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An encouraging performance in the Tests in Australia last year should inspire West Indies to challenge Ricky Ponting’s team in the upcoming five-match ODI series, David Williams, the interim coach, has said. West Indies were beaten convincingly in the first Test in Brisbane, but fought back to draw the second in Adelaide before losing by a narrow margin of 35 runs in Perth.West Indies, however, will be touring for the one-dayers with a depleted squad. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan are the two big names out due to injury; Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards and spinner Sulieman Benn are also missing.”We are going there with a very positive attitude when we consider what transpired in the Test series. We have a very good squad, apart from losing a couple of our very senior players,” Williams told reporters before his team’s departure. “I think we need to play as a team. Every single member got to pull their weight in order for us to beat this Australia side.”When you look at the squad, you got a lot of potential there, but I think we got to play smart. We got to play intelligent cricket. They [Australia] are experienced and we got to play well as a team to beat them.”Williams admitted the loss of Sarwan and Chanderpaul in the middle order was big blow, but backed their replacements to deliver. “I think the middle is key. When you are missing guys like Sarwan and Shiv, who bat at three and four, that’s a big hole with the experience that they bring to the team as well,” he said. “But we got the youngsters in there like Narsingh Deonarine, and these guys have proven they are able to do their job. Hopefully, if we give them the opportunity, they will be able to come good for us.”The absence of Edwards and Taylor means the bulk of the fast-bowling responsibility will pass on to Kemar Roach, who tested the Australian batsmen in the Tests last year, including Ricky Ponting, who suffered a blow to his elbow. He was also bought by Deccan Chargers at the IPL auction in Mumbai for a whopping US$720,000. “Of course, we don’t want to put too much pressure on Roach. That could be very detrimental to his future, so we want to take it one stride at a time,” Williams said. “But it is key for him to have a good series, and looking at the bowling attack that we have, it is very inexperienced. There is no Taylor, there is no Fidel, so he is the one that will have to carry the bulk of the bowling.”Several of the West Indies players have been involved in the Regional Four-Day Competition, the first-class tournament in the Caribbean. Though acknowledging the preparation ahead of the ODIs was inadequate, the impressive display from some of the younger members of the squad in the competition was reason for confidence, Williams said. “It is not the ideal thing. We just got to go with the itinerary that has been posted to us by the ICC, and there is nothing that we can really do about that.”[But] if you look at the four-day tournament, most of the guys are getting hundreds and the bowlers getting wickets so that augurs well for us in this one-day series,” he said. “What we need to try and do is the little momentum that we have from the four-day series, try and take it into the one-day game.”

South Africa have had to shelve plans to assess their spin-bowling options after they were forced to withdraw Imran Tahir from the squad for the final Test against England. Tahir, the Pakistan-born legspinner, was thought to have qualified for South Africa last April, but issues have arisen around his residency situation and it’s unclear when, or if, he will be able to start an international career.It is a messy affair for Cricket South Africa, who have been caught unawares by the latest development. There is even uncertainty over whether Tahir, who is married to a Durban woman, has spent enough time in South Africa over the last four years, or whether the problem stems from him not having a local passport.”To be honest, I’m not 100% sure,” Mickey Arthur, South Africa’s coach, said. “I think it’s something with Home Affairs and hopefully we will get some clarity on it over the next couple of days.”Although he was named in the 15-man squad for the Wanderers, Arthur said that Tahir had not been in line for a debut at the Wanderers, even before this situation arose. However, the management were keen to watch him ahead of the India tour next month, and haven’t given up hope of being able to include him on that trip.”We had him mind for down the line, we feel we need an attacking spinner because we go to India, then West Indies,” Arthur said. “He was the guy we had our eye on. I’m sure we can try and get something sorted at Home Affairs but he certainly wasn’t available for this Test. We included him to have a look at him and to see if he fits the bill.”Although Tahir is now out of the frame for the immediate future, his original selection shows South Africa aren’t convinced by their current spinning options. Paul Harris began the series with a five-wicket haul at Centurion, but has gone steadily downhill to the extent that he was outbowled by JP Duminy in the second innings at Newlands.Mike Procter, the convenor of selectors, voiced his concerns to Cricinfo a few days ago. “It is a little disappointing when your frontline spinner wasn’t able to extract more on a wicket that turned.”Arthur said that Tahir’s call-up would have been a chance to see the spinner at close quarters. “It would have been exploratory. When we brought him in we certainly weren’t thinking of him playing here, it was a case of seeing what made him tick, getting to know him a little and having a look at him in training just to convince me in my mind that he has what it takes. Unfortunately that’s probably not the case now, but we’ll see how it pans out.”The other problem for Tahir at the moment is a lack of first-class cricket, having fallen out of favour with the Titans, who have identified a future legspinning prospect in the 23-year-old Shaun von Berg. Though Tahir is set to move to the Durban-based Dolphins franchise for next season, he has had to rely on the amateur three-day competition to keep him in action of late.”He’s still bowling, getting five-fors and ten-fors each week,” Arthur said. “I’m not entirely sure what the issues are between him and the Titans, but the Titans obviously aren’t going to pick him because they’d rather pick the young leggie they have. We’ll play Imran Tahir by ear.”

Michael Yardy has signed a three-year deal with Sussex which will keep him with the county side until the end of the 2012 season.Sussex finished eighth in the County Championship this past season and were relegated to Division Two, but they won the Pro40 title and their maiden Twenty20 Cup at Lord’s under Yardy, 29, the latter success earning Sussex a shot at the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in India. Yardy scored 1,096 runs at 42.15 in the Championship and maintained his reputation as one of the best allrounders in the country in the shorter form of the game.”I’m very excited to have agreed a new contract and I’m looking forward to helping improve the club and achieving our goals for the 2010 season, with the players and coaching staff,” said YardyMark Robinson, Sussex’s professional cricket manager, said: “It’s fantastic to see the captain, along with other senior players – such as [Chris] Nash, [Ed] Joyce and [Luke] Wright – committing themselves to the Club. Yards led the team brilliantly in his first team as captain. He’s only going to grow as a leader and, as a player, he is a massively important cog in both our four and one day aspirations.”

ScorecardDavid Hussey was on fire in producing 174 from 183 balls•Getty Images

David Hussey held his nerve to post a brilliant 174 while wickets fell around him as Victoria overcame a strong bowling effort from Queensland at the MCG. Hussey was a dominant force in his near run-a-ball innings that helped the Bushrangers to 378 having been sent in to bat.At stumps, Queensland had reached 1 for 24 with Nick Kruger on 11 and Lee Carseldine on 6. The man out was Wade Townsend, who was caught by Hussey off the bowling of Clint McKay for 2, and it was a fitting combination as Hussey and McKay had rescued Victoria with the bat.The pair put on 120 for the seventh wicket after the Bushrangers fell to a less-than-ideal 6 for 194 and McKay’s 55 – his highest first-class score – was important in getting the hosts to a strong total. But Hussey was the star of the day, striking 22 fours and three sixes in his 183-ball stay.His effort was all the more impressive considering Victoria had wobbled to 3 for 47 within the first hour as the swinging ball proved dangerous. Ben Cutting and Scott Walter picked up four wickets each and Carseldine held four catches at slip as most of the Victoria batsmen failed to show the necessary patience.

Hampshire are in discussions to sign Shane Warne, their former captain, for next season’s Twenty20 Cup. Warne led Hampshire from 2004 to 2007 and Rod Bransgrove, the chairman, confirmed that the club had made an approach.”Warne is the biggest name we’ve ever had at the club and, yes, we have spoken to him,” he told the . “You can never rule out getting Warne back to Hampshire, although he’s very busy and I wonder whether he’d get out of bed for the money we can offer.”Since retiring from international cricket in 2007, Warne has captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, winning the inaugural event with a young and relatively unknown side. He is also involved in a host of other activities, starring in the TV commentary box in this year’s Ashes, as well as playing international poker tournaments.In an effort to raise the profile of England’s Twenty20 Cup competition, counties will be able to include four overseas players in their squads next season but only two will be allowed in each game. Middlesex signed Adam Gilchrist earlier in the week and are hoping to sign Sachin Tendulkar.Hampshire, have already secured Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lanka spinner, creating the prospect of an exciting pairing with Warne, but Bransgrove said Hampshire have other options.”Hampshire have also had talks with other big-name players that are reasonably well advanced. I’ve been talking about the potential of Twenty20 for some time and getting these superstars in is what it’s all about.”

The BCCI has barred the Services team from taking any further part in the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy season after it refused to play its opening Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar. The team, which is controlled by India’s defence ministry, opted out of the Plate division game and did not travel to the city. Further action against Services will be decided upon by the BCCI’s working committee.PTI reported on Tuesday night that Services issued an apology – and an offer to play the match in Srinagar on fresh dates – which the BCCI rejected but this could not be confirmed. “We have taken the decision to disqualify the Services team…since the decision has already been taken we will not change it,” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla was quoted as saying.Board secretary N Srinivasan confirmed that the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), which manages all sports teams of the Indian defence forces, had been disqualified from the tournament for this season. “Action will be taken according to our rules,” he said. “The SSCB has been disqualified from participating in the 2009-10 edition of the Ranji Trophy, in accordance with the rules of the BCCI pertaining to domestic tournaments. A decision on any further action against the SSCB will be taken by the BCCI’s Working Committee.”Apart from the expulsion from the Ranji Trophy, the decision means no Services players will be considered for the zonal tournaments like Duleep, nor will they receive match fees.No official reason has been given for the pullout but officials and media reports have both speculated that the team, which comprises mostly of defence personnel, failed to turn up due to security reasons. “We believe security could have been the reason why they (Services) pulled out,” Shukla told Cricinfo.Jammu and Kashmir, which has been a hotbed of militant activity for the past two decades, has not hosted a Ranji match since 2004. When asked whether the BCCI felt it was safe enough to start scheduling matches again from this year, Shukla said, “Of course.”The pullout seems to have taken the hosts by surprise. Ehsan Mirza, treasurer of the J&K Cricket Association, said his colleagues had checked with Services last week whether they needed any help with accommodation and other issues but were told Services had already made arrangements at the 15 Corps base in Srinagar.

Haryana say they’ll play

• Haryana, who are scheduled to play in Srinagar on November 10, have no reservations about travelling to Srinagar. “The Prime Minister has been there recently, the BCCI has organised this match and we will follow their schedule,” Haryana Cricket Association secretary Anirudh Chaudhary told Cricinfo. “None of the players has expressed any reservations.” However, he refused to comment on the decision made by Services.

“In fact, they even told us that their team would arrive any day between October 30 and November 1,” he told Cricinfo. “After that there was no communication from their side. We tried calling their secretary many times but there was no word. Today all of us, including the match referee and umpire, were waiting for the Services team but there has been on official word from them.”J&K captain Vinayak Mane also said he was aware only on the morning of the match that the opposition was not going to turn up. “I don’t know why Services isn’t travelling to Srinagar. If security was the problem, they should have raised the issue since BCCI released the schedule long ago,” he said. “It’s big for cricket in the valley. The pitch in Srinagar is newly laid and there was excitement here. This match would have been a big boost for cricket here.”Farooq Abdullah, the president of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), said he had heard that Services had been advised not to travel to Srinagar. “When everyone else is here, including guest players and umpires, how is it that they can’t come?” he told the television channel. “It completely negates what the prime minister, home minister and defence minister say. I am going to take this up very seriously with the government of India and I am going to tell the prime minister and defence minister that this will not do.”The Ranji Plate Division match was scheduled at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium, which last hosted a one-day international against West Indies in 1986. The last first-class game in Srinagar was in 2004 against Orissa. The next fixture scheduled here is against Haryana on November 10.

Reigning domestic one-day champions Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and regional four-day title-holders Jamaica will clash in one of four matches on the first day of the WICB President’s Cup one-day tournament in Guyana from October 28.T&T, who currently hold both-50-over and Twenty20 titles, will face the Jamaicans in a Zone A fixture at the National Stadium in Providence.At last year’s tournament, T&T beat Barbados by seven wickets in the final to emerge new champions. Jamaica are enjoying a solid year in regional cricket and will be going for a fifth regional title in the 2009 campaign having won the four-day George Headley/Everton Weekes Trophy, the CLICO Under-15 title and the U-19 three-day and one-day titles at home in August. Other matches on the opening day are Windward Islands against Combined Campuses and Colleges at Everest in Zone A, Barbados against West Indies Under-19s at Bourda, and Guyana facing the Leeward Islands at Enmore in Zone B.The other preliminary round dates are October 30 and 31 before the semi-finals on November 2 and November 3, with the final set for November 5.The WICB confirmed that all preliminary round matches will start at 9.15 am (local time) while the semis and final are day-night fixtures listed for 1.30 pm starts at the National Stadium.

ScorecardThe situation at Old Trafford on the third day of this match was rendered almost farcical at times owing to the constantly changing and often very wet weather. Squalls of rain, short and sharp, occurred throughout the day, which meant only four spells of play, totalling 28.2 overs, were possible, all after tea. The dominating figure of this time was the Sussex captain Michael Yardy, who led his team from the front with the bat, with the valuable assistance of Ed Joyce.Who says county cricket is dying when more than 100 spectators attended a day like this to the bitter end, behaving with admirable patience? Intermittent bursts of rain prevented any play before 3.30pm, when the umpires and players finally braved the elements. Play lasted ten minutes, 17 balls were bowled and no runs were scored. At this point there was another outbreak of rain and they left the field, with Sussex still at 11 for no wicket.At 3.55pm, they tried again. The fielders were just moving to their places when another flurry of rain caused them to turn tail and run. They had scarcely reached the pavilion when the rain passed and they suspiciously returned. This time 25 minutes’ play were possible before the next interruption, and Sussex now showed they were after batting bonus points – all they realistically have to aim for now.Joe Gatting turned the first ball on the resumption, from Sajid Mahmood, for two past square leg, while Yardy pulled a short ball from Kyle Hogg for a spectacular six. Mahmood tended to bowl too short, but possibly it was part of a cunning plan: he suddenly produced a wicked yorker that catapulted Gatting’s middle and off stumps out of the ground. The Sussex debutant retired for 10. Not long after bad light and rain returned at 37 for 1.The next mini-session began at 4.35pm and lasted exactly an hour. Glen Chapple, returned from injury, replaced Hogg and immediately launched into an impassioned lbw appeal against Yardy, but the ball had pitched just outside the line of leg stump. Yardy now settled in with Ed Joyce and the two of them chased runs busily, making hay while the sun shone – sometimes literally, but only briefly. Yardy, strongest on the leg side and through the covers, reached his 50 off 76 balls, while Joyce was finding his fluency just before the next burst of rain hit.Once again the time out was only brief, and a final spell of 20 minutes was possible before play finally came to an end. Both sides will have only bonus points in mind on the final day – during whatever play the turbulent weather allows.

The BCCI’s working committee approved a raft of decisions on Thursday that, when implemented, could improve significantly the state of domestic cricket. The most notable decisions are a massive hike in prize money for the Ranji Trophy and the approval of an umpire’s academy.Winners of the Ranji Trophy will now get Rs 2 crore (previously Rs 60 lakhs), the runners-up Rs 1 crore (previously Rs 30 lakhs) and the semi-finalists Rs 50 lakhs. To put things in context, the winners in 2005 received all of Rs 7 lakh. This amount also places the Ranji Trophy above the board’s corporate tournament, scheduled to be held in the coming season, whose winners will get Rs 1 crore.While no details were available on the decision to set up an umpires’ academy, it could, if properly implemented, go some way in improve the standard of umpiring in domestic cricket.The other decisions taken at the meeting are:

• Former ICL players who have been granted amnesty, are eligible to play the IPL in the next season (2010), with a cap on the payment being a maximum of Rs 20 lakhs.
• Umpires Amiesh Saheba and Shavir Tarapore have been nominated to the ICC international panel.
• The Indian board will also give Rs 25 crores over the next two years to the All-India Football Federation for the development of football in the country.
• Specialised coaching centres dealing with batting in Mumbai, with fast bowling in Mohali, and with spinners and wicketkeepers in Chennai will be started in September 2009. Specialist coaches will be appointed on an annual retainership at each of the centres.
• Umpires in domestic matches (excluding IPL) will be paid Rs 7500 per match day, while umpire coaches and match referees will be paid Rs 10,000 per day.
• The team and support staff that won the Emerging Players tournament in Australia will be paid a bonus of Rs 1 lakh each.
• The National Cricket Academy’s coaching manual was released by BCCI president Shashank Manohar.

Division One

Yorkshire’s bowlers gave their team the upper hand on the first day of the Roses match by reducing Lancashire to 226 for 7 at Headingley. Yorkshire ambushed Lancashire by striking twice in the first three overs. Tim Bresnan struck first, inducing an edge from Steven Croft that was taken one-handed by Gerard Brophy, low and to his right. Matthew Hoggard dismissed Paul Horton in the next over, caught on the drive at backward point. Mal Loye and VVS Laxman had scored hundreds in the Roses match at Old Trafford but couldn’t repeat the feat today. Both batsmen were dismissed by Adil Rashid – Laxman made 50 – leaving Lancashire on 94 for 4. Mark Chilton then held up one end, remaining unbeaten on 73, but three more wickets fell at the other before play ended.Half-centuries from Hampshire’s openers followed by Michael Lumb’s unbeaten hundred led the visitors to a strong position – 345 for 3 – at the end of the first day against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, although that was tempered by a season-ending injury to Michael Carberry. He and Jimmy Adams added 146 for the first wicket before Adams (55) played on against Andre Adams while trying to cut. Adams then caused Carberry’s injury with a rare delivery to climb off a length to break the left-hander’s left ring finger. Carberry had cracked 17 fours in his 86 but Lumb ensured that the momentum was not lost. He scored steadily, aid by a short boundary, well supported by James Vince and Liam Dawson, to finish on 103 at stumps.Click here for the report on the first day’s play between Somerset and Sussex at Taunton.Click here for John Ward’s report from Chester-le-Street where Durham are on top against Warwickshire.

Division Two

It was a good day for bowlers at Chesterfield with 13 wickets falling on the first day between Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. Derbyshire chose to bat and were dismissed for 255 after which Northamptonshire lost three batsmen on their way to 137. Derbyshire got off to a steady start, with their openers adding 47, before the trouble began. Jack Brooks and Johann van der Wath cut through the top order, finishing with 4 for 76 and 3 for 92 respectively, as Northamptonshire began to make inroads. They were stabilised a little by James Pipe and Garry Park who scored half-centuries but even their efforts were not enough to take the score past 300. In reply, Northamptonshire progressed to a sound 131 for 1 before they lost Rob White (62) and Stephen Peters in quick succession. White’s was an aggressive innings – he pulled Nantie Hayward for six and sliced Steffan Jones over third man for another – as he reached his fifty off only 41 balls.Half-centuries from Matthew Spriegel and Chris Schofield helped Surrey recover after a weak performance from their top order against Essex at Colchester. David Masters, Chris Wright and Danish Kaneria cut through the line-up, reducing Surrey to 136 for 5, with James Foster taking three catches, before Essex met resistance. Spriegel and Schofield revived the innings with a 127-run association for the sixth wicket before Tim Phillips had Spriegel caught for 61. Schofield, however, remained unbeaten on 87 as Surrey ended the day on 304 for 6.Josh Cobb, the 19-year old batsman, returned to the Leicestershire line-up after missing three games with a brisk 72 to lead his team to 332 for 8 against Gloucestershire at Grace Road. Cobb outscored Paul Nixon, who made 57, but Leicestershire kept losing wickets in clusters and were 182 for 5 at one stage. James Taylor, however, provided stability with his unbeaten 76 and, with help from James Benning (37) and Wayne White (23), led Leicestershire past 300. Steve Kirby was the best bowler for Gloucestershire, taking 3 for 64, while Jon Lewis and Richard Dawson took two each.