Sreesanth ban 'against principles of natural justice'

	'They let the big fish get away' - Sreesanth's lawyer

Sreesanth's legal counsel has called the life ban imposed by the BCCI "bizarre", against the principles of natural justice and unlikely to stand legal scrutiny, and said the player would challenge the ban in court once he received a copy of the order. A day after Sreesanth was handed the ban by the BCCI's disciplinary committee, his counsel Rebecca John said the biggest flaw was the report drew heavily on the police findings in the criminal case, which itself is yet to reach a verdict.

The sanctions were based on the report compiled by the board's anti-corruption commissioner Ravi Sawani.

"The [BCCI] order is completely against the principles of natural justice," John told ESPNcricinfo. If Sawani had relied so heavily on the findings of Delhi Police, she said, then the least he and the BCCI should have done was wait for the final verdict by the Patiala House Court in Delhi, which is hearing the case.

"It has based its findings on personal interactions with members of Delhi Police as well as taken material from the chargesheet that has been filed by the police before a sessions court. If that is so then they should have waited for the court to determine whether or not any of this holds up in legal proceedings. They just picked up conversations they had with members of Delhi Police where they said Sreesanth and other members of the cricketing community confessed before them. It is a very, very loose report with little or no substance in it," John, who was hired by Sreesanth as soon as Delhi Police arrested him on corruption charges during the IPL in May, said.

She pointed out that the evidence produced by Delhi Police against all the Rajasthan Royal players was found to be insufficient to keep them in custody - the sessions court has granted bail to all of them, including Sreesanth. "The fact is that the sessions court has released players on bail and said none of this adds up as a case. [The court said] it is very, very tenuous - the link between whatever bookie you are saying had a role to play and the players, particularly Sreesanth, and granted him bail. And then this BCCI's one-man committee says that Sreesanth is guilty of spot-fixing and hands over a life sentence to him. Not only is it is excessive, it is completely contrary to all principles of natural justice."

John said that from what she had read of his report on the internet, Sawani's findings, especially on Sreesanth, never added up to a case. "How does he come to a conclusion? By having personal conversations with police officials. And you are basing your findings on these?"

In his report Sawani had noted that he listened to and read the transcripts of audio tapes in possession of Delhi Police of conversations between Sreesanth and the alleged bookie. "If you want to read these audio tapes, which are part of the Delhi Police [evidence] in a criminal trial, the link is so tenuous. You will believe it only because the Special Cell of Delhi Police is saying you will have to believe it in a particular way. In any case these are allegations which have to be assessed, processed and a finding has to be determined by a court of law," John said.

According to John Sreesanth is on bail only because "prima facie" Delhi Police had not managed to press a foolproof case against him. "The only reason the life ban was imposed - Mr Srinivasan was very keen to tell the public and the people of India he was treating [the issue] with a heavy hand and some people had to be made scapegoats," John said.

"What is more annoying form the point of the view of the players is that they have let the big fish get away. What happens to Mr Srinivasan. He is owner of Chennai Super Kings and there is a case of conflict of interest pending in the Supreme Court against him. The Bombay High Court recently had called the two-member committee illegal after it cleared Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra [part of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals] from corruption charges.

"Now when the BCCI, of which Srinivasan is the de facto or de jure head, conducts itself in this kind of fashion and then it hands over these sentences to players, who are soft targets, it is a little bizarre," John said.

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Essex ready if Northants slip - Grayson

Kent 107 (Masters 6-41) and 215 for 7 (Northeast 70, Stevens 67, Panesar 4-49) drew with Essex 276 (Shah 84, Foakes 58, Davies 4-67)
Scorecard

In the end, the two hours that Mother Nature afforded Essex were not enough for them to secure the victory they deserved, one that would have put them just eight points behind second-placed Northamptonshire. That deficit could have been further reduced in the penultimate round of Division Two matches next week to set up a thrilling finale to a season already spoiling us for twists and turns.

Instead, the difference is 21, although Kent, the team saved by the weather, could still make things interesting if they were to achieve an improbable win at Wantage Road next week.

Essex's coach, Paul Grayson, was understandably disappointed that rain limited the window available for his side to finish off their good work. He called for his team to maintain focus ahead of hosting Glamorgan next week. "If Northants do slip up, we'll be in the right place to make the most of it," he said.

Watchful with the bat and superior with the ball throughout, the visitors displayed a ruthlessness that few have matched in either division this season. The three pace bowlers, David Masters, Reece Topley and Graham Napier, along with Monty Panesar - who Grayson would like to bring to Chelmsford on a full-time basis - have the look of a top-tier attack. Quite rightly, Grayson was keen to extend that tag to the entire XI that started at Canterbury, championing an experienced and dynamic batting line-up.

Since the ignominy of their collapse for 20 against Lancashire at Chelmsford in early June, Essex have rallied impressively to put together a six-match unbeaten run, featuring wins against Leicestershire (twice) and Worcestershire. All this, while making FLt20 Finals Day and finishing second in the strongest competitive YB40 group - missing out on the semi-finals by a solitary point.

"By that period, we had our lads back from the IPL, so we get that nice group of players back together," Grayson said. "We know we've got the quality and eventually found a nice rhythm to our game.

"We took a bit of criticism at the start of the season, and rightly so because we didn't play well enough. But we've stuck together as a group and we've played some very good four-day cricket of late; the bowlers have been exceptional and the younger players like Jaik Mickleburgh and Ben Foakes have come to the fore to support the more experienced players, too."

There was some cause for regret here, as Grayson saw his side drop Darren Stevens twice on his way to a half-century that put Kent into the lead and took valuable overs out of the game. "It's a really important area we've got to work on - we're very aware of that," Grayson said. "It doesn't help that we don't have a settled slip cordon, but throughout the season we've put down a couple of vital chances that could have changed things for us."

Essex needed just six wickets, and maybe a few second-innings runs, to wrap up victory but a fine-yet-steady downpour throughout the morning meant the only cricket played before 3.30pm was in the respective changing rooms. Play was due to be called off at 1.30pm but, just minutes before the umpires took to the field to read the game its last rites, the rain stopped.

After Napier completed the over he started on Friday, he was immediately replaced at the Nackington Road End by Topley. Two balls in, he had Sam Northeast lbw for 70, two days after he opened the second innings.

He then had a second, by the same mode, five overs later when Geraint Jones was trapped in his crease for the second time in this match. But between Topley's brace, Ryan ten Doeschate gave Stevens his first reprieve off the bowling of Masters.

By the time Stevens' had received his second - again off Masters - he had passed 1000 first class runs for the season, given Kent the lead and crossed fifty. A regular tormenter of Essex - he has five hundreds against them - he revelled in his role as wet blanket, picking off runs past the infield, as Foster pulled his men up to coax a wicket.

However, it was an error from Stevens that let Essex back in, when he hit Panesar straight to Owais Shah at extra cover, at which point Kent had a lead of 26. A handful of half-chances came and went but at 5.12 pm, with 25 minutes of official play left, hands were shaken.

Ravi Bopara will return to the Essex side for the final two fixtures, against Glamorgan and away to Hampshire. Grayson is also due for talks with ten Doeschate and the Essex management over the allrounder's participation in the Champions League Twenty20 with New Zealand side Otago. It was originally agreed that he would go to the competition when it was mathematically impossible for Essex to catch Northamptonshire. There will be no return for Alastair Cook, however, with Grayson stating that the ECB have him on prescribed R&R ahead of the winter's Ashes commitments.

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England feel vindicated in victory

England's new-look one-day side, without five first-choice players, has come in for some harsh dissection in recent weeks. Does it devalue the game? Is the balance right? Are the selections consistent, or verging on stubborn? After victory in Cardiff to level the series, albeit just a single win in the bigger picture, Eoin Morgan was fully justified in his satisfaction at not just the win but the way it came about.

The insistence on a deep batting order enabled England to overcome the shock of a third-over hat-trick and another middle-order wobble to win by three wickets, through a crucial stand by their Nos. 7 and 8 batsmen. Another specialist bowler could well have enabled them to keep Australia to fewer than 227, but the chase will allow Morgan and Ashley Giles, England's coach, to feel some vindication.

"It's hugely satisfying, obviously, our backs were against the wall," Morgan said. "The guys can take a lot of confidence from this game, particularly the young guys coming through."

While the performances of Stokes (with bat and ball), Boyd Rankin and Michael Carberry will help their fledgling England careers, it was no surprise to see Jos Buttler as the central figure in the closing overs. His reputation precedes him on the county circuit when it comes to such skilful finishes and now he is bringing that into the international arena, having been given a run as England's limited-overs wicketkeeper by Giles.

"We were always confident, as long as we were there at the end and took the game deep," Buttler said. "The run rate wasn't too out of hand, and I knew if I was there at the end we wouldn't be very far away. I've played enough cricket now to know when it's getting out of hand. It's just 'pick your bowlers, pick your moments' and hope it comes off in your favour."

Buttler and Stokes, like every young England player these days, have come through the Lions set-up and this stand was another example of the value of that system, as they were familiar with each other - although Buttler acknowledged it wasn't perfect.

"We could have improved on our calling," he said. "We had a few near run-outs. But I think we were quite calm. I've played quite a bit of cricket with Ben, growing up."

Buttler, however, did have his heart in his mouth when he called for a review having been given lbw to Shane Watson on 8. He was not convinced the system would save him, but after chatting to Ravi Bopara decided it was worth a chance, with the match so finely balanced. "I wasn't sure ... It was obviously a big moment, and luckily the review system saved me."

The DRS worked in England's favour a short while later, too, when Stokes gloved a hook shot but was given not out. Australia had wasted their review on a speculative caught-behind appeal against Morgan.

Michael Clarke just shrugged his shoulders - it is not the first time DRS has featured on this tour - and it was clear to him where Australia had fallen short. "We lost five for 18 at the end of our innings, so we needed to make some more runs," he said. "When you only make that many runs, you know you have to bowl the opposition out. We knew we had to take 10 wickets to win the game, and unfortunately we didn't do that."

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Notts ease drop fears with draw

Middlesex 96 for 0 (Rogers 67*) trail Nottinghamshire 430 for 7 dec. (Mullaney 125, Adams 80, Hussey 67) by 334 runs
Scorecard

Nottinghamshire eased their relegation worries by picking up two valuable bowling bonus points at Lord's before their Championship Division One game against Middlesex ended in a weather-ravaged draw.

Chris Rogers took his overnight 67 to 108, the fourth first-class hundred of a memorable summer for Australia's Ashes opener, but then became the first of four scalps for Andre Adams as Middlesex, who resumed on 96 for 0, reached 353 for 7 declared.

Somerset's win against bottom club Surrey pushed Nottinghamshire down into seventh place in the Division One table, but on 132 points they are 12 ahead of Derbyshire, who crashed to defeat against Durham.

After the final day's first session was ruled out to more bad weather it was just a case for both teams of playing for bonus points after a resumption at 1.10pm following an early lunch. Rogers was in aggressive mood, flashing Adams between third slip and gully for one of his eventual 12 fours and then uppercutting a short ball from Harry Gurney to square third man for six.

A superbly timed back-foot force to the ropes through point off Luke Fletcher took Rogers to his century but the left-hander fell just five runs short of completing 1000 Championship runs for the season - in only his 11th appearance for Middlesex. Going for another pull, this time against Adams, the Middlesex captain skied to Fletcher at mid-on after batting for 155 balls and dominating an opening stand of 151 with Sam Robson, who edged behind on 41 in Adams's next over.

Dawid Malan had helped Joe Denly to add 49 for the third wicket when, to Samit Patel's second ball of the day, he aimed a drive and was bowled for 15 by the left-arm spinner. Denly, 42 not out at tea, went on to reach 63 from 76 balls before being bowled by Gurney, with the left-arm paceman squaring him up with a fine delivery from around the wicket.

Neil Dexter then thick-edged Gurney to Michael Lumb in the gully as, on 9, he pushed hard at another ball angled in but straightening a little off the pitch, while Gareth Berg fell for 26 to the second new ball when he gave Adams a return catch.

John Simpson's punchy 51 not out, though, from 74 balls and with six fours, guided Middlesex past 350 and a fourth batting point, despite Ollie Rayner falling lbw to Adams.

Nottinghamshire's David Hussey suffered a finger injury while fielding that caused a cut, but he should be fine for next Saturday's Yorkshire Bank 40 final against Glamorgan. Director of cricket Mick Newell said: "It's not dislocated and it's not broken so it shouldn't be any problem with regard to next week's final."

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Vince profits after Moeen miss

Hampshire 197 for 3 (Vince 106*, Dawson 70) v Worcestershire
Scorecard

James Vince's third LV= County Championship century of the season saw Hampshire put themselves in a promising position on a rain-shortened first day New Road.

Vince and Liam Dawson were both dropped at first slip by Moeen Ali as their partnership of 158 took Hampshire to 197 for 3 when play ended with 43 overs lost because of bad light and rain.

Vince had made only four when he was given a crucial let-off and the cost mounted as he played with increasing conviction for an unbeaten 106 packed with 18 fours and a six from 148 balls.

On a gloomy morning, Worcestershire were clearly expecting helpful bowling conditions when Daryl Mitchell won the toss and they were rewarded straightaway when Jimmy Adams was caught behind off Alan Richardson's third ball. Adams was dismissed for his seventh duck in 21 championship innings in an all-or-nothing season in which he scored 219 not out when Worcestershire were beaten at the Ageas Rose Bowl in April.

Adams came into the return fixture on the back of another double century against Northamptonshire last week but it was a different story as Hampshire struggled in a sustained opening spell of 2 for 33 by Richardson, who kept the batsmen under pressure for 14 overs and claimed his 61st championship wicket of the season when Moeen held his first chance of the day from Michael Roberts.

Hampshire would have become for 38 for 3 if Moeen had taken a fairly straightforward edge from Vince. Graeme Cessford was the unlucky bowler and, to stoke up his frustration, he conceded four consecutive boundaries to Vince in his next over.

With momentum quickly shifting in Hampshire's favour, Vince moved to 50 from 77 balls but Moeen also dropped Dawson off Richardson shortly before he reached a half-century, containing only three fours.

Play was held up for 50 minutes after lunch and on the resumption runs flowed at an alarming rate for Worcestershire. Even when they managed to break the partnership it was only in the middle of an onslaught on Cessford.

In an action-paced over, Dawson pulled a six and was then run out by Ross Whiteley from cover. This brought Vince back on strike with 92 to his name and he swept past his hundred with a pull for six and two fours from the next four balls.

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Mullaney graft leads safety quest

Nottinghamshire 161 for 2 (Mullaney 88, Lumb 54) v Middlesex
Scorecard

Nottinghamshire have one of the most attractive batting line-ups in the county game. Seldom can they have been as becalmed as this. A mantra of "safety first" may not be inspiring - it was under this slogan that the Conservatives lost the 1929 election - but there was no denying its effectiveness at Lord's.

Nottinghamshire have already put themselves into a position from which they should not lose this game, especially taking into account the disagreeable weather forecast. Even a draw would put them on the brink of confirming their Division One status.

After Middlesex won the toss and bowled, adhesiveness was needed to withstand a typically probing opening spell from Tim Murtagh. But his visions of inflicting the same damage on Nottinghamshire's top order as he had on England's eight days ago encountered a roadblock named Steven Mullaney.

There is nothing glamorous about Mullaney's batting, but he is assured playing the ball through the offside and leaves the ball well. It is a method that earned him a hundred at The Oval in July - his first game opening the batting for Nottinghamshire - and he needs only 12 more runs to add another London century.

It could have been very different though. To the third ball of the day, Mullaney called a sharp single - and it looked rather too sharp as a direct hit dislodged the stumps. But he was given the benefit of the doubt, the ball went to the boundary and Mullaney was off the mark with a five.

Mullaney was well-supported by Michael Lumb, who provided a reminder that he is capable of attritional batsmanship to go with the pyrotechnics England see in Twenty20s. Lumb had reached 54 until he fell top edging a sweep to Ollie Rayner's offspin. Rayner did not enjoy a pitch offering the assistance of The Oval - when he ravaged Surrey's batting with 15 wickets - but he bowled with impressive control once again. Based on a season's Championship haul of 41 wickets at 21 apiece, Rayner must have a reasonable chance of an England Lions berth.

Shorn of Steven Finn and Toby Roland-Jones - who is out for the rest of the season - Middlesex were a little disappointing in the field. James Harris went for 3.54 an over - expensive in the context of an overall run rate of 2.32 - seemingly trying to bowl too quickly and too short.

Perhaps he looks at the admirable Murtagh, who had to go to Ireland to begin his international career, and senses that the England selectors do not look kindly upon a perceived lack of pace. The risk, of course, is that Harris loses the consistency that meant 11 counties sought his signature when he moved on from Glamorgan a year ago. An average of 40 this season suggests Harris has yet to get the balance quite right.

As the evening descended into farce - the players went off for bad light, returned without discernible improvement and then went off for good 13 deliveries later - it was hard to avoid asking what Alex Hales made of it all. He is the top-ranked Twenty20 batsman in the world but no longer able to make Nottinghamshire's Championship side after a wretched red-ball season: hardly what he would have envisaged when his county prevented him going to the IPL in April.

Hales will soon have to make a decision: does he want to play Test cricket - something not beyond a 24-year-old of his talent, but which would take copious graft on the county circuit? The alternative is to maximise his Twenty20 skill, something that may be in England's immediate interests given his integral role in that format. If Hales pursues the second path - and he is due to have a meeting with Nottinghamshire to discuss the matter after the season - the IPL will certainly have a place for his belligerence.

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Young shines on Ireland debut

Ireland 35 for 0 trail Scotland 138 (Sharif 41, Young 4-53, McCarter 3-13) by 103 runs
Scorecard

Craig Young made an impressive debut for Ireland, claiming 4 for 53 against Scotland, as they took control of their Intercontinental Cup meeting at Clontarf.

Ireland's seamers combined to remove the visitors for 138 after putting them into bat following a delayed start and were able to round off the day on a strong note with the openers reaching 35 for 0 in reply. Ireland currently lead the table, 12 points clear of Afghanistan, and are now well placed to consolidate that advantage.

Without Tim Murtagh, who played the ODI against England and one of the 50-over matches against Scotland, where Ireland secured the World Cricket League Championship, the coach Phil Simmons needed to delve into his bench strength for this four-day encounter and he will have been delighted with the outcome.

Young, 23, opened his tally in his third over when Freddie Coleman slashed to point, and by the end of his first spell had 3 for 28, having also accounted for Richie Berrington and Preston Mommsen who were both bowled by full deliveries.

Kevin O'Brien contributed two wickets, and sandwiched between them held the catch at second slip which accounted for Majid Haq.

At 68 for 7, three figures was looking out of reach for Scotland but the lower order rallied through a stand of 56 between Moneeb Iqbal and Safyaan Sharif. Graeme McCarter then struck twice in three deliveries (spread across two overs) before Young finished the innings with his fourth when he had Sharif was caught behind for 41.

In fading light, the closing overs should have been tricky for Ireland's openers, but William Porterfield and Paul Stirling were able to score at nearly six-an-over to round off a superb day for the home side.

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The Professor's problem

Pakistan have a problem at the top of their order. Their experienced opener is struggling, and they are still having try-outs for the other spot

If Mohammad Hafeez makes a trip to Lake Kariba after this series, he would fancy his chances of returning with a decent stash, considering that every time he has gone fishing recently, he's caught something. The edge.

Twice in three innings against Zimbabwe and four times out of six in South Africa, Hafeez has been caught behind the stumps, chasing deliveries he should have left alone. Even on a placid pitch at Harare Sports Club, Hafeez's uncertainty outside the off stump was exposed by the moving ball.

This time it took 32 deliveries against an attack that took some time to find its line - understandably so, because one half of the opening pair, Brian Vitori, had not played a Test in 19 months - but it happened nonetheless. Vitori pitched the ball up and moved it away so that Hafeez had to play, and the outside edge carried to Hamilton Masakadza at first slip.

Vitori would have seen Hafeez's doubt against previous deliveries. He had shouldered arms tentatively when Vitori first found movement and was beaten when he tried to defend on the back foot. Against another delivery, Hafeez was surprised by the lack of bounce and withdrew his bat too late. There was an edge but it fell short of first slip.

That was just before lunch and it must have got Vitori thinking. During the break, someone may have reminded him how Hafeez had been dismissed in the first Test. He had been caught in his crease by Tendai Chatara and pushed forward, only to be caught at second slip in the first innings.

Vitori and Chatara are no Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander but it may have been brought to their attention how the South African bowlers got the better of Hafeez six months ago. In five out of six innings, he edged - once onto his stumps - and the rest to be caught by the keeper or slips. The exception was when he played down the wrong line to one that moved across him and was trapped lbw. Steyn was responsible for four of those dismissals, moving the ball away from Hafeez every time.

With Vitori's natural angle taking the ball away from Hafeez, he could use that to his advantage. And all that is before considering the dry spell Hafeez is experiencing in the longer format.

Hafeez has scored only one hundred and one fifty in his last three series and both of them were in batsmen-friendly conditions. His 196 was at the SSC and was followed by a 52 in Pallekele. On anything livelier, he has struggled.

Those who have watched him for years are not surprised and point to a distinct lack of improvement in his Test cricket. Hafeez's highest score outside the subcontinent is 95 against England at The Oval in 2006. Four of his five hundreds have come in his home country, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. The exception was 119 against Zimbabwe two years ago in Bulawayo, on a surface that was as flat as the attack he was facing.

With no marked progression in ten years of playing Test cricket, questions over whether Hafeez should continue opening are valid, especially with a series against South Africa ahead. He averages only 17 against them, and though pitches in the UAE are likely to offer little to the quicks and opening is likely to be less challenging than it is in Africa, Steyn and co will not make life easy for Hafeez.

His value as a spinner aside, Pakistan may have to consider other options if they hope to present a strong resistance upfront against the world's top-ranked team. Taufeeq Umar would appear the leading contender because of his record against South Africa. In six matches he played against them, he scored two hundreds and four fifties and averaged 60.83. However, most of those runs were scored ten years ago and whether Taufeeq can summon similar resolve is the question.

Imran Farhat is another candidate, although his presence seems to be anything but palatable to many Pakistan fans. He also has decent numbers against South Africa, an average of 36.83 in six Tests with a century and two fifties. He played against them in the most recent series and appeared in control when he scored 30 and 43. Or they could revert to Nasir Jamshed, who opened in two Tests in South Africa and was dropped after not faring well.

Alternatively, Pakistan could gamble on a youngster in Ahmed Shehzad. Although he has not played Test cricket, his limited-overs form in Zimbabwe hinted at promise and ability. They would have to risk partnering a rookie with Khurram Manzoor, who impressed Dav Whatmore on his comeback but is still re-finding his feet in international cricket.

Manzoor took a step towards doing that today, by scoring the first half-century by a Pakistan opener in five Tests this year. His partner Hafeez, on the other hand, may want to get fishing out of his system before taking on South Africa.

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BCCI-CAB case set for next hearing

The Supreme Court hearing in the BCCI v Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) case resumes on Wednesday with the board's lawyers expected to argue its case instead of filing a reply to the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by CAB. The BCCI's decision is aimed at speeding up the hearing on the CAB appeal, which challenged the Bombay High Court order on July 30 because it did not appoint a new committee to probe the alleged corruption in the IPL.

On August 28, CAB had filed an appeal against the High Court order that had originally found the constitution of the BCCI's two-man probe panel - which cleared Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, officials of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises, of corruption - to be illegal. In its plea, CAB senior counsel Harish Salve argued the High Court should have formed a fresh panel, because the allegations of betting and spot fixing in the IPL were grave and a private body like the BCCI should not be empowered to make its own findings.

Normal procedure demands that one files a reply through an affidavit against the petitioner's appeal before the court hears the case. However, the BCCI decided to enter the final arguments in the hearing, to avoid delaying the judgement. "The intention is to expedite the case. If the BCCI files a reply then the CAB will file a rejoinder," a board source said. "Then the court after the completion of all pleadings will decide another date."

The main reason behind the BCCI trying to expedite the process is to clear its president N Srinivasan's name of all accusations, including his involvement in the appointment of the inquiry committee. The High Court had pointed out that there was a "degree of probability" in Srinivasan have had a role in the formation of the panel.

"The most that can be said in favour of the petitioner (CAB) at this stage … is that it has made out a prima-facie case that respondent No. 2 (Srinivasan) was involved in the formation of the commission," Justices SJ Vajifdar and MS Sonak had said in their order. "The least that must be said in favour of the petitioner is that the respondents have not established that respondent No. 2 had no role to play in the formation of the commission."

However, it is understood that neither the court order nor the ongoing appeal in the Supreme Court will hinder Srinivisan from attending any BCCI meetings, including chairing the annual general meeting on September 29.

In order to clear his name, the BCCI and Srinivasan have to refute the observations made by the High Court. They will have to prove that the probe commission was constituted as per IPL operational rules, as they noted in their appeal admitted by the Supreme Court on August 7. The board also has to prove that Srinivasan played no role in the appointment of the probe panel.

In its SLP, the CAB had said the issue should have been supervised by some court of law and not a private body, like the BCCI. The CAB's suggestion was that the court should have constituted the probe panel, and if the BCCI wanted to appoint its own panel then it should allow the court to study the panel's findings.

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Why Zimbabwe need more Tests

Zimbabwe showed good application in the first two sessions and with more Test experience they could avoid being suckered into traps set by the Pakistan bowlers after tea

Until 19 minutes after tea, Zimbabwe were making a strong case for why they deserve to play more Test cricket in what could be their last long-format fixture until July next year. They were 172 for 3, had seen off an hour of high quality seam bowling on a lively surface in the morning session. Two of their batsmen, one of whom was still at the crease, had made half-centuries and their line-up also featured one partnership in excess of 100 runs.

Then, Malcolm Waller fell into a trap that had obviously been set for him. Having watched Waller's ease against the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, Misbah-ul-Haq brought back Junaid Khan to try and unsettle him. He delivered four short balls in the first over Waller faced but started the second by reverting to a good length. With the fourth ball, he held it just back of a length and Waller was trapped.

Perhaps expecting a slightly fuller length, Waller did not move his feet at all as he fished and found only an outside edge. That started a familiar middle-order wobble, which Zimbabwe had managed to avoid in the last Test but which they have become known for. They lost 4 for 31 to turn the innings from respectable to needing rescuing.

Zimbabwe's position did little to reflect their hard graft earlier, which once again demonstrated their top-order has the temperament for Test cricket. For the first 10 overs, they had no choice but to try and survive.

Junaid moved the ball both ways in a spell that underlined his worth to the Pakistan attack while Rahat Ali backed him up fairly well. Through a mixture of either moving the ball away from the batsmen at the last instant or swerving it back into them, Junaid ensured Zimbabwe had to play at all but four of the first 30 balls he bowled. Rahat was slightly less menacing and made them go for 21 of the 30 balls he delivered. Between them, they also beat the outside edge eight times in 10 overs.

Tino Mawoyo went early and Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza came close to following. Neither were sure what Junaid was going to present them with next and hasty withdrawals of the bat could easily have taken the edge. Run-scoring was almost impossible and if bat managed to find ball, it was only with the aim of defence.

A far lesser side than Zimbabwe could have found themselves four or five down in the face of hostile, incisive bowling by Pakistan's pace attack. That they did not, would only have helped the confidence of the batting pair, especially when Younis Khan came on and offered some relief.

For Sibanda, the self-assurance overflowed too quickly. He resorted to his favourite stroke, the pull, and ended up playing on. Questions will rightly be asked about his ability to pace an innings and whether he becomes too aggressive too quickly, especially since he has not scored a Test fifty in almost two years.

He need look no further than his captain, Brendan Taylor, for an example of how to hang back until absolutely sure. Taylor, who knew he was struggling for form in the lead-up to this match, played just five scoring shots in the first 60 balls he faced. His boundary came off an edge to the third man boundary and the three singles he scored in that time were the result of slightly better timed pushes than the ones he was employing in defence the rest of the time.

Taylor did not take risks because he was battling through the initial stages of his innings. When Pakistan overpitched, he mistimed his drives. When he got a full toss, he did not hit it with any power and eventually he resorted to trying one of his favourite one-day strikes, the ramp over the wicket-keeper's head but when he could not even get hold of that, he knuckled down and waited for something to go his way.

Only when the spinners started giving it a bit more flight, did Taylor start to come into his own. With nothing more than sheer determination, Taylor found his rhythm and he had the luxury of time because Masakadza was playing a fairly fluent knock, and was especially comfortable against the spinners, on the other end.

Masakadza was well-set, enough to suggest hopes for a Test century, but when he was dismissed, it was up to Taylor to bat through the day. He enjoyed a sprightly stand with Waller and had that grown, Zimbabwe's promise may have been fulfilled.

Zimbabwe endured a period of play that even their most loyal supporters are calling more of the same. Waller threw it away, not realising he was being set up by Junaid, Richmond Mutumbami was careless in the channel outside off stump and tried to play a defensive stroke too late and Elton Chigumbura was bowled by a Rehman delivery that kept low - a sign of what this surface will deliver as the match progresses.

Greater awareness may have saved all three of them and the lack of such foresight is the clearest indication that Zimbabwe need to play more Test cricket. Without facing bowlers for extended periods of time, they will not know when plans are being worked out against them and how to guard against that.

Building and timing an innings is learnt only through practice and only batsmen who are able to make those skills a habit succeed at Test level. This innings could be Zimbabwe's penultimate chance to do that.

They will bat again in this Test but then face at least nine months with no Test cricket, because of the postponed Sri Lanka series and a flawed Future Tours Programme. Zimbabwe's performance in this series should stand as a reason why they should not be left out in the cold and despite financial and fixture concerns worldwide, something should be done to ensure these players benefit from more time in the middle.

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