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Essex, Sussex, Derbyshire and Glamorgan contest the inaugural Twenty20 Floodlit Cup, starting this week with the semi-final stage.The competition was set up towards the end of last season among the four counties to have permanent floodlights at their headquarters (at that time).Sussex and Essex meet over two legs at Hove and Chelmsford on Tuesday and Thursday respectively while Glamorgan and Derbyshire meet over corresponding days in the other semi-final.Should either tie end with one victory apiece then a period of extra-time will be played after the second semi-final. This will consist of an additional period of four-overs-per-side – or Four4 if you like – to decide the winners.In a week of historical firsts in cricket, it is understand that should either (or both) game be decided in this manner then it would be the first such occasion when ‘extra-time’ has been used to finish a game.The semi-final winners will then meet in a two-legged final on September 13 and 15 and the losers will meet in a third-place play-off on the same dates (with extra-time again coming into operation if required).

Division One

Points Table

At Lord’s, Middlesex crashed to an embarrassing innings-and-232-run defeat at the hands of a rampant Sussex after being bowled out twice in a day. Click here for a full report.Mark Ramprakash, who will be 36 next month, guided Surrey into a useful lead against Gloucestershire with a typically stylish 185, cutting and driving with elegance. His fourth century of the season allowed Surrey to recover from a poor start, when they slumped to 40 for 3 following the loss of Mark Butcher for six. Graham Thorpe added 98 with Ramprakash then Jonathan Batty combined in a stand of 133. When Malinga Bandara dismissed Ali Brown and Azhar Mahmood in the space of three balls Gloucestershire would have had ambitions of restricting Surrey to a similar total as their own. “This was the best Ramps has looked this season, the most relaxed and complete,” said Steve Rixon, Surrey’s coach. “I said it last year and I’ll say it again – he’s the best batsman in county cricket.”

Division Two

A record stand of 223 between Mark Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe gave Lancashire a brilliant start in their first innings response to Yorkshire’s 417 all out. Click here for a full report.Luke Sutton and Mohamed Sheikh both hit half-centuries to lead Derbyshire to an imposing first-innings score of 426 against Essex. Starting the day on 272 for 6, Sutton and Sheikh put on 120 for the seventh wicket. The Pakistani leg-spinner, Danish Kaneria, finished with the impressive figures of 60.1 overs 6 for 111. Sheik’s followed on from his excellent innings of 55 to take the wicket of Alistair Cook for just one. Graeme Welch took two further wickets, as Essex finished on 113 for 4. Derbyshire are still looking for their first win of the season, but are very well placed in this match with two days to go.Worcestershire completely dominated the second day of their game against Somerset, with a powerful and dominating batting display. Stephen Peters fell for a well-compiled innings of 88, but Zander de Bruyn, playing in his final Championship match before being replaced by Chris Gayle, struck a superb 161 from 213 balls. The other centurion was Ben Smith, who remains unbeaten on 117 as Worcestershire closed the day on 492, having lost just three wickets in the day. They hold a very handy lead of 174, and Somerset will be desperate for early wickets tomorrow morning.

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.”

The England wicketkeeper James Foster has been severely reprimanded and fined by his county Essex for verbally abusing a spectator during Wednesday’s Championship match against Lancashire at Chelmsford.Essex’s chief executive David East said: “James has acknowledged that his outburst yesterday was totally unacceptable and has apologised to the spectator. He has been fined £400 by the club and made aware of his responsibilities for the future. With the agreement of the gentleman concerned the matter is now closed.”

New Zealand’s cricketers have successfully provided answers for some of their critics during the drawn tour match against Queensland in Brisbane.But they still walked away from the ‘Gabba with question marks persisting over several aspects of their game in the lead-up to the start of the FirstTest against Australia later this week.Prior to a finish half an hour before the scheduled close, the Black Caps lost no friends today with another highly competitive performance againstAustralian domestic cricket’s premier team. But, as batsmen from both teams sufficiently dominated the fourth and final day to ensure that ahigh-scoring game ended in a stalemate, so attention turned rapidly to thoughts of what lies in store when five-day cricket comes back to the ‘Gabbaon Thursday.Of pressing concern to the visitors will be the form of their top order batsmen, and to the on-tour travails of openers Matthew Bell and MarkRichardson in particular. They have only posted one half-century stand on the entire visit, and they each looked low on confidence as they providedtwo more dismal starts in this one. To make matters worse, the task only becomes harder now, with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie likely to betheir next new ball foes.And even number three Mathew Sinclair, who struck a defiant 80, wasn’t wholly convincing in scoring his runs today. The right hander hit somelavish drives into the arc between mid off and mid on, but his innings was a mixture.He did not always move his feet perfectly, and often played well away from his body at deliveries outside the line of off stump. He was also made tofeel particularly uncomfortable by left arm paceman Mitchell Johnson (1/42) throughout a pre-lunch duel that led to an edge to Martin Love at slip.Injury worries persist too. Nathan Astle (9*) returned to the crease briefly after his first innings double century, but remained off the field with agroin strain otherwise. And, even when there, he didn’t look entirely comfortable, playing and missing at least six times at Johnson.With Daniel Vettori and Dion Nash already in the stands as well, Adam Parore (24) joined the throng after he experienced soreness in a leg musclewhile batting. Though all remain well in contention to appear in the Test – and Astle, Nash and Parore are considered near-certainties to be fit toplay – it acted as another unnecessary distraction.Craig McMillan (43) provided an encouraging innings, and Chris Cairns (31*) boosted his average and confidence with a characteristicallyswashbuckling batting cameo, but further worries lingered on into the afternoon.After Queensland had been set the imposing task of scoring 311 runs from just 54 overs to win, new ball bowlers Cairns (0/39) and ShayneO’Connor (1/18) were unable to shift the makeshift opening pairing of Jimmy Maher (47) and Love (42).Off spinner Glen Sulzberger (2/75) and paceman Chris Martin (1/59) were also undone in the middle of the afternoon when Andrew Symonds (47)returned Cairns’ favour with a display of typically pyrotechnical hitting.Ultimately, Sulzberger lured Symonds into thrashing a catch to deep mid wicket, therein confirming the widely-accepted belief that the game wasdestined for the early conclusion that arrived with the Bulls placed at 4/202 and still 108 runs behind overall.But, unless the Black Caps can redress their problems quickly, confidence in their prospects later in the week won’t be nearly as high.

Jerome Jayaratne, Sri Lanka Cricket’s head of coaching, has been appointed interim head coach of the Sri Lanka team for the upcoming home series against West Indies. Jayaratne’s appointment came four days after Marvan Atapattu had resigned as the national team coach.Jayaratne was appointed SLC’s head of coaching in 2008, a role that did not extend to the national team coached at the time by Trevor Bayliss. Jayaratne has coaching certificates from Cricket Australia and the ECB, and previously held the posts of manager-coaching as well as coach of the SLC academy squad. He also played 22 first-class matches between 1990-91 and 1995-96.Atapattu had quit after Sri Lanka lost Test series to Pakistan and India, only the second time they have lost two home series in a year. He had officially held the position since September last year, but had effectively been head coach since April 2014, after Paul Farbrace’s departure. Before that, Atapattu had worked as batting coach of the team since 2011.

In their first two trips to the World T20 Qualifier, Papua New Guinea experienced more than their fair share of heartache.In 2012, it was the Americas representatives who tormented them. Canada held off a late charge from Geraint Jones and Mahuru Dai in defense of 167 to win by six runs. Five days later against Bermuda, captain Rarua Dikana had the ball in his hand tasked with protecting 15 runs off the final over with Bermuda five down but he gave up three straight sixes to Janeiro Tucker. It meant PNG finished in fourth place in Group A, one spot out of the playoff positions.In 2013, PNG made it to the playoffs and defeated Namibia in their first knockout game to come within one more win of a berth at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh. In their way stood Hong Kong, a team they had defeated in the previous year’s qualifier by six wickets chasing down a total of 131 with a ball to spare. Hong Kong was pinned down in the rematch at 19 for 4 and only managed 139, but with a ticket to Bangladesh in their grasp, PNG stumbled to 108.The memories of those heartaches are now serving as fuel for inspiration at the qualifier for the pacific island nation. PNG captain Jack Vare says that this time around he’s hoping the team’s fortunes will change to get them over the hump and into next year’s World Twenty20 in India.”We have missed out in the last two tournaments in Dubai,” Vare told ESPNcricinfo ahead of PNG’s first match of the tournament on Sunday against Jersey. “Everyone is growing arms and legs. There’s a lot of experience in this time. Third time lucky I guess but everyone is confident that we will do well in this competition.”PNG’s build-up to this tournament included a magnificent four-day win over the Netherlands on their Intercontinental Cup debut, with Assad Vala and Dai spearheading the pursuit of a fourth innings target of 305. Though they lost the subsequent WCL Championship fixtures against the Dutch, PNG eased into T20 mode with four games against a pair of County second XIs. In one match, PNG racked up 268 for 3 versus Gloucestershire’s 2nds, a reminder of their potent top order featuring Lega Siaka and Tony Ura.”I think the biggest challenge we go through is from playing longer forms to shorter formats,” Vare said. “Most people know we play a lot of shorter formats but we are trying our best to develop all forms of the game. Playing in our first four-day game and to win that was a big experience for us and a special day.”PNG leaves no stone unturned in preparation as Coach Dipak Patel observes sliding practice during training at Bready CC•Peter Della Penna

PNG’s players have also accumulated experience playing in the Australian Country Cricket Championships as well as the South Australia Premier League. Getting access to better facilities and opponents within the Australasia region has helped lift up their skills and their confidence levels.”Playing in the competition in the South Australian Premier League gives us more experience and more exposed to the outside cricket world what’s happening,” Vare said. “Everyone has been doing well. We’ve been on the road for 18 months in preparation for this tournament. I’m more confident. I’ve got a good side, more mature side coming into this tournament.”PNG is the final team to play their first match of the tournament and on tap for them on Sunday at Bready is Jersey. Coach Dipak Patel and other members of the PNG squad were in attendance to see Jersey’s triumph by nine-wickets over Hong Kong on Saturday, a fresh reminder not to underestimate any opposition. Vare says the team is well-prepared and not about to be caught off guard whoever stands in front of them.”There’s no doubt teams will come and compete hard but we’ll focus on the job at hand,” Vare said. “We won’t look ahead too much. We’ll take every game as it comes and concentrate on our roles as individuals and as a group. That’s our major important thing to do playing top teams. We won’t take any team lightly.”

While Surrey’s on-pitch performances may not be much to write home about right now, off the field things are looking bright. The club has finalised proposals for a £35million investment at The Oval, which they hope to have approved by the autumn.A planning application has been submitted to Lambeth Council to further improve the ground’s Test facilities and boost the regeneration of the Lambeth area.The club, in partnership with Arora International Hotels, propose building a new stand and improved spectator facilities along with a hotel at the Pavilion End of The Oval, which is currently home to the Lock, Laker and Peter May stands.The proposals will see the demolition of the Surrey Tavern, and the introduction of a new piazza. The idea, according to Surrey, is “to create a stunning entrance and provide a much-improved first impression of the ground for visitors arriving at Oval tube station.”The proposed new stand will include 2000 new seats to increase capacity at the ground to 25,000 from 23,000, and a variety of improved facilities, reducing the need for temporary buildings and extra deliveries on big match days.The redevelopment is a timely one for Surrey, who are aiming to stay competitive as a Test match venue. While they have a long-standing agreement with the ECB to hold international cricket until 2023, they realise that they have to act now, as grounds such as Edgbaston, the Rose Bowl and Sophia Gardens engage in their own developments.Surrey told Cricinfo: “If we’re sitting still while everyone else is going forward, there’s no guarantee that the level of international cricket we have now will remain the same in the future.”They say another reason for the development is their commitment to the community. Although there were a few dissenting voices in the residents’ meeting on Monday night, the redevelopments – including the new hotel – are set to bring extra jobs to the Lambeth area.

Andrew Flintoff has ruled out playing grade cricket in Australia before the start of the Ashes series in November. Speculation Flintoff would arrive before the tour to test his recovery from ankle surgery was started last month by David Graveney, the England chairman of selectors, when he suggested ways of returning his group of injured players to action.But a spokesperson for Flintoff’s management company said in The Sydney Morning Herald the situation had “got completely blown out”. “There hasn’t been any plan to play in Australia,” an International Sports Management spokesperson said. “There is nothing on the cards.” Flintoff faces a 12-week recovery period from the surgery and last week said he hoped to be able to play a month before the first Test in Brisbane on November 23.If Flintoff is fit he will arrive to defend the Ashes with the England team, which has its first warm-up match scheduled for Canberra on November 10. A host of Australian states offered invitations to Flintoff and his injured squad mates to prepare for the series in their local competitions.

ScorecardUnder cloudless blue skies, but with a breeze to temper the heat, Mashonaland and Midlands fought closely throughout the day at Kwekwe Sports Club. Good bowling from Ed Rainsford, who took 4 for 36, was matched by a determined 73 from Tatenda Taibu, Mashonaland’s captain, whose side looked in the stronger position at the close after capturing four Midlands wickets for 82 in response to their first-innings total of 277.Alester Maregwede, Midlands’ captain, put Mashonaland, the defending Logan Cup champions, in to bat after winning the toss, hoping that recent rain would leave the pitch damp underneath and help his seamers during the first hour. The ball did move, but there was no early breakthrough while Brendan Taylor held together the top order with a canny half-century. Barney Rogers, a returned rebel, looked in good form with 30 before running himself out, while the allrounder Cham Chibhabha scored 48 before hitting his own wicket.Douglas Hondo bowled well to take two of the four wickets to fall before the close. He trapped Maregwede leg-before with the final ball of the day, and this tilted the balance of an otherwise even match towards Mashonaland.