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Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has said the team’s stunted progress in Tests is because of the previous team management’s short-term goals.”I think we’ve had a short-term vision, trying to win games as we go,” Siddons told tigercricket.com. “I think my vision is more long-term with young players brought in purely on skill and talent, which have been identified.”Bangladesh had a miserable tour of New Zealand, losing all three one-dayers and then being beaten inside three days in the two Tests. “We’ve got a great group at the moment but I’m sure there are a couple of players who need to be looked at back home.”Siddons said the team had potential which would be visible in three to four months. “The potential of our opening bowlers Mashrafe [Mortaza] and Shahadat [Hossain] is enormous. The potential of our opening combination of Tamim [Iqbal] and Junaid [Siddique] is pretty enormous as well.”However, Siddons said Bangladesh’s development into a competitive side would take a while. “I have to say two years as my contract is for that period but it may even take longer to reach the level where we can compete properly with New Zealand in New Zealand, which is a tough ask for any international cricket team.”What was important, Siddons said, was that the current squad stay together along with the support staff he had picked out. “They [the team] need to travel with the coaching staff I have chosen which I think is supposedly the best coaching staff around in Bangladesh. I’d love this 15 to stay together as long as we can.”Meanwhile, Tamim, who broke his thumb while fielding during the second Test in Wellington, was asked to put a splinter on the injury. “The splinter would come off in two to three weeks and an x-ray will be done after that,” Darryn Lifson, the Bangladesh physio, said. “Based on the report we’ll have an idea about when he can start training.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Zimbabwe picked up their first win of the tour when they overcame Bangladesh by 22 runs in the first one-day international at Dhaka, thanks to an impressive allround team effort. The victory was particularly sweet for Zimbabwe’s young side as it ended a 17-match losing streak, and also came as a relief after their defeat in the Test series.Zimbabwe’s batsmen posted a competitive total of 251 for 8, with contributions all the way down the order, and then the bowlers first stifled the Bangladeshi scoring rate and then initiated a middle-order crisis. There was no comeback under the lights, despite some late enterprise from the tail.Douglas Hondo, whose first five overs had gone for 21 runs, came back for a decisive second spell, breaking the Bangladesh backbone with three wickets for 15 in his next five. And Prosper Utseya, the 19-year-old offspinner getting his first game after missing the Tests, created all sorts of problems with his accuracy. Runs dried up, and between the 25th and 44th overs, not a single boundary was scored, just to emphasise the control the bowlers had exerted over Bangladesh’s batsmen.Zimbabwe where helped along by some rash shots, starting with the opener Nafis Iqbal. Coming off his match-saving 121 in the second Test just two days ago, Iqbal made only 12 here before charging Tinashe Panyangara. His away-from-the-body swipe took a top edge, and Hondo took the catch at mid-off (34 for 1). That rush of blood was out of the blue – and unnecessary, since runs were coming at the asking rate of five an over at the time.Rajin Saleh, the other opener, was going about his business in some style. He hit Hondo for three fours, driving through the line and cutting, but fell to another inexplicable shot. From the first ball of the 14th over, from Chris Mpofu, Saleh was dropped by Dion Ebrahim at point. Instead of making Zimbabwe suffer for the letoff, from the last ball of the same over Saleh tried clear midwicket, didn’t time it properly and was caught at mid-on by Stuart Matsikenyeri (70 for 2).Bangladesh’s captain Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Ashraful then consolidated after edgy starts. Bashar had a life on 9, when Matsikenyeri flung himself forward at wide mid-on but could not hold on to Bashar’s uppish drive. And Matsikenyeri was again at fault when he grassed Ashraful off his own bowling when he had made only 4.Bashar had reached 39 from 54 balls before, in an attempt to up the tempo, he reached for a wide one outside off and ended up giving a catch to backward point (119 for 3) after putting on 49 with Ashraful. That was in the 27th over, and three overs later Aftab Ahmed tried to hit Hondo past mid-off, where Barney Rogers dived to his right and pulled off an excellent catch.Alok Kapali came and went as Hondo induced an edge to the keeper, while Khaled Mashud was also snapped up by Hondo to leave Bangladesh tottering at 143 for 6 in the 36th over. It got even worse for Bangladesh when Ashraful, after an uncharacteristically laborious 41 – it took him 73 balls – holed out in the deep off Utseya (165 for 7).The veteran allrounder Khaled Mahmud (34 off 30 balls) and Tapash Baisya (33 not out off 24) led a last-ditch fightback – but once Mahmud was run out after backing up too far (207 for 8), Zimbabwe could breathe more easily. Baisya kept up the interest, clouting a six and a four off Utseya’s last over, but he could only watch as the last man Nazmul Hossain became the second run-out victim of the innings. There was drama towards the end when Elton Chigumbura was penalised for bowling two balls above waist-height and was not allowed to finish the 48th over, which was completed by Mpofu.Zimbabwe’s innings earlier on a superb batting pitch was marked by half-centuries from Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza, plus some useful late hitting from Chigumbura, whose 41 from 32 balls propped up the innings.Taibu won a good toss and not surprisingly decided to bat first. But Zimbabwe got off to a jittery start when Rogers tried to force the first ball of the second over towards midwicket, but played too early and offered Nazmul a return catch (3 for 1). Next over, Baisya trapped Ebrahim lbw (14 for 2).But Matsikenyeri and Masakadza counterattacked with an entertaining 80-run partnership to get Zimbabwe back on track. Masakadza clobbered the left-arm spinner Abdur Razzaq for 14 in his first over on his return to international cricket. Mahmud then provided the breakthrough, by sneaking one through Matsikenyeri’s defence. It was Mahmud’s 61st wicket in ODIs, taking him past Mohammad Rafique as the leading wicket-taker in one-day cricket for Bangladesh.Masakadza, who hit ten fours on the way to a classy half-century off 47 balls, could add only four runs from the next 16 before playing across one pitched on off from Mahmud, and dragging it back onto his stumps (107 for 4).Taibu and the impressive Taylor steadied the innings, and put together another fifty partnership, off 65 balls, but an unfortunate mix-up between the two ended the stand, with Taibu run out for 28. Taylor (58) showed good improvisation as he went over the infield a couple of times and also used his feet with assurance. But he was guilty of throwing it all away with more than eight overs to go, when he attempted to reverse-sweep Rajin Saleh and was bowled (188 for 6).Chigumbura then gave the tourists the thrust they needed, and threw his bat around in a breezy knock, which included the first six of the match, off Razzaq. Zimbabwe eventual total of 251 proved to be just enough.The second game in the five-match series is to be played at Chittagong on Monday (Jan 24).

An interesting final day’s play is on the cards in the Buchi Babu allIndia invitation tournament between ONGC and TNCA President’s XI atthe AC Tech college ground in Chennai on Tuesday. At stumps on thesecond day on Monday, ONGC were 95 for two in their first innings inreply to the home team’s score of 383. A total of 289 runs in a daywith eight wickets in hand is a tough, but not impossible task. On theother hand, it is also possible for TNCA President’s XI to take eightwickets without conceding that many. All in all, it can be said thatthe match is nicely poised for a keen battle for the all importantfirst innings lead.Having resumed at 296 for five, TNCA President’s XI could not havebeen happy at getting only 87 runs on Monday morning. The overnightsixth wicket pair of Badri Attavar and D Dhandapani took theirpartnership to 151 before the latter was out for 62. Attavar wascomparatively subdued but got to 155 before he was leg before to Saif.He batted 426 minutes, faced 306 balls and hit 18 boundaries. Therewas some resistance from the tail but the home team’s total fell belowexpectations. Rahul Sanghvi finished the most successful bowler withthree for 90.ONGC were off a good start with openers Manoj Mudgal and Gagan Khodaputting on 52 runs off 12 overs before the former was out for 25.Skipper G Vadhera (3) did not last long but Khoda continued to go forhis shots. Shortly before close, he reached his half century witheight fours and a six. By close he had faced 67 balls and a lot willobviously depend on him as ONGC continue their run chase on Tuesday.Keeping him company is another run getter with the proper credentials,Virendra Shewag who has started off well, getting 13 runs off tendeliveries with two hits to the fence.

India have a chance to climb to second place in the ICC Test Championship table. If they win their four-Test home series against Australia they will climb to second, beating their previous-best of fourth.The table as it stands:

Position Team Rating1 Australia 1292 England 1093 Pakistan 1074 India 1045 Sri Lanka 1036 South Africa 1027 New Zealand 948 West Indies 739 Zimbabwe 5110 Bangladesh 1

If India win all four matches their rating would climb from 104 to 115, while Australia’s would fall from 129 to 119. A narrower winning margin would obviously leave a bigger gap between the sides, but even if India only win the series by a one-Test margin (1-0 or 2-1) they will boost their rating to 111 – still good enough for second place. If India merely draw the series, they will still go up one spot, to third. Australia, on the other hand, have to win 3-0 or 4-0 to improve their rating.Full scenarios for the India v Australia Test series:

Day 3 Close
Scorecard

India A and the South Africans ambled through a fairly pointless final day at a sunny Arundel as both sides took the opportunity for what amounted to little more than an extended net session. With the first npower Test starting on Thursday, the South Africans opted to give some practice to their late middle-order batsmen and the match petered out into a tame draw.The South Africans extended their first innings in the morning with Boeta Dippenaar making 37 in a little over two hours. But the small crowd were given more entertainment by Shaun Pollock, who hammered 36 from 37 balls, and Robin Peterson who struck 32 off 36 balls.Aavishkar Salvi and Irfan Pathan picked up two wickets each in the five to fall, by which time the South Africans had piled up 463, a lead of 144.In their reply, India A lost two wickets in quick succession. Shiv Sunder Das was bowled by Pollock for 15 (35 for 1), and Gautam Gambhir caught by Mark Boucher, the wicketkeeper, off Monde Zondeki for 18 (36 for 2). But Wasim Jaffer and Hemang Badani played well for their fifties, although Jaffer fell to a catch by Boucher off Robin Peterson shortly before the captains agreed to end what had become a meaningless exercise.Day 2 Bulletin

Recently appointed as the Pakistan coach for his technical expertise, Bob Woolmer is keen that the Pakistan fast bowlers shorten their run-ups in one-dayers. During the week-long training camp in Lahore, Woolmer concentrated on the run-ups of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul and came up with the suggestion, which, he pointed out, will help conserve energy as well as improve Pakistan’s over rate. quoted Haroon Rashid, the manager, as saying, “Shoaib in particular has become very comfortable with his shortened run-up which he will use in the Asia Cup. Woolmer’s concept is that in a version of the game that is tailormade for the batsmen, this is the best way for the bowlers to conserve their energy, focus, and at same time also ensure a healthy over rate.”The Pakistan bowlers were guilty of sending down a number of no-balls in the recent one-day series against India, which they lost 3-2. They were also responsible for the penalty imposed on the team for slow over rates.Haroon added that the appointment of Woolmer and Murray Stevenson, the fitness trainer, has already had a salutary effect. “From the evidence of what I have seen in the camp and by what Woolmer and Stevenson believe that this Pakistan team will undergo a major change in attitude and performance within six months’ time.”During the camp Woolmer had a one-on-one interaction with each player, which included preparing a questionnaire for all. “After getting back these questionnaires he met with each player individually and discussed a lot of things openly with them. Team meetings were also organised to put things into place.”Haroon also explained Woolmer’s input on the technology front. “He has introduced new technological innovations in the Pakistan team’s training and preparation patterns, and the stress has been on any cricket-related exercise being carried out by the players. He also saw each player batting for about 90 minutes in the nets in different modes.”Woolmer, who had to rush to England for a short trip, will now join the team in Colombo on July 14 before the start of the Asia Cup.

The ICC’s hearing to investigate accusations of racism levelled against the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) has been scrapped after what one of the two members of the panel described as “the inflexible attitudes of both parties”.The hearing was adjourned last night when the panel ruled that evidence from certain witnesses could be given without ZCU officials being present. The panel will now rely on evidence from written submissions to compile its report.The hearing started yesterday but the trouble started after the first witness – who was not one of the rebel players – had finished giving evidence. Chris Venturas, acting on behalf of the players, argued that the presence of three ZCU officials – Ozias Bvute, Max Ebrahim and Tavengwa Mkuhlani – would intimidate witnesses. Despite objections by the board’s lawyers, the panel agreed to the request and ended proceedings early to allow both sides to consider their positions.The panel – Goolam Vahanvati, India’s solicitor-general, and Steven Majiedt, a South African High Court judge – hoped that both sides would discuss the situation overnight, but there was no communication at all between them. With the ZCU refusing to accept the ruling, stalemate ensued.One prospective witness told Wisden Cricinfo that the hearing should never have been held in Zimbabwe. “It was obvious the ZCU was going to create a hostile atmosphere and intimidate the witnesses,” he said. “They did just that and have got away with it.”Ehsan Mani, the ICC’s president, said today’s events were “disappointing”, before explaining how the ICC will proceed. “I am disappointed that the hearing did not go the distance,” he said. “I would prefer to have had the oral evidence heard by the two-member panel, but this has now proved impossible. I will now await the report into the allegations.” The panel will now consider written submissions from both parties as it prepares its report for the ICC Executive Board.Prior to the start of the racism hearing, the ICC had agreed that the findings would not be acted upon until after a dispute concerning a number of other allegations involving the ZCU and some of the players had been resolved. “It is now important that the two parties move ahead quickly with the disputes-resolution process,” said Mani, “so that the issues can be dealt with and the report of the racism inquiry can be acted upon.”

Simon Jones has been ruled out of England A’s warm-up match against the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which begins today. According to the Telegraph, Jones, who came back from a 14-month layoff after seriously injuring his right knee in Australia, bowled 13 overs in two warm-up matches in Malaysia last week, but the exertions left his knee swollen and sore.The good news is that the setback is only a minor one. Rod Marsh, the coach of the team, informed that resting Jones was only a precautionary move. “I’m not overly concerned and he probably could play, but he hasn’t bowled off his full run yet and we want him to be right before he does that.” It is expected that Jones will be fit to play the three one-dayers against India A and the Duleep Trophy matches. His performance in those matches would probably decide if Jones gets a berth in England’s squad for the tour to the West Indies.Of greater concern was Alex Gidman’s slow recovery from the injury he sustained during training in Loughborough in December. Gidman, the captain of the side, broke his finger and is still unable to grip the bat, making him an unlikely starter for the one-day series.

Scorecard
England’s captain Clare Connor admitted before the decider at Taunton that to win the NatWest Series would be “beyond our wildest dreams”. They may have had a dream summer, winning the Ashes and playing themselves right back into contention in this competition, but in the end, reality bit back in a gripping series-decider, as Australia held their nerve to clinch a four-run victory with just three balls to spare. In a summer of nailbiters, this was right up there with the best.Such a tight finish never looked remotely on the cards in the opening exchanges. Australia looked every inch the World Champions as they cruised to 260 for 6 after Clare Connor sent them in. Quickfire half-centuries from Karen Rolton, Lisa Keightley and Lisa Sthalekar combined to set England their stiffest target this year, but from the moment that England’s openers, Laura Newton and Charlotte Edwards, responded with a stand of 94, an intrigued Taunton crowd sensed an upset.Edwards made 57 and Newton 61, but the introduction of Cathryn Fitzpatrick, for possibly the last match of her 14-year career, changed the face of the innings. Fitzpatrick dismissed Edwards en route to figures of 4 for 52, and as the runs/balls equation approached parity, England’s running began to cross the divide between inspired and suicidal.Arran Brindle, who has enjoyed a superb summer, held the middle-order together with a 49-ball 50, but England’s prospects were hampered by an elbow injury to Connor, who did not appear until Brindle played around a full delivery from Fitzpatrick at 240 for 6. But suddenly her lurking presence down the order was an asset, and when she clipped two boundaries off her pads, England were suddenly favourites for a famous victory.But Beth Morgan was run out by a brilliant direct hit from square leg, and Katherine Brunt backed up too far and was beaten as Fitzpatrick fielded and shied in her followthrough, which left Connor to score the final six runs with just Isa Guha for company. But, with four balls to come, she top-edged a swirling chance to Kirsten Pike off Rolton, and Australia had clinched a 3-2 victory in nailbiting circumstances.Connor couldn’t hide her disappointment after the game, but when the pain of defeat has subsided, England will be delighted with their efforts this summer. They have just reclaimed the Ashes for the first time in 42 years, and until their two straight victories to level this series, they hadn’t beaten Australia in a one-dayer since 1993. And rather like their male counterparts, they are a young team on the up, while an ageing Australian side have displayed some rare signs of fallibility on this trip, even though they held their nerve at the end. Those of a superstitious bent might like to ponder that ahead of next week’s showdown.England 1 Charlotte Edwards, 2 Laura Newton, 3 Claire Taylor, 4 Clare Connor (capt), 5 Arran Brindle, 6 Jenny Gunn, 7 Lydia Greenway, 8 Jane Smit (wk), 9 Katherine Brunt, 10 Isa Guha, 11 Clare Taylor.Australia 1 Belinda Clark (capt), 2 Lisa Keightley, 3 Karen Rolton, 4 Lisa Sthalekar, 5 Kate Blackwell, 7 Alex Blackwell, 8 Cathryn Fitzpatrick, 9 Sarah Edwards, 10 Julia Price (wk), 11 Kirsten Pike.