Dean Jones, who has been sacked by Ten Sports after he was caught on live television referring to Hashim Amla as “terrorist”, made the remark in jest to fellow commentators unaware that the feed was live, Cricinfo has learned.While there is unanimity in the commentators’ fraternity that Jones had to go after being heard making such a politically insensitive remark, Jones did not say it on live television, or at least did not think he was doing so.”It was unfortunate,” a member of the production team said. “It was daft of Jones to say what he did. But to be honest, it was said as bit of a joke, for his fellow commentators. It was a joke in poor taste, but he thought it was during a break.”It was an ad-break on Ten Sports, but to Jones’s misfortune the moment Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed was shown on SuperSport, who were beaming the match in South Africa. And Jones said: “The terrorist has got another wicket”.A contrite Jones, who will reportedly keep his commentary position on Australian radio, described his moment of madness to reporters after landing in his hometown of Melbourne. “I waited four or five seconds and I just turned around and made a stupid, ridiculous off-the-wall comment that unfortunately was picked up in the background and, as television people always know, the microphone is always live,” Jones said. “There was only one country in the world that didn’t take the ad break live and that was South Africa. It was picked up by a few viewers.”Jones, 45, said he had written a full-page apology to Amla and the South African team, as well as saying sorry to the bowler directly. “I got hold of Hashim Amla and I spoke to him for a certain amount of time,” he said. “I gave him my sincerest apologies and he was gracious enough to accept it. He said ‘I hope you get through this ugly situation that you are going through’.””We have a zero tolerance policy for any expression of racial stereotyping and prejudice and condemn in the strongest possible terms the comments made by Mr Jones,” Ten Sports said in an apologetic media release. “We are reviewing our systems to ensure that such offensive and insensitive remarks do not happen again.”Boundary Breakers, the sports marketing company representing Amla’s business interests, has condemned the stereotyping. “While it acknowledges Jones’s apology and remorse at making these comments, Boundary Breakers also commends television company “10 Sport” [sic] for acting swiftly in sacking Jones from further commentating duties during the Test and one-day series,” the company said in a media release.

The three-match series between Sri Lanka and India, which has seen all of22 balls of action, has been cancelled and will be played at a later date.”After consultions with the Indian board, and bearing in mind the weatherconditions, it has been decided to cancel the series and stage it at alater date,” said Samantha Alagama, the media manager of Sri Lankacricket. “It will be played as a tri-series, as originally planned, some time in 2007, most likely after the World Cup. That exact dates and itinerary will be decided after consulting withthe Indian and South African cricket boards.”A Sri Lanka Cricket official told Cricinfo: “The rain has already ruined two matches, and the forecast for the next few days is also not good. We have requested the Indian boardto consider playing the matches at a later date when it’s convenient forboth countries.”The official expressed his gratitude at the Indian decision to stay ondespite the South Africans packing their bags and going home, and saidthat the financial fallout from the cancellation of the tri-series wouldhit the board badly.It has also affected Sri Lanka’s preparations for theChampions Trophy to be played in India in October-November, with no othermatches scheduled before the start of the tournament. Sri Lanka have toplay qualifying games against West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh beforethey can take their place in the main draw for the competition.

A dismayed Rahul Dravid said later that this was a loss that would “behard to stomach”, given how magnificently the bowlers had performed torestrict Australia to just 213. And though Dinesh Mongia tried his best tosalvage the situation with a valiant unbeaten 63, the damage done by BrettLee early on was just too much to absorb as the match wound its way to agripping denouement.”I think we lost it with the bat, there is no doubt about it,” said Dravidruefully. “On that pitch, 213 was gettable, and we should’ve got there. Wedidn’t string enough partnerships together. We didn’t have people, otherthan Dinesh [Mongia], who got starts and carried on. We needed another 50from a batsman at the top of the order.”According to him, the debacle was a collective one, with nothing to begained by singling out individual culprits. “It’s important for all of usto stand up and be counted, consistently,” he said. “That includes me, Ihaven’t had a very good tournament and I’ll be the first one to say that Ishould’ve done a lot better. I had a good chance to do that today. If Ihad batted the full 50 overs, the result would have been different. Itstarts right at the top, with me.”When questioned about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s moment of recklessness, withIndia needing just four an over, Dravid refused to be too critical,pointing instead to the frailty at the top of the order. “We all makemistakes and there is no point singling out one person. If you lookthrough the batting order, and leave aside Dinesh, a lot of guys with alot more experience than Dhoni could have played a lot better.”These are the kind of losses that hurt. There are some positives, butthere are other areas of the game we need to get better at. Everyone inthe team will have to look at himself and see if they played according tothe demands of the situation. Dhoni is a natural strokemaker, and willprobably get out like that.”The positives he spoke of came in the shape of the bowlers, who reined inAustralia’s batting for the second game in succession, striking blows withpace and spin alike. “The bowling has been good in the last three matchesand it’s heartening,” said Dravid. “Our bowling and fielding have beenpositive signs.”Though this was India’s ninth loss in the last 10 outings againstAustralia, Dravid dismissed suggestions that they had been overawed by thequality of the opposition. “The guys have played a lot of cricket and havedone well against the same bowlers earlier,” he said. “I don’t think wewere overawed, it’s just that we lost those four wickets early and thatput a lot of pressure on the lower middle order. Dinesh batted really welland controlled the game, but unfortunately there was not enough supportfor him. To come back after not having played for India for a long time,and to bowl, field and bat the way he did was very creditable.

“We haven’t played well against Australia, and today was a greatopportunity. A lot of times, you get outclassed but today we weren’tbehind by any stretch of imagination. We should have pulled this onethrough.”There was praise for Mark Benson and the manner in which the Sachin Tendulkarincident was handled, and Dravid brushed off suggestions that it mighthave contributed to Tendulkar’s dismissal in the next over. “The umpire iswell within the rules of the game to call back someone if he deems fit,and I think he got it right,” he said. “I don’t have any issues at the wayit was handled. I don’t think that rattled him [Sachin] too much. He’s anexperienced player who has got so many runs in international cricket bybeing able to play one ball at a time. I’m sure he would have focused ondoing that today as well.”The batting order was shuffled around again, with Yuvraj Singh absent andVirender Sehwag restored to the top of the order, but Dravid wascategorical that defeat had nothing to do with a change in strategy. “Idon’t think we are losing games because of that,” he said. “When you’reasked to chase 213 on a good wicket, you’ve just got to have batsmen whocan bat, who can go on and get scores and partnerships.”We thought we’d try some things in these two tournaments, and couldn’tbecause of rain. We have gone through our one-day cricket over the lastseason and identified certain areas which could be addressed. Obviously,we didn’t have enough time and enough games, so we went back to thetried-and-tested formula for an important game.”Unfortunately, that formula came unstuck, with the batsmen fluffing theirlines against a side that refuses to countenance defeat in crunch games.

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Queensland have been set a difficult chase of 325 for victory after letting the New South Wales tail off the hook at the Gabba. The Blues were struggling at 7 for 185 before the final three wickets put on 123, including 68 between Beau Casson and the No. 11 Doug Bollinger, to set the Bulls a target that has been reached only four times in Brisbane.Jimmy Maher, who received a short ball in the throat, and Lachlan Stevens cut the margin by 12 runs at stumps to ensure an exciting final day. Andy Bichel collected four wickets and the debutant Chris Swan was impressive with 3 for 56 as the Bulls restricted New South Wales’ progress after 40s to Ed Cowan, Aaron O’Brien and Brad Haddin.However, Casson’s 52 and Bollinger’s 31 not out could prove crucial to the result. “I think 999,999 times out of a million Dougy Bollinger would have been clean bowled or caught behind, he averages 0.8 against us here I think,” Maher told . “Today he had a day out.”

ScorecardRailways prevailed in a exciting contest at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi scampering home by 14 runs against Madhya Pradesh. A comprehensive win was on the cards as Madhya Pradesh lost their ninth wicket at 181, still needing another 85, but a fighting stand between Sunil Dholpure (53) and Anand Rajan (17*) gave Railways a scare. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh’s chances hinged around Monish Mishra, who fell for 87, trapped leg before by Sanjay Bangar with the score at 179 for 7. Jai Prakash Yadav rounded off a sound allround performance, picking up four wickets, finishing with a match haul of 9 for 99 and a half century to boot.
ScorecardThe match between Kerala and Vidarbha ended in a stalemate as Kerala chose to bat out the last day to finish at 277 for 6. Sadagoppan Ramesh, overnight on 49, scored 60, while Robert Fernandez and captain Sreekumar Nair helped themselves to half centuries, with Nair and Fernandez adding 101 for the fourth wicket. Akshay Wakhare, the offspinner, picked up two wickets.
ScorecardDebasis Mohanty fell three short of what would have been his first first-class century, as Orissa gained first-innings points against Services Cuttack. Mohanty hung around till the end as his side were bowled out for 399, 53 ahead of Services’ total. He added 161 for the seventh wicket with H Das before Das fell at 312, and his last-wicket stand of 73 with Kuldeep Sharma gave Orissa the lead. Fazil Mohammed and AK Mohanty were the most effective bowlers for Services, taking three wickets each.
ScorecardSeamer Vineet Jain bowled Tripura to their first ever outright win in the Ranji Trophy, beating Jammu and Kashmir by 132 runs at Agartala. Chasing 288, Jammu and Kashmir never recovered from their overnight position at 88 for 4, as Jain made early inroads, reducing the opposition to 98 for 8. He finished with 5 for 40 in 14 overs. Abid Nabi entertained with an unbeaten 37 off 42 balls which included five fours and a six, in a losing cause.

The back page of today’s Adelaide Advertiser provided a mocking commentary on a dismal week for England’s cricketers. “L-Plater,” gloated the headline accompanying “the photos they didn’t want you to see” – photos of England’s broken spearhead, Steve Harmison, walking through his wonky action in Tuesday’s one-on-one coaching session with Kevin Shine. When England boasted in the build-up to the series of the youth and vigour of their squad, they never quite envisaged that one of their most important assets would be sent back to school for remedial work.”It’s hard to watch somebody struggling, especially in front of a lot of people when they are getting abused from all sides,” said Matthew Hoggard, Harmison’s new-ball partner on that first morning at the Gabba. “He openly admits he didn’t bowl well, but he’s worked hard – he was down here yesterday and again at 8.30 this morning. He’s been putting in the hard yards and I think we’ll see a different Steve Harmison come Friday morning.”England’s first full training session at the Adelaide Oval was a vigorous work-out, with Harmison, Andrew Flintoff and Sajid Mahmood all cranking through the gears in a bid to lift England’s prospects ahead of the second Test. But so far in this series it is the Dad’s Army of Australia that has gone about its work with real energy and enthusiasm, something that Matthew Hayden attributed directly to the Ashes defeat of 2005.”We were hungry and ruthless at the Gabba, but it was everything Australia had promised over a 14-month period,” he said, referring to his team’s wake-up call last summer. “It was a very good and convincing win, but our attitude remains that we are second still. We’ve got a point to prove and an unquenchable thirst, and the simple recognition of that fact will stand us in good stead throughout the series.”It’s little wonder Australia are so upbeat. They have just swapped one stronghold at the Gabba for another at Adelaide – a ground where they have won nine of their last 11 Tests, dating back to England’s win in the 1994-95 series. In that time there has been just one draw and one freakishly high-scoring defeat, against the Indians in 2003-04. “Batting here is such an important part of the game,” Hayden added, just to underline the cruel importance of Friday’s toss. “Whatever you do first here is so crucial to the game.”

“We’re here to win,” added Hayden, bullish sentiments that Hoggard, on England’s behalf, couldn’t quite bring himself to share. “It’s important we don’t lose,” was his underwhelming call to arms. It was understandable in the circumstances, but nevertheless it was several worlds away from the in-your-face attitude that this same squad of players – give or take a few notable exceptions – had shown in the same circumstances in 2005. England are playing with their tails between their legs, and that has been as apparent in their off-field comments as their on-field actions.Even so, it’s unlikely England’s toiling bowlers could have chosen a less hospitable venue for such a make-or-break encounter. The cracked, dry heat of South Australia makes for a lower-bouncing, more batsman-friendly surface, although Hoggard vowed to call on all his experience – particularly his arduous, accurate spells on the subcontinent – to carry England through a pivotal five days.Both Hoggard and Hayden were mystified as to why the new ball had not swung on that first morning at the Gabba, although the drier Adelaide surface should offer some reverse swing by way of compensation. That brings Mahmood very much into the reckoning for his first outing, but it seems more likely that England will opt to play both their spinners, Ashley Giles and Monty Panesar.Hayden, however, didn’t appear overly alarmed by the threat posed by the pair – he was so laid-back, in fact, he seemed to mistake Panesar, his old county colleague, for an offspinner. “We’re not overly concerned, because there’s not a lot of threat with either of those two players,” he said, before adding: “Monty’s a good young cricketer who bowls with beautiful flight, very similar to Daniel Vettori’s from New Zealand, only with a different arm.” Vettori and Panesar, of course, are both left-arm spinners.Adelaide’s short square boundaries – 60 metres on either side of the wicket – can be an inviting target when spinners and wayward fast bowlers are in operation, but Hayden refused to get carried away by the momentum that Australia has already gathered in this series. “The thing about batting is it’s such a reactive game,” he said. “You can only bat how they bowl. I think we’ll be looking to play pretty straight as always, and if we have to run a bit more than we’d like to, so be it.”Meanwhile, the buzzword in the England camp this week is “fight”. Flintoff spoke of it in his post-Gabba press conference; Panesar and Mahmood were both pugilistic in their respective columns for Cricinfo and the , and today Hoggard also had his fists up for the cause. “We need to go out and show the Australians we’re here to fight,” he said. “England have shown good resolve and the ability to bounce back in the past and that’s exactly what we need to do this time.”

India’s women will embark on their quest for a hat-trick of Asia Cup titles when they face Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the triangular tournament which will be played at Jaipur from December 13 to 21.India won the inaugural tournament in Sri Lanka in 2004 and successfully defended the title the following year in Pakistan. Now India launches their title defence against their main rivals Pakistan. This year’s tournament will take place at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. This will be first time the Pakistan team has made an overseas appearance since the PCB took charge of women’s cricket.Mithali Raj, India’s captain, is confident her team can claim their third title. She hopes the tournament will also provide them with a good opportunity to get ready for next February’s quadrangular series also involving the world champions Australia, England and New Zealand in Chennai. “There is no doubt our objective is to complete a hat-trick of titles and make our country proud,” she said. “Pakistan and Sri Lanka may be relatively new to this level but still we have to produce our best to achieve the goal. At the same time this tournament will provide us with a good opportunity to try out a few new girls and also different combinations so we are better prepared for next year’s quadrangular series.”I think women’s cricket has really grown ever since the IWCC/ICC merger and both the BCCI and ICC are playing leading roles in creating opportunities for young girls to take up this great sport. I am sure, in days to come, we will see more multi-talented girls taking up the sport.”Her Pakistan counterpart, Urooj Mumtaz Khan, said her team is young and inexperienced but believes things are heading in the right direction. “The girls are improving day-by-day and with a comprehensive women’s cricket plan in place, I am sure we will cover the long distance in a relatively short period. This event is our build-up to our next month’s tour to South Africa for a five-match series and then the 2007 Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament.”Pakistan women will face South Africa women at Pretoria between January 20 and 27 then the qualifying tournament for the World Cup will he held in Pakistan late next year. Eight qualifiers will vie for two slots at the 2009 World Cup in Australia.

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New South Wales Breakers survived a late collapse to stumble across the line by one wicket in a thrilling first final at Melbourne’s Central Reserve. The Breakers looked set to overhaul Victoria Spirit’s 136 and needed only two runs with three wickets in hand.But the loss of 2 for 0 within nine balls put the game back up for grabs until a wide and a single nudged New South Wales home. The Breakers, last year’s champions, were well led in their chase by Kate Blackwell (41) but Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s 4 for 29 from ten overs ensured a tight finish.Fitzpatrick began well, taking two wickets as New South Wales stumbled to 2 for 16. But Blackwell steadied and pushed her side close enough to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three finals series.Victoria’s batsmen struggled to convert starts and were bowled out in the 47th over. Charlotte Anneveld and Rene Farrell claimed three each as the home side failed to build a threatening partnership. Jessica Cameron, 17, top-scored with 28 but she was one of five in the innings to reach double-figures and fall short of a big score.

ScorecardHimachal Pradesh made a steady beginning in reply to Orissa’s total of 317, finishing at 157 for the loss of three wickets on the second day at Cuttack. Sandeep Sharma continued his good form from the semi-finals, his 76 providing the platform for his side to attain their first target of gaining a first-innings lead.Resuming their overnight score of 276 for 7, Orissa managed to add 41 to their overnight score. Vishal Bhatia, the left-arm spinner, wrapped up the innings to finish with figures of 6 for 84. Himachal began strongly, with the openers Monish Gupta and Sharma adding 119. However, they were pegged back by the loss of two quick wickets, with the score on 129. Sourabha Sehgal, the left-arm seamer, got the important breakthrough of Sharma trapping him in front. Orissa struck again just before the close of play when Debasis Mohanty dismissed Sangram Singh. Paras Dogra was unbeaten on 29 at stumps and was joined by Bhatia, the nightwatchman.

Two players showed real leadership for the home team at Guaracara Park, leaving it up to an assortment of talented but impetuous followers to fail to build on foundations of selflessness and solidity.Whether or not he was influenced by the widespread debate over the wisdom of returning to national duty for the first time this season, Brian Lara’s late decision not to play in the final against Barbados was the right one for a number of reasons. It’s no point being wise after the fact and lamenting that Lara should have played because he had a better chance of prospering against the excellent bowling of senior bowlers Pedro Collins and Corey Collymore, who also showed the value of discipline, control and experience on a generally unresponsive track.The fact is that, when the public address announcer did not mention his name in the final XI just before play, there was no great rumbling of discontent among the expectant multitude. If the truth be told, some of them were already primed to unleash some warm picong on the senior statesman of regional cricket about picking and choosing when to play for the country.Even if he was relieved to avoid that quintessentially Trini treatment (I’ll tell about one of the best that I’ve ever heard at the end of this column), Lara must have been pained at the reckless manner in which a succession of precocious young men made gifts of their wickets. Yet it would at the same time have been enormously reassuring to see how one of his more mature protégés, Daren Ganga, held firm while many around him fell by the wayside through their own errors of judgment.

The official word from the team camp apparently mentioned something about a knee injury or some other excuse, but let no-one be in any doubt that it was Lara himself who chose to step down, so ensuring that someone like Adrian Barath did not have to be omitted for this high-profile clash with the regional champions.Inevitably, the question around the ground, and especially among us cynical media, was: Why? Was it a public relations exercise, a back-tracking from the original desire to play in the face of divided public opinion so as to be seen as the beneficent national hero, giving up his place for the benefit of a star of the future?As easy as it is to partake in the popular pastime of rubbishing our own for the sake of a laugh, I’d like to draw reference to an occasion just over ten years ago in Australia that illustrated how – for all the accusations of selfishness, manipulation and arrogance – Lara often thinks ahead, even if it seems as if he wants to shape the future in his own image and his own terms. It was December 1996 in Melbourne and the West Indies squad was about to head out to the MCG for the first match of the tri-nation limited-over series against the Aussies. As he was putting his gear together, Lara wanted to send the message back home via an interview that young players like Ganga should be given a break at senior national level in the upcoming season.Earlier that year, Ganga, who was just short of his 17th birthday, showed impressive powers of concentration over nearly six hours at the crease in compiling 80 for South in the annual North-South Classic at this same Guaracara Park. Clearly, Lara was impressed, so much so that he was prepared to put some pressure on his fellow selectors two months before the start of the regional season and from more than half-a-world away.It can be argued that this is more evidence of preoccupation with his own objectives at the expense of more immediate priorities. But, like it or not, this is the way the man operates, in the middle or beyond the boundary. He almost always strives to be ahead of the game, whether that game is against Murali in Colombo or involves the national selectors in Balmain. Yesterday, with Ganga on 102 out of an unsatisfactory total of 275 for 9 with an hour left to play, Lara’s vision of more than a decade ago seemed impressively sharp. Maybe Barath, the current 16-year-old sensation, will use the second innings to make his hero feel that the last-minute decision to step aside for this match was not in vain.Getting back to classic picong, let’s go back a bit further to November 1995 and the final of the regional one-day tournament between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana at the Queen’s Park Oval. This was just after the general election that saw the UNC come to power following a short-lived accommodation with the NAR, and as Lara and his national teammates were doing laps of the ground before play, a gentleman of East Indian descent, with exquisite timing, shouted from the Republic Bank Stand as the players went past: “Aye Lara! As we in charge now, we goin’ change the name of the promenade to the Suruj Ragoonath Promenade!”Every man jack, including Lara, broke down with laughter.Good-natured moments like that make you love this place, which may have been why, later that evening, he pulled out of a one-day series in Australia even as the players were heading to the airport. Lara and cricket, on or off the field, are a compelling combination.