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Division One

Worcestershire held on for a nine-run victory against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge after the home side nearly turned the match on its head. Graeme Hick’s 81-ball 93 propelled Worcestershire to 225 then Kabir Ali and Doug Bollinger reduced Nottinghamshire to 46 for 5. However, David Hussey (75) and Chirs Read (59) added 118 for the sixth wicket to keep hopes alive. But Ali returned to remove Hussey and claimed two more tail-end scalps for his five-wicket haul and send Worcestershire top of the table.

Division Two

Somerset notched their first Pro40 win of the season with a 32-run success against Derbyshire at Taunton. Charl Willoughby’s three wickets blew away Derbyshire’s top order and when Ian Blackwell bowled Simon Katich (34), to break a stand of 59 with Michael Dighton, Somerset had the result under control. A solid batting display led them to 251, as Marcus Trescothick (56) and Justin Langer (59) struck rapid half-centuries on the high-scoring ground.Eoin Morgan and Jamie Dalrymple produced a well-paced chase as Middlesex won the London derby against Surrey at Lord’s. Morgan fell four short of a century, but shared a match-winning stand of 129 with Dalrymple, who completed the win with an unbeaten 54 and 10 balls to spare. Owais Shah, waiting to find out if he makes England’s one-day squads on Monday, steadied the innings with a 51-ball 50 after both openers fell early. Surrey’s innings was based around a series of useful innings – Mark Butcher top-scoring with 50 – but although the top eight all reached double figures no one went on to produce a major innings.

About a year and a half of difficult negotiations was finally settled in 15 hours of urgent talks which ended in the wee hours of yesterday morning. And West Indies cricketers finally have the chance to be covered by retainer contracts.The major announcement was made yesterday at the Carlos Street, Woodbrook office of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Ken Gordon by himself and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) boss Dinanath Ramnarine.Addressing the local and Caribbean media, Gordon said eight to ten players still to be named by the WICB, would be put on a one-year retainer starting from May 1 this year.He said in the interim, the 13 players selected to play against Zimbabwe in the seven-match one-day international series starting in Antigua on Saturday, would be given match/tour contracts. West Indies will be led by Brian Lara who it was also announced yesterday had been appointed as skipper for the third time.Both sides, entangled in various tense contract and sponsorship negotiations since November of 2004, heralded the agreement as a landmark one.”This is history for West Indies cricket,” Ramnarine said. “For the first time we set out a framework to deal with disputes In the past we operated in a very ad hoc way. This framework really deals with the board and the players as equal partners. So we are equally responsible for the future of West Indies cricket.”Gordon praised the negotiating teams of both sides-the WICB’s headed by Deryck Murray and which also included Desmond Haynes and Barry Thomas and the WIPA quartet of Ramnarine, David Abdullah, Kusha Harracksingh and Roland Hosein.Murray, a founding member of WIPA and currently a WICB director, also expressed his pleasure with the final outcome. “It is great that we have reached this point in West Indies cricket at this stage. It is one of the steps that we need to put in place to help our cricket to move forward.”Murray, recently appointed to conduct the final phase of the negotiations which had been started by outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite, ventured further to say: “It’s just one step and it’s almost the beginning of a new relationship between the board and the players. The agreement is relatively easy to sign But making it work to the advantage of the players, the public, all the stakeholders of West Indies cricket is extremely important and it is the beginning of the process I think it’s really the beginning of the resurgence of West Indies cricket.”Disagreement over the final terms of the retainer had threatened to disrupt the start of the Zimbabwe series, with the newly-constituted WICB Cricket Committee, headed by former captain Clive Lloyd, issuing two ultimatums for the conclusion of negotiations.According to Ramnarine, at the heart of the impasse was the matter of compensation for the players over intellectual property rights. Describing the final agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding, code of conduct, retainer contracts and match/tour contracts for non-retained players as, “fair and reasonable,” Ramnarine said that give-and-take on both sides was required.”We have recognised the financial situation of the Board. We have also taken into consideration the position of the team, the performance of the team. There are some performance-based incentives which we have agreed to.”The WIPA boss was also moved to praise his WICB counterparts. “I have to say credit to the board. I’ve criticised the Board at times, but I think that you ought to be fair. And I think the Board has negotiated in good faith. Yesterday both parties compromised and were prepared to do that and hence the reason we were actually able to reach agreement.”In particular, Ramnarine paid tribute to outgoing WICB CEO Roger Brathwaite and former president Wes Hall for the roles they had played in framing the documents and initiating the process, respectively.Neither Gordon nor Ramnarine would say what the contract package-inclusive of a lump sum and match/tour fees-would be worth. But Gordon said his board was determined to fulfill their responsibility. “We’ve had to make some assumptions. We hope those assumptions will be justified by events But we are committed to making this work.”And asked whether the retainer agreement could put an end to major disputes between the WIPA and the WICB, Ramnarine responded: “It’s a fair statement What we did not have in place prior to these agreements was a mechanism to deal with those conflicts. What we have in place is a mechanism to deal with them. There are going to be issues that we disagree on no doubt it (But) we have found a way how we deal with them We just have to deal with it with mutual respect.”

Daren Powell, the West Indian fast bowler, is expected to sign for Glamorgan and play the rest of the season in England, according to a report on the BBC website.Glamorgan have been in talks with Powell and hope the 29-year old West Indian fast bowler will be signed in time for the side’s first Natwest Pro40 match against Derbyshire on July 16. Powell is currently in England, playing for the touring West Indies.”We wanted someone playing here already and the West Indies squad was the first port of call,” said Adrian Shaw, the Glamorgan coach. “He’s slightly slower than Fidel Edwards but still bowls at around 85 miles an hour and has got a much more solid action.”He looks as though he’ll stay fit and play a lot of cricket. He’s a strong lad and a much improved bowler.”Powell has played 22 Tests for the West Indies and has played overseas for Gauteng in South Africa. He previously had a brief spell with Derbyshire in 2004.Meanwhile, Glamorgan allrounder Damien Wright has returned to Australia for an ankle surgery. The county are without the services of Simon Jones and England A seamer David Harrison, both suffering from injuries.Jones is struggling with a knee problem while a back problem has ruled out Harrison for the rest of the season. Powell would join a young attack that includes 17-year old James Harris and 20-year old Huw Waters.

Michael Lumb, the left-handed middle-order batsman, has chosen not to renew his contract with Yorkshire and is to join Hampshire in 2007.”I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Yorkshire,” Lumb said, “but felt the opportunity to take on a fresh challenge to reignite my desire to play at the highest level was too much to turn down. I would like to thank everyone involved with Yorkshire for the help and support they have shown me over the years and sincerely wish the club well for the future.”Lumb, 26, made his debut for Yorkshire in 2000 but has struggled with consistency and was dropped in 2005, although he did show renewed signs of his class with a career-best 144 in 2006.”We are very disappointed to lose a player of Michael’s undoubted ability and potential,” Stewart Regan, Yorkshire’s chief executive said. “Despite lengthy talks to persuade him his future was at Headingley, we fully respect his decision to leave.”

Vijay Mehra, the former Indian opener, has died of a heart attack in Delhi this morning. Mehra’s death was sudden and he collapsed while reading a newspaper at 8.15 am, it was reported. He was 68.Mehra, a prodigy of just 17 when he made his debut, played eight Tests for India between 1955 and 1964 and will always be remembered for his courageous 62 against England at Calcutta, a knock where he continued batting even after fracturing his right thumb. A pugnacious 62 in the second Test of the 1962 West Indies tour, when India were completely outclassed, was also one of Mehra’s highpoints.”He was a very dear friend and I was even supposed to have dinner with him tomorrow night,” former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi told Cricinfo. “As a player he was limited in talent but excelled within those limitations. He was a technician who used to build his innings, not one to take risks. We’re both from Amritsar and we had the same coach [Gyan Prakash]. He was an absolute fitness freak and had a tremendous sense of humour, something so badly lacking in the modern world.””You could call him a strokeless wonder but he was a very gutsy cricketer,” Raju Bharatan, a veteran journalist, told Cricinfo. “How many players, in that era, were willing to open against pace?”Mehra – who played for Railways, Punjab and Delhi – managed 5636 runs in first-class cricket (at 34.36) and had a successful first-class career that stretched for more than two decades. After retirement, he was active in Delhi cricket admininstration and was also a national selector. He also made a name as an expert commentator with television and radio. He was the expert commentator for All India Radio on India’s recent Test series against West Indies and regaled the press with his quirky sense of humour.He is survived by a son and a daughter. His son, Ajay Mehra, played 46 first-class matches for Punjab and Rajasthan in the ’90s.

Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle are among the big-name absentees from West Indies’ squad to face Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Test series, but Tony Howard, the team manager, is hoping that his young and inexperienced cricketers will rise to the occasion.”We have a very good and exciting team on tour here and we expect them to come good individually for West Indies,” said Howard at a media conference in Colombo. “These young men have been asked to replace the senior players but sometimes we realise the senior players are also junior players. Now we have a new crop of players looking to stamp their authority on the game of cricket.”Negotiations are currently taking place between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players’ Association to end the bitter contracts dispute that has brought the game to its knees in the Caribbean, but Howard admitted that the possibility of any other players joining the squad now was very remote.”Like every other player on tour here you have the option to choose if you want to participate or not,” said Howard. “That is you make a decision on your future. Whether or not it is the end of the road for the senior players, only they can decide that.” The WICB picked six players from the Caribbean and added eight others from the West Indies A team currently touring Sri Lanka, to make up a 14-man squad, captained by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Howard was philosophical about the impact that the impasse would have. “Like any other aspect of life cricket evolves,” he said. “If you check our history you will find out it has happened time and time again with every international team. I certainly remember the time when it happened during the Packer series and out of that came Malcolm Marshall, Sylvester Clarke and players like that.”I have absolutely no doubt that you are going to find a similar occurrence here. This is just another stage of evolution of cricket in the Caribbean. I think out of this will come better than senior players.”Despite his team’s inexperience, Howard denied that the series would be a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. “A Test match is a competition between two teams. As you know cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. Anybody can win. Sometimes the toss makes the difference, on other occasions it is a brilliant innings or a great spell of bowling. It depends on who is best on the day.”Bennett King, West Indies’ coach, said the whole side was focusing on solutions not problems. “We are trying to keep moving forward. We’ve been trying to focus on the present and absorb the moment that we have got together and that we are here. That’s what is important.”Chanderpaul was equally upbeat, and cited the talents of a new generation of Caribbean cricketers. “We have a group of young, new and exciting players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass, Narasingh Deonarine and Tino Best who are keen and ready to play Test cricket. I know they are capable of doing the job. This is a good opportunity for them to make a name for themselves. I don’t have much to worry about.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Mashrafe Mortaza held his nerve to steer Bangladesh to a frenetic two-wicket win, and with it the series, in the second one-day international at Nairobi. Bangladesh looked down and out after Kenya’s merry band of slow medium pacers, led by Thomas Odoyo , struck telling blows to leave them up the creek in pursuit of a meager total, but Mortaza’s unbeaten 43 in a ninth-wicket stand of 51 sealed the deal in incredible style. Kenya, riding on Odoyo’s career-best 84, had themselves done well to recover from Syed Rasel’s four-wicket burst but ultimately a target of 185 proved too little for Bangladesh.Joined by Abdur Razzak at the exit of Khaled Mashud in the 38th over, with Bangladesh on 134 for 8, Mortaza played an innings of tremendous courage under fire. He farmed the strike much like Odoyo did with the Kenyan tail, used the long handle to fine effect – he found the ropes off consecutive balls during the 44th over – and even gave Razzak an earful when one too many a needless shot was played. Collins Obuya began the 47th over with a tossed-up no ball, Mortaza smashed it with ease through the covers and the game ended in something of an anti-climax for the expectant Kenyan supporters. But for Bangladesh, Mortaza’s personal best was paramount in them bouncing back from a series loss to Zimbabwe.At one point, though, Bangladesh looked far from victory. Peter Ongondo gave Kenya the start they needed when he forced Rajin Saleh to cut to a juggling Collins Obuya at backward point in the sixth over. Nehemiah Odhiambo was all over the place with his medium pacers and gave up seven extras in his opening spell but accounted for Shahriar Nafees who, given the width, drove to an airborn Obuya at gully this time.After rescuing Kenya from the dolls with the bat, Odoyo then resumed duties with the ball. Saqibul Hossain was the third wicket to fall when he played away from his body and Kennedy Otieno held a fine in front of where first slip would have been. Enter Mohammad Ashraful, who slapped his first ball back past the bowler and mid-off for four and then chased a wide delivery only to see Otieno take an even better blinder in front of that vacant first slip gap. His magic continued, thanks to an amazing catch by Tanmay Mishra. Ferhad Reza, given a reprieve when he edged Josephat Ababu just wide of Otieno, was afforded no further escapes as he slammed one into the covers and Mishra held it one-handed, inches off the ground.Aftab Ahmed unleashed the drive of the day – a firm push between the cover fielders for four – to announce his arrival but had to withdraw into a shell after the early wickets. He did manage a six off Ababu in the 24th over but on 38 he pulled Odhiambo to Steve Tikolo at square leg. Mashud, meanwhile, took 19 deliveries to get off the mark and looked on as Odoyo returned to nail Mohammad Rafique leg before in the 32nd over. He eventually hooked Ababu high to Hitesh Modi at long leg and it came down to Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdul Razzak to see Bangladesh home. While Razzak left Bangladesh’s fans with their hearts in their mouths, Mortaza played some fine shots and was the difference between victory and defeat.Earlier, a fiery opening burst from Rasel – and a poor decision against Tikolo – never allowed the Kenyan innings to take flight. Rasel bowled out his spell (10-1-22-4) on the trot and stifled the Kenyan batsmen from the word go. The out-of-form Otieno went leg before in the third over, Jimmy Kamande edged to Mashud in the tenth, and Maurice Ouma and Obuya were each forced into loose shots soon after.Clearly feeling left out of the party, Mortaza struck in his first over, the 12th of the innings, with some help from umpire Subhash Modi who unfortunately adjudged Tikolo leg before despite evidence of a thick edge onto the pads. Tikolo played forward to a ball that came in and looked up in surprise to see the throaty appeal from bowler and fielders upheld. Mortaza then removed Modi with a beauty that caught the batsman clueless and dead in front of the stumps as Kenya slipped to 42 for 5.Thanks to Odoyo, who proved that if you stick around long enough runs will come, Kenya rallied to get across the 100-run mark and beyond. Odoyo refrained from any injudicious shots, saw off the medium pacers and the very impressive Razzak, and then went ballistic at the end of the innings. He marshaled the tail well – his ability to steal a single at the end of the over was paramount – and opened his arms with two slogged sixes off Rafique, and dingers three and four off Mortaza and Saqibul at the death. His 58-run stand for the ninth wicket with Ondongo (13) was the highest of the Kenyan innings by far.

Nicky Peng will be joining Glamorgan for the start of the 2006 season, after turning down the offer of an extended contract at his native county, Durham.Peng is a product of the Durham Academy and signed as a professional in 2001. However, a loss of form in the latter half of the season has meant that he struggled to regain his first-team place.”Although we are disappointed that Nicky is leaving we understand his reasons for doing so,” said Martyn Moxon, Durham’s head coach. “We are fortunate that we have a number of young batsmen who are emerging from our development squad, which will mean even greater competition for places in 2006. We would like to wish Nicky every success at this important time in his career.”On his move, Peng said: “This was a very difficult decision to make. I am very grateful to Durham for giving me the opportunity to play first-class cricket. However, at this point I feel that I needed a new challenge and to give myself the best opportunity to play regular first-team cricket.”

Aakash Chopra wasn’t around when Sourav Ganguly addressed a press conference on his arrival in Mumbai, but he would have been heartened to hear his captain say that he would be in the squad of 14 chosen for the Australia series. Chopra failed in the first innings of the Irani Trophy against Mumbai, but his decent record in the eight Tests he played last season will see him push Yuvraj Singh for the second opener’s spot.Ganguly wouldn’t let on, however, who was favourite to make the XI. In , he was quoted as saying: “Both will get to play in the four-day practice game.”After building a useful partnership with Virender Sehwag – who seemed to thrive in conjunction with Chopra’s adhesiveness – Chopra was jettisoned for the third and final Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in April, with Yuvraj’s century in the previous game having sealed his place.The situation got worse when India came back from the summer hiatus with Ganguly asserting that Yuvraj would be considered for the opening slot against Australia. However, such a scenario is unlikely now given that both Yuvraj and Sehwag have been through the horrors, form-wise, since the new season started.Chopra himself hasn’t had the best of starts to the new campaign. His A team tour was ruined by a shoulder injury, and he played very little part in the team’s successes.As for Ganguly, he was anxious to play down the tag of favourites, after some recent poor displays. “We did well in Australia and Pakistan and so we were dubbed favourites for the Asia Cup but we lost,” he said. “It all depends on how we play against Australia.”

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.