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ScorecardHalf centuries by Neal Parlane and Matthew Bell helped Wellington beat Northern Districts by 43 runs in a high-scorer at the Basin Reserve. The home side piled up an imposing 291, batting the opposition out of the game as Northern Districts managed 248.Parlane and Bell added 147 for the second wicket after captain Michael Parlane decided to bat first. Both fell short of their respective tons but laid the platform for a big score. The middle order, led by Jesse Ryder, chipped in with valuable cameos to lift the total to 291.Peter McGlashan led chase with a half century but once he was dismissed, half the side was back in the pavilion with only 138 on board. Ian Butler scored a fluent 47 off just 37 balls but it wasn’t enough as Northern Districts were bowled out in the 50th over. Seamer Grant Elliott was the most effective bowler, taking three wickets.

The launching of India’s new kit just weeks before the tournament has sparked off some confusion over whether India will actually be wearing these colours in the forthcoming World Cup or not. To cut a long story short: the kit that India will be wearing in the World Cup will be identical to the one that was launched yesterday, in every aspect other than the placement of the various logos on the shirt.In ICC events, such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, the kits of all teams bear the tournament logo and branding on the chest. This means that, in India’s case, the Sahara logo, which is currently on the front of the shirt, will go to the leading arm, and the Nike logo, which is on the right side of the chest, will go to the non-leading arm. The logo of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which is currently on the left side of the chest, will stay right where it is.In all other respects – the fabric used, the innovations that are in place to make the clothing lighter, conduct sweat better and cool the body as well as possible – the clothing that India’s cricketers will wear in the World Cup is identical to the kit that was launched yesterday and that is retailing in stores.When India play in any non-ICC event, whether it is a bilateral series or a tri-series, home or away, the team will use its regular kit, which is the one launched yesterday. “What Nike and the BCCI launched yesterday is the new India ODI kit,” Sanjay Gangopadhyay, marketing director of Nike India, clarified to .

While the smaller nations at the World Cup dream of upsetting one of the major sides their main target is to make the most of the experience at the top level. The matches between Associate nations become their own mini-finals and Dougie Brown, the Scotland allrounder, is targeting his team’s meeting with Netherlands.The two sides meet in St Kitts on March 22 having recently completed a close tussle at the World Cricket League in Kenya, where Scotland came out on top by two runs. Both teams will already have played Australia and South Africa in the group stage, but their latest head-to-head will give a true reflection on where they stand.”Holland is our cup final and they are the team we are playing on a level playing field,” Brown told the . “They’ve got some quality players, we’ve got some quality players and it should be a fascinating game.”We’ve managed to win the last three or four games against the Dutch but they’ve generally been tight matches. The improvement in our squad during the past three months has been dramatic and this needs to continue in the West Indies.”But Brown added that making those strides in international cricket will always be tough while the game is played at an amateur level by most of the squad. “Without being able to dedicate time to cricket, nine to five, our development will consistently be hindered,” he said. “If we play professionally then we will be able to take on any side in the world on a level playing field.”Scotland lost both their warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh although Brown believes the team can only gain positives over the coming weeks and enhance their reputation on the world stage.”We can’t really lose in the next few weeks because we’re expected to lose,” he added. “And that makes us a dangerous side – we’ve got good players playing good cricket with proven match-winners in our ranks.”It’s up to us to raise the profile of the game further in Scotland and hopefully secure the extra funding that we need.”

Matthew Hayden remains on target to play in Australia’s World Cup opener against Scotland on Wednesday. Ricky Ponting said Hayden’s broken big toe was healing well and extensive net sessions had him in good shape for the Scotland clash.”He batted for an hour-and-a-half today,” Ponting told after Australia’s warm-up victory over England on Friday. “He’s done a lot of running as well. The impact is the thing that everybody has been worried about. He seems to be coming along pretty well. I think right at the moment he would certainly be on track to play [on Wednesday].”Ponting said it was therefore likely Shane Watson would drop down to No. 7 despite his excellent results when given the chance to open. “I’ve said for a long time now I think his [Watson’s] game is best suited to the top of the order,” Ponting said. “Every game we’ve seen him lately when he has opened, he has looked the part there.”He’s got very good new-ball shots. He’s got a good solid technique if the ball is swinging around and he drives the ball down the ground and cuts it and pulls it as good as anybody going around. There’s no doubt he’s got a game well suited up there.”At the same time he’s a pretty strong powerful sort of guy too. So if we can get him in at the right situation with wickets in hand towards the end of our innings, he’s a guy who’s going to be able to clear the rope for us.”The imminent return of Hayden will mean Australia have a near full-strength squad. Only Andrew Symonds will remain on the sidelines but Australia hope he will be fit for their second or third group match.

Australian cricket officials have dismissed claims that Adam Gilchrist’s use of the squash ball as a batting aid in the World Cup final was an unfair advantage. “It’s a storm in a teacup, or a batting glove,” Peter Young, a spokesman for Cricket Australia, said. “To the best of our knowledge it’s no different to, say, putting two or three grips on the bat handle, or batting with two pairs of gloves or having inserts sewn into the palm of gloves.”Gilchrist’s 149 in the final ensured that Australia beat Sri Lanka with ease, clinching a hat-trick of World Cup titles. After the match, Gilchrist had said that he had used a squash ball in his left glove to give him a better grip.Gilchrist’s revelation caused an uproar with Kangadaram Mathivanan, Sri Lanka Cricket’s secretary saying that the matter could be brought up at next month’s ICC annual general meeting. He had said he would push for a stringent application of “Law 42” on fair and unfair play to ensure only approved protection equipment was used.Batting coach Bob Meuleman, who introduced Gilchrist to the technique, said he laughed when he heard about the objections. “Actually, it’s just a little bit sad that some people think there’s something sinister in it,” he said. “There’s not.” Gilchrist also found support from his Wayne Clark, his former coach in Western Australia who said that it was rubbish to think that it gave Gilchrist an unfair advantage.Bob Parry, the senior Australian umpire who stood in the only previous time that Gilchrist used a squash ball, while scoring a century against Queensland, has said that he has no problems with its use. “I don’t see it being outside the spirit of the game. It’s the same as wearing an extra inner inside a batting glove.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

West Indies defied expectation to stretch the fourth Test at Old Trafford into the final day with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, offered a life on 18, making his second half-century of the match in nearly five hours at the crease. He was supported by gutsy displays from Runako Morton and Dwayne Bravo, although Monty Panesar’s three wickets kept England on course to claim the series with only a flimsy tail to follow.The standard of cricket certainly went up a notch after the sights of the previous two days. Tossed-up freebies from part-time spinners, senior pace bowlers unable to hit the cut strip and top-order batsmen having headless swishes were replaced with the probing Panesar, a fired-up Steve Harmison and the rearguard efforts of West Indies’ top order.Most predictions at the start of the day were that the series would be done and dusted by the close. But West Indies put a previously unseen value on their wickets – the always gritty Chanderpaul excepted – and each time England broke through, and a collapse appeared imminent, another battling partnership was formed. Chanderpaul has become used to fighting in seemingly lost causes for West Indies – only his old colleague Brian Lara has scored more runs in defeat – but Runako Morton showed a hidden restraint in a stand of 75 during the afternoon session, then Chanderpaul was joined by Bravo in a more aggressive partnership of 88.The irony is that England bowled far better in innings. Harmison’s opening eight-over burst was his best of the summer – the number of leg-side deliveries could be counted on one hand – and he roughed up Chris Gayle before having him well caught at second slip by Paul Collingwood. It was Harmison’s 500th first-class wicket, 50th Test wicket against West Indies, carrying him to 199 in his Test career; he was frustrated in his search for No. 200 and could have had it when Panesar dropped Chanderpaul at mid-on. The chance came low off a leading edge, but should have been taken and Chanderpaul didn’t offer another opportunity.Panesar, though, remained chirpy and threatening without being quite at his best. When he removed Devon Smith in the first session, another compact innings ending with a glove to short-leg, the scene was set for him to run through West Indies as he did against Pakistan last year. But his other two scalps for the day took plenty of work and plenty of appealing.

Morton’s third Test fifty took 130 balls, and he added only four more before padding up once too often to Panesar . The umpires had been wary of the bounce Panesar extracted from the pitch, so Morton can consider himself slightly unfortunate. Chanderpaul used his pad well to combat Panesar, but the difficulties faced were highlighted when one delivery rolled along the pitch out of the footmarks, while others spat off a length. Although wickets didn’t come in a rush, Michael Vaughan never lost control and tinkered with his field and bowling combinations at regular intervals. It won’t show from the scorecard, but Ryan Sidebottom was again impressive, particularly in the afternoon and evening, as he swung both the old and new ball.The most fascinating duel arrived after tea when Bravo took the attacking route. England thought they had him in Liam Plunkett’s first over of the final session when Bravo cut hard and low to Collingwood at gully. But Bravo stood as Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden conferred then decided without the use of the third umpire that the catch hadn’t been taken cleanly. Replays supported the call, another impressive decision on a testing day for the two umpires.Panesar mixed up his line, switching from over and round the wicket, but was occasionally sucked into bowling too flat. However, he continued to cause problems from the footmarks and, the ball after pulling a long-hop to the boundary, Bravo lunged forward and inside-edged to Alastair Cook at short-leg.Still England couldn’t shift Chanderpaul who formed a third consecutive half-century stand. This time it was with Denesh Ramdin, who was dropped down the leg side by Matt Prior on 4, and a wayward late spell from Plunkett ticked a few more off the target. There isn’t much to follow the two at the crease, but here’s a thought West Indies can take to bed with them tonight. They hold the record for the highest chase in Test cricket – 418 for 7 against Australia at St Johns in 2002-03 – and Chanderpaul hit a century. From being down and out they are still fighting.

Worcestershire have announced that their Twenty20 matches against Northamptonshire on Friday (June 29) and Glamorgan on Thursday (July 5) have been switched following the flooding of New Road. The Northants game will now be staged at Kidderminster and the Glamorgan at Himley CC.Given the limited seating at the outgrounds, the county have asked members to take their own garden chairs or rugs. There is virtually no permanent or temporary seating at Kidderminster though attempts are being made to find a temporary stand for Himley. It will be advisable to arrive early to get a good position. Once the ground is deemed full, no other people will be admitted even if they are a member or have a ticket.”Anybody with tickets who cannot make any of these games can still take advantage of our rain check policy and use the ticket to gain admission to any other game at New Road this season including the day/night game against Hampshire scheduled for July 13,” said a county spokesman. “In this way nobody loses out.”The summer flooding is and will hurt the club severely from a financial viewpoint. I estimate it will cost upwards of £150,000 in terms of lost revenue and clean-up costs. A full ticket refund of the just under £100,000 worth of advance sales would virtually decimate the club on top of the aforesaid costs. Please also bear in mind it is not possible to insure against flooding.”Whilst the no refund policy on tickets may not please everybody we do hope that everybody understands why we have to take this stance to save the club’s future.”

The deeply divisive dispute which at times has threatened the future of cricket in Kenya is almost over after lengthy meetings over the weekend ended in an agreement to implement a new constitution and hold fresh elections on May 21.The deal was thrashed out by Peter Chingoka, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union chairman, and Percy Sonn, the ICC’s vice-president, who had been sent to Kenya as part of an Africa Cricket Association delegation. The pair arrived on Friday and from the off made it clear that this was the last chance for Kenyan cricket.At 8.30am on Saturday they sat down with representatives from the Kenya Cricket Association and Cricket Kenya, the new government-backed body, and 18 hours later finally reached a deal.Sharad Ghai and the remainder of the KCA executive had, so it is reported, continued in their bid to retain control, but Chingoka and Sonn were adamant that things had to change. The turning point came when two regions which had backed Ghai’s regime – Nairobi and Central – switched sides, leaving the KCA executive in an untenable position.”We can now walk away with dignity,” said Ghai. “We only wanted to be heard. If the stakeholders do not want you, you leave. This is not a private business.” While the sentiments will be welcomed by almost all of Kenyan cricket, the words themselves will cause more than a few wry smiles. Dignity was surrendered a long time ago, and the stakeholders have not wanted the existing board for some time.The elections will be for a 20-man council. The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, which has now merged with the KCA’s Nairobi district, will have eight representatives; Coast will have six, and Central and Rift three each.The timetable for change is as follows:-April 11 A group, made up of three representatives from the KCA and three from Cricket Kenya will deliver the draft for a new constitution to Sonn.April 13 Sonn replies with any amendments.April 15 Amended agreement for the fresh constitution agreed by executive.April 16 Notices sent out for a Special General Meeting, to be held on May 7, to approve the new constitution, and also for elections to be held on May 21.It is reported that none of the existing KCA executive intend to fight the new elections.Meanwhile, the ACA will remain in Nairobi and carry out investigations as to what has happened to the monies given to the KCA by the ICC.One of the people present at the weekend’s meeting praised the role of Sonn and Chingoka, saying that they had dealt with an extremely complex situation sensibly and firmly.

Ireland have named their Under-19 and Under-15 squads which will compete in two tournaments over the summer. The U-19 side take part in the European Championships in Belfast and the U-15s have their European competition in Netherlands.Greg Thompson, an allrounder from Lisburn, will lead the U-19 team as they attempt to qualify for the U-19 World Cup which will be held early next year in Malaysia. The qualifying tournament takes place in Belfast from July 23-27.The U-15 tournament takes place in Deventer in Netherlands from July 31 to August 2 and the side will be captained by Niall Delaney from Clontarf Cricket Club.U-19 squad Greg Thompson (Lisburn, capt), Ben Ackland (Merrion), Andrew Balbirnie (Pembroke), Andrew Britton (Donemana), Eoghan Delany (Clontarf), Chris Dougherty (Bready), Shane Getkate (Malahide), James Hall (Waringstown), Richard Keaveney (Merrion), Graham McDonnell (Pembroke), Gavin McKenna (N Down), Lee Nelson (Waringstown), Jamie Shannon (Instonians), Paul Stirling (Cliftonville)U-15 squad Niall Delany ((Clontarf, capt), Jonathan Andrews (North County) , Eoghan Conway (Rush), Harry Doyle (Waringstown), James Fleming (The Hills), Marc Fleming (Bready), Shane Getkate (Malahide), Cameron Grieve (Lurgan), Dean Mehaffey (Donemana), Philip Moon (Limavady), Robin Russell (Pembroke), Sam Shannon (Instonians), Jason van der Merwe (Muckamore)

Even as the Indian board remains inflexible over the Indian Cricket League (ICL) , the federal railway minister and Bihar Cricket Association president Lalu Prasad Yadav today openly backed the ICL, saying the million-dollar tournament could be played in stadiums owned by his ministry.Railways, the ministry’s side in the Ranji Trophy, have won the tournament twice in the past five seasons and own around 50 grounds across the country. That could come in handy for the ICL who face a lack of venues to stage the league. Most cricket grounds are owned by local cricket associations, and the BCCI has discouraged any sort of interaction with the ICL.Yadav described the ICL as a “good initiative” and said competition was good for the game. “The parallel league is a good thing for those who complain that they were not selected or were ignored. This competition will be good for spotting good players.”We will definitely allow them to play in our stadiums. We will charge money for it.”The board said yesterday that cricketers associating themselves with other organisations would not be entitled to any benefits from the BCCI or “be connected with any of its activities”. Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, had last week threatened to impose life bans on players who joined the unofficial body.