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A magnificent innings of 177 from Michael Vaughan has enabled England to carry the fight to Australia on the first day of the second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval. After Nasser Hussain won the toss, England ended the day on 295 for four when Vaughan was caught at slip off Andy Bichel in the final over. Vaughan shared in an opening partnership of 88 with Marcus Trescothick (35) and added 140 with Hussain (47).Vaughan continued to show the form which has put the 28-year-old second behind Sachin Tendulkar on the run scorers’ list for the calendar year 2002. He outshone his England team-mates and outwitted the Australian bowlers, showing the way for other players and teams to play and beat Australia.The Yorkshire opener had some help from Australia. Their usually reliable fielders dropped six catches on what proved to be a beautiful batting track with true bounce. But Vaughan’s amazing innings included an array of shots to all parts of the ground.Trescothick and Vaughan got England off to a great start with a run rate of over three an over. They share a similar approach to the game to that of Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden, and Vaughan played much like Hayden did in the opening Test at Brisbane.Each was given a life in the first session. Three balls after smashing Bichel (1/67) for six, Vaughan sliced to Langer at gully where he appeared to take a great catch. Vaughan stood his ground and the matter was referred to third umpire Steve Davis. As the evidence was inconclusive, he gave Vaughan the benefit of the doubt. The decision could have changed the course of the game, with Vaughan going on to make his best score outside England.Trescothick then hit the ball hard to gully, where Hayden couldn’t hold on, allowing the ball to go through to the boundary. Bichel later claimed a return catch as Trescothick drove, and once again the third umpire was consulted. Replays clearly showed the ball bouncing before it reached Bichel and Trescothick was ruled not out.Shane Warne was brought into the attack earlier than expected, and the leg-spinner went for nine in his first over. It was Glenn McGrath made the much-needed breakthrough, bowling Trescothick off the bottom edge as the opener’s luck ran out.Robert Key, playing in place of the injured John Crawley, was promoted to number three because Mark Butcher was suffering from a migraine. Key and Vaughan took England to lunch at 1/94, but Key had made just one when he drove Warne into the shin of Ricky Ponting who caught the ball at the third attempt. Key stood his ground but the umpires confirmed the bad news.This brought skipper Hussain to the crease and he took a back seat, enjoying the Vaughan show. The Yorkshire opener brought up his fifth century in nine Tests with a push to mid off. It was his sixth Test hundred in all, and included two sixes and 12 fours. In 12 matches he has made just under 1200 runs.Vaughan and Hussain took England to tea on 2/201. The Australians made it harder for themselves again in the second session, dropping two catches and missing the chance of a run out.Needing a breakthrough, Steve Waugh decided to bowl himself, but after five overs the skipper had some discomfort in his shoulder and returned the ball to Jason Gillespie, who still appeared troubled by his calf injury. When Vaughan ducked into a short ball he was hit on the shoulder, dropping his bat and crouching on the ground in pain.Hussain, tied down as he approached 50, gave Warne his second wicket when he was caught behind off the bottom edge on 47, trying to cut. Butcher, showing no effects from his migraine, took boundaries with his first two scoring shots and with Vaughan continued to punish the toiling bowlers.It was a clever bowling change that finally undid Vaughan, after Gillespie and McGrath had failed to break through with the new ball. Waugh turned to Bichel for the last over of the day, and Vaughan pushed defensively at the Queenslander’s third ball, which carried to Warne at first slip.England played some great cricket today, but they also had a lot of luck. Day two should be a cracker with a new batsman at the crease and Australia hungry for more wickets. England will need to bat positively, with Australia’s batsmen eager for their turn on a beautiful wicket.

Mark Ramprakash made it a day of misery for Somerset and consolidation for the Frizzell County Championship leaders as he made an unbeaten 199 for Surrey, including 26 boundaries, at Taunton. Ramprakash was supported by Nadeem Shahid (51) Adam Hollioake (87) and Rikki Clarke (60*) as Surrey reached 448 for five at the close. On a difficult day for the bowlers Simon Francis excelled for Somerset, with three for 80.Elsewhere the opening day of the latest round matches was badly hit by the weather. In Division One, Sussex reached 30 for two against Hampshire in the ten and a half overs possible at The Rose Bowl, while there was no play at all at Grace Road or Maidstone.Division Two leaders Essex performed creditably in the 79 overs that were possible at Swansea. Acting captain Darren Robinson made 72, putting on 95 for the first wicket with William Jefferson (43). Essex closed on 208 for three, with Robert Croft taking two of the wickets.An unbeaten partnership of 80 between Phil Weston and Graeme Hick took Worcestershire to 95 for one against Middlesex at Lord’s. Only 26 overs were possible at Derby, but that was enough to get Gloucestershire deep into trouble against the hosts’ customary tormentors, Dominic Cork and Kevin Dean. They shared the wickets as Gloucestershire subsided to 79 for five. And in the twelve overs possible at Northampton, Durham reached 35 without loss.

For techno lovers the ICC Champions Trophy will offer a glimpse of cricket’s brave new world.But romantics are less enthused as the game braces itself for a radical and controversial experiment with television technology.For the first time field umpires will be allowed to refer a multitude of decisions to the television umpire, including lbw and bat-pad appeals, as well as suspected bump balls and even catches to the wicket-keeper.Despite some opposition, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has identified the tournament as the perfect opportunity to move the “technology” debate forward.ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said when announcing the plan: “The ICC is going about it with an open mind. We don’t want to make umpires robots, we are only offering the best use of technology to assist them in their decision-making. Everyone wants to see the right decisions are made. If it is not successful, we will discontinue it.”In consultation with the broadcasters and umpires, the ICC has drawn up guidelines, detailing what aspects of particular decisions can be referred.The ICC cricket operations manager, Dave Richardson, said: “We have prepared a detailed guide on which aspects can be referred and the television producer knows what replay will be required for different decisions.””For lbw decisions the third umpire is not there to decide whether the ball is going to hit the stumps, only to judge whether the ball pitched outside leg or whether the batsmen nicked the ball,” he said. “This will help eliminate most of the mistakes made.”For catches at the wicket, the umpires should only refer when trying to decide whether the ball touched bat, body or clothing. If they don’t believe that the ball hit anything then they should rule ‘not out’ without recourse to the television umpire.The one area where television has proven limitations is catches close to the ground. Even with super slow replays it’s often impossible to tell whether the ball has kissed the ground. The ICC now wants the field umpires to be the sole judge of whether such catches are cleanly taken.The experiment is welcomed wholeheartedly by the South Africans, the pioneers in the use of television replays.Captain Shaun Pollock argued: “At some stage we have to try it and see how well it works. From the players’ perspectives we want to see the best decisions made and if technology can do that without taking too much time, I’m all for it. This is a good chance to find out.”But other players and captains have concerns. “Now it’s ‘howzat!’ – it will become just a plain ‘how is that?’ The beauty of appealing, that will be gone,” worried Wasim Akram, one of the world’s great appealers.”Guys like Shoaib (Akhtar), Brett Lee, going up in full flow, that will finish.”West Indies captain Carl Hooper is troubled about its effect on the umpires.”In lbw decisions, I want umpires to have a say. I hate to see umpires being pushed to one side. We should not be totally dependent on technology.”The ICC, though, argues that the umpire remains in charge.”They cannot shirk responsibility and become dependent upon the television umpire. When they refer they should be 90 per cent sure that the batsman is out and when replays are inconclusive they will have to make a decision.”Moreover, Richardson envisages a time when viewers could listen in to the communication between the umpires, adding another dimension to the cricket watching experience.”The umpires would be happy as people would gain an understanding of the thought processes that went into the decision,” he said.Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis are concerned that the increased use of the third umpire will slow down play even further.”As it is, it’s hard to get through 50 overs in time,” Ponting said.The ICC realises that there is a danger of slowing down the game and is demanding that decisions are made quickly, requiring a maximum of two replays and 20 seconds.Richardson denies that the time scale is ambitious.”We think it is pretty realistic now that we’ve worked out exactly what aspects of particular decisions can be referred and what camera angle to use.”Even if successful during this tournament, Richardson believes such a wide use of technology would be difficult outside of ICC managed tournaments.”I have my doubts over whether it will be feasible or practical throughout international cricket. During this tournament we can do it because we control the broadcaster but what happens during a series where there are only three cameras?” he said.Likewise, he does not expect the use of technologies such as Hawk Eye in the near future.”Hawk Eye is a great coaching aid for the umpires and provides excellent entertainment. It’s probably more accurate than a person but it’s very expensive and you have to draw the line somewhere – we still want the skill of the umpire to come through.”Richardson is hopeful that the experiment proves successful but warns against unrealistic expectations.”We are not going to solve the problem for those who want definite answers all the time – they will not be satisfied. But the crux of the matter is whether the umpires came to the right decision.”

After two washed-out matches at Sabina Park, it was a relief to getsome cricket underway again with the third one-day international atthe Kensington Oval in Barbados. The pitch looked like a cracker, fullof runs and holding plenty of promise for a high-scoring one-dayer.Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, won the toss and, as expected,asked the West Indies to bat first.The hosts’ batting impressed me very little. The West Indian batsmen -perhaps as a result of their 2-1 Test win over India – looked overconfident and complacent. The batting on display oozed carelessness,and it was no surprise that the Indian bowlers capitalised on that tothe fullest extent.

I was particularly disappointed with Brian Lara and the way he jumpedout to Harbhajan Singh so early in his innings. It only showed thatLara wanted to hit Harbhajan out of the attack, even though he hadbeen at the wicket only for a couple of deliveries. Harbhajan himselfwas only in his second over at that point, and Lara’s wicket couldonly be attributed to a sever lack of self-confidence or, indeed, asupreme over-confidence.The Indian attack, for its part, looked particularly sharp andincisive. I was impressed especially with Tinu Yohannan, who struck meas a very quick learner. His line was excellent, and he was preparedto attack the batsman and make him play at the ball all the time. Inmy opinion, that is what good bowling is all about.The only West Indian batsman who seemed prepared to stick around andgraft his runs was the skipper, Carl Hooper. In possibly the form ofhis life, Hooper seemed to have no trouble at all with the pitch orthe bowling, and his partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan, at one stage,looked to take the West Indies to a considerably strong total.Sarwan’s dismissal was the turning-point. After the youngster, noneappeared willing to stick with Hooper at the crease and give him thesupport he so desperately needed. Admittedly, he played a knock ofconsiderable brilliance, but even he must have known that onceShivnarine Chanderpaul – the West Indies’ Mr Dependable at the moment- was brilliantly run out, it was going to be an uphill struggle.India were helped in no small measure by the fact that the West Indiescould not bat out their full quota of overs. That in itself meant thatthe target was not going to be an imposing one.The Indian outfit during the match looked a very strong side. Thefielding was sharp, and the captaincy was spot-on. Ganguly’s bowlingchanges were well thought-out and effective. Once the work in thefield was done, the batsmen had to merely buckle down to their task,and that they did with great efficacy.

Ganguly himself played a good knock, but Dinesh Mongia, coming in atnumber three, was a revelation. We have seen his ability to unleashthe fireworks, but this was a calm and measured innings from theyoungster. Recognising the situation, he quickly adapted his game tocollect the runs at a steady rate, rarely panicking or slogging.With such an innings chasing such a moderate total, the Indian chasewas always going to end with a win. Mongia, with his all-rounderperformance, deserved the Man of the Match award in full. The WestIndies, going by their lacklustre approach to the match, will have todo something extraordinary if they are to come back in this series.

Somerset’s fast bowling crisis deepened this morning when Graham Rose reported that he had a tight hamstring and was unlikely to be able to bowl on the final day of the championship match against Yorkshire at Scarborough.It also seems unlikely that the 38 year old will play in the Sabres NUL game against Yorkshire Phoenix tomorrow in the hope that he will be available if required for the Cheltenham and Gloucester quarter-final against Worcestershire at Taunton on Wednesday.Fast bowlers Andrew Caddick and Richard Johnson are already on the injured list, but both hope to be fit for Wednesday’s big match.The situation has been compounded by injuries to Pete Trego and Joe Tucker, who would normally have been drafted in to fill the vacancy left by `Rosie’s’ injury.Rather than risk Graham Rose in tomorrow’s match the Cidermen were left with a fast bowling dilemma.Chief executive Peter Anderson told me this morning: “Kevin Shine told me about the Graham’s injury problem, and we discussed a number of options. In the end we decided to go for youth, and re-signed Paul Jarvis as cover for the match tomorrow, and have him for Wednesday if needed!”Thirty seven year old Jarvis is an experienced campaigner, having played in nine test matches and sixteen one day internationals during a twenty year career in the first class game. He began his career at Yorkshire in 1981, before moving onto Sussex in 1994. He joined the Cidermen in 1999 but retired at the end of the 2000 season.Since leaving Somerset, Jarvis has kept himself in good physical shape and plays cricket professionally in South Wales.Meanwhile tickets for the quarter final on Wednesday are selling steadily, and by the end of yesterday nearly 3500 had been sold.With a good weather forecast, and a fascinating match in prospect the advice to anyone who intends to be at the County Ground on Wednesday is to purchase their ticket in advance.

After a commanding performance at Mohali that saw India’s batsmen notch up 319 in 50 overs, the same line-up of batsmen slumped to 191 all out at Kochi. If the last game was a demonstration of how to bat the opposition out of a game, the third one-dayer was an example of how to shoot oneself in the foot.Electing to bat first, a series of loose strokes at the top of the order saw India relinquish the advantage to a disciplined, determined Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe applied themselves during their batting display as well, winning the encounter by six wickets and taking a valuable 2-1 lead in this five-match series.Things began to go wrong for India when Dinesh Mongia was dismissed in just the fourth over of the day. It would be fair, however, to say that Mongia was unlucky to be adjudged lbw to medium-pacer Douglas Hondo. Mongia (4) looked disappointed, and replays suggested that the ball may have pitched outside the leg-stump.VVS Laxman breezed in and out of the middle. Cover-driving as though it were the easiest task in the world, Laxman got the Kochi crowd on their feet and cheering. But, as it often is with things of exceptional beauty or grace, the joy was only fleeting. After making 20 in 24 balls with three fours, Laxman slashed a wide one from Hondo through to keeper Tatenda Taibu.Just when consolidation was the order of the day, with India struggling on 38/2, Sourav Ganguly came down the wicket and attempted to deposit a Hondo delivery into the nearby Arabian sea. Ganguly missed, Hondo hit, and India were in strife at 49/3 in the 12th over.Rahul Dravid, often the man to take India out of the woods, was tempted into playing a late cut off Mpumelelo Mbangwa. The ball slid off the face of the bat and appeared to be beating Craig Wishart at a deep slip position. Out flashed the hands, late, quick and in perfect place to snap up a brilliant catch. Dravid (6) had to shake his head in amazement as he walked back to the pavilion.Mohammad Kaif has waited a long while to get an extended run in the Indian team, all the while working hard on his fitness and battling on the domestic circuit. He showed at Kochi that he is a valuable component of this Indian team. Batting with great application and determination, Kaif compiled 56 (78 balls, 2 fours, 1 six), leading India to a score of 191 – something that looked extremely unlikely earlier in the day.After failing with the bat in the first two games of this series and scoring a total of zero runs from three balls in two innings, Sanjay Bangar (36 runs, 67 balls 3 fours) was under some pressure to come good. The all-rounder was shaping to make a serious contribution when he came down the track and hit a Douglas Marillier full-toss straight down the throat of Hondo on the mid-wicket fence.When Bangar was dismissed, with 137 on the board, wickets began to fall with alarming regularity. After the fall of Kaif, just 34 runs were added as India set Zimbabwe a target of 192 for victory. Hondo (4/32) will remember this day for many years to come, and rightly so. The medium-pacer, playing his first game of this series, bowled with good control and troubled batsmen consistently, earning his Man of the Match award.India began well enough in defence of a virtually indefensible score. Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan bowled with pace, zip and accuracy to remove the first two wickets with just 39 runs on the board.But those were really the last moments of cheer for the home side.Alistair Campbell, content to seal up one end, batted with common sense, while Grant Flower was the ideal foil in the middle overs. Even the introduction of Harbhajan Singh did not faze the pair. Campbell, setting his stalls out for a long knock, did not mind biding his time.Grant Flower, almost permanently in the shadow of his brother, is really an underrated cricketer. With Andy Flower absent, brother Grant was promoted up the order, and he shouldered the responsibility admirably. Using his feet well, Grant Flower worked the ball away into the gaps on the leg-side with ease, going for the big hit every now and then.After reaching his half-century, Campbell seemed to open up a bit more, playing some exquisite strokes through the on-side. A cover drive off Sarandeep Singh stood out, with Campbell leaning well into the off-side to execute the stroke perfectly. It was, however, the same man who brought about Campbell’s dismissal.How many times do we see a batsman do all the hard work in setting up a team victory before throwing it away just when the job was near completion? Campbell deserved a century, if not at least a big unbeaten fifty, but he fell on 71 (119 balls, 7 fours) as he paved the way for a six-wicket Zimbabwe win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.In the 34th over of the innings, Campbell jumped down the track to Sarandeep and was beaten both in the flight and off the wicket. He could only look back in dismay as Ajay Ratra whipped off the bails.By the time Campbell was dismissed, Zimbabwe had reached 144/3 and needed only a further 48 runs for victory. But Campbell did enter an exclusive club during his innings – he became just the third Zimbabwean to score 5000 one-day runs when he heaved Dinesh Mongia into the mid-wicket stands.Grant Flower, not looking for anything beyond a safe ride home for Zimbabwe, motored along to 49 (88 balls, 7 fours) before nicking one from Agarkar through to keeper Ajay Ratra. He was unlucky to miss a half-century, but that will not fuss Grant Flower too much.Eventually, Craig Wishart (17) clattered two sixes, and Zimbabwe clinched victory by six wickets in 44.2 overs, taking a vital 2-1 lead and ensuring that the next one-dayer – at Hyderabad – will see India under immense pressure to win and stay alive in the series.

80 runs from John Crawley saved Hampshire’s embarrassment as they struggled to save the follow-on after Leicestershire has scored 428 in their first innings.Vince Wells added just one to his overnight score before he edged Mullally to give Kenway his fourth slip catch. Following some lusty hitting from the veteran DeFreitas, the innings folded when three wickets fell in 22 balls.Will Kendall and Derek Kenway were dismissed cheaply, before skipper Robin Smith and John Crawley, batting at the Rose Bowl for his new county for the first time, revived the innings with a 70-run stand. Smith showed some of his fine array of strokes, driving the short ball hard to the boundary and playing off his legs much in his old style, before he fell to a sucker punch and was well caught at long-on by Carl Crowe.Crawley was a lone figure by now, with Johnson, Pothas and Udal departing quickly to the medium pace of Maddy and Dagnall. When he was finally out for 80, Crawley had struck nine fours.With Hampshire facing the follow-on, youngsters Chris Tremlett and James Hamblin stayed till close of play, but Hampshire still require another 34 to avoid it.

With so much going on at the Rose Bowl with the new pavilion, a remark was made as to the place buzzing. This was however taken seriously as a swarm of bees stretched across the playing fields as players and umpires lay flat on the ground, and as the bees moved towards the members enclosure, spectators were seen scurrying away. After the bees had settled on the advertising board an expert bee-keeper from the local council arrived to clear the danger.

The most exciting day’s cricket in the Busta tournament so far saw EnglandA’s early afternoon advantage snatched away by an electric partnershipbetween Guyana’s Carl Hooper and Ramnaresh Sarwan.

In a packed Bourda stadium, the veteran of West Indies cricket and his youngprotegy added 157 for the fifth wicket to leave the game intriguinglybalanced after two days in this Busta International Shield semi-final at Georgetown.Hooper was finally dismissed in the over before stumps, just nine runs shortof his century which not only deprived him of a $100,000 (Guyanese) prize,offered by a local pharmaceutical company if he made 100, but also left himwith 111 runs still to get to win the big US$50,000 prize put up by the WestIndies Cricket Board for the first Caribbean batsman to 1,000 runs.His 91 from 136 balls was full of both power and subtlety as he punishedthe spinners with a confidence that has grown as he has run into the bestform of his life. He was eventually out to a ball from Chris Schofield thatcame over the wicket and bounced into the rough, popping up high to giveVikram Solanki an easy catch running round from first slip to silly point.By the time he departed, Guyana had recovered from their potentially disastrousposition in the early afternoon of 33 for four in reply to England A’s first innings total of 293.At the fall of his wicket, they were in a more comfortable zone at 190 forfive, still trailing England A by 102 but with Sarwan still at the crease,having made his sixth half-century of the season, the tourists still havemuch to do before they can claim victory at the half-way stage, which mayearn them a place in the final.Schofield spearheaded the action for much of the day when he added another36 runs to his overnight total to close the innings unbeaten on 64. But hewas involved in two run outs which saw Chris Read depart in the third overof the morning for 24 after gambling unsuccessfully on a risky single andthen after making a stylish 32 from 69 balls, Alex Tudor was also dispatchedby a fielder’s rapid return.”That was very disappointing,” said Schofield afterwards. “The atmosphere was very loud so we were relying more on eye contact than hearing the calls. There was a quick second when you couldn’t hear your partner and that’s when we ran into trouble. These things happen and you apologise and get on with it but it is a pity it happened twice in the same day,” he said.There were two more near misses but Hooper missed a return from MahendraNagamootoo to let Tudor off the hook and Ryan Sidebottom made his crease bya whisker shortly before he was lbw to Hooper, a wicket that wrapped up theinnings and gave Hooper figures of 5-49.With Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sarwan in the Guyana line-up, the293 total looked well short of a winning first innings one but a remarkablespell from the England A bowlers led to the demolition of the top order withfour wickets falling for just six runs.Graeme Swann captured opener Seonarine Chattergoo with an easy caught andbowled chance, then had Travis Dowlin caught at extra cover by Michael Powellfor a duck. Chanderpaul, back from a three-month absence after injuring hisfoot in Australia, edged Tudor to the wicket-keeper Read, who took abrilliant catch just millimetres of the ground and Usman Afzaal took anotherexcellent catch at third slip to dismiss Azumeel Haniff, openingSidebottom’s account in the match.But then, to an overwhelming reception from his home crowd, Hooper arrived topartner the 18 year-old Sarwan. They played watchfully to tea but returnedfrom the interval to inflict a major assault on the bowlers. In the firstfive overs, they blasted 37 runs to all parts of the ground, theNorthamptonshire off-spinner Swann heaved over the boundary fence twice bythe mighty Hooper.The partnership was enthusiastically urged on by the crowd who wererelishing the big hitting by two top-class batsmen but despite theonslaught, England A never gave up hope of breaking the stand with skipperMark Alleyne maintaining pressure throughout with a regular rotation of hisbowlers.But they had to wait until the penultimate over of the day before they wererewarded with Hooper’s wicket, which saw him depart to stunneddisappointment from his doting supporters.England A’s bowling figures reflected a heavy day’s work. Swann yielded justseven runs from his first six overs but by the close, 62 runs had beenpicked off his 13 overs after Hooper’s brutal assault.”Hooper and Sarwan attacked us and I think we were a bit stunned by that andlet them get away to a 157-run partnership,” said Schofield.”But hopefully we can come back tomorrow and get them all out before theyget to 290 and win on first innings.”We knew that if got to 270, it would go right down to the last day and Ithink if we do get them out, even if they win first innings, there is stilla lot to come. We are still confident we can get an outright win from thisgame,” Schofield said.

WestpacTrust Park in Hamilton will become an even brighter jewel in the New Zealand cricket crown next summer, thanks to the needs of the Waikato rugby team.Heavy delays to the re-development of Rugby Park in Hamilton – caused by the delay in the arrival of very necessary steelwork – have meant the Waikato Rugby Union must look for another venue or venues for its five home NPC matches against Counties-Manukau, Wellington, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty and Otago in August-September.Yesterday a meeting of the Waikato stadium trust, which administers the development of both WestpacTrust Park and Rugby Park, gave the WRU permission to play on WestpacTrust.John Turkington, the Northern Districts cricket chief executive and a member of the stadium trust, said the dual use of WestpacTrust Park would be of great benefit to both sports.”We are now going through the resource consent process toward installing floodlights at WestpacTrust Park. There has been one objection, which is not unsurmountable.”If consent is obtained the lights could be up in time for the first rugby match on August 24.”Floodlighting would make WestpacTrust an ideal venue for day-night matches, one-dayers or tests, from next summer onward.”The planned lights will be on four towers and will produce the best day-night cricket viewing in New Zealand.”In England they work on a basis of 1250 lux as satisfactory for cricket. Carisbrook are, we think, about 2000 lux, while the new lights at WestpacTrust are designed to give us about 2810 lux,” said Turkington.The park groundstaff were confident that winter sporting traffic would not damage WestpacTrust’s reputation of being one of the best cricketing surfaces in New Zealand.”The last rugby match is scheduled for September 29, and the provisional Shell Trophy draw has the first match at WestpacTrust starting on November 29,” said Turkington.”The ground staff are confident there will not be a problem getting the ground ready for cricket in the nine-week gap after rugby finishes.”Other improvements at WestpacTrust, such as increasing spectator amenities and developing practice facilities would be fitted into the new programme.Turkington said the stadium trust had much of the funding already in place, as the trust had received strong backing from the Hamilton City Council, Trust Waikato, the Lotteries Board and other community interests in the Waikato area.The building of new terrace spectator areas at WestpacTrust – using fill from the re-shaping of Rugby Park – last summer gave the park more spectator-room, without detracting from its traditional tree-and-grass tranquillity.Now the addition of more seating, and floodlights, must promote WestpacTrust higher in the New Zealand Cricket scheme of things.There was additional impetus for greater use of grounds such as WestpacTrust yesterday from Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, playing the English season with Middlesex.In the latest of his regular columns on CricInfo, Fleming commented on England’s sweeping defeat of Pakistan in the first Test at Lord’s last weekend – when the England seam bowlers Andrew Caddick and Darren Gough demolished the Pakistan batting – as the classic case of a home team prospering on a pitch designed to aid the home bowlers.In the sub-continent, wrote Fleming, you expected dry pitches that gave spinners a lot of help. In Australia they prepared pitches that gave bounce and pace, and suited their style of fast-medium bowlers and wrist-spinners.England and New Zealand, said Fleming, should be ideal for the preparation of pitches that had some pace, and assisted the seam bowlers.This was the case when New Zealand thrashed Pakistan at WestpacTrust Park in the third Test last summer, after New Zealand lost the first Test on an experimental “drop-in” pitch in the first Test at Eden Park, and played a tiresome draw in the second at Jade Stadium.The WestpacTrust pitch at Hamilton, said Fleming, was ideal for New Zealand purposes.He cited Carisbrook as another pitch which suited the New Zealand style of game, and said New Zealand should play more often on such grounds that favoured them, and not take the risk of experimenting with “drop-in” pitches.With WestpacTrust Park moving up to the front line of New Zealand international venues, Fleming may have his wish granted sooner than he might have expected.

Surrey allrounder Chris Jordan will pursue opportunities elsewhere after being released from the club at the end of his contract. Jordan had been at Surrey for six years, having joined at the age of 17, but struggled to make an impact this season, making eight first-class appearances and none in limited-overs cricket.Born in Barbados and eligible to play for England and West Indies, Jordan received a cricket scholarship at Dulwich College and was once regarded as one of Surrey’s brightest prospects. However, he struggled for consistency and in July Surrey’s team director, Chris Adams, said Jordan “needs to show us what he can do”.”I am very grateful for all the opportunities I have been given with Surrey, and will always remember my time at the club very fondly and wish them all success for the future,” Jordan said. “I remain a very ambitious cricketer and now very much look forward to continuing my cricketing career elsewhere.”Jordan, a fast if occasionally wayward bowler, was part of Surrey’s 2011 promotion-winning side and played for Barbados ahead of the 2012 English season. He started the Division One campaign in the first XI and was even employed as a makeshift opener, but managed just one half-century to go with 23 wickets at 39.93 before losing his place.First-class career averages of 21.83 with the bat and 38.47 with the ball attest to a talent as yet unfulfilled, although at 23 he still has time to develop and will likely attract interest from several counties.Adams said: “Chris has been with Surrey from the age of seventeen and it’s unfortunate that he hasn’t been able to earn a regular place in the first team. He is at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing regular first-class cricket if he is to fulfil his ambitions in the game therefore it is in his best interests that he looks at opportunities elsewhere.”