ScorecardIreland stormed to a surprisingly comprehensive 85-run win over Scotland in the 3rd match of the European Cricket Championships at Ayr.Despite possessing the services of Warwickshire’s Dougie Brown, Scotland’s performance was limp – especially from their bowlers who suffered with their line and length. Eoin Morgan, the young Middlesex left hander, was the chief beneficiary with a fine 99. He and Niall O’Brien came together with Ireland in the tricky position of 19 for 2, but soon steadied the innings by adding 70 for the third wicket. Morgan played the anchor to O’Brien’s aggressive role, bringing up his fifty from 83 balls.O’Brien, looking settled and increasingly confident after smashing four fours, fell to Craig Wright, the Scotland captain, but Morgan found strong support from Kyle McCallan who struck a brisk 46 to take Ireland to an impressive 240 for 8.Scotland, though, were never in the hunt for 241. Navdeep Poonia, Brown’s Warwickshire team-mate making his debut for Scotland, looked settled and confident at the crease, crunching four boundaries before David Langford-Smith sneaked one through his defence to begin the procession of wickets. When Brown fell for just 11, leaving Scotland on 72 for 4, their hopes were shattered and despite a plucky 31 from the No. 10, Paul Hoffmann, Scotland were dismissed for just 155.Scotland now face the Netherlands tomorrow at the same ground, while a confident Irish side take on Italy, on Monday, at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow.

Percy Sonn, former president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) and now president of the International Cricket Council, has been made an honorary life member of Cricket South Africa.”Percy Sonn has been made an honorary life member because he has devoted more than 30 years to the administration of cricket in South Africa,” Ray Mali, president of Cricket South Africa said after the general body meeting on August 3 at which the UCBSA changed its name to Cricket South Africa.”He was a pioneer of the struggle against apartheid, as well as a pioneer of the unification of South African cricket that led to its current membership of the ICC,” Mali added. “It is a great feather in the cap of South Africa that he now holds the highest office in world cricket”.President Thabo Mbeki led the tributes to Sonn when he was sworn in as ICC President on 7 July 2006. “The president, government and the people of South Africa congratulate advocate Sonn on his appointment as ICC president.”

Brian Lara advised his players to be “focussed mentally and physically” as they prepare for the next 18 months of cricket.Lara, who has been through the rigours of international cricket for 15 years, said the upcoming period would be crucial, as the West Indies look to rebuild a team for the long-term future of the side. “We will have burn-outs and we will have injuries at some time, but the exposure the West Indies team will be getting will be very important and I hope that the guys will see it necessary to get themselves fully focussed-mentally and physically. It’s necessary for us to play and wind our way back to the top.”The West Indies are presently in Malaysia where they face Australia and India in the DLF Cup Tri-Nation one-day series next week. They will move on to the Champions Trophy in India in October and November and, from there, on to Pakistan for three Tests and five ODIs. In January, they return to India for five one-dayers and will be home for the 2007 World Cup in March and April.They then have four Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals on the summer tour of England. After England, there will be the international Twenty20 series, Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, and Test visits from Sri Lanka and Australia from March to June, 2008. Lara cautioned that fatigue and injury would always be factors. “Burn-out will always be a factor and there will always be a concern. I hope, however, that the guys don’t miss the most important parts of the two-year period.”We want to play cricket. We are languishing near the bottom of world cricket in both forms of the game, so we need to play cricket to lift our game, and we need to start winning to lift our spirits.”

Scorecard

A magnificent 158 from Chris Benham took Hampshire into Division One of the Pro40 for next season after comprehensively beating Glamorgan at The Rose Bowl, in the tournament’s inaugural play-off. Set a sizeable 266 to win, Glamorgan were never in the hunt and they crumbled limply to 114 all out.The day revolved around Benham whose wonderfully attacking innings provided the perfect end to Hampshire’s summer. It was his second one-day hundred and by some distance his best innings for the club who he has played for since he was 10. Right from the outset, he took the attack to Glamorgan’s bowlers – particular to James Franklin, before using his feet to the spinners. Though the pitch was even and true for the seamers, there was no shortage of turn available for Robert Croft and Dean Cosker, but Benham’s poise and balance – not to mention his fearless strokeplay – was a cut above.To emphasise the quality of his strokeplay, no other Hampshire batsman passed 30 and six failed to even reach 10. And in 130 balls, he smashed 21 fours and a six. His captain, Shane Warne, was understandably elated at Hampshire’s elevation to the first division but reserved special praise for Benham.”I thought he played magnificently. It was one of the best innings I’ve seen all year and he took it away from Glamorgan,” Warne told Sky Sports. “Hopefully he’ll know what he has to do [to progress further]. I’m just proud of him – he’s a potential captain of the club and we’re lucky to have him.”Glamorgan’s reply began disastrously when James Bruce, who bowled an impressive line at decent pace, removed Richard Grant with his second ball. Warne, always unpredictable as a captain, threw Sean Ervine the new ball which brought immediate success when he removed Mark Wallace for 3. Though David Harrison crashed five fours in a breathless 28, there was scant support from the middle-order who folded in rather inevitable fashion. Appropriately it was Warne who took the final wicket of the summer, removing Cosker to hand Hampshire a crushing 151-run win.”It’s not easy getting up for it at the tail-end of the season,” Warne said, “and it all comes down to how much passion you’ve got. We’re hungry. Unfortunately we didn’t play well last year in the Pro40 and got relegated. We’ve got a really good squad, some young players and it’s a privilege to captain this club.”

South Africa have won the Hong Kong Sixes title after beating Pakistan by 12 runs in the final at the Kowloon Cricket Club. Nicky Boje was the star and claimed the Man-of-the-Match award after hitting 32 off 14 balls.Boje’s innings enabled South Africa to set a target of 104 off their five eight-ball overs and despite Tahir Mughal’s 26 off 16 deliveries Pakistan could only reach 91.India, the defending champions, finished third after beating West Indies in the play-off having earlier been on the end of an amazing Pakistan batting performance in the semi-final. Pakistan smashed their way to 132 with Yasir Arafat taking five sixes off one over.The host nation, Hong Kong, produced the major upset when they beat England by 47 runs in the fifth/sixth place play-off. Despite having the likes of Dominic Cork and Darren Gough in their line-up, England struggled in the field as Hong Kong reached 92. Mal Loye then fell for a first-ball duck and they could only muster 45 in reply.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Zaheer Khan once again led the way with the ball as the Indians wrapped up a comprehensive 96-run victory over Rest of South Africa in the tour game at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom. Set 321 for victory in a little over five sessions, Rest of South Africa were bowled out for 224, with only a thrilling century partnership between Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Justin Kemp lending respectability to the scoreline. But once Sreesanth engineered therun-out of Van Jaarsveld, the innings unravelled pretty quickly, and the game was sewn up with more than a day to spare.Having struck with his first ball of the innings, a beautiful swinging delivery that darted back off the pitch to clip Jacques Rudolph’s off stump, Zaheer came back after lunch to see off the dangerous Jean Paul Duminy. And Laxman turned to him again as Kemp threatened to make a match of it, and he duly delivered, inducing a top-edged pull that was brilliantly taken on the run by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Van Jaarsveld, who looks and bats a lot like Mark Cosgrove, had resumed where he left off in the first innings, accumulating runs at a rapid clip with some crisp drives and meaty pulls. After Duminy’s dismissal, Alviro Petersen was much more circumspect, adding 39 with Van Jaarsveld before VRV Singh struck twice in two balls. Petersen was beaten for pace and trapped in front, while Morne van Wyk was hustled into chopping one ontothe stumps, via the pads. Kemp squirted the hat-trick delivery through cover for two, and the runs flowed thereafter.Irfan Pathan was taken for three fours in an over, including one fortuitous inside edge to fine leg, and VRV Singh was pummelled down the ground and through point. But Van Jaarsveld eclipsed his senior partner with some stunning shots, a straight six off Harbhajan Singh and an emphatic pull for four off VRV Singh being especially noteworthy. Atop-edged sweep off Harbhajan was put down by Sachin Tendulkar, running back from slip, when he had made 47, and he then raced to 50 from 44 balls.He had struck 10 fours and a six by the time Sreesanth’s arm caught him short, and the thrilling 100-run partnership had taken just 94 balls. But as is so often the case, the exit of one man spelt doom for the other, and when Kemp followed three overs later, the game was as good as in the bag.Harbhajan Singh, who didn’t get a bowl in the first innings and who is unlikely to feature in the opening Test, dismissed Paul Adams for 0, but there was a late show of defiance from Morne Morkel and Alfonso Thomas, who flayed the bat around with a freedom that suggested they knew the cause was hopelessly lost. They added 35 before Harbhajan had Thomas caught at short fine leg, and the new man, Friedel de Wet, lasted all of one ball. And when Morkel’s attempted hoick at Virender Sehwag went only as far as silly point, it was all over.

Earlier, the Indians, resuming at 93 for 7, had ground out a further 49 runs, with Pathan adding an unbeaten 40 to his first-innings century. Zaheer departed early, caught by Van Wyk behind the stumps, but Sreesanth combined some stout defence with some zany strokeplay to help Pathan add 37 for the ninth wicket. de Wet finally had him edging one behind, and when VRV Singh failed to clear cover with a slog, the Indian secondinnings was wrapped up in just 53.3 overs.Thomas had sensational figures of 7 for 56 and with the first Test less than a week away; the omens weren’t good for the Indians. A strong bowling performance once again glossed over the batting frailties, but drastic improvement is required if the firm of Pollock, Ntini, Steyn and Nel aren’t to have field days at the Wanderers.

Three youth sides from Zimbabwe have travelled to South Africa for their annual end-of-year tour. The three age groups – Under-14, Under-16 and Under-19s – will play four 50-over matches and two Twenty20 encounters against teams from the Northerns and Gauteng.Prior to their visit the three sides were given a send-off at Harare and presented with equipment and kit for their tour, sponsored by the wholesaler Makro.Boyd Rouse and Peter Moor, both of Saint John’s College in Harare, will captain the Under-14 and Under-16 teams respectively. Victor Chaitezvi, from Prince Edward School and Old Hararians Sports Club, captains the Under-19s.

Defending Carib Beer Series champions Trinidad and Tobago will be the team to beat when the 2007 regional cricket series bowls off on January 4.Carib chief executive officer Andrew Sabga, speaking at the launch of the tournament at Crowne Plaza Hotel on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, congratulated Trinidad and Tobago on achieving the double in 2006, but warned the champions that the other countries will come out stronger in 2007 as they face-off for the championship.Sabga was excited to be part of what he calls “the premier event of the Caribbean”. He said: “The Carib Beer Series, which dates back to the 1960s, has produced some of the greatest cricketers the world has ever seen, from legendary Sir Garry Sobers to the Prince of Port of Spain, Brian Lara.”The prestigious event, according to Sabga, “Allows young cricketers to showcase their talents regionally, while demonstrating to the world that the West Indies still has an abundance of talent that simply needs nurturing.”Through their five years of sponsorship of the regional tournament, Carib have invested more than US$3 million and Sabga stated the rewards have been most visible in the past year. “Coming through the ranks of the Carib Beer Series, Dinesh Ramdhin, Carlton Bough, Renako Morton, Lendl Simmons and Jerome Taylor have been selected to the West Indies team and it rests on them now to take West Indies cricket back to the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s.”The Carib Beer Series represents the climax of the cricketing calendar and all efforts throughout the year in each of the participating territories are geared towards preparing the best team for the regional tournament.According to Colin Murray, Sponsorship and Events manager of Carib Brewery, “2007 is a critical year for the region as a whole as it will be hosting the Cricket World Cup for the first time. The Carib Beer Series now takes on an additional role-the preparation of the regional team for the World Cup. “The Carib Beer Series is a stepping-stone in the process of rebuilding West Indies cricket,” Murray declared.Six teams will be participating in the tournament: defending champions Trinidad and Tobago, runners-up Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands. The competition will be played on a round-robin basis, with each team playing each other once in a four-day match. The two teams with the most points will advance to the final of the Carib Beer Series, a five-day match, which will be played at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.

Greg Blewett remains hopeful he can play first-class cricket for two more years despite several states indicating they have no interest in signing him up. Blewett, 35, who is contracted to South Australia until the end of 2007-08, was dropped from the side due to poor form in his three one-day matches this season having lost his place in the Pura Cup team in 2005-06.Blewett was disappointed not to be recalled after injuries hit the South Australia top order and kept Darren Lehmann, the captain, and Cameron Borgas, the No. 3, out of action. He said South Australia’s agreement to pay out the remainder of his $270,000 three-year deal should make him an attractive option to the other states.”I would quite like to play on as I wouldn’t like to finish on these sort of terms,” he told Adelaide’s newspaper. “If I sign on for someone else, I will get paid whatever I can negotiate for that state which I think will help me in terms of my bargaining power. I think I’m in a pretty strong position.”But Blewett, who wants to play in the eastern states, said it was unlikely he could step into the shoes of the newly-retired Michael Bevan at Tasmania. “I am not sure I would fit into a team like Tassie which has gone down a development path,” Blewett said.The paper reported that Victoria and Queensland were not interested in adding Blewett to their squads, leaving New South Wales as his main option. Graham Dixon, the Queensland Cricket chief executive, said his state preferred to use local players. “We haven’t spoken to Greg and don’t intend to at this stage. Without closing the door he isn’t part of the plans,” Dixon said.Cricket Victoria said Blewett had been considered but they were looking instead at younger batsmen. South Australia, who are on the bottom of the Pura Cup and FR Cup tables, replaced Lehmann and Borgas in the limited-overs team with newer players such as Ken Skewes and Ben Cameron.

Piyush Chawla tied Malaysia in knots as India eased to a seven-wicket win in their tri-series match at Kinrara Oval. He claimed 5 for 17 as the hosts were crushed for 101 before Saurabh Tiwari guided the chase.Malaysia had made deceptively comfortable start as Shafiq Sharif and Faris Almas-Lee added 46 for the first wicket. However, once Swapnil Singh provided the first breakthrough the batting order resembled a pack of cards.Chawla, who has a Test cap against England to his name, was too much for the inexperienced line-up although some poor shot selection didn’t help. All 10 wickets fell for 54 and only extras joined the openers with double figures.India didn’t knock off the runs without a few blips as they fell to 63 for 3. Aminuddin Ramly took two wickets but the match was finished in grand manner by Tiwari who dispatched consecutive sixes in the 19th over.