MUMBAI — Captain Alastair Cook slammed an unbeaten century and Samit Patel closed in on one as England reached 286-4 in reply to India A's first innings of 369 on the second day of a three-day practice game Wednesday. Cook scored 112 not out off 251 deliveries with 13 boundaries, while Patel was 82 not out off 145 balls with 12 fours, the pair adding 153 for the fifth wicket. Jonathan Trott also got some useful batting practice scoring 56, while Kevin Pietersen chipped in with a quick 23 before being caught and bowled by spinner Yuvraj Singh. Earlier, the home side lost its last wicket off the first delivery of the morning when pace bowler James Anderson trapped Vinay Kumar lbw for 25. Meanwhile, England pace bowler Steve Finn was ruled out of the game due to an injury after bowling only four overs Tuesday. England management said Finn strained his right thigh and he would be assessed over the next couple of days to determine rehabilitation. Modi loses appeal In London, former chairman of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi has failed in his appeal against a £90,000 libel award to former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns over an accusation of match-fixing. Cairns sued Modi earlier this year and won the case when a judge ruled the Indian “singularly failed” to provide any reliable evidence that the Kiwi was involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing, or even that there were strong grounds for suspicion that he was. In 2007 and 2008, Cairns captained the Chandigarh Lions in three competitions in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which flourished briefly before the ascendancy of the IPL. The allegation made by Modi related to the second and third of these competitions, between March and April 2008 and October and November that year. — Agencies
