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India have agreed to play an additional one-day international when they tour Pakistan early next year. They were scheduled to play five according to the original itinerary, but an extra match has been added as a response to Pakistan’s gesture of playing six one-dayers on their current tour.Both the boards had reached a settlement when the Test originally scheduled for Ahmedabad was shifted to Kolkata due to security reasons expressed by the Pakistan board, and Ahmedabad was instead granted a one-day international. “We’ve agreed to play the additional match under a reciprocal agreement according to which when India tours Pakistan early next year they’ll also play six one-day internationals along with three Tests,” a PCB official was quoted as saying in , a Pakistan daily.According to the ICC rules, teams generally charge a fee of over US$25,000 for playing an out-of-schedule one-dayer. However, the PCB has agreed to waive those charges. “We are not taking any fees for playing the sixth one-day international next month,” the PCB official said.

Twelve months ago Ryan Sidebottom was a one-cap wonder putting in the hard yards for Nottinghamshire on the county circuit. On Monday night at Lord’s he was named England’s Player of the Year and will start the first Test against New Zealand as the team’s premier strike bowler.Since his surprise recall against West Indies, at Headingley, he has taken 53 wickets in 12 Tests, including 24 against New Zealand in March. He claimed a 10-wicket haul and a hat-trick in Hamilton and his 7 for 47 in Napier, the best figures by an England bowler for four years, helped to set-up their come-from-behind series win. He had already been named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.His chance came due to an injury to Matthew Hoggard, who is now, partly because of Sidebottom’s excellence, battling to get is own place back in the team. Hoggard used to be the first bowler on the team-sheet, but that honour now goes to Sidebottom and he has confounded predictions by developing into an all-round wicket-taker regardless of conditions.”This time last year I was training with Nottinghamshire and just playing regular county cricket so it’s been a massive turnaround,” he said. “But I don’t want to get carried away with it and I’m relishing the chance to play at Lord’s again. The other 10 guys in the team have made me feel very welcome, which has allowed me to get on with my job. I suppose it goes out to all the players because one player doesn’t make a team.”Maybe one player doesn’t make a team, but much of the limited success England have had over the past year wouldn’t have happened without Sidebottom. New Zealand would have ended in defeat and even toppling West Indies last summer would have proved a harder task. Then there is his role in the one-day side, 20 wickets from 12 matches, including a Man-of-the-Series performance in Sri Lanka.Sidebottom is a laidback character off the field (bowling is different matter, just ask anyone who drops a catch) and insists the last year hasn’t changed him. After waiting so long for a second chance he isn’t taking anything for granted. “I don’t want to get too carried away because things can change quickly. It’s just a case of keeping doing the basics,” he said.”All the talk [when called up against West Indies] was that it would be one game, the horses for courses thing, but I sat down with my dad [Arnie, who also won one cap for England] and he said just go out and do your best, don’t look too far ahead. At Headingley I played as though it would be my last game and I’m not going to change. Each game I’ll enjoy it and give it my best.”Sidebottom has broken into the top 10 of the bowling rankings and received praise from Richard Hadlee, who said he was the main threat in the series ahead. “It’s a massive compliment coming from a great bowler,” said Sidebottom. “On the other hand I’m not taking much notice because they are a difficult team to beat.”We aren’t taking it lightly, especially myself because I’ve only played a few games. Of course I would like to carry on in the same form but it’s not going to be easy. As long as I’m consistent and getting wickets for my team-mates then that’s great.”The other major award handed out at Lord’s on Monday evening was the Women’s Player of the Year which went to Claire Taylor, while Outstanding Achievement awards were given to the men who scored a 100, claimed a five-wicket haul or held five catches in an innings.Two one-off presentations were also given to Ashley Giles and Marcus Trescothick in recognition of their England success over the years. Trescothick announced his retirement from international cricket in March and Giles is now on the England selection panel as well as Warwickshire’s coach.

Jimmy Allan, one of the best allrounders Scotland has ever produced, has died at the age of 73.A left-arm spinner and right-hand batsman, Allan made 60 appearances for his country between 1954 and 1972, taking 171 wickets. He made his first-class debut for Oxford University in 1953, batting at No. 11, but by the following summer he was opening for them. He won a Blue every year from 1953 to 1956 without ever finishing on the winning side. While at university he also played for Kent, and in 1954 and 1955 he passed 1000 runs, and in 1955 he came with five wickets of recording the double. He played a few more games for Kent in 1957, and in 1966 made a surprise return with Warwickshire, where he enjoyed two seasons.”He was one of the shrewdest left-arm bowlers I have ever seen, with a superb command of flight and length,” Keith Graham, a former team-mate of Allan’s with Ayr, told The Scotsman. “Jimmy was a fantastic cricketer and a super guy. Off the field he was an inspiration to a generation of young cricketers at Ayr.”

Gautam Gambhir’s good recent form and the fact that he hadn’t been persisted with recently helped him win a spot ahead of his Delhi team-mate Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni revealed at the end of the game.Dhoni had said on Sunday that the duo were competing for one berth and justified his decision to go with Gambhir, who repaid the faith with a valuable 44. “He has done consistently well at this level,” Dhoni said. “He has been unfortunate in the past as some others have been given preference over him. [His longest run] in the team was only six matches in a row and he was Man of the Match in quite a few games.”Dhoni also suggested that Gambhir would be persisted with for a few more games. “I wanted to give him a few more matches before resting him and giving opportunities to others. And the way he played today he deserves his place in the side. He batted quite superbly.”It means Sehwag, who replaced Rahul Dravid in the squad, might have to wait a while before his comeback. There was some speculation about Sehwag missing the game in the wake of his father’s death but Dhoni had said he was in “good nick and hitting the ball well”.Dhoni’s promotion to No. 4, ahead of Yuvraj Singh, was also not in keeping with the script. He’s batted in that position on just eight earlier occasions, the last being the Chandigarh game against Australia. He entered at a tricky 96 for 2 and left after an assured half-century, with only 15 needed for victory. “I am flexible about it,” Dhoni said when asked if it was a sign of things to come. “I’ve said in the past that I need someone to fit in my place at No. 6 or 7. Today we needed a left and right-hand combination. Afridi was bowling offbreaks to left-handers, and legbreaks to the right-handers. That encouraged me to promote myself.”Dhoni wanted his side to look at each game as a one-match series, maintaining the same intensity throughout. “Starting the series with a win will help the team. It helps the team’s confidence, and the momentum goes your way. But we have to keep things right in the coming matches as well. It is not just about doing things right in one match. We have to do it throughout the series.”While Dhoni said 280 would have been a “winning score” his counterpart, Shoaib Malik, didn’t think Pakistan were a few runs short. “I think 230-240 was a good target. It was defendable. The difference was that we dropped catches. If we had taken them, the result would have been totally different. Fielding let us down.”He was talking about the two chances that Gambhir offered, off successive Shoaib Akhtar deliveries when he was on 7 and 11. Both were identical chances with the ball deflecting off the edge and flying between the wicketkeeper and Younis Khan at first slip. Instead of targeting his bowlers, Malik stressed on the fielding concerns instead. “We gauged the pitch and picked our best bowling attack. A fit Shoaib is an asset. He is our best option and is currently bowling quick and running in quick. I can’t blame my spinners also. Especially when our fielding didn’t back it up.”

Donate to the US Red Cross appealThe extent to which Sri Lanka’s cricketers suffered from the tsunami disaster was spelt out clearly by four of the players whose families and relatives were directly affected by it.The cricketers related their tales of woe at Sri Lanka Cricket’s headquarters on Sunday, with Sanath Jayasuriya holding centre stage along with three of his team mates Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Chandana and Dilhara Fernando.Jayasuriya related how his mother Breeda, 64, had gone to the Sunday market in Matara and was caught when the wave that hit the town. She was swept towards a river before she managed to get a hold onto a branch of a tree and cry out for help.She was one of the few who were lucky to survive, although she was left with a grim reminder of her ordeal with a large area of skin pealed off from her hip downwards by the polluted salt water. Jayasuriya said his parents’ house, which was near the seafront, was badly damaged but he was thankful that the rest of his family had survived. He said his mother was being treated at the Nawaloka hospital.Chandana also had a sad story to tell. Mulin Umagiliya, the youth who saved his 69-year-old mother from drowning, was killed soon afterwards when the roof onto which he had climbed collapsed. He had clambered on top to call for help on his mobile phone. Chandana said that his mother had suffered injuries but was out of danger.Zoysa said he lost his aunt and four other relations in Galle, while Fernando suffered losses from his wife’s side when three relatives travelling by train to Galle were killed.Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s current captain, also had some anxious moments when his father was held up at Kataragama when the disaster occurred. Atapatttu senior was later able to get in touch with his family and returned to Colombo safely.Brendon Kuruppu, the Sri Lankan team manager, said the team first came to know about the calamity in Sri Lanka soon after the first one-day international at Auckland at around 6pm local time.”Initially we did not feel the gravity of it,” Kuruppu said. “But as the days passed by and the death toll began to rise the players became extremely worried and concerned. The team’s mental preparations was not towards cricket but what was happening back home. The players wanted to return home and be with their loved ones not clearly knowing what fate had befallen them.”

In East London the Warriors held on admirably against the Dolphins, who lead the table, as Arno Jacobs batted through the day to end on 135 not out. With only 68 overs possible in the day the Warriors were 287 for 8, still 225 behindon the first innings, when bad light again brought an end to the day.Starting the day at 84 for 3 the Warriors progressed to 223 for 6 andwere well on their way to avoid the follow-on, but two quick wicketsreduced them 223 for 8. Mario Olivier and Jacobs steadied the sinkingship with an unbroken stand of 64 coming off the final 20 overs of theday. The Warriors still have a bit to do on the final day to salvage adraw.In Bloemfontein the Lions and the Eagles are heading for a draw unlesssome inspired captaincy comes to the fore. Nicky Boje, taking 4 for 106,could not stop the Lions from taking a slender first innings lead of 34thanks to Justin Ontong, leading from the front, scoring 102 as theLions totalled 375. At 40 for 3 the Eagles looked to be in trouble butDavey Jacobs, unbeaten on 56, and Morne van Wyk (28*) willcontinue tomorrow from 135 for 3.In Benoni the Cape Cobras have their backs up against the wall as theTitans took control of the match. At the close the Cobras had struggledto 95 for 5, still 61 runs behind after the Titans had finished on 327.A fifty from Goolam Bodi and thirties from Godfrey Toyana and Dale Steyngave the Titans a 156-run lead. The in-form Rory Kleinveldt was againthe Cobras’ leading wicket taker with 4 for 66. With Derrin Bassageundefeated on 50 the Cobras will be looking for a miracle to avoid aheavy defeat as they head into the final day.

After that temporary glitch at Cardiff, normality has been restored to the NatWest Series, with both England and Australia guaranteed of their places in next week’s final at Lord’s. But, in the long drawn-out battle for the Ashes, tomorrow’s dress rehearsal at Edgbaston will lack nothing in terms of psychology, with both sides desperate to stamp their authority ahead of the main event.After a slow start to their tour, it is Australia who enter the match with the wind in their sails. They atoned for their embarrassment at Sophia Gardens with a thumping ten-wicket win in the return match against Bangladesh, having already laid a few ghosts with an impressive victory against England at Chester-le-Street.England, meanwhile, were in scratchy form during their five-wicket win over Bangladesh at the weekend, and Marcus Trescothick, their stand-in captain, was quick to admit that the team had been some way short of their best. “We were not our normal bubbly selves,” he said after the match. “‘It just looked wrong. Our whole energy was not there at the start.”Privately, England must be mightily relieved to have seen the last of the Bangladeshis for this season. As Australia discovered, the only real practice that they offered was a lesson in how to deal with humiliation, and the Aussies, it has to be said, bounced back from their indignity very well indeed. There are now five Anglo-Aussie one-day internationals between now and the start of the first Test on July 21, and both sides can now begin the process of finetuning their form.England expect to be lifted for tomorrow’s clash by the return of their captain, Michael Vaughan. A groin strain ruled him out of the last two games, but now he is set to return at the ground where his thrilling 86 carried England to victory in the semi-final of last season’s Champions Trophy – a result that ended a run of 14 straight defeats.”It was a dirty day for us,” admitted Ricky Ponting, who broke his thumb in the same game and was ruled out of the first three Tests of Australia’s subsequent tour of India. “It was an awful day, weather-wise as well as on the field. But there won’t be any talk about the last time we played at Edgbaston.”England won’t want any talk of Chester-le-Street or Headingley either, where their intensity levels were clearly down a notch or two from the high standards they set earlier in the summer. To that end, they can expect a return for Steve Harmison, who was rested against Bangladesh, with Simon Jones resuming his place on the sidelines.Australia’s main fitness issue concerns Michael Clarke, who has been struggling with a sore back and will undergo a late fitness test.England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Kevin Pietersen, 7 Geraint Jones, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Chris Tremlett, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve Harmison.Australia (probable) 1 Adam Gilchrist, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Andrew Symonds, 6 Mike Hussey, 7 Shane Watson, 8 Brad Hogg, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Glenn McGrath.

Bermuda could be set to stage their first major international match, proving the ICC decides that pitches at the National Sports Centre have improved sufficiently since an inspection last year.The surface was condemned by Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s inspector, in July 2007. “The square at the Sports Centre is good enough for club cricket, but when you’re talking about ODIs or longer games then I’m afraid it’s a no-go,” he said, adding that bringing in soil from abroad was the only way to rectify the situation. That idea was subsequently slammed by the Bermudan government as it contravened the island’s strict laws on the importation of soil.But Cricket Scotland said that it had been contacted by the Bermudan board (BCB) who are confident that ICC approval could come in time for the Intercontinental Cup tie to be played there in mid July. “The process for approving the National Stadium in Bermuda for ICC Intercontinental Cup matches is in place and we hope that a decision will be made towards the end of this week or early next week whether Bermuda will host Scotland in early July,” a spokesman for the ICC told Cricinfo.At the moment, the four-day game is scheduled to be played in Toronto where Scotland will then meet Canada three days later. But of clear concern to Scotland is that if the match is switched to Bermuda then it will present logistical issues in rearranging the initial flights and then transferring on to Canada with little time to acclimatise.”The Bermudians are keeping us in the loop about their plans,” Roddy Smith, the board’s chief executive, said. “The ICC requested them to prepare a four-day wicket for tests and they’ve been playing practise matches on the ground for each of the last three weekends. The tests end this weekend and we understand the ICC will make a decision on the venue for our game during the week. I’d say it’s looking likely that we’ll be told to play in Bermuda.”Obviously there will be a bit more hassle with travel but I’d imagine there are worse places to go than Bermuda.”

South Africa’s one-day allrounder, Justin Kemp, has been appointed as captain of the Nashua Titans franchise for the 2005-06 season.Kemp, who made a successful return to international cricket against England in January and February, enjoyed a brilliant domestic season in 2004-05, especially in the PRO20 Series in which he averages 82.50 at a strike-rate of 189.65, including 13 sixes.During the Standard Bank Cup, Kemp averaged 56.50 at a strike-rate of 77.13, and received the Mutual and Federal Award for the Standard Bank Cup player of the year. Often branded a one-day specialist, Kemp also averaged 57.77 in first-class cricket.Kemp’s sublime form has resuscitated his international career and he performed superbly with the bat in one-day internationals for South Africa against England, Zimbabwe and West Indies this season. He has already, at this early stage of the year passed Lance Klusener’s record of 23 sixes scored in a calendar year, which Klusener accomplished in 1999.”It was not only Kemp’s fine performances which had elevated him to the status of Captain of the Titans, however” said Brandon Foot, the chairman of the board. “Kemp has developed over the past two seasons into a highly competitive cricketer, who has matured remarkably and emerged as a natural leader within the Titans.”Of significance, is that each and every Titans squad member was asked to cast a vote for the Titans captain, and Justin has emerged as having overwhelming support.”Kemp is currently honing his skills with Kent Country Cricket Club under the watchful guidance of the former South African national coach, Graham Ford, in the company of Martin Van Jaarsveld and Andrew Hall.”Justin will be returning from Kent early, by prior arrangement with Kent Country Cricket Club”, said Foot. “We are comfortable that he is in most capable hands under Graham Ford.”Kemp expressed his pleasure at his appointment. “It is a great honour to be made captain of such a talented team. This is a job that I wanted badly and I am very pleased to have been given such an opportunity. It will be difficult to follow in the significant footsteps of my predecessor Daryll Cullinan and I would like to thank Daryll for all that he has done for both myself and the Titans. I am also grateful to my team-mates for having supported my appointment.”Foot added: “The Board is aware that Kemp could well not be available for the Titans when he is called up for, in particular one-day international duty by South Africa. We are, however indeed fortunate to have a number of Titans who have both experience and potential as leaders. Should Justin be called upon for national duty, we will have able replacements for him and this will also ensure pro-active succession planning for the Titans captaincy into the future.”

Pakistan will host West Indies for three Tests and five one-day internationals in November and December, though the itinerary for the tour has yet to be finalised. That has been delayed until the outcome of the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in India between October 7 and November 5Pakistan, seeded in the main round, await the result of West Indies matches, which are in the qualifying rounds of the tournament. “The tour is confirmed. However the itinerary will be finalised later due to some logistical reasons,” Subhan Ahmed,a PCB official, told Reuters.The PCB added that it had been requested by West Indies to schedule the one-day internationals first, but that given the winter season it would be better to play the Tests first. “In the last two series against England and India we lost a lot of time due to bad light,” Ahmed said. “The floodlights also don’t improve the light. So it would be better to have the Tests first.”He said the PCB would use five venues — Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad — to host all the matches.The West Indies last toured Pakistan in 1997-98 and a proposed tour in 2002 was shifted to Sharjah over security concerns following the September 11 attacks.