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Sussex 373 for 9 (Naved-ul-Hasan 69, Hopkinson 62, Wright 59, Goodwin 55 ) v Middlesex
Scorecard

Last summer at Lord’s, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan destroyed Middlesex almost single-handedly, smashing a hundred with the bat and then taking seven wickets.On that occasion, he rescued Sussex from a parlous 199 for 6 to set up a rousing innings victory. He arrived at the crease at Horsham with Sussex again wobbling on 231 for 7 and launched a stinging counter attack which helped propel the Championship leaders to 373 for 9 at the close. His 64 off 51 balls, largely off the innocuous offspin of Jamie Dalrymple, turned a match in which Sussex had largely been the architects of their own problems.On a slow and soft pitch with the ball not really coming on to the bat, Sussex nevertheless struggled against some ordinary seam bowling, and until Naved-ul-Hasan’s arrival the run-rate had hovered under three-an-over all day.Five of the top six got starts. Carl Hopkinson looked assured for his 62 until he cut straight to backward cover shortly after lunch, while Chris Adams’ breezy 31 was ended by a ball from Ben Hutton which kept low. All the time Murray Goodwin was playing a solid anchor innings, but he had just begun to show signs of opening up when he was well caught by a diving Chad Keegan at wide mid-on.

When Robin Martin-Jenkins, whose 37 had included some delightful drives, perished to a juggled return catch by Mohammad Ali, Sussex’s batting, not their strongest feature this season, was again threatening to let them down. But Naved-ul-Hasan and Luke Wright laid into Dalrymple, smashing him for 38 off three overs before Middlesex’s seamers at least stemmed the avalanche of runs, even if they failed to break through. Although Chris Silverwood removed them both shortly before the close, the damage had been done, and with runs hard to come by there is a feeling that Middlesex are already in trouble.At the weekend, John Emburey, Middlesex’s coach, talked of Keegan as being a potential England player. On the evidence today he looked anything but, and this has to be as weak an attack as Middlesex have fielded since the dark days of the 1960s. While Silverwood has some pep, it looks very unlikely that the likes of Johann Louw and Ali will get enough wickets to heave the county off the bottom of the table. It is going to be a long summer for the Londoners.

Brad Williams has been called up to replace Jason Gillespie in Australia’s one-day squad for the tri-series in India. Gillespie, who missed the second Test against Zimbabwe due to a side strain, was ruled out of the series after he attempted to bowl in the nets at Sydney today. Gillespie suffered the injury during the first Test against Zimbabwe at Perth last week.Gillespie’s withdrawal further hampers a line-up which is already missing Glenn McGrath and Darren Lehmann. Lehmann is suffering from soreness in his left Achilles tendon. He has been overlooked for the Indian tour following medical advice.Trevor Hohns, the chairman of the national selection panel, said: “We have accepted the view that the demands placed on the body are sufficiently different in a one-off Test match compared to the intensity of a one-day tournament. The Cricket Australia medical team believes that although Darren might be able to get through this Test match, he will not be able to endure the rigours of a one-day tournament without suffering further damage. Darren is fully accepting of that view. From a team perspective it’s disappointing because he has been a key member of Australia’s success at one-day level.”Nathan Bracken, Gillespie’s replacement during the World Cup, returns to India, where he first played ODIs in 2001. He will be accompanied by Michael Clarke, also from New South Wales, who made his ODI debut during the tour to the West Indies earlier this year.The squad leaves for India on Oct 22.Squad
Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Jimmy Maher, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Michael Clarke, Ian Harvey, Brad Hogg, Andrew Bichel, Brett Lee, Brad Williams, Nathan Bracken.

Lions 145 for 6 (Rowley 69*) beat Titans 135 for 8 (Cullinan 40*) by 10 runs
ScorecardThe second game of the Standard Bank PRO20 Series between the Titans and the Lions, at SuperSport Park, resulted in a thrilling encounter, with the Lions trumping their opponents by only 10 runs.Winning the toss, Daryll Cullinan, the new Titans captain, put the Lions in to bat on a hard flat surface. A good start of 13 off two overs was halted when Marthinus Otto and Adam Bacher fell off consecutive balls – the Bacher dismissal was a blinder with Alviro Petersen taking a brilliant low catch at backward point. Justin Ontong scored a slow 7, and his dismissal brought Hylton Ackerman and Grant Rowley to the crease. Together they took the total to 56 for 3 at the halfway mark of 10 overs. A 56-run partnership came to an end when Ackerman holed out to long-on for a run-a-ball 27. Vaughn van Jaarsveld made a brief visit to the crease before Derek Crookes flayed 15. Grant Rowley, however, was the hero for the Lions, scoring 69 off 45 balls and striking nine fours and a six. His effort helped the Lions to end on 145 for 6.A combination of good bowling and conservative batting had the Titans struggling at 42 for 1 after 10 overs with Petersen losing his wicket early and Jacques Rudolph and Martin van Jaarsveld making heavy work of the conditions. The match turned on its head when, with the pressure mounting, van Jaarsveld tried to force the pace and was caught on the fence. Rudolph was run out off the very next ball, followed by Kemp – also run out without facing a ball. Three wickets in three balls left the Titans on 68 for 4 in the 13th over. A third run out, that of Albie Morkel, increased the pressure, which even a short flurry from Brendon Reddy did nothing to relieve. And when Goolam Bodi was run out, it was all over. Cullinan smashed the ball around, scoring 40 off 21 balls but in the end, the four run outs and the miserly bowling of Charl Langeveldt was just too much for the Titans.It’s two games down and 13 to go. On current evidence, there’s still a lot of homework to be done to come to terms with this shorter version of the game. For the 7425 spectators, however, it was an evening of packaged entertainment and excitement and worth every cent of the entrance fee.

SYDNEY, March 3 AAP – Western Australian cricket selectors swung the axe today ahead of this week’s Pura Cup match against Victoria.Wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Campbell, batsman Michael Hussey and swing bowler Callum Thorp were omitted from the team which lost to NSW at the WACA Ground yesterday.Allrounder Peter Worthington will make his first-class debut if selected in the final XI.The 12th man will be named on the morning of the match, which starts in Melbourne on Thursday.Chairman of selectors Wayne Hill said with WA out of contention for the final, the last match of the regular season presented an opportunity for some of the young Warriors.”We have lost our last two completed matches by close margins,” Hill said.”It is the form of some of our senior players that has become questionable.”We have decided to look at the potential of some of the state’s developing young players.”Western Australian cricket is losing games and we have to look at ways to rectify that.”Paceman Brad Williams, who missed the match against NSW with an elbow injury, was also included in the 12-man squad named today.WA (from): Justin Langer (capt), Jo Angel, Beau Casson, Michael Clark, Murray Goodwin, Matthew Nicholson, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Adam Voges, Brad Williams, Peter Worthington.

England today named Michael Atherton as their stand-in captain for the Second Ashes Test starting next Thursday at Lord’s.He replaces Nasser Hussain after the skipper broke his finger during the defeat against Australia in the First Test at Edgbaston.It had appeared that it was a two-horse race for the captaincy between Atherton and opener Marcus Trescothick.England initially drew up a shortlist comprising Atherton, Trescothick and Alec Stewart. But Stewart and Mark Butcher ruled themselves out of the race, although opening bowler Darren Gough said he would be interested in leading the side for a one-off match.It will be the first time that Atherton has captained England since heresigned from the position in Antigua more than three years ago.Chairman of slectors David Graveney said: “We believe that Michael’s previous experience of Test captaincy makes him the right person to stand in for Nasser.”He fully understands the predicament the team finds itself in and was veryhappy to take on the responsibility.”We looked at all our options within the team, in particular MarcusTrescothick who continues to play a central role in decision-making, but at thisstage of his career, the selectors felt the captaincy was an unnecessary burdenfor Marcus to undertake.”Atherton said: “I had no intention of doing it again but these are exceptionalcircumstances and when David Graveney asked me if I would do it I said yes.”Clearly there were not too many candidates because of the injury listand I obviously thought there was a chance of being asked to do the job.”I didn’t push myself forward. I just kept quiet and went away after thelast Test for a fishing trip and thought things through for myself but Ispoke to Duncan (Fletcher) and didn’t want to turn my back on him in thisinstance.”Atherton can at least take comfort from the fact that his last AshesTest as captain resulted in a narrow 19-run victory for England at The Oval.He said: “You never stop learning from the game and being a distance away from the captaincy will help. I’ll go out there and give it my best and theteam will give it a good go.”Each individual has to step up to the mark – it’s a great challenge becausewe’ve had a bad four or five weeks with injuries and the Test matches againstPakistan and Australia and it’s up to the team to turn it around.”All good teams have a bad patch and we’ve proved in the last 18 months thatwe’re a good team.”He added: “I’ll speak to Nasser in the next day or two to sound out how hewants to play it. He’s still captain of England and I’m happy to have him atLord’s.”Australian skipper Steve Waugh said: “I’ve never actually captained a Test against Michael, but I’m looking forward to locking horns with an old adversary.”Michael is a respected opponent and I’m sure his experience will be valuablefor England at this time.”Atherton will take over his duties next week when the squad assembles inLondon on Tuesday.

ScorecardMedium-pacer Hardik Pandya’s maiden first-class five-for and a four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh bundled Railways out for a paltry 166 in Vadodara. In reply, led by opener Kedar Devdhar’s unbeaten 69, the home side reached a promising total of 118 for 1 by close of play.Pandya took four of the first five wickets to fall to leave Railways leaving at 45 for 5 in the 16th over. It took a lower-order rally led by Karn Sharma’s 51 to lift the side from 89 for 7 to 166 all out.In response, Baroda lost opener Hitesh Solanki early but recovered through an 87-run unbeaten partnership for the second wicket between Devdhar and captain Aditya Waghmode.
ScorecardFile photo – Parthiv Patel’s 22nd first-class century lifted Gujarat on an otherwise middling day•K Sivaraman

Parthiv Patel’s 122 was the standout performance for Gujarat on the opening day of their second round match against Andhra, taking them to a position of relative safety after a top-order failure.DP Vijaykumar early strikes reduced Gujarat to 14 for 2 after they were put in to bat. Parthiv, who walked in at No. 4, then guided the innings through a 55-run partnership with Bhargav Merai for the third wicket and a 105-run fourth-wicket stand with Venugopal Rao. He also took on the bulk of scoring in those stands, as no other Gujarat batsman crossed a score of 40 on the opening day. Parthiv was the last Gujarat wicket for the day, falling on 122 off 176 balls with 18 fours. Vijaykumar finished the day with three scalps, while D Sivakumar took 2 for 33.
ScorecardFifties from B Aparajith and R Prasanna anchored Tamil Nadu on the opening day of their match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, but the home side chipped away at the wickets to ensure they did not concede a significant advantage.MP won the toss and opted to field and Puneet Datey provided them with a breakthrough in the fourth over by bowling opener K Bharath Shankar out. B Aparajith’s 133-ball 56 helped them rebuild from there. But MP struck with the dismissal of Abhinav Mukund and once Aparajith and Dinesh Karthik fell in quick succession, Tamil Nadu found themselves at a shaky 115 for 4. Another rebuilding act, in the form of an 86-run, fifth-wicket partnership between B Indrajith and Prasanna took them past the 200-run mark. Prasanna finished the day unbeaten at 51, after Indrajit became medium-pacer Udit Birla’s second wicket of the day.Mumbai v Punjab report: Pacers, Iyer help Mumbai grab early advantage

Six, six, six
Chennai, chasing 188, had lost two wickets in the space of five balls and the required rate was hovering near nine an over. Sixteen deliveries without a boundary wasn’t helping their cause, but the big-hitting Albie Morkel swung Chennai back by plundering 23 runs off the 14th over, bowled by Virender Sehwag. The first ball was heaved over midwicket for a massive six, the second biffed dead straight for the same result, and the hat-trick followed with another clout over midwicket. That spectacular comeback from Morkel made the difference when push came to shove.AB pulls off a blinder
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was threatening to finish the match himself, batting sensibly as wickets fell around him, but a stunning catch from AB de Villiers cut him short. Sehwag called back Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh to bowl the penultimate over and Dhoni skipped down to drill a full delivery towards long-on. The ball was dipping on de Villiers, harrying in from the boundary, but he dived forward and cupped it off the ground, refreshing memories of Ajay Jadeja’s similar stunner to dismiss Allan Border in the 1992 World Cup.Chamara surprise
Chennai seemed to have just four overseas players in their squad but everyone was caught on the wrong foot when Chamara Kapugedera, the Sri Lankan batsman, was named in the XI. Apparently he signed over the weekend and sneaked ahead of Makhaya Ntini, who hadn’t managed to get a wicket in three games. He didn’t have a great start, though: going for 15 runs in his only over. Things weren’t much better when he batted though his presence did play a part in Chennai moving towards the target.

It has fallen upon this final at the great venue of Kensington Oval, Barbados, not just to deliver a champion of the world but to save face for the game on its biggest stage. For all its supposed wonderful health, the tripe dished out over the past two months has been an embarrassment. All the proper players in the world plus a few others were put in the most evocative of destinations and look what they came up with. It was hoped the last week might rescue the tournament. Nothing of the sort. Two one-sided romps and fans asking each other when?In lovely St Lucia on Wednesday the occasion failed to feel like a World Cup semi-final. In inviting bids that covered a wide range of requirements the organisers may have been trying to do the fair thing. But what price a cricket culture?As absent as it was in St Lucia, so unmissable it is in Barbados. Cricket sprouts out of the very earth of Barbados. More than any other Caribbean territory, and by extension any place in the world, cricket has been its making, it has described its society, its culture, its life, its times. Whether or not there will be local flavour at the ground – even in Barbados it is not uncommon to be told they’d just sit this one out thank you, and be back when regular cricket comes around – the ethos of cricket is in the air. This thing matters, it is reassuring to feel.Two teams have shone in the ninth World Cup and their anticipated match-up is the closest fans have been able to come to a wet dream in the tournament. Australia and Sri Lanka do their thing and at their best they have between them all of cricket covered. Mahela Jayawardene, in whom captaincy has brought out the player of the calibre observers had detected from an early age, has spoken again and again about Sri Lanka needing to play their own brand of cricket. There is a defiance to this. We do not need to be Australia to beat ’em. South Africa tried it and failed, he said.What it means is that Australia’s power can be deflected rather than met head-on. It is relevant in the nature of the general vibe, and it is certainly in the batting – the Lankans prefer twirling to belting – but in the most vital aspect these two teams are more similar to each other than any other.Each has the kind of bowling line-ups usually found on paper, where specifications can be constructed to fancy. The first over is bowled by a slyly tormenting pin-point left-arm swinger at 125kph. His new-ball partner is normally a firebrand slingshot of terrible pace and inexplicable method. Each has a wrist-spinner of mystery who has had a superb tournament.Hereabouts Sri Lanka have the edge, for no matter the excellence of the Australian trio, there is something more to be said for the greatness of Chaminda Vaas and especially Muttiah Muralitharan. The difference is in the other specialist bowler. Australia have Glenn McGrath.And McGrath it is who will enjoy this Barbados pitch more than any bowler in contemporary cricket, especially if he should get to use it first. He certainly did a fortnight ago with three wickets in his opening spell in the rout of Ireland. McGrath has never really needed more than an off stump and an outside edge to aim at. Giving him bounce is presenting him nail, hammer and coffin. He is hoping it will do for Sanath Jayasuriya as it has done several times down under.

If a weakness must be found in Australia it is that they haven’t been fully tested, though if it was any other way it would have been undoubtedly played up as proof of their vulnerability. So dominant have they been that, for instance, Michael Hussey has got just two hits in the last six games, and he didn’t get past nine runs in the first four, mostly because he came in so late. Moreover, as Jayawardene says: “They are human.””This game doesn’t get any bigger,” Ricky Ponting, the finest batsman and leader of the best team in the world, said. “For guys who have been around quite a while like myself this is the reason you still play the game.”A Sri Lankan win will be the bigger story, for it will be as much a case of winning against the odds of the system as Australia’s would be direct product of theirs. Whenever Jayawardene has been asked about the ’96 World Cup he has answered within a historical context which suggests an awareness of both what the game means to the country and what it means to be good at the game. From amateurism to world champions in such a short time was one of the remarkable stories of the game, and if Jayawardene’s men can rise to this success from the pit of power-mongering and chaos that is the administration of Sri Lankan cricket then it may be almost comparable. And even as the team arose this morning in the Caribbean, back home the international airport at Colombo was closed for fear of an LTTE strike. In times of trouble citizens turn to sport for hope and those of Sri Lanka could use some now.Let us hope for a glistening, fabulous, luminous match, a match that brings forward the finest, most varied skills of the game in the most challenging of circumstances in the most stirring of ambiences: a match which does the sport proud, a match which leaves a shining gloss on this long and largely despondent affair.Likely teams
Australia – 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Brag Hogg, 9 Shaun Tait, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Glenn McGrath.Sri Lanka – 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 5 Dilshan Tillakaratne, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Russel Arnold, 8 Dilhara Fernando, 9 Chaminda Vaas, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Jenny Thompson looks back at the week in county cricket
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With the one-day series safely in the bag, Pakistan are now eyeing victory in the Test series against West Indies. Speaking to the media after Pakistan’s comfortable 40-run win the second match in St Lucia, Younis Khan, who led the team in the field after Inzmam-ul-Haq was injured during batting, said: “We’ve never won a Test series here, so it’s my golden chance. We are playing our best cricket for a while.” Younis will captain the side in the first Test, as Inzamam will be serving a one-match suspension.Younis also said that the tours of Australia and India had helped toughen the team. “I think the tough tours to Australia and India have helped us gel as a team and believe in ourselves,” the BBC website quoted him as saying. “Those tours were a turning point for us.”Shoaib Malik, who won the Man-of-the-Match award for scoring 51 and bowling ten overs of tidy offspin, reckoned that Pakistan’s total of 258 was below par. “In my opinion, the score was a little short – it was a 270-plus [wicket] – but if you work hard in bowling, then you can manage.” Pakistan, who came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat India 4-2 in the ODI series last month, have now won six one-dayers in a row.For West Indies, on the other hand, it was another disappointing defeat, their eighth consecutive one, which equalled their worst run – they had been beaten eight times in a row in 1999-2000, when they lost three matches in Sharjah and then five in New Zealand. (click here for more details.) Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their captain, blamed the defeat on the batsmen. “Obviously the batting has been letting us down in most of the games and we need to pick it up,” he said. “Our experienced batsmen need to take on the responsibility and do the job.”He was encouraged, though, by the presence of David Scott, the performance-enhancement specialist who has come down to see the last two matches of the series. “It gives us an opportunity to talk to him and see if there is anything he can provide to help us approach the mental side of cricket.”West Indies play the last match of the series at the same venue today (Sunday, May 22), after which the two teams will be involved in a two-Test series.