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Since 2005 Australia have wanted a match-turner at No. 6, but in Marcus North they have an accumulator who is not in a rush to blast bowlers or go fishing. In two of his three Tests, North has made important contributions to boost the team, pushing them ahead patiently and contentedly.Over the past 12 months the side has had to develop a different attitude, engaging in lengthy arm wrestles instead of shoot-outs. Andrew Symonds’ final Test was in the West Indies last year and the departure of Matthew Hayden also forced the team to water down its attacking policy. North is not out of place when he lifts his pace, but Australia have benefited from his measured outlook.Most importantly for the squad, gloomy scenarios don’t bother North. There was a century on debut in Johannesburg, where he picked Australia up from 151 for 4, and here he entered with the side still 104 in arrears. Any slip would have exposed the lower order and threatened the gains made by the impressive centuries of Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich.Instead North remained unflustered during his 54 after joining Michael Clarke in a settling stand of 143 that took Australia towards the end-of-day comfort of 479 for 5. “Northy has played brilliantly again, as he did in Worcester,” Clarke said. “I think he’s looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and getting another big score.”North’s first ball provided a minor scare, when Monty Panesar spun one back and he didn’t offer a shot, and there were a couple of miscued sweeps, but usually he offered a confident bat. This was not the man of two weeks ago who looked so uncomfortable in three tour-game innings. Peace and security came with his unbeaten 191 at Worcester and on the opening two days in Cardiff his offspin was not required, leaving him to concentrate on his batting.No runs arrived for him before lunch, but he drove Stuart Broad for four through mid-on to open his account from his 12th ball. From there he would wait patiently until the boundary ball arrived, striking seven of them during his 131 deliveries. Clarke, Ponting and Katich were more effective, but North played the role of the steady man in the middle order.”Simon and Ricky were unbelievable,” Clarke said. “Marcus and I cashed in on some tired England bowlers. The start we got was fantastic and it was up to Northy and I, first to get into our innings, and then play away.”

Gloucestershire have unveiled an ambitious £10 million overhaul of the County Ground at Bristol, with seating for 20,000 spectators, as they attempt to secure their status as an international ground.Like many grounds in England which have been recently upgraded to international status, Bristol requires the erection of temporary seating in order to cater for the minimum 18,000 stipulated by the ECB. The ground currently only has 3668 permanent seats, but have managed to host 16,000 in one-day internationals with the addition of temporary stands.The proposals include a “world class” media centre, conference facilities, a gym, swimming pool and possibly accommodation for up to 550 students which would help fund the redevelopment.”We believe the scheme we are announcing for public consultation today is both imaginative and sensitive to our surroundings and represents the very best that can be achieved given the constrictions of the site which has been our home for over 130 years,” said the club’s chief executive, Tom Richardson.”We have to comply with the England and Wales Cricket Board standards if the hugely popular one day internationals are to continue at the County Ground and if we are going to be one of the venues for the future World Cups. These matches are essential to provide the funds to develop players of international standing and have positive economic spin-off benefits for the city.”

The BCCI’s technical committee has recommended foreign players should not be allowed to play in domestic cricket from the 2009-10 season and the number of ‘guest players’ (those from areas outside their jurisdiction) be reduced to the original three.In the recent past England’s Vikram Solanki and Kabir Ali and Bangladesh’s Enamul Haque Jr played in the Indian domestic cricket.The committee has also recommended that Ranji knockout games be played on a home-and-away basis instead of neutral venues that were used for the last two seasons. “The venue would be decided based on the previous clash in knockout games between the two teams,” N Srinivasan, the honorary secretary of BCCI, said.It also suggested the BCCI ensure its contracted players turn out for their state sides when not playing for India. Last season Rahul Dravid (Karnataka) played three first-class games, Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) played two, while VVS Laxman (Hyderabad), Ishant Sharma, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (Delhi ) played one each.The panel suggested that the Powerplay and ball-change rules in place for ODIs should be applicable for domestic limited-overs matches as well and expressed concern over the quality of SG balls used in domestic matches. In January this year the BCCI asked the ball manufacturing company for a clarification regarding the quality of balls supplied during the Ranji Trophy. It has been a trend, and a major concern, throughout the domestic competitions that the ball loses shape regularly, and has to be changed often – sometimes as many as four to five times during the first session of a matchIt approved the format for assessment of pitches for domestic tournaments and suggested the installation of a special committee – comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Kris Srikkanth and Chetan Chauhan – to go through pitch reports of the domestic match referees.The technical committee’s recommendations will be taken up for consideration by the board’s working committee when it meets in August 2009.

Durham 84 for 2 (Smith 21*, Muchall 6*) trail Hampshire 105 (Harmison 4-43) by 21 runs
ScorecardIt was Durham’s day at Riverside, as the reigning champions took advantage of the conditions to roll Hampshire over for 105, and then placed themselves in position to take a good lead on the second day when they finished with on 84 for 2. Graham Onions, playing his first Championship match since graduating to Test cricket, and the opening batsman Mark Stoneman were their best players of the day.Heavy rain for much of the previous day and in the early morning had put the day’s play at risk, but the ground recovered so well that the match was able to start at 12.15. Conditions were good for the bowlers, and Durham gained quite an advantage when they won the toss and put Hampshire in to bat. The pitch was lively, with enough bounce to see eight batsmen out caught in the cordon between wicketkeeper and gully during the day, and there was some movement, though it was never excessive.Durham seized the initiative from the first over, bowled by Onions: without a run yet on the board, Michael Carberry tried to hook a short ball but sliced a top edge to third slip. Jimmy Adams and John Crawley fought their way through the rest of the 45 minutes before lunch, scoring just 16 runs in 11 overs. Onions, often bouncing the batsmen, gave them a torrid time, while at the other end Steve Harmison was less consistent, often wayward in direction. The batsmen failed to take advantage, though, only seven runs coming off his five overs.The afternoon session was a dismal one for the visitors. Callum Thorp replaced Harmison and soon removed Adams (8), squaring him up and having him caught at fourth slip – Durham often employed four or even five in this area, and it proved profitable. John Crawley fell to Onions for 10, the catch bouncing off third slip straight into the hands of his neighbour at second, while Sean Ervine scored only 2 before dabbing weakly at a ball outside his off stump to give the keeper an easy catch. Onions’ excellent opening spell, on either side of lunch, read 13-3-19-3.From 26 for 4, Michael Lumb and Nic Pothas fought back with a partnership of 33, which was to be the highest of the innings. It was ended by the fourth seamer, Matthew Claydon, who bowled a full length, trapping Lumb lbw for 20 and then yorking Liam Dawson next ball. Dominic Cork averted the hat-trick and batted usefully with Pothas for a time. The latter played rather a strange innings, never looking in much trouble and every so often appearing ready to break out and dominate the bowling before apparently thinking better of it.Harmison, changing ends, bowled better from there and finished off the innings, first removing Cork for 13, flashing a head-high catch to second slip, and Imran Tahir, who preferred to play him from the region of square leg, but was bowled. David Griffiths soon fell as well, but James Tomlinson hung in there until Pothas was finally dismissed for 35, caught at third slip. The last pair avoided the ignominy of a double-innings total, the final score being 105. Harmison finished with 4 for 43, but Onions, who shattered the top order, was the best bowler with 3 for 22.Durham also began shakily, with Michael Di Venuto falling to third slip, off Tomlinson, for 7 in the second over. But Stoneman played the most impressive innings of the day, although against a lesser attack than Durham’s; he chose his shots well and in particular made life hard for Imran Tahir as a spin bowler was tried for the first time during the day. The Pakistani got his revenge in the end, though, with a beautifully flighted delivery that Stoneman, on 44, edged into the hands of slip; Durham 75 for 2. But Smith finished on 21 to see out the day in company with Gordon Muchall (6), and the team is well placed to take a firm grip on this match tomorrow.

Dirk Nannes has been included in the Netherlands squad for the upcoming World Twenty20 in England.The son of Dutch migrant parents, Nannes, 32, holds a Dutch passport and has played for Middlesex in county cricket and Victoria on the Australian domestic circuit. He has also met with success in this season’s IPL with Delhi Daredevils, picking up six wickets from the six matches so far at 24.33.Jeroen Smits will once again be leading the squad, after captaining them to a third-place finish at the ICC World Cup Qualifiers. Mohammad Kashif, the 24-year-old right-arm spinner, is the only member missing from the qualifiers squad.Squad: Jeroen Smits (capt & wk), Peter Borren, Mudassar Buhkari, Tom De Grooth, Maurits Jonkman, Alexei Kervezee, Dirk Nannes, Ruud Nijman, darren Reekers, Edgar Schiferli, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Dan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent

South Africa have been confirmed as the third side, along with India, in the triangular one-day series to be staged in Zimbabwe in July.Zimbabwe had been faced with a barren schedule after Sri Lanka cancelled their series this month and then New Zealand’s tour, pencilled in for July, was postponed for a year by mutual agreement.There was good news for Bulawayo, which has not staged any major cricket since December 2007, with comments from the Zimbabwe board that it hoped to stage some of the games in the tournament there.India will head to Zimbabwe following a four-ODI series in West Indies.

New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel has signed with Warwickshire for his maiden county stint in the 2009 English domestic season. Patel will fill in for legspinner Ian Salisbury, who took up a coaching position at Surrey, his former county.Patel, who is currently playing the Napier Test against India, was originally due to play for Leicestershire’s second XI and train with the first team whose overseas signings include New Zealand fast bowler Iain O’Brien.New Zealand coach Andy Moles, who also played for Warwickshire between 1986 and 1998, supported Patel’s move. “I’m sure the Warwickshire members will take to Jeetan because he’s a lovely guy,” Moles told the . “They will see that he is an honest cricketer who gives his best every day. He’s committed in everything he does, bowling, fielding and batting, and he’s a great team man.”[He’s] someone who will make an important contribution in the dressing room as well as on the pitch and who will try to make the most of his ability.”

In the fives overs before Sachin Tendulkar had to retire hurt, he had scored 34 runs. India were in the 45th over of their innings and had Tendulkar batted on there was every chance he would have become the first double-centurion in ODI cricket. He needed 37 more at that point and if physically possible, Tendulkar would have tried his best.Midway during his knock he started struggling with a sore muscle where he was hit in the abs in the previous game. “When I was around 65 to 70, I started feeling stiffness there,” Tendulkar said, “but towards the latter half of my innings I starting getting a twitch and it kept getting worse. I knew that I was effectively damaging it, and that was a stage when I couldn’t go on.”He said he was hopeful of getting a double-century towards the end of India’s innings, while Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, said only when Tendulkar walked off did it seem out of reach.Tendulkar wasn’t his usual cheery self when he came for the press conference. After he scores a century in a winning cause he’s usually in a much brighter mood. Perhaps the injury was on his mind, perhaps it was just the pain, perhaps it was having to sit in the dressing room as India struggled to defend 392.As regards the injury, Tendulkar said he would come to know more tomorrow. What brought him cheer was when he was asked if this was the best batting line-up he had been a part of. “I would definitely say so,” came the answer. “We have got almost five to six guys who can clear the ropes at will. If we get four or five good overs, we end up scoring 50-plus runs. At no stage we are away from our target. At the back of our minds we knew that with such an explosive line-up, no target is impossible.”Tendulkar showed signs of mortality, and like many others forgot how many centuries he now has in ODIs. He just has so many it’s tough to keep a count. But what’s next after No. 43? Fifty? “I am enjoying the game,” Tendulkar said. “I just want to go out an enjoy my game and not have targets. While doing that if it happens, well and good. The most important factor is to keep enjoying my game, and keep winning games for India.”Tendulkar wouldn’t rate this against some of his other hundreds. “When you are making runs it gives you happiness,” he said. “I don’t believing in giving it ratings.”A last word on the quality of the knock should go the captain who was at the receiving end. “I can hardly remember a shot that didn’t come out of the middle,” McCullum said. “There were times as well that he played with half a blade and hit in areas that he precisely wanted to. I don’t think I have seen too many better innings, in any form of the game.”

The ICC, ICL and BCCI failed to reach a resolution after a three-hour meeting in Johannesburg today on the unauthorised league’s request for official recognition. No further discussions are scheduled and the ICL’s application will be now be considered once again by the ICC executive board in April.David Morgan, the ICC president, described the failure of the discussions as unfortunate but said that the meeting was held in a friendly manner. “I am grateful to all parties for coming together with the best of intentions and the discussions took place in a friendly and cordial manner but, unfortunately, we were not able to come to a successful conclusion in our discussions,” said Morgan.The ICC board had previously discussed the ICL issue and mandated the BCCI to resolve it internally. However, talks between the BCCI and ICL failed last year, prompting the ICC to push for a resolution in the “best interests of the game”.While the ICC has made it clear that the matter has to be sorted out by the home board – the BCCI, in this case – Indian officials have stuck to their hardline stance on the unofficial league and banned all ICL cricketers from all forms of official cricket.The ICL has maintained that it would take the legal route if its application, under an ICC rule that allows ‘authorised unofficial cricket’, is rejected by the governing body. The ICL’s hopes for a legal resolution received a boost recently with the Sindh High Court in Pakistan ruling that Pakistani cricketers associated with ICL be allowed to play domestic cricket in that country.Over 150 cricketers from India, England, West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been signed up by ICL, which is now in its second year. However, the private league decided to cancel its World Series Twenty20 event for March due to the deepening economic recession and non-availability of Pakistan players following rising cross-border tensions.Apart from Morgan, today’s meeting was attended by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, Subhash Chandra, the ICL owner, and Himanshu Mody, the private league’s business head.

ICC president Haroon Lorgat and special advisor IS Bindra will meet with USA Cricket Association officials in New York later this month.The visit is the first by any senior ICC official since the board returned from its second suspension following elections last March. The USACA president, Gladstone Dainty, was re-elected despite being seen by many as the major block to progress within the country, and he has continued to court controversy with rumours growing that the USA could even be suspended again after months of inaction.”Given the huge potential, we don’t want to lose the market in the USA,” Bindra told the Kolkata-based Telegraph, but he made quite clear that did allow Dainty to carry on regardless. “At the same time, we in the ICC need to be clear about the direction the USACA is taking, that’s why this review.”Many in the USA have an emotional attachment to cricket and that needs to be harnessed. Sadly, there’s been in-fighting from the early 1990s. Now, apparently, everybody is getting together and that’s a good sign. The USACA can’t afford to have more factionalism.”But the disharmony remains, and privately ICC officials are believed to be angry that after the fresh elections have been followed by months of inactivity. It took until November for the executive to hold its first meeting, and the post of CEO, which should have been done and dusted by the year end, has only just been advertised.Critics of USACA hope that the real reason behind Bindra and Lorgat’s visit is to fire a final warning blast across Dainty’s bows. Shape up, or this time you will be kicked into touch for good.