Darrell Hair, Australia’s most high-profile umpire, has announced that he will be moving to England to live early in the New Year. He will continue to be a member of the ICC’s international panel.”I’m looking forward to what lies ahead but I will certainly miss Australia,” Hair admitted. “Being on the international Test umpiring panel, and with all the travel that is involved with this role, it does not really matter where I’m based. The ICC doesn’t appoint an umpire to any international matches in their home country, so in many respects, moving to London will cut down a lot of my travel."The announcement effectively ends Hair’s career in Australian domestic cricket, and as he is not on the English panel of umpires, it would seem to be international games or nothing for him from now on."I intend to be actively involved in umpiring for the next few years, whether it be with the blessing of ICC or village matches in Steeple Bumpstead,” Hair told his New South Wales umpiring colleagues. “Hopefully there will also be some other options arising from time to time to help fill in my days.”

Hundreds for Benjamin Hector and Boeta Dippenaar entertained a small crowd in Bloemfontein, as Griqualand West and Easterns made up ground on Western Province in the latest round of Standard Bank Cup matches.PointsTableGriqualand West 307 for 5 (Hector 126, Bosman 80) beat FreeState 300 for 9 (Dippenaar 111, Beukes 64, Kruis 3-58) by 7runs
ScorecardIn a high scoring match in Bloemfontein, Griqualand West won a close encounter against Free State. When the last over started Free State needed 14 runs for the win. Three wickets in that over, from Deon Kruis, made sure that the work Benjamin Hector and Loods Bosman had done with the bat did not go unrewarded.Boeta Dippenaar top-scored for Free State, and in the process sent a timely reminder to the national selectors. He was ably supported by Johann Beukes.Easterns 191 for 3 (Seymore 74, Hall 59) beat North West189 (De Vos 50, Morkel 3-40) by 7 wickets
ScorecardEasterns ran away with a comfortable seven-wicket win at Benoni againstNorth West. Batting first North West could only muster 189 with Dirkie deVos top-scoring with 50. Bowling honours were shared with Albie Morkeltaking three for 40.A 116-run partnership between Andre Seymore, who made 74, and Andrew Hall (59), was enough to see Easterns home in 43 overs.Eastern Province 200 for 7 (Bryant 46) beat Boland 170(Ontong 65, Hayward 4-36, Love 3-26) by 30 runs
ScorecardBoland went down by 30 runs at Paarl after Eastern Provincehad set a modest target of 200 runs. James Bryant kept Province in thegame with his 46 while too many batsmen got starts and then lost their wickets.Boland looked set to win but when Justin Ontong was dismissed at 142 the team lost momentum, with Mornantau Hayward and Geoff Love sharing seven wickets. Hayward’s return of four wickets earned him a bowling award while Love produced his best List A figures.

Close South Africa 532 (Boucher 122*) and 38 for 0 (Smith 18*, Gibbs 19*) lead West Indies 427 (Gayle 116, Lara 115, Nel 5-87) by 143 runs
Scorecard

Brian Lara scored his 24th Test century, and in the process became the fastest batsman ever to reach 9000 runs, as West Indies continued to fight back strongly on the third day at Cape Town. But Andre Nel’s best Test figures of 5 for 87 restricted the Windies to 427 all out, a deficit of 105.Lara began his innings with uncharacteristic circumspection, taking 23 balls to get off the mark, but reached his hundred with a hooked six off Jacques Kallis, after being stuck on 99 for five overs. He was helped to his landmark by the belligerent debutant Dave Mohammad, who clattered to a run-a-ball 36 with seven fours and a six, which earned him several cautionary words from his captain along the way.After the turbo-charged start to their innings, West Indies had throttled back and fallen apart in the first session of the day, as South Africa conceded just 59 runs in grabbing three wickets. Chris Gayle, who had enthralled the crowd with a devastating 79-ball century on Saturday evening, demonstrated that valour was the better part of discretion. He lasted just four more overs before offering no stroke to Shaun Pollock, and was adjudged lbw to a ball that might just have nipped off stump (183 for 2).Ramnaresh Sarwan also fell inside the first half-hour of the day, as he slashed loosely at Nel and picked out Neil McKenzie at backward point for 44 (187 for 3), and when a nervous Wavell Hinds grazed a catch off Jacques Kallis to take his series tally to 34, West Indies were 224 for 4 and in danger of collapsing.Dwayne Smith, making his debut in place of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, walloped Adams for a pair of boundaries through midwicket, and pulled Pollock’s sixth ball after lunch behind square for another four. But he became Andre Nel’s third wicket of the innings, when he went fishing outside off stump and offered a regulation slip catch to Kallis (252 for 5),With the new ball looming, Lara decided a gear change was necessary, and flailed Kallis for three fours in an over to bring up his half-century from 134 balls. Ntini was then crashed both sides of the wicket by Lara, but Ntini exacted his revenge on Ridley Jacobs instead, with a brute of a delivery that hit a crack and reared off a thick outside edge to Pollock at first slip (306 for 6).Lara saved the follow-on shortly after tea, and in the same over cracked Nel through the gully to register his 9000th run in his 177th innings – two fewer than Sachin Tendulkar had required when he passed the same mark on Friday. Drakes then clobbered Ntini for six over midwicket, before slashing Nel to Mark Boucher, diving in front of first slip (361 for 7).After Adam Sanford had been run out by a direct hit from Kallis, Lara was the last man out, bowled by Nel as he heaved across the line. But his 115 had ensured that West Indies remained in the hunt with two days to go, even though Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs had rattled South Africa along to 38 for 0 at the close.

Zimbabwe 211 for 2 (Carlisle 103*, Gripper 65) drew with Bangladesh 168
Scorecard

Stuart Carlisle’s second Test hundred was the highlight of the final day of the second Test at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club – but there were no other challengers for the champagne moment on a day where both sides did little more than go through the motions.Carlisle brought up his century with a drive to the cover boundary, and the ball had barely hit the fence when the umpires removed the stumps and mercifully brought the rain-decimated match to an end. The loss of three full days was always going to make for a meaningless three sessions – the real puzzle was why as many as 50 spectators turned up to watch.When Zimbabwe wrapped up Bangladesh’s innings five balls after lunch, there was briefly a hope that Heath Streak might go for broke and try for quick runs, with the aim of bowling the fragile Bangladeshis out for a second time. The sight of Trevor Gripper striding out to bat ended any such fantasy.There was another brief flurry of excitement when, in the third over, Dion Ebrahim edged Tapash Baisya to Hannan Sarkar at second slip for 2 (5 for 1) but that was as good as the afternoon session got. Gripper, who was dismissed cheaply in both innings at Harare, set out his stall for runs by any means, while Carlisle was only marginally more aggressive.After tea, Gripper sped up, presumably for no reason other that had he continued at his pre-interval crawl he would have had no hope of reaching a hundred. As it was, that was academic – he tickled Tapash to wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud for 65 (134 for 2). Carlisle increased his scoring and reached his hundred. His first Test century came against Australia at Sydney – there is little question which one he will look back on with more satisfaction.In the morning Bangladesh’s innings had been of a funereal pace. Play started on time – remarkable given the recent downpours – and Bangladesh’s innings followed a to-be-expected course, with wickets falling and a sleep-inducing run-rate. The two-and-a-half hour session produced 80 runs and four wickets.Zimbabwe broke through with the second ball of the day, Douglas Hondo trapping Mushfiqur Rahman leg-before for 0 (89 for 6), but for the next 90 minutes Manjural Islam Rana and Mashud held firm in a seventh-wicket stand of 37 runs made at under two an over. Sean Ervine ended the torpor when he dismissed Mashud leg-before for 9 (126 for 7), and then Ray Price grabbed two quick wickets, including Manjural for a top-score 39.But Mohammad Rafique and Alamgir Kabir held firm for the last 40 minutes before lunch, Rafique clipping ones and twos while Kabir dropped anchor and showed little inclination to score. Their 24-run last-wicket stand was ended straight after the restart.

Old Trafford, Lancashire’s home for 146 years, may have earned a stay of execution, after it was revealed by the Manchester Evening News that a major redevelopment of the ground is in the pipeline.Back in November, the club admitted that it had been in secret talks with Manchester city council about moving to a new ground at Eastlands. It was an announcement that angered Trafford council, but on the whole, the proposal was met with unexpectedly muted opposition, given the falling attendances at Test matches and the ever-expanding status of Old Trafford football stadium, just down the road.Lancashire’s chief executive, Jim Cumbes, denied that the plans for a move had been shelved, and termed the new architect’s drawings as a vision rather than a detailed proposal. “We gave a vision to Trafford of how we would like to see the ground develop if we were to stay,” said Cumbes. “It’s basically a bit of licence, an artist’s impression.”It’s not a development plan. We haven’t even costed it. We presented it to Trafford just to show them the sorts of funds that would be needed to assist us in the development of the ground. We had to give Trafford a fair chance to see what they could do for us.”David Acton of Trafford council was pleased that Lancashire had considered the possibility of staying put. ” Old Trafford has as much deprivation as east Manchester,” he said. “It would be crazy to put public money into relocating them when that money, if there is any, should be utilised to regenerate the Old Trafford area. I think it’s important that the ground can develop to meet all the international standards.”Nevertheless, added Cumbes, the chances of county cricket remaining at Old Trafford are no better than 50-50.

Northerns 5 for 0 trail Easterns 306 (Cullinan 61, Koenig 51, Z de Bruin 51, Jennings 50, Thomas 4-67) by 301 runs
ScorecardThe top-of-the-table clash at SuperSport Park in Centurion ended evenly at the end of the first day, with Easterns getting 4.12 batting points and Northerns getting 4.0 with the ball. Winning the toss and batting, Easterns lost an early wicket, but consolidated well with Sven Koenig, Zander de Bruin, Daryll Cullinan and Dylan Jenning making half-centuries. Alfonso Thomas kept Northerns in the game with a fine spell of bowling, ending the innings with 4 for 67. At close Northerns were 5 for no loss.Boland 48 for 0 trail Gauteng 228 (Ackerman 47, de Lange 7-48) by 180 runs
ScorecardAt Randjesfontein Gauteng, after winning the toss, came under the hammer from Boland, being bowled out for 228 on a faily placid pitch. At one point Gauteng had been coating on 144 for 4, but Con de Lange turned things around for Boland. Coming on as the third-change bowler, de Lange bowled himself to a career best 7 for 48 as the batsmen struggled to come to turn with his left-arm orthodox spinners. At close Boland totaled 48 without loss.

Desh Prem Azad, who has coached several Test cricketers including Kapil Dev, has lashed out at the Indian board for excluding players and umpires who have played and officiated only in one-dayers from its pension scheme which was announced recently. He also feels that the BCCI should have extended this scheme to the three coaches, including himself, who have won the Dronacharya award for their contribution to cricket.Azad termed the amount of Rs 5000, which has been announced, as “peanuts” for the current bunch of Indian cricketers. However, he said the amount could make a huge difference to several ex-cricketers and coaches who have devoted their entire life to the game.”Members of the current Indian team are earning loads of money and Rs 5000 would just be peanuts for them.” He also added that the board had discriminated against cricketers and umpires who have not played and officiated in Tests but have taken part only in one-day games. “Not all one-day players graduate to Test cricket and not many umpires get a chance to officiate in the longer version of the game. It is quite unfair to ignore them.”His final salvo indicated his personal anguish when he said, “Moreover, even the three Dronacharya award winners for cricket, including myself, should be eligible for pension. If [Ramakant] Achrekar produced Sachin [Tendulkar], then I nurtured the talent of Kapil [Dev]. The BCCI should realise the contribution made by us.”

In the latest round of Championship matches, a record-breaking 341 from Craig Spearman set up a 10-wicket win for Gloucestershire over Middlesex, while 13 wickets from Heath Streak for Warwickshire helped his side beat Northants at Edgbaston. Sussex beat Lancashire by eight wickets after making them follow on at Hove, and 103 from Andrew Symonds helped Kent draw at Worcester. In Division Two, Yorkshire wrapped up a comfortable victory against Durham thanks to a century from Darren Lehmann, and there were comfortable wins for Glamorgan and Hampshire. Notts beat Somerset by 7 wickets at Bath after five wickets to Greg Smith.

Frizzell County Championship Division One

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Klusener blasts off after top guns self-destruct – The Guardian
Day 2 report: Spearman punishes Middlesex – The Times
Day 3 report: Spearman surpasses greats – The Telegraph
Day 4 report: Unstoppable Spearman finishes off Middlesex – The Independent

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Lancashire lacking leading lights as Adams steals show – The Independent
Day 2 report: Mahmood thrashes as Lancs topple – The Guardian
Day 3 report: Lancashire crumble before champions – The Times

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Mean Streak gets record – The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Phillips checks march of leaders – The Times
Day 3 report: Perfect Streak shows allround abilities – The Times
Day 4 report: Streak revels in return to day job – The Independent

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Peters hits century to set tone -The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Symonds gets stuck on record – The Guardian
Day 3 report: Peters steals the show – The Times
Day 4 report: Careful calculations required by Worcs – The Telegraph

Frizzell County Championship Division Two

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Dawson delivers England hint – The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Dawson puts Yorkshire in dominant position – The Times
Day 3 report: Yorkshire seal early win – The Telegraph

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Kaneria cramps Hampshire’s style – Wisden Cricinfo
Day 2 report: Warne turns the tide Hampshire’s way – Wisden Cricinfo
Day 3 report: Rampant Hampshire race to victory – Wisden Cricinfo

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Mighty Matt’s record glory – The Western Mail
Day 2 report: Leicestershire lifted by Maddy – The Times
Day 3 report: Hughes and Croft build victory platform – The Times
Day 4 report: In-form Glam stroll to victory – The Western Mail

Scorecard
Day 1 report: Heavy artillery from Blackwell – The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Patience is its own reward for Bicknell – The Independent
Day 3 report: Somerset upstaged by Smith’s inspired swing – The Times
Day 4 report: Caddick a lone star as Notts steam on – The Independent

Other match

Scorecard

Speaking with candour a few days before the Champions Trophy, Brian Lara admitted that West Indies had a long way to go even though all the signs of a team in the making were there. While his outlook was cautiously positive, he revealed that the team would not take even Bangladesh lightly; the last time they met, West Indies scraped through with a few close victories.Lara spoke about his team’s chances in the one-day arena: “We are much better at the shorter version of the game. It’s about guys playing good cricket spontaneously,” he said, before turning his attention to the Champions Trophy. “The most important thing is that when we face [South Africa] on the 18th, hopefully having got over Bangladesh, we’ve got to show we’re capable of beating them. It’s a situation we’re not going to be taking lightly.”Lara was positive in his belief that West Indies would be a good team again, and he touched upon the topic of the team’s downfall. He said it was not a trend that had started while he was captain, but that it had begun as early as 1988, when Vivian Richards – a fierce critic of Lara’s captaincy – led the team.”If you put five or six players who are just 20 or 21 years old to play Test cricket without any experience, you will struggle,” Lara said. “India are playing the same team for the last seven or eight years. Watch the difference between their performance then and now. Eight years back, they were just turning up. Maybe that’s the situation we have to face now.”The decline of West Indies cricket started under Sir Vivian Richards. They weren’t winning 5-0 under him in the ’90s. That has come to the percentage it is now after 14 years. I have to put my hand up and say, I’m in charge – but what can I do? It’s a very tough situation.”I say, chop my head off if you want to. But it’s not the solution. We need to get all the astute thinkers in West Indies cricket to sit down together, take proper measures and plan for the future. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s not happening soon. It will take a long time.”Lara refused to acknowledge that only the players were to blame for the downward trend, and instead named a variety of factors, namely the administration, as well as tour retainers.”Lots of people only focus on the team, on what the team is doing, and on the performance of the players. But it’s quite deep-rooted. It’s a combination of different factors,” he said. “The administration has to be better. If you have to play international sport, these days it can’t be on a retainer basis. We are getting an extension from tour to tour. A lot of things have to be sorted out.”I know there are so many things being said and a lot of things have been pointed at my direction. But I keep saying over and over that I’m a servant of West Indies cricket and will continue to be so in whatever capacity. I’ve played cricket for 15 years. It’s been my life. Nothing belongs to me. Whatever I’ve achieved belongs to my people and my country.”

After banning Maurice Odumbe for five years, the ICC is now investigating further accusations of corruption involving Kenyan players, according to Reuters reports. Individual interviews with 14 players will be held between November 30 and December 2 by two members of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, Martin Hawkins and Alan Peacock.Sammy Obingo, the Kenyan board’s general manager, issued letters to the players in question, in which he told them: “The purpose of their visit is to carry out investigations into matters that arose during the recent Maurice Odumbe inquiry in Nairobi. The investigations are centered on the players and officials of the 1999-00 Kenya team of which you were a member.”The current investigations were sparked by comments made by Odumbe’s ex-wife at the inquiry, where she suggested six Kenya players may have been involved in corrupt practices.”I think this is a follow-up of what emerged at the Odumbe inquiry involving other national team members,” said the chairman of the Kenyan board, Sharadh Ghai. “I think this is what they are coming to conduct further investigations on.”The banning of the charismatic and influential Odumbe following the inquiry hit the Kenyan team hard. And although he protested his innocence, his request for an appeal was turned down.The current investigation is just the latest in a series of events to set back Kenya. Steve Tikolo resigned after the Champions Trophy – and a players’ strike followed. The new captain, Hitesh Modi, said: “We’ve gone ten steps backward since the World Cup.” Interestingly, he defended Odumbe, saying, “I thought it was unfair that he got a five-year ban. There have been players who have admitted to have taken money but who have got away. And they are only saying he knew a bookie, but they have not pinpointed any game which was affected.”