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Somerset’s Friends Life t20 game against Hampshire Royals at Taunton was called off an hour before the scheduled start on Sunday after torrential morning rain left the outfield saturated. The umpires inspected at 1.30pm, shortly after the Hampshire team had arrived, and decided no play would be possible. It was the second t20 game at Taunton to be abandoned without a ball being bowled in the space of three days after Friday night’s match between Somerset and Kent suffered the same fate.

Shane Watson is best suited to setting a speedy agenda at the top of the Test batting order rather than plugging gaps further down, the national selector Greg Chappell has said.Since becoming vice-captain under the team’s new leader Michael Clarke, Watson has pondered his ideal place within the XI, and has given ground to the possibility of moving down the order if it would help solidify a batting unit prone to collapse. Such a move would also allow Watson the chance to bowl a little more, and perhaps escape a pattern of being dismissed between 50 and 100.However Chappell was adamant that Watson should remain an opening batsman, to be partnered in Sri Lanka by either Simon Katich or Phil Hughes, as his ability to score runs quickly at the outset of an innings was a priceless asset.”I think at this stage we’re pretty happy with him opening,” Chappell told . “The beauty with Shane is that when he gets runs he tends to get them at a good strike rate. If you’ve got someone who makes runs at that sort of strike rate at the top of the order a la Matthew Hayden, it can make a very big difference.”If we get to the point where there’s others who we think might do the job it will come up in discussion, but the issue is if you take him out of that role and whoever replaces him doesn’t do it as well and he doesn’t do as well somewhere else, it’s not a straightforward exercise. He’s ideally suited to opening, he likes opening, he’s doing it well.”I think we’re very comfortable with that situation at the moment. It’s nice that he’s thinking outside himself and looking at it from a team perspective, but I can tell you the best thing for the team at the moment is for him to keep opening and keep scoring runs the way he does.”One of the more curious selections for the Australia A tour of Zimbabwe is that of David Warner in both limited-overs and first-class squads, an indication that his healthy conclusion to the 2010-11 Sheffield Shield for New South Wales had caught Chappell’s attention. Known mainly as a rapid-fire opening bat in Twenty20 cricket, Warner’s technical fundamentals are arguably more pure than those of his Blues compatriot Hughes, leaving open the possibility of a Test match future.”He finished the season off really well, I was pleased that New South Wales gave him those four-day opportunities because I’ve felt for some time that he has the ability to be a good long-form cricketer and the danger is you can pigeonhole somebody,” Chappell said. “I saw him get 90-odd here in Melbourne against Victoria at the MCG and he got a hundred up at the SCG I saw and they were two pretty impressive innings.”He has that capability so let’s see how he progresses over the next little while, but I don’t think there’s any thought from the national selection panel about shifting Shane from where he is at the moment.”

ScorecardSussex openers Chris Nash and Ed Joyce took their four-day form into one-daycricket as their side crushed Derbyshire by eight wickets at Hove to go top ofClydesdale Bank 40 Group A.The pair have already compiled four century stands in the CountyChampionship this season and they put on 161 in 26 overs as the Sharks madelight work of their target of 197 to make it three successive wins after theyhad lost their opening game to today’s opponents a fortnight ago.Their partnership was a new county record against Derbyshire in one-daymatches, beating the 137 by Alan Wells and Martin Speight in 1990, and thefourth highest stand for any Sussex wicket in List A cricket. Both scored freely against a toothless attack on a flat pitch and the only disappointment was that neither scored a century.Nash needed treatment after he was struck on the left hand by a bouncer fromJon Clare and was on 78 when he mistimed a drive to mid-off off slow left-armerChesney Hughes. Joyce fell to Hughes for 90, which included 11 fours, when he holed out to deep midwicket but debutant Lou Vincent hit the next ball for six and Sussex wrappedup victory with 9.5 overs to spare.Earlier, Derbyshire had collapsed badly after a fourth one-day half-century ofthe season from Wes Durston appeared to have put them on course for an imposingtotal. Left-armer Chris Liddle picked up openers Usman Khawaja and Hughes insuccessive overs before Durston led the fightback by adding 48 in 11 overs withGreg Smith.Naveed Arif was convinced he had run out Durston on five when he claimed tohave deflected Smith’s straight drive onto the stumps and on 28 he survivedanother alarm when a pull dropped just short of the diving Nash at deepmidwicket.Smith, who was dropped by Vincent on 16, fell two balls later when he drove tomidwicket but Durston and Wayne Madsen played well in a punishing stand of 91from 98 balls for the fourth wicket. The visitors took their batting powerplay in the 33rd over but then their innings started to unravel as five wickets fell for just six runs in 15 balls.Sussex skipper Mike Yardy had Madsen caught off a mistimed slog sweep and inhis next over Yardy struck with successive deliveries. Durston was deceived by achange of pace and bowled for 85 off 103 balls, which included seven fours and astraight six off Monty Panesar.Luke Sutton was leg before wicket to the next delivery and although SteffanJones blocked the hat-trick ball he holed out to long-on in the next over, thesecond success for Rana Naved who had earlier yorked Jon Clare.Garry Park and Azeem Rafiq halted the collapse but on a true pitch a target of197 was never going to seriously extend Sussex and so it proved.

Mumbai Indians have said they have not lodged any official complaint about the nature of the Jaipur pitch on which they lost to Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets on April 29. They also charged Rajasthan of trying to “sensationalise” the issue by making “unsolicited, distasteful” comments.On a slow surface, Mumbai were restricted to 94 for 8 in 20 overs and slumped to their second defeat of the season. After the match, Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar had said: “It was a tough pitch, different to what we play on in Mumbai. I don’t want to take the credit away from Rajasthan, who bowled and fielded well. It was two-paced, the ball kept low.”Initially, it was thought that Mumbai had complained about the pitch and Rajasthan captain Shane Warne had said he was “disappointed” by that. The IPL’s pitch inspector Venkat Sundaram was present for Rajasthan’s next home game, on Sunday, against Pune Warriors. “I am not having a go at Sachin or anyone, but [for] Mumbai in general, to come here and get outplayed like they did, I think they are using that as an excuse,” Warne had said. “We suddenly have a pitch inspector here and I thought that was totally out of order and unnecessary.”When Tendulkar was dismissed for 51 off a high full toss on Monday’s match against Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Cricket Association’s secretary Sanjay Dixit tweeted: “Sachin gets out off a full toss. Can’t blame the pitch this time.” He had earlier tweeted: “Mumbai is known on the Ranji circuit as the most graceless side. Showing off their pedigree in IPL too.”In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mumbai denied lodging a complaint about the Jaipur pitch and hit back at Rajasthan. “There have been unsolicited, distasteful comments and personal remarks made in reaction which is not in keeping with the spirit of the game,” it said. “It is disconcerting to note that Rajasthan Royals and a senior official of the Rajasthan Cricket Association are trying to sensationalise this issue.”

Canterbury moved up to third place in the Plunket Shield table, beating Wellington by 76 runs in a closely-fought game at the Manipower Oval in Rangiora. A five-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Andy McKay helped bowl out Canterbury for 162 on the first day. Half-centuries from Wellington captain Grant Elliott and then Jeetan Patel lower down the order gave Wellington a handy 85-run lead though Canterbury did well to fight back with legspinner Todd Astle taking five wickets.Canterbury batted more spiritedly in their second innings, overcoming a poor start by way of a 167-run fifth-wicket stand between Shanan Stewart and Reece Young. Stewart made 99 while McKay backed up his first-innings performance with a four-for. Canterbury managed 339, a lead of 254, and Wellington faced a challenging chase. The way the openers Stephen Murdoch and Cameron Merchant were going, adding 105, it seemed Wellington would ease to victory. But Matthew Henry starred on debut, triggering a collapse and grabbing a five-for. Nine wickets fell for 73 and Wellington, who are now second from bottom, fell 76 short.Auckland and Northern Districts served up a thriller at Seddon Park in Hamilton, one in which Auckland held their nerve to seal their first win of the tournament. Auckland batted first and, thanks to a lower-order revival, led by Michael Bates and Bruce Martin, reached 228. Bates, in a fine all-round performance, combined with Chris Martin to limit the lead to 63. He picked up five wickets, Chris Martin took four, but fifties from Brad Wilson and Peter McGlashan ensured the advantage remained with ND.A collective bowling display led by seamer Trent Boult who took four wickets pegged back Auckland further. Gareth Hopkins resisted with 85, and was supported by useful contributions from Anaru Kitchen, Bradley Cachopa and Daryl Tuffey. But a target of 197 didn’t seem sufficient. No one told the Auckland bowlers that, as Chris Martin again stepped up, taking a five-for to finish with nine in the match. The ND batsmen would regret not capitalising on starts. The last three wickets fell for just two runs and ND capitulated to 178, losing by 18 runs.Rain ruined what was shaping up to be an exciting game at the University Oval in Dunedin, between Otago and Central Districts. Kieran Noema-Barnett grabbed four wickets to bowl out Otago for 147 and a lower-order led effort steered CD to a 75-run lead. Kruger van Wyk and Tarun Nethula struck half-centuries to give CD the edge. However, Otago replied strongly in the second innings, and were at 113 for 2 at the end of the third day. Rain, which had washed out the second day, returned to haunt the fourth as well.

Mohammad Khalil scythed through Baluchistan’s line-up, taking eight wickets before Imran Farhat’s unbeaten century put Punjab on top after two days of play at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Punjab had scored 235 on the first day, and Khalil’s strikes kept Baluchistan down to 126 in reply. Farhat then got 103 off 115 balls as Punjab ended the day at 215 for 4, 324 runs ahead. Six of Khalil’s scalps were either bowled or lbw decisions. Baluchistan opener Zain Abbas batted through the carnage, finishing on 71 not out, but only two other batsmen got into double figures, while four were out for ducks.Punjab’s openers came out and put together a 92-run partnership. Taufeeq Umar, who had held the innings together on Thursday with an unbeaten century, was out for 42, but Farhat went on to get the big score and put Punjab in a position from where they can push for a win.

Centuries from Faisal Iqbal and Fawad Alam pushed Sind to a strong total, before three strikes from Danish Kaneria left Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province in trouble at the end of the second day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Sind’s batsmen had dominated the first day, and continued to do so on Friday. Iqbal, who was on 97 not out at the start of play, ended up getting 118 and Alam moved from 58 to 108 before falling to Khalid Usman. The misery for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s bowlers was not over though, as Hasan Raza scored 72 and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed got to 50 not out.Sind finally declared at 461 for 6, and then immediately had Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in trouble, opening bowlers Mohammad Sami and Sohail Khan taking a wicket each to reduce them to 19 for 2. Kaneria then worsened their plight, taking 3 for 26, as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa collapsed to 123 for 6.

Andrew Strauss, the England captain, has admitted that the proximity of the World Cup poses a different set of challenges ahead of the seven-match one-day series against Australia both in terms of selection and preparation.These upcoming matches offer both sides their last serious chance to fine-tune ahead of the global event, but conditions over the next three weeks will be very different to those presented on the subcontinent. There is also the tricky situation regarding selection because some members of England’s squad for this series won’t feature at the World Cup and the final 15 is named following the first ODI.James Anderson is currently resting at home and will return for the fourth ODI at Adelaide and Stuart Broad, another certainty for World Cup selection, is recovering from the stomach strain that ruled him out of the final three Ashes Tests. Broad is on course to make the World Cup which means up to three of the players on duty in Australia will know by next week that they aren’t needed in February.”The first thing to say is it’s a slightly awkward situation where you have to announce a World Cup squad after the first game of a seven-game series,” Strauss said. “It makes things tricky for everyone. But the guys have an opportunity to represent their country. Whether they are part of that World Cup squad or not, what they do now will have an effect on whether they play in the future. It’s very simple: if they can play, take it with both hands. If you’re not part of the 15, make sure you’re ready to go when it finishes.”The other testing situation for Strauss and the England management is that the conditions the team will face in Australia won’t replicate the surfaces or weather of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka although the slow Melbourne pitch for the second Twenty20 gave a hint at what could be on the cards.”One of the thing we’re conscious of is the conditions in Australia are very different to the subcontinent,” Strauss said. “Some of our practice and training has got to be tailored towards this series and some of it towards heading forward as well. That doesn’t mean we’re not here to win this series as that’s the most important thing.”Strauss has returned to the helm following the Twenty20s were he wasn’t involved and the man who captained in his absence, Paul Collingwood, continues to find himself in a serious form slump. His lack of runs in the Ashes persuaded him to retire from Test cricket and in the two T20s he made 16 and 6. However, he remains a key part of England’s one-day plans, not least because of his useful bowling, and Strauss knows he has bounced back before, including four years ago in Australia with back-to-back hundreds during the triangular series.”He’s been a bit out of touch in the Test matches. But it’s a very different form of the game. His record in one-day cricket over the last year has been very good,” Strauss said. “He brings a lot to the side apart from his batting – but his batting’s crucial to us. We’re expecting him to come back strong. He’s a strong character and a resilient bloke. And there have been plenty of incidences in the past where he has come back with a bang – not least four years ago.”England, though, aren’t short of batting options. Kevin Pietersen wasn’t part of their last 50-over success against Pakistan and both Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott have staked their claims for permanent positions. Although all three could make the World Cup squad, somebody will have to miss out in the final eleven.”Kevin Pietersen’s back in the squad and we all know what he can bring to the one-day team. Someone’s got to miss out out of the batsmen,” Strauss said. “It will be a tough call but I think that’s a good position to be in. They all bring different attributes to their game – you have to include Paul Collingwood in the mix as well – and we have to decide what’s the best use of those attributes in Australia and at the World Cup as well.”

The BCCI has been denied customs duty exemption on imports by the government of India, in the first direct consequence of its de-recognition as a national sports body.A government circular from the Ministry of Finance on Monday states that the goods imported by the BCCI or certified as import “are not entitled to any exemption benefit” which is usually available on “sports goods / equipment / consumables” that are imported by national sports federations.The government had de-recognised the board for its failure to complete the paperwork needed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as part of its new annual recognition process set up for all national sports federations in India.In order for a sports federation to be recognised by the government, it must submit details about its electoral process, the duration of the tenure of its officials and a statement of accounts. While the BCCI is not dependant on the Indian government with regards to funding, unlike most other sports federations, it requires government clearances for overseas tours of its teams and also enjoys several benefits relating to tax exemption.The immediate impact of the Ministry of Finance’s ruling would be felt on the World Cup which begins next month. While India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the three co-hosts of the World Cup, the event organisers are headquartered in the BCCI’s office in Mumbai.A significant amount of the event’s publicity and promotional material, the organisers say, is being imported. Some signage is being imported from Germany and corporate and hospitality gifts from China. These include merchandising and sponsors’ materials like the ‘thundersticks’ (the inflatable ‘sticks’ banged together during games) and signs held up by the crowd after every four or six.Given that the customs duty in India ranges between 25 and 30%, the withdrawal of the duty exemption would, a tournament organiser said, could well total at “around a million dollars”. World Cup organisers, however, are hoping that the government’s approval of the event, which are part of their bidding documents, will help them arrive at an amenable settlement.The BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, however, said the decision would not affect the World Cup. “BCCI was always an autonomous body.” Shetty said. “A lot of pressure has been created in the last few months that we should register with the government but there is a different feeling within the BCCI. This decision would not have any bearing on the World Cup.”

England’s coach, Andy Flower, was forced to miss the second day of the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba after undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous growth, or melanoma, in his right cheek.According to an ECB spokesman, Flower, 42, noticed the growth earlier this week during the final days of England’s build-up for the series, and opted to undergo a precautionary operation at a local Brisbane hospital. He is expected to rejoin the squad before the end of the Test.”As far as he is concerned, it is business as usual,” said the spokesman. “He was not at the game today, because he had a melanoma taken out – which was successful. At this stage, he is expected to be fine.”He went off for a routine check, and they said they felt it prudent to take it out,” said the spokesman. “He may well be back on deck tomorrow, or most definitely the following day.”The early removal of such growths is usually almost 100% effective to combating the disease, and the prevention of skin cancer is an issue that is widely promoted in Australia.In his absence, the fielding coach Richard Halsall has been put in temporary charge of the squad.

Cricket South Africa turned its back on an independent committee review of its bonus payouts controversy, because the decision to go for an external inquiry was not unanimous at the time and had been seen as “overreaction to the media storm”.A source close to CSA told ESPNcricinfo, that the setting up of an external review committee headed by Judge Pius Langa had “not been approved by all the relevant stakeholders” in South African cricket. The u-turn came about as CSA’s annual general meeting held on August 21 constituted a new board which overturned the decision on the Langa inquiry, but offered no explanation until today.The ‘media storm’ broke in early August after external auditors Deloitte announced irregularities in CSA’s report. On the same day, CSA issued a statement declaring that bonus payouts totalling R4.7m were given out to 40 employees without authorisation from the CSA remunerations committee (REMCO). The South African board added that the bonuses had been paid out after the 2009 Indian Premier League and Champions Trophy, and that Judge Langa been appointed as head of an independent committee to examine the auditing discrepancy pointed out by REMCO.The new board held a teleconference before the Langa commission was due to begin its work in mid-September, in which it was decided to move from an external to an internal inquiry. The board had unanimously agreed on the decision to disband the committee as “all the internal procedures had not been exhausted”. Only when that exercise had been completed, the source said, could the CSA decide on whether an external review into the matter was necessary.Andy O’Connor, a newly appointed CSA member told ESPNcricinfo he was “very comfortable with the decision taken”, believing that it was the right thing to do. “Because the Board comprises independent members, there are checks and balances in place,” O’Connor said.However, not all parties believed that the CSA’s turnaround was appropriate. A South African cricket insider said that CSA had “backpedalled” by disbanding an external commission and replacing it with an internal inquiry. “When that happens it affects transparency and credibility”, he said.The internal commission headed by CSA vice president AK Khan has completed most of its work and is in the process of compiling their report, hoping to have it ready in time for the next board meeting on November 19. The Khan commission report, the source said, would concentrate on two main issues which need clarification.”They will look into why the payments were not reported on initially by REMCO or the auditors, and whether the allocation of payments followed precedent or not.” The precedent being referred to here is the practice of paying bonuses to employees after staging major tournaments, which began after the 2003 World Cup.