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It was as emphatic a result as everyone expected, West Indies rolling Netherlands over at a decidedly chilly Clontarf, in Dublin, by 10 wickets. They were led by their captain, Chris Gayle, whose rollicking 51 took West Indies home in just the 15th over – on a low, slow, peaty surface with the Dublin Mountains looming in the distance.”Yeah it was a slow track. Daren [Powell] has been bowling with a lot of pace in England and the adjustment did take a while here today. It was frustrating at the start, but regardless he came back well and he’ll now know what is required for the rest of the games.”Powell wasn’t quite as slippery as his 90mph performances in the recent one-day series against England, and struggled on a boggy pitch. Instead, it was Dwayne Smith’s medium-pace wobblers which proved most effective, picking up 4 for 8 from his six overs. After restricting Netherlands to 80, Gayle was content with his side’s performance.”I’m happy, because we wanted to maintain the discipline in this game, and I thought the guys really lifted their standard,” he said. “They did really well to restrict [Netherlands] to 80 and to get a 10-wicket win was superb.”Coming from the intensity of England, playing in front of large crowds and against an unpredictable team, the contrast here at Dublin couldn’t be greater. A poor side, lacking confidence, and a crowd of no more than 50 die hard Irish fans (and one lone Jamaican). But Gayle said there was no danger of West Indies slipping on a potentially huge banana skin.”No danger at all. When you look at the conditions – the wicket was really slow – the guys had to make adjustments and it was quite difficult at times. But they did well.”West Indies now face Scotland – a team Gayle admitted he knew precisely nothing about – on Thursday, and are still buoyed by their performance against England last week. “Yeah, looking forward to it. We’re not taking anyone for granted; we’re just here to play some good cricket and keep the standard very high.”It’s done a lot for us [beating England] and we just want to keep [the momentum going],” he said. “It’s been a while since we’ve been in a winning mood – we have just won three games straight – so hopefully we can capitalise on the start and look forward to the future. We’re just enjoying it – two more to go.”West Indies are clearly in no mood to let up their intensity. And while the opposition may not test his side’s mettle to the limits, Gayle is continuing to prove he has more than sufficient nous as a captain, not to mention the support of his entire team. How often has it been possible to say that about a West Indian skipper?

Sourav Ganguly admitted to being disappointed after he was overlooked for the Champions Trophy but reiterated his commitment to find his way back into the national squad.Asked whether he was hurt by the non-selection Ganguly, currently playing in the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament in Hyderabad, told , the Mumbai-based tabloid, “Well, it’s more of a disappointment rather than being upset. But I know there is no use of thinking about it now. The Indian team is travelling to Malaysia while I am playing at Hyderabad. Yes, I have adjusted myself with these things now. But the hunger is still there and that is why I am continuing my cricket.”On whether he was expecting a call-up, he said: “There was news in the air that the team that went to Sri Lanka would be retained. And that’s what happened. So there was no hope this time.”Ganguly re-emphasised his intent to find a place in the national squad on the back of strong performances in domestic cricket. “When I was dropped from the team, I did not get many opportunities to prove myself in domestic cricket and make a comeback. It was the fag end of the season. If you go through the last year’s domestic cricket scorecards, you will see that I am the second highest scorer after Wasim Jaffer. The season is beginning again with Moin-ud-Dowla and my aim there would be to score runs and take wickets. I am only concerned about scoring runs and nothing else at this juncture.”Ganguly last played in the Moin-ud-Dowla tournament eight years ago and spoke about the similarities then and now. “When I went to play in the Moin-ud-Dowla 13 years ago, my target was the same as it is now – to get back to the national team. The difference is I was trying to be back for the second time. It is a coincidence, this time, I am trying to make a come back for the third time.”Playing for Bengal XI against Mumbai Colts, Ganguly put in a miserly spell on the first day, ending up with figures of 13 – 3 -13 – 2.

An expanded version of the Twenty20 Cup is to form the centrepiece of the forthcoming county season, after the England & Wales Cricket Board unveiled their fixtures list for 2005.The tournament, which comprised 45 fixtures in its inaugural season in 2003, and 52 in 2004, has leapt again to 79 matches, spread across a six-week period in mid-June and July. An expansion of the group stages guarantees each county four lucrative home games, and seven of those fixtures will be played under lights, at Chelmsford, Hove and Sophia Gardens.”Domestic cricket is enjoying a well-earned renaissance with talented players, close matches and some of the largest crowds on record supporting the Twenty20 Cup,” said John Carr, the ECB’s director of communications. “With an exciting international season already announced for 2005, we anticipate a huge rise in the interest around the game as a whole and county cricket can capitalise on this upsurge in a sporting season where cricket will take centre stage.”The 2005 domestic season, which runs from April 8 to September 25, promises to be the most jam-packed on record. The Frizzell county champions, Warwickshire, will set the ball rolling with the traditional season curtain-raiser against MCC at Lord’s, before their title defence begins in earnest against Glamorgan on April 13.Gloucestershire, who have dominated the C&G Trophy in recent years, will launch their campaign against Berkshire on May 3, with Denmark, Holland and Ireland all facing first-class opposition on that day as well. Ireland will be seeking to match their giant-killing exploits of last season, by defeating Yorkshire in a home tie.Three teams have joined the top division of the totesport League – Middlesex Crusaders, Worcestershire Royals and Nottinghamshire Outlaws. Although it is the Glamorgan Dragons who are the dominant force in that particular competition. There will be 33 matches played under lights, with the final games bringing down the curtain on the season.

Erudite, intelligent, charismatic and, in his heyday, one of the greatest allround cricketers the world has ever seen, Imran Khan was the figurehead of Pakistan cricket for a generation, and a man who could hold his own in all walks of life. Educated at Aitchison College in Lahore, Imran went on to Oxford University, before honing his skills as a frighteningly quick fast bowler for Sussex.He brought to the Pakistan captaincy an international dimension and diplomacy that enabled them to become one of the finest teams in the world in the late 1980s and, in 1992, he ended his career on a glorious note, when he lifted the World Cup at Melbourne, after cajoling his “cornered tigers” into an inspired performance against England.With his sculpted good looks and flowing mane, Imran in full cry was a sight to behold – his bowling action culminating in a bounding leap for the crease and a full-stretch whip of the body. His mastery of reverse-swing enabled him to conquer the subcontinental conditions, and ensured that a legacy was passed onto his inheritors, Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram, whom Imran first spotted as a teenaged net bowler in 1984.When injury limited Imran’s bowling, he instead transferred his talents to his batting, and in the mid-1980s his allround skills put him on a plinth that he shared with Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee – international champions one and all.

The national final of the inaugural ECB Lady Taverner’s Under 15 and Under 13 Club Championship will be held on Saturday 12th July at Loughborough University.Over 150 girls teams began the tournament in April, with the winners from each of four regions (Midlands, North, South East and South West) securing places in the round-robin finals.Each team will play the other once, in a 8-over match and the team with the most points will win the competition.The teams competing in the U15 Club Competition are:Gilmortan (Derbys) representing the North; Lullington (Leics) representing the Midlands; The Mote (Kent) representing the South East and Mid Glamorgan (Wales) representing the South West.In the U13 Club Competition, teams competing are:West Notts (Notts) from the Midlands; Durham City (Durham) from the North; Aylesbury Girls (Bucks) from the South East and Bath (Somerset) from the South West.In May 2000, the ECB appointed four women’s club cricket development officers (WCCDOs), funded by Sport England, for the four regions. The emergence of 147 new girls’ cricket clubs since that time, culminating in the national finals, is a testament to the growth in the women’s game spearheaded by the WCCDOs.Speaking on the tournament, Gill McConway, ECB Executive Director for Women’s Cricket said Margaret Price from The Lady Taverners said In addition to the regional winners, the regional runners-up will compete for the ECB Lady Taverner’s Plate at Loughborough. In the U15 age group, the four clubs are: Tutbury (Staffs), Knaresborough (Yorks), Gerrards Cross (Bucks) and NW Dorset (Dorset).In the U13 age group, the teams are: Yardley (Warks), Headstone Dollies (Middlesex) and Bradnich (Devon).

Little-rated Himachal Pradesh pulled off a shock victory over giantsServices in their Ranji Trophy league match at Una on Tuesday.Shakti Singh (5-80) and Vishal Bhatia (4-40) rudely unseated Servicesfrom its comfortable overnight position of 25/0 to bowl them out for179. Brushing aside scores of 44 and 42 from K Chawda and YashpalSingh respectively, Himachal Pradesh’s bowling attack took only 54.3overs to work its magic.Set a target of 46 to win, Himachal Pradesh were never going to betroubled too much. They reached the score with only one wicket lost in11.3 overs, with Sandeep Sharma making 27 off 25 balls.

Mohammad Amir has been fined 150% of his match fee for a disciplinary breach while playing for Sui Southern Gas Corporation against Pakistan International Airlines in a qualifying fixture of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Faisalabad on Thursday.Amir, who is under observation since being cleared to play first-class cricket in January, was booked under article 45.4 and 45.5 of the PCB’s domestic Code of Conduct which relates to “intimidating a player using crude or abusive language to sledge, and making offensive remarks.”Amir, whose five-year spot-fixing ban ended in September, has been in good form for his domestic side, picking 27 wickets in three matches so far.”Amir was penalised for violating the code of conduct,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “He was fined 50 and 100% for two difference offences. He was found to be sledging around and later was found exchanging crude language with PIA batsman Faisal Iqbal. The batsman has also been fined 50% of his match for engaging in exchange of harsh words in between them.” Iqbal, though, denied this to ESPNcricinfo, saying that he had only been warned not fined.In a separate incident, Mohammad Irfan, playing for Khan Research Laboratory, was fined 50% of his match fee for an altercation with the umpire during a match against State Bank of Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.Irfan was reportedly caught changing the condition of the ball by the opponent’s secret camera. State Bank of Pakistan’s manager, who leveled the allegation, was also handed a fine.

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A persistent afternoon spell from Tim Murtagh earned him career-best figures of 7 for 95 to help Middlesex to a scrawny eight-run lead over Glamorgan on the third day at Lord’s. At stumps, Andrew Strauss and Billy Godleman had extended Middlesex’s lead to 64, and any hopes Glamorgan have of breaking their 54-year duck at Lord’s diminished by the ball.Murtagh was again well supported by Steven Finn who bowled rather more than his captain would have liked, owing to Chris Silverwood hobbling off midway through his 10th over. He was later spotted on cautionary crutches behind the pavilion, cheerfully announcing “I’ll be back”, and for all Murtagh and Finn’s persistence, Middlesex missed his explosiveness.Mike Powell reached a 75-ball fifty early in the day, but Finn produced a beauty from the Nursery End, climbing and slanting down the slope away from Powell who poked at it tentatively, without the conviction which had earned him 45 of his 50 runs yesterday evening. Dalrymple, however, was far more secure outside his off stump – though he survived a confident appeal from Finn – twice cracking Gareth Berg for four square of the wicket to reach 50 from 105 balls.At the other end, Mark Wallace rode his luck but took advantage of Murtagh’s occasional waywardness, gliding him through extra cover with ease to take Glamorgan to 173 for 4 at lunch. After he interval, the pair reached their hundred stand and thoughts turned to the prospect of Dalrymple reaching three figures against his former club, on his former ground. Not since Matthew Maynard in 1985 has a British-born Glamorgan batsman made a hundred on debut, but the record remained intact when Dalrymple mis-hooked Finn to Murtagh who took an excellent, tumbling catch at fine-leg.The gates were open. Wallace departed to a re-energised Murtagh, feeling for one outside his off stump, before Robert Croft was beaten for pace by Gareth Berg, becoming his maiden first-class victim. Glamorgan weren’t quite finished, however, with Ryan Watkins and David Harrison adding a quickfire 48 for the last wicket. Harrison’s six fours weren’t all as agricultural as his position at No.11 should imply, carting Murtagh for successive fours and timing the ball sweetly.Murtagh had the last laugh, Strauss holding a simple catch head-high at slip to dismiss Harrison, and Strauss was immediately into his stride with the bat. Jason Gillespie conceded just six runs from a four-over burst from the pavilion end, but Strauss laid into Wharf in the dying light, unleashing a cover-drive before cutting him with immense power square of the wicket.He played beautifully, regardless of the Glamorgan bowlers’ persistence in dropping it short, and more easy runs beckon tomorrow morning with the first Test against New Zealand looming so soon.

ScorecardSteven Welsh completed outstanding match figures of 12 for 93 as Canada powered to an-innings-and-228-run victory against UAE in Toronto. The visitors showed precious little resistance on the final day as they fell from 59 for 1 to 110 all out.The second-wicket stand of 59 between Arshad Ali and Shadeep Silva was UAE’s best of the match. Arshad fell in unfortunate style when he gloved Henry Osinde down the leg side and was well taken by Asif Mulla. From then on it was one-way traffic.Welsh was again the dominant force following his seven wickets in the first innings with another impressive performance. He removed top-scorer Shadeep Silva for 43 as UAE’s last eight wickets went down for 25 runs. Durand Soraine, a medium-pacer, chipped in with three cheap wickets and he collected the final scalp when Naeemuddin Aslam was caught at long on.Canada’s interim coach Pubudu Dassanayake, said: “The guys were so determined to win here – they were not going to settle for anything less than an outright victory. Against the Netherlands we lost just when we thought we had it in the bag, which was really disappointing. But the way they bounced back from that was very encouraging for me.”Welsh bowled beautifully on what was a good track for batting,” he said. “At times I would say he was unplayable as he has a great action and can swing it both ways. He and Henry [Osinde] did very well for us.”Canada take maximum points from the match and sit top of the table, a fine way to end their short home international season, while UAE leave after a chastening experience.

Jonty Rhodes, the former South African middle-order batsman who developed into one of the greatest fielders of all time, feels that Sachin Tendulkar deserves a place in the Indian team purely on the strength of his batting ability, even if he is unable to give his best as a fielder. Rhodes had suggested that Tendulkar field in the inner circle, which would help protect his shoulder from the risk of injury.”Even if he can’t field from the deep, you have to have him at mid-off or mid-on and protect him. Because I don’t think it is going to take a whole year till the World Cup for him to be 100% fit”, Rhodes told PTI. “It is a confidence thing for him. If he is happy that his shoulder is fine, and if you have a guy like Sachin Tendulkar who is back in form, then you have to have him in the team.”Tendulkar returned to the Indian side for the tri-series in Sri Lanka after a four-month layoff, during which he underwent surgery in his right shoulder. He gained valuable match practice in England for a brief period, representing club-side Lashings, and was included in the Indian squad after being given the green signal by John Gloster, the team physiotherapist.Rhodes, who observed Tendulkar at the nets in Colombo, remarked that he was impressed with his disclipline. Javagal Srinath, the former Indian fast bowler, also recently concurred with Rhodes’s view that Tendulkar is good enough to walk into the team. “I have seen how he works as a batsman at the nets, he is very disciplined. And I expect him to do the same sort of rehab on his shoulders,” Rhodes said. “I would be inclined to have him in the team, just based on his past performance.”Rhodes, also the fielding coach of the South African team, had cited the throwing techniques of players nowadays as the main reason for the recurrence of shoulder injuries. “The problem with current players is that a lot of them are quiet for 5-6 overs and then suddenly they throw”, he said. “What happens is your shoulders are not warm, resulting in injuries. Today’s throwing technique is also not correct, which is what I am trying to work with the South African team.”Rhodes also acknowledged the rise in fielding standards in all countries and denied that South Africa had slipped in that department. “I don’t think we have lost it. It is just that every team has realised the importance of fielding. I would rather say that we have back-toed a bit while other teams have also caught up with us. It is also that we set really high standards for ourselves to maintain.”