England have admitted that they have a contingency plan in place should the forthcoming tour by West Indies not take place.Yesterday Cricinfo revealed that there is another serious dispute looming between the West Indies board (WICB) and the country’s players’ association (WIPA). The players want extra payments for what they argue is an additional tour outside the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, while the WICB maintains that the tour is part of the FTP and so covered by existing contracts. The two parties meet in Trinidad tomorrow but sources are not optimistic that a compromise will be found.”I’ll be having discussions with the West Indies board to see if there are any concerns,” David Collier, the ECB’s chief executive, told PA. “We’re not aware of any serious issues per se, but if there are discussions there must be something serious going on and we’ll follow that very closely. At the moment we don’t know if it’s a major issue or not a major issue.”I think that if there had been a major, major issue I’m sure we would have been alerted. At the moment we’re confident we’ll be able to stage the Test series and we hope that will be against a full strength West Indies side. I can’t say where it will end up in terms of their discussions but it would be almost unthinkable if their side wouldn’t play the series.”Collier went on to admit that the ECB had a contingency plan drawn up in case the tour was scrapped, but would not reveal any details. “This is the first time it’s come up, but we’ve got some pretty good contacts around the world if we needed them.”The relationship between the WICB and WIPA has been increasingly fractious, and almost all recent series, including the World Cup, have been preceded by contractual disputes.

Division One

Durham’s lower order denied Lancashire victory at Chester-le-Street with Ottis Gibson hitting 54 and Paul Wiseman making a 92-ball 7. Lancashire had chipped away at the top order, Dominic Cork taking the first two wickets, and Muttiah Muralitharan claimed the key scalp of Dale Benkenstein then Phil Mustard as the visitors appeared set for their second win of the season. But Gibson had other ideas and didn’t go about saving the match in traditional style, striking nine fours and a six in his 80-ball innings. He fell with the overs running out, lbw to Muralitharan, and James Anderson removed Mark Davies, but Graham Onions survived three balls. Wiseman was left to block out Muralitharan’s final over; with every man around the bat he was Durham’s hero.James Tredwell’s maiden first-class century in 44 games defied Yorkshire at Tunbridge Wells to make sure Kent saved the game after following on. Rob Key and Martin van Jaarsveld gave Kent a strong platform, with a second-wicket stand of 162, but then a cluster of wickets gave Yorkshire hope of finishing the job. Broken hand or not, Gough brought himself on as sixth-change trying to break the final few partnerships, but while he dismissed Geraint Jones for 15 that was to be the last victim for Kent. Tredwell, who reached 116 not out, then combined with Andrew Hall to take them way past parity. Hall struck 63 not out in an unbroken stand of 140 which earned Kent a share of the spoils.Worcestershire were left wondering how on earth Surrey managed to escape with the draw, after they were well on course for victory at New Road. At 126 for 5 in the middle of the afternoon, and with Mark Ramprakash in the hutch, Surrey were floundering. Still miles adrift of Worcestershire’s 701, they lost four more wickets throughout proceedings, but crucially not the fifth. Mark Butcher was their saviour, his painstaking 29 not out compiled during three hours and coming from 142 balls. Matt Nicholson helped to repel the attack with him, making 20 not out from 67 deliveries. It was some dogged resistance, but their bowling attack, smashed around by Worcestershire, continues to provide concern.Sussex’s season continued to take an upward curve with a convincing 166-run win against Hampshire at Arundel. Starting the day on 133 for 2, Hampshire faced a huge task and it became even tougher when Michael Lumb fell early to Naved-ul-Hasan. Michael Carberry (53) added 82 with John Crawley, who faced 174 balls for 44, until both fell in quick succession. Robin Martin-Jenkins ended stubborn resistance from the middle order and the final wicket fell to Mushtaq Ahmed, his ninth of the match.

Division Two

At one point today Northamptonshire looked in danger of making a habit of close run-chases from big targets. Earlier this week, they nearly defeated Gloucestershire, but lost their bottle towards the end. At Chelmsford, they briefly threatened to hunt down 408, but Danish Kaneria’s five wickets prised them out 41 runs short. The overnight pairing of Stephen Peters (93) and David Sales (67) put on 134 for the third wicket before Kaneria dismissed Sales, then Peters fell to James Middlebrook on the same score, 223. While Lance Klusener contributed a typically brisk 25, when he fell on 263 for 5, Essex had done most of the hard work.

Trevor Bayliss, Sri Lanka’s new coach, has been asked by Sri Lanka Cricket to recommend a few names to be the team’s assistant coach.K Mathivanan, the secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket, said Bayliss had agreed to help and has been given time till June 29 to come up with candidates of his choice.Rumesh Ratnayake, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, was expected to take on the job but changed his mind – citing family reasons – after signing a four-year contract with Sri Lanka Cricket.Mathivanan said that there was no truth in the reports that SLC had approached South African Jonty Rhodes and Australian Greg Blewett for the job.Bayliss is due to take over as head coach of Sri Lanka in September on a two-year contract. He succeeds Tom Moody, who quit at the end of his two-year contract at the end of May to take up a coaching assignment in Western Australia.Trevor Penney, who was Moody’s assistant, is also due to join him. Penney was picked by Moody as his assistant after negotiations to woo Ratnayake failed in 2005. Penney, whose contract with the SLC expires at the end of August, is handling the team in the current series against Bangladesh.

Scorecard

The Bangladeshis reached 245 for 8 before persistent rain caused play to be called off after just 25 overs on the second day of their tour game against Sri Lanka A at the Colts Cricket Club ground in Colombo.Resuming on an overnight score of 183 for 5, the Bangladeshis were put under pressure by the Sri Lankan bowling which conceded just three runs in the opening seven overs. They also took three quick wickets to reduce the visitors to 198 for 8 but failed to drive home the advantage.Akalanka Ganegama dismissed Habibul Bashar, who had showed signs of regaining form after a disappointing series against India, for 63. Then, for the second time in the innings, the Bangladeshis lost two wickets in two balls. Khaled Mashud, who had laboured for 81 balls to score eight, and Mohammad Sharif were trapped in front by left-arm pacer Chanaka Welegedara.The Sri Lankans were looking to make short work of the remaining Bangladeshi batsmen but an unbeaten 47-run stand between Mushfiqur Rahim and Shahadat Hossain pushed the Bangladeshis towards a fighting score before the day’s play was abandoned due to rain. Despite possessing single-digit batting averages, Hossain and Rahim kept up a brisk rate of scoring and were especially harsh on Welegedara, taking 17 runs off his last three overs.The Bangladeshis will want to give their bowlers a workout tomorrow before deciding who will be the backup to Mashrafe Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique in the Tests. This is their only practice game before the first Test starts on Monday at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo.

Lancashire have awarded Mal Loye a benefit for his fifth season at the club. He joined the club in 2003 following 12 years with his home county Northamptonshire.He has scored more than 13,000 first-class runs at 41, and has played for England, as well as the Under-19s and the A side.Jack Simmons, the Lancashire chairman, said: “I know one or two people will question that he hasn’t played for Lancashire for a number of years, but what Mal has given to county cricket both with Northants and us, we always regard that as ‘giving something to the game’.”What he has done for the club to date has been superb. He has endeared himself to everyone associated with Lancashire, and there isn’t a nicer player in the sport.”Loye said: “Not only do I feel proud and privileged to play for Lancashire, but to be awarded a benefit by such as prestigious club is a great honour, and I would like to thank them for their support.”

The Ontario Cricket Association will have to convince the government that it can utilise the controversial Can$1 million grant if it is not to be asked to repay some of the money.The grant was made by the former citizen and immigration minister Mile Colle, part of Can$32 million handed over to 110 multicultural groups over the last two years. The association had requested Can$150,000, but Colle sanctioned Can$1 million. He was subsequently forced to resign.Officials from the OCA met with Gerry Phillips, Colle’s successor, this week to discuss the grant. The net result was that the association promised to provide a detailed audit showing how the capital funds were used to refurbish the King City cricket complex. It will also provide an outline on how it would spend the balance of the funds – about Can$600,000 – by the end of the month.Phillips will review the outline and then decide whether to ask for some of the cash to be repaid.

Australia face the prospect of beginning their ICC World Twenty20 campaign against Zimbabwe without several key players who are nursing injuries. Shane Watson has a strained hamstring, Michael Clarke has a lower abdominal strain and Matthew Hayden has been struggling with back spasms.Australia had a long break after their World Cup victory in the Caribbean and played two Twenty20 warm-up games in South Africa, beating New Zealand and losing to the hosts. Tim Nielsen, the coach, said the players were just getting into the groove before their tournament opener on Wednesday.”It’s normal early season stuff at the moment,” Nielsen told . “The fact that we have had some competitive hit-outs have been beneficial from a skill point of view, but physically at the moment it’s taken a bit of time to get up and going.”Hayden hurt his back against New Zealand and batted at No. 7 against South Africa as a precaution. “He’d been flat on his back overnight,” Nielsen said, “so Alex Kountouris [the physio] had done a great job to get him up and going.”Clarke was rested for both warm-ups and Nielsen was uncertain of his availability for the Zimbabwe clash. “He’s getting better, all the signs are that he’s improving, and again it’s just a management thing and seeing how he goes,” Nielsen said. “We’re hopeful he’ll be playing during the week, whether it’s Wednesday or Friday [against England].”Watson injured his hamstring at a training session in Australia last week and although he has been retained in the squad he is unlikely to play Zimbabwe. Watson arrived in South Africa on Monday along with Ricky Ponting, who had initially stayed home because of concerns over his wife’s health.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A match billed as a winner-takes-all contest was as good as decided before latecomers had even taken their seats at Newlands. In that time Australia blew away Sri Lanka’s top order, and though they made a recovery of sorts to reach 101, it was a dismal performance and Australia strolled to a ten-wicket win with almost half their overs intact. In Twenty20 terms, it was a massacre. At least there were not too many people inside the ground to witness their humiliation.Adam Gilchrist decided to stick Sri Lanka in to take advantage of any lingering moisture – this was an almost unreasonably early start to meet the demands of TV – and the move paid off handsomely. The toss was important, but Sri Lanka contributed significantly to their own downfall.Although Australia bowled and fielded superbly, much of the blame must rest on Sri Lanka’s batsmen who approached the match with a naivety that almost suggested they had never played a Twenty20 game. In the main, they perished playing ugly heaves and mows. The format calls for big hitting – Sri Lanka decided to go for reckless slogging.They lost Sanath Jayasuriya, their top-order talisman, to the third ball of the innings from Brett Lee, a slightly dubious leg-before decision which might have partially resulted from another close call when he was rapped on the pads the previous ball. What followed was horrible.Upal Tharanga swung and was caught in the deep, and Mahela Jayawardene got a leading edge attempting a swish to midwicket. Sixteen balls into their innings and Sri Lanka were 11 for 3. It should have been worse four balls later, but Brad Hodge mistimed a leap at mid-on and dropped Kumar Sangakkara. One ball later, Chamara Silva took a run to Andrew Symonds in the covers and would have perished had a diving underarm throw hit the stumps. It was almost lemming-like.And Sri Lanka didn’t learn. Their batsmen resembled windmills as they swished and missed with alarming regularity. Silva finally connected but a thick edge flew to Brett Lee at third man, and when Tillakaratne Dilshan stepped to the off and paddled Stuart Clark, the pick of the bowlers, straight to Gilchrist behind the stumps, Sri Lanka were 28 for 5.

In his next over Clark struck twice, Sangakkara cut to point and then two balls later Farveez Maharoof, whose TV profile had just boomed that his favourite shot was the cover drive, slapped an ugly swing to point where Michael Clarke took a superb one-handed catch an inch above the turf.It was only when Chaminda Vaas and Jehan Mubarak came together in a seventh-wicket stand of 40 that a semblance of common sense was restored, but the horse had long since bolted. Even Australia appeared to take their foot off the accelerator, content to allow singles at will while never letting the batsmen off the leash.The only blemish for Australia came when Shane Watson, who had bowled neatly in his first three overs, pulled up clutching his hamstring as Lasith Malinga swung the first six of the innings in the 18th over. The injury-prone Watson immediately hobbled off for another visit to a man he knows so well, the team physio.Chasing a small target, Australia could have cruised, but that’s not their style. Matthew Hayden and Gilchrist showed the value of playing correctly, hitting the ball straight and hard. In so doing they clinically shredded the bowling and emphasised how wrong Sri Lanka’s approach with the bat had been.The pair started sedately before opening up, Hayden his typical bullying self, hitting the bulk of his boundaries in the V with brutal power. Two strikes off Maharoof, the second of which disappeared over long-off, underlined what an awesome force he remains. Gilchrist was not outshone, using the pace of the ball and picking gaps with precision.Hayden brought up his fifty off 34 balls and then finished the match with a shot as vast as the victory itself, the ball disappearing out of the ground. By then Sri Lanka were a broken side.

Scorecard
India A have won the two-match Test series against South Africa A by a 1-0 margin after the second Test in Dharamsala was abandoned with no play possible on three consecutive days due to heavy rain.Umpires SK Tarapore and GA Pratap Kumar called off the match at 10 am after the outfield was left waterlogged due to morning showers. Though this was a frustrating outing for both teams, South Africa will consider themselves hard done by, since they had ended the first day at 264 for 4.Paras Mhambrey, the India A coach, was satisfied with the teams performance in the series. “We were looking forward to win the game and get the series 2-0, but can’t help the elements,” Mhambrey told PTI. “I am happy with the first match in which we clinched the victory in three days. Our spinners troubled their batsmen and our batsmen scored double centuries. So it was a satisfying series for us.”India had won the the first Test in New Delhi by an innings and 242 runs.

Ben Hilfenhaus, the Tasmania fast bowler, has been drafted into Australia’s squad for the first Test after Shaun Tait’s elbow injury flared in his Pura Cup return. Tait had an elbow operation in May and the recovery prevented him from touring South Africa and India with the one-day sides before the latest bout of pain.Alex Kountouris, the Australia physio, described the injury as a minor setback, but Tait’s series of problems is a worry for Australia ahead of a busy home season that starts with the Test against Sri Lanka in Brisbane on Thursday. Tait developed the right-elbow soreness while playing in South Australia’s loss to Tasmania, where Hilfenhaus picked up three wickets.Hilfenhaus, who is capable of high-speed outswing, was the form domestic bowler in 2006-07 with 60 wickets at 25.30 and he was rewarded with Tait’s spot on the limited-overs trips. “Ben richly deserves his opportunity after a magnificent Pura Cup season last year,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said. “He also impressed all with his involvement around the Australian squad in the one-day international series in India.”Hilfenhaus played in the Twenty20 match in Mumbai and will need an injury to one of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark or Mitchell Johnson to catapult into the starting XI. However, he will continue his grooming as a capable replacement when the inevitable injuries hit as Australia embark on a crammed campaign, starting with six home Tests followed by tours to Pakistan and the West Indies.