Shane Warne has been cleared to play for Victoria in Sunday’s ING Cup match against Queensland after Australia’s medical team asked him to rest following the West Indies series. Warne struggled with a back injury before the second and third Tests and was given a week off after taking 16 wickets at 22.87.Warne will captain the Bushrangers at the Junction Oval and he was one of two changes to the side with Lloyd Mash set to make his debut. Aiden Blizzard and Grant Lindsay have been dropped from the side.Queensland were forced into a change when Mitchell Johnson was picked for the Australian one-day side in New Zealand. Ashley Noffke will replace Johnson and play his first limited-overs match since the opening game of the summer against New South Wales.Victoria Michael Klinger, Lloyd Mash, David Hussey, Graeme Rummans, Jonathan Moss, Adam Crosthwaite (wk), Liam Buchanan, Peter Siddle, Tim Welsford, Shane Warne (capt), Gerard Denton, Shane Harwood. Supersub to be named.Queensland Jimmy Maher (capt), Matthew Hayden, Clinton Perren, James Hopes, Craig Philipson, Chris Simpson, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Nathan Hauritz, Ashley Noffke, Michael Kasprowicz, Nathan Reardon. Supersub to be named.

ScorecardDeighton Butler and Kenroy Peters, the two left-arm medium-fast bowlers, took three wickets each as Windward Islands took charge on the second day of the Carib Beer Series match in St Elizabeth. Resming at 76 for 3, Jamaica were bundled out for 204, while Windards had managed 57 for 1 by close of play.Three Jamaican batsmen – Tamar Lambert, Gareth Breese and Nikita Miller – made 30, while Shawn Findlay scored 29, but none of the batsmen converted their starts. Peters took care of the middle order with three wickets, including that of Breese, while Butler nailed Xavier Marshall, the opener, and then returned to clean up the tail.In reply, Windwards took an early wicket, that of Craig Emmanuel for 1, but Romel Currency and Alvin La Feuille added 56 for the second wicket as Winwards ended the day confortably placed.

At Willowmoore Park in Benoni, the Titans were stretched to the lastthree balls by the Warriors in their effort to pass a small target of 113 to win by four wickets. Having been asked to bat first on a two-pacedpitch the Warriors collapsed to 112, with Justin Kreusch scoring73. The next highest was 16 from Robin Peterson as first Brendon Reddypicked up 3 for 31 and then Pierre de Bruyn mixed it up to take 4for 11. Some poor batting from the Titans top order saw them collapse to39 for 5 after 10 overs. It was left to Goolam Bodi and Albie Morkel tosensibly bat the Titans back into a winning position. Their 73-runpartnership was ended with the scores level and Bodi failing to clearmid-off for 43. It was, however, the 46 off 30 balls from Morkel thatsaved the Titans some embarrassment.Rain in Bloemfontein saw the Lions beat the Eagles by 28 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method when rain ended all chances of play afterthe Eagles had faced 7.4 overs. The Lions had earlier totalled 174 intheir 20 overs with Neil McKenzie striking a brilliant 85 off 49 balls.Andy Blignaut, making his debut for the Lions, waded in with 32 off 16as the Lions set a reasonable target. Rain however spoilt any chance ofexcitement with the Eagles scoring 40 for 4 as they tried to reach theadjusted target. With the rain increasing the umpires had no alternativebut to leave the field of play after only 7.4 overs.

Pakistan International Airlines’ ambitions of winning their first Patron’s Trophy Championship title received a setback, as they finished the opening day of their match against Habib Bank on 167 for 7 at the Khan Research Laboratories Stadium.On a day when more than 32 overs were lost due to fading light, PIA struggled against the pace bowlers. With Faisal Iqbal joining the Pakistan squad for the third Test against India in Karachi, their batting resources appeared uncertain.Bazid Khan was handed over the captaincy in Faisal’s absence. But the two PIA batsmen who managed to score some runs yesterday were among their tried and tested veterans. Opener Ghulam Ali top-scored with 79 off 150 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.But four wickets fell with only 84 runs on the board. These included Pakistan batsman Yasir Hameed, returning after a bout of typhoid, Asif Mujtaba and Bazid. Ali was then joined by Mahmood Hamid for a 73-run stand for the fifth wicket. Mahmood’s 36 came off 65 balls with four fours. PIA then lost three more wickets for 10 runs.Like PIA, Habib Bank are also fielding with a depleted side. Hasan Raza, the captain, is not playing after injuring himself in the previous match. Also missing is Taufeeq Umar, the left-handed opener, and the team is being led by pace bowler Shahid Nazir. Shahid picked up 3 for 22 in 7.4 overs. Kamran Hussain, the left-arm fast bowler, took 2 for 25 from nine overs while Fahad Masood took one.Last season, PIA and Habib Bank had reached the final of the tournament which was rained-off, and the trophy had to be shared. Strangely, although PIA have been Pakistan’s national cricket champions on six occasions – having won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title – the Patron’s Trophy has somehow eluded them for the last 33 years. Habib Bank, on the other hand, have claimed this championship on a record seven occasions.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), five-time champions, are playing against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) at the Sheikhupura Stadium, but their final-round match now begins on Sunday. As they head the points table currently, a win for NBP would most probably keep them ahead of PIA on the basis of the net run-rate.

Bangladesh 301 for 7 (Nafees 91, Aftab Ahmed 62, Mortaza 44*) beat Kenya 170 (Mishra 43, Rasel 3-31) by 131 runs
Scorecard

Bangladesh crushed Kenya by 131 runs in the opening ODI of this four-match series at Bogra, and the margin of victory would have been greater had they not taken their eye off the ball in the final stage of a one-sided contest. Quite simply, the gulf between the two sides was considerable, and on today’s performance it seems inconceivable that Bangladesh will fail to record a series whitewash.Where Bangladesh have markedly improved of late, Kenya have hardly played. Four matches against a dismal Zimbabwe side has been their only one-day exposure in a year and a half. The gulf in experience was all too evident.The game was done and dusted by the halfway point. Bangladesh won the toss and batted on an easy-paced pitch – helmets were soon discarded – and in front of a disappointing crowd they were rarely troubled by a far from threatening Kenyan attack.Javed Omar and Shahriar Nafees posted a solid rather than spectacular 92 for the first wicket before Omar fell to a controversial third-umpire decision – there was considerable doubt whether the ball carried to Steve Tikolo. His departure benefited Bangladesh as Aftab Ahmed accelerated the innings with 62 off 69 balls. Nafees departed for a resolute 91 off 112 balls, but the real fireworks came late on when Mashrafe Mortaza launched a remarkable onslaught as the final two overs produced 38 runs. He struck five fours and three sixes in a 16-ball 44 not out to end the match as a contest. Only Thomas Odoyo, who was Man of the Series on the recent tour of Zimbabwe, appeared able to contain, and even he was savaged at the death.A target of 302, Bangladesh’s first post-300 total in an ODI, was always beyond a Kenyan batting line-up which had proved frail in Zimbabwe. They needed big scores from the classy Tikolo and the in-form Kennedy Otieno. But both fell cheaply in a three-wicket opening spell from Syed Rasel, and at 48 for 4 the crowd was celebrating victory.

The Kenyans seemed to struggle not only to score but also with their timing – even Tikolo, who has a decade of club experience in Dhaka, got a leading edge to an attempted glance. David Obuya, who laboured almost an hour for 14, drove straight to extra cover and Hitesh Modi top-edged an attempted pull to midwicket. Bangladesh’s bowlers put the ball on the spot and the batsmen did the rest.Tony Suji restored a little face with 33 which at least enabled Kenya to scrape into three figures, and took them out of the list of the ten heaviest ODI defeats. The last quarter of a woefully one-sided contest was of interest only to the statisticians, although it gave Tanmay Mishra, an 18-year-old of real potential, some time in the middle. Bangladesh took their foot off the gas when they would have been better advised to go for the kill.The whole day had a slightly surreal feel. Collins Obuya was named in the Kenyan starting XI but was replaced after one over of the match, while Habibul Bashar, Bangladesh’s captain who was down to bat at No. 3, slipped quietly down the order and never made it to the middle. Perhaps he was saving himself for tougher opposition next month?

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In contrast to yesterday, the fourth day of the SuperSport Series Final startedin overcast conditions that cleared into almost perfect weather. DaleBenkenstein, scoring 151, took the Dolphins into a very strong position with an excellent innings, mixing patience and aggression, after Doug Watson had done the initial groundwork with an innings of equal quality of 103.Dale Steyn got the Titans very excited in the early overcast conditions,but once the sun came out and the pitch flattened out the patience of theDolphins batsmen gained the upper hand. As the runs flowed fromBenkenstein’s bat, who also went past the 8,000 first-class career runs, theshoulders of the Titans dropped and crucial catches and fielding mistakesfollowed. Benkenstein gave chances on 88 and 140 but by then the damage hadbeen done. A run-a-ball 33 from Mornatau Hayward followed and the Titanswere 470 when Steyn took his fifth wicket to end the innings.With a target of 378 and the light failing quickly the Titans batted out thefinal 4.2 overs to end the day on 11 without loss and face a hard day at thecrease tomorrow on the fifth and final day.

Somewhere beneath his poised and upright exterior, Alastair Cook claims to harbour a shred of nervousness. But as he and his fellow winter debutant, Monty Panesar, faced the media ahead of their anticipated home debuts on Thursday, the fear of failure was clearly not weighing too heavily on his mind.After hurtling into the national consciousness with a brilliant century on debut, Cook is inked in to bat at No. 3 when the first Test against Sri Lanka gets underway at Lord’s. North-West London in early May is a world away from the heat and hubbub of Nagpur, but for Cook all things are equal when he steps on a cricket field. He was allowing nothing to faze him.Not even the prospect of shifting from the opener’s slot to one-down, a position he has not played in regularly since his days as a club batsman for Maldon in Essex. “There’s not really any difference,” he shrugged. “The only difference is you put your feet up while the other lads go out straight away. It’s still the same game, and I’ll still go through the same things to make sure my game is right.””I always get a bit nervous every time I bat,” he insisted, although England’s fans have yet to witness any evidence to support this claim. This is a man who believes that international cricket is his birthright, and though his chance has come about because of Michael Vaughan’s injury, he is not about to be regarded as a stop-gap Test cricketer.”Obviously Vaughan is going to be captain when’s back, but if you keep scoring runs, then they can’t leave you out,” he grinned. “I was disappointed to miss the Test in Mumbai through illness, so I’m glad I’ve got another chance now to stake a claim and score a few runs to keep my place.””It’s a fantastic time to be involved, on the back of the Ashes while everyone’s interested in cricket,” Cook added. “For me and Monty a home debut is something totally new. We’ve not done this before, so it’s a good place to learn. But our main focus will come when we get out there to the middle. I’ve just got to make sure my mind is fully focused.”Panesar, for his part, was the more diffident character, although to be a rookie spinner in the earliest home Test in English history is not quite the same as being presented with perfect slow-bowling conditions in Nagpur or Mumbai. “I’m trying not to complicate things too much,” he said. “I’ve got a good rhythm this season, so I’ll be trying to get the ball in the right areas and keep things simple.”Matching up against the great Muttiah Muralitharan will be a daunting prospect for Panesar, but at least the pair have got one thing in common – neither has yet played a Test at Lords. Murali’s first appearance in England was his 16-wicket haul at The Oval in a one-off Test in 1998, while he missed the Lord’s match four years later with a shoulder injury.”He’s got so many variations, and as a world-class spinner, he’s someone you look up to,” said Panesar. “You just want to learn and observe.” Cook, on the other hand, displayed few concerns about his impending contest with Murali, having coped with the twin threat of Harbhajan and Kumble after arriving in Nagpur just 48 hours before his debut in March.”I’ve watched him on TV, so know what he does,” added Cook. “Obviously it’s a different perspective when you face him, but it gives you an idea, and I’ll be going up to people who’ve played him well and getting hints off them.” Naturally enough the man he replaced in India, Marcus Trescothick, who scored a century in his first encounter with Murali in 2000-01, will be the first man to whom he will turn for advice. “It’s not rocket science,” shrugged Cook.Cook’s performances in India have confirmed his ability to an admiring public, but most importantly, they have given the man himself a sense of belonging. “It gives you that inner belief,” he admitted. “It’s not so much the unknown of Test cricket any more. I know it’ll never be as smooth as that every time, but I know I’ve scored a hundred and I know I can do it again.”He’s had an early setback in this summer as well, recording a sixth-ball duck for England A against the Sri Lankans at Worcester last week, but his failure was hardly noticed, as the tourists were routed inside three days. “We did what we were told to do, and went out and thumped them,” he said unequivocally. “The wicket had a little bit in it for our bowlers and they did fantastically well. Hopefully that’s got their confidence down a bit, so we can exploit it this week.”Nothing, it seems, can get at Cook’s confidence at present. At the age of 21 years and 135 days, the world really is his oyster.

Shane Warne, Hampshire’s captain, made clear his frustration over Kent’s lack of co-operation on the final day of the Championship match at The Rose Bowl.Warne, who is one of the most adventurous county captains, tried to agree a fourth-innings target with Robert Key after rain affected the first two days of the game.”There was a little bit of haggling going on but Keysy didn’t want to know,” said Warne. “We got down to 240 off 65 overs, but they still weren’t interested at all. If I was offered that I’d take it everywhere in the world – no matter what the ground was like – and there was a kiddies’ boundary out there as well.”In the end, Kent were left a far-from-demanding 225 in 48 overs after Warne declared Hampshire’s second innings on 176 for 6. That target was not agreed between the captains. In the end, bad light brought an early end to the match.Warne, however, was clearly irked. “I was disappointed that Kent weren’t really interested in anything – they wanted 60 overs to get 200. I thought we were the only side that really wanted to win the game. Right from ball one I thought they came here with the mentality, their body language and everything, to be very negative about the whole thing. I think they just wanted to come here and basically not lose.”This is not the first time that Warne has been less than impressed with Kent. Last September, he accused David Fulton, Key’s predecessor, of effectively handing Nottinghamshire the Championship title by agreeing to chase 420 at more than six an over. Nottinghamshire won the game, and with it the title, whereas any other result would have set up a decider against Hampshire.

Darren Lehmann has been censured by Yorkshire County Cricket Club after he was caught on camera making an obscene gesture to the crowd, during last night’s Twenty20 match against Lancashire at Old Trafford.Lehmann, who had been barracked for much of the game by Lancashire’s fans, retaliated after taking a catch to dismiss Paul Horton off Dion Kruis. Yorkshire went onto win the game by 15 runs, and Lehmann apologised afterwards for his “spur of the moment” reaction.”Yorkshire County Cricket Club do not condone this behaviour and have met with Darren to discuss the matter,” read a statement. “The club have dealt with the matter internally and are confident it will not happen again.”Yorkshire have contacted Lancashire County Cricket Club this morning and apologised to the Board, players and fans of the club for this incident which was a black mark on an otherwise enjoyable evening for all concerned.”

Clive Lloyd has resigned from his position as chairman of the Stanford 20/20 Cup board citing concerns over how the future of the tournament affects West Indies cricket. reported that Lloyd’s resignation followed “a very healthy discussion” with Allen Stanford, the Antigua-based Texan billionaire who spent US$41 million to bankroll the recent tournament, but there are rumours that a looming clash between Stanford and the WICB would have put Lloyd in an uncomfortable position.Lloyd is a WICB director and chairman of the board’s cricket committee, but was one of 14 former West Indian legends who worked closely with Stanford to organise the successful tournament. “I have since had time to reflect on the matters which we discussed and, in particular, concerns for the future of West Indies cricket in relation to the Stanford 20/20 tournament,” Lloyd said in a brief letter of resignation.Stanford’s next venture is a US$5 million 20-over match featuring the Stanford SuperStars – 20 of the best players from the tournament – against South Africa in November. However, a possible conflict with the dates for West Indies’ tour of Pakistan overshadowed the announcement. During a press conference to announce the team, Lloyd emphasised that West Indies cricket should always remain the focus and that replacements for those selected for the Pakistan tour would be arranged for.Stanford is believed to have a different opinion. “We cleared all of this with the ICC and with the WICB in terms of having a clear date in November that would not be in conflict,” he said. “We have this in writing from January. The date for the Pakistan tour was announced after we were told that our one night, 20-over match would not be in conflict. I want to make it very clear that, as someone who has now committed US$41 million, that I went into this with a conciliatory tone and attitude with the WICB. I met with Ken Gordon three times. Now it is unfortunate that they scheduled the Pakistan tour to coincide with our 20-over match with South Africa that was previously agreed to.”The Super Stars’ match is scheduled for November 10 in Antigua, while unconfirmed reports indicate that West Indies are due to arrive in Pakistan on November 7 – two days after the Champions Trophy final.