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ECB Performance Director Hugh Morris spent the day at the County Ground yesterday to carry out an audit on the first year of the ECB Regional Academy, that is based in the Centre of Excellence.During his day at the ground Hugh Morris spent time with chief executive Peter Anderson, he met Gareth Andrew and Neil Edwards, who have both just completed their time at the Academy, and also met with the Academy Director Mark Garaway and first team coach Kevin Shine.At the end of the day Mark Garaway told me: "He was very pleased with the way that things are going here, and sees the model that we have developed in Somerset as one that could be adopted by other counties."The Academy Director continued: "He felt that involving the first team coach and the senior players with the Academy players was working well, and me linking in as the second team coach was a real strength. He also thought that we have a great back up team in Darren Veness, Andy Hurry and sports psychologist Will James."The official report will be sent to the club during the next two weeks, but it would seem that the first year of the ECB Academy at the County Ground has been a great success, especially in the light of the number of youngsters who have made it either into their respective England age groups, into the Somerset Seconds or in the case of Neil Edwards into the Somerset first team.

Discarded Hampshire opener Derek Kenway cracked an undefeated 135 for Hambledon against New Milton at Ridge Meadow. But his century heroics failed to save Hambledon from a five-wicket defeat by the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 promotion contenders.Kenway and John Burdekin (48) rescued the Dons from a worrying 80-5 to 243-7 – but it didn’t stop New Milton.The Hampshire cricketer bowled seven unsuccessful overs for 45 runs as New Milton stormed home with time to spare – Ryan Beck (65) and Dean Miller (49) leading the run chase.Top dogs St Cross Symondians thrashed Leckford by 166 runs with Mark Parker hitting a century and Richard Boote taking four wickets.Second-placed Alton lost by four wickets to Hursley Park, while Flamingo appear to be fading after losing by 76 runs to Purbrook.Bashley II all-rounder Jo Hall was detailed in a Portsmouth hospital overnight after being struck on the head in the 67-run defeat at Havant.Luke Wordley celebrated his Redlynch & Hale debut with a career-best 107, but was unable to stave off a 117-run defeat at Gosport, who piled up 322-5.Paultons, Ventnor and Waterlooville were also Premier 3 winners.

In their first match since the death of disgraced former captain HansieCronje, South Africa won the inaugural One-Day International played atTangiers, convincingly defeating tournament favourites Pakistan by 54 runs.Shaun Pollock’s side appeared inspired by the significance of the occasion,observing an emotional minute’s silence and wearing black armbands as a markof respect for Cronje, who remained close to the players despite his role inthe match-fixing scandal.”We dedicated this match to Hansie and tried to a produce a performance thathe would be proud of,” revealed Pollock afterwards, “and looking down on usfrom above, I’m sure that he would have been pretty happy.”Indeed the sharpness of their performance belied the fact that the majorityof the side had not played competitive cricket during the past three months,as the batsmen scored an above-par 283 on a slow pitch before the bowlersdismissed Pakistan for 229.Opener Herschelle Gibbs, who was only reunited with his lost cricket kitlast night, was adjudged Man of the Match for his 114, his seventh one-daycentury, which laid the foundations for South Africa’s victory.Gibbs hit eight fours and four sixes during an intelligent innings thatincluded crucial partnerships with Nicky Boje (52) and Jonty Rhodes (46).Assessing the pitch conditions quickly, the South African’s worked hard fortheir runs, running between the wickets particularly well.New coach Eric Simmons was impressed: “I don’t think it was a wicket for bigscoring shots and the crucial part was the way Herschelle and Jonty playedin the middle of the innings – if they had tried to get us to a large totalby going for their shots we might have struggled.”To threaten South Africa’s total Pakistan needed to start briskly, makingfull use of the hard ball and fielding restrictions. And openers Imran Nazirand Saaed Anwaar did just, bringing up Pakistan’s fifty in just the seventhover of the innings.Nazir hit nine boundaries in his 29-ball 40 and Anwaar struck five in his 23before Jacques Kallis, brought on after an expensive opening burst fromMakhaya Ntini, conjured up a crucial double strike: Anwaar was deceived by aslower delivery, chipping to mid on, and Nazir was trapped lbw to leavePakistan 69 for two.Pakistan remained in the chase right up to the final overs, but paid thepenalty for their middle order failing to crack on after playing themselvesin, no batsmen passing fifty despite all the top seven spending significanttime at the crease.South Africa bowled astutely, mixing up the pace of their deliveries andmaking it difficult for the Pakistanis to score the boundaries in which theythrive.And unlike Pakistan earlier in the day, who had missed several chances in amessy fielding display, the South African’s were vibrant in the field,especially Jonty Rhodes at backward point and mid-wicket.Earlier in the day, South Africa had boldly elected to bat first despiteuncertainty over the likely behaviour of a pitch that had only hosted twoclub matches before.But although they lost Gary Kirsten (2) and Jacques Kallis (23) within thefirst 15 overs, the decision was rewarded as Boje, promoted up the order,kick-started the innings with a rapid half-century.After his 85 run partnership with Boje, Gibbs then added 120 with Rhodes, astand that swung the initiative firmly towards South Africa.Pakistan came back strongly in the final overs, with Waqar Younis finishingwith five for 38 from his allotted overs, but South Africa’s 283 proved tobe more than enough in the circumstances.Pakistan and Sri Lanka will now play on Wednesday.

Somerset ended the first day of their three day match against Cardiff UCCE at Millfield Schoo well on top.After amassing 389 for 9 declared from 84.4 overs the Somerset opening bowlers Steffan Jones and Matt Bulbeck had the students reeling on 11 for 3 at the close of play.For Somerset there were impressive contributions from young opener Matt Wood who was disappointed to be out for 98, Keith Parsons, who seemed to show no ill effects from his knee operation in scoring 81, and Keith Dutch who hit a merciless 97 just before the declaration came from skipper Mike Burns.At the end of the day Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "It’s been a very good day for us, a really good test. The runs we scored our batsmen had to work hard for against their attack that was always able to bowl that good ball. Matt Wood, Keith Dutch and Keith Parsons all batted well for us, and each of them got on with the job well."The Somerset coach continued: "We’ve been playing well in the nets, but today we’ve shown that we can do it out in the middle which is where it counts."How had he found things at Millfield I asked. "The school has done a wonderful job for us. The facilities here are excellent and we have been made very welcome. The wicket here is as good as any you will find anywhere at this time of the year," the coach told me.The Cardiff UCCE coach Kevin Lyons said: "It’s been a great experience for the students to come and play against Somerset at Millfield where there is such a good pitch and excellent practice facilities."The match continues at Millfield School at Street at 11 am on Sunday and Monday. Entry is free, there is plenty of parking nearby, and refreshments are available all day.

BRISBANE, June 25 AAP – New Zealand Cricket is keen to play a one-day tournament against three Australian states in Cairns in August.The Cairns Cricket Association is believed to have earmarked Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania as the most likely opponents for the Black Caps during the warm tropical winter.But the future of the tournament remains uncertain despite the interest of New Zealand officials seeking a warm-up for September’s International Cricket Council Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.”We are evaluating it at the moment but it is likely New Zealand will take part,” NZC operations manager John Reid told cricinfo.com.”We wanted some sort of build-up because our team would have been going there (to Sri Lanka) after having at least two months of a New Zealand winter.“Temperatures at the time of the Champions Trophy are expected to be between 30-40 degrees celsius.”Queensland Cricket chief executive Graham Dixon said he was aware of the concept but the Australian Cricket Board had to approve any Australian tournament featuring an international team.The ACB has more pressing issues, trying to sort out the future of Australia’s proposed tour to Pakistan in late August.”There is uncertainty as to whether (the Cairns tournament) can go ahead based on the fact that it must first have ACB approval,” Dixon said.”The ACB are aware of it, we’re aware of it but there is still uncertainty.”It is believed issues such as player payments would need to be discussed before any tournament is approved.New Zealand will be among the leading contenders for the Champions Trophy after winning its predecessor, the ICC Knockout Trophy, in Nairobi in 2000.

Darren Gough has climbed to fourth place in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Ratings for bowlers. He is at the highest points level for an English bowler since Bob Willis in 1983.Andrew Caddick has climbed to ninth place, while Graham Thorpe hasreturned to the batting top ten for the first time in three years.Saqlain Mushtaq (10th) remains the top rated Pakistan bowler, making his omission at Lord’s all the more mystifying.

Chris Drum’s surprise retirement, the elevation of Robbie Hart to the Test wicket-keeping role and the dropping of Otago’s Brendon McCullum, are the features of New Zealand teams named today for the tours of Sharjah and Pakistan.Drum has told New Zealand Cricket that the third Test will be the end of his international career as he wishes to pursue other interests.Hart, 27, has been the favoured option to replace Adam Parore and has duly won his place. Chris Nevin has retained his place as the one-day wicket-keeper.The one-day side also includes Jacob Oram, who has returned from a stress fracture in his foot while Auckland leg-spinner Brooke Walker has been selected in Daniel Vettori’s absence.Selection committee chairman Sir Richard Hadlee said Vettori was being rested as part of the pro-active management of his back injury and it had been targeted some time ago as being necessary at the end of the England series.He has been included in the Pakistan Test tour side, but subject to fitness.Walker has leap-frogged ahead of Glen Sulzberger who was on the Test leg of the Australian tour earlier in the summer. Walker has also been included on the Test leg.”The selection of Walker reflects the need to develop another spin bowling option and is reward for the 28 wickets he has taken in State domestic cricket this summer,” he said.The rehabilitation of left-arm spinner Matthew Hart, who last played for New Zealand at the 1999 World Cup, has been confirmed with his placing on standby for the Sharjah tour.His brother Robbie would get a chance to make the Test position his own on the tour.”Robbie Hart has been a reliable tradesman with the gloves over the last few years and has been in good form with the bat for the State Northern Districts Knights this summer,” he said.Hadlee added, “Now that Jacob has fully recovered from his foot injury, we feel the time is right to reintroduce him to the international arena to help us assess his progress with a view to the World Cup.”A surprise in the Sharjah selection is the naming of Matt Horne in the one-day side. Despite his dropping from the third Test team Hadlee said, “We still think Matt has something to offer in both forms of the game and his selection is also part of our desire to get some continuity at the top of the order.”Horne has clearly gained McCullum’s place in the side.The team for Sharjah and the Pakistan One-Day Internationals is:Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, James Franklin, Chris Harris, Matt Horne, Craig McMillan, Chris Nevin, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Lou Vincent, Brooke Walker.Players on standby are: Mathew Sinclair, Matthew Hart and Glen Sulzberger.The team for the Pakistan Tests is: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Chris Harris, Robbie Hart, Matt Horne, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Mark Richardson, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori (subject to fitness), Lou Vincent, Brooke Walker.Players on standby are: Mathew Sinclair, Lance Hamilton, James Franklin and Glen Sulzberger.

An unbeaten 149 run fifth wicket stand beween North Zone opener ViswasBhalla (150) and Gaurav Gupta (74) was the feature of the opening day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Under-16 tournament semifinal match between North and West Zone at the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre in Bangalore on Sunday. North Zone took the days honours as they went into stumps at 338 for 4.Put into bat, North Zone made a sedate start with openers Bhalla and Shakar Dhawan (30) adding 46 runs in 9.5 overs. Dhawan was the first wicket to fall, caught by Suriyavanshi off Gautam Yadav. The new batsman Rahul Arora (8) flattered to deceive. After plucking two boundaries, Arora was caught behind by Parthiv Patel off Yadav in the 14th over. Then Paras Dogra (17) joined Bhalla and took the score to 95 before being bowled by Kunjan Fadia.Deepak Soni (27) then forged the first significant partnership with Bhalla. Coming in at the fall of Dogra, Soni added 94 runs for the fourth wicket before Soni departed being run out in the 55th over. Thereafter Bhalla and Gaurav Gupta took over the proceedings. Viswas Bhalla reached his 150 at the fag end of the day. During a day long stay at the crease, Bhalla has so far faced 268 balls and his innings was studded with 19 hits to the fence with one clearing it. At the other end Gourav was at the middle for 144 minutes and faced 108 balls and has hit 10 fours.

Australia’s Cricket Academy turned the tables on New Zealand’s Academy and took a first innings win from their second two-day match at Adelaide Oval No 2 yesterday.New Zealand had scored 399 on the first day and while Australia were 12 for one at one stage they produced some sound batting performances to claim their win.Shaun Marsh led the way against some disappointing New Zealand bowling. He was joined in a 126-run partnership for the third wicket by Rowan Brewster and when they went to lunch, Australia were 169/2 off 44 overs.Bowling two lengths on the placid pitch proved detrimental to New Zealand’s hopes but just after the break Jamie How snapped up left-hander Marsh from Nathan McCullum’s bowling as the Australian departed for 77 off 145 balls with the score at 180.McCullum also claimed Tim Welsford’s wicket to a catch at mid wicket by Greg Todd when he attempted a lofted on drive.Then with the score on 214/4, McCullum picked up Brewster for 72, scored off 112 balls, when How took the catch at slip.But Luke Ronchi hit out hard to deny New Zealand the initiative and by tea he had helped Beau Casson add 89 runs off 103 balls for the sixth wicket with Australia 303/5.Even the new ball could make no impact and Ronchi scored his century off 100 balls while Casson, an ideal support, scored his half century off 101 balls. Sam Whiteman finally broke the stand when bowling Casson for 55, ending the partnership of 169 runs.However, only 17 runs remained for the first innings win and Ronchi had the satisfaction of hitting them to be 124 not out off 112 balls. He hit two sixes and 16 fours and Australia got home by four wickets.New Zealand coach Dayle Hadlee said the New Zealand effort in the field was disappointing as the bowlers ignored the basic fundamentals of line and length.”Changes of pace and subtleties at the crease were rare as the batsmen dominated and errors in the field contributed to the eventual first innings loss,” he said.The two-day series finished one apiece and two one-day games will be played over the weekend.

Lancashire have released former England fast bowler Saj Mahmood after ten years at the club. Mahmood, 30, spent the latter part of the season on loan at Somerset, after losing his place in the Lancashire side, and it has now been confirmed that his contract will not be renewed.Mahmood, who has played in eight Tests and 26 ODIs, was a part of Lancashire’s title-winning team last season, taking 35 wickets, but saw his opportunities this year limited by the arrival of Ajmal Shahzad from Yorkshire. He made just three Championship appearances in 2012 and didn’t play again after conceding 42 from 2.3 overs – and 17 off his last three legitimate deliveries – in Lancashire’s opening Friends Life t20 defeat to Derbyshire.Lancashire’s director of cricket, Mike Watkinson, said: “We would like to thank Saj for his contribution to the club over the last 10 years and we wish him well for the future.”After being spotted playing in the Bolton Leagues, Mahmood joined Lancashire on a scholarship in 2002 and went on to make his international debut at the age of 22. With more than 300 first-class wickets to his name and the ability to bowl at significant pace, Mahmood should be an attractive prospect for many counties, though he recently admitted that “inconsistency” had dogged his career.Although he swapped a relegation battle that saw Lancashire drop into Division Two for a spell with the county that eventually finished second to the champions, Warwickshire, Mahmood was mainly signed as cover by Somerset. In three appearances he claimed eight wickets at 30.12 and they may prefer to rely on the emerging Overton twins and Lewis Gregory as fast-bowling back-up for 2013.