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We went into the Galle Test with a psychological edge and full ofconfidence. We had just won the one-day series, knew that India werenot at full strength and also had the home advantage. We were stillwary though and aware that we needed to do the basics well.

That confidence wasn’t misplaced, however, as we outplayed them in alldepartments of the game. The bowlers made scoring very difficult andbowled plenty of wicket taking balls too, whilst Sanath (Jayasuriya)led from the front and Kumar (Sangakkara) played brilliantly with thebat.In the days leading up to the match there was some concern that theremay have been too much grass left on the wicket. We were prepared,though, having been practicing for the last two months on surfacesthat seamed all over the place. In the event there was not too muchsideways movement and batting, though not easy when the bowlers putthe ball in the right areas, was far from impossible.India started with a plan of survival and that negativity kept us inthe game, when we took only one wicket in the first two sessions. Wehad bowled adequately – though were guilty at times of dropping atouch short – but India never capitalised on their good start. In theevening we started to turn the screw, as “Dili” came to the party.I remember facing Dilhara (Fernando) when he came on to the scene acouple of years ago. He could be sharp, but also very wayward. When hetoured South Africa and New Zealand, we never knew whether he wasgoing to grab a wicket or bowl a ten-ball over.The management, however, knew a good thing when they saw one andpersevered. A softly spoken and unassuming man, he is a quick learnerand worked hard with fast bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake andbiomechanical expert Terry Oliver. His improvement in just six monthsis quite astonishing. Nowadays he is far more accurate, consistentlyhits the seam, reverse swings the ball and has a very deceptive slowerball. He still has a lot to learn of course, but he is willing to dothat, which is tremendously encouraging.In fact, Dilhara is one of a small young group of Sri Lankan fastbowlers, who have the ability to bowl really quick. Prabath Nishanka,a tall right armer from Matara, has just returned from a knee injuryand he has been a real handful at the nets. Ishara Amarasinghe, ateammate from Nondescripts Cricket Club, is another speed merchant tolook out for.Having bowled India out we needed to make sure we batted well. Soundsobvious, but we did not want to have to score many in the fourthinnings. There was already plenty of rough by the end of the firstinnings and the ball would have turned square by day four and five.The pace and bounce would have also become more unpredictable.India didn’t do themselves any favours on the second day. They bowledpoorly and Sanath (Jayasuriya) was able to get after them. Kumar’s(Sangakkara) innings was also impressive, even if it was not asexplosive as Sanath’s. He had come into the match without much formand although he is a naturally confident player, his confidence haddropped. Normally a free flowing stroke maker he was workmanlike anddetermined on this occasion.With the middle order collapsing (I played a half hearted stroke. Withhindsight I should have been more positive and square cut the ballproperly), he retained his discipline and ensured that we were able toput the Indians under a lot of pressure in the second innings;pressure that eventually told, as India collapsed for the second timein the game.We now then go into the second Test in Kandy full of confidence. Indiawill be down after such a convincing defeat and we need to re-createthe pressure that we put them under in Galle. We know that we havelost two close encounters in Kandy in the last 12 months, but alsorecognise where we went wrong. In those two matches we were not strongenough at the crunch moments. This time we need to hang in there thewhole match and make sure we ram home the advantage that we created inGalle.

Kerala’s medium pace bowler Tinu Yohannan was in devastating form on the opening day of the three day Coca Cola Trophy (under-25) tournament game against Karnataka at the Maharaja Jayamajaendra Wodeyar Sports Complex in Bangalore on Tuesday. Yohannan, who has been selected as one of the trainees for the National Cricket Academy, took seven for 65 off 20.3 overs as Karnataka were all out for 264. In reply, Kerala were 68 for no loss at close of play.Winning the toss, Karnataka were in trouble early when they they lost two wickets for 32. Their hopes revived with a third wicket partnership of 138 runs off 32 overs between Prajwal Raj (63) and SP Shinde (76). While the former faced 88 balls and hit seven fours and three sixes, Shinde faced 106 balls and hit nine of them to the ropes. Yohannan dismissed both batsmen in successive overs but Karnataka’s hopes of a good total were maintained with N Mulky (37) and MS Vinay (29) adding 50 runs for the fifth wicket off six overs. Vinay, who had opened the batting retired hurt in the seventh over after scoring only one run when the score was 20 for one. He re-entered at the fall of the third wicket at 170.Once Vinay was out however at 223, there was a sharp slump and the last six wickets fell for 41 runs off 22.3 overs. Yohannan took four of these and was well supported by Rajesh who took the other two. Mulky’s was a valuable contribution under the circumstnaces. He faced 66 balls and hit five boundaries.In the remaining 17 overs, Kerala’s in form openers V Girilal (23) and MP Sorab (33) survived till stumps even though Karnataka captain SK Susanth made some quick bowling changes in the closing stages. Girilal has hit five fours and Sorab, who carried his bat for 255 in the previous game, has hit seven.

Ireland lost the toss for the first time in the CricInfo Women’s World Cup today but it turned out to be sixth time lucky as they made the most of some Netherlands’ gifts to score their first win of the tournament.The first gift was the invitation to bat when the still, hot and depressingly humid conditions turned fielding into a trial of endurance. The second gift actually numbered 28, the wide balls that Ireland turned into 41 runs, the precise difference between the two teams at the end.And the third gift was the second over of the match. The Netherlands had achieved their dream start, capturing the first Irish wicket with Sandra Kottman’s fifth ball of the innings courtesy of a superb slip catch by their captain, Pauline te Beest. But it turned into a nightmare.Cheraldine Oudolf put balls three, four and five of the second over outside Anne Linehan’s legs and three times in succession the Irish left-hander despatched them backward of square to the rope. And for good measure she drove the sixth to the cover boundary. Nineteen off the over, 21 for one after two overs and the Irish knew it was their day.They never looked back. Linehan went on to 54 off 68 balls, the captain, Miriam Grealey, ensured the pace did not drop with 32 off 37 balls and at the other end the rock of Caitriona Beggs carried her bat from her entrance at 56 for two in the 12th over for a personal best 66. It was a meritorious enough innings given the energy sapping conditions. It was even more notable given that she top-edged a ball into her eye at the end of the 30th over, requiring a lengthy treatment break that would have seen rugby referees ushering her from the playing arena.But she continued on in what turned out to be a player-of-the-matching performance, undoubtedly contributed to by her outstanding ground fielding during the Netherlands innings.And at the end of the innings, when the fighting Dutch denied the Ireland batsmen the free hits they had feasted on earlier, there was the quick-running expert Nikki Squire. While scoring an undefeated 10, she assisted Beggs in an undefeated seventh wicket partnership of 36 runs in five overs as the score reached 232 for six at the end of 50.For the Netherlands bowlers, there was little joy. Kottman (10-38-2) and Teuntje de Boer (10-40-1), who returned at the death, did manage to hold Ireland in check when they threatened to take complete control. But those wides said it all about the Netherlands’ effort in the field.If the Netherlands did not already believe the gods had conspired against them, a strong wind swept the field after lunch, blowing away the humid conditions and anything else that was not tied down. It made batting very difficult.It did not do much for the bowlers, either. But no one told Barbara McDonald. Operating on pain-killers for a leg injury incurred through some injudicious fielding in her last match, she uprooted the stumps of one of the big Netherlands’ threats, Maartje Koster, in her second over and then conspired with Saibh Young to keep the Netherlands to 18 for two off the first 10 overs. It was virtually all over by then.McDonald came back at the death and ended with the fine figures given the conditions of 10 overs, three maidens, one for 22 (six of those courtesy of tired Irish fielding at the end). Young, two for 32 off eight, Karen Young, one for 15 off five and Isobel Joyce, one for 28 off nine, played their part in keeping the Netherlands in check.But the Netherlands never gave up. Building around a fine performance by the wicket-keeper batsman, Rowan Milburn, they kept fighting to the end, finishing on 191 for eight, a fine score from a chasing team at this tournament. Milburn ended with 71, adding 62 with Tessa van der Gun (43) for the sixth wicket.While they were together, anything was possible. But those wides always dangled the target tantalisingly out of reach.For a coach who had just picked up his first win of the tournament, John Wills was subdued. He was reasonably pleased with the batting. “We set targets and met them, even exceeded them.” But, even making allowances for the very trying conditions, he would have looked for a better performance in the field. “Some of the outfielding was sloppy.””It was a workman’s performance.” And at last a smile: “We’ll gratefully accept the win.”

Shane Warne has explained how his position in the Australian side has changed in recent years, and appears to be revelling in his role out of the spotlight.”My role in the side has changed a fair bit with the three quicks in the side in the last couple of years," Warne reasoned.”We always used to bat first no matter what so I could bowl on the fourth or fifth day. Now we bowl first all the time. It’s been a change in tactics for us and that’s been something I’ve had to adjust to.”I bowl on days one, two and three and people start to say I’m not bowling big turners any more. I say ‘wait until days four and five’ but we’re winning in three days, so I don’t get that opportunity very often.”My role now is to make some handy runs at number eight, take a few catches and pick up the odd wicket here and there.”Warne endured a tough tour of India. Much was expected of him on the turning pitches but he found Laxman and co. to be wonderful players of spin and his wickets came at more than 50 apiece. India also ended Australia’s remarkable unbeaten run, but Warne does not believe that they played badly, rather that India raised their game.”People have said various things about us, but I tend to disagree about India. I think it went pretty well for all of us," he said. “It would’ve been nice to win, but I thought it was a fascinating Test series. It was one of most exciting I’ve been involved in.”Someone like Laxman, averaging 25 in Test cricket, comes out and gets 280; it’s one of the best innings I’ve ever witnessed.”When you lose you always think you could’ve done better, but you’ve got to take your hat off and say ‘Jeez mate you played well and were too good for us’.”Looking forward to the Ashes, Warne appears to revel in the resurgence of the England team, but he insists that Australia have never taken anything for granted against the old enemy.”The Ashes were never devalued in my eyes. It’s always something special. It’s irrelevant if England are playing badly or we’re playing badly. England-Australia battles always bring out the best in everybody.”The history and tradition means so much. A lot of us have been playing against each other for a long time. I know how the English batters play and they know how I’m going to bowl.”It’ll be interesting to see which way they try and go; whether they come out and have a go, which will help me, or whether they try and make it hard for me to get a wicket.”

Goa were dismissed for 303 fifty-five minutes before lunch on thesecond day of their South Zone Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka atMargao. In reply Karnataka had moved to 158/4 but with an outrightvictory needed to progress to the knockouts, their position looksdistinctly shaky.Overnight batsmen Rohit Rane and A Bhagwat added 69 runs for theseventh wicket. After Bhagwat’s dismissal, Goa lost the last threewickets for 20 runs. Rohit Rane returned unbeaten on 44. Dodda Ganeshbagged six wickets for 87 runs and Mansoor Ali Khan picked up threefor 65.In reply, Karnataka lost opener Arun Kumar in the seventh over.Barrington Rowland and MR Beerala (36) added 60 runs for the secondwicket before Beerala was castled by Khalid in the 32nd over. SkipperVijay Bharadwaj (22) shared a 59 run partnership with Rowland.Karnataka batsmen made steady starts but could not convert them intobig innings. At close of play Karnataka were 158/4 with Rowlandunbeaten on 67.

ScorecardLeft-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar’s seven-wicket haul helped Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) snatch a thrilling four-run win against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a see-saw battle in Faisalabad. The continuous shift of momentum was apparent in SBP’s chase of 165 as in the entire match. After being in a position of control at 93 for 3, SBP lost six wickets for 36 runs, then managed a 33-run last-wicket stand to raise hopes of victory, but in the end, they fell five short of the target.Neither team created a position of clear advantage throughout the contest. However, WAPDA, led by seamers Junaid Khan and Azhar Attari, had a slight edge over their opponents midway, as they took a 46-run first-innings lead.But that was nullified by a poor second innings by them. Spinners Adnan Rasool and Hasan Mahmood ran through the entire batting order, taking nine wickets between them to bowl WAPDA out for 118. Only lower middle-order batsman Mohammad Ayub resisted their onslaught with an unbeaten 32.The chase began poorly as opener Rameez Raja fell with five runs on the board. His partner, captain Kashif Siddiq, with other top-order batsmen, took them to a position of apparent safety at 93 for 3, before a collapse ensued.
ScorecardAt the Khan Research Laboratory Ground in Rawalpindi, the home team, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), claimed a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with the help of big centuries from middle-order batsman Shoaib Ahmed, and a combined bowling performance in the second innings.After being asked to bowl, KRL took wickets regularly to bowl PIA out for 268. Although only lower-order batsman Tahir Khan scored a half-century, PIA were helped by small but productive partnerships to go past the 250-run mark. The seventh-wicket stand of 58 was the highest, but there were five other partnerships all worth over 30. Left-arm seamer Rahat Ali took four wickets.But the total was overhauled by KRL, with a knock of 177 from middle-order batsman Shoaib. Off the other batsmen, only Saeed Anwar jnr scored a half-century, as they were bowled out for 343. Shoaib’s innings featured 21 boundaries and three sixes.The deficit of 75 was erased by PIA, but three wickets apiece by Yasir Ali and Ali Khan restricted them to 194. Sarfraz Ahmed, with an unbeaten 53, and Faisal Iqbal were the chief contributors to that total. The target was quickly achieved by KRL, courtesy of an aggressive 54 from opener Tayyab Riaz.
ScorecardA potential winning opportunity was spurned by Habib Bank Limited in their chase of 139 as they drew against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in Islamabad. After gaining a 61-run lead in the first innings, Habib Bank, through seamers Ehsan Adil and Abdul Ameer, bowled SNGPL for 199. But they couldn’t chase down the small target in 36 overs, and had to be content with three points from the game.SNGPL, after choosing to bat, lost a couple of wickets early, but a 75-run third-wicket partnership, and four other smaller stands took them to 232.Habib Bank’s reply was dominated by their first three batsmen. Openers Imran Farhat and Shan Masood put on 119, with both scoring half-centuries and No. 3 Ahmed Shehzad scored 94. But from 220 for 3, they collapsed to 293 all out.SNGPL managed a more productive second innings than their first. Opener Azeem Ghumman scored a half-century, but of the other batsmen, no one scored more than 24. Ehsan Adil, who had taken two wickets in the first innings, took four this time. A target of 139 in 36 overs appeared achievable and Habib Bank began their chase positively too, but they lost four wickets quickly, and ultimately, ended the game at 73 for 5 with a draw.

Zimbabwe have made four changes to their 15-man squad for the first two ODIs against New Zealand in Harare, including a recall for 30-year-old offspinner John Nyumbu. Batsman Craig Ervine and fast bowler Chris Mpofu, who were both left out of the squad for the home ODIs against India, were picked for the New Zealand series, as was allrounder Luke Jongwe, who has not played for Zimbabwe since making his international debut last year.

IN
Craig Ervine, Christopher Mpofu, John Nyumbu, Luke Jongwe
OUT
Richmond Mutumbami, Donald Tiripano, Malcolm Waller, Brian Vitori

Wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami, middle-order batsman Malcolm Waller, and the seamers Donald Tiripano and Brian Vitori were all dropped following a poor ODI series against India, which Zimbabwe lost 3-0.Nyumbu made his international debut during the only Test against South Africa in Harare last August, and became only the second Zimbabwe bowler to take a five-for on Test debut. He played his first ODI later that month, also against South Africa, but his patchy form – 11 wickets from 10 matches at 37.63 – led to him being cut from the side after the fifth ODI against Bangladesh, a series where Zimbabwe were whitewashed 5-0. Nyumbu, though, continued to produce solid numbers in domestic cricket, picking up 12 wickets for Matabeleland Tuskers and helping the team to the final of the Pro50 Championship.Ervine makes a return to the ODI team despite a mediocre run with the bat; he scored just nine runs from the two T20Is against India, and his last international fifty was back in the World Cup, against West Indies in Canberra. Mpofu’s spot in the team, though, was presumably earned after his impressive performance in the first T20I against India, where he collected 3 for 33 through cutters and slower deliveries; Mpofu would later term his stint with the team “the best time of my career”.Zimbabwe are scheduled to play three ODIs against New Zealand between August 2 and August 7, followed by a T20I on August 9, all in Harare.Squad (first two ODIs): Elton Chigumbura (captain), Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza, Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Regis Chakabva (wk), Graeme Cremer, Prosper Utseya, Tinashe Panyangara, Christopher Mpofu, John Nyumbu, Vusi Sibanda, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva

Durban – Shrugging off the nightmare trauma of the last 72 hoursSouth Africa forgot the recriminations of Hansiegate for anevening and concentrated on beating Australia at Kingsmead in theopening match of the Challenge Series.It was a remarkable four-wickets victory against the World Cupchampions: just what a packed Kingsmead, and perhaps SouthAfrica, needed in a time of internal crisis.With Gary Kirsten digging deep in a hallmark display ofleft-handed batting grit, synonymous with the Kirsten name,during a well-paced innings of 97, South Africa went on to take a1-0 lead in the three-match series.In some small way it avenged the two defeats during the World Cupin England last year as the side, shaken by the Hansie Cronjescandal focused their minds on the game and pulled together in adisplay of true character. The success coming with 12 balls tospare.After Kirsten and Jacques Kallis had laid the foundation with awell executed partnership of 129 for the third wicket, JontyRhodes arrived and an audacious pull off a short delivery fromBrett Lee ended the game with a four. It was an entertainingflourish and as flamboyant as any innings we have seen.Yet Kirsten”s innings was full of purpose and merit: it was as ifhe wanted to win this match so much he was not prepared tosurrender his wicket at any price. The pity that he edged aslower delivery from Brett Lee into his stumps.Not surprisingly he won the man of the match of award andadmitted that the way to beat the Australians was to buildpartnerships. His partnership with Kallis did much to give theSouth Africans a touch more confidence lower in the order.Their partnership did much to contain the man they have named theWoollongong Whizz, Brett Lee, and the old adversary Shane Warnealong with Damien Fleming.If Kirsten, whose last visit to Kingsmead resulted hisTest-equalling score of 275, was prepared to take South Africa”sbatting cause on his shoulders, he found willing support in hispartnerships with Kallis and 67 with Rhodes.What was interesting is Kallis batting at four in the order.Perhaps South Africa have found the top five positions they wantfor the series with Neil McKenzie at three, a position filled byKallis, whose strokeplay showed he was on top of his game and thesix was as authoritative as any during the game.As for Rhodes there was no mistaking his intentions from thestart of his innings. His calm, assured approach and neatfootwork showed that South Africa have a middle-order batsman whocan take the tough pressure exerted by the visitors. They know atrick or two and so does Rhodes.Not that scoring the 241 need was going to be easy although at120 for seven at the start of the 27th over, Shaun Pollock, inhis first serious role as captain, must have thought chasing atotal of 150 was well within his side”s sights.Only Australia”s ability to dig deep into their batting reserveswith a couple of quality partnerships at least put a brave smileon the face of the visitors” first batting effort in South Africathis century. As Martyn eased his way along with an entertainingarray of eloquent strokes, he did not shield his lesser partners.There was the distinct impression that the other two Cobbers inthe middle, Fleming and Lee, had to dig in and provide a few runsthemselves as well as help build a partnerships to prop up theinnings. Not at all easy when the top and middle has surrenderedsome of the initiative.Mark Waugh might feel a touch miffed about his lbw decision whichseemed to drifting down leg and Matthew Hayden, the victim of oneof those superb run out efforts from an airborne throw from thecovers, the victim of circumstances.At 11 for two in the fourth over South Africa could feel wellsatisfied with their efforts. Gilchrist was batting with the sortof style which makes him look more of an executioner in theKlusener mould than the elegant style of Mark Waugh.They way he punched the ball around made Kingsmead look a lotsmaller than it really is. The venue may be a touch bigger thanSt George”s Park and Newlands, and about the same size as theSinhalese Sports Club in Colombo but his effusive style was anindication of wrist and foot co-ordination as well as timing.For those who enjoy such tactics it was good to watch and the wayhe smashed the ball for six gave the Aussie camp a sense ofconfidence.What undid the middle-order, Martyn apart, was the way thatNtini, bowling as well as he did in Sharjah and certainly muchbetter than his domestic performances, skidded the ball through.His four wickets were all well executed catches behind byBoucher.The inter-action between these two was entertaining as it wasskilfully executed, as if it was part of a well crafted script:three of the catches were under-edged shots along with the bigprize, Steve Waugh”s wicket for two.After the agony of that 120 at Headingley in Leeds in the SuperSix match and the 56 in the semi-final at Edgbaston, to get ridof the gritty, determined Steve Waugh for only two was a bonus.For Ntini it was the start of a particularly rewarding spell.Acknowledgement too for the way Pollock handled the young man whorewarded his captain also with the wickets of Michael Bevan,Andrew Symonds and Warne. Not at all a bad haul for the23-year-old Border bowler”s first game at home for his country intwo seasons.What was interesting as the Aussie dug deep was how first Flemingand then Lee put together career best scores. Fleming managed 29off 45 balls and Lee 24 off 29 balls. It was the partnershipswith Martyn of 65 and 56 which lifted Australia”s total to 240two runs being added when one of Gilchrist”s three sixes waschanged from a four.

ScorecardFile photo – Nikhil Gangta hit 12 fours and five sixes•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A century from Nikhil Gangta powered Himachal Pradesh into an innings lead against Jammu & Kashmir in Dharamsala. J&K could add only 19 runs to their overnight score of 274 for 8 before being bundled out 4.5 overs into the day, leaving Parvez Rasool unbeaten on 114. The visitors, however, immediately fought back, strikes from Rasool and medium-pacer Umar Nazir Mir reducing Himachal to 77 for 4. Gangta and Robin Bist led a counterattack, batting together for 44 overs to string a 157-run partnership, helping the team to 300. Bist hit seven fours for his 66, but was trapped lbw by Ram Dayal towards the end of the day. Gangta was not out on 111, with 12 fours and five sixes, when stumps were called.Rohan Prem made his maiden first-class double century, which contributed to more than half of Kerala’s total. Prem, who began the second day on 106, added another 102 runs before he was the eighth batsman dismissed. Prem had good support from Raiphi Gomez (41), Monish Karaparambil (37) and Fabid Ahmed (37) as Kerala built solidly but slowly. Legspinner Akash Bhandari collected his second five-wicket haul in first-class cricket but by then Kerala had reached 400.Karaparambil further strengthened Kerala’s advantage by nipping out Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal for 6. Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari, though, survived till stumps, with Hyderabad finishing at 40 for 1.
ScorecardResuming on 230 for 3, Services posted 402, with No. 6 Sufiyan Alam becoming the fourth half-centurion for his side. He was aided by handy contributions from Muzzaffaruddin Khalid (23) and Diwesh Pathania (26) after overnight batsman Rajat Pailiwal added 36 runs to his tally. Paliwal was trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Darshan Misal and in the following over Shahshank Sharma fell to Shadab Jakati. Alam struck seven fours before he became the first of pacer Rituraj Singh’s three victims.In reply, Goa lost opener Amogh Desai in the first over when he was out lbw to Diwesh Pathania before tea. Swapnil Asnodkar and Sagun Kamat managed to grind out 32 together before Poonam Poonia struck to remove Kamat for 24. Asnodkar and Dheeraj Jadhav, however, ensured that the hosts ended the day without any further damage. Goa still trail Services by 340 runs.Saurashtra v Jharkhand – Jadeja topples Jharkhand in under two days

Plans for a Twenty20 Champions League this autumn could already be in trouble because of the insistence of Lalit Modi, the IPL’s commissioner, that no player with links to the rival ICL will be allowed to take part.The chairmen of several English counties have demanded clarification over the eligibility of such individuals. Cricinfo has been told by other reliable sources of an agreement under which ICL-contracted players can take part.”The situation is blurred,” Surrey’s chief executive, Paul Sheldon, told Cricinfo. “No one can fully explain it at the moment, so we are waiting for clarification. Until we have clarification we are going to play the best side that we can to make sure we get to the finals and have that chance of going through to the Champions’ League.”The two finalists of this season’s domestic Twenty20 Cup will qualify for the Twenty20 Champions League. As things stand only three counties – Essex, Middlesex and Somerset -have no ICL players in their squads, although as many as five more may not field ICL players in their squads.Originally, the IPL, backed by the Indian board, demanded that no ICL-contracted players be allowed to take part in any cricket anywhere in the world. But while some boards fell into line, the ECB’s tough approach vis-a-vis the counties gradually fell apart, largely through legal threats, and by early May every ICL player who had signed with a county side was free to play.Counties are increasingly concerned that if they do as Modi demands and omit ICL players then they risk being sued. If they don’t, Modi will block them from taking part. “If they ban the counties, about 15 out of 18 will be ineligible,” Tom Sears, Derbyshire’s chief executive, told The Guardian. “I can’t see the ECB agreeing to a tournament on those terms.”The ECB appears to be caught in the crossfire – keen to cooperate with Modi and the IPL but under increasing pressure from the counties. On Sunday Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, insisted that the counties were aware of the board’s position that ICL players may be banned from participating in the final. They counter that the ECB has failed to offer clear guidance at any stage of the process.The chairmen also want clarification over Modi’s statement that IPL contracts take precedence over any others in the case of a player who represents more than one side involved in the tournament.Again, that contradicts what Cricinfo has been told, and it seems that it could all come down to a power struggle and Modi seeks to increase the IPL’s control..While the issue will not arise until the autumn, counties need to know that the side they pick in matches which start this week will be the one they can turn out later in the year should they qualify.The outcome will not only give the counties an idea of where they stand and what they need to do, it will clarify just how powerful Modi and the Indian board are in terms of the global game.