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Fierce player opposition has spurred a rapid Cricket Australia back-flip over the use of a third umpire intervention system in domestic limited overs games, with the experimental playing conditions scrapped in mid-season.Victoria’s match against South Australia on Wednesday took place with the television umpires to be used only in their former role as checkers of close line decisions, after the CA operations manager Sean Cary announced the system had been scrapped in response to criticism across the six states.First used in the Big Bash League last summer, the system was unpopular for its effect on the rhythms of the game, as batsmen were given out then stopped at the boundary’s edge after the third umpire had raised an objection based on television evidence. There were also significant concerns about its inconsistent application from one match to another.”It’s just shocking, it’s embarrassing, it needs to worked out,” George Bailey, Australia’s Twenty20 captain, said after a recent limited overs game for Tasmania against Queensland in Hobart. “I think it confuses the players, I think it confuses the umpires. I think leave it in the hands of the players. You get two, if you use them with bad reviews then so be it.”Cary had initially defended the system, pointing out that last season as many as 12 incorrect decisions had been overturned with the help of video evidence. But after the states had registered their collective discontent and the CA playing conditions committee was consulted, he changed his view.”We assessed the impact the system was having on the competition and we believed there were sufficient reasons to discontinue the intervention system following unanimous support from the State teams,” Cary said. “The CA Playing Conditions Committee will continue to discuss the best model for a review system that can be used in these two competitions in the future.”

ScorecardCenturies from Glamorgan skipper Mark Wallace and Kent’s Sam Northeast ensured the two sides’ County Championship Division Two clash ended in stalemate.The hosts posted 168 for 2 in their second innings on a pedestrian final afternoon in Canterbury as former England Under-19 batsman Northeast carried his excellent limited-overs form of late into the four-day game by stroking 11 fours. He made the most of ideal conditions in a rain-ruined match at the St Lawrence Ground as promotion-chasing Kent banked 11 points to Glamorgan’s 9.The outcome of the game, though, rested on the first session of day four when Glamorgan resumed on 264 for 7, needing a further 43 to avoid the follow-on. Kent seamer Charlie Shreck accounted for John Glover leg before in the early exchanges but the turning point came in Shreck’s next over when Wallace, on 49, nicked one behind only to see Kent keeper Geraint Jones down a tough diving chance in front of first slip.Wallace went on to post a 192-ball century and feature in a ninth-wicket stand with Dean Cosker worth 103 in 19 overs that denied Kent their chance to enforce the follow-on.During his four-hour stay Wallace moved beyond the first-class career mark of 8,350 runs, ensuring he surpassed Eifion Jones as Glamorgan’s leading first-class run scorer as a wicketkeeper. Cosker, on 47, finally lost his middle stump to Darren Stevens then Wallace, with his score on 111, attempted an audacious slog-sweep against the same bowler only to be caught at slip off a top edge, ending the Glamorgan innings just before lunch on 389 for a first-innings deficit of 67.Kent lost Rob Key and Ben Harmison early in the response, but it mattered not a jot once Northeast and first-innings century-maker Brendan Nash dug in for the third wicket. Nash batted 71 minutes for his 28 while Northeast timed his run for a century to perfection and was unbeaten on 101 when the sides shook hands on a draw.

Interest of the day
Test cricket has flirted with extinction but it is likely that it will not get there for a long, long time. If you needed any proof of its vitality you need only have disembarked at the Oval underground station at around 10.30 on Monday morning. The train was packed and the touts were doing a roaring trade. Fifth-day tickets were a fifth of the price of the other days and school holidays had started but it was a working day and England up against it, which might have lessened the support base. Nothing of the sort happened. When play started, two-thirds of the seats were filled and after four sold-out days, more than 100,000 people had seen some play at The Oval.Drop of the day
AB de Villiers did a handy job in the first innings, when he held on to every catch that came his way but the same cannot be said of the second. With South Africa five wickets away from a series lead, Imran Tahir sent down a venomous legbreak, with enough turn and bounce to take the edge off Ian Bell’s block. Bell was half forward, the catch was fairly simple and de Villiers had two attempts to complete it but could not hold on to register his first fluff behind the stumps. Bell was on 20 at the time and went on to make a stubborn half-century so vital to England’s cause that he received a standing ovation.Celeb-spot of the day
With Olympic fever raging in the air, there was every chance the five rings themselves would make an appearance. They did not quite make it to The Oval but an Olympian did: South Africa’s 4 x 100 metre gold medallist Ryk Neethling, who will compete at the London Games was in attendance when South Africa wrapped up a famous win. The timing of the Games has meant the national cricket team has received support from people who do not usually get to watch them. Two days earlier, the country’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula, who is in the United Kingdom to set up the South African athletes village, was also at the ground to congratulate Graeme Smith on his century in his 100th Test.Contrast of the day:
The dismissal of Matt Prior, top-edging a sweep to slip, produced wildly-contrasting emotions in the batsman and bowler. Matt Prior, aghast at the sheer awfulness of his stroke, was rooted to his crease, head in his hands, coming to terms with the injury he had inflicted upon his team. Imran Tahir, meanwhile, celebrated with the unbridled enthusiasm that has made him such an endearing player. By the time Prior dragged himself from the crease, Tahir was at deep fine leg running in circles and bellowing with joy.Over rule of the day:
England’s last hope died when Stuart Broad, a man with a Test century to his name, was caught down the leg side. It was an interesting decision by the TV Umpire, Kumar Dharmasena. While the on-field umpire – Asad Rauf – had given a ‘not out’ decision and there were no obvious signs of contact from Hot Spot, Dharmasena made his decision partially on the evidence of the stump microphones, which did suggest contact with the glove, and partially on replay evidence which, while not conclusive, was certainly suggestive. He was probably right, but whether there was enough evidence to overrule the on-field umpire was a moot point.Concern of the day:
Amid all the South African celebrations, there was just one area of concern for South Africa: the performance of AB de Villiers as a stand-in wicketkeeper was increasingly unconvincing. He dropped Ian Bell, on 20, standing up to Imran Tahir and his failure to reach the stumps in time to collect JP Duminy’s throw – not the first time in the match that de Villiers failed to do this – also cost South Africa the chance of running Bell out on 28. England were unable to make South Africa pay for the error but, when the tourists select their team for the second Test, they may reflect that their top six is perfectly adequate and they could so with the specialist keeping skills of Thami Tsolekile. If that is the case, it may prove bad news for Duminy. Perhaps if Duminy’s throw had hit, de Villiers error may have gone unnoticed?

Zimbabwe Cricket has named a 16-man squad, led by Matthew Bentley, for the Under-19 World Cup to be played in Australia in August. Mountaineers’ Kevin Kasuza will be Bentley’s deputy.Zimbabwe are placed in Group C along with West Indies, India and Papua New Guinea. They open their campaign with a game against PNG on August 11.Zimbabwe Under-19 squad: Matthew Bentley (capt), Kevin Kasuza (vice-capt), Kyle Bowie, Ryan Burl, Herbert Chikomba, Atish Chouhan, Kieran Geyle, Luke Jongwe, Malcolm Lake, Campbell Light, Wellington Masakadza, Luke Masasire, Nyasha Mayavo, Curthbert Musoko, Andre Odendaal, Peacemore Zimwa.Reserves: Shoun Handirisi, Odicious Mhanje, Liberty Nherera.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKnight Riders choked Daredevils in the latter half of the chase•AFP

After four seasons of at times embarrassing underachievement, Kolkata Knight Riders will play for the IPL trophy on Sunday. For almost two-thirds of the qualifier against Delhi Daredevils, they nearly blew it, though the odds were stacked in their favour right from the start. On a pitch where the first ball of spin turned sharply, Knight Riders had three spinners waiting; Delhi Daredevils stuck to playing three specialist fast bowlers.Daredevils’ strategy did not seem to have backfired when Knight Riders lumbered to 106 for 4 in 16 overs. In the chase, despite losing Virender Sehwag and David Warner in the first 13 balls, Daredevils were right in the hunt at 83 for 2 after 10 overs. But like they had suddenly bolted away in the last four overs of their innings, Knight Riders choked Daredevils in the latter half of the chase. Daredevils did not help their cause, sending Pawan Negi ahead of Ross Taylor, who finally came in at No. 7 when the asking-rate was more than 14 an over.The late boost that carried Knight Riders to a challenging total on the difficult pitch came from the unlikeliest quarters. Yusuf Pathan, who had done almost nothing the entire season, and Laxmi Shukla, playing in place of an unfit Manoj Tiwary, carted the quicks for 56 off the final four overs, and 36 off the final two, as Knight Riders surged to 162.Gautam Gambhir had once again given Knight Riders a strong start, taking the fast bowlers for several boundaries. He had sped to 32 off 16 deliveries before he failed to make his ground to a direct hit from mid-off after having backed up too far. Not for the first time after Gambhir’s departure, Knight Riders lost their way. Only 58 runs came off the next ten overs as Negi, the left-arm spinner, and Irfan Pathan strangled the batsmen.Just when it seemed Knight Riders had wasted Gambhir’s efforts upfront, Yusuf and Shukla launched into the quicks, who did not let up on the pace. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav kept bowling in the late 140s with Morne Morkel not far behind. But the faster they bowled, the ball only came on better on the slow pitch.Yusuf began the assault in the 17th over, carting a Morkel length ball for a straight six. Shukla took the lead in the 19th, making room to loft Morkel over extra cover for four and pulling him over deep square leg for six. It was to get worse for Daredevils in the last over. David Warner dropped Yusuf as he ran across from long-on and ended up parrying it for six. Yusuf cover-drove and flicked the last two deliveries for fours.The core of the attack that had taken Daredevils to No. 1 position after the league stage had been taken apart. Yadav and Morkel went for 37 each, Aaron for 48, including 21 in that final over.The last thing Daredevils needed at that stage was a rough decision, and pat it came in the second over of the chase. Warner, who had just smashed Shakib Al Hasan for six over long-on, missed the next ball as he pushed forward, but was given out caught by umpire Billy Doctrove as the ball popped up to the wicketkeeper off the pad. Sehwag departed next ball, edging an attempted cut off the impressive L Balaji to the keeper.Just when it seemed Daredevils had done themselves in even before Sunil Narine came on, Naman Ojha and Mahela Jayawardene responded with the highest stand of the match. The duo took Shakib, who had a forgettable game, for 15 runs in the fourth over. Bowling too quick to get any bite from the surface, Shakib was lofted inside-out and down the ground for two fours and a six.Though the general lack of pace in the Knight Riders attack started to make its presence felt, Ojha and Jayawardene kept the runs coming. The duo was in control when Ojha cut a long hop from Bhatia straight to Gambhir at backward point. A few tight overs and Venugopal Rao’s struggle further increased the pressure on Jayawardene. The threat of Narine, who gave just seven runs in his first two overs, forced him to attack the other bowlers, eventually leading to him being stumped off Abdulla in the 15th over.With 55 needed off 32, Sehwag sent in Negi ahead of Taylor, who hit his third ball from Narine for six over wide long-on. But it was too late by then. Daredevils have another chance to get it right in the second qualifier on Friday.

ScorecardJosh Cobb’s maiden one-day century failed to prevent Leicestershire from suffering a narrow opening Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat against Lancashire at Old Trafford. The Foxes came up five runs short despite Cobb anchoring a pursuit of 297 with a belligerent 137 in a match littered with good batting and indifferent bowling and fielding.Cobb hit eight fours and six sixes in 99 balls but fell to a superb catch from Lancashire captain Steven Croft as he ran back from point, leaving the Foxes at 223 for 4 at the end of the 31st over, still needing 74 to win. Matthew Boyce scored 64 as Leicestershire, who needed 13 off the last over, finished on 291 for 7.On a good pitch, Lancashire put their Championship batting woes behind them to post 296 for 3, the club’s highest ever score in this form of the game. Croft top-scored with 82 off 71 balls, while South Africa’s Ashwell Prince added 79 off 73 and Stephen Moore a 53-ball 74.But the Lightning should have been defending a score in excess of 300 after Prince and Moore put on 135 for the first wicket inside 17 overs. Although the scoring rate was never slow, the home side could have put the game completely out of reach had they been a bit more clinical in the latter stages.Cobb had a hand in an impressive piece of Leicestershire fielding when he relayed a ball to Joseph from long-on to long-off as he was going over the rope. And he provided their magic with the bat too after being handed a life on nought when Moore dropped a simple chance at first slip off Sajid Mahmood’s first ball of the innings.Mahmood had Jacques du Toit caught behind in the third over but Cobb and Greg Smith built a platform with a second-wicket stand of 84 in 10 overs. England Lions left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, the game’s best bowler with 3 for 44, then removed Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan, caught at short cover and long-on respectively, to put the hosts on top at 113 for 3 in the 18th over.But Cobb bossed a fourth-wicket stand of 110 inside 14 overs with Boyce, who was happy to accumulate at a run-a-ball. Cobb hit sixes over midwicket, long-on and straight down the ground but Leicester were left with too much to do when he fell to Naqaash Tahir.When Boyce was caught at deep mid-wicket by Croft off Mahmood in the 37th over, a task of 38 off 20 balls was just too stiff.

Stuart Broad did not bowl during England’s first training session in Galle to protect an ankle injury he picked up earlier in the tour but is still expected to be available for the first Test against Sri Lanka which starts on Monday.Broad tripped on a boundary rope shortly before the first warm-up match against a President’s XI in Colombo and was pulled out of the game. However, he was part of the team for the second practice game where he sent down 23 overs against the Sri Lanka Development XI for four wickets and was the most impressive of England’s bowlers.”He just wanted an extra day off from bowling after the game he played,” James Anderson, his new-ball partner, said. “He bowled quite a few overs in the last game and he’s just giving his ankle a little bit of extra time to recover.”However, if England maintain the balance of playing two quicks and two spinners with which they completed the series against Pakistan in the UAE, they cannot afford any doubts over one of the pacemen. England are not short of fast-bowling reserves — Steven Finn has played both warm-up matches and Tim Bresnan is also in the squad — but Broad has become an integral part of the team after recapturing his form against India last year. Since the first Test of that series, at Lord’s, he has taken 38 wickets at 16.10 in seven matches.The make-up of England team is one of the major talking points heading into the series, particularly following a side strain to Ravi Bopara which could likely prevent him from bowling in either of the two Tests. He is still expected to return to the side at No. 6 to replace the dropped Eoin Morgan, but in energy-sapping conditions the thought of having a better-than-part-time fifth-bowling option will be one that Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower will continue to ponder.”It is going be a difficult decision with Ravi not being able to bowl,” Anderson admitted. “It’s always difficult going in with just two seamers and two spinners and not having a fifth bowling option. Trotty and KP can bowl a few overs but the decision the selectors have to make is whether they want the fifth bowler to be someone who is more capable with the ball.”England do have a couple of ways to balance the side if they so wish; a Test debut for Samit Patel at No. 6 or a recall for Bresnan with Matt Prior moving up the order one place. The latter would be a positive statement to make at the start of the short series but remains a long shot with Strauss and Flower reluctant to play five frontline bowlers. Patel, meanwhile, showed form with the bat in the last warm-up game with 72 off 78 balls but in 18 overs during the first innings conceded four-and-a-half an over and in the second innings seven.The least likely route England seem like taking is dropping a spinner to accommodate a third seamer after the success of Monty Panesar in the UAE. “We started going with two seamers and two spinners in the UAE and it worked well for us. Hopefully we can continue with that form,” Anderson said. “It makes things slightly different for the quicks because in this heat the spells will be shorter than we’re used to. It puts more focus on us to be right on the money every ball.”

Warwickshire’s Championship hopes have been dealt another severe blow with the news that fast bowler Boyd Rankin is expected to miss the first six weeks of the season with a stress reaction in his right foot.Warwickshire were already resigned to be without allrounder Chris Woakes for the first six-to-eight weeks of the season after he sustained an injury to his ankle ligaments. Woakes and Rankin were expected to open the bowling for Warwickshire this season.Rankin, the tall Ireland international, has had a busy winter representing Ireland in the ICC’s World Cricket League and World Twenty20 qualifiers, as well as for England Lions in Bangladesh and an ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI in Dubai.Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, said: “It’s disappointing to lose Boyd just before the start of the season, but we do have a strong bowling attack and it’s a good opportunity for one of the younger seamers to make a big impression. We also have the benefit of not starting our County Championship campaign until next Thursday.”It’s extremely frustrating that we’ve lost Boyd to this kind of injury, but he has had an extremely large workload over recent months. We will need to manage this to ensure that it doesn’t become a regular occurrence.”Edited by Alan Gardner

Chris Watts, the ECB’s anti-corruption chief, has said a number of cricketers have come forward to report information linked to match-fixing. Players have taken advantage of the amnesty window for reporting incidents linked to corruption that was opened in the wake of the Mervyn Westfield trial.Westfield was sent to prison for four months in February, for accepting or obtaining corrupt payments as part of a spot-betting scam, prompting the ECB to allow players until the end of April to report any information they had previously witheld (it is an offence not to report approaches about corrupt activity).”It is a confidential reporting window but there have been some reports,” Watts told BBC Sport. “One of the reasons we put in the reporting window is to actually understand what is going on out there and what the vulnerabilities are. Once we understand that, then we can refine and fine-tune some of the preventive measures we’ve put in place.”One of the measures could be using Westfield to speak to other players about his experiences of spot-fixing. Westfield accepted £6,000 to concede 12 runs in an over playing for Essex against Durham in 2009 and could be used as part of the ECB’s education programme after his release.”He has got to be willing to do that. He did say publicly through his QC in his mitigation at his sentencing hearing that he wanted to give something back to cricket,” Watts told the . “He’s the one that has got to stand up and do it. He’s made those soundings on intent but whether they come to fruition is a matter for him.”He’s got the inside knowledge about his experience so to hear that would be very powerful. For other players to hear at first hand would be very powerful but he has got to want to do it himself.”Watts also indicated that for the first time off-field staff employed by the counties will be included in the education process, alongside players and support personnel such as coaches and physiotherapists.Watts took charge of the ECB’s new anti-corruption unit in November. He was previously a specialist in murder investigations at the Metropolitan Police. The anti-corruption unit is working with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) to root out corruption in English cricket. The PCA has asked every professional player to complete an online tutorial about preventing corruption; they hope overseas players will also complete the tutorial.But the problem reaches beyond English cricket. PCA chief executive, Angus Porter, recently expressed his concerns over the organisation of the Bangladesh Premier League and whether sufficient anti-corruption measures were in place.Edited by Alan Gardner

The ICC board has condemned the Guyanese government’s interference in the functioning of cricket in Guyana. In a statement released after its meeting in Dubai, the board reiterated its stand that governments should have no involvement in the running of cricket in any country.”The ICC Board was concerned to learn of the developments in Guyana where the government has dissolved the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and replaced it with an Interim Management Committee (IMC),” the release said. “In condemning this government intervention in the strongest possible terms, the ICC Board reaffirmed the principle of non-interference and that the only legitimate cricketing authority is that recognised by the West Indies Cricket Board.”The Guyanese government had dissolved the GCB due to a dispute over its July 2011 elections. The elections, in which Ramsay Ali became president, were boycotted by some of the board’s constituent members, one of which, the Berbice Cricket Board, took the GCB to court, claiming the new administration was not properly established. The Chief Justice recommended that “there may be immediate need for the minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest.”Following that ruling, Guyanese sports minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed the IMC, headed by ex-West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who is also a former WICB director and chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, to run cricket in Guyana. The WICB, however, refused to acknowledge the IMC and said the only authority they would recognise was the GCB. The impasse led to several problems, including Guyana nearly missing the Caribbean T20, the shifting of Guyana’s first four first-class matches of the season out of the country, and the possible shifting of West Indies’ Test against Australia in Providence scheduled for April.In its annual conference in June, the ICC had taken a firm stance on government interference in cricket and had given its member boards two years to become democratised and free from government and political interference in a bid to improve governance within the game. In keeping with that stance, the ICC board strongly opposed the Guyanese government’s actions.