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After a muted response to the massive injection of cash promised by Allen Stanford, the West Indies board have finally given a guarded welcome to the proposal, calling on the organizers of the Stanford 2020 to work with the WICB in allocating funding. But both the WICB and the leading boards have made it clear that they expect more control over how the money is spent.Stanford has underwritten his tournament with around $28 million, $6 million of which is being allocated to 19 countries across the Caribbean to help them prepare for the Stanford 2020.”In view of recent statements in the media attributed to Stanford, it is considered necessary to clarify the position of the territorial boards in relation to his offer to disburse funding,” a WICB statement said. “The generous offer of assistance, which is proposed, is to be welcomed, but if it is Stanford’s desire to genuinely assist in the development of cricket, we would expect this to be progressed in conjunction with existing Caribbean initiatives, which are well advanced.”Visits to our respective territories have been made by envoys of Stanford and we have indicated general interest in his proposal to offer funding. But we have made it clear that we expect these arrangements to be pursued through our collective participation at the level of the WICB.”The slightly tetchy tone of the statement follows comments made by Ken Gordon which were equally two-edged. “”It’s Stanford’s money and if that’s how he wants to spend it he’s free to do so,” Gordon told the Jamaica Star. “I certainly feel the longer term objectives of cricket might be better served with that kind of investment, if it were programmed in a different way.”And six of the boards – Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands – issued a joint statement saying they expected cash to be directed through the WICB. However, within hours Trinidad & Tobago broke ranks and said it would accept the money directly.None of the boards, including the WICB, are in a position to turn away Stanford’s funding. Yesterday, Gordon told the Trinidad & Tobago Express: “We are bankrupt. We have a deficit of US $15 million.”There had been suggestions from unnamed sources within the WICB that Stanford had kept it in the dark. That was tersely rejected in a statement from the tournament organisers.”From the outset Allen Stanford has been fully supportive of Ken Gordon and has kept him apprised of the plans for the Stanford 2020 tournament,” the statement said. “We also understand WICB is the governing body of cricket in the West Indies and support them as such. It is and has always been our intention to work with them on this initiative, however we do not see them as the managers of the funds, considering that some of the nations involved do not fall under the auspices of the WICB.”While the WICB might not like it and will probably continue to huff and puff, Stanford has the cash and can call the shots. And with most regional boards strapped for cash, it will be a brave executive which turns down the $280,000 they will each receive.

David and Adam Harrison will stay at Glamorgan until 2007 after signing extensions to their contracts. Both players still have one year to go on their current deals.David, 23, was voted Glamorgan’s young player of the year for the second successive time last summer after taking 57 first-class wickets. His brother, Adam, who is four years younger, has played for England U-19s, and has recently flown out to Malaysia for in preparation for their tour of India. Adam is yet to play for the Glamorgan first team, but he opened the bowling for MCC against Sussex in the opening first-class match of 2004.”We’re delighted that both David and Adam have committed to the Club for the next three seasons,” said Mike Fatkin, Glamorgan’s chief executive. “Both are highly regarded within the game and it’s great news for us that they have agreed to sign new contracts. Glamorgan remains strongly committed to the development of home-grown players and with an excellent Academy, a team of very capable coaches and a group of very talented emerging players just below the full time staff we are confident that this policy will continue to bear dividends.”

Derbyshire’s captain, Dominic Cork, will appear before an England & Wales Cricket Board disciplinary panel on July 14, after hitting out at what he described as a "culture of cheating" in cricket, following his side’s acrimonious elimination from the Twenty20 Cup.Derbyshire missed out on a place in the semi-finals when they lost their final group game by one run to Leicestershire. That would have been the end of the matter, had it not been for an incident on the boundary edge, when Leicestershire’s Brad Hodge took a catch then stepped over the boundary rope in his follow-through. Derbyshire lodged a protest immediately after the game, but the ECB refused to reverse the result.Cork claimed the spirit of cricket had been “soiled” by the incident, and told the Daily Mail: “I blame the win-at-all-costs culture of cheating which is taking cricket down the road that has made football such a sleazy game. In football it’s diving, shirt-pulling, conning refs and feigning injury. In cricket, it is claiming catches on the bounce, pretending that the ball hasn’t gone over the rope and players standing their ground when they’ve thick-edged it to slip.”Both Cork and Derbyshire refused to comment further until the outcome of the hearing.

Captain Steve Waugh said tonight he was determined to reclaim his place in the Australian cricket team for the first Test against New Zealand next month.Waugh missed the fourth Test of the triumphant Ashes series in England with a torn calf and a subsequent bout of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prevented him fromstarting the domestic season with NSW.His withdrawal from this week’s NSW-Tasmania game raised speculation that he could miss the first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba starting Nov 8.But he was back in the nets today for the first time in six weeks with his eye on next week’s Pura Cup match against South Australia.”I’m very confident (of playing). I’ve had injuries and setbacks in he past, it only makes me want to be there even more,” the 36-year-old told Fox Sports.”It’d be nice to play a four-day before the Test match.”I haven’t picked up a bat since I’ve come home which in some ways is good, I like to get away from cricket, but now I’ve got to get back into it pretty seriously.”Renowned for his mental toughness, Waugh said recent criticism over his health only served as further motivation.He also missed a Test last summer with a strained buttock muscle.”I’ve been written off by a few people in the press … and that’s fair enough they can say what they want but I just want to to them know that they’re sort ofmotivating me to get back there even quicker.”

ScorecardMark Pettini continued his fine form since his Essex recall•Getty Images

Jack Winslade marked his first-class debut with a four-wicket haul to put Essex on course for victory after Derbyshire collapsed spectacularly on the second day of the LV County Championship match at Derby.The 20-year-old medium pacer took four wickets in 19 balls as the home side were skittled for 94 in 33 overs with Tom Moore doing the early damage with 3 for 12.Derbyshire lost nine wickets for 56 and although they showed more fight in the follow-on, were 102 for 3 at the close, still 268 behind Essex who declared on 464 for 7 with Mark Pettini top scoring with an unbeaten 117.The hosts had been up against it before a ball was bowled on day two with the attack already reduced to two seamers by injuries to Tony Palladino and Shiv Thakor which forced skipper Wayne Madsen to employ his occasional medium-pace after seven overs.Madsen did take the only wicket to fall in the morning but, by then, Pettini and James Foster had taken their stand to 120 to pave the way for the mayhem that followed in the afternoon.Pettini’s form since his recall to championship cricket after a year’s absence begs the question why he was ignored for so long; his second century in five innings was a major factor in Essex seizing control of a game they should win in three days barring a remarkable turnaround.Foster passed 11,000 championship runs before he scooped Madsen into the hands of Mark Footitt at deep fine leg and although Derbyshire looked untroubled at the start of their reply, the introduction of Moore sparked a startling collapse.Ben Slater’s flick off his hip to a diving square leg was the first of three wickets to fall without a run scored in 19 balls with both former Essex batsman Billy Godleman and Chesney Hughes falling to reckless shots.When Madsen also departed to a loose stroke, the innings was beyond repair with doubts over whether Palladino or Thakor would be able to bat. Thakor did hobble out at the fall of the eighth wicket but looked in considerable discomfort before he became Winslade’s fourth victim.There was never any question that Essex would enforce the follow-on and the pattern of the first innings was repeated with Derbyshire starting confidently in bright sunshine before Godleman cut hard at Jesse Ryder and was caught at first slip.Slater and Hughes restored some order but the former was caught behind off Ravi Bopara who then yorked Hughes to leave Derbyshire staring at a heavy defeat inside three days.

Josh Tongue will replace Gus Atkinson in England’s only change for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide on Wednesday, with Will Jacks picked ahead of Shoaib Bashir even on a pitch expected to be the most spin-friendly they will encounter on this tour.Brendon McCullum publicly backed England’s top seven on Sunday, effectively ruling out the possibility of drafting in Jacob Bethell, while Ben Stokes believes that Tongue has a “natural wicket-taking ability” which will reinforce his seam attack. In Atkinson’s absence, Brydon Carse will share the new ball with Jofra Archer.Tongue, 28, has taken 31 wickets in his first six Tests, one every 44.1 balls, and is a strike bowler whose economy rate is above four runs per over. England believe that the mechanics of his bowling action – delivering the ball with his arm beyond the perpendicular – make him harder for batters to pick up, as Stokes alluded to after training on Monday.”There’s a few angles [to selection] like getting a fresh bowler in for the batters to have a look at,” Stokes said. “We feel like what Tonguey possesses – in terms of his angles that he creates at the crease, and his natural wicket-taking ability – is something that we feel is going to help us out this week.”Related

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Atkinson has struggled to make an impact in this series: he has taken three wickets in 54 overs, two of which came in Australia’s swift run chase at the Gabba in the second Test, and his drop-off in pace has been notable. But Stokes argued that he had been “incredibly unlucky” and that rotation in his seam attack was inevitable.”It’s a huge ask for any seamer to be able to play five games,” he said. “Gus has bowled very well out here. He’s just been incredibly unlucky, in particular with the new ball; I just don’t think he’s got the luck that he’s deserved.”With Tonguey, that natural wicket-taking ability that he has is something we feel is useful to be able to turn to. We’ve seen it in his career so far, that regardless of how things are going in a spell or a day, he’ll just get a cluster of wickets, or an important wicket out of nowhere.”Tongue, who has also been preferred to Matthew Potts and Matthew Fisher, took 5 for 151 in his previous Ashes Test, at Lord’s in 2023. Those wickets included Steven Smith twice (for 110 and 34), whom Tongue has dismissed in each of the four innings in which he has bowled to him, including a County Championship match in 2023 and in this year’s Hundred.Tongue was England’s leading wicket-taker in their series against India last summer with 19, including a second-innings five-wicket haul at The Oval after a wayward effort in the first innings. He has also proved himself to be particularly effective against the tail, and Stokes believes that he will be well-suited to Adelaide Oval.”I feel like on this surface in Adelaide, that kind of natural attribute is something that you’ll probably have to call on at some point, with it being probably one of the truer wickets [in Australia],” Stokes said. “I don’t think it’s going to have the bounce that we’ve seen in the first two games… It certainly plays a little bit different to the two other grounds that we played at.”Bashir’s omission at a venue where Nathan Lyon is Australia’s leading wicket-taker flies in the face of Stokes’ suggestion ahead of the second Test in Brisbane that he remains England’s “number one spinner”. But Jacks’ all-round efforts – 60 runs, a wicket, and a stunning catch at long leg – have seen him retained as England’s primary spin option.”It was a tough decision to come to,” Stokes said. “I thought the way that Jacksy handled last week in general was really, really good. In both innings, he looked incredibly composed at the crease, and I think when he got into his rhythm with the ball as well, he looked good. We’re 2-0 down, and we’re trying to give ourselves the best chance with bat and ball.”I wouldn’t say it’s got anything to do against Bash whatsoever… We feel having Jacksy down at No. 8 obviously strengthens our batting a little bit deeper, if we need to go there, and he’s more than capable enough to handle that role with the ball when we need to call upon it. We find ourselves in that situation where big runs and wickets are important.”Stokes confirmed that Carse will share the new ball with Archer, having operated as a change bowler in eight of his previous 11 Tests. “He’s someone who will always get the ball, run in and give everything,” he said. “He’s not bowled as well as he would have liked to [in Australia] but he still takes wickets… He’s just going to run in and give you everything.”Australia are expected to make at least two changes, with Pat Cummins set to return as captain, Nathan Lyon in line for a recall after missing the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, and a decision to make between Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja and Beau Webster for the final batting spot.

England XI:

1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue.

The modifications to one-day international rules, as proposed by the ICC in June 2007, could be implemented early if the Indian and Australian captains and respective boards agree. The rules are supposed to come into effect on October 1 but the seven-ODI series between India and Australia starts on September 29.Earlier in June, the ICC had ruled the following changes in ODI playing conditions:

Michael Hussey said hard work early in his innings would be the key to halting Andrew Flintoff’s dominance against left-hand batsmen. Hussey, who was not part of the Australia team that lost the Ashes last year, said Flintoff’s 2005 form against Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Simon Katich was a concern.”He does seem to bowl particularly well to lefties, we know that,” Hussey told the . “You’ve just got to work hard every single ball against him. He’s such a quality bowler, I think you’ve got to just try to wear him down. That’s what the game is all about, facing players like him.”It’s a true test of everything you’ve got: your mental ability, your skills, handling all the pressures that go with playing Test cricket, surviving and then slowly getting on top. It can be a very, very rewarding feeling to win that kind of battle.” Flintoff’s 24 wickets in the 2005 Ashes series included Gilchrist, Hayden and Katich four times each and Langer twice.Hussey said he hoped his experience against Flintoff would help. “I’ve faced him a few times in county games and that was a huge challenge,” Hussey said. “I’m sure he goes up another notch again in a Test match. I think you probably have to get through him initially and then try to get some runs later. My plans are something I’d probably prefer not to speak about, I’ll be keeping most of that to myself.”I like to spend a lot of time out there and try to be around as long as I can and develop partnerships with the guy at the other end and just try to wear the bowlers down that way. That’s the nature of Test cricket. You try to survive long enough until the ball gets a bit older and the pitch is hopefully flattening out a bit and the bowlers are getting more tired and then the runs can come. That’s why you do the hard work early on. Wear them down.”

Justin Langer was on Thursday named to lead the Prime Minister’s XI team against the touring West Indies in Canberra in a one-day match on December 2.Langer, who was forced out of the first Test against the West Indies with a broken rib, will lead a team of largely up-and-coming cricketers against Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s tourists at Manuka Oval. It will be the eighth time the Prime Minister’s XI will play the West Indies, with the home team’s record at four wins, one loss, one draw and one tie. Both teams first played each other in October 1951, a match that included names such as Sam Loxton, Neil Harvey and Bill O’Reilly, and the last time the two sides met was in December 2000, where the Prime Minister’s XI won by four wickets.The PM XI team : Justin Langer (captain), Travis Birt, Doug Bollinger, Adam Crosthwaite, David Dawson, Brett Dorey, Callum Ferguson, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Simpson, Adam Voges. Michael Shaw (12th man and super sub).

Shoaib Akhtar has been included in Pakistan’s team to play against the Western Australian 2nd XI in a three-day match at the James Oval starting on December 1. Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Asif, the medium-pacer, will also get a chance.Matthew Petrie, the former Queensland fast-bowler, was included in the Western Australian side. Petrie moved to WA in the off-season in a bid to further his chances of selection to the state side. James Sprague will also feature in his first representative match for WA.Play is scheduled to begin at 10.30am each day and the match will be played under the same conditions as a Cricket Australia Cup match where all 12 players can play but only 11 may bat and bowl.Pakistan
Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Mohammed Sami, Danish Kaneria, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Malik.Western Australian 2nd XI
Adam Voges (capt), Justin Coetzee, Liam Davis, Sean Ervine, Aaron Heal, Sam Howman, Scott Meuleman, Matthew Petrie, Luke Ronchi (wk), Craig Simmons, James Sprague, Peter Worthington.