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A maiden first-class hundred from Tony Suji helped Kenya draw with Bermuda on the final day of the semi-final at Windhoek, to see them through to the final against Ireland on Thursday. With the Kenyans ahead on bonus points from the first innings, after reaching 403 for 6 to the Bermudian’s 346 for 9, all they had to do was avoid getting bowled out cheaply – a feat they managed comfortably.There was a glimmer of hope for Bermuda when Ryan Steede took two wickets in two balls: Kenya’s wicketkeeper Kennedy Otieno fell for a patient 63, followed by his captain, Steve Tikolo, who had scored 220 in the first innings and later won the Man-of-the-Match award.Dwayne Leverock, who bowled an incredible 51 overs in the second innings, then had Hitesh Modi caught for three to leave Kenya on 148 for 4 and in a touch of trouble. But Suji and Thomas Oboyo were resiliant, playing defensively for two hours; although they failed to score a boundary for 20 overs after lunch, their solid stand was vital for their team.Suji batted almost the entire day and taking 341 balls in compiling 103, with Oboyo also unbeaten on 74. Kenya now face Ireland in the final on Thursday.

The ruthless efficiency of the world’s best team is making them an easy target. As successfully predictable as a Delta Goodrem song, their clinical side is masking the brilliance. By playing so well and often, the spectacular has become normal over frequent examinations and what was once an A is a comfortable pass.Build a big lead through a few of the top seven, unleash the four bowlers, grind them towards collapse and don’t enforce the follow-on. The bat-first theoryhas been followed meticulously and even Stephen Fleming has fallen asleep in the dressing room.But it is not an attack of the clones that has pushed Australia to current home-and-away wins against every side except India, Bangladesh and New Zealand, who should be added any day. If their lustre clouds it is necessary to view this almost-all-conquering side in other ways. Off-beat lists and loony comparisons are a successful way of staying awake, and can be helpful remembering favourite cartoons and comics.The destructive missions of Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden are like those of Asterix and Obelix, the indomitable Gauls. Asterix is small, shrewd, ready foranything and full of intensity; Obelix is a hulking figure with superhuman strength who travels at his own pace and enjoys cooking wild animals. An incredibly successful partnership, the Gauls despise the Romans while Langer and Hayden dislike bowling. Beginning the day intent on more plunder, Langer collected his 6,000th Test run and Hayden picked up a bleeding chin from a top-edged sweep off Daniel Vettori on the way to a half-century.Ricky Ponting completes everything at full pace and his sprint across the pitch from bat-pad yesterday was classic Taz, the Tasmania devil who sees the world ina hungry spin. Yogi Bear is an old-style character to be matched with Darren Lehmann: both are swayed by picnic baskets and colourful adventures, althoughLehmann seems happy to wear pants. Usually next to Lehmann in the order, Damien Martyn is Boo Boo, the small, under-rated, but essential accomplice.

Michael Clarke, the young pup, is all excitement, has been in a hurry throughout his career and gets everybody’s attention. Already a star after six Tests,he is Pluto and shines ahead of Adam Gilchrist, the side’s clean-cut Clark Kent ready to don cape or gloves. Bugs Bunny keeps chewing after any disasterand like Shane Warne is always the show’s star. Warne spent much of the first innings asking "What’s up, Shep?" Not much was the answer.A huge presence in Asia, Michael Kaprowicz is Hong Kong Phooey as he charges in ready to strike. When Jason Gillespie pulls his helmet down he could beMarvan the Martian, and as he bowls on his home ground there are always expectations of an earth-shattering kaboom. Running through the 400-wicket wood is Glenn McGrath, a Tigger-like pest who, as Stephen Fleming discovered yesterday, pops in for regular surprises. Relief comes only when he’s gone.New Zealand currently resemble Wile E. Coyote on a tour where no plan has fully ignited and the dynamite either quickly ran out or was faulty. Australia havespent four days running them around on an Adelaide road, and the second innings will determine the remaining strength of their characters.

Richard Johnson has been given until Saturday morning to prove his fitness ahead of the NatWest Series final against South Africa at Lord’s.After his sparkling Test debut, in which he took six wickets against Zimbabwe at Durham, Johnson missed all three games of the NatWest Challenge against Pakistan with a knee injury. He returned in time for the start of the NatWest Series and has since taken seven wickets in six matches.However, he had to leave the field against South Africa at Edgbaston during England’s four-wicket win with groin stiffness, but Michael Vaughan is confident he will be fit for the final.Vaughan said: “He seems all right and has had a decent bowl this morning. But with any injury you have to wait until the next day to see how he wakes up. It will be important for us because he has been an invaluable member of the team since he has come in.””Having Richard Johnson in the side is a huge help,” added Vaughan. “If he’d been fit for the Pakistan series he’d have been batting at No. 9 and we’d have probably gone in with five bowlers then as well. He’s been a huge bonus for me as captain to have him coming in at No. 9 and obviously the way he’s bowled in the series.”If Johnson is not passed fit, England will probably choose between the wayward Steve Harmison, or the novice Kabir Ali.

Women’s cricket in New Zealand got the thumbs up from both the convener of the national selection panel Lesley Murdoch and the national coach Mike Shrimpton.The pair were speaking at the announcement of the CLEAR White Ferns team to tour India in Christchurch today.Shrimpton, who has just been on a tour around several centres in New Zealand, said he was heartened by what he saw occurring in the advance of women’s cricket.”The young players who have been selected will ably fill the gap left by the players who have retired,” he said.Shrimpton said there would be ample opportunity on the tour of India for the younger players to step up.Murdoch backgrounded each player selected for the tour and paid special tribute to the captain of the side, and the captain at last year’s CricInfo Women’s World Cup, Emily Drumm.She said New Zealand was the luckiest country in the world to have Drumm as the leader of the side.Drumm said the tour was a really exciting time for women’s cricket, it was a new era and a chance to blood new players.”They deserve the chance. India is a hard place to tour but it is important to give our players the chance to perform,” she said.What New Zealand needed from the tour was to develop a strong game plan and to perform well in India.Drumm also hinted that she might look to bowl more often herself, something she has not often done in recent years.India would be a good test for the team and while they haven’t played a lot of international cricket lately they “can really bite you if you don’t take them seriously,” she said.Murdoch also said that she was expecting Rachel Pullar to make a big move this year towards the status of a world-class all-rounder, something she believed she was well capable of achieving.And Haidee Tiffen was shaping as a player capable of stepping into the substantial shoes left by the world’s outstanding batsman Debbie Hockley.

Shane Watson could be heading back to Hampshire now that his Test career is over.Watson, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Sunday, admitted to ESPNcricinfo he had held “general discussions with the club’s chairman, Rod Bransgrove” but has yet to agree a deal.Watson enjoyed a successful stint at the club in 2004 and 2005 – he was in the side that won the C&G Trophy at Lord’s in 2005 – and has maintained a close relationship with Bransgrove. He has been linked with a return on several occasions – he actually signed for them in 2008, but did not play – but has been busy with international commitments. The news that his Test career is over would appear to have removed that obstacle.”I absolutely loved my time playing at Hampshire and I’d love to play here again,” Watson said during the ODI in Southampton last week.It is understood that Watson is being lined up to play only white ball cricket for Hampshire, with another overseas player signed for Championship cricket.Hampshire are looking to strengthen after a disappointing year in the County Championship which has left them fighting to avoid relegation from Division One. They have already announced the signing of left-arm swing bowler, Reece Topley, and are understood to be talking to South African seamers Ryan McLaren and Kyle Abbott about joining the club.McLaren, 32, who is currently at the club as an overseas player, would be a Kolpak registration, while Abbott, who played T20 cricket for Hampshire in 2014 and was a frequent visitor to the club this year during a spell at Middlesex, has made it clear he would only sign as an overseas player.”Those players are in our thoughts,” Giles White, the Hampshire coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “But nothing firm has been agreed.”

The ICC has thrown its weight behind the Indian board in the latter’s stand-off with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying the BCCI was its “only recognised body” to administer the sport in India.”We have not got any application from the ICL [for recognition] yet, but we already have a five-step process to decide on such issues,” Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said.The first four steps in the process of approving a tournament by a private body involved checks on: Whether it’s run for the development of the game or for charitable purposes; the players involved, and whether they were all contracted to their parent boards; the time and venue of the matches; and whether anti-corruption measures were put in place to run the event.The critical stage was the final one, where the applicants were asked whether the member board of the country had approved it. “If the answer is no we would not give it our recognition,” Speed said.He cited the example of a tournament planned last year in the USA, which was shot down by the ICC for not fulfilling the criteria he had mentioned.Speed also referred to what one of ICL’s talent scouts, Dean Jones, thought about the matches the ICL planned to organise. “From what I gather they are seeking to run what I can call within quotes unofficial cricket. Dean Jones was criticised in Australia for joining the ICL and his reply was that it was only glorified exhibition matches.”I have come to understand through media reports, and after talking to people in India, that what the ICL has planned is two to three weeks of Twenty20 cricket with six teams having three or four retired or retiring international cricketers and domestic cricketers.”We keep getting requests from private organisations for allowing them to organise events. ICC traditionally allows its members to run cricket. ICC does not interfere if a member board disciplines or does not discipline its players. At this stage all I can say is we have not been approached [by the ICL],” he said.Speed, however, said he would personally be extremely disappointed if Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf, who has joined the ICL, is not seen in action in the forthcoming India-Pakistan series. “Yousuf is at the peak of his career. My personal view is it will be extremely disappointing if he does not play in the series between India and Pakistan.” The Pakistan board has already decided not to consider those who join the ICL for international matches.

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.

Rahul Dravid believes England still have more to do to displace Australia as world cricket’s top nation. Dravid, in Australia to play for the World XI in three one-dayers and a Test match this month, said England had to prove themselves against other teams before they could claim to be number one.Euphoria greeted England’s 2-1 Ashes series win over Australia last month, raising hopes that they could go on to dominate world cricket. But Dravid told reporters: “To displace Australia you’ve got to really play well and play well consistently all over the world, which is what Australia have done and have rightly earned the spot to be number one.”Dravid said England had the potential to dethrone Australia at the top of the ICC rankings if they continued with its Ashes form. “They have the squad, they’ve got a really good squad at the moment and they’ve got some good young players.”It will be interesting to see how they go in the (northern) winter in the sub-continent. That will be a good test for them. They’ve done well there – last time they beat Pakistan. England have shown this summer that they have got the personnel.”Andrew Flintoff, who was man-of-the-series in the Ashes, and is also here to play for the World XI, said Australia remained the best team in the world. “Playing against the best side in the world has tested myself as well so I’m looking forward to having three more one-day internationals and another Test match against them — and hopefully a repeat performance.”He said the world squad had bonded well after only a day together. “It’s been good, a good atmosphere at training and it feels like we’ve been together slightly longer than what we have been.”Flintoff was struck while batting in the nets Saturday against Shoaib Akhtar. However, he calmed any fears about his fitness. “I got hit on the arm but it is fine. It happens. I’ve seen the physio and I’ve got a patch on the arm.”Dravid said the Super Series would give the world team “an opportunity to reinforce what England have done in the summer.” However he added: “But having said that I think Australia will be very keen to come back. A lot of the boys in that team are not used to losing so we will be sure they’ll come back very hard and really want to prove a point.”Flintoff said he expected the world team to place a strong emphasis on tactics, an approach which contributed to Australia’s Test series downfall. “It’s not just myself and Kevin [Pietersen] who have played against Australia.”Everyone else has as well and each one’s got their own experiences of what they’ve done and how they’ve done against them. I’ll be voicing what I think, probably along with the other lads.”Flintoff said England had carefully worked out a tactical program to defeat Australia in the Ashes series. “During the series we had plans for each batsman and each bowler as we faced them and I think that’s probably one of the reasons why we did so well,” he explained. “Whoever it was, we stuck to our plans and executed them well.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

England broke their 11-match run of defeats after batting first in one-dayers with an emphatic 70-run victory over India to clinch the three-match NatWest Challenge in the second game at The Oval. The platform for their win was set up by Andrew Flintoff, the Man of the Match for his stroke-filled 99, and Paul Collingwood who hit 79 not out. They shared in a record fifth-wicket stand of 174, which rescued England from a mid-innings slump. After a cautious start, the batsmen broke free to set an imposing total of 307: India’s innings fired in fits and starts, but never really got going, and despite some lower-order resistance they were eventually bowled out for 237.Flintoff came in with England wobbling after a bright start, and played himself in quietly before stamping his authority with two sixes off Virender Sehwag. Flintoff brought up his half-century with a swept four, and Collingwood wasn’t far behind: he took their vital stand past 100 by clipping Sehwag powerfully over midwicket for four, and reached his own half-century with a drive through the covers off Lakshmipathy Balaji’s slower one.Flintoff stepped up a gear in the last ten overs, straight-driving Yuvraj Singh and then smashing Balaji for an astonishing low six that was never more than three metres above the ground. He should then have been out, but Balaji put down a swirler at deep square.Balaji’s nightmare continued next over, as Flintoff carted him for another six and two more fours to move to 96. Balaji was mercifully removed from the attack – after conceding 77 in eight overs – but then Flintoff’s fine innings came to an abrupt end, just one short of what would have been his third one-day hundred of the summer (279 for 5), as Rahul Dravid made no mistake in holding a catch from a top-edged swipe off Ajit Agarkar, who proved even more expensive (6-0-60-1). Flintoff and Collingwood’s stand comfortably beat England’s previous best for the fifth wicket in ODIs – the 142 of Robin Smith and Graham Thorpe against Australia at Edgbaston in 1993.

Earlier, England made a strong start before the offspinning combination of Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh pegged them back. Marcus Trescothick and Vikram Solanki had been motoring along at almost seven an over before Sourav Ganguly switched to spin, triggering a mini-collapse in which four wickets tumbled for 34.Trescothick got going with some meaty drives through the off side, and Solanki, who reached 1000 runs in one-day cricket this season early on, played a series of excellent shots all round the wicket. Agarkar came into the attack in only the sixth over, but the boundaries continued to flow, and the fifty partnership came up from only 49 balls.Harbhajan, who missed out on the last match at Trent Bridge, was brought on after just ten overs. He made an immediate impact today, tempting Trescothick into a leg-side heave that was snapped up by Balaji (71 for 1). Harbhajan then struck again to have Michael Vaughan well caught down the leg side by Rahul Dravid (93 for 2). Sehwag came on at the other end, and England’s batsmen started to self-destruct, with Andrew Strauss top-edging a gentle catch to Ganguly to depart for just 2 (98 for 3).Solanki brought the hundred up in the 19th over, but was out shortly afterwards, just two short of what would have been a superb half-century. Mirroring Vaughan’s dismissal, Solanki was caught down the leg side, and a fourth wicket had fallen to spin (105 for 4). India seemed to have the game by the scruff of the neck – but Flintoff and Collingwood clawed their way back to set up what was, eventually, a matchwinning total.India were in trouble from the very first over, as they lost Sehwag to the third ball of the innings, lbw to Darren Gough (2 for 1). Ganguly briefly threatened with some characteristically brutal slashes past point, but he was then run out by Flintoff after a mid-pitch collision with VVS Laxman (10 for 2).Both Laxman and Mohammad Kaif went on the counter-attack, putting on 89, but the match tilted firmly back England’s way after a double strike by Ashley Giles, who was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 26. Giles kept the pace off the ball, and wasn’t afraid to keep it pitched up either. He soon reaped the rewards, as Laxman was completely undone by a flighted delivery and popped a simple catch to Collingwood at extra cover (99 for 3). Things then got worse for India, as Dravid came and went very quickly for just a single, edging Alex Wharf to Geraint Jones (102 for 4).

Kaif brought up a good half-century with a whipped two off Alex Wharf, and many Indian fans would have started harbouring hopes of a fightback to equal the one between Yuvraj and Kaif in the NatWest Series final at Lord’s in 2002, but it was not to be. Kaif fell to Giles in tame fashion, top-edging a sweep to Vaughan at short fine leg (113 for 5)Rohan Gavaskar then played over the top of a full delivery from Giles and was bowled for 13, and at 143 for 6 things were looking very dire for India. Agarkar went down fighting, crashing sixes off Giles and Vaughan, but he couldn’t stop India’s slide. Yuvraj chipped Gough straight to Vaughan at midwicket (169 for 7), and two balls later Pathan was out too, top-edging a pull after being cramped for room by a Gough bouncer (169 for 8).Gough wasn’t done there, and had Agarkar caught by Trescothick at long-off to take his tally of ODI wickets to 199 (173 for 9). The 200th evaded him, though, as Balaji and Harbhajan compiled a record tenth-wicket partnership of 64 for India before Flintoff wrapped up the innings, and a fine day in the field for himself, by bowling Balaji for 18.

English cricket needs television but television needs England to do better. In the July issue of Wisden Cricket Monthly John Stern examines the delicate business of rights, prices and programmingWhen Channel 4 said they were not showing highlights of the 2002-03 Ashes series there was sufficient viewer backlash to make them change their minds. At around the same time last autumn WCM revealed that the start time for Test cricket in England was to be brought forward to 10.45am – at the request of C4. That start time may yet get earlier.When it was clear that the World Cup would have no presence – even in highlight form – on terrestrial television, C4 received around a dozen complaints. When they went off air as scheduled at 6pm on the second day of the first Test against Zimbabwe, there was some mild discontent. Yet when C4 stayed with the cricket the following day until the finish at around 7.40pm, they received more than 100 complaints about the rescheduling of a documentary on Sir Edmund Hillary.So who calls the shots? Who wears the trousers in this increasingly important marriage between cricket and TV? Is it the broadcasters? The ECB? The players? Or the viewers?English cricket first got into bed with C4 in 1999 in a three-year deal that took Test cricket away from the BBC for the first time. This was a joint deal between C4 and Sky, who had the rights to show one Test a summer for the first time plus the increasing volume of England’s one-day cricket. This deal was made possible only by government legislation (helped by ECB lobbying) to remove Test cricket from what are termed the "crown jewels" of televised sport, which include the FA Cup final and Wimbledon tennis. These events must be shown live on free-to-air television. But the ECB felt it had a product to sell which was undervalued, hence its desire to have Test cricket removed from the A-list. It is now classified as a B-list sport of which the Independent Television Commission requires only highlights to be shown on free-to-air.On May 18, 2001 – a day the ECB described as "a great day for cricket" – a three-year extension to the deal with C4 and Sky was signed and valued at £150 million, which was a 57% increase on the original deal. Whichever broadcasters seal the next deal, it seems inconceivable they will pay anywhere near that £150 million. The collapse of ITV Digital last year indicated how over-valued sports TV rights had become. The combined revenue from broadcast rights and sponsorship made up 87% of the ECB’s gross profits in 2002.C4’s coverage of Test cricket has won many awards and is widely admired. Yet there are suggestions that C4 are losing interest in the game and may not bid for the rights again when the deal ends in 2005. Last autumn David Brook, the director of strategy and development whose passion for cricket was the driving force behind bringing Test coverage to C4, left the channel.The summer of 2001 – with an Ashes series in which England were expected to compete strongly – was supposed to bring home the bacon for C4. It did not. Viewing figures peaked at 1.9 million for the Lord’s Test against Pakistan – the first of the summer – and fell consistently below that level as England were beaten heavily by Australia."Audiences for the Ashes were very good in the circumstances," says David Kerr, C4’s head of sport. The circumstances to which he refers are the fact that England continue to be ritually flogged every time they play Australia.When England beat West Indies in a thrilling early-evening finish on the Saturday of the Lord’s Test in 2000, C4 hit a high of five million viewers. There are only so many people who will watch Test cricket on TV regardless of England’s fortunes. In the Lord’s Test against Zimbabwe C4’s audience peaked at around two million on the Saturday evening when England completed their victory. Overall the first Test brought in an average of 1.1 million viewers ("very pleasing," according to Kerr) which was not far off the numbers who watched the Ashes Tests of 2001. For C4 to justify their expenditure on cricket (around 3-4% of their overall programming budget) they need England to do better. More specifically they need England to do better against Australia.Kerr dismisses suggestions that C4 are losing interest in cricket and will not be drawn on cricket’s next TV deal which the ECB would hope to have in place by the end of the 2005 summer at the latest. "It’s far too early to speculate on that," says Kerr. "We’re concentrating on making cricket as popular as possible over the next few years."There is a suspicion that the BBC are still smarting from the loss of Test cricket to C4. Whenever C4 leave the cricket to go racing there is normally a BBC employee ready with a barbed comment in the press box. There seems to be some mythical perfection attributed to the BBC’s televised coverage of cricket. They would interrupt it for news bulletins and viewers would miss the start of the second session for Neighbours. And from mid-June onwards Test matches would jostle for position with tennis, racing and golf.The BBC declined to talk on the record to WCM about the future of cricket on TV, which might indicate a lack of interest (cricket was dismissed with one quip by Gary Lineker during the BBC’s sports review of the year last December) or it could just be that they are being deliberately cagey as part of a long-term strategy. They might be hoping that C4 lose interest and they can buy back the rights from a worried ECB at a knock-down price. Industry rumour suggests that the BBC may no longer view cricket as a viable sport for television because of the time it takes and the weather. But Mark Sibley, the ECB’s new commercial director, says: "There is a new sense of sporting value at the BBC and they seem more competitive in the way they go out and bid for sports."Test cricket is a nightmare for TV schedulers. The hours of play are uncertain as is the weather. Many purists already consider that TV exerts too much influence on the staging of cricket, yet the decision to start at 10.45am is only the tip of the iceberg. The idea was to stop C4’s cricket coverage eating into the lucrative (for advertisers) early-evening schedules containing the teen soap opera Hollyoaks and their flagship news programme. Do not be surprised if Tests in England start as early as 10am before long. C4 are also unhappy about slow over-rates which cause a day’s play to over-run. "We’re looking for improvements," says Kerr. "It is in everybody’s interests for the game to be played in a pacier way. Cricket should be as compact an experience as possible."If the BBC did show Test cricket again, they might see it as an opportunity to schedule some of it on their digital channels. The other left-field option is the possibility of Channel Five using a bid for the rights to establish a credibility – and ABC1 advertising – that has hitherto eluded them.The ECB could, if it wanted to, sell all the live rights to Sky. The penetration of cable and satellite TV has reached around 40% of UK homes. But this seems unlikely. "It is crucial to the well-being of the game for the ECB to have a terrestrial broadcast partner," says Sibley. "But we recognise the value of what Sky do for cricket and there is a certain amount of money that we do need to receive from TV rights; it is about getting the right balance." Sibley adds: "The mix might be different going forward."There may be a lesson to be learned from rugby league where fraught negotiations are ongoing for a new TV deal. In 1995 rugby league sold all its rights for domestic league and international matches to Sky. But now there is a move to bring Great Britain internationals back to the BBC in the hope that it can breed a new generation of national – rather than regional – heroes like Ellery Hanley and Shaun Edwards. The profile of rugby union’s Six Nations Championship was raised considerably when England’s matches returned to the BBC.Maybe a cut-price TV deal would not be such a bad thing. Maybe what cricket really needs is less not more television money so that the counties finally wake up and enter the real world.Click here to subscribe to Wisden Cricket Monthly

The July 2003 edition of Wisden Cricket Monthly is on sale at all good newsagents in the UK and Ireland, priced £3.25.