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ScorecardStephen Peters registered Northamptonshire’s first hundred of the season•Getty Images

Northamptonshire may not be Division Two leaders straight out of left-field, to slip into baseball parlance, but their hot streak has caught plenty by surprise. A century from their captain, Stephen Peters, and a by-now-familiar flick of the tail helped them to a slim advantage at the halfway point of a keenly contested match against Kent, as they pursue a third win out of four that would only fuel promotion talk on the bleachers.Northants have been here before and, having missed out by a single point in 2009 and 2011, they might be forgiven for fearing what Yogi Berra, the marvellously muddled former Major League catcher, once called “déjà vu all over again”. David Ripley, who succeeded David Capel as coach last year, was involved with the club on those previous occasions but said “choking” was not a problem he is worried about this time around.”Promotion is a target we think is achievable, especially with the start we’ve made,” he said. “The belief is there that we can do it. I’m confident we can. It’s partly a relief to come out and play well, when you’ve put the work in. Having got those wins in the bank, got ourselves at the top of the table, that’s great – we didn’t envisage being where we are but we’ll take it because we’ve played well.”Ironically, Northamptonshire’s preparations for the season focused on improving a disappointing recent record in one-day cricket – an area in which Ripley felt they “had the most to gain” – and one of the signings who has done so much to help them top the table, Steven Crook, was brought in with that aim in mind. Here, Crook hit 63, his third half-century in four innings since returning from Middlesex, to go with three wickets on the first day, as Northamptonshire recovered from 150 for 6 to post 303.”It ain’t over, til it’s over,” is another Berra aphorism and one the Northamptonshire lower order appear to have taken to heart. In four first innings, their last four wickets have added 648 runs – more than doubling the score on two occasions – although the picture at Canterbury was distorted slightly by Rob Newton batting at No. 11 after suffering a groin strain while fielding on Wednesday. That meant they fielded a last man with an average of 38.95, rather than the usual 21.07 of Trent Copeland.Crook’s contribution was second only to Peters, who recorded his 30th first-class century and the first by any Northamptonshire player this season. While their bowling attack has regularly treated the opposition like skittles, top-order runs have been a little less forthcoming. In April in England, that is not altogether unsurprising but this was the third time Peters has passed fifty and his batting, as well as his leadership, is likely to be crucial if Northants are to stay the course.”He’s been outstanding, he really has,” Ripley said of Peters, who is in his first season as captain. “His example batting, you’ve only got to see how dearly he sells himself in games like we’ve seen today. He’s steely, competitive, loves it when it’s tough. He’s spoken very well with the team, tactically he’s been very good and a lot of the impetus we’ve built, he’s helped us get it going.”The engine required a little turning over at the start of the day and it would be inaccurate to say that the morning session took place under a blanket of cloud only in that a blanket suggests a degree of warmth. That didn’t stop Peters from batting in shirt sleeves and, if the goose pimples helped focus the mind, it certainly wasn’t a bad idea.Peters was involved in the two most substantial stands of the innings – putting on 63 with both David Sales and Crook – but it was his temperament and focus in the face of testing spells from Kent’s raggedy old stagers, Charlie Shreck and Mark Davies, that really set the tone.Ripley said Northants had expected a tough encounter and an important test of their credentials in this fixture and, by the time the sun finally came out in the late afternoon, they had stolen a few more bases. “We’ve always had good four-day skills,” he said. “We’ve been there and gone close before and there’s a feeling that we can be there again.”

Ahmed Amla, the Dolphins and KwaZulu-Natal batsman, has announced his decision to retire from all cricket. His agent said Amla was retiring to focus on his studies and pursue business interests.Amla, 33, is the older brother of South African batsman Hashim Amla, although the two have had vastly different cricket careers. Ahmed never earned an international cap, although he hovered close to it through much of his career.He made his first-class debut in 1997, at the age of 18, for Natal B. That season, he was picked in the South African Development XI that toured Namibia, and in the next season for the South African under-19 team. That earned him a spot at the national academy and helped establish himself as a regular in the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial, and later Dolphins, franchise team, which he also captained for some time.In the 2004-05 season, when the domestic franchise system was formed, his batting average reached 40 for the first time. He lifted it to 48.27 the next summer, when he was probably closest to playing for South Africa. With competition for places high, he had to settle for leading the South African A side, for whom he made numerous appearances.Amla career did not take off as his brother’s did and did not reach the highs of that season again. He remained an important part of the Dolphins batting, especially as he was one of their most senior players. His mentorship skills were also put to use in Mozambique, where he was a consultant for their national side.This season he struggled to make the franchise team and had to settle for playing in the second-tier provincial division. With the knowledge that he was keeping out younger players, Amla chose to pull down the curtain on his playing career.He may not be lost to the sport altogether. He has been on commentary stints with the national broadcaster, SABC, and may yet further his coaching ambitions. He is also studying towards a business degree.Hashim Amla led the tributes to his brother. “Special special congrats to my bro @ahmedamla retiring from all cricket today.wonderful player n more so an amazing person,” he tweeted. “@ahmedamla thx 4being a pillar of support throughout my entire career.will mis u on d field bro.time 4the backyard games 2resume.”

ScorecardCentral Zone poses after clinching the BCL title•Bangladesh Cricket Board

Central Zone clinched the first-ever Bangladesh Cricket League first-class competition title, beating North Zone by 31 runs on the fourth day of the final in Mirpur on Monday.In an evenly matched contest, Central Zone had a few standout performances. Dropped from the Bangladesh side, batsman Raqibul Hasan scored 125 and 68, guiding his team to positions of strength after shaky starts.In the first innings, Central Zone started poorly after being asked to bat first. Raqibul took charge, scoring a century in just under four hours. He made 125 off 204 balls, hitting 18 fours and a six in the process. Despite the big score, Central Zone only made 277 runs in the first innings and North Zone responded well.Four runs short of conceding a lead, Mohammad Ashraful struck for Central Zone with a hat-trick. He had Farhad Reza caught at midwicket, Sajidul Islam out leg-before and Saqlain Sajib caught behind in the 79th over to hasten the end of North Zone’s first innings at 274.Central Zone, too were in trouble in their second innings as left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam took career-best figures of 8 for 73. A valuable, 74-run eighth-wicket stand between Ashraful and Nurul Hassan swung the game in Central Zone’s favour, giving them a fighting chance.North Zone were set a target of 251 to win and it was within their grasp as long as Jahurul Islam was at the crease. Coming in to bat at No. 6 in the second innings, Jahurul added 106 runs for the sixth wicket with nightwatchman Sanjamul Islam after his side were struggling at 71 for 5 on the third evening. Once the partnership was broken on the fourth day, with the target still 74 away, it was an uphill battle against the accuracy of Mosharraf Hossain and Elias Sunny.Jahurul remained defiant and attempted to pull his side through. But, with 32 runs needed, tail-ender Saqlain Sajib was trapped leg-before by Mohammad Ashraful. Jahurul was out one ball later, caught at midwicket off Mosharraf, giving Central Zone the title.The final was a game of many firsts. This first-class match was played under lights and featured a pink ball, both firsts for Bangladesh cricket. The game was a culmination of a four-team competition in a season where two first-class tournaments were held for the first time. The only downer in this competitive match was the lack of longevity, as the game ended with a day to spare.

ScorecardBarbados got their first win of the tournament when they beat Guyana in a low-scoring match in Bridgetown. After dismissing Guyana for a paltry 111, Barbados reached the target in the 27th over, but after losing five wickets.Guyana were off to a slow start after being put in to bat. Their openers were dismissed within the span of three runs, by Jason Holder, and were 37 for 2. Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin put on 44 for the third wicket and once their stand was broken, the Barbados bowlers ran through their line-up, taking their last seven wickets for 30 runs. Offspinner Ashley Nurse finished with career-best figures of 4 for 22 and pacers Holder and Chris Jordan shared five wickets.Chasing 112, Barbados lost their opener Kraigg Brathwaite in the fourth over and the next two batsmen within five balls, leaving them 30 for 3. Rashidi Boucher made 21 but was dismissed in the 10th over and became Paul Wintz’s third wicket. Jonathan Carter steered the innings from there, and even though they lost their fifth wicket in the 15th over, Carter and Shane Dowrich saw them home with a 50-run stand.

Zimbabwe’s most recent convenor of selectors Givemore Makoni cannot be reappointed to his job because of a new directive from the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC). The directive, which comes into effect on February 1, states that only former national players can become selectors.”Good performance of national teams in international matches is a matter of national interest. It has been noted that in some circumstances, this national interest has been compromised by the calibre of national team selectors who lack the requisite experience and skills to play their role effectively,” the SRC said in a statement. “This directive therefore seeks to correct this anomaly so as to improve the competitiveness of our national teams.”Continual underperformance of teams across sports prompted the SRC to take this step. The minister of education, sports, arts and culture, David Coltart, explained that it was a decision taken after in-depth consultation with the country’s sportsmen and women.”A wide cross section of Zimbabwean sportspersons have told me that playing at international level involves a considerable leap in physical and mental expertise, which is best understood and appreciated by sportspersons who have experienced that themselves,” Coltart said. “The same sportspersons have advised me that national players are far more likely to respect and accept hard selection decisions made by people who have achieved themselves at the highest level.”Although the directive comes into effect in two weeks’ time, it was first mooted in October last year. In the same month, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) changed their policy following the death of Kevin Curran, one of the members of their selection committee. Curran, who was also the coach of the Mashonaland Eagles, was part of a three-person panel that also included former Test player Wayne James and Makoni. Alan Butcher, the national coach, was only used in an advisory capacity.The directive and Curran’s death took place within weeks of each other, and resulted in ZC shaking up their panel. James and Butcher sat on a two-person committee but Makoni had a casting vote. The main difference between the rejigged panel and the previous one was that the coach had more of a say. Historically, according to Coltart, Zimbabwean cricket coaches have not been selectors but ZC has now changed this.Once the SRC ruling comes into effect, Makoni will not be able to play any part in selection and it also means that if ZC appoints a coach who is not a former national player, he cannot be a selector. Butcher is not reapplying for his job, which will end after the tour to West Indies in March, and Steven Mangongo, the assistant coach, is one of the people in the running to take over. Mangongo did not play for Zimbabwe.Mangongo, batting coach Grant Flower and bowling coach Heath Streak are believed to be in the running for the coaching positions. Mangongo will be ruled out if ZC want to continue having their coach act as a selector, which has led Makoni to tell local papers the directive was “utter rubbish and racist.” He believes it will deny black officials opportunity to advance.Coltart denied the new policy was racially targeted. “Regarding Mangongo, it is ZC who have recently changed the rules on coaches,” he said. “If they want to hire Mangongo they can easily revert to the status quo and have the coach in an advisory capacity.”Coltart also said he could alter portions of the directive to ensure coaches were not excluded entirely from selection, irrespective of their level of playing. “This was never designed to exclude coaches from the decision making process and so I may well refine the directive to make sure that that is the case – and do say as the Australians do. The chair is always an ex-player and there are a majority of ex-players but the coach is on the panel and he doesn’t have to be an ex player.”Zimbabwe had long standing racial divisions that exposed themselves in cricket with the white player walk-out in 2004. Players including Heath Streak, the Flower brothers and Alistair Campbell walked away from cricket in the country because of ZC’s aggressive transformation program. Matters were thought to have eased when they returned to the fold and Zimbabwe fielded teams that now represent the country’s population.Makoni, who will remain manager of the Southern Rocks, is still fearful the directive could divide Zimbabwe cricket again and angry that he will not be considered for the selection panel because of the new rules.”Not playing for Zimbabwe during our time did not mean that you were not good enough to play for the national team. Doors were closed for us,” he said. “We fought that system and although we didn’t benefit from it, in terms of playing for the national team, it opened the doors for a lot of black players.”Now, we have black cricket players all over the country, cricket is spreading into a truly mass sporting discipline. We can’t allow people to come and try and reverse all that,” he said. Coltart denied any plot to exclude black Zimbabweans and said Makoni’s remarks were “abusive and unnecessary.”

ScorecardShaquana Quintyne took 4 for 14•West Indies Cricket

After two consecutive defeats, West Indies Women clawed back, in another low-scorer, and kept the five-match series alive with a eight-wicket win at Roseau. Stafanie Taylor took four wickets, sharing eight with Shaquana Quintyne, to keep South Africa Women to a paltry 120. Taylor then made 71 to guide her side home, capping an all-round performance.After being put in to bat, South Africa lost six wickets for 66 by the 24th over. Shandre Fritz and Mignon du Preez put on 36 for the second wicket – the highest of the innings – before Taylor got rid of Fritz for 15. The bowlers didn’t let any partnerships develop. Quintyne, the 17-year-old legspinner, ran through the middle and lower order to finish with 4 for 14 in ten overs. She was on a hat-trick in her first over when she dismissed Cri-zelda Brits and Dane van Niekerk.A 75-run opening stand between Kycia Knight and Taylor had all but sealed the game. Taylor smashed eight fours in her knock before she offered a return catch to Sunette Loubser with West Indies ten away from the target.West Indies coach Sherwin Campbell was particularly impressed with Quintyne. “Quintyne was brilliant for us yet again and continues to show improvement in her overall game. In all three matches so far she has been very competent and consistent and it is clear she is learning very fast at this level,” Campbell said.”She adapted very well to the conditions in Sri Lanka (at the World Twenty20) and again in this series and it is clear she is someone we can build our future around.”

ScorecardTarjinder Singh’s attempt at saving the game for Assam by scoring a fourth-innings century was in vain, as Jammu & Kashmir managed to take the seven wickets they needed on the final day to achieve an outright win.Assam began the fourth day in Guwahati on 46 for 3, chasing an improbable 477. They lost wickets at regular intervals at one end, while Tarjinder battled for 105 at the other. They were dismissed for 241 in 89.1 overs. Ram Dayal took 3 for 50 for J&K while, Parvez Rassol and Waseem Raza took two each.
ScorecardFifteen wickets tumbled on the final day in Nadaun as Tripura bowled out Himachal Pradesh in 60 overs in the fourth innings to secure a 169-run victory.Tripura resumed their second innings on the fourth morning on 116 for 5, and they slumped to 177 all out. Manisankar Murasingh scored most of the runs, converting his overnight 19 to 63. Vikramjeet Malik took 5 for 36 for Himachal.A target of 359 was always out of Himachal’s reach but they failed to draw the game as well. Paras Dogra scored an unbeaten 105 but got no support from his team-mates. Aatish Bhalaik, who made 30, was the only other batsman to score more than 15. Sanjay Majumder and Rana Dutta took three wickets each for Tripura.
ScorecardOnly three wickets fell on the fourth day at the Palam A Ground in Delhi, where Kerala and Railways played out a tame draw. Railways had the better of the game by having secured the first-innings lead.Kerala were 9 for 0 in their second innings at the start of the final day and they plodded to 193 for 3 before declaring, having scored at only 2.50 runs per over. Abhishek Hegde made 107 while Rohan Prem was unbeaten on 53.Chasing a target of 173, Services batted only 15 overs in the fourth innings and reached 85 for 0 before the match was called off.
ScorecardAndhra took the last Goa wicket that stood between them and a first-innings lead comfortably on the final morning, after which the match in Visakhapatnam meandered to a draw.In response to Andhra’s first-innings 393, Goa were 285 for 9 at the start of the final day. They got to 328 before Ravikant Shukla, who had reached a century, was bowled by Shaik Basha.Andhra scored 193 for 6 in their second innings before declaring to set Goa a target of 259. AG Pradeep was the top-scorer with 65. Goa’s openers survived the small passage of play before the match was drawn. They played out 26 overs and scored 14 runs.

Muttiah Muralitharan could be forgiven for being a little vexed this Friday night. The Big Bash League begins with a cross-town battle between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars. Muralitharan will make his BBL debut for the Renegades, having been lured there by Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald, whom he got to know during the IPL. Last summer, McDonald was captain of the Renegades and Hodge their star batsman. This season, neither is there anymore.McDonald signed with the Adelaide Strikers, and in any case has now suffered a hamstring injury that will rule him out of the whole tournament. Hodge is playing in the BBL. In fact, he’s playing in Friday’s season opener. It just happens to be for the Stars. A philosophical Muralitharan said he wouldn’t be seeking revenge when the teams meet, because he was happy to have been convinced to be part of the tournament.”When I was playing for Royal Challengers [Bangalore], Hodge and McDonald convinced me to come and play,” Muralitharan said in Melbourne on Thursday. “At the time they were in the Renegades and unfortunately now they’re not there. Still, we have a good side. Thanks to them, because of them I am here.”[Hodge] convinced me to come and play. After that he went to the Stars. I called him [to find out why he left], just a friendly call, that’s all. No revenge as such. We want to play a good game.”The Hodge-Muralitharan battle will be just one of the sub-plots in the Melbourne derby. There is also the much more significant attraction of seeing Test cricket’s two leading wicket-takers on opposing sides, which might not happen again after this tournament. Warne is the captain of the Stars and the BBL is his only playing commitment nowadays, while Muralitharan has suggested this might be his last year of Twenty20.

Stars still dream of Bolt

The Melbourne Stars didn’t end up signing Usain Bolt for the BBL this year but the team’s president Eddie McGuire believes there is a very good chance Bolt will join the side next season, after his commitments at the 2013 Athletics World Championships.
“Hopefully next summer he’ll come out here and with a bit of luck we’ll get him to run with Athletics Australia, at a big athletics meet we’re hoping to put together at the new athletics centre in South Melbourne,” McGuire said. “At the same time, with a bit of luck we might get him to roll the arm over or do a little bit of fielding for us with the Stars.”

A week away from the Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka, who play for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, the men for whom the prize is named were reflecting on their careers as they prepared for one more contest. Muralitharan joked that given the large Sri Lankan population in Melbourne he might even be more popular in the city than Shane Warne, but he said he had the ultimate respect for what Warne had achieved during his career.”His art is very difficult,” Muralitharan said. “Legspin, I have tried it when I was young, and it was very hard to do. If you can land the ball like him, it’s very hard. Not many people can do it. Once in a hundred years you get a bowler like him. I have a lot of respect for him [now] and in our playing days as well.”Warne said Muralitharan, or “the whirly-twirly man” as he referred to him, would bring a lot to the BBL in his first appearance in the tournament. Warne remembered seeing Muralitharan for the first time on Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in 1992, when he played for the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in a tour match, and although the only batsman he dismissed was Tony Dodemaide, he baffled the Australians with his unusual style.”It was a tour game in Kandy when we first saw Murali in ’92,” Warne said. “Allan Border said to Murali ‘what are you bowling?’ He’d played for legspin.”He’s bamboozled batsmen for the best part of 20 years the way he goes about it. Facing Murali is very tough, he does some wonderful things with the ball. For what Murali has done for the game, what he has done for Sri Lanka … and to be still playing and bowling extremely well, it’s fantastic.”Muralitharan won’t be the only Sri Lankan playing in Friday night’s game, with Lasith Malinga set to line up for the Stars. Another Sri Lankan, allrounder Thisara Perera, will also be part of the BBL after joining the Brisbane Heat as a last-minute inclusion following their loss of Dale Steyn and Daniel Vettori.

VVS Laxman, one of the go-to men of Indian cricket in the last decade and among the most stylish batsmen in recent memory, is likely to bring the curtain down on his international career. He expected to make an announcement in the next 24 hours.Laxman has told his family and close circle of friends, including his long-time coach, that he was “contemplating” retirement after the two-Test series against New Zealand, which starts in his hometown Hyderabad on August 23.”He said he was contemplating [it],” one of the Hyderabad Cricket Association officials, who spoke to Laxman, told ESPNcricinfo. Laxman admitted as much in this brief quote to earlier today: “A final decision will be taken about the exact details of my plans by this [Friday] evening.”Definitive word was still to come, but it is understood that Laxman was pondering the right moment to exit: whether to retire after the first Test in Hyderabad or to leave it till the end New Zealand series, after the second Test in Bangalore.The decision may come as a surprise to Laxman fans, because it was only last week the national selectors had picked him for the home series against New Zealand. But according to the official, Laxman had confided that though he was feeling match fit, he was getting affected by the increasing pile of critical remarks against his presence in the side. “He wanted to make sure that no one should feel that youngsters were being deprived of a chance because of him. He said he wanted to go on a high and not hear or read people saying he should go,” the official said.After his former team-mate, captain and friend, Rahul Dravid, retired from international cricket this March, the focus had shifted towards Laxman, who had endured two atrocious summers in different parts of the world – first in England in 2011 followed by another dismal outing in Australia, accumulating a sum of 337 runs in eight Test matches. Though Laxman had scored an unbeaten 176 in Kolkata during the home Test series against West Indies last October, concerns about his future remained strong.Even as the pressure mounted on him from the outside, with commentators like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sanjay Manjrekar, to name a few, labeling the selection of Laxman as a backward step, Laxman continued to focus on his game, with lengthy indoor sessions at the NCA in Bangalore after returning from Australia.Incidentally Laxman made two centuries in a couple of competitive matches he played earlier this month: a 135 for Marredpally Colts Cricket Club in the Hyderabad league cricket in first week of August was followed by a stroke-filled 169 against Karnataka the following week in Mysore, in the Safi Darashah Trophy organised by the Karnataka StateCricket Association. “He was practising really hard and was very positive before the season started,” John Manoj, who has coached Laxman from the age of 11 at St John’s Cricket Academy in Secunderabad, said.

ICC Test rankings

• Batsmen: 1. Kumar Sangakkara (-), 2. Jacques Kallis (+2), 3. Hashim Amla (+3), 4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (-2), 5. AB de Villiers (-2), 6. Graeme Smith (+4)

• Bowlers: 1. Dale Steyn (-), 2. Saeed Ajmal (-), 3. Rangana Herath (+1), 4. Vernon Philander (+1), 5. James Anderson (-2), 6. Morne Morkel (+4), Ben Hilfenhaus (+1), Peter Siddle (+1)

• Click for ICC Test rankings

South Africa’s batsmen have surged up the ICC Test rankings to occupy four of the top six spots after their colossal performance in the first Test at The Oval. Jacques Kallis is at No. 2, Hashim Amla (3), AB de Villiers (5) and Graeme Smith (6). Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara remained No. 1, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropped two spots to No. 4. Kallis also unseated Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan as the No. 1 allrounder in Tests.Kallis’ unbeaten 182 in South Africa’s 637 for 2 moved him up from No. 4 in the ranking for Test batsmen. Amla, whose 311 was a South African record, rose three places while Smith climbed four places from tenth. De Villiers, who did not get an opportunity to bat in the innings-and-12-run victory, dropped two spots from third.Among the England batsmen, Alastair Cook moved from ninth to eighth because of the 115 he scored in the first innings at The Oval.There were significant gains for South Africa’s bowlers as well after they took 20 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Dale Steyn, who took seven wickets in the match, consolidated his place at No. 1 and is six points short of his career best rating – 902, which he achieved against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park in 2011.Morne Morkel’s five wickets lifted him from tenth to joint sixth with Australia’s Ben Hilfenhaus, while Vernon Philander rose one spot to fourth place.All of England’s bowlers, who took only two wickets in 189 overs, dropped in the rankings. James Anderson went from No. 2 to No. 5, Stuart Broad from third to ninth and Tim Bresnan slid one place to No. 15. Graeme Swann’s wicketless performance cost him three places from No. 8 and he dropped out of the top ten for the first time since August 2009.South Africa need to win the series by any margin to take the No. 1 Test ranking from England.