Despite staring at a clean sweep of losses, West Indies have retained faith in their 13-man squad for the final two one-day matches against South Africa in Trinidad over the weekend. South Africa sealed the series with their dramatic one-run victory in the third match in Barbados on Wednesday, and Joey Carew, West Indies’ convenor of selectors, blamed the loss on “some bad cricket towards the end”.Carew said there was also some “bad luck” when two runs were not credited to thescore during the innings. “Nevertheless,” he said, “we go in with same squad and we are confident that we will win both games in Trinidad this weekend.”West Indies Chris Gayle, Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian LaraDwayne Smith, Runako Morton, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne (wk), Corey Collymore, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw.

June 11 – Leicestershire v Australians

ScorecardLeicestershire were never in the hunt as the Australians romped to an emphatic victory on the back of a century from Matthew Hayden (107) and significant contributions from Damien Martyn (85) and Andrew Symonds (92 from just 59 balls). Mongia was as ineffectual as the rest of the attack, conceding 49 from his eight overs. In response, Leicestershire could manage only 226 for 8, with Mongia contributing a rapid 21 before being caught off Brad Hogg’s bowling.June 5 – National League

ScorecardMongia engineered Leicestershire’s thumping win over Somerset at Oakham School Ground with a fantastic allround show. His 72-ball 75, including seven fours and a six, set up a fighting target and Somerset, after a decent opening partnership, capitulated for a mere 146 while chasing. Mongia played a crucial role with the ball too and ended with magical figures of 4 for 12 in his seven overs.June 1-4 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardLeicestershire dominated the drawn game, but without a significant contribution from Mongia, who only made 26 in a total of 338.May 30 – National League

ScorecardDerbyshire turned the tables on Leicestershire this time, eking out a four-wicket win at Derby. Mongia fell early, making just 6 as the team slumped to 55 for 6 before limping to 146. With such a total on the board, the result was never in doubt.May 26-29 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia got starts in both innings as Leicestershire notched up an impressive win against Derbyshire. In the first innings, he made 51 and offered fine support to Darren Robinson, who made 110. In the second, with Leicestershire needing a challenging 258 to win, Mongia chipped in with a vital 47 after the team had slumped to 48 for 3. With the rest of the middle order contributing as well, Leicestershire won by four wickets.May 17 – C&G Trophy

ScorecardLeicestershire were at the wrong end of a run-chase this time, as they fell well short of their quest for 236. Mongia did well with the ball, taking 1 for 30 from 10 overs, but failed in his main job, scoring just 5 before becoming one of three victims for Dougie Brown.May 15 – National League

ScorecardA superb all-round performance by Mongia gave Leicestershire a convincing win at Grace Road against Surrey. Mongia scored 67 off 86 balls even as his team-mates struggled – no-one managed more than 22. Then, he starred with the ball as well, taking 4 for 15, including the scalp of Mark Ramprakash, Surrey’s top-scorer with 34. In the end, Leicestershire defended a low score with plenty to spare.May 11-14 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia shrugged off a first-ball duck in the first innings with a well-compiled 70 in the second, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Leicestershire from suffering yet another defeat. Batting at No. 3, Mongia was trapped in front by Ian Harvey in the first innings, but top-scored with a 115-ball effort in the second. It should have won his team the game, but Yorkshire pulled off a magnificent run-chase, getting 406 in the fourth innings.May 6-9 – Frizzell County Championship

ScorecardMongia’s first match in the four-day county championship ended in disappointment for him and his team. Mongia made 6 and 39 as Leicestershire went down by six wickets against Essex at Chelmsford.May 4 – C&G Trophy

ScorecardA fifth-ball duck for Mongia, but victory for Leicestershire as they scraped through in a tense low-scoring battle at Grace Road. Somerset were bundled out for 94, with Sanath Jayasuriya, Somerset’s overseas player, making a duck as well. Leicestershire were struggling at 53 for 6, but some lower-order resistance pulled them through.May 1 – National League

ScorecardMongia thumped 16 from ten balls with three fours, but then fell as Leicestershire’s batsmen disappointed, scoring only 211 for 8. Somerset overhauled the target without many problems.April 24 – National League

ScorecardMongia got off to a fine start to the season, scoring 62 off 76 balls in the 45-over one-day match against Kent. Mongia was the only batsman from the side to score a half-century as Leicestershire put up 214 for 8, but Martin van Jaarsveld swung the game Kent’s way with an unbeaten 69.

A depressed Shane Warne considered leaving Australia in the wake of his drug ban, and qualifying to play for England instead, according to a report in today’s London Sunday Times. Apparently Warne thought hard about settling in Hampshire after he was sent home from the World Cup and banned from cricket for a year. But the bad news for England’s batsmen is that Warne eventually decided to stay put, and try to regain his Australian Test spot.Ivo Tennant wrote: “The expectations on him [Warne], the adulation and pressure on his marriage were so great that he contemplated settling in Hampshire, the county he will return to captain next summer. Warne spent several weeks in a hideaway in Europe to escape from media and supporters alike after his ban for the use of diuretics. At the age of 33, he would have had to spend four years qualifying to play for England. Finally he decided this would have shortened his Test career too much, and he was too wedded to his native country.”Until recently Warne would have had to spend even longer before he could have played for England, but the ICC recently reduced the qualification period to four years (it took Graeme Hick seven years to qualify for England after he decided to leave his native Zimbabwe). But still Warne could not have swapped the baggy green for the tight blue until 2008. As it is, he will be eligible for Australian selection again in February next year, after serving his 12-month ban.Warne, 34, is keen to add to his impressive tally of 491 wickets in 107 Tests.

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The sight of Andrew Flintoff giving Andrew Symonds a huge bear hug andhigh-fiveing him as a batsman walks back to the pavilion is not somethingyou would have expected in this Ashes summer. For the past month they havebeen fiercely trying to outdo each other on the field. Today they wereteam-mates as Symonds made his Lancashire debut and turned in a matchwinning performance to send his new team into the semi-finals of the C&GTrophy with a 35-run win against Sussex.A century, two wickets, four catches and a run-out is not a bad way tomark your first game and, for the 6000-strong crowd at Old Trafford,Symonds was immediately a Lancastrian. His hundred guided Lancashire to adefendable 249 for 8 – although they should have got more – before his twowickets removed Chris Adams and Murray Goodwin, Sussex’s two key batsmen,and the three catches, all off Flintoff, sealed the match.”It was pretty much the perfect day,” said Symonds. “The pitch was thesort of surface where we said we just had to hang in there and try and geta wicket and it would be very hard for the new player coming in. We bowledsome really tight overs through the middle and created pressure.”Although the final victory margin has a comfortable feel to it, as ChrisAdams and Matt Prior were adding 95 for Sussex’s second wicket anotherquarter-final defeat – following last season’s loss to Yorkshire – waslooming on the horizon. But Symonds was looming larger.Mark Chilton, the Lancashire captain, had held his spinners back but theyhad an immediate effect when he tossed them the ball. Gary Keedy had Priorcaught at deep midwicket (112 for 2) for a 58-ball 59 before Symondsshowed that he was not content with only a century on his debut.Adams was comprehensively bowled playing back (120 for 3) and each wicketpushed the asking rate higher. Murray Goodwin managed one towering six offSymonds but perished to a stunning return catch – similar to the one hetook off Mohammed Ashraful in the one-day international at Old Trafford(160 for 4). As the pressure increased Flintoff helped himself – thanksto Symonds’s safe hands – to three wickets as Sussex swung helplessly.There was nothing Symonds couldn’t do. When he came to the creaseLancashire’s innings was in need of some stabilising following the loss ofStuart Law and Mal Loye. After Symonds and Marcus North (also making hisLancashire debut) had had a quick chat in the middle – as much tointroduce themselves as to discuss any tactics – they employed theircontrasting styles to build the significant stand of the innings.North worked the gaps in the field, in a manner not dissimilar to the way his Western Australian team-mate Mike Hussey in the recent ODIs. He scampered between the wickets, while Symonds bludgeoned typically fierce boundaries. Their partnership of 118 in 22overs steered Lancashire to 152 for 2 in the 31st over and, with Flintoffstill to come, 280 was on the cards.However Mushtaq Ahmed and Michael Yardy bowled 20 consecutive overs ofspin and slowly they began to strangle the middle-order, especially whenNorth swung across the line and was bowled by Mushtaq (152 for 3).During the recent one-day internationals all the talk was of theFlintoff-Kevin Pietersen pairing firing together, but it never happened. When Flintoff joined Symonds the expectation was the same – but, alas, so was the outcome. when Flintoff was drawn down the pitch by Mushtaq during a superb spell of legspin (165 for 4).Mushtaq also removed Mark Chilton (179 for 5), but Symonds was still incontrol and reached his century from 116 balls, diving full-length intothe crease to make his ground.While Prior and Adams were reproducing a Symonds-North style partnership,Sussex were working themselves into a position of dominance but, not forthe first time this season, Symonds produced for his team when they needit most. Needless to say, the Man of the Match award was an easy decision.* * * * * *In Birmingham, Nick Knight led the charge with an unbeaten century as Warwickshire romped into the C & G semi-finals after crushing Kent by five wickets. Knight’s unbeaten 112 allowed the home side to coast to their target of 260 with 23 balls to spare. Justin Kemp knocked over the top order with three wickets, but Knight held firm and was joined in his travails by Trevor Penney, who hit 50 not out. An opening stand of 120 between Rob Key and Andrew Hall gave Kent a strong platform, and Matthew Walker added 51 but their total of 259 wasn’t enough on a decent Edgbaston wicket.The fourth semi-final takes place on Saturday, with Yorkshire taking on Northamptonshire at Headingley.

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A groin injury robbed this match of a gladiatorial match-up between England’s brash new boy Kevin Pietersen and the discarded Graham Thorpe, but a record run-chase from Hampshire more than compensated. Surrey racked up 359 – which they considered ample – but Shane Watson hit a pulsating 132 from 105 balls in his first game as Shane Warne’s replacement to ensure Pietersen’s big-hitting wasn’t missed.An eighth-wicket stand of 63 between Watson and Shaun Udal forcibly dragged Hampshire from 279 for 7 to just 17 runs from victory before Udal and Chris Tremlett knocked off the remaining runs to book Hampshire’s place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2000. “That was just an astonishing game of cricket,” Udal said afterwards. “We always felt we had a chance – you have to think that. We had an astonishing innings from Shane Watson. We did well; we did it in a professional way, in a very accomplished fashion.”In the morning, Pietersen’s absence due to his injury meant the spotlight belonged to Thorpe. He was denied the chance to captain Surrey due to Mark Ramprakash’s return from a broken thumb, but he was bubbly while batting and while fielding, too. Thorpe hasn’t been this animated for some time – he clearly doesn’t want people to think he has reverted to his old head-hanging, brooding stereotype.He received the loudest applause of the day as he strode to the crease, purpose pumping visibly in his legs. The applause for his first run was almost as deafening. Fifty-nine runs later, Thorpe was welcomed back into the pavilion after a classy, composed 60. Yet, the scene from two years ago when he scored his magnificent hundred against South Africa in his comeback Test on the same ground was incomparable. Then he was the returning hero, today he returned as dispensable to England’s cause. How has this happened?His Test average since that hundred is 56.37 and he has scored 1,635 runs. He has seemed happier, more open in that time – more importantly, he appeared happy with himself. He had become the Graham Thorpe he wanted to be. Then he struggled in South Africa in the winter; his form this season hasn’t been encouraging, averaging 34.50 from 11 innings, which is only four runs shy of Pietersen’s season average, but the man with the bigger bouffant has the momentum behind him.Thorpe is the last of the breed from the 1990s, when England’s mentality was firmly set on losing. The chances of him playing for England again are slim; even with injuries, England are likely to go with a younger man. Yet, he hasn’t been allowed the send-offs afforded to Alec Stewart and Michael Atherton, nor has he gone out gloriously as his great mate Nasser Hussain did last summer, a centurion and match-winner at Lord’s. Instead, Thorpe’s last action as a Test batsman was a single off Bangladesh’s Aftab Ahmed, a 19-year-old occasional medium-pacer. A month ago, maybe even a day ago, he would have been justified in dreaming of hitting the runs that brought England the Ashes.So Thorpe didn’t have the chance to abdicate. Instead his strings were yanked from above by those who had brought him back so memorably at the Oval two years ago. So what now? Many had expected him to announce his retirement immediately after his rejection. On today’s evidence, he is very happy, and more than able, to play a full, vital part for Surrey this season. Their coach Steve Rixon has said Thorpe will reassess the situation at the end of the season, while Thorpe issued a statement saying he was “looking forward to playing a key role for Surrey.” So, Pietersen’s gain is also Surrey’s.What price a few boos if Pietersen had been passed fully fit for this match; what price him revelling in those boos? As it was, Watson’s ferocious hitting meant that England’s golden boy was forgotten for once. It could have been a much different story. Surrey’s openers James Benning’s and Jonathan Batty’s blistering start meant that a big run chase was on for Hampshire after just 10 overs – then they must have been cursing Pietersen’s absence. The partnership reached three figures in the 13th over, Tremlett, named yesterday in England’s Ashes squad, and Billy Taylor leaking 62 from their opening eight overs. Tremlett’s rhythm was badly disrupted by 22-year-old Benning; a handy hitter but no Matthew Hayden or Justin Langer.Udal, who has taken over captaincy responsibility from Warne, was forced to bring himself on as fifth change in only the 11th over. Surrey’s openers put on 142 – the kind of foundation that Pietersen will be hoping for from Strauss and Trescothick come next Thursday.Batty went on to an undefeated 158. His 115-run partnership with Thorpe was a mastermind in controlling the tempo; Thorpe’s contribution a typical mix of boundaries and singles. His ability to push the score along without having to go for the big shots was rare in the England team; Ian Bell, who seems to have inherited this role, has a lot to live up to. “We thought 350 was a fantastic score,” Ramprakash admitted on Sky Sports afterwards, “and Jonathan Batty played a fantastic knock, and we were very, very happy with that.”But it was Watson’s day. “It’s great to play well at the right time and get us over the line,” said Watson, who didn’t bowl owing to a leg injury. “It was a nice flat wicket to bat on and would have been a bit nasty to bowl on.” If Watson isn’t deemed good enough for a place in the Ashes squad, England will have reasons for concern.

Scotland’s national coach, Andy Moles, has denied that he is being lined up to replace Australia’s John Inverarity in the role at Warwickshire next month, but he has admitted to being “flattered” by speculation linking him to his old county. His words are likely to increase speculation that the Scots will be looking for a new coach, just weeks after qualifying for the 2007 World Cup, and although the Cricket Scotland chief executive, Roddy Smith, is clinging to the hope he can persuade Moles to sign a new contract when his present deal runs out in September, it is privately believed there is no prospect of matching the £80,000-a-year salary on offer in Birmingham.”I can tell you, hand on heart, that I haven’t discussed contracts or held discussions with Warwickshire, and, as matters stand, I am thoroughly enjoying working with the Scotland team and the guys have performed magnificently in the last few weeks to guarantee their World Cup place, win the ICC Trophy, and earn full ODI status,” said Moles. “But obviously, I know I am popular with the members at Warwickshire, I am aware that John is leaving the county at the end of the season, and I am flattered that my name is being mentioned in connection with speculation about the job.”What I can tell you is that, no matter what transpires, my decision won’t come down to finance alone, and I wouldn’t go anywhere just for the money, but Warwickshire are clearly close to my heart, I spent my playing career there, and I will have to sit down with Roddy and discuss my future. At this stage, my sole priority is guiding the Scots towards more victories in the totesport League and encouraging the Under-19s to capitalise on their achievement in reaching next year’s World Cup. But, in the longer term, we all have mortgages to pay and other people to think about, so I will weigh up what is best and will do so openly and honestly.”Moles seems frustrated with the prevailing situation where a key individual such as the wicketkeeper-batsman, Colin Smith, was ruled out of the majority of the ICC Trophy matches, because of his constabulary duties at the G8 summit. “I would have hoped that the police might have shown more sympathy to our cause, because I have no doubts that if Colin had been a rugby player, he would have been available to represent his country.”Furthermore, in striving to choose the same XI that won the trophy in Ireland, to meet the Australians in Edinburgh on August 18, Moles has already learned that his allrounder, Dougie Brown, is out of contention, due to his commitments with Warwickshire. “We can’t complain about that – they are in the semi-finals of the C & G Trophy two days later and it is a really big match for them,” he said. “It does mean, though, that we are being constantly forced to redraw our plans, and check on work commitments, and that makes it very difficult for the side to build up any sense of continuity.”Mercifully, therefore, Scotland will be assisted by the ICC, as of January 2006, from which time they will be able to invoke regulations where the counties have to release their players for officially-sanctioned tournaments. “It’s a bit like the scenario you have in football,” said Moles, “where the emerging nations are able to rely on FIFA to ensure they can call upon their best personnel for international matches, and it will make a genuine difference to the strength of future Scotland sides.”Okay, next summer, our English-based players will not be in the mix for the revamped C&G Trophy, but thereafter, whether it be the Intercontinental Cup, one-day internationals, or as part of a new competition with the other World Cup qualifiers and Kenya, the Scots, barring injury, should be able to send out their best eleven guys onto the pitch when it counts.”The only question hanging in the air is whether the redoubtable Moles will still be in charge of them. One suspects, given his own testimony, he won’t.

South Africa, who set off for a two-Test tour of India this Thursday, are making very positive noises about the task that awaits them, despite a well-publicised series of setbacks and flare-ups in the recent weeks and months.Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, recently stated that his team had hit “rock-bottom” over the last six months, and that statement is backed up by their results. South Africa failed to progress to the later stages of the ICC Champions Trophy in September, and since Smith took over in April 2003, they have lost 18 out of 33 completed one-day internationals, and their only Test-series victories have come against the struggling West Indies and Bangladesh.South Africa have the added burden of living up to the standards they set on their last tour of India in 1999-2000, when they conquered the so-called “final frontier” by winning 2-0. But in the last month, problems have started to queue up.For starters, they have been deprived of two first-choice players in Herschelle Gibbs, who declared himself unavailable, and Nicky Boje, who pulled out of the tour after Delhi police failed to give assurances that he would not be questioned about alleged match-fixing on that last trip. Then Charl Langeveldt, Boje’s replacement, suffered a bad injury in a provincial match and has since been replaced by Robin Peterson.But the most worrying of all the setbacks occurred at the start of October, when Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board, had to investigate claims alleging bungled mismanagement, racism and a supposedly debilitating Western Province clique running the national side. At the time, an unnamed board official told the : “Everyone realises that something is radically wrong and that it needs to be addressed.”

So what’s changed? The coach, for one. And since Ray Jennings replaced Eric Simons, the players have been saying how rosy things are. Alfonso Thomas, a new addition to the squad who was picked for the tour as a stand-in for Andre Nel, is clear about the way things are going. “It really feels as if something very special is developing,” he told the South African Press Association. “There’s an openness among the players, and the senior players are going out of their way to make sure that newcomers like me feel part of the team. There’s an amazing vibe.”I know he [Jennings] always starts off with a lot of intensity,” said Thomas, 27, who worked under Jennings as part of the A squad. “We have been working hard, but we know what our goals are and what we have to do to achieve them.” Even Fanie de Villiers, who has spoken out in the past about team preparation, is helping out, telling the bowlers about the conditions in India and how to get wickets.Thomas is certainly not alone in endorsing Jennings. Martin van Jaarsveld, who also played in Jennings’s A side, is feeling decidedly upbeat: “We had a meeting with him [on Thursday] and he outlined his approach. The guys all bought into it, and we are working with great intensity, in fact I’ve never seen them so energised. Ray puts you under a lot of pressure, and he is creating a lot of competition among the guys. It has been tough, because of the intensity, but we have had some great fielding drills.”Shaun Pollock, Smith’s predecessor as captain, is also optimistic: “I think the vibe’s been good. The guys have really worked hard, and all of us are really keen to go over there and do well for ourselves and for South African cricket.”Thami Tsolekile, South Africa’s new wicketkeeper, is another player who has worked under Jennings. “He prepares us well. I think he helps us to be mentally tough, which is what you need to be in Test cricket.”The first Test against India starts at Kanpur on November 20, with the second match at Kolkata starting eight days later.

Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka, already in considerable disarray following the ODI whitewash and the Mohammad Rafique controversy, has received a further blow. Mashrafe Mortaza, their leading strike bowler, has been sent home with a persistent back injury three days before the start of the first Test.According to , a Dhaka-based daily, a bone scan revealed no fracture but indicated an early stage of stress reaction in his lower back. Paul Close, the team physiotherapist, told reporters, “The injury has been detected early. Therefore the rehabilitation for his injury is expected to take between six and twelve weeks. There are three or four stages to a fracture and `stress reaction’ is the first stage. So, we are confident of his full recovery over this timeframe.”Mortaza has bowled only one over on tour so far, in a practice one-day match but has been sidelined since suffering from back pain. Since making his debut against Zimbabwe in 2001, Bangladesh’s leading fast bowler has suffered a succession of shattering injuries. Against England in 2003, Moshrafe picked up a ligament injury that kept him out of the game for over a year and caused him to reduce his pace on his return.A despondent Mortaza told the newspaper, “This is the sixth time I’ll have to leave the team in the middle of a series. Still, I am happy that there is no fracture. At first, I thought something really bad happened this time. But I am relieved now. If there was a fracture, coming back would have needed much time. I have missed this series, but it’s good to know that I won’t miss something big in future.”

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Ramnaresh Sarwan hit an unbeaten century (106 off 117 balls) to take Guyana to a three-run victory over Barbados at Crab Hill in the opening round of President’s cup on Monday. Chasing 244 runs in the allotted 50 overs, Guyana recovered from 33 for 3 to 206 for 6 when they accepted bad light at 5.30 pm, two runs ahead of their target score and prevailing on the Duckworth-Lewis system. Earlier Kurt Stevenson propelled Barbados to a score of 243 with a well made 75 but they added to their own woes in the field by dropping three catches, including one off Sarwan when he was on 57.
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Powered by Runako Morton’s 87, Leeward Islands crushed Jamaica by nine wickets in the opening round of the President’s Cup in Wildey at Barbados. Batting first, Jamaica floundered when they lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for a meager 145 in 38.1 overs. Curtis Roberts, the opening bowler, bowled out his quota of 10 overs in one spell and snapped up three wickets. Leeward Islands’ batsmen then polished off the required runs in 29.2 overs.
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Trinidad & Tobago, the defending champions, got their President’s Cup campaign off to a disastrous start when they fell 14 runs short against Windward Islands. Chasing 191 runs for victory, T&T were comfortably placed at 123 for 3, when Daren Sammy, the medium-pacer, removed both Ricardo Powell and Samuel Badree in successive deliveries and triggered a collapse. They lost their last five wickets for 35 runs and ended up losing a game that was well within their grasp. Earlier, the Windwards recovered from a worrying position of 44 for 5 to register a respectable score of 190 for 9 – a total that proved just enough.

Phil Simmons’s legal challenge over his dismissal by Zimbabwe Cricket began in Harare High Court on Monday. Simmons claims that his sacking earlier this month was illegal as the decision to terminate his contract was not undertaken in accordance with the board’s own constitution.Justice Benjamin Hlatshwayo spent 25 minutes listening to arguments by both sides. Julie Wood, acting for Simmons, told the judge that Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, did not have any authority to terminate the contract because he was not a member of the ZC board of directors. She explained the order should have come from Peter Chingoka, the board’s chairman.Andrew Mukandiwa, representing ZC, disputed this, saying a letter was presented to the Simmons.Judge Hlatshwayo held the matter over until Friday morning, when he will hear further legal argument and witness statements. Zimbabwe’s players have sent a letter to the board asking for Simmons’s reinstatement as coach.Simmons was replaced by Kevin Curran, a former Zimbabwe international. Sources close to the players have indicated that Curran is seen as being too close to the board and that despite statements to the contrary, his appointment has not been well received.If Simmons loses the case then he faces immediate deportation. However, even if he wins, he may still be expelled. Zimbabwe’s authorities have a history of acting with disregard for the courts, expelling a number of foreigners even when the due legal process has found in their favour. The highest profile incident involved Andrew Meldrum, the Guardian reporter, who was forced to leave in 2003 despite court orders permitting him to remain.