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Division One

Only 24 overs were possible at The Rose Bowl, but it proved sufficient for Hampshire’s bowlers who reduced Sussex to 64 for 6. James Bruce was the catalyst with 4 for 33, removing Chris Nash for a duck and trapping Murray Goodwin in front for 19. Sussex captain Chris Adams was unimpressed that his side had to bat under floodlights. “Although the light does improve once the floodlights are turned on, it is artificial light. I don’t think floodlights have a place in four-day cricket,” he said.Surrey moved to 164 for 2 against Worcestershire on a reduced first day at Guildford. Jon Batty and Scott Newman got Surrey off to a brisk start with an opening stand of 81 before another Batty, Worcestershire’s Gareth, bowled Newman for 32. Shortly afterwards, Batty dismissed his namesake Jon for 45 leaving Surrey on 104 for 2. But Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher steadied Surrey’s innings with an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 60, before rain curtailed the day’s play.A steadying stand of 69 between Joe Denly and James Tredwell rescued Kent on their first day against leaders Yorkshire at Scarborough. Click here for John Ward’s bulletin.

Division Two

Somerset slipped to 180 for 5 on the opening drizzly day against Derbyshire at Derby, as their powerful top-order struggled against Ant Botha’s slow left-arm. That they reached such lofty heights owed much to Neil Edwards’ fighting 94 which contained 16 fours and came from 121 balls. However, the next highest scorer was Justin Langer with 22, closely followed by 20 extras, as Somerset failed to put any length partnerships together. But shortly before the rain fell, and six short of a hundred, Edwards edged Botha behind to leave Derbyshire in command after the first, shortened day.There was no play at Abergavenny between Glamorgan and Leicestershire due to rain.Bristol also succumbed to the drizzle, preventing Gloucestershire’s match against Leicestershire from starting.

The Indian board (BCCI) has postponed the disciplinary committee’s proceedings against Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI chief, who filed a suit in a Kolkata court challenging the legality of the summons.Dalmiya was summoned to appear before the three-member committee this afternoon for his alleged failure to reply to show-cause notices pertaining to accounts of the 1996 World Cup.”The communication sent by your [Dalmiya’s] lawyer Mr Soumendra Nath Banerjee by fax was forwarded to the members of disciplinary committee. They have considered your request for adjourning the proceedings,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said in a letter addressed to Dalmiya, a copy of which was made available to the media today. The letter said that the next date of hearing will be announced later.”The Committee felt that only filing of a suit in the absence of any interim order is no ground to adjourn the matter,” the letter said. “However to give you a fair opportunity in the matter in the interest of justice, the proceedings are adjourned. The next date of hearing will be communicated to you in due course.”Dalmiya had filed a suit yesterday before a Kolkata court challenging the legality of the BCCI’s summons asking him to appear before the committee, headed by Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, alongwith Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin. In the suit, Dalmiya asked the court to issue an order to the board not to honour his suspension from attending board meetings as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

Australia plans to spend the lead-up to Trent Bridge in reverse-swing protection mode as the batsmen try to find ways of countering England’s stunning use of the tactic. Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones have combined for 29 wickets in the first three Tests and have regularly confused the opposition order with their wild movement.Simon Katich, who has 143 runs in six bats, and Adam Gilchrist, who collected 120 with a top score of 49 not out, have struggled to absorb the method and Ricky Ponting said after his 156 at Old Trafford that he would prefer going in early than dealing with the middle-order danger. “There is no doubt it is the most difficult time in the game to bat,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I would take facing a brand new ball that’s swinging than facing a 10-over-old ball that’s reversing the way it has in this game.”Ponting said Flintoff had used the tactic well and made it tougher by going over and around the wicket. “He swings it both ways as much as anyone in the game,” he said. “And he does it at 90 miles an hour. `Gilly’ is in the same boat. Any of the left-handers that he has had a chance to bowl to in the last couple of Tests he’s really troubled.”Mark Taylor said in the batsmen should try not to strike so firmly when the ball was swinging. “They’re so used to hitting the ball hard and hitting boundaries,” he said. “When you’ve got a couple of quality bowlers and they’re swinging the ball late it’s not always possible to bat that way.”Taylor said Allan Border tried a short back-lift to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis to counter the movement. “The best way he found was almost to play French cricket at times,” he said. “A really short back-lift and just hit the ball in the gaps and pick up ones and twos and deflect the ball more so than try and hit it.”As well as looking at it from a batting perspective, Australia’s bowlers will also try to find a way of copying it. “We’ve got to work out how we can do it better,” Ponting said. “There is no doubt in the last couple of games it’s played a key role.”Michael Vaughan said Jones had always been able to move the old ball and he was teaching his team-mates. “Some of our bowlers are new to reverse-swing and controlling it,” he said. “Simon is helping all the bowlers. In both games we have used it very well.”Australia have arrived in Scotland and will train today before a one-day match at The Grange tomorrow. Ponting told the batsmen had to start turning starts into big scores.”There haven’t been any real extravagant shots that have cost us our downfall, we’ve just made little mental errors more than anything,” Ponting said. “Matty Hayden probably has got 30 every time he’s batted in the series, Justin Langer has been a bit the same, Damien Martyn has made 20 every time, so guys are getting in and getting starts – we’re just getting out from there.” The fourth Test begins at Trent Bridge on August 25.

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.

Alec Stewart, the veteran of 170 one-day internationals, has informed the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, that he thinks the time is right for England to look for a new wicket-keeper in the build-up to the 2007 World Cup. He believes that the search for his replacement should begin now to give England the best chance of doing well in the Caribbean. Having said that, he is not actually retiring and would answer any call that came, just as he is adamant that he wants to extend his Test career by making this move.Speaking at The Oval, Stewart, who has just turned 40, made his motives clear and stressed that he had not used the term retirement at any stage. "It’s my belief that England should now look forward to the next World Cup," he said. "Being honest, 2007 is beyond the goal I’ve set myself."It’s my opinion and if the selectors don’t agree with it and want me to carry on then I will. But I think we should now give ourselves the best possible chance of winning the 2007 World Cup."Stewart admitted that he began thinking about such a move the day after England had lost their World Cup match to Australia in Port Elizabeth. " I was very down and very disappointed then because I realised that it would be my last World Cup. I didn’t want to dive in and make a rash decision but during the last couple of weeks I’ve come to this decision and I telephoned David Graveney to inform him of my thoughts.I said that if, as a group of selectors, they decide that Alec Stewart is still the best keeper for the one-day team and you want him to bat, then I’ll be there for you and will always give one hundred per cent, but I think now is the perfect time to plan for the future."What he also made plain to Graveney is that this decision only applies to one-day internationals and he is still as keen as ever to continue his Test career. "I still believe that I’m the best person to keep wicket and bat at number six in the Test side, and I hope the selectors will agree with that too."I’m looking forward to this summer when, hopefully, I’ll put in some very good performances for England. I’m not walking away from cricket because I’m still fit enough and I believe I’m good enough to play in both forms of the game. But ideally they’ll look at the younger element to give England the best chance of victory in 2007."If the one-day career is over, then it’s over and I can look back and feel very happy with what I achieved."During his 170 one-day internationals, Stewart scored 4,677 runs at an average of 31.60 and claimed 159 catches and 15 stumpings. He captained England during the 1999 World Cup campaign and it makes sense for him to make the decision he has now.The main candidate to replace him would appear to be Chris Read of Nottinghamshire. He played nine one-day internationals in 1999/2000, but his batting was not of the same calibre as Stewart’s. However, he impressed National Academy coach Rod Marsh during the recent winter and has made rapid advances as a batsman and wicket-keeper to command unstinting praise from Marsh. Such accolades are not given out either easily or often.

Champion off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, has now finished his secondsuccessful stint with Lancashire, but there are concerns that his long-termfitness may have been jeopardised by non-stop cricket.Murali signed off in style by claiming nine wickets in his last appearancefor Lancashire against Kent. He ended the season claiming 45 wickets in justsix games at an average of 18.48 per wicket. Only former English testbowler, Devon Malcolm, has more wickets so far in the CricInfo Championship,and he has taken his 46 in nine matches.Murali’s figures for the Lancashire make impressive reading: he has bowled446 overs, 158 of which were maidens and the English batsmen have only beenable to score an average of 1.88 runs per over. He’s also grabbed fourfive-wicket hauls in an innings and one 10-wicket match bag.He reaped greater rewards two years ago, taking 66 wickets from just sixgames, including an amazing eight five-wicket hauls and 10 wickets on fiveout of the seven occasions he played.This time playing in soggy April and May possibly handicapped him. In 1999he played in dryer conditions towards the end of the season. His noveltyvalue has also worn off and batsmen have developed strategies for keepinghim at bay, most famously Nasser Hussain’s successful policy of ‘kicking himor hitting him.’In 1999 Murali may also have benefited from the comforting presence of DavWhatmore. This time he played under Bob Simpson, the former Australiancaptain, who was the Australian coach during the controversial 1995-96 Testseries when Murali was first called for throwing.Muralitharan certainly worked hard for his wickets, bowling 50 over marathonspells on more than one occasion, and they are fears that he could sufferfrom fatigue, as Sri Lanka embarks on a busy international schedule.He broke down last year in South Africa with a groin injury before the finalTest, ending a 25 run of consecutive Test Matches. Another groin injurysustained in New Zealand left him ‘undercooked’ for the First Test Matchagainst England in Galle.His sudden injury problems led to the Sri Lankan physiotherapist AlexKontouri calling for his workload to be reduced to protect his long termfuture. He has now been playing for five months on the trot and will not beable to put his feet up until October.

Match facts

Sunday, May 11, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

As the Indian Premier League enters its second half, the matches hold more importance for the teams in the bottom half of the points table. The Rajasthan Royals are at the top of the league, and know that another couple of wins will virtually cement a semi-final berth. Delhi, on the other hand, are fourth and a defeat in Jaipur will give Kolkata and Mumbai a chance to draw level with them.Shane Warne’s men haven’t lost a game at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, winning all four of their matches there. They seem to have developed successful formula: win the toss and field, restrict the opposition with their versatile bowling attack, and chase down targets at a comfortable pace. Rajasthan won all three games in which Warne put the opposition in and also won the two matches in which they were asked to chase. Their only two defeats came when they batted first.These teams played each other in their first match of the tournament and Delhi won that game by a massive nine-wicket margin. Delhi also prefer chasing, and have successfully gunned down three out of four targets. Their strength lies in their opening combinations: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir with the bat, and Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif with the new ball. Sehwag and Gambhir are among the top three run-scorers in the tournament and Shikhar Dhawan, the No. 3 batsman, complements them well with an average of 51. The weakness lies in their middle order, where their international stars, Shoaib Malik and AB de Villiers, are yet to make a significant contribution. Dismiss the openers cheaply and negotiate McGrath with the new ball and half the battle is won against Delhi.

Tournament position

Rajasthan Royals P8, W6, L2, NRR +0.605
Delhi Daredevils P7, W4, L3, NRR +0.654

IPL form (last five matches)

Rajasthan Royals: WLWWW
Delhi Daredevils: LLWWL

Watch out for …

Tim Nielsen has ruled out tinkering with Shaun Tait’s action despite the bowler being forced to have surgery on his right elbow on Tuesday. However, Nielsen conceded his biggest challenge in taking over as Australia’s coach would be to keep his players healthy during an action-packed 18 months.Speaking at his first official engagement since replacing John Buchanan, the straight-talking Nielsen offered no Buchanan-esque cryptic responses and summarised his vision for a fit, determined squad with strong leadership from the senior players. He was brief and to the point, which seemed entirely appropriate for a man guiding his side through more than 20 Tests in 2008.”Without a doubt in professional sport that is the biggest challenge – to play at the highest level all the time, at great intensity,” Nielsen said. “Technically what [Tait] does so well is bowl fast. We don’t want to change that – we’ve just got to try and work with him to make sure he does minimise his injury risk.”Tait’s latest setback has given him a 50-50 chance of playing in the Twenty20 World Championship in September. He has already had shoulder surgery that kept him out of the Super Series in 2005, a back injury last April that stopped him touring Bangladesh, and a hamstring complaint in December, which delayed his ODI debut.Nielsen said reworking Tait’s delivery style would be unlikely to help the bowler or the team. “It’s just the volume of work that these young blokes need to adjust to,” he said. Nielsen’s “young blokes” will play a significant role in Australia’s attack in 2007-08. Tait, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Cullen Bailey and Dan Cullen are all contracted by Cricket Australia but none has had an extended run in the team.For some, that could change as of the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa, although Nielsen expects few deviations from the group that won the World Cup. “There’s young guys like Tait and Johnson who haven’t played a lot of one-day cricket,” Nielsen said. “And even Michael Clarke got opportunities batting at No. 4, which means that although he’s been around for a while he’s now got a new role. So it’s a bit of a new-look side anyway – I don’t think they’ll need to make drastic changes.”There are guaranteed to be at least three positions on offer when the Test season starts in November, after Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer retired together. Fresh faces are lining up for the opening and fast-bowling vacancies but Nielsen wants the spin responsibilities in more experienced hands.”[Bailey and Cullen] probably need a bit more time to develop and that’s where we hope [Stuart] MacGill can play a massive role for us,” Nielsen said. “He can play for however long he wants and fill those shoes until the young fellows develop enough.”Nielsen was speaking at the Melbourne launch of Cricket Australia’s ticketing program for 2007-08, which will again feature a priority buying period for Australian Cricket Family (ACF) members. James Sutherland, CA’s chief executive, said he was not expecting similar problems to last year, when the demand for Ashes seats was so intense that many ACF members missed out.”Being part of the Australian Cricket Family is no absolute guarantee of getting tickets but what it does is it puts you in that priority window when tickets first go on sale to get first crack at it,” he said. Sutherland believes that with a record 50 days of international cricket in 2007-08, most fans are unlikely to be disappointed.Sri Lanka and India will tour Australia for Test and ODI series next season, while New Zealand will also make a brief visit for a limited-overs contest. Fans have until June 24 to register as an ACF member on the CA website and they can buy tickets from July 2. Remaining seats will then go on sale to the general public from August 1.

David Langford-Smith helped Ireland open their European Championships campaign with a 99-run win over Denmark, in Glasgow, as he scored 22 then took three wickets. The Irish batting didn’t really fire, but there were enough useful cameos to nudge the total over 200, which proved well above to capabilities of the Danish.Ireland were well placed on 100 for 2 but stumbled to 173 for 9 as Denmark’s bowlers fought back well in the middle overs. However, Ireland’s score was boosted by a final-wicket stand of 36 between Langford-Smith and Paul Mooney. William Porterfield, the 21-year-old left hander, was the top scorer with 42.Chasing 210, Denmark were never in the hunt and subsided in 32.4 overs. Langford-Smith followed up his runs with 3 for 27 and Andre Botha claimed the tidy figures of 2 for 14.Ireland’s next match is against Scotland on Saturday, followed by Italy on Monday then a full one-day international against Holland on Tuesday.

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Scorecard

The fading light at Sydney towards the end of the second day’s play did what Zimbabwe’s bowlers couldn’t – put an end, for the time being, to Ricky Ponting’s outstanding innings. When Ponting and Steve Waugh accepted the offer of bad light, Australia were 245 for 3, 63 runs behind Zimbabwe’s first-innings total of 308.Ponting, unbeaten on 137, dominated the last two sessions with an innings full of quality strokeplay. His precision and timing proved unstoppable, and any of his 19 fours or two sixes could have been the shot of the day. His strokes off the legs were punishing, while he used his feet well against Ray Price and Gavin Ewing, with spectacular results. One of his sixes was nailed absolutely straight and sailed high in the stands behind the bowler.His 50 came off 51 balls, and he brought up his century off the first ball he faced after tea when he cut Ewing to the boundary. It was his 18th Test century, and when he smashed a six off Price with his next scoring shot, it brought up his 5000th run in Tests.

Australia’s run-rate was better than a run a minute for most of the day, although Zimbabwe attempted to slow it down by their shabby over-rate. Had they not gone off for bad light, there was every chance that play would have extended well beyond the normal finish time.Zimbabwe’s day started well, though, as they reached 308, courtesy of some spunky batting by Andy Blignaut. Dropped by Damien Martyn at third slip off Brad Williams, he made Australia pay with some bruising blows. And Australia’s misery was compounded by another injury worry with Brett Lee leaving the field with an abdominal muscle strain. It was later revealed that the injury will keep him out of cricket for a month, preventing him from touring India.The rousing stand between Blignaut and Price put together 53 before Andy Bichel provided the breakthrough when Price was caught by Williams at mid-off for 20. Blessing Mahwire was then dubiously given out caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Bichel, giving him his fourth wicket and bringing Zimbabwe’s innings to an end.Blignaut, who finished with an unbeaten 38, then had an immediate effect with the ball. Justin Langer lobbed a drive off the splice of his bat to Heath Streak at mid-off (7 for 1), and Matthew Hayden came back down to earth when snapped up by Stuart Carlisle close to the wicket (51 for 2). But Ponting came out and showed his intent from the start, driving on the up through the off-side, and flicking off the legs when the bowlers strayed in line.Blignaut’s inconsistency of line and length was his downfall. While quite capable of bowling a wicket-taking delivery, he was also guilty of bowling too many loose balls. Heath Streak was still struggling for his rhythm and he rarely troubled the batsmen, conceding 58 runs from his 11 overs. Twice, though, mix-ups between wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu and first slip resulted in edges passing between them with neither attempting the catch.Price did manage to slow the free-for-all, and his dismissal of Damien Martyn – trapped lbw for 32 – was worthy reward for an accurate spell. He ended the day with respectable figures of 1 for 58 from 20 overs. But with Ponting on the attack, and Waugh efficiently accumulating runs, Zimbabwe have a tough day ahead of them tomorrow.