The pressure on coach Kevin Curran is increasing after Zimbabwe’s dismal display in their opening match in the Champions Trophy. Zimbabwe were dismissed for 85 in 30.1 overs by West Indies, losing the match by nine wickets.Curran had already been under fire at home. Last week it emerged that a senior board official and the head of selectors had resigned after attempts to have him dismissed were rejected by the main board.One source close to the Zimbabwe squad said that a number of players did not have faith in Curran and they accused him of having several favourites. It was a showdown over the inclusion of Terry Duffin in the squad during the series against Bangladesh which triggered events leading to last week’s resignations.And yet, in a manner which seems to be the norm in many walks of life in Zimbabwe itself, Curran refused to even acknowledge what was clear to everyone – that his side might be immensely keen, but they are woefully short of being good enough. “These boys are all very talented,” he said after the rout. “If you look at our stats, we have won eight of our last 20 ODIs. That makes for a 40% success record.”In fact, since Curran was appointed following the controversial dismissal of Phil Simmons, Zimbabwe have played 21completed ODIs, winning eight. Of those successes, five have been at home, three against Bangladesh and two against Kenya. The other three wins were abroad … against Bermuda (twice) and Canada. Their record against the bigger fish is poor, but the real stat that should be worrying Curran is the margin of defeat in those games.Not that Curran was about to let minor details like that get in the way of the party line. “Previous Zimbabwean teams with a lot more experience and a lot more fanfare had a success percentage of 27,” he concluded, manipulating statistics to the extreme. “We are looking forward to doing well.”The result will also add to pressure on the ICC to reconsider Zimbabwe’s status unless they turn things around dramatically in their remaining games. The match yesterday did not even run half its course, and Cricinfo learned from the ground authorities that only 32 tickets had been sold shortly before the scheduled start. The stats might say one thing, but it’s clear that the public are not so easily fooled.

Darryn Lifson, Pakistan physiotherapist, has said Mohammad Asif was naive in taking dietary supplements without realising their possible consequences. “I would say Asif was a victim of innocence. When he injured his elbow he took an injection for that, otherwise he was taking a powder which I was not aware of. When I came to know about it, I stopped him,” Lifson said.Asif had told a doping tribunal last month that while in England with the Pakistan team in June 2006, he was given an injection for his elbow injury which did not work. He had received two more injections during his stay. After his return, he had been using a nutritional supplement called Promax-50, he told the tribunal.Asif was banned for one year and Shoaib Akhtar for two years after internally-conducted tests revealed both had excessive limits of banned steroid Nandrolone in their urine samples.The tribunal in its verdict had justified the lesser ban on Asif as he had little knowledge of doping and was never tested before, unlike Akhtar who had been tested twice previously.Lifson described Asif as serious and honest player. “Asif takes training very seriously and is a fantastic guy to work with, honest, hard-working and a very good man,” Lifson said.Lifson was shocked when he got the news of Asif testing positive. “I was shocked and my first opinion was that there must be something wrong with the testing program. It was my opinion that there was something going on that Asif wasn’t aware of, that he was given some supplement that I was not aware and may have given possible positive test.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A superb unbeaten 31 from Dinesh Karthik led India to a thrillingpenultimate-ball victory in their first-ever Pro20 outing at theWanderers. Chasing South Africa’s 126 for 9, they were also indebted to aquickfire 34 from Virender Sehwag and a steady 38 from Dinesh Mongia. Thebowlers had done a sterling job earlier in the evening, with Zaheer Khanand Ajit Agarkar especially impressive in restricting a powerful battingline-up.With nine needed from the final over, Karthik eased Indian nerves byclouting Robin Peterson for a big six over midwicket. Four balls later, hecut one through point to round off a memorable evening, with India sealingtheir first win of the tour nearly three weeks after they arrived in theSouthern Cape.The Indian innings had started eventfully. After Sehwag had driven Van derWath through the covers for four, Charl Langeveldt had Sachin Tendulkaredging behind off a free hit. In his next over, Tendulkar creamed onethrough the covers before lofting another over point for four more. Butjust as the Indian flags began waving ever more animatedly, Langeveldt hadhis say, with Tendulkar dragging a full delivery back on to the stumps.Sehwag and Mongia then consolidated matters, and when Graeme Smith calledon Tyron Henderson, Sehwag weighed in immediately, slashing a six over therope at third man before deflecting wide of the keeper for four more.Another clever deflection to third man followed off Roger Telemachus, andwhen a short-pitched delivery flew off his helmet for four leg byes, Indianudged ahead of the asking rate.Henderson’s medium-pace offerings were to Sehwag’s liking, and a widedelivery outside off stump was sent soaring over point, but thecombination of Ashwell Prince, the substitute fielder, and Langeveldt witha full-length Jonty Rhodes-style dive cut short his scintillating 29-ballinnings.Mahendra Singh Dhoni lasted just two balls before being cleaned up by theimpressive Langeveldt, but Mongia, who returns home after the one-dayseries, kept up the momentum with some sweetly-timed strokes throughmidwicket. When Albie Morkel came on, he struck one beautifully over coverfor six, and with Karthik playing a gorgeous straight drive offTelemachus, John Denver’s Country Roads provided apt background music asIndia eased towards victory. Mongia fell to a slog to provide one finalhiccup, but Karthik and Suresh Raina saw that there would be no costlystutter at the finish.It was no less than India deserved after a disciplined bowling displaythat saw South Africa slump to 41 for 4, before Justin Kemp and thesix-hitting Morkel led something of a recovery. Morkel smashed 27 from 18balls, including one massive six off Harbhajan Singh that cleared thestands over midwicket. Having taken sixes off Sreesanth and Irfan Pathanearlier, he fell trying for another, caught at long-off off Sreesanth.Tendulkar had accounted for Kemp earlier, trapping him in front, even as asteady drizzle started to fall.Van der Wath’s 21 held the lower order together, but there weren’t thewickets in hand to launch any sort of onslaught. Robin Peterson wasrun-out off a free hit, after Harbhajan bowled a no-ball, and when Van derWath slogged the next ball into Raina’s hands at long on, India hadreestablished their stranglehold on proceedings.After quasi-Bollywood-style entertainment had set the stage, there weremassive cheers when Smith, with one run in the one-day series, got theinnings off the mark with a single to fine leg off Zaheer, and they becameeven more raucous when Sreesanth was cut for four and then drivenbeautifully down the ground. But it was too good to last, and in Zaheer’snext over, Loots Bosman edged one to Tendulkar at first slip.

Smith tried to up the ante by charging Sreesanth and lofting one down tothe long-off fence, and Herschelle Gibbs followed suit with a punishingpull for four off Zaheer. But when Agarkar replaced Sreesanth, India got areward right away, with Gibbs thumping one straight to short cover. Thatturned out to be a maiden over, and South Africa’s plight worsened whenZaheer crowned a quite magnificent spell with the wicket of his bunny,Smith once again trapped in front.AB de Villiers came in and slashed a six over point, but Agarkar exactedinstant retribution, inducing an edge behind. With the Indians buzzing, itwas left to Kemp to right the balance a little by smashing Pathan’s firstball to the cover fence, following it up with a top edge to fine leg forfour more.India were dealt a blow when Agarkar left the field midway through histhird over with a torn groin muscle. Tendulkar came on to replace him, andKemp latched on straight away, tucking one behind square for four. Butdespite his and Morkel’s efforts, there was no denying an Indian sidepiloted home by one of its future stars.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Match package
Bulletin – South Africa complete whitewash
Verdict – Pollock defies the critics
Quotes – ‘We haven’t come to grips with the conditions’ – Chappell
Quotes – ‘Our bowlers were fantastic’ – Smith
Short cuts – AB’s blast and a good-luck message
Stats – Smith gets out of a rut
News – Indian fan taken into custody
Audio – Ravi Shastri – There was just one team on the park
GalleryPreview package
Preview – India face a test of character
News – Slings, arrows and the short stuff

David Byas has left his post as Yorkshire’s director of cricket by mutual consent after weeks of discussions with the board, ending a 20-year association with the club.It is the second administrative hiccup for Yorkshire this winter following the muddle with Chris Adams. The Sussex captain, who this year led his side to the Championship and the C&G Trophy, agreed to move north to skipper Yorkshire and become their director of Pro-cricket. It pushed Byas out of a job but, when Adams performed a rapid u-turn two weeks later and announced he was staying with Sussex, Byas was left pondering his options.”The club would like to thank David for his service to Yorkshire,” Stewart Regan, the Yorkshire chief executive said in a statement. “Under his leadership the club were promoted to the first division of the County Championship in 2005. He has also overseen the development of a number of the county’s emerging prospects.”Yorkshire have no one in line to replace Byas, with the current coaching staff covering until a replacement is found.”The club is going through a major change process both on and off the field,” the statement continued, “and both David and the club agree that it is time for a new structure.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

England have spluttered to so many deflating losses on this tour that even rabid and patriotic Australian supporters have started pleading for them to lift off the bottom. After today’s nine-wicket caning in a match lasting only 59 overs the same thought stands. Please can this be the turning point?There is still time for England repairs – the CB Series has just passed the halfway point and, amazingly, they could reach the finals easily – but on this performance they would have been lucky to have achieved anything positive in the World Cup warm-up for the minnows in Kenya. Throughout the tour Andrew Flintoff has spoken proudly about the strong spirit in the dressing room, but his men have been unable to transform the talk and have slumped horribly since a brief change of direction against New Zealand in Hobart.For some reason Adelaide, the most beautiful of grounds, turns England into their ugliest. They were badly pockmarked during the final day of the second Test, when they effectively handed over the Ashes, and the scars remained during their dismantling for 120 in a hefty defeat to New Zealand on Tuesday. Somehow they managed to be even worse today and lost a day-night game well before the sun set.England failed to bat through their 50 overs for the third match in a row and were dismissed for an embarrassing 110. Australia’s bowling attack, which was led by Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, performed superbly but the standard of the opposition had a huge say in the 34.3-over demolition. The batsmen were as lost as stray cattle and nobody showed the symptoms like Paul Collingwood.In the middle of the Test series he was England’s hardest batsman to dismiss, but he has become so torn he can’t trust himself to follow through. The overall feelings of confusion and lack of patience were on display as he stepped down to Andrew Symonds and chipped him limply to mid-off. He was the fifth victim in only the 21st over and a recovery was impossible, especially when the final five wickets went for seven runs.

The conditions were sunny and the pitch held as many demons as St Peter’s Cathedral at the northern end of the ground. Adam Gilchrist waited for Liam Plunkett’s third over to flex four boundaries, but he was run-out when sent back by Matthew Hayden for a brisk 23. Hayden ground out 30 and Ricky Ponting, who swept to 51 from 61 balls, raised Australia’s ninth win of the season over England. There were a massive 25.3 overs to spare and they picked up another bonus point.The result was almost guaranteed when Andrew Flintoff, the captain and the last of the recognised batsmen, departed for 16, leaving England at 103. Johnson opened the bowling as Australia rested Nathan Bracken and Glenn McGrath and he settled down after being belted on to the roof of a Chappell stand by a Mal Loye slog-sweep. His second spell was impressive and he finished with 4 for 45 after gaining edges from a lead-footed Flintoff, Jamie Dalrymple and Liam Plunkett.Lee started the procession with Loye’s wild nick and the England players were unable to get him away as he gave up eight runs in eight overs. Ed Joyce was Lee’s second victim when he failed to muscle him over mid-on and a lack of discretion was one of the key reasons why the tourists faltered. They quickly took on more water as the tail followed as meekly as the specialists and Brad Hogg, who was playing his first game of the series, cleaned up with two wickets.England lost both their openers within the first 12 overs and the severe problems in the rest of the order showed no signs of disappearing. Loye was out for the third time in three games edging outside offstump when he swung at Lee on 9 and Strauss (17) followed when attempting a glide from Johnson.The nick gave Gilchrist a second catch and maintained the pressure on England’s middle order, which could not cope. It seemed like Bell would guide England’s target setting when he started with a string of strong boundaries, but he had moved smoothly to 35 when he cut hard at a Stuart Clark short ball, finding Michael Clarke at point and leaving England at 3 for 72. From there things got much worse and as the home supporters enjoyed the national holiday it was definitely Australia’s Day.

Himachal Pradesh 477 and 58 for 1 beat Orissa 317 and 216 by 9 wickets
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh cruised to the Plate Group title by trouncing Orissa by nine wickets at Cuttack. Set a miniscule 57 to win, HP rattled it off in 9.4 overs to romp home to a comprehensive win.Halhadar Das fell after reaching his fifty and Orissa were shot out after adding 14 runs to their overnight score. Vikramjeet Malik, who was promoted to open, hit a brisk 19-ball 30 with four fours and a six and hastened the inevitable.Sritam Das, Orissa’s coach, blamed the batting in the first innings and the fielding during HP’s massive reply. “It was the batting,” Das told Cricinfo. “We won the toss and it was atleast a 450 wicket. The batsmen threw the wickets away.”But Orissa still had HP reeling at 161 for 5 and then at 200 for 6 when Ajay Mannu and Mukesh Sharma stitched together 114 runs to lift them out of trouble. The tail too wagged valiantly with Sarandeep Singh and Ashok Thakur adding 114 runs as HP ran away with the game. Orissa dropped a few catches and that hurt them. “The bowlers bowled well but from 161 for 5 we allowed to them get away. We dropped some vital catches, it was our worst fielding display of the season and they capitalised.”In the second innings, we went for quick runs, but we ended up gifting the wickets away.We reserved the worst for the final.”

The injury-hit Australian squad received a boost after Adam Gilchrist made himself available for the entire World Cup following the birth of his third child. Gilchrist is expected to arrive in West Indies ahead of his team’s opening World Cup warm-up game against Zimbabwe on March 6.Gilchrist became a father for the third time following the birth of his son, Archie, in Perth on Saturday. Gilchrist missed the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series in New Zealand, which Australia lost 3-0, to spend time with wife, Melinda, in the final few days of her pregnancy. He was earlier set to miss the first three weeks of the World Cup after getting compassionate leave from Cricket Australia.Gilchrist said: “We’re delighted that Archie has arrived safely as a brother for Harrison [aged 5] and Annie [aged 2]. Melinda and Archie are fit and well.” Gilchrist will spend the next few days with his family before leaving for the Caribbean.Australia’s first game of the World Cup is on March 14 against Scotland and the squad is also waiting on the fitness of Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden. Hayden is waiting for his fractured toe to heal while Symonds had surgery on his arm before the CB Series finals and hoped to make a mid-tournament entry. Brett Lee has already been ruled out of the tournament with ankle injury.

Australia’s inability to bowl Zimbabwe out within 50 overs in their opening World Cup warm-up was not a concern for Ricky Ponting. Zimbabwe worked their way to 184 for 7 – well short of Australia’s 290 – but Ponting said the practice held his team in good stead.Australia face England in a second warm-up match in St Vincent on Friday and England’s routing of Bermuda for 45 could work in Australia’s favour. “Ours was a better workout than they [England] got,” Ponting told . “At this stage of the tournament most teams are looking to get some quality time in the middle and we got through 100 overs today.”In one-day cricket on wickets like that, which are really slow and low, it can be quite difficult to bowl teams out. I wasn’t surprised today and it was probably more beneficial to us that we didn’t.”Shane Watson and Michael Clarke each posted 80s and Ponting was pleased with the run-scoring effort. “Our batting was good in pretty difficult conditions to bat in and I thought our bowling was pretty good as well,” Ponting told AAP.”We put a couple of catches down and missed a couple of run outs so we’ve obviously got some work to do there. From where we are in the tournament, that was a good hit-out for us.”Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe’s captain, was also disappointed with his side’s three dropped catches, which reprieved Australia’s three top-scorers. “We could have kept them to 240 if we had taken all our chances,” Utseya said. “We let them off the hook a little bit.”Ponting also felt that his unheralded collection of slow bowlers will seize their World Cup opportunity and make light of the absence of Shane Warne. “We’ve got to make him relax and get him to bowl the way he can bowl,” said Ponting of Brad Hogg, the chinaman bowler, who returned 0 for 36 in his 8 overs. “In the last three or four overs against Zimbabwe he did that. He’s Australia’s best one-day spin bowler. There’ll be a lot of opportunities for slow bowlers in this tournament.”I thought [Brad] Hodge (1-26 off 6 overs) did a good job for us,” added Ponting. “We’ve got Michael Clarke who will be able to do a job for us at some stage. If we get Andrew Symonds back I hope he’s going to be a big part of that slow-bowling brigade. We feel that we’ve got basically all the bases covered on what we need in a World Cup.”

John Davison, Canada’s captain, has called for higher standards in the country’s domestic game if the side are to be truly competitive.”Canada’s domestic league needs to be semi-professional at least, if not professional if you have to compete at this level,” Davison said in the aftermath of the country’s elimination from the World Cup. “We need the infrastructure in place as there are definitely talented players in the country.”There are a few talented youngsters around,” he continued. “But the most important thing is we get some sort of infrastructure in place. The Canadian Cricket Association doesn’t have anyone who is employed by the association. It’s basically on a voluntary basis and if we want to compete at this level we will have to be semi-professional at least, if not professional.”There are definitely talented players in the country and we need them to be brought through a system.”The call for increasing professionalism is likely to fall on deaf ears, however. Canada, like most of the Associates, relies heavy on the ICC for funding and there is not sufficient cash to enable anything more than a hand-to-mouth existence.