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ScorecardThe first day was a simple case of David Hussey versus Yorkshire. He was the only batsman to reach double figures on the truncated first day as Tim Bresnan in particular broke through the Nottinghamshire top order almost like a knife through butter. Helped by good slip catching, Bresnan took four cheap wickets as he moved the ball sharply at times and only Nottinghamshire’s Australian import could stand up against bowling that would have done credit to an Ashes Test match.Much of this day did little for the image of the game, mainly due to the pernickety ‘health and safety’ attitude adopted by the umpires John Steele and Neil Bainton towards the weather. There was a light drizzle just before play started, and when it stopped they decided the light was unfit, though it was scarcely dangerous. The usual sizeable Scarborough crowd grew increasingly angry before play finally started at 12.15 pm.The pitch looked a batsman’s paradise, and Nottinghamshire decided to bat on winning the toss. Unfortunately for them, they seemed to be still affected by the batting traumas of their recent defeat against Durham, and they struggled from the start against some typically fine bowling by Matthew Hoggard and Bresnan. The first boundary was a fortuitous edge through the slips by Bilal Shafayat, and in the seventh over, with the score only 12, Matt Wood edged a ball from Bresnan into the slips and was gone. Shafayat soon followed, lbw to a full-length ball from Hoggard, and Nottinghamshire were 15 for 2.Hussey broke the shackles with a fine off-driven boundary off Hoggard, who nevertheless finished an opening spell with figures of 7-3-9-1; surprisingly, he did not bowl again. Dion Kruis was not a satisfactory replacement, as his line and length were erratic, and Hussey enjoyed his offerings, driving him through the covers twice for four. Kruis then responded with a sharp lifter that lobbed off Hussey’s bat into no-man’s-land on the off side, but this was almost his only dangerous ball of the day. Bresnan removed Mark Wagh, wafting outside the off stump and edging a catch to Gerard Brophy, returning to the side after a finger injury; 33 for 3.Lunch was taken nine runs later, and then came a lost session. The umpires decided the light was too poor to start again after the interval, and this time the crowd took it rather better. Half an hour later the good news was that the light had improved; the bad news was that a drizzle had started. It was so light that scarcely an umbrella was seen and few spectators bothered to take cover. Play did not restart until 4.20, when the crowd were again growing restive.The visitors’ troubles increased, and without Hussey they would have been a disaster indeed. In the second over Samit Patel was caught low at second slip off Bresnan, but Kruis continued to bowl at the other end, to the pleasure of Hussey. He continued to hit him for off-side boundaries with ease, but Bresnan was much more challenging, and briefly there was a fascinating battle, as Bresnan beat him several times with superb deliveries, while Hussey was intent on taking control, hitting him too for superb fours, straight and to the off. In contrast Ali Brown was never happy and fell to another slip catch off Bresnan. When before has the normally aggressive Brown scored only 5 in a partnership of 41?Hussey reached his 50, and it was a surprise to discover he faced as many as 71 balls, with a magnificent six over the sightscreen off Adil Rashid, who had taken two of the slip catches. Hussey also hit ten fours, one of them an overthrow early on when he was nearly run out backing up too far. Then, yet again, the umpires incurred the wrath of the crowd by taking the players off for bad light, and they did not come on again. It is scarcely good public relations when a crowd goes home feeling badly short-changed, and cricket’s authorities need to take another long overdue look at their attitude with regard to poor, but not dangerous, light. Yorkshire still have to win a championship match, and they are on top in this one, despite Hussey, but they need a better deal from the weather and the umpires.

Shane Warne, the former Australian legspinner, has said the decision to leave out Michael Vaughan from the pre-Ashes camp was a blunder given his wealth of experience as a former Ashes-winning captain. Vaughan has made only 147 runs at 21.00 for Yorkshire this season and the chief selector Geoff Miller said he would have to make runs consistently in the county season to force his way back.”England may have made a mistake by leaving Michael Vaughan out of what looks to be their big Ashes squad,” Warne wrote in his column for the . “Admittedly, I haven’t seen him for a while, but I do know that he’s a big-match player who can bring that touch of class. He deals with the short ball really well and looks to attack. Tactically, he could have helped [Andrew] Strauss.”Warne had earlier questioned the presence of Ravi Bopara in England’s plans, saying he was not yet ready for international cricket, and he couldn’t resist another dig at England’s in-form Test batsman.”I’ve said a few things before in this column about Ravi Bopara’s temperament. He looks a bit flaky,” Warne said. “But I’m not thinking of it as a case of Vaughan or Bopara. Vaughan is not just a better batsman than Bopara – I’d put him above everybody bar Pietersen. As long as he is making runs and can run between the wickets, he would be in my team.”Looking ahead to the Ashes, which begins at Cardiff on July 8, Warne said Australia’s bowlers would help the team retain the urn.”Yes, of course you need runs on the board, but if Australia can take some cheap wickets with the new ball, they can definitely roll over England, even with Freddie Flintoff to come back after missing the West Indies series,” he said.”Australia will be looking to get them about 3 for 50 because, looking at their line-up, England could then find themselves all out for 100. I think they rely on Andrew Strauss and especially Kevin Pietersen, so a big task for Australia is to identify the guys most likely to put those two under pressure. I really hope that Nathan Hauritz is going to play, and Mitchell Johnson is a certainty.”Warne reckoned at least four fast bowlers will chase two spots and he backed Brett Lee to make the starting line-up, despite the fast bowler’s struggles during the World Twenty20. Lee will compete with Peter Siddle, Stuart Clark and Ben Hilfenhaus to partner Johnson.”I’d love Ricky Ponting to be able to give him (Lee) first crack because he’s a great kid and has experience of the Ashes,” he said.”Peter Siddle has a big future. He reminds me of Darren Gough with his big heart. He is one of those whose last ball of the day is as good as his first. Any captain would want to fit him in, if he could.”The one worry for Australia, Warne said, is the form of Michael Hussey and therefore, there could be a slot open in the batting line-up. Hussey’s patchy form – he has scored 322 runs at 23.00 in his past eight Tests – and exhaustion due to Australia’s packed international schedule forced him to reassess his future with the team and he even contemplated giving up one form of the game.”Hussey needs a score over the next fortnight to cement his place. The onus is on the others to push him out, yes, but if [Shane] Watson and [Marcus] North get runs it will be an interesting decision,” Warne said. “I don’t think Hussey’s place should be guaranteed. Watson would be good enough for No 3, if it came to it.”

The chairperson of the PCB women’s wing Shireen Javed has said that the legal notice served to it by the Lahore High Court over what is claimed to be its discriminatory attitude against the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Control Association (PWCCA) is not the women’s wing’s concern. “It’s not our problem really,” she told on Friday. “The PCB will handle this in whatever way they feel right. As for the women’s wing, well, our doors are always open for people who want to play and make the Pakistan women’s team stronger.”The PWCCA, headed by former Pakistan women’s team captain Shaiza Khan, pioneered women’s cricket in the country and is the sole governing body registered and recognised by the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC). It had moved a writ petition against the establishment of the PCB women’s wing, insisting that it retained the right to governing women’s cricket in Pakistan.Javed founded the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Association (PWCA), a rival organisation to the PWCCA, but despite now being a part of the PCB, it was denied membership by the IWCC. “I had been after the PCB from Majid Khan’s time to recognise the PWCA and take us under their umbrella since I felt it was important to get recognised by one’s own country’s board first,” Javed said. “Meanwhile, Shaiza Khan got her organisation registered by the IWCC.”The PWCA too has a right to run the affairs of women’s cricket here. It was while we were looking for a straight path that the PWCCA took a shortcut.”

Gavin Hamilton: “It is a great honour to be asked to captain Scotland and it is a challenge I am looking forward to enormously”•Gallo Images

Scotland have named Gavin Hamilton, their most experienced player, as the successor to Ryan Watson, the former captain who stepped down this week in the wake of his team’s failure to qualify for the 2011 World Cup.”The selectors assessed all our available options for the captaincy,” said Ian Kennedy, Scotland’s chairman of selectors. “It was important that the captain is sure of his place in the side and has the experience to drive forward the rebuilding process of the Scotland team, which will take place over the next couple of years.”We are lucky to have someone of Gavin’s vast experience to lead the side through this next phase. Succession planning is a key for the longer term, and in Fraser [Watts] and Gordon [Drummond] we have two excellent deputies who will support Gavin and take over at times when he is unavailable to ensure they gather as much international captaincy experience as possible.”Hamilton was one of the few Scotland batsmen to show consistency in the recent ICC World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa, but his elevation to captaincy at the age of 34 underlines the difficulties Scotland are facing in appointing a long-term successor. Hamilton, who played for England on their 1999 tour of South Africa, is unquestionably experienced – he has played in two World Cups – but his appointment would appear to be a stop-gap until someone younger is groomed. Gordon Drummond and Fraser Watts have been named as his deputies.”‘It is a great honour to be asked to captain Scotland and it is a challenge I am looking forward to enormously,” Hamilton said. “We are in a rebuilding phase and Peter Steindl and I know we have to give a number of players international experience over the next couple of years. However, we have a fantastic and important summer of cricket ahead and it is vital we put in some good performances in the next few weeks.”I am delighted that in Gordon and Fraser we have a couple of people who can grow into the captaincy role and I am excited about working with them to move our team forward.”

Aimee Watkins (formerly Mason) will take over as captain of the New Zealand women’s team following the retirement of Haidee Tiffen.Watkins, who was the vice-captain during the team’s run to the World Cup final in Australia earlier this year, will lead New Zealand during the World Twenty20 in England in June.Watkins, 26, said she was proud to be given the captaincy of the national team. “Following on from Haidee is a big ask – but I know the team is going to be fully behind me,” she said. “It’s a big challenge but exciting at the same time.”I see one of my strengths as being a pretty calm sort of person – I’m not easily flustered. I hope to lead by example and by my performance on the field.”New Zealand coach Gary Stead said Watkins was the logical choice as leader after Tiffen’s retirement. “She has been in the vice-captaincy role on previous tours, including the 2009 World Cup, and has experience and a good understanding of the New Zealand women’s team leadership and management group,” he said.”Her aggressive style as a player makes her someone that can have a significant impact on the game – and the T20 style of cricket will be a great way for her to lead from the front.”Watkins made her New Zealand debut in 2002, and has played 84 one-dayers and two Tests. She was the side’s leading wicket-taker at the World Cup in February, bagging 11 scalps at 14.27.

Dinesh Chandimal will lead a 15-man under-19 team on a tour of Bangladesh from April 17 to May 10. Sri Lanka will play two Test matches and five limited-over games against the hosts.Team: Dinesh Chandimal (Ananda, captain), Angelo Perera (St Peter’s, vice captain), Udara Jayasundera (Navy SC), Buwaneka Ekanayake (Dharmaraja, Kandy), Kusal Perera (Royal Colombo), Banuka Rajapakse (Royal Colombo), Imesh Udayange (Dharmasoka, Ambalangoda), Chathuranga de Silva (St Aloysius, Galle), Sameera Weerasinghe (St Joseph’s Colombo), Mathusha Perera (Ananda), Rushan Jaleel (Trinity, Kandy), Chathura Peiris (St Peter’s), Vimanga Perera (Maliyadeva Kurunegala), Lahiru Jayaratne (Christchurch, Matale), Madushan Ekanayake (St Thomas’ Matara).

It’s a wonder there are any questions left to ask Andrew Strauss. When he took on the England captaincy he was always going to become a regular with the media because of all the preview and post-match duties that surround a Test, but Strauss’s three first-day hundreds have meant he has never been far away from a camera or a notebook during the games themselves.Strauss, though, has been through enough tough times to know that he should enjoy the success while it lasts. His third ton of this series made it five in his last 12 innings dating back to his twin efforts in Chennai in December, as he moves up the list of England century-makers to be level with Denis Compton on 17. This latest century was very similar to those two innings in India, coming on a low, slow surface that is already suggesting it could offer more to the spinners as the game goes along.”It’s been an incredible little run for me, a purple patch,” Strauss said. “And having been through a couple of difficult patches in my career I suppose you appreciate them a little bit more, and maybe that makes you hungrier to take advantage when you are in good form.”This is the second time Strauss has registered three centuries in a series following his impressive efforts on the 2004-05 tour of South Africa. On that trip he was still a relatively fresh face to international cricket and each new attack he came up against had yet to work him out. They often fed his strengths square of the wicket, but slowly the top bowlers cottoned on to his weaker areas and exploited them. Now, though, his reinvention is seemingly complete and he is a batsman capable of responding to conditions.Whereas in Antigua and Barbados the drive and cut were in regular use, here it was more of a nurdle-and-nudge day for Strauss as a lack of pace made timing difficult and Chris Gayle set defensive fields. He still managed to score all around the wicket, but 67 singles in his unbeaten 139 show how hard he was made to work.”It’s a slow attritional wicket, but there are certainly signs of turn there in the evening session and on day one that’s a nice situation for us to have,” he said. “But we have to set the game up well, we’ve had a good first day but need to keep doing that. It’s going to be hard work again, we aren’t going rip through them, but I think we have the armoury to take those 20 wickets.”It was a hot day’s work as well with Strauss taking every opportunity to towel down. Owais Shah felt it more than most and for the second time in his short Test career he was forced to retire hurt with serious cramps that left him on a drip in the dressing room.”The conditions today were exceptionally hot and humid and they are the conditions when if anything is going to happen it will be here,” Strauss said. “He’s fine now, he’s been on a drip and the cramps have gone but it is a bit of an issue and he needs to work out how to manage it.”On the previous occasion cramps hit Shah in a Test, against India in Mumbai on his debut in March 2006, he was also batting alongside Strauss. If England are looking for promising omens, Strauss scored a hundred in that match and they won to famously square the series, with a little help from Johnny Cash.England have a lot to do if they are to repeat that performance and retain the Wisden Trophy, but once again their captain has provided the ideal start. His personal success may mean a few extra media duties, but if the runs keep flowing he won’t mind talking about it. What would make it even more special is, if the next time he speaks, he can reflect on victory as well.

Tasmania 8 for 197 (Birt 86, Siddle 4-27) beat Victoria 9 for 189 (Rogers 68) by 14 runs on D/L method
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Victoria will have to wait to confirm their hosting rights for the FR Cup final after Tasmania knocked over the competition leaders with a 14-run victory in a match shortened to 37 overs a side. Travis Birt made sure the Tigers overcame the strong bowling performances of Peter Siddle and Bryce McGain to post 8 for 197, a total that was improved by six under the Duckworth-Lewis method.The Bushrangers, who are still two points ahead of Queensland, were on track in their chase of 204 until the opener Chris Rogers hobbled off with a back injury. Rogers had taken the side to 3 for 124 in the 26th over when he retired hurt on 66, but by the time he returned the game was gone and they finished at 9 for 189.Rogers was run-out for 68 – one of three Victoria batsmen caught short – on a day when only Aaron Finch (30) and Matthew Wade (28) were able to offer assistance against the committed Tasmanians. They sit in third spot on 20 points and remain in with an outside chance of reaching the decider.Dan Marsh, who was playing his 100th match, won the toss and made the brave decision to bat on a greasy surface, a move which excited the Victoria attack. Siddle has returned to the Test squad for South Africa after recovering from a foot injury and he picked up the first three wickets as the hosts struggled in the tricky conditions. Michael Dighton fell to a superb catch at point from Rob Quiney while Luke Butterworth was yorked on the first ball after a long rain delay in the morning.Birt struck four fours and the same number of sixes in a powerful 86 off 66 balls that lifted the Tigers from their problems, but he went after Wade’s fine diving catch at long-on. The take gave Siddle another wicket and he finished with 4 for 27 while McGain, another South Africa tourist, also showed impressive signs. He picked up 3 for 48 but also suffered from Birt’s big striking.

Group A

Zahoor Elahi’s quick century went in vain as National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) routed Pakistan Customs by an innings and 310 runs inside three days at the NBP Sports Complex. It was a tall order for Customs on the third day, who were trailing by 479 and had lost three wickets the previous day. None of the other batsmen crossed 23, as Elahi was left to fight a lone battle. He remained unbeaten on 102 off 104 balls, stroking 13 fours and three sixes, as Mohammad Talha and Mohammad Aamer shot out the visitors for 187. Talha picked up another five-for in the second innings, to finish with 10 wickets in the match, while Aamer grabbed 4 for 48.Karachi Whites are well on track for a comprehensive victory against Habib Bank Limited at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium after Asim Kamal’s 125 helped them to a lead of 322. Kamal, the former Pakistan batsman, added 126 for the seventh wicket with Tanvir Ahmed (75) as the visitors toiled away without much success. Danish Kaneria and Adbur Rehman sent down 103 overs between them for four wickets. HBL’s top order then struggled again, losing three early wickets towards the end of the day. Ahmed Shehzad remained unbeaten on 37, but unless the weather helps out defeat seems certain.Yasir Shah’s three wickets have given Sui Northern Gas Pipelines a real chance of forcing victory against Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association. He helped reduce the home side to 60 for 4 in their second innings, and although they steadied to 115 for 4 by the close the lead stands at just 34. The ball has dominated this game and earlier Mohammad Naved finished with 5 for 86 as SNGP lost their last six wickets for 28.Top of the table Pakistan International Airlines enjoyed a dominant day against Sui Southern Gas Corporation at the Quaid-e-Azam Park, led by Faisal Iqbal’s caeer-best equalling unbeaten 200. Iqbal, who hasn’t played for Pakistan since 2007, showed the sort of the form that may get the selectors interested again as he hit 18 fours and two sixes in his 338-ball stay. He added 125 with Sarfraz Ahmed, who played his shots in an 86-ball 82 that included 10 boundaries. Iqbal denied himself the chance to set a new career-best when he declared on reaching his double, but the move paid off when Tahir Khan claimed an early breakthrough.Bilal Khilji hit an unbeaten 103 to push Water and Power Development Authority to a lead of 201 against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the Sheikhupura Stadium. Khilji’s 10th first-class century was a vital effort after his side had slipped to 71 for 4. Captain Adil Nisar and Imranullah Aslam offered solid support in two important middle-order stands.

Group B

It took 18 overs on the third day for Abbottabad to end Karachi Blues’ second innings at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex. Resuming on 101 for 5, and 44 behind, Rashid Mansoor and Armaghan Elahi worked in tandem to bundle out Karachi for 154. Sheharyar Ghani did complete his half-century but failed to inspire the other Karachi batsmen as Elahi picked up 6 for 42 to finish with an eight-wicket haul, while Mansoor added four more wickets to the six he bagged in the first innings. The Abbottabad openers polished off the required 10 runs for victory in seven balls.Faisalabad were forced to follow-on against Multan at Okara after an inept first-innings collapse, but put up a much better fight second time around as they reached 187 for 1 to give themselves hope of saving the game. Sajjid Hussain, with a career-best 5 for 20, and Abdur Rauf did most of the damage as Faisalabad slumped from their overnight 68 for 2 to 105 all out. However, in their second innings Imran Ali and Mohammad Salman forged an unbroken second-wicket stand of 110 to prevent another rapid demise.A valuable last-wicket stand of 64 between Usman Malik and Azam Khan, followed by three quick wickets, put Lahore Ravi on top against Quetta at Muridke. Quetta were the ones shaping for a first-innings lead before the last pair came together, but they suffered a frustrating time until Nazar Hussain claimed his fourth wicket to end the innings. The momentum was now with Lahore and Waqas Ahmed started with two early wickets, followed by another strike from Kashif Siddiq to lave Quetta on 41 for 3, a lead of just 18.Rawalpindi have left Sialkot a tough chase of 382 on the final day in Islamabad after building on their healthy first-innings advantage. It wasn’t all one-way traffic as they wobbled on 43 for 4, but Awais Zia struck 86 and captain Naved Ashraf added 58 to ease any concerns. Naved decided he had enough on the board and declared on 239 for 8, but his attack couldn’t strike before the close as the Sialkot openers eased to 53 without loss at a good rate.Adil Amin fell seven runs short of his century, but Peshawar have made strong inroads into Hyderabad’s total of 292 at the Niaz Stadium. Adil added 111 with Sajjad Ahmed, who ended the day one short of his half century. Hyderabad used seven bowlers but successes were hard to come by although they largely managed to keep a lid on the scoring rate.

Sunette Loubser has replaced Cri-Zelda Brits as South Africa women’s captain for the World Cup scheduled for March in Australia. Denise Reid, the convenor of selectors, said Loubser was handed the reins in order to give Brits a chance to “concentrate entirely on her own performance”. The vice-captaincy has also been taken away from Claire Terblanche and given to Alicia Smith.Brits averaged 32.07 and scored one century and three half-centuries in the 16 ODIs in which she captained South Africa between January 2007 and August 2008. South Africa won 11 of those ODIs, but none against major opposition.”She [Brits] is a vital part of the team, and we require her undivided attention at the role assigned to her,” Reid said. “We have in Sunette Loubser, who has been captaining Boland successfully for the last five or more years, a suitable and capable replacement.”Opening batsmen Yolandi van der Westhuizen and Kirsty Thompson, and spinner Dane van Niekerk have earned their first call-ups to the national side.Annelie Minny, Dinesha Devnarain, Daleen Terblanche and Olivia Anderson, who were part of the tour to England last year, did not make the cut. “Dinesha Devnarain, Olivia Anderson and in particular Daleen Terblanche, the most experienced player for SA, are among those who can count themselves extremely unlucky for missing out on a spot,” Reid said. “We’ve selected in-form players who have had consistent performances this season.”Former captain Alison Hodgkinson, who was part of the probables despite not having played international cricket for three years, was not included in the final squad.Reid said preparations were underway before the team’s departure to Australia. “I have full confidence in the squad. We will seriously be contesting the World Cup, and are out to become a reckoning force in women’s cricket.”South Africa women: Sunette Loubser, Alicia Smith, Susan Benade, Cri-Zelda Brits, Trisha Chetty, Mignon du Preez, Shandre Fritz, Shibnam Ismail, Ashlyn Kilowan, Marcia Letsoalo, Kirsty Thompson, Charlize van der Westhuizen, Yolandi van der Westhuizen, Dane van Niekerk, Claire Terblanche