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There’s just one match to go in the Super Eights stage of the WorldTwenty20 Cup, but Group E still holds plenty of interesting possibilities:South Africa, New Zealand and India all have a chance of making it to thesemi-finals, but none of them have secured a place in the last four yet.With two wins in their first two games, it seemed New Zealand might haveassured themselves of an early entry into the semis, but their two winswere both by very narrow margins, which gives them a net run rate which isvery narrowly positive: +0.05. Both South Africa and Indiahave a higher NRR than that, which means that India – who are currentlytwo points behind New Zealand and South Africa – only need to win, by anymargin, to make it to the semis. South Africa can get there even if theylose to India, but the margin of defeat has to be narrow enough to ensuretheir NRR doesn’t slip below 0.05.For example, if India bat first and score 170, South Africa will have toscore at least 143 to ensure their NRR is better than New Zealand’s, whowill then miss out on the last four. If South Africa bat first and score170, India will have to chase it down in less than 16.4 overs to eliminateSouth Africa from the tournament.Of course South Africa can avoid all the arithmetic if they beat India,in which case they will top the group and stay in Durban for thesemi-final on Saturday. And there’s no question about who New Zealand willbe supporting in this game: all they need to make the cut is for SouthAfrica to beat India and push them out of the tournament.

Australia’s first official touring squad to England, the 1868 Aboriginal team, will be recognised when the Aboriginal flag is flown at major cricket grounds and offices on Friday to mark the 138th anniversary of their trip. Only two of the outfit, which also entertained audiences in the United Kingdom with boomerang and spear displays during breaks in play, went on to cricket careers after the 47-match schedule and there has been a long fight for appropriate acknowledgement.The squad left Sydney on February 8,1868 and arrived in England on May 13 for a six-month tour that included 14 wins, 14 losses and 19 draws. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the recognition date was a way Australian cricket could pay tribute to the courage of the first touring team.”The pioneering achievements of the 1868 team have in recent years started to become more widely acknowledged and celebrated, and we want that history and recognition to be ongoing,” he said. “In 2002 Australian cricket was successful in having the team inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and in 2004, individual player numbers were allocated to the touring party as formal recognition of their place in Australian cricket history.”Ashley Mallett, the former Test offspinner, wrote the book about the tour, and the Lord’s museum exhibits the boomerang of the player Dick-a-Dick as a lasting memory. Cricket Australia has developed the Imparja Cup, an annual, all-indigenous national competition, to lift the profile of the game in recent years, but Jason Gillespie, the great-grandson of a Kamilaroi warrior, is still the country’s only acknowledged Aboriginal Test cricketer.The squad 1 Arrahmunyarrimun (European name – Peter), 2 Ballrinjarrimin (Sundown), 3 Bonnibarngeet (Tiger), 4 Brimbunyah (Red Cap), 5 Bripumyarrimin (King Cole), 6 Bullchanach (Bullocky), 7 Charles Lawrence (captain/coach), 8 Grongarrong (Mosquito), 9 Jarrawuk Murrumgunarrimin (Two Penny), 10 Jumgumjenanuke (Dick-a-Dick), 11 Lyterjerbillijun (Jim Crow), 12 Pripumuarraman (Charles Dumas), 13 Unaarrimin (Johnny Mullagh), 14 Yellanach (Johnny Cuzens).

Scorecard

If the opening semi was a forthright one-sided affair, this one was a steamily unpredictable battle of heart and soul, with a steely Kent finally emerging triumphant over Sussex in the last over. Kent will now meet Gloucestershire in what promises to be a tight battle, after the fielding of both finalists had a massive part to play in their success.A polished Kent stifled Sussex’s early charge to dismiss them for 140 but despite another dominant opening stand of 65 between Joe Denly and Rob Key, some smart Sussex bowling threatened to upset the cart. Key’s huge hits, though, were the other decider as he posted an unbeaten 68 to lead from the front and take them to the final. He picked off three boundaries in the penultimate over from James Kirtley then Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s two no-balls in the last sealed the result.Denly continued to prove his class, with some clean cover-driving the highlight. He eventually holed out sweeping Saqlain Mushtaq at midwicket for 31, and was quickly followed by Martin van Jaarsveld for 2, sweeping Mushtaq Ahmed onto his stumps (69 for 2). Matthew Walker’s 18 then proved very useful as Kent continued their final push.”It’s the mark of a good side that you can struggle and come back strong again later on,” said Sussex captain Chris Adams beforehand. This attitude saw them to their first finals day, but this time, as they slipped from 59 for 0 to 140 all out, it was not enough – despite never giving up. That total was way short of what they could have expected, losing their last nine wickets for 59 runs off 58 balls.It was all so different first up. A confident decision to bat looked to be paying off when Murray Goodwin and Chris Nash were going great guns early on. But when Nash miscued a pull high to mid-on for 37, his highest Twenty20 score, his dismissal punctured the momentum.Once Goodwin lost his new partner, Luke Wright, early the pressure was very much on, and he fell one run later. Wright – much like Andrew Flintoff earlier – came in amid much hype, didn’t get going, had a let-off early (in case on 2, backing up) and then fell for 3, Darren Stevens the bowler. Stevens conceded 13 runs from his four overs.Goodwin was next, the first of three tight run-outs, with Chris Adams and Robin Martin-Jenkins the other victims. Matt Prior was another to feel the heat – his desperate sweep to deep midwicket off James Tredwell another effort to boost his flagging side. Tredwell picked up a second when Michael Yardy was stumped, then Malinga cleaned up, with three wickets.A Kent/Gloucestershire final was an unlikely one on paper, not least because Lancashire and Sussex have four each of the nine England Twenty20 squad members today. However, that squad was even criticised by one of its members – Jon Lewis saying “I think they should pick the best players” – and the two finalists showed the class of their own.Kent won the mascot race – the Spitfire bombing past a sorry Lanky the Giraffe at the last – and, with a little batting firepower, they will compete for the real prize.

Scorecard

Shane Harwood and Mick Lewis justified Victoria’s decision to field first, taking all ten wickets between them and restricting New South Wales to 249. Brad Haddin and Grant Lambert had the Blues in a reasonable position at 5 for 247 before Lewis and Harwood skittled the tail, claiming 5 for 2 in the space of 14 balls.Harwood, who has missed matches this season with a strained buttock muscle, did the damage at the top of the order and finished with 6 for 51, his best first-class figures.Ed Cowan was unable to reproduce his century-making form from Sunday’s one-day game and was bowled by Harwood for 1. Phil Jaques (57) and Simon Katich (40) played well until Harwood removed them both in successive overs.Lewis (4 for 52), who has also been on the sidelines with a hip muscle injury, made the vital breakthroughs after Haddin and Lambert put on 105 for the sixth wicket. Haddin continued his fine year with 66 and Lambert, in his first game of the season, made 51. Victoria were 0 for 19 at stumps.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Australia broke their semi-final jinx at the Champions Trophy with a34-run triumph over a spirited New Zealand at Mohali to enter their firstfinal. In a game which turned out to be a lot closer than expected, New Zealand,seemingly down and out at 35 for 6 chasing 241, fought back with anincredible 103-run stand between Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram. Vettorimade 79, his second-highest score in ODIs, but even his effort wasn’tenough to make up for the shocking collapse of their top order.As has been the norm in this tournament, this pitch was another on whichrun-scoring wasn’t easy. The New Zealand bowlers showed that after StephenFleming won the toss, as Kyle Mills – who finished with 4 for 38 – reducedAustralia to 4 for 2 by the third over. Half-centuries by Ricky Pontingand Andrew Symonds – both scored 58 – lifted Australia to a competitive240, but that seemed more than sufficient when New Zealand’s top order wasblown away by Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken.Perhaps wary of the fact that this was the same pitch on which SouthAfrica’s bowlers bundled Pakistan out for 89, New Zealand’s approach atthe start was to play cautiously and see off the new-ballchallenge posed by Lee and McGrath. They survived five overs withoutlosing a wicket, then lost six in a heap as their technical deficiencieswere horribly exposed.McGrath began the slide, defeating Lou Vincent outside off like he hasdone countless batsmen in his distinguished career. A peach of a deliveryfrom Lee – pitching just off, and ducking in at a furious pace – was fartoo much for Nathan Astle to handle, while Hamish Marshall soon becameMcGrath’s second victim. Fleming shaped well, then edged a drive, whilePeter Fulton and Brendon McCullum were soon swept away as well.The crowd at Mohali would have been preparing for a very early finish, butVettori and Oram had other ideas. Australia had an early chance to nip thepartnership, but Michael Hussey made a mess of a regulation slip catchwhen Vettori was on 5. Neither batsman needed a second invitation as theyslowly got on top of the attack, as the pronounced seam movement graduallyeased. The fast bowlers, so potent at the start, suddenly lookedinsipid as Oram and Vettori found the gaps at will. Oram stood tall andclipped the ball effortlessly through the on side, while Vettori preferredto move to leg and squeeze it through backward point and third man.The runs came thick and fast, the asking rate hovered at around six anover, and Ponting was forced to turn to the spin of Symonds, who finallybroke the stand, turning it enough to beat Oram and have him stumped.Vettori kept the fight going, audaciously shuffling outside off andclipping it to leg when Ponting packed the areas square on the off side.Even after he was bowled off the pads, Mills and Bond continued the fight,adding 26 for the last wicket before finally succumbing.New Zealand fought hard with the bat, and they were similarly competitivein the field earlier in the afternoon, as all the bowlers except JamesFranklin gave the Australian top order plenty to ponder about. However, unlike NewZealand’s shockingly brittle top order, Australia had the class to combatthe conditions.

After their openers left early, the rest of the batsmen all contributedcrucial knocks, with Ponting and Symonds leading the way. The key wasregular partnerships – the third, fourth and fifth wickets put together66, 54 and 65, ensuring that New Zealand never had the luxury of bowlingto two new batsmen during the middle overs.Ponting and Damien Martyn – whose innings of 26 was worth a lot more -started the recovery process. The early part of his knock was patchy, butonce Ponting got into his stride the Mohali crowd was treated to somegorgeous strokeplay, with his driving down the ground being absolutelyexhilarating. When Martyn was trapped on the sweep, Michael Hussey,promoted to No.5, took over, playing second fiddle perfectly to anincreasingly aggressive Ponting.Fleming marshalled his resources well, shuffling his bowlers around anddelaying the third Powerplay when Ponting and Martyn were tonking it allaround, but Australia’s depth in batting ensured that New Zealand neverseized the initiative. Ponting’s dismissal, for example, brought Symondsto the middle, which meant little respite for New Zealand as heimmediately got stuck into Vettori. A straight hit over long-on for sixwas followed by a slog-sweep for four as Vettori leaked 28 in his lastfour overs after conceding 13 in his first six.Australia lost their way in the last ten overs, though – despite havingsix wickets in hand, they only managed 52 as New Zealand finished stronglyin the field. A total of 240 promised a competitive match, and despite thewashout at the start, there was enough drama to keep the Mohali crowdentertained till late at night.How they were outAustraliaShane Watson c Fulton b Mills 0 (3 for 1)
Fetched one from outside off and top-edged a pull to mid-offAdam Gilchrist c Oram b Mills 3 (4 for 2)
Lobbed a flick to square legDamien Martyn lbw b Vettori 26 (70 for 3)
Missed a sweep and trapped plumb in frontRicky Ponting c Vettori b Mills 58 (123 for 4)
Miscued a pull to mid-onMichael Hussey c Marshall b Franklin 35 (188 for 5)
Short ball cut straight to pointAndrew Symonds b Bond 58 (211 for 6)
Shuffled too far across; leg stump pushed backMichael Clarke c Vettori b Mills 14 (220 for 7)
Slogged to third manBrett Lee b Bond 5 (223 for 8)
Made room to flay and missedMitchell Johnson run out 3 (236 for 9)
Direct hit by the bowler at the non-striker’s endNew ZealandLou Vincent c Ponting b McGrath 1 (16 for 1)
In the corridor, edged to second slipNathan Astle b Lee 0 (20 for 2)
Perfect indipper, crashed between bat and pad into middle stumpHamish Marshall c Gilchrist b McGrath 5 (30 for 3)
Tried to cut, and edged to the keeperStephen Fleming c Ponting b Bracken 15 (30 for 4)
Full delivery swinging away, edged to second slipPeter Fulton b McGrath 2 (34 for 5)
Shouldered arms to a straight ball on off stumpBrendon McCullum c Martyn b Bracken 1 (35 for 6)
Inside-edged a flick to mid-onJacob Oram st Gilchrist b Symonds 43 (138 for 7)
Daniel Vettori b Johnson 79 (180 for 9)
Kyle Mills c Gilchrist b Lee 21 (206 all out)

The United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) has not been permitted representation at the forthcoming ICC meetings at Lord’s, due to the unresolved governance dispute that has dogged the association since its controversial elections last March.Two rival factions – the official board, led by Gladstone Dainty, and the Council of Cricket League Presidents (CLP) – have been fighting for control ever since March, and with the ICC meeting fast approaching, Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the ICC, has run out of patience.”As a result of several of the matters that have been raised in recent correspondence, ICC is unable to come to a clear view as to which party should be recognised as the legitimate governor of USACA,” wrote Speed in a letter. “Regrettably, despite having had three months in which to resolve these matters, you seem to be no closer to doing so.”The result of this is that, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current competing parties as being in undisputed control of USACA. Further, at this stage, ICC does not intend to recognise any of the current parties as being the legitimate governor of USACA.”In the circumstances, unless the matter can be resolved by mutual agreement in the meantime, we do not intend to recognise any party for the forthcoming ICC meetings.”If the matter is not resolved in time the USACA will miss out on the opportunity to be represented at the ICC Associates Meeting on 26 June and the ICC Annual Conference on 28 June.Speed also highlighted the potential financial implications of the on-going dispute. “It follows that funding to USACA will continue to be withheld,” he added. “If USA qualifies for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, USACA will be entitled to funding to prepare for that event. We will need to be able to put in place a system to ensure that cricketers in the USA are not disadvantaged as we move through the next six to 12 month period.”The dispute is not expected to affect USA’s participation in the ICC Trophy 2005 in Ireland starting on July 1.

Division One

Fourth day
Dominic Cork’s 154, his first-class century and second highest score, enabled Lancashire to collect full batting points against Durham at Old Trafford meaning they take 11 from the match. That prospect appeared unlikely at the start of the day as they resumed on 210 for 5. Glen Chapple began positively, but edged Gareth Breese to slip, before Cork entered the fray and joined Luke Sutton. The pair added 105 for the seventh wicket, but even when Sutton fell Cork wasn’t finish. If anything he went even harder at Durham and moved from 100 to 150 in 41 balls. Tom Smith reached his highest first-class score as they added 131 for the eighth wicket, which finally ended when Cork thumped a return catch to Gary Scott but Durham missed a vital bowling point. Lancashire had one final dart at the Durham batsmen, time enough for Cork to remove Scott, but thoughts had already turned to the final round of matches. Sussex will start with an eight point advantage at the top, while Durham have been pulled well into the relegation fight, as the season goes down to the wire.Yorkshire kept their division one survival hopes alive with an outstanding 68-run victory against Nottinghamshire Headingley. Once again they had their legspinners – Mark Lawson and Adil Rashid – to thank as the pair shared another seven wickets, the same as the first innings. Yorkshire had dangled the carrot, setting Nottinghamshire 282 to win after Michael Lumb’s unbeaten 84. Jason Gillespie struck in the first over, but the visitors progressed to a promising 172 for 4 before Deon Kruis removed Graeme Swann and Mark Ealham on the same score. The tail then folded to Rashid and Lawson, despite a second valiant innings from David Hussey who followed his 119 from yesterday with an unbeaten 86.The final day at Edgbaston turned into a farewell for Nick Knight as Warwickshire and Kent played out a draw. Once it became clear a result wasn’t on the cards, Knight was given the chance to take centre stage. In a rare spell of bowling he sent down nine overs of medium pace in his final outing for Warwickshire before retirement and also claimed two catches. Matthew Walker milked the easy offerings for a century before Kent declared and Knight had a final chance at the crease. He stroked the last two boundaries of his first-class career, meaning he ended his Warwickshire days with an average of 50, before stumps were drawn.

The Lions have a 236-run lead against the Cobras going into the final day in Johannesburg. Their position was built around an undefeated 136 seventh wicket partnership between Matthew Harris (83) and Eugene Moleon (51) to end the day on 262 for 6. Earlier Herschelle Gibbs set the Cobras up for a big total with 149, but the lack of partners saw them bowled out for 325. The Lions attack shared the spoils with Gerhard de Bruin taking 4 for 64.In Port Elizabeth the game is delicately poised with the Eagles taking a 106-run lead into the last day with seven wickets in hand. Replying to the Eagles first innings of 391 the Warriors reached 350 with Carl Bradfield top scoring on 86. A feature in the innings was the 50 extras given away by the Eagle bowlers. Roger Telemachus came out on top of the bowling, taking 6 for 85. The Eagles second innings did not start as planned with three wickets going down for 65.For the third day in a row bad light stopped play early in Durban with the Titans in a commanding position. Having bowled the Dolphins out for 199 they increased their lead to 321 with five second innings wickets standing. Andre Seymore, who fell nine runs short of a deserved hundred, set the innings up for the Titans. The Dolphins will do well to share the spoils in this encounter.

It was another predictable day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where West Indies played out its final preparatory match before next week’s first Test against Australia.As the tourists completed their third sub-200 total from four first-class innings played on this tour so far, a spectator fanned a banner pleading “Bring back Viv”. But the great Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards was nowhere in sight. And just as last week was Western Australia’s opportunity to upstage these once-feared tourists, so this week became Victoria’s chance to annihilate them.The result for the Windies: a seven-wicket loss in Perth, followed by today’s innings and sixty-three run drubbing inside three days by the bottom-ranked Australian domestic side. And both coach Roger Harper and captain Jimmy Adams are at a loss for explanations.”I have no explanation. It has been a disappointing performance to put it mildly. I’m not one to get angry but I’m very very disappointed,” said Harper.”It is very very frustrating because I know we are capable of a lot better cricket than we have displayed here and as we displayed in Western Australia. But it’s difficult to put an exact finger on it as to what will bring out the consistency we’re still striving for. Physically, I have no doubt that we’re working a lot harder, a lot better in terms of preparation. We’re still trying to get the precise, definite answer,” he said.Asked about what went wrong with the team’s batting – they were bowled out for 167 in the first innings and 114 in the second – Adams was direct.”I won’t take very long to describe, it’s just not good enough,” he said. “The bottom line is that we’re just not batting as well as we should be batting. We’re just not doing the basic consistent things. It’s just not happening.”For Victorian captain Darren Berry on the other hand, the match couldn’t have gone better. His bowlers began well in the first innings under overcast conditions on a helpful pitch, his batsmen continued the good work by amassing 7/344, and the Bushrangers finally tasted their opening first-class victory of the season. To top it all off, Berry himself claimed his four hundredth first-class catch today.”I think everything went right for Victoria. I think the toss was the start because it was a difficult wicket to bat on. I thought our bowlers bowled well and it was a good team effort. I don’t think it’s my position to comment on how the West Indies played, I’m more concerned about how Victoria played and I was extremely happy with our performance,” he said.The stars for Victoria were twenty-year-old paceman Mathew Inness (9/73 for the match, including career best figures of 6/26 in the first innings) and twenty-five year-old batsman Brad Hodge (134*), who was forced to retire hurt overnight after a Courtney Walsh delivery left his thumb severely bruised.There were other positives too. The patient batting of Jason Arnberger (99) in the first innings. The bowling of first-class debutant Ben Oliver (2/13 off six overs in the second innings, including the crucial wicket of Brian Lara). The successful return from injury of Damien Fleming (2/27 off tenovers today). And of course, the clever bowling of Test spinner Colin Miller (3/26 off 15.3 overs).After losses in the opening two Pura Cup matches, Berry believes today’s win will give the Victorians the confidence and inspiration they need for the next round of domestic matches.For the West Indians, the result simply exacerbates their woeful start to this Australian tour. With the first Test just four days away, the search is on for that elusive answer to their problems.Adams thinks the answer lies within. “I don’t think it’s so much a technical problem. I think what we have to do is to do whatever we can amongst ourselves to reinforce to the team that the players here are good players, quality players. I think they’re players that have done enough often enough, and ones who you figure will always carry that self belief. There might be a few younger players where it’s up to the rest of us to keep reinforcing that ‘You are good enough and you’re here because you’re goodenough’.”Adams says the most important thing is for the team to come together to solve the problems. “I think everybody has a role to play. I think even players who are struggling and might be young players, they still have a role to play. It’s not going to happen because one man stands up, it’s going to happen because the whole team comes together. And as well, you can’t get away from the fact that it is going to require discipline.”At the same time, coach Harper says the team still has time to realise its potential. “I still think we have it in us to play good cricket and precisely because of our unpredictability, it’s possible for us to getthrown out there and string it together. And hopefully we can achieve it come the Test match,” he said.

The ICC has announced that it will begin the process of selling the commercial, sponsorship and audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015.This period covers the 2011 World Cup in Asia, the ICC Champions Trophy, the Twenty20 Championship, World Cup qualifiers, Under-19 World Cup and the Women’s World Cup.The ICC will issue the tender documents to broadcasters, agencies and persons qualified to bid for the rights, and will begin discussions shortly. Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, will lead the discussions, along with Ehsan Mani, the former ICC president, who will act as a consultant. Mani negotiated the previous agreement, which ends with the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.Speed said the initial discussion began in April, when the ICC allotted the countries hosting the various forthcoming events. “With those venues and the timings for the tournaments agreed, we are now in a position to go to market to obtain the best deal for cricket,” Speed was quoted as saying in a media release. “The sale of these rights is of huge significance for cricket throughout the world at all levels as the revenue it generates will play a pivotal role in sustaining and growing the game.”I am delighted Ehsan has agreed to act as a consultant with us in this process as he played a significant role in securing the previous agreement and his experience and expertise in this area is certain to be invaluable.”