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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.

Michael Muirhead, the CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said that negotiations are on track for staging the inaugural Caribbean Premier League, a tournament which could replace the regional T20 competition in January next year.”The negotiations are going on to bring on stream the Caribbean Premier League, and this would be a franchise tournament,” Muirhead said. “The West Indies Cricket Board is negotiating the rights, and after this it will be handed to a private promoter who has shown interest in staging the league.”As it stands now, seven Caribbean teams will play a regional T20 which begins on January 6 in Trinidad and Tobago. Muirhead maintained that the commercial league may replace the regional tournament.”It might mean that the regional T20 cricket tournament that is now being played might have to be done away with. This would mean that the franchise team would now go on to represent the region at the Champions League tournament on an annual basis,” he said.Muirhead also said that during his tenure, he hoped to resolve differences between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).”I think with the temperament that I possess, I will be able to bring the parties closer together. Issues with WIPA don’t have to be contentious, and at the end of my tenure I think WIPA would become a less contentious issue,” he said.”Both bodies have to work together to get things right, and it will take compromise from both ends. We will sit and negotiate fairly while achieving our own individual ideals, and I am confident things would work out.”

Although the pitch has crumbled and a hobbling Muttiah Muralitharan is turning the ball square, wickets remain an elusive commodity in the First Test Match in Galle. England lost only four wickets on the third day as an unbeaten maiden Test century by Marcus Trescothick enhanced his team’s chances of saving this crucial game.An excruciatingly slow pitch made the cricket painstaking at times and many English supporters filtered away early, for a refreshing afternoon dip in the Indian Ocean. England scored just 175 runs in 98 overs to finish the day on 202 for four.England won’t lose sleep over their slow scoring, but they will take great delight in the manner in which they were able to keep Sri Lanka’s spinners at bay, even if Muralitharan was not at his best today. England now need just 69 runs to avoid the follow on.Not so long ago Marcus Trescothick was lounging in the Somerset Second XI. Now he is rapidly becoming England’s best discovery for years.He came into the side during the One-Day International series last summer, made 79 runs on his debut and soon forced his way into the Test team. Before today he had scored three Test half-centuries, but had failed to score the century he craved.”It was nice to get the first one out of the way. I did feel nervous in the nineties and I have been working hard on getting a hundred for England. To get it in a different part of the world, on wickets that I am not particularly used to, is really pleasing,” he said.He has every right to be pleased too for this was an epic display of skill, concentration and fitness. He has now been on the field of play for three continuous days and admitted that he needed to drink 15 litres of water today to stave off dehydration. He said he tired towards the close, but was forced to concentrate by Muralitharan, who he described as “one hell of a bowler”.The Sri Lankans, however, were also impressed. Although he was nearly caught and bowled when he had made just 19, he looked astonishingly comfortable against the magical off spinner and received generous applause from the home side when he squirted him into the off side for his hundred.In Pakistan Trescothick used his feet to the spinners, but in Galle he was scared stiff of leaving the crease: “It turns much more in Sri Lanka and with Muralitharan having a mystery ball, which is difficult to pick, it is very difficult to use your feet.” Nevertheless, he drove powerfully through extra cover when Muralitharan over-pitched and used the slog sweep liberally against Sri Lanka’s lesser spinners.He admitted afterwards: “I haven’t been the greatest player of spin in the past, but I am improving all the time and have been working hard on my technique. My method is starting to work.”Trescothick and Michael Atherton gave England a dream start with an 83-run opening partnership. Sri Lanka had a frustrating morning. Atherton was close to lbw when on 19, he was dropped at silly point on 28 and Muralitharan dropped a caught and bowled chance off Trescothick.Three balls after lunch, though, Chaminda Vaas trapped Atherton lbw for 33 with a delivery that swung into the right hander. Nasser Hussain mustered only three runs as he was pinned to his stumps by a vicious off spinner from Muralitharan. Graham Thorpe made seven from 37 balls before he was snapped up at second slip via boot and bat to leave England precariously placed on 117 for three.Alec Stewart, however, gave Trescothick dogged support and the pair added 80 runs for the fourth wicket, only 19 of which were made by the sticky Stewart. Thirty minutes before the close his innings was cruelly cut short when he was adjudged lbw as he tried to pull a delivery from Jayasuriya that appeared to pitch inches outside leg stump. Robert Croft then came in as a nightwatchman and survived to the close without alarm.

Replacements for North Zone Duleep trophy squad

• Virender Sehwag (ankle injury) – ID Singh (J&K)

• Yuvraj Singh (not cleared for four-day cricket by NCA) – Bipul Sharma (Punjab)

• Virat Kohli (asked for rest) – Uday Kaul

• Gautam Gambhir (Champions League) – Rahul Dewan (Haryana)

• Harbhajan Singh (Champions League) – Gurvinder Singh (Himachal Pradesh)

• Rajat Bhatia (Champions League) – Sunny Singh (Haryana)

• Amit Mishra, who had originally been deemed unfit, has now been cleared, and will travel with the squad as the 16th member.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been named Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji season. He has been out of the Indian Test side for more than a year, but returned to the Twenty20 squad for the World T20 last month.Harbhajan flew back home after sustaining an injury during the tour of England last year. He led Mumbai Indians to the Champions League trophy, proof of his ability to perform in T20, but picked up a shin injury around the time he was omitted from India’s squad for Australia.That injury also curtailed his Ranji season to three matches, when as Punjab captain he only took two wickets for 204 runs. He also led Punjab in the one-day Vijay Hazare tournament and the Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.This year, he signed a county contract with Essex, where he played steadily if not spectacularly (13 first-class wickets at 33).His presence in the side will be a boost to Punjab, who are without a head coach after Vikram Rathour vacated the post to become a national selector.Punjab Ranji squad: Harbhajan singh (capt), Mandeep Singh (vice-capt), Karan Goel, Jeevanjot Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Uday Kaul, Mayank Sidhana, Amitoze Singh, Rahul Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Manpreet Gony, Sandeep Sharma, Gurkirat Mann, Bipul Sharma and Rajwinder Singh

NCA-pace academy tie-up, tightened security at CLT20

• The BCCI’s working committee approved, in principle, recommendations of the National Cricket Academy board, which include a tie-up with the MRF Pace Foundation, the use of facilities at the KSCA ground in Alur, near Bangalore, and the setting up of zonal academies in each of the five zones, including a dedicated academy for the northeastern states in Guwahati, Assam.

• The working committee approved several steps to cut out the possibility of corruption in the Champions League T20. An anti-corruption official and security official will be attached to each team and access to the team dug-out will be restricted with a strict code of conduct being implemented. Players, support staff and match officials have been ordered to refrain from accepting gifts during the tournament. They are also directed to disclose the value of any gifts they receive 15 days prior to the tournament. Players and support staff are required to declare and disclose their mobile phone numbers to security officials and any calls received on the hotel exchange will have to be approved by the team manager.

• The BCCI also decided that the disciplinary committee would meet on September 13 in Delhi to discuss the probe report submitted by Ravi Sawani on the alleged spot-fixing and corruption during IPL 2013.

N Srinivasan returned to the BCCI’s administrative fold but didn’t chair the working committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday. Instead, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the interim board head, presided over the last meeting of the BCCI’s annual cycle.After arriving in Kolkata on Sunday morning, Srinivasan is understood to have had brief one-on-one meetings with almost all the working-committee members. The exercise was primarily aimed at staking a claim for a one-year extension as BCCI president in the annual general meeting, which will now be held on September 29 in Chennai.The BCCI president had voluntarily stepped aside after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, also a senior Chennai Super Kings official, was arrested during the IPL spot-fixing scandal. Despite Srinivasan’s keenness on chairing the meeting, it is understood the decision not to do so was based on suggestions from the legal team.Since the BCCI has already submitted an affidavit in court in connection with a public interest litigation filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar saying Jagmohan Dalmiya is running the day-to-day affairs of the board, had Srinivasan chaired the meeting, it might have been viewed as a contempt of court. As a result, Dalmiya chaired the meeting, with Srinivasan attending as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president, thus making it a rarest-of-rare incident of a BCCI president attending a working committee meeting but not chairing it.While he didn’t have a direct discussion with former IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is believed to be opposing Srinivasan’s return to power, two other senior board members – vice-president Arun Jaitley and joint secretary Anurag Thakur – preferred to join the meeting via video conferencing from New Delhi.Even though Srinivasan didn’t chair the meeting, as confirmed by the BCCI press release, he executed “statutory and constitutional” duties of the BCCI president. Srinivasan also confirmed after the meeting that he will “chair the AGM”, as required by the BCCI constitution.While many would have seen Srinivasan’s inability to preside over the meeting as a setback for him, the BCCI president’s supporters were happy with the manner in which the day unfolded. “It was important to first execute all his powers and duties as the BCCI president,” a Srinivasan aide said. “More importantly, the one-on-ones he had in the morning would help him avoid opposition while seeking an extension for another year.”With four weeks remaining for the AGM, the anti-Srinivasan camp would now be hoping that former BCCI and ICC president Sharad Pawar decides to enter into the fray. If Pawar, who is also a senior minister in the federal government, has to contest against Srinivasan, he would need a proposer and a seconder from the South Zone. All the members from the zone are staunch supporters of Srinivasan. However, with Pawar having proven his vote-management skills in the past, Srinivasan’s detractors would be banking on him to return to the BCCI fold. While Pawar has not revealed any plans so far, a BCCI insider close to the former president said his possible candidature for the top post “cannot be ruled out”.

ScorecardWorcestershire’s Tom Fell cruelly missed out on a maiden first-class century as the rain-wrecked LV= County Championship Division Two fixture with Kent squelched to a draw at New Road.The 19-year-old Oxford Brookes student took another step towards a full-time contract, extending his career-best innings to 94 not out as the home side advanced to 284 for 8, still 40 runs behind.Only 44 balls were bowled on the final day but both sides picked up an extra bonus point and Jack Shantry, who partnered Fell in an eighth-wicket stand of 126, did reach a milestone when completing his first half-century.While Fell continued to play a measured role – he hit 12 fours from 162 balls in all – the left handed Shantry (54) targeted James Tredwell. He planted the offspinner’s first delivery over the fence at long on and in his following over he hit successive balls for six and four only to be bowled by the next delivery.This gave Tredwell a return of 5 for 51, his best in the Championship for two years, but like Fell he was denied further success when rain set in after lunch. The umpires finally abandoned the match shortly after 3pm.For Fell it was still a major stride towards his “ultimate aim” for the season of earning a full contract. Currently he is on a summer engagement after playing for Oxford MCCCU earlier in the season.His name can now be added those of England fast bowler Stuart Broad and Leicestershire’s limited overs captain, Josh Cobb, on a list of Oakham School cricketers who came through to the county game.It was only 13 months ago that he ended his career in the School 1st XI, having registered eight successive scores of 50 or more, including two centuries, during last season. With Worcestershire he progressed in the academy and widened his experience playing for Wolverhampton in the Birmingham Premier League.

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul has withdrawn from the inaugural edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to contractual obligations with English county Derbyshire. He will be replaced in the St Lucia franchise by Australia batsman Luke Pomersbach.Chanderpaul signed a contract with CPL offering himself for selection but later realised that his commitment to Derbyshire allowed a release only if it pertained to playing for West Indies.”I am extremely sorry that I will not be able to participate in the CPL because of contractual obligations,” Chanderpaul said. “I would definitely like to make myself available for the next edition, and will have my contracts carry a clause that will permit me to play in future editions of T20 tournaments.”His withdrawal opened doors for Pomersbach, who was in the group of Elite Pool A players alongside Chanderpaul, and the only batsman remaining in that pool.”It will be great to be a part of the first CPL and I am looking forward to some tough competitive cricket with some of the greatest T20 cricketers in the world,” Pomersbach said.Organisers say Pomersbach’s selection is in line with the rules of the draft.Pomersbach has scored 1078 runs in 48 Twenty20s at a strike rate of 130.98, including fours fifties and a hundred. The other T20 franchises he has represented are Brisbane Heat, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore.The St Lucia franchise, the Zouks, includes international players Darren Sammy, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Tino Best, Tamim Iqbal among others. The coach of the franchise is former West Indies bowler Andy Roberts.The CPL begins on July 30 in Barbados with the opening match between St Lucia Zouks and Barbados Tridents.

Match facts

Saturday, June 8, Edgbaston
Start time 1030 (0930 GMT)Jos Buttler’s 16-ball 47 against New Zealand was a further indication that England have unearthed potentially one of the most gifted T20 batsmen in the world•PA Photos

Big Picture

“Australia in crisis” was how one respected English newspaper saw it after their disintegration against India in their final Champions Trophy warm-up. An irredeemable batting display saw them bowled out for 65 by India and, to make matters worse, the chronic back complaint that ruled their captain, Michael Clarke out of this match, has yet to respond to treatment. Whether it is really a crisis will become more apparent at Edgbaston on Saturday, but Australia, winners of the past two Champions Trophies, could certainly be in better shape.Clarke therefore misses the first of 13 England v Australia clashes that will dominate a summer also containing five Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. He has not played a game since mid-March – the third Test against India – because of a weakness that has troubled him intermittently since he was 17, but he aggravated the condition on the long-haul flight from Australia. Australia should surely be looking for the best first-class flat beds they can find, even if the rest of the squad are put into cattle class.George Bailey will stand in for Clarke with his usual affability. He can take consolation from the fact that the practice match against India will not appear in the official records because of the licence to play more than 11 players, and from a record which has seen Australia win their last six matches, including a 5-0 whitewash of West Indies.England will find it a welcome change to be playing somebody different from New Zealand. They beat them 2-1 in New Zealand then lost by the same scoreline in England. It is time for a new challenge. It is not to decry New Zealand to observe that for many England fans the summer is about to begin for real.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed games)
England: WLLWW
Australia: WWWWW

Watch out for…

Jos Buttler‘s explosive 16-ball 47 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge earlier this week was a further indication that England have unearthed potentially one of the most gifted T20 batsmen in the world. His strike-rate is already higher than any other England player – a couple of matches from Phil Mustard apart – and as George Dobell has revealed on these pages, his latest exploits came despite worrying personal circumstances.Australian eyes will be on David Warner more than most. After becoming embroiled in a Twitterstorm with two Australian cricket writers over his involvement in IPL, he has made ducks in both warm-up matches. His latest tweets have been very non-controversial – he has even praised Birmingham in the sunshine.

Team news

England (probable): 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan/Ravi Bopara, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James Anderson
Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Phil Hughes, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Clint McKay

Pitch and conditions

England is enjoying one of its most settled spells of summer weather in recent years and it is set to continue over the weekend. That could negate the threat of two new balls as batting conditions are more comfortable than anticipated. The quicker bowlers will have to wait for more unsettled weather until the early part of next week, especially in Cardiff.

Stats and trivia

• Michael Clarke’s attempts to get his back into shape ahead of back-to-back Ashes series included long bushwalks near Berrima in the New South Wales southern highlands with his fitness guru Duncan Kerr.
• Kerr’s other clients include the Australian children entertainers The Wiggles and he even played drums on one of their albums.
• Jos Buttler’s innings against New Zealand had the second highest strike-rate in any ODI of 15 balls or more.
• The only England batsman to have a higher strike-rate in T20 internationals than Buttler is Phil Mustard, the Durham wicketkeeper, and he only played twice.

Quotes

“In the past, our best was certainly the best in the world. If Australia played their best, no one could match them. And if they had an off day it was only just an off day. That’s going to be our challenge for this tournament. I think the perception is we don’t have that calibre of player. So out of that comes the opportunity to prove people wrong.”
“You’re not going to be remembered for what happened in the warm‑up games. You’re going to be remembered for what happens in the actual tournament.”

The ECB has launched a free educational programme for use in primary schools aimed at teaching children about the spirit of cricket and using Ashes-themed lessons to feed into various key disciplines, such as numeracy and literacy.Called the ‘Ashes School Challenge’, the interactive programme is being supported by the charity Chance to Shine and Cricket Australia. The initiative, part of the ECB’s summer marketing campaign aimed at strengthening grassroots participation, will also see selected schools in the UK invited to take part in a Sister School Challenge, partnering them with a school in Australia.”There are so many ways in which the Ashes can play a part in the classroom – whether by applying maths skills to the study of scores and averages, understanding how modern cricketers keep fit and healthy, or learning more about cricket’s place in the history and culture of both countries,” the ECB’s managing director cricket partnerships, Mike Gatting, said.”We’ll also be encouraging participating schools to organise Ashes-themed cricket tournaments or fun days as part of the programme which will involve the wider community and give children an opportunity to play the game and learn more about key cricketing values such as teamwork, fair play, respect and leadership.”The Ashes School Challenge is linked to the National Curriculum and will be based around 20 themed lesson plans across multiple subjects, with a free educational resource kit available all interested schools and teachers.

ScorecardJames Taylor’s 14th first-class century provided the platform for Notts to push for victory•Getty Images

If Derbyshire do turn out to be the whipping boys of Division One – not that anyone should wish that upon such well-managed and progressive newcomers – then James Taylor’s century in this match may not be held to be of particular value. On the other hand, if Taylor’s Test career is rebooted sooner rather than later, it could be seen as an important moment.Either way, it has put Nottinghamshire in a position of strength, with the potential to complete a victory here despite the threat of showers on the final day, especially after the fillip of Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s wicket late in the afternoon, soon after he had completed his second half-century of the game and when looking absolutely set. With Wayne Madsen gone too, not much batting remains for Derbyshire to clear their arrears, let alone give themselves anything to work with.If there is a batsman with something to prove in the early part of this summer, then it is Taylor, whose rise from pint-sized wreaker of terror among Division Two bowling attacks to Test-class middle-order batsman might have seemed inevitable to some of his admirers but when it came last August suffered a false start.Taylor, who moved to Nottinghamshire the winter before last after scoring freely for Leicestershire, was picked when Ravi Bopara withdrew from the second Test against South Africa. It did not help his cause to find himself unwittingly caught up in the Kevin Pietersen storm, although he will not fall on that or any other excuse to explain his modest performance. It was not seen as good enough to be retained for the winter tours and his absence from the list of names in the England Performance Squad indicated all too clearly that the selectors want to see more.Taylor, for his part, has no quarrel with that assessment. “It was a disappointment,” he said. “I had a taste of Test cricket and it was amazing to get in that England side in the first place but I didn’t deliver the way I wanted to.”But I learned a lot from last season and in some ways it is good to have a setback to kick you up the backside. There is a difference in quality between second and first division. It is definitely a step up, although I don’t think my own performances were a reflection of that.”Sometimes though you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. I know where I stand with England and it is just down to me to score as many runs as I can.”In the event, it was just the mindset that was needed here, on a slow pitch that has rewarded graft. Taylor’s approach was first not to get out, taking his cue from Chanderpaul. From 67 overnight, he scored only 26 more before lunch, without one boundary, negotiating 77 balls against a Derbyshire attack who maintained their discipline and again offered few easy pickings.When his century came – incongruously from a false shot, an edge between first and second slips that brought only his fifth four – it was the slowest of his 14 so far in first-class matches, from 265 balls and 14 minutes short of six hours. He shared a stand of 52 with Stuart Broad but the support he had from Luke Fletcher was equally important in getting him over the line, the bowler sticking by Taylor more than an hour.Broad’s knock was eventful, to say the least. He can bat when he is of a mind but he rode his luck spectacularly as Derbyshire’s fielders somehow managed to drop him three times in the space of five balls before Tim Groenewald at last clung on to a top-edged hook.The stricken Andre Adams batted with a runner in his last appearance before an anticipated five-week lay-off with a torn calf muscle and though he could contribute no more than a swing and a nick Nottinghamshire did finish with a lead of 187. Taylor fell for 112 when, finally taking a risk or two, he skied David Wainwright to mid-off.Derbyshire were soon up against it, losing two wickets for 24 and though Chanderpaul gave them hope in a partnership of 83 with Madsen the departure of both in the space of five overs put Nottinghamshire back on top. Chanderpaul felt he was unlucky to be given out caught behind, claiming the ball brushed his thigh rather than the bat, but the wicket was one that Fletcher deserved. Broad went wicketless and it was Harry Gurney, an improving left-armer, who struck the second decisive blow when Madsen was leg-before. Then Patel had Ross Whiteley taken at slip to leave Derbyshire hoping for a good last morning and a wet afternoon.