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At last Jermaine Lawson – and West Indies – have some good news. The board’s bowling committee has decreed that Lawson’s new action is completely legal, and he is now available for selection for the national side.The committee studied Lawson’s action while trawling through video footage of his performance during the Vice Chancellor’s XI warm-up match against England in March.The board was all praise for Lawson, who first came under suspicion this time last year and then underwent remedial action to kink out any problems.They applauded the effort and commitment he put in, as well as singling out Lawson’s coaches.

Day 3 Gauteng 286 and 73 for 2 require another 385 runs to beat Easterns 405 for 4 dec and 338 for 9 dec (Z de Bruyn 88, Toyana 63, Cullinan 65, Mathebula 5-56) v
ScorecardEasterns extended their lead to 457 before declaring their second innings on 338 for 9, with Zander de Bruyn following his century in the first innings with 88 in the second. In the process, he became the only batsman to exceed 1,000 runs for the season. Daryll Cullinan’s 65 also moved him into the second spot behind de Bruyn with 839 runs for the campaign. Brian Mathebula, in only his second first-class match, recorded his first five-for after bowling with far more discipline than he did in the first innings. At the close, Gauteng had reached 73 for 2.Eastern Province 432 lead Boland 324 by 108 runs
ScorecardNo play due to rain.

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Against Bangladesh at Chester-le-Street on Friday, Graham Thorpe is set to join one of cricket’s most exclusive clubs, when he becomes the eighth England cricketer to play in 100 Tests. The occasion will be marked by a presentation before the start of play, which will be attended by five of his fellow centurions – Alec Stewart, David Gower, Michael Atherton, Geoff Boycott and Ian Botham – and which may well help to confer some sense of grandeur on an event that promises to be another damp squib, if Bangladesh’s efforts in the Lord’s Test are anything to go by.Thorpe, however, has already been in the news this week, and not because of the excitement surrounding this landmark. His announcement, on the eve of the Lord’s Test, that he had signed a contract to play and coach in New South Wales this winter, effectively served notice of his impending international retirement, and called into question his commitment to the cause ahead of this summer’s Ashes.But Thorpe is nothing if not resilient, and after enduring countless ups and downs in the course of his 12-year international career, is all set for one final push for glory this summer. “I want to play in as many matches as I can,” he told reporters in Durham, “and to do that I have to stay fit and I have to keep playing well. But I think I’ve known that ever since I came back from South Africa last winter – if I don’t play well or I fall over in a heap I won’t get picked.”In the first Test at Lord’s, Thorpe made a chanceless 42 not out to keep the vultures at bay for another game, but he is well aware of the scrutiny that his New South Wales appointment has created, not least in the corridors of the England & Wales Cricket Board, where David Graveney, the chief of selectors, expressed his “disappointment” at Thorpe’s news. But, Thorpe added, he had no regrets about his decision.”I heard Grav’s comments and I understand what he means by the timing, but there was nothing untoward about that and I wasn’t holding anything back,” he insisted. “I can go back to my hotel room, look myself in the mirror and know I’ve done nothing wrong.”I don’t think I could have handled things any differently,” he added, having gone public on the news the very day that NSW confirmed the offer. “I don’t think it’s a huge surprise to anyone that I have been trying to plan something for the winter, because they may not have even taken me away this winter anyway.”Although the pressure is undoubtedly on, Thorpe has proved on countless occasions that he is equal to it. He demonstrated that with a century on debut against the Australians in 1993, and every one of his 16 Test centuries has been a nuggetty tribute to one of the greatest English batsmen of the post-war era. It is only in the latter part of his career, however, that his true ability has shone through, and much of that success has been fostered under the watchful guidance of Duncan Fletcher.”My first 40 to 45 Tests were quite tough,” Thorpe explained. “We were in a different set-up with a lot of player insecurities and before central contracts when the team was very inconsistent. But during the last four or five years under Duncan there has been a curve which has gone steadily upwards. Hopefully that will continue rising over the next two or three years.”Thorpe has played in just one Ashes Test in the past three series, due to a combination of injury and a much-publicised marital breakdown, but victory this summer would be Thorpe’s crowning achievement. Failing that, however, he has some fond memories to take Down Under with him, not least his achievements on the subcontinent in 2000-01, when his batting was central to back-to-back series wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”The achievement in winning in Asia a few years ago was probably the best I have been involved in with a team,” said Thorpe, who scored a century at Lahore that included a solitary boundary, hit the winning runs in the thrilling twilight run-chase in Karachi, and went on to produce a pair of unbeaten gems to steal an amazing series at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club later that winter. “The conditions were not natural to us so to win those series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka was something special.”The conditions on those tours were as unfamiliar to England as a damp Chester-le-Street will be to the Bangladeshis and so, for the time being, the focus returns to the task at hand, and the need for England to despatch their current opponents as clinically as possible. It is impossible, however, not to have one eye on the bigger picture this summer.

Central Zone 99 for 4 beat West Zone 98 (Chawla 3-11, Praveen 3-18) by six wickets
Scorecard

The Central Zone swing bowlers utilised a helpful surface, a 9am start, and overcast conditions to push the West Zone innings right to the edge of the cliff, before the spinners came and pushed it over swiftly. A total of 98 was an aberration in a high-scoring domestic one-day season, and Central got to the target without any major hiccups as the opening Deodhar Trophy match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium finished half an hour after lunch.Central won by six wickets, with a bonus point, while defending champions West were docked a minus point.Right from the moment Praveen Kumar bowled the first over, after Mohammad Kaif had put West in, it was obvious West were going to have a hard time. Yusuf Pathan, in prodigious form throughout the season, was embarrassed by two in-swingers that preceded an out-swinger, and seemed to have no clue about which way Praveen swung the ball.Wasim Jaffer hit two beautiful cover drives off the back foot before he got a peach from Praveen in the third over. This one swung late after having angled in, as opposed to the early swing that Jaffer was leaving alone, and took the edge for a low catch for Kaif at first slip. RP Singh soon trapped Pathan with an in-swinger to pull West down to 15 for 2.Rohit Sharma, fresh from 235 runs in the CB Series in Australia and Ajinkya Rahane, also in good form, got a mini partnership going. It wasn’t a convincing one, however, as regular edges kept the bowlers interested. The duo had added 24 before Praveen changed sides and came on from the BEML end. He needed little time if forcing Rahane to chip one to point, and that dismissal triggered a frenzy. Two more wickets fell at the same score and the No. 7, Abhishek Nayar, was caught unawares and just about avoided being timed out. Rohit played an expansive drive and edged Sandeep Singh, Parthiv Patel followed a Praveen in-swinger, and 39 for 2 became 39 for 5.Nayar might have taken a long time in coming in to bat, but he did stay in the longest to help West get close to 100. Together with Venugopal Rao he forced Kaif to opt for the spinners as they batted sensibly to add 31 for the sixth wicket. Kaif wanted to finish the game off with swing bowlers only, as he continued with Praveen (3 for 18), RP (22 for 1), and Sandeep (21 for 1) for 22 overs. The introduction of spin, normally a reason for cheer given the way the medium-pacers bowled, proved to be the kiss of death for West. Piyush Chawla bowled Rao round the legs with his first delivery, continued to get Iqbal Abdulla caught down the leg by wicketkeeper with his third, and a one-sided contest was reduced to a no contest.Murali Kartik enjoyed the situation with a number of dangerous arm-balls, one of them trapping Ajit Agarkar in front. When he tossed one up to Munaf Patel, the tail-ender obliged by skying it to mid-off. Another collape, as West slipped from 70 for 5 to 81 for 9 in four overs. Nayar hit two boundaries and a six before being caught at the boundary off a full toss from Chawla, who finished with 3 for 11. When Nayar and Rao were batting, it seemed West might struggle and bat out the 50 overs, but their innings ended in the 30th over.By the time Munaf, Agarkar and Siddharth Trivedi started bowling, the pitch had lost much of its early-morning freshness, the sun had come out, and the only thing going for them was the good bounce. But the minimal target meant that Faiz Fazal and Naman Ojha, the Central openers, were under no pressure and they negotiated the new ball well. Fazal looked more intent at finishing the game early, and by the time he edged Trivedi to second slip, he had scored 24 off 30 balls, and Central had reached 41 in 7.5 overs.That Central lost Ojha, Suresh Raina and Kaif just at the brink of the win will leave West wondering what could have happened had they batted through the innings and struggled their way to perhaps 170-odd.

Former Western Province and South Africa fast bowler Garth le Roux appeared briefly before the George Regional Court on Monday, charged with 48 counts of tax fraud involving R1.8 million.The case was postponed to September 4 at the Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town. Bail of R100 000 was given.Le Roux appeared in court last month and was given bail on condition he surrendered his passport.

Andy Bichel, who won the State Player of the Year award at last night’s Allan Border Medal, has not given up on an Ashes place and hopes a strong end to the domestic season will strengthen his claims. Dumped from Cricket Australia’s contract list last April, Bichel is the Pura Cup’s leading wicket-taker with 46 at 19.43 and is on track to beat his career-best first-class season of 60 in 1999-2000.”My goal is to represent Australia and if the opportunity came for that to happen again then I’d be delighted,” Bichel said. “An Ashes tour would be a wonderful bonus, but I know that the most important thing I can do is to keep working hard and performing for Queensland. We are in the hunt for both finals and there is a lot of hard cricket coming up in the next two months.”Bichel will lead the attack in the ING Cup match against Victoria at Ballarat on Sunday as the Bulls finalise their preparations for hosting the final at the Gabba on February 20. Victoria, who need a win to stay in touch of the second-placed Tasmania, have made one change with Andrew McDonald, the allrounder, replacing Tim Welsford after successfully recovering from thumb surgery.Victoria Cameron White (capt), Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Matthew Elliott, Ian Harvey, Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Brad Knowles, Michael Lewis, Andrew McDonald, Jon Moss, Graeme Rummans, Shane Warne.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), James Hopes, Martin Love, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, Brendan Nash, Wade Seccombe, Andy Bichel, Nathan Hauritz, Ashley Noffke, Mitchell Johnson, Shane Jurgensen.

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said his organisation could no longer be identified as “anti-player” or opposed to the interests of West Indies cricketers in light of the recent involvement of many former players in the administration and conduct of the regional Board’s affairs.Gordon was speaking to the West Indies cricket team in the VIP Lounge at Piarco International Airport on Thursday after they arrived for this weekend’s two one-day Internationals against Zimbabwe at the Queen’s Park Oval.The WICB president said the board was doing a lot to bring the players and the board closer together. “The board has traditionally been accused of being opposed to the interest of players and even being ‘anti-player’ by some,” he said, before citing the numerous positions held by former players, including chairman of the WICB’s Cricket Committee, Clive Lloyd, and chairman of the Board’s negotiating team, Deryck Murray.”Former West Indies players are now at the heart of all the decisions that guide West Indies cricket,” Gordon pointed out. “Whatever further refinements may be ahead, no one in his or her right mind can persist with the longstanding accusation of indifference by the WICB to the interests of players. For so many of them who guide WICB decisions were once players like you are. And let us remember that this transformation did not come about because it was forced on us. They were all freely made by a forward thinking West Indies Cricket Board in preparing for the future.”Gordon noted that a lot of the misunderstanding in the past that led to prolonged and bitter contract negotiations and fall-outs was because of faulty communication. “So often difficulties can be cleared up when the misunderstandings which must inevitably occur are addressed promptly and before they become big misunderstandings. Then we have to understand that we are really part of one team.”Along with the multi-million dollar windfall from the 2007 World Cup, Gordon also spoke of plans to boost the regional game’s financial status with the recent signing of an agreement between the WICB and the Indian Cricket Board. But it would only be beneficial if the West Indies return to their winning ways.”There is, as some of you may be aware, tremendous potential for developing cricket in North America, where the diaspora is large, vibrant and only too anxious to embrace the game,” Gordon explained. “We expect this to open many opportunities, but we must go there as winners, not as the supporting act in a two-part series with India.”Let us therefore set our sights and our targets one at a time, first Zimbabwe, next India, next Champions Trophy and then the World Cup.”He said Brian Lara, the newly appointed captain, had emphasised the benefits of goal-setting, a path also being followed by the WICB that is “well on the way to accomplishing them”.”Now we are at the threshold of the big one, but only you can deliver that, for the big one is getting the right results on the field. We need to see the spark of a new era in everything you do,” Gordon emphasised. “Let us comprehensively bury the complaints and baggage of the past. We need to think positive. Become positive and by your performance, send an unmistakable message to the cricketing world – ‘things are different now, for the new West Indies team is on the move’.”

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Alex Loudon was the star as England completed a hard-fought five-wicket win against Bangladesh at Mirpur. Loudon collected 5 for 76, to add to his 71 on the third day, leaving England with a target of 130 which they reached in just under 20 overs.England gained an early foothold on the final day when Loudon trapped Mehrab Hossain lbw with just three runs added to the overnight total. Mosharraf Hossain, the nightwatchman, followed 15 runs later when he was run out and England sensed their chance to press for the win.Bangladesh played with a very defensive mindset, meaning that even though it took England a while to dislodge the resistance the lead was never growing at a rapid rate. Graham Onions, the Durham paceman, grabbed two middle-order wickets in two balls. When 183 for 5 soon became 202 for 7, on the back of two Tim Bresnan strikes, England would have fancied their chances of wrapping up the innings in quick time.However, Tushar Imran got his head down and forged a gritty half-century while Mohammad Sharif supported him well with 26 as the eighth wicket added 44, then Dolar Mahmud helped put on another 30 for the ninth. Loudon claimed the final three scalps, a reward for 32 overs hard work, but England were left limited time for their run chase.They played it in one-day style, promoting Matt Prior to open who slammed 50 off 52 balls to put England ahead of the rate. At 78 for 1 everything was under control and, although there were a few late wickets, Loudon completed a fine match by knocking off the final runs.

Details of the Afro-Asia A-team tournament hosted by Bangladesh in January have finally been announced.The five-team event – which features sides from India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Kenya – is based in Chittagong and starts on January 18. All the sides will play each other once, with the top two meeting in the final at the M A Aziz Stadium on January 28.There is some concern over whether Zimbabwe, who have named their side, will actually participate as most of their squad have said they will refuse to play under the current board. It is likely that they will hold a meeting shortly before they are due to depart to make a final decision.There is also some unease with the criteria for what constitutes an A side, with the Zimbabwe team containing six of their most recent Test side and only three of their squad have not played Tests or ODIs.Rather oddly, it appears that the organisers were hoping for an African Representative XI, based around Kenya and Uganda, to take the fifth slot but it seems that the Kenyans refused, arguing that as they had recently whitewashed Zimbabwe A in Zimbabwe, they deserved a place on their own merits.

The ICC has responded to Martin Crowe’s comments in his recent Spirit of Cricket Lecture at Lord’s by saying that it is dealing with the issue of suspect bowling actions more effectively than ever. In his address, Crowe criticised the new 15-degree law and said that all bent arms should be banned.However, the ICC says the current regulations, in place since March 2005, provide a scientific basis for judging a player’s action while at the same time recognising the reality that almost all bowlers are likely to straighten their arm to some extent during delivery.”The regulations are based on the views of an expert panel of former players including Angus Fraser, Michael Holding and Tony Lewis – the current Chairman of the MCC’s Cricket Committee,” said David Richardson, the ICC’s General Manager – Cricket. “This group studied the research of prominent bio-mechanists Professor Bruce Elliot, Dr Paul Hurrion and Mr Marc Portus and the scientific evidence they were presented with was overwhelming.”The facts are that some bowlers, even those never suspected of having flawed actions, were found likely to be straightening their arms by 11 or 12 degrees. And at the same time, some bowlers that may appear to be throwing may be hyper-extending or bowl with permanently bent elbows.”Under a strict interpretation of the Law they were breaking the rules but if we ruled out every bowler that did that then there would be no bowlers left. The game needed to deal with that reality and the current regulations do just that.Richardson added that the new laws have made the umpires’ job easier and provide a scientific base for testing actons. “What they do is take the pressure off umpires because it is now no longer one person’s view of whether or not a bowler has an illegal action. It is something that can be proved scientifically and the assessment is independent and not partisan.”At the same time the umpire retains the right to call a bowler for throwing and the first judgment he makes is still based on his instincts after viewing an action with the naked eye,” he added.The regulations include a 15 degree level of tolerance in elbow extension for all bowlers during delivery, which was identified by the panel of experts as the point after which the bend is likely to become visible to the naked eye.Five senior international bowlers have been reported under the new process – Harbhajan Singh of India, Pakistan’s Shabbir Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, Jermaine Lawson of the West Indies and Johan Botha of South Africa.Richardson also responded to Crowe’s comments about the value of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Test cricket. “Bangladesh has taken time to adjust to the demands of Test cricket but that mirrors the experience of every side that has stepped up to the top level.”Bangladesh is a cricket-crazy country and has shown encouraging signs of development and, given time, we fully expect it to become more and more competitive at Test level. Zimbabwe has already stepped back from its Test commitments to allow itself time to regroup and we are keen to help it in that process in any way we can.”