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Rahul Dravid came to England intent upon doing justice to his role as one of Scotland’s overseas professionals, which was evident in his visible disappointment when he was out for 25 in his first game in the National Cricket League, against Hampshire. He made a first-ball duck in a tour game against Pakistan, but then unleashed a majestic 120 not out against Somerset. Scotland still lost that match, a scenario which was repeated a few days later against Nottinghamshire, when Dravid’s 129 not out wasn’t enough to earn them an upset victory. Dravid remained in sublime form, but the quality of his team-mates meant that his back was against the wall throughout the season.
Scotland averagesAugust 28 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Sussex by 1 wicketDravid’s superb season with Scotland ended in disappointment, as Scotland batted first and Dravid made just 1. His fellow overseas pro, Jon Kent, also failed to reach double figures, and Scotland ended up with 191 in their 31 overs. Sussex won by the Duckworth-Lewis method after rain stopped play, though they were precariously placed at that stage, with just one wicket in hand and 19 runs to get.
Scorecard ReportAugust 26 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Northamptonshire by 8 wicketsDravid made 24 off 45 as Scotland batted first and were skittled out for 119. Northamptonshire got there easily, for the loss of just two wickets.
ScorecardAugust 6 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Northamptonshire by 75 runsDravid scored a magnificent 114 – his third century of the season – but, like his two previous hundreds, this one was in a losing cause as well, as Northamptonshire triumphed by 75 runs. Dravid knock was laced with eight fours and a six, and came off just 102 balls, but with little support from the rest of the batsmen, the target of 320 was way beyond Scotland’s reach.
Scorecard ReportAugust 4 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Hampshire by 7 wicketsJust the previous day Dravid and Jon Kent had won Scotland a game, and here again they added 103 runs to lift Scotland to 225 for 5 in their 45 overs. Dravid made 81 off 99 balls, with eight fours. John Crawley’s 83 not out won Hampshire the match, but Scotland’s overseas pros had, once again, gained them some respect..
Scorecard ReportAugust 3 National Cricket League
Scotland beat Sussex by 6 wicketsA magnificent victory for Scotland, fashioned by its overseas pros, Dravid and Jon Kent. Chasing 270, Scotland added 57 for the first wicket, before three wickets fell without the addition of a run. Dravid and Kent then added 167 runs before Dravid was out for an efficient 69, off 79 balls, with seven fours. Kent stayed unbeaten with 115 as Scotland won by six wickets.
Scorecard ReportJuly 9 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Lancashire by 10 wicketsScotland sank to yet another defeat, with Dravid making a bright 26 off 30 balls before being caught behind off fast bowler John Wood, who took 4 for 22 as Scotland laboured to 168 in their allotted 39 overs. Lancashire got there with ten overs, and as many wickets, to spare.
Scorecard ReportJuly 7 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Durham by 114 runsShoiab Akhtar blew Scotland apart with four early wickets after Durham made 267. Dravid evaded Shoaib’s menace, but made only 5, the fifth man out with Scotland’s score on just six. Scotland’s lower order salvaged some pride by taking the score to 153, but all in all, it was an awful outing for both Dravid and Scotland.
ScorecardJuly 6 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Nottinghamshire by four wicketsDravid played a sublime innings of 129 not out, but like his previous century for Scotland, this too went in vain. Coming to the crease at 7 for 2, Dravid paced his innings masterfully as wickets fell around him. At 40 for 4, Scotland were in dire straits, but Dravid, hitting 14 fours and four sixes, counter-attacked magnificently on a wicket that offered generous assistance to the fast bowlers. Scotland finished on 222 for 7 in their 45 overs, and were in the hunt for a while, until Chris Cairns took the game away for Nottinghamshire with an unbeaten 65.
Scorecard ReportJune 17 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Middlesex by 112 runsMiddlesex made 255 and Scotland was never in the game, slipping to 36 for 5. Dravid was lbw to Ashley Noffke for 6. None of Scotland’s top five made it to double figures.
Scorecard ReportJune 15 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Somerset by 1 wicketDravid made a magnificent 120 not out off 97 balls to take Scotland to a commanding 296 for 4 in their allotted 45 overs. The quality of their bowling was appalling though, and Somerset overhauled the target with five balls and one wicket to spare. Dravid’s innings was magnificently paced: his first fifty came off 57 balls, his next fifty off 34, and he reached his hundred with a six. In all, Dravid hit 10 fours and three sixes.Scorecard ReportJune 7 Tour match
Scotland lost to Pakistan by 1 wicketDravid made a first-ball duck – caught behind of Shabbir Ahmed, as Scotland, asked to bat after Pakistan won the toss, made 169. Pakistan made a meal of the chase, eventually squeaking through by just one wicket.
Scorecard ReportJune 1 National Cricket League
Scotland lost to Hampshire by 7 wicketsDravid seemed upset with himself when he was out for 25, off 41 balls, and with good reason. With his dismissal, Scotland could make no more than 201 in their 45 overs, which was not enough to hold off Hampshire. Robin Smith made 82 not out as Hampshire won with two overs to spare.
Scorecard Report

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, needs a further three weeks to recover fully from the ankle injury that curtailed his tour to India. It also means that he faces a race against time to be fit for Pakistan’s next assignment, an ODI series against Zimbabwe, which begins from January 26.Malik missed the final two Tests against India recently after injuring his ankle during a post-Test warm-up and now begins an injury rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy.”Doctors have removed the plaster from Shoaib Malik’s ankle today and have advised him to undergo a rehabilitation programme for the next three weeks,” Ahsan Malik, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman, told .Malik will be working with Sohail Saleem, the PCB’s chief medical officer, and trainer Abdul Saboor. “He (Malik) is feeling much better and is confident of regaining full match fitness ahead of the series against Zimbabwe,” Ahsan said.Another vital player, Mohammad Asif, also begins his comeback from the elbow injury that has nagged him over the last year. Asif underwent surgery in Australia earlier this month to rectify the problem and is now hoping to recover in time for the home series against Australia to be held in March-April.”Asif will work at the NCA according to plan prepared for him by David Dwyer (the Pakistan team trainer),” said Ahsan. He added that Asif will undergo physical training sessions for several weeks before he even begins to bowl. Fellow fast bowler Umar Gul has also recovered from his back problem and will start bowling in the nets at the NCA from January 1.

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Uttar Pradesh shot Bengal out for 149 within the first two sessions at Eden Gardens and then their batsmen proceeded to knock off those runs in a hurry. Bengal, who opted to bat, had a 40-run opening stand before twin strikes from the Kumars – Bhuvneshvar, the debutant, and Praveen. The big wicket of Manoj Tiwary followed soon as Bengal found themselves down at 43 for 3. Wickets fell regularly after that and only a 39-run ninth-wicket stand between Saurasish Lahiri and Ranadeb Bose took them past 100. Praveen, Bhuvneshwar and Piyush Chawla took three wickets each. They didn’t even require the services of Praveen Gupta, the specialist left-arm spinner.Rohit Prakash and Tanmay Srivastava gave UP a brisk start, which was taken forward by Suresh Raina at the fall of Srivastava’s wicket on 30. By the time Rohit fell for 58, just before stumps, UP were only 28 behind Bengal’s total. Raina, who batted at a furious pace, was unbeaten on 55 off 67 deliveries.
ScorecardS Badrinath scored his third century of the season and M Vijay his second, as Tamil Nadu took the Rajasthan attack apart to finish day one in Chennai at 302 for 3. Badrinath joined Vijay after Abhinav Mukund was dismissed in the second over, and by the time they were separated, TN were at 242. Rajasthan, without Pankaj Singh and Mohammad Aslam in this match, suffered while the two made merry.Badrinath fell for 138, while Vijay was unbeaten on 112. Badrinath has now moved on to No. 2 on the run-getters’ list in this year’s Ranji Trophy, and Vijay follows him at No. 6.
ScorecardAmol Muzumdar missed a century and Ashok Thakur stretched his lead at the top of the Super League wicket-takers’ list as Mumbai squandered a good start, and then came back with lower-order partnerships to finish the first day in Dharamsala at 324 for 9. After Ajinkya Rahane and Vinit Indulkar took them to 82 for 1, Mumbai lost both of them at the same score. Muzumdar then scored a majority of the runs, as wickets kept fell consistently at the other end.When Muzumdar fell for 90, Mumbai were 254 for 7, after which they lost two wickets and added 70 more runs by stumps. Vinayak Samant, who ended the day unbeaten on 31, added 55 for the ninth wicket with Iqbal Abdullah. Thakur, the left-arm medium-pacer, took 4 for 99.
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Sandeep Jobanputra and Ravindra Jadeja ran through the Maharashtra batting order to give Saurashtra the perfect start at Nagothane. After having skittled Maharashtra for 136, Saurashtra recovered from early strikes from Samad Fallah to end the day at 73 for 2.Maharashtra’s opening woes continued as Jobanputra took out Vishant More in the third over. This was followed by the wicket of Hrishikesh Kanitkar four overs later, and Maharashtra never recovered from the early blows. Sairaj Bahutule’s 46 down the order took them to 136. Jobanputra and Jadeja took four wickets each.Fallah, Maharashtra’s left-arm medium-pacer, gave them a good start with two early wickets, but Sitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara ensured Saurashtra ended the day right on top. Fallah bowled eight overs, and took two wickets for 7 runs.
ScorecardAndhra played out a solid day at Visakhapatnam as they scored 214 for 4 against Baroda. LNP Reddy and Y Gnaneshwara Rao scored half-centuries to keep the Baroda bowlers at bay. Gnaneshwara Rao was unbeaten at stumps, while Reddy was run out for 67 in the 55th over. Baroda were without Irfan Pathan and struggled to take wickets, but they managed to keep the scoring-rate down.

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Halhadar Das, Orissa’s wicketkeeper, scored his maiden first-class century as Orissa – reduced to 50 for 4 – finished the first day against Punjab in Mohali at 273 for 8. It was Rashmi Parida initially who stopped the rot with a 72-run fifth-wicket partnership with Pininti Jayachandra. Parida and Halhadar added 68 for the seventh wicket. Parida scored 52, and Halhadar fell to what turned out to be the last ball of the day to 17-year-old debutant Siddarth Kaul. Kaul took 4 for 58.Delhi 337 for 2 (Kohli 154*, Dhawan 148) v Karnataka
Scorecard Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli feasted upon a weak Karnataka bowling attack to put up 266 runs for the second wicket, as Delhi amassed 337 for 2 on the first day in Bangalore. Dhawan fell just short of 150, while Kohli, replacing Virender Sehwag, remained unbeaten on 154 at stumps. Both of them have scored a century each earlier in this season.Dhawan hit 24 boundaries in his brisk 148, which was scored at a strike-rate of 70.14. Kohli was more sedate, with 154 off 292 deliveries. The two had come together after the early fall of Aakash Chopra, who scored 6.

Kenya have only brought in one new face for their series of three one-day matches against an Australian Academy side at Nairobi Gymkhana starting today.Rakheb Patel, a 17 year-old allrounder, was drafted into the 14-man squad after good performances in the Nairobi league. But three of those who were in the side for the recent Bangladesh series – Brijal Patel, Jimmy Kamande and Timothy Muange – were dropped.Also returning are Alfred Luseno, probably Kenya’s fastest bowler, who has missed recent matches because of a shoulder injury, and Nehemiah Odhiambo and Kalpesh Patel.Kenya’s selectors will be watching the top-order performances particularly as it is those that caused so much trouble in recent matches.The second and third matches take place at the same venue at the weekend.

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As the top two in each group go through, as well the best two runners-up, Worcestershire are virtually guaranteed their spot in the quarter-finals having won three out of four matches in the Midlands/Wales/West group. However, they will be wary of Glamorgan, who still have two matches to play, the second of which is against Worcestershire in what is likely be a top-of-the-table clash. Warwickshire, last year’s finalists, are currently second, and their last match against fourth-placed Gloucestershire could decide who takes one of those runner-up spots. Somerset and Northants, with only one win each, will have to wait another year.The North group is still wide open, with five of the six sides still mathematically able to make it through. Leicestershire, who made it to the semis last year, head the pack with six points, and a win at Derby tomorrow will take them through. Lancashire face Notts at Old Trafford in their last game, which will probably determine who else automatically qualifies with Leicestershire. Yorkshire, currently bottom with only two points, need wins against Lancashire on Wednesday and Durham on Thursday if they are to have any chance. Durham, though, are dead and buried after their defeat to third-placed Derbyshire yesterday.Surrey may be struggling in the Championship and the National League, but the Twenty20 Cup remains their speciality. They have made a faultless start in the defence of their trophy, and head the South group by two points without having lost a game. While they are already through, the race for second is between Essex, Kent and Hampshire. Essex, who benefited from their washout with Surrey with a point, currently lie second, and victory against Sussex – the only side in the tournament without a win at all – will rubber-stamp their position. However, if Sussex can at last find the winning formula, then the Kent v Hampshire clash at the Rose Bowl will be a shootout for the other qualifying place.Unfortunately for Middlesex fans, and the ECB, tomorrow’s first Twenty20 match at Lord’s will almost certainly be irrelevant as far as the table is concerned. Middlesex, one place off the bottom, will need a miracle to qualify. The game has been looked forward to – and sold out – for months, but Middlesex will need Essex to lose, Kent and Hampshire to tie, and then beat Surrey convincingly to go through on run rate. In other words, it’s as likely as a veteran MCC member joining in the Mexican Wave as Lance Klusener mows another six over the Mound Stand.The draw for next week’s quarter-finals takes place this Friday, with the finals day at Edgbaston on August 7.2004 Twenty20 Cup highlights
Andrew Symonds hit the first hundred of this year’s tournament, stunning Middlesex with a 43-ball 112 that included 18 fours and three sixes as Kent had no trouble chasing the Middlesex total of 155 at Maidstone, reaching the target in just 13.1 overs.Surrey equalled the tournament’s highest score when they amassed 221 for 8 against Sussex at Hove. James Kirtley bore the brunt of a blitz by Ally Brown (45) and Mark Ramprakash (46), going for 63 in his four overs. In the face of such a daunting target, Sussex, in keeping with their dismal domestic form, collapsed to 121 all out, with Adam Hollioake taking 4 for 14 in three overs.Brad Hogg may not have been in great bowling form earlier in the season, but he was Warwickshire’s matchwinner with the ball in their first game, against Somerset at Edgbaston. Hogg’s remarkable spell of 3.5 overs for just nine runs – and four wickets – set up a seven-wicket win. Hogg then took 4 for 30 with his mesmerising mix of slow left-arm spin and Chinamen against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens to set up another victory, and has so far taken 12 wickets in the tournament at an average of only 6.66. Only Adam Hollioake has taken as many wickets.Worcestershire are top of their group largely thanks to the efforts of two players – Graeme Hick and Andy Bichel. Hick proved he isn’t a spent force with 72 off 53 balls against Gloucestershire, and 116 not out off only 65 balls against Northants. He is currently the leading runscorer in this year’s Twenty20 Cup, with 195 at an average of 65 – 17 ahead of Darren Maddy of Leicestershire. Bichel, meanwhile, is currently at the top of the batting averages, with 154 runs – he has only been out once – and has also taken six wickets.Darren Maddy has been in excellent form in this year’s competition. He smashed 51 from 27 balls against Lancashire in Leicestershire’s first match, had a rare failure against Durham, scoring a duck as Leics lost by 41 runs, but came back in some style with 111 off 60 balls against Yorkshire, the fourth Twenty20 hundred of the season. He is the second highest run-scorer so far, with 178 at an average of 44.5.

Mark Butcher may have been overlooked by England in their squad for the Champions Trophy, but he has proved to be a revelation in the 20-over format, scoring 53 off 38 balls against Hampshire, and 60 off 40 against Kent as Surrey won again. Adam Hollioake, his Surrey team-mate, took 5 for 34 in that match – the first five-wicket haul of the summer.Scott Brant took 4 for 20 to set up Essex’s second win, against Kent at Maidstone. Brant took the vital wickets of possibly the tournament’s most formidable opening pair – Shahid Afridi and Andrew Symonds.Dispelling thoughts that the entire competition would be dominated by batsmen, Durham’s Neil Killeen and Gareth Breese combined to send Leicestershire crashing to defeat at Grace Road. Killeen took 4 for 7 in four overs, one of which was a rare maiden, and Breese chipped in with 4 for 14.Nottinghamshire’s game against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge produced two remarkable innings, as Matthew Wood and Mark Ealham both narrowly missed out on centuries. After Notts won the toss and sent Yorkshire in, Wood cracked an unbeaten 96 off 62 balls as Yorkshire scored 207. But he was then outshone by Ealham, who hit nine sixes on his way to 91 in only 35 balls to help Notts scrape home by three wickets with one delivery to spare.In a low-scoring match at Hove, Dimitri Mascarenhas destroyed Sussex, taking 5 for 14 in 3.5 overs, including a hat-trick, as Sussex were bowled out for 67 in just under 15 overs. Hampshire didn’t do much better in reply, stumbling to victory in 19 overs as Kirtley and Robin Martin-Jenkins bowled their tally of eight overs for a total of 15 runs, picking up three wickets between them.

Sussex were in trouble at the end of the second day closing at 112 forfive in reply to Glamorgan’s mammoth first innings total of 718 forthree declared. Sussex made a poor start losing their first wicketsinside the first five overs for 11 runs. There was a brief revivalwith a stand of 66 between Chris Adams and Richard Montgomerie (23)before the latter was out caught behind by Maynard of Dean Cosker.Sussex lost a further two wickets when Robert Croft took a brilliantcatch at first slip to dismiss Will House and Robin Martin-Jenkinsfell to a reckless hook shot. But Adams, playing a lone hand, made ahalf century for Sussex and remained unbeaten on 55 at close of play.Earlier Glamorgan’s Steve James made an unbeaten 309, the first triplehundred by a Glamorgan batsman and erased the 61-year-old record heldby Emrys Davies (287) against Gloucestershire at Newport in 1939. Histriple century was made of 440 balls in 602 minutes which included 41hits to the fence. His lone chance was on 285. There were a fewmilestones during the course of the innings. First, James helped theWelsh county to post a record total of 718 – the county’s highest inthe championship since they were admitted in 1921. And when Jamescompleted his 200, he also became the first batsman to score fivedouble hundreds for the county.James shared a few partnerships during the course of his unbeateninnings of character and concentration. He shared a record firstwicket partnership of 374 with Mathew Elliot (177), then a secondwicket partnership of 123 with Mike Powell (64), a stand of 134 withMathew Maynard (67, three 4s, five 6s) for the third wicket andfinally an unbeaten 87-run partnership with Dale for the fourthwicket.At the end of the day, talking to the media, a relaxed and satisfiedJames said “It was a great honour to pass the best Glamorgan scoreever made. I did not think about it when I continued my innings thismorning. I treated every ball on its merits and did not think aboutthe milestones because the next ball could have got me.”James added “I was only tense when I reached 287 (set by the lateDavies) and was pleased to get that single to pass his score. But thenI never thought too much about reaching 300 until it came along. I nowfeel very tired but very relieved.”

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In a well-contested game, more of sentimental significance than anything else, the Indians scored 254 for 6 and beat the Prime Minister’s XI by one run in a thrilling encounter in Canberra. Hemang Badani scored a century while no other Indian topped 33, and Cade Brown, captain of the Australian Capital Territory, liked what he saw of the Indian bowlers and struck 80 runs.Steve Waugh led the PM XI on to the field, and Shaun Tait and Damien Wright opened the bowling against Sanjay Bangar and Parthiv Patel. After providing his team a solid start, Patel (19) fell to Cleary (36 for 1). A 60-run partnership ensued, and Bangar chose to knuckle down, while Badani rotated the strike, unafraid to attempt the big hits. After scoring a slow-poke 33, Bangar was dismissed, and in came Rohan Gavaskar. A while later, he was on his way back for 26, the first of McDonald’s three wickets. But with figures of 3 for 70 in nine overs at the end of the innings, it’s not clear who the victim was.Both Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid got off to starts, but fell before reaching 20, and Ajit Agarkar’s limp with the bat extended to exhibition matches as well, as he fell for 5 (230 for 8). Meanwhile, Badani kept his end up, and got partnerships going with the top order; 54 with Gavaskar, and 42 with Dravid.Badani upped the rate towards the end as he rushed towards his century. His innings ended on the very last ball of the innings, giving McDonald his third wicket.The PM XI began briskly, as the openers scored at over five an over. Amit Bhandari, bowling for the first time on tour, dismissed Matthew Bradley for 12 (38 for 1). Ashish Nehra then had David Hussey caught behind, and the score read 59 for 2. But that brought Brown to the wicket, and with Marcus North, he put on 84 in quick time. After scoring 74 with seven boundaries, North was taken out by Bangar, who was given an extended run by Dravid.Then, like so many times during his last series, all eyes turned yet again to the man striding out. Steve Waugh hit one boundary and got out for seven. Christopher Hartley, with a century in his only first-class innings, came out to bat, and nearly took the game away from India. Scampering for runs, he partnered Brown and hit four boundaries, and the two put on 38. But just as victory was around the corner, Nehra struck again, ridding Brown for 80 (213 for 5).With 42 runs needed off 33 balls and a new man at the crease, the task seemed more daunting than ever. But Hartley kept going at the ever-shrinking target, until the last over came about, and eight runs were required. Bhandari conceded only six, and claimed McDonald’s wicket, leaving Hartley stranded on 45 off 43, as the Indians held on to victory by the slender thread of a single run.

Makhaya Ntini and Mfuneko Ngam became the first African players to receive one of South African cricket’s highest awards on Monday when they were named among five 2001 Cricketers of the Year.Ntini and Ngam were joined by Shaun Pollock, Neil McKenzie and Nicky Boje as the personal choices of Colin Bryden, editor of the Mutual and Federal South African Cricket Annual.The significance of the honour bestowed upon Ntini and Ngam is unmistakable. Just 10 years after South African cricket finally unified after more than a century during which it had been split along racial lines, African players have begun to make an impact on the game on the field. There is clearly no tokenism about their selections, despite the fact that Ngam has played in just three Test matches and has still to recover from shoulder and leg injuries which kept him out of South Africa’s tour of the West Indies this year.Simply put, Ngam is the most exciting fast bowling talent to emerge in South Africa since Allan Donald and the sense of anticipation ahead of his Test debut against New Zealand at the Wanderers last summer did not recognise the colour of his skin.It was perhaps fitting that the guest speaker at the dinner on Monday at which the awards were announced was Jimmy Adams, the former West Indian captain now playing for Free State. Adams made the point that as a youngster growing up in Jamaica, he simply did not believe it was possible to play cricket with and against South Africans. In a delicious twist of irony, Adams made his Test debut against South Africa in Barbardos in 1992.For Ntini, the award is recognition of the impressive role he played in last summer’s Test matches, bowling long spells at considerable pace to take 23 wickets in six Test matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. His consistency provided an ideal foil behind striking power of Donald, Pollock, Ngam and Jacques Kallis and his stamina was almost exhausting to behold.Boje is honoured for a remarkable year which started during South Africa’s 2000 tour of India where he established himself as the country’s first choice Test and One-Day spinner as well as an all-rounder of genuine quality. Ironically, injury opened the door for Claude Henderson to stake a claim and Boje faces competition as he seeks to make his way back.McKenzie, meanwhile, grew in stature after a nervous start to his Test career and he has now pinned down a middle order place so firmly that that he has become an automatic choice. Well-liked, McKenzie may well be a future South African captain.Pollock, finally, is recognised for the extraordinary manner with which he led the side after Hansie Cronje was forced to step down. He matured as a batsman last summer to confirm himself as one of the game’s leading all-rounders. This was his third award and probably his most deserved.

The Sri Lankan cricket board announced on Monday that coach Dav Whatmore’s contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of May.Whatmore, a Sri Lankan-born Australian who guided the team to their 1996World Cup victory, will remain as coach for the Sharjah Cup.”The reason is that Mr Whatmore has been with Sri Lanka cricket since 1995and the interim committee felt there should be a change after such a longassociation,” Tennekoon said.”He obviously has done a wonderful job in his tenure, being successful in handling the 1996 World Cup winning side. And in this tournament (2003 World Cup), he did well to take us (Sri Lanka) to the semi final.Whatmore was appointed for a second term as coach after Sri Lanka’sdisappointing performance in the 1999 World Cup in England.Speaking to Wisden CricInfo from Colombo, Whatmore said: “I havethoroughly enjoyed working with this Sri Lanka team during the past fouryears.”Whatmore has promised to make a public statement after the Sharjah Cup.The national team’s long-time physiotherapist, Alex Kontouri, will also be replaced next month, Tennekoon said.

Zimbabwe’s outcast white cricketers, with nowhere to play and big legal bills to pay, are considering staging a rebel tour of social matches across the UK.Discussions have only just begun, but if the tour goes ahead the 15 players currently at odds with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union would play a series of matches against teams such as the wealthy village side Lashings."There are quite a few logistics to sort out," the batsman Grant Flower told The Age newspaper. "But it is a possibility because the guys have got some good marketability in England at the moment."Heath Streak, the exiled former captain, looms as the man most likely to lead the proposed travelling outfit. "I’ve obviously got to make a living," he said."If there’s no resolution to this whole thing then I’ve got to look at making the best of the years I’ve got left in cricket and capitalising so I can get myself into a stable financial position to support my family … I’ve lost a lot of income out of not playing."Apart from the loss of wages, the players’ agent Clive Field estimates their legal bills at around 50 million Zimbabwean dollars. He said funding the players’ ongoing legal skirmish with the ZCU was a prime motivation behind the proposed tour, which was still "very much at the drawing board stage".Hypothetically, if the 15 rebels were accompanied by fellow Zimbabwean exiles Andy Flower, Murray Goodwin, Neil Johnson and Henry Olonga they could field a reasonably formidable outfit.The cricketing futures of most of the 15 are at this stage unclear. Streak is playing for Warwickshire, Sean Ervine has moved to Western Australia and Andy Blignaut has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Shane Watson at Tasmania. For the rest, any kind of tour – official or unofficial, rebel or otherwise – might seem a particularly tantalising prospect.