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The Indian Premier League’s player auction on Wednesday saw the eight franchises battle with bids, but the process of building a team has only begun ahead of the tournament in April.The IPL’s Bangalore franchise, Royal Challengers, are on the verge of signing Martin Crowe as part of their strategic management team, Cricinfo has learned, with only the paperwork left to be completed. Hyderabad have snapped up Robin Singh, India’s fielding coach. Vijay Mohanraj, the team’s chief executive, confirmed Singh’s appointment as the team’s coach.Crowe, the former New Zealand captain, is expected to be a backroom player for Bangalore, handling key responsibilities in cricket and marketing, while Venkatesh Prasad, India’s bowling coach, is likely to play a more visible, hands-on role.Crowe, Prasad and Singh join a high-profile list of names of IPL support staff, which includes John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, for Kolkata, and Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach, for Mohali.Among the other franchises, Delhi had already designated Victoria’s Greg Shipperd as their coach. Mumbai, Chennai and Jaipur are yet to reveal their cards.Bangalore believe Crowe is the kind of innovator and out-of-the-box thinker the team, led by Rahul Dravid, needs for the Twenty20 format. Apparently, Crowe’s record of having invented the Cricket Max format as far back as 1996 has gone in his favour. Besides, some of the innovations in Cricket Max have found a place in the Twenty20 format.Crowe as New Zealand captain was also the prime mover behind launching the burly left-hander Mark Greatbatch as an aggressive opener during the 1992 World Cup, and even got offspinner Dipak Patel to open the bowling in that tournament.Bangalore will hope that Crowe lends just the right kind of drive to a team that’s currently leaning on the traditional batting foundation of Dravid and the two signings from the auction: South Africa’s Jacques Kallis and India’s Wasim Jaffer.Hyderabad, who bought Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds for US$1.35 million, said Singh was their “logical choice” for coach.”Former Hyderabad offspinner and domestic veteran Kanwaljit Singh will assist Robin,” Mohanraj, a former Ranji opener for Hyderabad, said. “Robin is a logical choice as he understands the Indian conditions. The tournament is just over a month away, and he wouldn’t need any time to adjust to the situation here, unlike maybe some of the foreign coaches. He has also worked with our Indian players [VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma and RP Singh], which makes it easier.”The Bangalore franchise, meanwhile, will unveil their team logo on Friday evening at their home ground, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which will also host the IPL’s opening ceremony on April 18.

Chris Rogers is one step closer to a dream international debut on his home ground after he was added to Australia’s squad for the WACA Test as cover for Matthew Hayden, who has a hamstring injury. Hayden trained with his team-mates in Perth on Sunday but doubts remain over his ability to recover in time for the Test, which begins on Wednesday.If his right hamstring does not heal it will end a streak of 86 consecutive Tests – Hayden has not missed a game since March 2000, which puts him seventh on the all-time list. It would also give Australia one of their least experienced opening pairs in recent memory with the uncapped Rogers set to join Phil Jaques, who himself has only just established his place in the side.Alex Kountouris, the team physio, is doing what he can to get Hayden ready for match day and Michael Clarke believes Rogers, 30, might have to wait for his Test debut. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for Chris Rogers to come into the squad and prepare like he’s going to play,” Clarke said.”But the type of guy Haydos is you’d have to chop his leg off to not see him out there this game. With Alex’s magic and Haydos’ discipline and the type of person he is I’m pretty confident we’ll get to see Matty Hayden out there.”Kountouris said it was still far too early to make a call on Hayden. “Matthew has taken part in training today,” Kountouris said. “We will continue with the program on his hamstring and make a decision about Matthew’s fitness and availability much closer to game time.”Like Hayden and Jaques, Rogers is a left-hander, and he would come to Test cricket with more than 8000 first-class runs to his name. He was named State Player of the Year for last season after posting 1202 runs at 70.70 for Western Australia, and he would have some idea of the opposition attack after making 60 against the Indians in the recent tour match in Canberra.Australia also have a decision to make at the other end of their order, with Shaun Tait trying to impress the selectors at training as they consider leaving out Brad Hogg and using a four-man pace attack. Tait was a standout at the World Cup last year and is hoping to add to his two Test caps, both of which came on Australia’s doomed Ashes tour in 2005.”He looks like he’s bowling pretty quick and swinging the ball away,” Clarke said. “It’s going to be tough for the selectors because if they’re talking about Hoggy not playing, his form in the last game was fantastic with bat and ball. He might have been disappointed not to pick up that many wickets in the second innings but I thought Hoggy did a great job and I think Taity is itching to get his opportunity.”

Mario Olivier, the Warriors right-arm seam bowler, dismissed all ten Eagles batsmen to become only the third South African to do so at first-class level. “I can’t describe my feelings, but I’m on cloud nine,” Olivier told after claiming figures of 10 for 65 in the SuperSport series in Bloemfontein on Saturday (December 1).The last South African to perform the feat was Western Province’s Stephen Jeffries, who had figures of 10 for 59 against Free State in 1987-88.Olivier, 25, was given a break after taking eight wickets in an uninterrupted 12-over spell, and was hoping that none of the other bowlers took the remaining wickets while he was waiting to be brought back by captain Zander de Bruyn.”Zander knew I wanted to bowl to get the ten,” Olivier said. “He is the captain and I respect his decisions. But he did say it was my day and I would bowl again after lunch. It was probably not a nice thing to do but I prayed that no one else would take a wicket.” On his return, Olivier dismissed Boeta Dippenaar and then had Victor Mpitsang caught behind to reach the landmark as the Eagles were bowled out for 300.Olivier’s efforts were in vain, though, as the Eagles dismissed the Warriors for 215 in their second innings and knocked off the 24 runs required, to go to the top of the leader board in the SuperSport series.

Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, is yet to take a decision on returning to Pakistan following former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.Lawson is currently in Sydney and is scheduled to leave for Pakistan in two weeks. He said he was waiting for advice from people inside the country before deciding what to do.”I’ve sent a few emails this morning to people I know in Pakistan in different areas to get their opinions,” Lawson told . “I’m very open [to what they say] and I’m more likely to take into account what they’ve got to say rather than any officials. I’m just seeking advice, I’m not pre-judging anything.”Pakistan are scheduled to play five ODIs against Zimbabwe at home beginning January 26. But rioting and unrest in many parts of the country have put the tour in doubt.

Keith Stackpole, the former Australian opener, has given up his commentary position with the ABC. Stackpole, 64, had been part of ABC Radio’s coverage for more than two decades, but announced that yesterday’s clash between Victoria and Queensland would be his last.Stackpole has also worked for the Seven and Nine television networks, and is expected to continue with his newspaper columns. One of his fellow commentators at the ABC, Dan Lonergan, spoke about Stackpole to . “He commentated the way he played the game: on the front foot and aggressively,” he said. “There will be a lot of people out there who will miss him, but Keith has obviously decided it’s time for someone else to have a go.”Stackpole played his first Test in 1965-66 as a middle-order batsman who bowled legbreaks, but was pushed up the order by Bill Lawry. Stackpole represented Australia in 43 matches, scoring 2807 runs with seven hundreds at 37.

This was a day so tense and full of unexpected twists and turns that it would have been no surprise had Al Gore turned up to demand a recount. It finished with Auckland 74-2 in their second innings, a lead of 42.The highlight was a gutsy tenth wicket partnership of 80 by Bruce Martin and Graeme Aldridge for ND. This swung the game ND’s way, but Blair Pocock and Richard King did much to move it back again in the final session.With thirteen wickets having fallen on the first day the batsmen had as much trust in the pitch as in a Florida election official. Their lack of faith appeared justified as the heart of ND’s middle order was removed in the first hour.Auckland’s left-arm seamer Richard Morgan was the main destroyer, removing Bradburn caught behind from a bouncer, Bailey caught at short leg and Hood, off stump removed for a debut duck. Morgan demonstrated the twin dangers of the pitch. There was bounce and there was movement. It was difficult to deal with one while remaining alert for the other.Morgan finished with career best figures of 5-44.At 49-7 ND faced a substantial first innings deficit. Simon Doull began the recovery. Doull has a good record with the bat against Auckland, mostly by adopting the no-nonsense aggression he showed here. His 27 included a six over mid-wicket.When Doull’s departure was followed shortly afterwards by that of Robbie Hart, clearly annoyed to have been given out caught behind, it seemed that Auckland would have a lead of forty or so.Martin and Aldridge were soon to prove that to be a false assumption.Their partnership contained strong elements of good fortune, particularly in the early stages. But it contained a good deal of skill too, as well as a large slice of bloody-minded determination. There were few memorable shots, though Martin’s effortless lift over square leg to level the scores was one. The way in which both men resolutely stood up to short-pitched deliveries will be recalled as will their discipline in leaving as much as possible alone.The innings ended when Barnes found the shoulder of Martin’s bat to have him caught in the gully by Canning with the score on 178.Both batsmen left the field with personal highest scores (Martin 51, Aldridge 21 not out). They were only two short of breaking ND’s tenth wicket record against Auckland, set up by Martin in partnership with Simon Doull in the Shell Trophy final last April. Most importantly, they handed ND an unexpected lead of 32.Auckland’s second innings got off to the worst start when McIntosh was caught at second slip by Bailey off a Doull delivery that moved from leg to off. No runs were on the board.A quiet, but important phase of the game followed. Pocock and King put on 70 for the second wicket. It was slow at first, but gradually the shots came more freely. A slow outfield helped to keep the scoring rate down.Almost imperceptably, the balance of the game shifted towards Auckland. Joseph Yovich was the most dangerous bowler, twice having appeals for legside catches to the wicketkeeper, one for each batsman. However, Yovich was limited to one four over spell and may be injured.Doull returned to remove Pocock lbw to one that kept low shortly before the close of play.Today was first class cricket of a high order, not in terms of shot making, but as a contest in which concentration and determination are allied with skill to overcome the opposition and the conditions.These are the factors that will decide the outcome of the game, but in whose favour? To use the phrase with which we have become so familiar in recent weeks, it is too close to call.

This season’s Carib Beer Series, which begins on January 7, will be contested between six teams who will play each other home and away. The series will include the Carib Beer League and the Carib Beer Challenge. Significantly, no international teams will participate in the competition.Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Windward Islands will compete in the league. The top two league teams will then play in the five-day Carib Beer Challenge game after the league stage is over, with the winner taking US$5000. A cash prize of US$12,000 has been announced for the winner of the League Cup.The home-and-away format ensures that each team will play ten four-day games in ten rounds over a nine-week period, after which the finals – the Challenge – will be held from March 18 to 22. The League Series begins on January 7. But the early stages could be affected by the absence of top players, who will be playing the VB Series in Australia, which ends on February 8.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the government not to release foreign exchange to sponsors if India is banned from taking part in next month’s cricket World Cup, reports said.The court, ruling on a public interest litigation filed by former cricket great Kapil Dev and five others, said the tournament sponsors should also be restrained from telecasting advertisements on Indian channels.The order is, however, unlikely to be enforced amid reports that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will allow India’s leading players to take part in the World Cup despite changing the terms of their contracts.The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to announce later today whether it will agree to the compromise proposed by the ICC.Kapil, a former World Cup-winning captain, had moved the Delhi High Court last week to ensure India’s top cricketers took part in the tournament to be played in Africa from February 8 to March 23.In the event of the players being banned, the litigation wanted the finance ministry to withdraw all tax benefits to the tournament’s official sponsors hailing from India.At least three of the four major World Cup sponsors – Pepsi, Hero Honda and LG Electronics – have major interests in the lucrative Indian market.Some of India’s best known lawyers, former law minister Arun Jaitley, Kapil Sibal and Harish Salve, argued the litigation on behalf of Kapil and the other plaintiffs.ICC sources in London told AFP yesterday that Indian players could take part in the World Cup, but the ICC will not release the Cup bonus of “eight to nine million dollars” due to India until the dispute was resolved after the tournament.Sources also warned that if the BCCI failed to pay any compensation arising from its players’ altered contracts, it would be suspended from the ICC and so become a rebel cricket nation.India’s entire World Cup squad objected to the ICC ruling which prohibits players from endorsing non-official sponsors before, during and after the World Cup.

As part of World AIDS Day 2003, cricket teams playing international matches on or around 1 December have committed to wearing red ribbons as a sign of support for the millions of people around the world living with HIV and AIDS.Teams participating in the following matches will be supporting the initiative:30 Nov – Zimbabwe v West Indies, One Day International match
1 Dec – Pakistan v New Zealand, One Day International match
2 Dec – Sri Lanka v England, Test matchWorld AIDS Day is commemorated around the globe on 1 December. It celebrates progress made in the battle against the epidemic — and brings into focus remaining challenges.This year’s World AIDS Day highlights `Live and Let Live’ — the theme of the World AIDS Campaign 2002 -2003. The campaign focuses on eliminating stigma and discrimination, the major obstacles to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care.The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS and it unites people in the common fight against this disease.In September this year the International Cricket Council (ICC) entered into a strategic alliance with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to take up the fight against HIV/AIDS in cricket-playing countries.”The threat of HIV/AIDS in many of the countries in which cricket is played is acute and it is in keeping with the spirit of cricket that the ICC exercises this social responsibility,” said ICC President Ehsan Mani.Of the estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, over 12 million live in cricket playing countries. In India and South Africa alone, over 9 million people are living with HIV or AIDS.Despite the current low HIV prevalence in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the potential for HIV to spread is high if prevention efforts are not scaled up rapidly.In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, current trends indicate a rise in sexually transmitted infections and unsafe sex, increasing the risk of HIV. In the cricket playing Caribbean countries (which play collectively as the West Indies), HIV is spreading rapidly.”By sporting the red ribbon, the cricket teams of England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies have shown solidarity with the millions of people affected by AIDS world wide. The ICC-UNAIDS campaign to run out AIDS will play a vital role in the fight against AIDS in cricket playing countries,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.The International Cricket Council and UNAIDS will also be auctioning a full set of ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 signed bats from 1 to 10 December 2003 on eBay.co.uk to raise funds for a HIV/AIDS project in India. Visit www.icc.cricket.org/unaids to find out more and place a bid.The partnership with UNAIDS is supported by all of the ICC’s Full Member countries. For more information about World AIDS Day visit www.unaids.org.ICC media contacts:

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia began the day behind the eight-ball, trailing by 138 runs with their last recognised pair at the crease. By the end of a riveting day of Test cricket at Melbourne, they had taken charge with another awesome performance with both bat and ball to underline why they are so far ahead of the rest of the pack. Damien Martyn led the way with a sublime 142, with generous support from Jason Gillespie (50 not out). Then, the bowlers struck, reducing Pakistan to 5 for 85, an overall lead of just 47.If Yousuf Youhana’s knock on the first day was sublime, then Martyn’s hundred was a masterclass of equal, if not higher, quality, by a batsman who has made it a habit this year to bail his team out of trouble – four of his six centuries during this period have been in back-to-the-wall situations. Unbeaten on 67 overnight, Martyn hardly put a foot wrong till he was finally trapped in front by Danish Kaneria, a decision which replays showed was a bit harsh. Martyn lost Adam Gilchrist early in the day after a brief flourish, and Shane Warne fell soon after in a morning session reduced to 45 minutes due to rain. At 7 for 254, Australia were in serious strife, but Martyn found an able ally in Gillespie, and the two slowly went about neutralising Pakistan’s advantage.Pace and spin came alike to Martyn, as he uncorked some gorgeous strokes all around the park. Danish Kaneria bowled from round the wicket and tried to exploit the rough created by the bowlers’ footmarks, but Martyn countered it with superb footwork, rocking back to cut, and traipsing down the pitch to drive through wide mid-on. Against pace, he was equally assured: Mohammad Sami charged in with the second new ball, only to be caressed through the covers and then carved past mid-off with a stroke which bordered on the arrogant. And when Sami pitched it short, Martyn was ready with the cut – a shot over which he showed absolute mastery, playing various versions of it to guide the ball in the arc from square third man to cover. Shoaib Akhtar tested him with the short stuff and more verbal barrage, but Martyn had an answer to both – he weaved out of the short ones, and simply turned his back to Akhtar’s verbal attack.Martyn was scintillating, but Gillespie played a vital hand as well, adding 93 priceless runs with Martyn for the eighth wicket. He was solid in defence against Kaneria, and wasn’t afraid to take a few knocks on the body when Akhtar peppered him with short balls from round the wicket. His secure defence allowed Martyn to play his normal game without bothering to farm the strike. After Martyn was dismissed, Gillespie took over the aggressor’s role with aplomb, smashing Sami for a magnificent straight six and then dismissing Akhtar over midwicket twice in an over with strokes which brought the crowd to their feet.

Pakistan were hampered in the field by the absence of Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik – Razzaq was hospitalised after complaining of dizziness while Malik split a webbing in his hand. Kaneria and Akhtar toiled manfully, and each ended with a five-for, but by the time Glenn McGrath was trapped in front after helping Gillespie to his second Test fifty of the season, Australia had struck plenty of psychological blows, which they followed with more blows when Pakistan came out to bat.Salman Butt, so impressive in the first innings, last a mere four balls this time around, closing the face of his bat too soon when attempting to flick McGrath. Imran Farhat, his opening partner, was trapped on the pull stroke, playing a hopeless irresponsible hoick off Gillespie (2 for 13). Yasir Hameed flourished briefly, cutting and driving outside off, but one always sensed that he was being set up. He duly fell soon, cutting a delivery which bounced unexpectedly and was too close to his body, and Pakistan had lost three top-order wickets while still in the arrears.Younis Khan and Yousuf Youhana, the stars of the first innings, raised visions of a fightback, before Youhana was defeated by Warne’s guile and by some poor luck. Having troubled him with sharp turn and excellent variations of line, length and pace, Warne fired in a straighter one which defeated Youhana’s bat, thudded into his pad, and went to Ricky Ponting at silly point. The Australians were convinced, and so was Rudi Koertzen (4 for 60). And when Younis miscued a hook off Michael Kasprowicz, Pakistan were five down and only 30 in front. Malik and Sami ensured there were no further setbacks, but with a lead of only 47, and with Razzaq not fully fit, Pakistan were staring down the barrel.