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Yorkshire 213 and 125 for 1 (Rhodes 53*) lead Warwickshire 69 (Sidebottom 6-34, Brooks 3-14) by 269 runs
ScorecardJack Brooks’ 3 for 14 helped tear Warwickshire apart•Getty Images

On days such as these are Yorkshire’s Championship credentials rubber-stamped. With Ryan Sidebottom turning in one of his habitually irresistible spells of swing and stamina, and threatening briefly to claim all ten wickets in the innings, Warwickshire’s batsmen were routed in the gloaming at Edgbaston.Bowled out for 69, their lowest first-class total for 29 years and their lowest at Edgbaston since 1982, they avoided the follow-on by the skin of their tenth wicket – no mean feat when you have already reduced your opponents to 213 in their first innings – then watched Yorkshire’s batsmen plough off into the distance in a less dramatically one-sided evening session.By the close of a day in which Edgbaston’s bespoke “e”-shaped floodlights had been a near-constant companion, Will Rhodes had calmly notched up his maiden Championship half-century with Jack Leaning alongside him on 28. At 125 for 1, the lead was already an imposing 259 with nine wickets standing, and with two days remaining, there is plenty time for Yorkshire to turn the screw further, even with a dour forecast in prospect.Yorkshire’s day began with a sniff of an opening, courtesy of Sidebottom’s two-wicket burst on Sunday night, but plenty of work still required to restore parity after a slipshod display with the bat in which Jonny Bairstow’s century had shown up the shortcomings of the rest of the order.After a rain-wrecked morning session had been reduced to nine balls, the mere fact that play was possible after lunch came as something of a surprise. Either way, Warwickshire’s batsmen did not appear remotely ready to repel the threat posed by the oldest swinger in town.”Taking a few early wickets last night helped the confidence,” said Sidebottom. “I suppose it happens like that, you get in a bit of rhythm, you put it in the right area with a little bit of seam and swing, you get the edge, got a few bowleds, it was really nice.”In the team meeting this morning, Dizzy [Jason Gillespie] actually put in onto me to say a few words and I said we’ve got to bowl full and straight, so I had to do what I’d said!”Sidebottom required nine deliveries in the afternoon session to send shockwaves through Warwickshire’s innings. Having been standing at the far end on Sunday evening when Varun Chopra shouldered arms to Sidebottom’s first ball of the innings, Ian Westwood might have realised the folly of leaving the good-length deliveries. Instead he too had his stumps flattened by a wicked late curler, and at 29 for 3, Warwickshire’s innings swung out of control.Laurie Evans needed ten balls to get off the mark and was then cut down by his 11th, another Sidebottom special that curled around his half-formed defences to flatten his off stump, as Warwickshire contrived to lose their next five wickets for no runs in the space of 30 balls.Sam Hain bagged a nine-ball duck as he handed Sidebottom his fifth wicket of the innings, courtesy of a smart take by Jack Leaning at third slip, whereupon, two balls later, Peter McKay was pinned so palpably lbw that Sidebottom didn’t bother turning to the umpire to appeal as he charged off in celebration. At that stage, Sidebottom had claimed all six wickets in the innings but before he could start a new over, Warwickshire lost their seventh, and their third in four balls, when Jonathan Trott, their only remaining hope, was outstandingly plucked by Leaning, scooped at full stretch in the slips to give Jack Brooks his first scalp of the day.Jeetan Patel registered the fifth duck of the innings when he fenced limply outside off to be caught behind in Brooks’ next over, and Boyd Rankin the sixth, though not before he had raised ironic cheers in the crowd for scoring Warwickshire’s first run in six-and-a-half overs, a deflection off the helmet that required a break for some running repairs.At 37 for 9, the ludicrous prospect of the follow-on now loomed into view – Yorkshire’s bowlers could hardly have been fresher, with Sidebottom and Brooks running on adrenaline and the change seamers, Tim Bresnan and Steve Patterson, yet to be called upon, and Andrew Gale signalled Yorkshire’s desire to stick their opponents back in with one of the more improbable 37-for-9 fields you’ll ever witness – two slips and four men out on the boundary.But Rikki Clarke found the gumption to resist. He flicked Sidebottom over square leg for six and added three more fours en route to 28 from 42 balls which, at that stage, was the joint-second-highest score of the match. His resistance was ended when Patterson bowled him through the gate, leaving Oliver Hannon-Dalby unbeaten on 5.Yorkshire’s second innings was a model of uncomplicated restraint. The conditions remained trying but the fizz was understandably absent from their attack. Rhodes capitalised with 53 not out from 125 balls, an innings of understated class that showed why, at 20 years old, he is a batsman whose progress is being so closely monitored.With Leaning no less resolute, the only man to fall was Alex Lees, who was smartly taken at first slip by Chopra to end an opening stand of 58. But Warwickshire’s problems were compounded soon afterwards when McKay, the wicketkeeper who had been conspicuous by his failure to go for that catch, had to leave the field with a suspected broken finger. His role was temporarily filled by Andy Umeed, a 19-year-old batsman whose maiden first-class match came for Scotland against Afghanistan at Stirling last month.

Salman Butt continued to shake off a wretched Quaid-e-Azam trophy campaign. His second unbeaten half-century in three games helped Lahore Whites trounce Peshawar by 27 runs. Butt’s 58-ball 85 took his side to the top of the standings.His fellow opener Kamran Akmal also joined in to make a 40-ball 52 as the Whites notched up 163. In response, the struggling Peshawar – who now have one win in six matches – could not find a single batsman to score over 25. That meant the chase never really took off. Lahore’s bowlers picked them off at ease with Umaid Asif starring with four for 26 to break the back of the Peshawar chase. Ehsan Adil and Asif Ali took two wickets apiece as Peshawar were cleaned up for 136, with their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals officially extinguished.A century stand between Umar Amin and Zain Abbas wasn’t enough for Rawalpindi as they lost to Faisalabad, thereby falling out of contention for the last four. Amin and Abbas scored 67 and 62 respectively, with Sohail Tanvir adding a quickfire 32 off 16 as Rawalpindi surged to 193. It was, surprisingly, the international stars in Faisalabad’s bowling attack who were the most expensive, with Faheem Ashraf, Saeed Ajmal and Yasir Shah conceding a whopping 115 runs in their combined 11 overs.But Faisalabad gave the daunting chase a right go, thanks largely to a 43-ball 87 from Sohaib Maqsood, even as the top order fell cheaply around him. By the time he was dismissed, he had contributed 87 to Faisalabad’s score of 108, but 86 were still required off a mere seven overss, the balance firmly in favour of the hosts. But sensational hitting from Khurram Manzoor – who finished with an unbeaten 52 off 25 – and Ashraf helped Faisalabad sneak home with a ball to spare and strengthen their hold on a semi-final position.

Scorecard
Weighed down by a mountain of runs, South Africa A crumbled against two spinners of different varieties and a lively young seamer to give India A an innings victory at the Feroz Shah Kotla. A rejuvenated Ishant Sharma got the breakthroughs early in the day but it was left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, with eight wickets, and legspinner Amit Mishra who stifled the tourists and forced the win inside three days.Sharma, who overstepped a fair deal on day two, was far better in his six-over spell this morning. Having sorted out his no-ball issues, Sharma struck a good line and got into fast-bowling rhythm. Crucially, he was able to extract reverse-swing from a fairly dormant surface. Morne van Wyk, whose 67 was the highest contribution by some distance, was suckered into a tame drive outside the off stump and was well caught at first slip. The ball flew high to Mohammad Kaif, who had little time to react but dived to his right and intercepted as it veered towards second slip.Sharma then removed Ashwell Prince with one that was fuller and shaped away after pitching. Prince initially came forward but then stood his ground, pushing ever so slightly and nicking into Parthiv Patel’s hands. Sharma’s discipline on the day paid off and India were right into it.134 for 4 became 145 for 9 as South Africa collapsed against the spinners. Mishra only bowled two overs on the second day but in the four he got in the morning, he was spot on. Boeta Dippenaar missed a googly and was taken off the inside-edge by Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg. Pujara failed to hold onto a tougher chance as Thami Tsolekile swept hard two balls later, but Mishra had his man just after. He tossed it up a touch more, held it back in the air just a second, and Tsolekile was beaten only to push it to Aakash Chopra at silly point. In between two strikes from Ojha, Mishra dived full stretch to his right to pluck an on-drive from Rory Kleinveldt. Three wickets for eight runs.Ojha defeated Justin Ontong in the flight as well to hold onto a return catch and bowled last-man Friedel de Wet as he slogged across the line.The follow-on was enforced and South Africa were in a similar predicament. Pankaj Singh had Werner Coetsee leg before for just six, though the ball may have pitched outside the line of off. Five minutes before lunch Ojha got van Wyk with one that spun away, the batsman playing forward then trying to withdraw only to for Patel to pick up a smart catch.From 28 for 2 at the interval, there were a few further dents in the South African innings before it was stabilized by Prince. It was Ojha again, bowling Hashim Amla with one that stayed low and came on faster, and using the flight to lure Boeta Dippenaar into chipping to cover. Ashraf Makda dropped a sitter at mid-off from Alviro Peterson, with the score 45 for 3, but it only cost one run. Peterson played down the wrong line to Sharma and was adjudged leg before for 6. Pankaj Singh then came back and on the stroke of tea removed Prince, fishing at a wide one off the back foot and finding Kaif at second slip.Ontong and Tsolekile pushed back the inevitable with a 66-run seventh-wicket stand but Ontong (35 from 88 balls) edged an attempted lofted on-drive to Kaif at second slip to give Ojha his fourth wicket. The fifth came as Kleinvedlt cut into Kaif’s hands at slip but Tsolelike raced to a half-century with a flurry of fours and sixes. With less than two stipulated overs to play, de Wet heaved Mishra to midwicket and South Africa fell to 198 for 9. The umpires consulted and agreed to extend play and Mishra needed just two deliveries to wrap up a comprehensive victory.Where three of India’s batsmen managed centuries – two of them doubles – there were but two half-centuries from South Africa. The teams now head to scenic Dharamshala for the last of the four-day fixtures before the one-dayers start. India will look to wrap up the series, while the visitors would hope the change in altitude brings some much-needed oomph.

Roger Wijesuriya, the former Sri Lanka cricketer and national selector, has been appointed coach of Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team for a three-year period commencing November 1.Reacting to the decision, Wijesuriya, who has proved himself to be a successful coach at the school level, said: “I consider this appointment as a stepping stone towards becoming coach of the senior national team one day.”Wijesuriya has 14 years’ coaching experience of schools – he has trained St Benedict’s, St Peter’s (twice) and Royal, and has guided teams to the school championship title on six occasions. He also coached CCC to honours in 1995-96 when they won the division I title under Jerome Jayaratne.Wijesuriya, 46, played in four Tests and eight ODIs for his country in the 1980s as a left-arm spinner. After his retirement he served as a national selector for three years, and as member of the tournament and coaching committees of Sri Lanka Cricket. As a player, Wijesuriya was less than impressive, picking up one wicket in four Tests at 297, and needing an average of 97 overs to get a wicket. But as an U-19 player himself, Wijesuriya did better, getting 25 wickets in a series against Pakistan.”I think it was my school experience that got me the job. I consider it a challenge,” said Wijesuriya who beat former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana and former Josephian cricketer Harsha de Silva to the job.

Andrew Flintoff, the England allrounder, has said that he thought it was hard to work with Sourav Ganguly, the India captain, and terms him an awkward character.In an extract from Being Freddie, his autobiography published this week, Flintoff spoke of when Ganguly was his Lancashire team-mate in 2000. “Ganguly just didn’t work out at all,” he wrote. “You can accept a player not playing well, because we all have our ups and downs in our career, but he just didn’t want to get involved.”He wasn’t interested in the other players and it became a situation where it was 10 players and Ganguly in the team. He turned up as if he was royalty – it was like having Prince Charles on your side. There were rumours he was asking people to carry his coffin for him, although he never asked me.”I’ve been out for dinner with him [Ganguly] since that season a couple of times on England duty, the most notable time being that winter in Kenya for the ICC Trophy,” Flintoff continued. “We went out to a little curry house he had found and saw the umpire Venkatraghavan sitting over the other side of the room. Straight away he got up and went over to talk to him for 20 minutes while I sat like a spare part eating my curry on my own. We say hello to each other now and we are pleasant to each other, but it doesn’t go any further than that. I don’t dislike the bloke, but it’s a struggle with him.”

In possibly its finest hour on the international cricket stage, the United States of America defeated a full official West Indies side on its home ground, in a single day by nine wickets in a two-innings international match.The place: Bourda, Guyana. The date: January 5, 1888.The US tour was intended as a response to the highly successful tour of Canada and the US by the West Indies in 1886. In their first international tour to North America, the West Indies had recorded 12 wins (two of them by an innings and 100-plus runs) against only 2 losses. The US decided to return the favor.The US team was one of the most representative sides to have played overseas, before or since 1888. Captained by C. L. Bixby of Longwood CC (Boston), the team contained players born in, and hailing from, Philadelphia, Boston, New York and the South.The West Indies team was one of the best that could have been assembled in the Caribbean at the time. It was captained by E. F. Wright of Guyana, who had played under W. G. Grace against the Australians and had also scored the first century – 123 – in Caribbean inter-island cricket for Guyana against Trinidad in 1882. There were three others from Guyana, three from Trinidad, three from Barbados, one each from Grenada and St. Vincent; several had first-class English (i.e. County) credentials. The most significant omission was John Lees of Jamaica, the former Cambridge and Sussex player who had the highest batting average on the 1886 West Indies tour of Canada and the US. The Jamaicans had decided Bourda was too far to travel to.The US team had played five matches in the West Indies before January 5. They had won against Barbados, lost to Trinidad, and drawn with St. Kitts and Grenada. Their fifth match against Guyana, on the very same grounds where they were to play the full West Indies side, had been an unmitigated disaster. The US had lost by an innings and 25 runs. And W. A. Harrison, who had taken 7 wickets for 2 runs in 11 overs for Guyana in the US first innings, was now in the full West Indies side.The US need not have worried. They had their own secret weapons.In 18 incredible overs, 13 of which were maidens, S. M. Wain and C. Coates of the US dismissed the West Indies for 19 runs, their lowest score ever in international cricket (for the record, the second-lowest score for the West Indies in international cricket is 26 all out against Ireland by the Clive Lloyd-led team in the 1970s, during an otherwise successful tour of England). Not a single West Indies batsman scored over 4 runs. In less than an hour, the West Indies first innings was over. (Wain was to die in the cross-fire of a blazing Wyoming gunfight in 1889, but that’s another story.)When the US team came in to bat, they had to face Harrison again. But Charles Palmer of Young America CC and wicketkeeper W. C. Morgan (Germantown CC) held up the middle of the innings, and Morgan in fact was not out at the end. The US had scored 64, surviving Harrison’s 5 for 19 in 28 overs.The West Indies had scored 100-plus runs in almost every innings on tour in 1886, and here they were on home ground. Indeed, Robinson (Trinidad) and Skeete (Barbados), the West Indies openers, looked all set for a big score. Then Charles Palmer, the sheet anchor of the US first innings, struck with a dazzling bowling performance; 12.3 overs , 9 maidens, 7 wickets for 10 runs. The West Indies folded and collapsed for 55.The US needed only 11 to win. They did it in five overs, for the loss of one wicket. The US had achieved its nine-wicket victory in a single day.There are no records of other tours from the West Indies to North America after 1886; certainly, no official US side has played the full West Indies national team since that time. The very idea would sound amusing to modern cricketers. Yet it did happen – over 100 years ago. Perhaps – who knows? – it could happen againThis article was originally published in 1994 in Cricketer International’s NorthAmerican EditionContributed by Deb K. Das

Somerset enjoyed some success on the opening day of their championship match against Durham at Taunton thanks to a fine bowling display by Richard Johnson, and a welcome return to form by Marcus Trescothick. But then lost the initiative as the visitors grabbed quick wickets.By the close the Cidermen had scored 126 for 5 wickets in reply to Durham’s first innings total of 185.After winning the toss the visitors chose to bat first and by lunchtime had slipped to 107 for 5 wickets, with Johnson taking 4 for 39 from his 10 overs, all of which were bowled from the Old Pavilion End.The first wicket to fall was Michael Gough who played and missed several times before with the score on 24 he edged the ball to wicket keeper Rob Turner. Johnson then accounted for Nicky Peng LBW, before relying on Turner to take catches to account for last two victims.Five overs after the break it was Johnson who struck again for the Cidermen when he bowled Andrew Pratt for 23 as the left hander offered no stroke.Bowling from the River End Aaron Laraman sent down several deliveries outside the off stump before Nick Philips edged one to Trescothick who was fielding at first slip.Nixon McLean returned at the Old Pavilion End as the visitors brough up the 150, and was unlucky to see Trescothick put down Jon Lewis when the batsman was on 65.Seven overs later Turner made amends when he dived low to his right to get his glove underneath a hard chance off Simon Francis after the Durham skipper had made 78.Francis claimed the last two wickets to fall when Neil Killeen spooned a simple catch to Laraman at mid off, and then in the same over Steve Harmison gave James Bryant a straightforward catch at point and Durham were all out for 185.Johnson was the pick of the Somerset bowlers and ended with the impressive figures of 16 overs, 1 maiden 5 wickets for 64.When the Somerset reply started after an early tea, Trescothick quickly got into his stride and dispatched Indian test bowler Javagal Srinath for consecutive boundaries, and then a couple of overs later the England man smashed a short delivery from the same bowler to mid wicket.Harmison changed to the Old Pavilion End to replace Srinath, but he was dealt with in the same harsh way by Trescothick. The left hander was now in his stride and hit a trio of boundaries off the next over from Killeen before bringing up his half century off Harmison.Trescothick moved onto 60 before he hit a long hop from Vince Wells to Philips just in front of the square leg umpire.With the departure of Trescothick the Somerset scoring rate slowed down and just after the 100 came up two wickets tumbled in quick succession. Bowler was caught at fine leg by Srinath off Killeen for 25, and shortly afterwards Jamie Cox was LBW off Srinath without scoring.Burns and Bryant survived several torrid overs from Srinath, but eventually the return of Wells at the River End brought two more wickets as Burns was dismissed LBW followed next ball by night watchman Francis, to promise another enthralling day at the County Ground tomorrow.After the close of play Kevin Shine told me: "It’s certainly been a very interesting day’s play with that number of wickets falling here and we unfortunately we lost some of the momentum there at the end."He continued: "Our bowling attack was first class, Richard Johnson was excellent, and Nixon McLean bowled without much luck, but now we have to produce a batting perfomance to match it. Durham bowled a different line and length and to be fair it was a good performance by them at the end."Looking forward to tomorrow he said: "What we need in the morning is for our middle order to graft and get a lead of 50 or 60 runs, which we can achiev with the depth of batting that we have in the team."The five wicket hero Richard Johnson told me: "After all the hard work that I have done in the winter of course I was pleased with five wickets today, but I have bowled better and not been rewarded so well. I’m still just short of my best, and there is still more to come."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul guided West Indies out of a crisis to enable the tourists to go 2-0 up in the three-match One-Day International series in Kenya.He cracked an unbeaten 87 to lead his side to a six-wicket win after Kenya had set the West Indies a winning target of 193. Carl Hooper’s side reached that mark with four overs remaining.When Chanderpaul came to the crease the West Indies were 17 for three. Martin Suji, a 30-year-old medium-fast bowler, had dismissed Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga and Wavell Hinds to finish with the figures of three for 23.But he lacked any support from the rest of the bowling attack and Chanderpaul soon started to take control. He and Marlon Samuels took the score to 108 before Collins Otieno bowled Samuels for 46.Hooper then combined with Chanderpaul for a match-winning 85-runpartnership and finished unbeaten on 33.Earlier the Kenyans had rallied from 101 for eight to 192 all out, with James Kamande hitting an undefeated 32 and number 11 batsman Peter Ochieng scoring 36 before they were dismissed with five balls left. Reon King took four for 32 for the West Indies.

Four days and one session was how long the Zimbabweans lasted out at the Vidarbha Cricket Ground in the city of Oranges, Nagpur. The first Test match of the two match series ended in favour of the home team, as they marked their supremacy with an innings and 101-run victory. The visitors were left with thoughts of salvaging pride in the next match.Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle won the crucial toss and elected to bat. He was hoping that his team would be able to post a big total on what was considered a batsman’s paradise. Despite a good beginning, the total that was finally scored was just not enough. The main batsmen failed to get their act together. The much-hyped `Flower Power’ never happened, and it was a strong tail that got Zimbabwe to a total of 287. Carlisle and Campbell played their roles atop the batting order, scoring 77 and 57 respectively. But the middle order did not follow the script and only one gem of an innings from the all-rounder Travis Friend of 60 valuable runs made the difference.For India, the smiling assassin Anil Kumble spun his way to capturing four wickets for 81 runs. With pace and a sensible attack, Zaheer Khan collected three wickets for 46.The home team was ready to feast on the wicket that had lots of runs for the taking. The openers went after the bowling and gave India a positive start. Batsmen walked out to the crease and played solid knocks and the ones to write home about were those from Shiv Sundar Das, who scored his second Test century at the same ground as he did the first. Rahul Dravid was looking at getting to his 100, but a tiny lapse of concentration and he was on his way back after adding 65.Sachin Tendulkar seldom disappoints and this was an occasion to let loose. Entertaining the locals who had flocked to see him, he indulged them with an array of shots, even the unorthodox ones, as he got to his 28th Test century and then looked like getting a double. But that would have to wait for another time, another place, as he wound up at 176. All-rounder Sanjay Bangar brought his good form from the domestic games into the Test arena as he scored his maiden Test century in only his second match. A huge total had to result from such brilliant shows with the bat and India declared at 570 for seven.Set a daunting task by the home team, the Zimbabweans took the field for the second time, towards the end of the penultimate day of the match. They had to score 283 to make India bat again. Nothing seemed to go right for them. The batting just did not click, with scores of 28 and 30 being amongst the highest atop the batting order, barring one courageous innings by Trevor Gripper who held out almost till the end with 60 face-saving runs. It was a matter of time before India knocked out all the stuffing in the Zimbabwean bag of runs. The bag was eventually emptied with 182 runs on the board.India triumphed in style. With a sizable win of an innings and 101 runs, she goes into the next match with her morale high. The spin twins Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh put the visitors in a whirl as they claimed five and four wickets respectively. Anil Kumble took his overall tally to 309 wickets with nine wickets added in this Test.Ferocious at home, the India tigers could try and transform the art of doing well at home into a more challenging art of performing overseas. But for the time being, winning is always a good feeling.Zimbabwe! My heart goes out to them, for they really had no clue as to what was happening in Sri Lanka with Murali spinning them round his little finger. And here, in India the second-most spin-friendly nation, it looks like they still have a lot to learn in that department. In a way that is a good thing. For what is a life worth living, where you learn nothing?Delhi will be the next testing ground for these two cricketing nations. Mini battles will be fought, and mini triumphs and defeats will be achieved, but it is the larger picture that will tell the final story. And we will just have to wait and watch.

Injured Tare to miss quarter-final

Mumbai captain Aditya Tare will miss his team’s quarter-final against Jharkhand in Mysore after failing to recover from a finger fracture sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 competition. Allrounder Abhishek Nayar will stand in as captain, and Mumbai have included wicketkeeper batsman Eknath Kerkar as Tare’s replacement in their 15-man squad.

Bengal’s consistency this season can’t be overstated. They won two games in the league stage and lost none, and their only blip came in the first game against Karnataka when they dropped first-innings points. Bengal never conceded the lead thereafter, and eventually went on to finish second in Group A. A graph of their performance would reveal a smooth upward stroke gaining height with every game. Minus the backstory it would be easy to believe such an impressive performance was borne out of a harmonious set-up that nurtured the winning habit. But there was very little that was harmonious about Bengal’s build up to the season.Their pre-season tour to Sri Lanka was tarred by reports of alleged infighting, culminating in Laxmi Ratan Shukla stepping down as captain and Manoj Tiwary replacing him. Then there was the spat between Tiwary and Gautam Gambhir in Delhi and the controversy over an ‘underprepared’ Kalyani pitch after the two-day finish against Odisha. Bengal also had a revamped bowling attack that had no place for veteran offspinner Saurashish Lahiri, and had Pragyan Ojha making his first appearance for the team. The batting unit also had a fair bit of green about it. So what went right for the team?”I would say Sairaj Bahutule has played a very important role along with [Cricket Association of Bengal president] Sourav Ganguly because he also chips in with his valuable inputs [on] how to go about as far as all these things are concerned,” Tiwary told reporters after Bengal’s practice session ahead of their quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh at the Brabourne Stadium. “Other support staff like [bowling coach] Ranadeb Bose and [fielding coach] Joydeep Mukherjee have made sure our team doesn’t get distracted with all this things.”Tiwary said controversies were inevitable in Bengal, and so the players had to work around them. “Each and every season in Bengal, you know, there are a lot of unnecessary controversies which are not required,” he said. “This time around we made sure each and every one is focused in their job.”It’s a kind of a challenge you can say. Along with batting and bowling in the middle this is also a challenge for us to just to handle things better off the field. It’s important for a captain or any individual to be as calm as possible and think of the things which are related to cricket only rather than wasting energy on other things.”Tiwary said the senior players pulled their weight and that in turn rubbed on to the younger players. Ojha and Dinda have topped the bowling charts with 33 and 31 wickets respectively, but Tiwary was particularly pleased that the selection punts on youngsters like offspinner Aamir Gani, preferred to Lahiri, and seamer Mukesh Kumar had come good.”It’s important we [seniors] take extra responsibility to perform consistently and this season our performance in the Ranji Trophy we have been very consistent,” he said. “Bowlers, especially Dinda and Ojha, have contributed a lot. Mukesh is a find for Bengal for the season. Our team looks very confident and balanced.”According to Tiwary, Sudip Chatterjee – the team’s highest scorer with 712 runs – and opener Abhimanyu Easwaran had the potential to play Test matches for India. “[Sudip] is a determined youngster. He has that hunger to do well. It’s that desperation [that has contributed to his success],” Tiwary said. “Along with him, Abhimanyu Easwaran is one of them. They have the potential [to play for India]. It’s just that they have to be on the right track and work the way they are working.”Tiwary is carrying a niggle in his right calf but he felt playing through pain was a small price for the joy that a Ranji Trophy title offered. “It’s a very important match for Bengal cricket, so you will have to [play through pain] at times,” he said. “I don’t think every cricketer is always 100% fit. It’s important to get through the pain. I have been jogging a lot, touch wood nothing will happen.”[A Ranji title] is due as well. This is the best period of Bengal cricket. The chances of getting the trophy are much higher. But we have to take it as another match and not put too much pressure.”Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, have had an intriguing run to the knockouts. Having started off in reasonably solid manner, they went through a phase where they won successive games against Baroda and Railways before losing the next two. Then, in a must-win game against Andhra, they grabbed seven points and scraped through to the quarter-finals by virtue of a better net run rate than Gujarat. This was welcome respite for a side that had missed out a knockout berth by a whisker last season.”Qualifying for the knockouts was our first aim when we started off,” Madhya Pradesh captain Devendra Bundela said. “Our first two games didn’t go well but we made a good comeback. Of course there was the disappointment of last year so we put in more effort and concentrated harder this time. We have also had the same group of players over the last three-four years, so there is good bonding. We will play with three medium pacers and two spinners tomorrow.”Both captains were united in their assessment that the Brabourne pitch had decent grass cover and would offer assistance to the seamers early on before going on to become a good batting surface.