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When West Indies chased 291 with ease and won the fifth one-dayer by five wickets to take a 3-2 lead in this seven-match series, there was a sense of déjà vu that was unmistakable. After winning the toss and sticking India in, the visitors watched in dismay as a breezy start was followed by a period of consolidation and a mini collapse. When their turn came, the men from the Caribbean followed almost the same formula, but with better results. Thank Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds for that.There’s a theory doing the rounds that teams with weak bowling attacks and strong batting line-ups can easily get by if they keep batting second. There’s nothing in this series that has gone against that supposition. Both teams have powerful batting line-ups that can seemingly chase any score, and neither team would back their bowlers to defend a target that demanded that the opposition score at less than six runs an over.When faced with 291 to win from 48 overs, with the each innings being reduced to that figure thanks to heavy dew on the outfield early in the morning, the West Indian openers waded into the bowlers. Javagal Srinath came in for stick, being hammered for his lack of pace. Debutant medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji did worse, being decimated in a three-over spell that went for 35 runs.The West Indies were off to a flyer. As if that were not enough, Sourav Ganguly’s bowling options looked absurdly limited in the face of the two-sided scoring rhythm the openers set. Gayle threw every bit of his powerful frame at anything as much an inch outside the off stump while his partner plundered runs through the on side.When the first wicket did come, it was too late, and thanks more to an indiscreet shot than a clever piece of bowling. On 80 (61 balls, 10 fours, 5 sixes) Hinds’ top-edged sweep only found Ganguly behind the stumps off the bowling of Sehwag. By this time, West Indies were 132-1 in the 17th over.The fall of Hinds’ wicket, followed quickly by Marlon Samuels’ fatal nudge to slip, spurred Gayle on to put his head down and grind the opposition for runs. Batting with panache, Gayle gave no chances, building a partnership of 83 for the third wicket with Ramnaresh Sarwan (34) before the latter gave Murali Kartik his first one-day wicket as he edged to slip.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was run out in the customary one mix-up per gameand then a piece of cruel umpiring made sure that West Indies lost threewickets in space of 21 runs. After hitting Harbhajan Singh straight outof the ground with the kind of power you see in baseball rather thancricket, Gayle attempted a more delicate cut shot. Although he missedthe ball by some distance, a fact corroborated by Rahul Dravid not evenappealing, umpire Asoka de Silva upheld Harbhajan’s polite inquiry. Gayle’s 101 (107 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) had, though, taken West Indies to 239 and within striking distance of victory.Ricardo Powell, with a few lusty strokes chalked up an unbeaten 30 (26balls, 2 fours, 1 six) while skipper Carl Hooper helped himself to arun-a-ball 21 as West Indies sprinted to victory with seven balls tospare.Earlier, India nurtured hopes of posting a 300-plus score as openers Sehwag and Ganguly got them off to a flyer. Sehwag, in particular, threatened to improve on his usual frenetic pace slamming 52 off just 39 balls with the help of nine boundaries and a six. When he fell with the score on 88 though, it was up to Ganguly to take on the role of wrecker-in-chief. The Indian captain (53) looked up to the task and notched up the 50th half-century of his prolific limted overs career before being bowled attempting to cut a straight one from Hooper.VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid propped up the middle-order with a partnership that brought some sanity to the proceedings. While Dravid looked to innovate, even unfurling the reverse sweep, Laxman was content to use conventional methods to keep the scoreboard ticking over.Although he made a sensible 36-ball 33, Dravid fell at a crucial moment, hitting Samuels to Gayle.The middle order stuttered ever so slightly and this was enough for thevisitors to ensure that their eventual target was merely challenging, rather than daunting. Mohammad Kaif (4) and Yuvraj Singh (15) were sent packing before they could stamp their authority on the game and it took a late slog from Sanjay Bangar (27 in 21 balls) to ensure that India posted 290 from 48 overs.But as has been the case repeatedly this series, that was simply insufficient to keep the dashers from the Caribbean at bay.

After the dramatic scenes in Moscow on Wednesday night there will be only one sporting occasion being talked about in the days to come, even on the cricket side of Old Trafford. Manchester United and Chelsea couldn’t be split until sudden-death penalties, but 500 yards down the road from where the Champions League trophy will sit, another contest is about to begin between two other sides who are also neck-to-neck, albeit involving far less tension and a little less financial value.The atmosphere over the next five days won’t come near to matching Luzhniki Stadium or, for that matter, Manchester city centre. Not even a Kevin Pietersen classic, or the high-fiving celebrations of Monty Panesar, will register on the same level, although Michael Vaughan would gladly take a dose of both.England need to kick-start their summer if they are to back-up Vaughan’s belief that this team are more advanced that the Ashes-winning unit was the summer before their success in 2005. Even taking into account the disruptive nature of the weather, their performance at Lord’s didn’t include much of the high-octane, initiative-seizing cricket that became a hallmark of their game from early 2004 for that golden 18-month period.If any ground is likely to inspire them it is Old Trafford. They have won three of the last four Tests here (the other being the thrilling draw against Australia). “It’s probably the best cricket wicket in the country,” Vaughan said. “We feel very comfortable here as a team, the wicket is always a very good one. It usually has plenty of pace and offers a lot for Monty Panesar as well.”With the captain having found form, the batting pressure shifts to Paul Collingwood who is having a dire early season and has now gone 10 Tests without a century. England’s line-up is still failing to deliver as a unit. Their second-innings performance in Napier bought them some time, but not much. The last occasion they reached 400 in the first innings was the same Test as Collingwood’s last century, against West Indies at Chester-le-Street last June. Everyone knows the top six all average over 40, yet as a collective their output over the last 18 months has only been heading one way and the feeling persists they don’t feel pressure for their places.”I certainly don’t think it’s cosy,” said Vaughan. “I don’t think anyone’s place is guaranteed. I’ve been involved in an England team a few years ago that was consistent in who we picked for a long period and that achieved great results. As much as we want those 400 scores, it’s about winning as a team. They feel very comfortable in each other’s company.”Going into the Sunday [at Lord’s] we knew we had to get 400-450 to put New Zealand under pressure on that last day,” he said. “We lost wickets and changed the way we went about our game. They are all good players, you talk about form all the time but I fully expect all the guys this week to go in on a good wicket and get a score. We are still better than the form we have shown over the last year.”I think this wicket is a perfect opportunity for us to get those first-innings runs. We are all playing well at times, but not as a collective unit. The most important thing is winning games of cricket and to do that you have to get 400 on the board consistently. That’s our aim throughout the summer, both against New Zealand and later South Africa.”If anything, it was New Zealand who ended with their noses in front at Lord’s after Jacob Oram’s final-day century and Brendon McCullum’s insistence that he would come back out to bat after that crunching blow on his forearm from Stuart Broad. England may have thought they’d knocked the stuffing out of McCullum and scored a psychological point, but this New Zealand side are giving as good as they get.However, England’s short-pitched attack on McCullum was a clear policy and if the Old Trafford pitch lives up to its pacey reputation then all the New Zealanders can expect to be hovering on the back foot. “We don’t come across too many fast and bouncy wickets around the world these days,” said Daniel Vettori.”Even Perth has lost some of its reputation so it will be a new experience for us, but I suppose for a lot of our new guys every situation is a new experience to adapt to. I played here in 1999 and would probably have called it a low, slow turner so it’s going to be completely different. As in any situation it’s about which teams adapts the best.”When Pakistan played here in 2006 they prepared by using a marble slab to try and replicate the wicket conditions. They promptly folded inside three days, being bowled out for 119 and 222. New Zealand haven’t opted for any special preparation, although Vettori did say the batting coach, Mark O’Neill, has used his experience of being brought up in Perth.”A lot of the new guys have talked about it with him,” said Vettori. “But some of the time bowlers get carried away with the extra pace and bounce so it’s almost them who have to adapt more. That’s what we’ll be stressing, that it’s the same lengths on a bouncy wicket as it was at Lord’s.”Vaughan, though, was more into laying down the challenge to his quick bowlers, making the point that they will have to bend their backs to get rewards. “Pace is crucial,” he said. “You know you have to bowl with a decent amount of gas and if you do that you will create opportunities with both conventional and reverse swing.”I am excited about the young seam attack, but they will have to be at top pace to get rewards at Old Trafford. As a bowler you can see the ball carry, but you have to be up there with your pace in every spell you bowl. If you trundle out here and bowl at 80-81mph you can see yourself going around the park.”Vaughan added he liked the “chin music” that Old Trafford Tests can produce and New Zealand won’t mind if expectations remain low despite their performance at Lord’s. After the victory in Hamilton the players didn’t appear quite so comfortable when being talked-up thereafter, and key moments were lost during the last two Tests. However, there may come a time when even the New Zealanders might have to admit they are a bit better than they think, and if that happens, England will realise they aren’t as good as they believe they are.

What a difference a competitive team makes!While the TelstraClear Black Caps and White Ferns have achieved a much greater level of competitiveness on the field, the administration have been backing their efforts.New Zealand Cricket (NZC) achieved a $3,088,236 turnaround last summer to end their financial year with a surplus of $1,347,265, after grants and distributions to associations had been completed.Its net operating surplus was $6,987,873 according to the annual report released over the weekend.The volume of business cricket’s administrative body now does was obvious from the $3,599,446 increase in its total operating revenue which now stands at $22,777,215.Significant areas of cost to NZC were in its administration and marketing which was up by $1,103,918 and in coaching and development which increased by $120,633 to $2,104,760.These were offset by costs involving international teams being down by $2,187,427 from $8,597,185.Grants and distributions to Associations were up by $851,119 to $5,190,608 while special grants to Associations were $1,347,265.Also on the way up are player participation numbers, although this was partly due to a change in the method of census. In order to fall in with Australian practice, players who take part in business house and social league games were also included.However, the greatest area of growth was in the junior playing numbers. These increased by 7092 to 69,748.Adult playing numbers increased by 4172 to 24,819 while male adult numbers increased by 3893 to 23,250 which means 94,000 people participate in cricket.The emphasis on marketing was reflected in the results achieved. The season was described as a “landmark season” in the annual report.Attendances at the National Bank One-Day International games this year were up 18% on expectation and nearly 100,000 watched the five-match series against England.This resulted in a six-year high in average attendances at ODIs.The highlight was the sell-out crowd achieved at Eden Park for the fourth match in the series.The touring England team also had an effect in the three-Test National Bank series with 62,000 people watching. This figure was boosted by English touring groups.The game’s popularity with the public continued to rise steadily. The National Business Review Sports’ Survey reported that interest in cricket was at its highest level since the survey began in 1993, with 70%.The hunt is still on for better conditions for participants below the international level.NZC acknowledged that pitch standards had improved at the highest levels but there was much work to be done at lower levels.”The consistency of pitches for the first-class men’s and women’s game and Provincial ‘A’ is still not at a satisfactory level. This is a target area for NZC, along with the need for an increase in the number, quality and consistency of practice facilities nationwide.”At club and junior level it has become clear that the use of artificial surfaces must become a greater part of the game.”Many sports have gone through the transition from natural turf to artificial surfaces and cricket needs to realise the advantages of good artificial surfaces at many levels of the game.”The more consistent pace and bounce of these surfaces will provide a much better learning environment for young cricketers than the rather inconsistent and low bouncing turf facilities provided to many of these grades,” the report said.An area of concern highlighted in the report is the problem being suffered in the recruitment and retention of umpires.Over the last two years the number of umpires officiating has dropped by 10% in each year.”Development of a strategy to recruit and retain umpires is a key task for the coming year. A key strand of that strategy will include providing encouragement and enticement to former first-class players to take up an officiating role,” the report said.The report is available online at nzcricket.co.nz.

If you are already suffering withdrawal symptoms because the first class cricket season has ended then Rob Turner has got just the right activity for you on Friday evening this week.Reunite yourself with a large number of Somerset supporters who will be gathering together at the County Ground for the `End of Season Dinner’ which is being held on Friday as part of Rob Turner’s Benefit Year.The popular wicket-keeper batsman has received good support for most of the events that he has promoted this year so far, but would be delighted to hear from anybody else who would like to go along for what promises to be another most enjoyable cricketing occasion.Proceedings get underway at 7.30 for 8 pm, and the guest speaker for the evening is James Graham-Brown the former Kent and Derbyshire fast bowler. Tickets are priced at £25 each and are still available from Mary Elworthy who can be contacted on 01823 400679.Earlier in the day Rob took a break from a windswept Weston super Mare Golf Club where he was in the middle of a Golf Day to tell me: "I’ve been very pleased with the way that people have supported my benefit year so far. It’s been hard work, but we are getting there."The next big event for Rob’s Benefit Year will take placeon October 10th at the Institute of Electrical Engineers in London when a musical concert by `Cantabile’ will be followed by a dinner. Details of this and all other events for this year can be obtained by contacting Doreen Barnes 01455 230489.

During a wet round of County Championship matches, in which three matches ended in draws, the South Africans playing in England succeeded in making some good contributions to their various teams. A turn around in form saw most of them failing during the weekends Norwich Union limited overs matches.Hampshire held out for a draw against Somerset with Neil Johnson 35 and Nic Pothas 22 helping Hampshire to a first innings lead. Johnson taking 3/22 in the Somerset innings. A collapse by Hampshire in the second innings, bowled out for 98, Johnson score two and Pothas a duck, saw them hold out for a draw with Johnson taking 3/36.Warwickshire had a good win against high riding Leicestershire with Shawn Pollock and Neil Carter once again in the wickets. Pollock taking 3/36 and Carter 2/60 in the first innings and 3/23 and 1/30 respectively in the second. Pollock followed up his 11 runs in the first innings scoring a valuable 65. Cater only batted in the first innings scoring 12.Mark Davis was on the winning side as Sussex beat Yorkshire scoring 22 but unable to get any wickets.In another rain affected drawn match between Worcestershire and Durham Allan Donald showed that he still a long way away from his sell-by-date taking 5/77 with the ball and scoring five not out with the bat.A waterlogged pitch on day one of the Middlesex and Glamorgan match made sure the match was always going to end in a draw. Sven Koenig however continued his season’s form scoring 86 for Middlesex.A second innings collapse by Nottinghamshire helped Derby to a four wicket win. Nicky Boje 84, Kevin Pieterson 34 and Greg Smith three not out in the first innings and 10, 14 and 27 respectively in the second was not enough to secure a win. Boje with 2/83 and 3/28, Smith 0/59 and 2/24, and Pieterson 0/25 and 1/32 had to be content with the four wicket loss. For derby Andrew Gait scored 52 and 20.The Norwich Union matches saw only four of the South Africans getting into double figures and only two bowlers taking any wickets.Gait, Donald, Johnson, and Smith all unable to score a run while Koenig got one and Boje five. Of the rest Pollock scored 15, Carter 17, Pieterson 19 and Pothas 27.Donald, Johnson, Boje, Pieterson and Carter failed to get a wicket between them while Smith took 2/53 and Pollock 3/20.

His grandfather, Sir Leonard, might have been an opening batsman of legendary proportions, but 25-year-old Ben Hutton made a name for himself with the ball at Shenley as the Sri Lankans suffered at the hands of the Middlesex attack. After getting off to a good start, the tourists were bowled out for 186 as Hutton returned career-best figures of four for 37 off 16 overs.Marvan Atapattu scored 19 of the 22 that were on the board after just three overs, while it took just three-quarters of an hour for the 50 to be posted. Atapattu went on to score 46 from 58 balls while opening partner Sanath Jayasuria was even more savage against the county bowlers with an innings of 52 from 62 balls including seven fours and two sixes.However, when the opening partnership was broken with the total on 81, there was little more resistance to what was not the most potent attack Middlesex could field. With the first Test at Lord’s starting on Thursday, the Sri Lankans would have liked their frontline batsmen to have had much longer at the crease and not succumbed to the medium pace of Hutton, whose father Richard played for England as an all-rounder.Having been bowled out cheaply, however, the Sri Lankan bowlers then hit back. There were two wickets for Charitha Fernando and one for Ruchira Perera as Middlesex slumped to 45 for three.England hopeful Owais Shah halted the slide as he and Irishman Ed Joyce put on a century partnership for the fourth wicket. Shah scored 65 before falling to Eric Upashantha, as did Hutton, first ball, and Paul Weekes. But Joyce remained to the close, 65 not out, at which point Middlesex trailed by eight runs with four wickets in hand.

Signs are that New Zealand’s three main cricket crocks of the just-completed summer, Daniel Vettori, Chris Cairns and Dion Nash, are well down the comeback trail for next season’s competitive year.With a one-day series in Sri Lanka, a tour to Pakistan, a tour to Australia, successive home series against Bangladesh and England and an end of season tour to the West Indies, the fitness of all players is being given a real work out in the off season.Fitness assessments have been completed on all players who played international cricket last summer and while there were some notable injury and illness problems during the year, it is felt the base fitness of those players tested was better than at the same time last year.The fact that no winter tour was held last year, and no tour this year, provided the perfect chance to do some basic fitness assessments while also tailoring individual programmes for the workloads that lie ahead.New Zealand Cricket’s medical liaison officer Gilbert Enoka said today the medical panel was pleased with the base level of fitness, especially of those who survived major injuries and who played for most of the season.”Those who worked soundly last winter on the programme have come through very well,” he said.”This is the second year we have had web site monitors for the players and most of the players have presented themselves in advance of the positions they were in at the same time last year,” he said.Individual programmes will be given to all players after they have enjoyed specific rest periods based on their workloads over the summer.Of the three top players, Vettori, Cairns and Nash, it was Nash who remained of most concern.But Enoka said Nash was, “keen, eager and enthusiastic to put in the work and give it a shot. He’s got work to do but he presented himself well.”It is 18 months since he bowled for a sustained period in international play and if he is to come back it will be in a dual management situation, where he tells us how he is feeling and we assess that with him.”He’s in the same position he was before going to Zimbabwe last year but will have a much more graduated build-up,” he said.Nash had a fantastic attitude to his situation and Enoka said he had obviously decided it was worth putting himself through the mill again and that Nash realised this would probably be the last station before the desert.”Daniel Vettori is shaping up well. We have given him a rest, but he will be resuming his bowling load soon and we will give him two or three ports of call in his return,” he said.This would mean he would be assessed at various times during the winter at the High Performance Centre (HPC) to see how he copes with his bowling load.Enoka thought a return to the CLEAR Black Caps for Sri Lanka was definitely on the cards for Vettori.”But his return will be handled in a much more structured way.”Cairns was shaping up very well.”He walked into the HPC unaided and without a limp and that was great. He is also on a graduated programme which will be conservatively managed.”He is progressing well,” he said.

England have admitted that they are worried by an injury to key all-rounder Craig White prior to Thursday’s Lord’s Test against Pakistan.White was forced to sit out part of the England team’s training session with a stiff back.”We’ll be monitoring it overnight and see how he is in the morning,” confirmed physiotherapist Dean Conway. “It’s something that has bothered him for the last few days and he struggled a bit to get through his bowling.”Certainly the loss of White would be a big blow to the England team. His all-round skills provide crucial balance to the side and he is expected to play a prominent role throughout the summer.Alex Tudor is a possible replacement if White is deemed unfit tomorrow, though with Dominic Cork already included in the squad as an all-rounder, England may decide to play both new call-ups: Ian Ward and Ryan Sidebottom.

Loughborough UCCE has won the University Centre of Cricketing Excellence(UCCE) Championship for the second year running by three points from OxfordUCCE. It therefore remains the only side to win the two-year oldchampionship.Despite finishing on equal points with Cardiff / Glamorgan UCCE, Oxford tooksecond place by means of scoring the most points in their match together.This means that Loughborough UCCE will play Oxford UCCE in the UCCE One-DayChallenge Final at Lord’s on Tuesday 2 July.The six UCCE teams played one two-day, two-innings match against each other,with points awarded for an outright win, a win on first innings as well asbatting and bowling bonus points.Final UCCE Championship table

1. LOUGHBOROUGH UCCE (Played 5) – Total 54 Points2. OXFORD UCCE (Played 5) – Total 51 Points3. CARDIFF/GLAMORGAN UCCE (Played 5) – Total 51 Points4. DURHAM UCCE (Played 5) – Total 48 Points5. BRADFORD/LEEDS UCCE (Played 5) – Total 30 Points6. CAMBRIDGE UCCE (Played 5) – Total 29 Points

Yuvraj Singh has received the Arjuna Award, an Indian government honour to recognise outstanding achievement in sport, from Indian president Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi. Yuvraj is currently preparing to make a comeback to international cricket after recovering from a rare germ-cell cancer.”It’s a special award for me,” Yuvraj said. “I had been nominated few times but finally I got it this time. It’s a proud moment for me and my family. The award will give me a lot of confidence to make a comeback and perform well.”Yuvraj hasn’t played any top-flight cricket since last November but has been picked for the Twenty20s against New Zealand next month and the World Twenty20 as well. He brushed aside doubts over whether he is fit enough for the rigours of top-flight cricket.”Experts are not watching me. They don’t know about my fitness. It’s me who knows what’s going on. It’s me who is feeling it from inside,” Yuvraj said. “I know myself better and I am confident enough to do well in the World Cup in Sri Lanka.”Following chemotherapy in February and March, Yuvraj began training in June. “I am practising hard at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore,” he said. “The experts over there are watching my fitness level. I know what I am doing and I just want to concentrate on my return and playing cricket.”If you look at the last three months, I am really training hard and peaking well. I am looking forward to play my first game after a year.”Yuvraj also insisted that he had enough practice to be ready for the World Twenty20. “I had played three practice games at NCA. I will get some serious match practice in the two matches against New Zealand scheduled September 8 and 11. Then, I would be playing two more practice matches. So, you see, I will be having seven games before the World Cup. I will be having enough match practice.”