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Essex’s Darren Thomas has announced his decision to retire from first-class cricket due to injury with immediate effect.Thomas, 32, picked up an injury to his shoulder at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai in February that never recovered sufficiently to allow him to bowl for the county. The fast-medium bowler, who joined Essex from Glamorgan on a one-year contract last December, was able to play for the 2nd XI as a batsman and, latterly, as captain.”Darren developed a tear to the cartilage in his right shoulder prior to the start of this season,” Essex physio Mark Thomas explained. “Vigorous rehab along with therapeutic injections has failed to resolve this issue, preventing him from bowling. It is expected he will have surgery at the end of the season.””I had massive ambitions to continue playing for another three to four years when I arrived but injury has unfortunately put an end to my career,” Thomas admitted. “My time with the 2nd XI has been really enjoyable and I hope I have been able to pass on my experience to the youngsters. Essex has a great crop of young players coming through and I wish the club every success in the future.”

Canada’s selectors have named a 13-man squad for the trip to visit South Africa which gets underway next month. After a warm-up game, Canada play ODIs with The Netherlands and Bermuda, and then meet the Netherlands in a four-day Intercontinental Cup match starting on December 5.Eleven of the squad are from Ontario, including George Codrington, named captain. Quaiser Ali (Quebec) is vice-captain. A number of players were not available for various reasons, including the overseas-based John Davison, Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff. This will put extra pressure on the remaining batsmen. Codrington, Ali, Sandeep Jyoti, Ashih Bagai and Abdool Samad each made promising scores during some of this summer’s matches.The regular opening bowling duo of Umar Bhatti and Henry Osinde, rated the best bowlers among the Associate Members, are supported by veteran seamer Sanjay Thuraisingham. Codrington, Kevin Sandher and Sunil Dhaniram head the spin attack.Sandher, Dhaniram, Samad and Bagai are currently in South Africa attending the ICC High Performance Winter Training Camp.Canada squad Qaiser Ali, Ashish Bagai, Umar Bhatti, George Codrington, Desmond Chumney, Sunil Dhaniram, Sandeep Jyoti, Don Maxwell, Asif Mulla, Henry Osinde, Abdool Samad, Kevin Sandher, Sanjay Thuraissingham.

Northamptonshire’s Kolpak player, Johann Louw, has been given permission to play for the Eagles franchise this season.Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa, said that permission was granted in terms of the regulations that govern overseas players competing in South African domestic professional cricket.”This means that Johann will not seek to qualify to play for England,” explained Majola. “He must also declare his intention to fully comply with contractual obligations to the Eagles ahead of any obligations to any county in England. The SA Cricketers’ Association has endorsed the CSA decision on Johann.”The chief executive of the Eagles, Seppie Lusardi, added that Louw intended to settle in Bloemfontein where his wife-to-be is studying. “Johann intends returning to South Africa permanently,” said Lusardi, “and he will bolster the pool of quality fast bowlers eligible for national duty going forward to the World Cup in 2007.”Louw played for Griqualand West and Eastern Province before joining Northants two seasons ago.

Zaheer Khan is a doubtful starter for India’s next Asia Cup match, against Bangladesh, after picking up a leg injury in India’s 12-run loss to Sri Lanka. Zaheer bowled nine lacklustre overs during India’s defeat on Sunday, and injured his hamstring while sliding to stop the ball in the field.Zaheer has been troubled by hamstring injuries for some time now, with a tear forcing him to miss two Tests against Australia in December last year, and the one-day VB Series that followed the Tests. He recovered in time to play in the one-day series against Pakistan in March, but limped out of the Test series in Multan. Recently, he had to cut a brief stint at Surrey short with further problems.”Zaheer is a concern, especially for the next match,” Sourav Ganguly said after Sunday’s defeat. Ashish Nehra is the only other fast bowler in India’s 14-man squad. After the match against Bangladesh, India play Pakistan and then Sri Lanka again in the second round of the tournament.

Chairman Robert Appleyard and his hard-working band of helpers at the Bath Cricket Festival are receiving an unexpected helping hand, from the non-cricketing nation of Spain.Maria Mediavilla, a 30 year old economics graduate from Palacios de la Sierra, near Burgos in northern Spain, was on a language course in Bath when she decided to fill in her spare time doing something “typically English”.She went to the Volunteer Bureau and saw notice inviting volunteers to get involved with the Bath Cricket Festival.Maria said: “I knew nothing about cricket, but I wanted to do something useful and to work with English people, so I thought that looks interesting, why not? I’ll try it.”She contacted Michael Davis, a member of the festival organising committee, and within a few weeks she had been co-opted onto the committee and was using her Spanish flair and business skills to organise a mailing shot and help with a number of festival fringe events.Among Maria’s projects has been the eve of festival reception on Tuesday evening, June 3, at the Hot Bath Gallery with tours of the Thermae Bath Spa complex.The festival itself begins the following day, Wednesday, June 4 on the Bath Recreation Ground when Somerset takes on Worcestershire in a four-day championship match and this will be followed by a one-day match between Somerset and Northamptonshire on Sunday June 8th.During the festival one of Maria’s tasks will be to ensure that corporate hospitality clients are happy with the facilities and services they have ordered.Maria said: “Hopefully, I will also see more of the cricket.”Until she came to Bath Maria had never seen the game. Committee members took her to Taunton to see Somerset play one of the season’s opening fixtures.Michael Davis said: “We did our best to explain what was happening and why there were no goal posts. She had a great time, and so did we. I think the social side of the game was something she had never expected.”Maria said: “It is a very complicated game, with many rules, and we have nothing like this in Spain. The game stops for tea and lunch and goes on for days and is very relaxing.”Another aspect of English life that surprised Maria was the existence of so many voluntary organisations, all doing good works.She said: “You can volunteer and take part, it’s open to all. It’s not like that in Spain. Here you can do something useful and have an experience and work with other people. You can get involved in marketing, fund-raising and many other things — even cricket!”Maria’s language course ends in June, but she hopes to stay a little longer. She has already worked abroad, at Constance in Germany, after graduating and the experience fed her wanderlust. She heard so much about England that she made that her next destination and came to Bath because she heard it was a good centre for language courses.

The Sri Lanka cricket team is likely to be sponsored by a reputed local tea company with a big international market.WSG Nimbus who have the commercial rights to negotiate sponsorships on behalf of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, is expected to finalise the deal by the end of the week.Dilmah which belongs to MJF Exports Ltd are on the verge of being signed up by WSG Nimbus as the new sponsors for the next three years.Cricket Board sources said the sponsorship figure is more than twice of what Singer (Sri Lanka) Ltd, the former sponsors, put up. Singer, sponsored the national team for two three-year terms since 1995 for a figure of US$1.6 million. The present sponsorship is expected to exceed US$3.0 million.Dilmah tea has a very big market in Australia and New Zealand and last month they moved into the UK. They also have sales in India.They are Sri Lanka’s biggest exporters of tea bags and concentrate more on the overseas market than at home.The company was founded in 1974 by Merril J. Fernando, a pioneer in the tea industry in this country and has been exporting tea for the past 15 years.”We made a strong bid for the sponsorship and we have been told by WSG that we are a very strong contender,” said Dilmah’s chief operations officer Imendra Ranaweera.Singer’s sponsorship with the national team terminated at the end of last month ending a six-year run during which period the country’s international stocks rose sky high with the highlight being the World Cup win in 1996.It was Singer who set the trend of team sponsorship for the national side six years ago. To a large extent they are responsible for boosting the morale of the side to attain the position it holds in world cricket today.

England allrounder Ben Stokes has insisted there was no wilful intent when he gloved away Mitchell Starc’s throw at the stumps at Lord’s and that he was purely thinking of protecting himself.Stokes’ reaction, as he spun away from the throw, came when he was out of his ground and led to him becoming the first England batsman – and sixth overall – to be given out obstructing the field in a one-day international.Law 37, which governs obstructing the field, states: Either batsman is out obstructing the field if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.”A guy was standing there five feet away from me and it was just a complete reaction,” Stokes told ESPNcricinfo. “I didn’t put my hand there wilfully, it was purely out of human reaction to protect myself. But the decision was made, there’s nothing I can do but it wasn’t wilful whatsoever.”Former England captains Michael Vaughan, Alec Stewart and Paul Collingwood were among those to criticise the decision. Collingwood, who was involved in controversy against New Zealand in 2008 when he refused to recall Grant Elliott after he was run out following a collision with Ryan Sidebottom and later admitted he had made an error, tweeted that Steven Smith “will regret that decision in the future.”There were heated scenes in the middle as the decision was made by third umpire Joel Wilson after the on-field officials, Kumar Dharmasena and Tim Robinson, had indicated to England captain Eoin Morgan, who was at the crease alongside Stokes, that their initial reaction was that it was not out.Morgan later said he would have withdrawn the appeal in the same situation, but Smith was adamant the correct decision had been reached. It led to the remainder of the match being played out to the sound of significant booing around Lord’s and during the post-match presentation. Stokes, speaking at a Chance to Shine Street Cricket event in Birmingham, said the reaction may have got a little out of perspective.”The crowd maybe got a bit out of control, there was a lot of booing going on with the incident. It’s one of those decisions where you can’t look back and have any regrets because it’s been made, you can’t change what’s happened it’s just a shame it came to the uproar it has.”It probably took away from the fact that we haven’t actually played very good cricket in the first couple of games which is the biggest thing for us so we just have to put it behind us.”Fast bowler Steven Finn had earlier said it was important that England do not dwell on the dismissal as the series heads to Old Trafford for the third match on Tuesday with them needing a win to stay in the contest.”I think we’d be foolish to let the Stokes dismissal nag away at us,” Finn said. “We have a young side – we have some quite emotional guys in that team. If we let that emotion come into our cricket, I don’t think that it will serve us well.”If we stick with the mantra of going out there and enjoying it, trying to show off and deliver our skills as best we can with a smile on our face, that will serve us far better than getting fired up and angry.”Ben Stokes took part in the Chance to Shine Street cricket programme in Birmingham, which is supported by Lycamobile.

ScorecardFile photo – Man-of-the-Match Kyle Coetzer struck 70 for Scotland in the win, a career-best in T20Is•Peter Della Penna

Scotland rode Kyle Coetzer’s powerful batting at the top of the order to a 37-run win over Hong Kong at Mission Road, earning a split of the two-match T20 series. Man-of-the-Match Coetzer scored 70 off 40 balls, a career-best in T20Is for the opener, to propel the visitors to 161 after being sent in.It was a solid bounceback in particular for Coetzer after falling for a duck the day before in Scotland’s nine-wicket defeat. His opening partner George Munsey fell without scoring in the opening over of Sunday’s rematch but Coetzer and Matthew Cross were undeterred in their aggression during the Powerplay.Coetzer maintained a brisk pace early before Cross targeted Hong Kong captain Tanvir Afzal in the sixth, clattering a trio of fours through mid-off and a fourth behind point to take Scotland to 54 for 1. Their 71-run stand ended when Nadeem Ahmed had Cross caught off the left-arm spinner’s first ball in the ninth over for 27, failing to clear Nizakat Khan at deep midwicket.Coetzer kept cruising after Cross departed though and eventually brought up his fifty off 29 balls, striking the left-arm spin of Anshuman Rath for his fourth six over mid-off. He hit six sixes in all, every one driven between mid-on and cover, in an impressive display of orthodox strokeplay. After pulling Aizaz Khan for his fifth four in the 13th, Coetzer tried the shot again but top-edged to Nizakat at deep square leg.Scotland stuttered from there, losing their next five wickets for 17 runs as Nadeem and Haseeb Amjad prevented a late surge following Coetzer’s excellent platform. Nadeem in particular kept Scotland off balance with his variations of flight and pace to claim 3 for 23, and helped to hold Scotland to 161 for 9.Any momentum Hong Kong had in the final five overs in the field was wiped out by a double-barreled seam assault from Safyaan Sharif and Bradley Wheal, who reduced the hosts to 7 for 4 after 15 balls of the chase. Jamie Atkinson was squared up first ball and edged Sharif behind to Cross before Wheal got a slice of good fortune when Rath missed a full toss after charging down the track to start the second and was bowled for 1.Wheal nearly had Mark Chapman two balls later as an inside edge missed the stumps before going to the fine-leg boundary but on the final ball of the over managed to have the prized scalp – caught flicking a thin edge down the leg side to a diving Cross. Sharif had Babar Hayat poking unnecessarily at a wide delivery to send a catch to Preston Mommsen at second slip three balls into the third over and from there Hong Kong were virtually out of the game.Hong Kong slipped further to 34 for 6 in the ninth when Richie Berrington struck off consecutive deliveries. Nizakat was caught hooking to deep square leg for 17 while Kinchit Shah drove a full delivery flat and hard to Calum MacLeod at head height on the long-off rope for 7.Afzal made the final margin appear more flattering after striking the fastest T20I fifty for Hong Kong, off 20 balls, including four sixes in a 30-run over off Rob Taylor in the 17th when he drove the left-arm medium-pacer repeatedly over mid-on and mid-off. He had been dropped earlier on 22 off a sharp return chance to the left-arm spinner Mark Watt as a drive burst through the bowler’s hands toward mid-off but Afzal’s fireworks finally came to an end in the 18th when Wheal returned to the attack and forced a mistimed drive to Taylor at mid-off. Berrington ended the match one over later with his third wicket after Amjad sent a catch to deep square leg.Hong Kong now have two weeks to prepare for their Asia Cup T20 qualifying round against UAE, Afghanistan and Oman. Scotland will fly through the UAE on their way home for three matches, including T20Is against UAE and Netherlands on February 4 and 5 in their final scheduled action before their first match at the World T20 against Afghanistan on March 8.

After strolling to a five-wicket win in the first one-dayer at Bulawayo, South Africa are expected to go in with a full strength side as Herschelle Gibbs is set to return from injury and bolster the batting. The action in the short three-match series shifts to the Harare Sports Club for the weekend double-header.Gibbs missed the first match due to a lower leg injury and is expected to bat in the middle order. JP Duminy, who missed out after scoring 3 in South Africa’s chase at Bulawayo, is likely to make way for Gibbs. Gulam Bodi, who impressed with a debut half century, will retain his place, as will opener Loots Bosman, despite falling for his fifth consecutive score under five. The plan would be to try out all the players set to take an active part in the Twenty20 World Championship next month.The bowling attack is likely to be retained, despite letting Zimbabwe off the hook at Bulawayo. Zimbabwe, in a hole at 72 for 7 by the 25th over, looked in danger of being wrapped up under 100 before the lower order stepped up and set a fine example for the rest. A 115-run stand between Elton Chigumbura and Gary Brent lifted them to 206, giving the visitors a little to think about. Allrounder Johan van der Wath is likely to keep his place despite leaking 59 off nine overs in his one-day comeback. Dale Steyn, not in the squad for the Twenty20 championship, may have to sit out another game, depending on how the team management decides to rotate the bowlers over the weekend.The Zimbabweans on the other hand are contemplating a few changes in the bowling attack, going in with just one specialist spinner. Legspinner Timycen Maruma, who went wicketless in his debut ODI, is likely to be dropped, leaving the lone spin duties to Prosper Utseya. Tawanda Mupariwa is set to join Brent and Christopher Mpofu in the seam attack.The top order will continue to worry the home side, with players like Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu failing to convert their starts. Chamu Chibhabha, after a poor run in the World Cup, is expected to return in place of either Hamilton Masakadza or Stuart Matsikenyeri. The running between the wickets too left a lot to be desired at Bulawayo, with five dismissals coming by way of run-outs.

Division One

Mark Ealham struck a typically bullish 92 for Nottinghamshire on the second day against Kent at Trent Bridge, as the home side were dismissed for 496. After losing David Hussey, who added just eight to his overnight 156, Ealham took command of proceedings, crunching eight fours and lofting two over the boundary. In reply, Ryan Sidebottom nipped out Rob Key, the Kent captain, and Martin van Jaarsveld as the visitors trail Nottinghamshire by 381 runs.Despite being bowled out 30 runs adrift of Warwickshire first innings, Durham’s bowlers hit back before the close reducing the visitors to 65 for 4 on the second day at Chester-le-Street. Durham’s day began poorly when Gary Scott fell for 34, but Dale Benkenstein (79) and Ben Harmison (65) – the younger brother of Steve – starred in a fifth wicket partnership worth 118. Durham’s tail soon folded, largely due to Paul Harris who ended with impressive figures of 6 for 94 as Warwickshire gained a slender first-innings lead. However, Mick Lewis grabbed three quick wickets to leave Warwickshire struggling albeit with a lead of 95.

Division Two

The gloomy skies and interruptions in play couldn’t stop HD Ackerman notching his second double-hundred of the season as Leicestershire took command of the second day at Leicester against Northamptonshire. Ackerman, who made a brilliant 309 earlier in the summer, was finally dismissed for 216 ending a superb 211-run partnership with Paul Nixon who remained unbeaten on risk-laden 144. When play was cut short for the day, Leicestershire finished on 525 for 8.A mere 29 overs were possible at a very wet and gloomy Taunton between Somerset and Gloucestershire, but it allowed enough time for Wes Durston to bring up his sixth Championship fifty of the season. Torrential rain forced the players back into the pavilion at 11.50, and they didn’t return until well into the afternoon. Somerset’s tail soon folded – they lost their last four wickets for 18 runs – before bad light forced the players off the field for the final time.