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England today named a 15 man squad for the forthcoming NatWest Challenge against Pakistan and the NatWest Series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.The squad contains six players yet to make their One-Day International debut; Kabir Ali, Rikki Clarke, Robert Key, Richard Johnson, Anthony McGrath and James Troughton. There are also recalls to the One-Day squad for Yorkshire’s Darren Gough, Nottinghamshire’s Chris Read and the Worcestershire batsman Vikram Solanki.Announcing the squad, Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “The bulk of this squad is under thirty years of age and has been chosen with the next World Cup firmly in mind. We are anticipating two tough series this summer, but we believe that now is the right time for us to look at younger players and give them an opportunity to develop on the international stage.”We did consider a number of more senior players and we have not drawn a line against any particular individuals. But it is our clear intention now to develop a strong nucleus of players who, we believe, will be approaching their peak come the West Indies in 2007.”Darren Gough’s inclusion is clearly an exception to this rule. But he is a proven match-winner who was badly missed during the World Cup and his inclusion will add experience to our bowling attack. As well as providing a strike bowling capacity, we also believe Darren can play an important role in passing on advice to the younger bowlers within the squad.”Chris Read has a broken right thumb and he has been included in the squad subject to fitness. The medical advice we have received is that this is an undisplaced fracture and it will take him around three weeks to recover. James Foster will be on stand-by to replace him.”Chris received an excellent report from the Academy during the winter. His game has clearly progressed with both bat and gloves and we believe that he can now fulfill the potential he showed at international level earlier in his career. “England Squad for The NatWest Challenge and NatWest Series

Players D.O.BMichael Vaughan (Yorkshire) (Captain) 29.10.74Kabir Ali (Worcestershire) 24.11.80James Anderson (Lancashire) 30.7.82Rikki Clarke (Surrey) 29.9.81Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire) 6.12.77Ashley Giles (Warwickshire) 19.3.73Darren Gough (Yorkshire) 18.9.70Stephen Harmison (Durham) 23.10.78Richard Johnson (Somerset) 29.12.74Robert Key (Kent) 12.5.79Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire) 6.10.75Chris Read (Nottinghamshire) 10.8.78Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire) 1.4.76Marcus Trescothick (Somerset) 25.12.75James Troughton (Warwickshire) 2.3.79The NatWest ChallengeTues June 17 England v Pakistan Old TraffordFri 20 June England v Pakistan AMP OvalSun 22 June England v Pakistan Lord’sThe NatWest SeriesThurs 26 June England v Zimbabwe Trent BridgeSat 28 June England v South Africa AMP OvalSun 29 June Zimbabwe v South Africa CanterburyTue 1 July England v Zimbabwe HeadingleyThu 3 July England v South Africa Old Trafford(D/N)Sat 5 July Zimbabwe v South Africa CardiffSun 6 July England v Zimbabwe BristolTue 8 July England v South Africa Edgbaston(D/N)Thu 10 July Zimbabwe v South Africa Rose BowlSat 12 July Final Lord’s(13 July reserve day)

Teams for the ACB Cup match between New South Wales Second XI and the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy to be played at Howell Oval, Penrith, 24-27 September 2001:New South Wales Second XI: Graeme Rummans (captain), Brett van Deinsen, Philip Jaques, Aaron O’Brien, Grant Lambert, Dominic Thornely, Anthony Clark, Dan Horsley, Nathan Pilon, Steve Coombes, Jamie Heath, Michael Goldsmith.Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy: Beau Casson (WA), Shaun Marsh (WA), Luke Ronchi (WA), Scott Meuleman (WA), Steve Magoffin (QLD), Xavier Doherty (TAS), Tim Welsford (VIC), Rowan Brewster (NSW), Daniel Smith (NSW), Aaron Scott (NSW), Mark Cosgrove (SA), Duncan Betts (QLD).

The Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, is being pulled down with the view of building a new stadium with a greater capacity in two years time. The demolishing of the structure began on September 10 and is likely to take four months.The stadium, built on 50 acres of land on the banks of the Sabarmati river, has hosted 12 Tests and 24 ODIs between 1983 and 2014. The venue provided the setting to some historic moments, including Sunil Gavaskar becoming the first-ever batsman to score 10000 Test runs in 1987, and Kapil Dev breaking Richard Hadlee’s then world record of 431 Test wickets in 1994. The Sardar Patel Stadium also hosted the second quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup, where India beat Australia by five wickets.The new stadium is likely to have improved infrastructure for both players as well as spectators with increase in number of air-conditioned boxes and parking facilities.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA thrilling chase and a cruel missed chance saw India seal a Twenty20 series sweep over Australia at the SCG, as the more settled side was victorious once again.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli laid the groundwork for India’s pursuit before Suresh Raina was able to finish things off with the help of Yuvraj Singh, who looked out of touch before finding his timing at precisely the right moment as the pair took 19 off Andrew Tye’s final over of the innings to finish off the win. Victory also lifted India to No.1 in the ICC T20 rankings; they were eighth before the series began.Raina was fortunate to be there, having escaped a stumping chance second ball. The bowler Cameron Boyce was Australia’s outstanding performer on the night, but he was let down by the glove work of Cameron Bancroft, a speculative choice as wicketkeeper for this match in the absence of Matthew Wade.The error typified Australia’s muddled approach to this series, just a month out from the World T20 in India. However they did have the consolation of an outstanding century by the stand-in captain Shane Watson, who showed why he should be indispensable to the team’s campaign on the same day his former team-mate Michael Clarke announced he intended to return to cricket after a five-month break.India’s bowling was not particularly strong this night, but their batting strength was demonstrated by Rohit, Kohli and Raina. Vitally, Raina and Yuvraj did not lose their heads under the pressure of the chase – a strong lesson for the Australians given their panicky displays in Adelaide and Melbourne.In pursuit of 198, India needed a fast start, something Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit were more than capable of providing. Dhawan only lasted nine balls, but in that time clumped 26 runs and made a mess of Shaun Tait. Rohit was a little more circumspect, but helped keep the score ticking over well ahead of the required rate.Australia were able to pull things back somewhat through the middle overs thanks largely to the bowling of Watson and the legspinner Boyce, who gave the ball teasing flight and loaded it with spin to beat Rohit, Kohli and Raina in the air. Boyce gained two wickets for his effort but should have had a third, when Bancroft missed the stumping chance that a more seasoned keeper might have completed.After Kohli’s exit to Boyce’s penultimate ball for another sparkling contribution of 50, Raina and Yuvraj Singh pottered around for a time. As MS Dhoni had done during the 50-over match on this ground a little over a week ago, they allowed the equation to stretch out while finding their bearings, and Tye was left to defend 17 from the final over.As though rousing from a deep sleep, Yuvraj pounced on Tye’s first two balls, flicking over backward square leg to the fence then pounding a six into the heaving crowd at midwicket. That rather simplified the equation for India, and a pair of hustled twos by Raina were followed by an exultant last ball boundary that completed India’s clean sweep.Watson had won the toss on a warm evening and walked out to bat with his Thunder opening partner Usman Khawaja. In the form of his life, Khawaja strolled to 14 from five balls before edging a good one from Ashish Nehra and being dismissed for less than 50 for the first time since last October.That was something of a shock for the crowd and the Australians, but Watson was soon finding his range with powerful shots struck through and over MS Dhoni’s fields. He was given a helping hand by a pair of no-balls from Jaspreet Bumrah in the fourth over, the second from the free-hit he gave up by bowling the first – both were crunched to the cover boundary by Watson.Shaun Marsh and Glenn Maxwell could not endure in Watson’s company, but Travis Head provided common sense support to his captain, who grew in fluency and confidence with every over. A few weeks ago Watson had played similarly well on this ground for the Sydney Thunder against the Sydney Sixers, and this time Watson went on from his typical resting place between 50 and 90 to a maiden T20 international century.The milestone brought an expansive celebration by Watson on the ground of his adopted home state for several reasons. Not only was it a rare international century for him and a moment to assure his presence in the team for the World T20 in India, the innings was also doubtless a timely one a few days before the IPL auction.Watson would follow up with some tidy bowling, but as captain he could do little about some of the less illustrious work of others, as India romped home. They will go into the World T20 full of confidence; Australia meanwhile do not look sure where to go.

If only they could all bow out in a blaze of glory, instead of occasionally going down in flames.By now you should be aware if Inzamam-ul-Haq has had the sort of grand farewell that often proves elusive for some of sport’s greatest champions.Almost 16 years after making his senior debut for Pakistan in a one-day international against the visiting West Indies, Inzamam was expected to play his final innings for his country today in Lahore with the home team facing the prospect of a whitewash in the two-Test series against South Africa.Inevitably, the result at the Gadaffi Stadium is almost secondary to Inzamam’s farewell, especially as he needed just seven more runs on the last day of his career to surpass Javed Miandad as Pakistan’s most prolific run-scorer in Test cricket. Yet the very best of plans don’t always work out for even the very greatest of sporting superstars, as Brian Lara found out in his last match for West Indies at the World Cup earlier this year.I wonder what would be the reaction in Pakistan, even on the eve of the significant Muslim occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, to Inzamam being left stranded at the non-striker’s end in the same manner in which Marlon Samuels contributed to the demise of Lara against England in front of a packed Kensington Oval six months ago? Such experiences should therefore make us even more grateful when great champions depart in circumstances befitting their status.What could possibly be better than signing off an outstanding career by scoring the winning goal on home soil in the most watched event on the planet? That’s what Gerd Muller, the scorer of an astonishing 68 goals in just 62 full internationals for West Germany, did in 1974. His close-range effort clinched a 2-1 victory for the Germans over favourites Holland in the World Cup football final in Munich, after which he promptly announced his retirement from national duty.Just 28 years old at the time, he resisted the temptation to keep on going, especially in the midst of all that glory and celebration, displaying the same clinical, decisive manner that he showed in front of goal on the way to a record that none of the strikers in the global game have managed to challenge in the 33 years since Muller departed the scene.A close second in the list of grand farewells would have to be Pete Sampras’ final match as a professional tennis player. Having been the dominant force in the sport for more than a decade, Sampras overcame the considerable challenge of fellow-American Andre Agassi in four sets in the final of the 2002 US Open to lift his record tally of men’s singles Grand Slam titles to 14.Though he didn’t announce his retirement immediately, the 31-year-old Sampras, whose first Grand Slam triumph had come 12 years earlier at the same event, eventually decided that he had had enough and that the victory over old rival Agassi was the perfect exclamation point to a record-breaking career.When it comes to more than one sporting hero going out in style simultaneously, it will take something remarkable to match the final Test of Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh. This trio, who were the fulcrum of Australian cricket throughout the 1970s, made their swansong, the 1984 New Year’s Test against Pakistan in Sydney, something really special.In his final innings, Chappell compiled 182 to lift his Test run tally past the Australian record of 6,996 by Sir Donald Bradman, Lillee claimed eight wickets in the match, dismissing Sarfraz Nawaz with his final delivery in Test cricket, while Marsh snared six catches behind the stumps as Australia defeated the Pakistanis by ten wickets.He didn’t finish on the winning side, but mention has to be made of Seymour Nurse’s performance in his final Test innings. The 35-year-old Barbadian amassed 258 in his only knock of the drawn final Test against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1969, improving his tally to 558 runs (average 111.60) in the three-Test series, and then decided that was that as far as his career as a West Indies player was concerned.Compare those glittering send-offs with the demise of the incomparable Bradman. Needing just four runs to complete 7,000 runs and lift his Test average to 100, the “Don” was bowled for a second-ball duck by a googly from Eric Hollies in his final innings of the 1948 Ashes series against England at The Oval in London. It is said that there were tears in his eyes from the rousing ovation by fans and opponents alike as he strode to the middle in a Test for the last time.There were also tears in the eyes of boxing fans as they watched 41-year-old Muhammad Ali, a mere shadow of his incomparable best, finally leave the sport he had so invigorated and redefined in being pummeled for 12 rounds by Trevor Berbick in the Bahamian capital, Nassau, in 1981. For the man who had floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee and challenged the status quo on the way to becoming the most recognisable face on earth, it just did not seem right that the three-time former heavyweight champion should go out that way.But sport is not a scripted spectacle, even with so many corrupt individuals around, and no-one is guaranteed the farewell that we mere mortals may deem worthy of such greatness.

It’s uncanny how some people can steal all the limelight even when they’re trying their best not to. While Sri Lanka and West Indies went through their paces at the main stadium in Motera, the spotlight turned slowly but surely to the B ground adjoining the main area, where the Indians had arrived to practice. And it was practice with a difference – not just the routine throwdowns and fielding – as they added some Gujarat Cricket Association cricketers to the mix and split into a couple of teams to play a 25-overs-a-side match.If the batsmen thought they had an easy chance to boost the sagging confidence – India lost as many as six wickets chasing a low England score at Jaipur – they had another thing coming for them. Wickets were falling aplenty as there was just a little juice in the pitch, and the fast bowlers extracted some lateral movement. Of course, this did not stop Mahendra Singh Dhoni from clobbering 38, the highest for Team A, as they made 111, batting first. Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh all batted twice each, and one of these was good enough to admit he should have been out a third time, had it not been for some umpiring largesse.The highlight of that innings, though, was not the batting. Sachin Tendulkar rolled his arm over, sending down three overs, conceding eight runs without picking up a wicket. Interestingly, he was bowling seam-up, rather than his usual mix of offbreaks and legbreaks. “He has been bowling in the nets off and on,” a team member told Cricinfo. “The doctors had advised him to take it a bit easy, so he has just been easing himself back into bowling. Who knows. If all goes well he might even be in a position to have a bowl by the time the final of this tournament comes around. The main thing is that we’d all like it if he was able to bowl during the World Cup.” But this isn’t the first time he is bowling since he suffered his shoulder injury during the home series against England early this year. He was ruled out of the squad during the final Test against England at Mumbai which India lost, and the series was squared 1-1. When turning out for Lashings in England he did send down the odd over.When it was Tendulkar’s team’s turn to bat, though, there was certainly no sign of any injury or discomfort. Tendulkar led the scoring with an unbeaten 43 and retired to the tiny dressingroom having just hit Yuvraj for a six. Rahul Dravid was among the runs as well, making 42 before retiring. Team B cantered along to 137 for 1 in 25 overs and as dusk settled on Ahmedabad, the team was shepherded into the bus to be taken back to their hotel, leaving the groundsman to give the pitch a watering. The B ground of the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium had never received so much attention.Brief scores Team A 111 in 25 overs (Dhoni 38, Agarkar 26*, Munaf 3-18, Harbhajan 2-23, Raina 2-18) v Team B 137 for 1 in 25 overs (Dravid 42 retd., Tendulkar 43 retd., Mongia 29)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have said that the selection committee may have to take a decision on Sourav Ganguly’s future if he failed to come out of his prolonged run of poor form.”You should give some time to the selection committee and the players, particularly Sourav himself. If, in the coming days, the performance does not improve, the selection committee will keep in mind the feelings of crores of cricket fans and take an appropriate decision,” Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, was quoted as saying by a BBC Hindi Programme.When asked whether Ganguly should continue as captain, Mahendra said that it was for the selection committee to decide and that the board would not interfere. He also dismissed suggestions that the board was turning a blind eye to Ganguly’s poor form: “See what you are saying could also be the feeling of many other cricket fans in the country. But let us all not forget that recently Ganguly has scored a Test hundred in Zimbabwe. Ganguly also might be seriously thinking about his form. So to say that we are not concerned or bothered is not right, we very much are.”Mahendra added that it would not be prudent to pass hasty judgment on Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, and his preference for doing away with the zonal system of appointing selectors. “An opinion should not be formed about an individual in haste. We would be doing grave injustice to him by passing such a judgment so soon. We would have to give reasonable time to Greg and then I think such an opinion would not remain. At times, when the team performance is not up to the mark, and it is passing through a critical phase, such thoughts do come to mind. But my view is that jumping to conclusion so soon about the coach would not be fair.”While admitting that the image of Indian cricket had taken a beating during the Ganguly-Chappell furore, Mahendra said that remedial measures were being taken to ensure that such events did not happen again. “We have ordered a probe into the leaking of coach Chappell’s e-mail to the board … At the same time we have taken corrective measures to ensure that such things do not happen in the future. Many players have also said that they feel whatever happened in the dressing room should not have come out in the open. From here, all of us have realized that we need to avoid such situations, and work for the betterment of the game and its fans.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Robert Key and Andrew Flintoff sealed England’s sixth consecutive Test victory of the summer, and the ninth in their last ten matches, as a spirited West Indian side was overwhelmed in the final session at Old Trafford. Despite grabbing two early wickets and holding the upper hand for much of the day, West Indies were left to rue their untimely collapse on Sunday afternoon – a target of 231 never seemed likely to trouble this confident England team, even in the absence of their pacemaker-in-chief, Graham Thorpe.Thorpe, whose finger was broken by Fidel Edwards during his heroic first-innings 114, was only ever likely to bat in an emergency. But at 27 for 2 with both openers back in the pavilion, and then again at 111 for 3, that emergency seemed just around the corner. But Key and Flintoff ended all such notions, first with some thoughtful resistance against a fiery spell from Fidel Edwards, and then with a glorious finale, in which Flintoff the home hero reached his fifty – his seventh in consecutive Tests – with a vast straight six, before tickling the winning runs to third man.Though Flintoff stole the limelight, it was Key who took the bulk of the plaudits. His place in the side had been under scrutiny after a couple of loose dismissals at Edgbaston, but with neither Thorpe nor Mark Butcher available for Thursday’s fourth Test, he was this time able to relax and play his natural game. And for that, his team-mates were extremely grateful.Key’s confrontational approach had impressed many observers during his debut series in Australia two winters ago, and it was to the fore once again today, especially during his running duel with Edwards, which involved several skiddy 90mph bouncers and a considerable amount of mid-pitch banter and eyeballing. Key took it all in his stride, and as his innings progressed the West Indians wilted. The final nail in their coffin came in the very first over after tea, when Sylvester Joseph dropped Key on 58, a catchable chance to his left at second slip. After that, it was England all the way.Such a comprehensive victory had seemed an eternity away earlier in the day. Although Steve Harmison had needed just six balls in the morning to wrap up the West Indian second innings for 165, England in reply lost both openers in a jittery pre-lunch session. Marcus Trescothick was bowled through the gate by a beauty from Collymore that clipped the top of off, while Andrew Strauss played an uncharacteristically rash pull against Pedro Collins, that skidded low to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at midwicket for 12.

Collymore nearly cleaned up Key with another jaffa that curled round his outside edge and over the top of off stump, and without Thorpe to steady the run-chase, England were decidedly edgy. Much was resting on Michael Vaughan, and it showed in an innings of untypical nerviness. He had a huge letoff on 1, when he top-edged an Edwards bouncer just out of Carlton Baugh’s reach as he sprinted towards square leg, and he later inside-edged Collymore for four past his leg stump. Though he showed glimmers of his best form with a selection of those dreamy cover-drives, Vaughan was very much playing from memory.In the end, it was Chris Gayle’s offspin that made the break. His very first delivery exploded off a length and took the shoulder of the bat on the way to Brian Lara at slip, and Vaughan trudged off for 33 hard-earned runs. The cheer that greeted Flintoff’s arrival could have been heard back up in his old watering holes in Preston, but it was as nothing to the one that awaited him later in the day, as the crowd’s anxiety gave way to a carnival atmosphere.Even so, it would be a while before Flintoff or his adoring fans could contemplate partying. At 111 for 3 and with Edwards in full flight, survival was the primary objective. Even with two men back for the hook, Flintoff was sorely tempted, but for the most part he resisted, taking one blow to the shoulder and another firm rap on the gloves. Key, meanwhile, continued to wind Edwards up with a running commentary, and together they carried England to tea at 146 for 3 – still 85 runs adrift but, one sensed, with the bulk of the job done.Key drilled Collymore’s first ball after the break for four, but when that catch went down in the same over, the fight went out of the West Indian attack. Ramnaresh Sarwan was belatedly introduced to tempt Flintoff into self-destruction – which, after a couple of wild swings, led to the improbable sound of a Lancashire crowd cheering a Flintoff defensive shot. A couple of huge sixes later, however, and it was all business as usual. England’s bandwagon just keeps on rolling.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced that Michael Vaughan had been appointed England’s new One-Day captain.The 28-year-old Yorkshire batsman succeeds Nasser Hussain who stepped down as captain of the One-Day side following England’s World Cup exit.Vaughan, who has captained England A and England Under 19s, will lead England for the first time in the forthcoming NatWest Challenge series against Pakistan and in the NatWest Series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.Chairman of Selectors, David Graveney, said: “As well as being a world class batsman, Michael is a strong character with a sound cricketing brain. Whilst he does not have extensive captaincy experience at County level, the selectors firmly believe he has the personal attributes required to handle the pressures of the England One-Day captaincy both on and off the field.”We have no qualms about splitting the Test and One-Day captaincy in this way. Other countries have operated this policy successfully and we see this as a terrific opportunity for Michael to demonstrate his undoubted leadership qualities.”Michael Vaughan said: “It’s a great honour to captain your country and I had no hesitation in accepting when the selectors offered me the job. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and I intend to enjoy it.”Nasser is an inspirational leader and he will be a tough act to follow as One-Day captain. But every captain has his own style of leadership and I want to do the job in my own way.”I’m under no illusions. Whether it’s Test or One-Day cricket, the England captain’s decisions are always under the microscope. That doesn’t bother me. I’m a big believer in the team ethic and if England are to improve at One-Day level, we need eleven `captains’ out there, not just one.”It has been decided that the England Test and One-Day captains will no longer sit on the four-strong selection panel. This decision will ensure continuity in selection although both Test and One-Day captains will continue to be closely consulted as part of the selection process.The International Teams Management Group (ITMG) has appointed the ECB National Academy Director, Rod Marsh, as a new selector and he will join David Graveney, Duncan Fletcher and Geoff Miller on the existing selection panel.Commenting on his appointment, Rod Marsh said: “This is a natural extension of my current role as Academy Director and I’m looking forward to it. There is plenty of talent within County cricket and I see my job as helping to spot and develop those players who have the potential to take the step up into international cricket.”They don’t necessarily have to be players who have been through the Academy. I’ll be coming into the job with a completely open mind and a real desire to try and help England progress as a side.”

Twenty year old all rounder Pete Trego scored an unbeaten 175 as Somerset drew their final Second Eleven Championship match of the season against Leicestershire at Hinkley.In reply to Leicestershire’s 378 for 6 declared Somerset amassed 578 for 6, which featured centuries from Mark Lathwell (118) triallist David Roberts (105) and Trego’s 175.The Weston Super Mare youngster goes to the top of the Somerset averages as a result of his innings which lasted 166 balls.Batting for a second time Leicestershire had reached 273 for 6 by close of play.A feature of their second innings was a fine bowling spell from former Millfield pupil Arul Suppiah who had figures of 18 overs, 6 maidens, 3 wickets for 62.The Seconds play their one day final against Surrey at the County ground on September 10th starting at 10.30am.