After talks today between the government and the ECB on the thorny issue of England’s proposed tour of Zimbabwe, the outcome was predictably indecisive. The government said it was in no position to cancel the tour, while the ECB said it will put the matter before the board for further discussions.After the meeting, Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, and Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, faced the media. They stressed that although the government didn’t agree with Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, it was in no position to dictate to the ECB what to do, and couldn’t decree on who could, and could not, leave the country. Straw added that the players should have a choice in whether to go.”The British government has no such power to prevent England from touring Zimbabwe,” said Straw. “We do not have state-run cricket in this country, and nor should we. To those who suggest that the government should intervene, they should consider what that would involve. It would mean giving the state powers to criminalise entirely innocent sportsmen.”We would prefer that the tour was postponed until such time as the situation in Zimbabwe is more stable,” added Straw, “but it is right for the sporting authorities to make such decisions.”

David Morgan, the ECB’s chairman, also fielded questions from reporters, and insisted that he accepted and appreciated the government’s stance. “I understand the government’s position,” he said. “They don’t have the powers to over-rule the tour, and we do not seek state-controlled cricket.”Though Morgan denied that the ICC’s threat of a hefty fine was a smokescreen for the ECB’s indecision, he insisted it would be a crippling consequence. But, he added: “We realise that it is unacceptable to the majority of the British public if England tour Zimbabwe.”We at ECB have the greatest sympathy for the people of Zimbabwe and for the cricket fraternity of that country,” added Morgan. “But our players are our most important asset and we will seek assurances about their safety before proceeding with the tour. They, like the Board, are in an invidious position and I want to make it clear that the ECB will not force any individual player to tour Zimbabwe if he does not wish to do so as a matter of personal conscience.”The choices facing us have been well-rehearsed,” he concluded. “If we refuse to tour … then we face the real threat of very severe sanctions, which could have a devastating impact on the well-being of our game. I would ask you to bear in mind that not a single member of the ICC supports a moral or political boycott of Zimbabwe; Sri Lanka are currently touring and Australia will follow shortly.”

After a frustrating winter on the fringes of England’s tour of the Caribbean, James Anderson took 6 for 49 in his first match of the season, as Lancashire took control against Worcestershire. Afterwards he spoke to the press at Old Trafford:

Are you doing anything different now to what you were doing six months ago?
No, I’m just concentrating on bowling pretty straight – keeping things wicket-to-wicket. The ball seemed to be coming out quickly, but it didn’t swing at all and the breeze wasn’t helping me. I just had to keep it tight. I’ve felt quite good all winter, to be honest, and I had a decent rhythm in the nets. But it’s a totally different situation when you get out into the middle.Were you apprehensive about playing in this match?
Yeah, I’ve had four one-day internationals over the winter, so it was a bit of a different situation today, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it turned out to be exactly what I needed – a long bowl and a good couple of spells to get back into it.Are you feeling refreshed after a winter on the sidelines?
That’s one way of looking at it – I am feeling pretty fresh, yeah. Some of the guys here are saying I look fresher than they are, and that’s only a couple of games into the season. I’m definitely feeling fit and strong.There must have been some doubt about you playing for Lancashire today – Sajid Mahmood has been in good form …
He has. Someone asked me this week whether I was worried about getting my England place back, but I said: “First things first, let me get back in the Lancashire side”. Kyle [Hogg] and Sajid have been playing exceptionally well, and just because I’ve come off an England tour, it doesn’t mean I have a right to walk into the side.Does England status create extra pressure?
Not really. I was just out to bowl well, not necessarily even to take wickets. All I wanted was to feel good in myself again. That will do me fine. But six wickets under my belt is certainly not going to do me any harm with the selectors.Did you bowl as well as the figures suggest?
Maybe not, but I’ve definitely bowled better for less. But that’s cricket. You need a bit of luck, and when your second ball of the day is nicked down the leg-side, you know you’ve just got to cash in.How frustrating was your experience this winter?
At times it was extremely frustrating, sitting there watching the other guys taking all the wickets and wishing it was you out there. But that’s the way it goes. I was happy, because it was my mates who were doing the job, but I was happy and sad at the same time.Did it get you down?
Sometimes, but I tried not to let it show. I just got on with my training and practising with Troy [Cooley] and the other coaches. After that, it was just a case of getting back to the County Championship and taking wickets.Will you be a better player for the experience?
Hopefully. It’s not done me any harm at all to be out there and not playing. It should stand me in good stead for the future.What have you done in the four or five days since you returned from the West Indies?
I went home to see my friends and family, then had a net with the 2nd XI on Tuesday before the game.It’s been a rollercoaster 12 months – sometimes you’ve been taking wickets galore, and other times you’ve been getting none. Has your bowling form been tied in with that?
It’s really hard to explain. It’s the same for batters and their bad runs of form – sometimes it’s a poor decision, other times a stunning catch. As far as I’m concerned, I might be bowling well, but if I don’t take the wickets, everyone assumes I’m bowling badly.Are you a better bowler now than 12 months ago?
Definitely. I’m more experienced now. I adjust more quickly to each batsman, and I’m getting to know their strengths and weaknesses as I play more. Everyone ought to get better with experience, and as long as you’ve got the right coaches on hand, you should progress.It must be exciting to be part of this England team at the moment?
Yeah. My job now is to put pressure on the guys in the side. If I keep taking wickets, then hopefully they’ll have to perform even better as well.You might not be seeing much more of Lancashire this season?
Yeah. There is so much international cricket at the moment. It was sad to miss out on Lancashire’s one-day trophy last season as well, but unfortunately you can’t be in two places at once.Do you expect to play at Lord’s?
I haven’t a clue. All I know is I’d love to play for England again anywhere, whether it’s Lord’s or Turf Moor.

The USACA has announced its team for the Intercontinental Cup match against Canada scheduled to be played at the Brian Piccolo Park in Florida between May 29 and 31.Richard Staple from New York has been retained as captain, with Nasir Javed serving as his deputy. All the 12 members of the team were part of the squad that returned with top honors from Sharjah earlier this year.USA squad Richard Staple (capt), Nasir Javed, Rohan Alexander, Steve Massiah, Clayton Lambert, Charles Reid, Zamin Amin, Jignesh Desai, Howard Johnson, Donovan Blake, Aijaz Ali, Mark Johnson.

Lord’s will attract a record-breaking crowd when it stages its first Twenty20 match between Middlesex and Surrey on Thursday, July 15. MCC has confirmed that ticket sales have now topped 15,000, breaking the previous Twenty20 record crowd of 14, 862 for the match between Lancashire and Yorkshire at Old Trafford last June.”We are delighted that tickets have been selling so well,” beamed Roger Knight, MCC’s secretary and chief executive. “We look forward to staging our first Twenty20 match in front of a record-breaking Lord’s crowd.”Advance sales of tickets, which cost £10 for adults and £5 for children, will end on Monday, July 12. All eighty boxes and suites have been sold out since mid-May. Assuming tickets remain, on-the-day sales will be on a cash-only basis at the North Gate ticket sales points.MCC Ticket Office: 020 7432 1000

Under fire from the ECB for being to blame for many of the ills affecting county cricket, one of the county chairmen attacked recently by the board has hit back. In an exclusive interview in today’s Daily Telegraph, Neil Davidson, chairman of Leicestershire, accused the ECB of “talking nonsense”.Davidson, who runs Arla Foods, the country’s biggest milk supplier, defended the position of his fellow chairmen. “The majority of us are not old farts, but are either entrepreneurs or running businesses, and the average age of the chairmen is 50. So when John Read [the then ECB press spokesman] says county cricket is holding back English cricket he is talking nonsense. The counties are English cricket. Without us there would be no Test team and no cricket in this country.”What really upset Davidson was the recent proposal put forward by the ECB, and rejected by the chairmen, for domestic reform. “These were crackpot proposals,” he told the paper. “Lamb did not say much at the meeting but John Carr [cricket director] said this was for the good of cricket. But they had not tested it with the consumers.”Davidson admitted that four-day cricket will never draw the crowds in significant numbers, but said that it was vital for the future of the game. “[It’s] not a bum-on-seat event. However it is necessary to produce players for the Test team and that is are our prize asset and our cash cow. But Twenty20 and the other one-day matches are bums-on-seats events and we need to make them happenings, like baseball in America.”I would like the ECB to provide floodlights for all counties, to see Twenty20 made into a national league and played on a Friday evening so people can bring their kids and those who would otherwise go to the pub and drink, could drink at cricket. The National League should be 40 overs starting at 5pm.”And, like many of his colleagues, he was not happy with the way the Zimbabwe issue was handled. “The ECB were unfortunate to be caught in a political situation, but how did England find itself isolated on the world stage? The chairmen kept being told by the ECB we are going, when we really don’t want to go. That is no way to handle such an issue.”

Marvan AtapattuOn Sri Lanka’s performance
To start with, it wasn’t our best performance on the field, but having saidthat, having come back to the dressing room we wanted to make up for whathappened in the Asia Cup against India when we lost by four runs chasing270-odd. It was a good pitch and it did not deteriorate as much as peoplewould have thought. It was low but good for batting.On the run chase
As Graeme (Smith) said we were able to pick up singles easily for ashort while in the middle of the innings. But we planned the chase in such away that the required rate never lifted above seven. It was under six formost of the time. And we ensured that we still had batsmen remaining at theend.On Lokuarachchi’s return to the team
Lokuarachchi only went out of the team because of a few unfortunateincidents, but he is a competitive player and can contribute to the team inall three aspects of the gameOn the importance of the win for the series
It is definitely good to have won the first game of the series. But they area good, competitive side. Not many sides would have put 260 on the board.Even in the Asia Cup we did not see many of those kind of scores. It’s justthat on the day we played better.On Sri Lanka’s revival
Credit should go to everybody, from the manager down to the 15th player.Everyone is contributing. Everything has fallen into place. People aretaking responsibility and everyone wants to do well. When those things fallinto shape it is so much easier to be the captain.Graeme SmithOn the game
At the end of the day 263 should have been enough for us. But if I look atthe bowling, we did well in the first 15 to keep them to 70, as against thenew ball the wicket was probably at its easiest. Our problem was from the 15overs mark in the middle when we couldn’t contain enough runs. With thespinner bowling they were going at six or seven per over without taking toomany risks. The boys fought well to get back to where we were, but Sri Lankaplayed well at the deathOn whether South Africa have the right attack for SL conditions
I am not going to sit here and moan about my bowling attack because I knowthere is nothing better. We have got to work, challenge the guys and getthings right. We talk enough and we practice enough and there is nothingmore we can do. The guys have got to take responsibility and go an do thingsin the middleOn whether the new-look batting order worked
We are looking to get our strikers into the game a little earlier tokeep sides under pressure and take more advantage of the middle periods.When you try something new there is always going to be some working through,but I’m pretty happy with how it went today.On the committment of the players
The boys gave it everything and there was huge disappointment in thedressing room. We can’t ask for anything more in terms of commitment. Wequestioned the team’s commitment, and the pride and the passion for playingfor your country after the Test match, but the guys gave everything today.We just need a little bit of a luck change. I am pretty sure we are close.

After the disappointment of their early exit from the Champions Trophy, after an error-strewn fielding performance on a bitterly cold autumnal day at the Rose Bowl, John Dyson, Sri Lanka’s ever-upbeat coach, has predicted a quick resumption of Sri Lanka’s winning run in Pakistan this month.Just days after their return from England and after a practice week that has been marred by wet weather in Colombo, Sri Lanka will depart for Pakistan on Sunday for a four-week tour that includes a tri-series also involving Zimbabwe and a two-Test series with Pakistan.Their first-round defeat to England, the eventual finalists, broke a winning run that had carried Sri Lanka to the No. 2 spot in the ICC’s official ODI rankings. But Dyson refused to be downbeat, describing the loss as "just one bad day"."We were caught on a day that was cold and wet and given the vast change in climatic conditions it affected our fielding game," Dyson said as the team limbered up for Pakistan. "We missed a couple of pretty good chances and we paid for that in the end. We won the toss, choose the right thing to do, and bowled pretty well. If we had held on to our chances we would have restricted England to a reasonable total.""But we have won 18 out of the 22 one-day matches we have played in the last 12 months and also won four and drawn four of the eight Tests that we have played – our fielding had been a big part of that success and we just had one bad day," he added. "We are going to a country with similar climatic conditions to our own – although perhaps a little colder – and I expect them to continue the good form they have shown in the past few months."Sri Lanka will be expected to breeze past a second-rate Zimbabwe side still ravaged by their ongoing player dispute, and fight it out with Pakistan for the Paktel Cup. But Dyson has already discussed the dangers of complacency with the team. He also expects Pakistan to present a tough opposition after signs of an upturn under coach Bob Woolmer."Pakistan are playing at home and can be expected to perform well under their own conditions, like most teams do," said Dyson. "They have some superb players and there has been a pick-up in their game and their loss in the Champions Trophy to West Indies, a result that few people predicted, will be a bit of a kick in the backside.""We have also spoken about complacency against Zimbabwe and the need to guard against it. We have played so much against them recently that they are starting to get know us – we’re almost on first-name terms. The guys are aware of that they know that they need to be on top of their game to make sure that Zimbabwe don’t slip one under us.Dyson views the tour as an important opportunity for some of the younger players to make a name for themselves: "We have got a couple of young guys going away. Maharoof is developing fast and I will be keen for him to be given opportunities with the bat. For [Thilina] Kandamby, it will be good to see him grab his opportunity as we need a good middle-order player who is also a good hitter. Dilhara [Fernando], meanwhile, has shown some excellent form in the nets and he is ripe for coming back in."Sri Lanka will be missing Muttiah Muralitharan, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and Dyson is looking forward to seeing how his trio of spinners – Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath and Kaushal Lokuarachchi – respond to the added responsibility."We have shown that we can win without Murali at home during the South Africa series, but this will be a bigger test as it is outside the country and against a very good cricket team. The spinners will be put under a lot more pressure this time to fill his boots but they have stepped up before and it will be interesting to see how they handle the extra pressure."

Pinnacles and troughs featured heavily on the West Indian cricket landscape in 2004. Two home series against England and then Bangladesh produced spectacular steeples and mortifying challenges. England’s long tour, from March to May, started with crushing win in the first Test at Sabina Park where Steve Harmison announced his arrival with 7 for 12 as West Indies crashed to a demoralising 47.The second Test at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad ended with team manager, Ricky Skerritt, quitting in despair and calls for captain Brian Lara’s resignation. The third Test at Barbados saw England replanting its flag amidst a Matthew Hoggard hat-trick. Only two runs separated the teams in the first innings but West Indies were bowled out for 94 in the second and England reached the target with the loss of two wickets. Antigua provided magic turf for the retrieval of the world record from the beleaguered Lara as he constructed an incredible innings of 400 not out to repeat his feat of ten years before at the same ground. It went a long way to restoring some face to West Indians apprehending a whitewash on home turf.The seven one-dayers to follow were reduced to four after unseasonal rains washed out game after game, leaving the West Indies Cricket Board more than US$1million short of gate receipts and the scores tied at 2-2.By the time Bangladesh arrived in June, there were complaints of weariness, which may have contributed to the lacklustre performance at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia that saw Bangladesh pile up a first innings total of 416to the West Indian 352 and left the match drawn, despite Chris Gayle’s 141 and 66 not out. Lara was criticised for doggedly persisting with spinners on the fast track, although it was felt he was protesting the selectors’ choice of a spin-oriented attack. The Windies won the second Test at Sabina Park, after scoring 559 for 4 declared, and Pedro Collins taking six for 53.But a depressing whitewash followed during the long and arduous tour to England. The batting continued to cave in and Engalnd needed only a run in their last innings to notch up their seventh straight Test win.That humiliation complete, the West Indies moved on to the NatWest series with England and New Zealand, after twice beating England with Ramnaresh Sarwan scoring 89 and Gayle 132 not out to take them to meet the winners, New Zealand in the finals, which they lost.

All the while, the cacophony of West Indian voices quarrelling and venting solutions to the zigzags of the team filled the air. It took the ICC Champions Trophy to distil some harmony. A team more carefully blended withexperience and youthful potential came together to work its way steadfastly into a final showdown with England. During a thrilling encounter with Pakistan Lara was floored by a Shoaib Akhtar neck jab that left him frighteningly stillon the ground for long moments, Wavell Hinds took two wickets in four balls and Sarwan carried the team home with a beautifully played unbeaten half century.The September 25th final was intense and unpredictable, teetering this way and that until it all seemed decided with West Indies at 147 for 8 chasing 218. Under gloomy skies like hangovers from the hurricanes that had devastatedGrenada and other parts of the Caribbean, the last, improbable stance was taken by the ninth-wicket partnership of Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw who put on 71 runs to lift the trophy to an astonished world.As the year looked to end on a high note, another snag hit the fan. This time it was off the field as preparations for the 2005 VB series in Australia began. The West Indies Cricket Board changed its major sponsors from its long time partner, telecoms giant, Cable & Wireless, to its newestCaribbean rival, Digicel. New contracts provided the ammunition for a battle between the WICB and the players’ association, WIPA, as the two sides squared off over contentious clauses relating to endorsement agreements andindividual deals with the former sponsor C&W. The matter was eventually put into the hands of an arbitrator, who has somewhat smoothed the situation but not enough to make it clear if the tour to Australia is on or not.In April it was heavy rains and brilliant sunshine, and September was certainly one to remember, but 2004 will go down in memory like the hurricane season, full of extremes.Top performers:Chris Gayle dominated matches with powerful strokes and exciting batting, while his bowling was tidy and effective, making him a thrilling and consistent performer.Ramnaresh Sarwan has tempered some of his recklessness and is playing with more consistency and class, carrying responsibility with more aplomb and ease.

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Eagles 222 and 89 for 3 require 302 runs to beat Western Province Boland 242 and 371 for 9 dec (Puttick 98, Strydom 78, Bassage 56, Duminy 55*)
ScorecardAt Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein Western Province Boland put the Eagles under pressure after declaring at 371 for 9 and then reducing them to 89 for 3 on the third day of their SuperSport Series clash.The top four Western Province batsmen all passed fifty, with Andrew Puttick falling for 98. He had struck 16 fours and one six in his five-hour, 190-ball stay at the crease before he was caught off the bowling of James Henderson. Strydom scored 78 before he fell to Cliff Deacon. The runs continued to flow as Ashwell Prince joined the party, putting on 55 with JP Duminy before he became Henderson’s second victim, caught for 26. With three quick wickets falling Prince called them off at 371 for 7 with Duminy not out on 55. He had spent three hours at the crease striking six boundaries.An early setback for the Eagles left them at 45 for 3 as they lost DaveyJacobs, caught behind off Alan Dawson for 9, James Henderson, trapped leg-before by Rory Kleinveldt for 11 and Ryan Bailey clean bowled by CharlWilloughby for 1. Jonathan Beukes (46) and Morne van Wyk (19) saw theEagles through to 89 for 3 when stumps were drawn.Titans 213 and 226 for 5 (de Bruyn 91*) lead Dolphins 294by 145 runs
ScorecardAnother early day at Kingsmead in Durban saw the Titans and Dolphinssquaring up for what could be an exciting finish, with the Titans holding alead of 145 with five wickets standing going into the final day.The Titans’ second innings never received the momentum that they required aswickets fell at crucial stages. Partnerships were broken just as they becamethreatening. Martin van Jaarsveld was caught for 34 just as he began to look dangerous. Justin Kemp fell for 27 while Geoffrey Toyana lost his wicket on 21. In the end it was left to Zander de Bruyn, not out on 91, and Kruger van Wyk, unbeaten on 27, to bat the Titans to 226 for 5 when bad light forced the players off the field.Lions 175 for 9 dec and 277 for 9 dec (Motaung 116, Peterson 4-84)lead Warriors 217 by 235 runs
ScorecardAt St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, Tyron Henderson’s heroic 59 off 64 balls gave the Warriors a slender first-innings lead of 42 over the Lions.Henderson and Abongile Sodumo (34) had put together a gutsy eighth-wicket partnership of 45 to see the Warriors edge ahead before being bowled out for 217.The Lions made the best possible start, with Adam Bacher (47) and William Motaung putting on 133 for the first wicket. With the loss of Bacher the Lions lost their way and were it not for a match-saving maiden hundred from Motaung, the Lions may have faced an early defeat. HD Ackerman put together a determined 31 before the Lions were forced to declare at 217 for 9. The declaration came because of an agreement by the Lions to not bat the injured Charl Langeveldt.The Warriors will bat tomorrow with a getable target of 236.Keith Lane works for Cricinfo in South Africa.

Victoria and New South Wales begin the best-of-three Women’s National Cricket League finals at Bankstown Oval tomorrow with more than a domestic trophy at stake. The players will have their final chance to push for places in Australia’s World Cup side, which is named on Monday for the tournament in South Africa next month.Both teams finished on 32 points after the eight-match qualifying series and entered the deciders with one win against each other during the season. Julie Hayes, the New South Wales Breakers captain, said the defending champions had the depth and experience to win their eighth trophy in nine years. “We’ve known the feeling of winning and we’ve known what it feels like to lose and we don’t want to feel like that again,” Hayes said. “No one likes to lose to Victoria."Belinda Clark, the Australia and Victoria Spirit captain, said the teams had a strong rivalry. "Traditionally we have been the two strongest states and that’s the way it’s paved out this season," Clark, the competition’s top scorer with 345 runs, said. "It’s not very often that we have three-match finals, and it’s a good way to work into the series."The Breakers will look to the openers Lisa Keightley and Shannon Cunneen for a strong start while the Spirit boast the gifted Melanie Jones and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, the intimidating fast bowler. The second match will be played on Saturday and the third, if required, on Sunday.New South Wales Sarah Aley, Sarah Andrews, Alex Blackwell, Kate Blackwell, Leonie Coleman, Shannon Cunneen, Michelle Goszko, Julie Hayes (capt), Lisa Keightley, Lisa Sthalekar, Emma Twining, Jenny Wallace, Martha Winch.Victoria Belinda Clark (capt), Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Clea Smith, Kelly Applebee, Louise Broadfoot, Jodi Dean, Sarah Edwards, Jane Franklin, Claire Lavery, Julie Hunter, Melanie Jones, Emily McIntyre, Megan Pauwels.