India will play a three-match ODI series against South Africa in Ireland at the end of June, the Indian board has announced, despite originally planning to face Australia.Negotiations with Cricket Australia started earlier this year and comments from the BCCI suggested the contest was well advanced. Under the conditions of an agreement signed between Zee TV and the Indian Cricket Board, India have to play 25 offshore ODIs over a five-year period.”We were only negotiating with Cricket Australia initially for the offshore series,” the BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said. “We have now decided to have the series against South Africa at the end of June in Ireland.”Shah brushed aside reports that the India-Australia series had fallen through because Cricket Australia asked for an equal share of the revenue. “We were only having talks with Cricket Australia and nothing was finalised,” he said. “Now we have finalised the series against South Africa.”Earlier in the week, Cricket Australia denied there had been a slight cooling in relations between the two boards. Its spokesman, Peter Young, told the Daily Telegraph: “I don’t think the way we liaise with the Indian board has changed in the time I have been here.”The Irish Cricket Union won’t be too perturbed about which teams turn up. The series will provide lucrative staging rights, and Ireland may also provide warm-up opposition for the two sides in further full ODIs. The three-match series will be part of the build-up to India’s three-Test and seven-ODI tour of England, which starts in July.

Ireland’s former coach Adrian Birrell, who enjoyed so much success at the recent World Cup, has been selected to coach an all-star European line-up in a fixture against MCC at Lord’s on June 7.”It is a great honour for me to be selected in this role,” Birrell said. “Since arriving in Ireland in 2001, I have learned a lot about Associate cricket and I really think there is huge potential for development within the next tier of the international game.”The performances of Ireland and other supposedly weaker teams during the World Cup have shown that the gap between the best and the next best is closing, although there is still a long way to go.”This will be the second time that MCC have played this fixture. In 2006 MCC won by five wickets at VOC Cricket Club in Rotterdam

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.

Chris Dougherty struck a blistering hundred for Ireland, and Calum MacLeod took four wickets for Scotland, as the arch-rivals set up a must-win match in the European Under-19 World Cup qualifier in Belfast yesterday.Dougherty hit a fine 131 to help Ireland beat Denmark by 174 runs at Osborne Park while MacLeod picked up 4 for 36 at a crucial stage to bowl Scotland to a tense 26-run victory over Netherlands at Stormont.The results mean that Ireland and Scotland, with two wins each from as many games, will now meet on Thursday with the winner qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup next year.Dougherty stroked 16 fours in his 137-ball knock to steer Ireland to 301 for 8 after they had won the toss. Dougherty, who came into this tournament after scoring more than 600 runs in senior club cricket, featured in two big partnerships. Opening the innings with Paul Stirling (42 off 48 balls with five fours), he put on 94 runs, and 113 for the second wicket with Graham McDonnell.Ireland then reduced Denmark to 34 for 4, a position from which they couldn’t recover with James Hall picking up 4 for 22 as they were bowled out for 127.The tricky batting conditions at Osborne Park were matched at Stormont where Scotland held their nerve to beat Netherlands by 26 runs. Scotland’s 208 for 4 was compiled thanks to Ryan Flannigan’s dogged 56 and a late-order burst from MacLeod (21 off 12).Netherlands looked dead and buried when they slumped to 69 for 6 but Stijn Aleema and Tim Gruijters lifted the spirits with a seventh-wicket partnership of 69. MacLeod then returned for his second spell and took three quick wickets to end Netherlands’ innings for 182 in 48.4 overs. MacLeod finished as the pick of Scotland bowlers with 4 for 36 while Charles Legget took 2 for 39.

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.

A move to bring the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (ACUS) under the control of the ECB has been delayed after the ballot on the proposed formation of a new Association of Cricket Officials was deferred by General Council.The ECB has expressed its frustration at the delay and any decision on the ballot won’t now take place until the next meeting of General Council on October 27.A statement said: “The ECB believes that the recommendations of the working party are the best way to establish a single organisation to represent the interests of all officials, working closely with the ECB county boards, regions and the European Cricket Council (ECC), and with close links to the MCC.”The aim had been to conduct the ballot before November 1, which is when ACUS members are due to renew their subscriptions.

Shoaib Akthar said he made a mistake ‘in the heat of the moment” when he hit Mohammad Asif and has apologised to him and his Pakistan team-mates for the dressing-room scuffle that saw him being sent home from South Africa. He vowed to make a comeback and said he was hopeful of playing in next month’s home series against South Africa.”I’m human and made a mistake in the heat of the moment,” Shoaib told , an Indian news channel. “Asif said something to me that made me lose my temper. I apologised to him, but I was very upset.”He asked the media not to paint him as a villain and said, “I’m feeling bad that two minutes of temper have ruined my comeback. Sometime you do things in a fit of temper. I will explain the situation to everyone and apologise. I will address a press conference and apologise for my actions. I will try and make it back for the series against South Africa next month.”He likened the incident to the headbutt by the French footballer, Zinedine Zidane, in the final of the World Cup in Germany last year and said what happened was not intentional.

Magic ball
Abdur Rehman may have bowled many good deliveries in his career but probably none better than the one with which he dismissed AB de Villiers. Rehman came round the wicket and looped one that landed outside the leg stump. As de Villiers leant forward, hoping to play against the spin, the ball turned sharply and evaded his turning bat to peg back off stump. Unaware of what had happened, de Villiers lunged back towards the crease. As Rehman celebrated wildly, the dismissal brought to mind how Herschelle Gibbs was outdone by Shane Warne in the 1999 World Cup semi-final.Curse of the Twenty20s
As Mohammad Hafeez strode out to open the innings, a mammoth target of 424 welcomed him on the new scoreboard. The words patience and concentration would have been drilled into him in the dressing room. But as Dale Steyn fired in a wide delivery in the second over, Hafeez played a loose shot – something between a drive and a cut – and only managed to drag it back on to his stumps. Hafeez may still be in Twenty20 mode, as a lot of Pakistan batsmen are, but it was still an awful dab of the bat and completed a disappointing match for the allrounder.Seize of the day
Salman Butt, the other opener, had a point to prove in the match after failures in the recent past. He stuck around for 14 deliveries and was unlucky to be dismissed when an inside edge off his pad made its way to short leg. Hashim Amla, out of nowhere,yanked out his right hand and about managed to slide his fingers under the ball before it touched the grass. The decision was referred to the third umpire and was upheld.A change of gears and hands
With Paul Harris spinning the ball and troubling the batsmen, Graeme Smithdecided to bring himself into the attack to add pressure. He bowled a good first overas Younis Khan only managed a flick to fine leg. In Smith’s next, however,Younis targeted the third-man boundary. Down on one knee, Younis reverse-swept two consecutive over-pitched deliveries for fours and forced a change in the field. As Smith held back the line of the next delivery, Younis charged down for a mighty six over midwicket. Smith was not seen at the bowling crease again.

Viola Rowe has become the first woman in the Caribbean to act as match referee in a senior regional match, when she officiated in the KFC Cup game between Guyana and Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Providence Stadium.”My love for the game has caused me to get involved in match refereeing,” Rowe told the . “At this age, I can’t get involved in playing and I don’t really like umpiring. I’m comfortable with it [match refereeing].”An administrator at the Cyril Potter College of Education, Rowe first got involved as a match referee at club level, in 2003. And after successfully completing a course, she had further trials by officiating in a series of matches. Last year, she stood in matches during the TCL West Indies Under-19 competition.In a sport dominated by men, there are bound to be a few eyebrows raised when some see Rowe on the job, but she has gained favourable feedback.”It’s been very positive. Sometimes when I go out for the toss, the guys say they are honoured to have a female match referee and they are encouraged to do all the things that are right and not to get involved in any breaches,” she said.Rowe concedes that there are challenges as a match referee, but she is quickly getting on top of things and she hopes her involvement will encourage other women to get into the game.”As a woman in the field, sometimes you get a lot of support and at other times, you don’t get the support you need. Women need to be encouraged to get on board. We need to see a lot more women involved at administrative level, more coaches, more referees, more umpires.”

Group A

Test-discard Mohammad Sami took a career-best 8 for 39 as Sialkot were dismissed for 142 in their second-innings thus handing Karachi Whites a 209-run victory at the UBL Sports Complex. Sialkot, who were set 351 to win after a Khalid Latif century, were left limping overnight at 9 for 3 and failed to fare any better on the final morning as wickets fell regularly, bar a 54-run seventh-wicket partnership that took the visitors past the 100-mark. Sami’s pace and accuracy was evident from the fact that three of his victims were bowled, one was dismissed leg-before while three were caught behind.An Ammar Mahmood century and two healthy partnerships ensured hosts Faisalabad drew their match against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the Iqbal Stadium. Resuming on 75 for 2, the home side showed no urgency as healthy batting from both sides on the first three days had slid the match towards a draw. Mahmood scored his 106 off 226 deliveries Usman Arshad provided useful assistance with a 123-ball 50 as none of the WAPDA bowlers were able to make an impact on proceedings.Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) rounded off an impressive nine-wicket win over Hyderabad at theNiaz Stadium as the required target of 156 was easily surpassed thanks mainly to an 104-ball 87 by opener Asif Zakir. A fine 134 by Shahid Qambrani and late-order hitting propelled Hyderabad to 344 in their second-innings after a disastrous start saw them lose their first two wickets for no score. Sohail Khan picked his five second-innings wickets to finish with nine wickets in the match as SSGC needed just under 33 overs to claim nine points.Riding on a mammoth 514 for 9 in their first innings, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) stormed to an innings and 53 runs victory over Multan at the Gymkhana Ground. Requiring another 155 to make NBP bat again after resuming on their overnight 113 for 2, Multan were in trouble regularly as none of their batsmen were able to prolong their stay in the middle. Irfanuddin finished with three wickets while legspinner Mansoor Amjad claimed two to add to his brace in the previous innings.

Group B

Lahore Shalimar survived a few nervous moments towards the end of play as they narrowly held on for a draw against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the Gaddafi Stadium. Facing a massive deficit of 264 after the first-innings, Lahore were left struggling on 73 for 3 overnight and it was left to an unbeaten 129 from Suleman Khan that ensured safety for the home side. Facing 294 deliveries, Suleman shared useful partnerships with Mohammad Hussain and then the tail to ensure it was only bonus points that KRL won in the end.A much-improved performance by the Abbottabad batsmen while following on ensured a draw against hosts Quetta at the Bugti Stadium. Fawad Khan, Rahimbaz Khan and Adnan Raees all made amends for their earlier failures by stroking watchful 70s to ensure the 179-deficit was not only overhauled, but a stiff target could be set during closing stages if a collapse was to occur. However, yet more watchful batting towards the end ensured a panic-free close to the match as Quetta managed three bonus points.A late Rawalpindi collapse saw them lose their last six wickets for eight runs to hand Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) a 94-run victory at the KRL Ground. Placed well for a win at 212 for 4 while chasing 306 for victory, Rawalpindi succumbed to the pace of Imran Ali who finished with 6 for 41 in the innings and nine wickets for the match as Usman Saeed’s 50 and Adnan Mufti’s 45 failed to inspire the Rawalpindi late-order