Greg Lamb’s unbeaten 100 for Hampshire was in vain as Northamptonshire edged home by four wickets at The Rose Bowl. Usman Afzaal and David Sales each struck 49 for the visitors as they knocked off their target of 227 in a close-fought encounter. Northants had Hampshire in some bother at 23 for 3 – Kevin Pietersen (11) among the fallers – but the opener Lamb biffed a century and Craig McMillan added 39 to take them to a decent total. But it wasn’t enough, and despite three wickets from the veteran spinner Shaun Udal, Northants held firm.Dominic Cork took 4 for 14 as Lancashire crushed Gloucestershire by six wickets at Bristol. Glenn Chapple and Mark Chilton steered Lancashire to an easy victory after they were left needing just 87 following a dramatic Gloucestershire collapse. Lancashire’s bowlers proved they have a killer instinct which they so badly lacked against Middlesex at Lord’s earlier this campaign when they let them off the hook at 37 for 6 and went on to lose by 69 runs. They showed no such mercy this time, killing off Gloucestershire’s innings, with the top score a tame 24 not out from Mark Alleyne. Lancashire lost Mal Loye and Brad Hodge early (16 for 2), but from then on their third win this term was never in doubt.Darren Gough destroyed Nottinghamshire‘s top order with 4 for 16 and helped Essex to a six-wicket victory at Trent Bridge. James Middlebrook gave strong support with 2 for 27 from his nine overs, to shoot Notts out for 154. The Essex captain Ronnie Irani led the charge, striking 53 from the same number of balls, before Ryan Sidebottom – Notts’ most economical bowler with 2 for 15 from seven – held a return catch to dismiss him. Andy and Grant Flower each reached the thirties as the visitors cruised home with nine overs to spare.Ed Smith struck 93 and Scott Styris added 80 to help Middlesex defeat Worcestershire by 32 runs at New Road – and remain at the top of the table. Smith and Styris’s efforts lifted Middlesex to an unassailable 224 for 7 and, although Vikram Solanki and Stephen Moore started well in reply with an opening stand of 47, and Zander de Bruyn added 55, wickets tumbled at regular intervals as Middlesex’s bowlers continued undaunted.

Division Two

Sussex snuck home on the penultimate ball against Somerset in a big-hitting thriller at Taunton, in which nearly 600 runs were plundered from 90 overs. Ian Blackwell struck an unbeaten 134 from No 7 to set second-placed Somerset a whopping 297 for 5 from their 45 overs – only to watch Sussex knock the runs off. Ian Ward and Matt Prior got Sussex off to a flying start with a stand of 40, but Ward and then the in-form Michael Yardy fell in quick succession as the match swung back in Somerset’s favour; Keith Parsons responding with 4 for 38 and the heat was on. It was edge-of-your-seat stuff, but it was Sussex who kept their cool and overhauled the total thanks to Prior’s 77 and an unbeaten 73 from Johannes van der Wath, who took Sussex home on the penultimate ball.Tim Murtagh took 3 for 17 as Surrey consigned high-flying Durham to their first defeat of the season. James Benning and Rikki Clarke put on 129 for the fifth wicket to rescue Surrey from dire straits at 26 for 4, Jon Batty and Mark Ramprakash each making a duck. Benning smeared Durham’s bowling attack with 66 from 84 balls, and Clarke did further damage with 54 from 67 as Surrey reached 219 for 7. Durham were immediately in trouble in their reply at 10 for 3 as Murtagh struck three times in quick succession – each wicket an lbw. Dale Benkenstein and Nicky Peng added 95 for the fourth wicket to give the visitors some hope, but when Benkenstein was caught by Jon Batty on 44 off Ian Salisbury with the score at 105, they were back in trouble. Peng made 63 but his efforts could not save his team.Craig White took 3 for 20 as Yorkshire defeated Scotland to by 60 runs at Headingley. Yorkshire put on 214 after Scotland put them in, Anthony McGrath plundering 57 from 69 balls. In the face of an asking-rate of more than five an over, the visitors duly folded to 154 all out, Deon Kruis backing up White’s efforts with 2 for 15 from nine overs to stifle the visitors’ reply from the outset. Despite 60 from Gavin Hamilton – against his former team-mates – they never recovered.

North Group

Leicestershire, the defending champions, got their campaign off to a winning start against Nottinghamshire with a five-wicket success. Paul Nixon guided them home, with four balls to spare, hitting 32 with four fours and a six. Dinesh Mongia made an elegant 39 but a middle-order wobble kept Notts in the game. Notts’ batting never really fired against Leicestershire’s experienced attack. Jeremy Snape was superb, bowling his four overs for 18 runs and taking three important wickets.Lancashire beat Roses rivals Yorkshire by five wickets in front of 14,119 spectators at a sunny Headingley with blistering half-centuries from Mal Loye and Brad Hodge. Loye took Matthew Hoggard to the cleaners as he went for 65 runs and Loye smashed 59 from 33 balls. Hodge showed further evidence of his Twenty20 skills, guiding Lancashire home with 64 not out. Phil Jaques peppered the boundary for Yorkshire striking 72 off 40 balls but Lancashire’s spinners proved hard to get away.Derbyshire secured a comfortable six-wicket win against Durham after James Bryant guided them home with 53 from 46 balls. Jonathan Moss provided the necessary power with a rapid 46 off 28 deliveries. Gordon Muchall top-scored for Durham with 46 but the rest of the batsmen could not locate the boundary often enough. Ant Botha was especially economical with 2 for 16 from his four overs.

South Group

Owais Shah blasted 72 from 30 balls as Middlesex launched their Twenty20 season with an 18-run win against Hampshire in front of 80000 spectators at Southampton. Shah’s innings, and useful contributions from the other top-order batsmen, powered Middlesex to 210 for 6. Craig McMillan’s only over was dispatched for 28. He returned some of the damage with 31 from 12 balls but Hampshire couldn’t keep up the required momentum, despite Nic Pothas’s 59 as an opener.James Benning starred with the bat as Surrey cantered to a seven-wicket win over Kent at Beckenham. .Sussex had few problems getting past Essex, cruising to a nine-wicket win with more than five overs to spare. Matt Prior crashed his way to 66 as Sussex raced to their target of 110. Mushtaq Ahmed had bamboozled Essex’s middle and lower-order, whose approach verged on the suicidal, completing figures of 5 for 11 as Essex slid from 98 for 4 to 109 all out, without using 3.3 of their overs.

Midlands/Wales/West Group

The closest match of the day was at Cardiff where Glamorgan and Somerset tied, but Glamorgan won by virtue of losing fewer wickets. A superb 39-ball 68 from Mike Powell thrilled the 6,000 capacity crowd who thought that the game had been tied when Glamorgan, needing two off the last ball, ran a bye to the wicketkeeper. Both sides seemed to think they had shared the spoils until the PA announcer gave the correct result to the delight of the home supporters.Northamptonshire racked up the highest ever Twenty20 total in England, reaching 224 for 5, before completing a 81-run thrashing of Gloucestershire. David Sales led the carnage smiting 78 from 42 balls and added 72 with Damien Wright who made 38 off 20 balls. Gloucestershire’s bowlers had no answers and the batsmen were in a hopeless situation and were soon 47 for 5. Ben Phillips went through the middle-order, finishing with 4 for 28. “That was one of our worst performances this year and that’s saying something,” Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire’s coach, said. “There has got to be a big change. We can’t afford to go on like this.”Worcestershire held their nerve to seal a thrilling one-run win against Warwickshire. At 68 for 5 Worcestershire’s quest of 178 looked forlorn but Jonathan Trott and Michael Powell hit rapid forties, however Warwickshire couldn’t quite get over the line as David Leatherdale kept his head at the end. Graeme Hick had provided the base of Worcestershire’s 177 for 7 with 67, while Ben Smith made a useful 47.

Matt Prior has been named in England’s 15-man squad for the NatWest Challenge against Australia, which starts at Headingley on Thursday. He replaces Kabir Ali from the NatWest Series squad and will provide Duncan Fletcher with more flexibility when it comes to choosing a substitute as per the new regulations in one-day internationals. Chris Tremlett, who was called up as cover for Simon Jones, retains his place.Prior made his one-day international debut against Zimbabwe last winter and was a surprising omission from the 25-man development squad named by England at the start of the season. However, consistent form for Sussex – including some explosive innings in Twenty20 – has kept him in the frame.Prior said that he was delighted to get a recall and his relishing the prospect of facing Australia: “I felt it went well during the winter – I had a little taste of international cricket and I feel I know what to expect, although obviously it’s going to be very different against a team like Australia.”I have been in really good form this year, particularly in the National League and the Twenty20. I think having gone away over the winter both with England and with England A, has definitely helped me. I think I now have the confidence in my method, and the self belief that you need to do well.”It’s going to be different in The NatWest Challenge with the new regulations. But I know how to adapt my game to the situation and I enjoy the challenge of playing under pressure. If I do get an opportunity, I certainly won’t be changing my approach or playing any differently.”David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said: “We were delighted with the team’s strong performances during The NatWest Series and have made only one change to the squad for The NatWest Challenge.”With new playing regulations set to come into effect for The NatWest Challenge, we were conscious of the need to give the captain and coach greater flexibility within the squad. Matt Prior has been chosen as an impact player who is in good form and his inclusion will give Duncan [Fletcher] and Michael [Vaughan] more options for their choice as substitute.”Matt has been chosen purely as a specialist batsman, although he will obviously provide cover for Geraint Jones in the event of injury. Geraint has been in excellent form with both the bat and the gloves and the innings he produced under great pressure on Saturday was an outstanding effort.”Graveney had words of comfort for Ali, who did not feature in any of the NatWest Series matches, despite his promising performances during the one-day internationals in South Africa. “His opportunities have been limited because the role of first change bowler which he took on in the winter in South Africa is now being filled by Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. I have explained this to Kabir and reassured him that he remains in our thoughts for the future.”Squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Geraint Jones (wk), Simon Jones, Jon Lewis, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Chris Tremlett, Marcus Trescothick

In spite of a grasp of human nature and the early evidence, Tony Howard, the West Indies manager, does not anticipate internal strife within the team once the current dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) is settled.”Several years ago when a similar event occurred in the Kerry Packer series I didn’t hear of any lingering things and I don’t think it should be so now,” the team manager said, referring to the decision by captain Clive Lloyd and the leading players to participate in Packer’s World Series Cricket (WSC) while a depleted West Indies Test team toured India and Sri Lanka in 1978-79.Howard described the rejection of the WICB tour contracts by ten of the 13 players initially chosen for the current tour of Sri Lanka as “an individual decision”. “Some chose to [sign], some not,” he said in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) here. “As far as I’m concerned that’s the end of that. Once they become available again, it’s a matter for people to decide if they want to play or if they don’t want to play.”Early signs are that it might not be “the end of that”.Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA’s president and chief executive, has openly questioned the position of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, who has consistently decided to sign the match-tour contract since the row erupted last November prior to the tour of Australia for the VB Series.”It’s rather unfortunate to have the players making a principled stand and the captain of that side going in a different direction,” he said. “It tells a story.”It is not difficult to interpret what Ramnarine believes that story to be. While none of the players has made any comment on the issue, the divide between those who chose to join the Test team here as replacements from the A team, simultaneously on tour of Sri Lanka, and those who turned down Howard’s offer to do so quickly materialised.Daren Ganga and 12 of the other members of the A team originally issued a signed statement stating they would not make themselves available “in [a] show of solidarity for our senior members until all matters are resolved between the WICB and the WIPA”.Six then reneged and did agree to join the senior team for the two Tests and the triangular series of one-day internationals with Sri Lanka and India. It immediately divided players who were team-mates only a day earlier, some of them from the same territory, and caused obvious resentment. The two squads were moved into separate hotels, the seniors checking into the Taj Sumudra while the A players were transferred to the Trans Asia.There was an opportunity for the A players to attend the third day of the first Test and for the Test men to watch Sunday’s A match but it wasn’t taken by either. Howard dismissed suggestions that he had come to Sri Lanka early to put pressure on the A team players to join his squad.”I don’t see that at all,” he said. “My job was simply to address the team as a group, which I did. I offered each of them the same availability to sign if they so desired. Some of them did, some of them didn’t.”It is the fissure between those who did and those who didn’t that has the potential of undermining team spirit when they again come together in the name of West Indies – or even of their individual territories.

West Indians 606 for 4 (W Hinds 147, Sarwan 140 ret, R Hinds 74 ret, Hooper 67, Gayle 62, Jacobs 50*) drew with Indian Board President’s XI 275 for 8 decRamnaresh Sarwan completed a rare century as West Indies’ tour match against an Indian Board President’s XI at Bangalore petered out in a draw.Sarwan, who has yet to score a hundred in his 24 Tests, scored 140 as the West Indies opted for batting practice rather than trying to force a win. At the close they had reached 606 for 4. Sarwan smashed one six and 18 fours in reaching his seventh first-class century, before retiring in order to give his team-mates a chance to gain batting practice.Carl Hooper (67), Ryan Hinds (74) and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs (50*) also made the most of the Board XI’s lacklustre attack in the only practice match before the first Test. Hooper smashed three sixes and seven fours in his brisk 73-ball knock, while Ryan Hinds struck one six and nine fours before retiring.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the only specialist batsman to miss out on a big score when he fell in the day’s second over after West Indies had resumed at 341 for 2. He added just five runs to his overnight 20 before edging seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji to wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.Hooper was in aggressive mood and set about legspinner Amit Mishra. It was a calculated assault on Mishra who on Saturday was named in the Indian squad for the first two Tests. Hooper hit him for two boundaries in an over and then two successive sixes in the next as Mishra conceded 34 in his first three overs. Hooper reached his half-century in style, hoisting seamer Sanjay Bangar for a six. Murali Kartik ended Hooper’s entertaining knock in his first over when he had him caught by Patel.Mishra ended the match wicketless, his 26 overs costing 114 runs.

Scorecard
Wisdom Siziba, Matabeleland’s opener, scored an unbeaten 40 to guide his side to a nine-wicket victory over Manicaland on the third day of their Logan Cup match at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.Siziba struck seven fours as Matabeleland reached their target of 70 in only 56 minutes. With nothing to lose, Siziba was not his usual cautious self and from the outset had a go at the bowling. Matabeleland lost their only wicket in the run chase when offspinner Stuart Matsikenyeri had Duffin taken at first slip by Steven Wright for 17.Afterwards, the two provinces played in a limited-overs match, an idea mooted by Phil Simmons, Zimbabwe’s coach, who was watching.

It’s not a good time to be an Aussie in Australia after the humbling experience of losing cricket’s Ashes to England. Long-tormented British expats here revelled in Michael Vaughan’s 2-1 series triumph at The Oval to reclaim the little urn nearly two decades after losing them to the “Colonials.”The news, which came as a hammer blow in the early hours of Tuesday here, left a sports-mad nation in a pall of despair, but begrudgingly accepting that England were the better team over the course of the five Tests. Sydney’s chapter of the Barmy Army announced plans to rub in England’s Ashes victory from a red double-decker bus.Organiser Craig Gill, who has lived here for 18 years, has booked a 73-seat bus to ram home England’s triumph into despondent Australian cricket fans this weekend. Gill said more than 250 people had emailed him upon news of England’s series win, hoping to score a seat on the bus, which will take its passengers from pub to pub across Sydney. “It’s been 18 years in the making. I’ve had to live with nothing but the stigma we get from losing the games,” Gill told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Kings of rugby. Kings of cricket. Queen rules your country. That’s it. You can’t get better than that,” he said. Ouch!One ex-pat, who ritually handed over Aus$100 (US$77) in a standing Ashes bet every two years with an Australian friend, told Tuesday of his joy of finally winning something back. “For 14 long years – ever since I arrived in this country from my native Yorkshire – he has collected on our wager,” journalist Nick Galvin recounted in the paper. “He tells me, and the long-suffering bloke who does his books, that it’s the only income on which he can unquestionably depend. It’s as close as he comes to budgeting. “Now I find myself in the astonishing and not a little unsettling position of us having regained the Ashes. It’s been so long in the wilderness I’m not sure how to react.”

Australians have expected to hold on to the Ashes as a rite of passage against their traditional cricket rivals. But that all ended on Monday as Kevin Pietersen clouted Australia’s bowlers in a belligerent knock of 158 to ensure England drew the fifth Test and won the series. Long-suffering England supporters couldn’t wait to email their counterparts and crow about their team’s conquering of the once-mighty Aussies.One blogger proclaimed: “I’m not gloating. No, I’m not. Not me … but what a great game of cricket. The Ashes are where they should be and all is right with the world. “Sorry Aus, who am I kidding … gloat, gloat, gloat.”Australian captain Ricky Ponting meanwhile arrives home this week to face the music. Ponting was lashed in the Australian media, accused of indecisive leadership as well as puzzling tactics and field placements. But he will be mainly remembered for what has been called a monumental blunder in sending England to bat after winning the toss in the second Edgbaston Test, just 30 minutes after losing star fast bowler Glenn McGrath to an ankle injury in the warm-up.It was all downhill from there, with the struggling Aussies continually on the back foot and chasing the series against the rejuvenated Englishmen. Ponting did get a show of support from Australian fans with a newspaper poll asking whether he should remain captain. It found that 60% thought Ponting should be given another go, while 39% said he should be sacked.

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, has praised the bowlers, Irfan Pathan in particular, for an impressive performance that gave India victory by an innings and 90 runs against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Bulawayo.”We bowled well in the second innings. It is a good sign that Irfan [Pathan] got a few wickets with the new ball while they were playing our spinners well. Pathan clicked, Laxman was best, Dravid played well and Harbhajan’s performances were the main highlights to be noted here.” Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.”The pressure was always going to be there as I have not played well for the last 6-7 months, plus expectations were there from me,” Ganguly added when asked about his century under pressure.Tatenda Taibu, the Zimbabwe captain, commended his team’s performance in the first innings. “Our guys delivered better in the first innings but a score of 300 plus would have been better,” said Taibu. “It was a different story today. Our guys played spin well but the ball was swinging a lot and that did the damage to our side.”Irfan Pathan, the Man of the Match with nine wickets and a half century, was happy with his performance. “The ball was swinging well and I could get a few wickets. It seems it is going to be pretty well from here onwards,” said Pathan. “I’ve got some experience to swing the ball here. I was not bowling badly but a bit short, I realised that and changed it [the length] and got the wickets. It could have been a better performance as I am working hard. I am working hard on batting and will definitely improve.”

The Gabba is traditionally bowler-friendly but Stuart MacGill is hoping for a rare Test away from Sydney after collecting nine wickets against the World XI. MacGill has become an SCG regular during his stop-start 34-Test career and is desperate for work against the West Indies next month.Brisbane is Shane Warne’s favourite pitch in Australia and MacGill, who finished off the World XI with 5 for 43, also enjoys the bouncy surface. “What a fantastic place to bowl,” he said, talking up his chances of playing in the three-Test series. “The question is not whether it’s a favourite ground of mine but how the balance of the team works out. That’s a question that won’t be answered by me because I think the answer is very clear.”MacGill mooted the idea of picking a 13-man squad so he could travel with the team and offer further options after they opted for a two-man pace attack backed up by MacGill, Warne and the allrounder Shane Watson in this game. Warne and MacGill combined for 15 wickets – MacGill earned match figures of 9 for 82 – and again showed they could work as an intimidating partnership.Selected for only four Tests since Warne returned from his drugs ban in February 2004, MacGill said being a regular member of the team was “easier” than an on-call role for special occasions. “Getting the general feel of the series is pretty important but I’m very comfortable with any role that comes my way,” he said. “It does make your job a little bit more difficult when you do come in cold, but I’d be stupid to make any song and dance about getting picked once a year.”Ricky Ponting said despite a second-innings collapse of 9 for 47 he was happy with the make-up of the current squad and did not expect any changes for Brisbane. “I don’t have any concerns [with the middle order] at all,” he said. “We’ve got the right players there, players who have performed over a period of time, and it would be pretty harsh to judge them on one Test here.”The only sour note for Australia involved Simon Katich who has suffered a low grade fracture to the little finger on his left hand. He was struck by a powerful pull from Andrew Flintoff in the over before lunch. After immediately leaving the field he went for a precautionary scan, which revealed the damage.Katich, who suffered a poor match with the bat making 0 and 2, will have his fitness reviewed during the week. New South Wales, his state team, have their first Pura Cup match of the season, against South Australia, starting at the SCG on October 25.

Jason Gillespie, the Australian fast bowler, has been included in the South Australian side that will take on Queensland in the Pura Cup clash, starting on November 4. Gillespie, struggling to reclaim his position in the national side, recovered from a bruising to his right lung, which he sustained during the ING Cup match against New South Wales on October 23.Mark Cosgrove, the Northern Districts batsman who has been impressive in the two innings he played this season (117 and 86), returns from a one-month suspension. Ryan Harris, Cosgrove’s all-rounder team-mate, has also been included in the side after recovering from knee surgery that he underwent on October 17.Nathan Adcock, Cameron Borgas and Gary Putland have not been included in the ING Cup side. Gillespie replaces Putland in the Pura Cup side, as the only change to the team which played New South Wales last week.South Australia ING Cup squad 1 Darren Lehmann (capt), 2 Graham Manou (vice-capt, wk), 3 Matthew Elliot, 4 Callum Ferguson, 5 Greg Blewett, 6 Mark Cleary, 7 Mark Cosgrove, 8 Ryan Harris, 9 Daniel Cullen, 10 Mark Higgs, 11 Paul Rofe, 12 Jason Gillespie.South Australia Pura Cup squad 1 Darren Lehmann (capt), 2 Graham Manou (vice-capt, wk), 3 Cullen Bailey, 4 Matthew Ellitot, 5 Greg Blewett, 6 Callum Ferguson, 7 Mark Cleary, 8 Cameron Borgas, 9 Shane Deitz, 10 Daniel Cullen, 11 Paul Rofe, 12 Jason Gillespie.