Guyana progressed to the final-four stage by beating Jamaica by 51 runs at Chedwin Park. Resuming overnight on 114 for 6, Shivnarine Chanderpaul stood firm on 63 as Guyana were skittled for just 163 but their huge 170-run first-innings lead meant that Jamaica had to score 334 to win. Marlon Samuels (81) and Darren Powell (57) made a real fight of it but Narsingh Deonarine (4 for 64) and Mahendra Nagamootoo (3 for 93) bowled Guyana to victory. Chanderpaul was named Man of the Match for his scores of 75 and 63 not out.Barbados completed the formality of taking one Leeward Islands wicket to romp to victory by 173 runs but Steve Liburd made them toil for it. Liburd extended Leewards’ overnight score of 172 for 9 to 236 with an unbeaten 95. He was stranded just short of a century when Colin Hamer was the last man out. Ryan Hinds, who scored 168 in the first innings and 150 in the second, was named Man of the Match.Trinidad and Tobago’s title hopes ended as they slumped to a 86-run defeat against Windward Islands at Shaw Park. Set a target of 175, T&T collapsed for 88 with only Darren Ganga (37) offering resistance. Deighton Butler was adjudged Man of the Match for his 3 for 27 that rocked the T&T second innings. Earlier, Windwards resumed their innings on 77 for 5 but were dismissed for 118. Dave Mohammed picked up match figures of 11 for 118.

Nicky Boje is on the verge of being recalled to the South African squad for the first Test against Australia, barely two months after being unceremoniously dumped and subsequently not having his central contract renewed. However, with Johan Botha currently out of the reckoning due to a suspect action the selectors are again studying their options.Boje is certainly making a strong case for his inclusion with 15 wickets in the last two SuperSport series matches – including a career-best 8 for 93 against the Eagles. With Paul Adams currently struggling to hold down a spot in the Cabe Cobras’ first team the only other real option is Robin Peterson, who has impressed during the one-day series against Australia.Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of selectors, told that he thinks the decision not to offer a central contract to any frontline spinner has paid dividends. “I think it does show us that we were wise not to offer any national contracts to spin bowlers this year. They have all upped their level of performance, which has been encouraging.”Despite South Africa’s 2-0 series defeat in Australia, Lorgat added that he didn’t anticipate any other changes to the squad. The margin of defeat was made to look more convincing because Graeme Smith was forced to set Australia a chaseable total at Sydney after rain disrupted the match.”Personally, I was not disappointed with the form of our Test side in Australia,” explained Lorgat. “We competed well at Perth and Melbourne and our defeat at Sydney would not have happened under different circumstances.He added that South Africa are unlikely to gamble with the balance of their side, sticking to their tried and tested method. “Being the start of the series, we will probably be conservative in our thinking and follow the traditional route of six specialist batsmen and four specialist bowlers.”The selection process will be made easier if Jacques Kallis returns to full fitness, meaning he could take on the role of a fifth bowler. Lorgat said that Kallis is confident, but they won’t take any risks by rushing him back. “We have learned from hard experience that, when a player says he is fit, then we must put him through a stringent fitness test.”There has been speculation that Shaun Pollock might be moved up the order to No. 6, taking on the mantle of key allrounder, to enable South Africa to play five specialist bowlers. This is now unlikely against Australia, but Lorgat said it is still in their long-term thinking.”It is something we have been thinking about for some time. Shaun has been in outstanding form with both bat and ball in Australia and again back here in South Africa. We will just have to see how things work out but, if and when we do move him to No.6, it will change the balance of the side. It will enable us, for instance, to include an extra bowler which would reduce the work load on the other members of our attack.”

The high profile Pentangular Cricket Championship is being revived this season, almost 10 years after it was discontinued. The first two matches of this first-class domestic competition, in which the country’s five leading teams participate, begin on Thursday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the Multan Cricket Stadium.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Faisalabad will play in the four-day match at Lahore, while National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) will meet Sialkot at Multan. The fifth team in the tournament is Karachi Harbour, who claimed the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship Silver League title.Of the 10 matches in the championship, which is being contested on a single-league basis, five each will be played at Lahore and Multan. The team ending on top of the points table will be declared the winner.PIA, Habib Bank and United Bank have each won the tournament three times, since its inception back in 1973-74. National Bank clinched the trophy on two occasions and the now defunct Pakistan Automobile Corporation (PACO) once. A total of 12 tournaments have been contested from 1973-74 to 1995-96.But the Pentangular didn’t necessarily always have a total of five participants, as the name would suggest. In 1974-75, the then Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) increased the number of teams to six without changing the tournament’s title.There were eight teams in 1976-77 and the contest was still known as the Pentangular. Then, for the next three seasons, starting from 1977-78, the competition was played as the BCCP Invitation Tournament with eight teams taking part, with the number going up to 10 in 1978-79.The tournament was back in 1980-81, this time with a sponsor, and was titled the PACO Cup Pentangular. With the exception of 1983-84, the PACO Cup was held for five seasons until the end of 1985-86. There were eight teams in the 1986-87 PACO Cup event, after which it was disbanded.The Pentangular Trophy tournament was revived in 1990-91 after a lapse of three seasons. Another three seasons went by, before it made a reappearance in 1994-95 and was played one more time, in 1995-96.Although initially the BCCP decided which five teams would be included in the Pentangular programme, later a qualification system was introduced. On most occasions, three of the five teams were the top outfits of the particular season’s Patron’s Trophy Championship and the other two the winners and runners-up of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship.In the last Pentangular Trophy Championship final, played at the National Stadium from May 13 to 16 in 1996, United Bank won the competition defeating Allied Bank by a five-wicket margin.Incidentally, Allied Bank decided to disband their cricket team before the start of the season. United Bank discontinued participating in national first-class cricket after 1996-97 and stayed away from the domestic scene for nearly eight years before returning for second-grade tournaments.The 2005-06 Pentangular Trophy Championship marks the end of the Pakistan domestic cricket season. The top five teams of the country will now be seen in action over the next 28 days at two of the major cricket grounds in Pakistan.

VVS Laxman has brushed aside suggestions that, at 31, he is too old to play the game at the highest level and asserted that he remained a matchwinner.”I don’t see why people are making a big issue of me being 30 plus,” he told . “I am not too old to retire or give up the game. There have been players who have represented the country beyond the 30s. As long as I contribute to the team with my batting and fielding, I don’t see any reason why I should give up. I am a batsman and not a bowler and having crossed the 30s does not bother me.”Laxman cited Greg Chappell’s vision to support his cause. “Greg is looking for people who can perform and give their 100% to the team’s cause and win matches. He is basically looking for matchwinners and I am proud to say that I am a matchwinner. I have bailed the team out of many a tight situation in the past and am confident of doing so in the future too.”He gave the details of his fitness regime to prove that he is match fit. “I work out for nearly three hours in the morning. It is mostly jogging here. I do almost 25 rounds every day. I alternate it with time in the gym. I have another three hour workout in the evenings but it is mostly batting in the nets. For the last one-and-a-half months since the end of the Test series against England, I have been working hard on improving my fitness. Once a person is fit, he will naturally be good on the field.”Laxman also expressed hope and confidence that he would force his way into the one-day team. “Right now my focus is on the Tests and am confident of forcing my way back in to the ODI side. I still believe that I can perform for the team in the ODIs and win matches for the country.”Laxman was left out of the 2003 World Cup and had called it the lowest point of his career. Four years later he still harbours hopes of playing in one. “Playing in the World Cup is a dream for me and I am confident of achieving it. There is still a lot of cricket to be played before the World Cup and I am sure of finding a place in the team.”

Even as the national selectors persist with youth in India’s flourishing one-day setup, VVS Laxman, axed from the ODI squad, still hopes to make a comeback, especially for the World Cup in the West Indies next year.”Yes, you feel really disappointed, because I still feel that I have a lot to contribute in both versions of the game,” he told the Indian Express. “In 2003 and 2004, I had a very good run in ODIs and even after that, it was not bad, but yes, not as consistent as I would have liked. But suddenly, you find yourself out of the one-day scheme of things. I was looking forward to doing well in the 2007 World Cup, especially because I missed the 2003 World Cup (in South Africa). Since then, if you see my record, it has generally been very good. I had even improved on my strike rate, which was always a problem.”Laxman has been out of favour with the selectors in the one-day squad since the tri-series in Sri Lanka last August, where he played two matches. Since then, the team management have been intent on blooding youngsters like Suresh Raina and Venugopal Rao, at the expense of seniors like Laxman, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly. Laxman pointed out that a bit of experience in the middle order would be invaluable, especially with the World Cup in mind.”The team requires some experience,” he said. “It’s good that a lot of youngsters have been given an opportunity and they have done well. That’s the way it should be. If the bench strength is strong, then automatically the team’s success will be higher, which is showing.”When asked for an honest assessment as to why he was being ignored, Laxman said that the main talking point was his fielding and running between the wickets, though his batting abilities have never been in doubt. He maintained that he is not such a bad fielder as often made out to be but was still working hard at impressing the selectors.”They’re not talking about my batting because they know my batting is up to the mark even in ODIs. If they see a change in my fielding or my running between the wickets, I’m sure that they’ll give me a chance to play.”I’m definitely not the quickest, but I’m a safe fielder, especially catching and even out-fielding.”Laxman didn’t feel he was being treated badly by the management and said that Greg Chappell, the coach, reassured him that there may still be a place for him in the one-day side. He added that Chappell was honest enough to pick players solely on merit, and the performances of all the youngsters have justified his plans.”A year back he clearly told me that they’re trying various combinations and I still fit into the one-day scheme of things, which he maintains. He doesn’t say that I’m out of the team. He’s giving opportunities to a lot of players who have to show their class, and they’re delivering. If they were not delivering, he would have probably recalled me. He’s looking for match-winners. He’s not discarding anyone.”Laxman admitted he had mixed feelings when denied an opportunity for a comeback after Sachin Tendulkar was forced to withdraw due to injury. “I may not be fitting into their [team management’s] scheme of things and that’s why probably, even when Sachin was injured they didn’t call me,” he said. “They called for Robin Uthappa. I was expecting at that time that I would be called, and I was preparing myself for being there. But then they called Robin, and he’s done well.”

Zimbabwe came through their seven-match series in the Caribbean better than many feared, but it was still too obvious that they are some way short of having what it takes to play at the highest level. Martin Williamson gives his end-of-tour reportsFull series averages

9
Prosper Utseya
Consistent throughout the series, Utseya came of age with the ball where his flight and spin belied his lack of experience and years. He was consistently able to stem the flow of runs in the middle overs, and he provided two of the highlights – one when he comprehensively beat Brian Lara with successive deliveries in the first match in Trinidad, and the other his remarkable diving, juggling boundary catch in the second.8
Chamu Chibhabha
The other real success story of the series with back-to-back fifties in Antigua and then a well-made 40 in Guyana, before he was sidelined with a hamstring injury. On this evidence he appears to possess the temperament and the ability to succeed in international cricket and he is one of Zimbabwe’s brightest prospects.Ed Rainsford
The pick of Zimbabwe’s seamers, he led the line well in the first three matches before leaving the tour to take up a club commitment in the UK. The new-ball attack looked distinctly unthreatening without his accurate fast-medium bowling.7
Tawanda Mupariwa
Not the fastest of new-ball bowlers, he has an easy action and with tight control he actually managed to put pressure on the batsmen in the early overs. His two opening spells in Trinidad were as good as any in the series, and it seems madness that he was never allowed to share the new ball with Rainsford as the two of them could really have caused a few problems. Like Rainsford, his success opening the bowling is even more impressive considering that he was getting little support from the other end.Vusi Sibanda
Shone in the field where his enthusiasm was noticeable, but his chance only came when Chibhabha was sidelined and he responded with a fifty in his first outing and then was looking threatening when the rain came in the first match in Trinidad. He finished the series with 42 at Trinidad and did enough to show that the long (and largely unproductive) run he has been given in the side might be paying dividends.Brendan Taylor
One of the side’s most experienced players, he kept tidily enough but never really got going with the bat despite getting a start in four of his six innings. On the one occasion he came in with Zimbabwe actually looking for runs rather than survival – in the sixth match – he briefly showed that he had what it takes before the rain intervened, and was set for a fifty when brilliantly run-out in the final game.6
Elton Chigumbura
An ever-present member of the side, he batted superbly for his 60 at Georgetown but was otherwise struggling for form. His catching could not be questioned, taking four at long-on in the final match.5
Ryan Higgins
Another teenager with little experience, that showed when his legspin was mauled at a key stage in the first match in Antigua, but he bowled an excellent spell at Queen’s Park Oval which included the wickets of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Lara, however, got revenge in the final match. He bowled with accuracy but was hampered by the fact he did not turn the ball much and lacks variety.

4
Terry Duffin
Continued to look upbeat throughout the tour, but in one-day cricket he clearly lacks the range of strokes needed from a top-order batsman and was unable to press on when the situation demanded. His captaincy was at times naïve, but that is hardly his fault as he has been thrown in at the deep end and has only led the side since his ODI debut against Kenya two months ago.Keegan Meth
A very young and inexperienced allrounder, he was only brought in for the final two matches in Trinidad, where his medium-pace bowling suffered a mauling in the first game and fared little better in the second. His one innings gave little sign that he would be anything other than a late middle-order batsman.Gregory Strydom
Fairly anonymous with both bat and ball, his only contribution of substance, a defiant 48, came when the game was already lost in St Lucia. In the final ODI he spilt a tough chance in the field which seemed to sum up his tour. Almost, but not quite.3
Charles Coventry
The jury is still out on Coventry, but the credit he earned for his 74 against India last September is fast evaporating. He failed in his two innings and hardly helped his own cause with some sloppy fieldingKeith Dabengwa
Took part in two matches and failed to impress in either. His tour was summed up by his dismissal to Dave Mohammad, when he stepped back and demolished his own stumps attempting a cut.Blessing Mahwire
There were a few raised eyebrows when he was picked for the tour as he had just had a dismal series against Kenya. That form continued here as he struggled for any rhythm and shipped far too many runs for an opening bowler, many of which were gifted as extras.2
Anthony Ireland
He arrived in the Caribbean with a hand injury which limited his opportunities, but when he did play and was given the new ball, he was dreadful, lacking any consistency, his 11 overs costing 82.1
Piet Rinke
Oh dear. On the plus side, he scored two hundreds in the warm-up matches. However, in the ODIs his form was beyond wretched with 11 runs in his first five innings as his technique was ripped apart. He made 12 in his final innings, but got off the mark with an edge through the slips and never looked remotely at ease. His gentle seamers were briefly tried and found wanting, and he was far from athletic in the field either.

Friends and former team-mates have said their final farewells to Fred Trueman whose funeral took place this afternoon at Bolton Abbey Priory, North Yorkshire.Trueman was diagnosed with a form of lung cancer in May and died on Saturday. Ray Illingworth and Brian Close, the former England captain, joined several hundred mourners at the church where Trueman was a regular worshipper.”He was a genius. And I use that word very, very sparingly,” Dickie Bird, the former Test umpire told the congregation in his tribute to Trueman. “There have not been very many geniuses in sport — Muhammad Ali in boxing, (Diego) Maradona, Pele and (George) Best in football, Michael Johnson the great American athlete, (Don) Bradman, (Garfield) Sobers, (Dennis) Lilliee and Trueman. I put him up there.”A genius – and all these I have mentioned had a wonderful, wonderful gift. You cannot coach the gift, and that was balance. Trueman had wonderful balance. He bowled at pace, he swung the ball away late and by doing that he got all the great players in the world out.”You are cherished, my friend, you are cherished by us all,” he added.The Reverend John Ward, Rector of Bolton Abbey, said England had lost a “genuine sporting hero”.”But the loss to his country, his fans or his friends is as nothing compared to that of his family,” he said. “We meet many of us as strangers yet bound by our affection and respect for what I can only describe as a cricketing colossus.”A man capable of crossing all boundaries, be it four runs, six runs or social class.”The Yorkshire coach David Byas and captain Craig White also attended the service. Byas added: “He epitomised everything that cricket was about. He was a true Yorkshireman. He was Yorkshire through-and-through.”A book of condolence has been opened at Headingley, which will eventually be presented to his widow.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has invited Percy Sonn, the ICC president, to spend a few days in Colombo and assess for himself the security arrangements that are in place for touring teams. Sonn, a former president of Cricket South Africa, is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka on August 20 and spend about four days as the guest of Sri Lanka Cricket.”I have invited Percy to come and see for himself the security arrangements that are in place for India and judge for himself whether they are adequate,” said Jayantha Dharmadasa, the interim committee chairman of SLC.Dharmadasa said that the Sri Lankan board will make use of Sonn’s visit to press forward their case towards gaining compensation from South Africa following the cancellation of the Unitech Cup tri-series which was scheduled to be held in Colombo from August 14-29. The cancellation came about when South Africa pulled out of the tournament and returned home citing security concerns following a bomb blast near their hotel in Colombo while India, the third team, decided to stay back.Although the South Africans were assured of the highest security protection – normally given only to heads of state – they decided to return home basing their reasons on two similar security reports which said the Sri Lankan government was unable to guarantee the physical security of the team.Dharmadasa said that although Cricket South Africa had stated that both Boards could reschedule the tournament there was no way that Sri Lanka could have another tri-series involving India because of their international commitments.”India’s presence is vital for the fact that it not only boosts television audiences around the world but also nets in a huge amount of money from television broadcasters,” said Dharmadasa. Sri Lanka Cricket was due to receive US$11 million from Ten Sports who had bagged the television and broadcasting rights for the tri-series.The ICC’s media manager Brian Murgatroyd told Cricinfo early this week that it was not the role of the ICC to judge South Africa on their decision to pull out of the tri-series and that it was upto the respective cricket boards to reschedule the series if South Africa are to avoid being fined.Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee will have a new secretary following the resignation of Adel Hashim on August 15. Hashim had stated ‘personal reasons’ for his resignation. Board sources have said that the new secretary will be appointed by the Sports Minister. Former Sri Lanka cricketers Jayananda Warnaweera, Sidath Wettimuny and Ashantha de Mel are those in the running for the post.

Pravin Amre’s first decision as Mumbai coach is to implement the services of a video analyst during the forthcoming Ranji season. Amre, who took over the job two days ago, met with Lalchand Rajput, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) secretary, and Milind Rege, the selection panel chairman, to decide tactics.”I explained them the need for one ,” he told . “In order to make the best use of technology, we must have a full-time video analyst.”Amre’s ideas had the Mumbai management pleased. “It was a positive meeting,” said Rajput. “We heard out Amre’s plans and we are all exicted about the forthcoming season.” Added Rege: “We will go all out to support Amre’s plans.”The trio also discussed Mumbai’s participation in next month’s Moin-ud-Daulah trophy in Hyderabad. The tournament is being looked at with anticipation, given the failure of this summer’s Kanga League and Mumbai’s poor showing in the Buchi Babu fixture in Chennai. According to Rajput, Amre will travel with the team to Hyderabad. Rajput also revealed the unlikeliness of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy probables being announced until several key players return from club stints in England.Ashok Mankad, who lost out to Amre despite being a favourite for the coaching job, offered his congratulations. “They [MCA] deliberated on the matter and I respect the decision,” he said. “Now that he has got the nod, I wish him all the best.”

Sean Ervine, the former Zimbabwe allrounder, is eyeing a long-awaited debut for Western Australia after he was picked in the Ford Ranger Cup squad for the one-day game against Victoria at the WACA on Friday. Ervine moved to Perth to escape the problems of his national team and was unable to earn a starting spot over the past two seasons.However, he has performed strongly in two warm-up matches, scoring 122 in the WACA zone competition and 127 in the Retravision Shield, and received a call-up to the 12-man outfit. Ervine, who performed solidly for Hampshire in the off-season, appeared in five Tests and 42 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe during a three-year career. Justin Langer will lead the Warriors and his squad also includes Brett Dorey and Shaun Marsh.Western Australia FR Cup squad Justin Langer (capt), Marcus North, Luke Ronchi (wk), Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Chris Rogers, Sean Ervine, Peter Worthington, Brett Dorey, Ben Edmondson, Steve Magoffin, Aaron Heal.