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Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has thrown his support behind the idea of scrapping the toss, while he is also open-minded about the concept of four-day Test cricket. While Australia and New Zealand pioneered day-night Test cricket in Adelaide last week, other suggestions have also been made in the debate around making Test cricket more competitive and more attractive to spectators.One idea is to abolish the coin toss before matches and instead allow the visiting team the choice of whether to bat or bowl, which proponents argue would encourage the host country to produce a fair pitch. Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Michael Holding have all expressed support for the idea, while the ECB will next year trial a similar concept in county cricket.Under the ECB’s trial, the visiting county will automatically be given the option of fielding first and only if they decline will the coin toss go ahead as usual.”That is one that should definitely come in to cricket, where the opposition gets the right to choose what they want to do,” Lehmann told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday. “I reckon it will stop all the wickets suiting the home team.”As you saw in Perth, the wickets don’t suit how we want to play sometimes and in Australia in general the wickets have been fantastic for years, it doesn’t really matter on the toss, who wins or not. But in some other places it certainly has a big bearing on the game.”The MCC World Cricket Committee also expressed its concerns about pitch preparation last week and said in a statement that home advantage had become too significant in Test cricket, and it would monitor with interest the ECB trial next year. It was the MCC World Cricket Committee that pushed for day-night Tests six years ago and Lehmann said he loved the roll-out of the inaugural pink-ball Test.”I thought it was a great concept,” he said. “It was probably over a little bit quick for my liking in terms of the game but it was exciting for three days and it could have gone either way. Maybe a little less grass [on the pitch] and maybe get the ball a little bit darker in the seam, but it’s only a little bit of tweaking. I was quite impressed by it. I know the fans loved it … we have just got to make it better.”Four-day Test cricket has also been floated as a possible way of keeping fans interested in the longest format. Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has an open mind about the concept, with the possibility that the four days could be extended so that little play was lost overall. Lehmann said he did not mind the idea, but was unsure whether the extra overs could be easily fitted in.”We don’t bowl our 90 overs in a day as it is, so that is probably the only thing,” he said. “But I’m open to all those sorts of things. Whatever makes the game better for the fans is pretty important.”

According to Tapan Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Sports Advisor, the national cricket board will be restructured once a new chairman is named. Recent reports indicated that the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB’s) next president, whose identity is yet to be confirmed, will be announced upon his arrival in the capital next week.In regards to these reports, former BCB general secretary Syed Ashraful Haq told ,”It is no magic figure, but the number of members would be between nine to 13. I have asked him to keep it to around ten, as it is with the International Cricket Council or Asian Cricket Council but it is up to him.”He did not comment on who the new BCB boss would be.Haq, also the ACC chief executive, recently came to Dhaka for a meeting with Chowdhury. “We only talked about cricket. I told him about my ideas and how I see the board evolving into a more professional and a lot more accountable body,” he said. “There should be people who will not be holding honorary posts rather there should be people who will be paid for their job. That is what we basically talked about.”According to Haq, Chowdhury preferred 12 to 13 members on the new committee. “I did not discuss any names with him but whoever they are, must have cricketing background, both internationally as well as in the domestic front,” he said. “I gave him my views on how it should be structured, to be more specific. It should be structured like it is in a big cricket organisation so that we can compete with them in that regard too.”Haq believed the BCB should operate around a business plan, with an executive board, but felt that it also needed to have representatives from not just Dhaka, but exterior cities and towns, such as Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet.He was also critical of the current board’s handling of domestic cricket.”In the next few years, the BCB will receive an astronomical amount of money from the ICC so it would not be wise for someone with an honorary post to handle that much because that person would not have any accountability,” he said. “A general secretary cannot exist when there is a CEO. But here, the CEO should be someone with some cricketing knowledge because he represents Bangladesh in the important ICC meetings. But for that matter, if you keep both, then I don’t think it makes any sense.”

Brian Lara’s press conference
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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAAfter the end of the fourth day’s play, Brian Lara addressed the media and defended his decision not to enforce the follow-on with the reason that his bowlers were tired. While many believed that the bold and positive decision would have been to enforce the follow-on and go for broke with a day and a session to play, Lara thought otherwise.VVS Laxman, who scored a painstaking hundred, told reporters that he was glad to have contributed to his team’s cause, and praised Anil Kumble for his role in a vital stand down the order. Cricinfo’s Siddhartha Vaidyanathan reports from St Kitts. Listen in!Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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In Bloemfontein, Free State turned the tables on Border as they won by 60runs. Jonathan Beukus got Free State off to a flyer, as he hit sevenfours and two sixes in an innings of 90. Bowling 15 extra balls forwides and no-balls did not help the Border cause, but 223 should havebeen within their grasp. But they were always on the back foot as they lost six wickets for 79, and were eventually bowled out for 162. In the end, they just managed to save the bonus point as they fell 60 runs short.A close encounter in Port Elizabeth saw Eastern Province squeeze outWestern Province by seven runs, with the result in the balance up to thefinal over. Eastern Province, having batted first, had scored 219. They had comeback from 96 for 6, thanks to 61 off 60 balls from Grant Howell, and 36 from Bob Homani. William Hantam, who was responsible for the early wickets,ended with 4 for 53. At 103 for 2, Western Province must have thought it was inthe bag. But, with the exception of Warren Wyngaard who scored 73, no onecould get into the twenties as the required run rate increased. Michael Price took advantage of some rash shots to pick up 3 for 25, and seeEastern Province home.
Having taken a severe beating in the three-day game, North West came backwith a vengeance as they beat Griqualand West by seven wickets inPotchefstroom. Griquas put up a meagre 215 for 8 on a near-perfect batting strip. Adrian McLaren top scored with 55, but could not finda willing partner as the wickets fell at regular intervals. In replyNorth West. managed to put some decent partnerships together. The match culminated in an exciting final over, the 44th, where Juan le Roux needed five runs to go to his hundred, and North West only two to win the game. He finished it in style by lofting the ball well over deep wide midwicket for his maiden century.

Graham Napier, Essex’s allrounder, has signed a one-year contract extension with the county up to the end of the 2005 season. Napier, 24, has contributed hugely with both bat and ball for the county in recent times."I am very pleased to be involved with the club for another year. This gives me a chance to relax and concentrate on my cricket and to hopefully put in some match-winning performances," said Napier. "I’m an Essex boy through and through and this Club is going places, so I’ve no desire to move. This is where I’ve played all my cricket and I’d like to see my whole career played here."Napier equalled the highest number of wickets taken by an Essex player in a one-day league campaign with 33 wickets in 2003, and his exploits last season earned him a place with the ECB Academy squad that toured Malaysia and India early in 2004."Graham has made great strides over the last couple of years, which has seen him become an integral member of the Essex side," said David East, Essex chief executive. "The extension of his contract is due recognition of his efforts and we hope to see him make further progress in the coming years."

As Sri Lanka’s cricketers prepare for the start of their tough seriesagainst a resurgent West Indies team, an equally fierce contest is raging back home as aspiring administrators battle for control of Sri Lanka’s cricket board (BCCSL).Sri Lanka will hold its first BCCSL elections for three years on Friday, ending a 26-month spell of control by government appointed interim committees following the decision to dissolve the last elected board in March 2001.Johnston Fernando, the sports minister, announced the elections last month following widespread media criticism of the current interim administration and demands from member clubs and associations for a return to democratic rule.Thilanga Sumathipala, a leading businessman and a cricket administrator with personal ambitions of heading the International Cricket Council, is expected to compete a landslide victory in the battle for the BCCSL presidency.Sumathipala’s main contender for the coveted post is former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, now a member of parliament. Ranatunga has waged an aggressive campaign, pledging to wipe out corruption in the administration.Ranatunga’s typically outspoken approach has lead to Sumathipala threatening a USD$5 million lawsuit for defamation. Sumathipala has accused him of mud-slinging. Both claim to be ready to fight for their reputations in the courts.Although Ranatunga enjoys popular support, few member clubs andassociations, who are the ones that will vote in the open ballot, havepledged their support. Even his own club, the Sinhalese Sports Club, has decided to support Sumathipala.Sumathipala is no stranger to cricket administration, and is campaigning for his third term as BCCSL president. Both terms were cut short by the government following legal wrangles after a particularly ugly election in 1999 and for allegedly violating the Sports Law in 2001. He has also served as vice-president.Sumathipala’s National Development Plan, a cohesive and ambitious blueprint for cricket development, has ensured overwhelming support amongst the clubs, who have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of long-term thinking in the last two years.Previous elections have been marred by violence, intimidation andallegations of vote buying, prompting the government to beef up security this time around. The director general for sports, Milton Amarasinghe, is responsible for conducting the election. Amarasinghe has confirmed that 20 police officials will be on hand to ensure security.The first job of the incoming president will be to secure a suitablepermanent replacement for coach Dav Whatmore, as well as a physiotherapist and fitness trainer. Sumathipala has promised a foreign coach within 30 days but no candidates have so far come forward.The financial state of the cricket board is also a serious concern. Last week the BCCSL announced a 93 million rupee (USD$940,000) loss in 2002, due primarily to the lack of inbound tours but also because of increased player salaries.But those factors pale into insignificance following a recent Singaporetribunal decision that the BCCSL is liable to pay damages to WSG Nimbusafter the premature cancellation of a multi-million dollar television deal in 2001.Aside from the legal costs and a monetary claim already awarded, whichamounts to nearly USD$1 million, WSG could press for potentially crippling damages. The new president will have to negotiate a settlement that protects Sri Lanka’s financial future.

There was good news for Nottinghamshire today when it was announced that three promising young players have pledged their immediate futures to the club.23 year-old wicket-keeper Chris Read and pace bowler Paul Franks, 22, have both signed three-year contracts while Gareth Clough, a 23 year-old medium pace bowler has signed a two-year deal.After coming through England youth teams, the England A set-up and then playing three full Tests for England in 1999 and nine one-day internationals, Read was said by some to have gone backwards in terms of career development.He answered those critics last season when he claimed 44 first-class victims as a wicket-keeper and, significantly, had his most successful season with the bat. He scored 666 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 30.27 while going past fifty on five occasions.He said: “My contract was up at the end of the season but it was not hard for me to decide to stay with Notts. I’m very happy with the way things are going at the moment. I felt I had a good year and while the results did not go as well as we would’ve liked, we have the nucleus of a very good young side. We are in the middle of a transitional period but in the very near future will have a team at Trent Bridge with the majority of players in their mid-20s that is capable of winning all sorts of trophies.”Franks has followed a similar career path to Read, in that he was vice-captain of the England Under 19 team that won the Youth World Cup in South Africa in 1997-98, went on two England A tours and then made it into the England one-day team for the NatWest Series in the summer 2000.He made a good start to last season, managing to average 54.25 with the bat and taking 13 wickets in the five first-class matches he could play before his season was prematurely ended by a persistent knee injury.Looking forward to returning to full fitness himself for 2002, he said: “With the players we have here at the moment, the next two or three years promises to be an exciting time and hopefully this new contract will enable me to play a big part in that. Injuries allowed some of the younger guys to gain valuable experience this year and I know it’s been said before but I genuinely believe we have the players to achieve anything we want to next season.”Clough played one match for his native Yorkshire in 1998 and moved to Trent Bridge in 2000 when he appeared in the 2nd XI. Last season he only played in four first-class matches, but he was chosen for most of Nottinghamshire’s one-day matches where he enjoyed a certain amount of success.Clough said: “I was very pleased with the way my first season went at Trent Bridge and am very happy with the two-year contract I’ve been offered. I would like to have played a few more Championship games and that’s what I will be aiming to do next year. It’s an exciting time at Notts, anyone in the squad can justify a place, there’s plenty of competition and it’s up to each and every one of us to stake our claim.”Last year Nottinghamshire finished seventh in Division Two of the CricInfo Championship, fifth in Division One of the Norwich Union League, lost to eventual finalists Leicestershire in the fourth round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy, but reached the semi-finals of the Benson and Hedges Cup after topping their qualifying group.

Alex Hales, Zafar Ansari and James Taylor have been named in England’s 16-man squad for the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE.Hales replaces the discarded Adam Lyth as the seventh opening batsman to be selected since Andrew Strauss’ retirement in 2012, although it is not a certainty that he will walk out alongside Alastair Cook in Abu Dhabi on October 13.Depending on how England structure their final XI in order to accommodate the extra spinner very likely required in the UAE they could open with Moeen Ali or even the uncapped Ansari who has taken 44 Championship wickets for Surrey this season with his left-arm spin.

England squads to face Pakistan

Test squad Alastair Cook (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood
One-day squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Taylor, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
T20 squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Stephen Parry, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Hales has not paid the price for a disappointing one-day series against Australia where he made 53 runs in five innings. Instead the selectors backed his Championship form for the season which had brought 886 runs at 52.11 before the current round of matches, including scores of 236 against Yorkshire and 189 against Warwickshire.Ansari made his ODI debut against Ireland, in Dublin, back in May but the match was abandoned after 18 overs and he did not feature in the remaining limited-overs squads during the season. However, he has made over 700 runs for Surrey in the Championship alongside his wicket haul and scored 99 against a Lancashire attack, which included James Anderson, on Monday.Taylor, who played two Tests against South Africa in 2012, is the other member of the squad who did not feature during the Ashes. He made his maiden international hundred in the third ODI against Australia at Old Trafford and could yet push for a spot in the middle order against Pakistan. He has made 827 runs in the Championship although 291 of them came in one innings against Sussex. He is preferred to Gary Ballance who was dropped after the second Test against Australia.”The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said. “Zafar Ansari’s potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.”Alex Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in first-class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.”The rest of the squad is as expected with Liam Plunkett taking the additional fast-bowling slot while Jonny Bairstow will contest a middle-order batting spot and act as reserve keeper.Ben Stokes, meanwhile, has been rested for the one-day series against Pakistan – he was the only England player to appear in every international at home this season against New Zealand and Australia – while Chris Jordan and Lancashire’s Stephen Parry have been recalled for the T20s. Jordan has not featured for England since being injured in the one-day series against New Zealand and Parry’s last match consisted of two overs for 23 in the World T20 game against Netherlands in Chittagong which England lost.Stuart Broad continues to be left out of the white-ball squads but Joe Root, who was rested for the limited-overs matches against Australia, returns for all formats while fast bowler Mark Wood, who has been carefully managed due to his injury history, is part of all three squads.”In line with our recent decision to rest Joe Root for the one-day series against Australia, we have opted not to include Ben Stokes in our one-day or T20 international squads,” Whitaker said”Ben has been an outstanding performer for England this summer and this decision reflects a desire to manage his workload across a busy winter period in all three formats of the game. He will come back into contention for the white-ball format when we consider the make-up of our squads for the tour of South Africa later in the year.”Also, as revealed by ESPNcricinfo, Mahela Jayawardene will join the Test squad as a batting consultant for the warm-up matches and first Test while Paul Collingwood, the former England captain, will work with the limited-overs teams on this tour and at the World T20 in India next year.Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, said: “We are delighted that Mahela and Paul will be joining the England management team, supporting our existing specialist coaches in this area. Both will bring a vast wealth of cricketing knowledge and expertise to the team, and in Mahela’s case, extensive experience of batting in the sub-continent which will be invaluable as part of our wider preparations for the UAE tour.”

First Division

Yorkshire completed a comprehensive innings-and-27-run victory against Hampshire at Headingley as the visitors were bowled out for 212 in their second innings. Only Michael Brown offered any real resistance before he fell to Ajmal Shahzad for 81. Five bowlers took two wickets each, including Matthew Hoggard who finished with eight scalps in the match to push his claims for an England recall.Lancashire and Somerset played out a quiet draw at Old Trafford after the third day’s play was abandoned. Lancashire declared on their overnight 221 for 9, but there was never any serious chance of a final-day contest. Justin Langer made 76 and Ian Blackwell (58) struck his second half-century of the match. Glen Chapple collected four wickets while Brad Hodge, in his final action before heading to the IPL, grabbed two late wickets as the match drifted to a finish.Martin van Jaarsveld guided Kent to a draw against Sussex at Hove after being left a target of 337. He and James Tredwell added 93 for the second wicket to nullify the threat from Mushtaq Ahmed, who only collected a further two wickets to add to his first-innings five-wicket haul. van Jaarsveld’s unbeaten 82 came off 148 balls as he bounced back from his golden duck on the second day. Sussex’s last three wickets had fallen for eight runs in the morning session as Azhar Mahmood finished with 5 for 30, but in the end the time lost to rain proved crucial.Steve Harmison picked up two wickets in Surrey’s second innings after Durham set them a target of 270 in 53 overs at Chester-le-Street. Bad light cut into the final session although Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher were guiding Surrey to a draw. Dale Benkenstein (63) and Phil Mustard (53) added 114 as bat dominated for a rare extended period. Saqlain Mushtaq hastened Benkenstein’s declaration by claiming 6 for 50.

Second Division

A captain’s innings from Darren Maddy, who made 130, and some valuable contributions from the lower order carried Warwickshire to a thrilling two-wicket win against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Set a stiff 383 off a minimum 82 overs, Maddy built a solid platform alongside Ian Bell (62) who stroked 11 boundaries in his 74-ball innings. For the second time in the match Bell fell to Nicky Boje, but Maddy – whose century came off 141 balls – added a further 103 with Jonathan Trott. Monty Panesar then claimed his first two wickets of the match to remove both Maddy and Trott and bring Northamptonshire back into the contest. Warwickshire kept going for the target and wickets kept falling to set up the tight finish where Ian Salisbury’s nine-ball 20 lifted his new county over the winning line. It completed a significant turnaround by Warwickshire, who were struggling to avoid the follow-on during the second day until Salisbury bailed them out with an unbeaten half-century. Despite just two wickets in the match, Salisbury has already made his mark.Mark Pettini is a young captain who is still learning the ropes, but he will be regretting the decision to leave Derbyshire an attractive target of 265 from 66 overs at Derby as the home side eased home by four wickets to hand Essex their first defeat of the season. The first sight of declaration bowling, as Essex gave up 234 runs in 31 overs, set up the final afternoon. Steve Stubbings set the innings rolling with 57 off 81 balls before a mini stumble as three wickets fell for 30. Rikki Clarke played positively for his 37, but when Chris Rogers fell for 77 the match still needed closing out. Jamie Pipe (37 off 24 balls) and Graham Wagg (25 off 18) mixed calm heads with the necessary big shots to seal a surprising result.Ed Joyce spent valuable time in the middle as he made 86 while Middlesex batted out the final day for a tame draw against Glamorgan at Lord’s in a match also effected by the weather. So early in the season it was unlikely the captains would make a game of it, so there was a sedate feel to proceedings throughout. Andrew Strauss was caught down the leg side for 49 one ball after being dropped. Joyce batted nicely until he was given out off former team-mate Jamie Dalrymple and he was clearly unhappy as he made his way slowly off the ground. David Nash (63 not out) picked off some easy runs against the spinners during the final session.The game at New Road between Worcestershire and Leicestershire also ended in stalemate. Worcestershire left a notional target of 282 in 37 overs and the game was called off after 18 overs of the chase. However, the most important aspect was that this was a return of cricket to Worcester after last year’s floods. In that sense it was apt that rain played a significant part in the game.

Boyd Rankin will miss Ireland’s quadrangular series after failing to recover from breaking his leg. It is thought that it will be early August before he is back to full fitness.But after their recent injury and unavailabilty problems, at least the 13-man squad has a more familiar look to it. Andre Botha and Dave Langford-Smith have both recovered from their ailments, and Eoin Morgan is available for all the games.Ireland will compete with West Indies, Scotland and Netherlands in the series of one-dayers.West Indies will be based in Dublin, taking on Netherlands on July 10, Scotland on July 12, and Ireland on July 14, all at Clontarf.The other games will all take place at Civil Service Cricket Ground at Stormont in Belfast, with Ireland playing Netherlands on July 11, Scotland playing Netherlands on July 13, and finally Ireland hosting Scotland in the final game of the competition on July 15.Phil Simmons, Ireland’s coach, said: “It’s good to have the guys back in the squad, and hopefully we can turn in some good performances. The West Indies game obviously will be a special occasion for me, but the importance of the Netherlands and Scotland games shouldn’t be underestimated either.”Squad Trent Johnston, (capt), Andre Botha, Kenny Carroll, Alex Cusack, Thinus Fourie, Gary Kidd, Dave Langford-Smith, Kyle McCallan, Eoin Morgan, Kevin O’ Brien, Niall O’ Brien, William Porterfield, Andrew White.