Northern Districts 130 and 120 (Adams 4-41, Mills 3-36) lead Auckland 141 (Richardson 55, Orchard 3-20, Yovich 3-31) and 31 for 0 by 79 runsMark Richardson carried Auckland through to a first innings lead with atypically defiant innings to top-score with 55 before being the eighth mandismissed at 131. Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, helped bring about theend of the Auckland innings with 2 for 8 in the morning session. Mark Orchard ended with 3 for 20 and Joseph Yovich 3 for 31.In their second innings Northern Districts struggled against the Aucklandpace attack as Andre Adams claimed four more wickets, for 41 runs, to givehim nine from the match. Kyle Mills backed him well with 3 for 36. GrantRobinson and Nick Horsley, two of the better first-innings performers, were to the fore again, Robinson scoring 33 and Horsley 27.By stumps, which came early due to bad light, Auckland were comfortablyplaced on 31 without loss, with Richardson and Lou Vincent lookinguntroubled.Central Districts 139 and 195 (Taylor 64, Penn 4-55) lead Wellington 105 (Sherlock 4-33) and 19 for 0 by 211 runsGiven the way play had fluctuated at the Basin Reserve, Wellington could takenothing for granted as they ended the day needing another 211 for victory. Wellington were dismissed 34 runs short of Central Districts’ first inningsscore with Richard Sherlock capping a fine debut by taking 4 for 33. He wasjust about to bowl in the second innings when play was abandoned due to badlight.The fine 100-run stand between Ross Taylor and Glen Sulzberger may yet proveto be a significant bonus for Central Districts. The pair produced the best batting of the innings, with Taylor flailing the Wellington bowling in achieving hiscareer-best score of 64, off 66 balls, while Sulzberger scored 37. Theireffort was backed up by Bevan Griggs, who added 28 to see the team through to 195. Andrew Penn was in fine touch, taking 4 for 55 while Mark Gillespie took 3for 34 and Iain O’Brien 3 for 51.Wellington were 19 without loss at stumps. Matthew Bell was on 13 and GrantDonaldson on 5.Canterbury 375 (Fulton 114, Broom 53, Wisneski 40, Wilson 5-82) lead Otago 134 for 5 (Lawson 40*, Wiseman 3-34) by 241 runsCanterbury’s tail wagged to cause more problems for Otago at Timaru, and bystumps Otago were struggling to hold on in their own innings. Earlier, Jeff Wilson showed how much better prepared he was for his second season after giving up his professional rugby career, taking 5 for 82 as Canterbury were all out for 375.When he took his fourth wicket, Wilson achieved his 100th first-class wicket. He ended up with 5 for 82, his sixth five-for in first-class cricket. His haul was good reward for 34.1 overs of application.Otago’s innings began with a solid start until Andrew Hore, the opener, wasrun out. And when Paul Wiseman was introduced, he quickly got among the Otago middle order. With fieldsmen surrounding the bat, Otago struggled to reach 134 for 5 by stumps, a position achieved thanks largely to a patient innings of 40 not out by Robert Lawson. Chris Gaffaney scored 36 while Wiseman ended the day with 3 for 34 from 11 overs.

Stephen Fleming is a doubtful starter for the first Test of New Zealand’s home series against Pakistan. The match, which starts at Hamilton on December 19, is still more than two weeks away, but Fleming says he is struggling to regain his fitness after tearing abdominal muscles during the TVS Cup one-day tournament in India.According to a Reuters report, Fleming said: “I was hopeful it would improve with rest and I would not need an injection, but that hasn’t been the case, which is a worry. The tear is very deep and I’m in a race against time not only for the Test, but just to get some cricket under my belt.”Hopefully I can start light exercise at the end of the week and then we all might have a better idea of where I stand. I’d love to play in the first Test but if I’m not pain-free then I can’t.” The injury forced Fleming to miss New Zealand’s last match of the TVS Cup, and the five-match ODI series in Pakistan.

Tasmania 322 and 2 for 105 (Watson 56*) trail New South Wales 462 (Bevan 216, Thornely 81, Katich 53) by 35 runs
Scorecard

Michael Bevan made his highest first-class score to give New South Wales first-innings points in their Pura Cup match against Tasmania at the SCG today.After Bevan guided NSW to a mammoth first-innings total of 426, Tasmania were 2 for 105 in their second innings at stumps on day three, still 35 runs behind NSW.Resuming on 110, Bevan made it to 216 when he was caught by Sean Clingeleffer off Dan Marsh. Bevan faced 416 balls in all, hitting 30 fours and a six. He combined in crucial partnerships with Dominic Thornely, who scored 81, and with Brett Lee. Those two stands, worth 163 and 100 runs respectively, ensured NSW a healthy total after struggling at 2 for 29 on the second day.Xavier Doherty finished with figures of 4 for 142 from 40.4 overs in a tidy effort which contained everybody except Bevan, Thornely and Simon Katich (53).Bevan’s century was the 59th of his first-class career, and has boosted him to 16,754 runs from 213 appearances.Resuming today on 4 for 255, NSW lost Thornely, Nathan Pilon, Lee, Nathan Bracken and Liam Zammit, but still led by 140 runs on the first innings after Tasmania’s total of 322.At stumps, Shane Watson was unbeaten on 56 for Tasmania after Lee trapped Jamie Cox lbw for a duck.

Future first-class matches between South Australia and Victoria will becontested for the David Hookes Memorial Trophy, in a mark of recognitionfor Hookes. Hookes, who was 48, made his name as a dashing batsman forSouth Australia, and was making a success of his stint as Victoria’s coachwhen he died after an incident in a Melbourne street last week.The trophy, which was ratified by the two state governments and therespective cricket associations, will feature a bat and gloves left at thecrease – Hookes used to do this if he was not out at the lunch or teaintervals when he was batting.

50 overs Australia 6 for 262 (Gilchrist 66, Ponting 58; Muralitharan 2-30) beat Sri Lanka 178 all out (Jayawardene 61, Sangakkara 58; Hogg 5-41) by 84 runs
Scorecard

Sydney or Dambulla, fast pitch or slow turner, pace bowler or spinner,Australia appear to care little. Despite unfamiliar conditions and an indifferent, much-talked, record on the subcontinent, it was very much businessas usual for Australia in their opening match against Sri Lanka on Fridayevening: their batsmen rattled up 6 for 262, a record score at Dambulla,their fielders hit the stumps, and their bowlers proved far too mean andpenetrative.Sri Lanka threatened briefly thanks to a valiant 121-run stand for thefourth wicket between Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, but their twindeparture in the space of seven balls triggered a spectacular collapse. BradHogg snapped up five wickets for 41 runs, career-best figures, as Sri Lanka threw away their last five wickets for 12 runs to lose by 84.Australia controlled the match from the time Ricky Ponting won the toss andelected to bat first. This helped them avoid three-and-half-hours inscorching 35 C heat, and gave them best use of a slow pitch. AdamGilchrist (66) and Matthew Hayden (40) capitalised fully, adding 104 from110 balls for the first wicket, their 11th century stand together.As expected, Sri Lanka quickly turned to their spinners – their seamers onlybowled six overs in the innings – but Gilchrist and Hayden, after a brieflull, were soon ticking along comfortably. Gilchrist, who rushed to his 37th fifty from just 44 balls, was the more aggressive, unafraid to take the aerialroute against the slower bowlers.Upul Chandana, who finished up with 2 for 47 from his 10 overs, brought Sri Lanka back into the game as Gilchrist danced down the wicket and skeweda catch to Marvan Atapattu at cover. Moments later, Atapattu was back inaction with a diving, underarm flick to run out Mathew Hayden (2 for 114).Had Jayasuriya been able to gather a wayward return at the non-striker’s endwith Ponting, on 13, still struggling to regain his ground, Sri Lanka mighthave pulled themselves right back into the game. But Ponting and DamienMartyn settled and consolidated. Patiently, they milked 75 runs from 101 balls.

Chandana once again provided the breathrough after returning for a secondspell. Martyn poked back a return catch and Chandana, tumbling aroundPonting’s bootstraps, snaffled the chance on the second attempt. Pontingdeparted soon after, lofting a catch to long-on (4 for 207).With Muttiah Muralitharan grabbing a couple of wickets – he finished with 2for 30 and troubled all the batsmen, especially with his wrong ‘un – SriLanka kept the lid on the Australian innings during the later stages, untilthe final over when Andrew Symonds cut loose, flogging three foursand a six over long-on off Jayasuriya to finish with 37 from 20 balls.Sri Lanka needed a good start, preferably one of their turbo-chargedspecialities. But Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana were both run out in thespace of four deliveries to leave them in dire trouble. Jayasuriyastarted the slide with a sloppy blind turn for two that belied the experience of 309 caps – a Sri Lankan record, surpassing Aravinda de Silva. Kaluwitharana followed next over as Atapattu unwisely gambled on Ponting’s arm from cover (2 for 13).It got worse for Sri Lanka as Atapattu, pushing forward tentatively, wasdeceived by some late movement and clean bowled by Jason Gillespie, whobowled a probing and economical spell with the new ball (6-2-14-1).The near-capacity crowd, many of who had sneaked off work for the weekendand traveled up from Colombo, were quiet and apparently resigned todefeat. But gradually, Sangakkara and Jayawardene repaired the early damageand built up some momentum against Australia’s second-string bowlers.Sangakkara reached his 10th fifty off 75 balls, and Jayawardene, forced tobat with a runner because of leg cramps, passed fifty for the 19th time soon after as Sri Lanka reached the final 20 overs needing 133 for victory.However, Brett Lee returned to the attack and choose an opportune time toclaim his 150th wicket in one-dayers, as Sangakkara feathered a catch behind (4 for 145). Minutes later, Jaywardene also departed as he edged a well-flighted offbreak onto his stumps to leave Sri Lanka pinned back on the ropes (5 for 147).With the run rate spiralling out of control – they needed 97 from the final 10 overs – wickets tumbled: Chandana (9), somewhat unfortunately, was trapped lbw; Vaas (0) edged to slip; Kumar Dharmasena (0) was stumped; Nuwan Kulasekera (0) was bowled and Muralitharan was brilliantly caught in the deep by Lee diving forward. By then, the stuffing had long since been knocked out of the Sri Lankans by an Australian team that just can’t stop winning.

Sourav Ganguly steered clear of the Shoaib Akhtar controversy, but still gave the press something to chew on on the eve of the fourth one-day international at Lahore. In the Peshawar one-dayer, Yuvraj Singh had pulled the fifth ball of a Mohammad Sami over to the fence. At the end of the over, Sami had a few heated words with Yuvraj. Asked about this, Ganguly said: “It’s a stray incident, and those things happen on a cricket field. It’s not much of an incident. You expect those from a fast bowler and I think it’s good for the game. You cannot have people just running up and down and doing their job and being like stereotypes. These sort of things attract people to the game.”The ICC, however, probably won’t approve of Ganguly’s endorsement of incidents of this kind. The rest of the press conference, however, focussed on the forthcoming one-dayer.On the coming match
Every match is crucial. So far every match in this series has been crucial for both teams.On whether the influx of Indian fans will put his team under even more pressure
We won’t be under any extra pressure. People want to come and watch India-Pakistan matches, so it will be good for both teams.On whether losing the toss lost India the match at Peshawar
The toss was crucial, considering the wicket. We came back into the game well when we had them at 170 for 6, but [Abdul] Razzaq and Moin [Khan] took the game away.On whether India missed a fourth fast bowler at Peshawar
To be honest I missed a spinner yesterday. We normally don’t play four fast bowlers, the only time we did was in Perth. We have two of the best spinners in the world in Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. They have been an integral part of our success in Test and one-day cricket so we didn’t play four fast bowlers. Having both of them out at the same time is a bit difficult for the team.On whether India are finding it difficult to finish games off
Yes we are, but at the same time we are hampered by injuries to our key bowlers, especially [Anil] Kumble and Harbhajan [Singh]. They have been an integral part of our success. When you miss your key bowlers, it is going to be difficult, but obviously that’s not an excuse. We should have still won the game yesterday after having them at 170 for 6.On the Lahore pitch
It’s a good wicket, it’s got a bit of grass on it.On the fact that this Indian team has responded well in tight situations
Yes, that’s been the trend in the last two to three years. I hope we can continue that tomorrow.On his conversation with Javed Miandad
Nothing special. I was just asking him how it was coaching this side, and about his playing days. It was just a casual conversation, nothing special.On how playing Pakistan in Pakistan compares with playing Australia in Australia
Australia in Australia is harder. They’re still the best side in the world.Pakistan also have played well against us in the last few one-dayers.The series was billed as India’s batsmen v Pakistan’s bowlers. Is that accurate?
I think everybody has contributed in this series. The Pakistani batters have batted well, the bowlers have bowled OK, and it’s the same for both sides.On Zaheer Khan’s form
He’s coming back from injury. I’ve seen him do a much better job in the past. He’s been a matchwinner for the Indian team in the past. We understand that he’s coming back from injury and just settling into a groove.

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, is expected to be fit for the firstTest, starting in Multan on March 28. Ganguly suffered an injury scare inthe final one-day match in Lahore when he fell awkwardly while attempting adiving stop at mid-off.An MRI scan at the hospital in Lahore today revealed nothing more seriousthan a lower-back spasm. According to hospital sources, Ganguly needs acouple of days to recover and should be in proper shape before the Test.The rest of the Indian team has already travelled in Multan, but Ganguly has stayed back in Lahore with Andrew Leipus, the Indian team’s physiotherapist, for medical consultation. He will join the team tomorrow.Ganguly’s condition had looked much more serious on Wednesday night when hehad be stretchered off the field after a desperate attempt to cut off anoff-drive from Inzamam-ul-Haq during the early part of Pakistan’s innings. He fell heavily and lay motionless on the field for a few minutes, and wasin intense pain for about an hour. Rahul Dravid captained India for the restof the match, but Ganguly was among the first onto the field to congratulatehis team after the victory.

Tino Best, the Barbados fast bowler, has been called up to the West Indian squad for the seventh and final one-day international against England, which is to be played in Bridgetown on Wednesday (May 5).Best, 22, impressed in the recent Test series, working up a good head of steam and taking 12 wickets, but he has not played in a one-day international before. He replaces another Barbadian, the allrounder Ryan Hinds, who hasn’t appeared in an ODI since June 2002.Best will join up with the rest of the squad when they fly in from St Lulcia today.West Indies squad for seventh ODI
Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara (capt), Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, Mervyn Dillon, Sylvester Joseph, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore.

India A will embark on a two-month-long tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya in July and August.SK Nair, the Indian cricket board secretary, said that the team would play three four-day games against Zimbabwe, before taking part in a tri-nation series in Kenya involving the hosts and Pakistan A.Itinerary for the tri-series in Kenya
August 11 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 12 Kenya v India A
August 13 Pakistan A v India A
August 14 Kenya v India A
August 15 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 16 Pakistan A v India A
August 17 Kenya v India A
August 19 Pakistan A v India A
August 20 Kenya v Pakistan A
August 21 Final
August 22 Reserve day

Scorecard
An unbeaten century by Andrew White and some lusty hitting from Trent Johnston has put Ireland into an excellent position on the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match at Deventer. White scored 152 not out, while Johnston slammed a run-a-ball 60 as Ireland amassed 388 for 8 declared. Netherlands made the worst possible start when they came out to bat, 188 behind, losing Feiko Kloppenburg for a four-ball duck.Earlier, Ireland made a positive start to their batting, although they lost Dominick Joyce early, bowled by Edgar Schiferli (38 for 1). Jeremy Bray and Andre Botha added 50 for the second wicket in quick time, before Bray became Schiferli’s second victim when he was caught by Darron Reekers for 29 (88 for 2). Botha fell soon after for a well-paced 42 (103 for 3), but Peter Gillespie (31) and Kyle McCallan (26) provided White with some good support as he raced towards his hundred.Johnston came to the crease with the fall of the fifth wicket at 235, and quickly set about the tired Netherlands bowlers. With White, he added 124, smashing six fours and three sixes before he tried one shot too many against Schiferli and was bowled (359 for 6). Schiferli bowled impressively, and was the pick of the Netherlands bowlers, taking 4 for 70 in 20 overs. John Mooney did not last long, trapped lbw by Schiferli, but Naseer Shaukat stayed with White until he brought up his 150, when the declaration came.Feiko Kloppenburg, unusually pushed up the order to open, fell in Shaukat’s first over and Netherlands closed at 0 for 1. They will have a lot of work to do tomorrow if they are to stop Ireland from securing a famous victory.