After being thwarted in their attempts to stage Twenty20 matches at Lord’s last summer, the MCC has launched another bid to convince the local council that music and early-evening games in north-west London wouldn’t be the end of civilisation as we know it.Last summer Westminster City Council turned down permission for an entertainment licence following complaints from local residents that three evening matches, floodlights, and, heaven forbid, a concert by Atomic Kitten, would be too much to cope with.In recent months representatives of the MCC have met with local residents to try and allay their fears, and now a scaled-down proposal has been submitted. The aim is for one match – the London derby between Middlesex and Surrey – to be staged on June 15.”We are very keen to play Twenty20 cricket at Lord’s,” said Iain Wilton, the MCC’s head of communications. “This year’s proposal has the support of the Local to Lord’s group and is different from last year. It’s one match, no floodlights or pop concert, and the event will be over by 8.15pm.” But Wilton added that "amplified musical jingles at key moments of play" are still planned.Whether such a threat to the calm of St John’s Wood should be allowed is in the hands of the council.

QAS 304 and 208 (Carseldine 109*) drew with Indians 208 for 9 dec and 121 for 4 (Ramesh 37*, Ganguly 35)
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After three days of searching cricket, the Indians played out a drawagainst the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). Set 305 to win, theIndians suffered yet another top-order collapse, but reached 121 for 4thanks to sensible batting by Saurav Ganguly (35), SadagoppanRamesh (37 not out), and Rahul Dravid (20 not out).Earlier, riding on Lee Carseldine’s second hundred of the match, QASdeclared at 208, galloping at four runs an over. Interestingly, India had taken 20 overs more to make an identical score in their first innings.The third day threw up more questions than answers, as India’s horrorrun with both bat and ball continued. At one point, the Indians were at32 for 3. What’s worrisome was that the three dismissed batsmen were Deep Dasgupta, Virender Sehwag, and Akash Chopra – all prospective openers. Ganguly and Ramesh then put on 56, before the former perished for an aggressive 35.Unlike the Indians, Carseldine found the pitch and the attack tohis liking. His unbeaten knock of 109 came of 155 balls, and was lacedwith 18 boundaries. And following the first innings script, the otherbatsmen played around his century to put the game beyond the Indians’ reach.Irfan Pathan and Anil Kumble picked up two wickets each, to complete a reasonably successful tour match. Kumble ended with match figures of 6 for 102, and has been the one Indian bowler to impress on tour sofar. Ajit Agarkar, though wicketless, bowled economically. With Balaji’snon-performance, the fast bowlers for the first Test will most likely be three out of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Agarkar and Pathan.

Tea
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When England discussed the dangers Muttiah Muralitharan posed before this series, they probably didn’t spend much time fretting over his batting talents, but a last-wicket stand of 40 between Murali and Chaminda Vaas took the shine off England’s hard-working display in the field. Murali scored 38 from 37 balls to help Sri Lanka recover from 239 for 7 to reach a useful 331 all out.England, on the other hand, will be disappointed after a fruitful morning session, in which they took charge with three wickets – but after losing the toss, they could still take some satisfaction with their efforts.At the start of play, all Sri Lankan eyes had been on Kumar Sangakkara, their one remaining specialist batsman. He was in sublime touch on Tuesday evening, and soon showed the benefits of a good night’s sleep by hoisting his fourth ball of the morning, from Ashley Giles, over long-on for six. He brought up his fifty soon afterwards by tickling Giles into the leg for a single.After a three-over burst from Andrew Flintoff, who was steered for two fours through the gully by Thilan Samaraweera, England turned to their spin pairing of Giles and Gareth Batty. But the Sri Lankans remained keen to impose themselves, as Samaraweera showed when he danced down the track and slammed Batty over midwicket for four.It was the new ball that did the trick for England. With his very first delivery, Richard Johnson found the perfect line and length to trap Sangakkara lbw for 71 (202 for 5), as he played back and across. And when Samaraweera chased and edged a wide one from Flintoff, England were well on top (238 for 6).But it didn’t end there. Upul Chandana had battled hard for his 21, but with Flintoff on a roll, Chandana was adjudged lbw by Daryl Harper, although the ball appeared to be skimming over the top of middle stump. Sri Lanka, who had packed their middle order with spinning allrounders with a view to a quick victory, were beginning to regret their shortage of specialist batsmen.Kumar Dharmasena and Chaminda Vaas held up England’s progress with a handy partnership worth 40 stubborn runs, but that was ended by Batty’s first wicket of the match. Dharmasena tried to sweep but missed the ball, which pitched outside off and hit him in line, and he was judged lbw by Venkat (279 for 8).It was a deserved wicket for Batty, who, like Matthew Hoggard, had bowled tirelessly but without any luck, while Sri Lanka pushed towards 300. And Batty got more reward when Dinusha Fernando, on his Test debut, prodded forward and edged a low chance to Paul Collingwood, who took his third catch on debut, at short leg (291 for 9).Murali immediately livened the crowd when he slapped his first ball over mid-off for four, and then he signalled the 300 with a huge straight six off Batty. He then flicked Batty over mid-on for another four, and Michael Vaughan was beginning to get a little edgy. He brought back Flintoff to finish the job off, but he couldn’t. Murali top-edged him over the slips for two fours in consecutive balls, and he continued to frustrate the bowling with his unconventional style.He finally fell when he edged Giles to Read, but he was smiling all the way to the pavilion, while Vaughan was pondering on what could have been. Tea was then taken, with England contemplating their reply to Sri Lanka’s 331.

David Sales has been announced as Northamptonshire’s new captain. Sales, widely expected to take over the reigns, replaced Mike Hussey, who has opted to take a year out to concentrate on earning an Australian call-up.Sales, who made 210 not out on his Championship debut, became the youngest Englishman to make a first-class triple-century, when he made 303 not out against Essex in 1999.”I was hoping to be offered the job when it became available, and now I’m looking forward to taking it on. It’ll certainly be a challenge.” Sales said today. “We’ve had a couple of good captains recently in Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey, and I hope I can follow in their footsteps.”Sales added, “Obviously Mike got it right last year with the way he led the guys. We will have a pretty young side this season – but I know we’re all very keen to succeed.”Northants have signed the South African batsman Martin van Jaarsveld to fill Hussey’s overseas place. He will team up with Andre Nel, who made his debut for the club last summer and is currently playing a major part in South Africa’s series win over West Indies.The squad has been further strengthened by the recruitment of Usman Afzaal, the former England batsman, from Nottinghamshire, and the Welsh seam bowler Steffan Jones from Somerset.

The row surrounding the future of Kevin Pietersen at Nottinghamshire has taken another turn with a report in today’s Daily Telegraph that he is now expected to stay at the county.Last month, Pietersen publicly stated that he had played his last game for Nottinghamshire. "I cannot play for Notts any more,” he said. “I have told them and if they do not allow me to leave I shall have to take legal action. A number of counties are interested in me. I would prefer to play in the First Division.”But with a year remaining on his four-year contract, Nottinghamshire have understandably been determined to hold on to Pietersen, one of England’s rising stars. Pietersen threatened legal action, the county responded by insisting that he had no grounds on which to base a legal case.And today, David Collier, Nottinghamshire’s chief executive, reinforced reports that Pietersen would honour the last year of his contract. “He has not indicated that he will not be fulfilling his obligations and we have heard nothing about an industrial tribunal," he told The Daily Telegraph. "We feel there is a principle at stake and even if any action were started we would vigorously defend our position.”Opinions among the county’s fans appears divided as to whether someone who is seen by many as a disruptive influence should stay, but almost everyone backs the county’s hard stand."Some believe they should banish a clearly unhappy and seemingly disruptive influence from their ranks, while others contend that the player might have been better handled," wrote the Nottinghamshire Evening Post. "Whatever the case, the hope remains that Pietersen will see sense, make up with Nottinghamshire and treat us all to another vintage summer. But don’t hold your breath"”Before he let his views be known, I was one of his top fans," one supporter told the paper. “I felt the Trent Bridge admission price was worth it just to see him bat. But now I wouldn’t go down the local park to watch him.”

The South Africa Cricket Board has announced contracts for 18 players for the period from May 2004 to April 2005. The categories under which the players will be contracted will be announced after the domestic season.Alan Dawson and Mfuneko Ngam, who were contracted for the 2003-04 season, have not been offered new contracts, while Gary Kirsten opted out by announcing his intention to retire after the tour of New Zealand.Contracted players 1 Paul Adams, 2 Nicky Boje, 3 Mark Boucher, 4 Boeta Dippenaar, 5 Herschelle Gibbs, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Jacques Kallis, 8 Lance Klusener, 9 Neil McKenzie, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini, 12 Robin Peterson, 13 Shaun Pollock, 14 Ashwell Prince, 15 Jacques Rudolph, 16 Graeme Smith, 17 Martin van Jaarsveld, 18 Monde Zondeki.Garnett Kruger, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong were shortlisted for national contracts.

Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq were both extremely tired men when they spoke to the press after India beat Pakistan by five wickets to level this five-match series 2-2. It showed. They were independently asked if the result of this match was somehow fixed. Inzamam stared long and hard at the reporter and his reply was as eloquent as it was brief: “Shut up,” he glowered. Dravid chose his words with a more reserve, but only just: "Someone get this guy out of the room. It’s ridiculous. These sort of statements are just bad for the game." When the questions returned to the hard cricket, normality returned to proceedings.Dravid talked the press through the various phases of his partnership with Mohammad Kaif, and explained why there was more pressure on the team this time around than when compared with the run-chase at Centurion, against Pakistan, in the World Cup. "We were in a better position then. We still had Dinesh Mongia sitting in the pavilion, but this time we were down to our last recognised pair. But there is a certain amount of pressure in every international game."Dravid also explained how his job was made easier: "The guys at the top of the order set a scorching pace. It was just a question of batting through till the end. We probably lost one wicket too many, but Kaif played a super knock. It was great batting with him. He kept the rate and I just wanted to make sure I was there till the end."Dravid has seen India through several tight situations in recent times, while batting at No. 5. "I enjoy this role," he admitted. "I had a different role batting at No. 3, but this is a new challenge. The fact that Yuvraj and Kaif bat behind me has helped me a lot. They run very well between the wickets which suits my kind of game."Dravid and Kaif put on an unbeaten 132 in 130 balls, and put the game beyond the Pakistanis. "I thought they sort of gave up the fight with 20 to 25 runs left,” said Dravid. “They tried hard, but once they bowled out their strike bowlers and we saw that phase through without any damage they knew we had to make a mistake for them to have a chance."Not surprisingly, Inzamam disagreed with Dravid’s assessment. "When the opposition is scoring quickly and you’re not bowling well, it sometimes looks as if you’re not trying hard enough," he argued. "That was not the case. We tried our best till the end. We have been trying to sort out the problem of extra deliveries in the nets but the results are not forthcoming. If this trend continues we will have to start reconsidering our bowling options. But, I still have complete confidence in my bowlers."Dravid also had a word of praise for India’s bowlers. "Our bowling in the first 15 overs was very good. We have an inexperienced attack so all credit to the guys. They have been working very hard. A lot of planning has gone into our bowling and it’s nice to see it work."Looking ahead to the series decider, which is as good as a tournament final, Dravid hoped that his side would play good cricket. "In the World Cup and in the tri-series in Australia we didn’t play anywhere close to our potential. If we can play a good, close game the winning and the losing will take care of itself. I just hope we can pick ourselves up for Wednesday’s game."

Hampshire 353 and 81 for 5 lead Essex 158 (Tremlett 4-29) by 276 runs at Chelmsford
ScorecardHampshire took control of a fluctuating match and should complete their fourth win of the Championship season despite a late blip on a day in which 18 wickets fell, and Essex were dismissed for a sorry 158 on a decent, but deteriorating, batting track. Hampshire closed the day on 81 for 5 with a valuable lead of 276.The Essex wickets were shared around, but it was Shane Warne who turned the game in Hampshire’s favour. The pitch was offering a little turn, and an immature top six facing a man who has taken 517 Test wickets did not bode well. It was always likely to be Essex’s mice to Warne’s alley cat. He didn’t bring himself on until past 3 o’clock, but he made an immediate impact.Aftab Habib and Ravinda Bopara – in for the injured captain Ronnie Irani – were playing comfortably for the fourth wicket, picking up singles and running well as they added 32 to take the score on to 105 for 3. But the prospect of facing Warne seems to hang over a batting side like a silent room for a comedian. Warne removed both of them with only one run added in between.The lack of confidence derived from the inability to win any of their seven Championship games this season took another dive as Chris Tremlett and Dimitri Mascarenhas took advantage of the doubt Warne had spinned into the minds of the Essex batsmen. Together, and with the help of some sharp catching at slip from the two Michaels – Clarke and Brown, they accounted for the last five Essex wickets for only 40 runs. Essex may be top of the first MCC Spirit of Cricket table, but the kind of help they offered Hampshire should be reserved for licensed charities.Essex had started well, with Darren Gough picking up the remaining three Hampshire wickets in under an hour, and with it his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket since August 2001, against the Australians at Headingley. Essex, who have dismissed a side for less than 335 only once this season, were grateful for Gough’s 5 for 57. He looked fitter and sharper than he has done all season, and he accounted for the dangerous Nic Pothas by trapping him on the crease early on. Soon after he beat Chris Tremlett’s defences and wrapped up the innings by inducing an edge behind from Billy Taylor. Only Shaun Udal’s big hitting unbeaten 43 ensured that Hampshire posted 353, only the second time they’ve passed 350 this season.At 55 without loss in their second innings, Hampshire appeared to be driving home their advantage. But Danish Kaneria took two wickets in two balls for the second time in the match – John Crawley being the unlucky recipient of a first-ball snorter from Kaneria that was well taken behind by James Foster. Kaneria picked up another one and Andy Clarke, bowling a steady line, chipped in with two wickets as Hampshire lost their top five for only 17 runs. But it seems to be a little too late for Essex, and the prospect of facing Warne on the last two days will still be hanging over them.

The ZCU has admitted that the rebel cricketers are eligible for recognition during the board’s annual awards, to be held on August 5 at Harare Sports Club.It is not clear whether the ZCU will consider the players for the awards, but a spokesperson for the board accepted that as the players were part of the team during the 2003-2004 season, they would eligible.Ray Price is front-runner to land the Most Outstanding Player award for his sterling performance with the ball. Price was Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker in Tests last season with 30 wickets. He hit top form during Zimbabwe’s tour to Australia where he took 6 for 121 runs in the second Test at the SCG in October 2003. He continued with his terrific form at home against West Indies, grabbing a career-best 6 for 73 in the first Test at Harare Sports Club.Heath Streak should also be in the reckoning for his all round exploits, although it is inconceivable that the ZCU would honour a man who is at the centre of the row. During the year, Streak passed 200 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. He also scored his maiden Test hundred, an unbeaten 127 in the first Test against West Indies at Harare Sports Club.Other contenders for the award, which was won by Andy Blignaut last year, are allrounder Sean Ervine and new skipper Tatenda Taibu.Teenage sensation Tinashe Panyangara is favourite to walk away with the Most Outstanding Under-21 Player. Panyangara made his mark during the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year when he took 6 for 31 during Zimbabwe’s sensational victory over Australia. The 19 year-old Panyangara also posed threats to experienced batsman during the Sri Lanka and Australia tour towards the end of the season.Another player who should be considered for the award is Tawanda Mupariwa. After being controversially left out of the Under-19 World Cup team, Mupariwa made his international debut against Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI at Harare Sports Club and quickly made an impact with two wickets.

Herschelle Gibbs has passed a fitness test and should be able to play in the second Test in Colombo next week. Gibbs, 30, twisted his right ankle at the training camp at Pretoria before the tour, but was included in the squad in the hope that he might recover.”I started running today and if the ankle hadn’t stood up to it then I would probably have had to go home and have an operation,” Gibbs told the MWP agency after passing the test. “When it first happened the doctor recommended surgery straight away but we decided to give it a chance to heal naturally – and with lots of physio – and so far, so good.”It might still feel worse tomorrow morning but right now I’m absolutely delighted,” he added. “[Physiotherapist] Shane [Jabaar] has done a fantastic job and I’m actually ahead of schedule with the recovery. But we’re going to keep working hard and take it day by day. I’m not taking anything for granted.”Andrew Puttick, the left-handed opening batsman from Cape Town, was called into the squad as cover for Gibbs, but Eric Simons, South Africa’s coach, is still undecided about whether Puttick will open the batting with Graeme Smith in the first Test at Galle, or if the responsibility will be handed to Jacques Rudolph.