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Chaminda Vaas would provide backbone to Middlesex’s lower-order and incision with the ball © Getty Images

Following the news that Ben Hutton has stepped down from the captaincy of Middlesex, the club are on the verge of signing Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lankan seamer, in what is believed to be the first step to a major squad overhaul.Middlesex suffered a dreadful season; they finished bottom of Division One in the Championship, by some margin, and are relegated into Division Two and were also relegated in the Pro40 league. John Emburey, the club’s director of cricket, is also expected to sign another overseas player in addition to Vaas – most likely a senior spinner.”We need a stronger spin bowling attack and we need to add an experienced swing bowler to counter the fact that our pitches at Lord’s do not offer much carry or movement to the seamer,” Emburey said.Vaas, 32, has taken 307 wickets in Tests and is an accomplished one-day player; he also contributes nuggety lower-order runs. He represented Hampshire in 2003 and Worcestershire last season.

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

Robin Uthappa led India’s fightback with a 39-ball 50 © Getty Images

More than 21 years after Javed Miandad’s last-ball heroics in Sharjah, India and Pakistan played out a thrilling tie at the ICC World Twenty20, with Misbah-ul-Haq run out off the last ball of the match. But the tournament rules didn’t allow for the spoils to be shared, and it was India that prevailed in the bowl-out. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa were Dirty Harry-accurate, while Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed by a fair distance as a sell-out crowd celebrated an enthralling finale.The 33-year-old Misbah, who made a magnificent 53 from just 35 balls, had been an unlikely hero for Pakistan after Shahid Afridi’s dismissal, with 39 needed from 15 balls, had left them in a seemingly hopeless situation. He needed just one run from the last two balls of the innings, butSreesanth came round the wicket to deliver a dot ball and then a short one that Misbah could only parry to silly mid-off. He had no chance of completing the single.Earlier, Uthappa’s superb half-century had resurrected Indian hopes after a sensational new-ball spell from Mohammad Asif had skittled India’s top order. Asif bowled four magnificent overs on the trot, with mastery of the seam and impeccable control in overcast conditions. But from the depths of 36 for 4, India recovered to 141 for 9, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan buttressing Uthappa’s brilliant effort.India then fielded with great energy and bowled superbly to defend the total but Pakistan stormed back in the final three overs. They might however reflect on the batting order, with the destructive Afridi having come to the crease when the situation was almost beyond salvage.Rudra Pratap Singh had given India the perfect start, cleaning up the reckless Imran Nazir, and both he and Sreesanth kept the runs down to increase the pressure on Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. It was Butt that finally succumbed to it, edging Ajit Agarkar’s second delivery behind thestumps. That evened the scales somewhat, but after a fairytale comeback over from Pathan, it was India that were right on top.A misunderstanding with Younis Khan sent Akmal packing off the first ball, and when Younis then gloved one back on to the stumps, a Pakistani victory was no longer a formality. A partnership was needed, and Misbah and Shoaib Malik built one, concentrating mainly on singles and the odd clever thump over the field.Malik’s patience finally snapped in Pathan’s final over, with Harbhajan Singh taking the skier in the circle, and Pakistan needed almost two off every ball when Afridi walked to the middle. He never got going either, but instead of the death-knell, his departure sparked a stunning finish.

Mohammad Asif’s four wickets pegged India back but Robin Uthappa’s brave effort allowed India to post a total that proved enough…just © Getty Images

Harbhajan’s otherwise immaculate spell was ruined by a six and a four from Misbah, and when the woefully off-radar Agarkar was clouted by Yasir Arafat and Misbah for 17 in the penultimate over, Pakistan needed just 12 from six. Misbah placed one beautifully over cover and then thumped one straight down the ground but it was to be Sreesanth that had the final say.Such a keen contest looked extremely unlikely early on with Asif’s bowling reminiscent of the peerless Glenn McGrath. Gautam Gambhir was brilliantly caught on the follow through at the second attempt, while Sehwag was sorted out as he so often has been of late, inside-edging one back on to his stumps.Uthappa got going with a great flick off his pads for four, and a splendid lofted on-drive off Gul showed that he meant business. But there was little support at the other end, with Yuvraj Singh miscuing one off the leading edge to mid-off. Dinesh Karthik briefly alleviated the gloom withtwo glorious strokes off Asif, making room and lofting through the off side, but when the extra bounce induced another inside edge, Pakistan were right on top.Asif’s exit gave Uthappa and Dhoni the chance to resurrect the innings. Uthappa thumped Arafat for a straight six and then lofted him way into the stands at midwicket, but both batsmen struggled to work out the left-arm medium pace of Sohail Tanvir, who bowled off the wrong out a la Mike Proctor.Afridi’s introduction didn’t stem the Indian momentum either, with Uthappa cutting and driving for fours, but a brief rain delay after he had reached 50 made all the difference. A thin edge through to Akmal gave Tanvir a first wicket, and brought Pathan to the crease.A fascinating little tussle with Afridi followed. Two huge sixes over midwicket had the Indian fans cheering themselves hoarse, but Afridi had the last word with a quicker delivery that crashed into the leg stump.Dhoni clubbed Arafat for a straight four and then swung him over fine leg for six, but the promised late explosion never came. Once he skied one to Younis at deep cover, India were left to limp to the finish. In the end though, those runs that were eked out made all the difference to agame that was the best possible advertisement for cricket’s fledgling format.

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Scott Newman top-scored with 131 as Surrey drew their rain-wrecked match against Northants at The Oval© Getty Images

Scorecard
Day 1 – Newman on form again for Surrey The Independent
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – No play due to rain
Day 4 – Newman’s talent shines Sunday Telegraph
Scorecard
Day 1 – No play due to rain
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – Weston puts attacking platform to good useThe TimesDay 4 – Brown joins an elite club Sunday Telegraph
Scorecard
Day 1 – No play due to rain
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – No play due to rain
Day 4 – Sussex kick their heels Sunday Telegraph

Frizzell County Championship Division Two

Scorecard
Day 1 – Freddie Auld’s exclusive match report
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – Freddie Auld’s exclusive match report
Day 4 – Match report
Scorecard
Day 1 – No play due to rain
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – Rogers signs on with unbeaten century The TimesDay 4 – Dean’s knee spoils Derbyshire’s day Sunday Telegraph
Scorecard
Day 1 – Hampshire stay in tune with their captain’s positive image The Times
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – No play due to rain
Day 4 – Mascarenhas sets up an unlikely win Independent on Sunday
Scorecard
Day 1 – No play due to rain
Day 2 – No play due to rain
Day 3 – Lehmann makes light of difficult conditions The Times

Other matches

Scorecard

Scorecard

	Haroon Lorgat (right) seen with ICC cricket manager Dave Richardson and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola at the World Twenty20 launch last year © Getty Images

The ICC needs to adapt to the demands of the present, its next chief executive has said. In an exclusive interview with Cricinfo, and later at a press conference in Cape Town, Haroon Lorgat, the South African set to take over from incumbent Malcolm Speed later this year, emphasised the challenges in different directions.Lorgat also stressed the image of cricket, which has taken a beating in recent years, needed to be looked after. “There have been certain incidents over the past few years that have impacted on the image of cricket,” he said. “Being such a global sport it is a challenge that is always going to be there, to protect the image and manage the potential conflicts that one might see coming.”There’s some work to done to ensure we better manage those sort of situations.”A few recent episodes, such as the Oval Test fiasco in 2006 and the subsequent handling of umpire Darrell Hair, as well as the shoddy organisation of the World Cup, had led to intense criticism of the ICC and Speed. Lorgat, though, said he would adopt a less confrontational when dealing with the member nations.”Whatever I say is not to be construed as a criticism of my predecessor but by nature I’m someone who has come through a team ethos,” Lorgat said. “I would prefer to make sure that as member countries we work together and that we come out with a common solution.”Lorgat was also unfazed by talk of India dominating affairs behind the scenes at the ICC, given their financial influence on the game. “I too have read various articles in the media about India’s influence on the ICC. But I have also read the views of various members, and they have not experienced anything of this sort,” he said. “So this could be a perception more than a reality. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all members to present a united front and assist the ICC in moving towards a common vision.”My understanding is that all member boards get along very well with each other. So once again, this could be a matter of perception more than reality,” he said. “I know the Board of Control for Cricket in India is very mindful of protecting and supporting the International Cricket Council in delivering the game across the globe. Working with India we can grow the game of cricket.”

Ted Martin, the world’s oldest first-class cricketer and the first player in Australia to live to 100, has died in Perth at the age of 101.A former West Australian legspinner, Martin lived to 101 years and 253 days, making him the fifth longest-living first-class player in history.His first-class career, spanning two games and only eight days, was brief but eventful. Both his matches were against Douglas Jardine’s reviled and revered England side in the Bodyline summer of 1932-33.Picked for WA against MCC in the tour opener, Martin picked up three wickets in each innings at exorbitant cost, finishing with the extraordinary match tally of 6 for 165 from 23.6 eight-ball overs. Four times Freddie Brown, the England allrounder, was dropped off his bowling.It was in this game that fast bowlers Harold Larwood and Bill Bowes first dabbled with some short-pitched bowling, later to blossom into full-blown Bodyline. The WACA crowd “became caustic” at one stage, reported a local newspaper, and Martin himself, batting at No. 9, received a brief and unpleasant bouncer barrage.”Bowes gave me a couple of whacks … they gave me a bit of it,” he told The West Australian newspaper’s John Townsend in 2001. “You only wore a pad, gloves and a box in those days, and the box wasn’t much good.”Observers were sufficiently intrigued by Martin’s productive but profligate debut for him to be picked for a combined Australian XI against MCC three days later. Again it was at the Waca and again Martin proved costly, going for 126 runs in 16 wicketless overs.This time he played alongside Don Bradman, Stan McCabe, Vic Richardson and Jack Fingleton – but only Richardson spoke. “He thought he was an important man but he wasn’t all that polite,” Martin recalled. “He was quite rough actually.” Meanwhile Bradman “did little but sit in his corner and keep to himself”.And that, so far as Martin was concerned, was that. It was still 15 years before WA would acquire Sheffield Shield status, and Martin retired immediately to focus on his accountancy career. A prolific wicket-taker at grade level, he was also a talented Australian Rules player until a pre-season ankle injury curtailed his footballing prospects.On September 30, 2002, he became the ninth first-class player in history – and the first Australian – known to have lived to the age of 100. He had a party at home with family and friends, and quipped: “It’s nice to have beaten Bradman at something.”He was still sprightly enough to pose for local newspaper photographers, showing off his leg-break grip, an enviable mane of white hair and the broadest of smiles. Behind his right shoulder, the WACA scoreboard read: “Martin, 100”. “I’m old in time but not in mind,” he said, inadvertently paraphrasing Bob Dylan.The oldest living first-class cricketer is now believed to be Frank Shipston, the former Nottinghamshire batsman, who turns 98 on July 29. The oldest in history was the Derbyshire batsman JM Hutchinson, who died in 2000 aged 103 years, 344 days.

Mark Richardson’s dismissal was a rare bright spot in a bleak Test for India © AFP

Cruel as it may be to rub it into one’s opponents after keeping them in the field for two days, Mark Richardson managed it effortlessly. After scrappingand sweating his way to his highest Test score, he revealed that his childhood inspiration was Indian coach John Wright. Wright, known to jog away his frustrations, lapped Mohali relentlessly in the northern dusk, possibly contemplating how everything in life comes back to bite you in the bum.Not just Richardson, but this entire batting line-up have imbibed Wright’sexample well – they have exemplified grit. Yesterday Lou Vincent spoke oflimiting his strokeplay to create longer innings. Today Richardson talked about the lessons from this tour.”You come over here and you learn about discipline and intensity,” he said. “The hard parts are keeping yourself going, and keeping each other going.It’s a lot of hard work mentally.”Richardson’s was not an innings of fluency, and he did escape with an early life. “I was still nicking and poking and prodding after 410 balls,” he conceded. “Technically it wasn’t my best innings.” But he made 145. Wright would approve.Shining brighter than Richardson today was Styris. He is deceptively broadat the crease, much like Carl Hooper, so there doesn’t seem to be a way to get the ball past him. Also Hooperesque are his preference for getting behind the ball rather than playing alongside it, and his ability to cover more ground with his feet than it appears. Yet there is little of Hooper’s feline touch in Styris, nor can he boast as many shots.Rather, Styris has worked his game out and understood how to put up scores – and it involves playing straight. Repeatedly he broad-batted boundaries down the ground, a feat made all the more remarkable given his extreme closed grip,with the face of the blade facing his toe in stance. Fifty of his 119 runscame in the V, including both sixes and four fours. Basically, India bowled to a wall.And to think this was a man once best known for the ability to bowl a straight ball without lifting his leading arm from by his side. “He is the type of guy who performs when given responsibility,” said Richardson of his team-mate. “He started first-class cricket as a medium-pacer, but his batting has come along leaps and bounds. He was given a job in the middle order, and he responded. He is a Test-class batsman now.”But despite all the records (highest score against India, top three batsmen all making centuries and their highest scores), New Zealand’s refusal to force thepace – particularly after Stephen Fleming’s 30 off 35 had provided the inningsmomentum – might cost them. As things stand, it is improbable that a declaration will come anytime early tomorrow morning. “We want to do the job well once,” Richardson said. “There is still a lot of apprehension. We’ve come so far and we don’t want to cock it up.”That means one thing. India will not win this series, save for a gambler’s declaration by Fleming should New Zealand be required to bat again. And ifthey are this hellbent on not cocking it up, India should not expect one.

Yashovardhan Azad (centre) inspects the facilities at Peshawar as part of India’s delegation reviewing security measures in Pakistan © Getty Images

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Indian cricket board (BCCI), dismissed as “rumour” reports that the Indian team’s tour of Pakistan was being called off because of security concerns.”I’ve no news that the tour to Pakistan could be cancelled for whatever reason. There is a lot of rumour going around,” Dalmiya told reporters. “So far as we know, there is no reason to think there would be any change in the tentative schedule of the tour.”Rumours have grown inthe last 24 hours that the Indian government is split over whether the trip should go ahead. Earlier today it emerged that the home ministry wants the tour postponed until after the national elections.The three-member delegation sent to Pakistan by the BCCI to assess the security situation is due back in India on Saturday”The media is being impatient. One has to wait for our delegation to come back from Pakistan and give its report,” Dalmiya said. “We have no comment to make so far as the tour is concerned, but BCCI’s stand has been always to abide by the government decision.”

USA today announced their provisional squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in England this September.The squad is mainly made up of the players who played in the Americas Cup and the matches in the Intercontinental Cup, of which USA still have a chance of qualifying for a semi-final spot after a defeat to Canada and a win against Bermuda.USA begin their Champions Trophy adventure against New Zealand at The Oval in London on September 10, and then have the small matter of facing Australia, the world champions, at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire three days later.USA provisional squad
Richard Staple (capt), Nasir Javed, Rahul Kukreti, Charles Reid, Zamin Amin, Jignesh Desai, Howard Johnson (wk), Donovan Blake, Aijaz Ali, Mark Johnson, Leon Romero, Amir Afzaluddin, Naseer Islam, Rohan Alexander, Rashid Zia, Steve Pitter, Rafey Kazi, Wasim Khan, Arjun Rajagopalan, Dawood Ahmad, Hasan Shah, Nirosh De Silva, Dave Hoilette, Khwaja Usman Shuja, V. Simone, Steve Massiah, Clayton Lambert, Abishek Powar, Imran Awan, Ramkishan Hanumara.

Brian Lara’s twin failures in the Lord’s Test against England has meant that Rahul Dravid has, for the first time in his career, taken over as the top Test batsman in the PwC ratings. Lara aggregated only 55 runs in his two innings at Lord’s, resulting in his rating points slipping to 881, while Dravid’s remained at 892, three more than Matthew Hayden, who moved into second place ahead of Lara.Dravid’s rise to the top has been the result of an amazingly consistent run over the last couple of years – since the tour to the West Indies in 2001-02, he has scored 2526 runs in 23 Tests at an outstanding average of 76.55, with eight centuries, four of them double-hundreds.Apart from a change at the top, the latest ratings also gave Michael Vaughan top billing among England’s batsmen. Vaughan rose five places to 18th, thanks to centuries in each innings at Lord’s. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who failed to emulate that landmark by just three runs, climbed 12 places to 16th.

Rank	Batsman	Points	Average
1	Dravid	892	58.09
2	Hayden	889	58.14
3	Lara	881	53.43
4	Kallis	833	54.07
5	Ponting	832	54.33
6	Gibbs	815	49.40
7	Inzamam	785	49.63
8	Tendulkar	784	57.39
9	Sehwag	782	52.72
10	Richardson	761	47.94

Meanwhile, Ashley Giles’s Man-of-the-Match performance not only secured him a place on the famous dressing-room honours board, it also propelled him into the top twenty of the PwC Ratings for the first time in his career.In general, it was a match in which bowlers struggled, but Giles rose above the dominance of the bat to take 9 for 210, his best figures in a home Test. Following on from a six-wicket haul against New Zealand at Trent Bridge earlier in the summer, Giles has climbed nine places to 19th, while Pedro Collins – the pick of West Indies’ attack – was up eight places to 15th, thanks to his figures of 7 for 175.Prior to the match, all eyes had been on Steve Harmison, who could have gone top of the list had he taken five or more wickets. Instead he had a disappointing game by his recent high standards, taking just two scalps in the second innings. Even so, he remained second behind Muttiah Muralitharan, and still has the No. 1 spot in his sights as the second Test begins at Edgbaston on Thursday.

Rank	Bowler	Points	Average
1	Muralitharan	886	22.76
2	Harmison	864	24.95
3	Pollock	837	21.46
4	Shoaib	826	24.47
5	McGrath	805	21.61
6	Warne	762	25.47
7	Kumble	751	28.22
8	Gillespie	740	25.71
9	Ntini	722	29.67
10	Harbhajan	635	28.47

Click here for the complete ratings.

While the Indian Cricket League and ECB continue to spar, there is encouraging news for Mushtaq Ahmed, who has received a second No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).It comes as a surprise: earlier this month the PCB had said that they would withdraw Mushtaq’s first NOC, which would have prevented him from playing for Sussex due to his ICL involvement. But with this second certificate, it seems increasingly likely that Mushtaq’s county career should continue. For the time being, at least.”We’ve provided the ECB with a second certificate, which we received onMonday, and we are just waiting for everything to be formalised,” said Gus MacKay, the Sussex chief executive. “We don’t foresee a problem.”In Mushtaq’s favour – certainly in the eyes of the PCB – was his delay in playing for his ICL side, the Lahore Badshahs, which seems to have helped in his bid for a second NOC. Yorkshire, though, are still waiting on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan who has already played for Lahore.