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Scorecard
Runako Morton’s blazing century went in vain as Leeward Islands fell 20 runs short against Jamaica at Uitvlugt. Morton’s unbeaten 101 came in just 98 balls, including four fours and six sixes, and he led the fightback after Leewards were wobbling at 37 for 6. But Leewards fell in the final hurdle, with Daren Powell, Evon McInnis and Chris Gayle snapping up two wickets each.Xavier Marshall and Wavell Hinds came to the fore earlier in the day with both notching up impressive half-centuries. Marshall, 18, smacked 64 from just 77 balls, including six fours and three sixes. Carlton Baugh gave the innings a boost at the end as Jamaica finished with a competitive 245 at the end of their 50 overs.
Scorecard
Guyana began their one-day campaign on a winning note when they overcame Windward Islands by 34 runs at Hampton Court. Although they made just 172 when they batted first, Guyana managed to defend the total easily and bundled out Windward Islands for just 138.Narsingh Deonarine held the Guyanese innings together with 63, and his 71-run partnership with Damodar Daesrath helped to inch the total towards the 150 mark. The Windward Islands’ reply was rocked early on as the first five wickets fell for just 64. Junior Murray held the innings together with 45, but eight batsmen fell for single digits and Windwards ended up 34 runs short.

Manicaland enjoyed a good day against Mashonaland at Harare Sports Club,amassing a total of 397, although only three batsmen made significantcontributions. There was no time for the Mashonaland reply before theclose.Gus Mackay captained the Mashonaland team after the withdrawal of BrianMurphy, still not match-fit. With so many absentees, especially with thenational side in Sharjah, there were many changes and a long tail. Mackaywon the toss and put Manicaland in to bat on a pitch he expected to help theseamers a great deal, which did not prove to be the case.There was a little early movement and Mashonaland took two quick wickets.Manicaland lost debutant Dion de Beer (8) and Richie Sims (0) with only nineon the board, but as usual in Logan Cup cricket Neil Ferreira hung in withhis dogged style. He found an able partner in Guy Croxford, and the pairadded 135 together for the third wicket, with Croxford (80) the mainaggressor. He looked less confident against spin, though, and it wasoff-spinner Trevor Gripper who took his wicket for 80.Gary Brent proved an able replacement, though, and finally his real battingtalent came to life. He and Ferreira added 158 for the fourth wicket beforeFerreira finally fell for 120. This began a minor collapse, Manicalandsliding from the heights of 302 for three to 316 for seven. Alex Taylorsupported Brent while the latter reached his maiden first-class century,punishing the wayward bowling with due discretion, but the second new ballaccounted for both of them.The innings closed for 397, with Mackay taking three for 57. He did notbowl particularly well, especially in his opening spell, but took threevital wickets in the middle order. Amos Maungwa took two for 33 in 14overs, the most economical of the Mashonaland bowlers thanks to hisconsistent line and length. Gripper took three for 83 in 24 overs, the mostused of the bowlers.

Second division leaders Sussex strengthened their promotion challenge by reducing Durham to 254-9 on the first day at Hove.Although there was some early movement to assist the seamers, a green-tinged pitch was good for batting.But if it hadn’t been for Jimmy Daley’s unbeaten 89 Durham would have been bowled out cheaply.Daley came in after James Kirtley had removed openers Gary Pratt and Jon Lewis in successive overs and batted for five and three-quarter hours.He put on 76 in 29 overs with Martin Love and then, after Durham had slumped from 99-2 to 112-5 in seven overs in mid-afternoon, effected another recovery with Andrew Pratt with whom he put on 57 in 24 overs.Kirtley took four wickets, returning after lunch to bowl former Sussex all-rounder Danny Law as Durham’s middle order subsided alarmingly.Love had made 45 when he was caught at square leg off a top edge trying to pull Jason Lewry and Nicky Peng suffered a second ball duck after edging Mark Robinson to slip.Off-spinner Mark Davis ended Pratt’s resistance after tea when he had him lbw offering no shot and Sussex skipper Chris Adams, who took 4-28 at the Riverside last month, then got in on the act with wickets in successive overs.Graeme Bridge was caught and bowled off a full-blooded drive and James Brinkley wafted a tame catch down the leg side.Kirtley returned to the attack late on to have Steve Harmison caught behind, but Nicky Hatch kept Daley company until the close.

ScorecardIreland’s slow bowlers squeezed the life out of Windward Islands’ chase to secure a 64-run victory in a low-scoring contest at Queen’s Park Oval. George Dockrell, Andy McBrine and Paul Stirling bowled 22 overs of spin, out of the 35 Ireland needed to dismiss their opponents, and took 4 for 50.Only one Windward batsman – opener Tyrone Theophile – made it past 20 in the chase of 179 and they collapsed from 86 for 4 to 115 all out. Dockrell finished with 3 for 14 in seven overs.Ireland had also found it hard after choosing to bat. They lost wickets at regular intervals and, though their batsmen from Nos. 2 to 8 made it into double figures, Niall O’Brien (44) and Stuart Thompson (32) were the only ones to get past 20. They were able to convert a score of 98 for 5 to 179 in 48.3 overs. Delorn Johnson claimed 3 for 25 for Windward Islands.

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

Magnificent half-centuries from Shoaib Malik, the captain, and Younis Khanpropelled Pakistan to a formidable total and a miserly three-wicket spellfrom Shahid Afridi then choked the life out of the Sri Lankan chase asthey romped to a facile 33-run victory at the Wanderers. Sri Lanka hadstarted superbly, with Dilhara Fernando producing an impeccable spell of 2for 17, but their subsequent nightmare was best summed up by the plight ofthe legendary Sanath Jayasuriya, pummelled for 64 in his four overs andthen knocked over for just five.Malik and Younis added 101 at a tremendous clip after Pakistan werestruggling at 33 for 3. Once again, they gotno sort of start, with Salman Butt and Imran Nazir failing to make animpression yet again. Nazir pulled Fernando for a six behind square, butwas utterly clueless about a slower ball from Chaminda Vaas that he gentlybunted to cover.Butt got another start, but was cleaned up by a tremendous delivery fromFernando that was timed at 144.5 km/hr. And after Mohammad Hafeez had comein and clipped Vaas for two fours, Fernando delivered another scorcher, ayorker that crashed into leg stump at searing pace.But with Vaas bowling out and Fernando taken out of the attack after threesuperb overs, the pressure eased. Younis got going with a pull for fouroff Lasith Malinga, and Malik greeted Jayasuriya’s entrance with a hugeswipe that just cleared the man at long-on. Even then, Pakistan hadreached just 69 at the halfway stage, scarcely the sort of total thatwould have given Mahela Jayawardene too many headaches.It started to unravel for the Lankans after that though, with GayanWijekoon and Jayasuriya repeatedly lofted through or over midwicket as therun-rate mounted alarmingly. Younis struck a couple of meaty sixes overmidwicket on his way to a 32-ball 50, and Malik followed suit in just 27deliveries courtesy some scorching strokes down the ground and through theleg side.Both men departed lofting Malinga into the deep, but there was still timefor a 17-run cameo from Afridi, and a crisp contribution fromMisbah-ul-Haq, who followed up his splendid knock against India will twomighty sixes in Jayasuriya’s final over.Sri Lanka’s pursuit of 190 started in disastrous fashion, with UpulTharanga top-edging Mohammad Asif to third man before he’d opened hisaccount, and there was further drama in the opening over when a Jayasuriyamiscue was dropped by Sohail Tanvir at short fine leg.Tanvir redeemed himself in the best possible fashion though, yorkingJaysuriya with his very first delivery. That left Kumar Sangakkara andJayawardene to rebuild the innings, and Sangakkara set about it with amagnificent six over backward point off Asif. His defiance didn’t lastthough, and an unfortunate dismissal – bowled off the arm while going forthe pull – really appeared to have put the skids on Sri Lanka.

But after Jayawardene clipped Tanvir for a beautiful six over square leg,Chamara Silva concentrated his energy on Asif’s final over. A pull and acut started it, and when Asif bowled a no-ball, the free hit was hookedfor six over fine leg. With Shoaib Malik watching frustrated, Asif wasrather harshly called for another no-ball. This time, Jayawardene edgedthe free hit for four as 22 came from the over.Chamara Silva greeted Mohammad Hafeez with a sweep for four, but it wassoon apparent that the slow bowlers would be Pakistan’s trump card. BothHafeez and Shahid Afridi gave next to nothing away, and the pressurefinally told when Jayawardene mowed an Afridi delivery to Umar Gul at deepmidwicket. He had made 28, adding 53 with Silva.Silva was the last hope, but after heaving and then deftly cutting Afridifor two fours to move to 38, he was flummoxed by a full delivery thatcrashed into the stumps. Jehan Mubarak and Gayan Wijekoon both failed totrouble the scorers, and the Pakistani tactic of saving Gul for the endwas amply justified as the match was efficiently closed out.Tillakaratne Dilshan took three sixes from the penultimate over bowled byHafeez, but that was of no more than nuisance value after an emphaticstatement of intent from Malik’s men. For Sri Lanka, it was a rude wake-upcall, and they will now most likely have to beat Australia to make thelast four.

Tom Moody, the Sri Lankan coach, has said his focus lay was firmly on Sri Lankan cricket, and clarified that he had not given much thought to the news that he is one of the main candidates to take over as the next coach of the Australian team.”I haven’t been paying too much notice to it. It’s one of those things where there is always going to be speculation when vacancies in particular positions become available,” said Moody. “My name along with a number of other names has been thrown up. As far as I am concerned my main focus and concentration lies here with Sri Lanka. The Champions Trophy is the most important thing on my mind. I have had very little distraction with regards to that.”Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, echoed Moody’s views: “As far as we know Tom has told us that he is not going anywhere. It has not become a point of discussion and it has hardly affected the team’s preparations.”Ever since Australian coach John Buchanan announced that he was quitting from his post at the end of the 2007 World Cup, the names of Moody, Greg Chappell and Tim Nielsen, the coach of the Australian Centre of Excellence, have been thrown up as the likely candidates.Looking ahead to the Champions Trophy, Moody expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would be around during the latter stages of the tournament. “At the beginning of any competition I go into, I feel confident,” he said. “What gives me the confidence is our thorough preparation, the improvement of the individuals in the team and improvement of the side in general. The team carries a lot more confidence away from home than they have done in the past. There confidence and self belief is quite evident away from home now.”Moody also stated that Sri Lanka were a completely different team to the one that lost in India 6-1 last year. “The team is different in mental, technical and physical state of mind than what they were 12 months ago. It’s not a huge issue if it is India or any other team we have to beat. We need to worry about our game and execute it as best as possible. The results will take care of themselves,” Moody said.”The conditions over there are a little bit different to what we face here in Sri Lanka. The wickets can be a little bit slower than here. From a bowling point of view it can be hard work. There is a smaller margin for error. Unless your line and length are absolutely right you can disappear over there. All our bowlers have discussed this and worked hard on it.”

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain who has been accused by Greg Chappell of being unfit to lead the team in a sensational email to the Indian board, has said he has been vindicated as he had done nothing wrong.Ganguly and Chappell, involved in a public spat which has made headlines since the last few days, had both deposed before a six-member review committee of the board which had hammered out a compromise between the two in Mumbai on Tuesday.”In a way I feel I have been vindicated because I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Ganguly told , a Bangalore-based daily. “The review committee gave me a patient hearing and I put my point of view across to them. I think they were reasonably convinced with my replies and I am very happy the matter has been settled now … You could say I am happy and relieved in equal parts.”Asked whether it was possible for him and Chappell to work as a team, he said, “I don’t see any reason why we cannot. After all, both of us are interested in the welfare of the team and Indian cricket.”He added that there was lot of cricket ahead for the Indian team and it was necessary to forget the past and concentrate on the job at hand. “Whatever happened is in the past I am confident we can come together in the future and work well,” he said. “We have a lot of cricket ahead of us starting with the series against Sri Lanka next month. After a break for a couple of weeks it is time for the Challenger series. We need to do well because our record in one-day finals is not great.”Ganguly’s future as captain, ahead of the home series against Sri Lanka, is likely to be decided on October 13, when the national selection committee, headed by Kiran More, meet at Mohali, on the final day of the Challenger series. The Press Trust of India quoted a board source who said: “The committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on the 13th evening to choose the Indian skipper. The selectors would meet the next day [Oct 14] to select the rest of the team members.”India and Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a seven-match ODI series commencing at Nagpur on October 25. The senior selection panel is scheduled to meet on October 1 at Delhi to choose the captains and team members of the India Seniors and the India A and B squads for the October 10 to 13 Challenger limited-overs series that will be played under lights.More is also expected to talk to Sachin Tendulkar, still recuperating from his elbow surgery, about his availability for the tournament. According to board sources, More was in constant touch with Indian team physio John Gloster on the star player’s progress on the fitness front.

The former England allrounder, Basil D’Oliveira, will be honoured in the country of his birth when England tour South Africa for a five-Test series later this year.D’Oliveira, a Cape Coloured, was born and raised in South Africa, but was denied the chance to play for his country because of Apartheid. Now, however, 36 years after his selection for England’s Test series in South Africa led to the cancellation of the tour and ultimately the suspension of all sporting relations with South Africa, his name will be on the trophy for which the two sides will be competing.The inaugural Basil D’Oliveira Trophy will be presented at Centurion in January to the winners of the series, and will be contested in all subsequent England tours to South Africa. “The naming of this trophy after Basil D’Oliveira is to bring acknowledgement of his considerable contribution to cricket, at a time when he was not given the proper recognition in the country of his birth,” said Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA).Majola added that it was the UCBSA’s intention to empower and recognise those people who were excluded from official cricket during that era. “He will now be remembered every time South Africa and England meet in Test matches in South Africa, as will all those many cricketers who were made nameless through racial discrimination."It is the latest, and greatest, accolade that has so far been bestowed on D’Oliveira, who is now 72. At last year’s World Cup, he led the parade at the opening ceremony in Newlands, a ground that he was never allowed to play on in his time as a cricketer.In 1960, he left for England where he joined Worcestershire, and went on to play 44 Tests for England, averaging 40.06 with the bat, and taking 47 wickets at 39.55. By then, however, he was well into his thirties. What he might have achieved had he earned international recognition at a younger age, can only be imagined.In 1968, with the political clouds gathering ahead of England’s tour to South Africa, he was recalled for the final Ashes Test at The Oval, and scored 158, only to discover he had been omitted from the final party. There was a storm of protest at the decision, and when Tom Cartwright withdrew through injury, the selectors were obliged to turn to him. That was too much for the South African government, who refused to accept the team.The South African prime minister, John Vorster, denounced the selection as overtly political, and shortly afterwards the tour was cancelled, after which South Africa entered more than a quarter of a century of international sporting isolation.

Division OneMiddlesex 214 and 495 drew with Essex 402 and 40 for 1 at Chelmsford ScorecardA fifth-wicket stand of 151 between Ed Joyce, who batted more than sixhours for his 117, and Abdul Razzaq (81) took Middlesex to safety atChelmsford. James Middlebrook, the former Yorkshire offspinner nowwith Essex, took 5 for 172, but they came too slowly to give his side achance of victory.Nottinghamshire 348 and 264 for 7 beat Warwickshire 222 and 390 by3 wickets at Trent Bridge ScorecardNottis pulled off an exciting home win, creeping to their target of 264with only three wickets to spare. When Darren Bicknell (81) and KevinPietersen were putting on 99 it looked simple, but suddenly Mel Bettstook four wickets in 15 balls and Notts slumped from 209 for 3 to 219for 7. But the eighth-wicket pair of Chris Read (20*) and Paul Franks(25*) inched Notts home with no further loss. Betts finished with 4 for49.Surrey 280 and 379 for 6 drew with Lancashire 599 at The Oval ScorecardSome sort of order was restored at The Oval, where Surrey werefollowing on for the first time in five years. When Ally Brown was run outfor 0 and Adam Hollioake managed just 10, Surrey were staring atdefeat at 150 for 5: but then the precocious Rikki Clarke joined IanWard and calmly saved the match. They put on 144 for the sixth wicketbefore Ward was out for 158, the fifth century in his last sevenChampionship innings. Clarke went on to 127 not out by the close.Division TwoDerbyshire 420 and 245 for 6 dec drew with Glamorgan 352 and 253 for 7 at Derby ScorecardA target of 314 in a minimum of 63 overs proved a little too steep forGlamorgan. Despite Adrian Dale’s 92, Glamorgan lost too manywickets to mount a sustained challenge, and finished 60 short withthree wickets intact.Gloucestershire 203 and 368 beat Somerset 289 and 274 by 8 runs atBristol ScorecardThe west-country derby threw up a thriller: set 283, Somerset seemedto be cruising at 204 for 3 after Peter Bowler made 50 and Jamie Cox67. But then Mark Alleyne took three quick wickets, Mike Smith andRoger Sillence also finished with three, and Somerset’s last sevenwickets tumbled for 70 runs. The last pair – first-innings centurymakerRichard Johnson and Simon Francis – needed to make 12 to win … butmanaged only three.Worcestershire 396 and 264 for 9 dec drew with Hampshire 347 and276 for 9 at Worcester ScorecardAlan Mullally and Ed Giddins – not most people’s picks to save matcheswith the bat – somehow survived as Worcestershire pushed for victoryat New Road. Set 314 in 74 overs, Hants made a decent start, withJohn Crawley making 67 and Robin Smith 77. Nic Pothas chipped inwith 48, but with Nantie Hayward taking regular wickets (he ended upwith 5 for 70) Hampshire ended up defending desperately.

Australian bowler Glenn McGrath, scourge of the English batsmen so far this series, praised his English counterparts after they reduced the tourists to 105-7 at the close on the first day of the Third Test to re-ignite an Ashes contest that had looked dead earlier in the day.Having taken five for 49 himself to bowl England out for only 185 on what is normally a good batting track, McGrath admitted to the BBC that England’s fiery comeback in the field was: “a little bit of a shock. We always knew England would fight back at some stage. We never really underestimated them. Today was the day.”Earlier, any spark of English hope of reclaiming the Ashes seemed to have been firmly stamped out by McGrath and company as the home side once more failed to build a decent first innings total. The 31-year-old paceman attributed the fall of 17 wickets in a day to a combination of the pitch and overhead conditions: “Even I was swinging the ball conventionally. To take five wickets in a Test match, I’ll take that any day.”Andy Caddick, who led the England recovery with three wickets in three overs, including that of the captain Steve Waugh, told Channel 4: “I got Steve (Waugh) the way I got him three years ago. I do feel it’s a slight weakness and he knows it’s a slight weakness of his and I’ll continue to plug at that weakness. I’m just happy I got him out that way because he is a key player.”It just shows that these Australians are good players but if you get stuck into them and get on top they do what other humans would do and that is panic, and I’m sure in their dressing room they panicked a little bit.” McGrath agreed that, “it is okay to say they have the upperhand.”Caddick predicted that England would bowl Australia out early on the second day, before compiling around 550 in their second innings, to which McGrath retorted that he should come to the ground once he had woken up. At 2-0 up in the series, it has not been difficult for the tourists to retain their sense of humour, but England can continue to breathe life into the Ashes as they did yesterday evening, the joke may yet be on the mighty Australians.