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Hampshire Cricket will break with tradition once again this summer – by wearing football-style shirts in the Frizzell County Championship.Chairman Rod Bransgrove has already succeeded in turning Hampshire County Cricket Club into Hampshire Cricket, the cricketing arm of the county circuit’s first public limited company.And last month a public offering of shares was made in Rose Bowl plc with Bransgrove and chief executive Graham Walker hopeful of raising £5 million.But the decision to wear named and numbered shirts in the four-day game is not unprecedented.Lancashire had them on the back of special fleece shirts last year and pioneered the idea with safety pins more than 50 years ago.Now Robin Smith’s men will follow suit, although traditionalists will be pleased to know that the woollen jumpers will remain the same as the names would become unreadable once put through the wash!Chairman Rod Bransgrove first unveiled the plan at the AGM two months ago but Hampshire Cricket have now been given the go-ahead by the ECB and the players will wear the shirts for the first time when they begin the season at Kent in 13 days’ time.Director of cricket Tim Tremlett said: “Lancashire used numbered shirts in the championship last year where it went down particularly well with members and players.”I gather they are used a lot in South Africa as well and they have obviously been a success in the one day game.”Players are quite hard to distinguish from the stands and batsmen can be particularly hard to make out when they are wearing helmets so this should be a great help to spectators.”It also means that the players will have no excuse for picking up the wrong shirt in the dressing room!”

Muttiah Muralitharan has pulled out of the Sri Lankan squad that will take part in the forthcoming NatWest Series of one-day internationals against England and India starting on June 27th at Trent Bridge.The off-spinner has been suffering from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the first Test at Lord’s and he was not fully fit for the matches that followed at Edgbaston and Old Trafford. Nevertheless, he bowled 64 overs in Birmingham and took five wickets, while he delivered another 62 overs in Manchester and took another three wickets. Despite his considerable efforts, Sri Lanka lost both matches.Now the Sri Lankan tour management are worried about the effect on his future fitness if he continues to play while carrying the injury and have decided that he should return home to prepare for the forthcoming series against Bangladesh. A replacement player has been requested.Chandra Schaffter, the tour manager, said: “The team management have decided to send Murali back to Sri Lanka. We did not feel he was fit enough to risk playing in a one-day tournament.”Physiotherapist Alex Kontouri added: “There’s no problem with him batting or bowling, but there would be a risk with him diving in the field.”Better news for the Sri Lankans is that Marvan Atapattu’s injured finger is making enough progress for him to be able to play against Gloucestershire in Bristol on Sunday, while pace bowler Nuwan Zoysa’s groin is not yet one hundred per cent but he should be fit enough to play in that game as well having come through a test against West Indies A at Hove on Wednesday.

Cricket is a game of inches and it was by no more than an inch that Paul Nixon was run out in the last over when ten runs were needed by Kent Spitfires and Glamorgan Dragons became the 2002 Norwich Union League champions, winning by just 4 runs. It had been a match of see-saw emotions for the Welshmen, for it did not look as if they had scored enough when they batted, first Mark Ealham and then Nixon appeared to be taking the Spitfires home, news came that only rivals for the title Worcestershire Royals had won but, from the last ball, the Dragons took the match and the title.Winning the toss and batting first, the Dragons were pegged back early on by accuracy of the Spitfires’ attack, especially Martin Saggers who bowled an excellent stint of nine overs taking one for 27. That wicket was Ian Thomas who was well caught at mid-off by Steve Waugh making a lot of ground to his left and then diving to complete the catch.Ben Trott had earlier accounted for Robert Croft who played on, but Trott became too expensive as Matthew Maynard and Michael Powell began to warm to their task. Three fours by Maynard in one over, including two elegant straight drives, saw Trott withdrawn from the attack as Mark Ealham and Matthew Fleming tried to restore order.It was Ealham who bowled Maynard for 33, Fleming accounted for David Hemp when he had 37, but it was off-spinner James Tredwell who brought Powell’s innings to an end, but not before he had scored 74 from 83 balls with eight fours and a six. Tredwell also snapped up Mark Wallace with the help of a stumping from Nixon and the Dragons had plenty of work to do in the field.They started well enough with Matthew Fleming, making his farewell appearance on the ground, was out with the score just four. Robert Key was looking for the short boundary when he was out caught, and then the prize wicket – an absolute beauty from Andrew Davies to knock over Steve Waugh’s wicket.At 62 for three, the Spitfires were in a tailspin, but Matthew Walker and Ealham pulled them out of the dive. It took a clever piece of bowling from Croft, delivering the ball from some 23 yards, to deceive Walker after the pair had added 74 for the fourth wicket. Walker out stumped for 26, and it was a similar delivery that induced Ealham to chip a simple catch to Maynard at short mid-wicket to tilt the balance back towards the Dragons. Ealham had made 75 with five fours and three sixes and while he had been there, the Spitfires were favourites.Nixon took up the mantle with a succession of partners as wickets fell but the target came ever closer. Alex Loudon got a short ball from Davies that he must have believed was destined for his second six until Thomas intervened to take the catch. Saggers intended a six from the first ball he faced but it went straight up in the air.So to the last over. Mike Kasprowicz to bowl and Nixon on strike. First ball went to third man. They ran one. It was vital to keep Nixon on strike so he backed himself against Adrian Dale’s arm. The throw was not quite on the money, but Wallace collected well and lunged for the wicket, breaking it with Nixon’s dive leaving him that crucial inch short as the bails came off and, with only ten and jack to continue the fight, Welsh celebrations began a week before the end of the season.

Valuable tips from legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar helped India’s new opener Shiv Sundar Das tighten up his batting in the recently concluded Test series against the mighty Australians. “Gavaskar advised me to take the leg-stump guard and I followed the suggestion in the third Test at Chennai making 84 in the first innings”, Das told PTI here.”Till the Kolkata Test, I used to take a middle-stump guard, but Gavaskar pointed out that it left my leg stump exposed,” he said. The little master, Das said, advised him that as an opener, if he could play out the first one hour of the match, it would become easier in the subsequent hours. “It helped me immensely in the series decider.” Das met Gavaskar at a function at Chennai before the start of the third Test.Das had also been seeking advice from Tendulkar about the strategy he should follow against the Australians. “Tendulkar provided me psychological support and advised me to play my natural game without bothering about the bowling”, he said. Describing Glenn Mcgrath and Jason Gillespie as two of the best bowlers in the world today, the short-statured opener said Tendulkar often helped him prepare psychologically as to how to face their initial spells. Das along with lanky medium pacer Debasish Mohanty have been included in the list of 26 probables for the forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe.Das, the Orissa Ranji team skipper, said he learnt a lot during the series against the Aussies and was looking forward to the tour of Zimbabwe. “Many thought the series against Australia would be a litmus test for me. But I feel I have passed that test”, he said adding, “the way I faced the Australian attack, both pace and spin, gave me a lot of satisfaction”. Das said he batted with a positive approach throughout the series. “I had prepared by watching some of the Australians on the video and also watched their series against West Indies”.Regarding his back-foot strokes and negotiation of deliveries pitched outside the off-stump, which earned him kudos from cricket watchers, Das said he had benefitted immensely by practising on matting wickets at the club, under-16 and under-19 level in Bhubaneswar which had no turf wicket. “You get more bounce on such surface and that experience is paying dividends now”, he said.Besides, his one and a half month special training at the Australian academy, where he faced bowling machines, helped him hone his skills. Asked if he felt disappointed after getting out on 84 at Chennai, Das said “a century against the Australians would have definitely given me great satisfaction”. On his routine during his stay here, Das said besides regular practice, he was watching his own cassettes of the just concluded Test series and trying to iron out the mistakes. The team physio Andrew Leipus had also given a schedule for physical training to the players, he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is to investigate the alleged disharmony in the team that has performed so pathetically in the Asian Test Championship final.A highly placed source in the PCB said instructions were delivered to the team manager Yawar Saeed Friday to evaluate the performance of every player “both on and off the field” and submit the report as soon as possible.”The manager has been specifically asked to discuss the mental approach of every individual before going into the crunch match against Sri Lanka as we have information that all is not well in the camp,” sources said, adding: “It has been an amazing turn-around in the last two weeks.””There looks disagreement within the team that looked united and well-knit unit in Sharjah. The matter needs immediate attention and addressed so that the situation doesn’t get out of hands.”A PCB official, however, played down the issue, saying: “It’s a normal procedure to examine all aspects of the game and investigate reasons of a bad performance which, realistically speaking, is unexpected.”Serious differences seems to have surfaced amongst the senior players, and between the captain and the team officials over the exclusion of Saqlain Mushtaq from the starting line-up, overlooking Wasim Akram from the squad of 14 and preparing a lively track with a green square for the final in the background that the top order had struggled in the four Tests against Bangladesh and the West Indies.Coach Mudassar Nazar has already claimed he was not consulted when the selectors finalized 14 players while skipper Waqar Younis is on records having said Shoaib Malik was preferred over Saqlain because of his better batting technique.Chairman of selectors Wasim Bari has minced no words in saying that he disapproved Waqar’s initial idea of promoting Shoaib on top of the order along with Taufiq Umer.Informed sources said almost all the players have approached the highest authorities and have expressed their displeasure against Waqar Younis.

Brendon McCullum will return to the top of the order for New Zealand’s Tests against India, set to open with Martin Guptill after playing at first drop during the past two series. Daniel Flynn, BJ Watling and Rob Nicol were all given a chance to partner Guptill during New Zealand’s past two series, against South Africa and West Indies, but that won’t be the case this time around.”Martin Guptill and Brendon will open the innings,” the New Zealand captain Ross Taylor told reporters in India after the squad touched down ahead of the first Test, starting in Hyderabad on Thursday. “Brendon batted well here on previous occasions and, hopefully, he will continue in the same vein in the upcoming Tests.”McCullum’s highest Test score, 225, came on New Zealand’s most recent Test tour of India, during the Hyderabad Test of 2010-11. McCullum and his team-mates don’t have long to acclimatise to the conditions ahead of the first Test, but Taylor said the players were familiar enough with India that he was confident they could adjust quickly.”We would certainly like to put some good plans in place and be positive about the way we look to play. India is a familiar place for a lot of us,” he said. “We have played well here and are looking forward to the contest.”New Zealand are coming off a demoralising tour of the West Indies in which they lost the Tests and limited-overs legs comprehensively. They also lost 1-0 last time they visited India for Tests, but their bowlers at times left the Indian batting in positions of trouble, and their batting clicked, the highlights being McCullum’s double-century and a debut hundred by Kane Williamson.Harbhajan Singh rescued India from dicey positions in the series, scoring two centuries and a fifty. Taylor said the side would nevertheless take heart from that tour.”We hadn’t had bad memories the last time we played here. Brendon got 225. We had our opportunities but Harbhajan batted well and took the game away from us. However, it is a different time of the year, and hopefully, we will continue to play well.”Daniel Vettori, with 14 wickets, was the highest wicket-taker in the series. Taylor said his spinners would be keen to take advantage of the conditions. “They have a few spinners in their side and we don’t play lot of spinners back home,” he said. “It will be a good challenge and we are looking forward to put India under pressure.”He said India played well at home and his side would have to take that into account. “India is always tough in their home conditions. Whether they play north or down south they play very well. We should be careful about the reverse swing and the spinners. We have to learn quickly through the series.”The two-Test series will be followed by two T20Is in September as a prelude to the World T20.

This was not an advertisement for Test cricket, not even a bad one.Explaining the torpor of the day three of the fourth Test between the WestIndies and South Africa at the Antigua Recreation Ground to the uninitiatedwould have tested the patience of a saint and the wisdom of Solomon. Just132 runs were scored in the day, as the West Indies went firmly on thedefensive and South Africa refused to hit back on the counter.

When stumps were finally pulled at the end of a day which was more aboutpulling teeth, South Africa were 122-3 – a lead of 229 – with Neil McKenzie44 and Daryll Cullinan 17.It was painful stuff, as for much of the afternoon Dinanath Ramnarinebowled with enormous control but zero attacking intent into the roughoutside the leg-stump and Carl Hooper kept things tight at the other end. Attimes it was more of a football match as Herschelle Gibbs and McKenziekicked, kicked and then kicked some more at Ramnarine.No one should criticise the South African batsmen for selling theirwickets so dearly. This was Test cricket after all. Nor should the WestIndians take too much flak – with two full days remaining in the match,their tactics were understandable, if disappointing. The less time they haveto bat on a wearing wicket, the greater their chances of saving the game andgoing to Jamaica still in the series – just.When Cullinan struck Ramnarine to mid-wicket for four in thefinal hour, it was the first boundary in 236 balls and over two-and-a-halfhours of cricket. In fact, if Cullinan had not upped the tempo towards theend, it would have been an even more sorry story.Left-hander Nicky Boje had earlier been promoted up the order in a bidto upset the rhythm of Ramnarine and co, but his bid to shift gears wasundone by an aggressive swing at Hooper before he was off the mark, the edgeflying to substitute fielder Sylvester Joseph at slip.The previous over Gibbs’ long stay came to a controversial end. Theopener was given out for 45 of 195 balls caught at slip by Chris Gayle off aRamnarine delivery which spat viciously out of the rough. So viciously, infact, that television replays showed it missed the bat altogether and flewup off his shoulder.As it was, the morning session was actually sparklingly entertaining.The last four West Indian wickets could manage only 10 runs when playresumed with the home side 130-6, Lance Klusener the catalyst to thecollapse with an off-cutter that spat at Hooper and took bat and padbefore being caught by Gary Kirsten at short leg.Klusener then fooled Neil McGarrell with a faster delivery, the right-handerwho bowls left-arm spin trapped on the back foot plumb in front to be on hisway for a duck on debut.The West Indies tendency in this series to be their own worst enemiesreared its head again when Ramnarine was run out for two by a direct hitfrom McKenzie at mid-on, and although Courtney Walsh flicked ShaunPollock to the fine-leg boundary for four, he was adjudged leg-before to thefirst ball of the South African captain’s next over.South Africa then cantered to 50-1 at lunch as Gibbs played his shotsand Gary Kirsten failed to reach double figures for the fourth consecutiveinnings. Kirsten was undone by a steepling delivery from Walshwhich took the glove, Ramnaresh Sarwan diving full length at short leg totake a fine catch.In a further blow to the West Indies cause, fast bowler Merv Dillonbowled just three balls before withdrawing from the attack with a bruisedright thumb which was prevented him grip the ball properly. He did not bowlagain on the third day.

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ECB Women’s Development XI cruised to a seven-wicket victory against Ireland to win the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier competition in Stirling.Continuing their impressive form after defeating Scotland the game before, captain Jo Cook won the toss and put Ireland into bat on a surface looking helpful for the bowlers. A sensible decision soon seemed inspired when ECB Women’s Development XI ran through the Ireland top order to leave them floundering on 72 for 5. It was Deanna Cooper who made the initial breakthrough, trapping Eamer Richardson in front and thereafter it was a procession.Laura Delany tried her best to stand firm while wickets tumbled around her but when she fell for 36 to become the first of three wickets for Alex Hartley, there was not much left for Ireland. Only the top three reached double figures as Ireland were bundled out for 105.The ECB Development XI made the conditions look far more benign as they rattled off the total in just over 26 overs, losing three wickets along the way. Fran Wilson (35) led the way before before Kathryn Doherty (13) joined MacLeod at the crease to hit the winning runs.MacLeod was untroubled throughout and hit five boundaries in her unbeaten 42 to carry the side to the title. “We kept them down to a good run rate early, the pitch made it hard for them to get our spinners away,” she said after the match. “We started reasonably steady, but with our top order putting away the bad ball we managed to keep the run rate ticking over. I’m really happy with the win, it’s great how we have progressed as a team throughout the tournament.”Reflecting on the performance of the side throughout the competition Paul Shaw, the ECB performance manager, said: “This tournament has provided us with a number of great opportunities for our young players. It has been very pleasing to see the players progress both as individuals and cricketers, cumulating with a professional performance against Ireland today.I would like to thank Phil Hudson and the ICC for organising this tournament and giving the ECB this very importance development opportunity.”

Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed its national team will travel to Zimbabwe for a full, 35-day tour, which begins on October 3. The boards have added two Twenty20s to the Future Tours Programme’s schedule of two Tests and three ODIs. Sri Lanka will also play a two-day warm-up match before the Tests.Both Tests and the first two ODIs will be played at the Harare Sports Club, before the action moves to the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo for one ODI and the Twenty20 matches. The two-day match will also take place in Harare, although the opposition team has not yet been decided.Sri Lanka are likely to experiment on the tour, continuing their focus on regeneration in this year. Angelo Mathews will lead the team in his first away Test series as captain, and Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal is also in a similar situation.However, Sri Lanka may temper their quest to blood youth with a desire to provide match practice to the senior players, in a lean year of Tests. The team has not played Tests since the Bangladesh tour in March, and have a major tour against Pakistan at the end of the year. Excluding the Test against Pakistan in Dubai, which begins on December 31, Sri Lanka have only five Tests in their 2013 schedule.Zimbabwe will have had more Test-match practice this year, having played two matches in the West Indies in March, as well as two Tests at home, against Pakistan, in September. They will also play two Twenty20s and three ODIs against Pakistan in the ongoing tour.SLC has also named a 27-man preliminary squad for the tour, from which 15 players will be selected. Major omissions from the side are left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara and Test-specialist wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who was also left out of the squad for the Bangladesh series. Dinesh Chandimal is likely to keep wicket in his stead.Sri Lanka preliminary squad: Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Rangana Herath, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ajantha Mendis, Kusal Perera, Angelo Perera, Udara Jayasundera, Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad, Vimukthi Perera, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Sachithra Serasinghe, Ashan Priyanjan, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Kaushal Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Kosala Kulasekara, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Isuru Udana.

Lasith Malinga has joined the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the last stage of the Caribbean Premier League. Malinga will replace Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, who will leave after the league stages to play for Pakistan on their Zimbabwe tour, which starts on August 23.The Barbados Tridents have also made a change to their squad, signing Azhar Mahmood to replace Umar Akmal. The allrounder is a sought-after player in most major domestic T20 leagues around the world. He is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket, with 213 wickets from 188 games, behind Alfonso Thomas, Malinga and Dirk Nannes.Malinga, one of the most lethal fast bowlers in the shorter formats, is the third Sri Lankan to play in the CPL. Muttiah Muralitharan is part of the Jamaica Tallawahs while Mahela Jaywardene is set to join the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel from Thursday. Malinga will be the fourth overseas player for Guyana, who had earlier signed the New Zealand pair of Martin Guptill and James Franklin along with Hafeez in the original squad.The Antigua Hawksbills have confirmed Orlando Peters as a replacement for injured South Africa batsman Justin Kemp. Kemp was ruled out after suffering an injury to his right gluteal muscle.The contest for the top four places will intensify as the CPL enters its last week. Guyana play Jamaica in an away match at Sabina Park in the first of the two matches on Thursday. They have won three of their five matches so far and are second on the points table behind leaders Barbados, who have played an extra game. In the second match, Antigua Hawksbills, placed fourth in the league, will take on St Lucia Zouks.