Carlton Baugh, the Jamaica wicketkeeper, replaces Denesh Ramdin in the West Indies team for the last two one-day internationals against Zimbabwe in Trinidad over the weekend. Ramdin is being rested ahead of the series against India starting May 18 in Jamaica.Baugh, 23, has played five Tests and six ODIs for West Indies. His last appearance in a one-day match was in July 2004 in the NatWest series against New Zealand at Cardiff, scoring 7 in a five-wicket defeat.But his recent performances include a series-clinching match for West Indies A against England A in March 2006. He scored 71 of 73 balls hitting four sixes, coming into bat at 50 for 5.Ian Bradshaw, the left-arm seamer is back in the team after sitting out the three ODIs played in Guyana and St Lucia. He played in the first two matches in Antigua which West Indies won easily.Sewnarine Chattergoon, the West Indies opening batsman was dropped to include Bradshaw in the team. West Indies have already won the seven-match series, leading 4-0.Brian Lara, the West Indies captain is looking for more convincing victories in the last two ODIs. “Hopefully, these matches will be the start of something to come. We have a very important series, starting next Thursday against India, and the next 200 overs of ODIs against Zimbabwe, we must execute pretty well.”I told the guys from the beginning that if we were batting second in any of the matches, we should try to achieve our target in less than 35 overs, and if we are bowling second, we should try to win the games by 100 runs.”Lara felt that West Indies had played good cricket though they had been slow in the field. “I think [Chris] Gayle and [Sewnarine] Chattergoon batted really well in that game, especially Chris who seems to be coming into some form. Others like [Ramnaresh] Sarwan, and myself, have not got a chance yet to make a big score. Hopefully, we will get big scores this weekend, and enter the ODI series against India with some confidence under our belts.”I think the guys know that we can compete and beat India because we have done it in the past in India and the West Indies, so it is just a matter of getting mentally and physically ready and getting the confidence up.”Terrence Duffin, the Zimbabwe captain said that the idea was to keep trying to do the basics and then hope for a win. Duffin feels the team, which will play World Cup qualifiers Bermuda and Canada in a triangular series in Trinidad from May 16 to May 20, will gain experience from the current series. “This series will be a big help for us and, hopefully, we can prove something there.”Squads:West IndiesBrian Lara (captain), Christopher Gayle, Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, ShivnarineChanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh Jr, Corey Collymore, FidelEdwards, Jerome Taylor, Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo and Dave Mohammed.ZimbabweTerrence Duffin (captain), Piet Rinke, Brendan Taylor, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Justice Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Elton Chigumbura, Gregory Strydom, Keith Dabengwa, Ryan Higgins, Keegan Meth, Blessing Mahwire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Prosper Utseya, Anthony Ireland

Scorecard

Rain and bad light were the only things that could stop Surrey’s openers today. Scott Newman and Jon Batty moved their side to 126 without loss when inclement weather put paid to proceedings; bottom-placed Worcestershire were delighted to go off.Newman, the man they nickname Ronaldo, showed skills every bit as silky as the footballer en route to a chanceless fifty. More than once did the left-handed Newman open his shoulders and dispatch the wayward stuff, not to mention the better stuff, too. He particularly favoured the offside and was brutal around the coverpoint area. He and Batty strolled steadily at three an over.The battle of the Battys was bossed by the batsman, Jon, who refused to succumb to any of the tantalizing stuff offered by Gareth as Worcestershire searched in vain for the sniff of a chance. Batty and Kabir Ali put the most pressure on the batsmen when they were bowling in tandem, shortly before lunch, yet all they could elicit was the odd edge which fell short – there were sniffs, but no chances.Just after the resumption Vikram Solanki turned to Zaheer Khan and Matt Mason, but again to no avail. Then rain had the final say – and, with more bad weather due to follow, this could be Worcestershire’s hope of their first draw this season.In fact, across the country it was much the same story – a good day for batsmen and good weather for ducks.In the other second division match, Michael di Venuto was well in sight of his 34th first-class hundred when rain put paid to proceedings for the day at Derby. Steve Stubbings was on course for his fifty, he had made 38 of an unbeaten opening stand of 130 as Derbyshire bossed proceedings against Leicestershire.In division one, Durham‘s Jimmy Maher was the only faller in the 37.5 overs that were possible at Trent Bridge. Paul Franks claimed the wicket for Notts, caught by Jason Gallian after Maher had made 33 in a solid opening stand of 62. His partner was John Lewis, who reached 36 not out before play was called off, with Durham 88 for 1.
Headingley was the only venue where at least two full sessions of play were possible. Lancashire piled up 417 for 9 on what is the second day of their match, before making a tea-time declaration against Yorkshire – which proved the end of the day as stumps were called early. Stuart Law joined Mal Loye as Lancashire’s second centurion, romping to 101 from 144 balls. His knock included 17 fours. Loye added 25 to his overnight score before falling for 138, Tim Bresnan’s third victim.

Scorecard

St. Vincent cantered to a five-wicket win over United States Virgin Islands and booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament. Kenroy Martin took three wickets and scored an unbeaten 21 as St. Vincent reached their target with five overs to spare.Earlier, Martin and Nixon McLean, the former West Indies fast bowler, combined to dismiss Virgin Islands for a disappointing 92, sharing six wickets between them. McLean struck early, dismissing Terrance Webbe in the second ball of the match. Most of the batsmen succumbed while attempting big hits, and Martin exploited this by varying his pace regularly. Former Leeward Islands batsman Clifford Walwyn was the top scorer for the Virgin Islands, scoring 40 off 33 balls. Virgin Islands sensed an opportunity for a win with St. Vincent at 69 for 5, but Kissinger McLean and Martin guided the team through to the target with a 27-run stand.
ScorecardBarbados got off to a good start in their first match in the Stanford 20/20 tournament, with a 38-run win over Anguilla. The Barbados attack, loaded with four internationals, never allowed the opposition to get near the required run-rate, wrapping up Anguilla for 103. Pedro Collins got the early breakthroughs and finished with three wickets for 13 runs off four overs. Barbados batted first and finished with 141 for 6, with contributions from Martin Nurse (35) and Jason Haynes (38).

Dale Steyn, the South African fast bowler, will stay back in Sri Lanka as cover for Makhaya Ntini, who looks a doubtful starter for the first match of the one-day tri-series due to a hamstring injury.Ntini pulled out midway through his sixth over in Sri Lanka’s second innings on the fourth day of the second Test and then bowled only two more overs in the rest of the innings. Steyn, originally not included in the ODI squad, was the leading wicket-taker for South Africa in the two-Test series with eight wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test. Ntini is currently seeking treatment from Shane Jabaar , the team physiotherapist.”Shane Jabaar is treating Makhaya regularly and constantly assessing his condition,” Gordon Templeton, the team’s media officer, told Supercricket. “We just have to wait and see how he responds to treatment.”The other Test specialists, Nicky Boje, Hashim Amla and Jacques Rudolph left for Johannesburg early on Wednesday while the majority of the ODI squad trained at the SSC ground in Colombo. South Africa play their first match on Monday, against Sri Lanka.

Division One

Second day
Only 15 overs were possible at Headingley on the second day between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, with the home side looking for a win to survive relegation. Play didn’t start until 13.30BST and Yorkshire quickly lost their last two wickets, with Charlie Shreck finishing with 4 for 63. Nottinghamshire moved to 21 without loss when bad light and drizzling rain forced the players off the pitch.Lancashire v Durham – no play Thursday due to rain.Warwickshire v Kent – no play Thursday due to rain.

Division Two

Third dayJames Hildreth pounded a career-best 227 on the third day at Taunton as Somerset declared on 625 for 8 against Northamptonshire. Hildreth, resuming on 119, crashed 31 fours and three sizes in his 269-ball innings. Andy Caddick clobbered 28 from 21 and Will Durston batted cautiously for his 73 before Ian Blackwell, Somerset’s captain, declared. In reply Northamptonshire raced to 78 from just 15 overs, but they still have a mountain to climb.

Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak has ruled out a return to Zimbabwe colours for next year’s World Cup because of to his contractual commitment to Warwickshire, where he is captain.”I would love to have played another World Cup,” he told Zimbabwe’s Sunday News. “However, my Warwickshire commitments start in March. I am committed to them and have no intention of jeopardising my future with the club.”Streak did not rule out playing for his country again – when he signed his contract for Warwickshire he indicated that he would be available should he be called on when he was not needed in England. But he was not contacted by Zimbabwe Cricket about his availability.”At the moment, I have not had any contact from anyone in the ZC asking me to come out of retirement,” he explained. “But I am focused on finishing my career as a county player at Warwickshire. I am enjoying my cricket without all the stress that surrounded Zimbabwe cricket the last few years. It does sadden me to see all the young players previously playing for Zimbabwe who are now playing club and county cricket in the UK.”It is criminal that a player like Tatenda Taibu has not been spoken to try to get him back into the playing arena where he is desperately needed.” Last week, Taibu, who played for Pyrford in Surrey during the summer, ruled out a comeback with Zimbabwe and made clear that he believed his future lay in South Africa.In June, shortly before the Bangladesh one-day series, Kevin Curran, Zimbabwe’s coach, visited the UK to try to persuade disaffected players to return to play. Streak said Curran never got in touch with him or other senior players such as Taibu, Ray Price and Gavin Ewing.A sign of the state of confusion still surrounding the game in Zimbabwe came when Curran admitted to the newspaper that he was unaware that Streak was potentially available and that he would be considered for the tour to Bangladesh at the end of the year.Streak admitted that he still kept one eye on cricket in Zimbabwe, and while he was clearly pleased with the recent series win over Bangladesh, he added that in his opinion the standard of cricket was not high.

Sean Ervine has transformed from an outsider to an almost regular member at Western Australia in less than a week after following his one-day selection with a spot in the Pura Cup squad for the match against Victoria on Sunday. Ervine, the former Zimbabwe allrounder who played five Tests and 42 ODIs, spent two seasons trying to get into the senior sides in Perth once he walked away from the international game.A space in the limited-overs squad for Friday’s Ford Ranger Cup game at the WACA was a reward for early-season warm-up runs and he will receive a maiden first-class cap for the Warriors if he makes the XI for the four-day fixture.Western Australia’s selectors decided on a change to the one-day outfit for Sunday’s contest, with Clint Heron winning a place ahead of the allrounder Peter Worthington. Heron, a right-handed batsman, appeared in five first-class fixtures last year and posted three half-centuries.Western Australia Pura Cup squad Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Luke Ronchi (wk), Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Clint Heron, Sean Ervine, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Aaron Heal.

This is the World Cup in everything but name.Heading into today’s first Champions Trophy semi-final between Australia and New Zealand in Mohali, it is impossible to avoid the realisation that the last two weeks of competition in India have been an overwhelming endorsement of the principle that quality, instead of quantity, invariably generates considerably more interest and excitement than a handful of hapless minnows fighting for survival among the big fish of the sporting world.This fifth edition of what is generally seen as a World Cup warm-up has not been a major crowd-puller (except when India are playing, of course), but the global television audience has lapped up an event in which every match, from the last preliminary fixture between the West Indies and Sri Lanka, is a contest between teams capable of going all the way to lift the title.Many of the matches have transpired to be one-sided affairs, and in fact there have been very few nail-biting finishes. Yet in every fixture, before a ball is bowled and often well into the match, there is the anticipation of a tense, hard-fought contest between quality, battle-hardened rivals.Take last Friday’s clash of South Africa and Pakistan for example. The match turned out to be a rout for South Africa, inspired by lethal fast bowling from Makhaya Ntini, while the Pakistanis were at their inconsistent best, dominating the early going before folding pathetically when it really mattered. The final result, victory for South Africa by 124 runs, suggested a no-contest on paper. Yet it was anything but.Even if the diehard fans of one-day international cricket have not been able to savour the run-feasts that they were anticipating, the more helpful conditions for bowlers in several of the matches have made for much more intriguing duels, where the flat-track bullies have been exposed while the quality batsmen have come to the forefront. None of the 12 group matches could have been referred to as a foregone conclusion, while today’s encounter, tomorrow’s showdown between the West Indies and South Africa in Japiur, and then the final three days later, will all have those elements of anxiety and uncertainty.The same cannot be said of the 24 group matches at next year’s World Cup.While the intention of the ICC in introducing more Associate Member nations to the big stage in the past decade is a praiseworthy one in the context of spreading the gospel, and therefore the revenue-earning potential, of the game, it does create a situation where a succession of virtual no-contests will be standard fare for the first 12 days of this event.Scanning through the fixture list for the first round from March 13 to 25, it becomes clear that – on current form – only one of the six matches in each group is expected to be both competitive and worthy of interest among fans outside of the actual competing nations. In Group A, it’s Australia versus South Africa; Group B, India against Sri Lanka (although Bangladesh may be a factor); Group C, England versus New Zealand; and Group D, West Indies against Pakistan in the World Cup opener (Zimbabwe may cause a few problems if they can get their act together in time).No disrespect is intended to the hard-working teams from Kenya, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, the Netherlands and Bermuda, but they will be coming to these parts for the exposure, the experience, plenty licks and to be the victims of a few cheap World Cup records.Yes, the Kenyans famously upset West Indies in the 1996 World Cup and reached the semi-finals of the last tournament in South Africa in 2003, but the former had much to do with complacency and an unsettled Caribbean team at the time, while the latter was due in no small measure to two of their preliminary group opponents preferring to forfeit the points after being scared-off from traveling to Nairobi to face the Kenyans because of alleged security concerns.To have such a high proportion of no-hopers among 16 teams really devalues the event as a spectacle. It almost seems a case of putting on fixtures just to give the television networks – who have paid huge sums for exclusive rights – something to cover so that the World Cup can be a six-week marathon instead of the compact, high-quality, three-week festival of the best in international cricket that a tournament of this stature should be.Comparisons will inevitably be made to the 32-nation football World Cup finals and the high proportion of teams there who really have no chance of lifting the prize. But football is a truly global sport, igniting extreme passions from fans in every country on the planet. Gone are the days when the newcomers would be the whipping boys of the favoured teams. In fact, at Germany 2006, the group phase was far more entertaining than the knockout stages because of the open, attacking football played by all the teams, big or small.Cricket has been an exclusive club for too long for the same to prevail at its World Cup, which is why the Champions Trophy has been full of interest from ball one, while next year’s Caribbean cricketing carnival will only heat up two weeks into the show at the “Super Eights” stage. In other words, when the same eight teams that were involved at the start of the Champions Trophy proper are left to fight it out for the game’s biggest limited-over prize.

The dressing room door at the Wanderers tells you that you’re now in[Highveld] Lions territory, but Rahul Dravid refused to be pessimistic orintimidated as he looked ahead to Sunday’s game against South Africa.While he said that it would be a test of character for the younger membersof his side, he was confident that there was enough experience within theranks to cope with the challenge posed by a South African team that edgedAustralia 3-2 in a one-day series last March.”There have been some good past experiences here and some not-so-goodones,” he said, when asked whether India’s poor record against SouthAfrica in these climes would have any bearing on the outcome. “It’s a goodthing for this team to be tested on this tour going into some big eventsnext year. We know it’s going to be very competitive, really tough andwe’re going to have to play very well. But the boys are keen to learn andadjust to conditions which they are not used to.”With persistent drizzle forcing them indoors on Friday and Saturday, thebatsmen geared up with long sessions against the bowling machine. VirenderSehwag, who was rated an unlikely starter 24 hours ago, came through wellon Saturday afternoon, playing a full range of strokes in the nets. “We’lljust have a final fitness test depending on his fielding,” said Dravid.”Unfortunately, due to the weather, we haven’t had a chance to have thatpractice, but we’ll see how he feels tomorrow morning.”Dale Steyn’s searing pace proved too hot to handle in the warm-up game,but Dravid reckoned that the more callow men in his squad would only havegained from the experience. “You get off the plane and come up against apretty good bowling attack on what the South Africans considered anabove-average bouncy wicket in Benoni,” he said. “But it was a goodexperience and we’ll learn from that. You can see that they’re very keento learn and adapt. In some ways, it’s a good early lesson for our boys onwhat they are going to experience and how they might have to cope.”He also brushed aside suggestions that Indians were more vulnerableagainst pace than other sides. “We have some proven players, guys who havedone very well against fast bowling and who have outstanding records inour country and outside – including getting runs here and the World Cup,”he said. “We have some good young players as well, who have to get betterand improve.”Dravid himself scored his first Test century at the Wanderers nearly 10years ago, and his memorable duel with Allan Donald in an ODI at Durban isstill remembered by many. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in South Africa,”he said. “You get good sporting wickets that give you a chance. I’vealways believed that if you have good technique, you have a much broaderrange of shots to play.”The key is to get through the initial difficult period and adjust to thebounce but after that, you can actually showcase your skill as a batsman alot better than at some other places where you have to play aone-dimensional game.”The No.3 slot has had no regular occupant for a while, with Irfan Pathandoing the job on several occasions in the recent past, but Dravid refusedto be drawn on whether he would be promoting himself up the order inbowler-friendly conditions. “We’re missing a bit of experience with Yuvraj[Singh] in the middle order, so it’s a question of getting the balanceright,” he said. “You might see me come up the order, but I’m mindful ofthe fact that we can’t be too top-heavy as well. We need someone tocontrol the middle and later overs. Probably, we’ll use [Mahendra Singh]Dhoni to do the role of Yuvraj.”Despite the fact that only four men reached double figures against Rest ofSouth Africa, Dravid was of the view that India needed to persist with thefive-bowler strategy that has often been employed in recent times. “I’msomeone who likes to play five bowlers,” he said. “Australia are usingtheir allrounder as an opener. Going ahead, we’re going to have to bebrave and positive. That’s the only way I know how to play. We’re going totake the bull by the horns. Six batsmen should do the job.”With the overcast conditions suggesting a pace-oriented attack, AnilKumble is likely to sit out though he picked up 2 for 31 in the warm-upgame. “We picked Anil keeping in mind his experience and the kind ofconditions we’re likely to face in the West Indies,” said Dravid. “It wasa chance to get him in the squad and for us to dip into his knowledge andexperience. He’s great guy to have in the side. We may have to pickbetween one of them on this tour.”Another of those on the comeback trail is Zaheer Khan, and after thesavaging that Sreesanth and Munaf Patel got at the hands of JacquesRudolph and Albie Morkel, he and Ajit Agarkar are likely to be entrustedwith the old ball on a pitch where South Africa chased down 434 not solong ago. “We’re looking at all sorts of combinations,” said Dravid.”Zaheer has bowled very well and is looking very fit and hungry. It’s agood sign for us. He also brings his experience – not only in the deathovers, which is important, but also right through the innings.”Having lost both previous matches against South Africa at this storiedvenue, Dravid and his men can only hope that it will be third time luckyon Sunday. South Africa’s pedigree on home turf means that they’ll have toplay out of their skins to do what even Australia couldn’t a few monthsago.

Shane Warne, the most successful bowler in Test history, is expected to announce today that he will retire after the final match of the Ashes series in Sydney.Apart from his world-record 699 wickets, the skill that has surged Australia to the top of the world in Tests and ODIs, and his personality that makes him almost compulsory viewing, he has revived an art that was dying when he first started to bowl. Australia’s previous big-name legspinner was Richie Benaud, who retired in the 1960s, but Warne turned history on its head.He started by receiving a thrashing in 1991-92, but he recovered and seemed to peak during the prolific years of 1993 (72 wickets) and 1994 (70), when his mesmerising powers quickly made him a global figure. Back then his nickname was Hollywood and he claimed his life was a soap opera. The show will not stop despite his expected decision in Melbourne to walk away.Amazingly, Warne was not only able to maintain his danger through career-threatening finger and shoulder injuries and a 12-month drug ban, but he was able to increase it. In 1996 he had a serious operation on his finger, the shoulder surgery in 1998 was supposed to finish him and the rest forced in 2003 by a diuretic he took to lose weight was expected to send him into the commentary box for life. Each time he came back stronger, wilier and wildly successful.In the past three calendar years he has 208 wickets, including a record 96 in 2005, and has ruined a new generation of aggressive batsmen. He did it mostly with his legspinners, topspinners and a fast-bowler’s attitude. The feared flipper, the “mystery ball” of the 1990s which did more to unnerve batsmen than any of his other qualities, was never as skiddy after the finger and shoulder operations. Instead he used variations – he could deliver five or six legspinners – and mentally tested batsmen with his accuracy, stamina and histrionics. It has been a breathtaking mix.

Over the past two Tests he has floored England in the second innings and re-captured the Ashes that his team-mates lost in 2005. With a double of 40 wickets and 249 runs, Warne did not deserve to be in the defeated side. On the field he was magnificent, but off it he was a mess, crying in his room at the break-up of his marriage. The indiscretions were as much part of Warne as his total control whenever he entered a cricket ground. It is an incredible contradiction.Warne was born in Melbourne on September 13, 1969 and wanted a career as an Australian rules footballer. Fortunately he failed and his sharp sporting mind and huge wrists concentrated on cricket. He made his debut for Victoria in 1991 and his first two overs went for 20. Later that year he was drinking with his mates at the MCG not knowing that in a week he would be appearing in his first Test. He had played only four first-class games for his state and the step up was a shock.The following summer he toured Sri Lanka, taking 3 for 11, to win a lost Test and rattled West Indies with 7 for 52 on his home ground to start a magical, eventful, controversial and never-to-be repeated ride. He passed Dennis Lillee’s Australian record of 355 in New Zealand in 2000 and took the world mark four years later in India. His best figures of 8 for 71 came against England at the Gabba in 1994-95 and he holds an unwanted record of having the most runs (3043) without scoring a century.After 143 Tests he is one away from taking his 700th victim on his home ground at the MCG from Boxing Day. In two Tests he will almost certainly be gone and Australia will have lost its second greatest player.