Critics question Dunedin as the venue for TestDunedin now joins Old Trafford in Manchester as the only venue to have two Tests abandoned without a ball being bowled. In 1989, a Test between New Zealand and Pakistan was abandoned at Carisbrook. For umpire Steve Dunne, it is a strange coincidence. He would have had the opportunity to officiate in his first Test match on his home ground at Carisbrook, in the abandoned match of 1989. Now, nine years later, he is still waiting. Manchester's abandoned matches were in 1890 and 1938. Some critics have questioned Dunedin as the venue for this Test, saying it is too early in the summer.Central triumphThe 38th edition of the Duleep Trophy will be best remembered for the resolute approach exhibited by a bunch of hopefuls from the Central Zone.Pitted against the might of West Zone comprising six players who had donned the National colours, they came out with all guns blazing to record an emphatic 122-run victory this afternoon.Zimbabwe winZimbabwe won their first away series after the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan was abandoned as a draw without a ball bowled throughout the five days due to fog. Iqbal Stadium remained enveloped in thick fog for the fifth day running today when umpires Salim Bader and his New Zealand colleague Doug Cowie called off play at 1100 hrs IST.Jr National ChessAbout 40 players are expected to take part in the National junior girls chess championship which commences on Wednesday after its inauguration tomorrow in Thalassery. Over 30 players including top players like Aarthie Ramaswamy and M R Sangeeta of Tamil Nadu, the new International Woman Master Swati Ghate of Maharashtra, International Woman Master Nisha Mohota and Swati Mohota of West Bengal have already confirmed their participation.Sole leaderJ Ramakrishna defeated joint overnight leader RK Mishra to emerge as sole leader with seven points after the seventh round of the 3rd Global Trust Bank FIDE-rated All-India Open chess tournament in Hyderabad today.Jr National TTDefending champions PSCB Academy (Ajmer) and Bengal have been given top billing in boys and girls sections, respectively, in the 60th Junior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships to be held at Jalandhar from December 25 to 31.
