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England v Zimbabwe, 2nd Test, Chester-le-Street, Day 3Congratulations to Riverside for its maiden Test match. A pity it did not last longer, but trigger-happy umpires had something to do with that. The crowd provided a good atmosphere, apart from the idiotic and irresponsible hurling of rubbish into the air during its Mexican waves.Dion Ebrahim has been given a long run in the Zimbabwean team without too much to show for it at times – certainly more than those enjoyed by more experienced players such as Craig Wishart, Gavin Rennie and Trevor Gripper. His one-day record, except against Bangladesh, is still poor, but he has played some gritty Test innings and might well have a Test century to his credit had he not been sawn off in the nineties in India just over a year ago.And sawn off he was again, twice, adjudged lbw, at the Riverside. An inside-edge in the first innings did not spare him from David Orchard’s finger; in the second, the trigger-happy Darrell Hair failed to appreciate that the ball was missing leg stump. Both errors were clear on television.But at least in the second innings Ebrahim had the opportunity to display his fighting skills with a gritty 55. Zimbabwe, their morale shattered by their first-innings collapse, had to follow-on and needed somebody to lay anchor and yet keep the score moving at the same time. Ebrahim did both superbly.He has suffered in the past from the jibes of other Zimbabweans who have resented the favouritism shown him by the selectors. One of the nicest of men, he deserved better than that and not even his detractors could claim it was his fault. Now, hopefully, he can show enough form and consistency in the future to justify his place.Grant Flower has had a disappointing Test series in England again, with only 71 runs in eight completed innings in the country. He had a good decision from Hair, given not out to an appeal for a catch at the wicket off his forearm, but next ball played a bad, diagonal-bat shot outside off stump to drag the ball on to his wicket.Just to emphasise Zimbabwe’s appalling fortunes, Heath Streak fell victim to cricket’s most unfair law: run out backing up exactly as he should have done, and then finding the bowler fortuitously knocking a straight drive – which he should have caught – on to the stumps at the bowler’s end. Is there nobody else out there who sees this as a law that needs to be changed? There is very rarely any doubt as to whether the knock-on by the bowler is intentional or not.It was good to see another fine second innings from Travis Friend. Now he must learn to do it first time round, under pressure. The same can be said for most of the team.As for the umpiring, it didn’t change the result, but it certainly shortened the match and destroyed it as a contest. Even the most respected members of the ICC elite panel have had bad matches. How much longer are we going to wait for the ICC to bite the bullet and allow technology to assist in eliminating avoidable errors?

NOTTINGHAM, England – Australian captain Steve Waugh is next to nochance of playing the fourth Ashes cricket Test against England atHeadingley from August 16.Waugh retired hurt for one after facing only one ball in Australia’sseven-wicket win today at Trent Bridge which saw the tourists take anunbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.Waugh suffered a calf injury while attempting a single and a scan laterrevealed a tear.The Australian captain was on crutches when he returned to the team’scelebrations in the dressing room.It is understood Waugh will not be available for the next Test asAustralia continues its march towards a 5-0 series clean sweep.

Sheffield Collegiate secured their first National title a day after winning the Yorkshire Premier League. The final of the National Club Championship was being played at the Walker Trust Ground, home of Southgate Cricket Club after originally being abandoned at Lord’s.The ground had been swamped by two and half inches of rain on Friday but on winning the toss, Sheffield Collegiate captain Ed McKenna had no hesitation in batting. Collegiate struggled against some accurate bowling by Roger Myall and Paul Hacker. Hacker bowled through for 0 for 11 from his allotted 9 overs and support bowlers Jon Lord, Richard Halsall and Richard Smith kept the pressure on, all bowling tightly.Nick Gaywood scored an uncharacteristic 30 in 84 balls before Tasker brought some impetus to the innings. Myall returned to help mop up the tail, bowling Tasker for 31 (from 38 balls) and then dismissing John Hespe as Collegiate’s last four wickets fell for just five runs and Myall finished with 3 for 25 from his 9 overs.Eastbourne’s innings started disastrously, losing Richard Halsall for 0 in the second over. The first four batsmen were dismissed for just 13 runs with two wickets a piece from Richard Kettleborough (former Middlesex and Yorkshire) and Andy Wylie.They never really recovered and spinners John Hespe (2 for 19) and Mark Boocock (1 for 25) maintained the stranglehold as wickets continued to fall regularly. Wylie returned to trap last man hacker lbw and Eastbourne were bowled out for just 75 in 34.3 overs.John Carr, ECB’s Director of Cricket Operations presented the trophy and a cheque for £3,000 to wining Captain Ed McKenna with Paul Stevens picking up a cheque for £1,000 as runners-up. Andy Wylie was named Man of the Match for his bowling performance of 3 for 9 in 8.3 overs.

ScorecardTymal Mills was again in the wickets with 3 for 34•Getty Images

Luke Wright took his run-total in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast to 522 with an unbeaten 92 as Sussex Sharks strengthened their bid for a quarter-final place with an eight-wicket win over Glamorgan at Hove.Sussex made short work of a target of 165, reaching it when George Bailey hit the third six of the 15th over from Dean Cosker to seal only their second home win in the South Group but one which should guarantee a top-four finish with two games still to go.Glamorgan’s total of 164 for 7 looked competitive at halfway as they chased a third successive away victory but Wright and Chris Nash produced another punishing stand against them to set up victory.Three weeks ago in Cardiff they put on 116 but went one better this time, scoring 117 in 69 balls with Nash contributing 50 off 32 balls to the third-highest first-wicket stand in Sussex’s T20 history.

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Sussex are in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. By contrast, Glamorgan are likely to be scrapping hard for their place after this defeat. It could be argued that Sussex and Glamorgan – two well-rounded, well-drilled teams are similar in style and substance. The difference, it could also be argued, is Luke Wright. With experience playing in the BBL and IPL Wright is perhaps the best and most experienced player in England not in the T20 international team. His past five scores this season are 57*, 111*, 47, 12, 92* and such rare international quality hiding within the domestic circuit is invaluable.

Nash hit seven boundaries and initially took the initiative but once Wright had reached his half-century he went into overdrive, savagely attacking the Glamorgan spinners as he hit Andrew Salter’s off-breaks for successive sixes before taking three maximums of slow left-armer Cosker. It was left to Bailey to hit the winning runs with the eighth six of the Sussex innings.It was the fifth successive game where the side batting second at Hove had won and Glamorgan will feel that their total was at least 20 runs short.They lost opener Jacques Rudolph in the fifth over when left-armer Chris Liddle trimmed his off stump and thereafter Glamorgan needed a solid unbeaten knock of 63 from 46 balls from Ben Wright to hold their innings together.Liddle and leg-spinner Will Beer bowled with commendable control but the fireworks were provided by left-armer Tymal Mills, who finished with 3 for 34 and unsettled all the Glamorgan batsmen with his searing pace.Mills picked up a wicket in his first over when Colin Ingram gloved down the leg side and he returned to the attack to knock back Graham Wagg’s middle stump and have David Lloyd caught off a leading edge.Glamorgan only got some momentum when Craig Meschede clubbed 20 off an over from Matt Machan, including two sixes, and well though Wright batted in difficult circumstances he never found the tempo that Luke Wright and Nash produced later in the contest.

The atrocious summer weather has forced Derbyshire to switch their Chesterfield Festival matches at Queen’s Park next week to their home ground.The persistent heavy rain has left the pitch and the rest of the ground saturated and, even if there is no further rain, the prospect of play next week is minimal. Consequently, both Derbyshire’s Championship match against Somerset, and their Pro40 game against Kent, will now take place at the County Ground.”This is obviously a hugely disappointing decision to have to make but it is the right one,” Tom Sears, Derbyshire’s chief executive said. “Both myself and officials from the council inspected the ground and park this morning and there is next to no chance of playing any cricket at Queen’s Park later this week, even it the weather remains dry.”The forecast is not good and with the outfield already sodden we have no alternative but to postpone the festival and transfer the fixtures to Derby,” he said. “I am confident we will be back at Queen’s Park in August or early September and the festival will repeat last year’s enormous success.”

Dean Jones, who has been sacked by Ten Sports after he was caught on live television referring to Hashim Amla as “terrorist”, made the remark in jest to fellow commentators unaware that the feed was live, Cricinfo has learned.While there is unanimity in the commentators’ fraternity that Jones had to go after being heard making such a politically insensitive remark, Jones did not say it on live television, or at least did not think he was doing so.”It was unfortunate,” a member of the production team said. “It was daft of Jones to say what he did. But to be honest, it was said as bit of a joke, for his fellow commentators. It was a joke in poor taste, but he thought it was during a break.”It was an ad-break on Ten Sports, but to Jones’s misfortune the moment Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed was shown on SuperSport, who were beaming the match in South Africa. And Jones said: “The terrorist has got another wicket”.A contrite Jones, who will reportedly keep his commentary position on Australian radio, described his moment of madness to reporters after landing in his hometown of Melbourne. “I waited four or five seconds and I just turned around and made a stupid, ridiculous off-the-wall comment that unfortunately was picked up in the background and, as television people always know, the microphone is always live,” Jones said. “There was only one country in the world that didn’t take the ad break live and that was South Africa. It was picked up by a few viewers.”Jones, 45, said he had written a full-page apology to Amla and the South African team, as well as saying sorry to the bowler directly. “I got hold of Hashim Amla and I spoke to him for a certain amount of time,” he said. “I gave him my sincerest apologies and he was gracious enough to accept it. He said ‘I hope you get through this ugly situation that you are going through’.””We have a zero tolerance policy for any expression of racial stereotyping and prejudice and condemn in the strongest possible terms the comments made by Mr Jones,” Ten Sports said in an apologetic media release. “We are reviewing our systems to ensure that such offensive and insensitive remarks do not happen again.”Boundary Breakers, the sports marketing company representing Amla’s business interests, has condemned the stereotyping. “While it acknowledges Jones’s apology and remorse at making these comments, Boundary Breakers also commends television company “10 Sport” [sic] for acting swiftly in sacking Jones from further commentating duties during the Test and one-day series,” the company said in a media release.

India will be happy to get moving in the tri-series with a facile win against Zimbabwe though from our Test experience here, the wicket seems to have slowed down. Our guys call Harare a slower version of the Gabba where there is little assistance and movement for the bowlers. It is a kind of pitch where those who swing the ball stand a better chance of succeeding than purely seam bowlers.That makes us look forward to the next game against India, a side we would most probably meet in the finals. Their fast bowlers have done exceptionally well as a unit and it is something similar to what’s happening with us in New Zealand. James Franklin swings it well and we have a nice balance in our pace department. Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar, give the Indians a good crop of impressive young bowlers. They can be exceptionally dangerous in these circumstances and I have a feeling whoever bowls better and tighter, will hold the edge.Purely from a personal point of view, I would like to push home the advantage I have gained over the Indians from the first game. My job is to try and do better than the Indians, to outperform the likes of Nehra, Pathan and Agarkar. It’s a challenge that I look forward to.In the game against India at Bulawayo, we knew from the start that taking good care of the top three Indian batsmen, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, could keep them under pressure. We realised that coming from low wickets of the sub-continent, they could find it difficult to adjust to these conditions. So bowling short-pitched deliveries was the obvious choice. We definitely tried to do it against Ganguly, as well as against Sehwag who can be a devastating batsman if he is afforded the width. It is the same when the ball is pitched up to him.It feels good that success is coming to me with the new ball for in the Test matches against Zimbabwe, I bowled a fair deal with the older ball. In a way it was good that I played Tests before the one-dayers for it upped my confidence and improved my rhythm. I am able to swing it a lot more and that is most welcome. It has been the kind of return I have been hoping for in the international arena. There are a lot of things which I am now doing differently, including my action and approach to the game. No longer do I strive to be a tearaway bowler. I am a lot smarter bowler who can bowl reasonably fast when I want to but I don’t need to do it all the time.Previously I was an emotional bowler who would just be fired up with the ball in his hand and try to bowl as hard as I could. Sustaining such methods throughout was tough to follow up and the harder I tried, the more I opened myself to injury. Now I am smarter and can switch to speed because my energy levels are better spaced. It is also a good protection against injury. I have mixed emotions to New Zealand’s light Test schedule in the next few months. The run of one-day internationals could allow me to settle into a nice groove and when it is time for Tests against West Indies and South Africa next year, I could be better prepared. Every cricketer looks forward to Tests and I am no different. However for a bowler returning from injury, it is important he is not over-bowled all too quickly. Frankly, I am just glad to be back on the field.It would be all too easy and stereotype for me to declare that I hate batsmen and perhaps blood on the pitch is not too bad an idea. But that’s not the truth and besides, Indians and Zimbabweans are truly very nice fellows. It is just that I am very competitive with the ball in my hand and try to do as well as I can for my team.

Sri Lanka Cricket has officially launched the bid process for the sale ofits broadcasting and sponsorship rights for a four-year period starting inJan 2005. Prospective broadcasters and rights brokers must submit formalbids by July 22.Taj Television, the Dubai-based satellite broadcaster which has held SriLankan cricket rights since October 2001, is the early frontrunner in thebid process, having already indicated a willingness to table a record offer,said to be close to USD $ 35 million according to board sources.But Taj Television is also likely to face stiff competition, especially fromSony Max and ESPN Star, the other two Asian cricket broadcasters, becausethe four-year period will include three India visits, for one-day tri-seriesin 2005 and 2006 as well as a full tour in 2008.A three-year rights offer in 2003 flopped because Sri Lanka were unable toconfirm any India tours. The board was forced to abandon the sale untilIndia’s involvement had been secured. England and Australia, the other twomajor money-spinners in the cricket rights world, are also scheduled to tourSri Lanka during the contract period.Sri Lanka Cricket is hopeful that the sale of the rights will safeguard itsfinancial future after a difficult two years. The board faced possibleinsolvency after WSG Nimbus, a sports rights company, successfully sued theboard for unlawfully cancelling its contract in 2001. The board faces apossible US$ 6 million payout.

For the last two or three seasons, Zimbabwe’s pace attack has consisted of Heath Streak – when fit – and two or three ineffective back-up seamers who seem to bowl at least two four-balls every over and have about as much chance of earning a wicket as Saddam Hussain has of winning the Nobel Peace Prize.Perhaps this is rather harsh, but a look at many of the opposition totals during that time shows clearly the weakness of the Zimbabwean `attack’ – South Africa 600 for three in five sessions in Harare is one example. But now two young players in Andy Blignaut and Douglas Hondo are progressing beyond the cannon-fodder stage to take their place alongside their captain as bowlers of genuine international quality.Douggie Hondo in particular has started his first tour of England with a bang. He took a bagful of wickets against the British Universities in the first match and then, against Worcestershire, three in one over to turn the course of the innings.Douggie is not the quickest of bowlers, but he moves the ball predominantly away from the bat and can coax surprising bounce out of flat pitches. He has had some experience of English conditions before, after playing two seasons for Lydney in 1999 and 2000.Douggie is a very laidback character: “nothing fazes him,” said one of his team-mates. “He’s the Bob Marley of the side – his hairstyle, not his smoking habits!””It started off very cold,” Douggie says of the Universities match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, “so it took me a long time to warm up and get into it. But when I started hitting line and length, it was no different to any other match. I bowl a bit fuller here (at Worcester).”At Worcester, Zimbabwe lost the toss and had to field on a pitch that had already been used and showed definite wear at one end. “It was doing quite a lot,” he says, “but we started off bowling too short, so we didn’t get the batsmen fishing around for it. But whenever we pitched it up, it looked like something was going to happen. Sometimes things just don’t click together, but when they did we got the wickets. `Blidge’ (Andy Blignaut) bowled well in spells and so did the two spinners (Raymond Price and Grant Flower).”Geoff Marsh keeps things simple for his team and his game plan for the Worcestershire innings was simply, “Take all your chances and get one run-out. Bowl in your channels.” Douggie’s channel was off stump, moving the ball away towards the slips.Douggie bowled without effect for quite a while. Worcestershire were coasting at 187 for three. Then Douggie struck, seaming the first ball of the over away off the pitch; Kadeer Ali played defensively at it but only succeeded in edging it to wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu.New batsman Andrew Hall took a single and Ben Smith, on 53, blocked the third ball of the over. Douggie again got the fourth ball to seam away off the pitch, Smith pushed at it and again Taibu accepted the catch. Gareth Batty came in and departed first ball, beaten and bowled all ends up by a pinpoint yorker. “Don’t give a batsman a chance when he comes in,” Douggie grins.Not surprisingly, Vikram Solanki, Worcestershire’s top scorer with 74, impressed Douggie the most with the bat. “He looked the most solid of all the players,” Douggie says. But Solanki did throw away his wicket unnecessarily, stumped as he leapt down the pitch to try to hit Raymond Price out of the ground. “Pressure,” says Douggie. “That’s what we were trying to do, keep him under pressure.”Did he bowl any differently to Solanki? “The same,” says Douggie, but then admits he did adjust his length a little. “He started looking to drive (off the front foot), so I tried to force him back a bit and he wasn’t quite there.”The pitch continued to move around throughout the day, and Zimbabwe in turn struggled, finishing the day on 69 for three. Most of the movement for Douggie was off the pitch: “I’m more of a seamer, but I swung a few.” The Worcestershire pace bowlers appeared more dangerous than the Zimbabwean seamers, even Douggie for much of his 13-over spell – he took three for 53.But Douggie did find himself struggling a bit with the variable weather during the day. It began bright and sunny, but clouded over on and off throughout the day, and when it was cloudy it was quite cold. “It made me struggle a bit when it got cold,” he says. “I had to warm myself up to bowl. I become a bit more chirpy when the sun is out.””They kept the pressure on us,” Douggie compliments them. “And we stuck it out – kind of!” Grant Flower, who scored a century against the Universities, struggled to make 18. “You have your days; everyone has their days,” Douggie says philosophically. Zimbabweans will be hoping that their genial assassin will have more `days’ on this England tour.

Graham Thorpe has spoken of his immense disappointment at being sidelined once again because of injury.The Surrey left-hander has been ruled out of the Third npower Test at Trent Bridge because of a cracked bone in his right hand, sustained while facing a blistering burst from Australian paceman Brett Lee during the defeat at Lord’s.Thorpe had already been out of the game for nearly seven weeks before the Second npower Test with a damaged calf.After his heroics during England’s victorious tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the winter, Thorpe has been brought crashing back to earth.”The hand specialist has said I will be out of action for three weeks, leaving me little chance of making an impression in the Ashes series, and what I thought was going to be one of the most exciting summers of my career is turning out to be the most disappointing,” he said in his column on the Channel 4 website, cricket4.com.”I have played the game long enough not to get too carried away by success or failure, and even after our recent victories I knew the game could come back and hit us right where it hurts.”That has happened to me quite literally with two separate injuries keeping me out for nearly three months of the season. From a personal point of view I started June feeling very positive and with high expectations for the rest of the summer.”Normally I start the English season slowly but this year I was in good form straight away and felt I was ready to take on the best team in the world. This was my chance to live up to the world-class tag that had been placed on me after success in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”I believe you have to measure yourself against the best and I went into this Ashes series thinking that we could compete with them at last.”However I have suffered two injury setbacks with the calf strain keeping me out for six weeks and now the broken bone in my hand which will rule me out for three weeks. This latest injury is a real hammer blow and has come at the worst possible time.”I simply cannot describe how disappointed I feel at the moment. It has come as such a shock after having so much success since I returned to the England team last summer.”Although Thorpe may be out for three weeks, there must be some doubt whether he will play in the Fourth Test at Headingley because he will have had so little match practice for the best part of three months.He said: “There will be little action left in the series by the time I’ve recovered from this injury and I’ll feel a good opportunity has passed me by. As a player you always look forward to an Ashes series and after having six weeks off I was determined to come back and make a mark.”When I was struck on the hand by Brett Lee I knew I had suffered a bad injury. I could not make a fist or hold the bat properly and probably wouldn’t have come out after tea. Lee was pumped up but I was determined not to show that he had hurt me and I was in pain, but in the end he got me out a couple of balls later.”Thorpe continued: “It was a very hard Test for me anyway. I went into the match without any match practice but felt I could do a job for England, and I don’t regret it.”We have not competed with Australia so far in this series and from a team perspective that is the most disappointing aspect of the first two Tests. At the start of the series we said it would be vital to take our chances but we have dropped catches, which has naturally increased the pressure on us.”It’s an extremely tall order for us to come back and win the series, but what we can do though is get back to the standards we set over the winter and stand up to Australia. They have had it all their own way and we just don’t know how they’ll react if we start putting them under pressure. We are simply not helping ourselves at the moment and we need to start giving ourselves a chance of winning.”