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Chennai Superstars allrounder G Vignesh and Royal Bengal Tigers wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta were docked 50% of their monthly fees for an on-field altercation during the ICL match in Panchkula on Tuesday.The pair were involved in an incident after Dasgupta lofted Vignesh for a six in the 13th over. The match referee, former Indian captain Ajit Wadekar, noticed the incident and asked for a report from the on-field umpires. He also conducted an inquiry into the matter with the two players, their captains and coaches, and the three umpires on Wednesday, after which he imposed the fines.Royal Bengal Tigers stakeholder Mithun Chakraborty said that Dasgupta had been provoked on the field. “It is my opinion that not only the offender but also conspirator is equally guilty,” he said. “I am greatly pleased that the ICL disciplinary committee has taken a similar view towards the incident and penalised both players involved, equally.”

Scorecard

Dinesh Mongia and Daryl Tuffey’s strong performances helped Chandigarh Lions win by eight runs and handed Chennai Superstars their first defeat of the tournament. Mongia top scored with 47 and set a target of 164, before Tuffey grabbed three top-order wickets to lead his team to their second victory.So far in the tournament Chennai have depended heavily on their openers and Russell Arnold for direction. Today, however, Ian Harvey and G Vignesh fell early, leaving Arnold with too much to do. Tuffey induced Vignesh to slash straight to deep point and foxed Harvey with a slightly slower one. He also got rid of Stuart Law, playing his first game, with extra bounce and finished with 3 for 13.Arnold and R Sathish tried to put the chase back on track but the asking-rate remained beyond their grasp. Arnold fell 62 runs short of the target and Sathish was dismissed while Chennai were 36 runs away. The lower order struggled to build enough momentum to achieve victory.Chandigarh’s lower order, however, managed to score 59 runs in the last six overs of their innings, a period that eventually was the difference between the teams. It provided the ideal finish to a collective effort.Matthew Elliott began the attack against Chennai’s bowlers, reserving his shots for former Pakistan fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed during an attractive innings. He pulled the first ball of the game for six and hit three fours – one straight, the next over point and then to third man – in the third over. Elliott was dropped on 26 but failed to capitalise on the let-off. He was bowled by a yorker from Nantie Hayward a run later.Mongia took over after Elliott’s departure and was the only batsmen to pass 30 for Chandigarh. He jumped down the pitch early in his innings to hit the seamer R Jesuraj inside out over extra cover, and then smashed left-arm spinner Syed Mohammad for three consecutive boundaries: two disappeared to long-on and the other crashed into the cover boundary. When the fast bowlers were brought back, Mongia flicked them off his pads for three more fours. Mongia’s dismissal – caught at the wicket – was followed by Chris Cairns’ which left Chandigarh 114 for 5 in the 14th over. The lower order, however, ensured that their bowlers would have a match-winning target to defend.

Darren Berry, the former Victoria wicketkeeper and captain, has resigned as an assistant coach with the state. Berry spent 18 months as an assistant to Greg Shipperd and in that time helped guide Victoria to the final in all three formats in 2007-08.”I’ve loved my involvement with Victorian cricket, however, the travel component of coaching has taken its toll and I’m keen to spend more time at home with my young family,” Berry said. “I’d like to thank Cricket Victoria for the opportunity to coach at this level, Greg Shipperd for his guidance and support, and particularly the players – with whom I hope I’ve had an influence.”Berry’s tenure was not without controversy. In November last year he was suspended from match-day coaching for two months after entering the third umpire’s room to challenge a run-out decision in an FR Cup game.Victoria’s most capped player with 129 Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup appearances, Berry quit the game after 2003-04 and began working in the media. The chief executive of Cricket Victoria, Tony Dodemaide, said Berry’s experience had been important to the current batch of players.”Chuck has played a key role in Victoria’s success throughout his playing and coaching career,” Dodemaide said. “His experience, knowledge and passion for the Big V will be sadly missed.”

Chris Read bemoaned Nottinghamshire’s home conditions after the 203-run defeat against Hampshire finally ended their Championship hopes. They entered the match knowing a win would give them a second title in four years, but lost control after a first-innings collapse.It was their third Championship defeat of the season – the others coming against Kent and Sussex – and all have been at Trent Bridge, leading Read to question the absence of home advantage. The surface against Hampshire was slow and low, reducing the effectiveness of their seam attack – especially the tall pair of Darren Pattinson and Charlie Shreck – which has been a strength this season.”It wasn’t entirely how we hoped it [the pitch] would play,” Read said. “I found it quite depressing yesterday – you may have seen me shaking my head – when I was stood up to Mark Ealham and Charlie Shreck and balls were hitting me on the boot straps. A guy bowling from 6′ 7” shouldn’t have the keeper stood up.”The pitch was disappointing, it did blunt our seam attack,” he added. “It didn’t go according to plan. In the past Trent Bridge has been our fortress, but this year it hasn’t. Our three losses have been here and we need to turn that around. We need to work with all the staff to make sure it becomes our fortress again.”Another factor Nottinghamshire could look at is their batting. Only one player, Mark Wagh, passed 1000 runs – although Samit Patel ended on 970 from 13 matches – and it was their first-innings collapse from 172 for 3 to 211 all out that cost them this match. However, Read didn’t want to single out his batsmen, who had little chance of chasing down the huge final-day total.”Looking around the country as a whole it hasn’t been a great year for batsmen, with only a few topping 1000 runs,” he said. “Our batting points are not to be sneered at. We haven’t done as badly as it may have seemed here and it hasn’t been as big a weakness as has been made out. It can be more a sign of the weather conditions.”

England’s selectors have named a 15-man squad for the Stanford Super Series and the seven-match one-day tour of India that gets underway in November, with Ryan Sidebottom earning a recall after an injury disrupted season. He comes in to replace Tim Bresnan, although will have to pass a fitness test, in a squad that is otherwise unchanged from the team that defeated South Africa 4-0 in the recent NatWest Series.The fact that England have named the same squad for both the Stanford Series and the one-dayers is clearly in the interests of team unity, even though a player like Alastair Cook, who rarely clears the ropes in any form of the game, can hardly expect to feature in the big-money match.Only players who are in the final eleven will be given a shot at winning a personal fortune of US$1 million, but the remaining four squad members will share another US$1 million between them, while the backroom staff will be well paid as well. The weakening pound is currently making it an even more enticing prospect. In the three months since the match was announced, the potential prize has gone up by more than £50,000.”The selectors would like to congratulate the team on an outstanding performance in beating such a talented one-day side as South Africa so comprehensively,” said national selector Geoff Miller. “It bodes extremely well for the tough challenges that lie ahead this winter and is reflected in our decision to retain the bulk of the squad from this summer’s NatWest Series for both the Stanford Super Series and the tour of India.”Steve Harmison, who only came out of ODI retirement last month, is now widely expected to feature in the match. Miller confirmed that Harmison had originally said he didn’t want to be considered for the Stanford match – for fear of being seen hunting riches – but said the final selection was based purely on picking the best squad. “We picked the side on cricketing factors, there were no financial implications at all,” he said.The 15-man squad is also a clear shift away from the Twenty20 specialists who were chosen for the ICC World Twenty20 last September. On that occasion the likes of Darren Maddy, Jeremy Snape, James Kirtley and Chris Schofield made the side but were predictably out of their depth. This time around there was a clamour from some quarters to include Graham Napier, who hit 152 against Sussex in the Twenty20 Cup this season, but England have stuck with the tried and tested.”We talked about it in another long meeting, as they always are,” said Miller. “The side that we’ve picked has got Twenty20 specialists as well. It’s not a matter of picking specialists, we have a side that can compete in ODIs and Twenty20.”In a separate announcement, England have unveiled their list of 12 centrally contracted players for the 2008-09 season, as well as a new seven-man Increment Contract list, tailored for those players who are regular squad members, if not guaranteed first-team players.As widely anticipated, Matthew Hoggard – who has not played for England since the tour of New Zealand in March – is the most notable absentee from the senior contracts list. Stuart Broad, who replaced Hoggard in the team for the second Test of that series in Wellington and has been a notable performer with bat and ball ever since, has been rewarded for his efforts with his first full contract.There are few surprises in the contracts list, although one man who will be relieved to feature is the former England captain, Michael Vaughan. He has not played limited-overs cricket for more than a year and has been struggling for form in the first-class game as well. Nevertheless his retention is a reward for his diligent service as captain, and will be a significant boost to his morale ahead of next summer’s Ashes.”The award of an England central contract to Michael Vaughan reflects the selectors’ view that Michael still has a role to play in the England Test squad over the next 12 months,” said Miller.Vaughan now hopes to find some form during the last few weeks of the season. “I am delighted to get a new central contract which shows me that I still have an international future,” he told the Yorkshire website. “I hope to score some runs and help my county to safety in Division One and secure a place in England’s touring side.”Miller added that he was delighted that Broad had earned a full contract for the first time in his career. “Stuart has made rapid progress over the past year and adapted extremely well to the challenges of both Test and one-day international cricket.”Players awarded an Increment Contract will receive an additional one-off payment from ECB on top of the salary they receive from their county. These contracts have been awarded, for the most part, to England’s one-day specialists, although the announcement of such contracts for both wicketkeepers, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose, undermines the suspicion that Prior had begun to nudge ahead in his race to cement his place in the team for both Test and one-day cricket.Squad for Stanford and India ODIs Kevin Pietersen (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Samit Patel, Matt Prior (wk), Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Ryan Sidebottom, Luke WrightCentral contracts James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Michael Vaughan.Increment contracts Tim Ambrose, Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel, Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.

Ricky Ponting’s recovery from wrist surgery will prevent him from appearing in the one-day series against Bangladesh at the end of the month while Matthew Hayden must prove he is ready after a long-standing heel problem. Ponting’s absence makes him an unlikely starter for the Champions Trophy – if Australia go to Pakistan – while Hayden will be monitored over the next two weeks.Both players left the tour of West Indies early, with Ponting heading home during the one-day series, and Hayden departing without playing a Test. “I’m feeling pretty good but if you’d asked me this time last week I would have said I was no chance,” Hayden told the . “I saw my local physio [on Friday] and he said it was a completely different tendon to the one he treated last week. He was really worried.”It’s a race against the clock. Given its rapid improvement from last week I’m certainly a chance but I can’t give a definite answer whether I’m in or out. I’ve got to be careful I don’t take any risks over the next month or so given what we have ahead of us. I’ll certainly be conservative with it.”Michael Clarke, who was in Melbourne for a meeting with ICC officials over the Pakistan situation, will take charge of the 14-man squad. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said the three games against Bangladesh in Darwin would be ideal preparation for a busy time over the next 18 months. “While it is disappointing not to have Ricky Ponting available,” Hilditch said, “we are confident that continuing his recovery and missing this series will assure Ricky is ready for the demanding cricket schedule ahead.”Australia’s previous engagement was the 5-0 win over West Indies and players such as Shaun Marsh, Cameron White and David Hussey have held their spots. “This series provides us with an exciting opportunity to see our senior players and youth combine in what will be a very important series for us,” the coach Tim Nielsen said. “We are very hopeful of Matthew Hayden being able to rejoin the team and our medical staff will continue to monitor him over the next two weeks.”The Australians go into camp next week in Queensland before the first match of the series on August 30. Originally Bangladesh were supposed to appear in two Tests, but they were postponed to 2010 when it was realised they clashed with the Olympics. Both teams will use the contests to fine-tune for the Champions Trophy, which is currently due to start in Pakistan on September 12.Australia Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin (wk), Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, James Hopes, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken.

ScorecardThe match can be adjudged a good contest spoiled by rain. More than half of the available playing time was lost to the weather, but from what took place it can be said that these were two well-balanced side who deserved a four-day match unaffected by rain. The third day produced some better weather, and even some sun now and again, but the sides were already doomed to play out a draw. Nevertheless there was some good competitive cricket on view.Bangladesh A, 115 for 4 overnight, began the day with confidence, with Naeem Islam and Dhiman Ghosh driving confidently during an enterprising partnership of 63. The England bowling was mediocre and James Harris, so economical on the first day, had a bad morning. The stroke of the match, one that perhaps even Kevin Pietersen has yet to play, was a remarkable back-foot short-hand swat, almost a tennis stroke, by Naeem that deposited a short ball from Ben Sanderson onto the sightscreen for six.These were cameos rather than major innings, though, and three wickets were to fall for the addition of 10 runs. Ghosh skied a pull to midwicket and Naeem swung across the line to be trapped lbw. Bangladesh declared on 195 for 7 allowing their bowlers three overs before lunch. Sanderson, with 4 for 52, was the best of the bowlers overall.This was enough to show England they had a fight on their hands, even if an outright result was out of the question. The seamer, Mahbubul Alam, beat the bat several teams even in his first over, and with his third ball had Chris Allinson adjudged lbw, despite stretching far down the pitch with his front leg. No runs were scored until the third over, and England went in on 3 for 1.After lunch, there were fewer misses but more edges to the slips, at least one of which could have been caught, and a good number of runs also gathered. England struggled as they rarely do in ‘warm-up’ matches, but they always kept a positive approach. There were useful innings from James Taylor (26), Tom Westley (14) and Alex Hales (24), but no more than useful – as with Bangladesh, batsmen were really needed who dug in for the long haul.There was speculation at tea, when England were 94 for 5, as to whether Bangladesh might be able to bowl them out in the final session and claim a moral advantage. But the one England specialist batsman with his eye on the long haul, Dan Redfern, was still there, and he found an able partner in the wicket-keeper, Ben Brown. They appeared quite comfortable as they shared a sensible stand of 55, which took them to within 15 minutes of the earliest permissible cut-off time of five o’clock, before Brown fell to a catch at midwicket for 32. Redfern finished unbeaten on 43, an innings that brought him much credit.Mahbubul was the most successful bowler, with 2 for 56, but he deserved better. Also worthy of note was the left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo, who tied up one end very skilfully, taking 1 for 19 in his 10 overs.

The thinking bowler’s ball of the day
James Anderson’s first wicket, bowling Aaron Redmond with anoutswinging yorker, was a good nut to begin with. His second, though,demonstrated there lurks some grey matter underneath his attentivelypreened hairstyle. In bounced Brendon McCullum, swishing wildly atanother outswinger. Anderson changed his tactic later in the over,going wider of the crease and angling it into McCullum’s pads. Another beautiful outswinger greeted McCullum, who played with concrete feet, and his off stumpjoined Redmond’s in being pinned back and England had their second. Smart cricket from a bowler not often credited as much of a thinker.Wicketkeeper’s gaffe of the day
With England resuming on 273 for 7, under humid and overcastconditions, there was not a great deal of hope that the tail would wagand extend England beyond 300. And yet, Stuart Broad and Anderson managed just that, with a frustrating eighth-wicketpartnership of 76. Broad, who stroked a wonderfully composed maidenfifty, ought to have been taken at second slip on 21 byMcCullum, whose injured back has prevented him taking thewicketkeeper’s gloves. Even those who make this game look ridiculouslyeasy have klutzy moments, McCullum clanging a sitter, and England -Broad in particular – dominated the session, and then the day.Classy shot of the morning
Extra-tall cricketers are not often described as languid at thecrease. Their gangly frames and lumbering approach to anything thatresembles running can make them resemble a giraffe escaping a lion on hotcoals, but Broad – who towers at 6ft 8in – is entirely different.Plenty of ability and technique has been in evidence inhis short career, but it was his class that shone most brightly today.A silky stroke through the off-side off Iain O’Brien oozed class;another off the same bowler, slightly squarer of the wicket, was timedeven more sweetly. These were shots of an assured batsman, possiblyEngland’s future No. 6, and he took O’Brien for another four – the mostlanguid of all – guiding him through extra cover. After flickingDaniel Vettori through midwicket to bring up his maiden fifty, it tookan excellent off-cutter from the luckless Chris Martin to dismiss him,and the crowd’s ovation suggested the public have found themselves afuture hero.Shades of The Oval of the day
In the 18th over of New Zealand’s first innings, Steve Bucknor tookthe ball midway through Broad’s over and had a close look atit. Ball changes are usually prompted by turf-kicking bowlers who have0 for 60 from 12 overs against their name, or a wise captain. In fact,Vettori and Michael Vaughan have both pressured the umpiresinto changing the non-swinging 2008 Dukes ball, replacing it as oftenas they can with last year’s far bendier batch. Today, though, it wasBucknor who instigated the swap, handing it to his colleague DarrellHair. In a hark back to the dark days at The Oval two years ago, everycamera around the ground zoomed inquisitively and instantly intoHair’s hands, which lifted the ball up to inspect it. No penalty runsthis time, though. It was nothing less than an innocent andout-of-shape ball, and the cameras slunk back to their customarypositions.Explosive Chinese whisper of the day
During the first hour of the day, as Broad and Anderson defied NewZealand’s bowlers, an explosion around the back of the William Clarkestand could be heard. An ambulance and fire engine were summoned, andit later emerged that a fire extinguisher had fallen off its hookand exploded. Unfortunately for one of the staff standing nearby thestoreroom, the door was blown off its hinges, apparently snapping her wrist inthe process while others were treated for shock. It was laterconfirmed by Nottinghamshire that the fire extinguisher was in fact apaint canister, and the broken wrist was nothing more than a “minorinjury”.Apathetic moment of the day
Stewards and groundstaff are always an interesting bunch to talk to atthe cricket. And for a job which demands you watch cricket for fivevery long days, in between delays for rain and antiquated rests forcups of tea, some knowledge of the game would surely be a prerequisite.Not so for two such security guards who were engrossed in aconversation about its rules. “When do the other guys get to bat?”asked the first. “Tomorrow I think. They swap over or something.” Whencricket’s wonderfully bonkers rules were explained to them, theirdisinterest grew even further, wondering quite how they would survivethree more dull days of “people running about aimlessly”.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements in Pakistan for the Asia Cup next month. “Everything is in order and we are satisfied with the security arrangements made by Pakistan,” Ashraful Huq, the ACC chief executive, told . “We hope that the event will be held in a fitting manner.”The Asia Cup will be played between six teams – Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong – in Karachi and Lahore from June 24 to July 6. Security has been a concern for visiting teams after a state of emergency was imposed in November, followed in December by the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which sparked off violent protests across the country. The ICC women’s World Cup Qualifiers were shifted from Pakistan to South Africa and then Australia decided to postpone their tour of the country. But since general elections in February and the forming of a new government, the violence has lessened considerably.Last week an ICC delegation reportedly left satisfied after inspecting grounds around Pakistan to assess the security situation ahead of the Champions Trophy in September. Pakistan is expected to get the go-ahead for hosting the tournament, with Sri Lanka being the alternative host country, at the ICC board meeting in Dubai on June 29.The ACC will be commemorating its 25th anniversary during the Asia Cup and Huq said awards to mark the occasion would be given to top Asian cricketers and past and current administrators. A four-member committee has been formed to organise the function.

Pakistan have notched up yet another victory, beating South Africa by 61 runs in a 2002 Blind World Cup league match at Chennai. Wicketkeeper Tariq Samuel, who made an unbeaten century, was the man who scripted the win for his team.In the morning, Samuel made 131 off 119 balls after South Africa put his team in. Middle-order bat Ashraf Bhatti was the other major scorer with a 42 as Pakistan posted a mammoth 301/8 in their 40 overs.It was always going to be a daunting task for South Africa from then on. With opener Em Conradie making 70 and NA Meyer making 47, their team though made an effort. But once the duo were dismissed, the South African challenge floundered.Pakistan, then, were rewarded with five points (one bonus) for the win.