The Gulf News reports that a ten-team tournament will be held in Fujairah between June 21 and August 2.Called the Crown Prince Cup, the event will feature four teams from Fujairah and six from other emirates. Matches will be played under Twenty20 rules.”More and more UAE nationals are having a growing interest in cricket, so I can promise you that in the future there will be a UAE cricket team with 100% Emirati representation, “Sultan Saif Al Samahi, Chairman of Fannan Sports and Cultural Club, said. “Of course, youth form Fujairah will get their chance in that dream”.”This is a chance to mingle with different communities such as the Indian, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis, who have a great passion for the game,” Ahmad Ebrahim Saif, chief coordinator for the tournament, said. “We are sure that, during and after the tournament, there will be more UAE nationals who will find this game very interesting.”Matches will take place at the Municipality Cricket Ground and at the cricket ground of the Fujairah Indian School.

Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has said that Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be promoted in the line-up for the second ODI against England to strengthen the top order. Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten 53 batting at No. 5 in the first ODI as West Indies were dismissed for 146, chasing 225.”It [Chanderpaul moving up the order] is something that is definitely going to happen but we haven’t decided where [whether opening, No. 3 or No. 4] as yet, we’re still in discussions. He has been tremendous right throughout the tour and he has been our ‘in-form’ batsman and he should get more balls under his belt.””Chanderpaul can up the tempo whenever he needs to. Whenever the situation requires aggression I am sure he can take up that challenge, we know the great player he is,” Gayle said on the eve of the match.Chanderpaul has been one of the few successes on a disappointing tour for West Indies. He scored 446 runs averaging 148.66, including two centuries, as West Indies lost the four-match Test series 3-0.He also scored a crucial 41 during West Indies’ 15-run victory in the first Twenty20 match against England at The Oval on June 28 before being rested for the second Twenty20 encounter the next day, which they lost by five wickets.West Indies face England in the second ODI at Edgbaston later today.

Craig Wright, the former Scotland captain, has ruled himself out of contention as Scotland’s coach and the search to replace Peter Drinnen continues.Wright missed last week’s Quadrangular in Ireland, also involving Netherlands and West Indies, with an ankle injury. But in spite of being placed in charge of Scotland A’s 2nd XI Championship match against Durham next week, Wright insists he is still too inexperienced to be considered.”I’m definitely not interested and am not a contender,” Wright told . “It makes sense for me to take the A team because I’ve worked with a lot of the players at under-age level and this is the next stage.”I’ve never made any secret of the fact that coaching is the route I want to go down,” added the 33-year-old. “But I need to learn my trade and gain experience.”Since Drinnen’s departure, Andy Tennant and Peter Steindl have both been unofficially in charge of the side and will share the position until the end of the season.

1st dayLancashire and Hampshire tried to make up for lost time at Old Trafford on an interesting day as play finally got underway. Consistent batting from Hampshire’s middle order gave them the edge in what is now a three-day match. Jimmy Adams made 63 before being run out and Michael Lumb hit a more aggressive 64 before he was removed by Dominic Cork. Muttiah Muralitharan, in his final match of the season, dismissed former Lancashire batsman John Crawley for 47, but Sean Ervine continued Hampshire’s progress during the final session.For John Ward’s report on the first day at Scarborough, between Yorkshire and Warwickshire, click here.Rain prevented a start between Kent and Worcestershire at Canterbury2nd dayFor the second day running rain prevented any action at The Oval between Surrey and Sussex

Derbyshire’s lower order pulled them out of a hole against Glamorgan at Cardiff. Alex Wharf and James Harris did the early damage as Derbyshire fell to 34 for 4, and Simon Jones finally picked up a wicket as the innings slumped further to 67 for 6. James Pipe and Ant Botha began the fightback, but the main recovery came from Graham Wagg (61) who hit 10 hours off 57 balls. Robert Croft ended with five wickets and Glamorgan started well in reply with an opening stand of 71. However, Wagg broke through and when Gareth Rees fell for 61, Glamorgan tottered on 115 for 4 although they closed with 27 runs.On-loan seamer Mark Davies claimed a career-best 7 for 59 as Northamptonshire squandered a strong position against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. He broke a stand of 130 between Andrew Crook (70) and Rob White (71) and made short work of Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje as four wickets fell for 13 runs. David Sales hit 57, and the lower order showed some fight, but Davies wrapped up the innings.Only two overs were possible at Colchester between Essex and Leicestershire before bad light curtailed the day.There was no action at Lord’s between Middlesex and Gloucestershire.

Adam Gilchrist, the Australia vice-captain, says the Indian Cricket League (ICL) could be good for the game in the long run and hopes it will strengthen the relationship between players and their boards. “I don’t see it as a particularly bad news story,” Gilchrist told the media at the Sunshine Coast town of Coolum.”Competition in the marketplace is always healthy. And it’s great if that helps establish a better bond between players and the respective boards in the other countries.”Asked about Cricket Australia’s link to the ICL, Gilchrist said he wasn’t aware of any potential signings and emphasised that the relationship between the board and the players was strong. “I can’t comment on the other countries,” he said. “It may be a very different landscape there, but we are very well supported by Cricket Australia. There’s no doubt about that. Primarily they seem to be targeting retired players so I don’t know of any poaching attempts of current Australian contracted players.”Shaun Tait, the Australia fast bowler, also agreed with Gilchrist that the ICL was better suited to retired men trying to earn a living. “These guys who have retired, they can make up their own minds,” Tait said. “Young guys like myself, we don’t think about it too much, because we are striving to play consistent cricket for Australia. But that’s their decision and there’s obviously money to be made.”So far, the ICL has attracted interest from retired players such as Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne and others from around the world who have little hope of making comebacks. The league has signed up nearly 50 domestic players in India and the future of those players is still in question after the Indian board refused to embrace the league. The ICC today said they would not recognise the league if the Indian board did not.

Two Australians, Dav Whatmore and John Dyson, are among the candidates to take over as head coach of the West Indies team, according to a report on caribbeancricket.com.Insiders suggest that Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the World Cup in 1996 before stints with Lancashire and Bangladesh, is the favourite. He recently unsuccessfully applied for the post of Pakistan coach. Dyson also has experience with a national side, replacing Whatmore as Sri Lanka coach in 2003 before standing down in 2005.Of local candidates, former Zimbabwe and current Ireland coach Phil Simmons is believed to have applied, as have former KwaZulu-Natal coach Eldine Baptiste, incumbent assistant coaches David Williams and Hendy Springer, Durham’s fast bower and temporary England bowling coach Ottis Gibson, former Bermuda coach Mark Harper and Vincentian Ian Allen.The main question facing the West Indies board is whether to gamble on appointing a foreign coach following the problems that increasingly dogged Bennett King, the Australian who coached the side until he stood down after the World Cup. There remains a strong sentiment in the Caribbean that King’s replacement should come from within the region.It had been hinted that Roger Harper would apply, but he has not and is instead being linked with the post of coaching director at the West Indies Academy. Harper was Kenya’s coach between January 2006 and this month, but he stood down as he wanted to be closer to his family in Guyana.

Shashank Manohar will succeed Sharad Pawar as president of the Indian board next year when Pawar moves over to the ICC. Manohar, who heads the Vidarbha Cricket Association, was today declared the BCCI’s president-elect ahead of its 78th AGM tomorrow as his was the sole nomination for that post.Pawar will step down as the board president next year when he becomes ICC vice-president; he takes over the ICC’s top job in 2010.The board had introduced the concept of president-elect by amending its constitution at a special annual general meeting last month.Manohar, a lawyer based in Nagpur, is a vice-president of the Indian board and a close confidant of Pawar’s. He was one of the senior officials working on the players’ contracts that were announced today.Tomorrow’s meeting, in Mumbai, will also discuss the nomination of a chairman for the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy in place of Ajay Shirke, who was appointed as the interim head in place of Kapil Dev. The former India captain was removed from the post after he joined the Indian Cricket League.Also on the agenda is an update on the Indian Premier (T20) League and Champions League, launched earlier this month, from the board’s marketing committee head, Lalit Modi.

Phil Jaques is a modern opener who is ready to join Matthew Hayden at the Gabba next month, according to Mark Taylor. Taylor, who held a place at the top of the order for 104 Tests, said Jaques would be a fine choice to fill the gap left by Justin Langer.”I’d probably say yes he has done enough, he’s probably done more than enough,” Taylor said in the . “I have no doubt that if Phil is selected he’ll do a damn good job because he’s a very professional cricketer, he’s never whinged about continually making runs and being sent back to state cricket.”Two events since the start of the season have boosted Jaques’ claims to play Sri Lanka at the Gabba from November 8. His 167 in the second innings of the Pura Cup match against Western Australia gave him the edge over his rival Chris Rogers, who was then scratched with appendicitis. Jaques, who has played two Tests, has another chance to secure his position this week during games against Queensland at the SCG.”Being on the fringes is probably the hardest spot to be in on any cricket team,” Jaques, who was speaking at the launch of CricKids Playing in Harmony, told the paper. “Hopefully the pressure of being on that edge and trying to perform at a top level for so long will count in my favour.”Taylor has been impressed by Jaques’ play and the way he backs himself to score runs. “One thing about Phil is that he typifies the modern game … much more prepared to go for the bowling early on,” Taylor said. “He’s one of those guys who can be 80 not out at lunch. Back in my day I dreamed about being 80 not out at lunch. If I could be 80 at about tea I thought ‘this is good’.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out