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In appreciation of his bowling feats in 2005, Shane Warne has been named the BBC’s Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.Warne, 36, was the most successful bowler in Australia’s losing campaign in this past summer’s Ashes series in England with 40 wickets, and he is also Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 645 victims.”Shane Warne has entertained cricket fans for years with his outstanding talent and contributed enormously to a thrilling Ashes series,” said Philip Bernie, a BBC programme editor. “His extraordinary achievements on the field, combined with his charismatic personality have made him a true sporting superstar, and an extremely worthy winner of this award.”Warne pipped rivals Fernando Alonso, the Formula One champion, Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, and Roger Federer, the current Wimbledon champion, to bag BBC’s accolade. “I am very proud of this achievement and am delighted to receive this award,” said Warne to BBC Sport. He is set to receive the award from Richie Benaud, the former Australian legspinner.

Yorkshire’s domination of the County Championship continued at the Groundsman of the Year Awards in Derby, as Andy Fogarty’s pitches at Headingley earned him the main prize for four-day cricket.Pitches are under more scrutiny than ever after ECB frustration over some groundsmen producing damp green surfaces to prop up their seam attacks leading to changes to the toss in 2016 to try to combat the practice.Fogarty, a Lancastrian who had worked under Peter Marron at Old Trafford before crossing the Pennines in 1996, won the same award in 2011.He was also commended in the category for one-day pitches, which was won by Somerset’s Simon Lee – who was runner-up in the four-day category.Yorkshire’s instructions to Fogarty are simple. Prepare a good pitch – but just give me pace and carry, is the gist of the information from the director of cricket Jason Gillespie.There was yet more recognition for Yorkshire in the outgrounds category as Scarborough’s John Dodds was runner-up to Bill Clutterbuck of Guildford, the venue for Surrey’s Championship match against Glamorgan. Stuart Kerrison (Colchester) and David Summersell (Uxbridge) were also commended.Every pitch is rated at the end of the match by each of the umpires with these ratings used as the basis for making the awards.Before the awards dinner a minute’s silence was held in memory of Harry Brind and Peter Marron, former winners with Surrey and Lancashire respectively who passed away in 2015.Awards:Four-day: Winner: Andy Fogarty (Headingley). Runner-up: Simon Lee (Taunton). Commended: Neil Godrich (Derby); Simon Williamson (Canterbury).One-day: Winner: Simon Lee (Taunton). Runner-up: Nigel Gray (Ageas Bowl). Commended: Steve Birks (Trent Bridge), Andy Mackay (Hove), Andy Fogarty (Headingley).Outgrounds: Winner: Bill Clutterbuck (Guildford). Runner-up: John Dodds (Scarborough). Commended: Stuart Kerrison (Colchester), David Summersell (Uxbridge).MCC Universities. Winner: Paul Derrick (Durham Racecourse). Runner-up: John Moden (Fenner’s).

Scorecard1st day

Although Bradman had revealed dazzling form in an inter-state match, his six innings against English bowling had been 3, 10, 36, 13, 18 and 23. It was obvious that, against the fast leg-side attack, he lacked his normal confidence. Bradman seemed jaded mentally – a condition to which a contributing factor was the stress of efforts to have his press contract sanctioned by the Board of Control. The result was that two doctors, who examined him on the eve of the Test, pronounced him not in a fit condition to play, although organically sound. Neither of the slow right-hand bowlers, Brown nor Mitchell, was included in the English XI, and the other four omitted were Tate, Duckworth, Bowes and Paynter. Magnificent bowling by Larwood, who dominated the attack, put England on top early. Several Australian batsmen wore chest-pads as well as thigh-pads, and there was an outcry about leg tactics, although Worrall, the former international, who is probably the soundest critic in Australia, wrote: “Larwood opened with an orthodox field and although later this was changed and he bowled outside the leg stump, it was legitimate fast bowling as far as he was concerned. Voce’s half-pitched slingers on the body-line provided about the poorest attempt at what should be Test bowling it is possible to conceive. Even Larwood bowled ten on the leg to one on the wicket, and Voce did not bowl half a dozen balls on the wicket in 24 overs.” Woodfull won the toss and although Ponsford made a determined stand until after lunch, Australia’s first four wickets fell for 87. Attempting an on stroke against one of Larwood’s straight balls, Ponsford moved too far across and left his leg stump open. In the next two hours, Richardson and McCabe carried on to 216. As the sting of the attack lessened, McCabe began to score freely with strong on strokes, cuts behind point, and good drives.Richardson was rather unluckily out at 216, for he hit a ball beautifully to square leg where Hammond brought off a fine catch. Oldfield never settled down, but Grimmett managed to stay, and when stumps were drawn the total was 290 for six, McCabe not out 127 and Grimmett not out 17.2nd day
When the game was resumed the English bowlers quickly met with success, but with Wall as his partner, McCabe by “death or glory ” methods scored with delightful freedom and hit up 60 in less than an hour before the innings closed. Wall’s share of the last wicket stand of 55 was only 4. McCabe batted four hours and hit 25 boundaries. The best batting he had shown on a good wicket was produced by Sutcliffe in an excellent opening partnership of 112 with Wyatt, who was confident with all the bowlers but Grimmett. When 43 Sutcliffe had a very narrow escape as he played a ball from O’Reilly onto his stumps without disturbing the bails, but at the drawing of stumps he was 116 not out, Hammond 87 not out, and the total 252 for one. Hammond was in his best form, his footwork against Grimmett being perfect and his driving most powerful. He reached his 50 in 57 minutes.3rd day
The wicket was still good when Sutcliffe and Hammond continued their partnership, which was not broken until 300 had been reached.Their stand of 188 for England’s second wicket surpassed the previous record of 152 by W. Gunn and Shrewsbury in 1893 at Lord’s. There were 15 boundary strokes in Hammond’s 112, and 13 in Sutcliffe’s 194, which occupied 7 hours and was the Yorkshireman’s individual record against Australia. The way for a colossal total was paved when the board showed 423 for 2, but Wall summoned up a great effort and when stumps were drawn the score was 479 for 6, Pataudi not out 80.4th day
Emulating Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, Pataudi gained the distinction of scoring a century in his first Test against Australia. Neat in his footwork, he was extremely cautious, and scored most of his runs behind the wicket. Australia’s hopes of making a fight were dashed by a disastrous opening in their second innings. McCabe and Richardson fell to successive balls from Hammond, and a stubborn 40 by Fingleton was to score. An innings defeat seemed likely, but Wall helped Nagel in a tail-end stand and 164 for 9 was reached at the close of play. Ames missed stumping Nagel and thus caused the game to last until the fifth day.5th day
After Allen had bowled a maiden to Nagel, Voce dismissed O’Reilly with his third ball with no addition to the score. Larwood was the outstanding figure of the England attack. His 49 overs for 10 wickets was a herculean effort. He stuck to his heavy duty with great heart, although troubled by a strained left side in the second innings. At one stage he had only two fieldsmen on the off side, and his control was as impressive as his pace. It was clear that the Notts fast bowler would be a match-winning factor for as long as he continued in this form. Australia’s steady and persistent bowling was better equipped with spin types, but contained nothing approaching the dynamic influence of a Larwood. To ensure that his energy would he conserved, he was not called on to bowl again until the second Test. In one spell Larwood bowled 10 overs for 17 runs and four wickets.

Vaughn van Jaarsveld, one of South Africa’s brightest batting prospects, is looking to combine playing at home for the Highveld Lions with a Kolpak career with Warwickshire. And his Johannesburg-based employers are not overly pleased with the idea.According to , van Jaarsveld is currently playing for the Warwickshire seconds on trial, “with a view to signing the talented South African left-handed batsman as a Kolpak player for next season”.van Jaarsveld is 22 and has been selected for an emerging players tour of Australia next month as part of South Africa’s high performance program. But after that he may make himself unavailable for national teams if he can get a Kolpak contract for the 2008 English season.Highveld Lions coach Gordon Parsons, the former Leicestershire and Warwickshire seamer, said Van Jaarsveld’s reported intentions were concerning, not just for the player’s future, but South African cricket as a whole.”I know that Leicester were interested in him because they’re looking for someone to bat at No. 4. Their overseas player has gone home or something. But Vaughn has not spoken to me at all about a Kolpak contract and I would be very disappointed if he didn’t speak to me about it. I would advise him not to do it at the moment.”But if he does get a Kolpak contract, that wouldn’t really affect his status with the Highveld Lions. But it would be a disaster for South African cricket because Vaughn’s a quality player. We’re not talking about older players here that are coming to the end of their careers – like a Lance Klusener, but a young player. Someone needs to do something about it because you’ve already got Jacques Rudolph going Kolpak, Ryan McLaren’s over there and now maybe Vaughn’s looking,” Parsons said.

Sialkot suffered a setback when they lost seven wickets for only 154 in their first innings against Karachi Harbour, at the National Stadium. After Karachi Harbour posted 293 yesterday, Sialkot were still 139 behind with only three wickets in hand.Anwar Ali scored his maiden first-class half-century, scoring 59 to take Karachi Harbour close to a total of 300. He scored seven fours and a six in his knock and his ninth-wicket partnership with fellow seamer Faraz Ahmed (16) was 63. Anwar then started Sialkot’s slump by trapping opener Atiq-ur-Rehman for a duck second ball. There were pockets of resistance later on, but none lasted long enough. Mohammad Ayub and Tariq Mahmood added 43 for the fifth wicket.With Shahid Yousuf having to retire hurt without scoring and seamers Faraz Ahmed and Uzair-ul-Haq bowling effectively, Sialkot don’t appear to have much of a chance to take the first-innings lead.Points for Karachi Harbour will help them hold on to their spot in the Gold League. They already appear to have avoided demotion to next season’s Silver League circuit.Karachi Urban held the upper hand with a first-innings lead of 154 after wrapping up Faisalabad for a modest 200 at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1. The only real resistance from Faisalabad came from their captain Misbah-ul-Haq. Coming in at 22 for 2, remained unbeaten till the end with 83, off 161 balls with nine fours and a six. He also added 63 for the fifth wicket with Naved Latif (39) was significant.Faisalabad were tied down by offspinner Tahir Khan who took 4 for 64 in less than 20 overs. Seamer Imran Javed took 3 for 40 in 11 overs and young left-arm spinner Azam Hussain 2 for 54 in 21.Karachi Urban are currently at second place in the Gold League table behind Sialkot, who too have an identical points tally of 24. Karachi Urban will now most probably join defending champions Sialkot in the final, if they go on to beat Faisalabad here.No play was possible for the second day running in the match between Peshawar and Lahore Shalimar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.

No bowler likes to be faced with a Hobson’s choice. Haryana’s attack today encountered a pirate who can plunder runs and a conman who can pick them off slyly. Robin Uthappa and Barrington Rowland make a fine pair and their rollicking 213-partnership helped Karnataka gallop towards victory by the end of the third day’s play against Haryana at Mysore.Right from the start of their careers both were marked for bigger things. It was the classical Barrington, named after the famous English batsman Ken, who first moved into the limelight with a debut first-class ton. However, he faded gradually and hasn’t managed a century in two years, and, ironically, it coincided with Uthappa’s rise. The latter’s stunning hundred in the 2005 Challenger Trophy brought him into the reckoning and he soon made his one-day debut a memorable one. At the moment, both their careers have reached the crossroads – while Uthappa is cruising along on the comeback path to the national side, Rowland is taking the longer route.Uthappa has had an impressive start to this season. A 99-ball 92 in the Challenger Series in October was followed by a fifty and a 141 against Sri Lanka A in the Duleep Trophy. Incidentally, he rates that hundred as his best knock. “It taught me a lot as I learnt a lot about my own batting,” he said at the end of the day. ” I kind of know how my mind works, how my body works, and what I need to score runs. I am getting to know myself, my cricket and my game very well right now.”It’s not a new-found confidence. His mother, Rosy, once told him to ask Rahul Dravid for an autograph but he fobbed her off. “I want to give, not seek autographs.” And today, just before he sat down to have a chat, he was busy doing exactly that. “Ghulam Sandhani, who was my coach at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, was the greatest influence in my life. If I have anything regarding my game, it’s him I turn to,” Uthappa revealed. He also mentions Hanumant Singh, former Test cricketer who recently passed away. “In those days I used to only play shots, attacking every ball. My defence was not tight. Hanumant Sir helped me a lot during my time with him at the National Cricket Academy. He taught me how to tackle short-pitched bowling, about batting in general. That’s the time when my cricket started changing.”He’s taking one thing at a time, though, and not getting ahead of himself. Asked whether he is eyeing a recall to the national team, he adds, “I am not looking too far ahead, just concentrating on the process and sticking to what I am doing right now. It [a place in the Indian team] will happen. If given an opportunity, I won’t let it go this time.”Uthappa’s three ODI appearances for India included a sparkling 86 on debut but he points out the changes to his game recently. “It is just that I have now improved my shot selection and concentration,” he continues. “I have always played aggressively and try to dominate the attack. That is my style and I am not going to change it. But I am watching the ball longer and more carefully now and looking to play forward. That’s a positive intent. As a cricketer you learn as the time goes by. You learn by yourself, by self analysis, start thinking about the game a lot. I put everything into the one-ball that I play. I will put my life on line every time I play that one ball.”As for Rowland, he is quietly finding his way back into form, with religion being his biggest strength. “I am pretty spiritual and my faith is the cornerstone for me. It puts everything into perspective. At the end of the day this is just the game, there is more to life.” Usually stodgy in his approach, Rowland was refreshingly aggressive today – 96 flowed in just 104 balls with seven fours punctuating the knock.Was it just a response to the match situation (Karnataka were pushing for a declaration) or is he going to persist with a brave new way? “I will definitely be playing much more positively than what I have done in the past,” he added. “I just have to back myself and play my shots. I have always had the shots but I have been curbing my natural game. Today I just decided to go out and play them. I badly wanted to get a ton today for my coach [Venkatesh Prasad]. He has been such a great motivator and inspirational figure for the entire team. Prasad and I have been talking about my game. I realise that if I play 40 balls then I have to score some runs. There is no use playing beautifully for 40 balls and get out for 5. I want to make it count, pile up the runs, and try to win the Ranji Trophy for Karnataka.But is he looking beyond? Like Uthappa, does he hope to play for India one day? “Definitely. Everyone should be. If you are playing first-class cricket and if you don’t have the goal to play for India … there is no use playing this game, right? God willing, if things go my way, I will make it. I just want to enjoy my cricket.”And that’s exactly the difference between the two. Barrington, usually an intense and serious player, is looking to start enjoying the game while the fun-loving aggressive Uthappa is thinking to turn on the intensity and think deeply about the game. Both have hit the right route and only time will tell how successful they become.

Ali Bacher, the former chief executive of the United Cricket Board, is making good progress after his second heart bypass surgeryBacher underwent heart surgery yesterday at the Morningside Medi-Clinic and according to the clinic he was “amazed” at how techniques had changed since his last heart bypass operation 25 years ago. “I really feel strong and healthy today,” he told staff.”Only one in 30 of our patients have bypasses these days. However, recent research has raised some questions about the long term durability of stents,” John Benjamin, Bacher’s cardiologist, told the news agency.”In Bacher’s unusual case, stenting his old bypass graft would have been technically simple, but we chose the long term proven safety of a modern arterial bypass instead,” added Benjamin. It was not immediately known when Bacher would be discharged.

Kevin Pietersen, England’s middle-order batsman, has said he has gotten used to the glare of the media limelight after the “life-changing” Ashes triumph last year and has admitted that he wants to become the best in the business. Pietersen’s match-saving and Ashes-winning 158 in the final Test at the Oval took him to new levels of popularity, and has accepted that “everyone wants a piece of him”.”I’ve got used to the attention, it’s now a way of life,” Pietersen told .”It was quite daunting at first but it’s bearable now. I’ve just got to smile and look as though I’m happy all of the time. It’s not just on the field I have to put in 110 percent but it’s off the field too. I can’t go out of the house without dressing up just in case I get snapped by the paparazzi but I don’t do many things I shouldn’t.”I’m just ultra polite and ultra nice now because I’m not just representing English cricket but I want to be a good role model for kids.Everyone wants a piece of Kevin Pietersen now but it is easy for me to fit people in. If I’m not working then I’ll do it, if I’m working they can take a hike.”The South-African born Pietersen – who was voted the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year and received a prestigious Wisden Cricketer of the Year accolade for 2005 – admitted that he wanted to hog the headlines for a longer period. “The attention on me is massive, but I haven’t let it have a detrimental effect on the way I train or the way I perform. I know what has made me successful and it has given me a rather nice roof over my head,” he said.”I’m not interested in being a short-term success, I want long-term success. I want to be the best batsman in the world and that requires complete determination, hard work and making sure I keep doing the right things.”That Oval innings apart, Pietersen impressed with a second hundred on a tough tour of Pakistan and fifties in England’s 1-1 series in India recently. He also admitted that he had no intentions of slacking. “I play every game as if it’s my last whether it’s for county or country,” he said. “So much so that I only took a few days off after the tour to India before I was back training. Then I scored 98 in Hampshire’s win over Essex in the week so that shows I’ve no intention of getting complacent.”

Canada and Bermuda lived up to their pre-tournament favourites’ tag by scoring convincing victories in their Americas Under-19 qualifiers in Toronto on Tuesday. Canada beat Argentina by nine wickets while Bermuda won their second match in a row by beating Cayman Islands by seven wickets.Canada bowled out Argentina for 64 in 28 overs and then raced to victory in 9.5 overs for the loss of one wicket, ending Argentina’s chances of qualifying for the U-19 World Cup. Asif Manjra, Usman Iqubal and Pratik Patel took three wickets each and opener Ruvindu Gunasekera ensured a healthy run-rate by scoring 35 off 33 balls.Bermuda, who had crushed Bahamas by 195 runs on Monday, restricted Cayman Islands to 165 in 48.2 overs after asking them to bat. Cayman Islands captain Ramon Sealy once again top scored with 67 off 126 balls that included five fours. He had scored an unbeaten 76 against Bahamas. Malachi Jones picked up 4 for 38 for Bermuda while Stefan Kelly took 2 for 13.Bermuda reached the target in only 30.4 overs for the loss of three wickets. Jones backed up his excellent bowling performance with an unbeaten 41 from 27 balls with six fours and one six. Jones added 79 for the fourth wicket with captain Rodney Trott (37 not out) after Bermuda were reduced to 87 for 3.The tournament winners qualify for the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next February.

There is little to play for at the Telstra Dome tomorrow save individual pride and records. The cynics were predicting a contrived dream finish for the series on Friday morning, but Australia had little regard for the ideal script, and their clinical demolition of a star-studded World team has robbed the final match of all significance and occasion. The only tangible gain for the World XI could be some meaningful practice for some of their leading batsmen before the Test that starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground next week.The performances of some of the leading World batsmen has been the most disappointing factor in this one-sided series so far. Between them, Virender Sehwag, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid have managed only 81 runs in two innings, 22 less than what Adam Gilchrist scored in one. These four will form the backbone of the Test XI, where they will come up against a more formidable Australian bowling attack that will include Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.Lara and Kallis came to the series with very little competitive cricket in recent times and looked completely out of sync. Lara has lasted only 15 balls so far, being dismissed in identical fashion twice, driving Nathan Bracken to Andrew Symonds’s lap at cover. Sehwag, whose continued failure in one-day cricket should be a major concern, got out in a manner that that should be a cue for the Australian bowlers in the Test. He has a tendency to be caught on the front foot against sharp short balls and Brett Lee got him fending one in front of his face.Ironically, the World XI are set to lose their most successful batsman in the series so far after the one-day games because the selectors reckoned Mark Boucher was a better bet behind the stumps than Kumar Sangakkara on a potentially turning pitch at Sydney. That Sangakkara has far greater experience in keeping to Muttiah Muralitharan was apparently of little consequence before Boucher’s expertise against a line-up of spinners where Nicky Boje is the most distinguished member. Coincidentally, Chris Gayle, the only other World team batsman to have scored a fifty so far, will also head home after Sunday’s match.The World team failed to announce their 12 the day before the match because they are still unsure about the fitness of Kevin Pietersen, who left the field clutching his hamstring in the last over of Australia’s innings on Friday and later batted with a runner. His condition was not serious, said John Wright, the World team coach. A scan has shown a slight strain and a decision will be made on Sunday morning. It might be a folly to risk him in a meaningless match considering England are about to embark on a significant tour to Pakistan shortly.Australia have their own injury worry with Simon Katich – who has been a successful replacement for Matthew Hayden, scoring 58 and 47 in the first two matches – receiving treatment for a groin injury. If Katich is found unfit, Australia might field James Hopes, the 26-year old allrounder, who has opened in one-day cricket for Queensland.But Australia will be boosted by the return of Glenn McGrath who sat out the second match and he will be doing no favours to the World team batsmen before the Test.Likely teamsWorld XI1 Chris Gayle, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Jacques Kallis, 6 Brian Lara, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Andrew Flintoff, 9 Shaun Pollock (capt), 10 Daniel Vettori, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan, 12 Makhaya Ntini.Australia1 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 James Hopes, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Andrew Symonds, 9 Cameron White, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Nathan Bracken.