Last season Wellington recorded their lowest score of 78 against Northern Districts at WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton. They are not yet sure of passing that dubious landmark in this year’s corresponding fixture, having finished day two at 76/8, 151 short of ND’s first-innings 227.It is a match full of notable statistical achievements, the most striking of which is that ND’s Michael Parlane scored 146, while the second-highest individual total has been 22. That was by Wellington pace bowler Andrew Penn, who registered career-best bowling figures of seven for 71.The pitch has been the main talking point. It began the day retaining the bright green colour of yesterday, turning a more conventional brown as the day went on. It remained challenging for the batsmen of both teams – Parlane gloriously excepted – all day, but how many demons does it really contain?Few were apparent in the hour or so after play began two hours late following heavy overnight rain. The only wicket to fall in that time was that of Hamish Marshall, run out for eight when James Franklin deflected a ball onto the stumps at the bowler’s end.Things changed as soon as Penn joined the attack after the drinks break. He struck twice in two overs. First, Grant Bradburn (15) was caught at third slip by Grant Donaldson a ball after edging just wide of the same, diving, fielder.Robbie Hart was Penn’s second victim, lbw for a duck. It should have been three wickets in two overs, but David Sales dropped Joseph Yovich at second slip before the left-hander had scored.Yovich was out off the last ball before lunch, edging a lifter from Penn into the gloves of wicket-keeper Glynn Howell for eight.When Simon Doull – as intent on aggression in the four-day version of the game as in the one-day – holed out to his second ball for a duck, ND were 167/8.Parlane had reached his hundred before the interval. It was his seventh first-class century, made on his first appearance of the season. He faced 200 balls and hit 15 fours. He displayed the familiar Parlane power and timing, but added exemplary shot selection.He added six more fours and a six, straight back against the sightscreen off Brooke Walker, while putting on 60 for the ninth wicket with Bruce Martin.They were helped by the absence of Penn from the attack for most of their partnership. It was a different game when he and Franklin were resting.Penn’s returned to wrap up the ND innings, having Parlane and Graeme Aldridge caught behind off successive deliveries.The Wellington reply fell into disarray almost as soon as it had begun. At tea they were 14 for two, having lost skipper Matthew Bell lbw to Yovich for five and Selwyn Blackmore caught by Martin at short leg of Aldridge for the first of four Wellington ducks.After the interval there was a procession of batsmen as the visitors subsided to 29/6.Richard Jones went to a fine diving catch by James Marshall at third slip off Yovich. Jones had scored 17 of the 21 that Wellington had on the board when he was out.Sales was caught at second slip by Scott Styris off Yovich. The ball was a beauty that straightened and squared Sales up.Matthew Walker was bowled first ball. He pushed tentatively down the wrong line.Franklin survived the hat-trick ball, only for Aldridge to surprise Donaldson with another lifter on off stump. It flew off the top edge to be well taken by Matthew Hart in the gully.Penn, who might have hoped to have had his feet up for the rest of the day, restored a fig leaf of modesty to the Wellington performance with 22 in a partnership of 40 for the seventh wicket.Significantly, the partnership prospered when the strike bowlers were rested. Eleven of the 15 wickets to fall today went to Penn or Yovich, two bowlers of good pace who were capable of making the ball lift off just short of a good length. Aldridge, who maintained a brisk pace and nagging line and length, claimed two.But Walker, Mark Gillespie, Doull and Styris have bowled 46 overs between them in the match for one wicket, that off a leg-side delivery from Doull that Penn chased and glanced to the wicket-keeper.So it is quality fast bowling making use of bounce and pace more than lateral movement, that is responsible for the sorry time experienced by the batsmen of both teams, not a poor quality pitch. If there were more surfaces like this in New Zealand, batsmen would be better equipped to deal with the challenges that they present.Yovich finished the day by dismissing Franklin, caught by Bradburn at first slip for a dogged 16. He may have been overtaken by Daryl Tuffey, and now Ian Butler, in the fast-bowling pecking order, but Yovich is capable of sustained spells of intelligent and genuinely quick bowling, as he demonstrated again today. He has five for 31.Wellington resume tomorrow needing two to avoid the follow-on with two wickets remaining. ND should win the game from here, whether or not those two runs are scored.

HOBART, Jan 18 AAP – A former junior basketball star who’s become Tasmanian cricket’s find of the year, today bowled the Tigers to their first Pura Cup win of the season.Adam Griffith, exploiting his six foot six inch frame, took the key wickets as Tasmania dismissed Victoria for 255 to win by 87 runs on the final afternoon at Bellerive Oval.But Tasmania almost fumbled victory into defeat as they dropped three catches that were costly enough and could have been fatal.The result extends Victoria’s winless Hobart hoodoo to 18 years and dents its hopes of hosting the final, although it did take two points for the first innings lead.Relieved Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox praised Griffith, who took eight wickets in the match, and Scott Mason, whose second innings 174 was the one really big innings of the match.He said they’d both produced “career defining” performances.Victorian captain Darren Berry said he was disappointed to lose the match after bowling Tasmania out for 120 in the first innings.The Bushrangers started the last day at 4-82 in their second innings and needing an unlikely 262 more runs to win.Their hopes should have been extinguished in the first half hour. But Jon Moss, on 11, and three balls later Ian Harvey, on 13, were dropped.The pair, batting positively, proceeded to put on exactly 100 runs until Damien Wright had Moss caught behind for 45.At lunch Victoria was 5-197 and still a chance. And the fumbles continued when, shortly afterwards, Cameron White was dropped on 28.But then Griffith, with his ability to make the ball rear off a good length from his great height, took over with the second new ball.Harvey, on 74, left a ball that seamed back and hit his off stump. Shortly afterwards Griffith bowled White for 41 and that was effectively that.With Andrew Downton mopping up the tail, Victoria lost 5-58 after lunch to subside to a decisive defeat.Griffith, 24, is a former Tasmanian under 18 basketball representative who moved from Launceston to Hobart to try to break into first class cricket several years ago.There were doubts whether he had the stamina to bowl at pace over a four day game, but he’s worked hard on his fitness and been helped by Tasmania’s boom allrounder Shane Watson, whom he lives with.He was given his chance mid-way through Tasmania’s season and in his last two matches has impressed with his control and ability to exploit his height.

Whilst the cricketing world sat and waited for a decision as to whether England would play their World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday, Somerset’s newest international star Ian Blackwell reflected on the opening ceremony that took place over the weekend.`Blackie’ who has burst onto the England scene during the winter with his all round performances after enjoying a successful season for the Cidermen in 2002 spoke of his pride in playing for his country.He told me: "The opening ceremony was really very impressive and the organisers certainly put on a very good show which must have taken months of putting together."He continued: "Opening ceremonies always create the sense of things actually happening. It almost seems a dream for all of this to be happening around me and it is most definitely a privilege for me to be representing my country in the biggest tournament in cricket."He concluded: "It made me realise just why I play cricket because you can’t pay for what I experienced the other night and it made the hairs on the back of my neckstand on end. It was really fantastic and lets hope we can start the tournament positively," a sentiment that will be echoed by everybody.I am sure that all website readers will be watching the fortunes of the Somerset trio with interest and send their best wishes to all three and hope that they have a very successful tournament.

A finger injury to Shane Warne dominated the news from Centurion where the Australians beat Northerns by five wickets. Warne left the field after being hit while fielding and received treatment on the fourth finger of his bowling hand. He returned to the attack but 21-year-old Jacques Rudolph smashed 150, including six sixes and 14 fours, to help the hosts make 277. There were four wickets for Brett Lee, but Warne could only manage one for 70 in eight overs.The Australian reply was led by Jimmy Maher with 78 not out. Maher was keeping wicket in this match while usual `keeper Adam Gilchrist, who was skippering the team, contributed a characteristically rapid 70.The South Africans enjoyed a revenge win against Western Province after suffering a defeat in their first warm-up match. Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hall reached a hundred and then retired as the national team reached 327 for seven in their 50 overs. Andrew Puttick top-scored for Western Province with 78, but once he was out the innings went into decline and the South Africans won by 92 runs.There was no such joy for the Indians in Durban. KwaZulu-Natal won this match by 32 runs, despite only reaching 190 for nine in their 50 overs. Doug Watson reached a fifty for the home side who were not helped by three run outs in their innings. Despite a run a ball 40 from Virender Sehwag, the Indian batting failed miserably and they were bowled out for 158 with nearly 12 overs unused.It was much the same story in Benoni where the Pakistanis lost to Easterns by 26 runs. Easterns only managed 215 for nine in their innings, but with Pierre De Bruyn taking four wickets, the Pakistanis could not match that. There were scores of 40 from Shahid Afridi, Abdur Razzaq and Younis Khan, but they were still bowled out for 189 inside 37 overs.The New Zealanders enjoyed a 116-run victory over Gauteng in Soweto. With 122 from captain Stephen Fleming and 70 from Chris Cairns, the visitors rattled up 306 for five before restricting Gauteng to 190 for eight.There were few problems for the Sri Lankans as they overcame the Free State total of 182 for seven. Jonathan Beukes made a fifty for Free State, but that was matched by Mahela Jayawardene as the Sri Lankans eased home by five wickets.The Kenyans did well to beat Eastern Province by four wickets in Port Elizabeth. Collins Obuya took four for 27 as the home side were bowled out for 130 in their full 50 overs and despite losing six wickets, the Kenyans reached their target with nearly ten overs to spare.There was no luck for the other minnows. The Dutch lost by 85 runs to Boland at Paarl. Boland reached 272 for seven, with a hundred from Benjamin Hector and 73 from Henry Davids. Several Dutch batsmen got a start with no fewer than six getting to 20, but they could only muster 187 between them.The Canadians reached 215 for seven against North West at Klerksdorp. The Canadians recovered well from 53 for five, led by 51 from Nicholas de Groot. However, seventies from both James Henderson and Arno Jacobs took the home side past their target for the loss of only three wickets.England were the first side to record a result in this round of matches. They breezed past Border in East London, winning by 8 wickets. Despite an innings of 90 from Steven Pope – a nephew of former South African batsman Kenny McEwan – Border could only manage 202 before they were bowled out.England took only 37 and a half overs to knock off the runs. Nick Knight and Marcus Trescothick put on exactly 100 for the opening partnership before Trescothick was out for 58. Knight was on 81 not out at the end.

The World Cup plot begins to thicken as the pool phase ends and the SuperSixes begins. Like Australia did four years ago, this is when you want tobegin peaking.There are only two changes to this Super Six from the last one. Sri Lankaand Kenya come in at the expense of South Africa and Pakistan. Pakistan miss out on qualifying for the next phase of the tournament for the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1975.Kenya may be present due to the beneficiaries of circumstances outside theircontrol but in their next three games they have the chance to prove they arethere on bona fide grounds.Kenya are the Zimbabwe of four years ago. The surprise packet of thetournament and like Zimbabwe of four years ago they only require one victoryto advance to the semi finals.Notwithstanding the controversy and politics, Zimbabwe will be ecstatic theyhave made it to their second consecutive Super Sixes, proving that the lastone was no fluke.Australia are the red hot favourites. Like true champions, they are winningeven when they are not playing well or look like they are up to their necksin trouble. Their flexibility and versatility is the key. Which other teamin world cricket could be without players the calibre of Warne, the twoWaughs and Gillespie and find such wonderful replacements that you don’teven know they are gone?The Australians are playing like the West Indians of the first two WorldCups where the Calypso cricketers were on a different dimension. They wereuntouchable and defeating them was an impossible task. In the first WorldCup, Pakistan set the West Indies a challenging 267 runs to score from 60overs. At 166 for eight and later 203 for nine, it looked like a Pakistani victory, butDeryck Murray and Andy Roberts combined for a last wicket partnership of 64to steer the West Indies home with just two balls to spare.Australia’s victory against England at Port Elizabeth was reminiscent ofthis game.Advancing to the Super Sixes from Pool B was a struggle and it doesn’t getany easier for Pool B teams wishing to make it through to the final four.New Zealand and Sri Lanka have to play the two form teams of the tournament;Australia and India while Zimbabwe can make some ground on New Zealand andSri Lanka as they get to play Kenya.For New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka to qualify they basically need towin every one of their Super Six games.There is a lot to play for. Australia don’t just want to qualify for thesemi-finals, they want to finish first (or fourth) so they play in the daysemi-final at Port Elizabeth and avoid the crapshoot which faces the teamsin the day/night semi-final at Durban.After some confusion about the format four years ago when it was firstintroduced, the Super Sixes is now being embraced.It is a great system asit forces the top teams to play each other at least once. It also means thateach of the next nine games is an ‘eight point game’ and a must win one atthat. All this should mean for fantastic cricket as the remaining sixnations fight it out for cricket’s glittering prize.

Stephen Fleming battled through searing heat and sappinghumidity to score 274 not out, the second-highest score by aNew Zealander in Test cricket. It was a patient marathonspanning nearly ten hours, and it left New Zealand in acommanding position against Sri Lanka at the close of play onday two.After four sessions of plodding Test cricket, the game turneddecisively as Fleming pressed down on the accelerator in thesecond afternoon. He added 157 in 272 balls with Scott Styris,playing as a specialist batsman after injuring his shoulder in thewarm-up games, and then 72 in 108 with Jacob Oram.New Zealand piled up a massive 515 for seven before declaring -the third-highest total against Sri Lanka by New Zealand -twenty minutes before the scheduled close. Fleming selflesslydenied himself the chance to surpass the 299 scored by MartinCrowe against Sri Lanka in 1990-1, the highest score by a NewZealander in Test cricket.Left with a tricky six overs before the close of play, withthunderclouds gathering around the ground for the first time inthe match, Marvan Atapattu was trapped lbw for a duck byDarryl Tuffey. It was a poor decision by Darryl Harper – the ballwas slanting down the leg side. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, furtherdamage was prevented as bad light forced the players from thefield in the second over.Sri Lanka’s hopes of a tenth consecutive Test win on home soilwere thus extinguished. Their objective now was to avoid defeat- and before that, to avoid the follow on.Fleming admitted that he could not read Muttiah Muralitharan,Sri Lanka’s star offspinner, but he grew more dominant againsthim as the day progressed. After hours of reaching forward andsmothering the spin with bat or pad, he started to attack: acrisp cover-drive in the first over after lunch was followed by astraight six in Muralitharan’s next over.He enjoyed his fair share of good fortune. Sri Lanka’s fielding wasatrocious, with a total of eight clear catches being floored in theinnings. Mahela Jayawardene, considered one of the safest pairof hands in the side, was the chief offender, spilling three in theday and four in the innings.Had Jayawardene held on to his juggling effort runningbackwards from gully when Fleming was on 121, Sri Lanka’spredicament might not have been so gloomy. He missed out on achance to redeem himself, failing to hold onto a tougher chanceat slip when Fleming had made 141.Fleming found a willing partner in Styris, who raised the tempowell. Actively searching out opportunities to score, he used hisfeet well to the spinners, hitting two straight sixes. He made 63from 139 balls before lofting a catch to Chaminda Vaas on thelong-on boundary (392 for 4).Muralitharan, exasperated on Friday after three catches weredropped off his bowling, claimed his first wicket in his 55th over,when Oram, looking to score quick runs before the declaration,top-edged a sweep and was caught at deep square leg (471 for5).Muralitharan then mopped up Robbie Hart, who was caught by adiving Jayawardene at short leg, to finish with two for 140 from58.5 overs. His fellow offspinner, Kumar Dharmasena, chipped inwith the wicket of Daniel Vettori to finish with 3 for 132 from 40overs – the best figures among the Sri Lankan bowlers.The only wicket to fall during the morning session had been thatof Matthew Sinclair, who looked uncomfortable against Vaas.Armed with a new ball just seven overs old, Vaas had an edgefall short of Romesh Kaluwitharana, and then watched in horroras Sinclair squirted a low catch to gully only for SanathJayasuriya to do a Jayawardene. Finally, as Tillakaratne turnedback to his spinners, Sinclair offered a dolly catch to short leg(235 for three).

It would be wrong to suggest that Mark Butcher has never known a day like today – at Edgbaston in 2001, his criminally under-used outswingers picked up four Australian wickets in six overs. But he is unlikely ever to have it quite so easy again. Well, not until next week’s second Test, at any rate.Of all the excuses used to justify this tour of England, the need to nurture what little that remains of Zimbabwe cricket’s infrastructure was the most plausible. On this evidence, sadly, there is nothing left to salvage. Andy Flower’s retirement always threatened to be an insurmountable loss, but even he couldn’t have expected quite such a capitulation. Nineteen Zimbabwean wickets were lost in a single day’s play – not even Bangladesh set their sights so low.What makes the result all the more disappointing, is that Zimbabwe actually played above themselves for the first day and a half. What might have happened had England won the toss and bowled first under that blanket of first-day cloud? Butcher, one suspects, would not have been given a look-in.How then, do England assess their performance? It will be tough for the selectors to draw any conclusions whatsoever, especially as England are not used to taking on opponents other than Australia, South Africa and West Indies. The contrast between this cakewalk and the life-in-the-fast-lane of the Ashes tour could not be starker. Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Hoggard were two of the most exposed players against Australia, but here they were two of the most composed. Michael Vaughan’s embarrassed struggle for runs is somehow a more apt commentary.The biggest red herring of the Test, however, was Anthony McGrath’s transformation into a world-beating allrounder. As debuts go, McGrath played a blinder, and his deceptive seamers are bound to have a role in future partnership breakings. But if Andrew Flintoff recovers in time for the second Test at Durham, it will be Rob Key who is in danger of being squeezed out of the team, and all because of one poor umpiring decision. Key earned Australia’s respect in the winter, and does not deserve to be marginalised. The Australian way (as Stuart Law can testify) would be for the stand-in to stand down, but will the selectors be able to recognise this match as a non-event?There is one issue, however, that transcends the mediocrity of the opposition. Over the years, English cricket has encountered enough false messiahs to fill the Sinai Desert, so what on earth are we to make of the latest and most convincing applicant yet – James Anderson?Only last week, a 37-year-old chain-smoking former Middlesex spinner was being touted as the saviour of the game, so it’s a little early to get carried away. But there is something about Anderson – his pace, his demeanour, his movement through the air – that few other candidates have ever pulled together into one package. In one sizzling spell after lunch, he wrote himself into the annals of Lord’s history, and reassuringly, the balls with which he took his wickets would have troubled any batsman in the world.But equally reassuring, he struggled to make an impact in the second innings. The sky is the limit for Anderson, but it is just as well he is given the odd reminder along the way, that not everything will go his way at all times. Even against Zimbabwe.

After 26 months of control by government-appointed interim committees, the clubs and associations that make up the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) have finally got what they have been clamouring for: a democratically elected administration headed by Thilanga Sumathipala, who has been the most powerful man in Sri Lankan cricket since the 1996 World Cup.

Sumathipala’s win in Friday’s election was always a forgone conclusion.Nevertheless, the sheer size of his victory against Arjuna Ranatunga, the 1996 World Cup winning captain, was a surprise. He won 121 of the 138 votes cast in the open ballot. It was not so much a landslide as anavalanche. Ranatunga was humiliated, winning just seven votes.A bitter Ranatunga told that media afterwards that “at least seven clubs loved the game” before scuttling away from the Sports Ministry headquarters, where the election was held amid tight security. He hoped that the size of the victory would be an “eye opener” for the government, claiming it was the result of a deeply flawed and corrupt system. “If I can only get seven votes after giving my 100% to Sri Lanka cricket then there has to be corruption in the system,” he reasoned. In a typical show of defiance, he added: “This isnot the end, I will continue my battle.”There are many who concur with Ranatunga’s sentiments, about the suitability of the current open ballot system, and also about the suitability of Sumathipala for the leadership. Indeed, the current chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, who presides over an impressive business empire of his own making, has staunch enemies. For some, he is a man of ambition and vision with the best interests of Sri Lanka’s cricket at heart, but others are distrustful, suspecting that something more sinister drives his apparently unquenchable lust for cricketing power. Sumathipala is an enigma: few really know whether he’s a hero or villain.His two previous terms in office have been controversial, both cut short by the government. In 1999 his executive committee was forced out of office for legal reasons, as his opponents campaigned in the courts after an ugly election. He swept to power again at the next elections, but that stay was also curtailed prematurely, this time on the pretext of a constitutional technicality by the sports minister, Laksmann Kiriella.In the immediate aftermath of the sacking, rumours of wrongdoing abounded. Corruption stories were fuelled by the outgoing BCCSL chief executive, Dammika Ranatunga, who claimed that the tender process for the award of a three-year television contract with WSG Nimbus was flawed. The mushrooming bill for the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Sumathipala’s pet project at the time, also raised suspicions about the fairness of the tender process for building contractors. An official inquiry was launched.The inquiry’s preliminary report concluded that there had been “financial mismanagement” but its conclusion carried little weight. It was a kangaroo court, set up and run by persons with an axe to grind. Sumathipala successfully persuaded the courts of this fact and the inquiry was halted. Since then there has been much gossip but no hard evidence. For all the mud thrown at Sumathipala, none has stuck. Some of his closest allies have erred, but his record is still clean.To suggest that Sumathipala won the elections by simply waving his chequebook to under-funded cricket clubs is far-fetched. No one can buy off that level of support. The fact is that for the last five years he has listened to the clubs attentively and built a cohesive plan, called the National Development Plan, that addresses their needs. That is sound thinking in any electoral system.They also know that Sumathipala is a doer in a country of delays. For the last two years interim committees have prevaricated too much and done too little. The recent establishment of the cricket academy was really the only achievement of note. The domestic competition remains a mess, a cradle for soft cricketers, and the standards of school cricket have dropped. The clubs have seen Sumathipala build an entire stadium in 165 days – they know he can implement what he promises.Although the state of domestic cricket and the school system remains high on the agenda, Sumathipala’s first task is to solve a serious financial crisis. The recent decision by a Singapore tribunal, which ruled that the BCCSL cancelled a three-year US$27.1 million contract unlawfully, means that Sri Lankan cricket faces an US$11 million damages bill – a claim that the BCCSL cannot afford considering a financial loss of US$940,000 in 2002.It was Sumathipala who negotiated the original deal with WSG Nimbus, the largest television deal in Sri Lanka’s history, and he must salvage the situation now. He has wasted no time in starting the process, calling the current rights holder, Taj Television, for emergency talks this week. He will then sit down and negotiate with WSG. He promises a solution: “I am confident that I can sort this out, although at what cost to the BCCSL I do not know.” Despite a reputation for being a master negotiator, it will be no easy task.Sumathipala had also promised a permanent coach within 30 days in the run-up to the election. In the event he needed just six hours, announcing the imminent appointment of John Dyson, a former Australian opening batsman. A physiotherapist and a physical trainer will be appointed shortly, according to Aravinda de Silva, who has been placed in charge of cricketing affairs.Whether the Sumathipala magic wand can revive the ailing domestic structure remains to be seen. Ultimately, a complete shake-up is needed, but he is unlikely to upset the clubs by splitting the Premier Division in two. The most likely solution is the addition of a new “Super Tournament” where the cream of the talent is condensed into six teams.During the coming weeks Sumathipala’s team will put flesh on their ideas, producing a blueprint for change, which will then be presented to the clubs for their endorsement. It’s an eagerly awaited document, for everyone is agreed that change is needed. But the key will be implementation: both the end result and the manner it’s achieved. Sumathipala’s reputation is at stake and this time he needs to be squeaky clean. His personal ambition is to head the International Cricket Council (ICC) and he cannot afford to be thrown out by the government for the third time.Charlie Austin is Sri Lanka editor of Wisden CricInfo.

In July’s Wisden Cricket Monthly Julian Guyer reports that a fair-play league has club players biting their tonguesAn innovative approach to the problem of players’ bad behaviour is being pioneered in the Middlesex County League, one of England’s leading club competitions.The idea is a fair-play league and the winners in each of the three divisions will receive £500 from the sponsors Ladbrokes. Teams start matches with 30 fair-play points but may lose points if, in the opinion of the umpires, the players’ conduct is not in keeping with the spirit of cricket, dissent is shown at decisions and there is bad behaviour towards the opposing team.So will it make any difference? “We’re in favour of anything that helps umpires,” says the League chairman Bob Baxter. “I don’t think we have a particular problem with discipline in Middlesex but we hope this may concentrate minds.”There is a general perception within club cricket that on-field behaviour has declined in recent years and tales of umpires staging Arthur Fagg-style walkouts during the middle of games in protest are not uncommon.Richard Johns is the manager of Finchley, traditionally one of Middlesex’s strongest clubs. “It will be interesting to see the umpires’ markings when they come out,” he says. “I think behaviour has got worse. A lot of it has to do with games being more competitive because of the introduction of leagues with promotion and relegation.”There are fewer umpires than there used to be. How much of that is down to behavioural standards or a general lack of interest in umpiring I’m not sure. But I do know some umpires who have packed it in because they had had enough of being shouted at by players.”Ladbrokes have run similar schemes in local football competitions. “We are determined to put something back into sport because as bookmakers we make our money from it,” says Dominic Harrison, Ladbrokes’ commercial director. “We want to do something which upholds the best traditions of cricket at a time when, anecdotally at least, they appear to be under threat.”We could throw money at large-scale events but we want our business to be regarded as local because what matters to our customers is what is happening in their area.”Middlesex are our home county (Ladbrokes’ headquarters are in Harrow) but we’ve already had inquiries from Kent and Essex, who’ve heard on the grapevine about what’s going on here. And what’s been really encouraging is that clubs in Middlesex have been coming to us with their own sponsorship ideas.”At a time when English cricket nationally is on the lookout for major backers, is Ladbrokes involvement at club level the sign of bigger things to come?”I rule nothing out,” Harrison says. “But this is the first time, as far as anyone still at the company can remember, that we’ve got involved with cricket and we’re happy to be putting something back into the sport in this way.”If nothing else this season, when the fair-play tables are published, a few sides in Middlesex will no longer be able to say that “bad behaviour is a problem, but not at our club”. Perhaps the ICC should adopt the idea of a fair-play table. It might just be the only thing in the game Australia would struggle to win.Click here to subscribe to Wisden Cricket Monthly

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Glamorgan lost a dramatic floodlit National League match against Worcestershire at New Roadby 3 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method after being set a revised target of 126 to win in18 overs. Steady rain throughout the afternoon, meant that the start was delayed until 7.15pm,with the match being initially reduced to a 23 overs a sidecontest.Robert Croft then won an important toss, and elected to bowl first witha side showing one change from the team on Sunday, with Owen Parkin replacing DeanCosker. It was Parkin who opened the bowling with Michael Kasprowicz, and the Worcestershireopeners Anurag Singh and Vikram Solanki got their side off to a rapid start, striking8 boundaries in the first 27 balls.But Kasprowicz, bowling from the Diglis End, then took 3 wickets in five balls withoutconceeding a run, as Solanki was caught at slip by Michael Powell, before Graeme Hick fendedoff his second ball into the hands of Jonathan Hughes in the gully. Then in hisnext over Andrew Hall was also caught in the gully, this time by Jimmy Maher, as Worcestershireslumped from 36-0 to 40-3.Worcestershire captain Ben Smith made his intentions clear right from the outset, twicecutting Alex Wharf, who had replaced Kasprowicz at the Diglis End, over the pointboundary for six, but Adrian Dale then replaced Wharf and immediately deceived Anurag Singhinto chipping the ball into Powell`s hands at short mid-wicket with the score on 69-4.Smith and David Leatherdale had added a further fifteen runs when a further rain interuptiontook place, and the game was further reduced to an 18 overs contest. Aftera thirty minute delay, the Worcestershire batsmen came back out to face a further 15 balls.Leatherdale was dismissed from the first delivery, but Smith and Gareth Batty added 32 runsas Worcestershire finished on 117-5 from their 18 overs.After the recalculations had been done, Glamorgan`s target was 126, but they made a poor startlosing Robert Croft to the second ball of the innings. Jimmy Maher and Matthew Maynard thenadded 38 before Maher was caught and bowled by Mason, but Maynard kept Glamorgan in the huntstriking six crisp boundaries before chipping Mason to Kabir Ali at mid-on.Worcestershire came back into the match as Jonathan Hughes departed for 1, but Michael Powelland Adrian Dale put Glamorgan back in front, adding 24 in three and a half overs before the playersleft the field as the steady drizzle turned into heavy rain with 13.3 overs having been bowled.At the time, Glamorgan were narrowly ahead under the Duckworth-Lewis method, but the stoppageproved to a very brief one, and the players returned. With the game still on a knife-edge,Dale and Powell added a further 13 runs, before Powell was bowled by Leatherdale, and then MarkWallace was run-out.Dale then top-edged the next ball from Kabir Ali into his face, and with blood pouring from a cut, Dale wasforced to retire hurt, with Glamorgan still needing 15 from the last 10 balls. Wharf struck his firstball for four to briefly raise Welsh hopes, but only 1 run was added from the next three balls toleave Glamorgan needing 10 from the final over from Leatherdale.Wharf scored 3 from the first couple of balls, before Kasprowicz was bowled by the third ball.David Harrison then scrambled 3 from the next two deliveries, leaving Wharf to score 4 from the final ballto win the game. However, the burly Yorkshireman could not make contact with Leatherdale`s last delivery,and Worcestershire had won a dramatic game by 3 runs.