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Matthew Hoggard, whose figures of 4 for 97 helped to secure England an astonishing first-innings lead on the fourth day at The Oval, was understandably delighted with a day that carried England to within touching distance of Ashes glory, but he nonetheless remained cautious as the series entered the final thrilling furlong.”I don’t think we could have asked for a better day,” Hoggard told AFP after stumps. “Overhead conditions suited us, we put the ball in the right areas and it was another magnificent performance from Freddie [Flintoff] yet again. It was nice to be able to bowl in tandem with Andrew.”However, Hoggard warned excited England fans: “It’s by no means over. We’re playing the best in the world and we’ve got the small person of Mr Warne to contend with who in the first innings was outstanding.”Warne grabbed 6 for 122 in the first innings, and has already added the wicket of Andrew Strauss, with his fourth ball of the second innings. “I don’t think the wicket will be any better for batting on facing him. We know we’re up for a big fight and we’re looking to bat time.”Australia’s coach, John Buchanan, singled out Andrew Flintoff for praise, after he bowled unchanged for 18 overs to finish with 5 for 78. “For me great credit goes to Flintoff, who pounded in from one end. He wanted to change the course of our batting innings and I think successfully achieved that.”Buchanan insisted he had no problems with the umpires’ interpretation of what constituted bad light. “The umpires have done a fine job. They’ve set their benchmarks in terms of what’s adequate light for facing spin and facing quicks and they make their decisions.”Looking ahead, he added: “Ninety-eight overs may be a little more difficult. We will be trying to take all the wickets we can.”And while identifying Warne as a major figure, Buchanan said Australia’s other bowlers had a role to play. “He’ll be a key player in tomorrow’s game but don’t under-rate the Glenn McGraths, the Brett Lees and Shaun Taits. They should provide very good support to Shane.”

The Zee network has emerged as a surprise front-runner in the tussle to win telecast rights for cricket matches to be played in India over the next four years. The bidding process closed on Saturday, and the result will be announced next week, with industry sources suggesting that Zee had outbid ESPN-Star Sports.According to a report in , Zee were thought to have tabled a bid worth approximately US$262million, about $14million more than the ESPN-Star Sports offer. Prasar Bharati, the national broadcaster, are said to be willing to cough up $153million, with Sony Entertainment Television ($148million) and the Dubai-based Ten Sports ($141million) the rank outsiders.Prasar Bharati had managed to win the existing rights for just $46million, over a period of five years. But the increased interest in the game has meant that the Indian telecast rights have become the Holy Grail for all broadcasters.The Hindu report also quoted a BCCI source as saying, “The bids were opened today in the presence of BCCI officials and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. A decision will be taken not just on the basis of financial strength but after evaluating parameters such as prior experience in cricket broadcasting as well.”Prasar Bharati and ESPN-Star have already signed an agreement for the sharing of rights, which involves a minimum guarantee, a revenue-sharing agreement and a percentage of the advertising revenue. Despite Zee’s higher bid, it appears as if ESPN-Star’s greater expertise, and strategic tie-ups, could tilt the scales in its favour.

National League Division Two
Latest tableLancashire 129 for 8 v Somerset at Old Trafford – Match abandoned
Scorecard
Somerset’s rainy draw under the Old Trafford floodlights was totally eclipsed by a dark announcement from their chief executive. Peter Anderson described his side’s performances this season as “shambolic and embarrassing” and threatened to sack up to 10 players at the end of the summer.Anderson announced he would soon be to writing to the playing staff to make his dissatisfaction clear. “Some will be getting letters warning them that we’re not satisfied”, he said, before adding an ominous postscript: “I’m advised that in cricket, as in other forms of employment, it’s necessary to issue warnings before you can dismiss people.”Anderson’s comments followed a crisis meeting held in the aftermath of last week’s County Championship defeat against Northamptonshire. During the meeting, senior management at the club issued the assembled players with a stark warning – improve or you’re out. “Performances have been shambolic and embarrassing,” said Anderson. “It’s not being beaten that concerns me so much as the manner of defeat and the apparent lack of enthusiasm in the side.”But typical Manchester weather denied Somerset’s players the chance to make immediate amends. After Lancashire reached 129 for 8 in 20 overs in an interrupted innings, the rain returned and Somerset never had chance to begin their reply. Following a delayed start, Lancashire’s innings was twice reduced – from 29 overs to 24, then finally to 20 – as rain butted in. The innings stuttered along and only Stuart Law injected any urgency, hitting a crisp 32 from 21 balls.Duckworth-Lewis calculations left Somerset a revised target of 139 but before they could begin their innings the showers returned. Lancashire’s chances of pulling clear at the top of the Second Division of the National League gurgled down the drain, with two points taking them level with Northamptonshire. Somerset, meanwhile, remained bottom.

Test cricket’s newly-introduced world championship system may soon be matched by an equivalent model for one-day internationals.A proposal to establish a rolling set of world one-day rankings will feature among the leading items for discussion at next week’s meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Executive Board in Kuala Lumpur.The broad aim of its inclusion on the agenda is to build on months of work already undertaken by the ICC in investigating the feasibility of a range of potential options.Those options are understood to include a model based heavily on the head-to-head results method at the core of the ICC Test Championship system launched in May.That system measures the respective performance of the world’s 10 Test-playing countries on the basis of their results in home-and-away series against each of their rivals.But the vast proliferation of international limited-overs matches in recent times poses a number of problems for the application of such a model, meaning that a range of other possibilities are certain to be explored.At the core of the new proposal is a desire to add greater meaning to one-day international fixtures by creating a simple, easily-understandable, and comparative measure of each country’s recent performances.Attention next week may therefore turn to measures such as the introduction of a shorter cut-off period than the five year limit currently used for the Test version, and the addition of extra weight to the most recently-completed one-day matches and series between teams.Means of reflecting the results of individual matches within series – rather than the overall outcome of series as a whole – also seem likely to become a major strand of the discussions.Ultimately, the ICC plans to adopt and introduce its new model by April 2002.Among a wide range of matters for discussion, delegates at next week’s meeting will also consider the introduction of sweeping new sanctions aimed at strengthening penalties imposed on players found guilty of misconduct, and the advent of potential penalties for countries which withdraw from matches and/or tours to which they have previously committed.Consideration of Kenya’s application for Test status will take another step forward with approval to be given to the proposal that an official delegation shortly visit the country with a view to assessing the current state of the sport and facilities within its borders.The Council’s moves to establish an elite panel of fully-professional international umpires and match referees will also be further advanced.And the meeting is likely to have major implications for the arrangement of the next ICC Trophy – the tournament which brings together the sport’s associate nations in the battle for berths in the World Cup.Rising costs and logistical difficulties mean that the tournament is likely to be significantly streamlined, to the point that just 12 countries – as opposed to the 22 which took part in 2001 – will participate in the next version of the event in 2005.

George Bailey has kept the orange bib. The signifier of drinks duty became a point of contention during the World Cup when ICC officials insisted that Bailey had to wear it in the same tournament he had started out as captain. On the morning after Australia’s victory at the MCG, Bailey raised a warm cheer when he walked onto the podium in Federation Square while wearing the bib over his polo – the source of irritation having become a badge of honour.The episode signified how Bailey had stood in such an awkward position for some time, as either the leader of the limited overs team or a fringe member of the squad. There was much admiration for how he handled himself, and the team made doubly sure he was included in the celebrations of an achievement he had done much to the set-up, whether it was leading whenever Michael Clarke was injured, or providing a strong middle-order presence with the bat.”I think it was quite clear what was going to occur, given the lead-up,” Bailey said of his World Cup cameo. “I’m not sure there was any score I could’ve got in that England game that would’ve changed that. I think the role Michael and I played in that team was the same role, and that was it.”In terms of overall experience, it was the only cricket goal I’ve really ever set myself, so I was just making sure I was going to enjoy the few weeks – whatever the role, whatever the situation. At the end of the day you can be a good bloke or you can be a rotten bloke, but if you’re scoring runs or taking wickets then you stay in the team. That’s as simple as it gets. It’s not a popularity contest. That’s the same in any business or in any sport. It’s about results.”Now, though, the ODI stage has been permanently cleared of Clarke, Shane Watson, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin, while David Warner’s brief reign as vice-captain has been interrupted by a cracked thumb. Where once Bailey was surplus, now he is very much needed. There may even be a case for taking him to Bangladesh as a batsman and source of support for Steven Smith – once more the selectors must deliberate on Bailey’s ODI form, as they did two years ago when choosing him for the Test team after his 50-over runs in India.”I’d love to play cricket for Australia in all three formats – that’s my goal . . . I think that’s what everyone plays for but overriding that is just playing good cricket and being happy with the way I’m playing cricket,” Bailey said. “I feel like playing over here for the past few months has got me into that space.”Now it’s just about making sure I score the runs, and giving the selectors a headache or an option, whichever way they look at it. I’m loving playing and having a couple of young guys around and feel like I can contribute a lot to that. I’m hitting the ball really well.”Another man emerging from the shadows of others is Aaron Finch. While he did take part in the Cup triumph, Finch was a somewhat muted member of the squad, mixing innings of substance in the opener against England and the semi-final against India with a run of lowly numbers. In a way, Finch found himself running down at a time when the Cup campaign was revving up, and now he has returned to the team having had time to think about that.”It was a tough period because I started off the tournament so well then missed out for a few then played well in the semi-final,” he said. “It was just a case of I was doing everything I could off the field with my preparation and my training. I was just trying probably too hard, one of those things the harder you try the more you forget about the basics of the game, and you start to think about things you can’t actually control at the time.”Being away from the game a little bit just gives you a chance to sit back and reflect on why it might have been happening and I’ve got a few ideas. It’s just a case of being as clear-minded as you can. It’s a lot easier to say than to do at times, especially in a World Cup when you get to the back-end of it and you’re struggling for runs. It’s just a case of learning from those kinds of experiences and moving on and still having confidence in your ability.”There was some conjecture about how Finch was not selected initially for this squad, having resumed playing for Yorkshire, after recovering from a broken foot. Bailey went as far as to say that Finch had been “unlucky” not to be picked initially, but the man himself felt comfortable with the reasoning of the selectors.”I just hadn’t played any cricket and that was one thing that was relayed to me, that I wasn’t dropped from the team,” he said. “I just hadn’t played any cricket so I wasn’t available for selection in their eyes. I totally understand that, in that I come back probably a week and a half earlier from my foot injury than was originally planned.”Now he is back, and at Old Trafford batted in the adjacent net to Smith. With the Clarke-Watson years drawing to a close, these are Australia’s two captains now. Plenty is expected of Smith, but Finch will need to step up also. All the while, Bailey will be around the team to help out in whatever way he can. Pleasingly for him, this now includes batting at No. 4 and not wearing that World Cup drinks bib.”I think it’s an exciting time for Australian cricket with a few of the senior players moving aside,” Finch said. “It gives everyone confidence that if they’re playing well and in form, no matter what format of the game or where you’re playing, you’ll most likely be selected. I think that gives everyone around the country a real buzz that they know they’re not far away.”They know there might be a couple of a good scores from potentially playing Test cricket … that drives everyone, makes everyone strive to be better and be in as good a form as they can.”

Vidarbha’s Dhruv Shorey has equalled N Jagadeesan’s record for most consecutive centuries (five) in List A cricket by smashing an unbeaten 109 off 77 balls against Hyderabad in Rajkot in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Coming in at No. 3, Shorey built on a 148-run opening partnership between Aman Mokhade and Yash Rathod. Shorey struck nine fours and six sixes in his innings as Vidarbha posted 365 for 5 after being put in to bat. This was Shorey’s eighth List A century.Shorey’s run of five centuries stretches back to the knockouts of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he made centuries in the quarter-final, semi-final and final. A key member of Vidarbha’s run to the final along with Karun Nair, Shorey was the second-highest run-getter for his team, and fifth overall. He aggregated 494 runs in eight innings at an average of 70.47 and a strike rate of 92.68.Related

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Shorey began the current season with a 125-ball 136, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory as Bengal powered home by three wickets, chasing down 383.Jagadeesan’s five hundreds had come during the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy. It included a record-breaking 277 against Arunachal Pradesh – the highest individual score in List A cricket.The next on the list are Nair, Devdutt Padikkal, Kumar Sangakkara and Alviro Petersen, with four consecutive hundreds each. Sangakkara is the only one to score all four in international cricket.

Prosper Utseya has been named as Zimbabwe captain until August 2008, ending rumours that Tatenda Taibu was about to be reinstated following his return from self-imposed exile. The Zimbabwe Standard reported that Utseya was re-appointed unanimously.Utseya, who was appointed in July 2006, has struggled with his own form since taking charge, leading to the reports that Taibu would be reinstated.Other announcements were the removal of Kevin Curran as national coach and his replacement with former Zimbabwe player Robin Brown. Curran will now take charge of the National Academy. Former Under-19 coach Walter Chawaguta was named as Brown’s assistant while Andy Pycroft was retained as Zimbabwe A coach.Chawaguta replaced the controversial Stephen Mangongo who was twice sacked as A team coach and was also at one time head of the Academy.

Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted on his return to Pakistan that he would not seek legal action against Darrell Hair after being cleared of ball tampering charges by the ICC. “Our religion Islam teaches us to forgive and forget, so I forgive Hair and will not take any action against him,” Inzamam told AFP on his return.Inzamam said he had nothing in his heart against Hair. “It will take time to forget what happened at The Oval but my heart is clear as always, and since we have been cleared of the more serious charge of ball tampering I think we should bury the matter,” he said.Imran Khan and other ex-players had urged Inzamam to seek an apology and take the Australian to court for defamation but Inzamam justified the decision not to appeal against the ban. “The penalty imposed is the minimum in level III so it would neither be reduced nor would it be lifted if I had appealed. So I see no reason to take the matter any further.”Earlier, Inzamam stood by his decision to protest at The Oval last month, when his team was judged to have forfeited the fourth Test, even though his punishment means he will miss the Champions Trophy.Inzamam was cleared of ball-tampering at an ICC hearing on Thursday, but found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute over his side’s refusal to continue play against England. He will therefore be unable to lead his country into next month’s Champions Trophy, with Younis Khan taking control of the team in his absence.”I knew I was going to be in trouble when I made the protest,” Inzamam told Bigstarcricket.com. “It was not a decision I took easily, because nobody wants to prevent the spectators from watching the cricket – both at the ground and on television.”Even so – and despite the fact Pakistan became the first team in Test history to forfeit a Test match – Inzamam does not believe he did the wrong thing. “Although I regret the public were deprived of watching cricket, I don’t regret making the decision to stay off the field – because there are certain things more important than winning and losing or the rule book.””I felt the respect and integrity of my country had been brought into question, so the support the country has given me in this issue has been comforting. It told me that we were right to do what we did.”Inzamam believes his decision – which meant England won the series 3-0 – helped to focus attention on what he saw as an unfair ruling. “If we had just carried on with the game, the world would not have sat up and taken notice of how we had been accused of something we were not guilty of.””We felt we had to stand up and protest. Ultimately, I understand the ICC’s decision to ban me. I did what I felt was right – and so did they.”During the press conferences held after the hearing at The Oval Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, stressed how he felt ‘a slur’ against Pakistan as a country had been lifted following ICC’s ruling. However, he confirmed that Pakistan are not happy with the current law on how penalty runs are awarded in a case of ball tampering.Meanwhile, Inzamam said he was heartened by the support he received from well-wishers: “I had a call on my mobile literally every minute after the hearing and I appreciate everyone’s good wishes.”

Brian Lara has been appointed to the Win World Cup committee by the West Indies Cricket Board to help produce a successful team for the 2007 World Cup. Bennett King, the West Indies coach, is the chairman of the committee, which also includes Gary Sobers, Desmond Haynes, Courtney Walsh, and Michael Findlay, the former West Indies wicketkeeper and former chairman of selectors.Clive Lloyd, who had originally been invited as chairman, and Michael Holding, declined to join the committee due to overseas commitments. A press release by the board stated the purpose of the committee: “To address the more comprehensive development of players; to develop the physical and mental toughness which will deliver a consistent standard of excellence on and off the field; to deliver in conjunction with Bennett King, a programme of preparation that will deliver the targeted results.”Ken Gordon, the new president of the West Indies board, also announced another committee – a financial one – to be led by Dr Grenville Phillips.The board also permitted one foreign player to represent domestic teams. The board agreed to the “free movement of players among regional teams” and said that a non-West Indian player could participate in the Carib Beer Series and the President’s Cup one-day competitions.”With respect to the residency requirements, a person is eligible for selection to a West Indies team if he is a citizen or permanent resident of a member country of the WICB and has not been disqualified by the board from representing a West Indies team,” said Zorol Barthley, the WICB’s chief cricket operations officer. “This opens the way for teams to bolster their weak areas while allowing all our prospective international players an opportunity to be on show. There is the additional feature of utilising the services of at least one non-West Indian player. This could allow the fans to see top players from other countries in action in our domestic tournament. [It] could only make for more competitive cricket and a higher standard of play.”

First-class cricket will arrive in Bermuda and Holland on Wednesday, as the two countries play host to the latest matches in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. The visitors will be USA, who have already played one match against Canada in the Americas qualifying group, and Ireland, who have been keeping themselves busy with some notable one-day successes this season.”The Irish team is looking forward to our first match in the ICC Intercontinental Cup,” said Kyle McCallan, Ireland’s allrounder, who has already played a starring role in a successful season to date, which has included improbable victories over Surrey and West Indies. “Those wins have put the team in high spirit and ready for the next few days. It will be a test for us as we have not played a lot of three-day cricket over the past few seasons, but the chance to compete against High Performance countries like Holland and Scotland will ensure that we rise to the challenge.”Bermuda, meanwhile, were disappointed to miss out as a venue for the 2007 World Cup, but they are concentrating their efforts on the arrival of USA, who lost out to Canada in their opening fixture last month, but will be playing in the ICC Champions Trophy in September. Bermuda’s captain, Clay Smith, said his team had prepared well for the match.”We are very excited to be a part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup,” said Smith. “This competition will give our players experience in a first-class match for the first time in their careers, and we are looking forward to giving a good account of ourselves.”The awarding of first-class status to the Intercontinental Cup was frowned upon in some quarters, and even Canada’s John Davison admitted he was grateful to the rulemakers after taking 17 wickets against USA. But, with an innovative points system designed to maximise the learning experience for the participating teams, the tournament can only help the game to develop.To encourage teams to play for a result, the first innings of each side is restricted to 90 overs, and a minimum of 105 overs must be bowled on the opening two days of the match. The top-ranked team from the matches played in the four regions – Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas – will progress to the semi-finals and finals in the United Arab Emirates in November. Nepal (42 points), Uganda (32), Scotland (17.5) and Canada (30.5) currently lead their respective regions.