England 447 for 3 dec (Bell 162*, Thorpe 66*) beat Bangladesh 104 (Harmison 5-38) and 316 (Ahmed 82*, Omar 71) by an innings and 27 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3rd day
Bulletin – Hoggard wraps up series early on third day
Big Picture – Job done
Quotes – ‘It’s difficult to judge how much we’ve got out of the Tests’
2nd day
Bulletin – Bangladesh take match into third day
Verdict – Almost time for the real thing
Big Picture – Smile for the camera
1st day
Verdict – England show the killer touch
Bulletin – England in total control at Durham
Roving Reporter – North East public show their support as local boy performs
Quotes – Harmison waits for the greater challenges ahead
Big Picture – Another one bites the dust
Preview
Bangladesh prepare for daunting task
News – England name unchanged side

Alex Loudon has signed for Warwickshire after spending three years on the staff at Kent. Loudon, 24, has been brought in as cover for Ian Bell, who is expected to be unavailable through England commitments next season.An allrounder who bowls offspin, he showed considerable promise for Kent during 2004 in both the Championship and the one-day competitions.His 21 wickets were claimed at just over 31 apiece, and his best bowling figures were 6 for 47 in the last Championship match of the season when he bowled Kent to victory against Middlesex. And he averaged 35.11 with the bat, with a top score of 92 against Warwickshire in August, batting at No. 3.”Warwickshire have been very impressed with Alex Loudon and are delighted to sign him,” Warwickshire’s chief executive Dennis Amiss said. “We feel he has a very promising future in the game.”In a statement, Warwickshire said Loudon, an Old Etonian, has been preferred to the Australian Brad Hogg, who struck more than 600 runs in 11 Championship matches at 66.20 and took 16 wickets at 62.92 apiece.The news of Loudon’s signing may surprise Kent, as Loudon had been seen as the future Kent captain.

Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s stand-in captain, has said that his batting line up have a game plan to counter India’s spin attack, and they are confident going into the first Test, which starts on October 6 at Bangalore.”We are all ready to go,” said Gilchrist. “We’ve toured India and Sri Lanka, and we feel very comfortable with our game plans and how we approach the spinners. All the guys are looking forward to the Test. There are no real demons out there for us now.”The last time Australia toured India – the epic 2001 series – Harbhajan Singh, India’s prodigiously talented offspinner, picked up 32 wickets in three Tests, and India came back from a heavy defeat in the first match to win the next two, and secure a 2-1 series victory. Harbhajan and Anil Kumble, the seasoned legspinner who needs just three wickets to reach 400, will once again lead India’s bowling this time round.But the touring Australians had little trouble notching up scores of 302 for 7 and 207 for 2 in their three-day warm-up match in Mumbai on a wicket tailor-made for spin bowling. Justin Langer overcame soaring temperatures to reach a century in Australia’s second innings, and Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Damien Martyn all passed fifty during the match.”It was good to start the tour like this,” Gilchrist said of the game, which ended in a draw yesterday. “We lost half a day due to rains, otherwise there could have been a result. Still we had a few good days in Bombay. We had a quality time out in the middle against the spinners. Now it depends on how we take this lesson into the Test series. We have come with a game plan on tackling the Indian spinners. It depends on how we execute that plan.”Gilchrist also praised Glenn McGrath’s effort in the match. McGrath, who missed Australia’s home series against India and the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year through injury, picked up 4 for 25 in 21.2 overs”Glenn is coming out of one-day cricket and it was good to see him settle into a nice groove,” Gilchrist added. “It bodes well for us.”Gilchrist is leading the side in the absence of Ricky Ponting, who has been ruled out of the first two Tests after breaking his thumb while fielding during Austrlia’s defeat to England in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy last month.

Last Friday’s appointment of Ray Jennings as South Africa’s new coach caused a few raised eyebrows. Jennings has a reputation for blunt talking, and his first interview since the announcement did not disappoint.He told reporters that he was not going to be a touchy-feely coach and that if his players needed “a good kick up the backside” then that’s what they will get.Jennings forged a reputation as a hard man both as a player – he was South Africa’s leading wicketkeeper for more than a decade during the era of isolation – and a coach. In the past he has made bowlers run laps of the field for bowling no-balls, and on a recent A-team tour of Zimbabwe, he moved the fridge out of the changing room and made his players drink warm fluids.”If the players expect soft drinks, I will make sure there are none,” he told the South African newspaper Rapport. “They will go to a tap and get on their knees and drink water until they realise that it is an honour to play for South Africa.”Jennings has made it clear that he feels South Africa are at rock bottom. “Either the players work with me, or I leave,” he explained. “The UCB put its faith in me to jack up the team. In order to do so, five things must be re-introduced: passion, respect, image, discipline and fun. These five things are inseparable. One will never have discipline if people don’t respect you. If the players are not honest with you and don’t respect you, there won’t be discipline There isn’t enough respect in the SA team.”There are fears that this confrontational, controlling style might backfire, both with the players and opposition.”Cricket seems to be moving more towards the spirit of the game, and Jennings’s appointment is almost swimming against the tide of playing cricket according to the spirit of the game,” commented Ray White, a former president of the South African board. “I wonder how popular he will make the team while he is in charge.”But Jennings appears to have little time for any niceties such as popularity. “I know there are players in the team who are in a comfort zone and might feel the game owes them something,” he added. “We can’t have one coach after the other. The players’ attitude will have to change.”The relationship he has with some of the senior players – Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis spring to mind – will be worth watching. “I don’t think he is going to behave like a school teacher,” Boucher told Wisden Cricinfo. “I think he will understand that he is dealing with professionals who have been around for a while, and he will treat them with the respect they deserve.”That might be wishful thinking on his part.

Stephen Fleming, New Zealand’s captain, said he feared for the future of the game in Zimbabwe after his side had completed a crushing innings win inside two days at Harare Sports Club.”It’s good for us, but I’m not sure it’s good for the game,” he told reporters after the woefully one-sided first Test. “The mood was clinical out there. After the first hour the goal was to win this Test today.”To be able to turn the game around so quickly was a good effort. To get 20 wickets in a day you have to bowl well and this was some of the best cricket I’ve seen this team play.”But Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe’s captain, struggled to find any positives. “It was very disappointing,” he said. “I thought we would bowl them out on the first day and our batting wasn’t good enough. It’s not a good feeling.”Phil Simmons, Zimbabwe’s coach, said that the side would need to look at where they went wrong, especially on the first day when they had New Zealand 113 for 5 and let them amass 452 for 9 by the close. But he rejected the inevitable calls for Zimbabwe’s Test status to be reviewed. “I don’t think it makes sense to think like that, all we can do is try to improve our cricket. It’s always been hard for us. We are one of the smaller countries in Test cricket.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board is under fire from senators after failing to persaude its English counterparts to agree to play a Test at Karachi during their tour later this year.According to , the senators have asked Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Sports and provide an explanation. The England board agreed to play a one-day international at Karachi after Shaharyar spent nearly two months lobbying it to play a Test.The committee had also probed the affairs of the PCB following last year’s home series against India, but has yet to give its final recommendations, which are likely to be finalised in this meeting.International teams have been wary of touring Karachi for security reasons. South Africa and India refused to play there after a bomb blast outside the New Zealand team’s hotel in May 2002.Several cricketers, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, have criticised the PCB’s decision. Wasim Akram urged the two boards to show more faith and confidence in the security advice offered by the government, while Javed Miandad had asked the PCB to cancel the England tour.England will commence their tour on October 26, with Tests scheduled in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore.

Dav Whatmore, the Bangladesh coach, said Thursday he would quit only when he feels he is not doing his best to improve the Test minnows’ fortunes in international cricket.Bangladesh’s cricketing image suffered yet another blow when they lost the second and final Test against Sri Lanka by an innings and 69 runs on the third day at the P. Saravanamuttu stadium to surrender the series 2-0.It was Bangladesh’s 35th defeat – and 24th by an innings margin – in 40 matches since gaining Test status in 2000. They have won just one Test, against a depleted Zimbabwean side at home early this year.Whatmore, who was named Bangladesh coach in 2003, said, “As soon as I feel that I am not wanted or not doing a good job I will go, like I did with Sri Lanka in 1996 before my contract expired.”The Australian coach was referring to his quitting the Sri Lankan coaching post soon after helping them win the 1996 World Cup.”I will continue to push the cause of Bangladesh cricket,” said Whatmore, whose contract lasts up until the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.Under Whatmore, Bangladesh have sprung a few major surprises in one-day cricket. They beat India at home last year and then beat World Cup winners Australia in a triangular series match in England in June.Whatmore said his team had a chance of putting pressure on Sri Lanka before losing both the Tests by an innings margin inside three days.”We gained advantage on the first days of both the Tests but handed it over to the opposition.”Don’t forget they were 48 for four here. If the catch of (Tillakaratne) Dilshan had been taken it would have been 60-5,” he said of the dropped catch before the Sri Lankan batsman had reached double-figures.Dilshan went on to make a career-best 168 to help his side post a massive 457-9 declared in the first innings.Bangladesh managed just 191 and 197 to end their tour on a disappointing note. They were also beaten in three one-dayers before the Tests.

Sourav Ganguly has revealed he was asked to step down as captain before this current Test against Zimbabwe, on a day in which he scored his first hundred for nearly two years. Ganguly, who made 101 – his 12th Test century – also reached a personal landmark of 5,000 Test runs when he passed 50. It was a timely century for him, after he went into the series with many in India demanding he be replaced by Rahul Dravid as captain.”I can tell you that before this match I was asked to step down as captain,” Ganguly told reporters. “So it was an extra determination that I found.” He wouldn’t, however, commit to revealing who called for him to step down.”I have been disappointed over the last six months so the century today was a great relief,” he added. “I accept that I have not batted well over that period. But this century has made my entire outlook change now. I am now hoping that it will make all the difference for me. It was not a great innings, but I was well satisfied with it under the circumstances.”India began the day leading Zimbabwe’s by 46 runs, with plenty of wickets in hand. And by the lunch break they reached 396 for 6. VVS Laxman resumed on 125 and Ganguly on 23. But things did not go to plan. Laxman was run out for 140 in a mixup with his captain, Yuvraj Singh managed to score only 12 and Dinesh Karthik only one.”Yes, [Zimbabwe are] not the best side of the world, but it has meant a lot to me,” he said. “I was happy for myself, as I had a bad time with the bat in both forms of the game. Lost [out] on a few centuries in the series against Pakistan.”Playing consistently at this level is important. I am happy that I fought it out,” he added.When asked about his detractors crying for his head, he said: “it has been fair. I struggled against Pakistan and the last year has been a disappointing one for me. It is not for me to prove anything, because the criticism has been fair. I have got the ability to play for the team.”Yesterday, Laxman hit out at critics while also mentioning the negative vibes in the team. Responding to this, Ganguly said: “I have always believed in his ability and I told him yesterday that he doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. As far as I am concerned, I have always been a big supporter of Laxman and will always be.”But then there are people other than me who are deciding about Indian cricket. As far as I am concerned, Laxman is one of the best players India has produced.”

Andy Bichel is set to return to the Queensland starting line-up for their ING Cup-Pura Cup double against South Australia in Adelaide this week. Bichel was 12th man for the tour match against the West Indians after the Queensland selectors opted to rest him, but he was named in both squads today.Three changes were made to the team that drew against the West Indians, with Matthew Hayden and Shane Watson on Test duty and the legspinner Ryan Le Loux overlooked. Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson and the allrounder Lachlan Stevens were picked in the Pura Cup squad for the match starting on Sunday.Nathan Reardon, the 20-year-old allrounder, was chosen for his second one-day game after he made his debut for the Bulls as a Super Sub in the opening loss to NSW at the Gabba two weeks ago. Queensland play South Australia in a day-night ING Cup match on Friday.Queensland ING Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Andrew Symonds, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Nathan Reardon, Chris Hartley (wk), Nathan Hauritz, Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Chris Simpson.Queensland Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Clinton Perren, Martin Love, Andrew Symonds, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Chris Hartley (wk), Chris Simpson, Andy Bichel, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Lachlan Stevens.

Nathan Bracken has returned to a ground of fond memories and is waiting toadd to his record. The swing-friendly Gabba was the scene of his Test debutand he picked up 6 for 27 in the Pura Cup final in March, setting up NewSouth Wales’ victory. On Thursday it should be the venue for his fourthTest.With Shane Watson installed as the team’s allrounder, Australia’s bowlingdecision rests on whether Bracken’s left-arm movement is preferred to StuartMacGill’s legspin. Bracken’s variation and the traditionally humidconditions mean it should be a simple decision despite the success of theShane Warne-MacGill combination during the Super Test. However, a startagainst West Indies this week will not guarantee a fulltime place for thesummer after Trevor Hohns indicated MacGill would be a strong contender forthe second and third matches in Hobart and Adelaide.”If I can play the whole series then great,” Bracken said as the groundstaff rolled grass clippings into an already hard pitch. “But if I getcalled in because of conditions then that’s how it is. I’ve got to make itso that when they do want to play the extra quick I’m the one.”Bracken’s bowling has improved dramatically since he captured six wickets inthree Tests against India in 2003-04 and he credited Bruce Reid, the formerAustralia left-arm bowler, for his resurgence. He’d been swinging the ballproperly for only four months as he ran in on debut, but he now hastwo-and-a-half years of understanding and fine-tuning.”During the [India] series when the ball wasn’t swinging I didn’t know howto change that,” he said. “Now I’m able to monitor how I’m going and dothings on the spot. Yesterday at training I didn’t feel comfortable so Iwent aside with a red and white ball, bowled three or four balls, got itright and started swinging the ball.”Brisbane has also been helpful to Bracken under match conditions and thesurface will give him the chance to seal a place as the summer’s on-callseam option. “I enjoy coming up here and the last three times I’ve got five,four and six wickets,” he said. “Ideally it’d be great taking five-for, butit’s just great getting out there. If I become a key member I can’t beoverlooked.”