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Reports that Shane Warne will announce his retirement on Thursday have caught the cricket world off guard. While there has been no official confirmation that Warne will step down, Australia is buzzing with the news that Warne, and maybe Glenn McGrath, will make the Sydney Test their last.”I haven’t heard anything official yet from Cricket Australia and people have been ringing me non-stop,” David Boon, an Australia selector, told . “I don’t know when he’s proposing to do it officially or whether it’s just rumour. I don’t know.”John Buchanan, the Australia coach, said he was not commenting “at this stage”. Ian Healy said he would not say anything until the announcement was official, but he said it was hard to believe that Warne could be so close to leaving the game.Allan Border, who captained Warne for several years, said on that Warne was in superb form and did not need to retire. “It’s just caught everyone by surprise,” Border said. “I just got the inkling that he was even considering one more tilt at England in England and that would see him out. I suppose there’s a lot of innuendo about what the reasons are … I’m in a bit of a state of shock.”Border said Warne would be remembered as one of the all-time greats. “Bradman – it’s hard to make comparison with that guy’s record, but on the next level of cricketers, Warne is right there,” Border said. “He’s been a breath of fresh air, what he’s brought to the game is immeasurable.”Ian Chappell said both Warne and McGrath would be choosing the ideal moment to retire if the Sydney Test was their last. “I’m delighted for both of them that they are calling it a day at the end of this series,” Chappell said. “I think it’s perfect timing for a champion player … if you make a mistake it’s best to get out a little early than a little late.”

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

On paper, the margin of South Africa’s win over West Indies in the second ODI at Newlands was considerable, but even that doesn’t give a clear idea of how much West Indies lacked intent and never even tried to win.Once Graeme Smith and JP Duminy had steered South Africa to 255 for 9, West Indies seemed to throw in the towel and even the TV commentators, usually the last to admit when a game has reached the pointless tediousness stage, were calling it way before the end. The final third of the match was utterly uncompetitive, and it was only that the bulk of the 17,500 crowd were happy with watching their side thump a substandard opposition that the old ground wasn’t empty long before the finish.On this performance it is hard to see how West Indies can get back into a series they are already two down in with three to play. They were a bowler and a half light, their batting was flimsy and their fielding again let them down under pressure. As if things couldn’t get worse, already without Chris Gayle they now face losing Shivnarine Chanderpaul who was reduced to a hobble by an unspecified leg injury.It had all started so promisingly. Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor forced South Africa, who had won the toss, on the back foot in a lively opening spell, with Taylor making the early inroads. Herschelle Gibbs, a shadow of the one-day bully he once was, again fell early, nibbling at one with minimal footwork, and then Jacques Kallis drove loosely on the walk and spooned the ball to mid-off. Five overs in, South Africa were 18 for 2.The remainder of the first Powerplay was all caution from Smith and AB de Villiers, but the innings turned on its head with the introduction of the insipid Rampaul. Bravo immediately brought back Edwards but the horse had bolted. West Indies suddenly looked messy in the field, and the bowlers offered too many bad balls which both batsmen invariably pounced on, de Villiers in particular hammering high and hard through midwicket.The brakes were applied by the unlikeliest of combinations, Marlon Samuels and Sewnarine Chattergoon, the latter the most occasional of part-time bowlers. Neither did much with the ball, but both concentrated on putting it there or thereabouts and at a time when the innings should have been accelerating, it spluttered and almost stalled.

That the two spinners were needed was because Ravi Rampaul, Dwayne Bravo’s first change, fell apart in the space of three poor and expensive overs. His first was savaged by de Villiers for 18. He was taken out of the attack, but when he returned it was evident his confidence was shot. Bravo needed to pull something out of the bag and he did just that.South Africa didn’t accelerate in the final overs. Smith perished 14 short of a deserved hundred to the tamest of shots, and Duminy continued to play the kind of knock that he had a week ago, not flashy but keeping the runs coming and giving the innings rigidity. Had someone been able to stay with him a bit longer then South Africa would have made a total nearer 300, but as it was all the lower middle-order mustered were cameos. Taylor benefited, adding two late wickets to his earlier successes to finish with 4 for 34.The way Duminy perished – run out trying to sneak a bye to a ball he missed – was undeserved, but he had done all that was asked of him. The innings subsided in an over of three wickets, two of which were run outs, and one run but South Africa appeared to have done enough.They had, and some. The West Indies innings never got going, spluttering along as if run rate was not an issue. Chattergoon tried to get things moving but nobody else showed much enthusiasm for the task. At one stage there was a 19-over spell – more than 90 minutes – when not one boundary was scored … and it wasn’t as if they were even trying to hit the ball. It was cricket but it was not entertainment, and John Dyson, their new coach, must be wondering quite what he had got himself into.Credit must be given to South Africa’s bowlers who applied the pressure early – Shaun Pollock’s opening spell as parsimonious and niggardly as ever and his 2 for 13 included five maidens – and never allowed the batsmen a glimmer of hope. Morne Morkel bowled with pace and control, deserving his career-best four wickets. The fielding was also tight, typified by de Villiers’ superb pick up and direct hit to run out Bravo. But they were never remotely tested.As the evening went on Chanderpaul, batting with a runner, passed fifty but by then few cared and his presence, like a lone diner in a restaurant at midnight, was simply irritating.

ScorecardEthy Mbhalati took the first Standard Bank Pro20 hat-trick, wrecking the Eagles innings and taking the Titans to an emphatic 61-run win in their crunch match at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley.Mbhalati took 4 for 12 and was splendidly supported up front by Andre Nel, who took the key wickets of Loots Bosman (6) and Morne van Wyk (11) as the Eagles crashed to 67. Rain had interrupted their innings on 54 for 8 after 11.1 overs, their target being adjusted to 129 in 16 overs by the Duckworth/Lewis method.The Titans had earlier scored 132 for 8, a total which did not seem sufficient on a ground that usually produces a feast of runs. But that was before Mbhalati barged through the Eagles middle-order, moving the ball off the seam and bowling with tremendous accuracy.The Eagles slumped to 28 for 4 as Mbhalati removed Dean Elgar (1) with the third ball of his third over and Jacques Rudolph (7) with the last delivery. Captain Boeta Dippenaar failed to repair the damage and was caught off the first ball of Mbhalati’s next over. Ryan Bailey was cleaned up by a superb delivery first ball to give the seamer, who has had a top-class limited-overs season, a historic landmark. The Eagles were then in tatters at 33 for 6 and Pierre Joubert took two wickets in seven balls before rain intervened.On an unpredictable pitch, Gulam Bodi was the one Titans batsman to ride the rough seas, scoring 62 off 53 balls, before his dismissal sparked a collapse of four wickets for three runs in seven balls. Albie Morkel was the other batsman to hit out, scoring 18 off 12 balls.Dillon du Preez, Jandre Coetzee and Roger Telemachus each claimed two dismissals, while Ryan McLaren and Thandi Tshabalala restricted the batsmen well, conceding just 19 and 20 runs respectively in their four overs.
ScorecardA fine bowling performance by the Warriors ground the Lions to an 18-run defeat in a rain-affected Standard Bank Pro20 match in Potchefstroom. The Lions were restricted to 87 for 8 and lost on the Duckworth/Lewis method after their target was reduced from 120 to 106 following a floodlight failure.Two run outs – one of them off a deflection at the non-striker’s end – in the first three wickets to fall put the Lions on the back foot as they set off in pursuit of the Warriors’ 119 for 7 from 16 overs.Spinners Arno Jacobs and Johan Botha ensured there was no escape for the Lions after the damage had been done at the top of the order.Opener Blake Snijman risked a single to Zander de Bruyn at mid-on and was run out by a direct hit.Wayne Parnell, the South African Under-19 captain, had Alviro Petersen lbw for five to reduce the Lions to 16 for 2 but the innings fell apart in the space of three balls at the turn of the sixth over. First, Vaughan van Jaarsveld’s fierce, straight cross-bat slog was deflected on to the non-striker’s wicket by Botha to remove Justin Ontong for 14. Two balls later, van Jaarsveld was bowled by Jacobs as he tried to cut a straight ball. That reduced the Lions to 36 for 4 and the innings was effectively dead in the water.To make matters worse, there was a ten-minute stoppage for a floodlight failure with the Lions requiring 53 from four overs with four wickets in hand, which was revised to 39 from two overs on resumption – which proved beyond their grasp.The Warriors’ 119 did not look all that formidable as only de Bruyn’s unbeaten 34 and an explosive 28 from Athenkosi Dyili came at more than a run-a-ball. The Lions chipped away regularly and never allowed the Warriors to build any momentum and de Bruyn and Dyili had to make their contributions in isolation.Dyili hit five fours and a six in his 14-ball knock before being bowled off an inside edge while de Bruyn hit the accelerator only in final two overs, helping his team to 26 runs with the help of Rusty Theron.

AB de Villiers has confirmed he wants to reduce his workload across all formats of the game and discussions will take place with Cricket South Africa in May as talk about his future swirled amid a report that he was considering retirement from Test cricket.De Villiers was responding to a story in the newspaper which claimed several former team-mates and friends revealed that de Villiers was contemplating quitting because of unhappiness with the South African system.In a pre-play television interview with Mike Haysman before the third day in Durban, de Villiers explained his concerns about the amount of cricket on his schedule, reaffirmed his commitment to the country but did not categorically deny the newspaper’s claims.”There are a lot of rumours flying around I hear, but for the last two to three years the only talk I’ve been doing is to keep myself fresh and to have a bit of rest here and there,” de Villiers said. “It’s always been the most important thing for me to enjoy my cricket. It’s just important to look at the schedule moving forward, that’s the talk in the camp and for me maybe not to play all kinds of cricket.”De Villiers admitted he is being stretched, especially as his workload is not limited to international cricket. “If I play all the IPL games the whole season, I do get a bit tired towards the end of the season,” he said. “That’s the only thing that I’ve been talking about in the last while. To keep myself fresh and to keep enjoying the game. I love representing my country and nothing has changed.”After the day’s play Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager, said that there were ongoing discussions about how to find de Villiers a break and a plan for the next year would be drawn up after the World T20 but for the rest of the season he will continue in all three formats.”When any international cricketer plays for 10 or more years, there is a concern about what happens when they stop playing,” Moosajee said. “AB is in constant contact with Russell [Domingo] and selectors to find opportunities to give him a break. He is still very much committed to playing for his country, it’s to look at the schedule for 12 months and see where we can give him time off.”That discussion will take place when new contracts are announced in May. Until the end of the season, he is committed to playing all forms. It’s all about getting the perfect balance. And getting the time to take time off.”Since his debut in 2004, de Villiers played 98 straight Tests before missing the July tour to Bangladesh for the birth of his first child. He also skipped the ODI leg of that series after he was banned for the first match for an over-rate violation and given time off after that. The South African management have been careful with ensuring de Villiers gets enough time off and have left him out of some bilateral series, such as the one to Australia last November, but they have also continually added to his job.De Villiers was forced to keep wicket in Tests after publicly stating he did not want to when Quinton de Kock rolled his ankle against West Indies last summer. He has since had to take over again after de Kock and his replacement, Dane Vilas, were both dropped. De Villiers has also had to bat a place higher than normal, No.4, because of the fragility of the current line-up and apart from Dean Elgar, has been the only batsmen to find form in the last few months. The burden may simply be getting too heavy.However, suggested it was a combination of exhaustion and irritation with internal policies, chiefly the transformation plan which is well-intentioned but threatening to derail some aspects of South African cricket. De Villiers was deeply affected by the selection controversy of the World Cup semi-final, which saw Vernon Philander picked ahead of Kyle Abbott.Similarly, Graeme Smith was reported to have been unhappy when the selectors insisted on Thami Tsolekile playing in the Test XI. CSA denied that Smith had threatened to quit over the fracas but three months later, Smith cited family reasons for his premature retirement.No comments have yet been made about the other two players who are also rumoured to be considering calling it quits. wrote that Dale Steyn, who has suffered several injuries since turning 30, and Philander, who is looking to county cricket, could also bid farewell to international cricket after the England series. Morne Morkel, the bowling partner, to those two was not asked about either of those but laughed off suggestion of de Villiers’ possible retirement.

Ric Charlesworth has quit as New Zealand Cricket’s high performance manager after two years in the job. Charlesworth, who played 47 first-class matches for his native Western Australia, has decided to pursue other opportunities outside of New Zealand.”This has been a difficult decision because I have greatly enjoyed living in New Zealand and working with NZC,” he said. “I am optimistic that NZC has the people and structure in place in high performance to challenge the world’s best during the next decade.”Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC said Charlesworth had been a vital member of the team’s off-field staff since his arrival in August 2005. “I am certain that many of Ric’s changes will be long-lasting both from a structural aspect but also, and more importantly, from a cultural perspective,” Vaughan said.”He has impressed upon the organisation that we must aspire to be truly world-class in all that we do. We cannot attempt to consistently win on the international stage without the highest standards and frameworks underpinning our premier teams.”Charlesworth has had a wide and varied career, nearly earning a Test call-up for Australia as an opening batsman, appearing in four Olympics as a hockey player, coaching the Australian women’s hockey team to two Olympic gold medals, working as a doctor and serving as an MP for nearly a decade. In April he turned down overtures from the South Australia cricket team, who were looking for a coach, but said he did not know what his future held.

The Haryana Under-19 team completed an emphatic ten wicket win over Jammu and Kashmir in the North Zone Cooch Behar Trophy match at the MA stadium in Jammu on Tuesday. By virtue of this outright win Haryana collected eight points.Needing just 15 runs for a win on the final day, Haryana openers Manvinder Singh (9) and Bhuvnesh Sharma (6) needed just 1.5 overs to help Haryana canter home.Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 31 for 2, J & K’s second innings folded up at 232. Opener A Jalani (73) and Imraz Thakur (52) took the score to 71 when Thakur was caught by Ishan off Amit Mishra. S Salaria (38) and Jalani then put on 54 runs for the fourth wicket in 18.3 overs. This was followed by a 69-run fifth wicket stand between Jalani and Sathyajit Singh (57) before the former was out leg before to Sumeet.Sathyajit Singh and Anoop Mangotra (9) took the score to 221 when Anoop was held by Bisla off Joginder Singh. Thereafter, Joginder ran through the J&K lower order to finish with figures of 3 for 28. Amit Mishra was the other successful bowler with figures of 3 for 61.

Mahela Jayawardene admits Sanath Jayasuriya’s decision to put his Test match retirement on hold could be the decisive factor in his country’s World Cup bid.The 37-year-old Jayasuriya briefly retired from Tests last year before changing his mind and returning to the ranks. Despite his age, the veteran of the 1996 World Cup winning team is enjoying a new lease of life in the Caribbean and looked near his best during his 115 against West Indies on Sunday, his 25th one-day century.”We felt when you come into a World Cup year it’s important you play all the matches. When you play all the time it keeps you going so it probably was a good decision for him to come back and play Test cricket as well,” said Jayawardene.”He’s been brilliant. He’s working harder, he’s enjoying his cricket and he played some really good innings, not just the one you saw against the West Indies. He keeps going, that’s the character of the guy.”Sri Lanka, who were facing England in their latest Super Eights match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Wednesday, are being tipped as potential World Cup winners with their exciting mixture of youth and experience. Jayawardene, whose side crushed England 5-0 last year, believes that tour, where they also drew the Test series 1-1, was a crucial staging point in the squad’s development.”It was a brilliant tour for us but we’ve come a long way. From that start in England we’ve pushed on and played some really good cricket,” said Jayawardene. “The youngsters learnt a lot from that England trip. From there onwards guys like Lasith Malinga and Upul Tharanga have come up pretty well.”The 2006 series in England culminated in an emphatic eight-wicket win at Headingley where Tharanga (109) and Jayasuriya (152) shared a world record first-wicket stand of 286 as Sri Lanka won with more than 12 overs to spare.Jayawardene, who said that series had been the launch-pad for a run of form that has seen Sri Lanka tipped to repeat their 1996 World Cup triumph here, said he didn’t expect last year’s series to have too much of a bearing now. But he warned: “It depends if England is thinking about it.””For us it’s not an issue because we are playing in different situations, different tournament, different conditions and probably different personnel as well. Things have changed since we played England.”Sri Lanka enjoyed a crushing 113-run victory against hosts West Indies in Guyana on Sunday and Jayawardene, who scored a morale-boosting 82 in that match, said: “The mood is pretty good. The way we played against West Indies was very satisfying.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its domestic schedule for the 2007-08 season with the commitment to support and prioritise the game at the domestic level. While drafting the schedule, the board highlighted the need to ensure greater participation of senior players despite the packed international season.The board has also changed the format for the season, whereby departmental and regional teams will play together in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Top Under-19 players will also be given a chance to play at the first-class level in this new format.In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, between October 20 and January 5, 13 regional teams and nine departmental teams will take part. The 22 teams will be divided into two groups and 111 matches will be played. The Quaid-e-Azam Cup one-day championship, to be held between March 15 and 29, will feature 22 teams and 53 matches.The Twenty20 Cup will be played from January 8 to 14 next year, in which 22 teams will compete in a total of 28 matches. Five teams will compete in the first-class Pentangular Cup to commence on February 10 and a total of 10 matches will be played, with the tournament ending on March 9.The Patron’s Trophy Grade-II will begin on April 1 and end on the 30th, with 22 teams competing in 53 matches. Thirteen teams are already playing in the Inter-Region U-19 one-day and three-day competitions, set to conclude on November 8.The Inter-Region U-23 three-day championship will commence on November 11 and end on December 14, with 11 teams taking part in a total of 28 matches. In the newly-introduced U-23 tournament, five U-19 players will be included in each team.

England’s cricketers were delayed en route to Wellington, the venue for Saturday’s opening one-day international against New Zealand, after Christchurch airport had to be closed for two hours following a security alert.According to police, a 33-year-old woman passenger on an incoming plane from Blenheim stabbed at least one of the two pilots and then threatened to blow up the aircraft. The woman was arrested and sniffer dogs were deployed while the passengers were evacuated, but no explosives were found.The incident caused a major backlog of flights, and England’s departure was delayed for two-and-a-half hours, during which time they remained at their Christchurch hotel. Their scheduled training session at Wellington had to be abandoned and instead they held a team meeting at their hotel.Paul Collingood, England’s ODI captain, felt the two Twenty20 wins had given his side some positive headaches. “There’s going to be some tough decisions, there’s no question about that – the boys who have come in for the Twenty20 format have done really well,” he said. “But you have to also remember the performances that we put in in Sri Lanka. I know we have different conditions here in New Zealand, but we’re a well-oiled one-day side at the moment.”England sprung a surprise when they beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in an away series last year. They now play New Zealand for five ODIs.

Associate Member Bermuda picked up two prizes in the ICC Development Program Annual Awards, making them the success story in this year’s competition. They were awarded the Best Overall Cricket Development Program and the Photo of the year titled “It’s a Catch”.A happy Reginald Pearman, president of the Bermuda Cricket Board, said: “I am excited and proud that Bermuda cricket has won these distinguished awards, which confirm that we are making progress in the right direction when it comes to our strategic goals. I am particularly pleased with the growth in our junior membership and the fact that our women’s team participated in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Stellenbosch and our youngsters appeared in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia makes me even more proud.”Jos Heggleman won the Volunteer of the Year Award for his outstanding contribution to the game in the Netherlands, while the Hong Kong Cricket Association won the Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Award for the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes.Cricket Indonesia’s Tetrapak U-19 Development Program was declared the Best Junior Cricket Initiative program. Deutscher Cricket Bund did well in the Global Awards, picking up the Best Women’s Cricket Initiative prize for their U-19 Women’s Tournament in Oldenburg, Germany. The best Spirit of Cricket Initiative in Partnership with UNAIDS was won by the Mozambique Cricket Federation’s National Commission for School Cricket.John Wright of Ireland and Laurie Pieters of Namibia won Lifetime Service Awards for their long and dedicated service to cricket development not only in their home countries, but also internationally, given both have served on several ICC committees.Wright, the honorary secretary of the Irish Cricket Union for 10 years until stepping down this year, said: “I am extremely delighted to receive this award. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in cricket and I must admit that it is very pleasing to be acknowledged and honoured for your services. It’s been a privilege to be part of the ICC Development Program and I wish it best of luck in the future”Ray Mali, the ICC president, who served as one of the four global judges alongside former ICC presidents Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Gray and MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw, said: “This whole process has shown once again the outstanding work being done in the development of cricket around the world. It was immensely difficult to select the winners but those lucky enough to be chosen reflect the contributions they have made to our wonderful worldwide sport. Everyone involved, winners and those not chosen, deserve immense credit for their efforts.”Best Overall Cricket Development Program Bermuda Cricket BoardBest Women’s Cricket Initiative Oldenburg U-19 Women’s Tournament (Germany)Best Junior Cricket Initiative Tetrapak U-19 Development program (Indonesia)Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Award – Hong Kong Cricket Sixes (Hong Kong)Best Spirit of Cricket Award in Partnership with UNAIDS – National Commission for School Cricket (Mozambique)Photo of the Year Award “It’s a Catch” (Bermuda)Volunteer of the Year Jos Heggleman (The Netherlands)Lifetime Service Award John Wright (Ireland) and Laurie Pieters (Namibia)Each Global award category is allocated US$2000 of equipment to be received by the winning national cricket body.