal. A TV, five cellphones and documents related to betting were recovered from them.
The detective department of Kolkata police also arrested one Manoj Mau (37) from Rabindra Sarani in connection with a betting racket.
The police came to know about Mau's involvement in the betting racket during the interrogation of the five persons arrested on April 22.
Beside, these two incidents, the state CID had also raided a building in Baguiati, North 24-Parganas on March 31 and had arrested three persons, including an alleged cricket bookie for running an online betting racket. Four laptops, six mobile phones and related documents were recovered from them. Senior CID officers said the trio had been operating the betting network online with the help of hawala.
One doesn't need phenomenal infrastructure to be a cricket bookie. All one needs is a TV to watch the match, mobiles to receive the bets, paper to keep records, and a net connection.
"From what we have understood, the odds for each match are based on the odds projected by UK-based betting websites where betting on cricket is legal. These odds then percolate into the Indian bookmakers' calculations as per the betting atmosphere. For instance, Mumbai bookies may offer different odds compared to Kolkata bookies," DC (DD) Jawed Shamim said.
Senior officers investigating the cases said Kolkata ranks low among the metros as far as the volume of money involved in the betting is concerned. "Delhi and Mumbai have much higher turnover. It's hard to say at the moment if bookies in Kolkata are working in tandem with their counterparts in other metros," they said.
(c) 2008 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd.
SURREY CAN BUILD ON FINE START
The weather meant there was only one positive result in the first round of fixtures in Division One of the County Championship but Surrey did enough in their draw with pre-season favourites Lancashire to suggest they'll be a force to be reckoned with this season.
No side finished the last campaign stronger than Mark Butcher's men - unbeaten in their last ten matches and with four wins in the last six - as they transformed themselves from relegation candidates into a top four outfit.
And they carried on where they left off when they welcomed Lancashire to the Oval last week.
Butcher won the toss and then helped his team rack up 537-5 to underline the strength of their batting.
The skipper was one of three centurions in the middle order, run machine Mark Ramprakash also passing three figures - his 98th first-class ton - as did Usman Afzaal on debut.
And the bowlers then did their part as they reduced Lancashire to 241 for six before the weather intervened.
The hugely experienced Jimmy Ormond, left-armer Pedro Collins, youngster Chris Jordan and wily spinner Saqlain Mushtaq were all among the wickets and that's a seriously well balanced bowling attack.
It's also going to be boosted this week because Aussie seamer Matt Nicholson comes back into the squad after a virus.
And having bossed one of the pre-season market leaders, there's no reason why they shouldn't now continue the good work against another in the shape of Durham.
We've got nothing against the north east county who enjoyed a superb 2007 in all forms of the game, it's just that the bookies seem to have overreacted slightly.
They were 40/1 shots for the title 12 months ago yet started this season at around the 9/2 mark.
And they are odds-on across the board for this, which looks plenty short enough.
They sat out the opening fixtures which could leave them a little underdone and even the presence of Steve Harmison doesn't put us off opposing them as he's got plenty to prove again, even at county level.
Anyone still not convinced should take a look at last season's results between the pair - Harmison played in both games yet Surrey won by six wickets at the Oval and then drew at the Riverside.
We'd argue Surrey have been the more progressive of the pair since then so the 5/4 chalked up by bet365 and totesport could prove generous.
Elsewhere in the top flight, reigning champs Sussex look banker bets at home to a Kent side that's started the new campaign with two straight defeats and who can't shake things up as Anjad Khan and Simon Cook both remain on the sidelines through injury.
However that's reflected in the prices and the other two matches also make limited appeal.
Yorkshire should beat a fading Hampshire side at Headingley but the presence of Shane Bond in the visitors' ranks (7-66 on debut last week) is enough to put us off getting involved.
And while we're keen to oppose Lancashire this season, they face a Somerset outfit without Andy Caddick following his back surgery in the close season. His 70 wickets were crucial in the Cidermen running away with Division Two and until he's fit and firing we're going to take a watching brief.
However there are two cracking bets from the Division Two action this week - Essex and Warwickshire.
Essex have made a perfect start to the season, thrashing Northants last week in the Championship and then accounting for Kent in the Friends Provident Trophy.
They are further boosted this week by England opener Alastair Cook and meet a Derbyshire side which is clearly going to take time to gel after a number of close-season changes.
The 8/13 dangled by Ladbrokes is therefore well worth a second glance, as is the 5/6 chalked up about Warwickshire matching Essex by accounting for Northants.
The Bears were clearly second best against our outright Division Two tips Worcestershire last week when only the weather rescued them.
However they should be a different proposition with both ball and bat this week.
South African paceman Monde Zondeki has arrived as their overseas player while England's Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose are both involved too.
totesport can't split the sides but Warwickshire should surely be clear favourites - they are 4/1 for the title compared to Northants at 16s and have finished well ahead of their opponents ever since the Championship became a two-tiered affair.
Neither side excelled in their opening game but Zondeki, Bell and Ambrose are a pretty useful trio to come in and pep things up for the Bears.
(c) 2007 Sporting Life UK Ltd
County cricket betting preview
County cricket may be watched only by the retired, unemployed and unemployable but console yourself by the fact that while the bloke in the deckchair next door is getting kicks from keeping the score with a multitude of different coloured inks, you are there for valuable betting research.
One of the least fashionable summer pursuits the respective Division One and Two competitions may be, but they offer the punter tremendous value. Here is our guide to the warm orders for glory in Divisions One and Two respectively.
Division One
Yorkshire
Have probably the best balanced squad in the section. Michael Vaughan boosts a formidable batting line-up while Naved-ul-Hasan, Darren Gough, Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, (stick with me) Adil Rashid and Deon Kruis is as strong a bowling line-up as you'll see. Yorkshire's credentials are there for all to see - no side has won the title more times (30) than the Yorkies.
Kent
Kent have never been out of the top division and although they have declined - seventh and fifth in the last two years - their batting is comfortably good enough for a top three finish, which makes them worth following each-way. Their bowling is a slight worry, although Ryan McLaren is a class act and Amjad Khan's return from injury boosts them further.
Hampshire
Don't touch them with someone else's money. They have lost a total of five of their bowlers - 142 first-class wickets from last term - including Shane Warne and replaced them with just one, Shane Bond. When fit, Bond is one of the best bowlers in the world but it would be a miracle if he was able to stay fit for what is an arduous season. Relegation fodder.
Division Two
Leicestershire
If you subscribe to the view that it is the ability to take 20 wickets which makes a side successful - and you should - then Leicestershire are worth following to finish in the top three. Garnett Kruger, Dillon du Preez and Jermaine Lawson are of international standard given they hail from South Africa and West Indies respectively. Lawson once terrorised Australia's finest. Batsmen in Division Two should be easier targets.
Glamorgan
The biggest outsider at prices up to 50/1 may not be quite as bad as some of the layers reckon. The Welsh county have made some shrewd signings in the close-season. Jason Gillespie, Matthew Wood and Jamie Dalrymple should improve them beyond recognition from the team which finished bottom last time. Gillespie boosts the wicket-taking ability, Wood is a classy opener and Dalrymple's all-round ability strengthens them all over. The trio should give confidence to Glamorgan's plethora of talented youngsters, including all-rounder James Harris.
Before having a bet it is worth knowing how teams actually gain points to win the Championship or be promoted (only the top two from the bottom rung go up). Sides receive 14 points for a win, seven for a tie, four for a draw and none for a loss plus bonus points for batting and bowling.
These are awarded (first innings only before 130 overs) as follows - batting: 200-249 runs = one point, 250-299 runs = two points, 300-349 runs = three points, 350-399 runs = four points, 400 runs or more = five points. Bowling: three to five wkts = one point, six to eight wickets = two points, nine wickets = three points.
The importance of this for punters is so they can look at last year's table and work out the respective batting and bowling strengths of each side, and then cross-reference that with their new signings to check they have strengthened the right areas.
CHANDERPAUL SEALS STUNNING WIN
Shivnarine Chanderpaul struck a six off the last ball to seal a remarkable one-wicket win in the first one-day international against Sri Lanka.
With nine wickets down chasing 236 for victory, West Indies needed 10 to win off two Chaminda Vaas balls and, even when Chanderpaul struck the first of those for four, that looked an unlikely ask.
But Vaas bowled a full toss and the Guyanese batsman swung the ball over a despairing Mahela Jayawardene at wide mid-on for an astonishing match-winning maximum.
Chanderpaul (62 not out) was the mainstay of a stuttering innings which began with 52 from Chris Gayle and featured contributions from Dwayne Bravo (36) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (35).
Gayle swung freely from the start but missed as many as he hit - until Ishara Amerasinghe was brought into the attack.
Gayle hit three fours and a six off the first two overs from the 30-year-old, who was promptly withdrawn from the attack.
And it was his replacement Nuwan Kulasekara, already returning for his second spell, who got the breakthrough, trapping an off-balance Devon Smith lbw for 14 with the score on 53.
With Ramnaresh Sarwan joining him at the crease, Gayle reined in his shots somewhat, but still reached 50 with a single off debutant Ajantha Mendis.
The spinner was causing problems for both batsmen, though, and was duly rewarded with the scalp of Gayle, lbw for 52 with the score on 109.
Sarwan swiftly followed, as he edged Kulasekera through to Kumar Sangakkara for 35 and, in the same over, Marlon Samuels was trapped plumb in front for a golden duck.
Despite the clatter of wickets, Dwayne Bravo played in typically aggressive fashion and, along with the more circumspect Chanderpaul, helped to right the West Indies ship.
Bravo made a quickfire 36 - including two sixes - in a partnership of 59 before being run out after a mix-up with Chanderpaul.
Patrick Browne (15) threatened, hitting a big six over long on before holing out to Mendis trying to repeat the feat and Mendis returned to the attack to remove Darren Sammy for one with a doosra which struck the off stump.
Jerome Taylor (nine) smashed a six before miscuing one to Chamara Silva to give Mendis a third wicket and Sulieman Benn struggled to get bat on ball, only succeeding in being run out by Jayawardene for nought when he did.
Chanderpaul struck the next ball for four to reach 50, but that left Fidel Edwards on strike with 13 needed from the final over.
Three singles left Chanderpaul needing 10 off two - a feat he achieved to spark wild celebrations among the Port of Spain crowd.
Earlier, Chamara Kapugedera and Chamara Silva amassed a record partnership as Sri Lanka recovered from a terrible start to post 235 for seven.
Three early wickets for man of the match Bravo (four for 33) saw the tourists reduced to 49 for five but Kapugedera (95) and Silva (67) compiled 159 - a Sri Lankan record for the sixth wicket in ODIs.
(c) 2007 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Cricket latest: Pietersen to be tempted?
Despite claiming that the huge rewards on offer from the Indian Premier League are not tempting, Kevin Pietersen remains the 2/1 favourite to be the first centrally contracted England player to sign up for next month's tournament.
Dmitri Mascherenas became the first England player to be signed up by the IPL when he was recruited by Jaipur for GBP 50,000 and his example could be followed by several others as an agreement was reached with his county Hampshire for compensation.
The IPL Twenty20 tournament - which starts on 19 April and ends on 1 June - is already estimated to have earned Indian cricket's governing body, the BCCI, $1bn (GBP 497m) from selling franchises and broadcasting rights and they have pledged to attract the game's biggest players.
The English game has so far not been very well represented due to the ECB's unwillingness to let their players get involved although many of the game's top players have already been signed, including Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist and India's one-day skipper Mahendra Dhoni, who attracted the highest price in the opening bidding at the IPL's inaugural auction in February.
Pietersen will want to ply his talents on the world stage in his belief that he is the world's best batsman and although he has stated that he will not be tempted he remains the favourite to be first centrally contracted England player to sign up.
The new tournament, which begins next month, is said to be the hot topic of conversation in the England dressing room and PCA chief executive Sean Morris claims players should be given the chance. But with participation potentially threatening their England careers, speculation is growing as to who will be the first to break rank.
Ryan Sidebottom and one day captain Paul Collingwood are the 3/1 second favourites, with Test skipper Michael Vaughan the 8/1 outsider on a list of likely defectors.
A number of leading players and officials have voiced their worries on the effect it could have on world cricket. Each player's IPL contract is guaranteed for a three-year period by the BCCI and the biggest international stars will be able to earn huge amounts of money in a short space of time.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has signed to play in the IPL, said he fears it could entice top players to retire early. "If a guy is approaching the end of his career, being able to play 44 days I'm sure is very attractive," he said. "They have families and can get a bit sick and tired of the travel."
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