Steve Waugh has said that England and New Zealand stand to lose the most from the rise of India’s official and unofficial Twenty20 leagues, as well as voicing his concern over the power of India’s administrators.Waugh was speaking shortly after Lou Vincent became the latest player to turn his back on New Zealand and sign for the ICL. “They have lost five or six players to the rebel Twenty20 and they can’t afford to lose their players,” Waugh said. “They haven’t got the depth. England are up and down, I’m not sure where they are going. Again, if they lose players to that rebel league it’s going to affect them.”You can’t have one or two sides dominating … no-one’s going to turn up and watch. If the rebel league continues, you are going to lose a lot of players from Test cricket and probably from county cricket as well because they are going to get offers, and that is going to affect English cricket.”With regard to India’s administrators, Waugh said they have power “because they have money and they have influence and they can determine what is being played where and against who. Whoever is running Indian cricket has a big responsibility to make sure the traditions of the game are kept as well.”

Peter Roebuck, the cricketer turned columnist, wrote recently about the two phases when a batsman is praised. “The first comes after a fellow has stroked a couple of boundaries as a teenager, whereupon he is proclaimed a genius. The second comes 20 years later, when a player long since consigned by even the gentlest critic to the rubbish dump manages to rouse himself sufficiently to push the ball around for an hour.”Neil McKenzie is currently experiencing the second phase. At 32, he was offered a last chance to play for South Africa and he has grasped the opportunity gleefully. Dearth of openers back home meant McKenzie was converted from a middle-order batsman to an opener, replacing Herschelle Gibbs in the line-up.The experiment appeared to be heading nowhere when he failed to go beyond 30 in the first two Tests as opener but two innings later he’s seen as someone who can be depended upon. Everyone knew about his shrewd cricketing brain, and a few others thought there was serious talent in there, but it’s only now that he’s beginning to look the part. A mammoth 226 in Chittagong could have been brushed aside as a one-off, but a fluent 94 on the first day of the series here showed his worth.The first ball he faced was turned away to the square-leg boundary, a start from where he didn’t take his foot off the accelerator. The first 20 runs came exclusively in fours, all struck with crisp timing, and he made the most of the errant length from the new-ball bowlers. He didn’t appear in any sort of discomfort against spin and even endeavoured to use his feet boldly.At the other end was Graeme Smith, his school-mate with a contrasting style. McKenzie himself was once seen as a potential captain of the side and the two seemed to enjoy batting together. Coming on the back of the 415-run stand in Chittagong, they obviously had plenty of confidence behind them.Has he had to change much after he converted from a middle-order batsman to an opener? “I think if there is one place that you want to bat in the subcontinent it is opening the batting,” he said. “So I have seen it in a positive way, I have seen it as a responsibility to see the new ball away. I am 32, and I want to enjoy my cricket and wherever they want me put I want to give 100%.”The fact that he’s at the latter stages of his career has obviously helped him enjoy his game more. “I think I played for five years when [I was] 23 after which I was left out for a couple of years. I love playing for South Africa, and would like to play for another couple of years, but am not taking anything for granted. I try to play every Test as if it’s my last.”For someone who used to cover his bat with a blanket and put it to sleep the night before he batted, McKenzie seems to have left some things behind. “I had certain rituals and habits which I followed before I batted but I’m 32 now, have a wife and a kid and there are too many others things to think about.”Bits of sagely wisdom frequently appear while he talks, and he turned a bit philosophical when asked about missing out on a hundred. “Test cricketers are really greedy guys,” he smiled. “At the start of the day I would have taken 90 gladly, but it’s never enough. I’m happy to get runs, but very disappointed that I missed out on a Test hundred.”There’s also a slightly mellow tone that comes when asked about his expertise against spin. “I have been around,” he says with the tone of a battle-scared veteran. “I’ve played against quite a few of the best spinners. Obviously there are world-class spinners here but I think it’s down to experience. There are footages and analyses that go along… you pick quite a few things along the way and with your team-mates.”There was a danger of him being remembered as a trivia question – which South African cricketer’s wife and sister are famous models? – but he seems to be determined to carve a niche of his own. By the look of his previous two innings, he’s getting things just right.

Scorecard
The Titans, after posting a mediocre 112 for 8, shot out the Lions for 81 to claim victory in their low-scoring Standard Bank Pro20 encounter in Centurion.The win gives the Titans, who were staring at elimination after three successive defeats, a place in the semi-finals.Superb new-ball bowling by Andre Nel (2 for 13) and Ethy Mbhalati (2 for 16) saw the Lions’ top order come undone as they crashed to 27 for 4. There could not have been a better time for leg-spinner Imran Tahir to be introduced, on hisPro20 debut, and he quickly ran through the middle order with 3 for 13. The Lions’ innings lurched to 51 for 8, before Cliffie Deacon and Friedel de Wet hit out with some meaning in a doomed attempt to save the visitors from their lowest ever total in the competition.The Lions’ dismal batting robbed Garnett Kruger of the glory after he had set things up with his spiteful new-ball bowling. Kruger came hard at the Titans batsmen from the outset, taking three wickets in his first two overs to leave the home side in tatters.But opener Gulam Bodi, who scored a patient 28, and captain Pierre Joubert, who took responsibility for the tail with his 22 not out, ensured that there was a score to defend. Kruger’s inspired bowling saw him take 4 for 10, while left-armer Deacon was a scrooge at the other end, finishing with 1 for 9.
Scorecard
Dillon du Preez’s late-order batting display, followed by a three-wicket haul from seamer Jandre Coetzee, earned the Eagles third place in the Standard Bank Pro20 series after their 13-run win over the Warriors in Port Elizabeth.du Preez came in at No. 7 in the 16th over and blasted a career-best 40 not out which featured two fours and four sixes. His knock took the Eagles, who were in shambles at 95 for 5, to a respectable 145 for 5. Roger Telemachus, who was unbeaten on 15, gave du Preez support in an unbroken 50-run stand that was brought up in 27 balls.The Warriors were rocked early in their chase, falling to 28 for 2 after a Coetzee double-strike. Riaan Jeggels tried to stabilise their innings with 43 off 39, but with wickets falling in regular intervals, the Warriors never reached boiling point, and they eventually dwindled to 132 for 8.The Eagles went into the match assured of a semi-final berth, but they needed a win to secure third-place.

Jamie How, who will captain New Zealand in the first two tour games in England next month, said leading the team would be a great honour, but he has talked down his chances of being next in line behind Daniel Vettori. Five players have been given permission to join the tour late to appear in the Indian Premier League and How will be in charge for the first week.”It’s obviously an honour, but I am the first to admit there’s a massive chunk of experience missing from the side with the guys away playing in the IPL,” How told . “Half the team is away. It’s a pretty unique circumstance but it’s great the selectors have the confidence in me to do the job in the first couple of games.”Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills will be missing from the national team while undertaking their lucrative Twenty20 duties. How, a top-order batsman who has played in nine Tests, said there was no pressing need to consider future full-time leaders.”There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before I would ever be considered a possible captain of this side,” he said. “Let’s not forget that both Dan and Brendon are young guys despite the fact they’ve played a lot of cricket.”Everyone dreams of playing for New Zealand and I guess one day captaining New Zealand would be the ultimate. That’s a long way down the track and I’m still primarily focused on securing my spot.”Richard Hadlee, the chairman of selectors, said the move was a “stop-gap measure” and How was the logical choice. “Jamie is starting to cement his place in the side now,” Hadlee said, “and hopefully he can handle the two roles for a short period of time.”

Ireland have announced that RSA, formerly known as Royal & SunAlliance Insurance, will be their new sponsor for the 2008 season.Currently the deal is only for the one season, but discussions will be held to extend the agreement for a longer term. The sponsorship covers the men’s and women’s senior squads, as well as the men’s A team and Under-19 side.Cricket Ireland have been searching for a new sponsor since Bank of Ireland ended a long-term association last year. Warren Deutrom, the chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with such a globally recognised blue-chip brand as RSA. Our current arrangement is just for the year, although we are hopeful of extending our relationship further into the future.””Together with our new name, our new governance structure and recent agreements with the England and Wales Cricket Board and our kit supplier Kukri, this new partnership with RSA will assist Cricket Ireland to put the pieces in place to provide support to all areas of the game on our shores, from the grassroots to the international arena.”Ireland begin their season on Sunday with a Friends Provident Trophy match against Ireland against Nottinghamshire in Dublin.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAl-Amin Hossain took 3 for 30 in four overs to rout Rangpur Riders•Raton Gomes/BCB

Al-Amin Hossain and Mohammad Sami took five wickets between them to set a course for Barisal Bulls’ six-wicket victory in a rain-affected game in Chittagong. Their opponents Rangpur Riders could not handle the early exchanges and once they fell to 64 for 6, the contest was extinguished. Some unexpected showers caused a lengthy delay and reduced the target to 75 in 13 overs, which was easily hunted down by Barisal’s batsmen with three balls to spare.However, all the highlights from the match will concentrate on the skill of Barisal’s fast bowlers. Al-Amin tempted Soumya Sarkar with his first ball of the match, and Rayad Emrit duly held catch at cover. Sweeter still was how the over ended – Shakib Al Hasan played an ugly hoick to be caught at mid-on and Rangpur were 10 for 2 in two overs.Mohammad Mithun tried to loft left-arm spinner Taijul Islam but was caught by Emrit again at long-off. Opener Jahurul took 32 balls to make his 24, but he had been adventurous at times. One such occasion led him to offer a catch to cover. For once Emrit was the bowler, and not the catcher. Then one Sri Lanka allrounder got rid of the other – Seekugge Prasanna had Thisara Perera caught at long-on to leave Ranpur at 54 for 5 in the 13th over.Misbah, who began with a reverse sweep for four, was dismissed by a Mohammad Sami bouncer that kissed the glove through to wicketkeeper Rony Talukdar, for 22. The tail couldn’t muster much after that despite playing out the 20 overs. Rangpur finished on 104 for 9.Barisal were 19 for 1 in the third over when the game was halted for the weather. When play resumed, they needed 56 runs in 57 balls. The change in conditions was enough for Rangpur to prise out three more wickets but Rony Talukdar and Mahmudullah chipped in with 23 each, the latter remaining unbeaten, to secure victory. That means Barisal are in pole position with 10 points, although Comilla Victorians have a chance to join them in the next few hours.

There has been much boasting in recent years of Australia’s seemingly endless supply of talented, young fast bowlers. Of a first-class roster bursting at the seams with seamers. Of tall timbers touted as the Next Big Thing.But, as the injury roll call and retirement parades have multiplied, the next few months may prove to be a true test of Australia’s depth across short and long formats in a way not seen for several years.Selector Rod Marsh, speaking after the Test series against New Zealand – a series that cost Australia two powerhouse Mitchells – put a magic number on the depth question. Twenty.Marsh believes the selectors need a roster of 20 fast bowlers, capable of playing for Australia in at least one of the three formats, from which to choose.The latest two off the rank are Scott Boland and Joel Paris, hoping to make an impression on a WACA pitch that is meant to be a paceman’s paradise but proved to be a batsman’s bonanza earlier this summer.Even Steven Smith, while expressing hope the pitch would have improved, admitted it felt “soft underfoot” a day out from the first ODI against India. The Australia captain, however, believes playing the first two matches in the five-game series at the WACA and the Gabba will help a relatively green line-up.”We’ve got a pretty young, inexperienced bowling attack but they’ve all been bowling pretty well and I think it’s a really exciting time for Australian cricket to see these young guys coming through and getting an opportunity,” said Smith. “And I’m sure they’re going to relish the opportunity to bowl on places like here and at the Gabba in a couple of days time.”Boland’s nine-wicket haul for Victoria against Western Australia at the WACA during a Sheffield Shield match in Victoria so impressed selector Trevor Hohns that he was thrust to the top of the contender pile for a possible Test call-up. While the call-up did not eventuate, Boland did not waste his time in camp, at one point cleaning up Smith’s stumps with a searing delivery in the SCG nets.While that was with the red ball, Smith is now counting on the skills Boland has with the white version in the Matador Cup and the Big Bash League.”His death-bowling has been very impressive,” said Smith. “I think he hits a yorker as well as anyone at the moment and he has a bit of pace to him so hopefully he can hurry up the Indian batters a little bit.”He’s been impressive in the nets in the last couple of weeks. He’s hit the bat very hard and bowled good areas and that’s what you need to do out here at the WACA so hopefully he can do that for us tomorrow.”While there was praise for Boland’s death-bowling, Smith maintained he will go with “gut feeling” when deciding who will bowl the final overs. He described having the choice of Boland, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner and the other debutant, Paris, as a “luxury”.Whenever Paris takes the ball, there is a sense that this, while a full international, is still very much an audition for the local boy on home soil.”He has been very impressive in the Matador Cup the last couple of years and this year in the Big Bash, and I look forward to seeing how he’s going,” said Smith. “It’s a good opportunity for him and some other young quicks around the country so yeah it’s an exciting time for Joel to make his debut here at the WACA.”Traditionally we like playing a left-armer here. They can use the breeze and swing the ball so hopefully he’ll be able to do that for us tomorrow.”

While farmers across the Free State welcomed the rain that fell on Wednesday night, South Africa’s cricketers would not have minded if it stayed dry for a few more hours. The hosts believed they were on track to take the opening honours, despite losing by 39 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculation.”It was advantage England but our run rate was right up there. I think we gave them a nice scare and showed them what we are all about as a top seven,” captain AB de Villiers said.South Africa were batting at 7.46 runs to the over, not too far behind the initial required run rate of eight an over to chase down 400. Their required run rate had climbed to 8.20 when the clouds burst but with five wickets in hand and Quinton de Kock unbeaten on a career-best 138, de Villiers was confident they would have got over the line. “We were exactly on target; spot on with our run rate. It would have been a nice finish,” de Villiers said.De Kock, the man in the middle at the time, backed himself to bat through even as cramp crept on him as his innings grew long. “I haven’t scored a hundred like that in a while so it was nice to stay in. Unfortunately because of the rain, I couldn’t carry the team, but I’m sure there will be many more opportunities to do that,” he said. “It was touch and go but pushing to England’s side. It was a bit of steep total but we would have done out best to get there, given the chance.”Eoin Morgan agreed that viewers were denied a thriller but was not drawn into whether England felt under pressure. “We would have liked to have played a full game against a strong South African side. It would have been a good ending,” Morgan said.South Africa might have believed their chance was buried when de Villiers was caught on the boundary by Ben Stokes in the 20th over, with rain already in the air. At that stage, South Africa had amassed 151 for the loss of two wickets but needed to be 169 for 2 t the end of the over to meet the DLS target. De Villiers was trying to get those other 18 runs when he was dismissed.He admitted if he had been luckier, the result could have been different, while also hinting there were some questions over whether Stokes was in the field of play when the catch was taken because the wind had blown the boundary rope further away than where it was originally placed.”If I batted another 30 minutes there, we would have been in a good position,” de Villiers said. “There are lots of rumours of theories going on in the change room. Lots of guys think I was unlucky there. But I am happy to walk off when the umpire gives me out. It was a silly shot. I am better than that.”De Kock also shrugged it off as part of the game. “Chasing a big target, a couple of those shots are needed,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it was AB and Ben Stokes decided to pluck it out the air like that. It could have gone for six and we could have been on Duckworth-Lewis on the winning side.”Perhaps South Africa really lost in the first innings, when their bowlers leaked runs against an aggressive England line-up. De Villiers was gentle on his attack, even though they started waywardly and the fifth bowler, shared between JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien, cost 93 runs. “I’m not to going to be hard on my bowlers,” he said.Morgan agreed that the Bloemfontein surface was a “bowler’s graveyard” but praised Jos Buttler for a match-winning century even though he was not awarded Man of the Match. “Jos was phenomenal. He is the kind of player who can change the game,” he saidThe England captain had similarly praiseworthy words for the rest of his line-up, who all contributed to the team’s second-highest ODI score ever. “It’s important to create an environment where everybody believes they have a chance,” he said. “It was a nice way to start.”

It has been cat and mouse between East and Central Zone over the vitalfirst innings lead at Green Park, Kanpur in their Duleep Trophy match.Fluctuating fortunes all through the day saw the third day’s play end onSaturday with East on 230/4 trailing Central by 191 runs. Rohan Gavaskarwith an unbeaten 51 is leading the East charge with Rajiv Kumar on 20.The morning did not start too well for Central who started on 417/8 andwere bowled out for 421 in the third over of the day. Right arm mediumpacer Javed Zaman finished with 5/99 to take the bowling honours.East Zone got off to a flying start thanks to India opening batsman ShivSunder Das and Nikhil Haldipur. The pair added 68 runs in 12.4 overs. Daswas first to depart, trapped in front of the wicket by JP Yadav. Hisquickfire innings of 40 in 50 balls included 8 boundaries. Left handerHaldipur also fell to Yadav at 96 after making 34 runs.SS Raul was bowled by Kulamani Parida for just 11 and East were reduced to120/3 in the 28th over. Rashmi Parida and Rohan Gavaskar steadied theinnings for a while with a partnership of 61 for the fourth wicket. Paridawas trapped LBW by Murali Kartik as soon as he got to his half century. Hemade 53 runs off 110 balls hitting a six and six boundaries.East were precariously placed at 181/4, but Gavaskar and Rajiv Kumar playedsensibly for 19.3 overs adding 49 runs for the unbeaten fifth wicket whenplay was called off for the day. Gavaskar carried on with his impressiveform, knocking the ball for two sixes and four boundaries so far in hisunbeaten innings.

Canterbury’s seven wicket winning margin was just what the doctor prescribed in their Shell Cup match against Central Districts at Timaru today.Canterbury “took their medicine” in coach Garry MacDonald’s words when they recovered to draw their Trophy match against the same opposition yesterday.The revival continued at the sunny Aorangi Oval ground as Canterbury got a new lease of life in the Cup. They had won just once this season, but took the Australians performance in the last World Cup as an inspiration to live on in the fight for a semi-final place.Captain Gary Stead was “very happy today. It started off with our bowling effort, when we bowled straight and put a lot of pressure on them. It has been our most complete fielding performance this year.”Brad Doody (96) and Stead (32) saw the home team home. They put on 109 for the third wicket in just 81 minutes and 129 balls.Doody hit 13 fours plus a six over deep midwicket off Gareth West, CD’s only successful bowler. He took 2-60 from 10 overs. Doody, a beefy left hander, now has 264 one-day runs at an average of 66, to be Canterbury’s leading run scorer in the Cup this season. Stead’s score was his highest in one-dayers this season.His partner in the match winning stand said, “it was great to see Brad Doody batting well on what was a very slow wicket.”Central’s day was marred by a bad injury to paceman Michael Mason, who dislocated his ankle attempting a caught and bowled off just the fourteenth ball of Canterbury’s innings. The remaining Stags bowlers had little to bowl at, as their batsmen had struggled on the difficult green wicket Gary Stead had put them in on.Jacob Oram top scored with just 33, and then highest partnership was only 50, raised for the fifth wicket with Glen Sulzberger (30).Ryan Burson, fresh back from a long term knee injury, began with three wickets in 17 balls.Chris Harris, also recovering from injury, had two victims in his first eight deliveries. His calf strain was causing him to limp slightly after the match, but he hopes to play on Sunday’s key encounter.The same Canterbury twelve will be at Whangarei on Sunday, for another must-win game, this time against competition leaders Northern Districts. Central travel to Napier to meet Auckland.”We’ve just got to keep winning through the one dayers here. Hopefully now we’ve got a win again, we’ll start to be able to get on another roll, said Stead.””Obviously we’ve got to win everything. We’ll go up to ND, they’ll be very, very hard to beat up there, but we’re looking forward to the game and we believe we can win it.”