Honeymoon takes priority for Taibu

Contrary to earlier reports, Tatenda Taibu has missed Mashonaland’s Logan Cup match against Matabeleland at Harare Country Club.Earlier reports had stated that Taibu, who got married on Sunday, had forgone his honeymoon until the end of the season. But it subsequently emerged that Taibu and Loveness, his new wife, were out of the country.Cricinfo was informed that Taibu was given a ten-day break by a Zimbabwe Cricket official, but that was only communicated to Kevin Curran, the Mashonaland coach, late on Monday. Sources said that Curran “was livid” when he was informed that his captain had been allowed time off at such a crucial stage of the season.Stuart Carlisle, the former Zimbabwe captain, took over the reins on Tuesday morning.Taibu will be available for Mashonaland when they host Midlands next week.

Australia v Bangladesh, NatWest Series, Cardiff

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBulletin – Ashraful hundred gives Bangladesh famous win
Verdict – The toppling of the greatest giant of all
Quotes – Habibul Bashar, Mohammad Ashraful and Dav Whatmore
Quotes – Ricky Ponting and Mike Kasprowicz
Ten biggest one-day upsets
Gallery
Preview
Australia aim to bounce back against Bangladesh

England wait on Flintoff's fitness

England are still waiting to see whether Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the one-day international series in Bangladesh. Flintoff was forced to pull out of the two-Test series shortly before the squad departed due to a recurring groin injury.”We are keeping our fingers crossed that Freddie will be fine,” David Graveney, England’s chairman of selectors, said. “He bowled yesterday for the first time since he had his medical tests in early October, when he suffered some reaction. We are waiting to see how he reacts to that and if all goes to plan he’ll come to the Academy on October 20 and 21, do some more bowling, and if all goes to plan fly out with the one-day squad to Bangladesh on October 28.”Meanwhile, James Anderson, who is also missing the two Tests because of a knee injury, is on course to make the ODIs. “James just needed to strengthen his legs,” Graveney explained. “He was getting a reaction to such a degree that it was causing him discomfort and we felt we needed to get that fixed.”

Tikolo rejects 'blackmail' accusation

Steve Tikolo: ‘If you fight for your rights, how does it become blackmail?’© Getty Images

The relationship between the Kenyan board (KCA) and the striking players, which has deteriorated all week, grew more hostile when Sharad Ghai, the board’s chairman, yesterday accused them of “blackmail”.Today, Steve Tikolo, the former Kenya captain, dismissed Ghai’s comments, maintaining that the players were only asking for what was rightfully theirs. “If you fight for your rights, how does it become blackmail?” he told the Nation newspaper. “What is wrong if we ask for job security just like any other human being? All we are asking is that the money owed to us in match fees and bonuses be paid – we have worked for it.”At the centre of the dispute are the contracts offered to many of the players. Most expired at the end of September, and whereas until recently the board has been using ICC money earmarked for development to pay wages, that practice has now ended at the insistence of the ICC. With no team sponsor for almost 18 months, the KCA has little money to honour salaries and so has had to limit itself to offering two-month contracts. “We need job security,” Tikolo argued. “We don’t need to used for two months and then dumped.”The players feel let down because they have already taken pay cuts as the board’s financial predicament has worsened. Tikolo disputed the salary figures given by Ghai, and claimed that in the last 13 months the highest-paid players had been receiving about half of what the board claims to have paid them. They also maintain that they are still owed win bonuses outstanding from the 2003 World Cup, and that there were suggestions that this might be withheld were they to strike.One other aspect of the walkout is that it has divided the team along racial lines. No Asian players have joined the strike and only one black player – Lameck Onyango – took the field today, but Tikolo said that there were no issues with those who had decided to play against Namibia. “They are our friends,” he explained, “and we have played with them for a long time.”That racial split was evident at the Aga Khan Club today where around 30 supporters staged a noisy protest calling for Ghai’s resignation. At one stage some Kenyan players were jeered and one onlooker said that he was not watching the full side but Kenya A. He quickly corrected himself: “Kenya Asians, I should say.”It was not as clear where the striking players stood with regard to the new players drafted in to fill their places. Earlier in the week Tikolo said he would be looking into suggestions that some might not be Kenyan passport-holders.The striking players Josephat Ababu, Joseph Angara, Jimmy Kamande, Alfred Luseno, David Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Francis Otieno, Kennedy Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Martin Suji, Tony Suji, Steve Tikolo.

Ground-breaking offer put in front of New Zealand players

Cricket players have been offered today what New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden believes is a ground-breaking contract offer in New Zealand sport.It has utilised the ranking system that has been at the core of contracts in Australian cricket for the last five years.The top 20 players at international level will be contracted and assessed by the national selectors each year for their position on the list.Should the four-year offer be accepted by the players, and they have said they will have a response to NZC by Friday of next week, before the next round of discussions are due on October 22, a list already drawn up by the selectors as far back as May this year will be implemented.Snedden and his bargaining group have been able to make their offer while increasing the total cost of payments by only $140,000. However, in taking out the bonus payments that had been part of the previous international contract system more has been able to be made available to players on the lower ranks of the first-class ladder.Players at provincial level, and without the international players being included, will also be ranked in each association.Snedden said the change in systems was appropriate given the changes that have occurred in playing standards in the last five years.”Five years ago there may not have been the confidence in some of the players, but now there is a solid core there who we do have a lot of confidence in.”I feel the ranking creates an incentive for the players and the ranking is a decision made by the selectors,” he said.Snedden also felt, and he thought the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association would probably agree, that the ranking list should be made public.”I imagine it would be quite prestigious to be known as the No 1 ranked player in New Zealand,” he said.A central plank of the offer is also the compliance with the International Cricket Council’s demands that players must sign the contracts required before next year’s World Cup and future tournaments because they were the basis of the finances being available to pay players.Snedden had not been surprised by the length of time involved in discussing the contract. He said there were 25-26 issues and common ground had been found on all of them except the remuneration issue.”It has been a hell of a difficult and detailed negotiation, but I knew it would be. It is a ground-breaking offer that we have made and it is short term pain for longer term gain,” he said.The reason for the contract being a four-yearly one, with provision for financial top-ups as extra money becomes available, was because of the “front-end loading” of payments every four years based on World Cup payouts.

Jayasuriya may need surgery

Sanath Jayasuriya may require surgery after dislocating his right shoulder for the second time of his career, according to Sri Lanka Cricket’s Australian surgeon Dr David Young. Jayasuriya will be sent on a four-hour drive to Colombo on Sunday to have an MRI scan to investigate how seriously he has damaged his tendons.Jayasuriya was left writhing in pain after diving to stop a Yuvraj Singh drive and landing awkwardly on his arm, with his shoulder taking the greatest impact. He was helped off the field by CJ Clarke, the team’s physiotherapist, and then attended to by Dr Young, who – by chance – had been watching in the grandstand after travelling to the island for tsunami relief work on the east coast.The shoulder was clicked back into place and initial fears about his future participation in the tournament, let alone the game, were eased by the team management as it was described as a `minor dislocation’. Although batting ran the risk of aggravating the injury Jayasuriya insisted on batting after taking an injection for the pain and guided Sri Lanka home with 43 not out.But the true extent of the tendon damage around the shoulder joint will only become apparent after scans. “We will need to do an MRI scan on Sunday to find out what damage has been done to the rotator cuff,” Dr Young told reporters after the initial treatment. “The worse case scenario is a `full thickness tear’ that would require surgery and stop him playing for significant period of time,” he added.Jayasuriya dislocated the same shoulder in a one-day tournament in Morocco back in 2002 and has been suffering from tendon stiffness and soreness since, according to Dr Young.

Gloucestershire collapse but gain lead

Division One

Points TableRamnaresh Sarwan fell one short of his second century for Gloucestershire, who ended the day on 181 for 6, leading Surrey by 181 with four wickets in hand. Surrey resumed on 409 for 7, and although Mark Ramprakash only added seven to his overnight 185, Tim Murtagh smashed his way to 66, his second half-century of the season. Sarwan and Kadeer Ali put on 151 for the second wicket, wiping out their first-innings deficit of 113. Sarwan’s wicket triggered a mini collapse, however, with four wickets falling for 59. Gloucestershire’s lead is only 181 with four second-innings wickets in hand, but rain is forecast for London tomorrow.

Division Two

Points TableAnother hundred from Andrew Symonds put Lancashire in a strong position against Yorkshire. Click here for a full report.A stabilising innings by Ronnie Irani, useful lower-order runs from Darren Gough and more excellent bowling from Danish Kaneria put Essex on top against Derbyshire at Derby. Irani hit 99, one short of what would have been his second hundred of the season. Having lost Grant Flower, who only added one to his overnight score of 60, Irani was involved in partnerships of 104 with James Middlebrook and 77 with Gough, who made an enterprising half-century from just 38 balls. Derbyshire, in reply, slumped to 34 for 4 before Jono Moss (74) and Luke Sutton (38*) checked the slide with a stand of 121. Kaneria took 4 for 53, giving him ten wickets in the match so far. Derbyshire, who lead by 314, are seeking their first win of the season.Somerset were on the verge of defeat against Worcestershire, with just two second-innings wickets remaining at the end of the third day at New Road. Worcestershire’s imposing first innings finally came to a close as they declared on a massive 696 for 8. Ben Smith’s excellent season continued, as he went on to a season’s-best score of 172. Steven Davies, 19 and playing in only his sixth first-class game, hit a magnificent 148 – his maiden first-class century – and became his side’s third centurion of the innings. In reply, Matthew Wood struck a solid 72 but Worcestershire never allowed Somerset to settle. Gareth Batty and the Zimbabwean Ray Price bowled in tandem for most of the afternoon, picking up seven of the eight wickets to fall. Somerset still trail by 158 runs with just two second-innings wickets in hand.

You've got mail

The full text of Greg Chappell’s e-mail to the BCCI. This was first shown by India TV and published by DNA in Mumbai. Due to comments made by Mr Sourav Ganguly during the press conference following his innings in the recently completed Test match in Bulawayo and the subsequent media speculation I would like to make my position clear on two points.1. At no stage did I ask Mr Ganguly to step down from the captaincy of the Indian team and;
2. At no stage have I threatened to resign my position as Indian team coach.
Mr Ganguly came to me following the recently completed tri-series of one-day matches here in Zimbabwe and asked me to tell him honestly where he stood as a player in my view. I told him that I thought he was struggling as a player and that it was affecting his ability to lead the team effectively and that the pressure of captaincy was affecting his ability to play to his potential. I also told him that his state of mind was fragile and it showed in the way that he made decisions on and off the field in relation to the team, especially team selection. A number of times during the tri-series the tour selectors had chosen a team and announced it to the group only for Sourav to change his mind on the morning of the game and want to change the team.On at least one occasion he did change the team and on the morning of the final I had to talk him out of making another last-minute change that I believe would have destroyed team morale and damaged the mental state of the individuals concerned. I also told Sourav that his nervous state was affecting the team in other ways as he was prone to panic during pressure situations in games and that his nervous demeanour was putting undue pressure on the rest of the team. His nervous pacing of the rooms during our batting in the final plus his desire to change the batting order during our innings in the final had also contributed to nervousness in the players waiting to go in to bat. His reluctance to bat first in games I suggested was also giving wrong signals to the team and the opposition and his nervousness at the crease facing bowlers like Shane Bond from NZ was also affecting morale in the dressing room.On the basis of this and other observations and comments from players in the squad about the unsettling effect Sourav was having on the group I suggested to Sourav that he should consider stepping down from the captaincy at the end of the tour in the interests of the team and in his own best interests if he wanted to prolong his playing career. I told him of my own experiences toward the end of my career and cited other players such as Border, Taylor and Steve Waugh, all of whom struggled with batting form toward the end of their tenure as Australian captain.We discussed other issues in relation to captaincy and the time and effort it took that was eating into his mental reserves and making it difficult to prepare properly for batting in games. He commented that he had enjoyed being free of those responsibilities in the time that he was in Sri Lanka following his ban from international cricket and that he would consider my suggestion.I also raised the matter of selection for the first Test with Sourav and asked him where he thought he should bat. He said ‘number 5’. I told him that he might like to consider opening in the Test as the middle order was going to be a tight battle with Kaif and Yuvraj demanding selection. Sourav asked me if I was serious. I said it was something to be considered, but it had to be his decision.The following day Sourav batted in the match against Zimbabwe ‘A’ team in the game in Mutare. I am not sure of the exact timing of events because I was in the nets with other players when Sourav went in to bat, but the new ball had either just been taken or was imminent when I saw Sourav walking from the field holding his right arm. I assumed he had been hit and made my way to the players’ area where Sourav was receiving treatment from the team physiotherapist, John Gloster.When I enquired as to what had happened Sourav said he had felt a click in his elbow as he played a ball through the leg side and that he thought he should have it investigated. Sourav had complained of pain to his elbow at various stages of the one-day series, but he had resisted having any comprehensive investigation done and, from my observation, had been spasmodic in his treatment habits, often not using ice-packs for the arm that had been prepared for him by John Gloster. I suggested, as had John Gloster, that we get some further tests done immediately. Sourav rejected these suggestions and said he would be ‘fine’. When I queried what he meant by ‘fine’ he said he would be fit for the Test match. I then queried why then was it necessary to be off the field now. He said that he was just taking ‘precautions’.Rather than make a scene with other players and officials in the vicinity I decided to leave the matter and observe what Sourav would do from that point on. After the loss of Kaif, Yuvraj and Karthik to the new ball, Sourav returned to the crease with the ball now around 20 overs old. He struggled for runs against a modest attack and eventually threw his wicket away trying to hit one of the spinners over the leg side.The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav’s retirement. The universal response was that it was ‘just Sourav’ as they recounted a list of times when Sourav had suffered from mystery injuries that usually disappeared as quickly as they had come. This disturbed me because it confirmed for me that he was in a fragile state of mind and it was affecting the mental state of other members of the squad.When we arrived in Bulawayo I decided I needed to ask Sourav if he had over-played the injury to avoid the danger period of the new ball as it had appeared to me and others within the touring party that he had protected himself at the expense of others. He denied the suggestion and asked why he would do that against such a modest attack. I said that he was the only one who could answer that question.I was so concerned about the affect that Sourav’s actions were having on the team that I decided I could not wait until selection meeting that evening to inform him that I had serious doubts about picking him for the first Test.I explained that, in my view, I felt we had to pick Kaif and Yuvraj following their good form in the one-day series and that Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman and Dravid had to play. He said that his record was better than Kaif and Yuvraj and that they had not proved themselves in Test cricket. I countered with the argument that they had to be given a chance to prove themselves on a consistent basis or we would never know. I also said that their form demanded that they be selected now.Sourav asked me whether I thought he should be captain of the team. I said that I had serious doubts that he was in the right frame of mind to do it. He asked me if I thought he should step down. I said that it was not my decision to make, that only he could make that decision, but if he did make that decision he had to do it in the right manner or it would have even more detrimental effects than if he didn’t stand down. I said that now was not the time to make the decision but that we should discuss it at the selection meeting to be held later in the day.Sourav then said that if I didn’t want him to be captain that he would inform Rahul Dravid that was going to stand down. I reiterated that it was not my decision to make but he should give it due consideration under the circumstances but not to do it hastily. At that point Sourav went to Rahul and the two of them conferred briefly and then Sourav left the field and entered the dressing room. At that stage I joined the start of the training session.A short time later Mr Chowdhary came on to the field and informed me that Sourav had told him that I did not want him as captain and that Sourav wanted to leave Zimbabwe immediately if he wasn’t playing. I then joined Mr Chowdhary and Rahul Dravid in the dressing room where we agreed that this was not the outcome that any of us wanted and that the ramifications would not be in the best interests of the team.We then spent some time with Sourav and eventually convinced him that he should stay on as captain for the two Tests and then consider his future. In my view it was not an ideal solution but it was better than the alternative of him leaving on a bad note. I believe he has earned the right to leave in a fitting manner. We all agreed that this was a matter that should stay between us and should not, under any circumstances, be discussed with the media.The matter remained quiet until the press conference after the game when a journalist asked Sourav if he had been asked to step down before the Test. Sourav replied that he had but he did not want to elaborate and make an issue of it. I was then called to the press conference where I was asked if I knew anything of Sourav being asked to step down before the game. I replied that a number of issues had been raised regarding selection but as they were selection matters I did not wish to make any further comment.Apart from a brief interview on ESPN before which I emphasized that I did not wish to discuss the issue because it was a selection matter I have resisted all other media approaches on the matter.Since then various reports have surfaced that I had threatened to resign. I do not know where that rumour has come from because I have spoken to no one in regard to this because I have no intention of resigning. I assume that some sections of the media, being starved of information, have made up their own stories.At the completion of the Test match I was approached by VVS Laxman with a complaint that Sourav had approached him on the eve of the Test saying that I had told Sourav that I did not want Laxman in the team for Test matches. I denied that I had made such a remark to Sourav, or anybody else for that matter, as, on the contrary, I saw Laxman as an integral part of the team. He asked how Sourav could have said what he did. I said that the only way we could go to the bottom of the matter was to speak to Sourav and have him repeat the allegation in front of me.I arranged for a meeting with the two of them that afternoon. The meeting took place just after 6pm in my room at the Rainbow Hotel in Bulawayo. I told Sourav that Laxman had come to me complaining that Sourav had made some comments to Laxman prior to the Test. I asked Sourav if he would care to repeat the comment in my presence. Sourav then rambled on about how I had told him that I did not see a place for Laxman in one-day cricket, something that I had discussed with Sourav and the selection panel and about which I had spoken to Laxman at the end of the Sri Lankan tour.Sourav mentioned nothing about the alleged conversation regarding Laxman and Test cricket even when I pushed him on it later in the discussion. As we had to leave for a team function we ended the conversation without Sourav adequately explaining his comments to Laxman.Again, this is not an isolated incident because I have had other players come to me regarding comments that Sourav had made to them that purports to be comments from me to Sourav about the particular player. In each case the comments that Sourav has passed on to the individual are figments of Sourav’s imagination. One can only assume that he does it to unnerve the individual who, in each case, has been a middle order batsman.Sourav has missed the point of my discussions with him on this matter. It has less to do with his form than it does with his attitude toward the team. Everything he does is designed to maximise his chance of success and is usually detrimental to someone else’s chances.Despite meeting with him in Mumbai after his appointment as captain and speaking with him about these matters and his reluctance to do the preparation and training that is expected of everyone else in the squad he continues to set a bad example.Greg King’s training reports continue to show Sourav as the person who does the least fitness and training work based on the criterion that has been developed by the support staff to monitor the work load of all the players.We have also developed parameters of batting, bowling, fielding and captaincy that we believe embodies the ‘Commitment to Excellence’ theme that I espoused at my interview and Sourav falls well below the acceptable level in all areas. I will be pleased to present this documentation when I meet with the special committee in Mumbai later this month.I can assure you sir that all my actions in this matter, and all others since my appointment, have been with the aim of improving the team performance toward developing a team that will represent India with distinctions in Test match and one-day cricket.As I said to you during our meeting in Colombo, I have serious reservations about the attitude of some players and about Sourav and his ability to take this team to a new high, and none of the things he has done since his reappointment has caused me to change my view. In fact, it has only served to confirm that it is time for him to move on and let someone else build their team toward the 2007 World Cup.This team has been made to be fearful and distrusting by the rumour mongering and deceit that is Sourav’s modus operandi of divide and rule. Certain players have been treated with favour, all of them bowlers, while others have been shunted up and down the order or left out of the team to suit Sourav’s whims.John Wright obviously allowed this to go on to the detriment of the team. I am not prepared to sit back and allow this to continue or we will get the same results we have been seeing for some time now.It is time that all players were treated with fairness and equity and that good behaviours and attitudes are rewarded at the selection table rather than punished.I can assure you of my very best intentions.Yours sincerely,Greg Chappell MBE

Derbyshire hope Phantoms will erase past ghosts

The end has arrived for the Scorpions© Getty Images

Derbyshire are to switch the nickname of their one-day team from the Scorpions to the Phantoms.The change was made after the county ran a competition in association with a local radio station in Derby, RAM FM. They have been called the Scorpions since counties adopted nicknames six years ago. A statement from Derbyshire said: “We wanted a name that has some direct relationship to Derbyshire and its proud history.” The new name reflects Derby being the most haunted city in England, and also plays on the town’s links with Rolls Royce, who manufactured the Phantom luxury car.As the Scorpions, Derbyshire lacked almost any sting. They have won the wooden spoon three times in the last six years and only Scotland finished beneath them in 2004. Derbyshire won 30 and lost 64 one-day matches as the Scorpions and will hope for better luck as the Phantoms.

Rest of World Out of Form

Wes Hall bowled with his old fire © The Cricketer International

The annual gathering of the cricket stars of the world, under the sponsorship of Rothrnans, once again signed off the English season even though the Oval Test and MCC’s team for South Africa overshadowed much else in that period.Four first-class matches, at Bournemouth, Canterbury, Lord’s and Scarborough, were scheduled for the visitors. They had an initial set-back when Cohn Bland, arriving in England with a Rhodesian passport, was allowed to sleep one night in London but was promptly deported next day.With only ten players fit to open their programme, they brought in Saeed Ahmed, but with a succession of aches and pains at Bournernouth (including the indisposition of the captain, the Nawab of Pataudi, who batted in neither innings) they went down to Hampshire some twenty or so minutes from time on the final day. It was much the same 200 \ears ago, when the men of Hampshire could take on all-corners and beat them.Wilfred Rhodes, aged 90 and living within easy reach of the Dean Park ground, was there to see (he “sees’ more than many spectators) Derek Shackleton take his 100th wicket of the season for the 20th consecutive time: the victim was Graeme Pollock, who doubtless conceded that number 8 was not his favourite position in the order. 1 and 0 being his contributions this time. Though six men in the side had a double-century to their credit in Test cricket, they were unable to combat a turning wicket when Marshall declared and set them 289 in 280 minutes. The young Natalian, Richards, with four wickets for the county all season to that point, spun them to destruction with seven for 63, and thereupon changed ranks to help the injury-stricken visitors in their next engagement: as did Roy Marshall, who had just scored his first hundred of the season (on August 23!).The Rest of the World’s luck seemed to be out again at Canterbury, where Kent were met while England was locked in battle against Australia at the Oval. On a friendly pitch, and without Cowdrey and Knott, Kent ran up 339 for five by Saturday evening, Luckhurst scoring a chanceless 113 out of 194 with a freedom that must have made his admirers long for this sort of approach from him in the championship. But if the truth be known, the bowling was woefully inadequate, and the play, as a spectacle, lost much in consequence.Dixon declared at the overnight score and Hanif Mohammed (who continued the role of captaincy he had assumed at Bournernouth) in his turn declared 51 behind, having himself scored 79 in 3-and-a-quarter hours and shared a stand of 136 in two hours with Butcher. The third declaration came at lunch on the last day, Luckhurst having just completed his second century of the match, in three hours. Barlow and Richards atoned for their first-innings ducks when they set out to get 253 in 3-and-a-half hours to win. Barlow was in great form: his hundred came in 105 minutes, and when he was stumped – first out at 225 – he had hit a six and 22 fours in his 153, made in 145 minutes. Though Leary, the seventh bowler tried, took four wickets the World Xl won with half an hour to spare. Richards (81) took his aggregate for the season to within two of 2,000.And so, after a three-day break, to Lord’s. Though not fully recovered from a thigh injury, sustained at Bournemouth, Graeme Pollock was back in the side, as was Pataudi. And how well Pollock played after the first three wickets had fallen for 17. He scored 44 beautiful runs. With his own brand of majesty, before he was caught in the gully off Connolly, playing at Lord’s for the first time since choosing Lord’s as his home ground for 1969. The match was the last of the Australians’ tour.Rain, which rarely deserted Lord’s on a big occasion in 1968, halted affairs at tea, Lindsay was in full spate and looking vertain for a hundred. Pataudi again withdrewduring the match because of injury, and on the Bank Holiday Monday the Australians just edged ahead, Hall and Peter Pollock this time achieving a fine speed and control. But the almost unknown Randolph Ramnarace, from Guyana, bowling medium pace, dismissed Chappell, Walters and Sheahan in quick succession to steal much of the honourThe distinguished visitors were beaten for the second time on the final day at Lord’s when they collapsed in their second innings for 107. Hall, after taking two quick wickets, succumbed to cramp in his left leg, and Peter Pollock had a bruised heel. In the circumstances the Australians romped home by eight wickets.Under a cloudless sky at Scarborough and before a great crowd, an England XI (which included six Yorkshire-born players) were put in by Sobers, brought in to strengthen the side together with McKenzie and Lawry. Boycott, out of the first-class game since hi back injury in the Edgbaston Test, had played recent innings of 126, 98, 59 and 80 for local teams in south Yorkshire: and he now scored a splendid 93 with all his old assurance. In the second innings he made an undefeated hundred and showed no trace of his injury. In between, the Rest’s batting again collapsed, the Yorkshire men having a hand in the capture of every wicket. Close eventually set the Rest 305 to win in 220 minutes, but before tea it was all over. Hobbs and Illingworth bowled finely, the England XI gained an easy win, and the Rest of the World, brought to England at a cost of some £10,000, licked their wounds and went off to beat the Cavaliers in a one-day game at Motsbur Park.

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