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Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has condemned Wasim Bari’s statements against the umpiring in the Videocon Cup final, saying that no board official should make such public comments. quoted Shaharyar as saying, “I think the media and the people are the ones who can make public comments about an umpire or his decisions. But as far as the board and team-management is concerned it must strictly abide by the ICC procedures. The ICC has a laid down procedure for such things and the captain and manager are encouraged to send their reports and give their grading about the umpires to the ICC after every match and that has been done after the Holland final.”Bari, the chief selector, had strongly criticised Shepherd and two decisions that went against Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana. He had also described Shepherd as ‘too old’.Shaharyar also confirmed that neither the PCB nor the team management had lodged any official protest against Shepherd. He added that the board had not made any request that Shepherd should not be appointed for any future Pakistan match.

Hampshire Hawks retain the same 12 that lost at Beckenham on Monday evening when they meet the Essex Eagles at The Rose Bowl on Wednesday (5.30pm).”We are in a very strong group” said Paul Terry, “we need to win these next three matches to reach the Semi Final, so tonights game is vital”.Hawks team: James Hamblin, Derek Kenway, Simon Katich, Dimitri Mascarenhas, John Crawley, Will Kendall, Wasim Akram, Shaun Udal, Nic Pothas, Alan Mullally, Ed Giddins, Lawrence Prittipaul

If this proves to be Steve Waugh’s swansong in England then those who werelucky enough to get tickets for the fifth and final npower Ashes Test at theAMP Oval will have witnessed something very special and ratherextraordinary.The Australian captain made an unbeaten 157 to take his side to declarationand feasibly their fourth win in five contests. From early on in hisinnings, the calf injury that forced him to leave the field by stretcher atTrent Bridge, stiffened up, restricting both his batting and his running,which made the completion of his 27th Test century all the more remarkable.It was not attractive to watch though it was his obvious pain anddiscomfort, rather than any untidiness in his strokeplay, that made many ofthe 18 000 crowd squirm in sympathy. There were a few balls that left thesquare two feet above the ground, which was unusual, but that apart it was agritty and truly inspiring performance from a man who has steel coursingthrough his veins.Waugh joined his brother Mark and Justin Langer in the centurions gang, twofinishing unbeaten – Langer retired hurt on Thursday for 102 and Steveundefeated – and Mark losing his wicket for 120 during the afternoonsession. The Waugh twins put on 197 for the third wicket, the second higheststand in their long career and it was ‘Junior’ who reached his centuryfirst, having faced 161 balls and hitting 13 of them for four and one forsix.Like his previous hundred at Lord’s, this exhibition was a lesson in naturalskill and timing and is bound to feature heavily in the Ashes serieshighlights, when they are compiled. It was attractive and entertaining andwas matched in importance only by his brother’s innings for its courage anddetermination.Six of the seven batsmen who featured in Australia’s first innings effort of641 for four declared, made 60 or more and only Adam Gilchrist recorded acomparative failure making 25 from 32 balls before he became a landmarkwicket for slow left armer Usman Afzaal, bowling for the first time in Testcricket and snaffling Gilchrist with a wide full toss which was despatchedto extra cover.Australia resumed in the morning on 324 for two and after giving England asimple chance with the fourth delivery of the day, forced them to wait until45 minutes after lunch before handing them another opportunity, which wasseized on rather more successfully.Had Mark Butcher taken the catch at first slip, with Waugh on 50, the storyfor the day may well have been different but what should have been an easytake ended up as an exercise in juggling which ended in failure. The scenewas thus set for the day and rarely, throughout the 70 overs of Australia’sinnings, did the smiles return to England’s faces.The pitch was flat enough to convince a delusional batsman he could bat likeBradman but for the bowlers, the figures were distressing. Andrew Caddicktook none for 146 while Phil Tufnell finished with one for 174.Australia’s spinner Shane Warne did not have to wait so long before hisboots started to fill. When the declaration finally came at 4.38pm, it lefta weary England with a tricky 18 overs to face in the muggy London heat.After fielding for the best part of two days in boiling hot temperatures,they could have done with an ice bath and a lie down.Instead Mike Atherton and Marcus Trescothick were required to put on theirpads and square up to Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, who had beenrelaxing around the cooler box for five whole sessions.Neither batsman showed signs of fatigue until the 13th over when Atherton,who had already faced two overs from Warne, was surprised by the spin andbowled for 13. England were 58 for one, needing 442 to avoid the follow on.Trescothick raced to his half century in 49 balls, with all but ten of theruns coming in boundaries and by the close, he was unbetaen on 55 with MarkButcher, the Headingley hero, not out 10.

Northamptonshire chief executive, Ray Payne, has admitted that the club are talking to the ECB about financial assistance but denied that they are considering selling their ground and moving to a new home.Responding to a report by ESPNcricinfo, Payne told the BBC that Northants were “not the only club talking to the ECB and local partners about how they might survive,” but insisted “the future of the club is firmly at Wantage Road.””We’re certainly not moving grounds,” he said. “I’m not sure where that story came from.”However, ESPNcricinfo understands the club produced a secret report which contains plans for a new ground near junction 15A of the M1 on land currently owned by the council. The ambitious plans included building a roof over the stadium, though its position on a flood plain might counteract such benefits.Progress stalled when it proved difficult to obtain the substantial investment required, though hopes remain that partners – quite possibly from India – might be found for the project.It seems unlikely Payne would be unaware of the plans but, a week ago, the club denied to ESPNcricinfo and the BBC that they had asked the ECB for financial assistance.”Any contributions are welcome,” Payne said. “We’re asking the ECB what financial support may be available. There is some debt, but not as much debt as some other clubs.”It’s not an emergency loan. It’s about longer term cash flow. It’s not do or die for the club. Dire is probably the wrong expression.”Is it half-a-million pounds, a million pounds or a quarter-of-a-million pounds? We don’t know. Is it in the form of a loan, a payment or for capital investment? That’s what we’re trying to establish.”First-class cricket has issues. We are not the only club talking to the ECB and local partners about how they might survive. But there is no panic and no worry at the club.”

Australia captain Steven Smith and India offspinner R Ashwin have finished 2015 as the ICC’s top-ranked Test batsman and bowler respectively. Ashwin finished as the No. 1 ranked Test allrounder as well, for the second time in three years.While Smith leapfrogged Kane Williamson, Joe Root and AB de Villiers to the top, Ashwin achieved the No. 1 rank by unseating Dale Steyn, who could only bowl 3.5 overs in the second innings of the Durban Test against England.Smith was ranked No. 4 at the start of Australia’s Boxing Day Test against West Indies but surged to the top following unbeaten scores of 134 and 70. No one had more Test runs than him this year – 1474 from 24 innings at an average of 73.70 with six centuries and five fifties. He was also named the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year last week. Smith is the third Australian batsman in the last decade – after Ricky Ponting (2005, 2006) and Michael Clarke (2012) – to finish as the top-ranked batsman at the end of the year.Ashwin finished 2015 as top-wicket taker with 62 scalps in nine matches. He started the year ranked 15 but rich hauls on India’s tour to Sri Lanka (21 wickets in three matches) and in the home series against South Africa lifted him to the No. 1 spot. Of his 62 wickets, 31 came in the four-match Test series against South Africa, where his performance ensured India swept the series 3-0.Ashwin, who became the first Indian bowler since Bishan Singh Bedi in 1973 to finish the year at the top-ranked position, also chipped in with the bat, scoring 248 runs in 14 innings, with half-centuries against Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.”Replicating what Mr Bedi did is something I am very proud of,” Ashwin said in an ICC release. “The former India captain was a master at his craft and I am very humbled to follow in his footsteps.”I would like to thank my Test captain Virat Kohli, who has been a big influence, and, of course, the team management, my team-mates and the BCCI for their continued support.”Among other batsmen, Adam Voges (11), Usman Khawaja (39) and Dean Elgar (28) finished the year at career-best rankings following centuries in the two Boxing Day Tests in Melbourne and Durban.Stuart Broad ended the year as the second leading wicket-taker – 56 scalps in 14 Tests – and sits at No. 3 in the bowlers’ rankings. Nathan Lyon, who won the Man-of-the-Match award for his seven-wicket haul against West Indies in Melbourne finished at a career-best rank of 14, while Moeen Ali, Man of the Match against South Africa, finished the year ranked 23.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

On a cold and overcast day at Southampton, England turned in a heart-warming performance with both bat and ball to thrash India by 104 runs – their third-biggest margin of victory against them – in the first of seven one-day internationals. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell set up the comprehensive victory with outstanding maiden centuries and a 178-run second-wicket stand to push England to 288 for 2, while James Anderson shut off all escape routes for the Indians with a decisive new-ball spell of 3 for 19 in eight magnificent overs – he eventually finished with career-best figures of 4 for 23.India had started the ODI series as favourites, but the only thing that went right for them today was the toss – Rahul Dravid won it and chose to field, deciding that the overcast conditions would help his fast bowlers, and that the ball would come nicely on to the bat later in the evening.Neither hunch turned out to be correct: there was little swing or seam on offer in the afternoon, while the extra zip later in the evening proved too much for India’s batsmen to handle as Anderson nailed both Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh in one over to effectively seal the contest.England’s decision to play both Cook and Bell – and drop Owais Shah – was a bit of a surprise, but it turned out to be an inspired move. India did reasonably well in the early part of the innings, allowing England just 40 in the first ten overs and 88 in the first 20, but that was when Cook and Bell decided to turn it on, putting together the second-highest partnership for England in all ODIs against India.

Before this game Cook had only played five ODIs, while Bell was more experienced only in relative terms, but both batsmen paced their innings as if they were veterans in this form of the game. On a big ground and a slow outfield, they placed the ball in the gaps, ran hard to take all the twos and threes on offer, and thoroughly exposed the woefully sluggish Indian effort in the field.Cook’s was the more deliberate innings, but his calm and unflappable approach at the start was just what England needed after Matt Prior’s dismissal in the 11th over. He never strayed far from the orthodox approach, worked hard for his runs – there were only eight fours in his knock – and paced his innings quite superbly: his first 50 took 74 deliveries, but his next 52 came at a run a ball, and included a couple of meaty blows to the midwicket boundary off the fast bowlers late in the innings.Bell, on the other hand, was all silken touch right from the get-go: his third scoring stroke was an on-the-rise drive through the covers off RP Singh, and that set the tone for the rest of his innings. Against the fast bowlers, he cut, drove and flicked with exquisite timing, while Piyush Chawla was dismantled with twinkle-toed footwork, one straight six over the bowler’s head being the stand-out shot.Both batsmen took full toll of the fifth bowler’s quota – Tendulkar, Yuvraj and Sourav Ganguly leaked 79 in 13 overs – and built the momentum perfectly. Kevin Pietersen chipped in with a cameo effort at the end as England finished just 12 short of 300.A daunting target of 289 needed a solid start from Tendulkar and Ganguly, but they lasted just 15 deliveries before Ganguly threw it away with a sloppy piece of cricket that typified India’s performance today: Tendulkar drove Stuart Broad for a single to mid-off, but Ganguly set off for a second run that was never on, and failed to beat a flighted but accurate throw from Monty Panesar.

With the breakthrough gifted away by India, Anderson charged in and shut out any chance of an Indian fightback with three quick strikes. Bowling at around 140 kph, he varied his length cleverly and asked questions of all the Indian batsmen. Gautam Gambhir flashed a drive and nicked to the keeper, while Tendulkar and Yuvraj fell within five deliveries of each other.Tendulkar might have fallen even earlier, but escaped being bowled when the ball brushed the stumps off his pads but failed to dislodge the bails. His luck ran out, though, when he flicked a half-volley on leg stump straight to short midwicket. Four balls later, when Yuvraj poked outside off and edged to gully, India had slumped to 34 for 4.From there, it was only a matter of damage control for India. Dravid hung around to score 46 without ever suggesting that the knock would do anything other than delay the inevitable. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he added 68 for the fifth wicket before Dhoni fell to an inspired Andrew Flintoff. Playing his first international match in exactly four months, he charged in, bowled consistently at around 145 kph, beat the bat, induced edges, and finally got Dhoni to glove a pull to the wicketkeeper for a painstaking 60-ball 19. Dinesh Karthik added a spunky unbeaten 44, but was also involved in two shambolic run-outs as England completed an utter rout.

Northamptonshire have awarded David Sales a benefit for next season. He is the captain and the club’s longest-serving player of the current staff. Sales, 28, joined in 1994 and has been captain since 2004.”I am very grateful to the club for offering me a benefit next year,” said Sales. “2006 has been a year of change and I am sure together we can help the club build on the foundations currently being laid”.So far in his first-class career he has amassed 8640 runs, at 39.81, with a highest score of 303 not out.

Imran Khan has joined the chorus of voices criticising the dustbowl at the Wankhede Stadium which produced a two-day Test between India and Australia. Speaking to Press Trust of India in Jaipur, Imran urged home associations to desist the urge to produce tailor-made tracks.”Every country has a right to prepare the kind of wickets which suit their own bowlers. But there has to be a limit. If something is not done soon to curb this trend, cricket is sure to suffer,” Imran said. “In order to gain victory in front of their own countrymen, every team is going too far to prepare pitches favouring their own bowlers. This will ruin interest of the spectators.”India achieved a consolation win at Mumbai, but the pitch for the game came in for widespread flak, with Ricky Ponting calling it “nowhere near being close to Test standard”. Forty wickets fell in 202 overs, 13 of them in a frenetic final session of play on the third day.

England’s selectors today announced their preliminary squad of 30 for this year’s ICC Champions Trophy in September. Despite the disappointing results in this year’s NatWest Series, in which England failed to reach the final, every member of that squad made the cut, as well as ten uncapped players.The Warwickshire pair of Ian Bell and Mark Wagh were included, along with Richard Dawson, the Yorkshire offspinner who has played seven Tests. Others included last winter’s England A team captain Alex Gidman and Jonathan Lewis from Gloucestershire, Graham Napier, the Essex allrounder, and Chris Tremlett, the tall fast bowler from Hampshire. Glamorgan had three representatives in Michael Powell (who was a late call-up to the NatWest Series but didn’t actually play), Simon Jones and Alex Wharf. The squad will be trimmed down to 14 by August 10.”Our ultimate goal as selectors is to build a side for the World Cup in 2007,” said David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors. “The make-up of this squad gives a good indication as to the type of team we are looking to develop and the particular roles we are looking to fill within it.”He continued: “There are ten players in this provisional squad who have not yet played one-day international cricket, and we will continue to experiment with new players as we seek the right blend between experience and youth ahead of 2007.”Graveney also added that the selectors had thought of picking Mark Butcher, who has played 69 Tests but not a single one-day international, and said that although he didn’t make the squad, he was still in their thoughts: “Mark previously intimated that he did not want to play both forms of international cricket because he was concerned about the impact on his fitness,” Graveney said. “However, he has recently indicated that he would now like to be considered for our one-day side, and as the season progresses we will be watching with interest his performances for Surrey in the Twenty20 Cup and the National League.”The Champions Trophy starts on Sept 10 – England take on Zimbabwe at Edgbaston while New Zealand play the United States at The Oval – with the final, also at The Oval, on Sept 25.England provisional squad for Champions Trophy
Michael Vaughan (capt), Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Bell, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Richard Dawson, Andrew Flintoff, Alex Gidman, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Stephen Harmison, Geraint Jones (wk), Simon Jones, Robert Key, James Kirtley, Jonathan Lewis, Anthony McGrath, Sajid Mahmood, Graham Napier, Michael Powell, Chris Read (wk), Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Wagh, Alex Wharf.

In the maroon corner, the man with centuries in each of his last five home Tests against Australia. In the baggy green, the man who has dismissed his opponent on 13 occasions in Test cricket, almost twice as often as any other player. Without question, the third Test between West Indies and Australia will be dominated by the contest between two men, Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath.It would be stretching credulity to suggest that Australia have missed McGrath, who flew home ahead of the series after his wife fell ill, and returned midway through the second Test. With the Frank Worrell Trophy in the bag, a series whitewash is looming large against a team that fielded only three frontline bowlers in Trinidad and has seemingly abandoned the art of wicket-taking.But in the absence of his nemesis, Lara has run amok, scoring 349 runs in four innings with inimitable panache. While he and Ramnaresh Sarwan were chiselling towards their final-day target at Port-of-Spain, Australia’s 2003 Test record was in danger of reading: played three, lost two.The Lara factor is the one reason why Australia are taking nothing for granted in the bowling department. For the first time since the Perth Test of 1991-92, when Shane Warne was an international toddler, they are set to take the field with four seamers, which means a reprieve for the usual fall-guy in such situations, Andy Bichel, whose superlative year continued with three important wickets in the afternoon session in Trinidad.Stuart MacGill is certain to be retained, after picking up ten wickets in the recent match against the University of West Indies, so Australia will once again rely on the six batsmen who have rustled up the small matter of 1264 runs for the loss of 14 wickets so far this series. Steve Waugh, who wasn’t even required to bat in the last match, has probably relished Lara’s challenge more than anyone. As he said after the Ashes, "It’s all a bit easy these days".All the same, there were some concerns about McGrath’s lack of match fitness after he picked up three wickets in a gentle warm-up against the University XI. "He’s a fair way behind where he would like to be," said Waugh. "He’s gradually getting better, but he’s still short of a bowl, there’s no doubt about that. He’s got to trust himself and we’ve got to trust him that he’s bowled the right amount of overs. But he’s a great performer and he’ll lift for the Test match.”It may be a sign of the times, but Waugh’s greatest concerns were reserved for the state of the opposition, in particular their lack of bowling penetration. “The wickets have been really slow and it’s a major problem over here for cricket in the Caribbean," said Waugh. "They’re not going to produce any quick bowlers if they keep putting pitches out like that. There’s no encouragement for them; it’s too much hard work."The trio of Merv Dillon, Pedro Collins and Vasbert Drakes, backed up by David Bernard’s ineffectual seamers, were roundly criticised for their lack of incisiveness at Trinidad, and it seems certain that Jermaine Lawson, who missed that match with chickenpox, will be drafted in to give the attack a little more oomph. Tino Best, on his home ground, will make his debut, as will 21-year-old offspinner Omari Banks. Carlton Baugh is also retained after Ridley Jacobs failed to recover from the groin strain he picked up in the first Test. But cosmetic changes will have little impact on Australia’s relentless run machines.As always, West Indies’ best chance of avoiding defeat will come from Australia’s eagerness to force victory – it is 18 months and 16 Tests since Australia were last involved in a draw. In an age where the follow-on has been put out to pasture, Lara and Sarwan – and the sturdy Daren Ganga – will await the size of their fourth-innings run-chase with interest.TeamsWest Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Daren Ganga, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Marlon Samuels, 7 Omari Banks, 8 Carlton Baugh, 9 Vasbert Drakes, 10 Jermaine Lawson, 11 Tino Best.Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Darren Lehmann, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 7 Andy Bichel, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Glenn McGrath.