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Corey Collymore, the West Indies fast bowler, has signed for Sussex as a Kolpak on a one-year contract.Collymore replaces Ryan Harris, the Australia allrounder, who was embroiled in a contractual farce last month. He originally joined the club as a Kolpak but, during Sussex’s first match of the season against Hampshire, Harris signed a three-year deal with Queensland. Although he holds a British passport, ECB regulations stipulate that players cannot perform in another country as a local, and Harris was forced to abandon his county contract.”Obviously with the departure of Ryan Harris, we have been keen to bring in a new bowler,” Mark Robinson, Sussex’s cricket manager, said. “With his international experience and excellent work ethic, Corey fits the bill perfectly.””The call from Sussex the other day was a very welcome one,” Collymore said. “I’ve been itching to come over and play county cricket and to be picked by the champions has filled me with confidence. I’m ready to give it my all and can’t wait to get started.”

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

England lost three quick wickets, including that of Kevin Pietersen, as West Indies fought back strongly in the final session of the third day at Chester-le-Street. Their confidence boosted by Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s magnificent hundred, West Indies bowlers were erratic but effective – and, at stumps, the honours were just about even.Before Pietersen fell, it was difficult to say which side had the better of the day. England restricted West Indies to under 300, but were frustrated by Chanderpaul’s tenth-wicket stand of 58 with Corey Collymore. For West Indies, their middle to lower-order were utterly feeble and their bowling, in parts, was remarkably shoddy. Their delight in dismissing Pietersen suggested their confidence is on the up but England, after a stern chat from Peter Moores tonight, still ought to overhaul West Indies’ first innings total quite comfortably.The absence of Ramnaresh Sarwan has clearly affected Daren Ganga, the replacement captain, negatively. But the opposite is true of Chanderpaul who has thrived on the responsibility thrust on his shoulders. Technically the most adept in his side, he set his stall out immediately and was clearly intent on batting through the day. There was little urgency in his strokeplay and, in such humid conditions – facing a beautifully metronomical Matthew Hoggard – he found the going tough.Though he hasn’t collected a bucketful of wickets, the influence Hoggard has had on the team is unquestionable; from the start, he pitched the ball on a sixpence and never strayed. Dwayne Bravo was beaten by his own patience, trying to slog him over midwicket and dragging the ball onto his stumps. And neither Marlon Samuels – in for Darren Sammy – or Denesh Ramdin offered Chanderpaul much hope of extending West Indies total into the 200s. This was due in no small part to another fine display from Ryan Sidebottom who picked up his first five-wicket haul.

Step forward Collymore. With England scenting blood – and, in all fairness, he is one of the last remaining genuine No. 11s in the world – their bowlers lost their control. Collymore nudged and nurdled his way to nowhere, but crucially allowed Chanderpaul time at the crease to being up his 16th Test hundred. It was an old-fashioned, hard-fought, stodgy innings, the type West Indies now crave. If anything, the presence of Collymore drove Chanderpaul on further, and he marshaled the strike quite brilliantly to add 58 with his No. 11. Unfortunately for Collymore, he fell four short of his Test best.Although the total was far from commanding, West Indies’ fragile confidence was at least boosted by Chanderpaul’s rearguard. Sadly their bowlers were less inspired (initially, at any rate) – Collymore in particular. Balls fired down the leg-side, rank long-hops, half-volleys and worse were served up, accompanied by a pudding of sloppy fielding. Andrew Strauss, whose form has been of major concern lately, capitalize, pulling Fidel Edwards and Collymore off a length – his trademark shot which has lately gone into hibernation.With Michael Vaughan, Strauss put on 73 for the second wicket – though the captain rarely looked in good touch, scratching around for a 65-ball 19 before falling to Collymore. England’s nightwatchman, Matthew Hoggard, only lasted two balls before the biggest scalp of them all, Pietersen, edged Edwards behind for a duck. West Indies were rightly jubilant and, perhaps for the first time this series, skipped off the pitch.Strauss is 28 short of his first hundred since Headingley last August, against Pakistan, and his wicket is crucial to West Indies’ fortunes tomorrow morning. If they can expose Paul Collingwood to the moving delivery early, a first innings lead is not out of the question. But with the depth England have, and the match already entering its fourth day tomorrow, it will take something special from West Indies’ opening bowlers for the match to swing their way.

Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, called for the Caribbean public to ensure the survival of West Indies cricket by involving themselves in a membership programme that would fund the regional game without the “stranglehold” of sponsors.Lara, who called the current West Indies team “his family”, made the rousing appeal as the feature speaker at the third annual West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Awards for 2005, which took place at the Chaguaramas Hall of the Chaguaramas Hotel and Convention Centre in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday night. The ceremony had as its theme “In pursuit of excellence”.Lara, who was named West Indies Cricketer of the Year, West Indies Test Player of the Year and given a special award for becoming the highest scorer in Tests last year, suggested the people of the region take matters into their own hands and emulate the efforts of the fans of two world-famous teams, namely the Green Bay Packers, who play in the National Football League (NFL) in the USA, and Spanish football club Barcelona, winners of this year’s European Champions League.”These two teams have a model I would love to see the West Indies adopt,” Lara explained. “They pay an annual membership fee and with a membership of 90,000 fans for the Packers and 100,000 for Barcelona, that brings in a lot of revenue.”He continued: “We can do the same thing here in the Caribbean. We have six million passionate fans in the region and a further nine million in the diaspora. Why can’t we have just one million of those people paying US$20 to ensure that West Indies cricket survives?”Lara’s suggestion was immediately taken up by entertainer Rikki Jai, who performed right after Lara’s address and opened with a pledge to become the first member.Lara reasoned that this venture would prevent any one private entity from dictating the pace for the regional game, like the sponsorship row between Digicel and Cable & Wireless that wreaked havoc last year.”Why do we have to have that stranglehold of sponsorship round our necks? We are greater than that,” he said to great applause from the gathering. Lara had set up his suggestion by pointing out that West Indies cricket was at a critical juncture which could mean the demise of the game in the region.He stated that the expected windfall of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies would be US $50-60 million, a situation that would finally erase a US$15-20 million debt that has saddled the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to date.”That would leave about US$30 million and I have talked to one person close to the WICB who told me that that money would last five to six years,” Lara stated, after surmising that West Indies cricket was at the “threshold of complete oblivion in world cricket”, due to its perilous financial state.”After that, a period of uncertainty and the unknown would follow. What do we do to arrest that situation? What do we do to ensure that the money we make over the World Cup will help ensure the game prospers long after so we move forward and our cricket moves on to that next level?” he asked.In his address, Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA chief executive officer and president, stressed the importance of the recently-signed collective agreement and paid homage to the region’s fans, asking for their continued support.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball
How they were out

England wrapped up the second Test and series early on the third day, Matthew Hoggard taking the last two wickets to end with 5 for 73. It was another convincing win by a buoyant England side – their tenth in a row at home – who showed no mercy in either match. Bangladesh, who lost by an innings and 27 runs, have been totally outplayed, but they will take some consolation from their second innings effort in this match, with the 19-year-old Aftab Ahmed unbeaten on 82.After Michael Vaughan’s lunch-time declaration on the second day few expected that, come Sunday, England and Bangladesh would still be engaged in a contest. But Ahmed’s innings brought both teams back to Chester-le-Street, where he posted the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman against England, with Javed Omar’s 71 and Habibul Bashar’s 63 in the same innings the next best. Ahmed played with confidence again this morning, as Bangladesh edged past the 300-mark for only the ninth time in their short Test history. But he ran out of partners as Hoggard ran through the lower order to finish the game after just 17 minutes’ play.It wasn’t Hoggard’s best bowling overall, but two cracking awayswingers found the edge of Tapash Baisya – who had fought hard in a ninth-wicket stand of 60 with Ahmed – and then Mashrafe Mortaza. “I’m not quite in rhythm,” Hoggard admitted on Sky Sports afterwards, “but it’s nice to come out with a five-for. It’s nice to bowl badly and still take wickets.” And, as he collected the Man of the Match award, he promised to work hard on his no-balling in time for the Ashes.This has been a good allround performance for England, with Ian Bell in particular impressing throughout his maiden Test century and Steve Harmison bowling well. Bell has filled the No 4 spot well, while Vaughan batting at No 3 has paid off. Andrew Flintoff and Geraint Jones did not bat throughout the series, but Duncan Fletcher said that, with the Ashes firmly in mind, he did not want to disturb the batting order. England were rarely troubled throughout this series, but they know stiffer tests lie ahead.

How they were out

BangladeshTapash Baisya c G Jones b Hoggard 18 (311 for 9)
Nibbled at awayswingerMashrafe Mortaza c Trescothick b Hoggard 0 (316)
Thick edge juggled at first slip

Tamil Nadu 294 and 163 for 3 (Vidyut 70) trail Mumbai 613 (Muzumdar 146, Jaffer 133, Mane 106, Bahutule 92, Kambli 55) by 156 runs
Scorecard
The fourth day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai was all but dead as a contest from the off, but that didn’t stop Mumbai compounding Tamil Nadu’s misery by batting on for another session before finally being bowled out for 613. By the close Tamil Nadu had crawled to 163 for 3 off 59 overs, still 156 runs in arrears.Mumbai’s overnight pair of Amol Muzumdar and Sairaj Bahutule added another 50 in the first hour as Tamil Nadu, probably expecting a declaration, didn’t show much intensity on the field, allowing singles almost at will. Bahutule worked it around with ease, and when the opportunity arose, tonked a few over the top. He fell eight short of his hundred when he gave a return catch to Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut (563 for 6).Muzumdar, a model of patience throughout his innings, followed soon after when he slashed at a wide one from C Ganapathy and was caught by Dinesh Karthik (569 for 7). Muzumdar’s 146 included 20 fours and a six, and he later described the innings as a very satisfying one. “One really dreams of scoring a hundred in a Ranji Trophy final,” he said with a grin. “I wouldn’t say its one of my best knocks, but it’s special because of the occasion.”Mumbai’s tailenders weren’t going to give it away either. Munaf Patel and Avishkar Salvi carted a six apiece, Munaf’s crashing into the roof of the Royal Sundaram stand, and Mumbai eventually reached a daunting 613. Vidyut had the solace of taking three wickets at the death, extracting some good turn and bounce, but it was an effort that came a day too late.He had a good time with the bat as well. Opening the innings with Somasetty Suresh (36), Vidyut punched a few powerful drives into the covers. But a solid 80-run stand ended when Suresh gave a return catch to Bahutule (80 for 1), and then Sridharan Sriram (5) was stumped after being beaten behind his legs by Nilesh Kulkarni (94 for 2). Sadagoppan Ramesh, who was unable to open the innings after a bout of sickness, carved a patient 36 not out, but Mumbai had the last laugh when Vidyut was beaten in the flight by Kulkarni and stumped for 70 shortly before the close (135 for 3).An outright victory would make life sweeter for Mumbai, but whatever happens their 36th title is now all but assured. All that’s left for Tamil Nadu is salvaging some pride, and getting some runs under their belts.

HOBART, March 2 AAP – Last-placed Tasmania had little trouble ending South Australia’s slim final hopes in the Pura Cup with an eight wicket victory at Bellerive Oval today.Needing an outright win to stay in the chase for the title, the Redbacks had no answer to Tigers paceman Gerard Denton, who finished with match figures of 8-101 off 32 overs.”That’s it for us now unfortunately,” said Redbacks skipper Greg Blewett.”We had everything to play for this game, so to come away with a loss is disappointing. We have only got ourselves to blame.”The final day was almost a formality as South Australia resumed at 8-185, having been forced to follow on after a making just 122 in reply to the home team’s 285.Tasmania claimed the remaining two SA wickets to end the innings on 227, setting a target of 65.The Tigers achieved that goal before lunch for the loss of two wickets in 20.2 overs with Scott Mason unbeaten on 30 and Michael Dighton on 12.Tasmanian allrounder Dan Marsh was man-of-the-match for his 111 runs off 177 balls with 16 fours in the first innings.It was the 29-year-old’s fifth domestic first-class century.But he was rivalled by Denton, who took a career-best 5-40 off 15 overs to make a mess of SA’s first innings.The visitors improved in the second innings – thanks to Mark Higgs’ 96 not out – but were again battered by Denton, who has only recently returned to the side after an extended lay off through injury.Despite picking up six points, the Tigers remain on the bottom of the ladder.Their final match of the season is also against the Redbacks – this time in Adelaide, from March 6-9.”It’s just another cricket match we can win hopefully,” Tigers skipper Jamie Cox said.After their drubbing in Hobart, the Redbacks will no doubt be keen to redeem themselves.”We are sitting on 22 points, so we’d certainly like to finish with another outright on third or fourth (on the ladder),” Blewett said.

Even in pre-historic times the game of cricket was played in some form or the other. It’s said to originate with one player throwing a ball-like object at a stool or similar item, while another player, standing in front of it, tried to fend the ball off from hitting the target with his hand. Other players stood around waiting for their turns either to defend or attack the stool.At a later stage, players were divided into two groups or sides. While one side tried to defend the wicket, the other stood around to assist the bowler to recover the ball when struck away. In this way, fielding began and with it the practice of counting runs, when the striker hit the ball and ran to and from an appointed mark. The individual or side that scored greater number of runs was the winner, as it is today.A later development was the introduction of a piece of wood, the crooked form of a bat, instead of the hand to hit the ball with. So the essentials of the modern game, i.e. bat, ball and a wicket were all present. It became an accepted rule that if the ball hit the stool or wicket the striker was out, as he was if caught by a fieldsman before the ball touched the ground.The next change was the replacement of the stool by a single stick or stump placed behind a round hole. The hole played an important part because the batsman was obliged to put his bat into it each time he took a run. Similarly if the ball was placed into the hole when the batsman was out of his ground, he was declared ‘out’. The concept of hitting or uprooting the stump to claim a ‘run-out’ did not exist then.The further development was to enlarge the size of the target by pitching two stumps with a cross piece of wood placed on top but the hole in front of them was retained. The next move was to do away with the hole replacing it with a line in front of the wicket, the origin of the popping crease of today. Three sticks were then substituted for two and two cross pieces known as bails were placed on top of them, the whole apparatus forming the wicket.After some time the size of the wickets was standardised and remained unchanged until World War I. Then, in order to assist the bowlers who were finding it difficult to dismiss the batsmen, it was enlarged further. The principle of pitching the three stumps sufficiently close to prevent the ball going through was, however, maintained.It may be interesting to know that in the late 70s we discovered a Gandhara Art statue picture from Lord Buddha’s era in the archives of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) then BCCP. The statue depicts some boys hitting a ball with a crooked wooden stick. It indicates that the type of game discussed above, was also played in the region forming present-day Asia, long before it came to be known as ‘cricket’.Though such a pastime existed in many countries of the world before the year 1200, it is almost certain that the modern game originated in England. Cricket matches between the public schools, however, began towards the close of the 18th century. There was a good deal of wagering in these matches, which were usually played for money involving pretty high stakes.Worse than the gambling was a kind of the cheating that accompanied it. Men sat near the pavilion to give and take bets. It was normal for them to circulate a false rumour about a player, in order to influence betting. Umpires were intimidated and there is a case on record, when an umpire was dragged by the losing team to the village pond and summarily ducked.Taken up by the gentlemen of wealthy families, cricket became very popular in the 18th century. A blow from a cricket ball killed Frederick, the Prince of Wales and a devotee of the game, in 1751 but this incident did not affect the game’s popularity. Matches were played between two sides of eleven players each, although in the earlier days it was not uncommon for a strong XI agreeing to play against a team comprising of a larger number of weaker players.Similarly, there were four balls to an over but the number was increased in 1889 to five and in 1900 to six. This meant a considerable saving in time because after each over the fieldsmen were required to change their places to receive bowling from the other end. At one time the Australians even had eight balls an over, which were later reduced to six. The white coat that the umpires wear to distinguish them from the players was introduced in 1861.Cricket is perhaps the only game, which requires a player to learn so many skills, batting, bowling, fielding and wicket keeping. In the old days, the bowling was underhand. In 1794 round-arm bowling was tried in a match at Dartford but was disallowed. Sometime in the 19th century it was permitted but later changed to the over-arm style of today. Bowling can be fast, medium pace or slow. A fast bowler relies upon pace but the accuracy of line and length are highly desirable. It was the combination of these three, which made Tom Richardson, the Surrey professional, the greatest fast bowler of his times. In modern cricket, Jeff Thomson of Australia enjoyed a similar distinction.A history making controversy between authorities in England and Australia erupted when England’s fast bowler Harold Larwood, developed a theory known as ‘bodyline bowling’ and put it into action during England’s tour of Australia in 1932. Pitching his deliveries at the leg stump he devastated the Aussies by making the batsmen give away easy catches to a leg trap formed by close-in fielders. Considered as ‘negative bowling’ it was not repeated again.A googly ball attracted a great deal of attention when it was first introduced in about the year 1900. BJI Basanquet of England and the South African RO Schrwas are regarded as the inventors and perfectionists of this perplexing art of slow bowling.There were a host of great cricketers during the past centuries but their deeds were eclipsed soon after 1850, when the gigantic figure of Dr WG Grace appeared on the scene. Grace was the man who did more than any other player to make cricket a popular spectacle as well as a healthy pastime. This is proved by a well known incident, when early in an innings, Grace being probably out by an excellent stumping, was declared ‘not out’. After a loud appeal from the wicket-keeper, the umpire retorted, “These people have come to see Dr Grace bat and not to watch your monkey tricks.”A superb batsman, Dr Grace was a useful bowler and an excellent fielder too. Although no one has matched Sir Don Bradman in terms of his batting and there have been a galaxy of great cricketers since, but Dr WG Grace is regarded as the undisputed father of the game.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks kept themselves in touch with the National League Division One frontrunners as Matthew Hayden and David Sales guided them to an eight-wicket victory over Leicestershire Foxes in a rain-affected contest at Wantage Road.The third-wicket pair came to the rescue with Northants in trouble at 21-2 replying to the Foxes’ total of 220-7, and had carried the score to 103-2 from 25 overs when the weather intervened.Play was delayed for 65 minutes, and when the players made their way back on to the field the Steelbacks were left to make a further 19 in three overs to notch their third successive win.Hayden and Sales – who finished unbeaten on 69 and 43 respectively – made short work of the task, skipper Hayden settling the issue when he swept Amer Khan to the boundary with five balls remaining.Leicestershire’s batting honours belonged to opener Trevor Ward who stroked 61 from 79 deliveries including a six and six fours. He put on 82 in 15 overs with Aftab Habib (28) to make up for the early loss of Vince Wells.Ben Smith (34) and Darren Stevens (30 not out) also contributed usefully, and the Foxes were on top when Northants lost Jeff Cook and Mal Loye in the first seven overs of their reply.But the in-form Hayden, who faced 67 balls and struck 11 boundaries in his decisive knock, saw his side through to a win which leaves them just four points behind top-of-the-table Worcestershire Royals.

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.”

Mushfiqur Rahim and Abdur Razzak have been recalled to Bangladesh’s Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka later this month and former captain Habibul Bashar has kept his place as a batsman.Rahim, who was the specialist wicketkeeper in Bangladesh’s World Cup squad, was dropped for the home Test series against India in favour of veteran Khaled Mashud. Rahim’s inclusion is further proof of the faith reposed in him by the selectors, though he will face stiff competition from Mahmud.”We selected Rahim because of his all-round abilities,” said chief selector Faruq Ahmed. “He is a stand-by wicketkeeper and a good middle-order batsman. He has already played two Tests as a batsman.”Razzak, despite being a fixture in the one-day side, did not find a place against India either. Tushar Imran and Enamul Haque jnr are the two omitted players from the Test squad against India. “Razzak had a very good World Cup. He is ninth in the one-day rankings,” added Ahmed. “So naturally, we thought he should be given chances in the longer version of the game.Mohammad Ashraful, recently announced as captain for both the Test and ODI sides, will lead Bangladesh in three Tests and ODIS against Sri Lanka. Tushar, Aftab Ahmed, Tamim Iqbal, Farhad Reza and rookie medium-pacer Mahmudullah will join the side for the one-day leg of the tour.The first Test starts on June 25 in Colombo.Bangladesh Test squad:Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza (vice-capt), Habibul Bashar, Javed Omer, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Shahriar Nafees, Rajin Saleh, Shakib Al Hasan, Khaled Mashud (wk), Shahadat Hossain, Syed Rasel, Mohammed Rafique, Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Sharif, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk).