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ScorecardThe contrast could hardly have been more stark. On the 16th anniversary of Brian Lara’s unbeaten 501 at Edgbaston, Warwickshire’s batting failed once again, highlighting the painful difference between then and now.Warwickshire lost nine wickets for just 70 runs as Somerset completed victory by 181 runs on the third day. It’s Somerset’s third win in succession and lifts them to third in the championship table. It’s also the first time they’ve beaten Warwickshire home and away in a championship season since 1981.Set a highly improbable 312 to win, Murali Kartik ran through the host’s batting with alarming ease to claim the fourth ten-wicket haul of his first-class career. His figures – 11 for 72 in the match and 17 for 133 in his last three innings – speak volumes not just about his skill, but about the opposition’s frailties. All have been against Warwickshire.The days of Lara seem long ago at Edgbaston. As a team, Warwickshire haven’t managed to score 501 yet this season. Indeed, they’ve not made more than 382 and have now lost five of their eight games and have fewer batting bonus points than any team in either division.Taken out of context, it would be easy to conclude that this game simply sustained their poor form with the bat. No doubt there’s more than a grain of truth in that. But, bearing in mind the treacherous nature of this pitch, it may be wise not to jump to too many conclusions. As Marcus Trescothick pointed out after the game: “The pitch was a minefield, even on the first day. 268 was a brilliant score.”In truth, batting was little more than a lottery by the end of the game. One delivery from Kartik turned and bounced so sharply that it was taken by first slip, jumping far above his head. Not even Lara could have played it. In such conditions, neither of Warwickshire’s lowly totals are quite as awful as they seem and winning the toss was disproportionately important.Still, the lengthy team meeting that followed the game betrayed the concern that Warwickshire now feel. They started 2010 with high hopes of success, but have had to face the reality that it is matters at the other end of the table that will be the focus of their attention for the rest of the season.”I’ve given them a jolly good talking to,” Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles said afterwards. “What we’ve done so far isn’t good enough. We’ve got to play better if we’re going to stay up. In the end it comes down to personal responsibility.”Warwickshire’s opening partnerships have been a recurring problem. 12 of the 16 first-wicket stands have failed to progress beyond single figures and the accumulated value of every opening partnership this season amounts to just 200 runs; an average of just 12.5 a time. So it was little surprise when Darren Maddy fell early, drawn into feeling for one on off-stump from the outstandingly accurate and, at times, hostile Charl Willoughby.Only Varun Chopra and, to a lesser extent, Ian Westwood showed the requisite technique and desire to survive on this pitch. Chopra has not endured an easy start to life at Edgbaston – this was his highest score in 10 first-class innings – but here he showed he is worth perseverance with some watchful defence and judicious attack. As an 18-year-old, he became the youngest man to score a championship century for Essex and now, aged 22, still has time to fulfil his talent.Perhaps both men were unlucky with their dismissals. Chopra looked to have been struck well outside the line, while Westwood felt strongly that he hadn’t edged to the keeper. He’ll be very fortunate if he escapes a dissent charge for his subsequent reaction.Their colleagues showed far less fight. The wicket of Westwood precipitated another collapse and, after a lengthy rain break threatened to stretch the match to a fourth day, their last four wickets fell in the space of 27 balls.Troughton meekly turned one to leg-slip, Clarke missed an arm-ball and Botha edged a sharply-turning delivery to short-leg. On the resumption Woakes was beaten by turn, Johnson by bounce and the last two slogged catches to the fielders in the ring.Earlier Ben Phillips and Kartik extended their overnight partnership to 56. Phillips, bringing up an excellent half-century with an enormous pulled six off Clarke that sailed over the Hollies Stand, helped add a further 32 runs on the final day. It not just took the game beyond Warwickshire – realistically that had happened much earlier in the match – but robbed them of every last vestige of hope and spirit.Where do Warwickshire go from here? To the second division, probably. Their batting is currently underperfomring so badly that it will take a major reversal of fortune to save them from relegation.As for Somerset, they look to have a well-balanced, united and settled team. Nottinghamshire may be the division one pacemakers, but a first championship title for Somerset cannot be discounted.

South Africa have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their 13-run win in the first Twenty20 international against West Indies in Antigua on May 19. Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, imposed the fines after South Africa were ruled to be one over short of their target at the end of the match.In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct, Graeme Smith, the captain, has been fined 20% of his match fee while the rest of the team has been hit with a 10% fine. Smith was guilty of a similar offence during the ICC World Twenty20 and, as per the ICC rules, if he is found guilty for a third time within a 12-month period since his first offence, he will receive a one-match suspension.There was no hearing, as South Africa didn’t contest the penalty.

ScorecardMatt Prior’s dazzling hundred held Sussex’s innings together•Getty Images

Matt Prior scored his first hundred for over a year in front of England captain Andrew Strauss and national selector James Whitaker to hold Sussex’s batting together on day one of their County Championship clash with Middlesex at Hove.The 26-year-old’s unbeaten 123 came in a disappointing total of 217 as the second division leaders’ decision to bat first on a well-grassed pitch was undermined by some consistently probing Middlesex seam bowling.Prior gave one difficult chance on 15 when Scott Newman dropped him running in from the backward-point boundary, but otherwise he played with his customary freedom – particularly through the off-side – as he struck 15 boundaries from 149 balls faced in 222 minutes.Prior looked like he might miss out on what was his 21st first-class hundred when Sussex slumped to 166 for 8, but Monty Panesar, another player looking to impress Strauss, helped him add 46 for the ninth wicket – of which he contributed seven.But while Prior prospered once he had got established, batting was a desperate struggle for his team-mates – none of whom managed more than skipper Murray Goodwin’s 17. The pair added 62 for the fourth wicket after Tim Murtagh had picked up two wickets with his new ball outswingers and Joe Gatting had lost his off stump to Gareth Berg to leave the leaders reeling on 28 for 3.Goodwin was looking the part when he chased a wide one from Murtagh and was well taken low down by Strauss at slip. Sussex’s middle order offered little support to Prior with Andrew Hodd falling for nine to former team-mate Tom Smith. The left-arm spinner, who left Hove to join Middlesex in the winter, beat him in the flight in his fourth over to claim the first Championship wicket of his career.James Anyon sacrificed his wicket after a mix-up with Prior ended with both men at the same end and Berg wrapped up the innings with two wickets in three overs. Middlesex’s batsmen found the going just as difficult and Strauss’ poor early-season form continued when he fell for 13.Nine championship innings have yielded 226 runs for Strauss, who had just played the shot of the day – a straight drive off Rana Naved – when he gloved an attempted pull off the next delivery and was caught by Prior, keeping wicket for the first time this season ahead of the start of the Test series against Bangladesh in three weeks.After a brief stoppage for bad light, Middlesex were plunged into more trouble when Corey Collymore had Newman caught behind before pinning Dawid Malan for a second-ball duck. Another stoppage ended play 11 overs early with Middlesex 46 for 3 and much depending on Owais Shah, who finished unbeaten on nine.

Innings of the day
Shakib Al Hasan was 22 not out overnight, with a nightwatchman for company, four second-innings wickets still intact, and a slender lead of 94 on which to build. He knew full well that, after a series in which his batting had fallen a touch short of his recent high standards, today was the day to make his presence known to the opposition. And how superbly he responded to the match situation, first in partnership with Shafiul Islam, and then as a soloist while the tail loitered alongside him. A second Test century was the only just reward, but alas on 96, his adrenalin got the better of him.Anticlimax of the day
Shakib’s rush through the nineties was exhilarating to watch, as he took on James Tredwell with a series of slamming sweeps. With a horizontal bat and perfect power and timing, he picked off two fours and a two in the space of five balls, to move to 96 for the third time in his career. But then, from the final ball of the same over, Tredwell tossed it up, and Shakib – fatally – opted for a straight-bladed charge. Instead of dragging the ball through midwicket, he tried to seal the century in style with a six over long-off, but Matt Prior gathered and whipped off the bails. As had been the case with Tim Bresnan on the fourth day, a rush of blood ended a fine performance.Fielder of the day
After dropping the easiest catch of his life on Tuesday, Jonathan Trott came within an elbow of making spectacular amends during Bangladesh’s spirited morning performance. On 54, Shakib climbed into a pull off Stuart Broad, and sent the shot spinning down towards deep square leg where Trott, sprinting round from midwicket, dived and grabbed with his outstretched left hand. For a split-second he had it, but the impact on the turf jolted the ball loose from his grasp. One over later, however, he finally got it right, as Shafiul Islam top-edged a sweep, and Trott this time swallowed the chance on the edge of the rope. It was the hardest easy catch he will ever take, and his face was a picture of fear and relief as he tugged at his England badge to indicate his heart palpitations.Decision of the day
Trott could hardly stay out of the limelight as the match built towards its climax. After his excitement in the field, he was called upon to launch the run-chase, which he did with a decent turn of speed as he moved along to 19 from 30 balls. But then, however, Alastair Cook pushed a single into the covers, where Jahurul Islam slid and threw with impressive speed. A run-out appeal was referred to the TV umpire, Nadir Shah, who had only one angle from which to work. In one frame, Trott was out of his crease with the bails yet to drop, in the next he was home and the stumps were broken. Ordinarily, the benefit of the doubt would have gone to the batsman, but given the events of the past few days, Bangladesh deserved a break.Last word of the day
Alastair Cook has had a match that he’ll want to forget, particularly that horrible second morning when Bangladesh’s tail made a mockery of his field placings. But as he prepares to hand the captaincy back to Andrew Strauss, at least he can say that he took it upon himself to sort out his own mess. A fluent and focussed 109 not out was his final contribution of the tour. It was his second century of the series and, while the pressure evaporated once the result became inevitable, it nevertheless confirmed the strength of his character. Lesser players would have let the pressures of the past few days undermine their natural game. Cook just compartmentalised, and gone on with the business of run-scoring.

Western Australia 3 for 82 (Davis 42) trail Victoria 199 (Jewell 55, Knowles 3-66) by 117 runs
ScorecardBrad Knowles led the Warriors as they dismissed the visitors for 199•Getty Images

Victoria are the only team in this contest with something to play for but it was Western Australia who controlled the opening day. The Warriors, who are officially out of the race for the final, were 117 behind at stumps after dismissing the visitors for 199 in the first two sessions.Western Australia posted 3 for 82 after losing Wes Robinson (18), who offered no shot to Darren Pattinson, and the captain Marcus North. This is a crucial game for North as he is running out of chances to confirm his spot at No. 6 in the Test side, but he edged Andrew McDonald to first slip on 20. In the last over the opener Liam Davis (42) nicked Bryce McGain’s first ball while trying to cut, ensuring a tense session on the second morning.Victoria were docked a point for a slow over rate in their previous game, which cut their lead over Queensland to three, so they began the match desperate to re-seal their spot in the final. They were sent in and the situation looked bright when the opener Nick Jewell moved to a half-century.Jewell’s post-lunch exit to Brad Knowles on 55 started a costly collapse of 6 for 54 that dropped the Bushrangers to 8 for 155. Andrew McDonald (6) was run-out chasing a risky single before David Hussey was caught behind off Michael Hogan on 17. The wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi was also responsible for Matthew Wade’s exit and when Damien Wright was bowled by Steve Magoffin the home side was in command.John Hastings’ unbeaten 28 extended the innings, which finished when Knowles gained his third wicket by bowling McGain. Magoffin and Hogan provided useful support with two each.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeMS Dhoni and the other batsmen were relegated to bit roles on a day when Sachin Tendulkar lorded over all he purveyed, bringing up the first ever ODI 200•Associated Press

It took nearly 40 years of waiting and it was well worth it. Sachin Tendulkar chose one of the better bowling attacks doing the rounds, to eclipse the record for the highest score, before bringing up the first double-hundred in ODI history. The spectators at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium became the envy of cricket fans as they witnessed one of the country’s favourite sporting heroes play a breathtaking innings which not only set up a 153-run annihilation but also the series victory. He may have been run-out cheaply in the previous match, but nothing could deny him today – be it bowlers, fielders, mix-ups or cramps. Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni stood by and admired as the master unfurled all the shots in his repertoire.At 36, Tendulkar hasn’t shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn’t opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.In the 46th over, with a flick for two past short fine-leg, Tendulkar broke the record for the highest ODI score, going past the 194 made by Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, and to say that he acknowledged his feat modestly would be an understatement. His muted celebration on going past 194, true to style, made his innings all the more endearing. He didn’t raise his bat, merely shook hands with Mark Boucher and simply carried on batting amid the din. Coming from a man who is not known to showing too much emotion with the bat in hand, it wasn’t surprising. He reserved his celebrations for the magic figure of 200, which he reached in the final over with a squirt off Charl Langeveldt past backward point. He raised his bat, took off his helmet and looked up at the skies and it was only fitting that one-day cricket’s highest run-getter reached the landmark.Tendulkar’s innings featured strokes of the highest quality, but his true genius was exemplified by one particular shot which rendered even the best bowler in the world helpless. In the first over of the batting Powerplay – taken in the 35th over – Dale Steyn fired it in the block-hole for three deliveries outside off to keep him quiet. Tendulkar, feeling the need to improvise, walked right across his stumps and nonchalantly flicked him across the line, hopping in his crease on one leg to bisect the gap at midwicket. A helpless Steyn watched the ball speed away and merely shrugged his shoulders. There was no use searching for excuses or venting frustrations at the temerity of that shot. It was just kind of afternoon for the bowlers.It wasn’t all just about the cheekiness of his shots. His timing and placement were the hallmarks at the start of his innings. On a road of a pitch which offered margin of error for the bowlers, he squeezed out full deliveries past the covers and off his pads. With no seam movement on offer, Jacques Kallis took the slips off and placed them in catching positions within the 15-yard circle, hoping to induce a mistake. But Tendulkar outplayed all of them, making room to manoeuver it past a number of green shirts. There were a minimum of two runs on offer each time the ball was placed wide of them and the quick outfield did the rest.Once he got his eye in, the short boundaries and the flat pitch were too inviting. Virender Sehwag’s dismissal for 11, caught at third man, was just an aberration as Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni traded cricket bats for golf clubs. Driving and lofting through the line had never been this easy. Tendulkar could have driven them inside out in his sleep.The two century stands, with Karthik and then with Dhoni, may well get lost in the scorecard but they were vital building blocks. Karthik rotated the strike well in their stand of 194, struck three clean sixes and helped himself to his career-best performance. That partnership sent out ominous signs to the South Africans that they were in for something massive. Add Dhoni’s bludgeoning hits and scoops and you had a score in excess of 400.Tendulkar reached his fifty off 37 balls and his century off 90. Ironically, he struck his first six – over long-on – when on 111. Pathan bashed it around at the other end, clubbing full tosses and short deliveries in his 23-ball 36, as India amassed 63 runs in the batting Powerplay. The South African seamers made the mistake of trying to bowl too fast and as a result, sent down too many full tosses and full deliveries. The unplayable yorkers remained elusive and Tendulkar, who was seeing it like a beach ball, picked the gaps, made room and improvised.He reached his 150 by making room to Parnell and chipping him over midwicket with a simple bat twirl at the point of contact. The heartbreak of Hyderabad, when his scintillating 175 all but won India the match against Australia last year, must have lingered in his mind as he approached that score again. A towering six over long-on later, he not only eclipsed Kapil Dev’s 175 but also looked set to wipe out his own record. He started clutching his thighs, indicating that cramps had set in, but even that could not stop him today.He equalled his highest score of 186 by pulling a lollipop of a full toss off Kallis and broke his own and India’s record with a single to square leg. Fortunately, he didn’t have to do much running and played the spectator’s role for a change as Dhoni bulldozed his way to a 35-ball 68, muscling four sixes. The Dhoni bottom-hand is the strongest in the business these days and the exhausted spectators had enough energy left in their vocal chords to cheer him on as well.The record of 200, however, was yet to be attained and the crowd were desperate for Tendulkar to get the strike. Dhoni tore into Steyn for 17 off the 49th over and retained the strike for the 50th. After hammering the first ball of the 50th for six, he shoveled a full toss to deep midwicket where Hashim Amla made a brilliant save. Tendulkar settled for a single and the crowd were on their feet as they watched him make history. It was all the more fitting for another reason because it was on this very day, back in 1988, that he and Vinod Kambli added a mammoth 664 – then a world record – in a school match.There was to be no repeat of the 434-chase at the Wanderers, when South Africa took guard, perhaps mentally and physically shaken after the assault, and with a partisan crowd to contend with. AB de Villiers’ attacking ton got completely lost in the chase as South Africa merely went through the motions. It was all a question of how quickly India could wrap it up.Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Roelof van der Merwe and Jacques Kallis all got out cheaply within the first 15 overs. de Villiers motored along at more than a run-a-ball, and collected 13 fours and two sixes. South Africa had to rely on the services of nine men to muster 200 – for India one man sufficed.Tendulkar’s knock drew parallels with Brendon McCullum’s frenetic 158 in the IPL opener in Bangalore two years ago. The match was all about individual brilliance but a contest. While such games are good in small doses, for one-day cricket to survive on the whole, it needs more contests between bat and ball.

Shane Watson’s rest has been cut short after he was called back into Australia’s squad for Sunday’s ODI against West Indies to replace the injured Shaun Marsh. Watson will open at the Gabba as Australia aim to win the series following Friday’s wash-out in Sydney, a game that didn’t feature Marsh after he suffered a back problem shortly before the toss.Marsh will head straight to Melbourne, where Australia have the Allan Border Medal ceremony on Monday night followed by the fifth ODI on Friday. Alex Kountouris, the team physio, said Marsh would be assessed next week to determine whether he would be fit for Friday’s game.”Shaun injured his back during the pre-game warm-up before yesterday’s ODI at the SCG,” Kountouris said. “With a short turnaround before the next match in Brisbane, it was decided that the best course of action was for Shaun to miss tomorrow’s match.”That has meant an unplanned trip to Brisbane for Watson, who was initially given a break for the two matches over this weekend. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said a lack of openers in the squad – Adam Voges was tried in the role on Friday and struggled – contributed to their decision to recall Watson.”While it was initially planned for Shane to miss games three and four of the Commonwealth Bank Series, it was decided that with potential opening batsman Brad Haddin currently having his workload managed, the best course of action for the balance of the squad was to bring Shane back one game early,” Hilditch said. “With James Hopes in the squad, we’ll also be able to actively manage Shane’s bowling workload if required at the Gabba.”Australia squad Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Adam Voges, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.

Graeme Smith, the South African captain, and Morne Morkel, one half of his hostile new-ball pair, have climbed to career-best rankings after South Africa’s resounding victory in the fourth Test at the Wanderers. Smith crunched a vital 105 in that Test, and Morkel finished with match figures of 7 for 98 as England fell to an innings defeat and South Africa drew level in the Test series.Smith moved up two places to second in the Test batting rankings, but Morkel’s ascent was far more dramatic. He started the series ranked 31st and has jumped 24 places to seventh after picking up 19 wickets at 21.47 in four Tests. Dale Steyn, Morkel’s opening partner with whom he shared the man-of-the-match award in the final Test, took 15 wickets at 23.80 despite missing the first Test at Centurion and playing in Durban while not yet fully fit.Steyn’s good showing in the series means that he consolidates his position at the top of the bowling rankings, extending his lead to 72 points ahead of Mitchell Johnson in second place. AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher also moved up the rankings, to 13th, 23rd, and 36th places, respectively, while Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince both dropped two spaces, to eighth and 29th positions.It’s a different story for England, however, as Paul Collingwood is the only batsman to move up the rankings after notching up 344 runs at 57.33 despite not scoring a hundred in the four Tests. Stuart Broad’s 13 wickets mean that he climbed up into the top 10, but James Anderson, who lacked penetration after struggling with a chronic injury to his right knee, slipped seven places to 14th.Far more worrying for England is the news that they are now without a batsman in the top 20 after both Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen put in disappointing performances at the Wanderers. Strauss, who started the series ranked 14th, slipped seven places to 21st, while Pietersen’s series aggregate of 177 runs at 25.28 means that he now finds himself 27th in the rankings.As well as the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy, South Africa also retained their second position in the ICC Test rankings after winning the fourth Test. In a tightly-spaced top three, South Africa are four points behind India and two ahead of Australia, while England are ranked fifth with 107 points.

Larry Romany, the current President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, has been appointed chief operations officer of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA). The decision was taken at a board meeting on Wednesday, where a 15-point plan for boosting the development of West Indies cricket was also approved.The WIPA approved a team of professionally qualified experts to look at the developmental aspect of the game in the region, and authorized it to audit the structures and programmes currently in place and make recommendations for improvement if need be. The first-class season, it suggested, should consist of two rounds of matches with a minimum of 12 four-day games each season played alongside international series.It recommended the yearly schedule be agreed well in advance for players to be aware of their commitments, and singled out as its immediate priority the appointment of a Director of Cricket to handle all cricketing matters. The WIPA also termed the establishment of a Cricket Academy and its satellite centres as a matter of “extreme urgency”, and proposed the allotment of a fitness manager and a physiotherapist, in addition to a coach and manager, for teams at all levels of the game – from schoolboy to Test cricket.WIPA also called for an improvement in facilities at the first-class level, suggesting that matches at practice sessions be held at international venues or those of an equivalent standard. In an attempt to make the first-class game mirror international cricket, it also proposed adequate preparation for regional as well as national teams ahead of their matches, and the use of the same cricket balls at both levels.The WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) were involved in a bitter dispute surrounding player contracts in July, when senior players, including Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, boycotted the Test series against Bangladesh, leading to a second-string team – which lost the series – being picked. However, the two sides reached a truce in October, enabling the selection of a full-strength squad for the ongoing tour of Australia.

Shane Bond has said New Zealand’s bowling attack has what it takes to succeed against Pakistan, but believes the key to winning the upcoming Test series is the batsmen posting large totals.Bond is set to end his two-year period out of the Test team because of his involvement with the unofficial ICL when New Zealand take on Pakistan in Dunedin on Tuesday. “We need runs really. I think if you’re going to win Test matches you need big runs,” Bond told PA Sport.”I suppose that’s been the one area that we’ve lacked a little bit is scoring those consistent big runs from the top of the order. I think if we can get runs on the board then we definitely have the bowling attack to take wickets.”In their last Test series in Sri Lanka in August, New Zealand failed to reach 300 in three out of four innings and lost the series 2-0. The responsibility of providing the New Zealand bowlers with totals to protect will lie with Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh at the top, followed by the middle order comprising Daniel Flynn, Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton. Daniel Vettori, whose batting form is on the upswing, will also play a vital role in the lower-middle order.Guptill’s one-day form has been satisfactory, with three half-centuries in his last seven innings, but he hasn’t made a Test fifty in nine attempts. His likely opening partner, McIntosh, scored a century against the Pakistanis during a warm-up match in Queenstown, while Flynn spent time in the middle as well, scoring 49 and 56.