Jones 'desperate' to stay at Worcestershire

Simon Jones is an anxious man as he waits to find out his fate with Worcestershire. Jones is out of contract at the end of this season and despite a long list of injuries he has said he is "desperate" to stay with the county.Jones, who has been dogged by injury since he was forced to miss the final Test of the 2005 Ashes series, underwent surgery on his knee in April and at the time it was expected he would be able to play the second half of the summer. Then in June the results of scans delivered further bad news that Jones was out for the season.While Worcestershire said last month that the focus was on his recovery, Jones is desperate to be given more time to prove his worth. "I still haven't heard anything. The club have got to think about what they want to do and, whatever that is, there is nothing I can do about it," he said. "It is a bit of a waiting game which is a little bit frustrating."It is not a very nice situation to be in. You'd rather know one way or another but at the end of the day it is the club's decision and I've got to wait and see. At the end of the day I have just got to be patient and I hope it works in my favour because I am desperate to stay at Worcester. I love the changing room and the lads and everyone around it. I think it is a fantastic place to play." .

Langer defends Championship format

Somerset captain Justin Langer has protested against the ECB's proposed decision to cut the number of County Championship matches to accommodate the Champions League which will take place in September 2010. The ECB is facing a serious backlash from professional players over radical plans to reform domestic cricket and Langer has defended the current four-day format, saying it is "perfect"."I think they should stay with the 16 per county," he told the Bristol Evening Post. "The two divisions [with promotion and relegation] is excellent because there are no dead-rubber games. You have to play home and away in my opinion because that is the best way to play it and two divisions is excellent because every game has something on it."You want to be in the first division because that is where the best cricket, the esteem and the prize money is. If our blokes can perform at this level they will be close to being ready for international cricket. The way the four-day cricket is set up at the moment is perfect."A proposal by Alan Fordham, the ECB's head of cricket operations, includes several schemes such as reducing the number of Championship games from 16 to 12, and possibly splitting the tournament into three divisions. At the heart of the idea is the realisation that squeezing in two Twenty20 competitions from 2010 will mean an increasingly punishing schedule for county players. .

Pakistani bowlers dominate first day’s play

GALLE: Pakistan's new-look bowling attack dealt regular blows to get Sri Lanka all out for 292 runs on the opening day of the first cricket Test here on Saturday.The hosts were 104-3 at lunch and 194-5 after being sent in to bat by Pakistani captain Younus Khan on a wicket freshened up by early morning rain in this coastal town.Teenage fast bowler Mohammmad Aamir, seamer Abdul Rauf and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, all making Test debuts, responded to their skipper's gamble in brilliant fashion.Aamir claimed two wickets in his first three overs and Rauf chipped in with two more to leave the strong Sri Lankan batting tottering on the even-paced wicket at the Galle International Stadium.Left-handed opener Tharanga Paranavitana was Sri Lanka's saviour with 72, adding 75 for the third wicket with Mahela Jayawardene (30) and 43 for the fourth with Thilan Samaraweera (31).Later, debutant Angelo Mathews (42), Nuwan Kulasekara (38), Tillakaratne Dilshan (28) also made significant contributions to take their team to a respectable total of 292. Tail-ender Rangana Herath remained not out on 20.The 17-year-old Aamer, who was one of Pakistan's heroes in their triumphant World Twenty20 campaign in England last month, justified his Test debut at the expense of seasoned all-rounder Abdur Razzaq..

Broad wants to perform better

LONDON: Stuart Broad, as befits the son of former England opener Chris, has always looked a cricketer of the highest pedigree.An Ashes series against Australia starting next week will be the perfect opportunity for potential to be translated into consistent achievement with both bat and ball.After 17 Tests, Broad averages 31.35 with the bat which gives a hint of the ability good judges predict will make him into a Test class all-rounder.But his 46 wickets have cost an expensive 37.95 runs each and it is in this area the selectors will expect a marked improvement as England strive to regain the Ashes surrendered so tamely in Australia two years ago.

Windies and India to play 3rd ODI today

GROS ISLET, St. Lucia: The third One-day International between the West Indies and India will be played here today.The four-match series is level 1-1, after India won the high-scoring opening match by 20 runs last Friday at Sabina Park in Jamaica, and West Indies rebounded with a thumping eight-wicket victory two days later at the same venue.However, victory in the third ODI will bring to the winners an unbeaten lead in the series.India are expected to bring Abhishek Nayer in place of Ravindra Jadeja while the West Indies have decided to make no change in their team for the final two matches.The final match of the 4-ODI series will be played on July 5.

Muralitharan out of Pakistan Test

Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan will miss what is expected to be an emotional return to test cricket against Pakistan this weekend, officials said Friday.A knee injury has ruled 'Murali' out of Saturday's game at Sri Lanka's Galle International Stadium, the first Test between the two teams since a militant attack in Lahore, Pakistan, left eight people dead.The two teams, however, recently contested the finals of the World Twenty20 in England. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets."Murali has picked up a knee injury and has been asked to rest for a while," team manager Brendon Kuruppu told foreign news agency.His place in the first of the three tests will be taken by either orthodox left-arm spinner Rangana Herath or rookie slow bowler Suraj Randiv Kaluhalmulla, a Sri Lanka Cricket official said.

ICC considering to reduce Test matches to 4 days

By Jano
NEW DELHI: ICC president David Morgan said that it is being considered to reduce Test Matches to four days while the suggestion of day-night Test has been welcomed.Morgan said in an interview to an Indian magazine that to save the popularity and image of Test cricket various experiments, including the suggestion of four-day Test, are being considered.The ICC president said that many changes may be made in Test cricket format during one year.He said that the suggestion of day and night Test is being praised at a large extent. However, it is being tried that special cricket balls would have to be made to facilitate night Tests in white clothing.Morgan said that it is being looked very closely at ball manufacturing design that replicates a red ball, maybe an orange ball to avoid any problem for players in presence of white clothing.

Shoaib needs to get fit for a comeback: Sarfaraz

By Jano
KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test pacer Sarfraz Nawaz says pacer Shoaib Akhtar needs to get fit if he wants to make it to the Pakistan squad in future.Talking to PPI, Sarfraz said that the problem with Shoaib was his fitness and if he gets in good shape he would make it to the Pakistan squad again.Shoaib was overlooked for the World T20 Championship because of skin problem and now he has been ignored for the Sri Lankan series because of his fitness.Critics see Shoaib's future as bleak since other pacers - Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer - managed to deliver during Pakistan's campaign in the recently-concluded World T20 championship and there is hardly any place for Shoaib in the team now.However, Sarfraz said that more bowlers should be made available for the team in order to create competition among them.Sarfraz criticised Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not deciding the future of pacer Mohammad Asif. "They should take the decision about Mohammad Asif. He has been stranded," concluded Sarfraz.

Sri Lanka tighten security for Pakistan series

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has stepped up security for Pakistan team and slapped new restrictions at match venues, officials said Wednesday.Fireworks, musical bands, glass bottles, tin cans, sharp objects, laser pointers and mirrors have all been banned from the grounds where the matches are to be played."Other than national flags of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, no banners, posters and discriminating slogans will be allowed," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said.The first of the three Tests begins on July 4, followed by five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 game.
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Michael Vaughan tipped to announce retirement

Michael Vaughan, the man who led England to more Test victories than any other captain, is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket next week, according to reports in the English media.His final match could prove to be Yorkshire's Twenty20 Cup fixture against Derbyshire at Headingley on Sunday.Vaughan has struggled with injuries to his right knee which kept him out of cricket for over a year between November 2005 and May 2007. In January, he withdrew from the IPL auction to concentrate on getting back into the Test side in time for the Ashes, but still lost out on a place in the 16-man pre-Ashes squad.Vaughan, 34, captained England in 51 of his 82 Tests, and won a record 26 of these, including most famously the two matches that enabled England to regain the Ashes in 2005. But he hasn't played international cricket since stepping down from the captaincy during the home series against South Africa last year,and this season he has made only 159 runs at 19.88 for Yorkshire. The last time he scored a century in a competitive match was for Yorkshire in a 50-over game against Surrey in Abu Dhabi this March.Aside from the growing acceptance that he will never play international cricket again, not least since Ravi Bopara burst onto the scene at the beginning of the season to nail down the No. 3 slot, Vaughan is believed to be wary of hampering the opportunities of young talent at Yorkshire - among them Jonathan Bairstow, the 19-year-old son of the former England wicketkeeper, David, who made his debut this season."If Vaughan really is packing it in I can understand his decision, though it's a sad day for all of us who played in 2005," Steve Harmison told The Mail on Sunday. "He was a great leader on the field. He knew how to get the best out of me, by telling me I was the best bowler in the world. Maybe he was lying, maybe it was kidology but he knew how to press the buttons and we all wanted to play for him."Vaughan scored three centuries out of a tally of 633 runs in the 2002-03 Ashes that preceded his 2005 triumph, and was one of the few English cricketers whom Australia hold in the highest regard. "I was slightly shocked about Vaughan not getting the inclusion [in the current Ashes squad]," said Brett Lee last week, "more so from what he's done against us in the past, he's got the utmost respect from all our players."If, as expected, he does call it quits this week, the timing of Vaughan's retirement will serve to spare the current Ashes team endless speculation about his chances of a recall, should early results against Australia go against them. One of his finest achievements as captain was to shield the side against panic in 2005, after a heavy defeat in the first Test at Lord's. The same side was retained for each of the first four matches of the series.Vaughan is highly likely to remain close to the action this summer, however, as he is sure to be welcomed straight into the Sky commentary box, alongside his former team-mates and fellow England captains, Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, and his most formidable Ashes foe, Shane Warne..