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Glamorgan Dragons all but gained promotion to Division One of the Norwich Union League when they defeated Hampshire Hawks by a convincing 51 run margin.After Newell and Thomas had given the home side a quick start, their innings stumbled to 55 for 4 as Mascarenhas and Mullally put out the stops.Former England star Matthew Maynard, however, restored the impetus of the innings putting on 68 with Michael Powell and 92 with stand-in skipper Adrian Dale.Maynard’s sparkling 116 not out from only 103 balls included 12 fours and two huge sixes to delight the home crowd and the Sky TV viewers.With the sun setting and moisture on the outfield, the target of 245 to win batting second was always going to be a tough ask.Hampshire pulled off a surprise start by promoting James Hamblin, whose previous best score in the NUL was just 5 to open the innings with Neil Johnson. Hamblin struck the ball well, hitting 18 runs off one over from Owen Parkin and contributing a quickfire 37 off 22 balls.Johnson was more circumspect, but his run-a-ball innings of 66 was the only decent contribution to a disappointing collapse.The innings turned in Glamorgan’s favour when their twin spin pair of Dean Cosker and Robert Croft came together and by the time they had completed their 18 over stint, the Hampshire innings was in disarray.Taking advantage of the damp conditions and the poor floodlighting, Croft dismissed four of the middle order, including Johnson and Cosker bowled a tidy spell of nine overs for 25.Glamorgan’s victory was celebrated by the large crowd with the team running around the pitch in thanks to their fans. Hampshire, although not totally out of the promotion stakes must now win their last two matches against Middlesex at West End and Sussex at Hove, and hope that other results elsewhere go their way if they are to be in the final shake-up at the end of the season.

Dale Steyn could spend the rest of the Mohali Test as a spectator after picking up a groin strain in the field on the second day. Steyn did not bowl at all in India’s second innings as a “precaution,” according to the CSA Twitter feed at the time, but the post-day analysis appears more serious.”I think he’s struggling. I think he has got a groin strain and I can’t see him bowling tomorrow,” Claude Henderson, South Africa’s spin consultant, said.The news will come as a blow to South Africa, who are looking to limit India’s lead, which has already reached 142 by the end of the second day, and may have looked to Steyn to generate reverse swing. They will not lack for an option in out and out pace though, with Kagiso Rabada bowling at around 145 kph plus.Steyn’s absence will leave Vernon Philander to lead the attack, with Morne Morkel missing the match through injury and will force South Africa to rely more heavily on spin. Henderson hopes legspinner Imran Tahir, who has taken three wickets so far but has been used sparingly by Hashim Amla, will have the opportunity to make more of an impact.”Imran Tahir has just come back into Test cricket. He is seen as an attacking bowler by Hashim, so maybe that’s why he is using him in short spells, and Dean Elgar took four wickets in the first innings. But I agree, I would have loved to see him bowl longer today. Maybe that will happen tomorrow,” Henderson said. “The good sign is I’ve seen Imran bowl a few balls in the last session that turned and bounced.”That sign may not be so good for South Africa’s chase, which is already looking tough, and which Henderson said could get tougher as soon as India’s lead pops over the 200-run mark. “We need wickets early to try to create some pressure. Anything above 200 will be challenging,” he said. “But I’ve seen this team do some special things. With our batting line-up I wouldn’t be at ease if I was India because there’s a lot of time left in this game. But you don’t want to go past 300.”

Almost a month after receiving the no-conflict-of-interest declaration from the BCCI, four member associations, including that of BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, have still not signed the declaration. The issue is likely to be taken up at next week’s BCCI working committee.Haryana Cricket Association, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, Karnataka State Cricket Association and Hyderabad Cricket Association have still not signed the dotted line of the no-conflict-of-interest declaration circulated by the BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on July 21. Interestingly, all the four associations are loyal supporters of the former BCCI president N Srinivasan, though others close to him have signed it. Two of these four associations confirmed to ESPNcricinfo they will raise their concerns during next week’s working committee meeting, scheduled to be held in Kolkata on August 28.

Highlights of the conflict-of-interest declaration

• A ‘conflict of interest’ may arise by way of being influenced with any private or personal interest, directly or indirectly, while discharging my duties and responsibilities as Office Bearer of the Association

• Not to secure, receive or be part of any decision which may tend to scuttle my enshrined duties and responsibilities or which may ensure any benefit to me or to my relations, including financial, commercial or any other vested interest

• Not associated with any Institution or otherwise which derives any financial, commercial or any other benefits or gain from the BCCI directly or indirectly, other than the official grants received by the Association

• Not received any personal benefit directly or indirectly through my family or relations, while discharging my duties as Office Bearer

• Not hold any ‘Office of Profit’ or ‘commercial interest’ in any Institution or otherwise which derives any financial, commercial or any other benefits or gain from the BCCI

• Not made, and shall not be part of any decision from which any advantage, directly or indirectly could be derived by me, any of my family members, close relatives or otherwise constituting breach of the Code of Conduct of the BCCI or the Association

• In the event of any act, function of the Association or any decision making process or related to any Tournament or otherwise, any conflict of interest do arise, I shall forthwith disclose the same and refrain myself from being associated with the same in any manner whatsoever

Haryana hasn’t yet signed because, according to an association insider, the communication is “invalid since it’s not a working committee resolution”. TNCA and KSCA will seek clarifications on the definition of business and commercial commitments of players and office-bearers. Hyderabad Cricket Association, meanwhile, is still deliberating the issue and will finalise its stance in an executive committee meeting later this week.TNCA secretary Kasi Viswanathan said they needed “a lot of clarifications at the working committee on what constituted business and commercial commitments of players as well as office-bearers” before the association can sign the document. TNCA’s alleged conflicts of interest, with president Srinivasan’s family business owning an IPL franchise, is considered to be the root cause of the problem.In fact, during its probe of the IPL corruption scandal, Supreme Court-appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal panel had barred none of the individuals associated with India Cements to be involved in Indian cricket.While KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel and president PR Ashok Anand remained unavailable for a comment, a KSCA source elaborated on their grievances. “Even the top players are associated with a lot of franchises. Conflict of interest… even some of our players are there as selectors, coaches, some of the life members are there as coaches, whether it will be applicable to cricketers. So BCCI’s clarification is required. No way [we will sign this before we get clarification],” he said.Patel, interestingly, wears plenty of hats at present. Besides being the KSCA secretary, the former India batsman also serves as the Royal Challengers Bangalore chief executive and the National Cricket Academy director.Hyderabad has an interesting tale, with president Arshad Ayub and secretary John Manoj both running renowned cricket academies in Hyderabad. Former HCA president Shivlal Yadav is reported to have accused both of them for selecting players mainly from their academies in Hyderabad teams during his recent deposition before the Lodha committee.”How will it be a conflict of interest?” an HCA official asked. “There are no parameters as such. Today they will say it is conflict. That means tomorrow if my son plays also then it becomes a conflict. Should he not play or what?”Lodha Committee is coming and checking. How will they know that a cricketer will start his life naturally with cricket [as a player] and if he wants to go into managing committee… he shouldn’t be stopped from doing that, no? Other than that [being involved in cricket], what we can do, you tell me?”While Thakur was unavailable for comment, a BCCI official clarified that the board was open to answering all doubts. In fact, when one of the four disgruntled association representatives raised the issue with the BCCI officials, he was told to “write in with all the objections so that they can be dealt with”. So far, the BCCI has not received any written communication.As for the lack of a working committee stamp on the BCCI circular, the official clarified that the BCCI rulebook authorises the secretary to initiate such actions with the permission of the president.Besides the former players’ involvement in various capacities, one of the major conflict of interest areas has been the in-stadia rights allocation for international matches. For every international match that even a small centre gets to host once every three years, it is observed that many associations award the in-stadia rights to kin of the key officials and allegedly get kickbacks.While Thakur is walking away with the credit for setting the motion in process, a BCCI old-timer said the move has been part of Dalmiya’s plans for a long time. He recalled an incident in 2004-05, when Dalmiya, who was the de facto head of the BCCI with Ranbir Singh Mahendra as a proxy president, had proposed a similar declaration. Facing flak during the controversial allocation of TV rights, Dalmiya had proposed in a working committee to sign an undertaking declaring no conflict of interest in awarding the broadcast rights and signed it himself. Other BCCI officials, however, objected to it.The declaration circulated by Thakur last month asks each office-bearer of all 30 full members to confirm: “I am not in any manner or mode associated or connected with any Institution, body Corporate, Association of persons, Partnership or otherwise in any form or manner which derives any financial, commercial or any other benefits or gain from the Board of Control for Cricket in India directly or indirectly, other than the official grants received by the Association I represent.”

Neil McKenzie, ignored by the national selectors for the first three games againstNew Zealand, waved his bat under the noses of Rushdie Magiet and colleagueswith a stylish century to help Northerns Titans beat North West Dragons by29 runs at Supersport Park on Wednesday night.Not one of the national selectors in the Gauteng region turned up to watchMcKenzie in a Standard Bank Cup game where he put together the sort ofperformance which revived a struggling innings, his 103 coming off 109balls and including 12 fours.McKenzie learned only hours before the side left Nairobi on Sunday that hehad been left out of the national squad for the opening matches of thelimited overs international season against the competitive New Zealanders.This after the selectors had earlier indicated they were grooming the Titansbatsman for a middle-order place.McKenzie and the Northerns Titans captain, Gerald Dros, posteda national domestic record of 181 runs for the fourth wicket as Northerns puttogether a total of 239 for seven in their 45 overs.Dros scored an impressive 86 off 99 balls and, with his threewickets for 52 earned man of the match award.Greg Smith’s left-arm pace (3-24) ripped through the North West top-order asthe Dragons ran out of steam, scoring 210 for seven. Mark Lavine made 63 off 56 balls with three fours and six sixes, two of them among the biggestseen at the venue in a long time.

ScorecardAndrew Gale can anticipate a second chance to lift the title•Getty Images

Andrew Gale could have written the script. Next week, a little under a year after a last-minute ruling from the England and Wales Cricket board denied him his dream of lifting the Championship trophy as Yorkshire captain, he will realise his ambition on their own front lawn, so to speak, at Lord’s.That this will happen is a formality after Yorkshire’s third win by an innings in the space of seven matches left them within a handful of points of winning the title for the second year running. Now they take on Middlesex, currently in second place, knowing that when they turn up at headquarters next Wednesday, a draw would put Middlesex out of the running and give Yorkshire enough points to ensure that Nottinghamshire could not catch up even if they won all their remaining matches with maximum points.

Gale reluctant to lose 16-game Championship

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale has spoken against reducing the number of Championship fixtures from the current 16 per team in any restructuring of domestic cricket.
It is expected that a cut to 14 — opposed by county chief executives but supported in principle by county chairman after consultations at Lord’s this week — will be recommended when the ECB executive meets at the end of the month.
Polled by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the majority of players said they wanted the primacy of the Championship to be preserved and Gale, about to lead his team to a second consecutive title, is among them.
“I’m not against 14 games but only as long as there is symmetry in the fixtures,” he said, “but I would prefer 16 because I think you need that number to properly reflect who is the best side in that format over a season.
“I’m also a Yorkshireman and a traditionalist and if you asked the members I think 99 per cent of them would want 16 games as well.”

As Yorkshire celebrated this crushing win, Gale revealed that the title had not been mentioned in the dressing room, even though it is so close, but he was not denying the gleam in his own eye. Told that, because he was suspended after his verbal attack on Lancashire’s Ashwell Prince, he would have to stand aside as Yorkshire received their trophy last season, what should have been the sweetest moment of his career was soured. He knew he might never have the chance again but now 12 months later he has.”Since we came back for pre-season, the motivation for me to lift that trophy again after what happened last season has been a big driver,” he said. “To win back to back Championship trophies will be special but, for me, to actually lift the trophy myself will be even more special.”It would have been nice to do it here in front of our own fans but to do so at Lord’s, the home of cricket, will be a fantastic experience. I’m sure people will travel down to be there too.”And I don’t know if you noticed but I’ve been keeping my mouth firmly shut during this game, leaving the others to do the talking. And I’ll be keeping it shut again next week, just concentrating on the job in hand.”Amid intense competition for places at Headingley, Gale’s sometimes patchy batting form has again put him under pressure to justify his place but he has inspirational qualities as an individual to which his players respond time and again.On this occasion, his bowlers delivered twice, skittling Somerset for 110 in the first innings and making short work of them second time around. Resuming at 44 for 2 on the third morning, the relegation-threatened west countrymen managed to survive 35 minutes without losing a wicket but once the first incision was make by Steve Patterson they were ripped apart with ruthless zeal.Tom Cooper, driving expansively, was first to go, caught behind, followed by Jim Allenby, taken at third slip. Once James Hildreth, having reached 57 following his reprieve on 18 on Wednesday evening, had been seen off by Jack Brooks, it became only a matter of how quickly Yorkshire could finish the job.In the event, it was before lunch, more or less, the interval having been delayed for all of two minutes after the ninth wicket fell before Tim Groenewald squirted a catch to Gary Ballance at point off Tim Bresnan and the celebrations began. From the first wicket of the morning to the last there were 19 overs precisely, the last eight Somerset wickets falling for 68 runs.Patterson and Ryan Sidebottom in particular were impressive, the latter moving to within one wicket of 700 for his career in first-class matches, although Somerset’s resistance was feeble, their performance collectively that of a side who could not wait to be on the coach home.Their captain, Marcus Trescothick, admitted the next two matches are more important.”This was a comprehensive defeat and we were completely outplayed,” he said. “Yorkshire executed their skills far greater than we did in every aspect of the game. It is why they will almost certainly be champions for the second year.”Our next game is a crucial relegation clash with Hampshire and it is a massive game in the context of the season. We need to improve our skills and put in a much better performance to get the result we want.”We follow that with a visit to Hove so we have eight days of challenging cricket in nine days. We have got a mental battle ahead of us over the last few weeks of the season.”

Worcestershire have secured a deal to bring Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal back to New Road in 2015 for at least the second half of the season from July.Ajmal, 37, has successfully remodelled his action after being cited for throwing, sending down 12,000 deliveries, and was cleared to bowl again by the ICC last month.Worcestershire could have Ajmal available for the first two months of the season if Pakistan’s tour to Bangladesh, pencilled in for April and May, does not go ahead – the two boards are currently in negotiations – but he will definitely arrive after Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka concludes at the start of July.Ajmal is crucial to Worcestershire’s chances of survival in Division One of the County Championship. Last year he took 63 wickets at 16.47 in just nine matches – five of which Worcestershire won – to propel his adopted county to a most-unexpected promotion. Worcestershire did not lose in the Championship when Ajmal was in the side last season.”I’ve had this difficult spell of my career with my action but I knew I would come through it and have had the support not only of Pakistan but also Worcestershire throughout,” Ajmal said.”Worcestershire have all the time stood by me and I can assure them I will repay the faith they have shown in me this season. I would love to be with Worcestershire as long as possible so I can help the club achieve their high goals and also help establish them in Division One.”Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes added: “I’m delighted Saeed is coming back. He’s very important in what is hopefully going to be a successful season for us and is an important member of the dressing room.”He brings a lot of confidence to the team as well which is really important for this young group of players. He has made a tremendous impact. He is a real quality performer as all our members and supporters know.”Worcestershire are back in Division One of the County Championship after a two-year absence. They begin their new campaign at home to champions Yorkshire on April 12.

Bob Appleyard, the former Yorkshire and England bowler, has died after a period of ill health. He was 90.Appleyard was a member of the England side that won the Ashes in Australia in 1954-55 and, despite a short career, claimed more than 700 wickets with an idiosyncratic bowling technique. After retirement, he was involved in setting up Yorkshire’s academy and later served as the county’s president. His life story is one of the most remarkable among those to have played the game.”It is desperately sad to have learnt the passing away of Bob Appleyard,” said Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chairman who is soon to take up the same role at the ECB.”Bob was tenaciously loyal to the club throughout his lifetime, and an excellent president. Without doubt he’ll be remembered as one of Yorkshire cricket’s post-war greats. He played for Yorkshire and England with distinction and gave everything to the game.”For many years, he has been a regular at Headingley supporting the team. He will be missed at matches this summer. I would like to pass on my deepest sympathy to Bob’s family.”Appleyard made his first-class debut at the age of 27 and the following year, his first full season, claimed an extraordinary 200 wickets at 14.14 for Yorkshire. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had half of a lung removed but recovered and went on to play nine Tests for England. However, a shoulder injury led to his retirement in 1958, having played only five full seasons.His life was touched by tragedy, losing three sisters and his father by the age of 15, after which he lived with his step-grandparents. He also mourned his son, Ian, and grandson, John, both of whom died of leukaemia.Geoff Cope, the former Yorkshire and England offspinner, remembered Appleyard as a tenacious competitor whose love for Bradford cricket, where he learnt the game, was ever present.”For him to take 642 wickets for Yorkshire in such a short career shows what a great bowler he was and in the right conditions he was virtually unplayable,” Cope told Yorkshire’s website. “The hardest thing for a captain to do with Bob was to get the ball off him once he was into his spell and this was because he saw bowling as a great challenge, particularly against top class batsmen.”There was always feisty competition between himself and another great Yorkshire bowler, Johnny Wardle, but each had a great respect for the other and took immense pleasure in doing their best for the team.”Bob was respected by first-class bowlers around the world and his work for cricket charities connected with the Yorkshire club was outstanding. His love of Bradford Park Avenue was to the fore in all of his cricket conversations.”

Kevin Pietersen’s attempt to regain his England place has been confirmed as deadly serious by his announcement that he has negotiated his release from the group stages of the IPL to try to stage a dramatic international comeback.Sunrisers Hyderabad have agreed to release Pietersen for the entire first phase of the 2015 IPL, although they will have the right to recall him for the final week – should they so wish – if they reach the knockout stages of the competition.There are no certainties, no guarantees. Pietersen could add a final twist to a remarkable international career or he could end up with egg on his face. He could finish the Ashes series against Australia this summer a national hero, or he could become hurt and disillusioned, railing at captains, coaches and selectors once more as his dreams remain unfulfilled.Pietersen, a four-time Ashes winner and England’s highest run-scorer across all formats, announced on his own website that he will now “join a domestic county with the aim of earning a place in the England squad for the upcoming Ashes series”.That county looks certain to be Surrey – and that attempt to earn an Ashes place must include such a weight of early season runs that some very powerful figures in English cricket, all of them loath to countenance his return, will have to bow to the inevitability of the statistics before them. The whole shebang is likely to begin with a Division Two Championship fixture against Glamorgan in Cardiff on April 19.There is another potential Test series in England before the Ashes, of course, although it seems to be escaping the attention of many, Pietersen included. England, who are about to embark upon a three-Test tour in the Caribbean, then return to host New Zealand in May.The first New Zealand Test is at Lord’s where Paul Downton, the managing director of England cricket, told Pietersen his England career was over. The second is at Headingley, home of the incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves, whose off-the-cuff exhortation for him to first make runs in county cricket if he wanted to be considered for England again, has given him hopes of adding to his 104 Test caps.”I’m hugely grateful for all the support and understanding I’ve received from everyone at the Sunrisers and the IPL,” Pietersen said.”My focus is now very much on the upcoming season in England and I’m absolutely determined to score as many runs as possible.”I’ve never made any secret of my overwhelming desire to once again represent England and I’m going to do everything in my power to earn a recall to the international set-up.”To once again put on that England shirt would be a privilege and an honour, but now I have to focus on performing domestically and give myself the best possible chance of meriting selection.”Kevin Pietersen is expected to re-sign for Surrey•PA Photos

Pietersen has reasons to be grateful to the IPL. He signed a legally binding contract when Sunrisers bought him in the player auction last month for his base price of Rs 2 crore (£210,000). He could have faced legal action if he did not fulfil his commitments, but there would have been little advantage in forcing a player to play in the IPL against his will when his personal circumstances had suddenly changed and his ambitions lay elsewhere.Graves, who officially takes up office as ECB chairman at the beginning of May, will be an administrator who knows his own mind, but he is not blind to the fact that his powers do not go as far as selecting the Test side.Pietersen has had more than one telephone conversation with Graves to clarify his position and intends to meet him in person next week after his commentary stint for BBC radio at the World Cup.It is difficult to see what Graves can promise beyond the fact that he will be treated fairly – and even that likelihood does not change the perception that Pietersen’s hopes are fanciful. Michael Vaughan, the former England captain and a close ally of Graves at Yorkshire, has calculated his chances of playing in the Ashes at 10% – perhaps now up to 15.But there remains uncertainty over the future of Downton, his most implacable opponent, whose attempt to impose his authority on English cricket by sacking Pietersen in the wake of a 5-0 Ashes defeat tipped England into one of the most divisive years in their history and brought widespread disillusionment at a time when cricket was struggling to hold its appeal. Were Pietersen to return, Downton’s position looks untenable.Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, also opposes a return for Pietersen and last week described his return as “highly unlikely”, making reference to the divisive nature of an autobiography in which Pietersen ridiculed team-mates, management and the ECB. None of the England selectors are lobbying for a recall; nor is the coach, Peter Moores.There is also no certainty that Pietersen will score heavily in Championship cricket, even in Division Two, even driven by millions of well-wishers from beyond the England set-up. It will be intriguing to see the depth of his resolve and whether his Ashes dreams can be furthered on a day when county cricket is at its least enticing, when there is drizzle in the cool, spring air, the wind whistles round largely deserted stands and the pitch is a haven for the sort of jobbing seamers who he recently characterised as “muppets”. No wicket will be more keenly sought, or have more words written about it.What English cricket now has is momentum – and after a dreadful World Cup campaign it was sorely in need of it. Cook will be desperate to lead England to a convincing Test series win against West Indies to suggest that this is not the time for turning back, and the Championship will have the chance to remind everyone that, small crowds or not, it retains a central place in English cricket. Graves will regard that as how it should be.If Pietersen really is to play for England again then T20 – the only format of the game that he has played for the past 14 months – offers an easier route back. His best chance of an England recall appears to be a Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Old Trafford on June 23, a possible prelude to dressing-room reintegration and a place at the World Twenty20 in India next year.That really would be the final irony: Pietersen chooses four-day Championship cricket in England ahead of T20 in India and is rewarded with a chance to play a World Twenty20 in India. It is not the outcome he most wants. It is the outcome he is most likely to achieve. Quite how he would feel about that somewhat illogical conclusion would be anybody’s guess.

Scorecard
How they were out

Scotland waited a long time to face England at cricket – it’s 136 years since they first met at football – but unfortunately rain meant the chance of a result was washed away at The Grange. However, a fighting 60 from Gavin Hamilton, who has played internationals for both teams, ensured Scotland put up a more than respectable effort. Given their early position of 11 for 3, the final total of 156 represented riches and although it was unlikely to have been enough the sell-out home support of 6000 will insist that England couldn’t beat the Auld Enemy – if only because of the rain.The start was delayed by nearly two hours and another stoppage midway through Scotland’s innings cut their allocation to 44. Hamilton’s innings held them together, along with a fourth-wicket stand of 64 with Colin Smith, after Tim Bresnan impressed on his international recall, while Samit Patel made his mark on debut with a run out, catch and a wicket. England’s target was adjusted to 159 and Ian Bell and Matt Prior, the latest opening pair, knocked off 10 before the rain came back and made this the sixth ODI out of the last 10 held in Scotland to be a no result.However, Scotland can hold their heads up, especially as they had to bat in tough conditions against a swinging ball. With the ball darting around the last thing a batting side needs is to gift wickets to the opposition, but Ryan Watson was run out at the non-striker’s end by Patel from midwicket.Scotland’s two current county batsmen then departed for ducks as Bresnan, recalled for the first time since 2006, bowled an impressive opening spell. He had Kyle Coetzer comfortably taken by Andrew Flintoff at second slip then Navdeep Poonia got a slightly thicker edge, which flew to Patel at third as his lively day continued.At 11 for 3, Scotland could easily have folded without a trace, but to their immense credit they fought hard to repair the innings. Hamilton used all the experience he has gained from his lengthy professional career – which included a Test for England in 1999 – as he left anything wide of the stumps early on. But he and Smith weren’t afraid to put bat to ball as both took sixes over an inviting third-man boundary, and Smith also had the gumption to come down the pitch and drive Bresnan straight down the ground.England’s bowlers maintained their disciplines, but the fielding didn’t quite match those standards. Hamilton was missed twice on 24, firstly by James Anderson at the unaccustomed position of second slip then by Luke Wright on the boundary. At 75 for 3 Scotland had the base to push towards a competitive total, however two quick wickets stunted their progress.The profitable third-man area brought Smith’s downfall when he tried to clear the rope but found Alastair Cook, on as a substitute, right on the boundary edge. In the next over Patel, in the middle of a tight spell of left-arm spin, collected his first international wicket when Neil McCallum top-edged a sweep to deep square-legRain then interrupted the innings, but on resumption Scotland continued to stand up to their more illustrious opponents. Kevin Pietersen made the curious decision to bowl himself for a couple of overs and Hamilton started to express himself with meaty sixes off Patel and Stuart Broad, as he and former captain Craig Wright added 42 in 10 overs.Broad got one on target to remove Wright and Flintoff, who enjoyed some good-natured banter with a well-lubricated crowd, removed Hamilton as he tried to find the boundary in the closing overs. However, his innings meant Scotland kept their pride intact and they would have fancied giving England a few uncomfortable moments in the run chase. The weather put paid to that, but the day will still go down as a success for Scottish cricket.

A Hall of Fame for US Junior Cricket, a project that has been on the drawing board for two years, could be ready to welcome visitors when the International Junior Tournament for Under-15 and Under-11 teams is held in the Bay Area during the Independence Day weekend in July 2008.The Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Mayor and the city council of Cupertino in Northern California, which is providing space for the exhibit. Officials from other cities in the area, such as San Jose and Foster City, have also expressed interest and promised their support.The Hall of Fame is expected to house dozens of sterling silver cups and trophies and souvenirs from Cricket Academy tournaments, as well as those earned from overseas tours. Photographs of past tournament winners, a cricket bat donated by Ricky Ponting and signed by the members of the Australian team that won the World Cup, and framed congratulatory messages from Sachin Tendulkar and other figures of distinction in world cricket, will also be displayed. Also available will be newspaper clippings from the USA and overseas, featuring the exploits of the junior squads.This is the right time for inaugurating for the Hall of Fame, according to Hemant Buch, co-founder and President of the California Cricket Academy. Junior cricketers from all over the world, as well as their siblings and parents, are expected to be at the International Junior Tournament, and opening the Hall of Fame would be a fitting inaugural event.