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Harbhajan Singh wept into the India flag, Yuvraj Singh couldn’t hold back tears either. Sachin Tendulkar, not used to having his feet off the ground, for a change felt comfortable on the shoulders of his team-mates as they took a lap of the Wankhede. He was being taken around a ground that had once booed him. All that didn’t matter today. A life-long dream had been achieved in a sixth attempt; in front of his home crowd, at a ground where he played most of his domestic cricket. MS Dhoni, Yuvraj, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir followed with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Virat Kohli, playing in his first World Cup and inconsolable when he had got out earlier, sang to the crowd.There was delight, there were tears of joy, there was contentment. There was relief after a campaign in which their every move was noticed, dissected and criticised or praised. It was a moment nobody could take away from the Indian team. They took their time as they celebrated. Slowly, savouring each moment. Months of tension, build-up, sleepless nights, inability to eat regularly, cramps, vomit, sweat, toil; all of it was over, and in their hands was the World Cup.Gary Kirsten’s contribution was not forgotten. After Tendulkar had been around the ground on the strong and reliable shoulders of Yusuf Pathan, the team chaired Kirsten too, who was coaching India for one last time. An equally loud applause followed. Quietly, Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach, and Eric Simons, the bowling coach, watched. They watched men become kids, they watched and heard, 33,000 people’s gratitude.”There have been some incredible moments in my involvement with sport, but this has got to be the highlight,” Upton told ESPNcricinfo.Upton spoke of the year the team had been through: the anticipation, the preparation, the hard work. “We set on this a year ago. Gary and myself and Eric Simons asked the question, ‘Are we ready to win the World Cup?’ And we felt we had the team to win it, the skill and the talent, but mentally we possibly weren’t ready.”That was in Dambulla where, as Virender Sehwag mentioned, they started visualising the World Cup final. “We had planned a year ago what we needed to do in order to set ourselves up to win the World Cup,” Upton said. “For a year we have been talking about we play the final in Mumbai, and it was amazing yesterday [Friday] to reflect in the team meeting and say, ‘Guys we have been talking about exactly this for a year, and we have been preparing for it and we know we are ready.’ So while there were nerves, we went in with the confidence that we are better prepared than the opposition.”Some of the players had been struggling to sleep properly, but Upton believed – as it now seems – in something preordained. “Strangely I slept quite comfortably, because the job was done, we just needed to go and act out the script that was already written.”The nerves he felt towards the closing moments, despite himself being a mental conditioning coach, he said was a feeling like no other. “I get bloody nervous. Believe you me. It was magnificent.”The greatest moment of his greatest achievement in sport was watching the players weep. And looking after the mental side of players who perhaps are under the most pressure in world cricket, he has seen them in tears of anguish too. “The greatest moment today was getting together with the team in the middle of the pitch; and just seeing the looks on the guys’ faces, and the tears running down their cheeks. Tears of joy and relief and ecstasy. It was a special moment.”

Match Facts

February 25, Nagpur
Start time: 09:30 local time (04:00 GMT)
Where are the runs hidden?•Associated Press

Big Picture

It’s almost as if there is malicious glee that follows Australia’s so-called decline. Ashes lost? Yay! Ricky Ponting accidentally breaks a TV set? What irresponsible behaviour! Australia are struggling against spinners? Wonderful! In some ways, it’s human nature to gloat at Goliath’s fall. At the centre of the storm is Ponting, trying hard to regain his batting form, trying to hide the Ashes blot in his CV with another World-Cup triumph. In Australia’s previous victorious campaigns, Ponting has led from the front with the bat but this time a question mark hovers around that possibility. Australia’s campaign in this edition of the World Cup could well revolve around Ponting’s form at No. 3. He got couple of hard-earned fifties in the warm-up games and looked to be slowly progressing towards recovering his touch.The bowling is led by another ageing campaigner, Brett Lee, who is scripting a remarkable comeback. Much has been written about Australia’s attack which stands out for its naked violence. The feeling is that they will either scythe through the opposition or fail to control the run-flow on these batting tracks.On the other side, there is New Zealand, who are playing this game under the grim background of the Christchurch earthquake. “For a lot of the guys, coming to training has allowed them to take their mind off things,” Daniel Vettori said. New Zealand have had a poor build-up to the World Cup, but they started the tournament with a crushing win against Kenya. Their batting line-up looks quite strong with the likes of Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor and Scott Styris and it’s their bowling which looks a bit iffy. Will their seamers be able to adapt to these tracks? Much will depend on spinners Vettori and Nathan McCullum, who is likely to open the bowling with the new ball. New Zealand will hope that the pitch will take some turn and they can poke at Australia’s vulnerability against spin on these slow tracks. It should be an interesting battle.

Form guide

(Most recent first for the last five completed games)
Australia: WWWWL
New Zealand: LWLLL

Watch out for…

Shane Watson’s revival began here in India during the inaugural edition of the IPL. He adapted brilliantly and transformed himself into a smashing opener and took that form and confidence to the international stage. On Indian tracks, he likes to get on the front foot and scythe through the line. With Brad Haddin yet to learn the art of converting starts and with Ponting yet to get a regain his form completely, much will depend on Watson to set a solid platform.Nathan McCullum is not a bowler who causes sleepless nights to batsmen but he could play a crucial role if Vettori decides to give him the new ball. He is accurate and spins the ball just enough to pose some problems. How he handles the pressure of bowling against Watson, Haddin and co might well decide how New Zealand fare with the ball.

Team news

New Zealand have chosen their playing 12. Kyle Mills, Kane Williamson, and Luke Woodcock will miss out.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Stryis, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Tim SoutheeAustralia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 David Hussey, 6 Cameron White, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Jason Krezja, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Shaun Tait..

Stats and trivia

• Ricky Ponting is the player who has played the most World Cup games. He has played 40 matches, going past Glenn McGrath’s 39 appearances. He has also led Australia 23 times, the second-highest by any World Cup captain, after New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming (27). Australia are yet to lose a World Cup game under Ponting.
• In the game against Zimbabwe, Ponting became the fourth batsman in the World Cup to be run out on five occasions. The others are: Inzamam-ul-Haq (9), Asanka Gurusinha (6) and Javed Miandad (5)
• Australia have faced New Zealand 123 times and have won 84 games. In India, these two teams have played against each other seven times, with Australia victorious in all seven.
  

  Quotes

  “Nothing really changes from any team you’re playing in the subcontinent, you try and bowl straight at the wickets and you know you’re going to have to score a lot of runs. There’s no mystery to what we’re going to try to do, but the key when you come up against these big teams and big players is having the presence of mind to execute time and time again. That’s the toughest thing when you’re coming up against good players.”

Scorecard
Sarah Elliott played the anchor role perfectly with a committed 81•Getty Images

Australia hold the women’s Ashes for the first time in six years after the debutant Sarah Elliott and the captain Alex Blackwell held their nerve to secure a seven-wicket victory. Elliott, the No.3, played the ideal anchor role with a committed 81 not out, while Blackwell increased her pace once she was set and finished with 74.England controlled the first three days of the contest, but Australia’s top order stood up to reach 3 for 198 at the end of a warm day at Bankstown Oval. Elliott and Blackwell delivered the match-winning stand of 125, which ultimately allowed Australia to lift the trophy they handed over to England way back in 2005.Australia, who resumed at 1 for 29 on the final day, lost the opener Shelley Nitschke for 20 when she was lbw to Isa Guha in the morning. Nitschke had put on 46 with Elliott before she was joined by Blackwell for the game’s crucial phase.It was tough going before lunch, with only 48 runs added in the first session, but Elliott and Blackwell were able to lift the rate after the break. By tea they required 30 for victory and the only hiccup came when Blackwell was trapped in front by Katherine Brunt with the second new ball. Elliott, who struck one four in her 262-ball marathon, stayed until the end, hitting the winning run with a single to fine leg.”Sarah has been around the team for a long time now and it was great to see her hit the winning runs,” Blackwell said. “This is just a great feeling and I’m just so happy to be able to bring the Ashes home.”I am so proud of the team. It’s been a great four days and we’ll all remember this for a long time. I was part of the team that lost the Ashes back in 2005 for the first time in 40 years, so to be captain of this team to win them back again is a great feeling and a tremendous honour.”Australia stormed back into the game on the third day when Rene Farrell, the Player of the Match, captured 5 for 23 and helped dismiss the tourists for 149. The one-off Test victory follows England’s 4-1 success in the Twenty20 series.”Obviously I’m absolutely gutted to hand over the Ashes,” Charlotte Edwards said. “Our bowlers did a fantastic job but unfortunately we didn’t put enough runs on the board. We would have liked to make it a bigger chase. I’m proud of how the team has backed each other and really fought to the end. We’ve had a relatively inexperienced side out here and for many of them this was their first Test.”

Steven Finn has been named in the England Lions squad for the tour of the West Indies in January 2011 where they will play in the first-class competition. Ravi Bopara, who was dropped from the limited-overs squad that played against Pakistan in September, also returns to Lions duty.All those currently involved with the England Performance Programme in Australia having secured a place in the Lions touring party and are joined by Bopara, Adil Rashid, the Yorkshire legspinner and Glamorgan paceman James Harris. Chris Woakes, who has been included for the one-dayers in Australia in place of the injured Stuart Broad, will replace Finn halfway through the tour and the squad will be captained by James Hildreth.Finn, 21, has not yet come into the reckoning for a place in England’s one-day squad and was left out of the 17-man group to face Australia next month, but Bopara’s inclusion seems to put paid to the possibility that he might force his way into the side for the World Cup, which takes place from February 19 to April 2. The same may be true for Kieswetter, who is part of England’s squad for two Twenty20s against Australia on January 12 and 14, but has lost his place in the one-day team to Steve Davies.The team will be participating in WICB’s first-class regional tournament against each of the other seven competing teams – Barbados, Combined Campuses and Colleges, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Windward Islands. The squad will depart for the Caribbean on January 24 and return to the UK on March 28 to prepare for the domestic season.”The tour of the West Indies gives those players who have been working hard throughout the first part of the winter an opportunity to test themselves in a competitive environment and to continue to put forward a case for inclusion in England squads over the summer,” said England national selector Geoff Miller.”The England Performance Programme and England Lions tours are often crucial stages in a player’s development and offer coaches and selectors an insight into whether players have the potential to develop into world class cricketers and thrive on the international stage. This is a balanced squad combining players who have had considerable exposure to international and first-class cricket with younger players who have already shown considerable promise.”England Lions squad James Hildreth (capt), Jimmy Adams, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Danny Briggs, Maurice Chambers, Jade Dernbach, Steve Finn (first half of tour only), Andrew Gale, James Harris, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Chris Woakes (second half of tour only)

Karachi Blues maintained the upper hand against Faisalabad, reducing them to 195 for 7 in the second innings, a lead of just 123, at the National Stadium in Karachi. Having secured a handy first-innings advantage, the home bowlers kept things tight with regular strikes through the day. Faisalabad struggled to force the pace, and only opener Qaiser Iqbal managed to come to terms with the conditions, scoring 72. Tabish Khan picked up two wickets, while five other bowlers finished the day with a wicket each in an efficient bowling effort.Habib Bank Limited lost their top three against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited‘ seamers in the ten overs of play possible on another rain-marred day at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Asad Ali picked up two wickets, getting Shan Masood to edge behind and trapping Rehan Rafiq in front for a duck. Imran Ali did his bit from the other end, having BM Shafayat caught behind as HBL stumbled to 36 for 3. The match state leaves HBL’s chances of forcing an outright win in doubt, which offers a chance for the other contenders to force their way past in the points table and make the finals.Sialkot seized the initiative against Rawalpindi after fighting back on the second third day at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. They had been reduced to 89 for 5 at the end of the second day, but the lower middle-order stepped up to take the score to 209. Shehzad Malik top scored with 46, and was helped by useful contributions from Nabeel Malik (28) and Faisal Rasheed (31). Seamer Rizwan Akbar picked up five wickets, but his batsmen were to have a tough time in their reply. Fast bowler Waqas Ahmed rattled the Rawalpindi top order with three wickets, but Zahid Mansoor and Jamal Anwar helped the team recover with a 57-run stand. Sialkot, however, hit back to remove both before stumps to leave the opposition on 86 for 5, still 123 behind. Rawalpindi are second on the points table and first-innings will take them closer to Habib Bank Lead, who top Division One.No play was possible on the third day between Multan and Islamabad at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Nor was there any play in Faisalabad for the game between Water and Power Development Authority and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited. The contest between National Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan International Airlines at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground was washed out for the third straight day.

ScorecardTom Beaton showed his potential on his first-team debut•Getty Images

Western Australia debutant Tom Beaton launched his career with an impressive 71 to help the side secure a five-wicket victory against Queensland at the WACA. Beaton added 141 for the fifth wicket with Adam Voges who played a captain’s hand to finish unbeaten on 85 when victory came with five balls to spare.The home side were behind the game at the 20-over split having fallen to 3 for 9 following incisive new-ball bursts from Nathan Rimmington and Chris Swan. However, when the innings resumed with a target of 212, Beaton and Voges made strong progress. Twenty-year-old Beaton hit three sixes in a 73-ball stay before he was run out by James Hopes, but by then the result was almost assured.Voges provided an experienced figure to the chase and paced his innings perfectly while Beaton scored at close to a run-a-ball in the highest score by a Western Australia debutant. Luke Ronchi gave the match a swift conclusion with a quick-fire 23 to guard against any last-minute nerves for Western Australia who remain firmly in contention for a place in the final.Queensland, who are stuck to the bottom of the table, suffered a major batting collapse as they wasted an ideal platform of 1 for 146 after 31 overs. Chris Hartley (58) and Chris Lynn (47) both departed to Brett Dorey in the 32nd over and the innings never regained any momentum. Dorey claimed two more to finish with 4 for 53 in 11 overs although Michael Neser (30 not out) edged the total over 200.

Sri Lanka 3 for 213 (Tharanga 86*) beat Australia 210 (Watson 40) by 29 runs on D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Upul Tharanga set up Sri Lanka’s success with a composed 86 not out•Getty Images

Sri Lanka came on this tour with one goal and achieved it with a match to spare. By handing Australia a seventh straight defeat, Kumar Sangakkara’s men delivered their maiden series win in Australia in 26 years of trying. When the hosts slipped over for 210 in the greasy conditions it gave Sri Lanka victory by 29 runs – and it had come more easily than expected.There was much to like about Sri Lanka’s play in a match regularly threatened by rain, but there was little to inspire the hosts as they head to Brisbane for Sunday’s dead rubber. The only time the visitors struggled was in the first two overs of the match – when they didn’t score – but once the openers Upul Tharanga, who held the innings together with 86 not out, and Tillakaratne Dilshan got going there was nothing that could stop them. Not even the weather.The rain disrupted Sri Lanka’s innings twice as it finished early at 3 for 213 in 41.1 overs, but Australia’s target was quickly inflated to 244 in 39 overs under the Duckworth Lewis method. The calculations added more difficulty to what was already a tricky pursuit in a seamer-friendly environment, and they began needing more than a run a ball. A short rain break towards the end trimmed another over from the match and reduced the target to 240. It didn’t help.Mistakes came quickly, starting with Brad Haddin’s flash at a Nuwan Kulasekara inswinger and the knocking back of his middle stump. Ricky Ponting (10) fell hooking, just as he did so often last summer, and when Michael Clarke’s (25) attempted pull ended up with a lunging Muttiah Muralitharan at third man, Australia were 4 for 80 and the game was heading one way.Murali then watched Michael Hussey tap a catch to deep mid-off, a wicket which came after Shane Watson had missed a sweep on 40 to be lbw. He finished with 2 for 30 off seven while Thisara Perera, Suraj Randiv and Kulasekara also claimed two victims. Cameron White (35) and Steven Smith (33) could not achieve the miracle, especially when Lasith Malinga was varying his pace superbly.Sri Lanka were 2 for 161 off 34 overs when the weather intervened for the first time, chopping five overs from their original allocation, and they finished in a rush before the clouds reopened. Tharanga ensured Sri Lanka built on the high gained from their stunning victory in Melbourne on Wednesday as he put on 98 for the first wicket with Dilshan.The 70-run stand between the captain Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga was starting to warm up when the rain arrived for the first time. Instead of acceleration, the ground received 90 minutes of saturation. Sangakkara (45) sliced Watson (2 for 45) to Clint McKay at third man before Angelo Mathews, the hero from the first game, provided a timely surge by swinging to 17 off 11.Tharanga, who was comfortable chipping over the infield, was the slower partner alongside Dilshan, but he ended up in the lead role during his 112-ball stay. His half-century came up with two lofted boundaries to the legside off Nathan Hauritz and there were six fours in his display.While his innings was highly worthy, Tharanga was dropped on 61 by Haddin and also survived a comical run-out attempt when stranded at the wrong end on 76. Haddin’s throw flew over the bowler Watson’s head before Clarke backed up and shied at the bowler’s end. His on-target effort hit the leg of Watson, who was trying to get out of the way of the stumps, and Tharanga eventually regained his ground. It is a moment that will be replayed often until Australia can show they are a committed, unified and successful unit.After Australia’s bowling troubles in their awful loss in Melbourne, they demoted the spinner Xavier Doherty to 12th man despite his four-wicket debut, and also dropped John Hastings. The replacements didn’t create a sudden shift in the team’s fortunes.McKay (0 for 42) came in to take the new ball and was steady, while Hauritz showed some useful signs in picking up 1 for 49 from nine overs. Mitchell Johnson gave away 11 runs in his first over while Peter Siddle was handy without being dangerous.While there only 11,495 watching at the ground, Australia’s seventh consecutive loss in all forms of the game will be noticed by everyone. England are in Perth, having started well in their tour opener, and can see a host of Ashes weaknesses. Over in Colombo there will be celebrations for the Sri Lankan team after their biggest obstacle ended up being the weather.

New South Wales 5 for 228 (O’Keefe 70*, Haddin 70) beat Western Australia 6 for 224 (Davis 116*, Swart 56, Lee 2-37) by 5 wickets
Scorecard
Liam Davis made an unbeaten 115 but it wasn’t enough for Western Australia•Getty Images

Brett Lee made a promising comeback from a long injury lay-off as his tight bowling helped New South Wales to a five-wicket win at Hurstville Oval. Western Australia’s Liam Davis made his maiden one-day century but it wasn’t enough for the Warriors, whose 225 was comfortably overhauled by Steve O’Keefe and his batting colleagues.Brad Haddin, who is on his way back from an elbow injury, set the chase off strongly for the Blues with 70 before O’Keefe and Peter Forrest (35 not out) finished the task. O’Keefe’s unbeaten 70 – his first limited-overs half-century – came off 50 balls and confirmed the result with 16 deliveries to spare.The Blues ended up needing 130 from 25 overs in their second block, after they took the advantage at the halfway mark by reaching 2 for 95 compared to Western Australia’s 1 for 79. Davis and Michael Swart (56) were the only major contributors for the Warriors, who had won the toss but struggled against Lee and Stuart Clark.Lee picked up 2 for 37 from his 11 overs and both of the victims came from his slower delivery, which could become a more important weapon for the fast man as he becomes accustomed to the limitations of his body. It was Lee’s first game for New South Wales in nearly 12 months, after a year in which he has battled a serious elbow problem and injuries to his thumb and arm.He is aiming for a place in Australia’s World Cup defence and on the evidence of his first match back for the Blues, he might be seen in Australian colours as early as the series against Sri Lanka in November. The win was the first success in the new competition for New South Wales, while Mickey Arthur is still searching for a maiden victory as coach of Western Australia.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the head of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, has defended his operation against accusations that they are powerless to deal with the scourge of match-fixing, and has reiterated the importance of allowing the criminal investigation that is currently underway to hold precedence over the ICC’s internal disciplinary measures.On Thursday evening, five days after the News of the World published its allegations about spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test, the ICC put its own measures into process when the three Pakistan players in the spotlight – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – were charged under Article 2 of the Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct, and provisionally suspended from international cricket.Speaking at a press conference at Lord’s, Flanagan – who took over at the helm of the ACSU in July, when the former head, Lord Condon, stepped down after ten years – insisted that, far from being an example of prevarication, the timelag between the newspaper revelations and the ICC’s response was a reflection of the seriousness of the allegations against the three players. That, he said, coupled with an obligation not to undermine the ongoing work of Scotland Yard, had demanded a pause for thought from the governing body before bringing its charges to bear.”What we are not is a police force,” said Flanagan. “We do not have the powers of a police force. We cannot arrest, we cannot engage in the sorts of undercover operations of which the police engage. The only power we have is the power vested in us by the ICC, and therefore by the individual member countries of the ICC.”Since last Saturday, we have been working very closely, but in parallel, with the Metropolitan Police. They are conducting a criminal investigation, which is separate to our disciplinary investigation, and the culmination of that, to date, came last night with our disciplinary charges against three players, and our provisional suspensions.””As soon as this issue was drawn to our attention, we drew up a protocol for information-sharing,” added Flanagan. “In most circumstances, we share everything with the police – and there will be what you might describe as Chinese walls between the two investigations, and that is right and proper – but in the course of an ongoing investigation, there are some things that it would not be right for the police to share with us.”Flanagan refused to be drawn on the exact nature of the charges that have been levelled against the three players, adding that they were “entitled to the absence of any hint of prejudice” as the investigation unfolds. However, he did confirm that they related directly to the events of the Lord’s Test, and that a life ban could be applicable if they were found guilty of what he conceded were being considered as top-category breaches of the Anti-Corruption Code.”We must be scrupulously fair to them,” said Flanagan. “We operate a sliding scale in our disciplinary proceedings, and in more serious cases – and these are undoubtedly in that category – the charges must be proven beyond all reasonable doubt, with the full criminal burden of proof. We cannot presume guilt at all, but if guilt is found, the punishment can range right up to a life ban from the game, that is at the worst end.”The ICC has come in for some criticism in the wake of the News of the World allegations, with the inference being that a newspaper with no day-to-day interest in the matters at hand has succeeded in exposing cricket corruption to a degree that the ACSU could never have achieved. Though Flanagan conceded that the events of the past week had caused the unit to consider whether extra powers and personnel were needed, he warned that his operation should not seek to exceed its brief.”If these charges are proven, I congratulate what the News of the World has done in bringing this to light,” he said. “They’ve done it in ways that ICC would not want to engage in, nor its individual members would want to engage in. But we can’t just take extra powers upon ourselves. We have close operational working relationships with the police in all the countries where international cricket is played, and we don’t want to assume powers that are equivalent to police powers. I am sure that that close relationship [with the Metropolitan Police] will be demonstrated in this case.””We think we have arrived in a position where the players have a case to answer,” said Flanagan. “It doesn’t mean we’ve arrived at a finding of guilt, and due process will have to be followed. Of course you can never be 100% fool-proof, and of course there will be always instances of wrongdoing. But I refute the suggestion that this has represented a failing of the ACSU. I have been very impressed by what my investigators have done this week, and how they have engaged with the parallel criminal investigation.”

ScorecardHeavy cloud and persistent rain ruled out any play on the third day•Getty Images

After rain washed out the entire third day’s play at Old Trafford, Nottinghamshire’s chances of winning the Championship title now rest on the hope that Lancashire can be convinced to play a shortened game on the fourth day, with both sides needing to forfeit an innings, in order to engineer a result.If Somerset lose to Durham, Nottinghamshire could also sneak to the title if they get nine points by scoring 400 – they are currently 89 for 2 – and then taking three Lancashire wickets and drawing the match. That would be a breakdown of five batting bonus points, one bowling bonus point and three for the draw. The other way is, obviously, more unconventional.”Our only chance is Somerset [and Yorkshire] not winning,” admitted Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s head of cricket. “We need nine points, which we could get in bonus points. Or we could have some sort of run chase with Lancashire tomorrow.”The word from the ground on the third evening was that there remained a chance that could happen, but any target would have to significantly favour Lancashire for them to accept. In what could be a controversial end to the Championship race, Nottinghamshire will gain 16 points if they can pull off an unlikely victory, but also need Durham to fight out a draw with Somerset at Chester-le-Street. Of course, this entire scenario also rests on the weather and while it’s likely that the sun will be out at Chester-le-Street tomorrow, intermittent showers are expected in Manchester.”We’ve been sat talking quite a lot this afternoon,” added Newell. “We’ve already started looking at that situation. That looks like the best option at the moment in terms of trying to get a minimum of nine points. If Lancashire are prepared to chase a score tomorrow afternoon then that discussion is going to have to take place.These two teams have form in that department, with Lancashire setting Nottinghamshire a contrived 260 in 64 overs on the final day at Trent Bridge last month in a match they had to win. The hosts won by three wickets.”You’ve got to keep the integrity of the game to the extent where you can’t give anything away. We chased 260 off 64 at Trent Bridge a couple of weeks ago. That, to me, would be a similar amount off maybe a few more overs.””At the moment I wouldn’t like to plan too far ahead for anything because I think it might rain again,” explained Lancashire coach Peter Moores. “What happens tomorrow, I don’t know. We’ll see if the weather’s set fair and if we’re going to get a day’s cricket.”Then you decide where you are from there like you would in any game. There’s a responsibility to make the sure the integrity of the game and competition is kept. We’ll cross all those bridges tomorrow when you sit down with the captain, look at conditions, the pitch and then take it from there and then make your call.”Nottinghamshire will have been keenly aware of events at Chester-le-Street, where Somerset remained in pole position in the Championship by claiming a full hand of batting bonus points after James Hildreth’s seventh Championship hundred of the season. His knock ensured a six-point lead over Nottinghamshire and took Somerset to 426 – a lead of 140 over Durham. Nottinghamshire have been left needing a miracle.