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New Zealand Cricket has cut a Test from Sri Lanka’s tour later this year and replaced it with two Twenty20 internationals.Martin Snedden, the NZC chief executive, said that the decision was made because of concerns over the weather. “It would have meant starting the first Test on November 29 and with our weather we were asking for trouble.”He added that preparations for the World Cup was also a factor. “The focus is clearly on the World Cup and there is a strong view among us that playing the Twenty20 game helps develop certain aspects of the one-day game.”It is likely that the first Test will now start on December 7 and the second the following week. The first Twenty20 game will be held on December 22 and the second on Boxing Day. The tour will conclude with five ODIs.New Zealand are virtually out of the Test circuit, with only these two matches scheduled between now and November 2007 when South Africa tour the country. They have no matches of any kind arranged until the Champions Trophy in October.

Wasim Akram has said that he is keen to get into coaching – but probably not in Pakistan.”There are too many failings in cricket systems in the subcontinent,” he told the PPI news agency. “We cricketers feel more comfortable with foreign coaches. We feel they don’t have any personal agendas against us and will be neutral. We feel we can trust them. That’s what I felt as a cricketer.”Anyway, he said, the Pakistan board has not approached him. “Coaching is a very organised thing, and I am not. I do commentary and leave; that’s better. But I would like to help children, under-16 and under-17.”In Pakistan,” he added, “if you have to become a cricketer you have to be a politician first.”

A wretched 24 hours for the England & Wales Cricket Board, which started with the resignation of Des Wilson, ended with its plans for the reform of domestic cricket being rejected by the county chairmen.The chairmen met on Monday to discuss the proposals – which centred on the merging of the four-day Championship and the one-day National League, as well as a reduction in the number of players – and unanimously kicked the idea into touch. Not only that, they then voted to set up their own review committee, leaving the official Domestic Structure Reform Group (DSRG), which put forward the proposals, marginalised.Mike Soper, the chairman of the First-Class Forum, told the Daily Telegraph that the “DSRG paper didn’t seem to reflect the views of anyone within the county game. And after discussing it … the chairmen have decided to take matters into their own hands. I have spoken to David Morgan [the ECB chairman] and he has accepted that decision.”The DRSG paper appeared to be taking one paragraph from the Editor’s Notes in this year’s Wisden Almanack and riding on the bandwagon. It said the new system would encourage counties to build a squad which was strong in both four-day and one-day cricket. But you only have to look at England’s international squads to see that they are two completely different games.”A third body looking at the way forward, the self-appointed Cricket Reform Group (CRG), dismissed both its rivals’ plans. “Frankly the DSRG proposals beggar belief,” said Bob Willis, a founding member of the CRG. “Equally, though, we know the county chairmen have little interest in the two biggest problems facing the domestic game – the inadequate grass-roots structure, and the 100 or so first-class players who are not qualified to play for England. All the chairmen are interested in is providing entertainment for their members.”

The curse of Durban has struck another New Zealand sports team with cricketer Chris Cairns felled by a king hit outside a night club in the early hours of yesterday morning (South African time).Cairns was with a group of nine players, support staff and New Zealand Press Association journalist Mark Geenty at the same venue.Cairns was hit, without warning, on the back of the head. When collapsing to the footpath, he was assisted by fellow players and four security guards who have been with the players throughout the World Cup campaign.Cairns, one of the world’s leading all-rounders who is making a comeback after being off the scene for 12 months due to surgery on his knee, suffered only a cut lip in the incident.According to an NZPA report the players, who included Cairns, captain Stephen Fleming, Craig McMillan, Andre Adams, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills were leaving the nightclub when members of a crowd outside wanted to know if they were New Zealanders.When Cairns was hit a scuffle broke out. The New Zealanders were quick to help Cairns out.”It was pretty tense. We were told to get out of there – we went,” said Geenty who escaped with the players in the two cars.New Zealand had been in Durban while they awaited the outcome of the International Cricket Council hearing into the application to have their match with Kenya transferred to South Africa.The ICC ruled yesterday that the match had to be played in Nairobi and because New Zealand said they would not play there the four points for the match have gone to Kenya.Several incidents involving New Zealand rugby teams have happened in Durban, the most recent being a scuffle in a nightclub involving several members of the New Zealand Under-19 rugby team who had been in South Africa for their World Cup.The New Zealanders had been given permission by manager Jeff Crowe to have a night out and he knew the security guards would be accompanying them.Not all the players left at the same time, and those players inside, who were unaware of what happened, had been told immediately by the security guards to get out of the club.The players were dressed casually and it was not immediately clear to the public that they were members of the side who had beaten South Africa earlier in the week to make life very difficult for the home team’s bid to go further in the Cup.The incident has not been reported to the police.

Inspired by a brilliant display of pace bowling from Asim Butt, pre-tournament favourite Scotland has sounded a massive warning to its ICC Trophy rivals on the tournament’s opening day here in Toronto. The Scots’ win, by a margin of six wickets over Fiji at King City, was secured in less than three hours and with more than thirty-six overs to spare.Left armer Butt (5/11), a permanent fixture in the Scottish attack over recent years, set up the devastating win by snaring 4/1 in the space of ten deliveries. It was enough to rip the heart out of a Fijian order already unsettled by the sight of deliveries rearing wickedly off the pitch and the calamity of losing star batsman Neil Maxwell (2) to a disastrous run out in just the eleventh over.So grave did matters become that the Fijians threatened to wipe away from the record books the lowest-ever score by a team in ICC Trophy competition – the highly unflattering mark of 26 made by East and Central Africa against the Netherlands in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. In the end, some brave strokeplay from Iniasi Cakacaka (12) helped them past that score but not far enough to avoid the ignominy of posting their own nation’s smallest tally in ICCT competition.Taione Batina (2/13) also extracted bounce when it (rapidly) came Fiji’s turn to bowl, unsettling several members of the Scottish top order. Excellent pace was also generated by Maxwell but the attack never had vaguely enough runs available to defend. Emerging stars Drew Parsons (16*) and Douglas Lockhart (14) batted as well as anyone all day.Canada also confirmed its status as one of the leading contenders in the competition with a tremendous all-round display in a nine-wicket victory over Singapore at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.The Canadians’ fielding and bowling was sufficiently solid to restrict Singapore to a modest 169 and was then complemented by controlled upper order batting. Opener Nick DeGroot (82*) was a standout, playing an innings full of rasping drives and exquisite cut strokes, albeit that he was the beneficiary of a major slice of fortune midway through his innings when a regulation catch was grassed at short mid wicket.Young middle order batsman Josh Dearing (77) had earlier played a superb innings for Singapore, joining with Zubin Schroff (27) to stabilise the cause after a disappointing start.It was a measure of how well he had played that Dearing’s departure – to the highly effective medium pace of Sanjay Thuraisingham (2/20) – sparked the beginning of the end for the Singaporeans. The final seven wickets crashed for just 54 runs to end the innings three deliveries short of their full allotment. Barry Seebaran (2/24) chimed in well with his spinners for Canada.A far more exciting finish came at Ross Lord, where Bermuda triumphed by two runs over a desperately unlucky Denmark. For as long as Morten Andersen (55) and Thomas Hansen (32) were together at the crease and assembling a superb partnership of 71 runs during the closing stages of the match, the Danes appeared to be in control. But a double bowling change with just three overs left to play yielded both wickets and tilted the odds, for the final time, in Bermuda’s favour.Before a respectably-sized crowd happy to offer plenty of verbal encouragement to both sides, Charlie Marshall (67) and Albert Steede (49) set the tone for Bermuda’s score of 9/200 after it had been invited to bat first in muggy conditions. Marshall hit the ball beautifully, stroking eight fours and clubbing four sixes in a powerful exhibition.Denmark’s interests were also powerfully represented by Hansen (3/11), who bowled economically at both ends of the innings.The Danes made a cautious beginning with the bat and fell well behind the required run rate consistently through the opening and middle stages of the innings. Andersen and Hansen reversed the situation to the point that only eight runs were needed off Herbie Bascombe’s bowling from the final over.Bascombe struck a crucial blow by trapping Andersen lbw with the opening delivery. To the horror of his teammates, a wide followed later in the over but the medium pacer held his nerve well enough to leave the batting team needing a boundary from the last ball to win or a three to tie. A beautifully aimed leg side yorker, the final ball crashed into nothing but pad and dribbled away through point. The batsmen set off immediately and, with nothing to lose, even attempted a second. The endeavour was, indeed, suicidal.Scenes also spilled over into jubilation at a sun-baked Eglinton Flats ground, where Argentina clambered to a four-wicket success over Israel with only four deliveries remaining. The Division Two teams fought out a magnificent contest, and the advantage fluctuated consistently between them for most of the day.In the end, it was a 55-run partnership at a crucial time between Paul Ferguson (38*) and Martin Cortabarria (36) which proved the difference. Sophisticated batting from the stylish Gaston Arizaga (57) at the top of the order was also invaluable, as was the bowling of Christ Tunon (4/41).Earlier, Israel had punctuated an innings of fits-and-starts and occasionally disappointing running between the wickets with two excellent individual hands. The Melbourne-born David Silver (58) and Adrian Vard (38*) played a major role in lifting their team to its eventual tally of 8/190. Despite a solid overall bowling performance, it was nonetheless not quite enough to push their side over the finishing line in front.By contrast, the Malaysia-France battle was lopsided from early in the piece. In the main, this was due to a brilliant stand between Malaysian opening batsmen Shankar Retinam (118) and Rakesh Madhavan (39) that foiled their rivals’ gamble in taking the option to bowl first on a generally hard, true pitch.There was only a small crowd on hand and few among them failed to be captivated by Retinam’s batting. Madhavan’s batting was less eye-catching but not significantly less influential on the destiny of the match. They each took advantage of undisciplined bowling – and an early dropped catch from which the former benefited strongly – in extremely competent fashion.Around some accurate bowling from L Brumant (4/48), there were runs too for Marimuthu Muniandy (31) and a succession of useful contributions down the order. But, by this stage, France had already all but conceded the match.In warm and humid conditions, they struggled with their line and length, bowling on both sides of the pitch and tending to drop the ball a little too short at times. Their batting later in the afternoon was plucky and, in finishing at 9/166, they lived up to their main aim by that point of seeing out their full fifty overs. The all-round talents of Brumant (30) again figured strongly.

Match facts

Saturday, April 26, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

Two teams that bounced back from opening-match defeats will find out just how much progress they’ve made. The Rajasthan Royals are arguably the IPL’s most impressive team; captained by a tactically sharp Shane Warne and boosted by some late overseas arrivals, they’ve belied the pre-tournament fears that were based on a relatively low-profile line-up. Their humdinger of a chase against the Deccan Chargers on Thursday came down to an explosive start and an ice-veined finish from Warne that summed up their determination and would have given them supreme confidence ahead of Saturday’s match.Bangalore Royal Challengers have some momentum of their own, following up their heavy defeat on the opening day with a five-wicket win over Mumbai during the weekend. Misbah-ul-Haq’s arrival will inject some energy into the batting but they could do well to pick up a trick or two from Warne’s shrewd captaincy and the way Rajasthan have hit back.

Watch out for …

… a classic contest between Warne and Rahul Dravid, rival captains. Also keep an eye out for Misbah, joining the side after fulfilling his national responsibilities, and back in the format in which he made his name.

Team news

With Misbah in the fray Bangalore’s batting gets a much-needed boost; it’s likely he replaces Ross Taylor. Local boy B Akhil, who has so far failed to impress in the field or with the bat, could make way for statemate Bharat Chipli. The veteran Sunil Joshi has similarly done nothing of note but may hold his place given the lack of spinning options.Bangalore: (probable) 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Bharat Chipli, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Sunil Joshi, 11 R Vinay Kumar.Graeme Smith marked his IPL debut with a 45-ball 71 and, with Yusuf Pathan rediscovering the form of his domestic season, the team has a solid top order. Rajasthan may want to fit in Younis Khan, however, in which case Kamran Akmal may miss out. If he does, young Mahesh Rawat would keep wicket and Pathan could partner Smith. However, Warne could also think of Sohail Tanvir to boost the bowling given how erratic Munaf Patel has been. In a toss-up between Younis and Tanvir, the latter’s all-round abilities will give him the edge.Rajasthan: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Yusuf Pathan, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Mahesh Rawat (wk), 7 Shane Warne (capt), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Dinesh Salunkhe, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Siddharth Trivedi.

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Scorecard

As expected, Uganda won the World Cricket League Division Three final, beating Argentina by 91 runs in Darwin. But Argentina, who only qualified for the tournament after USA were expelled last month, came close to pulling off what would have been a remarkable upset.At one stage Uganda, the hot favourites, had slumped to 79 for 7, after being asked to bat, with Argentina captain Esteban MacDermott, who was later adjudged player of the tournament, taking three wickets. However Frank Nsubuga, who made 55 from 38 balls, and Laurence Sematimba added a vital 80 for the eight wicket. Sematimba and Patrick Ochan, 56 from 34 balls, then posted 82 for the ninth wicket as Uganda reached 241 for 8. Nsubuga outstanding all-round day continued, taking 4 for 27 as Argentina were bowled out for 150 in the 47th over.Argentina had made a steady start to its run chase and reached 53 for 1 before losing three wickets for six runs. Donald Forrester (38) and wicketkeeper Alejandro Ferguson (41) then led a fightback by sharing an 81-run stand for the fifth wicket to take the them to 140 for 4. However, with the required run-rate climbing, the batting fell away as man-of-the-match Nsubuga completed his memorable day.Uganda captain Joel Olweny said it has been a great week for his team but he was quick to set the players new targets. “No doubt it has been a dream tournament for us. We came here aiming to qualify for Division Two and are now returning with the title.””But as this tournament finishes, the quest for the next begins and the target now is to finish in the top four in Namibia in November and qualify for World Cup qualifiers [in UAE in 2009].”Olweny had special praise for his two allrounders: “Undoubtedly, Nsubuga and Ochan are our heroes,” he said. “Their contributions were crucial but what was important was the way they batted. Once we had 200 runs on the board, we knew we had the match because we are a better bowling and fielding side.”MacDermott, Argentina’s captain, said he was disappointed but still proud of his team. “I know we could have done better. We had our moments but since we are a new side we couldn’t pounce on the opportunities that were provided to us,” he said. “This match has been a huge learning game for us and will surely help us prepare better next time.”Nevertheless, I am proud of my boys. No one gave us a chance when we arrived here but these boys turned everything around and now people are talking about us. Cricket is developing in Argentina and I am optimistic that, in the near future, there will be some more quality cricketers representing the country.”Other results
3-4th Playoff

Scorecard5-6th Playoff

Scorecard7-8th Playoff

ScorecardThe final positions are;1.Uganda 2.Argentina 3.PNG 4.Cayman Islands 5.Hong Kong 6.Tanzania 7.Italy 8.Fiji

Dale Steyn, the South African fast bowler, said he has grown in confidence through the first Test against New Zealand at Centurion. Playing his fourth Test, Steyn took 3 for 35 as New Zealand were reduced to 98 for 7 in their pursuit of 249.”I went for five an over in the first innings, but I had opportunities,” Steyn told News24.com. “This time the opportunities that came my way were taken. The more I bowl, the more confident I become, and my rhythm also improves.”Steyn played support act to Makhaya Ntini who took 4 for 41 during a searing spell. He was confident that South Africa would wrap up the victory but acknowledged New Zealand’s batting depth.”Makhaya makes it look so easy,” said Steyn. “I really enjoyed bowling with him. We were able to work in tandem. We knew that the new ball was going to play a role, and it worked for us today.”We only need three more wickets and it only takes three balls, and the way the deck is playing it could be the first three balls tomorrow morning,” said Steyn. “[However] it could go to tomorrow afternoon, they showed in the first innings that they can bat all the way to No.10.”New Zealand promoted Kyle Mills to No 3 to see off the new ball. “We looked up at the dressing room stairs and there was Kyle Mills,” said Steyn. “He was coming in to be a new-ball watchman, or something like that. We knew the new ball does a bit even to the best of batsmen so we thought if we put it in the right place he’s bound to make a mistake.” Mills lasted all of two balls as New Zealand lost their first six wickets for 28 runs.Daniel Vettori, on 18, and Hamish Marshall, on 24, were unbeaten when bad light and rain interrupted play on the fourth day. Vettori explained the reasoning behind promoting Mills. “We thought it would be toughest against the new ball and if someone could use up a few overs it would be easier for the guys following,” Vettori told Stuff.co.nz. “Kyle’s a pretty good batsman, he bats high in the order [for Auckland]. He’s done well for us in the past and we had a lot of faith in him but unfortunately it didn’t come off.”We were confident this morning, we thought we could chase down anything under 250. I’m not saying we’re completely out of the game, but being 28 for 6 doesn’t help our cause.”

The England squad is now at full strength after the two members who missed Wednesday’s flight – Richard Johnson and late call-up Martin Saggers – arrived. In all probability they needn’t have rushed. The rain, which has been well reported, continued to fall throughout the day and Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Stadium, the venue for England’s tour opener on Sunday – remained under flooded tarpaulins.The chances of any play at the weekend are remote, and England again went through their training sessions indoors. They have had to do this for two days. The closest Bangladesh, who assembled almost a fortnight ago for their pre-series preparations, got to outdoor practice was when they went through some stretching exercises on the astroturf at the National Hockey Centre last week. With only one adequate indoor facility, and that a 75-minute journey through the teeming streets, the cheerful beginning-of-term attitude within the England squad might not last too much longer.England will name their side for the first match, against the President’s XI, tomorrow, and Michael Vaughan has a problem. Although he wants to give everyone a game if possible, he also needs to get the probable Test XI as much experience of the unfamiliar conditions. The pitches are expected to be slow and low, and both batsmen and bowlers will need to adjust quickly.”The batters need a long bat and the bowlers need a long bowl,” he said. “With the weather the way it is, I think everybody must have a lot of time in the middle, including the bowlers who will play in that first Test. The bowlers will have to learn pretty quickly and we will have to come up with some good plans for them.”Spare a thought for Saggers. His arrival completed a tortuous journey which took him the best part of 72 hours. On Monday, when the call came, he was playing in South Africa. He flew straight back top King’s Lynn to pick up extra kit, and then out to Bangladesh – and if the first game is a washout and England have to field their full side in the second warm-up against Bangladesh A then he might not even get to play.Unlike several tours in the 1990s when England were roundly condemned for shutting out the realities of life in poorer countries, this time the PR machine is in full swing, with visits to a hospital and an orphanage on the agenda. It looks as if the squad will have plenty of time for both if the pessimistic predictions of the weather forecasters are right.

Hampshire Cricket announced today that Australian allrounder Shane Watson is to join them as backup overseas player for the 2004 season. Both of Hampshire’s two overseas signings Shane Warne and Michael Clarke are expected to be needed by the Australian national side during the UK season. Watson would also be available for injury cover.Originally from Queensland, 23 year old Watson accepted an offer to move to Tasmania in late 2000 as part of a recruiting coup that enabled the Tigers to blood him as a first-class cricketer at the tender age of 19. He has rarely had cause to look back. His maiden first-class century (a superb innings of 105 against South Australia in Hobart) arrived in just his fifth first-class match and a string of successes have marked his progress thereafter. Most notable were his distinguished performance in a one-day match for Australia ‘A’ against New Zealand in early 2002; an 11-wicket haul against his former state; and selection in Australia’s 15-man Test squad to tour South Africa in February 2002.A fluent and stylish top order batsman with a full range of shots, a tearaway pace bowler and a brilliant close-in fieldsman on either side of the wicket, Watson’s talent was also evident in earlier years in his appearances for a vast array of state and national underage sides. He was the outstanding performer at the Under 19 World Cup of 1999-2000 in Sri Lanka, top scoring in five of his six matches.