As England wrapped up a 4-0 series whitewash with victory in the fourth Test at The Oval, the British press looked forward to one thing: The Ashes. Second to that was Brian Lara’s dilemma. He has probably played his last Test in England, but has he also played his last as West Indies’ captain?The Mail on Sunday‘s headline said it all: “Glorious England cry – Now bring on the Aussies.” Underneath that, Peter Hayter let England’s statistics speak for themselves. “Eight England batsmen have contributed 16 centuries this year – Trescothick, Vaughan and Graham Thorpe three each, Andrew Strauss and Andy Flintoff two apiece, and one each for Nasser Hussain, Geraint Jones and Robert Key.”England’s bowlers have taken 20 West Indies and New Zealand wickets all but once in 11 matches, and while Steve Harmison dominated proceedings with 53 wickets, three more of his colleagues have collected more than 30 – Matthew Hoggard, Flintoff and Ashley Giles.”For Hayter, Lara’s emotional farewell was just a detail: “For, by the time Vaughan and his men began their slow lap of honour around the ground, those who have suffered Ashes humiliation for so long were well into their thoughts of what may be to come. After all, if Richie Benaud believes England have ‘a very good chance’ and bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds on their winning to 7-2 from the 9-1 they offered prior to the 2002 trip Down Under, they may be on to something at last. The rest, as they say, may be historic.””Nobody will know until this time next year exactly how close England have come to Australia,” said Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph, “but for a certainty Vaughan’s men are closing the gap rapidly on Ricky Ponting’s. In the eight previous Ashes series Australia held all the aces, but now England at long last have three of their own.”And those three aces are: Steve Harmison, who, “if not better than Jason Gillespie, is fitter and more likely to last five Tests in as many weeks,” Andrew Flintoff “with his three-dimensional skills (even Adam Gilchrist has only two)”, and finally England’s team spirit, “which includes their support staff, which Australia’s does not. Above all it has been Fletcher’s reading of human character – his elimination of the weak or egotistic – which has created an environment highly conducive to individual growth (eg Matthew Hoggard – strokeplayer!)”As for Brian Lara, “This must be the end of his captaincy,” said Berry. “He has gone on far too long as it is – once England had gone 3-0 up in Barbados that was the time for him to resign. His diplomacy and statesmanship in public disguise his lack of those skills in the dressing-room, his failure to motivate players who manifestly do not want to play for him. The causes of West Indies’ decline are numerous and complicated, but at one single stroke they can begin the long haul back. Lara’s genius as a batsman is as undeniable as his inability to lead.””Nobody was quite sure whether Lara planned to return in four years’ time,” said Mike Atherton, also in the Sunday Telegraph, “but his valedictory wave to the crowd suggested he has made up his mind. This great player has played his last Test innings in England, and the Oval crowd warmly acknowledged the fact.”Athers continued, “Deep down, he must also know that he has captained the West Indies for the last time in a Test match. It is a sad thing to say, because he is a likeable man and, by common consent, he has buckled down better than when he took the job for the first time from Courtney Walsh. He has also had the great misfortune to be captaining the West Indies at their lowest ebb. Captain Ahab couldn’t stop this ship from sinking.”But its not all doom and gloom. “The talent is there,” Atherton concluded. “With commitment, dedication and, if the common good can rise above island insularity, West Indies cricket can rise again. It will not be easy, and it is not Lara’s destiny to be the man to do it.””By winning seven consecutive Test matches,” wrote Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday, “Michael Vaughan’s men have assembled a run – yes, one that deserves only to be called magnificent – that has eluded every England team for 76 years. In a sequence spanning the home summer of 1928 (also against a raw West Indies side, playing Tests for the first time) and the first four matches of the following winter against Australia (containing a raw Don Bradman playing his first Tests) the team led by Percy Chapman won seven in a row.”But human nature and human desire being what they are, everybody’s hearts and minds are already jumping forward to next summer and indeed to what may happen at The Oval next year. This young, assured England team, comfortable in each other’s company, would receive more than a roar if they were to take Australia to the wire and beat them to it.”Elsewhere in the IoS, Tony Cozier admits that the rebuilding of West Indian cricket “is a monumental task that involves all aspects of the game, mental, technical, physical, attitudinal, and that has to deal with the pettiness of insular politics that is peculiar to West Indies.”But there is some hope for the future. “There are not many 20-year-olds who could have made such an impression as Dwayne Bravo on debut in a losing team,” said Cozier. “Fidel Edwards and Tino Best possess pure pace. The two Smiths, Devon and Dwayne, already have Test hundreds against quality opposition to their names.” Cozier concludes that the change in the attitude of the team “will not come overnight, yet it should end the era of mediocrity that has left West Indies cricket in such a state of depression. But everyone has to buy into the change to make it a success.”

Mike Young has been appointed as England’s fielding coach for a four-week stint before their tour of South Africa. Young will be the latest in the line of Australians working in the English set-up with Rod Marsh and Troy Cooley already playing vital roles.Young, the former baseball coach, was first engaged by John Buchanan to work with the Australian one-day side in 2002. Young, still involved intermittently with the Australians, was engaged by Rod Marsh to work with the England team.The reported Young as saying, “I’m looking forward to it. I’d love to be with the Aussies all the time, but that’s not to be, so to get the opportunity to work with other athletes is really pleasing.”I must admit it feels a little funny to switch over from Australia to England, but my first priority remains the Australian team. They’re good players, and I’m definitely going to do everything I can to help.”

The name “Bulawayo” means “place of slaughter”, which it was when the warlike Matabele ruled there in the 19th century. They were an offshoot of the Zulus, from South Africa, but were in turn subjugated by the white settlers in 1893, and massacred by Robert Mugabe’s notorious Fifth Brigade 90 years later.Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe’s comrade and rival in the fight for black majority rule (as distinct from freedom, which still has not been won), was a Matabele. But they are very much the secondary tribal grouping in Zimbabwe, where Mugabe’s Shona rule with an iron hand. To all appearances the Matabele, although strongly anti-government, have shed their warlike past and are friendly and easygoing, but with a reputation for harder work and greater efficiency than the Shona. Certainly Bulawayo is better maintained than Harare, the capital, where so many roads are riddled with potholes, to give just one example.Bulawayo considers itself to be Zimbabwe’s neglected city, and the inhabitants put it down to Shona prejudice. It is in the south-western, dryer area of the country, at a lower altitude than Harare and with more extreme temperatures. Several years back there were cries for help from a supposedly dying city, critically short of water after years of drought – although Dickie Bird, when he officiated in Bulawayo’s inaugural Test in 1992, did his bit by bringing a brief spell of heavy rain.There were calls for a pipeline from the Zambezi River, about 250 miles away, to bring water to this dying city. But there are periodic climatic changes in the country, and the last few years have brought better rains to this city – as the Bangladeshi tourists earlier this year can testify. But there will doubtless be more years of drought to come, and Bulawayo’s future will again be imperilled.A hundred years ago, Bulawayo was actually larger than and growing faster thanSalisbury, as Harare was then known. But about 50 years ago Salisbury surged ahead, as capital of the short-lived Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Since independence Harare has burgeoned like an untidy weed, and the city centre is now noisy, messy and over-crowded. Bulawayo was better-planned than the capital, with wider streets and more “green” areas, and generally exudes a friendlier and more relaxed lifestyle.

There are similarities in Matabeleland cricket, too. During the first halfof the 20th century Matabeleland were more often than not stronger onthe field than Mashonaland, and provided most of the country’s top players.But as time went on there was a drift towards the capital, joined by thefamous Colin Bland, and cricket in the Bulawayo region has struggled.In recent years, though, Matabeleland cricket has fought back. They take a great pride in their provincial team, especially in their recent national hero Heath Streak, and there is widespread fury at the scurvy way he has been treated. They resent efforts by the national selectors to pad the team with Harare players, and they promote matches much more effectively. Bulawayo nowadays has perhaps less than a third of the population of Harare, but crowds are not much smaller at international matches, and number several hundred for the domestic Logan Cup matches – the same fixtures at Harare Sports Club are played out in front of empty stands.Township development is progressing well and, with such a superior attitude,Matabeleland may again become – and deserves to become – the strongest force in Zimbabwe’s cricket. Finance is a restrictive factor, though, and the localadministration is dependent on funds from Zimbabwe Cricket – which, of course, is based in Harare. Recently the Matabeleland Board gave the dictatorial Ozias Bvute a rough time when he tried to assert control at the provincial annual general meeting, and the relationship remains tense. But at least Bulawayo is given its fair share of international matches, and in the original England itinerary they were down to host three one-day internationals against Harare’s two, as compensation for missing out on the Australian tourists last June.Queens Sports Club was not used by the national team for more than ten years before it was revived to stage Test cricket in 1994, because of the inadequate facilities at Bulawayo Athletic Club, the other leading local ground. It looked a sorry sight, almost derelict, when it hosted Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but thanks to the efforts of the keen local administrators, the ground soon regained and surpassed its former glories.It lies just to the north of the city centre, and thanks to the broad streets vehicular access to the ground is delightfully uncomplicated – and there is plenty of room for parking on the nearby roads, in marked contrast to Harare. The northern and western sides of the ground, which boasts a larger and better scoreboard than the ones in Harare, is mainly grass terracing held together with brickwork, providing easy seating for spectators.The eastern side of the ground consists of a small embankment between theground and the main road to the airport. Because of this, the northern endof the ground is often called the Airport End, even though the airport isabout 20 miles away. Since the suburb adjoining the ground to the north is called North End, one local journalist maintains that it should really be called the North End End.The most attractive feature of the eastern side of the ground is that it isalmost all in the shade of a long line of wattle trees. The public can siton the embankment, or the stands under the trees in the shade, and watch thecricket, cool on the hottest days.Most of the spectators nowadays are black, and their chanting, singing anddancing have taken the place of the beery barracking that was more common inthe days of Castle Corner. Their usual habitat is the big stand on the western side of the ground, which is usually the most densely populated area. This is the most noisy, colourful and enthusiastic part of the ground, and the WestIndian horn-blowing custom has also taken root here. Slightly less appealingly, some of the women copy the Indian habit of screaming for boundary hits. While the home side is supported, there is no harassment of visiting players, and all the noise and activity is invariably in the form of good-natured celebration of cricket. And mercifully there is less fooling around with Mexican Waves than there is in Harare.For all that, watching cricket in Zimbabwe is basically a middle-classoccupation, and despite the low prices few from the townships are able orwilling to make the journey to town, in Harare or Bulawayo, to watchinternational matches. The urban middle class, mostly anti-government, arenot yet suffering in the same way as the peasants, but they do find cricketan enjoyable escape from the problems of everyday life. Three or four years ago most of the atmosphere at big matches was generated by large parties of schoolchildren who would be bussed in for the day, a major experience in their deprived lives. But the astronomical costs of hiring buses and the fuel shortages have put paid to all that. The township children are no longer able to come, and Zimbabwe cricket is the poorer for it.

The horns still blew as the rain poured down at the end of the lunch interval during today’s third one-dayer against England. Most of the spectators on the eastern side had fled, except for a few stoic individuals huddled under the trees, most without umbrellas. The others had packed into the covered stands, out of that rare Bulawayo phenomenon … rain.The vicissitudes of the game did not deter the partygoers, and they were asexuberant as ever while Vikram Solanki and Ian Bell were tearing apart theZimbabwean seamers. It would be wrong to suggest that they did not knowwhat was going on; they simply did not consider it sufficient reason todampen their spirits. They continued to roar their support for every littleZimbabwean success, and though registering disappointment at failures theyquickly put the culprits’ crimes from their minds.At the close the horns continued for a while, but the crowd faded away slowly. The rain had not returned, the Zimbabwean defeat had not devastated their day, and there was always tomorrow. Perhaps tomorrow will be better … but today was still an enjoyable day out for two or three thousand inhabitants of Zimbabwe’s second city.

The lengthy six-month ban imposed on Rashid Latif by the Pakistan board has been shortened to a one-month sentence. Latif invoked the wrath of the board after conceding a domestic game on the grounds that the pitch was dangerous to bat on. While rules state that a match can be abandoned, it is alleged that Latif, as captain of Karachi, did not follow the correct procedure.However, since the ban is in effect from the date of the incident, it will end on December 27. On November 27, Latif had declared his team’s innings closed at 33 for 4 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy game, and conceded the match, explaining that he felt the pitch was too dangerous for play to continue. “I didn’t want any serious injury to take place,” Latif told , a Pakistan daily paper. “The pitch was not fit for a first-class match, and the batsmen were getting bat on ball with difficulty due to the unusual movement and variable bounce.” Khalid Niazi, the match referee, awarded the match to Faisalabad since Karachi had refused to carry on.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary

A good day for Bangladesh became even better towards the close as they tightened the noose around Zimbabwe by taking four wickets, to leave them struggling to save the follow-on. The key man today was Mohammad Rafique, who followed an aggressive 69 with two cheap wickets when Zimbabwe went in after tea.It’s an unprecedented situation for Bangladesh, who have not won any of their previous 34 Test matches. At Chittagong they are emphatically in charge, against an admittedly modest Zimbabwe side, after making their highest Test total of 488. Zimbabwe require another 205 just to make Bangladesh bat again, and that will be a daunting prospect if Rafique settles into the same groove with his left-arm spin that he found in the final session today.He came on at first change after Mashrafe Mortaza had gone for a few runs, trying to blast out the batsmen with some short stuff. And Rafique needed just a couple of overs to weave his magic, when Vusi Sibanda made the fatal error of staying back to one that pitched in line, and was leg-before (48 for 2).Rafique then removed the 18-year-old Graeme Cremer, who was rather unwisely sent in as nightwatchman as the shadows lengthened. The unfortunate Cremer had no clue about his third ball, which was a little fuller and trapped him in front for a debut duck (59 for 4).Before that Tapash Baisya had made the first breakthrough. Stuart Matsikenyeri had made a pugnacious start, taking the attack to the new-ball bowlers despite being rattled on the helmet by a Mortaza bouncer. There were some feisty back-foot strokes, against Mortaza in particular, and then he square-cut Tapash for four to reach 28, from 29 deliveries. But the next ball drew Matsikenyeri forward, and the resultant edge flew low to first slip where Habibul Bashar held on to it in his fingertips (31 for 1).The other opener, Barney Rogers, took 28 balls to get off the mark on his debut, but was then out in unfortunate circumstances. A powerful drive by Hamilton Masakadza ricocheted off Enamul Haque’s hand onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Rogers, who was backing up, short of his crease (59 for 3).Masakadza, who was playing his first Test for three years, had reached a well-organised 28 not out by stumps, but it will be a case of pressure, pressure and more pressure on the third day as Bangladesh try to get closer to their dream of a Test victory.Earlier it had been Rafique and Mortaza with the bat who had tamed the Zimbabwean bowlers. By tea, the Tigers had gone way past their previous highest Test total of 416, which they made against West Indies in St Lucia last year. More importantly, they had made their runs quickly in a session that produced 134 from 28 overs – the pre-lunch session had produced only 68. In that time Bangladesh lost Aftab Ahmed, without adding to his overnight score, and Rajin Saleh for 89 – he gave a return catch to Matsikenyeri after a stand of 58 with Mashud (341 for 6).Rafique made his intentions clear in the first over after lunch, smashing a four off Elton Chigumbura, and then pulling the offspinner Matsikenyeri for a massive six over widish long-on. And then, amid a pulsating beat of drums from the crowd, Rafique dismissed Douglas Hondo for a straight six to bring up Bangladesh’s 400. Rafique was now fully in his stride, but at the other end Khaled Mashud was finding it difficult to come to terms with the legspin of Cremer, who was not introduced until the 42nd over of the day. It was no great surprise that Cremer eventually claimed his first Test wicket when Mashud pushed at one, and was caught at slip one short of a deserved half-century (410 for 7). That ended a 69-run stand that had kept Bangladesh on top after the loss of Aftab Ahmed in the third over of the day.But there was no respite for Zimbabwe as Mortaza joined Rafique, and scored a quickfire 48, from only 44 balls and containing eight fours and a six. Matsikenyeri and Cremer were treated with disdain. Rafique motored to his half-century with his fourth six, to post the fifty partnership for the eighth wicket from just 49 balls. But finally Rafique, who also hit six fours, edged the gangling Chris Mpofu through to Tatenda Taibu (472 for 8). Mortaza pulled and drove a flurry of boundaries before he was the last man out just short of a maiden Test fifty. He was helped along the way by dropped catches by Hondo and Sibanda.The pitch hasn’t changed dramatically in character, although there are some cracks opening up. With the spinners Rafique and Enamul exploiting the odd trick or two in the track, Zimbabwe will have their work cut out tomorrow.

South Africa 270 for 7 (Smith 105, Gibbs 50) beat England 267 for 8 (Solanki 66, Nel 3-49, Ntini 3-58) by three wickets – series level at 1-1
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Click on the underlined links in the text for more pictures South Africa levelled the series at one match apiece, after another tense and enthralling affair at Port Elizabeth. Following their last-ditch failure at Bloemfontein on Wednesday, when they needed three runs from six balls and failed, this time the requirement came down to a similarly enticing requirement – two from six, with three wickets in hand. But at the second time of asking, South Africa held their nerve. Ashwell Prince hoisted Darren Gough over the top for four, and the crowd celebrated their first victory against senior opposition for 14 matches.It could so easily have gone the other way, however. This was another nervy performance from a side that has forgotten how to win, and South Africa owed their victory to a selection of very untimely English errors with both bat and ball. The linchpin of their performance was the captain, Graeme Smith, who recorded his maiden one-day century, 105 from 131 balls, and in doing so laid the ghost of his run-out on 99 against Sri Lanka two years ago. But he was badly dropped on 53 by Marcus Trescothick, and then reprieved by a fumbled run-out one over later. Had either chance been taken, England would surely have won.South Africa’s innings was yet another roller-coaster affair. Chasing 268 for victory after Trescothick had won the toss, Smith stood firm as the top-order wobbled, moving along to his first one-day half-century for exactly 12 months. On a slow and low pitch, England thrived through their lack of extreme pace, and the first of several turning-points came when a subdued Jacques Kallis carved Paul Collingwood’s medium-pacers to point. At that point, South Africa had slipped to 89 for 3 in the 20th over, and were in serious danger of losing their way.Within five overs, however, South Africa had been given renewed focus, as England this time fluffed their lines. Collingwood, whose full-length dobblers were proving remarkably tricky to get off the square, tempted Smith to heave across the line, and a swirling chance looped up to Trescothick, running round from mid-on. Inexplicably, he muffed the chance, and England were still ruing that reprieve when Geraint Jones behind the stumps failed to gather a shy from the covers, with Smith floundering a yard short of his ground.

With his old opening partner, Herschelle Gibbs, for company, however, Smith began to steady South Africa’s nerves, and while they were adding 107 for the fourth wicket, it was England who began to search for inspiration. He has not enjoyed many moments to crow about in his tussles with Matthew Hoggard in this series, but by taking 15 runs off his seventh over of the innings, Smith shifted the momentum squarely in South Africa’s direction.But this is South Africa v England 2004-05, and no match is complete without at least a dozen twists and turns. No sooner had Gibbs reached his second fifty of the series than he was gone, trapped lbw by the returning Darren Gough. It was the first of three wickets in 21 balls that culminated in the big scalp itself, as Ashley Giles turned one into Smith’s pads, and from 196 for 3, South Africa were again floundering at 214 for 6 as the required rate rocketed to more than eight an over.However, with Mark Boucher in residence, the tail retained sufficient chutzpah to overcome their anxieties, and when Hoggard was again the victim of a brutal onslaught – disappearing to all parts for another 14 in an over – the momentum shifted decisively back to South Africa. Gough did his best to salvage the situation, removing Boucher lbw for 33, but Prince had enough mental strength to put Wednesday’s indignities out of his head.England’s innings had earlier been anchored by a timely 66 from Vikram Solanki, who made the most of Vaughan’s absence to leave the selectors with a headache ahead of the fourth match at Cape Town on Sunday. But that total might have been even better but for a typically wholehearted effort from Andre Nel, who dismissed the dangerous Kevin Pietersen for just the second time in his one-day career (and in the process reduced his average to a mere 133.50) en route to the impressive figures of 3 for 49.England’s effort was built on solid contributions all the way down the order, with Solanki the only man to reach a half-century. He made an even 100 in his last one-day innings, against Zimbabwe earlier on the tour, but would not have been playing in this game had it not been for Michael Vaughan’s absence with a stomach bug, an ailment that had kept him off the field for the second half at Bloemfontein.With more than 10 overs remaining, England might have expected a total in excess of 280, but the innings failed to ignite, as Makhaya Ntini, whose sharp opening burst had gone unrewarded, struck back violently with three late wickets in six deliveries. In a series as evenly matched as this, it proved to be a vital intervention.Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo.

Max Ebrahim, Zimbabwe’s embattled convener of selectors, has dismissed calls for Zimbabwe’s Test status to be suspended following the side’s dismal showing in South Africa. “It took New Zealand 45 years before they had their first win,” he said. “Look at what’s happening to New Zealand now.”Ebrahim, who, so rumours suggest, is likely to be replaced as part of a deal reached with some rebel players, told the Cape Argus that there was no question of the ICC revoking Zimbabwe’s status.”In 2004, because of the contractual dispute with 15 of our players, we asked for an eight-month break from Test cricket. No team would be able to cope adequately if they lost 15 players at once,” he explained. “But now we are delighted to have players like Heath Streak and Andy Blignaut back in the side, and we expect more of the rebel players to return which will mean that we will have a bigger pool of players to draw from.”And Ebrahim looked to point out the positives from recent games, where some of Zimbabwe’s younger players got a chance to perform in the Test arena. “Some of them have really put their hands up and have shown us that there is plenty of talent available,” he said. “Graeme Cremer, for instance, has been a real find. To bowl 26 overs and take three wickets for just over 100 runs against South Africa was really exceptional. And he’s just a baby – he’s only 18 … he’s got a great future ahead of him.”So we have some very promising young players, and with some older and wiser heads back in the team, I believe Zimbabwe can really go places,” he said. “I think those people who say countries like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh shouldn’t play Test cricket are not really talking about cricket. If it’s just results that count, perhaps there should be only four countries with Test status,”Ebrahim added that it was planned to play four-day domestic cricket and also to bring in additional coaches from overseas to help speed up development.But pressure from other areas is growing and the ICC will be reviewing the situation when it meets later this week in Delhi. Crowds stayed away from the matches in South Africa and even television companies are now questioning the value of covering such one-sided games. Add into the equation increasing concerns that Test cricket is being devalued by matches of the kind seen in Cape Town, and Ebrahim’s comments appear more designed to talk up the state of Zimbabwe cricket ahead of that meeting.

Jamie Cox, the former captain, has won a surprise recall for Tasmania’s Pura Cup match against New South Wales starting at Bellerive Oval on Thursday. Two centuries in the 2nd XI Cricket Australia Cup have elevated Cox back into the senior side after playing three matches earlier in the season.Brian McFadyen, the coach, said Cox’s quality was shown in the way he fought back after a long absence. “Jamie’s recent form was impossible to ignore and it is evident that he has worked hard on his game,” he said. “Jamie is a class player and his recent good form has proved to selectors that his first-class career is not finished yet.” Cox was also drafted into Tasmania’s winning ING Cup squad as 13th man last month to provide guidance for the younger players.New South Wales have named a 13-man outfit as cover for the injured Matthew Nicholson, who was a late scratching from the loss to Western Australia at Perth last week. Nicholson hurt his ankle in January and will be monitored in the lead-up to the crucial match.The Blues, who are on 28 points, slipped behind Queensland (34) into third place last weekend and need a victory to maintain the pressure for a finals berth. Ed Cowan, the 22-year-old batsman, has been dropped in favour of Jason Krejza, the offspinning allrounder. Western Australia lead the competition on 36 points while Tasmania are fifth and no chance of making the final.New South Wales Greg Mail, Phil Jaques, Matthew Phelps, Dominic Thornely, James Packman, Brad Haddin (capt, wk), Jason Krejza, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Grant Lambert, Stuart MacGill, Matthew Nicholson.Tasmania Travis Birt, Michael Di Venuto, Jamie Cox, Michael Bevan, David Dawson, Daniel Marsh (capt), George Bailey, Sean Clingeleffer (wk), Xavier Doherty, Damien Wright, Adam Griffith, Brett Geeves.

Division One

Hampshire v Gloucestershire at Rose Bowl
Scorecard
Dimitri Mascarenhas is the most notable absentee for Hampshire with a hamstring injury but Kevin Pietersen is set to play despite a foot injury. Steve Kirby and Kadeer Ali will make their Championship debuts for Gloucestershire.Surrey v Sussex at The Oval
Scorecard
Mark Butcher is recovering from his wrist injury so Mark Ramprakash takes the captaincy. Azhar Mahmood is in the 14-man squad but Harbhajan Singh is still with India. Peter Moores has named 13-man Sussex squad, including young allrounder Luke Wright.Warwickshire v Glamorgan at Edgbaston
Scorecard
Ashley Giles is in the Warwickshire squad as they begin the defence of their title, but Dewald Pretorius is out after picking up a thigh strain against MCC. Glamorgan are without Michael Kasprowicz, who has been withdrawn by Cricket Australia, but include Simon Jones.

Division TwoDerbyshire v Worcestershire at Derby
Scorecard
Michael di Venuto’s return from a back injury boosts Derbyshire and Travis Friend, the Zimbabwe allrounder, makes his Championship debut. Worcestershire are without Kabir Ali and Nadeem Malik but David Leatherdale returns to the four-day side for the first time in 18 months.Essex v Yorkshire at Chelmsford
Scorecard
Andre Adams, the New Zealand allrounder, goes straight into the Essex squad and Alex Tudor will make his Championship debut for his new club. Yorkshire have full strength squad available, expect for the resting Michael VaughanLancashire v Somerset at Old Trafford
Scorecard
Muttiah Muralitharan has been included in the Lancashire squad, but Andrew Flintoff won’t be rushed back and Glen Chapple is still recovering from a hand injury. Marcus Trescothick will lead Somerset despite his recent migraines.Leicestershire v Durham at Grace Road
Scorecard
Mike Hussey will captain Durham for the first time, who have Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood available. Aftab Habib is back at his former club, while Hylton Ackerman will take charge of his first Championship match.

Contrary to reports that have appeared in sections of the Indian media, Harbhajan Singh’s action has not been given the all-clear by the International Cricket Council. What’s more, he is still very much under the spotlight.Cricinfo has learnt that the ICC is on the verge of appointing a biomechanical expert to determine whether there is any discrepancy between Harbhajan’s action as seen in the laboratory and as seen in match situations. The result of this process will determine whether they will ask Harbhajan to appear once again for testing in laboratory conditions. At any rate, it has emerged that the ICC has not, at this stage, either given a blanket approval, or suspended investigations, into Harbhajan’s action.Harbhajan was reported for a suspect action on March 20, the final day of the second Test against Pakistan at Kolkata, when his doosra, the delivery that leaves the right-hander, was reported again. This meant that, under the new procedures for dealing with suspect actions, he would have to appear before an ICC-appointed panel within 21 days to take the process forward. However, this 21-day period comes into effect from the time the Indian board received the official communication from the ICC, and not 21 days from March 20 as widely believed. This 21-day period is now coming to an end, although time has not quite run out yet.The ICC has not acted in haste, because they already have a library of biomechanical data on Harbhajan. When Harbhajan was first reported for a suspect action, back in 1998, he travelled to England and spent some time with Fred Titmus, the former Middlesex and England offspinner. More recently, he was at the University of Western Australia under the watchful eyes of Bruce Elliott, and was filmed in great detail. Aside from this the ICC also has plenty of footage from live-match situations.