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ScorecardJames Kirtley’s four wickets and three more from Ollie Rayner helped Sussex bowl out Sri Lanka A for 225 on the first day at Hove.Choosing to bat, Sri Lanka A had an early setback when they lost Michael Vandort to Kirtley for 4 before a stabilising second-wicket stand of 76 between Mahela Udawatte and Malinda Warnapura levelled the balance.Both fell in quick succession to Kirtley, however, and Sri Lanka’s middle-order struggled against Rayner and Chris Liddle, though the wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva did crunch five fours in an unbeaten 49 to edge his side past 200 and into a position of relative respectability.Sussex, in reply, got off to a brisk start with Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson taking particular liking to Chanaka Welegedara. And although Akalanka Ganegama bowled Hopkinson for 21, Sussex had hustled to 78 for 1 at stumps, trailing by 147.

Leicestershire have announced that six players – Darren Robinson, John Maunders, Arno Jacobs, Paul Harrison, Marc Rosenberg and David Stiff – are being released at the end of the season. The county were keen to stress that the players had been released with a view to making room for new ones to be brought in.”We are currently in negotiations with new players and I am confident that we will be in a position to announce new signings in the coming weeks,” said Tim Boon, Leicestershire’s coach. “We have set out our intentions through the club’s recruitment and selection policy for 2008 and beyond that we want to develop the best young talent around a core group of senior role-model professionals, and that will be reflected in the players that are brought to Grace Road.”I would like to thank those players who have not been offered new contracts for their commitment and service to the club and would also like to wish them well in the future.”

Air India crawled to 186/6 from 97 overs against National CricketAcademy on the first day of their MRF-Buchi Babu pre-quarterfinal atthe Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai today. Far from flying high,Air India were kept on a tight leash after captain Praveen Amre beathis NCA rival Reetinder Sodhi for the toss and chose to take firststrike.After 21-year-old Baroda seamer Rakesh Patel removed opener SandehKawle for one in the seventh over of the innings, Dheeraj Jadhav andNiraj Patel added a battling 68 for Air India of which the latter, anNCA product who could just as well have turned out for his opponents,made 47. With the last ball of his first and only over, Mohd. Kaif’soff breaks dislodged Patel, caught by Rohit Jhalani behind thewickets.Jhalani was again called into action, stumping skipper Amre for 22 offthe bowling of Saurashtra left arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv. Two ballslater, Altaf Merchant had his stumps disarranged by Patel for a duckto leave Air India at 115/4. Satish Samand did not last long but hissuccessor Harvinder Singh Sodhi ensconced himself firmly at thecrease, striking five boundaries in the course of an unbeaten 26.In the 90th over, opener Jadhav’s lengthy and painstaking 283-minutevigil, realising 63 runs (six 4’s), came to an end when off spinnerRamesh Powar won a leg before decision and at stumps wicketkeeper NGGavas was keeping Sodhi company. For NCA, Patel with 2/35 from 19overs produced the best figures among the eight bowlers used.

The two stars of the day have something in common. Uttar Pradesh’s Tanmay Srivastava, who cracked a fine century, and Delhi’s Pradeep Sangwan, the best bowler on view, had just returned from India’s Under-19 tour of South Africa.Both are reaping the benefits of that exposure and reckon the Wankhede wicket was similar to the ones they played on in South Africa. Their display today was no coincidence; the wicket offered consistent bounce and good carry and the two knew how to be effective.Tanmay took UP out of troubled waters. Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina, their main run-getters of the season, had fallen cheaply and Delhi were biting into the brittle lower half when Tanmay took charge. The front foot was not pushed across and the bat didn’t jab at the ball as he played close to the body. The ball did dart around in the morning but he saw through that phase before playing his shots.”The wicket was moving a touch in the morning but settled down. It was quite similar to South Africa. The bounce was little less here and the pace a bit faster there,” Tanmay said. Aakash Chopra thinks the South African experience could have been a hindrance had the Wankhede track had been a typical slow Indian track. “I remember after I came from Australia [in 2003-04], we didn’t play in Feroz Shah Kotla but at another ground in Delhi. It took some time to adjust back to the slowness of the track and I had to make an effort not play a touch early.”Another tip Tanmay got on tour was from the coach, WV Raman. Raman, a fellow left-hander, told Tanmay to open his stance a bit to allow for a smoother downward bat swing and to have better visibility of a right-hand bowler charging from over the wicket.”I couldn’t use it much on tour as I didn’t want to tamper with the technique mid-tour. But I tried it out in the nets a bit and over here, I did that [in the match],” Tanmay said. “Scoring runs on the wickets there [he made 240 runs in five matches at an average of 60] has obviously made me more confident. It’s not only the South African tour. I toured England and a few other places as well. I have started to play better in front of the wicket and I am trying to increase my concentration levels.” While Tanmay has still a long way to go as his first-class average of 31.58 suggests, the recent overseas tours has emboldened him to walk on the right path.

Meanwhile, Sangwan is desperate for two more wickets on Thursday to get a prized five-for in the final. “The bounce was pretty similar to South Africa. There was the same balloonwala bounce there and so I knew the right lengths to hit. Only thing was that I had to adjust back to the SG ball from the Kookaburra but I think I managed to do that.”At 17 the youngest Delhi bowler on view, he was by far the best, bowling a good line outside off, Though he was guilty of bowling a touch short on occasions, it was a pretty satisfying day’s work.Manoj Prabhakar has been of great help as Delhi’s bowling consultant. Sangwan would take the ball away from the right-hander with the natural left-armer’s action but, under Prabhakar, he has started to bend the ball back in. “Sir [Prabhakar] has made me bowl closer to the wicket and importantly, worked on my wrist position. It used to fall early at the release and now I have improved and keep it up till late. That has helped me to get bring the ball back in.”The Indian board should be credited for two moves. The board wanted to increase the overseas tours in challenging conditions for all age groups and also moved the semi-finals and final of the Ranji Trophy to neutral venues. The curator Sudhir Naik said he had been instructed to produce a sporting track with bounce and the two youngsters, fresh from tasting success in South Africa, have enjoyed their outing in Mumbai.

Loughborough University has been named as the country’s first women’s University Centre of Cricket Excellence (UCCE) thanks to funding from the MCC.Loughborough, which currently has 35 players at its mixed UCCE, successfully applied for funding from MCC to support a dedicated women’s section and allow more female cricketers to access the world-class facilities and expertise available as part of the programme. MCC invested nearly £30,000 to allow the university to run a separate squad of up to 13 female students in 2008.Working alongside the UCCE head coach, Graham Dilley, will be his assistant, Nicky Shaw, the England vice-captain. They will benefit from a supported strength and conditioning programme, nutritional and psychological advice, video analysis, medical screenings and subsidised kit and equipment. In addition, they will have access to the ECB’s cricket performance centre.”MCC is proud of its involvement with the UCCE scheme and our investment in University cricket continues to grow each year,” John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, said. “Loughborough have put a great deal of time and effort into women’s cricket and this funding is fully merited and well deserved. With Graham and Nicky leading the coaching, I have no doubt that we’ll see even more talented women cricketers emerge from the University and, we hope, challenge for a place in the national side.””We are very grateful to MCC for their added investment in our programme,” Dilley added. “Loughborough is a great advocator of women’s cricket and we have always taken the development of our female players very seriously and given them the same opportunities via the UCCE as our men.”This additional programme provides a fantastic opportunity for the girls at Loughborough and is a just reward for the work we’ve put into helping develop the sport and its players.”

The inaugural tournament of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) – the ICL 20 20 Indian Championship – will be held between November 30 and December 16 at the Tau Devi Lal Cricket Stadium in Panchkula, Chandigarh.The announcement was made at the ICL’s executive board meeting in Chennai. The tournament will consist of 20 Twenty20 matches, and will culminate with the final on December 16, preceded by the playoff matches for 3rd/4th and 5th/6th place.”The ICL 20 20 Indian Championship will be held as promised, later next month at Chandigarh. We are working hard to deliver a very exciting tournament for the Indian viewers,” Kapil Dev, the chairman of the ICL’s executive board, said. “I am confident that the public in this country will witness for the first time a fully professionally run and organised extravaganza of cricket.”The ICL, launched by the Essel Group, has signed players such as Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Damien Martyn, Deep Dasgupta and Dinesh Mongia. Mohammad Yousuf had joined as well, but opted out ahead of Pakistan’s home series against South Africa.The dates for the tournament clash with India’s home Test series against Pakistan.

Simon Jones is in line for his first Championship match since mid-May, when he suffered yet another setback in his recovery from the knee surgery he underwent last season.Since then, Jones has played two one-day matches, but it will be the first chance to test out his knee at first-class level in three months, when Glamorgan host Leicestershire at Abergavenny on Wednesday.He sorely needs some cricket; he has taken only one first-class wicket since the 2005 Ashes, in his sole Championship match, against Essex, last year – and on the rare occasion when he has set foot on a cricket field, it has usually resulted in him limping off.His comeback for Glamorgan during the 2006 season, following his aborted return on England’s tour of India, lasted four matches before he broke down against Ireland in the C&G Trophy.This season, he has played one Championship match so far, against Gloucestershire, when he went wicketless in his 37 overs, with 112 runs coming off him. At that point England had hoped he would be in the frame for a return sometime this season. As it is, he now seems a long way off playing.Nevertheless, news of his return will lift Glamorgan, who have been without another pace bowler, David Harrison, since a back injury in April ruled him out for the season. Batsman Michael Powell is still recovering from the operation to remove a blood clot.They have also recalled Huw Waters, a seamer in the Jones mould, who was rested for the draw with Derbyshire. But all eyes will be on Jones, to see if his knee can hold up this time.

Pakistan Under-19s 256 for 3 (Umar Akmal 84) beat England Under-19s 252 for 5 (Godleman 118*) by seven wickets
ScorecardA fine unbeaten 118 from Billy Godleman was not enough to secure a consolation win for England’s youngsters, as they bowed out of their triangular tournament in Sri Lanka with a seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan.Despite the result, it was a much-improved display from England following a limp performance against Sri Lanka on Monday. They easily posted their highest score in their four matches in the tournament, with Godleman anchoring the innings with a superb 152-ball innings.He struck seven fours in the innings, and received sound support from James Taylor in a 42-run opening stand, as well as the captain Alex Wakely (39) and Tom Westley, who rounded off the innings with a brisk unbeaten 33 from 28 balls.But Pakistan’s openers, Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, proved unstoppable in response. They added 149 for the first wicket inside the first 20 overs to break the back of the run-chase, before Umar Amin eased them to victory with an unbeaten 68 from 76 balls.

Shane Bond will miss this month’s Chappell-Hadlee Series after his recovery from an abdominal tear has taken longer than expected. New Zealand are set to maintain the same 14-man one-day squad which narrowly lost the one-dayers to South Africa, the national selector Richard Hadlee told the . James Franklin remains out following knee surgery.Bond, the fast bowler, will also be unavailable for Bangladesh’s visit in January, all of which he finds “frustrating”. He picked up the problem in November, during New Zealand’s injury-hit tour of South Africa where they won one match out of seven. They lost both Tests, the Twenty20, the one-day series 2-1 and even the warm-up.He said it was exhausting to come back from yet another injury and feared for his future in the game should he keep picking up problems. “It’s worn me down,” he told on Tuesday. “I’ve spent a lot of time rehab-ing. There are a lot things I want to achieve and to be realistic, I can’t expect cricket to keep supporting me if I am going to continue to get injured, so it’s frustrating.”He is now aiming to recover for England’s visit in February and March, when they will play five one-dayers and three Tests. In his absence, Kyle Mills has filled in well and impressed Hadlee. “Mills has been outstanding,” he told the . “With Bond out, he has stepped up magnificently.” Mills was named Man of the Series in South Africa for his nine wickets at 11.33.He will now lead the attack for New Zealand’s defence of the Chappell-Hadlee title in Australia after their 3-0 cleansweep last season. The first of the three one-dayers is at the Adelaide Oval on December 14.* Iain O’Brien was also included in the squad.Squad Lou Vincent, Jamie How, Mathew Sinclair, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum (wk), Gareth Hopkins, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori (capt), Kyle Mills, Mark Gillespie, Jeetan Patel, Michael Mason, Chris Martin.

Against the backdrop of the uncertainty surrounding Andre Nel’s international future, the short one-day international series between hosts Bangladesh and South Africa comes to a conclusion in Mirpur. South Africa have already clinched the series, and much of the focus rests on whether they can complete the sweep that will take them past as Australia as the best ODI side in the world.Reports on Wednesday suggested Nel, upset at being ignored for the upcoming Test series in India, considered quitting South African cricket. Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s captain, had to vigorously persuade Nel to play in the second match, where the fast bowler returned figures of 4 for 27. Nel has been South Africa’s best bowler of the series, taking seven wickets at 7.28 after he was entrusted the leadership of the attack with Dale Steyn not getting a game.Whether Nel plays tomorrow is uncertain but South Africa still have options in Steyn, Player-of-the-Series in the 2-0 Test whitewash, and Morne Morkel. South Africa’s top order was tested in the second ODI but a match-winning partnership between AB de Villiers and JP Duminy took them home comfortably. For the likes of Duminy, yet to cement his place in the side, and Hashim Amla, only two ODIs old, the final match is another shot to impress in the limited-overs format with a busy international calendar ahead.Gerald Majola, CSA’s chief executive, had one eye on the upcoming Test series in India even as South Africa are poised to sweep the ODI series. “We are confident that [South Africa] will win,” he said, “and finish the international season as the best ODI team in world cricket.”For Bangladesh, who have struggled to compete against South Africa, the scenario offers another shot at saving face. Their form, however, suggests South Africa will have few hassles. The previous game, also in Mirpur, could have been a different story altogether had Bangladesh followed captain Mohammad Ashraful’s wish after he won the toss and put up a 230-plus score on the board. Bangladesh’s batting has been a disappointment in the series – only Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and newcomer Raqibul Hasan managed fifties – and their policy of rotation has come under criticism.An under-fire Ashraful, after Bangladesh mustered just 173 in 48.2 overs despite a record 119-run stand for the fifth wicket, blamed his batsmen but his own form has been dismal recently. He has scored just eight runs in two games, on the back of a poor Test series, and Bangladesh have won nothing under his captaincy.Having debuted a crop of young players, and with several veterans either retired or on the way out, Bangladesh continue to be in a period of change. How well they can adapt, having lost the series, and with this being the last opportunity against Test-match opposition before they host Ireland for a three-match series starting March 18, remains to be seen.