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ScorecardWhen Richard Jones was told he wouldn’t be offered a new contract by Worcestershire at the end of the 2008 season, it looked as if his career could be over. There was never much doubt over his ability. As a teenager, he had earned selection for England U19s and appeared set for a bright future. Yet, aged 21, his progress had stalled and Worcestershire’s patience had started to wane.Fortunately for both bowler and club, however, their patience had not evaporated entirely. Instead of washing their hands of Jones, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, told the young fast bowler that he had the winter to prove himself. He could train with the club and, if they were suitably impressed, he would be offered another contract.It proved to be an inspired piece of man management. The tactic focused Jones’ mind and provided the motivation to force him into long gym sessions. Though 2009 was a grim year for most at New Road, Jones’ progress provided one of the few silver linings. He finished the season with 22 championship wickets at 34 apiece and fully merited his new, one-year deal and his place in the England Performance Squad.”It was brilliant management,” the 23-year-old Jones admits now. “The whole experience was a massive wake-up call. Which was exactly Bumpy’s [Rhodes] plan. I’m massively in debt to him.”It changed my outlook completely. Before then, I had fallen into bad habits. I just did what I was asked at practise without ever doing anything more. I just thought it would all happen for me without having to work for it. I’d played for England U19s and I guess I thought it would all happen easily”In my heart of hearts, I knew it [the news that he wasn’t automatically to be offered a new contract] was coming. I hadn’t performed anywhere near as well as I should have done and, looking back, when I went to the ground in the morning, it was in the knowledge that I might not have a job by the end of the day.”I was told that I had the winter to prove myself. So, in October, when everyone else had the month off, I went to the gym six days a week. Now I’m working hard. I know I’ve been given a second chance and I’m determined to take it.”Jones is still not the finished article. An economy rate above four-an-over betrays a lack of consistency but, with an ability to swing the ball away at pace the sharp side of fast-medium, he is a dangerous bowler with more than a hint of James Anderson about him.Jones was certainly the pick of the bowlers on the first day of this match. Following on from the career best 7 for 115 he took in his last game, against Sussex, he claimed the first two wickets as reward for a probing opening spell. Only Gloucestershire’s Gemaal Hussain, who was rested for this game, has now taken more than Jones’ 31 championship wickets this season.Indeed, such has been his improvement, that Worcestershire may face a fight to keep him. He’s out of contract at the end of the season and sure to attract interest from a number of counties. They really aren’t too many bowlers of Jones’ pace, ability or potential in the English game.He had some assistance from the batsmen here. Though Gloucestershire are currently third in the division two table, they have earned the position in spite, rather than because, of their top order batting. Chris Dent (21.07), Jonathan Batty (20.14) and Steve Snell (19.50) all have horribly low averages (though Snell made 98 in the victory over Derbyshire earlier in the week) and, in testing, damp conditions that delayed the start until 3.15pm and brought an early finish, their decision to bat first was, perhaps, something of a surprise. So, too, was their decision to omit Kadeer Ali, who scored a polished 74 against Derbyshire.Snell was first to go, reaching for one he could have left and edging to second slip, before Dent top-edged a pull to long leg. Neither man will look back on their stroke with much affection. Batty was unfortunate. After weathering a tough start, he was just beginning to unveil some handsome cuts, as well as a pleasing drive through extra-cover off Shantry, when he turned one off the full face of the bat into the hands of short-leg. It was cruel fortunate for a man who has passed 50 just once in the Championship this season.It was due reward for another impressive spell from Alan Richardson, however. The 35-year-old seamer, with 27 championship wickets already this season, has fully vindicated Rhodes’ decision to sign him and scarcely delivers a poor ball.The same cannot be said for poor old Matt Mason. The 36-year-old, playing his first game of the season after a back injury, looked a shadow of the fine fast bowler he once was and is now reduced to operating at a pace somewhere between slow and stationary. Suffice it to say, if you saw him on a bus, you’d offer him your seat.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
M Vijay consumed 56 balls for his 21 before being stumped•DESMOND KWANDE/AFP

Just to prove that their first win over India wasn’t an upset, Zimbabwe won even more convincingly – with a bonus point this time, making their qualification for the final a distinct possibility. A combination of disciplined bowling and fielding, and directionless batting from India, meant Zimbabwe were chasing an ordinary total. Just to show the pitch had no demons that could justify a total of 194, Brendan Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza punished the bowlers, adding 128 runs in 26.3 overs.The pitch wasn’t exceptionally slow nor did it have much movement. Even without a specialist new-ball bowler, Zimbabwe choked India’s scoring, and kept getting regular wickets. India didn’t help themselves with a 1980s-style opening that was lacking in intent, followed by the quick departure of the openers, and then the run-outs of two of their mainstays, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina.Zimbabwe’s attack might be built on four spinners and a military-medium bowler, but they were as aggressive as fast bowlers – in intent, in field placings and in body language. Greg Lamb, who bowled a fine mixture of offbreaks and floaters that went straight on, was the pick of the bowlers with the wickets of the openers in back-to-back overs after they had consumed almost 19 overs for 63 runs. There were 182 dot balls in the innings, and just 12 boundaries – that too thanks to some late hitting from Ravindra Jadeja, who escaped two plumb lbws before going on to score 51.It was a strange ceasefire at the top of the innings: India kept waiting for poor deliveries, Zimbabwe for loose shots. Andy Blignaut and Ray Price, the opening bowlers, gave no free scoring opportunities but Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay sought no adventure. Only 26 runs came in the first 10 overs, five of them in wides, as the bowlers consciously tried to cut out shots through the off side and ended up bowling down the leg side.Both batsmen had put themselves under pressure with that slow start, making it imperative to not get out after wasting so many overs. And get out they did, following each other to the pavilion. If Karthik got too adventurous with a reverse-sweep, Vijay charged at Lamb and fell to a floater that went straight as opposed to breaking in. While it was smart bowling, it could also be argued that Lamb had been bowling straighter ones throughout his spell, and it wasn’t as big a variation as the sight of Vijay swinging way inside its line suggested.Zimbabwe were not going to let India’s middle order play the game of four singles an over followed by a late assault. In as late as the 23th over, they had six men inside the circle, and the slip hardly ever moved out. Virat Kohli soon fell to a straighter one from Prosper Utseya. Raina, an over after a misunderstanding with Rohit, went for a single that wasn’t there, and paid the price. Soon Rohit went for a tight single but Jadeja lacked the urgency, sending him back straight to the pavilion. Fifty-eight for 0 after 16 overs was good enough for Zimbabwe, 95 for 5 was a dream.Jadeja got favours from umpires at either end even before he was set, but Yusuf Pathan wasn’t so lucky. And despite a 35-run batting Powerplay, India had hardly given their bowlers anything to defend.And the bowlers again failed to impress. Despite a slow start, thanks to the move of opening with Pragyan Ojha, Zimbabwe raced to 76 by the end of 15 overs. Once again it was Taylor who started the assault. After four quiet overs, he punched Ashok Dinda on the up, square of the wicket, and suddenly it seemed strokeplay was not that difficult at all. Masakadza followed lead, charging at Ojha and lofting him over mid-on.In the next two overs, Dinda and Umesh Yadav tried to intimidate Taylor, and were pulled for a four and a six. There was time for a stylish extra-cover drive too, and Masakadza got his own back at Amit Mishra by welcoming him with two fours in his first over. In the previous match, Mishra had done the batsmen in with a googly. And as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted, India inexplicably spread the field. Wisdom, conventional or otherwise, would suggest an attacking approach.By the time India realised they needed to attack, Taylor had reached his fifty, Zimbabwe had crossed 100, and India’s first set of consecutive losses to Zimbabwe was all but sealed. In the second match of the tournament, when India were on their way to chasing Sri Lanka’s target, Virat Kohli and Rohit gestured to the dressing room, wanting to take the Powerplay. They were not allowed to. Zimbabwe, though, showed much more clarity of thought, imposing the field restrictions in the 31st over, and finished the game off with 11.4 overs to spare.

Darren Bravo, the West Indies middle-order batsman, will join the A team in England for a tri-series against England Lions and India A. Bravo was part of the Test squad for the series against South Africa but didn’t make the XI in any of the games.West Indies A begin the tournament with a game against India A at Northampton on June 28 and play England Lions the next day. The tri-series final is scheduled for July 8 but, if West Indies A do not qualify, they will play Lancashire on that day instead.West Indies A squad: Devon Smith (capt), David Bernard (vc), Omar Phillips, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Kevin Stoute, Assad Fudadin, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Imran Khan, Anthony Martin, Andre Russell, Gavin Tonge, Lionel Baker, Chadwick Walton.

New Zealand Cricket and the New Zealand Players’ Association are negotiating the terms for central contracts to be awarded to players following the current term that concludes at the end of July. New Zealand tour Sri Lanka in August to play a tri-series involving the hosts and India but, because the ongoing negotiations may extend beyond July, the players might be given a temporary contract.”We’re still in negotiations with New Zealand Cricket and the major associations for a new collective contract,” Heath Mills, head of the players’ association, told . “Those negotiations are going well but we’re not quite there yet.”We’re working through that [a temporary agreement] at the moment, but our priority remains to get a good and fair Collective Agreement.”The temporary arrangement, according to Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC, could involve the extension of the current contracts by a month or an interim contract for the selected players. “We can’t send guys away with nothing in place,” Vaughan said. “But everyone is comfortable with where we’re heading. It’s not going to stop the plane taking off.”The 20 players in line for central contracts this year will not include Shane Bond or Iain O’Brien, who have retired from international cricket. Kane Williamson, the Northern Districts batsman, however, has been tipped to get a central contract. He averages 46.06 in first-class cricket and has been even more successful in the one-day format, averaging 57. He is part of the New Zealand squad for the tri-series to Sri Lanka and was picked for the Hamilton Test against Australia earlier in the year, though he wasn’t selected in the playing XI.Contracted players for 2009-10: Brent Arnel, Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Daniel Flynn, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Iain O’Brien (replaced by Daryl Tuffey), Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori.

Geoff Boycott, the former England opener, has said the ECB needs to schedule County Championship games during the course of a home Test series to enable national players to return to their counties and work on any weaknesses in the first-class format. Several England batsmen, including Kevin Pietersen, struggled for form during the recently-concluded Test series against Pakistan and Boycott claimed that was a major worry ahead of the Ashes.”The England players play so much international cricket that it’s almost impossible to play any County Championship games in between matches,” Boycott said on Cricinfo’s fortnightly audio show . “Pietersen is one of England’s players who plays everything. The fixtures for four-day matches in England are so badly arranged that the England players, even when they get a space between Test matches, they can’t get matches with their counties, i.e four-day cricket matches.”They find that when there’s a week off between Test matches, they find their counties are playing a 40-over match or a Twenty20, which is not ideal. It’s not the best form of practice.”Since the start of 2006, Pietersen has played just one non-England first-class match while Paul Collingwood, another batsman who’s involved in all three formats, has represented Durham in just four four-day games. That pair averaged 23.33 and 19.83 respectively in the four Tests against Pakistan. Those few who have had an opportunity, Boycott said, have been able to show the benefits.”The only ones in the England team that can play County Championship fixtures are the guys who are not picked for the international ODIs,” he said. “It’s no coincidence that the two guys who played best for England in the series against Pakistan have been Jonathan Trott and wicketkeeper Matt Prior.”Now they didn’t play in England’s ODIs against Bangladesh and Australia, so there was a big period when they went back to their counties and batted well for them. They could take their time and play properly out in the middle. Many of the [other] England batsmen are playing poorly. It’s a big worry for the Ashes.”The solution, according to Boycott, was to schedule the Championship fixtures in between Tests where there was a reasonable gap. “There are periods when England play two Tests back-to-back, where you can’t return to your counties. But there are periods when there are nine days before the next Test. So if they organise the fixtures in that period where all the nine counties play Championship matches, then any batsman or bowler who felt he needed more practice could go back and play a proper four-day match.”England host India and Sri Lanka next summer but Boycott doubted the ECB would adopt a change in approach by giving precedence to first-class games over limited-overs. “They are so besotted, are the ECB, with making sure they have a four-to-six-week window to play Twenty20 cricket – about three matches a week for every county. It’s difficult then to fit Championship matches in,” he said.”They’re only interested in making money through one-day cricket. They think they can make Twenty20 in England like the IPL in India and they can’t. We have 60 million people in England but there are a billion people in India who’re nuts about cricket. So there is a bigger catchment area in all the cities to watch. It’s never going to happen [in England].”

Michael Clarke believes Ricky Ponting’s tendency to fire in the biggest contests will be the spark to overcome a long-term period as a batting mortal. Ponting wants to forget the past year, which included a tenderised elbow courtesy of Kemar Roach, and in his past four series has 681 runs at 40.05, figures inflated by a double-century against Pakistan.Clarke, the vice-captain, has watched his leader closely in the nets and spots encouraging signs before huge Test series against India and England, and next year’s World Cup. “He’s a wonderful leader and been an amazing player for such a long time, and he always plays his best cricket in big tournaments,” he said. “I know he is excited about the next eight months.”It is not unusual for elite players to ease off in intensity during smaller series, but it was strange for Ponting’s standards to slip so much against Pakistan in England (average of 24.5), West Indies (34) and New Zealand (23). The only time he broke free was against Pakistan, with his 209 – he was dropped before he scored – pushing his mean up to 63. Since the 2006-07 Ashes series his overall average has dropped from nudging 60 to 54.66.Ponting, 35, insists he has more to show. “Last year for me Test-wise is one of those years where I look back and almost write it off,” he said. “I think I got run out three times, got caught at bat-pad three times. I am working as hard as I have ever worked, if I am averaging 54 now I have to push that up again, up to a level I know I am capable of playing at. That’s the great challenge for me.”Since Roach roughed up Ponting at the WACA, bowlers around the world have sensed an opportunity with short balls. “They have probably changed the way they bowl at me as a result of the start of last summer in Australia,” he said. “I am probably getting more short bowling than I used to get as a result of getting hit on the elbow.”He has no plans to move from No.3 and said it was nothing to do with ego. “I feel when I am playing well that I am the best person for that role,” he said. “I will work hard, try and take my chances and be the player I want to be.”After Ponting comes Clarke, following his switching of spots with Michael Hussey for the Pakistan series. Now 29, Clarke said his position in the line-up isn’t important, but the move is significant as it puts him closer to the No.3 role that he needs to star in if he is to become one of the game’s best.”When I was younger where I batted was probably more important to me but now it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It’s about whatever Ricky thinks and best suits the team … I am not really stressed about it. I am pretty carefree about wherever I bat and I am going to play the way I want to play, I am going to try and be as successful as I can.”During Ponting’s tough times Clarke said he has been available to take on extra duties. International captains, even those in charge of only two formats, can be over-loaded easily, stealing concentration from their batting.Clarke is starting to know what that is like with extra glare on his Twenty20 strike-rate when he is in charge of that team. “I make it very clear to [Ponting] that anything he needs I am there for him 24-7,” he said. “Anything he needs off the field, on the field, I will be there for him.”

Imranullah Aslam’s whirlwind 57 off 27 deliveries took Multan Tigers to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Peshawar Panthers in Lahore.Aslam smashed four sixes and six fours, and by the time he got out, Multan needed 44 off 67 with eight wickets in hand. Left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan’s 2 for 25 was in vain as Multan reached the target of 125 with 19 balls to spare.Aslam had earlier helped restrict Peshawar to 124, taking 2 for 13 with his legspinners, including the wicket of former Pakistan captain Younis Khan. Peshawar had got off to a good start, reaching 75 for 1 in the eleventh over. However, they lost too many wickets after that, four of them to run-outs.Lahore Lions held their nerve to prevail over Abbottabad Falcons by three runs in Lahore, after Abdul Razzaq had smashed a quick half-century to boost them to 165.Razzaq came in when Lahore were in trouble at 37 for 3, having lost the big wickets of captain Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal. He first steadied the innings with Ahmed Shehzad, and then dominated an 80-run partnership with Raza Ali Dar that came in 44 balls. Razzaq hammered four sixes and five fours in his 60 off 30 deliveries. Left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan – who has played for Pakistan A – took 2 for 11.Lahore’s bowlers struck regularly at the start of the chase to reduce Abbottabad to 48 for 4 in the eighth over. Ahmed Said and Wajid Ali brought their team back into the game with an 82-run stand in 55 deliveries. With 36 needed off 22, fast bowler Aizaz Cheema dismissed Ali for 39, to finish with 3 for 27. Said remained unbeaten on 54 off 43, as Abbottabad finished on 162 for 7.A disciplined bowling performance from Sialkot Stallions gave them an easy seven-wicket win over Karachi Zebras in Lahore. Karachi were restricted to a mere 99, which Sialkot knocked off without fuss, courtesy Imran Nazir’s unbeaten 64.It was a struggle for the Karachi batsmen as five of the top six did not reach double figures. Only opener Ali Asad resisted with 33. Three run-outs only added to Karachi’s woes. Legspinner Adeel Malik, Pakistan allrounder Shoaib Malik’s younger brother, finished with 2 for 15.Despite the loss of two early wickets, Nazir almost single-handedly led the chase, hitting eight fours and two sixes on his way to 64 off 42 deliveries, as Sialkot won with more than seven overs to spare.

The appeals of Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir against the provisional suspensions imposed on them by the ICC for alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy were heard in Dubai on Saturday. The hearings, chaired by Michael Beloff, the chairman of the ICC’s code of conduct commission, will continue tomorrow when a verdict is expected. The proceedings were long and neither the players nor the ICC addressed the media. Fast bowler Mohammad Asif had also been provisionally suspended but he withdrew his appeal earlier this month.”The hearings went on all day,” Butt’s lawyer, Khalid Ranjha, told reporters after the eight-hour session. “It will continue tomorrow. I can’t say anything more about the discussions today.”The three players, prior to the suspensions, were charged with various offences under Article 2 of the ICC’s anti-corruption code. The suspensions came after the tabloid claimed to have exposed a scam in which deliberate, planned no-balls would be bowled by Amir and Asif during the Lord’s Test against England, with the involvement of Butt, who was then captain.The hearings will only concern themselves with the matter of the provisional suspensions and whether or not the ICC followed the correct procedures in taking that action. The matter of the players’ innocence or guilt and the actual charges against them will not be heard. Thus, even if the suspensions are lifted and the players allowed to return to cricket, a full hearing into the case will still take place later to determine their innocence or guilt in the matter.Butt is represented in Dubai by his lawyer Aftab Gul, a former Test cricketer, and Ranjha, a former law minister. Butt has spoken to the press, saying he is determined to prove his innocence and questioning the reliability of the sting conducted by . Amir, who has not made a statement throughout this time, said on departure that he hoped he could return to the side. He will be represented by Shahid Karim, the lawyer who defended Asif in a doping case in October 2006.

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has said his team is in the “ascendancy” in the first Test in Galle despite the Sri Lankan openers responding strongly after following on, and added that the tour was the beginning of a “stabilisation process” in West Indies cricket after almost 15 years of decline.”There are some goals that we want to achieve. It’s 15 years, some people say, that West Indies cricket has been in the doldrums,” Gibson said after the fourth day’s play. “I say we have not played well as we can play in those 15 years. I think it will take at least five years to get back to where we want to be but at the same time you have to start from somewhere. This is the start of a stabilisation process. You’ve got to stabilise before you move forward.”After piling on 580 in the first innings, with former captain Chris Gayle smashing 333, West Indies bowled out Sri Lanka for 378 and enforced the follow-on. Seamer Kemar Roach and offspinner Shane Shillingford shared seven wickets but the Sri Lankan openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Pranavitana, responded strongly in the second innings, finishing the day on 89 without loss.”We controlled the game and probably are still in the ascendancy at the moment. We are over 100 runs ahead and tomorrow we will come with the sort of attitude to have a go and see what happens,” Gibson said. “If we get a couple of wickets early who knows what will happen. The guys have to believe that they can and still get something positive out of the game. We had a lot of positives but winning would be the ultimate.”Shillingford, with 4 for 123, grabbed his best returns in a Test innings so far and Gibson said his inclusion in the side, with Sulieman Benn set to return for the next Test, was a sign of changing times in West Indies cricket. “Most people in the world expect Caribbean cricket to have four fast bowlers because that’s what our success as a nation was built on. The reality though is now in the Caribbean and around the world the wickets are a lot different to the way they used to be.”We have the option now of playing two spinners whereas in the past you may never see two spinners playing in the same match for West Indies.”Gibson, who was formerly England’s bowling coach, said the team had to gradually develop a winning habit. “I came to the West Indies with a plan of [developing a] a mindset of winning. I’ve always been a winner when I played cricket. I was a winner in a winning side of attitude and we have people in the team that share that sort of attitude.”We got together during a camp in Barbados and spoke of what we can achieve from this tour and people are beginning to show a lot more belief in themselves. For the last 10-15 years or so West Indies struggled and when you get beat often it become a habit almost. Our players at the moment were just getting used to the fact that they weren’t winning.”

Yasir Arafat, who has represented Pakistan in all three formats, put in one of his best performances in first-class cricket, taking 9 for 108 for Khan Research Laboratorie to bowl out State Bank of Pakistan for 303 on the third day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It was his second nine-wicket haul in an innings, his best being 9 for 35. However, SBP did put together a good resistance, with Naved Yasin top scoring with 77, opener Shoaib Khan jnr contributing 76 and the lower order chipping in with useful knocks. The other wicket-taker for KRL was Bilal Asad, who dismissed Yasin, the seventh wicket to tall. Arafat, who has the ability to swing and move the ball off the pitch, won the day though it wasn’t a one-way street given the SBP resistance.