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For the second successive year, Hampshire’s match at the Parks against the University (UCCE) has been abandoned due to inclement weather.In 2000, snow curtailed play on the first day, and heavy rain meant the players of both sides were sent home by lunch of the scheduled second day.On Wednesday it was hoped to make an after lunch start, with Hampshire captain Will Kendall returning to the fields where he learnt much of his cricket. However a torrential downpour put paid to that idea, and at 4pm, the captains and umpires had agreed that play was impossible.Sunshine greeted the players on Thursday morning, but not for long as a thunderstorm came across the ground, and the players went to the University gym for limbering up exercises.On the third and final day on Friday it was hoped to set up some sort of contest although parts of the outfield were muddy, both captains agreed that a start could be made. However umpires Vanburn Holder and Nigel Cowley intervened. There correct reasoning was that although both captains desperately needed outside practise, they felt that it would be too dangerous, and could not reasonably accept liability for any serious injury that could occur.After consultation, it was agreed between all parties that in hindsight there could be no play so the match, for the second successive year was abandoned at 10:00 am.

Mark Ramprakash has hit back at criticism of him by former England all-rounder Ian Botham.Reacting to comments made by Botham that players such as Ramprakash and Hick have received enough opportunities, and applauding the decision of the selectors to look at different players, such as Ward and Sidebottom.But Ramprakash, who has begun the season at new club Surrey in fine form, feels Botham has singled him out for criticism.”I’ve been criticised before so that’s nothing new, but certainly Ian Botham does seem to get on my case a little bit. I don’t know why that is,” Ramprakash told Sportinglife.com.”It’s disappointing. Most players can accept constructive criticism, but when it appears to go beyond that then it’s disappointing.”From my point of view I would say I had 18 months in the side and averaged over 40. Then I was left out and I had a go at opener, which I was asked to do. I did my best but it didn’t work out.”I would hope that if I’m playing well and scoring runs then there’s not a line drawn through anybody’s name. I’m still working very hard to achieve all I can, and at the present time I’m very happy to be in the frame and be talked about as a possibility.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDheeraj Jadhav and Natraj Behera did not make use of the starts they got•K Sivaraman

After losing five sessions to the weather, the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai got underway and Central Zone did not waste much time in grabbing the initiative. In the 31.2 overs possible on the second day, before bad light stopped play, they took three East Zone wickets to reduce them to 64 for 3.Central chose to bowl and while Praveen Kumar kept things tight at his end, the East openers, Dheeraj Jadhav and Natraj Behera, were able to score runs at a good pace from the other end. They looked to have settled in at 44 for no loss in the 17th, before Jalaj Saxena struck with his offspin. Saxena had Jadhav lbw with one that straightened after pitching, before Behera threw away his start by hitting a full toss off Saxena to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at mid-on. That was not the only wicket gifted away; Anustup Majumdar could hit a half-tracker from Bhuvneshwar only as far as Saxena at square leg, soon after which the umpires called bad light. Stumps were called not long after, with 6.4 of the scheduled 38 overs for the day left unbowled. Praveen finished the day with figures of 7-4-4-0.Some of the Central players sported black armbands, to mark the death of former Madhya Pradesh and Railways batsman Raja Ali, who suffered cardiac arrest on Sunday.

Pakistan International Airlines, boosted by the presence of test stalwarts Wasim Akram and Moin Khan, overcame Pakistan Customs by 4 wickets in a rain curtailed 35-a-side encounter of the fourth round of the One-day tournament (departments), played at Sheikhupura Stadium.Although both former captains could not give a performances that’s always expected of them, yet their mere presence in the playing eleven proved a great morale booster for PIA.Asif Mujtaba, the captain of PIA, won the toss and elected to field first, considering perhaps that the wet outfield and moisture in the pitch would help seamers early on.However, this decision started looking fatal when Ali Naqvi, a former test player, compiled 152 for the second wicket with Azhar Shafique in just about 23 overs, thus, setting pace for a fighting total for his side.Naqvi, who has been in magnificent the whole of this season, hammered all bowlers with spite, not even sparing a seasoned Wasim, to score an unbeaten 117 off 97 balls, which contained 9 fours and 3 sixes. Azhar made 56 off 79 balls, hitting one four and a six.Scoring the required 230 at an average of 6.57 was never going to be easy, especially when PIA lost their first wicket with only 24 on the board. Yet, Ghulam Ali, with his power-laden shots to all parts of the ground, made the target immensely simple. He scored 82 (10 fours, 2 sixes) off just 55 balls, adding 97 for the second wicket with Yasir Hameed (32 off 36 balls, 4 fours) in around 11 overs to take the game completely out of Customs’ grasp.PIA reached the target in the 33rd over, with Wasim Akram contributing 19 off as many balls and Moin Khan hammering 26 off 19.A magnificent second-wicket partnership of 149 between Saeed Bin Nasir and Mohammad Wasim eased Khan Research Laboratories to an 8-wicket win over Allied Bank in another 4th-round match.After adding 89 for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar Jnr (28 off 47 balls, 6 fours), Saeed went on to build another big partnership with the in-form Wasim, while remaining unbeaten on 108 (127 balls, 11 fours). Wasim, a former test player, contributed with a fine 79 (91 ball, 8 fours) to help his side reach the target of 249 in 43.4 overs.Earlier, KRL bowlers did well to contain ABL to 248 for 7 in their allotted fifty overs, after an ominous-looking 89 by Aamer Hanif had provided them a sound platform to pile up runs. However, all other batsmen, with the exception of Taimur Khan (44 off 50 balls, 1 four, 1 six), could not build up their innings.For the winners, Saeed Anwar Jnr claimed three wickets for 50, whereas Jaffir Nazir and Mohammad Sarfraz got one each for, respectively, 37 and 47.In the third match of this round, Wapda clinched a narrow 2-wicket victory over National Bank at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala.Requiring 187 to win, Wapda made an impressive start, with their openers getting 65 for the first wicket. However, NBP bowlers struck back by claiming three wickets without the addition to the score, and another just 20 runs later.At this point, Rafatullah Mohmand (51 off 100 balls, 4 fours) joined with Zahid Umar (18 off 33, 2 fours) to add 43 valuable runs for the 5th wicket, bringing Wapda very much back into the contest. In the end, it was an unbeaten 34-run partnership between Sarfraz Ahmed and Shafique Ahmed, which led Wapda to victory in the 50th over, after their 8th wicket had fallen at 166.The fourth match of the round, between Habib Bank and Agricultural Bank was washed out due to overnight rain and subsequent wet ground conditions.

Three members of India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup squad – left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, allrounder Baba Aparajith and medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma – have been rewarded with Challenger Trophy spots. Harmeet has also made it to the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup match.”It is a big break for me and it is important to stay calm, and focus on doing the right things in the match,” Harmeet told . “I am a bit surprised to get selected in both squads. I was expecting to get selected for Irani Cup.”Harmeet was one of the key performers for India in the U-19 World Cup and former Australia captain Ian Chappell wrote that Harmeet was ready to be considered for national selection. Harmeet, who picked up six wickets from four games, however, said that it was important for him not to lose focus. “I know there is a lot of talk around the U-19 cricketers. It feels good, but my main goal is to make the senior team. I am well aware of the fact that if I keep performing well, people will talk.”But once I stop performing, nobody will bother. My focus is completely on my game and training. I want to keep doing well,” he said.The Irani Cup, the opening fixture in India’s 2012-13 domestic season, has been shifted to Bangalore because of poor weather conditions at the original venue, Jaipur. Cheteshwar Pujara will lead the Rest of India squad against Rajasthan, the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy champions, in the five-day match beginning on September 21.The 50-over NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, to be played from September 29 to October 2 in Rajkot, will be contested between 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy winners Bengal, India A and India B.With the selectors picking a young squad, which includes U-19 captain Unmukt Chand, for the upcoming India A tour of New Zealand, the Rest of India team features mostly known names. The 15-man squad has six players who were part of the India Test side against New Zealand recently.Yusuf Pathan, whose international comeback in March had lasted one Asia Cup game, has found a spot in the Irani Cup as well as the Challenger Trophy squads. M Vijay, who hasn’t played for India since the tour of West Indies in mid-2011, is also part of both the first-class and List A squads. Vijay made 558 runs at an average of 46.50 in the previous Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu.One player who has been rewarded for an outstanding domestic season last year is Karnataka allrounder Stuart Binny. Binny, 28, made 742 runs at 67.45 with three hundreds and picked up 20 wickets at 20.10 in the previous Ranji Trophy but was not part of the A squads for the tours of West Indies and New Zealand.Shikhar Dhawan, who had a poor time in West Indies with the A side, has been picked as well. Parvinder Awana will have more opportunities after getting just one game in West Indies. Abhimanyu Mithun, who went as Praveen Kumar’s replacement on India’s trip to Australia, is the fourth fast bowler in the Rest of India squad, which includes two wicketkeepers in Wriddhiman Saha and Dinesh Karthik.Praveen, who’s last appearance for India was during the Asia Cup in March, has been picked for the Challenger Trophy.Rest of India: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, S Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik, Wriddhiman Saha, Yusuf Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Parvinder Awana, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny, Abhimanyu Mithun, Harmeet Singh.India A: S Badrinath (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pragyan Ojha, Iqbal Abdulla, Harshal Patel, Udit Birla.India B: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), M Vijay, S Aniruddha, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Bist, Stuart Binny, Ravindra Jadeja, Baba Aparajith, Praveen Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Munaf Patel, Harmeet Singh, Rohit Motwani, Sandeep Sharma.

Andy Waller, the Zimbabwe coach, admitted that recent run-ins with Zimbabwe Cricket had affected the morale of the players, but the situation was not a factor in their 108-run defeat, and subsequent series loss, to Pakistan in the third ODI in Harare.The Zimbabwe players aborted training on Friday morning over unpaid dues and have also set Zimbabwe Cricket a deadline, which could put a cloud over the two-match Test series.”We talked about it and we obviously went out there and gave a 100%,” Waller said after the match. “But unfortunately the situation, and the way it all went about yesterday, it doesn’t matter who you are, it’s all going to be in the back of your head. And without making excuses, because Pakistan played damn good cricket, it’s very hard to say to the guys, ‘Please, let’s just try and focus today, concentrate on cricket and forget about what’s happened’. Unfortunately, it’s always going to be there. You need to be incredibly mentally strong to push it aside, which I am not sure can be done.”Having beaten Pakistan in the first ODI, expectations were high for Zimbabwe to pull off a rare series win. However, a top-order collapse, which saw them lose four wickets for 21 runs, made it difficult to chase the target of 261 after their bowlers had done a good job.”When I spoke to the guys at the break, I said to them, we probably could have chased down 260,” Waller said. “So, we believed that we could do it. Unfortunately, we went there and some of our senior players in the top order didn’t play the shots that should have been played and that was the problem, I think.”Waller also commended the side for the self-belief they had shown, stating that the series against India and now Pakistan were important learning experiences.”I think, we lost today but we gained a huge amount since India have come. Against India, the first two games were okay, then we didn’t play well. And to then come back, for our guys to believe they could have beaten Pakistan tells me that our guys have suddenly got the belief and I think we showed during the series that we have got some quality cricketers,” he said. “I think it’s the mental side we need to improve on and it’s very difficult, with the little cricket we are playing, to learn to handle the pressure, because basically, pressure got to us today.”Pakistan have a world-class bowling attack and I think the way we played them in the T20 and in the first two ODIs, we showed that we could play their quality bowlers, we showed that we could play their quality spinners and we did that and that’s all added to huge belief for our guys. I think that we can do more on a slightly more regular basis.”With the current scenario of delayed player dues and issues with ZC, Waller admitted there was little he could do to help players, except get them to focus on cricket.”I am trying to do the best I can as far as the players’ side of it is concerned. Unfortunately, I have no control over the other issues that are going on. I have just got to try and get them to push those problems away as much as they can and focus on the cricket, which is really the only thing I can do and just hope they can try and be mentally strong to be able to handle that situation.”

ScorecardBen Harmison scored his second hundred of the season against Gloucestershire and Darren Stevens hit an unbeaten 98 as Kent recovered from a poor start to dominate the opening day of their Championship Divistion Two clash at Canterbury.Having slumped to 46 for 3 after winning the toss and electing to bat, Kent closed on 334 for 6 and posted three bonus batting points in front of a 2,500-strong crowd for the opening day of the 162nd Canterbury Cricket Week.The early blows were all landed by the Gloucestershire new ball attack as Kent lost three wickets in the opening session. They made the worst of starts when Sam Northeast pushed half forward to the sixth ball of the day from Will Gidman only to see it dart back off the seam and peg back middle stump.Eight overs later Daniel Bell-Drummond jumped back in defence to an inswinger from left-arm seamer David Payne and was trapped leg-before to make it 20 for 2.Brendan Nash, who hit an unbeaten 199 before retiring ill in the corresponding game at Cheltenham earlier in the summer, reached 14 before he played too soon on a pull shot against Liam Norwell and dragged the ball onto leg stump.Having lunched at 72 for 3, Kent’s middle order batted with determination thereafter on a pitch that offered some assistance to the seamers operating from the Nackington Road End. Rob Key posted his third 50 of the campaign from 118 balls and with four fours, but soon after pushed in defence at military-medium seamer Benny Howell to be caught behind.After surviving three huge appeals early in his innings, Harmison dug in together with Stevens to add 133 for Kent’s fifth wicket in a shade over 30 overs. Having grown accustomed to the pace of the pitch, both men started to time the ball sweetly and, for the first time in the day, the visiting attack was made to look ordinary.Harmison, the former Durham allrounder, drove well between mid-on and mid-off to move to his second ton for Kent from 181 balls and with 15 fours. But, soon after, the tall left-hander nibbled at one outside off-stump from Norwell to be caught behind and bring in former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones,On the counter Stevens and Jones added 69 in 15 overs for the sixth wicket but the most attractive batting of the day ended five overs from the close when Jones edged a full-blown drive through to the keeper.Stevens, Kent’s player of the season and having hit 17 boundaries in his fluent 202-minute stay, was only two short of his third century of the Championship season when stumps were drawn at the end of the day.

Two committees in the Bangladesh Cricket Board are at loggerheads following the scheduling of the Bangladesh Premier League in the 2013-14 domestic calendar. The BPL was given a better time slot in place of the Bangladesh Cricket League, a first-class competition, initially scheduled for December, that has now been pushed to June 2014.Former Bangladesh captain and BCB’s tournament committee chairman Naimur Rahman said that his idea to keep the two first-class tournaments together was overruled by the cricket operations committee.”I am against this domestic calendar personally as the preference of the BPL over the BCL cannot be justified,” Naimur told the Dhaka-based newspaper . “I think the BCL should have been given more preference instead of the BPL because, among the three formats, Bangladesh lacks most in Test cricket.””They [BCB’s cricket operations committee] argued that if the BPL is shifted to April, it won’t be a profitable venture. The international players will not be available because the IPL is scheduled to start at that time. Though there is logic behind it, we must try to understand where our priority lies and act accordingly,” Naimur added.Enayet Hossain Siraj, the BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman, however said that the BPL was given precedence to help prepare the Bangladesh players for the World Twenty20, which will begin in March 2014. “The BPL would be a 26-day affair, which will help our players prepare for the ICC World Twenty20,” Siraj said.The BCL was introduced last year as a first-class competition that was superior to the National Cricket League, which is played between seven divisions from the country and an additional team from Dhaka. The highest run-scorers and wicket-takers from the NCL are then selected to play for four zones in the BCL.Naimur believes that if the BCL is given more priority in the calendar, it will have an effect on domestic and international cricket in Bangladesh. He said that playing an extra first-class tournament will only benefit the Bangladesh players in Test cricket with more time spent playing four-day matches. In addition, since the BCL is a better tournament with better pay and a lot more competition, it will motivate the players to focus on the NCL, which acts as the BCL’s feeder.”When our standard of Test cricket is so low, I am of the opinion that it will be better to promote the BCL because that will allow our cricketers to develop their skill in the longer version,” Naimur said. “If we learn to promote the BCL, then the cricketers will naturally increase their focus on the NCL, because only 80 top-class performers of the NCL will participate in this franchise-based competition.”

Northamptonshire 150 for 8 (Crook 63, Arafat 3-21) beat Somerset 140 for 8 (Kieswetter 38, Azharullah 3-16) by 10 runs
ScorecardSteven Crook struck 63 in just 36 balls•Getty Images

Northamptonshire moved top of the group in the Friends Life t20 after clinching a narrow 10-run victory over Somerset at Wantage Road.Rejuvenated Northamptonshire continued their impressive season with a fifth win in six matches and heaped more pressure on struggling Somerset after defending just 150 for 8 in front of their home fans. Somerset, who have reached Finals Day in each of the last four years, have work to do if they are to maintain their fine record in the competition and have now lost three of their opening five group fixtures.They made a dream start to the match when, after losing the toss, Pakistani pace bowler Yasir Arafat removed dangerous Northants duo Richard Levi and Cameron White in the first over of the match. Arafat became the leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20 competition when he pinned Levi lbw and then had White caught in the deep.Somerset remained on top and it wasn’t until all-rounder Steven Crook came out to bat that Northants gave themselves hope. Crook, in excellent form, cleared the boundary four times during his entertaining innings of 63 from just 36 balls and ensured Northants reached a competitive total.In reply, Somerset openers Marcus Trescothick and Craig Kieswetter put the visitors ahead of the rate with a breezy 38-run partnership inside five overs before Crook continued his inspirational evening with the breakthrough wicket of Trescothick. The Northamptonshire fightback continued the following over when pace bowler Muhammad Azharullah removed Peter Trego and Nick Compton without scoring.Kieswetter and Jos Buttler kept Somerset in contention and the latter appeared to be taking Somerset over the line before he was run out in the penultimate over following a mix-up with Arafat. That wicket signalled the end of Somerset’s hopes and Azharullah made Alfonso Thomas his third wicket at the death to end with 3 for 16 from his four overs.

On that famous Colombo night, after Marlon Samuels had launched a staggering counterattack with the bat, he came to the bowling crease and made his presence felt there too. When Samuels took a wicket in his final over, he stood mid-pitch, face lit up in jubilation, and began to shudder while dusting himself off. Incoming team-mates committed to the caper. Each one picked a spot on Samuels’ body and brushed him down ecstatically. It is a moment few who were in the ground will ever forget, and an emphatic expression of uniquely Caribbean cricketing fun. On the eve of their second Champions Trophy group match, against India at The Oval though, West Indies coach Ottis Gibson hoped his side will be known for more than just their colour.”That’s the one thing you will get when you come to the stadium to watch West Indies play, you will be entertained,” Gibson said. “There was a time not long ago where we entertained you and ended up on the wrong side of the result, and we’re hoping to change that. We saw against Pakistan a very close, entertaining match – low scoring but very entertaining – and we actually got the right result. We’re looking to do the same again.”Samuels and company had helped deliver West Indies’ first major world title since 1979 (although they won the Champions Trophy in 2004). In the intervening years – particularly since the mid-1990s – West Indies had slid drastically from their perch atop the cricket world, and Gibson hoped the triumph in Colombo would become the beginning of West Indies’ road to regaining credibility.”When you look at the style of play that we have as a nation, Twenty20 lends itself to the way we play, the way we like to play. Having said that, Twenty20 to me is always about entertainment. The 50‑over format and, more importantly for me, the Test format, is where the real skills of cricket need to be applied.”In the past, we’ve had this group of players together, and we’ve gone to major tournaments with high expectations, and we didn’t do as well as we could have done or should have done. Winning the tournament in Sri Lanka gave us huge belief that yes, we can win. We know we have the superstars, we know we have the players, the talent, but we never really got the job done. Sri Lanka gave us a huge belief that we can, and you’ll see a sort of renewed attitude within the team, that when we come to major tournaments we’re not just here to make the numbers up anymore.”The rankings say that we are now eighth in the world. We know that on our day we’re capable of beating the No. 1 team. We’re capable of beating any team in a format like this where it’s so short and every game matters.”Having won one match and secured – if fortuitously- top spot with a strong net run rate, they are not far from earning a semi-finals berth. India have been one of the form sides in England so far, however, and shape as West Indies’ biggest hurdle in the group. West Indies players have been among the most abundant overseas stars in the IPL, and Gibson hoped that experience would sharpen his side’s strategy on Tuesday.”Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and especially Sunil Narine have been starring in the IPL, so hopefully they’ve got a lot of information to share when we get back this evening. We’ll have a really good discussion about the Indian players and stuff like that, and those guys will form part of the main part of that discussion.”Gibson said their strategy is unlikely to prey on India batsmen’s perceived weakness against the short ball and would instead seek to maximise West Indies’ strengths. India exited the World Twenty20 in England in 2009, after several batsmen had their techniques exposed, and the same deficiency also contributed to their downfall in England in 2011, when they lost the Test series 4-0 and the ODI series 3-0.”The last time we used short-pitched bowling, it was Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Michael Holding and people like that,” Gibson said. “We don’t have those tall guys anymore, so as we saw against Pakistan, we pitched it up, we swung it a little bit and we put it in the right areas. I suppose that will be the strategy going forward.”