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Tim Cutler, the chief executive of Hong Kong Cricket, has entered the debate over their one-day practice match against England in Abu Dhabi, calling it “a historic event where the teams met for the first ever time in a fifty over match” and holding out hopes of a full ODI against England in the future.While expressing gratitude to England for the opportunity, he also reflected upon Hong Kong’s ODI status and warned: “We need to make sure there are cohesive plans around fast tracking the development of emerging cricket nations across the globe.”The match was played as a 13-a-side practice match with the opportunity to play a full ODI against Hong Kong, who won full ODI status last year, not taken.Cutler suggested that time was short after the Emirates Cricket Board offered the Hong Kong fixture to England – and a Nepal fixture to Pakistan – via the ICC Development Team in Dubai.”To provide the best possible practice situation for both teams, it was then agreed between the coaching staff of both teams that 13 players would be allowed to participate from each team, with only 11 allowed to bat and/or field at any one time.”We appreciate the opportunity for our players to benefit from the experience in playing against a full-strength England ODI squad in preparation for Hong Kong’s ICC Intercontinental Cup and ICC World Cricket League Championship matches.”Cutler was careful to show gratitude to ECB, and especially his fellow chief executive Tom Harrison, for their qualified support and also praised Harrison’s interest in cricket as an Olympic sport, indicating that – comparatively at least – there are some signs of a more expansionist attitude under Harrison’s stewardship.

Hong Kong in talks for county pre-season tours

Hong Kong Cricket are hoping to continue their development by attracting first-class counties to the region in March.

Fresh from their first 50-over match against England, the HKCA now hopes that at least one county may be persuaded to prepare for the English domestic campaign by touring the territory for pre-season.

It is understood the club have been attracted by the possibility of their costs being subsidised by sponsorship arranged by the HKCA.

The HKCA, meanwhile, want to “present Hong Kong as a viable option for similar tours in the future,” in the words of their CEO, Tim Cutler and showcase their facilities at the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Kowloon Cricket Club. They hope such a tour might encourage more sponsorship for the sport from within the region.

They also aim to “build relationships and pathways” for their young players, in the hope that some could gain school or club places in England.

But he did not sidestep the very real issues facing Associate nations as they attempt to gain opportunities to grow the game, confirming that a reluctance from all parties to foot the bill for an ODI (thought to be less than $100,000) had played a part in the negotiations.”In response to various media reports and approaches; yes, the matter of the total cost for an ODI was mentioned during the (last minute) arrangements of the fixture, as would be expected,” he said.”Perhaps, if both parties had longer to prepare, a full ODI may have been feasible and hopefully this is something both parties can consider for the future. However the reality was that in the time available – less than a month – the proper arrangements that would normally be covered by a series MOU could not be completed in time.A memorandum of understanding describes a formal agreement between the parties indicating how a match should be staged and can vary in complexity depending on the requirements of those involved.”However frustrating it may seem (especially from an Associate ODI-status member perspective) the fixture would not have proceeded if not for the support of the ECB, especially its CEO, Tom Harrison. Tom has been one of the main drivers behind the scenes in the ECB’s change of stance to now support Cricket as an Olympic sport and the HKCA applauds his efforts in this respect.”I believe including cricket in the Olympics, alongside an expanded World Cup & World Twenty20 tournament structure are all critical to our sport’s growth. If we ever truly want to be the world’s favourite sport, we need to make sure there are cohesive pans around fast tracking the development of emerging cricket nations across the globe.”I think this particular instance highlights a need for an expanded fund / mechanism to support ODI / T20i matches between FMs and all High Performance Associate Members to underpin the bridging of the gaps between cricket emerging and the developed world. I look forward to discussing this more with the ICC Development Team as they continue to assist us in our future plans for Hong Kong’s cricketing success.”Hong Kong, ranked 16th in ODIs and 11th in T20Is, are holding preliminary discussions with at least two such nations.They also have a T20 fixture against Pakistan later in the month – although as yet this also has no T20 status – before official T20s against Afghanistan and Oman.March sees Hong Kong in a second, and successive, World Twenty20. Prior to the tournament, Hong Kong will host an inaugural home series against Scotland in January, and will take part in the Asia Cup qualifying tournament in Bangladesh in mid-February.

Although Justice Edwin King refuses to discuss the matter ahead of his final report into match-fixing and corruption, it seems unlikely that he will recommend the scrapping of the indemnity against prosecution offered former South African captain Hansie Cronje ahead of his evidence at last June’s hearings in Cape Town.A report in the Sunday Times in London on Sunday claimed that Cronje would have his indemnity revoked upon release of Judge King’s final report, expected some time this month, and could face criminal prosecution and possible extradition to India.Most observers, however, believe this to no more than speculation. United Cricket Board spokesperson Bronwyn Wilkinson said on Sunday that the Judge had no intention of discussing his report before handing it over to the South African government.The Sunday Times report quotes the King commission’s chief investigator Shamila Batohi as saying: “In his interim report, Judge King ruled that Cronje had more to tell, that he had at times contradicted himself and had been evasive. There is no further evidence upon which the judge could change that evaluation.”Since there’s been no way to cross-examine Cronje further, the judge cannot possibly say something totally contradictory in his final report.”At the same time, Judge King did not recommend the scrapping of the indemnity offered Cronje and there seems no reason to believe he will do so now.The King commission held no further hearings nor called any new witnesses after June last year and its eventual closure earlier this year left a sense of incompleteness. Nevertheless, there was no further opportunity to cross-examine Cronje nor to hear new evidence and on this basis a recommendation that Cronje be prosecuted would come as a surprise.If Cronje persists in a legal challenge to the life ban imposed on him by the UCB, however, new evidence could emerge. In this case, the South African authorities might have to consider whether Cronje had breached the terms of his indemnity.There is, however, a broad feeling that the South African government has all but lost interest in match-fixing for the time being and that this lack of political will, as much as anything else, contributed to the unexpected closure of the King commission.

New Zealand’s pool for the World Cup in 2003 will depend on how the side does in the tri-series with Sri Lanka and India next month, and its One-Day Internationals with Pakistan in September.If the draw was made today, New Zealand would be in the same section as: South Africa, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh, Kenya and the third-placed team from the ICC Trophy tournament starting in Toronto later this week.On the other side of the draw would be: Australia, Pakistan, India, the West Indies, Zimbabwe and the first and second-placed teams from the ICC Trophy.The final pool allocations could be significant in the hunt for the $US5million up for grabs by the leading sides.International captains have been asked to recommend a suitable breakdown of prizemoney for the tournament.New Zealand coach David Trist, who will stand down from his position in September, said that sort of draw would be “wonderful” from New Zealand’s view.”South Africa are the host team with the advantage of playing at home and it would be good to play them early in the tournament.”Sri Lanka have a poor record away from home, particularly when playing on bouncy wickets as we have seen and England, well, we all know about them.”It would be excellent,” he said.The final draw of pools and games will be made at the end of October while countries will be allocated a South African base on August 20.The opening match of the tournament will be on February 7 in Cape Town and will involve South Africa, and the final will be played in Johannesburg on Wednesday, March 19.On all but two of the 22 days of the preliminary pool group round two matches will be played.In the Super Six round the nine matches will be played over nine days. Semifinals will be played in Port Elizabeth on Friday, March 14 and Durban on March 15.The news that most of New Zealand’s games were likely to be day matches, to suit television coverage potential in New Zealand would be advantageous.”At night you can struggle with the elements in the form of dew. It is an imponderable and it makes what to do at the toss a difficult one.”But New Zealand will have a matured team by then and it will be ready with depth and quality in the side,” he said.Matches have been categorised. The 24 category A matches, those involving the Super Six games, the semis and the final as well as pool matches involving South Africa and Sri Lanka will be played at the six Test match centres.In category B there are 18 pool matches, mainly those by Test nations against the three Associate Members and Kenya will be played at six non-Test grounds while the four category C matches between the Association Members will be played at Test match centres to allow the associate players to play on South Africa’s famous Test match grounds.

More important than the win at Sharjah is the fact that Pakistan seems to have come out of the rebuilding phase
Even before Pakistan quite convincingly won the Khaleej Times Trophy 2001 at Sharjah, that shrewd lot, the bookmakers, had rated the team amongst the top three favourites to clinch the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. It was exactly the same rating that Pakistan was accorded before the 1999 version of the event.

While the Cup itself is a year and a bit away, the victory at Sharjah has lifted the pall of gloom that hung over Pakistan cricket. For too long had it remained without a win, nearly a year and a quarter to be precise after its first Asia Cup victory at Dhaka and the away Test rubber win against Sri Lanka in 2000. Twice this year they did make it to the last hurdle, and in style, only failing to crown it with a triumph. In that context, despite the rather tedious hullabaloo again over Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling action, the win was a much welcome one for it broke a pattern.More important than the win itself is the fact that Pakistan seems to have come out of the rebuilding phase. Other than the opening pair, most other problem areas have been sorted out, and with its self-confidence restored, it looks all set to go places. Here are some of the reasons for the confidence that Pakistan is back to its winning ways.Waqar Younis’ earning his spurs as skipper:
When he took over the captaincy earlier this year, for the first time in his own right, Younis’ spot in the side was anything but guaranteed. He had a tentative start, but has gone from strength to strength since then. The turning point perhaps was the Old Trafford Test, in which more than his captaincy his spirit and his bowling turned the tide, saving Pakistan from the ignominy of losing their first series against England in England since 1982.

Subsequently, he bowled exceptionally well in the NatWest Trophy, in one of the games returning with a bag of half a dozen scalps. At Sharjah, he was as self-assured as they come. That is what success does – it breeds self-confidence and as a consequence further success.Getting the captaincy at the same age as Imran (at least on paper), and a big heart have given a new lease of life to Waqar’s career. Barring a mishap or injury, he is likely to lead Pakistan’s campaign for the 2003 World Cup with a side to reckon with.Wasim Akram’s sublime form:
It may well sound awkward, but Wasim Akram was the real surprise packet of the Sharjah event. This all-time great southpaw was alternately ridiculed and sympathised with since last winter’s England visit to Pakistan. Lack of success made him drop himself from the Karachi Test, which Pakistan lost giving the visitors their first rubber win in Pakistan in nearly four decades. On the return trip to England this summer, he grabbed just five wickets at almost double his usual average, and even against minnows Bangladesh, despite bowling well, remained wicketless.Right when he seemed to have lost his wicket-taking touch permanently, he literally bootstrapped himself up, giving a virtuoso performance in all the games that he played.

While he should be grateful, and he definitely is, as reflected in his brief appearance on satellite TV and statements to print media, to Waqar Younis for affording him the understanding and support which as skipper he himself had not accorded to his former bosom pal, one suspects his clinical psychologist wife too has had a hand in his mental makeover.Whatever, the end result is a Wasim Akram rejuvenated, both in body and spirit. His determination reflected not just in his bowling and body language. It oozed from his entire demeanor. He was never spendthrifty with runs. Now he was downright mean – much in the same mould as Curtly Ambrose, who by the way heaped praise on him the other day, counting him amongst the best of his generation.The return to sublime form of this most successful bowler in one-day cricket restores the depth, variety and lethalness of the Pakistan attack. All these attributes had contributed to much of Pakistan’s success in the ’90s.The magic of Saqlain Mushtaq:
Since his debut in 1995, he has been amongst the leading wicket-takers almost every year in limited-overs cricket, topping the list on two occasions. He was absent from the eleven when Pakistan won the trophy. This alone reflects the domination of the pace attack, with Shahid Afridi contributing with useful wickets.There cannot be a greater compliment than even the best of the best trying to emulate you. While some critics would like to point out that Saqlain may need to pick a trick or two from Muralitharan’s book while bowling in the longer version of the game, the Lankan maestro has already added the former’s ‘doosra’, the one that turns the other way, to his repertoire. Then Saqlain is not just lethal on his own; in the company of three genuine quicks and a fastish leg-spinner, he becomes a force multiplier.

Shoaib Akhtar factor:
The medical evidence is so compelling that one feels positive that Shoaib Akhtar would ride out this latest storm on his action. More so, because there is already the precedence set by Muralitharan. With his many injuries and illnesses behind him, he bowled fast at Sharjah; his rhythm and penetration was back. He looked an awesome force, and augmented the pace department admirably. Such a super draw card, he has the charisma to attract fans for himself and followers for his team.Presence of genuine all-rounders:
Such a fundamental thing, in both forms of the game. Pakistan has at this point many quality all-rounders. Azhar Mahmood was back after a layoff, and in spite of fears that he had been put back into the squad too soon, he did reasonably well both with bat and ball. But for someone who made a century on Test debut, and added another two soon enough, he has been somewhat of an great under-achiever and it is high time he performs up to his potential.In contrast, Abdur Razzaq remains a steady customer, chipping in with runs and wickets. At Sharjah he was a tad expensive with the ball and since the upper order mostly delivered, he was not required to contribute too often with the bat. But the presence of these two genuine all-rounders, along with Wasim Akram and ‘keeper Rashid Latif, gives Pakistan’s batting and bowling a lot of depth. Combined, this quartet quite often makes up for the brittleness of the upper order.

Rediscovery of an outstanding ‘keeper:
Rashid Latif has had a checkered career, but in his latest comeback he has not put a foot wrong. At 32, eyebrows were raised when he was preferred over Moin Khan, his junior by three years. But unlike a fumbling Moin, who dropped a chance or two almost every game, Latif has not had a single lapse behind the stumps. And he has made extremely useful contributions in front too. Fully fit now, which he was not when he embarked on the plane to England, he is likely to last beyond the 2003 World Cup.Batting giving a robust look:
Despite the hara-kiri that an otherwise solid Younis Khan committed, gifting his wicket away in Muralitharan’s last over in the final, Pakistan’s batting looks to be in good shape. Inzamam seems to be getting better and better by the day, and his hunger for big scores remains undiminished. He is easily one of the best batsmen in the world today, and his genius and consistency reflect in the ratings: he is in the top five in all rankings in both Test as well as one-day cricket.Yousuf Youhana was promoted to one-drop, a key position which had seen makeshift arrangements since Ijaz Ahmed. It remains to be seen whether Youhana opts for this position on a permanents basis. If he does, it would give the upper order a much more solid look. Especially because the opening pair remains unsettled despite quite a few talented youngsters around, who have also given a good account of themselves.Naved Latif too seems to be a genuine article, but he essentially being a middle order batsman would be relegated down the order.To his credit, Shahid Afridi has learnt to be slightly more circumspect. He even played some delicate shots, perhaps for the first time in his career. A leg glance and a couple of late cuts off his blade, all fetching fours, must have driven the message home: runs could also be gathered and fast without bludgeoning the leather.Mudassar Nazar’s induction as coach:
For whatever reason, no high calibre foreign coach is willing to do duty with the Pakistan team. Despite their sounding out a number of Aussies and South Africans, with a fat paycheck in hand, all the PCB got was a ‘No’ for an answer. So they had to fall back on a Richard Pybus or Javed Miandad, whose knowledge of the game may be second to none but whose man management skills leave a tremendous lot to be desired. Anyway, the net result was that Pakistan lacked the stabilising influence and tactical support of a permanent coach.

Mudassar Nazar’s induction, who by the way is not just knowledgeable and canny but a qualified coach to boot, fills that vacuum. Whether he is allowed to continue in this position is a point of conjecture, for if he is the Board would have to find his replacement for the all-important position of the chief coach of the Academy.The flip side:
While so much seems to going for this Pakistan team, the only thing that this Pakistan team has to guard against is itself by somehow shedding its now infamous unpredictability. It also has to decide on a pair of openers, to go with Afridi.Saeed Anwar has been one of the greats that Pakistan produced in the ’90s, but of late, he seems to have lost quite a bit of his once glorious touch and concentration. That is why he has been inconsistent. He has also often been bogged down with injuries and health problems. All these have taken their toll. He is a fielder that a skipper cannot hide and with a substitute often filling in for him on the field, he still manages to miss the odd catch and giving away valuable runs.The selectors should by now be preparing themselves for the unpleasant duty of saying thank you to him. If they are not, they fail to do justice to their jobs. After all, the most difficult part of their duty is to take care of such serious problems while the bulk of the team mostly selects itself. You cannot select a player on past performances, or Allan Border and Mark Taylor would still be batting for Australia.

Rahul Dravid steered Kent safely home by six wickets in their championshipwin over Hampshire at Portsmouth (the last championship match to be played onthe ground). After making 137 in the first innings the Indian star scored 73n.o. as Kent won in the last over before lunch.The visitors were already in sight of victory when the day began and they proceeded to 182-1 with no alarms in spite of another long spell by Shane Warne who bowled 32 overs without success. Shaun Udal took all four wickets which fell today. With only 23 runs needed to win Kent appeared to have an attack of nerves after Robert Key and Dravid had added 115 runs for the second wicket. He had batted some 300 minutes for his valuable 50 and was out when Warne runningbackwards held a top edge.
Alan Wells was l.b.w to the next ball making Kent 182-3 and twelve runs later Matthew Walker was caught in the slips. Dravid and Paul Nixon attained the remaining 11 without further problems. The former’s innings lasted 202 minutes with 11 boundaries from 140 balls. Udal ended with 4-42 from 20 overs.Admittedly the loss of young quick bowler Simon Francis through an elbow injury had hampered Hampshire, but they had suffered from poor batting on the third day.

I think it was Nat “King” Cole, the Blues & Soul singer, who had a major hit song called “Again” some time in the past. That song must have been specially dedicated to the West Indies cricket team, for, again, they were destroyed by some good fast bowling. While good, the bowling was not so good that the West Indies cricket team should only have made 125 on such a perfect batting pitch. The West Indies batting on Day 3 was shameful, at best. They can hide behind no excuses this time. 54; 61; now 125. What next, one wonders!The West Indies started at 11:00am BST at 13-0. By 11:35am BST, they had progressed to 32-0. Then hell, or more aptly, Andy Caddick, Darren Gough, Dominic Cork and especially Craig White broke loose. Perhaps that is the concept of “hell” that the West Indies cricketers now have. In exactly three hours, at 2:35pm BST, the West Indies had been dismissed; the 1st innings in complete disarray, all out for another “lottery number”.Again, Sherwin Campbell played away from his body to Dominic Cork. Again he got an inside edge, since the batsman’s feet had not moved. Again that inside edge cannoned on to the off stump. One wonders if Campbell will learn at all, or if the Coaches are getting through to him, or if the Coaches are getting through to anyone at all.From 32-0, the West Indies were destroyed by some of the most determined and careful fast bowling seen for some time, except the aggression was not the “bouncer and body-line” type, but the type which suggested that a plan had been devised by England for the plethora of left handers that the West Indies presented as players masquerading as batsmen. The English fast bowler, in contrast to the ‘body-line” aggression at Lord’s during Test No. 2, bowled at a much fuller length, but the batsmen wilted just the same; again!Again, playing as mindlessly as he had done at Leeds, Adrian Griffith drove away from his body to a Craig White delivery, immediately after Campbell’s dismissal, only to see the resultant flying edge taken high but well by Graeme Hick at 2nd slip. Remembering that he lost his off stump in a similar manner at Leeds, one wonders if this team has any hope. They just keep doing the same things over and over again.Then, the real nail in the West Indies coffin was effected. Brian Lara, whom the press everywhere had put great pressure on by suggesting that he will be the man to change things for the West Indies in this Test, played across the first delivery he received, from Craig White, bowling around the wicket, instead of playing fully out, and heard rather than saw his leg stump disturbed behind his back. The shout of celebration from White, his team-mates and the English supporters could have been heard all the way to Maraval, where Lara lives in Trinidad & Tobago.I am convinced that the English cricket team had done their homework on the left handers in the West Indies cricket team. Immediately that Craig White came on to bowl, he started from around the wicket to Adrian Griffith, the batsman just digging out a yorker, because he was at the crease for a spell; White’s first delivery. Lara was not so lucky, He saw nothing as the ball slanted into and away from him to leg, to hit the leg stump.That did not happen by accident, as White never bowled over the wicket for the entire day while bowling to a left hander. That was definitely a plan!Wavell Hinds soon took a delivery on his pad which was headed to middle stump, and suddenly, the West Indies were 34-4. England’s bowlers were being tremendously accurate, and Craig White and Dominic Cork, the 2nd tier of England’s attack, were the destroyers this time. What an attack this is turning out to be.For once Ramnaresh Sarwan let ambition become greater that his team’s position, for, as he drove with his head in the air, he lost his balance, the resulting edge careening to Marcus Trescothick at gully for the fieldsman to take a great sharp catch. At 39-5, the West Indies looked as if they were not even going to be able to save the follow-on; 82 required.It was suggested by many that Jimmy Adams looked very tired when he approached the crease to bat. Certainly his stroke, to give catching practice to Hick at slip from Cork’s bowling, suggested that Adams was indeed tired, probably from the tour, probably from his team’s efforts. 56-6 was not a great position to be in when England had already made 281.Had it not been for a real face saving partnership of 44 between a much improved and gutsy Nixon McLean; both his batting and bowling looked tremendously useful; and the resurging Ridley Jacobs, the West Indies would have been embarrassed even further. They had come to the crease after Mahendra Nagamootoo, picked to bowl leg breaks, but recognized as a fair batter, showed his worth for 18, helping Jacobs to carry the score from 51-6 to 74-7. What a completes shambles this was!!Once Mc Lean was gone, bowled from the inside edge from White, again from around the wicket, it was all over, not including the shouting. That, of course, continued apace, and rightly so. The West Indies were again decimated by fast purposeful fast bowling, operating with a plan. That final score of 125 attested to that.A final thought on England’s 3rd Day efforts. There was no real help from the pitch for the bowlers. It was true and firm and played very well. The bowlers simply put the ball down in the right places and allowed the West Indies to, again, make themselves look like fools batting. How a team could manage to make itself look like a kindergarten school’s cricket team as well as the West Indies cricket team does is anyone’s guess. England’s bowlers were magnificent, and Craig White, who got his best Test figures to date, 11-1-32-5, deserves to be the head of the pack. He, and the rest of the English contingent, planned their efforts well and executed well.Even with the eventual wickets of Marcus Trescothick and the luckless Nasser Hussein, the West Indies are slowly being, if indeed it has not yet happened, played out of the game. With a lead of already 212 with eight wickets in hand, and only six sessions left in the game, it is still possible for the West Indies to pull of a magnificent, magical win, but not very likely.England hold all of the aces now. All they have to do is bat at least two of those sessions and score perhaps another 100 runs. Making over 300 runs is possible, but who would bet on the West Indies doing a Barbados again, when Lara and his boys managed a miracle? Again?

Lancashire completed a 20 points win over Somerset today which should clinchthem runners-up place in the championship for the third year on the trot.Theoretically Surrey need a point to retain the title when they visit OldTrafford on Wednesday for the final game of the season. But there is no wayLancashire can even dream of a 20-0 victory, as a first innings declarationby Adam Hollioake would foil them of bonus points.But today Lancashire were happy enough with an innings and 109 runs overover Surrey – and a landmark for acting captain Warren Hegg.The 32 years-old keeper took his catches tally to 635, a Lancashirerecord, beating the 634 of George Duckworth who played between the wars.Hegg, who yesterday hit his first century in four years, passed Duckworth’s milestone by claiming the first three catches today, the third ending a defiant innings by left-hander Ian Blackwell who slammed two sixes and five fours in his 37 before top-edging an attempted hook off Glen Chapple.Michael Burns and Graham Rose had already fallen to Lancashire’s potentseam attack and Somerset’s last chance of survival disappeared when PeterBowler, on 75, was snapped up off bat and pad off left-arm spinner GaryKeedy’s first over.Jason Kerr followed Blackwell’s example but tried one big shot too manyoff leg-spinner Chris Schofield and only lunch further delayed Lancashire,the lastwicket falling nine balls after the interval when Steffan Jones wasrun out.

Finally, in his 22nd innings of the season, Ed Joyce had a Championship century to cheer•Getty Images

Ed Joyce has been emblematic of Sussex’s uncertain season. The club captain ended 2014 as the second highest run-scorer in Division One, and with more centuries than anyone else in the country. For Ireland in the World Cup, he acquired the role of not merely batting talisman but de facto spokesman for the entire associate world, pummeling the West Indies and Zimbabwe on the pitch and myopic administration off it.Such assertiveness has been absent from his return to county cricket. Joyce’s first 21 innings of the season brought copious starts but just two half-centuries and no hundreds. Nestled in those statistics, together with the spate of pace bowling injuries Sussex have suffered, is a large part of the explanation of why the club lie eighth in Division One.Joyce began this innings against Yorkshire resembling a man who has made few runs of late. His opening partnership with Luke Wells began at a funereal rate, scoring at under two an over for the first 20 overs. But what mattered was they survived, even as Wells was almost run out in the first over and Joyce narrowly avoided edging an egregious swipe at a wide ball from Tim Bresnan, promoting much chuntering from the Sussex fans.It took the introduction of Adil Rashid’s legspin for Joyce to reacquaint himself with the more intrepid style that he credited his form last year. A delivery on his pads was clipped over long on for six; two balls later Joyce essayed a pristine drive through the covers for four.Belatedly the Hove crowd was treated to the Joyce they have become so accustomed to: driving languidly through the offside, manipulating any width by playing the ball late with his supple wrists, and occasionally giving notice of his power. At 5:47, Joyce took two decisive steps down the wicket and lofted Rashid down the ground for six. Finally, he had his first Championship century of the summer.Joyce’s duel with Rashid, unwavering in his determination to flight the ball even as he was attacked, provided the most intoxicating cricket of the game so far. Even as Joyce scored freely off him, hitting 44 off 45 balls he faced from Rashid, he was never unperturbed by the legspinner.”He was threatening to get me out – he had a bit of rough to bowl into and he’s a very good bowler,” Joyce said. “I always feel with someone like that you have to keep scoring.” Yet the approach eventually cost Joyce his wicket when, to his evident chagrin, he flicked Rashid rather tamely to short leg just after reaching his century.This performance distilled the essence of Rashid. Operating from the Sea End, the end preferred by Mushtaq Ahmed, Rashid erred both in bowling too full and too short, and dragged the ball down the legside too often to boot. Yet, on a rather turgid wicket, Rashid was by a distance Yorkshire’s most threatening bowler, for all the discipline their seamers displayed. When Wells and Joyce had added a hundred for the opening wicket, Rashid reawakened the game from its slumber, uprooting Wells’ offstump with a delivery that seemed to turn less than the batsman envisaged and then inducing Matt Machan to poke his second ball to short leg.Asked whether Rashid was ready for Test cricket, Joyce gave an emphatic “yes”. “Like any legspinner he bowls bad balls, but he bowls wicket-taking balls. The real attraction with him is the fact he’s a very, very fine batsman as well.”Rashid is not the only Tyke playing at Hove with designs on a place in England’s Test squad for the trip to the UAE. While Yorkshire’s England contingent were struggling at The Oval, Gary Ballance brought up his century from the tenth ball of the day, nudging Ollie Robinson through midwicket for four. After a rather turbulent summer it was a significant moment in Ballance’s career. That his celebration eschewed histrionics reflected the understated manner of the man.Thereafter Ballance became increasingly contemptuous of Sussex’s spin options – or lack thereof. He used his feet to smear Chris Nash down the ground for four, and then lifted him over long on for six. It was a matter of considerable surprise when his offstump was uprooted by extra pace from Chris Liddle, though by that point Ballance had made 50 more than Adam Lyth’s tally in nine innings against Australia this summer.”It’s been a tough few weeks, but that gave me a bit of confidence,” Ballance said. “You’ve got to be mentally strong to back your own game and what’s got you here. That’s what I’ve done.” He has not pushed to bat at three, the position he occupied for England until being dropped after the second Ashes Test. “I don’t really mind where I bat. I’ve always said that when I play for Yorkshire I’ll bat wherever they want me to. I’m happy to bat at five if they want me to, but if they want me to bat three next game, I’ll do that.”For most of the morning the tannoy’s announcement that the Yorkshire President Dickie Bird had mislaid his cap was the most Sussex fans had to cheer about, as Bresnan combined with Ballance to add 197 runs for the seventh wicket, a Yorkshire record against Sussex. The day ended with the whereabouts of Bird’s cap still unknown, but the destination of the Division One title is rather less of a mystery.

Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell who has spent the first part of the winter with the Academy in Adelaide has now joined up with the full England One Day squad ahead of the triangular series that gets underway in Sydney on December 13th.Regarding his time with the Academy he told me: “I very much enjoyed parts of it and hopefully I’ll be a better player for Somerset because of it, but I have to admit my body has taken a hammering along the way!!! Picking up niggles here and there, which are harder to shake off as there isn’t much time to rest.”When I asked him to comment on the current Test series he told me: ” I’m not going to diagnose the Ashes as I can’t see any positives at all, and I fear its only going to get worse!”He continued: “I caught up with both Andy Caddick and Marcus Trescothick during the Adelaide Test where I was almost called up at the last minute for Michael Vaughan who went over on his knee.Commenting on the mood of the England Test players he told me: “To be honest all the boys are absolutely battered, they have had no respite from anything. Injuries haven’t helped and with Alex Tudor and Chris Silverwood added things couldn’t get much worse.”Blackie went on: ” The one day guys arrived last Tuesday and for me its been greatmoving from the Academy to the Stamford Plaza in the city because it’s given my brain a jog to what being part of England is all about.”He concluded: ” The one day squad is quite different to the Test side so lets hope there is enough of us to pick spirits up in the one day matches and create a positive atmosphere in the dressing room. We have chatted amongst ourselves and we think that will be a key thing for us to do.”

A disciplined bowling performance from Mumbai saw Delhi dismissed for 251 in their second innings, leaving the hosts to get only 73 runs for a victory. Resuming on 52 for no loss, Delhi were looking in a strong position as first Akash Chopra (63, 166b, 7×4) and then Mithun Manhas (83, 124b, 9×4) looked to dominate. But the middle-order caved nevertheless, and Mumbai’s openers made merry. The hosts cantered to a nine-wicket win and gained two points from the encounter. Vinayak Mane ended on an unbeaten 45 off 53 balls (eight fours) while Wasim Jaffer, the only casualty, made 28 off 40.At Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh resumed on 274 for five and ultimately reached 352. Skipper MSK Prasad duly completed his century, going on to 130 off 202 balls (19 fours) before he fell to JS Yadav. Yadav picked five wickets for 87 runs and was the chief destroyer for Hyderabad on the third day. Hyderabad in their second innings reached 240 for three off 61 overs by the close of play, with Ambati Rayudu picking up where he left off in the first innings, making an unbeaten 70 off just 96 balls (nine fours, one six). He was accompanied by D Vinay Kumar (52, 110b, 11×4) at stumps.In their encounter against Himachal Pradesh at Kolkata, Bengal continued their first-innings slide, dismissed for 171, with skipper Rohan Gavaskar ending on an obdurately unbeaten 58 (137b, 6×4). Offie Aashish Kapoor ended with five for 25. Himachal’s second innings reached 208 for five by the close of play, with Vikram Rathour making 91 (194b, 11×4, 1×6) of those runs before being caught and bowled by Gavaskar.At Jaipur, Rajasthan were still in the midst of their first innings by the close of the third day, ending on 282 for six. Rohit Jhalani was the only batsman to make a fifty (52 not out, 109b, 7×4), but a string of forties from the top-order batsmen kept the hosts in the hunt. Harvinder Singh and Kulamani Parida took two wickets each for Railways.At Chennai, Tamil Nadu reached a daunting 427 all out, courtesy some sturdy batting displays from southpaws S Sharath and S Sriram. At one-drop, Sriram made 128 off 207 balls (15 fours), while Sharath became most prolific Ranji centurion for Tamil Nadu – overtaking Robin Singh – by making 101 off 204 balls (12 fours). A quickfire 50 (68b, 8×4) from J Gokulakrishnan enabled Tamil Nadu to breach the 400-run barrier by the close of the third day’s play.Punjab, at Cuttack, recovered from a precarious 141 for four to take the first-innings lead against Orissa, reaching 381 before being bowled out. Pankaj Dharmani made 81 (250b, 11×4, 1×6) Harminder Singh hit 87 (135b, 14×4, 1×6), and some welcome cameos from the lower order took Punjab to their total. Debashish Mohanty, for Orissa, ended with four wickets for 37 runs off just 26.5 overs. Orissa played out 3.5 overs to reach four for no loss by stumps.Khurasiya makes sparkling double-centuryAt Indore, Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 379 – a lead of 45 over Maharashtra – with skipper Amay Khurasiya making 237 (299b, 31×4). His was the final wicket to fall, and the next highest score in the innings was that of D Bundela, who hit a painstaking 75 off 226 balls. Maharashtra had almost erased the deficit by the close of play, but at a price; three wickets had fallen for 42 runs when stumps were called.Haryana cantered to a seven-wicket win at Jammu over the hosts, experiencing no further hiccups in their chase of 82. Ajay Ratra and Shafiq Khan made 33 not out and 22 not out respectively as Haryana took only 9.2 overs on the third day to register their two points from the match.