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Frizzell County Championship Division OneKent 362 and 418 for 3 dec v Nottinghamshire 156 and 29 for 2 at Maidstone
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Kent took complete charge of their match at Mote Park, setting Notts an unlikely victory target of 625 and removing two batsmen by the close. As on the first day, Kent’s heroes were Ed Smith and Mohammad Sami. Smith hit 113, his third century in successive innings and his fourth in five knocks (the one in the middle was a duck, as were his three innings before the first hundred), and put on 233 with Rob Key, who put England rejection behind him to slap 140. Andrew Symonds rounded it off with an 81-ball century, with 15 fours and a six, before Kent declared. The Mohammad Sami, who had polished off Nottinghamshire’s first innings by taking the last fiive wickets to finish with 8 for 64, the best figures of the season so far, chimed in again by trapping Guy Welton lbw and bowling Darren Bicknell.

Middlesex 620 for 7 dec v Leicestershire 221 for 3 at Southgate
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An exciting innings from Virender Sehwag, who cracked 130 from 111 balls, with 20 fours and four sixes, brought Leicestershire back into the match after they had conceded a huge total at the Walker Ground. Sehwag piled on 197 for the first wicket with ex-Middlesex man John Maunders, who made 55, but then three quick wickets from Chad Keegan, including Sehwag caught by Sven Koenig, restored Middlesex’s advantage. Earlier Ed Joyce and David Nash had joined Andy Strauss in the ton-up club before Middlesex declared at an imposing 620 for 7.Essex 340 v Sussex 282 for 8 at Arundel
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On a slow pitch at picturesque Arundel Park Sussex crept towards parity with Essex, who were all out early in the morning for 340. Tony Cottey then scored 107 in four-and-a-half hours for Sussex, adding 178 bfor the fourth wicket with Tim Ambrose (88). But three late wickets for Paul Grayson, to make up for his first-over duck yesterday, gave Essex late hope.Surrey 355 and 282 for 3 v Warwickshire 245 at Edgbaston
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Surrey, with a nap hand of 11 Test players in their side, unsurprisingly hold the upper hand after two days in Birmingham, leading by 392 already. Today Azhar Mahmood led the way with four wickets as Warwickshire were shot out for 245, 110 behind, then the Marks Butcher and Ramprakash both scored centuries to put Surrey firmly in charge. Butcher’s 118 came from only 116 ball,s with 20 fours and two sixes, while Ramps was almost as attacking – he cracked 18 fours and a six as well. Surrey have so far scored at more than six an over throughout their second innings.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDerbyshire 89 and 226 for 4 v Gloucestershire 277 at Derby
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Michael Di Venuto’s third century of the season hauled Derbyshire back into the game after Gloucestershire had claimed a lead of 188. But Di Venuto was twice pardoned by Stephen Pope, Gloucester’s wicketkeeper, who put him down at 35 and 39. He survived to put on 106 with Dominic Hewson (39) and an unbeaten 81 with Luke Sutton (38*) before bad light brought an early close. At the start of the day Dominic Cork took two quick wickets to finish with 4 for 75 as Gloucester’s tail addded 63 runs.Durham 327 v Northamptonshire 320 for 8 at Chester-le-Street
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It’s all square and all to play for at the Riverside, where Northants finished up seven runs behind Durham with just two wickets standing. Durham added only two runs in the morning, then Phil Jaques cracked another cetury for Northants. His 109 included 14 juicy fours, and he put on 92 for the second wicket with Mike Hussey (43). Solid contributions down the order took Northants to within sight of Durham’s total.Glamorgan 349 and 113 for 3 v Somerset 233 at Cardiff
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Glamorgan grabbed the upper hand at Sophia Gardens, bowling Somerset out for 233 to claim a lead of 116 – Mike Kasprowicz finished with 4 for 53 – then increasing that by 113. Jimmy Maher is still there with 42 not out, while Matthew Maynard spanked a brisk 32 not out towards the close. The main Somerset resistance came from their captain Mike Burns , who made 50, and England’s forgotten one-day man, Ian Blackwell, who smacked 82 from 96 balls, with ten fours and a six. They put on 61, but the next-highest score was Jamie Cox’s 24.

The fiasco of India’s three-day tour game against a President’s XI in Chatsworth took a new twist on Tuesday when a statement from the KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union officially abandoning the game was contradicted. It now appears that an inspection of the water-logged outfield will take place on Wednesday to see whether some play might be possible after the first two days of the game were abandoned.No one, however, believes this is likely, and officials from the KZNCU claimed that equipment borrowed by the Chatsworth organisers had already been returned to Kingsmead.The affair has been a debacle from start to finish and might have been comical had it not so disrupted India’s preparations for the first Test match which starts in Bloemfontein on Saturday.Although the sun has shone in Durban for the last three days and club cricket was played in and around the city on Sunday, the Chatsworth outfield has defied what attempts have been made to dry it out. There are drainage problems at the ground, but, as umpire Wilf Diedricks pointed out, it might have helped had the grass in the outfield been cut now and again.The fixture was allocated to Chatsworth, which is not a first-class ground, after community leaders formed action committees and threatened protest marches when it was learned that no World Cup matches would be played at the venue.As a sop, the Indians (who will be based in Durban ahead of the World Cup) were sent to Chatsworth to warm up for the Test series, but the folly of bowing to a form of emotional and political blackmail has now become all too apparent.This is not the first time that a team touring South Africa has been subjected to inadequate organisation and sub-standard facilities. Last year New Zealand were required to play a one-day game in Alice on a pitch that would not have passed muster in a schools’ match. In the event, the captains agreed not to use their quicker bowlers for fear of injury, but no lessons from this seem to have been learned.In the meantime, India practised at Kingsmead on Tuesday afternoon, but their real problem lies in the fact that those members of the party who flew in at the weekend will almost certainly have to go into the first Test without having had a bat or bowl in South African conditions.Would this be a problem for players such as Connor Williams, Indian coach John Wright was asked. "Well," he said wryly, "they’re all in the same boat aren’t they."

Scorecard and ball-by-ball-details Kaushal Silva’s partnerships with Upul Tharanga and Sachith Pathirana gave the SL Board President’s XI innings the much-needed stability•AFP

Kaushal Silva played himself into some form ahead of the first Test, but another failure for Lahiru Thirimanne weakened his grip on the Sri Lanka No. 4 position, as the tour match wound to a draw at the Premadasa Stadium. Silva’s 83 not out was compiled with characteristic measure, as he gritted through the testing new-ball spells, before settling down in the late afternoon.Thirimanne’s cagey 18, however, may see him leave the Sri Lanka XI, particularly as Upul Tharanga stroked a brisk fifty following Thirimanne’s departure. Tharanga, Thirimanne and Jehan Mubarak are effectively playing for two places in the batting order. Mubarak’s absence from this practice match suggests his place is safe, and Tharanga’s superior output against the Indians may see him move to No. 4, as Kumar Sangakkara returns to his familiar No. 3 position.On a pitch that had now begun to take turn, R Ashwin dismissed three middle-order left-handed batsmen, each intent on attack. Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, and Umesh Yadav all claimed a wicket apiece as well, as the Board President’s XI scored 200 for 6 in 54 overs.The Indians’ bowlers also had a workout with the bat early in the day, after KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara were retired out overnight. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar made use of the opportunity, hitting 37 from 56 balls. Ashwin, Harbhajan and Varun Aaron all made single-figure scores, but Umesh clung on for some time with Bhuvneshwar, making 17 out of their last-wicket partnership of 37.Kaushal survived a close lbw shout off the bowling of Umesh early in his innings, but was chanceless after that, leaving plenty of deliveries from the seamers, as he inched to 9 from his first 28 deliveries. His opening partner Dhananjaya de Silva edged Umesh to third slip for 6, and though Thirimanne stayed with him for 19.2 overs, neither scored many runs. Thirimanne had just begun to loosen up against the spinners, even coming down the track to launch Mishra over the infield, before he pushed at a turning Harbhajan delivery and edged it to slip.Tharanga was in rhythm from very early in his innings, finding the off-side boundary often enough to stay at close to a run-a-ball for the duration of his knock. He was particularly severe on Ashwin, off whom he struck 14 runs in three balls, including a straight six. He flew to fifty off as many balls having hit nine boundaries in all, but was out trying to lift Ashwin over the infield again. An inside edge off his bat looped to Pujara at square leg.Ashwin dismissed Milinda Siriwardene and Kusal Perera in quick succession, in almost identical fashion. Both batsmen made room to attempt a stroke through the off side, but were bowled by quicker deliveries. Kusal has a place in the Test squad, but is unlikely to push a batsman out of the existing batting order, after finishing this match with scores of 0 and 1.Shehan Jayasuriya holed out trying to hit Mishra over cover, and though Sachith Pathirana was no less aggressive in his 31-ball stay, he managed to avoid the fielders with his occasional mis-hits. Play was called off with the Indians still 210 runs ahead.

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The third, soporific day at Hove inched the match inexorably closer to a batsman’s draw, with Sussex’s last five batsman adding 157 in 45 overs, only occasionally breaking into a trot. Scott Newman and Mark Ramprakash made the most of perfect May conditions for Surrey, but the only people breaking into a sweat were those in the bars searching for another Pimms.For periods of the day’s play, it almost felt as though the clock had been wound back to the 1980s. As Robin Marlar, the Sussex president, grumpily pointed out once Surrey had eased past 100 for the loss of just one wicket, “rain doesn’t suit this game”. The slips lounged with hands in their pockets; the fast bowlers ambled casually back to their marks, and not even Matt Prior could be stirred into verbal jousting behind the stumps.Prior had a more important role earlier in the day, however directionless the match had become. He played beautifully for his fifty – his fourth in succession in the Championship – and was particularly strong driving through the off-side but equally aware of the tuck to leg. Two spanking drives – one zipped through extra cover, the other down the ground – could not have been timed any more sweetly, so it was a disappointment for him and his home crowd that he gifted his wicket on 51.Chris Jordan, from the Cromwell Road End, slipped in a bouncer and Prior couldn’t resist a pull, chipping a skier straight to gully. Only when he reached the boundary edge did his anger become apparent to the rest of us, angrily bashing the boards with his bat and it soon became obvious why: Geoff Miller, the England selector, had been spotted.Nevertheless, he had urged Sussex past 350, and they had at least 400 in their sights. James Kirtley, the nightwatchman, had a spread-out field into which to nudge singles, but on 19 he swept Saqlain Mushtaq – for the second unsuccessful time in succession – and was trapped lbw. Luke Wright rarely looked comfortable at the crease, unlike Robin Martin-Jenkins who used his height to good effect in a slick 75-ball fifty. Martin-Jenkins dominated the pair’s eighth-wicket stand of 55 – 32 to Wright’s 20 at the landmark – and he was particularly adept against Mushtaq, punching him commandingly off the back foot. A deft back-cut down to third man brought up the 400.Martin-Jenkins was at it with the ball, too, but not before Jason Lewry produced a fine opening spell from the Sea End, testing Newman with several near-misses outside his off stump. Jonathan Batty cracked four fours and looked in fine touch before Martin-Jenkins finally won an lbw appeal, but thereafter Newman and Ramprakash took control. Newman was strong off his pads, sharing the same nuggety compact technique of Mark Butcher, and was quick to pounce on anything short.Ramprakash spent 20 balls on nought, but once settled he quickly dominated with trademark deflections down to third man and authoritative cover drives. He and Newman’s hundred stand came from 176 balls, and – as was the case for Surrey’s bowlers – there was little to encourage Sussex’s seamers. However, Martin-Jenkins returned for a second spell from the Cromwell Road End and immediately trapped Newman leg-before to complete his own fine day’s work.Ramprakash completed his second fifty of the season and his 99th hundred appears tantalisingly on the horizon. With perfect batting conditions set for tomorrow, Surrey members can begin to plan their pilgrimage to Southampton for their next Championship match against Hampshire on May 14.

Ken Gordon will not be seeking re-election as president of the West Indies Cricket Board at the end of the month.Gordon, who was 77 in February, had offered his resignation to the board at the end of April but was persuaded to change his mind. But his tenure, which started in August 2005, has been blighted by continuing poor results on the pitch and an alarming decline in relations between officials and players.At the moment there is only one candidate for the vacancy, Julian Hunte, the former St Lucia foreign minister.Val Banks, the current WICB vice-president, is also not seeking re-election and Dave Cameron, a director who currently represents Jamaica on the board, is the only nominee.The election, if there needs to be one, will be held on July 29, 2007 at the Marriott in Trinidad as part of the board’s AGM.

ScorecardEngland Under-19s have been set an unlikely 447 for victory in the third Test against India Under-19s at Shenley. India’s batsmen rollicked along at nearly four runs-per-over in their second innings with Sumit Sharma falling one short of a deserved hundred, as the visitors continued their vice-like grip over England.Indeed England’s batsmen showed little capacity for a fight this morning as they capitulated from their overnight score of 212 for 6 to 261 all out. Only Rory Hamilton-Brown showed the required application with an unbeaten 81 as the medium pacer, Abu Nechim, wrapped up the innings with 4 for 59.India soon lost their openers in reply, but their middle-order steadied proceedings with Sharma finding good support from Virat Kohli (46) and Parvez Aziz who played aggressively for his 65. Declaring on 293 for 7 this left England the mountainous total of 447 to chase down, and they started disastrously, losing Varun Chopra for 28 minutes before the close. With one day left, their backs are against the wall.

Division One

Nic Pothas and Andy Bichel added a Hampshire record 257 for the eighth wicket as they staged a stunning comeback against Gloucestershire. Hampshire were in deep trouble at 81 for 7 with Steve Kirby and Jon Lewis tearing through the top order. But Bichel immediately put bat-to-ball, scoring a nearly a run-a-ball, while Pothas was no slouch. Bichel reached his ton from 104 balls and Pothas 165 as they hit 43 fours and three sixes between them. Their stand broke the pervious Hampshire record of 227, held by Kevan James and Tim Tremlett, from 1985. Malinga Bandara eventually wrapped up the innings but Bichel and James Bruce grabbed a wicket each before the close to leave Hampshire in a position they wouldn’t have dreamt of earlier in the day.Darren Stevens hit a career-best, unbeaten 173 to enable Kent to take control against Glamorgan. He received superb support from Andrew Hall, who reached his ton just before the close. The pair had come together with the innings at a crucial stage following a stand of 101 between Stevens and Justin Kemp. But Glamorgan’s attack couldn’t break the vital sixth wicket partnership and Stevens was at his attacking best as he stroked 26 boundaries. Kent’s innings had a rocky start, as they stuttered to 99 for 3, but Glamorgan couldn’t sustain the pressure and the innings quickly ran away from them.Surrey threw away a promising position to allow Sussex to take the opening day honours at Hove. Despite losing both openers early, Mark Ramprakash and Jon Batty pushed Surrey along to 157 for 3. Robin Martin-Jenkins then struck twice in an over to remove Batty and Alistair Brown and when Ramprakash fell for 97 the slide was well in motion. Azhar Mahmood prevented a total capitulation, striking 57 in 58 balls, and received some support from Mohammed Akram. The Sussex attack bowled as a unit with Mushtaq Ahmed and Luke Wright taking three apiece. Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson then gave Sussex a solid start with a stand of 67 but, Surrey at least had the boost of removing them both late in the day.Paul Weekes was at the centre of a Middlesex fightback as Warwickshire ended the day in trouble after being on the verge of dominance themselves. Makhaya Ntini struck with his first ball for Warwickshire but Ben Hutton and Owais Shah scored freely to take Middlesex to 117 for 1. That soon became 139 for 6 as Ntini struck two more blows before Weekes began his rescue act. Paul Trego, Chris Peploe and Melvyn Betts all offered solid support – Betts helped Weekes add 71 for the last wicket. Stuart Clark, the Australian paceman, then nipped out three wickets and Betts one in the 25 overs Warwickshire faced to leave the defending champions in trouble.

Division Two

The bowlers held sway at Southend with Andre Adams leading the way for Essex before Mick Lewis fought back for Durham. Adams took 5 for 60, his best figures of the season, as Durham’s batsmen were guilty of wasting a number of good starts. Gordon Muchall and Dale Benkenstein both fell in the thirties and three wickets for Danish Kaneria meant Durham couldn’t register any batting points. But, Essex will have to battle to register many themselves after Lewis took four wickets. Alistair Cook held firm with 47 and he will be vital as on the second day as Essex search for a lead.Leicestershire’s attack fought back impressively to halt a threatening Lancashire innings. Iain Sutcliffe laid the foundations with an obdurate 93, adding 86 with Andrew Symonds. When both fell within a run of each other Leicestershire sensed their chance and grabbed it. Claude Henderson removed Paul Horton and Dominic Cork and after a few defiant blows the tail folded. Darren Maddy and Tom New safely negotiated the closing overs.

Sachin Tendulkar has said that it is important that India start their Asia Cup campaign “with a bang”. The Press Trust of India reports that Tendulkar said, “India will try hard to start with a bang in the Asia Cup, beginning in Sri Lanka from July 16. It is a fresh season,” at a press conference in Chennai.Tendulkar acknowledged the role played by the training camp in Bangalore and looked forward to the next one in Chennai. “We had a nice and useful camp in Bangalore and we will take it forward to be focused in the limited-overs tournament in Sri Lanka. The weather condition in Sri Lanka is akin to what we have here [in Chennai].” The Indian team is scheduled to attend a training camp in Chennai from July 3 to 8.Tendulkar described the list of probables selected for the one-day series in Sri Lanka in glowing terms. “The probables announced after the Bangalore camp are excellent and the team for the Asia Cup to be selected here will also be strong and excellent.” He explained that several innovative exercises were conducted in the Bangalore coaching camp and that the each player had a specially tailored regimen to follow. “We were made to play kho-kho as this sport requires a lot of physical fitness”When asked about the composition of fast bowlers in the Indian team Tendulkar was guarded. “It is the selectors’ job but the team’s combination would be decided on the kind of wickets that are prepared. Pitches in the Emerald Island are good. When we go there, we will get to know whether they will suit fast bowling or spin or batting.”Tendulkar also refused to be drawn into the debate of whether a specialist wicketkeeper should be used in the one-dayers also. “There is no point in holding a debate on this. Fifteen players will give different opinions. It is the selectors who are the best judges and I will leave it to them. It would not be prudent to sit here and make an assessment and plan things in respect of the composition of the team and specialist wicket-keeper.”

Somerset Seconds went down by the narrowest of margins against their Worcestershire counterparts in the 2nd XI Trophy at North Perrott earlier this week.Batting first the hosts scored 300 for 5 from their fifty overs, thanks to a fine opening partnership of 146 between Matt Wood (85) and Carl Gazzard (75) and 54 from all rounder Wes Durston.In reply Worcestershire reached 303 for 9 in the final over with Steve Adshead making 141 and Kadeer Ali 60. For Somerset there were two wickets each for Gareth Andrew and Neil Edwards.The Seconds travel to Southampton to play against Hampshire on Monday and then return to the County Ground on Wednesday next week when they entertain Gloucestershire in the Trophy.

WELLINGTON – New Zealand Cricket will ask Australia to expand theitinerary of its November and December tour in Australia to compensatefor the cancellation of a tour to Pakistan.The cancellation for security reasons of the New Zealand-Pakistan oneday series this month and test series in October has left New Zealandwithout match play before the Australian tour begins.New Zealand Cricket will ask Australia to add at least two four daystate games to their agreed itinerary to give players some match playbefore the first test from Nov. 8-12.New Zealand recalled its team from Singapore, en route to Pakistan, inresponse to the terrorist attacks in the United States on Tuesday. TheNew Zealand A team also returned home early from a tour to India.New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said he wouldapproach Australian authorities on Monday with a proposal for anenlarged tour.Snedden said there was still a faint hope a tour to Pakistan might takeplace in some form next month, if the world security situationstabilised but he doubted such a change could occur in the timeavailable.”We might yet go to Pakistan but it does seem highly unlikely,” he said.”I don’t see much merit in a truncated tour but we will be keeping ouroptions open.”