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Shane Warne helped Hampshire resurrect their title ambitions with an 11-wicket match haul that earned them a 50-run victory over Durham. Despite the efforts of Michael Di Venuto, who top-scored for Durham in each innings, Warne and Chris Tremlett, the England fast bowler, stopped the visitors short in their chase of 254 at Southampton.Warne followed his first-innings 6 for 83 with 5 for 50 in the second, including four that were lbw, and chipped in with two catches as Tremlett ran through the tail. Di Venuto made 124 and 50 but his side could only manage 203 and missed the opportunity to jump to the top of the Division One table. Hampshire are sixth but only one win separates the top seven sides.Andy Bichel’s seventh first-class century gave him a memorable start to his county season. In his first appearance for the year, Bichel made a brisk 102 as Essex turned around their wobbly opening to reach 376 and take the lion’s share of the points in a draw with Middlesex at Lord’s.In ideal bowling conditions, Essex struggled to 6 for 97 before Bichel and James Middlebrook consolidated with a 161-run partnership. Bichel cleared the boundary three times in his 138-ball innings against an attack that boasted the international players Chaminda Vaas and Murali Kartik. Middlesex crumbled for 177 in reply – although Bichel grabbed only one wicket – and ploughed along to 6 for 360 in the second innings to force a draw.Brad Hodge finally transferred his one-day form to the first-class arena, scoring an unbeaten 156 in Lancashire’s win over Kent at Old Trafford. It was Hodge’s first time past fifty in his five games so far, but he was one of the leading run-scorers in the Friends Provident Trophy with 428 at 142.66. Stuart Law’s 58 helped as the home team pile on 5 for 451 declared, before they dismissed Kent for 272 and 190. Lancashire are fifth on the Division One table, meaning their season remains alive.In a draw between Warwickshire and Worcestershire at Edgbaston, Doug Bollinger finally got some reward with 4 for 102 and Phil Jaques made 34, but the star was Graeme Hick. Although his international career ended six years ago, Hick, 41, is still turning out for Worcestershire and his 49 took him to exactly 40,000 first-class runs, making him the 16th player to reach the milestone and the first since his old team-mate Graham Gooch.It took only three days for Somerset to beat Gloucestershire by an innings and 151 runs at Bristol, where the hero was another England old-timer, Andy Caddick, 38. Caddick took seven wickets in the first innings and five in the second to finish with match figures of 12 for 71 as the home side was routed for 121 and 138. Somerset’s impressive season continued and Cameron White (65) and Justin Langer (32) were among the contributors in their 7 for 410 declared, which kept them on top of the Division Two table.While it was Warne who dominated the four-day game for Hampshire it was his Australian team-mate Stuart Clark who earned them a limited-overs semi-final berth. Clark’s wonderful spell of 6 for 27 from ten overs – the best figures in the competition this season – restricted Surrey to 181 at Southampton. Hampshire made hard work of the win – Matthew Nicholson claimed 2 for 27 as they reached 7 for 182 with ten balls to spare – but will now face Warwickshire for a place in the decider.Langer finished his tournament strongly with 82 but it was a lone hand and Somerset went down to Essex at Chelmsford. At Trent Bridge, David Hussey made 51 and took 2 for 18 in Nottinghamshire’s win over Lancashire, while Jaques ended with a solid 69 for Worcestershire against Scotland at Worcester.

On a day in which the weather played a major role, both rival captains credited the momentum handed to Sri Lanka’s run chase by their openers as key to a first win in the CB Series.Mahela Jayawardene felt the biggest positive was the way his batsmen played and showed character in contrast to their insipid display last week in Sydney against Australia, something the side was still trying to forget. “We couldn’t get the start in Sydney,” he said after Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket win in Canberra. “It’s good we got a good start and we are getting back into the rhythm.”The reason behind Jayawardene’s confidence lay in his team’s well-planned approach. “We calculated as well, kept wickets and Sanath [Jayasuriya] gave us a good beginning”, he said. In a brief but brutal attack Jayasuriya took Sreesanth to the cleaners, clouting 34 runs in the fast bowler’s first two overs. India may have had reason to feel robbed by Messrs Duckworth & Lewis, whose ruling set Sri Lanka a revised target of 154 from 21 overs.Jayawardene had plenty of praise for Tillakaratne Dilshan who, in some doubt going into this game as he was coming off a bout of infection, scored an unbeaten 62 from 59 balls to seal victory. Dilshan had never opened the innings at this level but Jayawardene said the decision had a lot to do with his experience as an opener in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. “When we realised it was a shortened game and the track was good we wanted an extra bowler and Dilshan has batted in domestic cricket and they way he carried his innings made it a good choice.”As for the role the weather played, Jayawardene didn’t look much into it. “You can’t control what happened. If we would’ve got a full game things would have been different”, he said, pointing out that Sri Lanka might even have got the original target of 195 set in 29 overs.Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s captain, gave full credit to Sri Lanka’s batsmen for taking the game away from India but did blame the changed circumstances for his team’s misfortunes. “The approach changes a lot when all of a sudden it became an almost 20-over game. So a total of 154 became nothing special then,” Dhoni said.Dhoni agreed that the first part of Sri Lanka’s innings was the turning point and for which his side could hardly find any answers. “The kind of start they got it was really amazing. We couldn’t’ do anything.” Dhoni said, refraining from blaming his fast bowlers. “Sreesanth was bowling in the right areas. Sanath and Dilshan batted really well. Yes, he [Sreesanth] was bit down the way Sanath had hit him.”Adding to India’s woes was the abysmal extras count, which read 19 including 10 wides and three no-balls. Without putting his finger on where his bowlers failed Dhoni admitted it could be a concern if not checked in time. “Every extra run hurts. It’s always better not to give any extras,” he said. “That’s a concern but it doesn’t usually happen. It might have been an off day for them, perhaps.”After an abandoned game and a loss, Sri Lanka’s victory puts them back in the fray with seven points, one behind Australia and two behind India. But both captains agreed that the with amount of matches each team plays in the CB Series everyone has a chance to recover from a setback.

Though the series opener at Sophia Gardens was washed out, Ian Bell believes England are capable of defeating Pakistan in the five-match contest. Bell’s 88 – which he termed his best one-day innings – was the sole bright spot out of England’s dismal 202, and he was determined to cement his place during a busy season.”I’m not too sure there’s relief, we were pretty positive about going out there and getting a few wickets,” Bell told reporters. “It’s nice to stop the losses but it’s not the way we wanted to stop the defeats. We’ll be excited to get to Lord’s as we believe we can beat Pakistan in this series.”With a revised target of 159 from 32 overs, Pakistan were 46 for 1 after seven overs before heavy rain forced the umpires to call the match off. Discounting a win over Ireland, a non-Test side, England have lost eight consecutive one-day internationals.Bell ranked his 88 as his best effort in ODIs as he continued his recent Test form. “I tried to carry over my form from the Test matches [in which he scored three back-to-back hundreds],” he said. “I also felt pretty good in the nets and just wanted to carry on. That was the best I’ve played in one-day cricket for England. It was just the fact that I looked to be really positive. Number three is where I normally bat for Warwickshire, I’m happiest at three in one-day cricket. It gives me that opportunity to get myself in and gradually score quicker and quicker.”Following October’s Champions Trophy in India, England will participate in the VB Series in Australia before the World Cup in March.

India will not host a tri-series featuring West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2007 as originally planned, and will instead play separate bilateral series against both teams. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that India would play a maximum of eight to ten one-dayers in January as a build-up to the World Cup.The new plans were discussed when Zorol Barthley, chief cricket operations officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), met with BCCI officials during his visit to Mumbai. Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, confirmed the new proposal and reasoned that the change in plan was to ensure that India gained as much match practice as possible before the World Cup began in March.”It is more a build-up, so the more matches we play the better it will be before the World Cup”, Shah told . “So we are pressing for a bilateral series.”India’s tour of South Africa concludes in early January, while Sri Lanka return from New Zealand in the second week of January. West Indies do not have any international commitments scheduled for that period, so it is likely that the bilateral contests will be held in mid-January.

Ireland 279 for 3 (Carroll 100, J Bray 89, E Morgan 43) beat Eastern Province XI 219 (Wessels 62, J Smuts 60, T Johnston 4-34, D Langford-Smith 3-39) by 60 runsTwenty-three-year-old Dublin postman Kenny Carroll has given Irish coach Adrian Birrell a selection headache, after the Railway Union opening bat scored a marvellous century in a 60-run win over Eastern Province.The batting disappointment of yesterday was quickly erased as Carroll and Jeremy Bray shared an unbeaten opening stand of 183 in just 34 overs, before both batsmen retired to give the others practice ahead of the World League which gets under way on Monday. Carroll struck 13 fours and one six in his score of 100, while Bray was just a little slower, taking 117 deliveries for his 89, which included 12 fours.The only batsman to be dismissed was Eoin Morgan of Middlesex, who looked in supreme touch in his knock of 43 off just 30 balls. He struck three sixes and the same number of fours being being caught off the bowling of Newton. Northants new signing Niall O’ Brien scored 24 not out, while Andrew White also finished unbeaten on 9, as the Irish racked up a formidable 279 for 3 in their 50 overs.However, Eastern Province set about the total in positive fashion, and thanks to a 104 run stand for the second wicket between Jan Smuts (60), and Rikki Wessels (62), were well placed at 157 for 1 in the 30th over. Ireland’s most capped player, Kyle McCallan made the decisive breakthrough, having Smuts caught by Andy White at backward square leg. When skipper Trent Johnston then had Wessels caught at midwicket, again by White, in the next over, it sparked a dramatic collapse.Johnston took 4 for 34, while Dave Langford-Smith came back well to finish with 3 for 39. The other wicket takers were Boyd Rankin, 2 for 37, and McCallan, 1 for 35 in his 10-over spell. Easter Province finished on 219 all out in the 48th over, giving the Irish a welcome win.Coach Adrian Birrell was delighted with the performance, “We batted superbly, with everyone taking advantage of the fantastic batting conditions on offer. Carroll continues to impress, and I’m delighted for him. It’s the result of hard work put in over the last few years, and his time at the ICC Training Camp has taken his game to a completely new level. It gives me plenty of options both at the top and in the middle of the order.”He also had special praise for both Johnston and McCallan. ” The two guys bowled extremely well at a time when Eastern Province looked like they were getting on top. They tightened things up, applied the pressure, and got their rewards as the run rate increased. The fielding has been sharp, and it’s something I’ve worked on a lot over the winter. I’m hoping for more of the same in the day/night game tomorrow.”

Only the never-see-come-see variety of West Indian fans would be depressed this morning.The rest, who have seen enough to operate on the principle of hoping for the best but fearing the worst, will just be disappointed that the considerable high of whipping South Africa in the semi-finals last Thursday could be followed so soon by such an anti-climactic performance against the revenge-minded Australians.To indulge in all sorts of long-winded analysis of the eight-wicket defeat in the Champions Trophy final is really futile. What is there to analyse?Some will lament that the Caribbean side performed below par when it really mattered, as against the same opponents in the DLF Cup final six weeks earlier in Kuala Lumpur.If so, then what is par for this team? The evidence of the tournament in India suggests that it is somewhere between 80 (vs Sri Lanka) and 272 (vs England). So being bundled out for 138, even after racing to 49 without loss off five overs, doesn’t qualify as a major shock. Remember the nine for 29 capitulation against Ricky Ponting’s side in the Malaysian capital, or the scramble to defeat India in the final over of this tournament, or even the little stumble at the end of the rousing triumph over the South Africans?Consistency, people, consistency. This is the elusive quality that the West Indies under Brian Lara are still struggling to achieve, and, as the upcoming three-Test series in Pakistan will confirm, the inability, as yet, to put together a succession of good performances or sustain pressure and maintain concentration for a protracted period means the team will remain potentially dangerous but practically so up-and-down that a grand resurgence is still some way off.Lamenting over the decision to exclude Dwayne Smith in preference for Corey Collymore or Lara’s decision to bat first are mere diversions from the fundamental challenge: getting players who are ever-so-slowly showing signs of improvement in their overall attitude to the game to accelerate that rate of progress so that, more often than not, they will have the character and discipline to battle tougher foes, testing pitches and pressure-cooker situations.

Let us not, in the rush to find reasons why things went so very wrong yesterday, ignore the blinding reality that Australia are, and have been the best team in the world for the better part of a decade. In the last two World Cup finals against Pakistan and India, they obliterated the opposition with clinically efficient cricket.Having finally made it into the Champions Trophy final at the fifth attempt, they were never going to just cave in, never mind how deceptively ominous the early assault from Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul was.It takes more than a couple expensive overs to throw Glenn McGrath off his stride, and when emerging players like Nathan Bracken and Shane Watson are already so well equipped to fill the occasional breach, Australians can be reasonably secure that, even if they are not always at the top of the tree, they won’t endure a decline as swift or as disheartening as the recent West Indian experience anytime in the forseeable future.Whether or not the regional side has made any meaningful progress along the way to upsetting the odds by reaching the Champions Trophy final will only be known in the coming days, weeks and months.After nine weeks of focusing entirely on the shorter form of the game, they now must change tact and tactics with remarkable speed going into the first Test against the Pakistanis at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from November 11. With only a two-day match in that northern city on November 8 and 9 to prepare for the more attritional duel, the danger is that they will be under-prepared, mentally more than technically, and find themselves up against it shortly after ball one.But adversity has been a common denominator for the West Indies in Test cricket for they have not won a series anywhere in the world for two and a half years. In fact, their last Test match win away from home against a team ranked above them was, incredibly, more than six years ago against England in Birmingham.For the third time, however, a strong showing in the Champions Trophy lures fans into believing that better days are coming. On the first two occasions, the West Indies destabilised their own encouraging foundation to leave the team in even greater despair.Beaten by South Africa in the final of the inaugural tournament in Bangladesh in 1998, a subsequent standoff led by Lara and then vice-captain Carl Hooper prior to the historic first full tour of South Africa proved so destructive that the visitors were an embarrassment to their fans back home and the millions of non-white South Africans who had taken heart through the dark era of apartheid in the glorious deeds of the men from the Caribbean.Two years ago, the dramatic two-wicket victory over England in the final at The Oval offered another springboard to redemption. But the West Indies players and administrators responded with a belly-flop into an empty pool as the protracted dispute over team sponsorship proved both debilitating and distressing for the next 18 months.In that context, should the squad touch down in Lahore today with everyone ready and willing to play, that in itself will be a step forward.Even after reaching the final in Mumbai, we must still be grateful for small mercies.

Alastair Cook has confirmed that Chris Woakes will replace the injured James Anderson and that Alex Hales will make his debut in the Boxing Day Test in Durban.Cook backed Woakes to prove how much he has developed as a cricketer. While accepting the loss of Anderson was “huge,” Cook said that Woakes’s selection would strengthen the batting and that he had shown he was well equipped to deal with the pressure of international cricket.”He’s ready to go now,” Cook said. “He’s learned his trade and it’s about him delivering now on the big stage for England.”He can do it. I know it a Twenty20 game, but that 40-odd he got in Sharjah under pressure to see his side home… he does it for Warwickshire a lot. He’s desperate to be given opportunities.”It’s been quite hard for him to get in the side because of the way that Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad have remained so fit and how long they’ve been around. This is a great opportunity and he’s a really good cricketer.”Hales, meanwhile, is set to become Cook’s eighth opening partner in Tests since the retirement of Andrew Strauss after the 2012 series against South Africa. Instead of letting the occasion get to him, Cook has urged Hales to play his natural game as England seek to achieve “something very special” in the coming weeks.Hales had impressed as a limited-overs opening batsman but, after starting the 2015 County Championship with some high scores, he convinced the selectors that he had the skills required for the longer format. Hales made 236 against Yorkshire, the champions, in April, and hit 141 against Hampshire a week later. Another big century in August – 189 against Warwickshire – reiterated that he was ready for Tests.”It’s absolutely vital he plays the way he plays for Nottinghamshire,” Cook said. “One of the biggest mistakes you can do as an international player is to think you have to play a different way.”The reason he got selected was for the way he plays and the big hundreds when he gets in. Certainly at the start of last year, that made everyone sit up and take notice of him. You can’t change the way he plays, he’s just got to be true to himself and that will be good enough.”Cook also suggested that the selectors will show some patience with Hales in the knowledge that he makes his debut against a top-quality seam attack and that it may take time to find his feet at this level. Adam Lyth and Sam Robson were given seven Tests when they had an opportunity to open with Cook. Both batsmen made centuries in their second Tests to ensure they won an extended run.Alex Hales is all set to become Alastair Cook’s eighth opening partner in Tests since the retirement Andrew Strauss•Getty Images

“Always at the top of the order against the new ball and world-class attacks, you’re going to have low scores,” Cook said. “So it’s about how you handle that and, when you’re in, make sure you cash in and go big to compensate.”Alex isn’t really under pressure. No more than myself or any of the guys; that’s what happens when you play Test cricket.”When you’re picked to make your debut for England it’s a great five days. It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work not just by yourself but all the commitment the family have made, the coaches, your friends…it’s a big occasion for a huge number of people.”But he’s ready to play. He’s earned his selection and been around the squad in the UAE. He knows what it’s about, he’s got a T20 international hundred and an ODI hundred. He can certainly play and I hope he’s looking forward to the challenge, showing people what he can do rather than just being another opener off the rank.”Cook also reflected on a remarkable year from a personal perspective. This time 12 months ago, he was reeling having been sacked from the England ODI captaincy. From a situation where he was looking forward to leading the side in the World Cup, he suddenly realised he would not be at the tournament.Although he admitted that 2014 “wasn’t a particularly fun Christmas,” he has now accepted that the setback was a blessing in disguise and has allowed him the time and clarity of thought required to rediscover his best form in Test cricket. He goes into the final Test of the year having already scored more runs in a calendar year than any other England captain, and requiring 125 more to overtake the England record for a batsman (1,481), set by Michael Vaughan in 2002.”In hindsight, it gave me two months to get away from the game,” Cook said of the decision to relieve him of the ODI captaincy. “It gave me time to practice away from pressure for a period of time and I got to look at my Test-match game as a whole. Sometimes you do need to step out of the bubble and reassess what you need to do.”And the benefit of that is that I scored a few runs this year. It’s been good from a personal point of view. It wasn’t a particularly fun Christmas last year but hopefully this year will be slightly different.”South Africa are a good side. I don’t know if this is a good time to play them: they’re still ranked No. 1 in the world and they’re tough to beat at home. You can’t read too much into both sides’ previous tours because conditions are so different. And always beware a wounded animal.”The bookmakers make us underdogs but we were underdogs against Australia. And the conditions aren’t too dissimilar to England. Playing four seamers and a spinner seems to have worked well for us and we’re comfortable playing with that balance of the side. We could do something very special.”But that’s just talk isn’t it? The guys are ready to test themselves against the best in their backyard. This side like being the underdogs and likes throwing a few punches.”

With the four places in the World Cup Qualifier already allocated, there was only pride to play for on the final day of the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia.In the final, openers Arshad Ali and Mohammad Iqbal scored centuries to steer UAE to a comfortable 67-run victory over Oman, the only affiliate in the competition, at the Wanderers Cricket Ground. Former captain Ali scored 133 while Iqbal hammered 111 as UAE posted 347 for 8 after being put into bat. Oman fought gallantly but lost wickets at crucial stages before being bowled out for 280 with more than six overs to spare.Ali and Iqbal laid the foundation for a mammoth total when they put on 200 for the first wicket in 29 overs. Ali, later adjudged Man of the Match, perished in the last over of the innings after scoring 133 off 145 balls, included 10 fours and two sixes. It was Ali’s second century of the week as he finished the tournament with 443 run from five matches. Only Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman, with 588 runs from one more match, as well as ten wickets, scored more.Oman made a valiant effort to protect their unbeaten record in the competition but UAE backed up their impressive batting display with some sharp fielding and accurate bowling. Left-arm spinner Khurram Khan bowled with a lot of variation to grab 3 for 42 while pace duo of Amjad Javed and Javed Ismail shared four wickets between them to keep Oman’s progress in check.In the third/fourth-place play-off at the United Cricket Ground, Namibia ended on a high with a four-wicket win over Denmark. Snyman was once again the star of Namibia’s victory as he scored yet another blistering innings. His 71 came off 68 balls and included eight boundaries and two sixes. However, Dawid Botha won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 58 as Namibia overtook the target of 221 with more than eight overs and four wickets to spare.In the fifth-six play-off between two sides already relegated, Uganda thrashed Argentina by 181 runs at the Centre for Cricket Development. Uganda’s opener Joel Olweny hit a superb century and put on 176 runs for the third wicket with Nand Patel to help Uganda to 335 for 7. Olweny struck 17 boundaries in his 130-ball innings while Patel scored an 82-ball 79 with nine fours and a six. Kenneth Kamyuka hit hard in the closing overs, clobbering six sixes and two fours in his 20-ball 57. The target proved to be too stiff for the Argentinians who were bowled out for 154 despite Donald Forrester hitting 71 from 80 balls with five boundaries. Frank Nsubuga was the pick of Uganda bowlers with 4 for 39 while Kamyuka bagged 3 for 44.By virtue of a top-four finish, UAE, Oman, Namibia and Denmark qualified for the World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) while Uganda and Argentina were relegated to Division Three. However, they will have a second chance to book a place in the Qualifier when the WCL Division 3 is staged in January 2009.

Maria Fahey, who has been included among the New Zealand probables for the 2009 Women’s World Cup, hopes she will overcome the chronic fatigue she was diagnosed with last year and make it to the tournament in Australia.”I know I will be behind the other girls in terms of fitness and preparation, but I really want to give it a go,” Fahey told the , a Christchurch-based daily. After New Zealand’s tour of Australia in July 2007, Fahey contracted flu and was later diagnosed with chronic fatigue, which forced her to miss the tour to England, the home series against the same opposition and the Rose Bowl Series against Australia.Watching from the sidelines was hard for Fahey, who was New Zealand’s regular opener. “But I did go and watch a couple of the games at Lincoln and found it put quite a different perspective on things.”Fahey is cautious not to over-exert herself now that she has been named in the squad. “I’m just starting to get back into doing a little training, but it’s only very light. But I really wanted to have a goal like the World Cup to aim for instead of just rolling over and giving in.”

ScorecardAfter two days where the sides were evenly balanced, South Africa A took charge on the third day at Harare Sports Club to move within 88 runs of beating Zimbabwe Select. Only a battling 67 from Stuart Matsikenyeri meant that the match went into a fourth day.Zimbabwe resumed on 17 for 0, still 21 runs in arrears, but were in trouble as early as the fourth over when Hamilton Masakadza was run out by a direct hit from Johan Botha pushing for a single that was never on. When Tino Mawoyo, whose place must now be in doubt, fell leg-before to Andre Nel in the next over, it was always going to be backs-against-the-wall cricket.The pace was funereal on a slow pitch – 44 runs came from the first 30 overs – and wickets tumbled steadily. The killer blow was delivered just after lunch when Andrew Hall had the in-form Tatenda Taibu caught behind to reduce Zimbabwe to 61 for 4, and that became 78 for 7 as Paul Harris snuffled two wickets.Matsikenyeri found some support from Gary Brent, with who he added 50 for the eighth wicket – and Tawanda Mupariwa – 41 for the ninth – but in the end he was left high and dry.Set 132 to win, South Africa made a solid, if unspectacular, start although Mupariwa gave Zimbabwe a tiny glimmer of hope when he removed Alviro Peterson, caught at point, three overs from the close.