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On the eve of India’s first ODI in the bilateral series against Australia, MS Dhoni expressed concern that none of his batsmen might be able to offer any overs should any of his specialist bowlers have a day off. As it turned out, India failed to defend 309 on a flat Perth pitch, and India missed that extra bowler dearly.In fact Dhoni tried to sneak in a cheap over or two from Rohit Sharma when Australia had lost two early wickets, but the hosts went after Rohit, and also the specialist spin bowling of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The fact that the two spinners went for 129 runs in 18 overs rattled India’s captain. “You have to realise, yesterday when I spoke [about the lack of part-time bowlers] I was talking more about the fast bowlers,” Dhoni said. “If they don’t have a very good day, I will have to use the spinner. I never thought the spinners will have a very bad day and the others will have to share the responsibility.”If you see the bowling department the fast bowlers did a very good job. The spinners could have bowled a little better, in the sense that if they would have just avoided the easy boundary deliveries… If the batsman hits you over long-on and long-off, fair enough, it is always a good shot, and with a bit of risk involved. You have to make sure with the field restrictions that you don’t get hit in an area where you don’t have a fielder. That is something we will have to avoid.”You can empathise with a bit of Dhoni’s helplessness. The spinners have been his pride. He has won the Champions Trophy in England through spin. Through spin he took India to the World T20 final in Bangladesh. Through spin he won a bilateral ODI series in England in 2014. Now that the fast bowlers gave his defence of 309 a good start, Dhoni found himself unable to set fields for his spinners. What do you do when your most trusted weapons let you down?”They [Australia] played a few big shots, but other than that was the time when they rotated [the strike] really well. They were still getting six, even more than six, an over. That was an area where there was a lot of pressure on us because the spinners also went for quite a few boundaries. I felt that was a phase where we could have bowled slightly differently. Other than that the fast bowlers bowled really well.”Given India’s bowling – they conceded 438 in the last match they played – and given how much the Australian batsmen have plundered them of late, you did wonder if India were urgent enough in putting the runs on the board once they got off to a good start. The four overs immediately after the 40th brought India just 26 runs, and the fifth resulted in Virat Kohli’s wicket, only the second India had lost until then. Dhoni was asked about that period of play. He didn’t find much wrong in India’s approach, but also conceded his bowlers might have taught him a tough lesson in that regard.”You have to look at what could have been a good score,” Dhoni said. “As I said 310 was a very good score. They batted really well, still they reached it in the last over. Which means I feel if we had bowled slightly better we could have put more pressure on them. Maybe induce a few big shots early in the innings.”Always you can debate you could have played a bit more aggressive cricket at that point of time. Also you have to realise once the platform is set at that time what happens if you lose a couple of wickets? What we saw was, it was easier for the set batsmen to hit. Even for the Australian batsmen the set batsmen were hitting the big shots. More difficult for the newcomers. That is a catch-22. Yes we had wickets in hand, and could have pushed for 15-20 more runs, but also you have to look at the other side, what if we didn’t reach 310? Overall if you see maybe if we are in the same situation we may bat slightly differently. Still on this wicket, I felt 310 was a very good score.”

Contests between England and South Africa are building up a tasty rivalry and their first meeting in Twenty20 is a vital match for both teams. Everyone is back at square one now, with no points going forward from the first round, so whoever starts with a win will have ahead start on chasing a semi-finals slot. The home side have hit formearly on in the tournament, especially with the bat, and will alsobring with them passionate support. England, though, won’t be withouttheir fans at Newlands and need to quickly move on from their drubbingagainst Australia. South Africa’s recently memories are good too,after thrashing England during the World Cup.Bat play: Do England stick or twist, especially with the toporder? Darren Maddy has only had a couple of games, but Vikram Solankiis waiting in the wings and Luke Wright’s last three scores have been0, 0, 3. Against teams without a specialist spinner, Owais Shah seemswasted at No. 7.South Africa have a selection issue after JP Duminy’s useful displayagainst Bangladesh. Herschelle Gibbs is expected to come back into theteam, so it may be a quick return to the bench for Duminy. They showeda degree of flexibility by promoting Albie Morkel to No. 3, withsuccess, so a few more of their allrounders could also performfloating roles.Wrecking ball: South Africa’s bowling attack continues to be atouch one-dimensional, but they at least showed more variety againstBangladesh. Makhaya Ntini is proving hittable with the new ball, hisnatural length allowing the batsmen to get underneath the ball. MorneMorkel has shown he has pace and Vernon Philander continues the strongearly impression he has made in South African colours.England have already tinkered with their fast-bowling line-up, butJames Kirtley’s return to international cricket amounted to one overfor 17 against Australia and he was very nervous. Stuart Broadcontinues to bowl too short, while Andrew Flintoff isn’t doing much toease fears over his injury problems. Chris Schofield has held his own,but the attack certainly doesn’t appear as threatening as it didagainst India only a few weeks ago.Keep your eye on: He’s a common theme, but Kevin Pietersenagainst his former countrymen is never a contest to miss. The lasttime he played in South Africa he went away with three centuries andturned the crowd in his favour. But there is plenty of feeling betweenhim and Graeme Smith.Shop talk: Coach Peter Moores will emphasise to his team the need toplay with controlled aggression. “You have to be brave but you alsohave to be selective as well – that’s the fine balance of Twenty20cricket,” he said. “When things become shortened your decision-makingbecomes a key issue all the time on who you attack and when you attackand you look for opportunities to go.””We’ve had some success in the one-day game against them [England] inrecent times,” said a confident Smith. “Hopefully we can carry thatinto the match. They have some world class players and how we controlthat will be important. Our ability to put their bowlers underpressure will be a key part of the game.” Smith also confirmed thatGibbs’s rehabilitation is coming along well and he should play.Pitching it right: “It didn’t quite play as we expected,” saidSmith after victory over Bangladesh, which hints there was a touchmore bounce in the surface. South Africa found that banging the ballbrought more rewards, so hit-the-deck bowlers could be the key.Teams:South Africa (probable) Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs,AB de Villiers, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher (wk), Vernon Philander,Shaun Pollock, Johan van der Wath, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, MakhayaNtiniEngland (probable) Darren Maddy, Matt Prior (wk), KevinPietersen, Paul Collingwood (capt), Owais Shah, Andrew Flintoff, LukeWright, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Chris Schofield, Stuart Broad, JamesAnderson

Aug 201.34pm Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove examine the match ball after an Umar Gul over on the fourth day of the fourth Test at The Oval. Hair, believing the condition of the ball to have been unfairly altered, signals to the scorers that Pakistan will be penalised five runs. Ball is changed.3.43pm Hair and Doctrove, and not out England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, return to the field after tea but there’s no sign of Pakistan team. Officials and batsmen return to pavilion.3.54pm Umpires and batsmen return to field, but still no Pakistan team. Bails are removed and the covers come on.
4.19pm Match referee Mike Procter, chairman of the ECB David Morgan and Pakistan counterpart Shaharyar Khan seen in deep discussions on balcony.
4.24pm Inzamam leads Pakistan team back onto the field, but now there is no sign of the umpires. Talks did not involve the umpires who insist that the original Pakistan no-show after tea means the match has been conceded.
5.13pm Play called off for the day.9.10pm Test abandoned after Pakistan deemed to have forfeited match. England declared winners and take series 3-0. It is the first forfeit in 129 years of Test history.Aug 21
Inzamam says he kept his team off the field to defend his country’s pride after allegations of cheating. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, and team manager Zaheer Abbas both insist their side had not been guilty of ball-tampering. Inzamam is charged with ball tampering and bringing the game into disrepute by ICC. Meanwhile, the PCB says it no longer wants Hair to officiate in any of its team’s matches.Aug 22
Inzamam warns cricket chiefs: Clear me of ball tampering or the tour of England is finished. British newspapers report that England coach Duncan Fletcher visited Procter’s room before the start of the fourth day’s play. English officials insist no “specific complaint” about the ball was made.Aug 23
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed insists Pakistan would have no right of veto over the appointment of Hair for future Tests. Zaheer confirms the team’s upcoming one-day series against England will go ahead after a disciplinary hearing involving captain Inzamam was postponed due to the unavailability of ICC chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle. Speed on his way to London to help broker a deal that could keep Pakistan’s tour of England on track. Hair says he stands by his decision and wants to continue umpiring.

Aug 24ECB makes contingency plan for England to play a World XI in the event Pakistan pull out of the upcoming one-day series.Aug 25
ICC announce that Hair offered his resignation in return for a payment of 500,000 dollars. Speaking at a news conference in London, Speed says: “Hair was under great stress when he wrote these letters. Darrell had no dishonest, underhand or malicious intent. He was seeking a solution.”Aug 26
ICC sets Inzamam hearing provisionally for last week of September.Aug 27
Hair says he received “encouragement” to make his resignation offer from ICC umpires and referees manager Doug Cowie. ICC say discussions were merely “informal”.Sep 4
Speed warns Pakistan and Inzamam against making any further “inappropriate” public comments ahead of the hearing saying they risk further charges under the ICC code of conduct.Sep 25
ICC confirm that Inzamam will answer charges at a two-day hearing in front of Madugalle starting at The Oval, starting on Wednesday September 27. Inzamam, Hair, Doctrove and Procter are among those set to attend with a decision due Friday local time.

John Elliot, Worcestershire chairman, has slammed the contribution of Shoaib Akhtar during the last season. Elliot claimed that the fast bowler’s lack of team-ethic led to considerable unrest in the dressing room.”Players like that are no good to our club. In fact, Shoaib has been no good for any club he’s been at,” Elliot was quoted as saying by . “It’s all about team spirit and getting the dressing room right and when you’ve got a bloke like Shoaib in there, it can cause mayhem.”Akhtar had said that he signed with Worcestershire because of Tom Moody, who was then director of cricket at New Road. However, Moody then left Worcestershire to take up the position of Sri Lanka coach, and Elliot believes Akhtar did not live up to his credentials under Steve Rhodes, the current coach. “Steve Rhodes inherited a thankless task when he took over having to deal with someone like Shoaib Akhtar.”You can only wonder whether Tom Moody might have got the best out of him as he was the one that signed Shoaib. But, really, I don’t think anyone could have handled him. He’s a superstar and just does what he wants.”Akhtar’s contribution in the first two matches of the World XI’s one-day series against Australia was lacklustre and drew considerable criticism from various quarters. And following his reported rift with Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, Akhtar’s every statement and action during the upcoming series against England is sure to be scrutinized.

Mohammad Azharuddin’s presence at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium as anaccredited media representative of Aaj Tak, an Indian news channel, has raisedeyebrows in media circles. Azharuddin is serving a life ban from theBoard of Control for Cricket in India for his alleged involvement withbookmakers in fixing matches.Azharuddin was spotted sitting in the grandstand just in front of themedia box, using his mobile phone to file updates.G Krishnan, the executive director of the TV Today network, confirmed that Azharuddin was doing work for Aaj Tak, and said, “His involvement in match-fixing is alleged. What has the fact that someone is alleged to have done something got to do with his commenting on a cricket match? He is not playing. Just being accused of something does not mean much. People are ministers in this country while they are accused of greater crimes. The point is they are not convicted. You have to be reasonable to everybody. Till you find someone guilty he is innocent.”Asked whether the fact that Azharuddin was banned for life made a difference, Krishnan replied, “The ban is another thing. The personresponsible for the school that burned down in Tamil Nadu yesterday was removed from his position. Does that mean he was responsible for the fire? I don’t think I or anyone else has a right to make a judgment on a person till the courts make a decision.”According to Ray Illangakoon, Sri Lanka’s media manager, “Sri Lanka Cricket has no problem giving Mr Azharuddin accreditation as a media journalist as he has not been banned by the ICC.”The ICC, meanwhile, made it clear that it would not stop any cricketerfrom working in the media as a reporter, columnist or commentator. “Weregulate accreditation for ICC tournaments and ensure anyone connectedor found suspicious of corruption isn’t allowed access to restrictedarea,” Jon Long, an ICC spokesman, was quoted as saying in an Associated Press report. “But the ICC doesn’t necessarily approve accreditation at all matches.”Wasim Akram, who was fined 300,000 Pakistan rupees and censured for his alleged involvement in match-fixing, is also in Sri Lanka commentating on the series for ESPN-Star Sports, and has been working in the media for some time now. He has always denied any involvement in match-fixing.

Mis-Teeq, will entertain spectators on the opening day of the competition, Friday 13 June, at the Hampshire v Sussex match at the Rose Bowl. They will be supported by D’Side and United Colours of Sound. A capacity 9,000 sell-out is anticipated for the match, which will be televised live by Sky Sports.Tickets for the opening game at the Rose Bowl can be bought from today by telephoning:0870 243 0291.Ticket prices are £15 for adults and £10 for under sixteens.

Band informationMis-Teeq – made up of three girls Alesha 23, Sabrina 23 and Su – Elise 20 -are a UK garage / R’n’B band who have had four top ten singles to date.Their debut album Eye Candy, reached number five in the album charts earlier this month. The band won the ‘Best Artist’ award at last year’s UK GarageAwards.D’Side – are already following in the footsteps of two other famous Irishfive-piece boybands (Westlife and Boyzone) by launching their career bywinning ‘Best New Act’ at the Smash Hits Awards. Their debut song,’Speachless’, went into the top 10 last Sunday.





Twenty20 Cup – Background informationThe Twenty20 Cup, the first brand new competition for county cricket since 1973, replaces the old Benson and Hedges Cup. It is cricket on fast-forward- 20 overs-a-side bouts contested over just two hours 45 mins and staged during the longest summer evenings in June. (Opening matches are on Friday 13 June).Games start at 5.30pm, the action is conveniently timed for the post-school and office audiences.The 18 First Class Counties are split into three regional groups of six teams each, with the three group winners and the best runner-up progressing to a Finals Day at Trent Bridge on Saturday 19 July. Aside from the on-pitch action, off-the-field entertainment will include live bands, replay screens, BBQ zones and karaoke machines, with musical instruments and fancy dress codes encouraged to help create the perfect evening out.A new prize money structure will be implemented to encourage both team victories and individual performances. The Twenty20 champions will receive£42,000, the runners-up will get £21,000 and the losing-semi-finalists £10,000. Extra incentives will also be made to the best performing individuals with cash prizes of up to £1,500 going to the best performing batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders.npower is the first official partner of the Twenty20 Cup. More officialpartners are anticipated.Match details and ticket information can be found atwww.ecb.co.uk/twenty20

It was a fairytale ending for the team that traveled the longest distance to play the MRF Buchi Babu Trophy 2001.Matthew Bell led the New Zealand ‘A’ team to triumph on Thursday the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Although unable to win the three-day match outright, the New Zealand ‘A’ team were crowned champions by virtue of a first innings lead. Having amassed 486/7, declared the Kiwis dismissed the Cricket Association of Bengal XI for a mere 214.It was a display of all-round strength that the tournament organisers would be proud of. With the bat there were strong performances from Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent and Hamish Marshall who all made centuries. With the ball it was big man Jacob Oram who triggered the CAB XI demise, scalping three top-order wickets. On the final day, however, it was leg-spinner Brooke Walker, who stole the show, picking four wickets in just 7.5 overs.CAB XI began the day on a disastrous 74/5. There was really nothing they could do to prevent a New Zealand victory. Sanjeev Sanyal (73 runs, 110 mins, 77 balls, 13 fours) delayed the inevitable, but could do nothing to boost the morale of his team. When Walker claimed the wicket of SS Paul with the CAB XI score on 214, it was all over.The New Zealand ‘A’ side got some more batting practice in, notching up 90/3 in 31 overs. Having not enforced the follow on, Matthew Horne (46 not out) managed to spend some time out in the middle.

Imran Tahir has joined Nottinghamshire until the end of the season, replacing Ben Hilfenhaus as the club’s main overseas player. Hilfenhaus returned to Australia last month after suffering a hip injury.Nottinghamshire will be Tahir’s fifth county, having previously played for Hampshire, Warwickshire, Yorkshire and Middlesex. He is expected to make his debut in the Royal London Cup fixture against Essex on Sunday and will be available to play in the Championship as well, either side of his South Africa commitments.”Imran is experienced, he’s played lots of cricket in England and we know how effective international-class spinners can be during the business end of a county season,” Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, Mick Newell, said. “We were always open to replacing Ben with a spinner, Imran was available and looks a good option for us.”We’ve started to play on some increasingly dry pitches this season, surfaces on which an extra spin option might help us win some matches. With the signing of Imran, we’ll have that in most of our matches between now and the end of the season.”Tahir is an experienced campaigner in county cricket, having taken almost 200 wickets across all formats for Hampshire, who he last represented at the back end of the 2014 season. He has also represented South Africa in Test, ODI and T20 cricket and was a member of the team that got to the World Cup semi-final earlier this year.”We see him as someone who can have success for us in both red and white ball cricket,” Newell said. “A world class legspinner is a valuable commodity to any side in any form of the game, particularly one of Imran’s quality and experience.”We’ve built some momentum with the cricket we have played in recent weeks. Hopefully this addition will help us maintain that through to the end of the season.”Nottinghamshire were joint bottom of the Championship at the end of June but have risen to mid-table after two wins from their last three games. They missed out on a T20 quarter-final after a rain abandonment in their final match but have started well in the Royal London Cup, with two wins and a no result so far.Dan Christian, who signed as Nottinghamshire’s second overseas player for the NatWest T20 Blast, has been filling in for Hilfenhaus during the Royal London Cup and will continue to be available when Tahir is on international duty. South Africa play New Zealand in two T20s and three ODIs between August 14 and 26, which Tahir is expected to be involved in.

ScorecardNazmul Hossain Shanto and Saif Hassan took Bangladesh Under-19s to victory•BCB

The Bangladesh spinners gobbled up eight wickets to bowl West Indies out for 114 and secure an eight-wicket win in the first Youth ODI in Mirpur.Left-arm spinner Saleh Ahmed Shawon took four wickets while offspinners Sanjit Saha and Saeed Sarkar took two each as West Indies were knocked over in 39.2 overs. Opener Gidron Pope made 31 off 41 balls with two fours and three sixes and Emmanuel Stewart added 30 off 66 balls, but seven of their team-mates fell for single-digits.West Indies’ hopes flickered to life when Bangladesh opener Pinak Ghosh fell in the second over to Obaid McCoy but Saif Hassan and Nazmul Hossain Shanto added 70 runs together in an unbroken third wicket stand and finished the game off in the 21st over. Saif made an unbeaten 39 off 68 balls with five fours and a six while Shanto’s 41 not out came off just 36 balls with six fours and a six.

Incoming South African selection convenor Joubert Strydom said that Jacques Kallis’s omission from the hosts’ Twenty20 World Championship squad was done in the light of the country’s “nightmare” schedule in the next 18 months.South Africa go to Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, England and Australia in the next 18 months and Strydom said: “Jacques is a crucial part of our Test and one-day plans and we don’t want to sacrifice him in the Twenty20 format”.Kallis, who has scored at better than a run-a-ball in his half-dozen Twenty20 appearances at domestic and international level, is a relatively slow starter at the crease and found himself in the middle of a storm over his perceived slow scoring during the World Cup.In 20-over cricket, Kallis would probably be best suited to moving up to the top of the order, but Strydom said South Africa had several other options for those positions and, although the allrounder’s bowling skills would be missed, it was not worth risking him in the competition.”Once we decided to rest Jacques, there was no debate about how heavily we rely on him as a bowler or whether he could bat up front ahead of quite a few guys competing for places there.”Strydom also explained the absence of any recognised death bowlers in the South African squad.”In 20-over cricket, if you’re bowling in the same area all the time, even the blockhole, it becomes very easy for the batsman. He knows which length to expect and he can line you up”We will be experimenting a bit. We will be using guys who take the pace off the ball, like Graeme Smith or JP Duminy, while also trying a guy like Morne Morkel for the death-type bowling. Because he is so tall, he bowls a different length to most bowlers and he is able to push the batsman back.”In limited-overs cricket now, you see guys like Shaun Tait and Lasith Malinga being effective when they bowl a bit shorter. A lack of bounce or excessive bounce is effective.”If you’re going to be aiming for the blockhole, then it has to be with pace and reverse-swing.”