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Yorkshire are reported to have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to play for the county this summer despite his participation in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL). A PCB official, however, denied this was the case, and said the matter was between the county and the England board (ECB).It had been thought that the PCB would refuse a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in view of his ICL links, and even when Mushtaq Ahmed was granted an NOC last week, it was believed that was not relevant to Naved-ul-Hasan as he had played international cricket more recently.Naved-ul-Hasan will now have to submit his application for registration to the ECB which is unlikely to be refused if he has an NOC as the board has always maintained that the certificate was the key document in the process.But a PCB official told Cricinfo that an NOC had not been given, though he suggested it might not be needed in this case. “Rana is not contracted to the PCB anymore and he is not allowed to play domestic cricket in Pakistan either. Therefore, this is a matter for Yorkshire and the ECB to resolve among themselves now. We have not given an NOC because he is not contracted to us, nor will he play domestically.”If Naved-ul-Hasan does play, this would seem to indicate a loosening in the policy all major countries have so far adopted against players participating in the ICL, by barring them from playing elsewhere internationally or domestically.

Brad Hodge has been ruled out of Sunday’s Ford Ranger Cup match between Victoria and New South Wales at Canberra after failing to recover from a quadriceps strain. Hodge missed the Bushrangers’ FR Cup loss to Queensland on Friday but is expected to be fully fit for Victoria’s Pura Cup clash with New South Wales starting next Friday.Hodge, whose injury has come at a most inopportune time given the retirement of Damien Martyn, hoped he still had a chance to play international cricket this summer. “In terms of where [Martyn’s decision] leaves me, well, I guess you would say the door’s ajar a little more and players on the fringe have a fresh opportunity,” Hodge said in a Cricket Victoria statement. “Ultimately that’s one for the selectors to decide so all I can do is keep performing.”Ed Cowan has been recalled to the New South Wales line-up, replacing Aaron O’Brien in the 12-man squad. With Simon Katich struggling at the top of the order – he has just 18 runs from three one-day innings since returning from the Champions Trophy – the Blues have given themselves an extra opening option by including Cowan, who made 74 in his only FR Cup innings this season.O’Brien could consider himself unlucky to miss the game after scoring two half-centuries in four matches in 2006-07. He is the only player to be dropped after the side’s disappointing 24-run loss to Queensland on Wednesday.New South Wales squad Phil Jaques, Simon Katich (capt), Ed Cowan, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Dominic Thornely, David Warner, Nathan Hauritz, Jason Krejza, Nathan Bracken, Aaron Bird, Scott Coyte.Victoria squad Jon Moss, Michael Klinger, Cameron White (capt), Aiden Blizzard, David Hussey, Robert Quiney, Andrew McDonald, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Shane Harwood, Clinton McKay, Darren Pattinson, Grant Lindsay.

First came a sigh; then came the standing ovation. The moment the third umpire flashed the red light, declaring Brian Lara out for 36, he smiled. A wave of disappointment engulfed the ground – like some giant party being pooped – before Lara began his quick walk back to the pavilion. His final one-day innings at home had just been cut short, but Lara wasn’t going to moan. He was going to enjoy every moment of his walk back to the pavilion, saluting those who had watched him on his home turf.”It’s a difficult situation, knowing that I might not play ODI cricket here again,” he said when asked about his thoughts. “I’ve had a great time playing in Trinidad and Tobago. As I exited the field, Bravo took over things. He’s from Santa Cruz and probably the next one to look forward to, locally at least. I’ve enjoyed my time and the public at T&T have enjoyed me playing here. The public pay to watch cricket and at the end of it both parties usually leave saying ‘you’ve done a good job’. I must thank the public for their support through the years. I would love to play another Test match here. It may not happen in 2007. But I hope this is not the last.”Though he preferred to talk about the win, one that was achieved without a number of key players, Lara added that it wouldn’t make too much of a difference when the Test series gets underway. “What we won today has to do with one-day cricket. We won without Collymore [injured during the game], Chanderpaul, Edwards, Samuels – key players in our team. Psychologically we know they’re down but they are aware that we’re starting afresh on Friday. We now have to come up and face them full on … play competitive cricket and win the big points. You need to play well over 15 sessions. I will take nothing much from here into the Test series.”I think this is a great performance. We played the first game against Zimbabwe on April 29. I think we’ve won 10 of our last 11 games, and that’s including the last match in New Zealand. That is a very, very good run. I’m proud of the guys. But we have bigger fish to fry. We came in with confidence but this is just five days of cricket against India. We have 20 days of cricket to go. That is the ultimate test. We’re going to enjoy this but we know how important the next few weeks are.”When asked what the most satisfying part of this team’s victory was, Lara revealed that he’d been thoroughly satisfied with their planning ahead of the games. “What I’ve enjoyed and noticed about the team – I’m not going to go into details – is that 9 o’ clock meeting before practice and sometimes 6 o’ clock meeting in the afternoon is where we win the game. That’s exactly where we won the games. We discuss different things and come out of the meeting coming really, really strong and confident.”But what had gone wrong with India? Lara spoke about excessive cricket being one of the reasons but added that the main difference had been the absence of one man. “I think the West Indies team is a better one-day team than Indian team. Sachin Tendulkar will make a difference in any series. He is such a key player. He wasn’t there for the Super Series and we lost everything. He has over 300 ODIs and is the best batsman in the world.”

Ireland coach Adrian Birrell has admitted his side is “desperate” to beat United Arab Emirates in the final group match of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, the first-class tournament for the top Associate sides, which starts at Abu Dhabi on Saturday.Reflecting on Ireland’s performance in winning just one match in five in the recent World Cricket League tournament in Kenya, Birrell said: “This match is a good opportunity for us to get back on track after a difficult couple of weeks. We lost some very close matches in the World Cricket League and I don’t think we deserved to finish fifth overall.”We played better than that but sometimes your performance is not always reflected in the results. We are desperate to get something from this tour and if we beat the UAE it will be a big boost for us. Not only will it put us in the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup but it will help us psychologically as we make our final preparations for the West Indies.”Ireland are the defending champions after beating Kenya in a thrilling final in Namibia in late 2005 and they must win at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in order to pip European rivals Scotland to a place in the final against Canada.But that will be easier said than done. Trent Johnston’s side are understandably low after their losses in Kenya, especially as the failure to reach the final of the tournament for the top six Associates has cost them the chance to play in the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa later this year.Qualification would have earned the Irish Cricket Union US$250,000, boosted the side’s profile at home and abroad, and left everyone on a high ahead of the side’s first ever appearance in the World Cup in the West Indies next month. But now the players need to pick themselves up and perform against a UAE side that has already shown they can be a tough side to beat on their own turf.Last month, they came close to beating the Scots in Sharjah, and although their failure to do just that means they are playing for pride rather than a spot in the final after a previous defeat to Namibia, Emirates Cricket Board Administrator Mazhar Khan said the players would try to make full use of the Ireland game.”I know we are out of the final race but we want to carry over our good performance against Scotland into this game, although it will be difficult against a side that has recently played some tough cricket,” he said. “We would not only try to win the game (against Ireland) but would like to take it as our preparations for the next season which will be a long and tough one.”The next ICC Intercontinental Cup is likely to start for us in June and after two matches in the tournament we will head to Pakistan to take part in the Asia Cup.Ireland is the better team and we are keen to learn from anyone who is better than us. The Ireland game certainly provides us an excellent chance to develop into a more competitive team.”There are plenty of positives for Ireland to take into this must-win game, despite the recent setbacks. The batting was the main plus in Kenya as the side notched up five of the ten hundreds that were compiled in the tournament. William Porterfield led the way with two of those three-figure scores and his tally of 332 runs was bettered by just one man, player of the tournament Ashish Bagai of Canada, who made 345 runs.Ireland could boast two other players with more than 250 runs in Nairobi, Kevin O’Brien (264) and Eoin Morgan (261), and both of those also notched up hundreds, as did Jeremy Bray. So runs should not be a problem, even allowing for the absence of wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O’Brien, who is missing through suspension after an ICC Code of Conduct violation during Ireland’s match against Scotland last year.But the real issue is whether Ireland can take the 20 wickets they will almost certainly need if they are to give themselves the best chance of victory. The Ireland bowlers struggled to achieve control and penetration at vital times in Kenya and those failings may prompt some shuffling of the pack in Abu Dhabi.Tall seam bowler Boyd Rankin, also on the books of English county Derbyshire, may get the chance to show his worth while Kevin O’Brien’s left-arm wrist-spin, something he worked on during the recent ICC Winter Training Camp in South Africa, may also get an airing.One advantage some of the Ireland players have is that the venue for this match will be familiar. Five of the squad – Kenny Carroll, Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney and Rankin – played there last year in a tournament that also included sides from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, the Netherlands and the UAE.The home side has made two changes to the squad that played Scotland with right-arm medium-pacer Ali Asad, one of their leading bowlers, replaced by Wasim Bari, while offspinning allrounder Rameez Shahzad makes way for Fahad Usman. Asad is absent with a groin injury while Shahzad has been dropped after scores of 0, 10, 6 and 2 in the previous two games against Namibia and Scotland.One certainty is that under Johnston’s positive leadership, Ireland will be at full throttle to make amends for the disappointments of Kenya as the players look to put the smile back on the face of coach Birrell, who is quitting his post at the end of the World Cup. However, whether the players’ efforts will be enough against a determined UAE outfit only time will tell.Apart from Ireland and UAE, the other sides in Group A are Namibia and 2004 champions Scotland. Group B is made up of Bermuda, Canada, Kenya and the Netherlands with all matches now having been played. Canada won the group having beaten Bermuda and Kenya and although it lost to the Netherlands, it had done enough to qualify for the final.The new format of the ICC Intercontinental Cup means sides will play a minimum of three four-day matches in this tournament, increasing to seven four-day matches in 2007 and 2008 when it is hoped the event will be a full round-robin format. That compares to a minimum of just two three-day matches per year under the previous structure which, until the semi-finals, was regionally based rather than global.The ICC Intercontinental Cup began in 2004 to give the leading players from Associate sides the chance to improve by exposing them to a longer form of the game.UAE (from): Mohammad Iqbal, Arshad Ali (captain), Gayan Silva, Saqib Ali, Khurram Khan, Kashif Khan, Fahad Usman, Ahmed Nadeem, Wasim Bari, Qasim Zubair, Ahmed Raza, Naeemuddin Aslam, Ausaf Ali, Shadeep Silva.Ireland (from): Trent Johnston (captain), Kyle McCallan, Andre Botha, Peter Gillespie, Kenny Carroll, Jeremy Bray, William Porterfield, Kevin O’Brien, John Mooney, Paul Mooney, David Langford-Smith, Eoin Morgan, Andrew White, Boyd Rankin.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBJ Watling claimed his 100th dismissal and was part of all four wickets New Zealand took•AFP

Where runs had flowed and wickets tumbled as a result of New Zealand’s assertive batting approach on the first day, the cricket was played at a slower pace on the second at University Oval, but was no less intense. The change in tempo was brought about by a battle of patience between New Zealand’s attack, which moved the ball in both directions from accurate lines and lengths, and two Sri Lankan top-order batsmen determined to cut out risk. At stumps, Brendom McCullum’s team had edged ahead on the day, consolidating their advantage in the match.Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis, playing his second Test, and the debutant Udara Jayasundera early to inexperience in alien conditions, but their relatively older hands Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal – both playing their 24th Tests – had kept New Zealand wicketless in the second session. Their partnership spanned 48.5 overs but produced only 122 runs, because for large swathes of time they were given extremely few hittable balls. Sri Lanka had only 17 fours in the day – New Zealand had that many in their first 23 overs – and though Chandimal finished unbeaten on 83, the fall of Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews in the final session left the lower order with a lot to do.That Karunaratne got as far as 84 was because of a little luck and a lot of skill in the morning. In the first over of the innings, he left his bat raised while ducking a bouncer from Trent Boult, the ball pinging off the periscope over the wicketkeeper’s head. In the third, he edged consecutive outswingers but crucially played with soft hands so the catches did not carry to first slip.Mendis, however, did not use soft hands and a delivery from Boult slanted away from the right-hander and took the edge through to BJ Watling, who collected his 100th dismissal and the first of four catches in the innings.Tim Southee tested Karunaratne with two consecutive yorkers that hooped into the left-hander and homed in on his boot. Karunaratne inside-edged the first on to his pad, and blocked out the second confidently. Jayasundera also got a similar delivery as his first ball in Test cricket and survived.Jayasundera scored his first run by tucking Boult off his pads, but did not make another. He had watched Karunaratne slash a wide ball from Neil Wagner over the slips for four, but when he reached out to cut, he only managed a toe end to Watling.Boult’s first spell read 6-2-16-1 and Southee’s 5-1-6-0. That pressure was maintained by Doug Bracewell, who conceded only five runs in four overs before lunch.The scoring stayed slow after the break, the difference being the growing assuredness of Sri Lanka’s batsmen. Runs came via compact punches, dabs and crisp flicks off the pads – nothing extravagant. Karunaratne played the pull confidently, getting on top of the bounce and rolling his wrists to keep the ball down. With the ball not doing much for the seamers, McCullum brought on Mitchell Santner in the 30th over and the left-arm spinner was economical as well, conceding only 12 runs in his first ten overs. Sri Lanka made only 24 runs in the first hour after lunch.After 80 deliveries of restraint, Chandimal attacked, charging Santner and aiming a heave down the ground. The outside edge flew over slip. Two balls later he cut Santner for his first boundary. Karunaratne began to score more freely towards tea, thumping consecutive half-volleys from Wagner to the long-on and straight boundaries, and glancing a rare poor ball from Bracewell off his pads as well. The slight loosening of New Zealand’s purse strings was reward for diligent batting.Wagner was the weak link in the New Zealand attack, and in the first hour of the final session his economy was touching five an over while the innings run rate was around two. He bowled too full and was driven often by Karunaratne and Chandimal through the off side and down the ground. With his seamers ineffective despite the ball showing a tendency to reverse – Boult’s pace was down between 125-130kph – McCullum gave it to Santner.The wicket came against the run of play, when Karunaratne went back to cut a rather cut-able ball but edged it to Watling. Sri Lanka were still trailing by 280 but their captain took only two runs off that deficit: Angelo Mathews was caught down the leg side off Southee, the not-out decision on the field overturned by the faintest of Hot-Spots.Chandimal had got to his 50 off 143 deliveries with three boundaries, but he was less conservative in the final session, striking six more fours after raising his half-century. For company, he had the last specialist batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage, whose hard but airborne drive had been put down by Kane Williamson at short cover.Sri Lanka were 234 runs behind with six wickets in hand at the end of the day, and they will have to face the danger of a ball that is only an over old on the third morning.

Colombo woke up to another soggy morning and no play was possible in the second one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka.Wet conditions, owing to heavy overnight rains, delayed the start before a bout of showers, close to 1pm, ruined the chances of play altogether. With large sections of the outfield still muddy, the umpires decided to conduct a final inspection at 3pm but the fresh rain meant they could call off the day’s play much earlier.The umpires called off play at 1:30pm and, with a similar forecast for tomorrow, the second game could end up being a washout as well. Only 3.4 overs of play was possible in the first game and even the reserve day was washed out. With South Africa already pulling out of the tournament and the weather gods refusing to relent, India’s season couldn’t have got off to a more inauspicious start.

Mashrafe Mortaza has conceded that Bangladesh’s effort was scratchy, but said that his side will draw confidence from sealing their second-highest chase in T20s. Despite some hiccups, Bangladesh reached the target of 164 in 18.4 overs, after having overhauled West Indies’ 164 in the World T20 in 2007.”We were not up to the mark,” Mashrafe said. “We had that early run-out [of Soumya Sarkar] and if Mushfiqur [Rahim] or Sabbir [Rahman] didn’t get out at those points, we could have finished it in 17-18 overs. But good thing was that we didn’t panic at any stage, which we used to do in the past.”It is helpful to play in such wickets though I thought it was a scratchy performance. I think chasing this big total will give us more confidence. It is one of our biggest successful chases in T20s so the win is quite a relief. It wasn’t easy chasing 165 so I hope we can hold on to this effort.”Mashrafe was also pleased with the performances of Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman. They shared four wickets and gave away only 10 runs in the last two overs of the first innings. Zimbabwe were given a strong platform for a final push by a 101-run opening partnership between Hamilton Masakadza and Vusi Sibanda, but Al-Amin and Mustafizur pegged the visitors back.”Al-Amin was our best T20 bowler before his action was reported,” Mashrafe said. He is one of our best death bowlers. I have been saying that Mustafizur is unplayable. I think we have good balance at the death with Shakib and myself also there.”Mashrafe also said that he made a mistake by not using debutant Shuvagata Hom in the middle overs. Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman bowled four overs during that period while conceding 36 runs. Shuvagata was then sent into bat at No.4, ahead of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, but managed only six runs.”He is playing as a bowling allrounder. I could have brought him on instead of Mahmudullah or Sabbir. I sent him to bat at No 4 because I wanted to see him bat in these situations,” Mashrafe said.

The final ODI between Pakistan and South Africa has been shifted to Lahore from Karachi following security concerns raised by the tourists.”The fifth ODI will now be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on 29th October,” read a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “The venue was changed on the request of the South African team management.”On the request of the PCB, the South African team management sent one of their security officers to Karachi yesterday who held meetings with various offices of the government of Sindh. Despite all assurances given to the security officer, he felt that playing in Karachi was not feasible for the moment.”South Africa avoided playing in Karachi on their previous tour in 2003, but played a warm-up game and a Test this time, staying in the city for over ten days. But the twin suicide bombs targeted at Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, that killed 140 people and injured hundreds more last Thursday made the situation uncomfortable for South Africa.Logan Naidoo, the South African manager, said, “We deeply regret this decision especially for the people of Karachi for having deprived them of this opportunity but unfortunately the members of the South African contingent are not comfortable traveling to Karachi. After consulting with Cricket South Africa back home, we would like the venue to be shifted to some other city.”Naidoo added that this does not rule Karachi out as a venue for future tours. “We have already played two matches in Karachi during the current tour and hope to play there on our next tour as well.”The decision is a significant one for the status of Karachi as a venue with Australia due to tour the country in March next year for the first time in a decade. The city has only recently started hosting international matches again; following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, a number of tours to Pakistan were cancelled. When cricket eventually returned, visiting teams avoided Karachi in particular.But India’s decision to play an ODI at the venue on their ground-breaking 2004 tour gradually signaled a return to the international fold. Since then India and the West Indies have played Tests there, while England played an ODI in 2005.The PCB expressed its disappointment at the decision and reiterated that Karachi was safe to hold any international event.

Percy Sonn, the president of the ICC, has died in Cape Town at the age of 57. He suffered complications following a routine operation on his colon last Monday..Sonn’s predecessor as ICC president, Ehsan Mani, led his tributes: “As a cricket administrator and a man, Percy Sonn was a giant. In all the circles in which he moved, he commanded a huge amount of respect and that was never more obvious than when he was in an ICC board meeting. Percy never spoke for the sake of it but when he did speak people listened. He was one of the most intelligent men I have ever met and cricket will be much the poorer for his passing.”Sonn, the former president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB), succeeded Mani at the helm of the ICC in June 2006, and immediately announced his intentions to be a “hands-off” president. This declaration was borne out by his low profile during the World Cup; after delivering his speech at the opening ceremony in Jamaica, he returned to South Africa for several weeks of the 47-day tournament, although that decision may have been attributable to his ill-health.The last time Sonn was seen in public was at the final of the World Cup in Barbados last month, when he was one of several dignitaries to be booed as they walked onto the podium following the farcical finish to the match. However Ricky Ponting, who received the trophy from Sonn as captain of the victorious Australian team, said: “I will always associate Percy with one of the happiest moments of my career.”Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, said: “Percy was never afraid to speak his mind but his great skill, especially in meetings where discord was possible, was to do so in such a way that he got everyone together and pulling in the same direction. Percy was utterly committed to the game at all levels and his mantras were that the game had to be inclusive rather than exclusive and that it had to be played the right way, to be true to the Spirit of Cricket.”Sonn’s career in the game’s administration began while he was still a teenager in South Africa, in the midst of the Apartheid regime. He emerged as a leading administrator when he served as vice-president to Hassan Howa at the Western Province Cricket Board, for nine years from 1974, taking over the role of President of the Board from 1990 to 1992. He served as a vice-president of the South African Cricket Board before the UCBSA was formed, played a crucial role in the unity process in 1991.Ray Mali, president of the South African board, said Sonn’s legacy in South Africa would be a strong sport with role models from all sections of society. “This is a terrible shock and a devastating piece of news as I have lost a close personal friend,” added Mali. “I know Percy was so proud to represent South Africa and the whole continent of Africa as the ICC’s first president from this part of the world and he filled the role with great dignity and strength.”Percy was a great administrator who played a key role in the integration process the game underwent in South Africa either side of the end of Apartheid,” added Mali. “Percy never saw problems, just challenges, and usually he rose to those challenges, never more so than when he helped resolve the problems that existed within the administration of Kenyan cricket in the early years of this decade.”Sonn’s career in cricket administration was often tinged with controversy. In January 2002, as president of the UCBSA, he caused a public rumpus by overruling the selection of Jacques Rudolph for the New Year Test against Australia, opting instead for Rudolph’s black room-mate, Justin Ontong. And at Paarl during the 2003 World Cup, he caused a major embarrassment due to his well-documented fondness for a drink.Away from cricket, Sonn experienced a hugely varied career. Educated at Belgravia Senior Secondary school and the University of the Western Cape, he obtained a Law degree in 1972 and acted as a senior counsel during the match-fixing controversies in 2000. He also worked as an Attorney and an Advocate, served as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and a legal advisor to the South African Police Service (SAPS).Sonn also formed and then headed the Directorate of Special Operations in South Africa, the organisation known as the Scorpions, which went after the perpetrators of serious economic offences, organized crime and drug trafficking. Latterly he was the CEO of a forensic investigation company.He is survived by his wife Sandra, and three children.

Paul Collingwood is determined that England put their Ashes nightmare behind them as they prepare for another packed summer of internationals against India and, in a week-and-a-half, West Indies.”Our Test form in the last four or five years has been good,” Collingwood told BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek on Sunday. “Obviously the 5-0 defeat to the Aussies was a huge disappointment but in general the form has been good and we want to get back to those winning ways.”England haven’t won a Test since last summer when they beat Pakistan 3-0. Then, as now, Michael Vaughan was injured with Andrew Strauss replacing him at the helm.”It’s bad timing again,” Collingwood said. “I feel so sorry for Michael after so much hard work getting fit with his knee, then he gets a bit of bad luck.”It would have been ideal for Peter Moores to start with Vaughany but that sort of thing happens in sport. Straussy is the favourite [to deputise]; he’s done it before last year against Pakistan in place of Andrew Flintoff.”And for the first time in eight years, England has a new coach in Peter Moores. “I haven’t come across him too much.” Collingwood said, “but we met up at Loughborough last Monday. I thought he spoke very well, is well prepared, very confident and very ambitious which is important.”England face the West Indies for the first Test of the summer at Lord’s on May 17.