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ScorecardHaseeb Hameed made his first-class debut for Lancashire•Getty Images

On a day when interruptions for rain refreshed the bowlers’ energy and disturbed the batsmen’s concentration, Lancashire’s top order nevertheless made good progress in the game that could confirm their team’s promotion to Division One.Lancashire will regain their place at English cricket’s top table if they beat Glamorgan at Old Trafford and a score of 161 for 3 suggests they have done some of the groundwork. Yet while victory may be hard to obtain over the next three days – the weather forecast for Sunday might dismay the most intrepid adventurer – promotion is surely only a matter of time and its achievement will give particular pleasure to Karl Brown.Brown ended the day unbeaten on 80 and his innings was particularly praiseworthy given that he had strode out to bat on seven occasions, lunch and tea breaks included.Had one been told when the season began that either Brown or Paul Horton would be released, one could have got quite short odds on it being the former. But Old Trafford announced on Thursday that Horton would not be given a new contract and 24 hours later Brown was making his seventh half-century in 12 Championship innings.The short-term beneficiary of the decision to dispense with Horton’s sterling services was Haseeb Hameed, who marked his debut by making 28 against Glamorgan and helping Brown put on 76 for Lancashire’s first wicket.Hameed’s debut has been keenly awaited by Lancashire’s more informed supporters and he certainly looked the part during his 149-minute innings before he was trapped leg before by Graham Wagg, the left-arm seamer, cannily bowling round the wicket to exploit Hameed’s tendency to play through the on side.Alviro Petersen then added 49 in 13 overs with Brown before he was caught by Chris Cooke at short extra cover for 29 when trying to drive David Lloyd through the off side. Brown, though, continued imperturbably onwards. Having reached his fifty off 124 balls with seven fours, he was well set at tea on 60 not out, at which point 40 overs remained to be bowled in the day’s allocation.Although only twelve of those overs were sent down, there was still time for Wagg to have Ashwell Prince caught at mid-wicket for four by Will Bragg. Thus Prince and Petersen’s combined score of 33 was a mere 514 runs fewer than the pair had managed against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay last month.On that occasion even Wagg was unable to part them but the Glamorgan allrounder was the pick of his side’s attack on the first day of this game and has now taken 38 Championship wickets in 2015, this in addition to his 736 runs.Glamorgan will not win promotion to Division One in September but Wagg has still had a season to treasure.

ScorecardMichael Yardy leaves the field for the final time in first-class cricket•Getty Images

Since this match was played during the university term, the large press box at Headingley, which is situated in a complex owned by Leeds Beckett University, was being used for lectures on the final day of this game.Thus, while the mighty Yorkshire bowling attack sent Sussex’s rather stunned cricketers down to the Second Division, students sat in serried rows with the blinds firmly down in the Kilner Auditorium and listened to no doubt worthy lectures on important subjects such as thermodynamics or computer science.Quite right too, perhaps, but for the undergraduates, many of whom were keen cricket fans, it must have been frustration itself. Jack Brooks removed the top three in Sussex’s order in one of the finer new-ball spells you will see and all they could hear were muffled cheers amid the theorems. “There’s music in the names I used to know / And magic when I heard them long ago”, wrote Thomas Moult in “The Names”, a golden age poem written in the persona of a cricket-loving adult remembering his schooldays.Certainly drama students might have learned something from watching the cricket on this last day of the season. Sussex began their innings needing to bat out 92 overs for the draw or score 309 runs to win. The achievement of either goal would have prolonged their five-year stay in the First Division, but they never looked like reaching either objective. Yorkshire’s bowlers saw to that.First it was Brooks, cruising in as smoothly as a sports car from the Kirkstall Lane. First he bowled a swinging full toss at the dreadfully out-of-form Ed Joyce and the Sussex skipper inside-edged it onto his stumps; then makeshift opener Chris Jordan was leg before on the back foot for 20; and in what was only Brooks’s sixth over, Matt Machan chased a wideish ball and feathered a catch to Jonny Bairstow. Sussex were 39 for 3 in the 12th over and there was already a horrid gash below their waterline.The crowd at Headingley enjoyed it all hugely, of course, but the students in their lecture theatre, whatever they were thinking, saw none of it. “Drone on, O teacher, you can’t trouble me,” Moult’s poem continues. “If you choose to keep us here while cricket’s in the air, / You must expect our minds to wander down the roads to Leicester, Lord’s and Leeds …”And at Leeds this final morning, things got rapidly worse for Sussex as Tim Bresnan joined in the fun. He bowled Chris Nash through the gate for 17 and induced Luke Wright to drive most unwisely at a wider delivery of full length. Sussex were 63 for 5 at lunch and the writing was as clear upon the walls as the equations were on the flip-charts. When you only win one of your final 11 games, as Sussex have done, you are going to struggle; and when your seam bowlers – James Anyon, Ajmal Shahzad, Chris Jordan – are not fit for most or all of the season, while your batsmen are not in form, you are going to find it desperately hard.Hampshire may have produced a great escape worthy of Steve McQueen on his motorbike but Sussex’s relegation is hardly an enormous surprise.There was some resistance, though, and it came from Michael Yardy, who was batting for the final time in his career, and Ben Brown, who passed a thousand runs for the season during his innings of 42. The pair added 79 in 20 overs that offered some hope that a defence worthy of mythology might be mounted. Their partnership stretched deep into the afternoon, by which time a party of schoolchildren had joined the crowd, a splash of purple amid the dark anoraks and fleeces.Indeed, many spectators at Headingley probably had mixed feelings this final afternoon. They were watching their team achieve a record 11th Championship victory and win the First Division by 68 points, which is greater than the margin between runners-up Middlesex and bottom-placed Worcestershire. This is a great Yorkshire team and it must be a wonderful time to follow the White Rose.At the same time there were many who might empathise with the phrase , the evocative title chosen by the John Arlott for one of his books. For it connotes not just a physical presence but a deeper commitment. “Where’s John?” friends would ask Arlott’s mother, only to receive the answer: “Oh, he’s gone with the cricketers.” And so he was, for much of the rest of his life.And so they were at Headingley when they stood to applaud Yardy as he left first-class cricket after gloving an attempted hook to Alex Lees at first slip. There was no more touching sight than the Yorkshire team queueing up to shake the hand of the player they had just dismissed.Yardy’s dismissal by Bresnan for 41 was followed twelve balls later by that of Brown, the Sussex wicketkeeper clipping Adil Rashid straight to short leg, where Jack Leaning grabbed a brilliant catch. That left Sussex on 142 for 7 and, although the last three wickets took a shade under an hour to fall, there was now no doubt which way the river was flowing. Rashid helped himself to a couple more scalps and Adam Lyth, on his 28th birthday, had Ashar Zaidi leg before for 47.At ten past three Chris Liddle was plumb enough to Rashid and the celebrations began on the outfield even as the dull realisation sunk in among the Sussex players. Dickie Bird presented the County Championship trophy to Andrew Gale, who has now received it three times in successive games. Mark Robinson, the Sussex coach, offered dignified congratulations to both Yorkshire and Hampshire; he refused to make elaborate excuses; he is a cricket man.The supporters gathered on the outfield and watched their players begin the latest of what have already been many celebrations. And, as is often the case at this time of year, the spectators were slow to leave, reluctant, perhaps, to leave one home for another. Eventually they drifted away, though, and soon they must follow the different rhythms of autumn. But it will not be long before they are thinking of next April when there will be music in the names once again and we shall be gone with the cricketers.

1994
South Africa’s return to England was an immediate success with a thumping 356-run win at Lord’s. When Brian McMillan – who threatened with bat and ball all series – trapped Angus Fraser lbw, the South African flag was joyously waved from the balcony, and the disparity in confidence between the two teams was further widened with Mike Atherton’s “dirt in the pocket” affair which muddied South Africa’s momentous return. England bounced back, sparked by Devon Malcolm’s sensational 9 for 57 in the third Test at The Oval, inspired by receiving a nasty clang to the helmet. “You guys are history,” he famously muttered under his grille to Fanie de Villiers’ bouncer and, for one Test, they were just that.
England 1 South Africa 1 Drawn 11995-96
A long, wet and losing tour for England – their fourth in a row – and South Africa’s fast bowlers, in between the rain, revelled in the seaming conditions. After a draw at Centurion, South Africa bounced into life at Johannesburg to gain a 132-run lead in the first innings. McMillan’s second-innings 100 set England an unlikely 479 to win, but they stuttered to 167 for 4 by the close of the fourth day with Atherton unbeaten on 82. And then the remarkable happened, as Atherton played the innings of his life on the fifth day to single-handedly haul England to the most memorable of draws. Gary Kirsten dropped him on 99. Atherton was chivvied along by Jack Russell who infuriated South Africa for 274 minutes, but for all England’s euphoria, this represented their high of a tour in which they were continually chasing South Africa’s coat tails. Allan Donald, the Man of the Series, routed England in their first innings at Cape Town, before a young and very quick Shaun Pollock did the same in their second dig.
South Africa 1 England 0 Drawn 41998
English cricket couldn’t get onto the back pages of the press in 1998 even if it tried, with the football World Cup dominating society. Considering their general haplessness at Lord’s, this was probably a relief to the England chiefs, but Robert Croft inspired them to a morale-boosting draw at Old Trafford. All seemed lost when Atherton and his successor, Alec Stewart, both fell on the fifth morning, but Croft – who’d hardly taken a wicket or nudged a run all series – discovered previously unknown levels of resistance: three hours and ten minutes, in fact, and England had turned the corner. Fraser took 10 wickets at Trent Bridge and Atherton somehow staved off an increasingly apoplectic Donald, in a duel that immediately went down in cricket folklore. The momentum was with England, and Darren Gough tore into South Africa with six wickets in the final Test at Headingley. It was England’s first big series win since Australia in 1986-87, and their joy was unconfined.
England 2 South Africa 1 Drawn 2

1999-2000
There were absolutely no positives England could clutch at when South Africa reduced them to 2 for 4 in the first Test at Johannesburg, but it was arguably the making of Michael Vaughan. His two-hour 33 lifted England out of the mire, briefly, though South Africa responded to their risible 122 with 403 for 9 declared. Donald ended England’s misery with 5 for 74 in their second innings. The tourists responded with a far improved performance at Port Elizabeth, led by two wonderfully determined fifties from their captain, Nasser Hussain, whose five-hour 70 staved off South Africa’s unrelenting seamers to seal a draw. His excellent form earned him a fighting century at Durban, though he was outclassed by a magnificent 275 from Gary Kirsten in a dull draw, before South Africa wrapped up the series in the fourth Test in Cape Town. England made it a contest for much of the game, before two horrific batting collapses reminded everyone of the uphill task their new-look side faced. Hansie Cronje and Hussain enlivened the final Test that was heading towards the dullest of draws, forfeiting innings to leave England chasing 249. They squeezed home with five balls and two wickets remaining, but five months later it transpired Cronje had received 53,000 rand (around £5,000), and England’s morale-boosting win was recorded in history as the first officially recognised “fixed” Test.
South Africa 2 England 1 Drawn 22003
For the third time since readmission, South Africa were left ruing a series they should have won. At the end of the first Test England were in turmoil as Hussain resigned and Vaughan was thrust into the captaincy after a successful start with the one-day side. Hussain’s final Test in charge found England firmly on the back foot as Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs added 338 for the first wicket with Smith making a destructive 277. Rain, and an elegant century from Vaughan, helped save the game, but it was a destabilised England side that arrived at Lord’s and South Africa took full advantage. Smith rattled off his second double-century and Makhaya Ntini bagged 10 wickets in an innings-and-92-run victory. After such a hammering it was to Vaughan’s credit that England regrouped on a lively pitch at Trent Bridge with James Kirtley taking 6 for 39 on debut to level the series. The home side were quickly on top again at Headingley where Martin Bicknell was recalled after a gap of ten years, with South Africa reduced to 21 for 4 on a green seamer, but England’s batsmen went to pieces and Gary Kirsten made an outstanding 130. The subsequent 191-run defeat left Vaughan questioning the strength of the English game and his comments appeared valid when South Africa were 290 for 1 on the first day of the final Test at The Oval. Then one of the more remarkable transformations began to take shape with Marcus Trescothick hitting a memorable 219, but the real story came from Graham Thorpe, who made 124 on his recall. Still, though, England only appeared set for parity, enough to almost guarantee South Africa the series. Enter Andrew Flintoff and a breathtaking 95 and suddenly Vaughan was able to declare 120 before Bicknell and a fiery Steve Harmison whittled out South Africa for 229. The rest was easy for England, as Alec Stewart was given a victorious send-off in his final Test.
England 2 South Africa 2 Drawn 12004-05
England’s first series victory in South Africa for 40 years is often forgotten because of the Ashes triumph that followed, but this represented one of their most impressive overseas results. They carried the momentum from the previous summer (where they’d won all seven Tests) into the opening encounter in Port Elizabeth as Andrew Strauss made 126 and 94 not out in a seven-wicket win. England’s run of eight consecutive victories (and 11 in 12 Tests) was ended by bad light in Durban with South Africa eight down in their second innings. The visitors had fought back from being bowled for 139 in the first innings as Strauss and Trescothick added 273 second time around. Back-to-back Tests, though, were a tough ask especially when England had to bowl first in Cape Town. Jacques Kallis made another hundred and England were never in the match as they went down by 196 runs. However, the series turned with a dramatic match in Johannesburg as Matthew Hoggard enjoyed his finest hour. Another Strauss ton, followed by a flamboyant 180 from Trescothick, set South Africa 325 in 68 overs. Hoggard ripped into them, adding to his first-innings 5 for 144 with a career-best 7 for 61, England’s best match figures for 12 years, as they won with seven overs to spare. It was almost a one-man show as neither Harmison or Flintoff were fully fit and James Anderson had a nightmare game. As usual when England tour rain played a part at Centurion Park and took time out of the match. South Africa tested England’s nerve more than once, but an historic series success was secured.
South Africa 1 England 2 Drawn 22008
With one of the greatest innings produced in a run chase, Graeme Smith led his team to an historic series victory in England with a monumental uneaten 154 at Edgbaston. It was a captain’s innings of the highest order and brought the downfall of his opposite number, Michael Vaughan, who tearfully resigned the following day and handed the reigns to Kevin Pietersen (albeit briefly). The series had started on a much more promising note for England as Pietersen hit 152 in his first Test innings against his countrymen and Ian Bell made a career-best 199 as the home side piled up 593 for 8 at Lord’s. They managed to enforce the follow-on, but ran out of steam on another featherbed at NW8 as centuries from Smith, Neil McKenzie and Hashim Amla eased South Africa to a draw. At Headingley, Andrew Flintoff made his long-awaited comeback but it was the selection of Darren Pattinson, the Nottinghamshire swing bowler who had grown up in Australia, that was the talking point and from then on England were a dishevelled bunch. The batting collapsed twice to South Africa’s pace attack while the visitors rode on fine hundreds by Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers. Edgbaston proved a thrilling contest with Flintoff producing a fearsome spell on the second evening to haul England back into the match before Paul Collingwood, with his career hanging by a thread, produced one of the gutsiest centuries imaginable alongside Pietersen’s flamboyant 94. In the end, South Africa needed a challenging 281 and at 93 for 4 England were on track to level the series, but Smith’s epic won the day. A few days later, under their new leader, England restored pride with a consolation victory at The Oval with new captain Pietersen marking the occasion with another hundred. Over the next two weeks he would also lead the team to a crushing 4-0 one-day series success, but his fun wouldn’t last much longer.
Tests England 1 South Africa 2 Drawn 1
ODIs England 4 South Africa 0 Abandoned 1Graeme Swann lead England to an innings victory in Durban as the 2009/10 Test series was shared•PA Photos

2009/10
The tour began with a largely unexpected ODI series win for England – their first in South Africa. The abandonment of the first and last games reduced the series to a best-of-three. Paul Collingwood’s century at Centurion won the second match; AB de Villier’s ton set up the leveller in the third before James Anderson ran through the hosts in Port Elizabeth: South Africa bowled out for 119 and England took what ended up as a series-clinching victory.The Test series was characterised by England’s two last-gasp escapes. Chasing 364 to win the first Test at Centurion, England were sailing to a draw at tea. But after the interval the run out of Kevin Pietersen began a collapse against the new ball. Five wickets went down for 13 runs with Freidel de Wet, on Test debut, taking 4 for 55 and the run out of Pietersen. England needed No. 11 Graham Onions to survive 12 balls to save the match.Onions’ rearguard action was called upon again in the New Year’s Test at Cape Town – the third of the series. South Africa built up a big lead in the third innings lead by Graeme Smith’s 183, leaving England four sessions to save the game. The Test looked lost when the tourists slipped to 160 for 5 after a century opening stand but Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell took England into the last hour with a stand of 112. But both fell and England again crumbled to leave the final pair – Graeme Swann and Onions – to survive 17 balls.Between the two backs-against-the-wall draws, England won the Boxing Day Test by an innings in Durban to lead the series. Hundreds for Alastair Cook and Bell gave England a first-innings lead of 231 before Swann’s five and Stuart Broad’s four wickets shot out the hosts for 133.But given their near-misses either side of the Durban defeat South Africa finally, and perhaps deservedly, levelled the series in the final Test in Johannesburg with a thumping innings victory. England couldn’t live with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel who shared 14 wickets in the match. The Test included one of the early controversies with DRS – Graham Smith, who went on to score a century, was given not out caught behind when a clear edge could be heard on the replay; third umpire Daryll Harper didn’t have the microphone turned up so couldn’t hear the snick.
Tests South Africa 1 England 1 Drawn 2
ODIs South Africa 1 England 2 Abandoned 2

The Afro-Asia Cup will be shown on ESPN-Star after Nimbus Sports, which owned the telecast rights for the tournament, backed out of the deal, the Asian Cricket Council has confirmed.”The circumstances were such that the tournament could not be cancelled, considering that the matches were designated as official one-dayers, and we’re happy that ESPN-Star have agreed to telecast the event,” Syed Ashraful Haq, the chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council, told Cricinfo.While ESPN-Star weren’t willing to reveal financial details, it is understood the deal will be significantly lower than the original sum.Nimbus Sports, which bought the rights for three editions of the tournament, first played in 2005 in South Africa, for $12 million, cited the absence of several big stars in the Asian XI as the reason for pulling the plug. Among the names missing are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Kumar Sangakkara, Shoaib Akhtar and Lasith Malinga.”We will not be part of the event in any way,” Harish Thawani, the Nimbus chief, told PTI. “We will not be telecasting the event. Neither will we be producing nor bringing sponsorship for the matches.”It is understood that Nimbus’ decision had been prompted by the withdrawal of several top stars, as the commitment had been based on the understanding that the teams will be drawn from the best available talent.Muralitharan, Vaas and Sangakkara are currently playing county cricket with permission from the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, and Akhtar was pulled out by the Pakistan Cricket Board on the grounds that he had not regained full fitness. The last straw, according to the source, was the voluntary withdrawal of Tendulkar a couple of days ago. Dravid had not been originally picked in the XI that will be captained by Mahela Jayawardene.

Kevin Pietersen is likely to return from injury to face Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 game at The Rose Bowl on Thursday, and Paul Collingwood is also set to play despite sustaining a thigh injury during Tuesday’s ODI win over Ireland. Glen Chapple, who has an abdominal strain, will undergo a late fitness test.”It’s pretty much all right now,” Andrew Strauss said of Pietersen’s hamstring strain. “There was no point in risking him [against Ireland] but he should be OK for the Twenty20.”Collingwood too was optimistic, despite leaving the field for treatment during Ireland’s innings. “It’s a bit tender at the moment but hopefully I should be OK,” he told BBC Sport. “I could have stayed on and bowled a few more overs but it was tightening up and we thought it would be best to get it iced up. Hopefully it’s not too bad. We’ll see more when I get into running and sprinting then make a decision but I can’t see it being a problem.”While England have some international Twenty20 experience – the victory over Australia on the same ground a year ago kick-started a remarkable summer – this will be Sri Lanka’s first outing. However, they showed that they are likely to adapt quickly when they took on a PCA Masters XI at Arundel on Tuesday, thrashing the ball to all parts in making 180 for 3 off 16 overs before rain set in.A full house is expected at Southampton, with many fans arriving at 4pm to watch England’s World Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on the giant replay screens. The Twenty20 game starts at 7.15pm.

South Africa A’s decision to bowl first, prompted by the evening dew, camegood as New Zealand A batted poorly and were rolled out for 125 on agood pitch at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom. South Africa A made easy work ofthe target, sealing the match, and with it the series, in 25.2 overs.Five batsmen failed to trouble the scorers. Matthew Bell, Gareth Hopkins,Paul Wiseman, Kerry Walmsley and Jeetan Patel all made ducks, while Matthew Sinclair could only manage 5. Playing across the line cost batsmen dear, while James Franklin was left to show the others how it should have been done. Playing down the line and down the ground, he topscored with 36 not out. Richard Sherlock (15) aided Franklin in the biggest partnership of the innings -32 for the 10th wicket.There were flashes of determination from Jamie How (20), Ross Taylor (22) and Lou Vincent (16) but on the whole nothing that would have raised any eyebrows.For South Africa Charl Willoughby pocketed three wickets while Justin Kemp deceived with his slower ball and was gifted three wickets. In addition, five leg-before decisions were given and perhaps Sherlock was unlucky.Andrew Hall would be upset with himself for driving and edging outside theoff and being dismissed cheaply. Then, clinical half centuries from van Wyk andNeil McKenzie made easy work of the small target on a pitch that played as well as it looked.SuperSport Park in Centurion hosts the third and last match of the series in a day match on Sunday, October 3.

The International Cricket Council, in its firmest stand yet on the Zimbabwe cricket crisis, has set a 14-day deadline for the Zimbabwe Cricket Union to resolve its conflict with their disgruntled players, and has initiated an independent investigation into allegations of racism in selection policies. The announcements came on the last day of the ICC’s annual general meeting, during which a new vice-president was appointed, three new countries’ membership applications were accepted, and the new location of the ICC’s headquarters was discussed.The ICC has warned the ZCU that if significant progress is not made within two weeks, then Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, and Percy Sonn, the new vice-president, will decide to apply the Disputes Resolution process. Though the ZCU believes that the process has no legal jurisdiction, the ICC’s stand has been backed by its own legal team.Significantly, the ICC has also chosen to publicly acknowledge the racism factor, with Mani admitting that a large part of the dispute was race-related. “One of the most concerning aspects of this dispute has been the very serious allegations of racism that have been made,” he said. “The ICC will now proceed with the appointment of an eminent person or persons to deal with these claims and report to the Board on any findings and recommended actions. Candidates for this role have been identified and over the coming days the ICC will make the necessary approaches to finalise these arrangements. We are very mindful of the ICC’s responsibility to protect the game in Zimbabwe.”But the stick came with a carrot. Though, as expected, Zimbabwe’s participation in Test cricket remains suspended until early next year, they have been permitted to continue playing one-day internationals, as the ICC believes that Zimbabwe cricket needs all the help it can get. Mani said that by playing one-dayers, Zimbabwean players would develop the skills necessary for Tests, perhaps implying that with its current depleted side, Zimbabwe wouldn’t be dressed in whites for a while. “One-day international cricket is an important pathway in providing players with the skills and exposure to perform at the international level,” Mani said. “By providing the opportunity for Zimbabwe to continue at this level, the ICC is ensuring that cricket in Zimbabwe is given every opportunity to survive. It is important to recognise the efforts of the ZCU, which is operating in a very difficult environment. The ZCU has expanded the sport beyond its traditional narrow base, and is taking the game to 50,000 young cricketers every year.”The Indian and South African board have already planned A tours of Zimbabwe later this year, so though Zimbabwe will not be playing Test cricket, they will participate in first-class matches against near-international-standard opposition.Percy Sonn is the ICC’s new vice-presidentSonn, who was previously the president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, has been named as the ICC’s new vice-president, and will take over from Mani next year, when the presidency of the ICC moves from Pakistan to South Africa. The ICC’s presidency is passed on by rotation. Until a year ago, Australia’a Malcolm Gray was the president.Sonn served out most of his time with the South African board with distinction, barring an incident during a World Cup match last year, when he reportedly became abusive after a drink or two. He later offered an unconditional apology for his behaviour. He was also well-known for his benevolent stand on Hansie Cronje, who he publicly stated was “entitled to the freedom and liberties of all South Africans”, and there was a place for him in South African cricket.ICC’s three new membersChina, Mexico and Isle of Man have been accepted into the ICC, and are the newest affiliate members. This increases the number of ICC members to 92 countries. While ten can play Test cricket, 27 are associate members, and the other 55 are affiliate members.Pakistan has already offered assistance to China, with training and coaching facilities to prepare its national cricket team. Of late, the Chinese government has made a co-ordinated effort to make cricket a mandatory sport in certain regions of the country, and it plans to put China among the top rank of teams by 2020. China will also, in a few days’ time, become a part of the Asian Cricket Council.Decision on new headquarters delayedThe ICC has delayed a decision on shifting its headquarters to a new location because of a last-gasp move by the British government to keep it in England. Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said that India was among the contenders for the new headquarters, but the decision would have to wait for a while.”A last-minute intervention by UK Sport, on behalf of the UK government, to keep the ICC headquarters in England has forced us to defer our decision,” Speed said. “We are flattered by the Indian offer but the choice of venues is between London, Dubai or Malaysia, as the ICC does not wish to relocate to a full-member country.”Mani added that the decision would take financial benefits into consideration and that because of the late offer, the decision would take more time. “To accurately assess this information, the ICC Board opted to defer the decision on the future location of the ICC headquarters to its October meeting.”

Hard hitting Paultons all-rounder Tony Richman wrote himself into cricketing folklore when he smashed a maximum six sixes in a single over in a Holt and Haskell Border Cricket League match at Bramshaw.Bramshaw’s Jamie Terris found himself on the receiving end as Richman hit 36 runs off the 15th and last over of the Paultons innings.”We were struggling a bit at 82-7 with only six balls of the innings left, so I decided I ought to do something about it,” smiled Richman, who lives in Salisbury Road, Totton.And how he did!The first ball of Terris’s fateful final over found the middle of Richman’s bat – and landed smack in the middle of the adjoining golf fairway.Terris, no mean hitter of the ball in his prime, fired his next delivery into Richman’s legs – but the outcome was the same!”There was a short boundary on the pavilion leg side, so it was a fairly easy to flick the ball off my legs and over the wire fence,” Richman said.Ball three soared back over Terris’s head onto Bramshaw’s 344-yard 18th fairway, scattering a four-ball.”I thought for one moment I was going to hit the golfers, but they dived for cover when one of the fielders screamed ‘fore’,” he added.Richman, having taken Paultons’ score to 100, took no credit for his fourth six-hit. “It was an ugly cow shot,” he confessed.Ball five was a juicy full-toss, which Richman dumped over the fine-leg boundary.Richman confessed that it never occurred to him that he was on the brink of cricket history. “I didn’t have time to think about it,” he said. “I was just determined to hit Jamie’s sixth ball as hard and as high as I could.”And he did – over square-leg’s head for a record-equalling six which sent the Paultons total spiralling to 118-7.It put Richman’s name alongside Sir Garfield Sobers and Ravi Shastri, the two best known batsmen to have scored 36 runs off an over. “I’ve seen some black and white clips on television of Sir Garfield Sobers hitting Malcolm Nash for six 6’s in an over at Swansea in 1968, but that was a bit before my time,” said the 23-year old.Ravi Shastri matched Sobers’s feat in a Ranji Trophy match in India in 1985.Terris, meanwhile, took it all in good part. “All credit to Tony. There were some tremendous hits, but Bramshaw is an intimate ground,” he said.”The disappointing thing was that he’d skied a big hit in my previous over – and it landed just short of a fielder.”The only other local cricketer known to have hit six sixes in an over is Langley Manor’s Kevin Cresswell, who performed the feat in a Southampton Evening League match at Mansel Park five years ago.The unfortunate bowler on that occasion was Andy Ford, who currently plays Southern Electric Premier League cricket for Burridge.

Duncan Fletcher has insisted that England still have plenty to play for in the remainder of the npower Test series, despite the Ashes having been lost.The England coach is determined that the good work of the previous 18 months should not be undermined by a morale destroying 5-0 whitewash at the hands of the Australians.”It would have been important that we won the series,” Fletcher said. “If there is a whitewash, it will set us back quite a bit, I’d have to honest about that, after the good work we have done.”Fletcher believes that England could have won at Trent Bridge, but knows that the there is a narrow divide between success and failure at this level.”At one stage we had a chance when we had them seven down,” Fletcher reflected ruefully. “If we had got a couple of wickets next day, it would have been an interesting Test match, if we’d have knocked them over for 120 and got a few more runs.”We’ve got to play a higher standard of cricket. Australia have got an experienced Test side and have come through those areas before. I think 250 would have been a good target.”But echoing the words of David Graveney – the chairman of selectors, who told the BBC that wholesale team changes were not on the cards – Fletcher expressed his faith in the current side.”This side has shown it’s got pride before – they want to come back and play with a lot of a pride and try and get a victory or two out of the next two Tests.”We’ve gone though five Test series undefeated before this. The guys played well. At the end of day, and I’ve mentioned this before, we probably peaked too soon to some degree.”Selection is always a very difficult task, it not an easy job to do. You pick someone you always get criticised in hindsight. Most of the time when you pick them you are not sure how mentally strong they are when they reach that level you only find out when they play out there.”Responding to the news that Nasser Hussain is to return to competitive cricket in an Essex second XI game against Notts on Wednesday, Fletcher was at pains to credit the importance of Hussain to the team.”Nasser is very important to the England side,” Fletcher said. “He’s been with us through that successful period, we were expecting the side to perform well in the series.”Suddenly to lose him was a very big blow – he’s a shrewd captain, assesses the situation well.”And he defended some of England’s old-guard, who are the centre of speculation concerning their international futures. He hinted that both players would feature in the side for the rest of the series.”It was very difficult for an individual (Mike Atherton) who hasn’t done the job for while, even with his past experience, to come in here in a situation like this and captain against Australia,” Fletcher reasoned.”Alec Stewart has done well, kept well, played some important knocks, Atherton’s played some very important knocks for us. Not only that, they are experienced.”It’s difficult to go into a Test match without experience, and they are our two most experienced players around at the moment.”Meanwhile Michael Slater reiterated Australia’s desire to complete a 5-0 whitewash.”That’s our attitude, that’s something we have addressed over the last couple of years, because in the past we’ve been guilty of winning a series and then pulling back a bit for the last couple,” Slater said.”You could call them dead rubbers, but there’s never a dead game because there’s the pride you have to play with for you individual performance.”So we are looking to win 5-0 now. You don’t to look too far ahead, the Headingley Test is the next important one for us, but certainly our sights are set on winning 5-0.”Consistency is winning us the matches. We’ve got an amazingly talented side and we’ve got a wealth of experience now. And all that talent has been harnessed now, and we’ve got individuals who believe in their talent,” Slater continued.”Those who are out their representing your country have got to believe they are good enough to be out there. I think England need to work overtime at really believing and getting the combination right.”I think they are up against a more experienced side and a side that has been winning for a long time. And because of that belief and optimism, you are always looking at the nicer side of things and you are used to winning those key moments.”

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed the Cricket Association of Bihar’s (CAB) petition that asked for the court to hand over the final Mudgal report on corruption in IPL 2013, along with the sealed envelope containing thirteen names related to the investigation, to the Justice Lodha probe committee that is currently entrusted with the case.The two-judge bench of Justices TS Thakur and FMI Kalifulla also allowed the Lodha panel an extension till December 31 to suggest reforms to the functioning of the BCCI, a task handed to the panel by the court.The sealed envelope referred to by the CAB was the one handed over to the Supreme Court by the Mudgal committee in February 2014, which contained the names of 13 individuals and allegations of sporting fraud against them. Four of those individuals, including former BCCI president N Srinivasan, had been named by the court and the Mudgal committee was asked to continue its probe into the 13 individuals and was given greater investigative powers. Its final report was submitted in November 2014.When Nalini Chidambaram, the CAB’s legal counsel, opened her arguments, Justice Thakur questioned why her client was keen on handing over the Mudgal committee report and the sealed envelope to the Lodha panel – why could the Lodha panel not seek, if it wanted, the same? “If the Committee wants to look into it without affecting the image and reputation of some persons, it can consider it,” Justice Thakur said. “So long as no request comes from Justice Lodha Committee on record, there is no need of passing any order.”It is understood that the Lodha panel has not found it necessary to ask the court for the same as the entire investigative material of the Mudgal probe committee is available to them. All the three reports prepared by the Mudgal committee were made available to BB Mishra, the investigative officer who had been appointed to probe the allegations against IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman, one of the four names disclosed by the court along with former BCCI president N Srinivasan and the now banned pair of franchise owners – Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra.According to a BCCI official if the Lodha panel wanted, it could “requisition” the material from Vivek Priyardashni, the investigative officer who has replaced the now-retired Mishra. More importantly, the official pointed out, it was not part of the Lodha panel’s mandate to probe the names mentioned in the envelope. “It is a question of merely whether it is germane or not germane with reference to administrative reforms [which the Lodha panel has been tasked with recommending]. There is no task put to the Lodha committee to further investigate or punish any of the people in the sealed envelope,” the official said.Asked why the CAB found it necessary to file the plea, Chidambaram said her client feared all the hard work of the Mudgal probe committee could be laid to waste otherwise. “The Mudgal committee took the pains of investigating the corruption scandal and gave a sealed cover naming 13 persons, adding further investigations needed to be done [against those named]. A detailed investigation followed and a third report was submitted. But only excerpts from the third report were given to us. So we said all the time and effort of the committee has gone to waste.”Hence, Chidambaram said, the CAB wanted the third report of the Mudgal committee along with the sealed envelope be made available to the Lodha panel. It could only help them in their current exercise of suggesting BCCI reforms, the counsel said.”This is necessary since the Justice Lodha Committee has to have the benefit of the full text of the Justice Mudgal Committee report to appreciate the extent of the malaise which has set in in the game of cricket, so that while suggesting the administrative reforms for BCCI it can suggest measures to ensure that in future the reputation of the game of cricket will not be sullied by any scam.”If the full text of the third report is not given to the Justice Lodha Committee, the time and effort spent by Justice Mudgal Committee and the investigating team and the heavy expenditure incurred by the respective governments will go totally to waste,” the CAB had noted in its plea, which was filed earlier this week.