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History was made tonight when, three decades after Kerry Packer launched floodlit cricket in Australia, the lights were turned on at Lord’s for a day-night match. The fact that Middlesex beat Derbyshire by three wickets in a Pro40 match was almost incidental to the bigger story.The MCC, which is not nearly as conservative as its reputation, is looking ahead. The ground, while boasting the best facilities in the country, is under increasing pressure as other venues acquire international status. It needed lights and this game was a test case, more about placating the neighbours than the cricket itself.In that regard it will be deemed a success. Around 5000 turned out on a glorious late-summer evening, including several hundred of the MCC’s neighbours who had been given freebies. While those numbers might appear low, the fixture was only switched from Southgate last month and it probably suited the organisers to have a low-key curtain raiser. And while the temporary lights were not as powerful as more permanent ones would be, they were more than enough for a decent game to take place.As a further move to ease the worries of the locals, the match started 30 minutes earlier than usual for a day-night fixture and the public bars were shut an hour before the close. The music that accompanies boundaries and wickets was also more subdued.For the Derbyshire innings the pylons barely peeked out from over the top of the stands. At the break, they extended to their full height, and as the sun finally set, their impact was really felt. The general consensus was that the old ground was enhanced by being bathed in light.Over the winter the MCC will engage in consultations with residents and, all being well, there will be more floodlit matches in 2008.The long-term aim has to be the instillation of permanent lights, albeit ones that are likely to be retractable so as not to destroy the ambience of the ground and also to placate planners and residents. Those should be in place in time for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, alongside ambitious plans to increase the capacity from around 28,000 to more than 35,000.The MCC will not only have to pay for the floodlights themselves; what last night did show was that the lighting in the stands and on the concourses will also need a major overhaul.But the experiment was a success and the first of a number of hurdles was successfully overcome.

West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds has signed a one-year deal with Derbyshire as a Kolpak player. He has played 45 Tests and 114 one-day internationals, but hasn’t featured at international level since the Champions Trophy last October.If Hinds was to play for West Indies during this contract he would have to rescind his non-overseas status, so the move means his international future is looking doubtful. However, his aggressive batting and useful medium-pace will be valuable additions to the Derbyshire team.”It is terrific news for Derbyshire that we have been able to add a player of Wavell’s quality and experience to our squad for 2008,” said head of cricket John Morris. “Wavell has plenty of experience in both the Test and one-day international arena and he has proven ability in scoring runs at the highest level. That is exactly what I was looking for in a Kolpak player.”Hinds is the latest big-name signing made by Morris since he took charge at Derbyshire following Rikki Clarke’s arrival as captain last week.

A fine all round performance by national cap, Romesh Kaluwitharana, ensured Colts CC a 58 run victory over Panadura Sports Clubin a key Premier League Limited Overs encounter at Colts cricket grounds today. The victory means that Colts become the group leaders and now look certain to qualify for the semi-finals.Kaluwitharana, coming into bat at number two, scored a well compiled 122 runs, which included nine boundaries and two sixes to erase the bitter memories of the day before, when he was run out without facing a ball. This was his second century in consecutive weeks.Then, when he took the field, he couldn’t stay out of the action. He decided not to keep wicket but held onto a brilliant diving catch at first slip in the seventh over to dismiss opener Anjula Perera.Chaminda Vaas, who captained Colts today, then decided to try his hand at bowling in the 47th over of the innings. Kaluwithrana, clearly delighted to have an opportunity to turn his arm over, took a wicket with his fifth delivery and another in his second over.Panadura SC who were chasing a target of 295 runs to win, batted doggedly but found it difficult to accelerate the scoring. Chamara Silva was the pick of the batsmen. He scored 55 and when he was at the crease Panadura had a theoretical chance. However, Dinuka Hettiarachchi (3/44) bowled him to leave Panadura 187 for three in the 43rd over.Panadura skipper, Sham Liyanage, was not too disappointed by the batting performance and remained upbeat about the remaining two matches two matches against NCC and CCC.”This was our highest total in the tournament so far, out batsmen did well, only thing we gave away too many in the last few overs that was also due to drizzling conditions,” explained Liyanage.Asked to bat first, Colts piled up a massive 294 runs despite the pitch being difficult to bat on the outfield having been slowed by the drizzle.Openers Chaminda Mendis(14) and Kaluwitharana put on 54 runs for the first wicket before Mendis was out in the 14th over. Then Jeevantha Kulatunge(49) joined Kaluwitharana to put up 105 runs for the second wicket and Kulantuge was the next to go in the 37th over.Kaluwitharana was joined by Sajith Fernando(77)and the pair put up 85 runs before Kalu was out in the 47th over. Sajith Fernando hammered the bowlers all around the ground in the final overs. He scored his 77 runs from just 41 balls and hit four sixes. 83 runs were scored from the last five overs.

India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni is pleased with the positives that have come out of the tour of Australia where the visitors lost the first four ODIs before coming back to win the final ODI and all three Twenty20 internationals. In a season where India will now play only T20 cricket till the home World T20 and the IPL, Dhoni feels he might have found a settled bowling unit, a feeling he rarely experiences, and a lot of it is down to the newcomer Jasprit Bumrah, who incidentally would not have made it to the side but for two injuries.While Dhoni expectedly downplayed the T20 whitewash, he went out of his way to praise Bumrah. “The find [of the tour] for me was Bumrah,” Dhoni said. “The way he has bowled in the last three games was really good. What looks good is Bumrah as a potential player. He’s looking really good, and even today he bowled the yorkers well. And I’ve always said that to be successful in the shorter format you have to execute the yorkers. Whether you choose to bowl it or not is up to you, but if you don’t have that option, then definitely at some point of time, you will be under pressure.”For once Dhoni made a bold declaration – some might say he is tempting fate – that he need not worry about about the bowling too much. “I am always worried about the bowling, especially when we go out of India, but now that we are playing only T20s for a consistent period of time, the bowling is looking settled,” Dhoni said. “I don’t have to worry about the bowling line-up. There might be one or two changes here or there: we might pick another spinner or maybe get a medium-fast bowler of a quick, but overall it has been a good set-up.”Dhoni said it was a conscious decision to look at new bowlers after having yielded similar results by persisting with the old ones. “We wanted to try different people because we have been trying the same few individuals and getting the same result,” Dhoni said. “So it was high time we gave chances to individuals who were doing well in the domestic circuit, and to see what really they have to offer.”And at the same time, once they play over here and go back, they at least know what are the departments they need to work on. Because there’s a lot of difference between our first-class cricket and international cricket. The gap is quite wide between them. So now at least with a few games here, a bit of practice with the Indian team and the bowling coaches, at least once they go back, they know what needs to be done. I think a lot of them will have to field really hard, they’ll have to push themselves to improve their fielding. And as far as just the talent is concerned, there were quite a few people who looked good.”A settled bowling attack to go with a top order in prodigious form and the benefit of home conditions and crowds will make India a formidable team in the World T20. Dhoni paid tribute to the consistency of his main batsmen. “I feel that it is difficult to follow up a big performance, like a score of 100 or 80, with another big performance,” Dhoni said. “What has been good in this series is how the top order has consistently performed. It is very difficult.”When you are scoring lots of runs you get a lot of confidence, but at the same time, there comes a time when you put that extra pressure on yourself too. You may think that the law of averages will strike at some point. But they have carried it through the whole series, they always gave us a very good start. And it was always the top order.”If you talk about five, six, seven and the lower-down batsmen, apart from that one game [Canberra ODI], we were just doing the sweeping job of playing 10-12 deliveries, or 15 deliveries maximum. The top order did really well in this tournament for us.”

Cricket matches in Chennai usually mean a lot of rain. Water scarcity is a big problem in the city but schedule a game and you can be pretty assured about the heavens opening up. The steady pitter-patter this morning brought with it a sense of déjà vu.Over the last four years, two Tests, two ODIs and a premier domestic one-day final – all of which were played between October and December – have been disrupted by rain. But this time, at least, the board seems to have got the timing right – since 1995, games held in March have gone the course.A bit of rain, though, brings with it humidity and it was no surprise to see Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris spent after the session. It was also fitting that they sat alongside each other – one will lead the batsmen’s challenge against turn while the other will spearhead the spin department against quality opposition.Kallis was pretty clear about the conditions his side could expect for the first Test. “I don’t think there’s going to be too much swing happening here,” he said with a wry smile. “The way the wicket has been prepared, it’s going to be a spinner’s paradise. We’ve had trips to the subcontinent recently and the guys are playing spin as well as they’ve ever played. I think the myth that South Africans do not play spin well is pretty much out of the window now.”While South Africa go into the series without any practice match, Kallis felt the tour to Bangladesh was a good preparation. “The guys have played low and slow wickets in Bangladesh, so technically they’re well prepared. Mentally – to bat time, face the heat and humidity – needs an adjustment. So at the moment it’s probably a more mental adjustment we need to make.”Sitting next to him was Harris, somebody who’s waited for this tour all his life. South Africa’s only previous series win in India – back in 1999-00 – was set up by a fine spell by another left-arm spinner – Nicky Boje. While India’s power-packed batting order has dealt successfully with legspinners and offbreak bowlers, it’s the left-arm variety – Raymond Price, Ashley Giles and Boje – who have turned into irritants. Joining Harris in the spin department will be Robin Peterson, another left-arm spinner, who is expected to land on Monday.”I’m looking forward to bowling to all of the Indian top order,” Harris said. “I’ve been waiting my whole career to play a series in India – probably the best place for a spinner to come and test his skills. I’m looking forward to bowling to some of the best players in the world. It’s a pity I missed the Test matches in Bangladesh. I was injured for that. But I have a great coach at home – Richard Pybus, he’s coached Pakistan – and he’s helped me.”Harris showed his match-winning ability on the trip to Pakistan late last year, with 12 wickets in two games. It included a telling 5 for 73 in the Karachi Test, setting up a famous win. However, while recognising that performance, he thought he gained more from the two home series against India and Pakistan [in 2006-07].”In Pakistan they prepared wickets for their spinners – especially inKarachi. It turned a lot and there was actually quite a bit of bounce there [in Pakistan]. So I felt it was less strenuous than in the home tours against India and Pakistan before that. It was nice to go there and do well but those wickets really did suit me.”With conditions likely to drain the energies of the faster bowlers,Harris is expecting to shoulder a large part of the burden. However,Kallis was clear that only a collective effort – from both the quicksand the spinners – would win them the series. “I think we have anattack that can take 20 wickets, which is what you need to win a Test.For the first time in a long time, our strength lies with our bowlers.And I think they’re going to come through. If they can have a goodseries here, we’re in with a big shot.”

Muttiah Muralitharan has lashed out at Shane Warne, calling him a “miserable man” and declaring he would not speak to Warne at the unveiling of the new trophy that bears their names. Muralitharan was angered by Warne’s suggestion that the ICC should have Muralitharan’s bowling action analysed during a Test match, despite the fact he has repeatedly passed laboratory tests.”I am very disappointed with what he said,” Muralitharan told the . “He can’t keep his mouth shut because he wants to keep making these comments. He must be a miserable man in his life. But that is his opinion and there is nothing I can do about it.”Warne is the world’s leading Test wicket-taker with 708 victims but Muralitharan needs only seven more to overtake him and that could happen in the second Test, which starts in Hobart on Friday. The rift comes at an awkward time after the two champions were honoured with the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, which will be held by the winner of the Australia-Sri Lanka Test series and will be unveiled by the pair on Thursday.”Maybe he just doesn’t want me to pass his record,” Muralitharan said. “Why else would he keep saying these things? I will shake his hand [at the ceremony] and go straight off the field instead of trying to be friendly.”Warne wrote in his column on Tuesday that checking Muralitharan’s action during a match would offer “peace of mind” to everybody in world cricket and “surely Murali would want that”. The comments came after a newspaper article on the weekend in which Warne’s mentor, Terry Jenner, floated the idea of in-match testing for Muralitharan.”Terry Jenner played cricket a long time ago and cricket is very different now,” Muralitharan said. “So it doesn’t matter what he says. But Jenner and Warne are still always commenting, commenting, commenting. It makes them feel important.”Muralitharan told the paper he and Warne were not on good terms before these latest problems, as he believed Warne considered Muralitharan had collected too many cheap Test wickets against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Although 163 of Muralitharan’s Test victims have been Zimbabwe or Bangladesh players, he also has an outstanding record against England and South Africa and says he can only play whoever Sri Lanka is scheduled to face.Muralitharan said he had no comment about the decision to use his name alongside Warne’s on the new trophy. “That was the decision between the boards of Sri Lanka and Australia,” he said. “I cannot say anything else.”

For the scores of cricket fans packed onto the London Underground this morning, there was a special message as the train arrived at their destination. “Our next stop is Oval,” announced the driver over the tannoy, “where I regret to inform you the forecast is for sun.” It was a droll reminder of how futile England’s predicament had become. On Friday their series prospects were marmalised by an Indian batting performance of stunning totality, and now all that remained was a three-day face-saving exercise.Even so, for professional batsmen – a selfish bunch by nature – the idea of batting for three days in perfect sun-blessed conditions should not really have been the chore that England’s top order made it out to be today. Their coach, Peter Moores, had even dangled the carrot in his comments on the previous evening. “Help yourselves,” was the gist of his message as he exhorted them to bat, bat and then bat some more. If they put their own interests first, he reasoned, those of the team would follow soon enough. If Brian Lara was an Englishman in this situation, he would have had designs on a third world record.Instead England’s response was nervy, motley and self-destructive. Massive totals can have that effect on opposing sides – every run that is scored sinks into the requirement like a footstep up a sand-dune – but it could not mitigate the culpability of so many of England’s dismissals. Andrew Strauss’s hook to deep square leg on Friday evening might have been excusable after two days of hard toil, but it was not intended to be a template for what followed.England were limp, as limp as they had been in Lahore two winters ago in a similarly hopeless situation. Alastair Cook, dropped twice while clipping off his pads to leg slip, made it third time unlucky by spooning a return catch to Anil Kumble off the back of his over-eager blade. Kevin Pietersen allowed his more watchful persona to dominate the first 106 balls of his innings, before his hubristic Mr Hyde let rip at Sachin Tendulkar’s very first delivery, and even Ian Bell, a man whose appetite for easy runs is unsurpassed in this side, could not resist a wild slash at a wide one from Zaheer Khan.The flashiness of their downfall made Tendulkar’s sheet-anchor single-mindedness on the first two days all the more admirable. He took no risks whatsoever at a stage of the game when many onlookers were questioning the value of such stodginess. England’s batsmen, by contrast, had been granted a rare opportunity to be lauded for a lack of aesthetic appeal, much as happened to Michael Atherton at Johannesburg in 1995-96. None of them showed much desire to do things the ugly way.Only Michael Vaughan, who was genuinely deceived by an excellent googly from Kumble, and Paul Collingwood – the latest victim of Ian Howell’s ignoble series – could be excused for the manner of their dismissals. But even Collingwood admitted a measure of culpability in the shot that got him out. Talking of England’s approach to such a towering total, he said: “You have to stick to the gameplan of picking on your strengths, which for me was the straight ball on the pads, hitting it to the leg side.” The fact that he missed out on his money shot was all the excuse that Howell needed.

India’s bowlers were good but far from excellent – they did not need to be. It was not until they took the new ball with England already ruptured at 288 for 5 that they finally found the same consistency and aggression that had carried them to victory in the last Test at Trent Bridge. Up until that point their swing – though prodigious – had been misdirected, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni lining himself up a foot to the right of the return crease. The uncertainty they created, however, was enough to break England’s resolve.”Generally you know exactly what the ball is going to do as it comes down, but it’s very hard to line bowlers up when they are swinging it both ways,” said Collingwood, who made it sound rather as if he had spent his summer facing Wasim Akram. “The control that they’ve shown has been excellent, but being brought up on Indian wickets, you have to have that variety. “Though the series is lost, Collingwood insisted that the match is not yet all over for England. “I think everyone in the dressing room thinks it can be saved,” he said. “Whether we can win it or not is a different matter, but there’s plenty of fight in there, and we’ve got two days to show that fight.” History suggests that it is not entirely out of the question. In 1990, England were baked by India’s batsmen to the tune of 606 runs, folded for 340 in their first innings, then batted to the close with David Gower leading the way. Gower, however, was playing for his career. England’s current incumbents cannot even play for themselves at the moment.

Decision of the dayWhen Daniel Vettori won the toss and chose to bowl first, opinion was divided as to the wisdom of his decision. Michael Vaughan claimed he would have done likewise, but by the time he and Alastair Cook had taken England to 79 for 0 at lunch, it’s fair to say he was revising his opinion. And then, out of the blue, but in that manner so familiar to England this series, their momentum shuddered to a halt. A hint of a cloud rolled across the Basin, and New Zealand’s seamers made the ball talk to the tune of five wickets in the session. And Vettori, quietly content by this stage, was happy to leave himself out of the attack until the 65th over.Innings of the dayWithout Ambrose’s initiative, England would have been deep – and possibly terminally – in the mire. They were in tatters at 136 for 5 when he came to the crease, and any more of that negative Hamilton mentality would have been an invitation for further disaster. Instead he fronted up with the fearlessness that had eluded his senior colleagues, never better exemplified than by the sizzling pull for six off Kyle Mills that carried him into the nineties.Over of the dayThere had been just ten balls of the day remaining when he played that shot, and most players in sight of a maiden hundred would have shut up shop for the night. Not a bit of it. A pull for three carried Ambrose to within a single blow, and he was desperate to go for it as well. Jacob Oram, more of whom later, was having none of it, however. Five jagging deliveries in a row kept the batsmen, fielders and spectators on tenterhooks right up to the bitter end, but Ambrose survived to carry his fight to another dayDouble act of the day 1Ambrose’s effort was magnificent, but it couldn’t have been achieved without the steadfast Paul Collingwood playing a vital anchor role. His doughtiness had been to England’s detriment at Hamilton, but this time he enabled his junior partner to carry the attack straight back to New Zealand. The pair performed a similar role in the first innings at Hamilton, where they added 90 for the sixth wicket, but without anything approaching the same intent. This time they brought up their 150 partnership from just 229 balls, at almost exactly twice the scoring rate.Miser of the dayEngland’s funereal run-rate at Hamilton was the root cause of all their problems, and no-one contributed more stingily to New Zealand’s cause than Oram, whose 25 overs cost a meagre 29 runs. Today, it was Oram who once again instigated the slide, in an incredible 14-over onslaught either side of lunch. By the time he took a blow with England reeling at 109 for 3, his cumulative series stats were an incredible 39-18-37-4.Shots of the dayOram positively leaked runs in his second spell, however – 13 of them in six overs, including the first boundary he’d conceded all day (and only his second of the entire series). And it was a superb strike too, a full stride to the pitch of the ball from Tim Ambrose, and a sweet drive through the line. One over later, and Ambrose was on the attack again, using his diminutive stature to carve a short ball from Oram up and over the slip cordon and away to the third-man rope. It was a perfectly safe shot, perfectly executed, and it took him to an invaluable half-century from a counterattacking 68 balls.Diminishing return of the dayOn the eve of the series, Daniel Vettori made a great song and dance about the fact that all of England’s top six averaged in excess of 40. That, however, is no longer the case. After falling for 8 during England’s post-lunch collapse, Andrew Strauss’s average has now dipped to 39.95, the lowest mark of his 45-Test career. And all the while, he’s extended that search for an 11th Test century to 28 innings and counting …Double act of the day 2What must Matthew Hoggard and Jeetan Patel have been thinking as they lugged the drinks out to their respective players at each and every interval? Only last week, both men were integral members of their teams, Hoggard the senior seamer and Patel the invaluable second spinner. Now they’ve both been cast out of the reckoning, although they bore the indignity with great resilience as they laughed and joked their way to the middle and back. Being dumped for no good reason is a great ice-breaker between rival 12th men.

The way young cricketers come through the ranks in Indian cricket is set to undergo a radical change with the Junior Cricket Committee making some strong recommendations that will put India more in line with the Australian way of running their feeder tournaments. The primary aim is to reduce the quantity of cricket played and put the accent on quality. The under-15 and under-17 grades of cricket will be done away with and a new under-16 age competition will be created. Further the under-22 concept will be done away with, and the team will play as an A side.”The honorary secretary was of the opinion that the accent in age-group cricket was on quantity and as a result quality was suffering,” a Board of Control for Cricket in India source revealed. “The total number of matches played in junior tournaments is very large and now with the addition of women’s cricket there is over pressure on the grounds and wickets resulting in sub-standard playing conditions,” the junior cricket committee concluded in its last meeting in Mumbai on December 24.One of the primary concerns revolved around the utilisation of resources in each situation. With increasing pressure junior cricketers were not in a position to benefit from the facilities and infrastructure that was intended for them.Keeping in mind these conditions the committee, after discussing “the matter threadbare,” decided that state and national tournaments will be played at the under-16 level only. Matches within each zone will be played on a league basis and the top two teams will contest a knock-out tournament at the national level.The age-group that remains untouched is the under-19, thanks primarily to the Cooch Behar Trophy, which remains a flagship competition. However, even this is set for a revamp. Currently, matches are allotted to a single venue in a zone and all states from that zone compete to make it to the next round. It has been decided that this tournament will be played on a home and away basis. Even when it comes to the under-19 limited overs tournaments the BCCI has decided that matches will be taken to different venues within a state rather than being restricted to the one big venue.The under-22 inter state tournament will be converted to an A team format where each state can only field a maximum of three of its Ranji players in the side. This means that each state will be forced to use the under-22, or A competition to give young players coming through the ranks a chance to play competitive cricket at a level where the junior or national selectors are in attendance.The other item the committee took up in earnest was the revival of inter-school cricket at the national level. At the moment the School Games Federation of India is in charge of conducting the state, zonal and nation schools tournaments. However they lack both the expertise and the financial clout to conduct the cricket tournament in a manner befitting the interest levels that the sport generates. Therefore it was decided that the BCCI would become actively involved in the running of a national schools tournament.Two proposals were submitted in this regard. The first model suggested that each state “hold their inter-school tournament comprising a minimum of eight school teams. The top two teams from the zone would automatically qualify to play the all India knock-out tournament.”The second model proposes that each state pick a team of schoolboys, from various schools, to represent them. Each of these states will then play in an inter-zonal tournament and once more the top two sides from each zone will play in the national tournament. However, after discussion that focused mostly around how the states would actually pick the schoolboys team to represent them, this model was discarded. It was decided that the first model be adopted.What this will do is ensure that each school had a sense of pride in its team and it will be possible to eventually identify a “National Cricket Champion School.”

Sunil Gavaskar has found it difficult to decide between which of his two roles, that as a media columnist and also as chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee, he should remain in.”I love writing and I love being on television,” Gavaskar told the . “But I also appreciate the opportunity to be on the ICC committee, to sit along with players who have distinguished themselves, and also the umpires who are in the technical committee.”Being in the ICC committee, I get a perspective from just about every stake holder and that is also something very enjoyable and fulfilling.”The executive board of the ICC had asked him to relinquish one of his roles to avoid a potential conflict of interests. He has until after the next ICC cricket committee on May 5-6 to make his decision. The ICC board will review the issue at its next meeting, during the ICC Annual Conference week, between June 29 and July 4.Regarding this, Gavaskar said, “I just want to say one thing: The BCCI has been in touch with me and they have informed me that there has been no such decision taken at the ICC meeting last week. “As far as I am concerned, that is that.”Concerns were first raised regarding his dual duties after he criticised match referee Mike Procter in his newspaper column for banning Harbhajan Singh for alleged racial abuse against Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test in January.