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Black clouds scudding over New Road put another dampener on Worcestershire’s slender hopes of escaping to victory over Second Division champions Northamptonshire.Needing a win to have any chance of promotion, the home side could ill afford a complete wash-out for the second day in succession following downpours overnight and again this morning.Already facing an uphill task at 50 for five in reply to Northants’ 260, they were close to accepting their promotion challenge is over when the umpires abandoned the third day after lunch.Coach Bill Athey said: “It’s looking less and less likely because we really needed a couple of batting bonus points as well as a win.”The bad weather also knocked Glenn McGrath’s prospects of becoming the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship.Tied on 68 with Shane Warne after the first innings here, he lost ground when his Australian team-mate struck twice in Yorkshire’s second innings at Southampton on Thursday.

Match facts

Saturday March 22, 2008
Start time 0930 (local), 0330 (GMT)

The big picture

Bangladesh defeated Ireland by 84 runs in the second one-day international in Mirpur on Thursday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The series win, albeit against non Test-playing opposition, should have put smiles on the faces of Bangladesh’s passionate fans given the losing streak their side was on. Mohammad Ashraful has been under immense pressure and his scores would have alleviated some of that. Ireland, after a good run in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, have struggled against the hosts. Their main contributions have come from the lower order – namely Alex Cusack and Andre Botha – and the top order is a worry. Their bowling has been workmanlike, with no bowler really bothering Bangladesh. A win in the final game would boost spirits before they return home.

Form Guide – Ireland

Last five completed matches: LWWLLPlayer to watch: Cusack has scored the most runs for his side in the short series, offering stability down the order. Ireland’s top order has yet to get going and Cusack has played two crucial innings, showing an appetite to stick around. In the first game he played a patient knock of 38 off 61 balls, helping Ireland to 185, and in the second he and Botha added 52 in just over ten overs. A promotion up the order may not be a bad idea.

Last five completed matches: LLLWWPlayer to watch: Shahriar Nafees leads the run tally with 150 from two games: a fluent unbeaten 90 sealed an eight-wicket win in the opener and his 61 led a top-order rally. Nafees’ driving and flicking has been pleasing on the eye, and his fluency a good come back from the batsman who won Bangladesh’s cricketer-of-the-year award for 2006.

Team news

With the series already wrapped up Bangladesh have the option of resting some players but given the poor form they have been in going into this series, they may well look to build on their returns in the first to games. Ireland are likely to keep the same XI.Bangladesh (probable XI) Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Raqibul Hasan, Dhiman Ghosh (wk), Farhad Reza, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak.Ireland (probable XI) William Porterfield, Reinhardt Strydom, Eoin Morgan, Niall O’Brien (wk), Kevin O’Brien, Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Trent Johnston (capt), Dave Langford-Smith, Greg Thompson, Kyle McCallan.Weather: Saturday’s predominant weather is forecast to be light showers, with a high of 91°F.

Quotes

“We are 2-0 behind but the third game is a massive one for us because we want to leave Bangladesh on a high.”Trent Johnson, Ireland captain
“We had beaten a lot of weak teams in the lead-up to the World Cup and the habit helped us in the tournament proper. By beating Ireland we want to get that habit back.”
Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh captain

England 172 for 8 (Buttler 33, Afridi 3-15) beat Pakistan 169 for 8 (Plunkett 3-33) by three runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland withstood a late assault from Pakistan’s batsmen to secure the T20I series against Pakistan with a match to play.With 18 balls left of this match, it appeared England were certain of victory: Pakistan, with six wickets down, required 47 to win and the new batsman had only reached double-figures once in his last seven T20I innings.But that batsman was Shahid Afridi. And though the powers may be waning, he remains a dangerous player. Inspired by a full house audience, he thrashed Chris Woakes for three sixes – one of them off a no-ball – in five deliveries to revive his side’s hopes.While he then fell, slicing a drive to third man where he was well held by a nerveless Liam Plunkett, Sarfraz Ahmed took up the challenge. With 25 required from the final two overs, he swept David Willey for four before, in attempting to complete a quick two from the next delivery, he saw the fielder’s throw defeclt off his bat and scurry away for four overthrows. It left 11 required from the final over.Woakes held his nerve, though. Sarfraz, attempting to sweep a yorker pitched well outside off side, dragged the ball on to his stumps and while Sohail Tanvir clipped his first ball for four, he was unable to maintain the strike. With four required for victory from the final ball – and three for a super over – Anwar Ali heaved at a length ball outside off stump and failed to make contact. England had, for the second time in as many days, won in Dubai.Despite the result, this was a much-improved performance from Pakistan. Boosted by the return of Ahmed Shehzad, who missed the first game due to illness, and Shoaib Malik, who missed it with a finger injury, they set their highest ever T20I Powerplay score – 54 for 1 – in the UAE.They were led from the front by Afridi. Introducing himself into attack during the Powerplay, he claimed the wicket of Alex Hales, surprised by Afridi’s pace, first ball and later brought himself back to deal with the dangerous James Vince. He finished with 3 for 15 from four overs of rapid spin bowling.Perhaps they were unlucky, too. Certainly Umar Akmal, well caught down the leg side by Jos Buttler, looked unfortunate to be given out as replays suggested the ball made contact only with his leg.But there were still those familiar errors in the field. Tanvir dropped two catches – one of which he parried for six – and there were too many times that England were able to steal a single or turn a one into a two. The addition of six wides to the England total also proved crucial.The first of Tanvir’s drops was off Vince. For the second match in succession, he looked a player with the skill and composure to enjoy a good future at this level and here he punished the error by going on to contribute the highest score of the match. To rub salt in the wound, he hit the next three deliveries he received after the drop for six, four and four.There were several other important contributors in the England order. Jason Roy skipped down the wicket to thrash two sixes over the top in the opening overs, while Buttler hit three – a vast pull, a huge drive and a top-edged hook – in his cameo.This was a fine game for Buttler. Captaining for the first time in international cricket – England made four changes to the side that won the first game as they sought to take a look at more players ahead of World T20 selection – he ensured his side just about held their nerve towards the end and completed two neat stumpings and claimed one fine catch.England will be delighted, too, that despite rotating their squad – Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Reece Topley were all omitted from this side – they showed they had the skill and composure to beat a Pakistan side that, before this series, were unbeaten in six T20I games. Joe Root, Willey and Woakes all came back into the side alongside Buttler.It was another good game for Plunkett, too. He took three wickets, an important catch and again bowled with impressive pace to suggest he will be hard to overlook for the World T20 squad.It was noticeable that, each time Buttler required a wicket, it was Plunkett to who he turned. He responded by having Mohammad Hafeez caught off a leading edge, before Shoaib Malik misjudged a well-disguised slower ball and pulled to deep midwicket.When Pakistan’s openers made a bright start, it seemed England were 10 or so short. But the introduction of spin slowed Pakistan’s progress – they managed only 11 for two wickets in the first four overs when Adil Rashid and Stephen Parry combined – and with Rashid bamboozling Sohaib Maqsood with a googly and conceding just 18 in his fours overs, Pakistan had left themselves too much to do by the time Afridi strode out to the middle.

Three-time finalists Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) completed a hat-trick of away teams winning after round one of the group stage of SA20 2025-26. All six teams have been in action over the last 24 hours and there’s a clear trend from the first three games. Not only have the visitors won on each occasion, but the team batting first has too.SEC claimed their opening win over Paarl Royals, who went unbeaten at Boland Park last season, but whose lack of bowling firepower was exposed. SEC’s innings was bookended by big partnerships as Jonny Bairstow and Quinton de Kock posted 66 for the first wicket and Matthew Breetzke and Jordan Hermann put on 73 for the fifth wicket as SEC totalled 186 for 4. That was the third-highest SA20 total at this venue.Royals used six bowlers, and mystifyingly gave Jersey international Asa Tribe only one over which cost one run. Everyone else conceded eight runs an over or above. In response, Royals were in early trouble at 7 for 2 after two overs and collapsed to the lowest score in the SA20 of 49 to suffer the second-biggest tournament defeat. SEC, with a bonus point, are now top of the table. An experimental No.3 De Kock and Bairstow raced to 51 from the first five overs and shared a first-wicket stand of 66. They were relatively untroubled before some David Miller brilliance separated them. Bairstow tried to hit Ottneil Baartman over mid-off but chipped the ball to the left of Miller, who took a diving catch to give Royals their first wicket.In an XI that includes Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, SEC opted to promote Marco Jansen to No.3 but the plan didn’t work. Jansen scored four off the first nine balls he faced before he timed a cover drive off Bjorn Fortuin to get going.Fortuin then delivered the ball as slowly as he could, Jansen was through his slog sweep almost before the ball had even reached him. He could do nothing as it spun away and bowled him. This was the first time Jansen had batted at No.3 in T20 cricket. SEC went from 66 without loss to 89 for 3 in 21 deliveries.Breetzke and Hermann take down Baartman and finish strong With four overs left to go, SEC were looking for a big finish and it was up to Breetzke and Hermann to provide it. Royals turned to former SEC superstar Baartman and he started with a short ball that Breetzke latched onto immediately to start the 17th over with a four. Baartman adjusted to fuller lengths once Hermann was on strike and he went over extra cover for four. Baartman went short again and Hermann pulled over square leg for the fifth six of the innings.Jordan Hermann helped SEC finish strongly•SA20

That was the over that got Breetzke and Hermann going as their partnership grew to 73 off 41 balls. Baartman had the last laugh when he bowled Breetzke with his penultimate ball to dismiss him for the fifth time in 13 innings. Hermann continued on regardless and brought up a 26-ball fifty. SEC scored 57 in their last four overs.Jansen strikes early; remains tournaments most successful bowler Jansen is the most successful bowler in the SA20 tournament history, and it took him only three balls to make an impression on this edition. He pitched the ball up and found Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ inside edge.Pretorius, who was last season’s leading run-scorer wasn’t sure if he made contact, he reviewed and UltraEdge confirmed the contact. He was dismissed for a duck and Jansen’s haul across 36 matches at the SA20 extended to 48, five more than Baartman.Nortje’s puts his name in lights With Kagiso Rabada racing against the clock to prove his fitness for the T20 World Cup squad, Anrich Nortje made sure he cannot be ignored with a statement performance of pace and bounce on an otherwise benign surface to claim 4 for 13.Nortje was brought on in the last over of the Powerplay and had an enterprising Tribe caught off a top edge as he tried to pull a cross seam delivery. Nortje was brought back on in the 11th over and bowled Delano Potgieter with a brutish ball, full and shaping away to destroy the stumps.In the same over, Fortuin was rushed by another short ball and caught by de Kock behind the stumps. Then Nortje iced the cake when he bounced Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who fended the ball to de Kock. With three wickets in his third over Nortje left Paarl Royals 48 for 8. Five balls later, their opening game was done, with 49 balls remaining in the innings.

Warwickshire have released Vaughn van Jaarsveld, five months after he signed a two-year deal and pledged his allegiance to England.His relationship with Warwickshire became increasingly difficult when, earlier this month, it was reported that van Jaarsveld decided to return to South Africa and his club, Gauteng. According to the county, not only did he breach his contract but he also failed to speak to his superiors directly and Warwickshire’s directors were left to discuss the situation with their opposite numbers at Gauteng.”We are disappointed by the way Vaughn has conducted himself but once he returned to South Africa for the winter he clearly had a change of heart over his long term plans,” Colin Povey, Warwickshire’s chief executive said.”He will be missing out on a fantastic opportunity here with Warwickshire but we only want players who are fully committed to the [club’s] cause. Having agreed the appropriate compensation with Vaughn and Gauteng Cricket we will now move on.”Van Jaarsveld, one of South Africa’s brightest batting hopes, denied he was using English cricket to further his career when he signed with Warwickshire in June. “I’m here to qualify as an Englishman,” he said. “I’m going to be spending at least 210 days a year here and the aim is to play for England. I just want to play cricket at the highest level possible and there are more opportunities here.”This development is the latest to fuel the argument that there are too many Kolpak players in county cricket.

ScorecardOffspinner Ollie Rayner took 5 for 68, his first five-wicket haul, to give Sussex hope of enforcing a win over Sri Lanka A, but the tourists eked out 191 for 8 as the match ended in a draw.Michael Yardy ploughed on from where he left off on the second day, bringing up a dogged hundred to guide Sussex to 372 for 9. And it was a lone effort, too, as his team-mates struggled against the legspin of Kaushal Lokuarachchi who picked up impressive figures of 5 for 48.Sussex then made inroads into Sri Lanka A’s fragile top-order, reducing them to 89 for 5 and giving them genuine hope of enforcing a thrilling victory. But Mahela Udawatte struck a combative 50 and, allied with useful contributions from Lokuarachchi (39) and Dilruwan Perera (23*), guided the tourists through to a draw.

A joining date for Graham Ford, chosen yesterday as the coach of the Indian side, is likely to become clearer sometime tomorrow when he sits down for talks over his current contract with Kent County Cricket Club.Paul Millman, Kent’s chief executive, said that the county were keen to retain him but also suggested that they would respect whatever decision he would take. “Graham is due back later today and we will sit down and talk with him then,” Millman told Cricinfo a day after the Indian board had chosen Ford over John Emburey for the job.”We have always been fairly relaxed about the situation,” Millman said about Ford’s contract, which lasts till September 2008. “As far as we are concerned he went on a fact-finding trip and we don’t yet know what he has found out. He is still employed by us, but clearly there is an offer on the table, but we don’t know whether he has taken it. We are obviously keen to keep him but things will take their course when we talk to Graham.”Ford was confident that Kent wouldn’t stand in his way of taking up the Indian job. “I’ve got the County’s support, but we haven’t discussed an early release from my contract which, as you know, runs till September 2008,” he was quoted as saying in the . “I’ll begin discussions [with Kent] … I’m sure the County won’t stand in the way.”The discussion is set to take place after its penultimate group match in the Friends Provident Trophy against Hampshire on June 11. “Discussions with Ford will take place after the match,” a statement issued by the county side said. “It is hoped that the popular South African will remain at Canterbury to continue the progress made towards re-establishing Kent as a major force.”The Indian board were waiting for Ford to get back to them about his existing contract with Kent, Ratnakar Shetty, the Chief Administrative Officer of the BCCI, confirmed. “He is expected to get back to us soon, once he discusses the matter with them.”India’s cricket chiefs expect Ford to get back to them sometime tomorrow (June 11). They hope he would join the team ahead of the tours of Ireland and England, starting later this month.

Not even Stephen Fleming, who was widely considered one of the modern game’s most astute leaders, has led New Zealand to a series win in South Africa. But the recently installed captain, Daniel Vettori, has no qualms about taking over the reins ahead of his side’s three-Test tour which gets underway in November.”I have thought about the responsibilities and have planned how I want to do things,” Vettori said at Sydney before flying out to South Africa. “I like to think I have always thought about the game. Really, it is not too much of a step up.”Vettori took over the one-day captaincy from Fleming after the World Cup and, in September, the selectors decided to install him as the Test captain too. But although he only has limited experience in captaining Northern Districts at first-class level, he isn’t alien to the role and has substituted for Fleming on occasions.”While I haven’t done the job full time, I have done enough to take confidence from what I have done,” he said. “But I’m not silly enough to see it [the captaincy] as a bed of roses. It is more of a progression. We know Stephen Fleming is going to retire at some stage and I’m pleased to have been given the opportunity to follow him.”One criticism levelled at his leadership in the past has been a tendency to underbowl himself, an accusation he stringently denies. “Anyone saying that has probably got it wrong,” he said. “I think the thing I have done well is bowl at tough times. I have no problem managing my own bowling. I’m happy to bowl after 10 overs if the situation so demands, just as I’m happy to bowl at the death.”New Zealand will play two Tests, a Twenty20 international and three one-dayers on their South Africa tour. Preceding those are two warm-ups against South Africa A, the first of which is at Potchefstroom on October 25.

Division One

Mark Ealham put his former county to the sword as Nottinghamshire built a lead of 272 against Kent at Canterbury. When Darren Stevens claimed his fourth wicket the visitors were 219 for 7 and the advantage looked like being held to manageable proportions. However, Ealham added 87 with Paul Franks and 93 with Darren Pattinson, who followed his five wickets on the opening day with a sturdy 33. Ealham’s century took 196 balls – he survived a stumping chance on 99 off James Tredwell – before Chris Read declared in his first match as captain. Kent survived 10 overs before the close but face a tough task to salvage something from the match.Click here for a full report from the match between Hampshire and Sussex at The Rose Bowl.For a full report from The Oval, where Surrey have piled on the runs against Lancashire, click here.

Division Two

Worcestershire had to do without Simon Jones on the second day against Warwickshire at Edgbaston – he was suffering from a stiff neck – but that did not prevent them from polishing off the home side for 215 and then extending their lead to 184 after closing 150 for 2. Gareth Andrew grabbed three wickets in seven balls to help Worcestershire to a first-innings lead of 34, and then half-centuries from Stephen Moore (66) and Vikram Solanki (75*) in a second-wicket stand of 141 added to Warwickshire’s poor day.Ravi Bopara and Jason Gallian, two players at opposite ends of the career spectrum, pounded Northamptonshire with an unbroken stand of 266 as Essex took control at Chelmsford. The early stages of the season are an important time for Bopara as he tries to re-establish his credentials following a troubled winter with England. He brought up his century from 164 balls, following his three wickets yesterday in what is becoming an impressive all-round game. Gallian is one of county cricket’s long-serving members and is starting life at his third county following lengthy spells at Lancashire and Nottinghamshire. His hundred was a more sedate affair, taking 220 balls, but helped his new side take a strong hold on the match.At Bristol, Derbyshire’s batsmen showed much more fight after their first-innings capitulation, but they still face a tough task to avoid defeat after closing on 235 for 4, a lead of 45. It took Derbyshire almost all morning to take the last four Gloucestershire wickets, by which time the home side’s first-innings lead had grown to 190. Derbyshire were wobbling on 67 for 2, but Chris Rogers and Dominic Telo (65) put on 129 for the third wicket to erase the deficit, Rogers bringing up his hundred off 155 balls. Marcus North removed Telo, driving at a wide one, and then held a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to end Rogers’ innings.Tom New’s maiden Championship hundred helped Leicestershire reach 246 for 1 in reply to Middlesex’s 312 on a bitterly cold day at Grace Road. It was Leicestershire’s day from the off as they took the remaining five Middlesex wickets for 48 – the visitors lost eight for 72 – and then New and 22-year-old Matt Boyce added 143 for the first wicket. Steve Finn removed Boyce for 69 soon after tea but HD Ackerman took to the bowlers. He was 63 at the close with New, who brought up his century off 228 balls shortly before the end of the day, on 104.

Match facts

Thursday, May 8, 2008
Start time 16.00 (local), 10.30 (GMT)

The Big Picture

The Chennai Super Kings, who blazed away in the early stages of the IPL, only to plunge into a batting crisis, will face a severe examination against the Delhi Daredevils in the first return match of the tournament. The loss of their Australian imports – Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey, continues to hurt, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s best knock has been 65 against the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Delhi will be the favourites after their nine-wicket mauling when they last met, and they will be eager to recover from the blip against the Mumbai Indians (the only occasion they were bowled out). They have the added incentive of taking second spot in the league tables if they win.Delhi have a well-stocked batting arsenal at their disposal. At least two of their top three batsman – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Shikhar Dhawan – have fired in their victories. In comparision, Chennai’s best three batsmen in terms of aggregate (with the exception of Hayden and Hussey) – Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Albie Morkel – haven’t had the same say in Chennai’s matches. Chennai have added concerns – Parthiv Patel has not made a significant knock in seven outings, while Stephen Fleming has proved to be an inadequate replacement for Hayden at the top. Raina has looked in superb touch but not capitalised on his starts. Another issue is that poor starts have led to their last two setbacks, as they failed to reach 50 or 100 at more than a run-a-ball.A look at the bowling also shows the wide gulf between the two sides. Glenn McGrath has formed a telling opening combine with Mohammad Asif, while Yo Mahesh and Rajat Bhatia have done a more than decent job following-up. Chennai have a major headache in Makhaya Ntini, who is yet to take a wicket. Muttiah Muralitharan has not been the sensation he normally is, while Joginder Sharma’s dibby-dobblers are now being found out by opposing batsmen. After taking just seven wickets in their last three games, Chennai’s bowlers will need to buck up.

Tournament position

Delhi P6/W4/L2/NRR +0.761
Chennai P7/W4/L3/NRR -0.005

IPL form (last five matches)

Delhi WLWWL
Chennai WWLLL

Watch out for …