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The Kent Cricket Board today announced the appointment of Jamie Clifford as Director of Cricket Development in succession to Bill Dover who retired at the end of May.Jamie, 26, will take up the post on 1 July. He is currently Marketing Manager for Wisden Online and before that held posts with World Challenge Expeditions, the youth development and educational travel specialists. In 1994/5 he held a Short Service Limited Commission with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. Jamie was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate before graduating from Wye College.Commenting on his appointment, he said:
“My deep love of cricket was developed and nurtured in Kent; so I am delighted to have been offered this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the future of cricket in the county I have supported all my life.”Chairman of the Kent Cricket Board, Chris Swadkin, added:
“We are delighted that Jamie has accepted the job. We are sure that he will prove to be energetic and innovative in his approach. There is a great deal to be done within the recreational game in Kent. The Board has a clear plan and much looks forward to working with Jamie and his team to help raise the profile of the game of cricket throughout the county.”

Play did not start until 3.15 at The Rose Bowl where Hampshire, resuming from their overnight 245-8, still needed 34 more runs to avoid being asked to follow on.James Hamblin and Chris Tremlett extended their ninth wicket partnership to 52 before Hamblin was adjudged lbw to DeFreitas, two short of a maiden half-century. Chris Tremlett and Alan Mullally crept towards the requested figure before, in what could only be described as a mental aberration, Tremlett drove the ball to Carl Crowe at mid-wicket only to see Mullally attempting a run. Sent back, the former Leicestershire fast bowler was yards out, and Hampshire were all out just six runs short of the follow-on target.Derek Kenway fell early in Hampshire’s second innings, as he edged Dagnall to the wicket-keeper, but Kendall and Crawley held the innings together for 60 runs before Crawley edged spinner Carl Crowe to Neil Burns, possibly a vital wicket for the visitors. Kendall and night-watchman James Hamblin safely negotiated the final overs.With a 74-run deficit, Hampshire will be looking to bat throughout the day to save the game, but with heavy showers forecast, they may be helped along the way. Defeat would give Leicestershire the honour of being the first visiting side to record a victory at the Rose Bowl in the Championship.

Australia’s chances of recording a history-making seventh successive Ashes series victory over England received a major boost today when any lingering doubts over the fitness of pace bowlers Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie were dispelled. In respective tests ahead of the tour – which begins next month – both proved their readiness for the campaign by emerging unscathed from rigorous individual fitness sessions before a range of team officials at the Sydney Cricket Ground.The news represents a particularly heartening development for Australia, which will rely heavily on its fast bowling contingent during its three-month long visit to English shores. Having been forced to make do without an injured Lee on its way to a 2-1 Test series loss in India – its first series loss for eighteen months – the prospect of leaving him at home again would have represented an especially grievous blow. The New South Wales speedster, who has legitimate claims to being the fastest bowler in the world at present, has been edging his way back to full fitness after undergoing surgery to correct damage sustained to his right elbow in a one-day international match against Zimbabwe in early February.Gillespie, meanwhile, has been absent from the Australian line-up for long intervals over the last four years. He was a lionhearted performer in India and also played a major role in the preceding 5-0 whitewash of West Indies but has battled a succession of injuries around those two series. His latest came during the closing stages of the tour of India; stress reactions in his left foot forcing him to endure close to two months of general rest and recovery.Along with Glenn McGrath, Lee and Gillespie potentially form the most destructive pace bowling trio in world cricket. But circumstances have contrived to ensure that the three have only come together in the same Test eleven once – in Perth in December when, by no mere coincidence, their team powered its way to a crushing innings victory.Gillespie will now assume his place in the fourteen-man party selected to play in the NatWest Series of one-day international matches against England and Pakistan that begins on 7 June. Lee, for his part, will fly out of Australia on 18 June, joining Gillespie and fifteen other of his countrymen in readiness for the series of five Tests against England that commences on 5 July.

Steve Waugh’s career with the Kent Spitfires took off in style at Canterbury, as Leicestershire Foxes’ 168, which looked competitive when Kent were 52 for four, was passed with two balls to spare. Waugh kept the Spitfires’ title hopes alive with an unbeaten 59 towards a five-wicket win in the last over, which takes them into undisputed third place behind the leaders, Worcestershire Royals, and Glamorgan Dragons. Waugh added 72 for the sixth wicket with Paul Nixon (33*) to secure the victory. Martin Saggers was Kent’s top bowler, with three for 22 off his nine overs, while Min Patel (two for 34), Mark Ealham and Matthew Fleming all gave good support. Neil Burns (35) was the top scorer in an off-colour performance by the Foxes.In Division Two, Surrey Lions kept a grip on their promotion hopes with a 70-run win over Hampshire Hawks. Adam Hollioake was hunter-in-chief under a moonlit night at the AMP Oval, with 32 and five for 43 as the Hawks were unable to clear the lower plains of the division. The Lions’ healthy 262 was built around Ian Ward (38), Ali Brown (49), Mark Ramprakash (50) and Scott Newman (37). Dimitri Mascarenhas (four for 45) and Neil Johnson (three for 42) were the main wicket-takers for the Hawks, whose reply never got much above ground level after Tim Murtagh bowled Johnson for 44. Mushtaq Ahmed was particularly predatory for the Lions, with one for 19 off nine overs as the Hawks were picked off like sitting ducks.

SYDNEY, Oct 30 AAP – Life after international cricket for Mark Waugh is set to follow a well-worn path into Channel Nine’s cricket commentary team.Nine director of Sport Gary Burns said discussions with Waugh’s management begin tomorrow about him joining old team-mates Mark Taylor and Ian Healy behind the microphone.”But I’m not sure he’s a certainty this summer for the CCP (Central Commentary Position),” Burns said today.”He’s going to play first-class cricket for New South Wales this season and that goes on at the same time as the international season.”He commentated in the mid-winter season here – the one dayers against Pakistan – and went pretty well I thought.”But Burns baulked at the idea Nine was keen to secure Waugh.”Not that keen, we are full – fuller than a fat lady’s sock really,” Burns said.”Nobody’s going to join the commentary team while they are still playing, so he’s going to have at least another season.”But we’re hoping we can work out a way we can see him guest commentating on appropriate matches.”And don’t forget the World Cup (in South Africa next year) for instance, we will have a major hosting and down stream operation back here in Sydney while that’s all going on and I hope to see him involved in that.”

On a day when rain washed out most of the Norwich Union League programme, Glamorgan Dragons and Kent Spitfires managed to at least get in a 23 overs-a-side match in Cardiff and, furthermore, a thrilling encounter ended in a tie. James Tredwell was run out off the last ball going for the second that would have given the Spitfires victory after James Golding had managed the one run that brought the scores level.The Spitfires looked as if they would be performing a victory role going into the last over needing 6 to win with four wickets in hand. That was before Adrian Dale shot them down in flames by taking two wickets in three balls to leave them needing two runs off the last. They got one to Robert Croft at long-off, but his throw to the bowler’s end was straight and true and the first tie of the season had been achieved.It was not until 4 o’clock that play got under way with Matthew Fleming winning the toss for the Spitfires and deciding to invite the Dragons to take first use of the pitch. When the fall of wickets do not really matter in as much that a side is unlikely to be bowled out in such a short span of overs, the batsmen have license to play expansive strokes and that is exactly what was seen in the first innings.Croft set the tone, taking 23 from 13 balls, while his opening partner, David Hemp, reached 39 from 37 balls. Just to illustrate that it is unnecessary to smash everything to reach a decent scoring rate, there were only two fours and a single six in Hemp’s innings. Nevertheless, 33 runs were scored in the first three overs.Darren Thomas ensured that the closing overs would not go to waste either, finishing on 28 not out, and the Dragons would have no doubt been pleased with a batting performance that set Kent nearly seven an over if they were going to be successful.The Spitfires’ innings took off rather more slowly than that of the home side as Fleming and Robert Key put on 32 for the first wicket in six overs. It was not until Andrew Symonds joined Key in a third wicket partnership that produced 50 runs at better than a run a ball that things really started moving.Symonds made 32 from 21 balls with just one four and a towering six over mid-wicket before Thomas returned to the attack to have him caught at long-on. That left the onus on Key, who reached his fifty but fell three balls later, lbw to Croft.Mark Ealham is renowned for his one-day abilities and did not disappoint with 24 from 25 balls until he became the second of Dale’s wickets in the final over, setting the scene for the drama of the final ball.

The final day of West Indies A tour match with Nottinghamshire was washed out without a ball being bowled. The inclement Trent Bridge weather ruined apotentially intriguing day, after both captains had declared on day two to open the door for a possible result.The visitors’ hectic schedule continues apace, weather permitting. They playYorkshire at Headingley on Sunday, before heading to Old Trafford for afour-day match starting next Wednesday.

New Zealand’s hopes of forcing a result in their favour in the third National Bank Series Test with England at Eden Park will depend on how many more first innings runs they can score.With only 54 overs bowled on a rain and light-reduced first day, New Zealand are staring humiliation in the face at 151/5.It will be up to the unlikely combination of Chris Harris, playing his first Test in three years, and as a batsman, and Adam Parore playing his last to pick up as many runs as possible whether in skirmishes while in retreat, or in glorious assault.The former seems more likely considering the hold England’s bowlers have had on the early stages of the game after being given first use of a spicy pitch and being aided by some technically poor New Zealand top-order batting.But Harris, 55 not out out, and Parore, 19 not out, have added 65 runs for the sixth wicket and there is a hope that more will be on the way although rain around Auckland during the day, and overnight, will ensure that the spice has dropped only in quality from very hot to hot.Captain Stephen Fleming has made an art form of toss winning in the series with three out of three and he said while today’s was a difficult decision to make, it had been necessary to bat first to try and get runs on the board to put some pressure back on England.”I don’t think we are out of the game,” Fleming said afterward.His decision might have been questioned at 19/4, and he wasn’t wrong, but he said if New Zealand could grind it out and get another 100 or more it would be in the game a lot longer than it had managed in the first two Tests.”The pitch may also get a bit up and down and that would play into our favour as the game goes on,” he said.”The pitch is very similar to Christchurch and I can’t see it stopping,” he said.While New Zealand had lost the early wickets, he felt they were back in the game by stumps.What was plain however, was the top-order had their batting deficiencies exposed by the sheer professionalism of the England bowlers.Andy Caddick was to the fore in this regard with his four wickets to break into the 200 Club, which has a membership of eight others in England. He moved the ball around off the pitch and found holes where they shouldn’t exist for top-flight batsmen. He ended the day with four for 57.Backing Caddick’s efforts was the fielding, exemplified by third slip Graham Thorpe’s superb take to dismiss Nathan Astle.Much hand-wringing has accompanied the breakdown in New Zealand’s bowling resources with an inordinate amount of attention being paid to the less experienced replacement bowlers being called into action.Their lack of experience in bowling, and subsequent punishment, has camouflaged the batting problems which have hampered the side since their outstanding batting in Perth in December.Even the 2-0 Test series win over Bangladesh was hardly the batting self-help that might normally have been expected against such lowly-rated opposition.The single-most factor which has seen New Zealand out-played in the series has been the inability of its batsmen to score runs in their first innings.Without those runs, the opportunity has not been there to create pressure on what has been a thoroughly professional England side.It is significant that the first innings batting effort in Perth was the catalyst for the pressure that occurred on the Australians afterwards, just as it was the batting performance by New Zealand in Hamilton last year that put so much pressure on Pakistan.And today’s was symptomatic of batting issues surrounding the side.Mark Richardson, bowled by a leg cutter from Caddick, for four.Fleming, falling away to the off-side nicks the ball into his hip and it rebounds to Mark Ramprakash, for one.Lou Vincent, played a shot too far from his body and the ball made its way through a barn door-sized gap to bowl, for 10.Astle was probably the unluckiest of the batsmen when he had the ball take and edge and fly low to third slip where Thorpe dived to his lift and picked up a grass top catch to send Astle packing for two.It was significant that Harris was still there at the end, on 55 after 202 minutes batting. His lunging forward defensive might be the most ungainly sight since Andrew Jones’ leaping defence of the late-1980s, but at least it was effective. He played like a player who had the hunger and who wanted to be playing Test cricket.Parore started with a hiss and a roar but soon knuckled down in support and the hope must be that they can help New Zealand gain a minimum of another 100 runs. And that’s not forgetting the power of Andre Adams and ever-present promise of Daniel Vettori is in hand as well.There is plenty of cricket left in the match but it is New Zealand who must make the running.

Only 10 overs were possible on the third day of the Frizzell County Championship game at Headingley, as intermittent heavy showers and gloomy light scuppered Hampshire hopes of pressing home their advantage.In the time available, Hampshire achieved one success when opener Craig White, who had passed his fifty in the 12 balls bowled before another lengthy stop, had his off stump uprooted by a shooter from Dimitri Mascarenhas for a painstaking 67, made in 63 overs.No play was possible until 3.30pm before another shower and deeply threatening clouds forced the players off six minutes and two overs later. On the resumption, only one ball was bowled when the umpires consulted their light meters and the action stopped again.With the light brightening, play restarted again at 5.15 in which time White was removed but the light became gloomy once more and, on a frustrating day for Hampshire, there was no option but to call it off for the day.

Sri Lankan cricket received a benefit of US $ 105,000 from the CricketersBenefit Fund Series (CBFS) during a gala dinner hosted by the CBFS. AbdurReheman Bukathir, the President of the CBFS, presented the benefit to SriLankan team manager, Ajit Jayasekera. The money will be donated to theex-Sri Lankan cricketers nominated by the Sri Lankan board.