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It isn’t his skilful inside-out cover drive, it isn’t his intent-oozing walk down the track, it isn’t his aggressive pull but it’s his little dab to third man that is the most telling feature of Gautam Gambhir’s transformation into a batting machine. It’s a shot his critics hanged him for earlier, a shot that gave the perception that he won’t make a good Test batsman. Most players would have shelved the shot that brought them trouble but Gambhir didn’t. He honed it to perfection instead and that says much about his character.These days, Gambhir collects lots of runs with it in Test cricket. Today, too, he scored 30 runs behind the wicket on the off side. Early in his career, he used to play it to escape pressure but now he uses it to simply score runs or rotate the strike. It’s a subtle difference but reflects a big change in the mindset. It shows how comfortable he feels these days.He knows he is in the middle of his greatest spell yet. He has hit eight hundreds in the last ten Tests; five of those have now come in a succession. He is the only Indian to have scored five in a row and only the fourth international, after Don Bradman, Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Yousuf to do so. Only Bradman has hit six successive hundreds. Life is looking really good. And Gambhir doesn’t want to jinx it. “If you play for the country, there is already a lot of pressure, why put more by thinking of runs and records. I don’t play for records. If they come my way, everybody is happy.”And every one is. Post Napier, he has proven to himself, and to the world, that he can bat according to the situation. He can graft or attack; today he was almost invisible in his accumulation. The little cuts, those dabs and the cover drives helped him tick over at a brisk rate. He didn’t take any risks, he didn’t seem to play any big shot, yet the runs were coming at a fair clip. He of course won’t remember today’s hundred for the quality of attack or the pitch it was scored on. “They bowled better in the first innings. Of course, the wicket had become flat today,” he said later. He would remember it a little for the match situation – to prevent the first-innings horrors from reoccurring – and definitely for where it was scored.It was in the same city of Chittagong that he scored his first Test hundred in 2004. It was in Bangladesh that he hit a career-saving ODI hundred in 2007. He was making his comeback after the 2007 World Cup and he was feeling the pressure. He felt that if he didn’t perform then, he might not get another chance again but that century gave him some breathing space. “Bangladesh has been a very lucky place; I won’t mind coming again and again. Things are going my way now.”I don’t want to look behind,” he said about those times when he was dropped from the team before that Bangladesh tour of 2007. “But you can say that the dropping motivated me. You tend to analyse where you went wrong. I wanted to see in the mirror and prove to myself that if I can score big in Ranji Trophy, I can do it in Test cricket.”He made a start then in Bangladesh but he slipped against South Africa in Ireland and didn’t get off to a great start on tour of England. It was his second hundred, a second-innings effort against Australia in Mohali that turned things around for good. “Veeru told me if you want to become a good player at this level, you have to convert fifties into hundreds. People too were talking about it and I was feeling the pressure. It was that Mohali hundred that was that turning point.” For starters, it was the first hundred in almost four years and also importantly, it was the point where he learnt how to convert a good start at international level. “I knew then and I told myself that if I get a fifty I always want to score a hundred.”It’s the only target he admits to setting these days. There was a hint about a possible goal but he wouldn’t say it. He has scored runs everywhere but he is yet to play a Test in South Africa or Australia. “It’s going to be a great challenge to do well in Australia or South Africa where there will be more pace and bounce. You want to do well in all conditions. But I don’t want to think about it now.” His chance will come later in the year when India tour South Africa and critics will give the final stamp of approval only after he performs there. “That will be a big tour but first they are coming down to India. I don’t want to be thinking too far ahead.”He doesn’t set, or at least publicly talk about, his other goals because they don’t come true. “I don’t set any targets,” he said. “When I have set a target it didn’t happen. And also, I look at it this way – every innings you play for country is special. You want to do well in every innings; I think, ‘this is going to be my last innings’ every time I go out to bat.”His “last innings” for India has given them a platform from where they can push for a win. “450 is a good score. The pitch has got flatter and we had to give our bowlers sufficient time to bowl them out. We have made a good start by taking two wickets.” He then added, “If they [Bangladesh] play positively anything is possible. Let’s see what happens.” If he was expecting the hosts to fight, Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, promised one, “We are looking to bat all day and we are looking to win.” They would do well if their batsmen can take inspiration from Gambhir.

The county champions, Durham, will play against MCC in a floodlit four-day game in Abu Dhabi next March, after it was confirmed that the traditional opening fixture of the English season would be shifted from Lord’s to the Zayed International Stadium.The match, which will be contested from March 29 to April 1 using the pink balls that MCC has been pioneering in recent seasons, was confirmed this week at an MCC Committee meeting, and according to MCC’s head of cricket, John Stephenson, such a radical step could pave the way for a new future for Test cricket.”We are delighted to confirm the MCC-Champion County match will take place in Abu Dhabi, and greatly appreciate Durham’s enthusiasm and co-operation,” said Stephenson. “Ultimately, this match is being played in Abu Dhabi for two reasons. Firstly, we felt that the proposed fixture schedule for Lord’s (April 3-5) was far too early in the year to play meaningful cricket, with poor weather a very likely possibility.”Secondly, we’ve been asking cricket authorities around the world to help us trial the pink ball under floodlights. If this match is a success, it could help to re-invigorate Test cricket. We have an opportunity to play our part for the good of the game and we’re determined to grasp it.”The logistics of the fixture are still to be confirmed, including the hours of play and its first-class status, but MCC’s chief executive, Keith Bradshaw, told Cricinfo that he would be addressing the latter issue directly with the ICC. “Give the work that we’ve been doing with respect to the pink ball,” he said, “we feel that this is an innovative trial that needs to be undertaken to see if it is suitable for Test cricket.”It is not a decision that we have taken lightly, and I know some MCC members and public might not agree with it,” Bradshaw added. “We are not suggesting for one minute that we intend to take the Champion County fixture away from Lord’s permanently, but this comes hot on the heels of our World Cricket Committee meeting in Dubai, at which we felt that a match under lights in white clothing was an innovation worth exploring.”The Zayed international cricket stadium is the home ground is the home of Abu Dhabi CC, who last month signed an agreement with MCC to become Associate Club partners. It recently hosted a series of one-day internationals between Pakistan and New Zealand.”Although it is a disappointment not to have the traditional season opener at Lord’s we fully understand and support the reasons for that and are therefore honoured to have the opportunity to take part in this innovative and historic match,” said Durham’s head coach, Geoff Cook.”As the game of cricket generally is moving forward, the possibility of playing with pink cricket balls for the first time in a four-day match, under floodlights, is an experience that the players will be really looking forward to.”Cook’s stance represents a significant change of heart, because as recently as September, he was outspoken in his refusal to trial the MCC’s pink ball in the dead-rubber county fixture between Durham and their already-relegated opponents, Worcestershire.”I was not keen,” said Cook at the time. “It was a first-class match and I thought we should retain the game’s integrity.” The MCC’s inability to test the pink ball in first-class conditions was the principle reason why next May’s proposed day/night Test against Bangladesh had to be shelved.MCC will select a competitive team to face Durham, with the best county, MCC University and United Arab Emirates cricketers in line for selection.Meanwhile, an ECB meeting has approved a change in the points system for the 2010 County Championship season. In a bid to increasing attacking intent, 16 points will now be awarded for a victory and just three for a draw in 2010 – a change from the previous 14 and four.Bonus points remain unchanged, with five for batting and three available for bowling in first innings, although they will now only be awarded for the first 110 overs. Use of the heavy roller is now outlawed once play has commenced.

Seven Sri Lankan cricketers, including Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan, have been reportedly involved in a security breach ahead of the fourth ODI against India in Kolkata. The players had the Kolkata Police worried after they went for a late night-out without any security cover on Tuesday.They left around 11 pm last night, and while some of them returned soon, Jayasuriya and Dilshan were reportedly partying at a bar till 2 am, without informing the police.”It’s a security lapse, not from our behalf but from theirs [Sri Lanka],” city police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakraborty told PTI. “We have told the Sri Lankan team members clearly that they cannot move out of the hotel. Despite that they have gone out getting clearance from their manager (Brendon Kuruppu). We cannot stop them physically.”We have informed the CAB president [Jagmohan Dalmiya] and both the teams have been instructed that it’s not repeated again. We are in a little uncomfortable situation now. We have to strengthen our arrangements now to plug the loopholes to ensure the security is foolproof.”However, the Sri Lankan team management have denied the claims.The seriousness of the issue is highlighted by the fact that Sri Lanka have faced security threats before. Masked terrorists attacked the team bus carrying Sri Lanka’s cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in March this year. Five cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, and Kumar Sangakkara, his deputy, received minor injuries. Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paravitarana were also injured in the attack which killed six security men and two civilians.

ScorecardThe third day belonged to Namibia after UAE’s batting lost their way following a solid start to give away a 72-run first-innings lead. Namibia opener Raymond van Schoor then put the game further in Namibia’s favour with a patient 87, which increased the lead to 206 by stumps.UAE started the day at a solid 185 for 3, and the overnight pair of Arfan Haider and Abdul Rehman progressed steadily to 238. Haider had moved to 84 when he was dismissed, sparking a collapse from the lower order – the final seven wickets going down for 59 runs. Medium-pacer Louis Klazinga was the architect of UAE’s downfall; he grabbed a wicket in each of his five overs, starting from the 85th.It was van Schoor’s turn then to press the advantage. He hit five fours and a six in his fifth career half-century to take the lead beyond 200. He was in sight of a century when he fell to left-arm spinner Fayyaz Ahmed with less than three overs to go for stumps.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, is in India as the guest of BCCI president Shashank Manohar, prompting speculation in the Pakistan media that the visit is aimed at reviving cricket ties between the two countries. While his agenda has not been made public, it is understood that he will attend Monday’s ODI between India and Australia in Mohali.India had cancelled their tour of Pakistan scheduled for January 2009 because of strained relations between the two governments after it emerged that Pakistan-based militants were responsible for the terror attacks in Mumbai last November.”I am going to India, but at this point of time I am not going to make any comment and once things mature only then will I be able to speak,” Butt said. “Not only Pakistan and India but the ICC is also making efforts to revive bilateral ties between the two countries as it is imperative that we play against each other in the FTP and we will discuss the option of neutral venues.”However, Indian board sources said there would be no talks and it was a routine invitation. Also, they said there was no scope for any matches against Pakistan in this FTP. Some games have been included in the next FTP but are subject to government clearance.Sri Lanka had agreed to tour Pakistan, after India had cancelled their trip, but their cricketers were the target of another terrorist attack in Lahore in March. Previously, the ICC had moved to shift the Champions Trophy to South Africa and have since stripped Pakistan of its share of 2011 World Cup matches.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outDavid Warner unleashed hell as NSW sealed the chase in 11.5 overs•Global Cricket Ventures-BCCI

On a pitch that offered bounce and some movement, Stuart Clark led a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Somerset to a below-par 111 which New South Wales knocked off without breaking a sweat in Hyderabad. With this crushing win NSW have joined their Australian counterparts Victoria in the Champions League semi-finals.It was a must-win game for NSW and they came to the party in style. Brett Lee bowled with fire, Clark was as canny as ever and David Warner unleashed hell as NSW sealed the chase in 11.5 overs. Warner got them off to an explosive start, carting boundaries all around the ground. There were couple of cut shots that stood out for his dexterity in finding the gap in a packed off-side field but the highlight was a six off Omari Banks, the offspinner. Warner backed away a touch and was actually beaten in flight but lunged out to chip it all the way over the extra-cover boundary. While the batsmen indulged themselves, the win was set up by some fine bowling from Clark and Lee.Clark was steady as ever with his back-of-a-length deliveries, getting them to cut either way. He was introduced into the attack in the fifth over and swung into action immediately with a double strike. He induced Craig Kieswetter into holing out to mid-on and had Justin Langer swinging without control to deep midwicket.In the next over, Clark got one to kick up from short of a length and had James Hildreth top-edging an attempted pull to fine leg. Arul Suppiah was run out in the same over and Somerset slipped from 24 for 0 to 39 for 4, a position from which they never recovered. Clark could have had another wicket but he dropped Zander de Bruyn off his bowling.It might have been Clark who did the major damage, but the platform was laid by a hostile spell from Lee, who didn’t shy from using short deliveries and troubled both the openers. He got away swing and bounce as he went hard at them. Doug Bollinger gave away a few fours but Lee yielded just four runs from the first two overs. The pressure eventually told on the openers who tried to break free against Clark and threw their wickets away. Lee returned in the end overs to pick up a wicket and kept a lid on the scoring.This tournament is the farewell song of Langer, who is retiring from competitive cricket after this game, but nothing has gone right for him. The reflexes seems to have slowed down and today, he was beaten for pace on quite a few occasions. However, there was one little moment that reminded you of the past: Bollinger had served him a short delivery on the free hit and Langer swiveled to unfurl a crunchy pull to the midwicket boundary.But there was little else to celebrate for Langer and his men as the ruthless NSW machine rolled along without any trouble.

Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, will lead Cape Cobras in next month’s Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India. Two other top South African batsmen, Herschelle Gibbs and JP Duminy, are also part of the 15-man squad announced on Monday.Fast bowler Charl Langeveldt and offspinner Claude Henderson, who were key bowlers in Cobras’ Standard Bank Pro20 victory earlier in the year, will be assisted by quick bowler Monde Zondeki. Other players who weren’t part of the domestic campaign are wicketkeeper Ryan Canning and 23-year-old Francois Plaatjies.The Cobras take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament’s opening game on October 8. New Zealand’s Otago are the other team in their group.”It is going to be an exciting experience for our team which has a good balance of experience and youth,” Omar Henry, the convenor of selectors, said. “We have the skills required with both spin and swing bowling, in addition to talented attacking batsmen. It is a great squad to go to India and the big challenge will be to adapt to the local conditions.”Cape Cobras Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Henry Davids, Jean-Paul Duminy, Justin Ontong, Richard Levi, Ryan Canning (wk), Derek Brand, Rory Kleinveldt, Vernon Philander, Claude Henderson, Charl Langeveldt, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Monde Zondeki, Francois Plaatjies

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Tillakaratne Dilshan ensured that Sri Lanka didn’t suffer from Sanath Jayasuriya’s early dismissal•Getty Images

Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world’s No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side. Graeme Smith’s decision to field was based on the lack of dew in the afternoon but none of the bowlers, barring Dale Steyn, made an impression. Dilshan’s 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains past and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.Sri Lanka carried the energy from their powerful batting display into the field and Ajantha Mendis, unlike the home side’s spinners, extracted bounce and turn under lights. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis showed signs of dominance with an 81-run stand in quick time but once Smith was bowled off Mendis’ first delivery, and Kallis and JP Duminy fell in successive balls, Sri Lanka could apply the chokehold.Smith had a smile on his face when the toss went his way and Steyn nipped out Sanath Jayasuriya, but it was soon replaced by a frown. In a 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who provided solid support with 54 from 74 balls, Dilshan played anchor and aggressor in equal measure. The first to feel Dilshan’s force was Wayne Parnell, preferred to Makhaya Ntini; he struggled to hit a consistent length and went for 39 in five overs. It was a recurring trend in those early overs, Parnell dragging the ball down and Dilshan finding the deep point and midwicket boundaries. Albie Morkel was thrashed for 22 in two overs as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 13th over.The onslaught forced Smith, who refused to delay the Powerplay, to turn to his spin pair to try and stop the destruction. The pair stemmed the flow of boundaries but lacked bite and Sri Lanka ticked along at over six an over. Dabs, drives, flicks, shots off angled bats, and punches all evaded fielders and Sangakkara brought up his first half-century since February. He fell to an innocuous delivery from Duminy, after which Dilshan’s boundary blasting – he hit 16 fours and a six – ended when he slashed the first ball of Steyn’s return over to third man.Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and crossed 300 thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene’s 77 off 61. He was his usual deft self: cutting, nudging and pushing into the gaps with excellent timing. His feet constantly moved as he made room to create singles and, with Thilan Samaraweera playing in a similar vein, Sri Lanka pressed ahead. Before South Africa knew it Jayawardene was on 41 off 40 balls – the majority of those runs coming from controlled paddles and sweeps – and the stage was set for a late surge; the final ten overs cost 85. Parnell gave some respectability to his figures by dismissing Jayawardene and Samaraweera in successive deliveries though by then Sri Lanka were 297 for 5 in the 47th over.

Chasing more than a run a ball from the start, South Africa needed a strong platform. They were in early trouble when Hashim Amla was cleaned up by Angelo Mathews off an inside edge in the third over. Kallis joined Smith, looking leaner having shed a few kilos, and the pair milked the wayward Nuwan Kulasekara, who seemed to have contracted Parnell’s problem of bowling short. Kallis was quick to punish him and Kulasekara’s fifth over went for 14, with Smith particularly strong through the off side.While Smith danced down the track at will and shuffled about to unsettle the fast bowlers, Kallis chose to clip the ball sweetly from the crease. Smith looked increasingly confident at the crease, but playing for a Mendis offbreak he missed one that skidded and hurried on and had his leg stump pegged back.Mendis had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain by ending the flourishing partnership. Smith’s bullish start hinted at the possibility of a Dilshan-style ambush, but inside four overs Mendis ripped the heart out of the batting order. Kallis showed glimpses of his class in compiling a brisk 41 before he was excellently caught at mid-off by a tumbling Mathews. Next ball, Duminy was castled by a flipper.The required run-rate was already above seven at 113 for 4 in the 21st over, placing too much pressure on the rest of the order. Lasith Malinga, having bowled just one over at the start, returned to dismiss AB de Villiers and later snapped a gung-ho stand between Morkel and Johan Botha before rain interrupted the chase. At that stage Sri Lanka were well in command, and were later adjudged deserved winners.Sri Lanka had previously lost only once after posting a 300-plus total in one-day internationals and, led by Mendis, the masters of asphyxiation struck. Adapting to early-season South African conditions superbly, Sri Lanka have taken the lead in showing that Asian teams are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. South Africa, frustratingly, have shown again why their ability in multi-team tournaments has long been questioned.

Having been dropped from the Mumbai squad for the Buchi Babu tournament, Amol Muzumdar has decided to join Assam for the upcoming domestic season. “I have given a good thought before taking the decision,” Muzumdar told . “Believe me it was a tough decision. There are bound to be some ups and downs in a player’s career. My name was not there in the Buchi Babu squad. I felt it was some kind of an indication.”The 34-year-old right-hand batsmen admitted that he had been pondering over an offer made to him by the Assam Cricket Association and said his task was made easier when he failed to make the cut for the all-India invitational tournament currently underway in Chennai.Muzumdar has played 144 first-class matches, scoring 9558 runs at 49.52. He has scored 3103 runs in the 104 List A games at 39.78. He made a disappointing 359 runs in nine matches at 27.61 last season and is 31 shy of breaking the Ranji Trophy record for the most runs, currently held by Amarjit Kaypee with 7,623.”I’ve not played first-class cricket since February,” said Muzumdar. “My next match will be on November 3. It is a matter of nine months. It has not crossed my mind too many times. I feel I will be very happy when I get there.”However, Muzumdar said he would have been happier if he had broken the record playing for Mumbai. “Mumbai is always close to my heart,” he said. “I would have loved to have done that with the lion crest on my cap. I’ve set some other goals in my career which I will try and achieve.”Muzumdar said he was “lucky” to have played with three generations of players in his 16-year career for Mumbai. “I’ve to thank a lot of people,” Muzumdar said. “My first captain Ravi [Shastri] who believed in my ability. My first coach Karsan Ghavri and lot of other guys. The three generations of cricketers are Ravi, Salil Ankola, Sanjay Manjrekar, then my friends Sairaj [Bahutule], Sameer [Dighe], Abey [Kuruvilla], Wasim [Jaffer], Vinod [Kambli] and finally with youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Abhishek Nayar and Sahil Kukreja. I will also miss the dressing room.”He also said that no one in the Mumbai Cricket Association tried to reverse his decision. “Nobody. I spoke to Sachin and he was pretty okay with my decision,” Muzumdar said.

ScorecardRikki Clarke drives during his useful half century as Warwickshire hunted batting points•Getty Images

There was an air of futility at Edgbaston as Warwickshire and Lancashire fought for bonus points amid the showers.But it is not just the weather rendering this game meaningless. It is also changes mooted by the ECB that could make this whole season something of a farce.For there may well be no promotion or relegation this year. If changes currently being discussed are agreed – and it’s simply too close to call at present – it will make little difference if these teams finish sixth or ninth.Indeed it appears everything is under consideration: a return to three-day cricket; the introduction of three conferences rather than two divisions; a 12, 14 or 16 match championship season; and city (rather than county) cricket. And, crazy though it sounds, it’s all to be announced in August and implemented next season.The driving force of the changes is the increase in Twenty20 cricket. Most pertinently, the scheduling of the Champions League, next September, has convinced the ECB that they need to shorten the season.At quite a cost, however. The ECB have suggested a raft of different proposals aimed at ‘easing scheduling.’ Even they admit, however, that the ‘integrity’ of the championship may be compromised.Against this backdrop, Lancashire and Warwickshire traded blows at a soggy Edgbaston. Though only 35 overs were possible, the hosts garnered another two batting bonus points, while the visitors claimed one more bowling point.The most impressive performances came from two former England men with contrasting claims for a recall. For while Sajid Mahmood is considered to be very much on the England radar, Rikki Clarke has fallen out of contention after a couple of poor seasons.Mahmood has certainly performed well here. He has bowled with pace and control and fully deserved the wicket of Jonathan Trott with an excellent slower-ball yorker.Clarke also impressed, however. Playing admirably straight, he timed the ball well and provided a gentle reminder that he could be the natural successor to Andrew Flintoff in the England Test side if only consistency can be added to the talent. The manner of his dismissal, cutting directly to point, suggested he had some way to go.Chris Woakes also batted well. One pulled six bore the hallmark of real class, while he also did well to deny the admirable Oliver Newby. The others struggled. Tim Ambrose clipped to mid-wicket, before Ant Botha’s indecision over his pull shot resulted in a skied catch to thekeeper. Warwickshire require another 30 runs to take full batting bonus points for the sixth time in seven games.Meanwhile the club stated that they hoped their new overseas player, Indian fast bowler Sreesanth, would be with them in between 10 days to two weeks.