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After helmet-cameras and player-mics in the inaugural competition last season, this year’s Twenty20 competition is to experiment with the use of umpire microphones, to enable commentators to communicate with officials in mid-match and allow viewers a unique insight into how decisions are made.”This is a major development for cricket broadcasting,” said Barney Francis, executive producer for Sky Sports, “as fans at home have never enjoyed such access to the umpires. Our commentators will be able to discover the reasons behind the decisions, the conditions out in the middle, plus the umpires’ own opinions on the way the match is progressing. It should make fascinating viewing.”Second seasons are always the most difficult for successful innovations, but on the evidence so far, the Twenty20 Cup is proving just as popular this time around. With two weeks to go, advance sales for tickets have already topped the 80,000 mark – nearly a third of the total audience at matches last summer.The game between Surrey and Kent at The Oval, reduced to a 6000 capacity due to reconstruction works, has already sold out, while over 10,000 tickets have already been sold for Middlesex v Surrey, at Lord’s on Thursday, July 15.”We are delighted,” said Tom Harrison, the ECB’s marketing manager. “Domestic cricket has not had an advance ticket sales culture in the past and it is something we are very keen to create. My message to fans is, `buy now to avoid disappointment!'”For any fans who are still undecided, maybe Warwickshire’s new initiative will tilt the balance. To capitalise on the new wave of female fans, the county is introducing speed-dating to its entertainment, in which members of the opposite sex have until a wicket falls to chat each other up.

Scotland ended their second season of National League cricket with an emphatic victory over Derbyshire at the Grange. Buoyed by their victory over Bangladesh earlier in the week, Scotland skittled Derbyshire for just 179, with Paul Hoffman taking 3 for 25. In reply, they were given the perfect start by Gregor Maiden and Douglas Lockhart, who added 65 for the first wicket, before the captain Ryan Watson wrapped up the win with an unbeaten 42.It was a good day for Scotsmen all round. At Scarborough, Gavin Hamilton reminded his former Yorkshire team-mates what they are missing with a hard-earned 76, after Matthew Hoggard had ripped through the top order with three quick wickets. It was not enough to secure victory, but after the trials and tribulations that Hamilton has suffered in recent seasons, it was an important statement nonetheless.At Worcester, Leicestershire were routed by five wickets, after being bundled out for just 107. The win secured Worcester the runner-up spot in Division Two, as Steve Rhodes bowed out of one-day cricket.

National League Division Two

Scotland 182 for 2 (Lockhart 58, Watson 42*) beat Derbyshire 179 (Hoffman 3-25) by eight wickets at Edinburgh
Scorecard
Worcestershire 111 for 5 (Smith 33*) beat Leicestershire 107 (Wigley 4-37) by five wickets at Worcester
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Yorkshire 181 for 7 (Wood 46) beat Durham 178 for 9 (Hamilton 76) by three wickets at Scarborough
Scorecard

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Ground security will not be increased for tomorrow’s one-day match at Christchurch after Martin Snedden, the New Zealand Cricket chief executive, reassured the Australia team they would not be under threat from unruly spectators. But the match will hold extra interest for local fans as Jeff Wilson, the former All Black, was named in the starting line-up to replace Scott Styris, who was ruled out with a recurring knee injury.Wilson played four ODIs against Australia in 1992-93 before embarking on an international rugby career and is the only change to the side that lost the opening match by 10 runs. James Marshall, the twin brother of Hamish Marshall, will be 12th man and the squad for the final three matches will be settled after the game tomorrow.Snedden said the crowd’s behaviour during the second innings of Saturday’s match was “unacceptable”, but he was satisfied with the security and police numbers at Christchurch. “All we wanted to emphasise was the need for security to be more proactive, which I don’t think was the case in Wellington.”Ricky Ponting had requested more policing throughout the rest of the tour following the ugly crowd behaviour that briefly stopped the opening match. Matthew Hayden said he was spat on while Simon Katich and Glenn McGrath argued with security guards after plastic bottles were thrown at them. “I assured Steve [Bernard, the Australia manager] we are taking it seriously and he has acknowledged it’s not a major issue,” Snedden told NZPA. “I’m confident there won’t be a problem.”New Zealand 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Mathew Sinclair, 4 Craig McMillan, 5 Hamish Marshall, 6 Chris Cairns, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Jeff Wilson, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Daryl Tuffey, 12 James Marshall.

The annual Prime Minister’s XI tour match has been switched from January to December 2 and will be played against West Indies at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Cricket Australia said scheduling changes forced the rearrangement of the fixture, which is a tradition dating back to Sir Robert Menzies and was re-introduced by Bob Hawke in the 1980s.West Indies will play their first game of the three-Test tour against Queensland in Brisbane, starting on October 27, before the first Test at the Gabba on November 3. The second Test begins at Hobart on November 17 before the series finishes at Adelaide.Tickets for the tour match at Canberra will be available through ACT Cricket from October 4. Mark Vergano, the ACT Cricket chief executive, said the game would give local residents an opportunity to see international stars in action.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has resigned as captain of West Indies with immediate effect. He has been in the post since the series against South Africa in May 2005.Chanderpaul, 31, was given the captaincy during the contracts row between leading players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) before the start of the South African series.He informed the WICB of his decision on Tuesday and said: “I would like to take this opportunity to tender my resignation as captain with immediate effect.”This would give me an opportunity to focus on my batting and otherareas of my cricket where I would be able to make a more significant contribution to the team, by being more focused on my batting.” Chanderpaul averaged 47 as captain, but struggled in the last eight months, scoring just 198 from 13 innings.”I have served my time as the captain and would like to pass the mantle on to another person. I would fully support my replacement, and work towards the good of the team,” he said. “I would like to thank all who worked with me during my tenure as captain, and I am looking forward to continuing my hard work for West Indies cricket.”Ken Gordon, the WICB president, emphasised Chanderpaul’s importance to the team and denied that he was forced to resign. “No, I received Mr Chanderpaul’s letter today,” Gordon told CCN TV6. “In it he expressed his desire to focus more heavily on his batting…so I think it was a reasonable approach by him and I called him to thank him for it [his contribution] and to indicate to him that we are all very supportive of him.”Chanderpaul’s last series as captain resulted in a 2-0 defeat to New Zealand. He leaves just a couple of weeks before the home international season begins with a one-day series against Zimbabwe, before the visit of India. The WICB have said a new captain will be named in the shortly.

Stan Nell, an Australian coach, has been recruited as the coach of the Sri Lanka A team for their forthcoming tour of England, according to The Island, a Sri Lankan daily. Nell, who coaches Monash University in Victoria but also has previous experience of coaching in Sri Lanka, is set to join the A squad in June.Nell’s appointment swells the Australian contingent looking after various Sri Lankan squads: the national team is coached by John Dyson, while Shane Duff is their fitness trainer, and CJ Clarke, the physiotherapist.Hemantha Devapriya, the A-team coach over the past four years, will now join the Sri Lankan Academy which is about to commence its second programme after being opened in 2003.Nell has worked in Sri Lanka previously with the Indoor Cricket Foundation and John Keells in the Mercantile competition.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slapped Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former board president, with another show cause notice. Dalmiya has been asked to explain, within 21 days, the details of the exorbitant expenses incurred during the 1996 World Cup under his time in office.Niranjan Shah, the BCCI Secretary, has been reported by as demanding details of figures related to the Pilcom account held with the Indian Overseas Bank in Kolkata. Shah has been quoted as saying that withdrawals from the bank showed “abnormally high” expenses including telephone bills, travel and cash withdrawals. Details came from a report submitted by N Srinivasan, the BCCI treasurer, to a working committee. Asked whether further action would be taken against Dalmiya, Shah said that would be decided only after he responded to the latest notice.The first show cause notice alleging misappropriation of funds had been issued against Dalmiya and Kishore Rungta and Jyoti Bajpai, two former board treasurers, on February 27. The Bombay High Court had granted the trio interim relief against arrest, but instructed them to appear before the Economic Offences Wing for further interrogation last week. They were granted anticipatory bail as the police prepared to submit their reports to the court.Dalmiya, who also served as president of the ICC, was the convener of Pilcom, which was created to organise the 1996 World Cup in the subcontinent. Inquiries into the Pilcom accounts were initiated after Dalmiya was ousted by Sharad Pawar as BCCI chief in November last year.

A 16-member Zimbabwe squad left for South Africa today to prepare for the upcoming five-match series against Bangladesh that gets underway next Saturday.The side is captained by offspinner Prosper Utseya and contains four players who are yet to represent the country on the international scene – left-hand batsman Friday Kasteni, opening bat Tinotenda Mawoyo, wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Mufambisi and pace bowler Admire Manyumwa.Zimbabwe will play against the South African Academy and Highveld Lions with all the matches set for the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.The team returns home next Thursday, just two days before the start of series against the Bangladeshi Tigers. All those matches will be held at the Harare Sports Club.Zimbabwe squad Prosper Utseya (capt), Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Trevor Garwe, Ryan Higgins, Friday Kasteni, Blessing Mahwire, Admire Manyumwa, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tino Mawoyo, Tafadzwa Mufambisi, Tawanda Mupariwa, Piet Rinke, Vusi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor.

After almost two days of travel Australia have landed in St Vincent to begin their final preparations for the World Cup defence. The squad, which is missing Adam Gilchrist, left Sydney on Wednesday and stopped off in Los Angeles, Miami and Barbados before reaching its destination.Australia, who will have their first practice on Saturday, will play a warm-up match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday and a friendly against England next Friday before heading to Jamaica for the opening ceremony on March 11. Scotland will be Australia’s first opponent in St Kitts on March 14 before matches against The Netherlands and South Africa complete the group stage.Michael Clarke, who missed the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy last month with a hip injury, said he was desperate for some game time. “I’m looking forward to getting there, getting into some training,” Clarke told at Barbados. “I feel like I’ve done nothing for six months after having missed New Zealand, so I’m looking forward to getting back into it.”Gilchrist is expected to arrive in St Vincent early next week after staying in Perth following the birth of his third child. Andrew Symonds is also due to test out his injured arm for the first time while batting over the weekend.

Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder known for his big-hitting exploits, says that he prefers playing a more controlled innings rather than beginning in attack mode.In New Zealand’s recent record run chase against Australia at Christchurch, Oram contributed a vital 42 from 37 balls – including two big sixes – as he partnered Scott Styris in a crucial stand that took his side closer to a win. The required run rate at that stage was already around 10 runs per over, so Oram said it was satisfying to put decent bat to ball.”It was a buzz hitting the ball like that,” Oram told stuff.co.nz on Monday. “But it’s not something I’d like to do every time I go out to bat, because it’s fairly high-risk. To be honest with you, it (power hitting) has got nothing to do with timing, it’s just how hard you want to swing.”Oram rates his contribution in that historic win as among the top three in terms of satisfaction during his five-year New Zealand career. “It’s great to be back and it’s awesome to be playing at home again. Playing on your own grounds in front of your own crowds,” he said. “I had a couple of tours away during the winter and that was great to get back into the mix and the cricket environment.Oram was sidelined for much of this year with a back injury, and has been taking it a match at a time. “It (the back) is okay at the moment,” he said. “To be fair I don’t take any day for granted, it’s just a matter of keeping on top of it and managing it, and that’s what I basically tell people.”Though he would have liked to contribute more with the ball – he failed to pick up a wicket in three matches – Oram added that the experience of just playing international cricket had motivated him to work harder. “To be back at home and playing some pretty awesome games in front of some very noisy crowds was great,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer now.”New Zealand play five one-day internationals at home against Sri Lanka starting on New Year’s Eve.