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ScorecardMark Wood has played all his Championship matches at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

There was a time when a match-turning contribution from an Ashington fast bowler was commonplace at Durham. Though with Steve Harmison’s decline, such days have been had been consigned to the past.But here Mark Wood, playing only his third Championship match – coincidentally, all have been at Trent Bridge – followed a career-best performance with the bat with a spell of 3 for 11 in 22, with all of his scalps a Test batsman. Describing himself as “a family friend” of Harmison and a product of the same Ashington club, Wood has the rare gift of pace that earmark him as a cricketer of rich potential.He can bat, too. He defines himself as a bowling allrounder but, earlier in the day, reached his maiden Championship 50 with a pulled six and dominated a last-wicket stand of 71 in only 12.2 overs with Graham Onions. It was a partnership that not only extended Durham’s lead to 151 but may well have had a deflating effect on Nottinghamshire’s morale.But on a wicket that has, at times, appeared painfully flat – the return of the heavy roller is far from universally popular among county spectators – it was Wood’s incisive bowling that may have had the greatest impact. Wood, by some distance the sharpest bowler on display in this match, belied the easy-paced surface to persuade Ed Cowan to nibble one angled across him, trap James Taylor attempting to play a straight one through square leg, and then, most impressively, have Samit Patel caught off the glove as he tried to deal with a bouncer. It was a spell that cut through the Nottinghamshire top order and provided Durham with an excellent opportunity to claim their second win of the season. Nottinghamshire resume on the final day with half their second-innings batting dismissed and still trailing by six runs.Such was Wood’s contribution, he could well be forgiven for questioning why he has not played more regularly. On his last appearance, here last August, he claimed 5 for 78 to help his team to a 16-run victory, but then found himself dropped for the next game.”I’m pleased to be here,” Wood said afterwards with a smile. “It seems to be the only place a get a game. Of course I was disappointed to be dropped last year. But I understood the reasons. We have a good attack who had done really well so when Ben Stokes came back I missed out. Hopefully this time, if I get a couple more wickets, I can make my case even stronger.”Wood was quick to admit he was building on foundations laid by Will Smith. Smith, who batted for 505 minutes for his 153, blunted the attack at their freshest and the pitch at its most helpful to establish a platform from which the lower-order could build. It paid a higher dividend than even he can have hoped, though, when the last five Durham wickets added 323 runs to the total. He finally fell, caught at mid-on, after he attempted to whip Patel’s left-arm spin through midwicket.”Smith has been the difference between the sides,” Wood said. “And he’s the reason we’re the favourites in this game. He showed great concentration and the work he did made it much easier for me.”While Wood led the way in the last-wicket stand, punching Patel for one lovely four through mid-on and carving Graeme Swann over extra cover for another, Onions also played his part. He thumped one back past Stuart Broad and drove Swann square as Durham kept Nottinghamshire in the field for 157.3 energy-sapping overs.But it is Wood’s bowling that may, in time, be of interest to the national selectors. He is not particularly tall or strong-looking but, from a short, straight run with an unusual start – a pronounced push off his back leg which, he says, is a technique learned from sprinters – he generates impressive, skiddy pace. He can reverse swing the ball, too, and showed an encouraging cricketing brain when talking about his wickets.”We had just got the ball reversing when Cowan edged that one that left him,” he explained. “With Taylor, we put the man behind square for the pull and, when we had him expecting the short ball, I pitched it up. And then with Samit, I hid the ball so he couldn’t tell which way it was going to swing and then surprised him by bowling a bouncer.”Gareth Breese, who had already contributed a useful 44, followed up with the wicket of Steven Mullaney – surely the only cricketer with Hooters as a bat sponsor – sharply caught off a fine arm ball, while earlier Alex Hales, back when he should have been forward, lost his middle stump.Michael Lumb, timing his drives sweetly on either side of the wicket, remains and looks in good touch, but he has a great deal of work ahead of him if Nottinghamshire are to salvage a draw from this game.At least Nottinghamshire had encouraging news of their England players. Broad bowled with increased pace and purpose on the third day. He finished with his third successive four-wicket haul in successive innings and would not have been flattered by a fifth. Just as importantly, he reported no adverse reaction to his 31 overs and confirmed that he would take a full part, with bat, with ball and in the field, in the remainder of the game.Swann came through unscathed, too. While he finished without a wicket, he did see two chances go down off his bowling – he was the guilty party on one occasion – and was the most economical of the Nottinghamshire bowlers. Perhaps there were a couple more full tosses than we are used to but, bearing in mind it was his first bowl in competitive cricket since the elbow operation, this was a pleasing return.

Ankeet Chavan

Ankeet Chavan may now be in the news for all the wrong reasons but the Mumbai bowler had been steadily progressing over the last five years as a reliable left-arm orthodox spinner and a useful batsman lower down the order.Having started as a middle-order batsman and a spinner on the of Mumbai, Chavan made his debut for Mumbai in the 2008-09 season. Earlier this year, he emerged as Mumbai’s leading spinner during their 40th title triumph. He eclipsed Iqbal Abdulla to emerge as the No. 1 spinner in the side and also played his part in the win, as Mumbai’s highest wicket-taker of the season.The highlight of his career came during a Group A game against Punjab. Playing at the Wankhede Stadium, Chavan single-handedly brought Mumbai back into the game with a nine-wicket haul, after the side had conceded a sizeable first innings lead. Though the match was eventually drawn, his spell of 9 for 23 earned Chavan accolades from Punjab skipper, Harbhajan Singh.Even when he was away from the first-class scene for two years after making his debut, he was more or less a permanent fixture for Mumbai in the domestic one-day and Twenty20 championships. As a result, Chavan, who was a member of the Mumbai Indians’ set-up in the inaugural IPL season, was signed up by Rajasthan Royals in 2011 and was a quiet performer for the franchise over the last three seasons. Exactly two years since his debut in 2011, Chavan was picked up by Delhi Police, hours after representing Royals in his hometown.

Ajit Chandila

Ajit Chandila is a Haryana offspinner who struggled to make his state side but hit the headlines with a hat-trick in the 2012 IPL. In seven years since his Haryana debut, he barely got a handful of games for Haryana and was more active on the club circuit, playing for nondescript clubs like Hari Singh Cricket Academy in Ghaziabad. He is an established name in Delhi cricket circles, and was part of a strong Air India side for several years, and was mentored by former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani.Chandila – another of those left-field successes that Royals seem to routinely throw up – has a relaxed action, doesn’t flight or spin the ball much, but relied on a nagging accuracy to prove effective in the IPL. He used his height well, and had a pause in his delivery stride to gauge what the batsman was attempting.He was picked for eight matches by Royals in the 2013 season, and was only taken for 6.24 runs an over, a better economy-rate than IPL stalwarts like Lasith Malinga and R Ashwin. One of his on-field highlights of the season was to become the first bowler to dismiss both Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting in the same match.<!– START OF COMMENT

Amit Singh

A fast bowler, Singh was released by Rajasthan Royals after the 2012 season. He played 23 IPL games for the Royals between 2009-2012. He was also part of the Gujarat Ranji Trophy team in the 2012-13 season, last playing against Saurashtra. Singh, 31, had been in the news for having been reported twice for a suspect action during the 2009 IPL.

Siddharth Trivedi

Siddharth Trivedi made his first-class debut only in the 2002-03 season, and his nippy medium-pace also earned him a slot at the ICC under-19 World Cup in early 2002, where he took nine wickets in seven games. Noticed as one of India’s promising youngsters, he won the Border-Gavaskar Scholarship to train for five weeks at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Australia. On his return to India, he was drafted into the ranks of India B for the 2003 Challenger Trophy. Trivedi gained a lot of recognition during the inaugural IPL during which he was part of the Rajasthan Royals’ title-winning side and was praised by Shane Warne, the Royals’ captain.END OF COMMENT –>

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will hold its first secret-ballot election on April 16, with officials from the Elections Department attending as observers at the board’s request. SLC’s two most powerful posts will, however, remain uncontested – Jayantha Dharmadasa, a former interim committee chairman, is set to become the president while incumbent secretary Nishantha Ranatunga will retain his position.”This is the first time we are going to have a secret ballot, so we are seeking the assistance of the Elections Department,” Ashley de Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket’s acting chief executive officer, said. “They have given us guidance and advice but they will not be directly involved with the elections.”De Silva added that the method was in accordance with the new amendments to the Sports Law. “The SLC constitution calls for a show of hands, as has been the practice over the years, but the new amendments to the Sports Law that has been gazetted states that elections should be held under a secret ballot,” he said. “The Sports Law supersedes the constitution of all sports bodies in the country.”According to the amended Sports Law, those elected at Tuesday’s election will serve a two-year term instead of one, which was the case previously.The nominations of both Dharmadasa and Ranatunga were challenged in court. The allegation brought against Dharmadasa was that his appointment to the position of president by the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket was unconstitutional. The Colombo District Cricket Association, which brought the litigation against him, wanted the date of the election postponed. However, the court has given the defendants time till April 20 to file their reply. The case against Ranatunga was dismissed by the court on the grounds of false evidence.The two posts for vice-president will be contested by three candidates – K Mathivanan, Asanga Seneviratne and Mohan de Silva. The post of the treasurer will be contested between Nuski Mohamed and Eastman Narangoda, while the contest for the assistant secretary’s post will be between Priyantha Soysa, Bandula Dissanayake and Hirantha Perera. Ajitha Pasqual and Irwin Jayawardene will contest for the post of assistant treasurer.There will also be contests for the following committees: tournament, umpires, sponsorship and tour-organising.

Nomination committee and appointment of chairman

Clause 28: A nomination committee shall be formed at least three months to the expiry of tenure of the chairman or immediately upon the office of the chairman falling vacant for any reason whatsoever. The nomination committee may meet as many times as deemed necessary to considerate names of two or more individuals recommended by the Patron for the post of the chairman. The individual, in order to qualify for the recommendation for the office of chairman shall possess experience of management or administration.
Clause 29: The nomination committee, within one week from the date of receipt of nomination by the Patron, shall meet to discuss and evaluate the names of individuals for the office of chairman and unless unanimously rejected by it with reasons, recommend to the board of governors (BOG) one of the individual aforesaid for the post of chairman. In the event the nomination committee fails to take any decision in the said meeting, the name forwarded by Patron, at serial number one shall be deemed to have been recommended to the BOG. The chairman shall be appointed for a period of four years and shall be eligible for reappointment.
Clause 30: The BOG, unless it unanimously rejects the said nomination in a meeting to be held within one week of receipt of name from the nomination committee, shall formally endorse the appointment of the recommended nominee as the chairman. In the event the BOG fails to take decision in the said meeting, the nominee recommended by the nomination committee shall be deemed to be formally appointed.

The PCB constitution has been amended to change the process of appointing the board’s chairman and alter the structure of its governing board. The President of Pakistan, who is the patron of the PCB, still plays the central role in appointing the chairman and the incumbent Zaka Ashraf will hold office until the new constitution is implemented, which is likely to be before June 2013.According to the 22-page document, a copy of which was obtained by ESPNcricinfo, the President of Pakistan will recommend at least two chairman candidates to a four-member nomination committee, which will evaluate them and recommend one to the board of governors, which will have to endorse the appointment unanimously. The board chairman’s term has also been extended from three years to four.The four-member nomination committee will comprise two from the board of governors and two representatives appointed by the President of Pakistan. Previously, the President had the only say in appointing the chairman.The PCB has been criticised in the past because its constitution allowed the chairman near-dictatorial powers. The amended constitution maintains that status quo. The chairman can control and oversee income and expenditure in accordance with the budget approved by the board of governors.The composition of the board of governors was also restructured. The 14-member body will include five regional representativeselected on basis of rotation, five representatives of service organisations and departments, two non-voting former cricketers appointed on the recommendation of the chairman and two non-voting technocrats picked from a panel of threerecommended by the chairman in consultation with the President of Pakistan. The term of each member will be one year.The PCB is working to implement the new constitution in stages, to avoid any dysfunction in the system.In 2011, the ICC required that its member boards become autonomous and free of interference from governments by June 2013. Removal of government interference had also been one of the Woolf report recommendations approved by the ICC. The new constitution was produced as a result of the ICC directive and was approved on February 13, vetted by the Ministry of Law on the suggestion of the PCB and ICC feedback. However, in November 2012, ICC said it was reviewing its stance against government involvement in the administration of cricket.In Pakistan, the country’s President appoints the PCB chairman and must approve the appointment of the governing board members. The President also has the power to relieve the chairman of his post.The draft of the constitution was shared with the ICC before its finalisation and according to a PCB official most of the feedback from the ICC had been incorporated. “The ICC has worked closely with the PCB on this matter, including by reviewing the proposed constitutional provisions in respect of the appointment of the President and providing feedback to the PCB for further consideration by the Pakistan government,” an ICC spokesman told ESPNcricinfo.

After a defeat as dramatic as the one South Africa suffered, identifying positives is like looking for stars in a murky sky shrouded by clouds. It’s not a fruitless endeavour because if you spot one it may lighten more than just the velvet overhead, but it is a tough one because there are so few.Faf du Plessis found one. “Probably the only thing was AB [de Villiers],” he said. “We would expect AB to work anywhere in a line-up because he has got the skill to attack the bowlers but it was good to see him for well in the opening position. That was the one thing that worked for us today.”Having found the one bright spot, which he was asked to do early in his press engagement, du Plessis was more than ready to front up to South Africa’s failings. To blanket them as everything other than de Villiers’ 36 would be too simplistic.It was a combination of being outplayed by two individuals, inexperience, poor bowling and panicking with bat in hand that conspired to bring South Africa down. The last of those is something they have been through before and even though this time they were skittled out for their lowest T20 total, it was the area du Plessis gave the least attention to.”We know that the shorter the version of the game, the more one individual can win it,” he said. “With Umar Gul, it was just a case of us trying to win the game and going hard at the run rate upfront. I think it was definitely [Mohammad] Hafeez’s 86 that changed the game for them.”When a team posts close to 200, you know it is going to take something very special from your batsmen. One guy is going to have to score close to 100 for you to be in contention to win.” Collectively, South Africa only managed that. Their last nine wickets managed about half of it.Before the Powerplay had ended, South Africa knew they had lost the match. Focusing on that would not give proper attention to where they were actually defeated and du Plessis believed that was on the field. “There was a time when I thought we were giving Hafeez too many options and he was scoring on both sides of the wicket.”He was also finding space easily with South Africa’s fielders unable to cover enough ground and the bowlers offering lengths that allowed Hafeez to pick his spot.Bar Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s first two overs and the occasional good ball from Rory Kleinveldt, the seamers lacked variety and used the slower ball too infrequently, instead hoping their usual approach would work. Du Plessis hopes they have realised it does not. “The bowlers need to practice different varieties. The days of bowling back of a length to a team in South Africa are gone now,” he said.With a pitch du Plessis said was “basically a road,” the gap between the teams was narrowed. The conclusion he made was that, in neutral conditions and in the shorter format, “Pakistan’s skill is better than ours.”He has with him a young squad who do not often play as a unit. They lack cohesion and the spunk to make up for it. Du Plessis believes the only way it will change is by playing more and being open-minded. “We would like to play more T20 cricket to learn and improve, especially improving our skills. Batsman need to have more variety in shots, bowlers need to bowl more slower balls.”The main focus is on the World T20 in Bangladesh in 2014 and those tactics will be needed there. South Africa will also need a strong spin contingent, something they obviously lacked today. Robin Peterson and Justin Ontong gave away 58 runs in their overs to negate themselves as viable options for du Plessis to turn to. “Our spin department will admit their four overs were not good. There were too many bad balls,” he said.With neither the seamers nor the slower bowlers able to tie things up, du Plessis found it a difficult day to be a leader. “The pressure of T20 cricket is more than any other cricket because things happen so fast,” he said. “I just tried to keep everybody calm.”South Africa’s next T20 match is in July when they tour Sri Lanka for a limited-overs visit. The sporadic nature of fixtures makes it difficult for du Plessis to have as much time with his team as he would like.He can only hope experiences in the domestic competition, which is on-going, and at leagues like the IPL will help their development before they reconvene. “My game improved hugely after the IPL just because I was playing more cricket. The more you play, the better you get,” he said. It’s a thought that may lessen the acidity of a loss that left South Africa’s limited-overs approach exposed, again.

It’s shaping up to be a big week for Graeme Smith. On Monday, he announced his wife is expecting the couple’s second child later this year. On Friday, he will turn 32 and also become the first person to captain a team in 100 Tests, when he leads South Africa against Pakistan in Johannesburg.Cricket South Africa (CSA) are pulling out all the stops to celebrate his achievement. The first day of the Test has been declared ‘Biff day’, after Smith’s nickname. Those in attendance at the match will sing Happy Birthday to him during one of the intervals and there is talk that a cake will be brought onto the field with candles for him to blow out.Smith has been given a hospitality suite for his family and friends’ use on the day. Among the other important guests expected to be in attendance is the country’s sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, who will take time out of his football duties at the African Nations’ Cup to be at the cricket.CSA have also displayed a giant shirt, with the details of all of Smith’s centuries printed on it, on the wall of a popular sports clothing store in a mall in Johannesburg. Supporters have been invited to write a personal message on the whites and some of them will appear on the scoreboard during the match.For a man who struggled for affection from fans for a long time, the current outpouring is quite moving. At a signing session at the mall, Smith lapped it all up. He appeared completely relaxed as he signed autographs and posed for photographs.His team-mates were full of praise as well. For most of them, he is the only Test captain they have known and he has overseen their development and integration into the side. “Graeme has been an outstanding leader. He deserves all the credit that comes his way,” Vernon Philander said.”A hundred Tests as captain – just to play 100 Tests is a momentous feat. When you’re growing up, you don’t imagine that you are going to play so much,” Hashim Amla said. “He’s taken on so much responsibility and the fact that he’s still here and putting in big performances for the team is a tribute to the person he is and the commitment he has given to the team.”Amla also added a little bait for the occasion. “He got a hundred in his 100th Test, and it would be nice if he made a contribution like that and helped us win the game.” Smith played his 100th Test at The Oval in July last year and scored a century to contribute to South Africa’s series lead.Jacques Kallis is the only member of the current squad to have played under different leaders, which means he is also the only one to have been alongside Smith for his entire career. Kallis has been witness to Smith’s uncomfortable start and subsequent maturing and believes the changes have been pronounced.”To achieve what he has achieved, I don’t think will be achieved very soon again, if ever,” Kallis said. “He’s proved a lot of people wrong. He’s stood up and faced the criticism and produced the results.”He leads from the front and that’s what you want in a leader. If he says something he’ll be the first guy to go forward and do it. He’s opening the batting, so he’s getting out there first and setting the tone and the example. He’s an in-your-face kind of guy who will take on challenges and never back down. He doesn’t ask any player to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. There are times to be brash and there are times to absorb the pressure and that’s what he’s developed over the years. He’s learnt when to be which character which has probably been his biggest improvement as a captain.”As testament to his ability to lead by example, Smith holds an unusual record. On each of the 26 times he has scored a Test hundred, South Africa have either drawn or won the match. It is a statistic he was only made aware of during his century in Adelaide and said it was something that he was “very proud of.”Although Smith lives and plays his cricket in Cape Town, he is originally from Johannesburg and so this will effectively be a “home” celebration. Smith completed his schooling at the King Edward VII High School and played a handful of matches for Gauteng before he was snapped up by Western Province. He was made captain at the age of 22 and is currently in his tenth year in the job, having captained South Africa in 98 Tests and the World XI in one.

Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Guy de Alwis, 52, died on Saturday night after a battle with cancer. De Alwis is the fourth* Test cricketer from Sri Lanka to pass away after Sridharan Jeganathan, Anura Ranasinghe and Roshan Guneratne.He represented Sri Lanka in 11 Tests and 31 ODIs from 1983 to 1988. De Alwis topped his country’s batting averages in the 1983 World Cup with 167 runs at 55.66, including unbeaten half-centuries against Pakistan and England.”When Guy felt pain in his stomach in the first week of November (2012) he underwent a biopsy test. It was then revealed that he had cancer in his pancreas,” said Ken, de Alwis’ brother. “The doctors said it was too late to do anything. Arjuna (Ranatunga) came to his help and through him we managed to seek ayurvedic treatment. He was under treatment till his death.”De Alwis, who like Ranatunga, played for the Sinhalese Sports Club, served in Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee headed by the former captain in 2008. He was also a former chairman of selectors and secretary.”Guy was not only a committed cricketer but a person who fought for justice,” Ranatunga said. “As a selector he was not afraid to pick players on merit. As an administrator he was strongly against corruption and went to a great extent to try and eliminate it. He was one of the best wicketkeepers produced by Sri Lanka.”Standing six foot tall, de Alwis was a hard-hitting lower-order batsman and wicketkeeper for Sri Lanka during the infancy years when the country was fighting to find its feet as a Test nation.Following regular wicketkeeper Mahes Goonatilleke’s decision to go to South Africa on the rebel tour in 1982, de Alwis got a break in the Sri Lanka team that visited New Zealand in 1982-83. He and Amal Silva had a constant tussle for the wicketkeeper’s position in the national side. De Alwis was superior behind the stumps although Silva edged him out on the batting front.After his playing career, de Alwis was coach of the Sri Lanka women’s team and later married one of the national women cricketers. They have two daughters aged ten and eight.* 08:15 am GMT: This article, now amended, earlier referred to de Alwis as the third Test cricketer from Sri Lanka to pass away

Former Sri Lanka batsman Chandika Hathurusingha, who played 26 Tests and 35 ODIs, is pleased to be fulfilling his new role as the acting head coach of the Australian state side New South Wales (NSW).”It came as a surprise, but it was recognition of my contribution to the NSW team since I became their assistant coach in September last year,” Hathurusingha said. He took over for the rest of the current Australian season following the sacking of Anthony Stuart, who had been coach of the state since May 2011.”It was not the ideal situation for me because I cannot do things my way as it is in the middle of the season, but nevertheless I am honoured,” he said.NSW is the among the most successful domestic cricket teams in Australia, with a rich history of many players having represented the national team. The present side includes Australia captain Michael Clarke, his deputy Shane Watson, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Brad Haddin, Doug Bollinger, Trent Copeland, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Moises Henriques, Steve Smith and state captain Stephen O’Keefe – all of whom have represented Australia at some point in their careers.”It is a matter of prestige for a Sri Lankan to be coaching such a side. I enjoy working with them,” Hathurusingha said.Hathurusingha, whose CV includes being coach of Canada and the UAE, had at one point been thought of as a replacement for former head coach Trevor Bayliss, but he doesn’t mind his current position.”I was technical advisor to the NSW team (Sydney Sixes) during the Champions League in South Africa and when Trevor Bayliss went over to Kolkata Knight Riders, I more or less took over his position and we went on to become champions,” Hathurusingha said. “Even if I don’t get the job as head coach I am not worried. I am quite happy with my current position as assistant coach.”He said his chances of becoming the permanent head coach of NSW depended on the team’s performances this season. They are already out of the Ryobi one-day competition and are currently lying fourth in the Sheffield Shield table.”Many of our players are called up to play for Australia and this has affected our team performances,” he said. “My job is to help them achieve their goal of playing for Australia and also to develop players from the state to go and represent the country. I am not only helping the [batsmen] but even the bowlers. The feedback from them has been very encouraging. All of them are aspiring to play for Australia and I am delighted to be of help.”These players know how to take care of themselves individually. They are independent and once they are told something they go ahead and do it. That comes from their culture. In Sri Lanka, some of the players need to be pushed.”Hathurusingha was sacked by the previous Sri Lanka Cricket administration under DS de Silva as he had not obeyed the chairman’s orders not to return early from a tour of Zimbabwe to follow a coaching course in Australia in 2011. He left for Australia with his family and took on the job as assistant coach of NSW.”My sacking turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I was disappointed the way I was asked to go. I would have loved to have coached my country but unfortunately the administrators at that time did not see it that way.”

The latest round of Intercontinental Cup and WCL Championship fixtures has been announced by the ICC, with matches between UAE and Ireland, Afghanistan and Scotland, Kenya and Canada, and Namibia and Netherlands scheduled for March and April 2013.Ireland are top of both tables and will take on UAE in Sharjah in the four-day Intercontinental Cup, followed by two 50-over WCL matches. A proposed Twenty20 match is also under consideration. Scotland and Afghanistan, second and third respectively in the Intercontinental Cup standings, will also play in Sharjah at the start of March, with two T20 internationals set to precede the four-day and 50-over fixtures.Scotland are also second in the WCL Championship, two points behind Ireland. The top two teams at the end of the competition will qualify automatically for the 2015 World Cup in Australia.Netherlands, just a point behind Scotland in third, will travel to Windhoek in April for their round of matches against Namibia. Canada, who prop up the table in both competitions, are due to play Kenya at the ICC’s Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.FixturesAfghanistan v Scotland
March 3 – T20I, Sharjah
March 4 – T20I, Sharjah
March 6 – WCL Championship, ODI, Sharjah
March 8 – WCL Championship, ODI, Sharjah
March 12-15 – ICC Intercontinental Cup, Abu Dhabi
UAE v Ireland
March 12-15 – ICC Intercontinental Cup, Sharjah
March 18 – WCL Championship, 50-over, Sharjah
March 20 – WCL Championship, 50-over, Sharjah
March 21 – T20, Sharjah (TBC)Kenya v Canada
March 14-17 – ICC Intercontinental Cup, ICC Global Cricket Academy, Dubai
March 19 – WCL Championship, ODI, ICC Global Cricket Academy, Dubai
March 21 – WCL Championship, ODI, ICC Global Cricket Academy, Dubai
March 23 – T20I, ICC Global Cricket Academy, Dubai
March 24 – T20I, ICC Global Cricket Academy, Dubai
Namibia v Netherlands
April 11-14 – ICC Intercontinental Cup, Wanderers, Windhoek
April 16 – WCL Championship, 50-over, Wanderers, Windhoek
April 18 – WCL Championship, 50-over, Wanderers, Windhoek
April 20 – T20, Wanderers, Windhoek
April 21 – T20, Wanderers, Windhoek

As a potential Test debut nears, Nick Compton has admitted his disappointment at making just one run in his first two innings on tour. Compton redeemed himself by scoring an unbeaten 64 at the third attempt, giving him an edge on Joe Root – who made 28 and 24 against Mumbai A – in the contest to open the batting alongside Alastair Cook in the first Test against India.Compton was given the nod ahead of Root in England’s opening warm-up match but made a three-ball duck. With Cook having scored a century, England’s captain stepped aside to allow the two contrasting novices – Compton is eight years older than Root, with three times as many first-class runs to his name – to open the batting together and Compton settled in to make a patient first fifty for England.”It’s quite easy with just three games before the first Test to start working out permutations and it’s quite natural as everyone in the squad is vying for places,” Compton said. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t have an eye on that opening spot. I did take a bit of confidence from getting the nod in the first game which is why I was disappointed at not taking that initial chance. It’s been and gone. I’ve been working with the coaches, speaking to people who have done consistently well out here. That knowledge is important given I’ve been playing most of my cricket in England in the last two years.”Compton scored 1494 first-class runs at an average of almost 100 last season and appeared to be foremost in the selectors thoughts to replace Andrew Strauss at the top of the order after partnering Cook against India A. Despite a shaky start, Compton said the second innings against Mumbai had helped him find his feet – and then get them moving – in Indian conditions.”It’s not been the ideal start,” he said. “Sometimes you have to give yourself time. It’s a new country, a new bunch of team-mates so it does take a bit of time. Perhaps I was a bit hard on myself but for me the most important thing was to spend some time out in the middle as early as I could. The more balls I faced and the more time I spent will help for future games.”You need a foundation, somewhere to build from. I feel like this has given me three hours in the middle. I think I got my balance back and the feet got moving. Earlier in the game my feet weren’t moving that well and I got caught out, but that can happen. We’ve had six, seven weeks off in England and then you come here and that can happen. You just have to switch on quickly and hopefully build from strengths.”England play one more warm-up match, a four-day game against Haryana starting on Thursday, with the first Test beginning a week later. Compton was clear that getting runs was an important step in pushing his case but said that the focus on selection could be distracting.”Everyone needs to score runs and show form to get picked,” he said. “It’s fairly common sense. I thought Joe played well in the first innings, looked good, batted for a good length of time. This innings it was good to get a score that I desperately needed. As soon as you put one eye on who’s playing and who’s not you take one eye off the ball. I’ve done it before. For me it was just about scoring runs, spending time in the middle, which is something I’ve done consistently well over the last year.”A fastidious technician, Compton is renowned for his defensive technique and it may be that the balls he doesn’t hit are just as important to his chances of playing in Ahmedabad as the ones he does.”You just have to stay true to your processes. Everyone has a couple of key things that keep them grounded and going ball after ball. The key is to try and stick to that. Today I felt my leaving was more assured, I played the balls I had to. It’s very easy to know what not to do when you come here. It’s my first tour, I desperately want to do well but if you try too hard, if you try to force it, it can go the other way. You want to be ambitious, hungry and take your chance but at the same time you want to stay calm and composed. You have to maintain a balance and trust that you’ve played well over the year and can continue that here.”