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English cricket has received a pre-Ashes boost with the announcement of a new £10 million, three-year extension to their existing deal with the energy company, npower.The deal, which was signed at Ruskin Park in South London, will cover all levels of English cricket, including both men’s and women’s Test teams, village cricket, and an expansion of the “Urban Cricket” grassroots initiative, which was launched last summer and was enthusiastically received.”It’s investments like this which have helped the success the team has had,” said England’s spinner Monty Panesar, who departs for Australia with the Ashes squad on Friday. “Npower has been a fantastic supporter of English cricket from playgrounds right to the top of the sport.”Kevin Miles, managing director of npower, added: “It’s a fantastic time to be a sponsor of cricket and a stunning time to be a fan. We think that cricket’s on a roll. It’s the overwhelming success of the Ashes which is allowing us to build a great relationship with the general public and to introduce children to the game in a way which has never been achieved before.”

Forget the past week. The Super Test starting on Friday is the match of the series. Run over in the limited-overs games in Melbourne, the World XI have six days to rediscover their sparkle and show their undoubted quality. The contest is vital for both teams – an all-star bunch and a revitalised Australia – who will determine the validity of the Super Series.Home and happy, Ricky Ponting can gain further distance from the Ashes and add the novel prize of taking on the World and winning. The Australians displayed incredible excitement at securing the one-day series 3-0 but the resurgence – Ponting would call it consistency, but they have improved significantly since England – would mean nothing if the intensity and ferocity is not matched at the SCG.Overseas and currently overpaid, the World are struggling to merge their skills and roles while holding unfamiliar positions. John Wright, the coach, understands his team cannot match the collective desire of his opponents and will rely on a clutch of high-class performances in an arena that gives individual genius more chance to thrive. Today they cut Shoaib Akhtar from the squad and will finalise the side on Friday morning.The combinations and head-to-heads are mind-blowing; the mood in Sydney is expectant. Four specialist spinners are massaging their fingers and almost gleaming at the prospect of their bowl-off. Shane Warne said Daniel Vettori and Muttiah Muralitharan were the most dangerous of the World XI’s components. “Expect a very good showing from these guys,” Warne said of the opposition. “You get the true indication in a Test because the best side will always win.”Graeme Smith has never handled a quality spinner and his leadership and tactical nous will be tested as sternly as his batsmen from the Warne and Stuart MacGill threats. “The responsibility falls on myself and Murali to help us through that,” Vettori said. “We have to guide Graeme. He’s obviously a strong character and will have his way of doing things, but in the end it will come back to us to work out what we need.”Australia named both spinners in their team today and included the allrounder Shane Watson while Brad Hodge was 12th man. Michael Clarke will slot in at No. 4, the spot formerly held by Mark Waugh, another New South Wales batsman who grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. “He looks at home whenever he strides to the crease in both forms of the game,” Ponting said. “He’s got a big future and will certainly be around for some time.”The World XI’s problems are much tougher as they attempt to squeeze 13 experts into 11 chairs. Shoaib has already been considered excess baggage, but Smith said the decision was not based on fitness. “Combinations are very important for us and we are pretty confident in the 11 we will pick,” he said. “Shoaib’s been left out and it’s got nothing to do with his weight. We didn’t feel he’d fit into the 12 we picked.” Shaun Pollock, the one-day captain, was dropped on the morning of the match with the England pair of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison set to open the attack.Spinning duels will definitely provide some of the highlights, but there is suitable competition from the batsmen. Will a player come close to matching the immediately recalled achievement of Garry Sobers’s 254 at Melbourne in 1971-72 for the Rest of the World? Or the batting of the Chappells? Or can a bowler mirror the force of Dennis Lillee?Virender Sehwag lifts himself for the Tests and the pride of Dravid, Lara and Kallis is bruised following the one-day matches. A similar feeling applies to the current Test specialists Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer as they face Flintoff and Harmison after the England loss. Ponting, too, is keen to make points with bat and captaincy.Five Tests were played during that summer 24 years ago, this time it is a one-match shoot-out with Test instead of exhibition status. At every point there will be intriguing subplots but the result is what will matter. The closeness of the contest will determine how super the series is, and whether it will be repeated in four years.Australia 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Simon Katich, 6 Shane Watson, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Glenn McGrath, 11 Stuart MacGill, 12 Brad Hodge.World XI 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq, 5 Brian Lara, 6 Jacques Kallis, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Mark Boucher, 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

It brought Australia and New Zealand to a stand-off in 1981, and 23 years later, Greg Chappell finally revealed his motive behind the infamous under-arm ball. In an ABC documentary, , Chappell revealed that the decision was a “cry for help” because of Australia’s relentless schedule.In the space of 13 months till February 1, 1981 – when Trevor Chappell bowled under-arm – Australia had played 13 Tests and 17 one-dayers. In comparison, Australia have played 15 Tests and 31 one-dayers in the past 13 months.”I was exhausted. I was fed up,” said Chappell. “The under-arm had very little to do with winning that game of cricket because, in fact, we’d won the game.”They weren’t going to get six off the last ball of the game. It was my statement. My cry for help was: ‘You’re not listening, this might help you sit up and take notice.”Brian McKechnie, who is now a New Zealand selector, was at the receiving end of that grubber, and he told that other sources had confirmed Chappell’s version of events.”I don’t understand why he did it,” said McKechnie. “I’ll take his word. [Rodney] Marsh and [Doug] Walters said it a few years ago. He was under pressure during the game. He wanted to leave the field during the game. He stood at long-off, which is near the boundary. That’s unusual for a captain.”McKechnie’s reaction back then was to throw his bat to the ground in disgust, and he insisted that the incident has coloured his life just as much as it did Chappell’s. “I just wish it never happened to me,” he said. “Everywhere I go in New Zealand you can bet your life someone will ask me a question about it. It was 23 years ago.”I’ve only spoken to him [Greg Chappell] once since. We never spoke about that. It was just one of those unfortunate things … The positive spin in New Zealand was that it increased interest in cricket and added to good, old-fashioned trans-Tasman rivalry in a number of sports.”

Ed Giddins today announced his retirement from first-class cricket, bringing the curtain down on a 12-year career of ups and downs.

Giddins, 32, played four Tests for England in 1999 and 2000, and his finest hour was his Man-of-the-Match performance of 5 for 15 against Zimbabwe at Lord’s. He played in the following match against Zimbabwe that 2000 summer, but struggled against West Indies at Edgbaston and was never seen again.He made his first-class debut for Sussex in 1991, but left under a cloud in 1996 after a positive test for recreational drugs which resulted in an 18-month ban from county cricket. He came back with Warwickshire two years later, then joined Surrey in 2001 with his reputation enhanced as an international. Surrey released him after two seasons and he completed his county career with Hampshire, from whom he departed today after making only three appearances this summer.Speaking at The Rose Bowl, Giddins said: “Throughout my career I have always set myself high standards of fitness and ability. There is no doubt that despite some adequate performances for Hampshire, it has become more and more difficult to dig deep enough on every occasion. I therefore feel that it is fairest to both Hampshire and myself that I bow out now and avoid any public deterioration in my performances.”He added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my career with each of the four counties I have represented, and I wish them all well for the future.”Paul Terry, Hampshire’s team manager, said: “We fully respect Ed’s decision and wish him well for the future. His record is up there with the best of them and speaks for itself. Although we probably did not see the best of Ed at Hampshire, those who saw him bowl at Worcester in the first game of the season and later against Zimbabwe will have seen the quality that brought him 12 years at the top.”Away from cricket, Giddins earned a bob or two selling Christmas trees with former Surrey team-mate Nadeem Shahid, and was also chosen as one of England’s three most eligible bachelors by in March 1995.

Heavy rain overnight and this morning caused the abandonment of the fourth day of the State Championship match between Northern Districts and Canterbury at the Harry Barker Reserve, Gisborne.Canterbury take two points for a first innings win and remain on top of the State Championship.ND required a further 29 to make the visitors bat again with six wickets remaining, but on a good pitch a Canterbury victory was not inevitable. Nevertheless, it was the South Islanders who were the most disappointed that the game could not be played to a finish.Of the ND players only Scott Styris shared their opponents’ disappointment. He needed just two runs to achieve his second first-class century. Three would have given him a career-best score. With 4-33 as well as his unbeaten 98 Styris has reminded that selectors that he is back in form in good time for the one-day series in Australia and against England.The way in which ND came back on the third day, recovering from a first-innings deficit of 286, encouraged coach Bruce Blair, who had told his team to play with more discipline and to take the game to the opposition.The result was ND’s strongest batting display of the season. For several players, notably the Marshall brothers, James and Hamish, the performance could set the tone for the rest of the campaign.Most of the individual stars wore the Canterbury uniform. Chris Harris made an unbeaten 155 that changed in tempo according to the needs of the team. Harris has scored 418 runs at 139 this season, a forceful reminder that he is much more than a one-day specialist.Opening batsman Shanan Stewart made a stylish debut 57. He showed that the class which he has demonstrated for the national under-19 side is transferable to first-class level.But the impression that most onlookers took away with them was the pace and aggression of Canterbury fast bowler Shane Bond. In the case of some of the ND batsman that impression is in the form of bruises sustained as they attempted to duck and weave out of the way of the fastest bowling seen in New Zealand domestic cricket for some time.Bond took a career-best 5-37 in the first innings and gave Styris a memorably torrid time in the closing overs yesterday. Canterbury coach Michael Sharpe remarked that Bond was a “new player” since returning from service with the Black Caps in Australia.Bond agrees. “Competing against the best has been great for my self-belief,” he told CricInfo shortly after today’s play had been abandoned. “I came back with the attitude that I was going to bowl fast and dominate in domestic cricket.”He has been named in the Test squad to face Bangladesh in Hamilton next week. Though he played against the Bangladeshis when they toured New Zealand two years ago, he doesn’t know much about their current line-up.”The Auckland boys playing against them today will tell us more. I do remember that they didn’t like it short.”The WestpacTrust Park pitch is one of Bond’s favourite venues. “It is one of the best wickets in New Zealand and is a good place to watch.”A little over a month ago, Bond was a police officer and a part-time cricketer. His call up to the national side has changed his life completely.”It’s all been a bit of a blur. My police career is on hold and I haven’t seen much of my wife. The exposure is new. People who come to the cricket know who you are. It’s all been good for me.”Bond is looking forward to playing a Test in New Zealand. “In Australia we weren’t really aware of the huge interest at home. It’ll be great to have the public support against the Bangladeshis.”Chris Martin is also in good form going into the Test series, with match figures of 3-61 from some hostile and accurate spells. He will probably remember his heroic, two-hour 25 in partnership with Harris for longer.This game has been a vindication of the policy of taking matches away from the main centres. It was an occasion for the Gisborne cricket community, who prepared an excellent pitch worthy of a first-class fixture.A pity that the rain deprived them of an exciting climax, but that is cricket’s oldest story.

ScorecardFile photo: Mitchell McClenaghan ended with match figures of 7 for 106•Getty Images

Auckland’s fast bowlers Mitchell McClenaghan and Matthew Quinn picked up seven wickets each, setting the tone for Auckland’s nine-wicket victory against Canterbury. Auckland were also buoyed by half-centuries from Colin de Grandhomme, Brad Cachopa and Martin Guptill, as the team opened their Plunket Shield campaign strongly.Canterbury, after being inserted, failed to string together any meaningful partnership, and were bundled out for 149, as McClenaghan (4 for 38) and Quinn (3 for 34) ran through the line-up in 48.1 overs. Auckland found themselves struggling at 50 for 3 in their reply, but three big stands – 82 for the fourth wicket between de Grandhomme (70) and Rob Nicol, 68 for the fifth between Nicol and Cachopa (61), and 68 for the eighth between Tarun Nethul and Michael Bates – ensured the hosts posted a total of 316 to collect a lead of 167.Canterbury fared better in the second innings, thanks mainly to a 109-run partnership between Leo Carter (79) and Ken McClure (50), but once again, regular strikes from McClenaghan and Quinn prevented the visitors from pulling away with a large score. Canterbury were eventually bowled out for 321, meaning that Auckland needed just 155 for victory, a total the hosts chased down in 37 overs thanks to Guptill’s unbeaten 94-ball 84.
ScorecardA maiden double-century from Central Districts’ 24-year-old batsman Ben Smith was the highlight of their drawn game against Otago in Napier. In a game that saw 1267 runs scored, it was Otago, opting to bat, who made the early running. Buoyed by a 157-run stand between Sam Wells and James Neesham, the hosts compiled 352. Neesham went on to make 131 off 152 balls, while Otago were also lifted by handy half-centuries from Hamish Rutherford (79*) and Wells (62). Doug Bracewell was the pick of Central Districts’ bowlers, collecting 5 for 67.Central Districts lost Greg Hay early in their reply, but Smith battled on for more than eight hours, scoring 244 off 368 balls, with 29 fours and a six. He shared a mammoth 234-run stand for the fourth wicket with George Worker, who made 129. Will Young (62) and Tom Bruce (71) also chipped in with half-centuries, as Central Districts eventually declared on 650 for 8.With a lead of 298, Central Districts had nearly 90 overs to bowl Otago out and seal an innings win, and looked well on course to doing that by removing Rutherford and Ryan Duffy early. However, Neil Broom held firm, scoring a patient 131, and put on a 204-run partnership with Brad Wilson to guide his team to safety. Otago were 265 for 3 when stumps were called.
ScorecardTim Southee and Trent Boult took 12 wickets together as Northern Districts drew with Wellington and walked away with seven points in their season opener.Right-arm seamer Dane Hutchinson also picked up a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, to clean up the Northern Districts tail but by then the first-innings lead had passed 150.Captain Daniel Flynn and Kane Williamson gave Northern Districts a strong base, adding 148. While Williamson became the first of Jeetan Patel’s three victims, Flynn went on to make 102 off 239 balls. Bharat Popli and BJ Watling also scored fifties to steer their side to 429 before Hutchinson became the first Wellington bowler to take a hat-trick since Stephen Hotter in 1997.However, it could not mask the top-order failure in the first innings. Having been inserted, Wellington were reduced to 47 for 5 inside 18 overs with Southee doing the bulk of the damage. However, a rearguard stand of 108 between Tom Blundell and Luke Ronchi helped the visitors recover to 267. Luke Ronchi was the eighth man dismissed for 115 off 112 balls.The batting line-up fared much better in the second innings with each of their batsmen, with the exception of No.9 reaching double-figures. Boult accounted for Stephen Murdoch (93), Blundell (46), and Ronchi (15) but Wellington nudged past 400 before stumps on the fourth day.

England captain Ben Stokes believes there would be “hell on” if a pitch like the one served up at the MCG was presented in other parts of the world and added that his feedback to the match referee “won’t be the best”.England won the fourth Test inside two days. It was the second two-day Test of the series. The last time there had been multiple two-day Tests in the same series was in 1912 while Australia has only hosted four two-day Tests in history with two coming this summer and the third being played at the Gabba in 2022.Although it wasn’t dangerous, the consistent excessive seam movement throughout the match made batting very difficult as it was the first Test in Australia since 1932 where no individual batter reached 50.Stokes was blunt in his assessment of the surface post match.Related

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“Being brutally honest, that’s not really what you want,” Stokes said. “Boxing Day Test match. You don’t want a game finishing in less than two days. Not ideal. But you can’t change it once you start the game and you’ve just got to play what’s in front of you.”But I’m pretty sure if that was somewhere else in the world, there’d be hell on. Not the best thing for games that should be played over five days. But we played a type of cricket that ended up getting the job done.”Ben Stokes looks to the heavens as wickets tumble in England’s innings•AFP/Getty Images

Stokes was asked if he was referring to what the reaction would be if a two-day Test had been played on a pitch on the subcontinent.”It’s your words, not mine,” Stokes said.He was also asked what his feedback would be to the match referee about the pitch.”It won’t be the best,” he said.Australia captain Steven Smith was more diplomatic about the MCG surface. Australia had anticipated there would be a lot of seam movement on offer when they left out a specialist spinner even before seeing the pitch on the morning of the game.MCG curator Matt Page had elected to keep 10mm of grass on the surface despite cool and damp weather in Melbourne in the lead in, having presented a pitch with 7-8mm of grass in warmer conditions on Boxing Day 2024 which produced a five-day classic that ended in the final session of the match. Smith felt there was too much grass but did not want to be ultra critical.”Obviously, it was a tricky one,” Smith said. “Thirty-six wickets over two days, it probably offered just a little bit too much. It’s tough as a groundsman. I think he’s always looking for the right sort of balance, I suppose. Last year’s wicket was an outstanding one, it went to day five last session.”In an ideal world, every wicket does that and it’s exciting for everyone. But yeah, maybe if you took it from 10 [millimetres] to eight, it would have been a nice, challenging wicket, maybe a little bit more even, I suppose. But groundsmen are always learning and yeah, he’ll probably take something from that, no doubt.”The Test last only 852 balls, just five more than the game in Perth, and is set to cost Cricket Australia millions of dollars as more than 90,000 were expected to attend day three and another huge crowd was expected for day four, with all tickets to be fully refunded.It was also the first time in Test history in Australia that a game had been completed without a ball bowled by a spinner. Australia have played four seamers in two of the four Tests this series and Nathan Lyon only bowled two overs in their two-day win in Perth.Smith said the state of Australian pitches at the moment meant spin was not really an option for a captain to turn to.”A lot of the wickets we’re playing on now, I think spin has been … it’s the easiest thing to face on some of these wickets that are offering a lot of seam,” Smith said. “It’s almost to the point where, why would you bowl it when you could leak 30 or 40 runs quickly if they decide to play positively, and the game shifts immediately?”Obviously Perth Stadium, we barely bowled spin, two overs maybe. We didn’t bowl a spinner in the pink-ball Test. And last week [in Adelaide] was obviously a different one. There was quite a dry surface and it offered some rough which was a nice wicket.”And then this one, spin didn’t look like getting a chance to bowl. So I don’t know whether it’s something that can be spoken about. I love seeing spinners play a part in the game, but right now, why would you?”

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Led by a satisfying performance in the field, especially by their spinners, Pakistan ended up as comfortable winners against Kenya in the final match of the Quadrangular Tournament in Nairobi. Chasing a paltry 93, victory was achieved with the loss of only two wickets with Shoaib Malik, opening the innings with Mohammad Hafeez, scoring an aggressive 42 and Misbah-ul-Haq finishing things off with a well-paced 31.Fawad Alam, the left-arm debutant, was the other not-out batsman as Pakistan romped home with six overs to spare.Earlier, Kenya, who won the toss and batted, got off to a poor start when Shoaib Akhtar grabbed two early wickets; David Obuya caught at second slip by Misbah and Jimmy Kamande’s mistimed pull taken by Salman Butt at mid-on.Tanmay Mishra struck two fours off Akhtar but was deceived by a quicker ball to be trapped in front by Alam. Kenya slid to 43 for 5 after Abdur Rehman, also a left-arm spinner, claimed two wickets in quick succession; Thomas Odoyo was stumped by Kamran Akmal and Tony Suji was bowled sweeping.Alam and Rehman did not concede a boundary, and Malik, exploiting the effectiveness of the spinners, brought on Younis Khan and Hafeez; both of whom picked up wickets in their first over. Alex Obanda was stumped while Collins Obuya, Kenya’s highest scorer with 17, was bowled by Hafeez.Rajesh Bhudia struck Hafeez over the long-on boundary, but Lameck Onyango was stumped off the same bowler. With his third stumping, Akmal had now broken the Twenty20 record for the most stumpings in an innings.Younis then claimed his second wicket when Budhia missed a slog. Peter Ongondo hit a six over long-on, but was caught at long-off by Rehman while attempting another big stroke as Younis finished with career-best figures of 3 for 18.Pakistan, together with Kenya and Bangladesh, now head to South Africa for a few warm-up matches before the start of the ICC World Twenty20 on September 11.

The annual ICC Awards has been postponed to November 3 to ensure the attendance of all the teams after the original date conflicted with the festivals of Diwali and Eid. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier written to Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, about the function in Mumbai to request the change from October 23 as the Indian team was due to be on a five-day break.”The new date adds an extra dimension to the last week of the Champions Trophy with the ICC Awards slotting in between the two semi-finals in Mohali and Jaipur and the final at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai,” Speed said. “And the fact this year’s ceremony is taking place in India, which has such a passion for the game, and in Mumbai, which is the entertainment capital of India, should add to the excitement, glamour and expectation that this event is likely to generate.”This will be the third time the ICC Awards will be staged after the first two events were held in London and Sydney.

Bermuda’s selectors have made four changes in their 13-man squad for the ICC Intercontinental Cup semi-finals in Namibia next month when they take on Kenya.Concerned by the lack of runs at the top of the order, Bermuda have brought back Curtis Jackson after a five-year absence, and he is expected to open with Kwame Tucker. Lionel Cann, who had to miss the group matches in Canada, unsurprisingly returns, but the inclusion of left-arm fast-medium bowler Kevin Tucker raised more than a few eyebrows.Among those axed is Daniel Morgan, although he will still make the trip in his capacity as team physiotherapist.”I have full confidence in the selectors and the players, a lot of people have said that we made changes to previous squads but the changes have panned out to being a success,” said Reggie Pearman, the Bermuda Cricket Board president.