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SYDNEY, March 7 AAP – Steve Waugh, cricket’s patron saint of hopeless causes, today answered the prayers of the New South Wales’ faithful, scorned the “doomsday prophets” and heralded the new messiah in the form of Michael Clarke.With NSW needing an outright win in the Pura Cup match against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground to secure its first state final in almost a decade, Waugh and Clarke scored emphatic centuries to put the home side well in control.At stumps on day two, the Blues were 3-343 with Waugh not out on 107 and Clarke unbeaten on 106 after raising his ton from 87 balls in an even 100 minutes.With a lead of 255, seven wickets in hand and two days to play, NSW is primed for a win which looked implausible 24 hours earlier when it trailed on the first innings by 88 runs after being bowled out for 102 before dismissing Queensland for 190 in return.With Victoria grinding its way to first innings points against Western Australia to take the edge in the race for the final against the Bulls, the Blues know an outright win will be needed if they are to play their first final since winning the old Sheffield Shield in 1993-94.Things looked grim for that prospect when Michael Slater (4) went in the second over and when Waugh came in at 2-96, the score was effectively 2-8.”There was pressure on, we had to get something happening,” Waugh said.Waugh responded by hitting his first two balls to the boundary and his early strokes had an aura of irritation about them – as if he was swatting away a horde of annoying flies.But he soon settled down to play a typically grafting innings, making his century in three hours off 158 balls with 17 balls.”I’ve been hitting the ball well – all those doomsday prophets weren’t right were they, I’m still playing OK,” Waugh said, referring to those who were calling for his Test career to end earlier this summer.While he was playing “OK”, Waugh said Clarke was something else all together.”It was a great innings, outstanding, the people who were here today will remember that for a long time.”Someone in the crowd said `he’s the new Doug Walters’ and he’s probably not far away from that.”While Waugh’s 73rd first-class ton was desperately needed by his floundering team it was set in the shade by Clarke’s afternoon assault on the tiring and injury-depleted Bulls attack.Clarke’s half-century came off 56 balls, with six fours and a six and his second 50 took only 31 balls, many of his late boundaries coming after Michael Kasprowicz and Ashley Noffke had taken the new ball.Clarke, with fabulous aggression, deft footwork and a flashing blade pounded every bowler and at one stage earned a backhanded compliment from Kasprowicz, who mimicked a defensive shot – non-existent in Clarke’s repertoire today – after yet another good ball had been smote to the boundary.Clarke said he’d been nervous when he came out to bat, mainly because he’d made ducks in his previous two innings.”All I wanted to do was get off the mark,” he said.Clarke said Waugh gave him the green light to attack once NSW was in a strong position.”I asked Steve Waugh what he wanted me to do and he said “you’re hitting them well, keep going”.”I felt comfortable so I just went for my shots.”The twin centuries from the master and the apprentice give the Blues a strong chance for a win, with the dual wrist spin of first innings destroyers Stuart MacGill and Simon Katich likely to be dangerous when Queensland bats again.”We were always pretty optimistic we’d be in a good position at the end of the day,” Waugh said.”We batted terribly on the first day – they bowled well but that was as bad as we could possibly bat and we know that Queensland is going to bat last on a wicket that’s going to suit us.”

Why did you decide to take the job? What was the attraction for you?Well I guess there are several reasons. One being that I have been in my current position for ten and a half years now and I guess there has been a bit of a sameness about what I have been doing and I feel as though I need a new challenge – not that it’s not challenging doing what I have been doing!I guess the thought of being able to start a programme. I did not initially start the programme in Australia, I came on three years after the programme started – the programme started in 1988 and I came on in 1991. So, there’s an excitement about starting a new programme.I also believe that it is important that in world cricket England is strong – and I am not suggesting that they aren’t strong – but I am suggesting that this Academy system has been fantastic for Australian cricket and I am sure that the same will apply to English cricket. It excites me to think that we can have a strong England team as a result of hopefully some of my labours.What are your targets for the job?This first thing you must understand is that it is not going to happen overnight. You have to show some patience. I guess what the major target will be for me over the next three years will be to develop some players that in three, five, seven years’ time there will be a base of perhaps 20 players that are very good Test Match and ODI players, so that when the selectors sit down to select a side it will be damn difficult for them – it will be difficult because these guys will have had a grounding which will be suitable for them to be successful at Test or ODI level. The more people you have in that base, then I think the stronger that nation becomes. That’s going to be the major push from me – to try and get 20-25 players or more that are really capable of performing consistently well at the highest level.It’s not rocket science. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, from not only the coaching staff but in particular the players. The players get very good rewards and they have got to have a hell of a lot of pride in their performance and a hell of a lot of pride in their country – and yet at the same time realise that it is only a game and that games are there to be enjoyed. That’s very much part of it all, to get enjoyment from what they are doing. They have got to be positive and just play the type of cricket that will be entertaining. Funny part about the game of cricket is that you enjoy it more when you are winning!What has the National Academy done for Australian cricket and what can England gain from having an Academy?I think the biggest thing which comes to mind in recent years is that whenever there has been a retirement in Australian cricket the team seems to get stronger. That is what the Academy system has done.The players have had a hell of a good grounding in mostly playing matches against good strong opposition, playing matches away from their home country and getting the feel of what it is like to play good hard cricket on a consistent basis. That to me is how you improve – being pestered the whole time. If you are in the comfort zone and you know you can play well when you have to, against opposition that is `so-so’, I don’t believe that you ever really improve because you never really test your own barriers. But if you are put in a situation where you have to perform at your best, consistently, to be successful you become a lot harder and a lot more capable of performing at the highest level.How hard a decision was it to leave Australian cricket and come and work for the English?When you are playing the game, you are so determined and it becomes a do-or-die effort and you try to win for your team and win for your country. When you have finished playing you obviously want your country to win and you take an interest in it. But when you have been in the game as long as I have, the major interest becomes the game itself. I don’t think you necessarily think about that as a player.The greatest words I ever read on the game are from Sir Don Bradman and he said that it is the responsibility of everyone that has played the game to ensure the game continues – and I think that the game of cricket is more important than whether you come from England, India, Australia or West Indies.

After two sessions of dour batting, which left Zimbabwe at 105 for two attea after 69 overs, the batsmen began to come to life after the break, withAndy Flower leading the way in an all too brief cameo. They finished theday on 185 for four (Campbell 37, Wishart 10).Zimbabwe made a cautious start to the day, the first run coming in thefourth over, and after ten overs they had only eight runs on the board. Nodoubt in view of Zimbabwe’s recent failures at the top of the order it wasfelt that caution should prevail.Grant Flower enjoyed three boundaries through extra cover during McMillan’s spell as first-change seamer, while Rennie concentrated only on survival, no doubt following instructions. Vettori finally broke the stand with a ball that spun sharply to take the shoulder of Flower’s bat to be very well caught by Parore at the second attempt. He scored 24 and Zimbabwe were 40 for one. Carlisle, replacing Goodwin at three, settled in for lunch, when Zimbabwe were 51 for one.After lunch the pair continued steadily, with Rennie progressing to 36 in 207 minutes before he drove at Wiseman and was well caught low down by the diving McMillan at short extra cover; 91 for two in the 59th over. Campbell continued the war of attrition, despite looking a far more confident batsman in Test cricket than he has done for over a year.The waiting game eventually eroded Carlisle’s concentration when on 38, after tea, as he went on a big hit against Wiseman without getting to the line, and skied a catch to Horne at extra cover; Zimbabwe 120 for three.Andy Flower obviously decided that the time had come to carry the attack to the tourists. After playing himself in for a few minutes, he swung Wiseman over midwicket for two successive sixes. New Zealand responded by taking the second new ball, but Flower switched his assault to Cairns, taking ten off an over. Cairns got revenge, though, by having him caught at second slip by Astle for 29, driving outside off stump, and Zimbabwe were 157 for four. Once again a batsman had laid a firm foundation but failed to build on it; nevertheless he had raised the tempo of the game.Wishart looked positive from the start and survived with Campbell to the close. Zimbabwe’s position was perhaps no better than average considering the excellence of the pitch.

Twenty fours and four sixes were struck between them, but “smart cricket” was the cornerstone of the searing opening stand between himself and Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson said.The pair hit a world record 171 in each other’s company, to make light work of Pakistan’s 168 for 7. Williamson said it had been he and his partner’s ability to account for the asymmetrical dimensions of the Hamilton ground, and the particular strengths of Pakistan’s bowlers, that allowed the stand to flourish.Damage to the Seddon Park square during the recent Test match featuring Sri Lanka had meant a surface towards the eastern end of the block had to be used for this T20. This in turn brought the eastern boundary to 52 metres, while the square boundary on the other side of the pitch was lengthened to 75 metres.Williamson in particular targeted the short side of the ground during his career-best 72 off 48 balls, memorably shuffling towards the off side to hit consecutive legside fours off Mohammad Amir, in the fifth over.”No T20 is the same, and here at Seddon Park you’re not just taking the opposition into account, you’re very much identifying the dimensions of the ground, the pitch and using that as part of your planning,” Williamson said. “That comes into your thinking as a bowling unit and a batting unit.”With one boundary very small, naturally there’s going to be the odd boundary hit there. Then there’s the wind going to the long boundary which also helps hit to that side of the ground.”New Zealand hit 59 from the Powerplay, but were unusually reticent against Shahid Afridi in that period, scoring only 11 off his two overs. Williamson said there had been purchase and turn for Afridi on the pitch. Afridi was also generating significant drift.”Afridi is a world class legspinner,” Williamson said. “Today on that surface it was holding and turning a little bit, so for us it was making sure that there’s smart cricket at times amongst Guptill’s sixes and fours.”All Pakistan’s bowlers are danger men – they are all very good bowlers. Depending on the surface, some more than others. It was important that Guptill and I communicated and played some smart cricket. I think we were a bit better at doing that today than we were in the last match.”Williamson and Guptill’s stand surpassed the 170 made by Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith against England. New Zealand’s highest T20 partnership before this game had been the 137 against Zimbabwe by the same pair in 2012.”Records are not something that we set out to do,” Williamson said. “We set out to lay a platform and play to the gameplan. If records come that’s nice, but more importantly, we got across the line to set up a nice finish to the T20 series.”Corey Anderson had played as a specialist batsman during the Sri Lanka series, as he continues to recover from a back injury. He has now begun bowling in matches, and was effective for New Zealand on Sunday, taking 1 for 26 from his four overs. He had been cheap with the new ball, conceding only 12 from his three Powerplay overs.”The likes of Corey standing up after not playing much cricket, and opening the bowling as well, was a superb effort from him,” Williamson said. “He bowled some tough overs at the top.”

The timing of a slew of announcements may be incidental but the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued an emphatic, carrot-and-stick response to the Indian Cricket League. On the one hand, it passed the expected strictures on the players, current and former, associating with the ICL; on the other, it rewarded those who stayed behind, hiking payments for first-class cricketers and making the domestic game a far more attractive proposition.The significance was lost in the dry delivery of N Srinivasan, the board treasurer, who said the members of the BCCI unanimously passed all the resolutions put before the special general meeting. This meant that Kapil Dev ceased to be the chairman of theNational Cricket Academy (NCA), with immediate effect, and all the players who joined the ICL would not derive any benefit from the BCCI.”Kapil Dev ceases to be the chairman of the NCA,” said Srinivasan, puttingto an end the long-running speculation over his fate. “AjayShirke will associate as chairman till the next AGM [on September 28], when a new chairman and board will be appointed.” This also means Kapil will no longer be part of the recently formed cricket advisory committee, comprising former India captains,set up to advise the board on an ad hoc basis.Srinivasan was equally unambiguous when replying to a question on the players who have signed up to play in the ICL. “Every individual has the right toassociate with the BCCI or any other organization. If he chooses to bepart of any other organization then it is he who is leaving. If anindividual chooses to associate with someone else it is his decision andwe wish him luck. But he will not be a part of BCCI activities or deriveany benefits from the BCCI.”It was not so much the board that was banning players, Srinivasan stressed, but each individual choosing how he wanted his future to pan out. “It is the player whois deciding. We are not deciding,” he said. “But you can’t have a foot inboth places.”Asked if someone from the ICL had approached the BCCI with a view toa reconciliation Srinivasan said he was not aware of any such approach. He also stated that it was unlikely there would be a way back for aplayer once he decided to leave the BCCI and associate with anunauthorised body like the ICL. “I don’t think so. Once a player has madehis choice, he is there.”Was the fact that as many as eight players had left from Hyderabad and seven from Bengal a reflection on how those state units ran their cricket? “It is not at all a reflectionof state associations. Everybody is aware of who are the players who havegone,” said Srinivasan. “The players have gone and they have themselvesstated that they have been offered large sums of money. The bench strengthis strong. In fact we see this is as an opportunity for younger players.”Srinivasan cited the example of Tamil Nadu, where he is hands on as far asadministration of cricket is concerned. “In every state you have hundredsof players. Every time we run a selection for Under-13s or Under-15s wehave hundreds of talented kids coming in. If some go elsewhere it won’tmake such a big difference. We don’t want to make too much of this.”Interestingly the resolution to take action against players who joined theICL was passed unanimously, and there was a one hundred per cent attendance ofmembers. This means that the Railways Sports Promotion Board, afteroffering its grounds for use to the ICL, voted in favour of denyingplayers the right to derive any benefit from the BCCI if they associatedwith the ICL. How Rakesh Yadav, the Railways representative at the specialgeneral meeting, will reconcile with Lalu Prasad Yadav, the federal railway minister who made the earlier promise regarding the grounds, remains to be seen.It is only a coincidence that the finance committee met on Sunday andfinalised the accounts for the financial year ending March 2007. Thismeant that the board was also able to make public the exact value of the26% of gross receipts that goes towards the payment of players’ wages. Anincrease in the board’s surplus, to Rs 232 crore, from Rs 33 crore in theprevious financial year, automatically meant that the players’ fees becamemuch more.Players will now receive between 25 and 26 thousand rupees per playing day(for senior domestic tournaments) for the year 2006-07, and that, based onprojections is likely to go up to 36,000 per day for the 2008 season. Theboard’s practice was to pay out 4000 rupees per day for each match duringthe course of the season and the difference at the end of the year whenthe accounts were finalised. That cash allowance has been increased to Rs10000.What’s more, the board announced a revision of the total prize money forvarious tournaments it conducted, increasing the existing Rs 60 lakh to4.2 crore. This means that the team winning the Ranji Trophy now nets Rs50 lakh (previously 7 lakh) and the team winning the Duleep Trophy gets Rs30 lakh (previously 5 lakh). The board announced that this was with effectfrom the 2005-06 season, which meant that they would be retrospectivelypaying the champions from the last two years.Srinivasan also explained that the board and its affiliate units had spentRs 190 crore over the last financial year on creation of infrastructuralfacilities. A majority of this went towards 11 associations who had eithercompleted building of stadia or were in the process of doing so.Srinivasan said that the board had seven more proposals for constructionof stadia in the pipeline.The other major change from the round of meetings, also expected, was thatnational selectors would be paid, rather than hold honourary posts, from 2008 onwards. However, the members felt there was no need to makea constitutional change stipulating that the minimum eligibility to becomea national selector is to have played five Tests or 50 first-class matches. Instead they left it to the working committee to decide on criteria fromtime to time.*************** Overall income for the year 2006-07 is Rs 652 Crores as against Rs 430Crores in 05-06 and Rs 210 Crores in 04-05. The projected income for theyear 2007-08 is Rs 862 Crores (US$210,192,635.94).* 850 players and umpires fall under the Platinum Jubilee BenevolentScheme. The total outflow per year for the scheme is around Rs 15 Crores ($3,657,644.48) annually. This includes the benefits to widows of Test Cricketers.* All senior domestic tournaments will be video recorded in order to tagdecisions made by umpires which will later be analysed. This will cost Rs3 crore ($731,528.90). The board has entered into the agreement for a period of 3 years with Cricket Australia for training and development programme for theumpires.* The Board is in the process of negotiating and collecting all archivalmaterials to set up a state of the art museum at the headquarters at acost of around Rs 10 Crores ($2,438,429.65).* The amount set aside for expenditure on women’s cricket is around 6-7Crores ($1,463,057.79 to $1,706,900.756).* The BCCI will set up a National Cricket Academy at Bangalore on its ownpremises. The NCA is currently housed by the Karnataka State CricketAssociation at the Chinnaswamy Stadium* The Board is also planning to create an indoor academy of internationalstandards at Delhi and a zonal coaching academy at Kolkata to serve theEast and North Eastern States.

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s legendary captain
Inzi should have reacted far sooner than he did. Had I been in Inzi’s place I would taken a stand right there and then when Hair decided to change the ball and accused the Pakistanis of ball tampering. I would have insisted on the managers of both teams and match referee coming out to register my protest. I would never have meekly accepted Hair’s judgement the way Inzamam did. Hair’s brash and provocative manner makes him the main culprit in letting things go out of hand. During my career I have seen such umpires who go out of their way to make their authority felt. They are umpiring fundamentalists. Such characters court controversy. Intikhab Alam, former captain and coach
I feel Inzamam should have taken the decision of leaving the ground at that very moment when the umpires decided to change the ball or he should have kept on playing as Pakistan were in a winning position. Rameez Raja, former captain and former PCB CEO
The star of the show definitely was umpire Darrell Hair, but as the villain of the piece. With a lot of negative background, and serious protests by the India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka boards on earlier occasions, it was really flabbergasting to see the ICC installing him once again in a Pakistan game. Grossly aggrieved, the Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and the team were in their right to protest. The pride of an entire people has been tarnished by his ludicrous and highly insensitive decision. I’m sure the Pakistan captain would not have changed his stance and entered the field again had he not been bulldozed by diplomatic pressure. Pakistan’s bold stance has certainly exposed Hair. Will it be the end of the road for him? If it is it would not be a day too soon.Jalauddin, former fast bowler
Inzamam did the right thing by not coming out after tea. But the only mistake he made was to get on the field after the ECB and PCB’s intervention. Hair has accused the Pakistan team of cheating and it’s a serious allegation.Moin Khan, former captain
Had I been in the place of Inzamam, I would have immediately led the team off and would not have returned until the umpires had explained their decision. Pakistan team is a victim of circumstances and I think people who have something between their ears would understand Inzamam’s actions. It’s a testing time for the ICC because they now need to come out with something otherwise international cricket would turn on its head.

Division One

Points TableGlamorgan eased their relegation fears with a four wicket win over Gloucestershire. Michael Powell held Glamorgan’s run chase together with a composed 69, adding a match-winning 73 with Mark Wallace. Gloucestershire had made a decent attempt at defending 194 with Jon Lewis causing problems with 3 for 35. However, Daniel Cherry chipped in with a useful 38 to rebuild the innings from 40 for 4. Gloucestershire’s batting never managed to hit the heights of their extraordinary run chase against Lancashire – when Ramnaresh Sarwan and Mark Hardinges added 221 – and the innings stuttered along. Kadeer Ali and Alex Gidman both struck half-centuries but all the Glamorgan bowlers chipped in and David Harrison was particularly impressive taking 2 for 16 from his nine overs.

Division Two

Points TableSussex remained on course for the Second Division title after a five-wicket success against Warwickshire with 25 balls to spare. Murray Goodwin was the star with the bat striking a composed, unbeaten, 86 to ensure Sussex did not falter after slipping to 90 for 5. Makhaya Ntini’s new ball burst and two scalps for Alex Loudon left the match in the balance but Robin Martin-Jenkins combined with Goodwin to add the final 82 runs. Michael Yardy had earlier undermined Warwickshire’s innings with career-best figures of 6 for 27 after Naved-ul-Hasan had troubled the top order. Yardy has become an increasingly useful option for Sussex this summer, with his left-arm spin, but those figure were probably beyond even his wildest dreams.

On a day of hard grind, Pakistan’s batsmen put together a disciplined, no-frills performance to eke out a first-innings lead and end the day in a position of considerable strength. Both Inzamam-ul-Haq and Imran Farhat put flair and risk to one side, and instead concentrated on patience and restraint, and scored their first centuries against India.Inzamam-ul-Haq
On building up a lead
Bearing in mind our current position, we will look to score between 500 and 600 runs, so that we build up a lead of between 250 and 300 runs.On the tiff with Anil Kumble
It was nothing special really. We just had a little chat and things are okay between us now.On the pitch
The wicket played well today. There was something in it for the bowlers. The Indians bowled really well on it and at no stage did it feel that we were getting away with the scoring rate. There is some help for the bowlers and if the batsmen knuckle down and concentrate, then it is a good pitch for them as well.On bouncing back after the innings defeat at Multan
The boys have worked very hard in the nets. It is good to see them bounce back – I always said it is a matter of one good session and Umar Gul gave that to us yesterday morning. This lifted us and it has lifted our performance as well.On Pakistan’s tendency to relax when in a good position
I just pray that it doesn’t happen.On what he would have done had he won the toss
I would have bowled because I felt there was some life in the wicket. I still feel that our bowling remains our main strength.On Umar Gul’s absence at Multan
If I knew he was going to bowl like this beforehand then I would have picked him. But the three pace bowlers we did pick were the best we have.On Shoaib Akhtar
He is out of form at the moment and struggling with his rhythm. There is also a lot of pressure on him to perform but the good thing is that he is continuing to work extremely hard in the nets. His hard work will pay off and I’m sure he will rediscover his rhythm.On the prospect of bowling India out again
They have a world-class batting line-up – there is no doubt about that. What we need to do is put pressure on them by building up a big lead. If we bowl like we did in the first innings then we can do it again.On the responsibility and pressure on him at the start of the innings
There was some pressure on me at the start. We had to take the lead first, but I played the innings ball-by-ball. The plan was basically to occupy the crease for as long as possible, and we succeeded. It was a good knock. I think any time the team needs an innings and you respond to that it is a good innings. So in that sense it was one of my better knocks.On chasing a target in the fourth innings
It is generally difficult to play in the fourth innings, chasing a target, whether it is big or small. That is why we are trying to build up as big a lead as possible first.Imran Farhat
On his century and the pressure the inclusion of Imran Nazir put on him
There was no such pressure at all. The coach and captain had full confidence in me.On planning his innings
Our plan was to spend as much time on the pitch as possible. Taufeeq Umar and myself wanted to see off the new ball and ensure that the batsmen who came in afterwards didn’t have to cope with that problem and would feel comfortable. I visualized the innings beforehand and it worked so I am happy with that.On who he dedicated his innings to
I want to dedicate this to my family. They really wanted me to perform against India and I am glad that I have not let them down. The century against South Africa was good but I really enjoyed this one.Haroon Rashid – Pakistan’s manager
On the injuries to Moin Khan, Shabbir Ahmed and Abdul Razzaq
The tests we carried out on Moin’s groin strain have come back clear and he will be considered fit to play in the last Test. Shabbir Ahmed’s shin problem is still persisting and his status will be clearer in a day or two. Abdul Razzaq’s hip problem is not that serious and he will return to full fitness in a couple of days, and therefore be considered for the last Test.

Hampshire Under-19 captain Steven Snell has just returned from a two-week World Cricket Academy trip to Mumbai, where he was coached by Indian left-arm spin legend Bishen Bedi.Snell, 19, spent a gruelling fortnight in the nets at the Cricket Club of India, concentrating on improving his batting against spin and keeping wicket.”We had five or so former Indian Test cricketers coaching us and working with Bedi was quite phenominal,” Snell said.”We trained every morning and afternoon, and I did pretty well in the two games the WCA team won.”I got 36 off 29 balls against Bombay Gymkhana and managed a 33 not out against the Cricket Club of India.”Snell, who played in Havant’s ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship winning side last season, hopes his overall game will have benefitted when he returns for his second year on the MCC Young Cricketers staff at Lord’s.”I believe my game has improved by at least 20 per cent for the experience.”Playing on wickets that had so much spin was certainly an eye-opener,” he added.

Indian cricket team manager Chetan Chauhan feels the Zimbabwe tour hadbeen a very good learning experience for some of the young playersdespite the team’s failure to win either the Test series or thetriangular one-day tournament.India had to be content with a 1-1 draw in the two-Test series withZimbabwe and lost to West Indies in the final of the triangular oneday tournament after winning all their league matches quitecomprehensively. However, Chauhan said it was not a disappointing tourand the team was looking at the positive aspects of it."We drew the Test series one all and then in the one dayers, we wonthe league matches quite comfortably, but went down fighting to theWest Indians in the final,” Chauhan told reporters after the team’sarrival here from Zimbabwe early on Monday morning.”I personally feel this tour has done lot of good for youngsters likeopening batsmen Shiv Sundar Das, who won the man of the series in theTest matches, medium pacers Ashish Nehra, Harvinder Singh, DebashishMohanty, all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi and wicketkeeper SamirDighe,” Chauhan said.”Unfortunately, we had one bad day and the West Indians grabbed theopportunity fully and I would like to give credit to the West Indianbatsmen for the way they played and also to the Indians for the waythey fought till the end, losing by just 16 runs,” he said.Asked if the Indians were over-confident after recording easy wins inthe league matches, Chauhan said, “Not at all. In fact, we discussedat length the strategy for the final. But I can only say that the WestIndies batsmen applied themselves very well and did not allow us tomake early breakthroughs like we did in the league stages. They playedgood cricket on that particular day and scored 291 which I thought wasa bit too much in the end for us though our players fought well tillthe end,” he said.Chauhan admitted that reports of drug abuse had upset the players butsaid it did not affect their performance.”Some players whose name figured in the article were very upset.However, I spoke to them and they seemed to be alright. It is a commonpractice for the players to take energisers in public view and theseenergisers are supplied by the host nations,” he added.