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A good personal week but one of frustration for the Crusade.I couldn’t have asked for a better return to CricInfo Championship cricket after missing last week with a dislocated digit. I scored 151 as the team clocked up a healthy 527 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. We scored the runs quickly being dismissed just after lunch on the second day. Very hot weather (30 degrees) and lightning fast outfields made batting very pleasurable as we made the most of some wayward bowling.With runs on the board we created enough pressure to force Notts to follow on with only rain preventing us from winning on day three. The rain didn’t clear on the final day until after lunch but, five quick wickets left us needing only two wickets with 50 overs remaining.Then the rain came again!As soon as it stopped we all swapped our crickets boots for gumboots and helped remove the covers which were very extensive. England insist on producing multi-talented players – that is more than one dimension to their game. I don’t think groundsmen is what the selectors had in mind boys!Our efforts were all in vain, although we did get more cricket we couldn’t break the partnership with the game ending in a draw.We are still top of the table but it would have been nice to create a buffer as we head into a two week break. It’s a timely break as I will only miss two championship matches during my time in Sri Lanka. While I hope we maintain our position at the top of the table, my thoughts are now with the New Zealand team and our up coming triangular series with India and Sri Lanka.I leave on Friday and look forward to meeting up with the guys on Saturday morning. I’ve been delighted with the weather in London this week which has been very muggy and hot, similar to conditions in Colombo.But spare a thought for the boys coming in from NZ who have been training at the Academy in Christchurch. The morning frosts have been plunging temperatures into the negatives, which is not really conducive conditions for positive practice – especially catching drills.This will be one of the biggest challenges to deal with – getting adjusted to the weather and also the wickets. Training indoors is massively different to any of the pitches we will play on in Sri Lanka; we will have to be smart in our preparations as we don’t have much time before our first match. One thing for certain is we will hit the ground running as everyone will be rearing to go after three months break.Change of tack – what an amazing weekend of sport!The second Lions rugby international against Australia, the first Ashes cricket test at Edgbaston and finals weekend at Wimbledon. On Friday things couldn’t have been better for the British – Tim Henman leading his semi-finals, the Lions confident of winning the series and a spectacular rearguard action from Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick putting on a 100 for the last wicket to give England a reasonable first innings score of 300.By Saturday night Henman had been beaten, the Lions had lost and Australia were 400 for 4 with Steve Waugh the ‘Rego’ (regulation) 100 not out. You can imagine the papers – all I can say there’s a fine line between a back slapper and back stabber!

Nottinghamshire can take very little credit for making Middlesex bat for a second time as they slumped to an embarassing 10 wicket defeat inside 3 days at Trent Bridge.Nothing much went right for Notts after Jason Gallian inserted the visitors on the first morning as a punishing century from the Australian Justin Langer took Middlesex to 412 and full batting points. Notts were then dismissed inside 80 overs in their first innings and made to follow-on 167 runs behind.Resuming on the third morning at 29-0 seamers Angus Fraser and Richard Johnson wiped out the Notts top order in the first hour of play. Fraser picked up the early wickets of Welton and Gallian with successive deliveries and that heralded the start of a steady procession back to the pavilion as the former England player took 4 wickets and Johnson 3 before lunch.The spin of Phil Tufnell accounted for AJ Harris, who had earlier pulled the same bowler for 6, to leave Notts on 128-8, still 39 runs away from making Middx bat again.However, in the first hour of the afternoon session David Lucas and Paul Franks batted sensibly to ensure that Middlesex would have to bat for a second time. Lucas, on the way to beating his previous career high of 25, dominated a stand which grew in confidence and shot selection. The first 50 partnership of the innings necessitated a return for Fraser at the Radcliffe Road End. Though obviously still tired from his marathon unbroken morning spell of 13 overs he managed to end the stand when Franks clipped to Joyce at square-leg.Franks had reached exactly 50, coming off 98 deliveries with 7×4’s. Lucas had advanced to 46 not out but any hopes he had of a maiden half century were instantly dashed as Fraser had last man Matt Whiley caught behind first ball – to complete a pair.Fraser, three days after celebrating his 35th birthday, had taken 6-64 (9-103 in the match) to take the starring role in dismising Notts for 192 in just 60 overs.Requiring 26 runs for victory openers Andrew Strauss and Mike Roseberry saw Middlesex home side 4 overs to lift their side above Gloucestershire at the foot of the Division Two table.

Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumaks proved to be the hero at Parkhead on Sunday afternoon, with his hat-trick earning Ange Postecoglou’s side a 3-2 win against Dundee. 

The Hoops looked as if they wouldn’t capitalise on Rangers dropping points earlier in the day, however, Giakoumakis’ header with minutes remaining ensured Celtic would stretch their lead at the top of the Premiership to three points.

However, despite another three points, not everyone impressed at Celtic Park. Here at The Transfer Tavern, we’ve used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse Celtic’s three worst outfield performers to have played at least 45 minutes. In total, these players lost the ball a whopping 43 times, were second best in nine of their aerial and ground duels and also missed two big chances.

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Daizen Maeda – 6.3/10

Maeda returned to the wing but struggled to make an impact at Parkhead, with Postecoglou bringing the January signing off with 23 minutes remaining.

He lost the ball on nine occasions, missed two big chances and was second-best in two duels. Maeda also failed to complete a cross and didn’t make a defensive contribution all afternoon.

Josip Juranovic – 6.3/10

Juranovic switched over to left-back with Anthony Ralston coming back into the starting XI but didn’t have the best of afternoons.

The 26-year-old lost the ball 14 times, lost four of his seven duels and completed just one cross. The full-back also made just one tackle and was dribbled past on two occasions.

Matt O’Riley – 6.8/10

O’Riley has been a revelation since joining in January, however, the midfielder had an off day by his standards and was brought off with the scores level.

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He lost the ball 20 times, lost three ground duels and didn’t make an interception all afternoon. O’Riley also failed to register a shot or complete a dribble and was unsuccessful with all of his six crosses.

In other news: Celtic source – Ange gives green light to out-of-window exit for ‘arrogant’ ace after talks. 

	Dimitri Mascarenhas will soon be heading to the IPL and it won’t be long before others join him according to the PCA report © Getty Images

Eighteen percent of first-class cricketers in England would risk incurring a year-long county ban by the ECB to play in the next Indian Cricket League (ICL), and 35% would consider retiring from international cricket prematurely, according to a survey conducted by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).The report canvassed the anonymous opinions of 334 players, including all the current England squad, providing “a comprehensive picture of the current cricketing landscape with particular reference to the Indian cricket leagues, the opportunity they offer and their potential threat to the domestic game.”Most significantly for England, the report said that 35% of England players “would consider retiring from international cricket prematurely to play IPL, primarily to avoid the grind of cricket and spend more time with their family”. The same percentage also believe that a day will arrive where they see tournaments such as the IPL and ICL ranking ahead of obligations to their country.Currently, the ECB restricts any player who represents the ICL and are likely to ban them from playing in county cricket for a year, but the vast sums of money are keeping the ICL and the IPL the hot topic of county dressing rooms up and down the country. 89% thought that freedom of movement should prevail, however.”Almost 100% of players see Indian cricket leagues as an attractive option and are hoping that a window in the Future Tours Programme (FTP), and scheduling that doesn’t conflict with the domestic season, can be created for them,” the report said. “36 players (11 per cent) have been approached to play in either the ICL or current IPL tournaments, with 27 players targeted specifically by the ICL.”Players believe the Twenty20 format and the newly formed Indian leagues create a level of threat to the fabric of the game as we currently know it. The restrictions put in place by the ECB prevent a player from participating in county cricket for 12 months if they play in the next ‘unauthorised’ ICL tournament in October, but 18% (60) said that they would sign up for ICL knowing there was a ban in place. A further 27% (90) were currently unsure at this time.”Michael Vaughan, who has said that the IPL is huge attraction for players and an exciting development for the game, believes Test cricket remains the top level but is a route to the high-earning leagues: “The findings are revealing in many ways. We have always said playing for our country was the priority. Test cricket is the pinnacle and we see that international cricket is at present the pathway to achieve selection to any other authorised tournaments,” he said.”We’ll continue to work the ECB to see if opportunities within the FTP can be created in the coming years. In the meantime, we have much important domestic and international cricket this summer beginning, with the Kiwi’s in a couple of weeks. Let’s concentrate on that for now.”Following today’s news that Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has been ousted from his post, the survey also revealed cricketers’ dissatification with the governing body with 64% of England players having no confidence in the ICC and 57% believing decisions are made along party lines and not in the interest of cricket.

Midland/West/Wales Division

After deciding on a future in England, Gloucestershire fans will be hoping Hamish Marshall makes Bristol his home after a 55-ball 100 led them to a 61-run win against Worcestershire at Kidderminster. He launched 10 fours and six sixes while the next highest score was Stephen Adshead’s 22. In reply, Worcestershire never threatened once the opening stand between Vikram Solanki and Graeme Hick was broken. Ian Fisher collected three cheap wickets towards the end.

South Division

An unbeaten 50 from Sean Ervine guided Hampshire to a seven-wicket win in a 15-over a side contest against Essex at The Rose Bowl. Ervine faced 30 balls as Hampshire eased home with 16 balls to spare. Tight all-round bowling from the home side restricted Essex to 99 for 8 with David Griffiths claiming 3 for 13. Good news for England was the return of Ravi Bopara, who made 6 before taking a wicket with his medium-pace, to continue his recovery from the thigh strain which he picked up a couple of weeks ago.

North Division

Lancashire and Derbyshire had to settle for a point each at Old Trafford as the rains swept through.

Midlands/West/Wales Division

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Warwickshire	5	4	0	0	1	9	+0.613	657/80.0	608/80.0
Gloucestershire	5	3	1	0	1	7	+1.683	532/61.1	491/70.0
Northamptonshire	5	1	2	0	2	4	+0.149	476/47.0	469/47.0
Glamorgan	5	1	2	0	2	4	-0.409	487/59.2	517/60.0
Worcestershire	5	1	2	0	2	4	-1.447	465/50.0	523/48.4
Somerset	5	1	4	0	0	2	-0.912	670/87.0	679/78.5

North Division

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Nottinghamshire	6	4	0	0	2	10	+1.007	668/77.5	606/80.0
Lancashire	6	3	1	0	2	8	+0.855	638/79.3	570/79.3
Leicestershire	5	2	1	0	2	6	-0.142	429/48.4	421/47.0
Yorkshire	5	1	3	0	1	3	-0.461	465/62.5	511/65.0
Durham	5	1	3	0	1	3	-0.710	459/60.0	496/59.2
Derbyshire	5	0	3	0	2	2	-1.221	474/60.0	529/58.0

South Division

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Surrey	4	3	1	0	0	6	+1.638	585/68.1	478/68.5
Kent	5	2	1	1	1	6	+0.340	524/65.0	480/62.1
Sussex	5	2	2	0	1	5	-1.092	523/67.1	623/70.1
Middlesex	5	1	1	0	3	5	-0.157	236/32.0	236/31.2
Essex	5	2	3	0	0	4	-0.370	590/76.0	629/77.2
Hampshire	6	1	3	1	1	4	-0.350	496/67.2	508/65.5

Kevin Pietersen steps down the track to slap a boundary off Muralitharan © Getty Images

Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, complimented Kevin Pietersen’s approach to batting following his two centuries in the Tests against Sri Lanka. Fletcher described him as a thinking cricketer with a solid gameplan for every bowler, and not a slogger trying to destroy attacks without any strategy.Pietersen was the star performer in the second Test at Edgbaston, with his 142 in the first innings constituting nearly 50% of his team’s total. He had an enthralling duel with Muttiah Muralitharan, stepping down the track regularly while the rest of the batsmen failed to get past 30. Pietersen braved a painful blow to the stomach by Lasith Malinga, the fast bowler, but continued batting in the same vein, which won the praise of his captain, Andrew Flintoff.”He doesn’t go out there and just play by instinct,” Fletcher told reporters. “Some shots maybe, but generally he’s got a good plan of how he’s going to play every bowler. He really thinks his game out and added to that he’s got some real talent.”Pietersen, originally considered a one-day specialist, announced his arrival with a bang in England’s tour of South Africa in 2005, scoring three centuries in the ODI series. Opinions were divided about his place in the Test side, but all doubts were put to rest in first Test of the 2005 Ashes series at Lord’s, as Pietersen scored two half-centuries and took on Shane Warne while the rest succumbed. His 158 at The Oval helped England save the Test and win the Ashes. In 13 Tests so far, his average stands at 50.12, with a healthy strike rate of nearly 71. He scored 158 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in the first Test recently, making it three successive tons on England soil, and a century in the third at Trent Bridge will make him the first England player in history to achieve the feat of scoring four centuries in successive home Tests.”He’s new to Test cricket and he’s done very, very well,” Fletcher added. “He is exciting and I find him a very clever cricketer. People think he just goes out there and just plays the game, but he really thinks what he’s going to do. I just think he’s a very exciting player”.

Australians 321 for 4 (Hayden 107, Symonds 92*, Martyn 85) beat Leicestershire 226 for 8 (Hogg 3-56, Gibson 50) by 95 runs
Scorecard

Matthew Hayden was in a relentless mood © Getty Images

England’s bowlers may have stolen the show at the Rose Bowl today, but up at Grace Road, Australia’s batsmen served up a timely reminder that stiffer tasks lie ahead. Led by a thumping 107 from Matthew Hayden and iced with a thrilling 59-ball 92 not out from Andrew Symonds, the Aussies ran riot, racking up a massive 321 for 4 in their 50 overs against Leicestershire, to ensure an overwhelming 95-run victory in their warm-up for the NatWest Series.Leicestershire did at least save face with the bat, batting out their full quota of overs, but victory never entered the equation. Tom New and Darren Maddy were pinned down from the start by Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, and when Brad Hogg ripped out the middle-order with a three-wicket burst, Leicestershire had slumped to 120 for 6 and a rout beckoned.But Otis Gibson and Paul Nixon combined with a face-saving 94-run stand for the ninth wicket. Gibson’s 50 came from just 49 balls, including six fours and a six, and was only ended when McGrath returned for his second spell. All of Australia’s frontline bowlers claimed at least one wicket, with McGrath’s 2 for 33 from 10 overs the pick.Australia’s performance in the field was merely steady – but their batting had been spectacular. Hayden led the charge with 107 from 96 balls, and his example rubbed off on his team-mates. Damien Martyn anchored the performance with a solid and typically stylish 85, but it was left to Symonds to apply the coup de grace. He belted 10 fours and three sixes in a 59-ball onslaught, and was left just eight short of his hundred when the overs ran out.Following on from their Twenty20 victory over the Professional Cricketers’ Association at Arundel, the Australians proved once again that they are fully focused ahead of a tough tour. They won the toss and chose to bat first, and though Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting both fell cheaply, the Leicestershire attack was unable to stem the runs.Charl Willoughby, with figures of 0 for 37 from seven overs, was the best of the bowlers, but the spinners Jeremy Snape and Claude Henderson were taken apart, with 17 runs coming off one Henderson over. With England’s top-order faltering at The Rose Bowl, Australia have just ramped up the pressure another notch.

The Sri Lankan board has denied receiving an official report on Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling action, and officials said that the results of the analysis would not be published until the receipt of an official report from Professor Bruce Elliott.The news followed suggestions that the results had been verbally communicated to board officials over the weekend and that an announcement was imminent. “We have not yet received an official report,” said Duleep Mendis, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chief executive. “We cannot make public announcements on the basis of informal or private conversations prior to the submission of an official report.”Contrary to earlier media reports, according to Mendis, a fullanalysis of Muralitharan’s controversial doosra had not yet been completed, and Murali, who is expected back in Colombo by Friday, was continuing the assessments with Elliott in Perth.Once an official report has been received, a bowling review group, convened by the board, will discuss the conclusions. If necessary, remedial action will be undertaken before the submission of a full report to the ICC within the stipulated six-week period.The board has indicated that a public announcement may be delayeduntil the ICC has received this report and has given the go-ahead for thedetails to be released.

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.

* Chowdhury is new Asian Cricket Council PresidentThe Asian Cricket Council, in its AGM held in London earlier thisweek, named Saber Hossain Chowdhury as its President Elect. In orderto revamp the ACC and equip and empower it with the necessarystructure and resource to enable it to respond effectively to thevarious challenges that it faces over the coming years, the AGM alsodecided to put a Governance Structure in place within the ACC.Ehsan Mani has been given the responsibility to draft appropriatedocumentation in this regard and it is envisaged that the newGovernance Structure which will include a full time and permanentSecretariat for the ACC will be functional from April 1, 2002.The unanimous decision of the AGM to elect Chowdhury effectively meansthat he will become the first President of the ACC to work under thenew and revamped structure. Chowdhury will take over as ACC Presidentduring its next AGM in 2002.* Sanjeev Chawla wanted in India despite being let off in LondonLondon-based Indian businessman Sanjeev Chawla, recently let off byScotland Yard in connection with match-fixing allegations, will beprosecuted in India and police have got sufficient evidence to nailhim, a top Delhi Police official said in New Delhi on Friday.Expressing surprise over the London Police’s decision to releaseChawla despite receiving letters rogatory seeking his extradition toIndia, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) KK Paul told PTI, “Chawlais wanted in a case here and we have sufficient evidence to prosecutehim.”Chawla, whose telephone conversations with former South Africa captainHansie Cronje Delhi Police claimed to have on tapes which blew the lidon the match-fixing scandal last year, was released by the Serious andOrganised Crime Squad of London Police on grounds of having”insufficient evidence to provide realistic prospects of conviction”.Paul said if Scotland Yard no longer wanted Chawla, “they can deporthim to India as the letters rogatory is already with them. We areinvestigating the Cronje-Chawla case. It is registered here in Delhi,”the Crime Branch chief said.* North Zone team for inter-academy tournamentKuldeep Rawat will lead the North Zone National Cricket Academy teamin the inter-academy tournament to be held in Bangalore from June 28to July 2.The other members of the team are: Gaurav Gupta (vice captain), RahulArora, Paras Dogra, Sumit Sharma, Gaurav Malhotra, Abhinav Bali, VivekKhurana, Kunal Lal, Abhishek Sharma, Himanshu Khullar, Ankul Jund andDeepak Joon.A four member committee consisting of Yashpal Sharma, Surinder Khanna,Chetan Sharma and Rajinder Amarnath selected a 13-member team toparticipate in the five day tournament. Six sides – the five zonalacademies and a Combined team – will vie for honours in the tournamentto be played on a group league basis. The teams will be divided intotwo groups and the group champions will meet in the final on July 2.* Joshi, Prabhudesai get Anandji Dossa awardsSheer passion and a commitment to serve the sport has rewarded twocricket scorers. Deepak Joshi and Rupesh Prabhudesai have bagged theAnandji Dossa award, instituted by the Association of CricketStatisticians and Scorers of India (ACSSI), for the best scorers ofthe year 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 respectively.The gold plated trophies would be presented to the two at theassociation’s AGM to be held in Mumbai in September, an ACSSI releasesaid on Saturday. Anandji Dossa is regarded as a doyen among Indiancricket statisticians.