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The South African cricketers selected by the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises willlose part of their treasure chest after they decided to fly back home atthe conclusion of the ongoing Test series to take part in the final stagesof the Standard Bank Pro20.The likes of Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini will now be available for the semi-finals and finals of the domestic competition, and will enter the IPLfray only after April 25. As a result, most of them will miss four games.The news comes three days after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the members of the Cobras side would stay back in India for the start of the IPL. He said the Titans players could also follow suit.However, Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), confirmed to Cricinfo that the South Africans would be available for IPL only after the first week of the tournament. “That was always the arrangement,” Majola said.Charu Sharma, the chief executive of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, told Cricinfo that the franchise was yet to receive any official information. Bangalore, who play their first match on April 18, have Kallis, Boucher and Steyn and will be the most affected. The Chennai Super Kings will lose Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel but VB Chandreshekar, who oversees cricket operations, said the team was always expecting this situation, especially after Majola’s visit to Chennai last month.The decision, made in consultation with Majola, was taken on Wednesday night, and the players will now fly home, via Dubai, at the conclusion of the Kanpur Test.Under the terms of their contracts, the players could end up forfeitingmore than 25 percent of what they would otherwise have earned during theIPL season. Kallis, signed by the Royal Challengers for $900,000stands to lose more than $200,000. As things stand, he and Smith, who areteam-mates at the Cape Cobras, will now miss their first head-to-headconfrontation, when the Royal Challengers take on the Rajasthan Royals atthe Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 26.

SuperSport Series

Nicky Boje was the hero with an unbeaten 81 to help the Eagles to avoid defeat in a thrilling confrontation with the Warriors at Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The Eagles captain held firm to help his side finish on 193 for 9. Somehow they survived for the draw after having been 88 for 6 at tea. Johan van der Wath lent welcome support to Boje, and Thandi Tshabalala survived three balls to finish unbeaten on nought but the Warriors just could not find the final wicket. They had been in control of the match from the start, with Colin Ingram and Johan Botha making 107 for the first wicket. Centuries from HD Ackerman and Arno Jacobs, who put together a stand of 219 in 65 overs, a Warriors record for the fourth wicket, enabled them to post a formidable 439, with young Tshabalala claiming a career-best 5 for 68. Despite 95 from Ryan Bailey and 51 from Boje, the Eagles could manage only 289, with Botha claiming 4 for 64, meaning that they conceded a first-innings deficit of 150. van der Wath led an Eagles rally, his 4 for 27 helping to limit the Warriors to 100 for 9 declared, but they were stuttering well short of their target of 251 before Boje took charge.The Dolphins produced a clinical allround display to dismantle the Cobras by an innings and 34 runs at Newlands on Sunday. Five-wickets from the young leg-spinner Tyron Pillay were instrumental in the Cobras’ second-innings subsidence, falling alarmingly from 91 for 4 at lunch to 139 all out. The Cobras had declared on 326 for 8 in their first innings, with Andrew Puttick making 91, after half of the first day’s play was lost to rain. They were made to look foolish though when the Dolphins recovered from 179 for 4 to post 499, with Lance Klusener scoring 121 and further half-centuries for Doug Watson, Johann Louw, Kyle Smit and the captain Ahmed Amla. It was a typically blistering innings from Klusener, who had earlier taken 3 for 86, occupying just 166 balls and containing 16 fours and two sixes. Louw coaxed valuable runs from the tail after his dismissal and the Dolphins opened up a lead of 173. With just over a day to knock over the Cobras the result never looked in doubt after Pillay had bowled Ashwell Prince before lunch.Paul Harris spun the Titans to a 114-run victory over the Lions at Benoni on Sunday. Harris claimed 5 for 81 to dismiss the Lions for 232 in their second innings, despite a battling unbeaten 54 from Shane Burger. Earlier G Toyana anchored the Titans’ first innings score of 303 with his unbeaten 91, and four wickets from Albie Morkel helped to limit the Lions to 233, with Justin Ontong scoring 83, to help the Titans gain a 70-run first innings advantage. Gulam Bodi’s 88 in their second innings 276 enabled them to set the Lions an unrealistic target of 347, and Harris soon made victory a formality.

SAA Provincial Challenge

Northerns recorded a 9-wicket victory, completely outclassing Limpopo at Duiwelskloof on Saturday. Only three batsmen reached double figures in Limpopo’s first-innings 124, with Neil Wagner and Maurice Aronstam claiming four wickets apiece. Aronstam then continued his recent good form, scoring 95 to provide the backbone of Northerns’ 383, and youngsters Aaron Phangiso and Abram Ndlovu also scored half-centuries. Limpopo improved in their second innings mustering 259, Aronstam again impressive taking four more wickets, but this left Northerns with a meagre one-run target. The dismissal of Francis Nkuna to the third ball of the innings provided amusement but no threat to Northerns’ supremacy.

SAA Provincial Cup

Limpopo exacted revenge for their SAA Provincial Challenge thrashing the previous day recording a 21-run win over Northerns at Duiwelskloof on Sunday. Pieter Haasbroek and Hendrik Holtzhausen hit half-centuries at different ends of the innings to help Limpopo post 249, and a great team performance in the field limited Northerns to 228 in reply, despite an entertaining 56-ball 68 from Roelof van der Merwe.

Javed Miandad, former Pakistan captain and batting legend, has added his voice to the brewing debate about player workloads, dismissing concerns of player burnout due to an increasingly busy international schedule.”All these complaints about too much cricket nowadays is rubbish. In our days we yearned for more matches,” Miandad told .He added, “Look at the other sports globally and how much football, tennis and golf is played on the international circuit. Cricket still lacks in global appeal because it is restricted to few countries.”The three-time former coach remains his country’s highest-capped Test player, with 124 appearances, and is also their top run-scorer (8832 runs). Additionally, he also played 233 ODIs. Miandad did stress however that the ICC and member boards ensured adequate rest periods between matches and during a tour. “That is important for players to recover but I don’t think excessive international cricket is being played these days. The players are also being paid well now.”Miandad, whose own international career spanned over 20 years, argued that international careers were shorter now and that players should be happy to play as much cricket as possible. “It’s a reality players have to get used to and just try to maintain optimum fitness levels to avoid fatigue and burnout.”Miandad’s comments come during a period in which debate over the issue has intensified. Sunil Gavaskar first criticised modern-day players for complaining about being overburdened, claiming he was willing to sweat it out 365 days a year for India. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, then pleaded for administrators to give players a better break, after a schedule which saw Australia play 17 Tests, including the Ashes, in less than a year.He cited fatigue as a factor in their performance in the first Test against Bangladesh last week, which saw them nearly succumb to a shock defeat before pulling out a narrow three-wicket win. Shahid Afridi announced a temporary `retirement’ from Test cricket till the World Cup 2007, citing a hectic playing schedule and lack of time with his family as reasons. Marcus Trescothick, who returned home from England’s tour to India with what was reported eventually as a virus, also expressed his concerns about the packed schedule.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, recently launched a stirring defence of his organisation, writing in an article published on Cricinfo “that the ICC was all too aware of the strain on players.” Speed argued that the development of a six-year Future Tours Programme (FTP) to replace the old five-year one was an acknowledgement of player concerns.

Michael Holding has said that the World Cup will be devalued by the number of non-Test playing nations taking part.Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler turned TV commentator, explained that only the top-ranked Associate country in the world should be allowed to take part as opposed to the top six as is the case now.”I don’t believe the World Cup should go on for as long as it does (almost two months) and that is partly because there are far too many teams in the competition who are not good enough to be there,” he told Bermuda’s Royal Gazette. “I’ve argued about this with the ICC for some time. I simply do not believe that if you come fourth in the ICC Trophy that you should be entitled to play in the World Cup.”It doesn’t make sense to me. What is gained by a team playing in the World Cup and getting absolutely hammered? In my opinion it is counter-productive. What I believe should happen is that all the non-Test playing nations should continue to play amongst themselves, to have their own competition where only the top-ranked country goes through to the World Cup.”I see nothing wrong with giving the smaller teams the odd tour and a few games against the bigger teams from time to time. And I think the ICC should continue to invest in non-Test playing nations to improve their cricket and their infrastructure and things like that. But it’s a big jump from that to having six non-Test nations all playing against the cream of the crop. It’s not good for cricket.”Holding went on to say that he believed the tournament will be a success despite ongoing problems with stadium construction, soaring hotel prices, visa problems and reports of sluggish ticket sales. “There have been some problems in some aspects of the preparation, but the logistics of organising a World Cup which is spread out over a region made up of many sovereign nations, with different laws, governments and currencies, was always going to be hard.”We tend to do things at the last minute in the Caribbean – it’s part of our culture. Even on the morning of a Test match there’s always people hammering in nails somewhere or somebody painting something. It’s the same with tickets as well. People in the Caribbean don’t buy tickets months in advance, they tend to do it on the day of the game or a couple of days before.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out

Michael Vaughan called on his side to produce “aggressive, vibrant cricket” in the lead-up to the first Test at Lord’s, and his bowlers responded in kind to reduce New Zealand to 109 for 5 by tea. Such perilous positions are of little consequence when Brendon McCullum is at the crease, however, and his magnificent 97 – at a run-a-ball – took the sheen off England’s spirited display on a dank and chilly first day of the international season.Before McCullum missed a clever quicker delivery from Monty Panesar prior to bad light stopping play, he was threatening to completely transform New Zealand’s day, not just rescue them from the bowels of complacency. Coming to the crease with his side tottering on 41 for 3, he found little support in New Zealand’s typically fragile top six until Jacob Oram arrived at No.7, with whom he put on 99 exhilarating runs in 19 overs.His 97 beat the 96 he made at this same ground four years ago, and though he has again failed to reach three figures – he has yet to make a Test hundred against meaningful opposition – today’s innings was a microcosm of his growing international stature. Promoted to No.5 – he would like to be even higher than that – his first 30 runs were part scratchy, part defensive: a rescue act. Only once he’d passed his 65-ball fifty did McCullum the entertainer break free, creaming the disappointing Ryan Sidebottom through extra cover; lifting Panesar for a straight six before crashing Stuart Broad over mid-off into the Warner Stand for the day’s most extraordinary stroke. The difference in self-belief and class between McCullum and his colleagues is so stark as to be almost alien.Prior to McCullum’s derring do, it was England who owned the day. The morning session was washed out by English summer drizzle, providing Vaughan optimum conditions in which to insert New Zealand’s brittle top-order. Choosing not to call-up Matthew Hoggard – in spite of his nous in green-and-seaming conditions – the onus fell on James Anderson to provide the spunk with the new ball, and he justified the selectors’ belief in him with a fast and fiery opening spell of 2 for 27. Jamie How nibbled at a wide one while Aaron Redmond – son of Rodney, a one-Test-wonder in 1972-73 – fell for a five-ball duck on his Test debut.

Broad, who was later savaged by McCullum, supported Anderson superbly with a variety of fast legcutters to the right-handers, and coped well with Ross Taylor’s frenzied attack. Taylor still appeared hungover from his recent display in the Indian Premier League, and his innings epitomised New Zealand’s shaky confidence. Bangalore this was not; he took every opportunity to put England’s bowlers off with a squirted edge down to third man; a hectic single, for which he should have been run out when he finished at the same end as James Marshall, and a desperate slice over the slips off Sidebottom. At least New Zealand’s run-rate was moving, albeit with fraught intent. Taylor’s hectic innings ended with the day’s most careless shot, trying to pull Broad and skying him straight to Paul Collingwood, running back at second slip.Like Taylor, Marshall also batted in a frenzy. He was caught behind off a no-ball from Anderson when 9 and slashed the same bowler just over Kevin Pietersen’s head at gully before an ill-balanced drive sent an edge flying straight to Andrew Strauss at first slip. Four years ago, Strauss made his debut here against the same opposition, and – after a disappointing 2007 – there was tangible glee that his career has come full circle.Then, it was all about McCullum. His customary one-day shimmy down the pitch was only in evidence a few times, but such was his timing that no bowler – least of all Broad, whose spell from the Pavilion End was too full – was spared. His motionless reaction to Panesar’s wonderfully flighted quicker ball which squeezed through bat and pad screamed disappointment, yet his 97 has saved New Zealand from near capitulation.In fact, so much so, that the honours are just about even.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A superb rearguard display by Sri Lanka lifted them to within 40 runs of South Africa’s total as the second Test was tantalisingly poised after two days of absorbing action. Reduced to 86 for 5 after a couple of fiery bursts from Makhaya Ntini, Sri Lanka recovered thanks to two superb century partnerships, finishing on 321. South Africa were left with two overs to bat out, which they did without too many alarms, finishing on 6 without loss, an overall lead of 46.South Africa managed a handy lead, but it could have been far more significant had it not been for the Sri Lankan lower order. Chamara Kapugedera (63) and Prasanna Jayawardene added 105 for the sixth wicket, while Chaminda Vaas and Farveez Maharoof further frustrated South Africa with a 117-run stand for the eighth. Dale Steyn returned with the second new ball to finish off the tail and help himself to his second five-wicket haul in Tests, but by then South Africa’s advantage had been significantly whittled away.The pitch wasn’t much different from the first day – there was some bounce and pace on offer for the fast bowlers, while Nicky Boje managed to turn a few deliveries substantially, but the ball was also coming on to the bat, allowing the batsmen plenty of opportunity to play their strokes, once set. During the two significant partnerships, none of the batsmen were bothered by pace or spin, suggesting that there are still plenty of runs on offer.The day started in the worst possible manner for Sri Lanka, though. Ntini had gone 31 overs without taking a wicket in the first Test, but here he needed just nine deliveries to strike, and by end of his eighth over he had fantastic figures of 4 for 22 as the Sri Lankan top order floundered against his pace, accuracy and aggression. Ntini was outstanding before lunch, landing the ball just short of good length, moving it a bit off the seam, and always keeping the attack around off stump.Upul Tharanga perished to an ill-advised pull, Kumar Sangakkara flicked to short midwicket – ensuring there would be no repeat of the SSC run-fest – and after Steyn had taken care of the other star from the first Test, Mahela Jayawardene, Ntini returned just before lunch to nail Sanath Jayasuriya, who had battled hard for his 47, and Tillakaratne Dilshan. At 86 for 5 South Africa would have been eyeing a huge first-innings lead, but the next two sessions belonged largely to Sri Lanka.

Kapugedera and Prasanna began the rescue act, but in a manner which was astonishing for its aggression – the stand of 105 took only 20.3 overs. Kapugedera announced his intentions early, hoicking the third ball he faced, from Ntini, over fine leg for six. Prasanna repeated the act in even more emphatic manner, pulling Ntini off the front foot in a style reminiscent of Ricky Ponting, complete with a flourish and a swivel for a follow-through.That sparked off a deluge of runs, as both batsmen launched into a stunning counterattack. Whenever the ball was even fractionally overpitched, the straight-drives and cover-drives were uncorked, and neither batsman flinched against the short stuff, instead using the pull shot to great effect. Kapugedera, playing his fourth Test, went on to register his second Test fifty, and his highest score, while Prasanna looked nothing like a batsman with a highest of 5 in three previous Test innings – when Steyn returned for a spell after lunch, Prasanna greeted him with four fours in one over, including another glorious swivel-pull and an effortless punch through extra-cover.The pendulum briefly shifted South Africa’s way again when both perished at the same score within six balls of one another, but that only signalled the start of another stubborn partnership, as Vaas and Maharoof got together.Vaas has been growing in stature as a batsman of late – he was dismissed just twice in three Tests against England and averaged 92 with the bat, and here he was equally determined to put a huge price on his wicket. Completely organised in defence and attack, Vaas played both pace and spin with complete assurance, hardly giving the bowlers any chance. Both he and Maharoof played the drives down the ground exceptionally well.The South African attack flagged noticeably in the intense heat and humidity – Ntini’s pace dropped to around 130 kmph, while Shaun Pollock struggled to even get up to 120 kmph. Nicky Boje obtained sharp turn and bounce at times, but didn’t always control his line and length.Ashwell Prince finally needed the second new ball to break the resistance, with Steyn blasting out the lower order with his pace. He went at more than six an over, but when he landed the ball in the right places, he was a handful – Jayasuriya was distinctly uncomfortable against the short stuff which was hurled at him at more than 145 kmph, and Steyn, to his credit, didn’t flag even when he was hit around for runs. Thanks to his late strikes, South Africa managed a slender lead which could yet prove invaluable over the next three days.

Upul Tharanga c Boje b Ntini 2 (16 for 1)
Kumar Sangakkara c Amla b Ntini 14 (43 for 2)
Mahela Jayawardene c Boucher b Steyn 13 (74 for 3)
Tillakaratne Dilshan b Ntini 4 (85 for 4)
Sanath Jayasuriya c Gibbs b Ntini 47 (86 for 5)
Chamara Kapugedera b Boje 63 (191 for 6)
Prasanna Jayawardene b Steyn 42 (191 for 7)
Farveez Maharoof b Steyn 56 (308 for 8)
Chaminda Vaas c Boucher b Steyn 64 (317 for 9)
Muttiah Muralitharan c Hall b Steyn 0 (317 all out)

India Blue 330 for 8 (Sehwag 75, Yadav 65, Karthik 65, Raina 64) beat India Green 239 (Parthiv 53, Powar 3-45, Mishra 3-50) by 91 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Virender Sehwag’s prediction after winning the toss was spot on: India Blue racked up a mountain of runs, sparked by Sehwag’s 57-ball 75, and the spinners turned it on under the Motera lights to storm into the final of the Challenger Trophy. Parthiv Patel dazzled briefly but a succession of wickets jolted the prospect of a thrilling run-chase, as the Greens, attempting to chase down a target of 331 in 40 overs to qualify for the final, fell short by 91 runs.For the second day in a row India Green’s scarce bowling options were exposed as Sehwag, Arjun Yadav, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik made merry on a flat Ahmedabad track. Sehwag backed his decision to bat with a blistering innings: no bowler was spared as Sehwag cashed in during the first and second Powerplays, hitting 14 boundaries and a six .With Sehwag in such an attacking mood, Parthiv didn’t a chance taking the third Powerplay, but as soon as Sehwag backed away a straighter one from Iqbal Abdullah and lost his leg stump, the Greens captain took it. The run-rate dipped just slightly during those five overs, but Yadav and Raina made sure to up the tempo again with an 85-run stand. Both used their feet to the spinners and relied on the width from the medium-pacers.In what was otherwise evidence of the Greens’ scarce bowling resources, Manoj Tiwary was brought on to bowl his legspinners in the 31st over and was successful in getting rid of Yadav, who miscued a short delivery pitched outside leg to midwicket. Raina, after a crucial 92 in the series opener, hardly batted an eyelid as he raced to his 64 from 51 balls before slapping a long hop from Piyush Chawla to Tiwary at midwicket.Dinesh Karthik, who recently told Cricinfo that he could bat at any number , slammed his first delivery for four and raced past his fifty – amid news of his axing from the Indian side – to get the Blues past 300.

A canny Joginder Sharma nipped out the Green openers in no time before Parthiv and Rohit Sharma cashed in on the second Powerplay, driving and cutting boundaries exceptionally. Anything even fractionally short and wide was pounced upon by Rohit, whose firm back-foot play was pleasing on the eye, while Parthiv whipped trademark boundaries with ease.As long as Parthiv was smashing the ball around the Greens appeared in with a slim shot, but his dismissal for 53, run out by a Joginder direct-hit from deep midwicket as he attempted a suicidal second, dented the side’s chances. Sharma kept up the momentum with a leant-in straight six off Saurabh Bandekar and seemed certain for more before he was smartly stumped by Karthik off a Ramesh Powar wide down the leg side.Tiwary was left to steer a sinking ship but after spanking a couple of boundaries even he couldn’t cope with the pressure, making room to hit Powar and losing his leg stump. The two experienced spinners, Powar and Amit Mishra, shared six wickets and with Abhishek Nayar and Cheteshwar Pujara falling cheaply, the Greens lower order flayed the bat around in desperation. Raina picked up the final wicket as Munaf Patel slogged into the deep, sparking wild celebrations among the Blues.With the highest total of this year’s competition, and their spinners turning in a second successful evening on a flat track, the Blues made the best of the occasion. They’ve already defeated the Reds, and are through to the final courtesy a bonus point from their 88-run win over the Greens. But the final will be minus the incentive of national selection.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that it would not be entering into performance-based contracts with India’s cricketers for the time being. After a meeting with senior players in Delhi it was decided that the existing contract system would continue for another year.At the moment players receive a retainer and a flat fee per Test and ODI. The BCCI had earlier proposed a system in which players received smaller retainers but were rewarded heavily for winning matches and series. The players were not in favour of this system, and the BCCI, for the moment, has decided to stick with the old contracts system.This means that players can receive contracts in either A, B or C category. The A-category contract comes with an annual retainer of Rs 50 lakh (US$124,000), the B-category contract is worth Rs 35 lakh (US$87,000) and the C-grade works out to Rs 20 lakh (US$50,000).”Existing player contract system will continue. Four senior players met the Contract Committee today and they have agreed to continue with the prevailing system,” Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the BCCI said. The contracts committee, comprising Shah, N Srinivasan, the treasurer, Shashank Manohar, a vice-president of the board, and Inderjit Singh Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, met Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble in Delhi.”The gradation committee will sit towards the end of this month or by October first week to finalise things,” said Shah. “It will also decide how many players will come under its purview but the players are happy with the existing system.” In the past the gradation committee has included the coach, the chairman of selectors and senior board officials. Given that India do not have one overall coach at the moment, it’s unclear who all will be on this committee.

For a team that sustained the heaviest defeat in its long history to the same opposition only 10 days back – conceding over 500 runs in both Tests – West Indies will snatch at any available straw. Tenuous as they are, a few have presented themselves in advance of the third Test starting at Old Trafford tomorrow.The weather has changed from polar to tropical and runs have been made, wickets taken and long spells enjoyed in warm sunshine, albeit in a leisurely three-day match inbetween Tests.Even though Ramnaresh Sarwan is back home attending to the injured shoulder that forced him out of the entire series, the experienced and reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul has recovered from his knee injury and can resume his essential place in the middle order, so badly missed at Leeds. Chris Gayle, who damaged a rib muscle in the intervening match, too has recovered.There has even been a little help from the other side. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, has created a distraction for England with some ill-timed, and widely condemned comments on the effect of Andrew Flintoff’s high jinks during the World Cup on team morale. It will take more than a little straw to suddenly make West Indies strong again but these few might render them less compliant than they were.An MCC XI, made up almost exclusively of eager but anonymous university students, bore no resemblance to the intimidating task expected over the coming days. All the same, most West Indies players used the chance for match practice with both bat and ball.Runako Morton’s double hundred and Denesh Ramdin’s ton surely raised the confidence of two players for whom it is more essential than most. And Fidel Edwards and Darren Sammy appreciated lengthy spells in their first chance in the middle since arriving in England over a month ago. To the English media and perhaps even to the England dressing room, such developments are irrelevant. Both appear certain of a repetition of the ruthlessness of Leeds and another thumping victory.It is Vaughan’s assertion that Flintoff’s much publicised, inebriated escapade on a paddle boat in St Lucia in the early hours of the morning after the first round loss to New Zealand in the World Cup that has attracted most attention. Flintoff’s weak ankle that required a second operation this week has put him out of the series but he remains an immensely popular cricketer in England, especially in Manchester where he plays his county cricket for Lancashire.Vaughan’s quote in a newspaper interview on Monday that the St Lucia incident “did affect morale” and “changed the whole atmosphere in the camp” has drawn widespread censure, especially from Jim Cumbes, Lancashire’s chief executive.Vaughan was yesterday engaged in the kind of damage control at which shrewd politicians are so adept, claiming he had been misquoted and misrepresented. But he is unlikely to be welcomed by the Lancastrian crowd today as he was in the previous Test at his home ground at Headingley. Even if they kidnap Vaughan and hold him hostage, however, it would make little impression on the gap, in every area, that has emerged in the first two Tests.Six England batsmen have helped themselves to hundreds already, the devastating Kevin Pietersen a double. The only West Indian hundreds have been to bowlers, four in the first Test, three in the second.For all the West Indies collapses at Leeds for 146 and 141, there were extenuating circumstances – the absence of Chanderpaul and Sarwan, the bowler-friendly conditions, the weather. It was their bowling and fielding that were more shocking in both instances. Lord’s, where they totaled 437 and 89 without loss, was a more accurate guide to their capacity on a true pitch. Old Trafford’s is dry and rock hard but if its character resembles last year’s Test against Pakistan, pace and bounce, rather than swing and seam, will be the problem. Steve Harmison took 11 for 77 in the match as Pakistan – Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and all – were toppled for 119 and 222, losing by an innings and 120 runs.The present West Indies fast bowlers struggle to take 11 wickets in a series, far less a match, and a change in the trio so far used – Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Corey Collymore – is necessary. Edwards, who reportedly generated genuine pace on a benign pitch against the MCC, would add bite, but control is also required to prevent England’s batting romping along at five runs an over.Ravi Rampaul might have provided it but he broke down after 21 balls in his only bowl last Saturday. A case might be made for Sammy but where would be fit in?The straws are welcome but the problems won’t go away.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDenesh Ramdin struck five fours and four sixes in his 35-ball 54•Caribbean Premier League

Guyana Amazon Warriors registered their first win of the season – a comfortable seven-wicket victory against St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots with 24 balls to spare in Basseterre – with the help of a brisk half-century from their captain Denesh Ramdin.Patriots got off to a steady start after choosing to bat with Martin Guptill and Evin Lewis adding 66 for the first wicket before the partnership was broken by fast bowler Ronsford Beaton in the 10th over. Both openers were dismissed for 34, with the same boundary count – three fours and a six. Guptill fell in the 13th over and Patriots didn’t find momentum after that, save a cameo from Carlos Brathwaite who struck three sixes in his 11-ball 23. Patriots finished with 149 for 9, with Beaton taking 3 for 30 and spinner Sunil Narine claiming two wickets in an economical spell.Amazon Warriors lost Tillakaratne Dilshan for 12 in the fourth over of the chase, but a 65-run second-wicket partnership between Lendl Simmons (41) and Ramdin (54) off just 38 balls, took the game away from Patriots. Although Simmons was dismissed in the 10th over, another fifty-plus stand between Brad Hodge and Ramdin sealed victory for Amazon Warriors. The highlight of Ramdin’s half-century was the four consecutive sixes he struck off Shahid Afridi.