Team Canada newsflashWednesday:Canada played the University team “Tucks” — current League Champions in a warm up game.Canada scored 254/7 – top scorers were Joe Harris with 65* and Fazal Samad 46 . Tukkies scored 203 /10 in 45 overs, after falling to 59 for 5. Sanjay Thuraisingam took 3 wickets.Thursday:Team Canada contingent and coach Gus Logie held a coaching clinic in a township school.The Tour Manager and Captain attended a luncheon hosted by the Mayor of Johannesburg.Team Canada attended a great reception hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner.Friday:Canada plays in its first Day/Night (warm up) game.

England’s World Cup build-up continued smoothly in East London, where they romped to a comprehensive win over Border in their second lead-up match. After another clinical bowling performance dismissed the hosts for 202, England reached the target with 12 and a half overs to spare after a rapid half century from Marcus Trescothick set them on their way.Trescothick and Nick Knight had put on exactly 100 at less than a run a ball by the time the former was dismissed for 58, an innings punctuated by powerful drives. It included two sixes, one over point off Bennett Sokonyane and the other straight off left-armer Liam Graham.Knight was initially more cautious, but opened out to hit consecutive deliveries from Sokonyane to the off-side boundary in an over that cost 19 runs.Trescothick’s run-a-ball innings came to an end when he mishit a slower ball from Graham to square leg. Michael Vaughan maintained the healthy run rate by immediately driving Graham for two fours and a three. After making 29 from 26 balls, Vaughan was caught behind off Tyron Henderson.It was to be Border’s last breakthrough. Nasser Hussain joined Knight, and the two calmly knocked off the 62 more runs needed for victory, with Knight finishing unbeaten on 81 and Hussain 19.Earlier James Anderson, recalled along with Steve Harmison to England’s attack, made the first breakthrough with a lifting delivery that found the edge of Mark Bruyns’ bat for Ashley Giles to take the catch at gully.Giles then did even better at first slip, grasping a flashing edge from Michael Matika low to his left off Flintoff in the fourth over.Craig White, brought on as first change, broke through with his second ball, a bouncer that Laden Gamiet tried to pull, succeeding only in skying it back to the bowler.White struck again in his seventh over, as Justin Kreusch gloved another short ball down the leg side to stand-in wicketkeeper Marcus Trescothick.Harmison also took two wickets on his comeback from an ankle injury which ruled him out of the VB series finals. He trapped Pieter Strydom lbw with one that kept low, putting paid to a fourth-wicket stand of 46 between the Border captain and Pope.Craig Sugden was also adjudged lbw as wickets fell with regularity before Pope was joined by wicket-keeper Abongile Sodumo, who helped him add 81 for the seventh wicket.Pope eventually departed when he mishit a sweep off Giles to Michael Vaughan at short fine leg, and Giles then bowled Sodumo around his legs for 36. He then took his third catch, as Liam Graham pulled Harmison to him at fine leg to give the Durham paceman his third wicket at the end of the innings.

Out of character but inexcusable was New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden’s feeling about the Durban nightclub incident involving Chris Cairns and Brendon McCullum.They were found to have broken the team’s protocol when asked to leave the nightclub amid claims of drunkenness and unacceptable behaviour. Cairns was then assaulted outside the club.Snedden, who fined the pair $500 each, and who reprimanded the nine other members of the team who were at the nightclub, said it was a bad mistake by the group which they now realised.As professional sportsmen, in the public eye, the players had to be aware that if they gave people the chance to criticise their behaviour, they had to be prepared to handle the consequences.Snedden said the reaction of the players to his actions in investigating the matter and putting a report in front of them had been good and they had understood the process and its ramifications.Snedden had just returned from South Africa when the incident occurred. He had been talking with International Cricket Council executives about New Zealand’s decision not to play in Kenya during the World Cup.While New Zealand’s request to have the match played in South Africa had been declined, there was no closure on the matter yet, and there may not be for another 12 months.What action there would be, would depend on the attitude of the ICC’s television partners, the Global Cricket Corporation.Snedden said it was clear from the outset NZC would be pushing uphill to have their match rescheduled in South Africa but had stuck with their course of action, which was different to that undertaken by England in their refusal to play in Zimbabwe, because they thought it was the best way to deal with the matter.Snedden said that despite the fact the refusal to play in Kenya might affect New Zealand’s ability to move further ahead in the tournament, he was sure it was still the right decision.It was not a case of looking at the matter as a financial one or a cricket one. It was a matter of serious player safety and the final point was that NZC were dealing with people’s lives.At the same time he said the play of the New Zealand side in the World Cup was impressive and they were on a roll.”It is a shame our fate is in other people’s hands but the team are playing really well. The pressure they were under to win in the West Indies and South African matches was incredible. Especially the South African game where they were chasing South Africa’s 306. But in the end they were coasting it.”I hope something comes out of the last few games of the round to allow them to carry on,” he said.

Rain had the final say at Cardiff, on the last day of the Glamorgan v Hampshire Frizzell County Championship match. Both sides taking 11 points for their efforts.Glamorgan started the day three wickets down and a deficit of 243, but on the bland pitch had no trouble in gaining enough runs to avoid the follow on, the only real chance Hampshire had of forcing a victory.The sun shone when play began on time, but as the morning progressed the clouds built up. Play was suspended shortly after lunch, and the final word came from umpires Willey and Cowley at 3:30pm.Matthew Maynard and Michael Powell took their fourth wicket partnership to 166, before Wasim Akram forced Powell into playing on with the first delivery of the second new ball.Chris Tremlett who had received a mauling from Maynard the day before gained some revenge by having him well caught at mid-wicket. He followed this by trapping young wicket-keeper Wallace lbw.

The proverbial saying “lost it after we had won it” would not be out of place, as Hampshire managed to give away 29 runs in nine balls to conceded defeat to Sussex in nightmare fashion.John Crawley won the toss again, and as with the other one-day matches over the bank holiday, decided to bat first. In form Nic Pothas was given the task of opening with his captain, with Derek Kenway being left out after a poor run of form.Pothas provided the early runs as Crawley paced himself, but the skipper after a painstaking 26 balls, played on to James Kirtley. Robin Smith played a couple of cracking shots, but he edged a ball from Billy Taylor, and Pothas in effect ran himself out for 40. He attempted a second run, without really telling his partner Simon Katich he was coming.Wasim Akram pushed up the order to try and increase the run rate, did just that as he and his Aussie partner started to flay the Sussex bowlers, until the second run out saw him dismissed for 38 in just 40 balls, including two sixes.This set back slowed down the progress, as James Hamblin and Dimitri Mascarenhas both fell cheaply, Mascarenhas being the third Hampshire batsman to be run out. A quick fire 21 from Will Kendall assisted Katich to achieve his highest score for Hampshire so far since joining them, but the 213 runs scored off 50 overs did not seem enough.Sussex started well despite losing Richard Montgomerie early on, Ambrose, Goodwin and Chris Adams all made contributions, but against some very tight bowling the continually fell behind the asking rate. Wickets fell with only the Sussex captain holding the home side’s progress up and with 5 overs remaining; the visitors were looking at 12 an over, and with 48 overs gone required 29 for victory.Wasim Akram who had bowled with venom then conceded 20 runs in his last over as Adams and Mark Davis went on the attack, and the pair sewed up an unlikely victory with three balls to spare. Adams with 80 not out, that included three sixes was named man of the match.

England v Pakistan, NatWest Challenge, Match 3, Lord’s

So, England have won the inaugural NatWest Challenge, and today’sdecider at Lord’s was a fitting finale to an uplifting trio of matches. First and foremost, it’s a memorable start to Michael Vaughan’s reign – he may not have contributed much with the bat, but his attacking approach and calm authority in the field were pivotal to his team’s efforts, and he deservedly becomes the first England captain to win his first series in charge since Adam Hollioake in Sharjah in 1997-98.Nine balls separated England and Pakistan at the end, but in truth, the difference between the sides was much, much less. For if Pakistan had fielded half as well as they bowled, then it would surely have been Rashid Latif lifting the trophy.At this stage of their redevelopments, however, results are less important than resolve. Both sides are rebuilding and inexperienced, which was one of the main reasons why this short series was such fun to watch. Each match had more crash, bang and wallop than a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and it was that very youthful exuberance which brought the games to life. Australia are the only side in the world with a team of grown-ups who have been there, done that and won the trophy: everyone else has to do the best with what they’ve got.England’s victory was an especially sweet moment for Marcus Trescothick and Chris Read, who not only carried England home, but laid their Lord’s ghosts to rest in the process. Trescothick’s 108 was his third century in four ODI innings at Lord’s – but the first time he had ended up on the winning side. For Read, this was his first innings back since that embarrassing infamous blunder against Chris Cairns’s slower ball, two post-World-Cup-reshuffles ago in 1999.But while those two lead England’s celebrations at the start of a new era, you have to feel sorry for Latif. As captain he has restored spirit and unity to the Pakistani cause since the World Cup, and he captained and kept admirably in this series. It was Latif who defused a potentially unpleasant situation by informing the umpires that a slip catch off Jim Troughton had not carried, and it was he who sparked England’s mid-innings collapse with two smart dismissals in quick succession.So it was unfortunate that it was Latif, of all people, who arguably lost the game – and the series – for Pakistan when he spilled a crucial chance off Trescothick late in the piece. But it just goes to show that even the most experienced member of the team can make mistakes. So here’s to youthful exuberance – it’s certainly the way forward. Just ask that spring chicken Darren Gough.Click here for today’s Wisden Bulletin

Welcome to the return edition of Beyond the Test World, CricInfo’sregular round-up of news and events from the rest of the cricket-playing world, edited by Tony Munro. This week we report on the successes of the French national team, a mountain town in Italy which is sweeping all before it, and Namibia’s attempts to build on their exposure in this year’s World Cup.FRANCE: Blitz of Belgium means seventh straight win for France
France recorded a record-equalling seventh consecutive international win at Thoiry, near Paris, on June 7-8, as Belgium were routed by seven wickets and 142 runs on consecutive days. It is only the second time that France have enjoyed a double-win weekend against their European rivals since the annual encounters between the two were revived in 1991 after 77 years.The victories continued a remarkable run of ODI success for France this season. In early April, they inflicted three heavy defeats on Morocco in Tangiers, before overwhelming Luxembourg by 121 runs in a rain-shortened game.In the opening fixture of the weekend, France’s hero was Valentin Brumant, their 41-year-old fast bowler from Guadeloupe, who took 1 for 19 in eight overs as a swashbuckling Belgian batting line-up was restricted to 200 for 9 in their 50 overs. At the other end of the experience scale, Abdul Rehman made an exciting debut with 2 for 25.France whistled through their overs in under three hours, a noteworthy performance in scorching heat of over 30°C, and they continued to singe the Belgians when it was their turn to bat. Peter Linton and Javed Ijaz smacked 16 from the first over, before Javed (72*) and his captain Shabir (77) added 153 in 20 overs to demolish Belgium’s target with exactly 20 overs to spare.King Albert of Belgium won’t have regretted opting for the Roland Garros stadium in Paris rather than the Thoiry cricket ground. His attentions on Sunday morning were centred on the first-ever all-Belgian ladies’ tennis final. And Justine Hénin-Hardenne gave her Flemish compatriot Kim Clijsters the sort of spanking that Linton (87) and Javed (31) were dishing out to the Belgian bowlers, who were smashed for 104 inside 14 overs. France’s eventual total of 260 was far too good for Belgium, who limped to 118 in 33.4 overs.Belgium’s captain, Wasiq, acknowledged that this was the most professional French side he had faced in over a decade. Belgium will need to tighten up on fitness and discipline if they are to qualify for next year’s European Championships at the ECC Trophy in Vienna in August. The new-look French, meanwhile, can face the future with increasing confidence.ITALY: Gallicano march towards titleThe Italian Championship has reached the halfway mark, but already there is little left to play for. The unexpectedly dominant Gallicano Monti Prenestini have swept all before them, winning all seven of their matches and dropping just four points out of a maximum 140 in the process.Gallicano is a small medieval town 40km east of Rome, and 500 metres above sea-level in the heart of the Prenestine Mountains. The team has modelled itself very much on the mighty Pianoro, the defending champions and winners of seven of the last nine titles.Although football dominates Italian sport, minority games such as cricket clearly find it easier to emerge in small towns, where local authorities are much happier to give space and help to less-publicised events. With this in mind, Gallicano’s dynamic president, Gianni Moscatellini, has not only put together a competitive team in the space of two seasons but, even moreimportantly, has built a ground which will be completed next September and will be unrivalled throughout Italy.The remainder of the clubs in the league have suffered a mixed season. Pianoro and Trentino were in the hunt early on, but Gallicano trounced them both and they lost their way completely. The gap at the top between Gallicano (136 points) and second-placed Pianoro (94) is greater than that between Pianoro and the bottom team (Murri, who are eighth and last with 55). It has been a year of total domination.NAMIBIA: Continuing the development process
Namibia are hoping to maintain their development by inviting ICC full members to play them, after not being invited back to play in the Standard Bank League, South Africa’s premier domestic one-day competition. Laurie Pieters, the president of the Namibia Cricket Board (NCB), said talks were presently taking place with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, and they were keen to court other countries as well.According to Pieters, Namibia’s exclusion from the SBL stemmed from the United Cricket Board of South Africa’s determination to “restructure their cricket” to produce a consistently higher level of play. There is understood to be a belief among South African policymakers that too many domestic teams reduce the exposure of potential Test players to an acceptable level of competitive cricket.Namibia, a “foreign” side which lost all of their five matches by comprehensive margins, were always going to be at risk. Typically for an associate-member country, Namibia’s strengths were in their fielding and bowling – only once, in the last match against Gauteng, did their opponents score at more than five an over.Bjorn Kotze, who took two wickets against Pakistan during the World Cup, finished the South African season with 13 wickets at 13.61, and picked up a wicket every 18 balls. And Lennie Louw, now 43, nabbed 11 wickets at a fraction over three runs per over. The batting, sadly, was less successful. Namibia twice failed to reach 100, and Danie Kuelder’s 51 against Free State was their only half-century in the five matches.Pieters was disappointed that Namibia would no longer be taking part in the Standard Bank League, but remained upbeat. “We are still part of the ICC’s High Performance Programme, which has some very exciting proposals including the Intercontinental Cup.” There is still a possibility that Namibia could compete in South Africa’s second-division competition, the UCB Bowl.The future does seem bright for Namibia. Last week their Under-17s won an ICC-sponsored regional tournament, remaining undefeated against Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi.The purpose of this page is to publicise cricket at the non-Test level in asmany countries as possible, from Test aspirants down to scratch matches inan embassy compound with a piece of wood and a tennis ball. If you would likeyour country’s news to appear on this page, please email Tony Munro [email protected].

The second day of India A’s tour game against Nottinghamshire has been rained off. This left Nottinghamshire on a commanding position of 265 for 3, with Usman Afzaal unbeaten on 114. With just one day left in the game, there was clearly no prospect of a result – the Indians, though, would be hoping for some batting practice.Click here for day 1 Bulletin.

Frizzell County Championship Division OneDay 4 ReportSussex 385 and 383 for 7 dec. beat Lancashire by 377 and 139 by 252 runs
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He left it late, but Mushtaq Ahmed spun Sussex to another victory which puts them five points behind the leaders Surrey. Mushtaq took eleven wickets in the match as Lancashire crashed to 139 in just over 73 overs. Chris Adams declared on 383 for 7 twenty minutes before lunch after making 190. Billy Taylor was only playing because James Kirtley and Jason Lewry were not available, but he made his mark in style. He took the first four wickets, including Stuart Law (7) and Carl Hooper (1), as Lancashire spluttered to 64 for 4. Then the more well-known figure of Mushtaq added to his galaxy of wickets this season. Chris Schofield (18) and Warren Hegg (25) held up Sussex’s charge, but Mushtaq twirled away the last four wickets for 11 runs with the last man, Hegg, falling with only ten balls remaining in the day.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoSomerset 476 and 292 for 4 drew with Northamptonshire 681 for 5
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Somerset cruised to 292 for 4 on a lifeless pitch at Taunton as their game with Northants petered out to a bore draw. Only 19 wickets fell in all four days of the match, and Northants used ten bowlers, including Toby Bailey, the wicketkeeper, in Somerset’s second innings. Matthew Wood scored 100, Jamie Cox 64 before he retired hurt, and Ian Blackwell smacked 38 from 35 balls.Yesterday’s matchesFrizzell County Championship Division One Kent 477 and 96 for 2 beat Middlesex 407 and 165 by eight wickets at Lord’s
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Muttiah Muralitharan spun Middlesex to their first defeat of the season, by picking three of their last four wickets to complete match figures of 9 for 141. Middlesex, who had resumed on 141 for 6, were bundled out for 165, with Jamie Dalrymple and Simon Cook falling in successive deliveries to the sweep shot. Kent needed just 96 in their second innings, and though David Fulton and Michael Carberry fell cheaply, Robert Key and Andrew Symonds breezed to victory inside 25 overs.Warwickshire 277 and 267 for 2 beat Leicestershire 346 and 195 by eight wickets
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Nick Knight led Warwickshire to an emphatic eight-wicket win against Leicestershire at Edgbaston. He belted 20 boundaries in his 122 not out, and shared put on 140 with Jim Troughton, who smashed an unbeaten 55 off 44 balls, as Warwickshire cruised past their potentially tricky target of 265. Mark Wagh also chipped in with 58, and that was after he had wrapped up the Leicestershire tail to finish with 4 for 20. Resuming on 121 for 6, Leicestershire added 74 more runs, thanks mainly to a sensible 37 from Philip DeFreitas. Waqar Younis was also in the wickets, taking 4 for 37, to help set up Warwickshire’s second win of the season.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoGlamorgan 444 and 86 for 2 beat Durham 355 and 174 by eight wickets at Cardiff
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Glamorgan needed just 2.1 overs on the fourth morning to wrap up an eight-wicket win over Durham. Mike Kasprowicz had flagellated Durham’s batsmen on the third afternoon with career-best figures of 9 for 36, and Glamorgan trailed by a mere 12 runs at stumps. It had been an even contest until Kasprowicz had embarked on his second spell on Friday afternoon. Bowling fast and full, he skittled Durham’s last nine wickets for the addition of 55 runs, with all but two bowled or lbw.Other matchEngland U19 229 v South Africa U19 48 for 1 at Chelmsford
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Francois du Plessis scored 177 and put South Africa firmly in control against England at Chelmsford. He hit 26 fours and three sixes and added 138 with East Springer, who scored 77. Daryn Smit (52) and Heinrich Le Roux (49) weighed in with some more runs down the order as South Africa finished a good day’s work on 463 for 8 with a lead of 234 runs.

At 32, it is unlikely that Habibul Bashar will ever set the world alight. But for the time being he is providing a ray of hope every time he goes out to bat for Bangladesh. With 376 runs already in the series against Pakistan, Bashar has earned his team some long-overdue respect.In an exclusive with Wisden CricInfo, Bashar spoke to Nagraj Gollapudi about his new-found self belief, and his evolution as a player.You seem to do well against Pakistan – one century and five fifties so far.
I don’t look at it that way at all. It’s just that I somehow ended up performing well against them.

But so far in this series you are the highest run-getter.
I have finally found the self-belief, which was not there previously. Before this series, I had this psychological block and was unable to convert my fifties into hundreds. But I can confidently say that block is no more, now that I’ve reached my second Test century.

So how did it feel after getting that century?
It was like a mountain off my shoulders. Throughout the previous night I was unable to sleep properly: I went to bed around midnight and suddenly woke up at three o’clock. I couldn’t settle down, always thinking about the century, which was just 18 runs away. But throughout this misery I was positive, telling myself that I would be able to break that barrier. I was very angry with myself for playing a rash shot when on 71 in the first innings, and my only aim then was to improve on that effort. My 97 at Peshawar showed that the Karachi effort wasn’t just a fluke, and I almost made another big one today, but got out in a casual fashion. [He made a valuable 72 in the third Test at Multan]Where did this self belief come from?
Our coach Dav Whatmore explained to me how important my role is as a senior player and batsman: the team’s batting relies on me and the youngsters in the team look to me to show them the direction. When I started playing I was like any other rookie batsman and I used to just swing the bat at anything. I still am not brilliant at restraining my aggression, but I am steadily learning to be patient and more focused on the job.So Whatmore really has made such a big impact in so short a time?
Yes, truly – in this short time – without really doing anything, he has contributed a lot. By that, I mean he doesn’t do anything special. He is never negative in what he says, and whatever’s on his mind, he gives it to us straight. He just wants us to perform from our hearts and his motivational words have given us this self belief. You would argue, why wasn’t this approach taken by the former men in charge? And it’s true – they never gave us that kind of belief. We were never confident enough to show the kind of intensity we are now showing on the field.How much progress do you think Bangladesh has made since acquiring Test status?
We are getting there, and with more experience and more games we’ll raise our standards further. And with the type of guys like Dav to lend a hand, I am confident Bangladesh will soon thrive and make real progress. When we first played Test cricket, the team consisted of a few oldies who were past their best, and no-one to give us proper guidance, so it was really difficult to make the desired growth quickly enough. However, at the moment there has been an infusion of raw talent, which needs time and proper nurturing if the individuals and team are to prosper. So there has been progress, even if it’s been minimal.

Does Bangladesh have a strong domestic structure in place to produce international talent?
Our structure is not perfect, but I would say we are getting there. The grounds – including the national stadium at Dhaka – are not up to global standards, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board is doing a great job and trying to help the players. So I feel it would take a few more years – two or three – for things to fall in the proper places.What about the pool of young talent: is it healthy or running dry?
I would like to cite an example. Before we were granted Test status there were about 100 youngsters watching cricket, but today there are thousands more watching the game. So for every hundred there may be one genuine talent, and likewise ten more for every thousand. Cricket is the most popular sport at the moment in Bangladesh and our good performances have given hope to young ones and parents alike in opting for the game. And I feel very happy about that.You’ve been in great positions in the first two Tests of this tour, only to throw it away. How can you change that?
As I said, most of the batsmen are still young and at an impressionable age. So it is very difficult for them to curb their impulses. They can only be cured as they gain experience. Also, for that to happen, a senior player like me has to lead by example.Doesn’t that mean that your captain, Khaled Mahmud, will be having a negative impact on the youngsters?
Yes, it does, but he [Mahmud] is just unable to get it right. However, I can tell you one thing – over the years, Mahmud has been liked by everyone in the dressing-room and he really is a good leader of men. Unfortunately he hasn’t produced the goods to back that up. The team understands that and we hope he gets in the groove soon.What about the bowlers – do they have the talent to claim 20 wickets in a Test?
You know we don’t have it at the moment, but there are youngsters who are showing the right kind of attitude to make inroads into the opposition. But I think we need a real match-winning spinner. Without that it is really difficult to take regular wickets.You’ve suffered 17 defeats in a row. Do you really have enough self belief to enter a Test match with a positive attitude?
Till now it wasn’t there, but the Australian series was like a watershed for Bangladesh cricket. Before that there was no direction to our game – we were just drifting along, but in reality we were drifting apart. However, Whatmore helped us just in time. Also, the Australian players gave us enough motivation by chatting to us and helping us improve our game. We were very touched by that kind of gesture coming from the best and toughest side in the world. That trip helped us tidy up our mistakes and we have done a fair job so far in Pakistan. But there’s lots more to do.